Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

over,Campbell . It's time to reveal who we really are, and what we really want."
    "Really?" saidDouglas . "How very intriguing. To what, exactly, do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Treasure?"
    "That's not my name. Not my real name. I was born Francine Wolfe." She smiled again at his reaction.
    "That's right,Campbell . I'm the current head of a Family that was once your Clan's greatest enemy. Our ancestors killed each other for laughs. And now, here I am promised to you in marriage—if either of us lives that long. It turns out we have a common enemy, someone who wants us both dead, unless we can agree to put aside our differences, and our masks, to work together."
    "This enemy," saidDouglas . "Does he have a name?"
    "The Durandal," said Frankie, showing her perfect teeth in a smile that was more of a snarl. "Finn intends to replace you with James. You must have realized that by now."
    "Perhaps," saidDouglas . "And perhaps I'm not the broken reed that I allow others to see. But why should I ally myself with you,
    Wolfe? I only have to be near you, and the stink of hidden agenda becomes almost overpowering."
    "You need me because you've allowed yourself to become isolated. You have no friends or allies, and even the House has turned its back on you. For a Paragon and a Prince you've been remarkably naive.
    You really should have chosen your friends more carefully. Finn has become your greatest enemy, Lewis is outlawed, and Anne… is sleeping with James. Ah, you didn't know that. I wasn't sure."
    "Poor Anne," saidDouglas . "It's all going to end badly, and there's nothing I can do to help her."
    "She betrayed you! She sold her soul to Finn!"
    "She must have been hurting for a long time. And I was always too busy to notice. But then, it seems I failed to notice a lot of things. What do you want, Wolfe?"
    "Your only hope is to destroy Finn and James, before they come for you. And for that you're going to need me, and the people I represent. I'm Hellfire Club, Douglas. Now, don't look at me like that. We're probably the only power left in the Empire that doesn't bow down to the Durandal."
    Douglasshowed her a face as cold as her own. "If there's anything left in this declining Empire that's lower and more despicable than Finn Durandal, it's the Hellfire Club. Do you think I've forgotten all the atrocities you people have committed, down the years? Have you forgotten how many of your people I've killed?"
    "Strange times make for strange allies, Campbell. Don't let your childish dislike for our methods blind you to the opportunities here. You agree to work with me, with us, and we will make you King again. A real King, this time. Working together, we can undermine and throw down the Durandal, usurp his people and turn them to our cause, and then we will bring back the old days, of Clan and birthright and tradition." She was standing very close to him now, her eyes gleaming, her words burning with conviction.
    "The Families will take their rightful place again, and we will sit on the great Thrones of Empire, and rule over all. Our word shall have power over life and death, and all our enemies shall know blood and suffering forever."
    "I never wanted any of that,"Douglas said flatly. "I never even wanted to be King. Perhaps if I'd stuck to my guns and forced my father to find another successor… none of this need ever have happened.
    "Well, if you won't do it for ambition, how about revenge? The Durandal has ruined your life and destroyed everything you ever believed in. Are you going to let him get away with that? Or are you smart enough to join with us, and stop him before he brings everything down to wrack and ruin?"
    "Low as I am," saidDouglas , "I still have more sense than to make a deal with the Devil. Once I let you in, I'd never be free of you. What's the point in replacing one tyrant with another? I'll find a way to stop Finn, and I'll find a way to stop you too. Hope you enjoy the Wedding, Wolfe. It's all you'll ever have of me."
    "That bitch Flowers really did take your balls with her, didn't she?" Frankie said, and laughed in his face as he glared at her.
    She let her right hand drift closer to the high slit in her dress over her right thigh. Under the dress she had a concealed leather sheath holding a long slender dagger. The leather had been cloned from her own skin, and the dagger fashioned from scrapings from her own thigh bone—which meant neither of them
    would show up in any security scan. And who