Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

the shoulder, as though calming a nervous animal. Away from the rehearsed situation, James looked a lot less confident, and somehow…
    smaller.Douglas started towards them, and then stopped as Finn and his Paragons came through the curtains. Finn looked carefully atDouglas .
    "You're looking tired too,Douglas . Perhaps you should return to your chambers, and get some rest.
    You have rather been thrown in at the deep end. You can catch up with James later."
    "Yes," saidDouglas . "It's all been a bit much, really. I'll see you all tomorrow."
    "Anne, you'd better go back with him," said Finn. "And I'll send a couple of my people to go along with you. You can't be too careful, these days."
    Anne nodded, and she and Douglas walked back to the King's private chambers in silence. Two of Finn's Paragons accompanied them.Douglas only knew them vaguely, and they wouldn't answer him when he tried to talk to them. People were running back and forth in the wide corridors, looking atDouglas with wide eyes, and over and over again he heard the word James on people's lips. The Paragons kept everyone at a distance with menacing scowls. They finally came toDouglas 's door, and he gestured for them to stand back so he could have a private word with Anne. They looked to her for confirmation, and reluctantly retired back down the corridor when she nodded.Douglas looked at Anne, and she met his gaze squarely, defiantly.
    "All right," saidDouglas . "What's going on, Anne?"
    "How do you mean,Douglas ?"
    "You, Finn, James. Why wasn't I told any of this in advance?"
    "Because you gave strict orders that you weren't to be disturbed, for any reason. And because we weren't too sure what state you were in. I did look in on you a couple of times. You probably don't remember—you were pretty out of it. And given the delicate nature of the situation, when we couldn't be sure how much you did or didn't know about James…"
    She broke off abruptly, asDouglas 's face grew cold and dangerous. She actually fell back a step, beforeDouglas could regain control and put on his confused, vacant face again. He couldn't afford to confront her over James's identity, not now.
    "Sorry," he said. "Sore spot, there. Go on, you were saying?"
    "We waited to establish the truth about James, and your father, before involving you," said Anne. "It could all have been rumors. Even after we had James secure, and genetested, we left you alone as long as we dared, hoping you'd snap out of it, but you had to be there when we presented James to the public. It would have looked very bad if you hadn't been there,Douglas ."
    "I can't believe what Finn said about my father," saidDouglas . "When can I speak to him, Anne?"
    "Soon. You do believe this really is James, don't you,Douglas ?"
    "You can't fake a genetest. Everyone knows that." Anne nodded slowly. "You look tired. You've had a lot thrown at you, on your first day back. I've got to talk with Finn now; we're going to schedule a whole series of public appearances for James, to let everyone know he's back and introduce him to the Empire.
    That's going to keep us busy for some time. You don't need to be involved in any of that,Douglas . Get some rest, take all the time you need to pull yourself together again, and we'll contact you when we need you."
    "Yes," saidDouglas . "Rest sounds good. We'll talk again, later." Anne gave him a searching look, butDouglas maintained his tired, defeated look, and after a long moment Anne nodded and strode off back down the corridor, picking up the two Paragons along the way.Douglas watched them go, and then considered the two guards standing by his door. They weren't his people. Anne had replaced the original guards with new men, undoubtedly loyal only to the new order. They were there as much to keep him in as to keep others out.Douglas nodded amiably to them and entered his private chambers. He locked the door behind him, and then jammed a chair up against it as well, just in case.
    Safely back in his own territory, he dropped the pleasant mask and scowled so fiercely it was almost painful. He stamped back and forth, his hands clenched into tight fists, his mind whirling with plans for revenge and retribution. He would have liked to have kicked the hell out of the furniture, but that would have made too much noise, and he had no doubt the new guards were listening. He had to wonder what else Finn and Anne had taken from him while he was still too blind with self-pity to notice. Had it