They didn't know me then. Hopefully I'll do rather better this time.'
'Heads up,' said Jenny Psycho. 'Someone's coming. Three people. One's an esper, but his mind is closed to me.'
'Stay out of the other people's heads as well,' said Hazel sharply. 'This is an esper city, and they take their mental privacy very seriously. You upset the powers that be here, and we'll be taking what's left of you home in a straightjacket. From this point on, you use your esp by invitation only. Got it?'
Jenny Psycho shrugged. 'I can't help it if their minds are shouting at me all the time. And the powers that be here had better watch out for themselves. I have been transformed by the Mater Mundi, and there isn't a mind in this city that's my equal.'
'That settles it,' said Hazel. 'From now on, you stay well clear of the rest of us. That way whenever it happens, whatever horrible thing it turns out to be, we'll all be a safe distance away. Hiding.'
They were saved Jenny's acid reply by the sudden emergence of three figures from the shifting mists. There was no warning. One moment there was only the fog, and then two men and a woman came striding out of the mists toward them. Owen found that quietly disturbing. Usually his new powers gave him advance warning of things like that. Why, dammit, did it work sometimes and not others? He found his hand had dropped automatically to the sword at his side and quickly moved it away again. He recognized two of the newcomers from files he'd been shown at his last briefing. Port Director Gideon Steel was a short fat man with calm, thoughtful eyes and a disturbingly cynical smile. He dressed well, if a trifle sloppily, as some of his furs looked distinctly mangy. He was supposed to be in his mid-forties, but he looked ten years older. Trying to run Mistport will do that to you.
The woman beside him was much more impressive, and not a little intimidating. Despite the bitter cold she wore no furs, only the formal uniform of an Investigator. Owen could feel Hazel tensing beside him and prayed she'd have enough sense not to start anything. Investigator Topaz was medium height, slim, handsome, and her gaze was colder than the mists could ever be. Her close-cropped dark hair gave her classical features a calm, aesthetic air, but her ice-blue eyes were killer's eyes. Just looking at her made Owen want to back away slowly and very carefully, doing absolutely nothing that might upset her. He knew about Investigator Topaz. Everyone did. She was a Siren, the only esper ever to be made an Investigator. When she decided to leave the Empire and head for Mistworld, the Empress sent a whole company of Guards after her. Five hundred men. Topaz killed them all with a single song, her voice and esp combining into a deadly force that could not be stopped or turned aside.
In Mistport, she was officially just a Sergeant of the city Watch, but she kept her Investigator's title. Mostly because no one was stupid enough to argue the point with her. In a city full of dangerous and desperate people, no one messed with Investigator Topaz. Having met her, Owen could understand why. Without looking round, he could feel Hazel stirring at his side, like a junkyard dog scenting a rival, and Owen decided to get things started before they had a chance to get seriously out of hand.
'Director Steel and Investigator Topaz,' he said smoothly. 'So good of you to come and meet us in person at such an early hour. May I present—'
'We know who you are,' said Steel. 'And if you weren't official representatives of the Golgotha underground, you'd never have been allowed to land. You're troublemakers, and the last thing Mistport needs right now is more trouble. And for your information we haven't got up early; we haven't been to bed yet. Since Typhoid Mary and the esper plague, those of us who survived have been working double shifts just trying to get things back together again. And I haven't forgotten the mess you stirred up the last time you honored us with a visit, Deathstalker. I should bill you for the damage.'
'Given the size of the docking fees, I thought you already had,' said Owen, completely unruffled.
'And before you ask,' said Hazel, 'no, you don't get your usual unofficial ten percent cut of the cargo we're carrying. Feel free to argue the point. And I'll feel free to cut you off at the knees. Possibly quite literally.'
'Don't mind her,' said Owen. 'She's just being herself. If I might inquire, since we're so persona non grata, what brings you here at all? Politeness to the underground?'
'No,' said Topaz, her voice as cold as the grave. 'We just wanted a look at the legendary Jack Random.'
Random flashed them his winning smile and bowed formally. 'Delighted to make your acquaintances, Investigator and Director. Rest assured, I shall do everything in my power to see that our business is carried out quietly and quickly, with the minimum of disturbance to all concerned. But I make no secret of my intention to bring Mistworld into the underground, and the central path of the rebellion. You've been left alone in the cold too long. It's time for us all to stand together, and take the fight to the Empire.'
'Great,' said Steel, entirely unmoved. 'Another bloody hero. We get a lot through here. They come and they go, and nothing ever changes.'
'Ah,' said Random, grinning broadly. 'But they're not Jack Random.'
To Owen's surprise, Steel grinned back. Jenny Psycho stepped forward suddenly. 'In case anyone's forgotten, I'm still here,' she said loudly. 'I represent the Mater Mundi, Our Mother of All Souls.'
'Congratulations,' said Topaz. 'You're the tenth this month. It's the most common confidence trick in Mistport. Probably because so many people are desperate to believe in it. If you weren't with Jack Random, I'd have you thrown in gaol on general principles. So keep your head down and don't make waves. Is that clear?'
Jenny Psycho's eyes blazed suddenly with an inner light, shining from her face like spotlights. Loose energy sparked and crackled on the air around her, as her power stirred within her. Her presence beat on the air like the wings of a giant bird, forcing them all back. Something lived deep within Jenny Psycho, something vast and powerful and not necessarily human, and it was awakening. Gideon Steel drew a gun. Investigator Topaz opened her mouth to sing. And Owen and Hazel threw themselves on Jenny and wrestled her to the ground. Her power lashed out at them, only to be met and swept aside by a greater power, as yet unfocused and untrained, but still more than enough to silence a mere esper who had only been touched in passing by something greater. Her presence shattered like a smashed mirror and was gone. Owen and Hazel cut off their power, rolled Jenny over, and pressed her face against the harsh surface of the landing pad.
Owen sat on her, just in case, and smiled up at Steel and Topaz.
'Don't mind Jenny. She doesn't travel well. Once you get to know her, she's quite objectionable.'
Steel sniffed and put away his gun. Topaz scowled. 'Something happened then,' she said slowly. 'I just caught the edges, but you two did something there. There's more to you than meets the eye, Deathstalker.'
'There would have to be,' said Steel. 'Welcome to Mistworld, people, and keep that esper on a short leash, or I'll have her muzzled. The man lurking in the background behind us, and carefully staying out of harm's way, is John Silver, our current head of starport Security. He'll look after you during your stay, and do his best to keep you out of trouble, if he ever wants to see his pension. Best of luck in your various missions, and if anything goes wrong I don't want to hear about it. Don't bother popping in to say good-bye before you leave. Now, if you'll excuse us, Topaz and I have work to do.'
And with that the two of them turned and walked away, disappearing back into the concealing fog. John Silver glared after them, made a rude noise and a ruder gesture, and strolled forward to introduce himself with an easy smile. 'Don't take it personally; they're like that with everyone. Mostly with good reason, but that's Mistport for you. Hello, Hazel, good to you see again.'
'Good to see you, you old pirate,' said Hazel, grinning, and stepped forward to hug Silver tightly. Owen was almost shocked. Hazel wasn't usually a touchy-feely kind of person. He took the opportunity to study Mistport's head of Security. Silver was tall and broad-shouldered, with sharp-edged youthful features, and wore thick, superbly cut furs topped with the scarlet cloak of the esper. He wore a simple short sword on his hip, in a well-worn leather scabbard, but Owen had no doubt the man also had a gun or two hidden under those furs somewhere. He looked the type. He also looked like he was enjoying the hug entirely too much. Silver and Hazel finally broke apart and stepped back to hold each other at arm's length.
'Looking good, Hazel. Robbed anyone interesting recently?'
'You'd be surprised. How the hell did a rogue like you get to be head of starport Security? That's like setting a starving wolf to guard a flock of sheep.'
Silver shrugged amiably, not insulted. 'Even the fiercest wolf has to settle down and turn respectable eventually. We lost a lot of good people here during the esper plague, including most of my superiors. Typhoid Mary killed or brainburned them all in the space of a few days, and when she was finally taken down, I was the only one left standing. To everyone's surprise, including my own, I've been doing a good and mostly honest job ever since. Mostly because there's so much work to be done that I haven't the time or the energy to be crooked.'
'Never thought I'd hear you say that,' said Hazel, laughing. She looked back, and realized Owen was studying
