More and more Owen was sure there were wheels within wheels, unseen forces subtly guiding him from the wings, the very things he'd spent most of his life trying to avoid. But if that was so, he had a few surprises in store for whoever was jerking his strings. If push came to shove, he could play that game, too. He was a Death stalker, and intrigue was in his blood. In the meantime… he decided to concentrate on the Hadenman. Did he, or his people, still have a private, hidden agenda? When awakened, would the army of augmented men really join with him, or could they secretly be intending to ally themselves with the rogue AIs on Shub, as the Empress had claimed so often in the past? Owen smiled briefly. He had no answers, or none he could trust, so for the moment he'd go along with Moon. And sleep with one eye open. He moved up alongside Hazel, and she nodded briefly.
'Yeah, I don't trust him either,' she said quietly. 'But I'd rather have him on our side than working against us. At least this way we can keep an eye on him.'
'What do you suggest we do in the meantime?' said Owen.
'Trust no one. Think you can remember that?'
'You've never been to court, have you?' said Owen. 'As an aristocrat, I learned to trust no one from a very early age.
Among the Families, you learn intrigue with your letters and numbers, or you don't survive to reach adulthood.'
'Sounds a lot like Mistworld,' said Hazel, and they both had to laugh. The Hadenman strode silently along behind them and kept his thoughts to himself.
The Olympus spa wasn't far, just the other side of Merchants' Quarter, but the walk was still far enough to chill Owen to the bone. Despite his confident words to Hazel, his wounds had taken a lot more out of him than he was willing to admit. He trudged along through the slush and the thickening mists and muttered direly to himself. He'd been on Mistworld nearly a whole day, and he still hadn't had one glimpse of the sun.
The spa, when they finally got there, didn't exactly make up for the long walk. It was trying desperately to look upmarket, but the neighborhood was against it. It was still an improvement over most of the places Hazel had led him to so far, but Owen couldn't say he was particularly impressed. The stone and timber buildings had clearly all seen better days, and the bare brickwork had been stained a varying gray from the continuous smoke of a nearby factory. The Olympus storefront was wide and brightly painted, and the name above the door was set out in letters so stylized and convoluted it was almost impossible to make them out. There were no windows, but tall plaques described the many wonders to be found inside, together with a series of claims for potential weight loss and muscle building that bordered on the miraculous. Owen gave the place a long, stern look, but it remained stubbornly unimpressive.
'I am not impressed,' said Hazel.
'Give it a chance,' said Owen automatically. 'This is only the exterior. Didn't your mother ever tell you not to judge a place by its exterior?'
'She also told me to avoid outlaws, aristos and sucker joints. Can't say I'm doing too well on any of them. You really think we're going to find Jack Random in a dump like this? I mean, I'd heard he was down on his luck, but can you really see the legendary professional rebel running a cheap ripoff joint like this?'
'It's probably a cover,' said Owen stubbornly. 'Who'd think to look for him here?'
'He has a point,' said Moon in his harsh, buzzing voice, and they both jumped slightly. 'I wouldn't be seen dismantled in a place like this.'
'The Abraxus people said we'd find him here,' said Owen. 'And I really don't feel like going back and arguing with them about it. I'm going in. Watch my back, keep your eyes open and your hands off the silver.'
He strode up to the door and gave the bell chain a firm tug. He sensed as much as heard the others fall in behind him and smiled slightly. They just needed to be reminded who was in charge now and again. The door swung open, and Owen put on his best supercilious look. When in doubt, treat people like shit. Nine times out of ten they'll immediately assume you're a very superior person, probably there to investigate whatever scam they're running. In Owen's experience, most people had a scam of one kind or another running at any given time. He tried not to think about the other percentage. That was, after all, why he wore a sword.
The door swung back to reveal a tall, graceful, living goddess wearing a wide smile and a very skimpy outfit comprised mostly of black lace. She was also extremely muscular. Her arms and thighs bulged intimidatingly, and somehow Owen knew she did more sit-ups before breakfast each day than he managed in a month.
'Hi,' she said breathlessly. 'Is there anything I can do for you?'
Owen could think of several, one of which would almost certainly put his back out, but he made himself concentrate on the matter in hand. 'We need to see the manager,' he said in what he hoped was a firm, commanding voice.
'Of course,' said the goddess, still smiling widely. 'Do come in.'
She stood back to let them enter. Owen strode confidently past her, but almost lost it when she took a sudden deep breath just as he drew level and her magnificent chest practically flew into his face. He moved quickly on into the reception area and took a few quiet deep breaths of his own. Behind him, he heard Hazel give one of her familiar sniffs of disapproval. The Hadenman remained quiet. Presumably he was above or beyond such things. The door shut behind them with a worryingly final sound, and then the goddess was with them again. She favored them all with another of her dazzling smiles and struck a casual pose that just happened to show off most of her muscles in high definition.
'Make yourselves comfortable,' she suggested winningly. 'I'll go tell the manager you're here.'
She turned and left in a single smooth motion and disappeared out the far door before Owen could get his breath back. He looked at Tobias Moon.
'What a warm and understanding chest that girl had.'
'Nice deltoids,' said the Hadenman.
'When you two have finished drooling,' said Hazel icily, 'you might care to notice that she locked the front door behind us. If she's recognized you…'
'Relax,' said Moon. 'I'm with you now.'
Hazel gave him a withering stare. 'How are your batteries holding up?'
'I have more than enough power in my systems to deal with any problems we may encounter.'
Hazel sniffed. 'If you're so powerful and dangerous, how did you end up here?'
'I trusted the wrong people,' said Moon, and there was something in his inhuman voice that kept her from continuing.
Owen looked around at the reception area. It seemed the safest thing to do. Even standing still and silent, there was something very disturbing about the Hadenman. Owen had now been in his company for nearly an hour and was no nearer feeling at ease. It was as though there was something within Moon that was always poised to strike, ready to kill at a moment's notice. Owen decided he wasn't going to think about that for a while and concentrated on the reception area.
He was tempted to sneer, but settled for a condescending smile. The Olympus' idea of fashion was at least twenty years out of date, and the furniture had clearly been designed by someone more interested in style than comfort. Not that he knew much about style, either. Owen decided against sitting down. He had a feeling one of those chairs could do terrible things to your lower back. Not unlike the goddess at the door…
His thoughts had just started to drift again when the door at the far end of reception swung open and a giant walked in. Owen realized after a moment that the newcomer wasn't really that tall, no more than six foot six at the most, but his great slabs of muscle made him seem much bigger. He was incredibly well developed, with muscles in places Owen wasn't sure he even had places. The man looked like he'd been lifting weights since he was a baby, and from the way his muscles flexed and swelled as he walked, Owen was surprised he could move around without pulling something painful. The giant came to a stop before them and gave them all a brief, impersonal smile. Owen was surprised again to realize the man was quite handsome. It just wasn't the first thing that got your attention, mainly because the giant was wearing only a pair of tight-fitting trousers, the better to show off his highly developed muscles. Among other things. Owen couldn't help noticing that Hazel was staring at the giant with undisguised fascination, all but devouring him with her eyes. Owen sniffed. There were more important things than muscles.
He coughed politely to get the giant's attention, and the huge man came to a halt before him. Owen felt like he was standing in a hole.
'I'm Tom Sefka,' said the giant, in a voice so low it almost trembled in Owen's bones. 'Manager and owner of
