Finn's actions were presented as a crusade. Only the guilty had anything to fear, was the party line. And all across the Empire, most of the people were glad to see the enemies of Humanity dying. It made them feel better to know that the Empire was capable of striking back at something, even if it wasn't the Terror. When most of the killing was over, or at least slowing down, King Finn appeared on every channel to make a firm and soothing speech to the people. Be calm, he said. These painful necessary measures will soon pass, and we shall all be the stronger for them. Soon, he promised, soon we shall have all the secrets of the Madness Maze at our disposal, and then everyone will be able to pass through safely. Humanity will become superhuman, and working together, the armies of man will utterly destroy the Terror.
It was all bullshit, of course, but it was what the people desperately wanted to hear.
King Finn stamped out long-cherished freedoms, adding dozens of new laws designed for brutal social control, all in the name of the emergency. And the people were so scared of enemies within, and the coming Terror, that they loved Finn for it, and praised his boldness and strength as their great protector. He'd never been more popular, more beloved. Finn laughed until he hurt himself. If he'd known it would be this easy, he would have done it long ago.
Only the ELFs remained untouched. Partly because Finn still needed their services, but mostly because he still had enough good sense to be extremely cautious where the uber-espers were concerned. The ELF rank and file watched Finn dispose of all his old allies, and muttered darkly among themselves. The uber-espers voiced their own concerns, but only with each other. Perhaps the time had come to break with Finn, and strike out on their own behalf. Take advantage of all the chaos and confusion… But secretly all the uber-espers hesitated to commit themselves, for fear one of the other uber-espers would seize the chance to stab them in the back.
Instead, they encouraged the ELF rank and file to make the first move. They attempted to possess some of Finn's new high-ranking people, only to discover that they were all protected by esp-blockers. The ELFs retreated quickly, but even so many of them were hunted down and killed, for their presumption. The uber-espers observed from a distance, and grew restless. They had been unable to fight in the Great Rebellion against the Empress Lionstone, because they were forbidden by their creator, the Mater Mundi, and they were all helpless against her. She'd made them that way. But she was long gone now, and the oversoul had left Logres. For the first time, the uber-espers made slow, tentative moves towards a union of purpose. Because as much as they hated each other, they hated Finn Durandal more.
Finn kept himself busy. He made a call to the Sangreal bar, on his private channel, using the Paragons' comm implants. His seventeen remaining possessed Paragons had been hiding out in the bar for some time now, and were seriously bored. They were running out of things to do to each other. They were finally ready to listen. Finn knew better than to talk to them in person, but he could still be very convincing. He reminded the possessing ELFs that it was still in their best interests to go along with him, for now, and offered them a chance to get out and play. A chance to kill a whole bunch of important people. They always liked that… He explained that he had set up extremely convincing proof that Parliament was riddled with traitors, seeking to undermine his best efforts to stop the Terror, for their own political advantage. (He'd already tested the waters of public opinion by killing the previously popular Meerah Puri, and now he thought the public were ready for the next logical step.) Go to the House of Parliament, said Finn. My security people already have it surrounded and infiltrated. They'll be waiting for you, and the way will be made clear. Go into the House, my Paragons, and kill everyone there.
The Sangreal bar filled with the laughter of possessed men and women.
The Paragons raced to the House of Parliament on their gravity sleds, keeping well above the streets. There was some name-calling, but the Paragons ignored it. They were after bigger game. Finn had promised them a free hand against their old persecutors, and they meant to enjoy themselves. Their minds full of blood and slaughter, the possessed Paragons came to Parliament and the ring of security guards— all Finn's people, and prewarned—got out of their way in a hurry. The Paragons swooped down like birds of prey, arrogant and strutting in their debased purple cloaks as they left their gravity sleds and strode into the House, heading straight for the main chamber with guns and swords in their hands. They were already laughing softly. Nobody tried to stop them. Most just turned and ran. All the automatic defenses had been shut down. The Paragons came at last to the main chamber, kicked open the great doors and swaggered in. The MPs looked round, startled.
And the killing began.
Energy beams flared, criss-crossing the House, blowing men and women apart in their Seats. There was shouting and screaming, and the happy laughter of the ELFs. Some MPs tried to run, but the Paragons were between them and the doors. Some tried to hide, but energy guns blew apart what cover there was. And a few MPs tried to fight, even though they were forbidden by long tradition from carrying weapons in the House. So they rushed the Paragons, armed with nothing but courage and bare hands, and the ELFs drew their swords and went to meet them. Blood splashed the ancient furnishings, and flowed across the floor of the House. The Paragons took their time, hacking and cutting at their victims instead of just running them through. The ELFs had decades of grudges to pay off, and they meant to savor every moment of their vengeance.
Some MPs died bravely, some died begging and pleading, but in the end, they all died. The Paragons piled up the corpses on the floor of the House, and then spent a happy time domg nasty, distressing things to the bodies. Just to mark their territory. And then they marched out of the House, singing and laughing, smearing MPs' blood on each other's faces as victory symbols. There was no media outside to record their triumph. Finn had declared the whole area off-limits to the media, and when a few rogue cameras turned up anyway, Finn's people shot them out of the air.
Finn was there, waiting to receive his Paragons. He'd watched the killings on the monitors in Anne's office, but quickly grew bored. He smiled and nodded pleasantly to the Paragons, and told them to return to the Sangreal. They weren't too keen on that, but Finn promised there would soon be more bloody work for them. The thralls looked at him with other people's eyes, and told him not to take too long.
When the Paragons had all departed on their gravity sleds, Finn turned to his security guards and gestured at the House of Parliament.
"Burn it down," he said. "Burn it all down. After all, we won't be needing it anymore, will we?"
Anne Barclay watched the MPs die on the monitors screens in her office at the back of the House. She sat numbly, unable to take it in. Finn had given her no warning. Probably because he knew she would never have agreed. She might even have tried to warn the MPs. She wasn't sure about that, but she liked to think she had that much honor left. Her security people had to have known in advance, but none of them had spoken to her either. She'd thought of them as her people, but in the end they answered to Finn, just like everyone else. Most of them had already left the House, leaving her behind, leaving her alone. Anne looked from one monitor screen to another, watching as the
MPs died, and wondered whether eventually the Paragons would come for her too.
"Don't worry," said Finn, from the doorway. "I won't let them hurt you."
Anne turned and looked at him blankly. "How did you get in? I always keep that door locked."
"I am the King," said Finn. "And no doors are locked to me." He walked into her office, pulled up the visitor's chair and sat down beside her. He watched the killing on the monitors for a while, and then turned to smile at Anne.
"You really mustn't worry, Anne. You're quite safe. You're with me."
"Even though you don't need me anymore?" said Anne, in a perfectly steady voice. She was proud of that, at least. "The House and the MPs, and the managing of their security; that was my job, my life. My reason
for existence. You knew that. And now you've taken it all away from me. I had friends once, and now they're gone too, thanks to you. Even poor Jamie's gone. Can't I have anything for myself, Finn?"
"The House had to go," Finn said reasonably. "I can't afford to have enemies at my back, and the Paragons needed a little raw meat to keep them quiet. The people shall have me, and only me. I am King, and I will not suffer any competition. You'd better come with me, Anne. You'll be safe with me."
"And do what?" said Anne. "What is there left for me to do now?"
"I told you," said Finn. "You're going to be Queen. I always keep my word, when it suits me."
"The Queen has no power," said Anne. "No influence… no work. I'll be just a pretty ornament on your arm. I'll be everything I always despised in other women. And all thanks to you, Finn."
"You're welcome," said Finn, looking at the killing on the monitors again.
After she'd watched the House burn, Anne went home. Finn did offer to go with her, but he was clearly very busy, so she politely declined and went home alone. The streets seemed unusually empty of people, but there were security guards everywhere. None of them sought to interfere with her. Everyone knew she belonged to Finn Durandal. She let herself into her house, and wandered down the hall into the living room. She looked at it for a long while. It seemed somehow strange and unfamiliar, as though she'd gone into the wrong house by mistake. As though she'd lived in it for so long she'd stopped seeing it. The room was very neat, very ordered, everything in its place. Just like her life used to be. She'd seen that as a trap, once, and longed desperately to be free of it.
Only now did she realize she was looking at a room without a trace of personality.
Well, she was someone now. She was going to be Queen. By allying herself with Finn, she'd got everything she ever thought she wanted: a new life, a new body, even the beginnings of love with Jamie… and it had all come to nothing. She should have known better. Happy endings weren't for people like her. She sighed, and sat down in the nearest chair. It wasn't her favorite chair, and once that would have mattered to her, but not now. Her house was her old life, and she didn't belong there anymore.
There were drinks and even drugs about the place, Finn had always seen she got whatever she wanted, but she didn't want any of them now. She wondered if she ever had, really. She'd just been so desperate not to be the old, boring, safe Anne… She was pretty sure now Finn only let her have the drink and drugs because he thought it would make her easier to control. He always felt easier when he had some form of control over people.
He said he wanted her to be his Queen. Anne knew what that meant. She would stand beside him on state occasions, in her new lovely body, smiling endlessly; for the guests, for the people, for the cameras. And her marvelous brain would slowly atrophy, unused and unwanted. She would smile and smile, and no one would hear her screaming inside. Once, she had had real power, and real friends, but she had thrown them all away. She had betrayed everyone and everything she once believed in, and all for Finn, who cared for no one.
Lewis and Jesamine: outlawed and on the run. Douglas: awaiting trial and execution. And her poor Jamie: shot down in the street like a dog.
And I killed Emma Steel Perhaps the only honorable player left in the game. She took so long to die…but at least she's at rest. And I have to go on living, in the Hell I made for myself.
When Finn got back to his apartment, late in the evening, there was a message waiting for him, from one of his deep-cover spies. The first part of the message was short and to the point, confirming what he'd already suspected. Shub had betrayed him on Haden, allying instead with the newly arrived Deathstalker. The second part of the message was rather more startling. It seemed Lewis had successfully entered the Madness Maze, and emerged intact, bringing with him the long-lost and very much alive Owen Deathstalker, And as if that wasn't bad enough, the twelve monstrous survivors that Finn had meant to use as weapons had all been sent back into the Maze by Owen, to be cured and made human again.
Finn swore harshly. Somedays things wouldn't go right if you bribed them.
And he'd been in such a good mood too, when he came in. Things had been going so well… Finn strode restlessly back and forth, thinking hard. He couldn't say he was surprised that Shub had chosen to side with Lewis. He'd always known that was a danger. Like almost everyone else, the AIs could get very sentimental when it came to that damnable Deathstalker name. Allowing Shub direct access to the Maze had always been a calculated risk, which was why he'd made certain advance arrangements.
Finn had always intended that Lewis and his people should get to Haden eventually, because it seemed entirely probable that only a Deathstalker would be able to safely unlock the secrets of the Madness Maze. Finn wanted those secrets. Because with those secrets under his control, Finn wouldn't need allies anymore. He wouldn't need anyone. He couldn't make Lewis's trip look too easy, of course, or someone would have got suspicious, but Finn always knew where Lewis was, and where he was going next.
But he'd never expected Owen to actually return. That was the stuff of legend, and Finn had always been far too sensible to believe in things like that. But the message was quite explicit. Owen Deathstalker was back, and apparently just as powerful as the stories always said he was. And Captain John Silence was there too. Another damned legend who didn't have the decency to stay dead. Finn stopped pacing up and down, and nodded his head decisively. He'd never been the panicking sort, and he wasn't about to start now. Immediate problems require immediate solutions. So, strike now, with all the force at his command, while Owen was still newly returned and hopefully just a little disoriented. He'd been killed once, so presumably he could die again. Even if Finn had to scorch the whole planet lifeless from orbit. Finn snorted. Let the blessed Owen come back from that…
He contacted fleet HQ and ordered every starcruiser in the Imperial fleet to converge on Haden. Most were already in the area, hiding out in hyperspace. Finn believed in thinking ahead. Lewis and the Maze had always been a danger that might have to be stepped on hard. The admiral in charge of the fleet was one of Finn's creatures, and a fanatic to the bone. She would obey any order Finn gave. Killing someone who claimed to be the blessed Owen Deathstalker wouldn't slow her down at all.
Finn threw himself into his most comfortable chair and smiled suddenly. Maybe it wasn't such a bad day after all, when you got to order the death of two Deathstalkers at once.
He laughed out loud. And what better way to mark the moment, than to officially change his title from King… to Emperor. Emperor Finn—it had a certain ring to it. He wasn't exactly sure he felt like an Emperor yet, but Douglas's trial was tomorrow… Yes, sentencing King Douglas to death would definitely help him to feel the part more. He wouldn't bother with a grand public execution after all. Still too much chance of public sentiment turning against it, and ruining the moment for him.
So, a quick trial, a guilty verdict, and then Finn would chop off Douglas's head, right there in the court in front of everyone. Make a nice surprise ending to the occasion. Finn thought he should do it himself. For old times' sake.
The trial of King Douglas was big news, and was to be covered live on every news channel. It was to take place at the court, before an invited audience only, and presided over by King Finn, who would of course serve as prosecutor and judge. The trial should really have been held at the House of Parliament, but unfortunately it seemed the treacherous MPs had burnt it down in their attempts to evade justice. That was all the advance news there was, but since there was still lots of time left to fill before the trial started, the news channels filled the air with comment and opinion. Most of it to do with whether Douglas was guilty or extremely guilty. Nina Malapert kept one eye on the small viewscreen in her rented room, while she and Stuart Lennox prepared for their unexpected part in the trial of King Douglas.
Nina and Stuart were still hiding out in the Rookery, though their funds only stretched to cover a single room now.
Nina let Stuart sleep in the single narrow bed while she slept on the floor, because he still looked so frail a good gust of wind might blow him away. But there was no doubt he was looking better. There was color in his cheeks and fire in his eyes as he sat on the edge of the bed, polishing his sword blade. Nina finished tucking a last few useful items into her backpack, and smiled brightly at Stuart.
"All ready, sweetie? Super! I am so looking forward to this. It's a good day for someone else to die."
Stuart fixed her with a mildly sardonic gaze. "Am I to take it that you're finally ready to share your great plan with me? Considering that the trial is due to start in just under six hours, it had better be a bloody good plan."
"Keep it simple and nothing can go wrong," said Nina.
"King Douglas will be surrounded by every defense Finn has," Stuart said heavily. "There will be guards inside and outside the court, all of them with energy weapons. There will be tanglewebs, sleepgas and force shields ready to use; and quite possibly landmines if you stray off the official path. How are we even going to get to Douglas, let alone free him?"
Nina smiled dazzlingly. "I thought we'd steal a ship, fly over the palace, and then smash it through the stained-glass windows in the ceiling of the court."
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