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decided to upgrade the Guild image. You know, mainstream the organization."
    Renny's face scrunched up into a puzzled frown. "Mainstream?"
    "Never mind. Look, it's getting late. You've delivered your message, so why don't we just say good night?"
    "Wait—you haven't accepted Mr. Wyatt's invitation."
    "I'll go back to my hotel and think about it. If I decide I can fit it into my busy social schedule, I'll give him a call." Emmett started to move on. "You know, on the phone?"
    Renny looked alarmed. "Mr. Wyatt will be real disappointed if you don't have dinner with him, sir."
    "Good old Mercer. He always was the sentimental type."
    Renny cleared his throat. "One more thing. I'm supposed to tell you that if you accept Mr. Wyatt's invitation, he might be able to help you out with your business here in Cadence."
    Emmett stopped and looked back over his shoulder. "Is that a fact?"
    "Yes, sir."
    Emmett considered that for a moment while Renny twitched uneasily. Striking a bargain with Mercer Wyatt definitely came under the heading of risky business. But if he got some assistance from the Guild out of the deal, it just might be worth it.
    "Tell Wyatt I'll call him in the morning," Emmett said.
    Renny blinked a couple of times. "You mean you ain't gonna accept right now?"
    "No. I want to think about this for a while." Emmett turned away   again.
    "Mr. Wyatt's not gonna like being told he's gotta wait," Renny called out behind him.
    "I warned you that being a messenger was a high-risk job," Emmett said. He walked off into the fog.
     
     
    Chapter 5
     
     
    lydia WAS NOT sure what it was that awakened her. It could have been Fuzz shifting his weight at the foot of the bed. She lay unmoving and opened all of her senses.
    The unmistakable aura of psi energy vibrated in the air around her.
    "Damn."
    She knew this prickling sensation all too well.
    "Fuzz. Don't move."
    The dust-bunny made a low rumbling sound, not a pun-but a hissing growl. Lydia sat up cautiously, searching the shadows swiftly for what she knew had to be there.
    The bedroom was not very dark. After the Lost Weekend incident, she had altered more than one routine. These days she left the light on in the adjoining bathroom all night long. In addition, she slept with the curtains open to allow the reflected glow of the street-lamps and some moonlight into the bedroom. There had been other changes, too. She wore one of her personalized amber bracelets to bed and kept half a dozen others scattered around the apartment. Forty-eight hours in the catacombs had left their mark. She saw Fuzz's eyes first—his second pair, the ones he used for hunting. They glowed a fiery gold in the dimly lit room. Fuzz was seriously concerned. That meant that she was not overreacting.
    She swept the rest of the bedroom, seeking the telltale glow. Nothing.
    The whisper of energy shimmered again in the air. Lydia concentrated. No doubt about it, a ghost had invaded her bedroom. But it had not yet materialized.
    "Just a tingle. A small one. Fuzz."
    Of course it was a small ghost, she thought, desperately trying to reassure herself and the dust-bunny at the same time. Here in the Old Quarter, psi energy leaked freely out of unseen cracks in the Dead City . Nevertheless, even a strong ghost-hunter could summon only a small manifestation of dissonance energy outside the catacombs.
    But the conclusion was obvious. If there was a ghost in the vicinity, there was a ghost-hunter somewhere nearby. Unstable Dissonance Energy Manifestations did not appear on their own outside the catacombs. And the only folks who could manipulate energy ghosts were ghost-hunters.
    A shadow moved on the balcony outside her window. Lydia turned her head quickly, but she caught only a fleeting glimpse of a figure.
    "Pervert!" she shouted.
    The shadow disappeared from sight.
    She longed to give chase, but she had to deal with the ghost first. Even small UDEMs could do a considerable amount of damage.
    She eased aside the