Deathstalker 07 - Deathstalker Return Read Free Page A

is largely insectile. Exactly what Nikki's human and N'Jarr parents ever saw in each other has always been a mystery to me. Presumably love really is blind after all. She's called Nikki Sixteen because she's one of sixteen broodmates. She's the black sheep of the family, if you can apply the term to someone with antennae, compound eyes, and six breasts. God, look at her flex… What a healthy, enthusiastic, and limber soul she is… Are you sure that isn't you, Jesamine?"
    "That's Miss Flowers to you, you degenerate. That is definitely not me, and I can prove it. I have a small purple birthmark on my… person. It's always covered with makeup when the role calls for stage nudity.
    And besides, that doesn't even look like me, not really. My breasts aren't that big, the nose is all wrong, and I wouldn't do that if you paid me. Lewis… Lewis!"
    "Sorry," said Lewis. "I got distracted."
    "Go and sit down in your chair again, dear. And push your eyeballs back into their sockets. As for you, Random, I strongly suggest you find something else to look at, before I take that data crystal out of the viewer and ram it so far up your left nostril it will shoot out of your right ear."
    "All right, all right, I'm changing the scene!" said Brett. "Touchy, touchy… some people have no sense of humor."
    Jesamine gave Brett a long, thoughtful look. "Brett Random," she said finally. "You know, I'm sure I've seen you somewhere before…"
    Brett froze, his face automatically falling into innocent mode while all his internal systems panicked. His well-honed sense of paranoia was never far from overdrive at the best of times. He smiled winningly at Jesamine while his mind worked frantically, trying to remember if he'd ever run a scam on her or any of her people. He was pretty sure he hadn't, but there was no denying he'd got around in his time. And given the sheer number of confidence tricks and stings he'd pulled down the years on any number of celebrities who had more ego than common sense and who thought their position made them invulnerable…
    "Oh, I'm sure I'd remember meeting such a great star as yourself, Miss Flowers," he said smoothly. "I just have that sort of face. People always think they know me from somewhere."
    Jesamine sniffed, unconvinced, but let it go rather than get sucked into yet another argument. "I do meet a lot of people. Or at least, I did. I can't believe my whole life went down the toilet so quickly. And I certainly don't believe my fan base will accept any of the terrible things that bastard Finn has been saying about me on the news broadcasts. I mean, they're my fans. What's the point of having fans if they won't stick with you? Some did. You saw them, Lewis, demonstrating against my imprisonment, outside Traitor's Hall."
    "You said it yourself, Jes. The public can be very fickle. I couldn't believe they'd turn on me so easily either." Lewis tapped his fingertips together thoughtfully and frowned down at them. "You can bet Finn will have all his best propaganda people working day and night on discrediting both of us. They'll dig into our respective pasts, and dig up every bit of dirt they can find."
    "There's dirt in your past, Sir Deathstalker?" said Brett. "I'm shocked. Shocked!"
    "Shut up, Brett."
    "Shutting up right now, sir."
    "What they can't find, they'll probably make up," said Lewis. "You can't be an honest Paragon without making some enemies—people only too willing to tell tales about you, in the name of revenge. What about you, Jes? Is there much in your past they could find that they could use against you?"
    "Well, rather a lot, actually," said Jesamine. "I've never pretended to be a saint, darling. And a certain amount of bad behavior is expected of you when you're a star. It's affairs of the heart, and sort-of-secret assignations that keep your face in the gossip shows. If no one's talking about you, how can you be a star? I admit it, I was a slut sometimes. It was good for business. And you have to