Telzey Amberson

MEET TELZEY AMBERDON 
-SHE'S NOBODY'S TOY

Telzey Amberdon was only in her teens when she discovered that she was a telepath. Not only a telepath, but a xenotelepath, able to communicate mentally not just with humans, but with alien intelligences. And she turned out to be one of the most powerful telepaths in the history of the galactic civilization called the Hub.

First she had to deal with an alien race that humans hadn't realized were intelligent, and who were about to eliminate those troublesome humans who thought they were colonizing an uninhabited world. Then, she had to fend off the secret psi agents of the Psychological Corps who took a dim view of any telepath, let alone one with Telzey's powers, operating outside of their control. Next, she stumbled across a telepathic serial killer, who used an unstoppable predator, under his mental control, to hunt and kill his victims-and Telzey was to be the catch of the day.

It was fortunate for the human race that she survived, since she next found herself in the middle of a secret war between two hidden races of genetically engineered humans. They called it the "Lion Game," and they made the mistake of thinking that in this clash of predators, Telzey was just a harmless kitten. But when the dust settled, Telzey would be the only one purring....

"Take my advice and buy TWO copies of this book! You'll want to lend it to friends and (trust me on this: I have years of experience to back up the observation) once people get their hands on a Schmitz book, they don't let go!" --Janet Kagan, Hugo-Winner and author of Uhura's Song

Cover art by Bob Eggleton

Paperback

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

First printing, March 2000

Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Printed in the United States of America

Afterword, (c) 2000 by Eric Flint; 
"A Short History of the Hub," (c) 2000 by Guy Gordon.

ISBN: 0-671-57851-0

"Novice" (c) 1962, first appeared in Analog, June 1962;
 "Undercurrents" (c) 1964, first appeared in Analog, May & June 1964; 
"Poltergeist" (c) 1971, first appeared in Analog, July 1971; 
"Goblin Night" (c) 1965, first appeared in Analog, April 1965; 
"Sleep No More" (c) 1965, first appeared in Analog, August 1965; 
"The Lion Game" (c) 1971, first appeared in Analog, August 1971; 
"Blood of Nalakia" (c) 1953, first appeared under the title
 "The Vampirate" in Science Fiction Plus, Dec. 1953; 
"The Star Hyacinths" (c) 1961, first appeared in Amazing Stories, Dec. 1961; all copyright to the estate of James H. Schmitz

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A Baen Books Original
Baen Publishing Enterprises
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Typeset by Windhaven Press
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Electronic version by WebWrights
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NOT WITHOUT MY HUMAN!

Wisps of thought which were not her own flicked through Telzey's mind as the silent line of shadows moved deeper into the park with her.

They were curious; this was the first human mind which hadn't seemed deaf and silent to their form of communication. They'd been assured Telzey would have something of genuine importance to tell them; and there was some derision about that. But they were willing to wait a little, and find out.

"Tick-Tock?" she whispered, suddenly a little short of breath. A single up-and-down purring note replied from the bushes on her right. TT was still around, for whatever good that might do.

Then in the mental sensations washing about her, a special excitement rose suddenly, a surge of almost gleeful wildness that choked away her breath. Awareness followed of a pair of unseen malignant crimson eyes fastened on her, moving steadily closer—they'd turned her over to that red-eyed horror! She sat still, feeling mouse-sized.

Something came out with a crash from a thicket behind her. Her muscles went tight. But it was TT who rubbed a hard head against her shoulder, then stopped between Telzey and the bushes on their right, back rigid, neck fur erect, tail twisting. In the greenery something made a slow, heavy stir.

TT's lips peeled back from her teeth. Her head swung towards the motion, ears flattening, transformed to a split, snarling demon-mask. A long shriek ripped from her lungs, raw with fury, blood lust and challenge. . . .