Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return

necessary. How he bribed and colluded and intimidated people on all sides of the law to build the secret army he needed, which was led by specialized criminals he recruited from the notorious Rookery. Brett tried to talk about his encounter with the awful uber-espers the Spider Harps, in their charnel-house kingdom deep under the Parade of the Endless, but it still upset him too much.
    Making deals with the Esper Liberation Force?" said Lewis, shaking his head slowly. "He must be out of his mind."
    I don't think so," said Brett. "I think he was always like this, inside. He just never had a reason to let it out before."
    "But… what does he want?" said Jesamine. "What's this all for? Does he want to make himself King?"
    "Perhaps," said Rose. "Or perhaps he just wants to burn it all down, so he can dance in the ashes. The Durandal is an extraordinary man. He has a sense of purpose and destiny that is… pure and uninhibited.
    A force of will entirely uncorrupted by mercy or compassion. I like that in a man."
    Jesamine sniffed. "If you're so hot for the little shit, sweetie, what are you doing here with us?"
    "I came to be with Brett," said Rose. "Or perhaps I'm here because fighting for the Durandal would have been too easy. I do so love a challenge. There's no joy to be had in the slaughter of easy prey."
    "Oh, I do so agree," said Saturday. "Just as I am here because siding with you offers me the best chance for killing and mass carnage."
    "I may puke," said Brett. "Really. I'm not kidding."
    I'll bet Owen never had these problems, thought Lewis. Aloud, he said, "Let us all try to keep to the subject. You spent the most time with Finn, Brett. He must have talked to you. How could he have gone so bad so quickly? He was the greatest living Paragon, dammit. They'd almost run out of awards to give him for courage and heroism above and beyond the call of duty. He was admired and adored, all across the Empire. And now he's a traitor and a murderer, betraying all his old friends? Just because I was made Champion instead of him? It seems such a… petty reason, to fall so far so fast."
    "I think for him, it was a wake-up call," Brett said slowly. "Because he never was a hero, not really. He just played at being one, until something more interesting came along. You worked beside him, Sir Deathstalker. Did you never notice some of his more… extreme tendencies?"
    Lewis shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I don't know. It worries me that perhaps I did, and turned a blind eye, because he was so good at catching villains. But we spent time together off duty, Finn andDouglas and me. We talked, and drank together, had good times. I trusted him to guard my back, and he never let me down. Till now."
    "I never trusted him," said Jesamine. "He was always too pretty, too perfect. When people like that break, they break all the way." She glared at Brett. "At least Finn has the excuse of being crazy. Why did you go along with him, knowing what he was?"
    Brett cringed under the weight of her contemptuous gaze. "Hey, it wasn't like I had a choice in the matter! He said he'd kill me if I didn't go along, and I had every reason to believe him. Some of the things I heard him say… I'm no saint, lady, Sir Deathstalker, I'm a career criminal and proud of it, but… he's so far over the edge now he can't even see it from where he is. Like Rose said, there's nothing he won't do, no atrocity he'd flinch from, to get what he wants. And much to my surprise, it turned out there's a line even I won't cross, after all. After what I found in his secret files, I had to help you escape. And… I am a Random, after all. My ancestors and yours were friends, comrades. Perhaps… we're meant to be together."
    "Oh, please," said Jesamine. "Spare me. Lewis was a Paragon, and I was a star, but even we are not the stuff of legends. You are and never will be anything more than a common thief who got in over his head and panicked."
    "I was never a common thief!" Brett said hotly. "I was a top-rank thief! I could con you out of everything you owned, including the clothes you were wearing, and so skillfully you wouldn't even notice until the wind changed direction."
    "We left the Durandal of our own free will," said Rose Constantine. "Brett for his reasons, and I…
    because Finn wasn't worthy of me. He had ambition, but no taste. For him, killing was just killing. I expect a much higher quality of murder with you, Sir Deathstalker. With you, I confidently expect