Ezok slowly regained consciousness. His head was splitting with pain, and his body felt like lead – he could barely move. Through half-closed eyelids, Ezok examined the room he was in.

It was an abandoned warehouse, retrofitted into some sort of barracks. Bare metal walls, rows of cots lining the walls, a few tables in the middle. The tables were littered with various weapons, tools, and some medical devices. The air reeked of harsh chemicals.

A tall, gaunt man in his thirties stood next to Ezok's cot, wearing a plain black robe. His short dark hair was disheveled, and his face and hands were covered in numerous scars. The man's eyes were a piercing blue, and a faint ripple of cold emanated from his skin. "A psyker," Ezok realized.

The man noticed Ezok stirring awake.

"Finally coming around, are you?" the stranger said in a low, gravelly voice. "Name's Kosek. I run this sanctuary for our kind. We had to knock you out when we found your dwelling. You caused quite the power disturbance with your power bursts."

Ezok tried to sit up, grunting hoarsely at the pain in his ribs.

"Where...where is my sister?" he croaked barely audibly.

"You might tell me your name first, seeing as I'm a psyker as well," Kosek said as sparks of lightning danced across his hand, followed by a proud smirk.

"Where is Eleanore?!" Ezok exclaimed, his telepathic aura flaring up around the psyker and making Kosek take note of the boy's capabilities.

"Easy now, she's fine, resting in the next room over. The girl said your name is Ezok. My people gave her medical aid. Now, in the name of Gold Amosek, what in the trash did you do? Why did you kill those nobles and their guards?"

Ezok leaned back into his pillow, the exertion draining him. He began recounting to Kosek the events leading up to this - how he and his sister had been raiding warehouses, their confrontation with the nobles and guards, and how Eleanore had nearly died at their hands. Then he told of how he almost lost control over the whispers.

Kosek pondered this and decided to share his thoughts. "Well, whispers of change do tend to herald unexpected coincidences..."

"This was no mere happenstance," Ezok finished heavily, still tense. "Damn daemons..."

Ezok even began slightly lowering the temperature around himself.

"Daemons? Is that what you call the whispers?" Kosek mused over the odd term.

"Well, servants of the Archenemy, daemons or spawn of chaos - call them what you will," Ezok quickly explained. These terms were no secret, often touted by the Ecclesiarchy. Though no one would actually use the term daemon.

Kosek shrugged. "Not one for holy books myself, but alright then. Let me introduce you to our modest little band."

He whistled loudly, summoning the other inhabitants of the sanctuary.

"Ezok, meet the members of our small commune of outcasts and rejects. I hope you'll get along."

First approached a tall, skinny man with twitching, convulsing limbs. His entire body trembled with constant minute spasms.

"This here is Gorsa," Kosek introduced. "Poor sod ate a whisper a few years back, drove him bonkers. Though he sees souls real well now and can manipulate fire."

"GRAAAKaaa..." Sparks flew from the man's hands, radiating danger.

"Yeah, cool that eating the whisper let you master flame. He likes to show off, the cheeky bastard." Kosek smacked his comrade upside the head. "Stop spooking the newbie."

The fire extinguished, but Ezok could still sense the lingering warp taint left by the flames. It reminded him of the violet mists he had encountered recently.

Next approached a woman with four arms and strange chitinous skin resembling an insect's carapace.

"And this is Raya, our resident medic," Kosek introduced her.

"A pleasure to meet you," Raya rasped, extending all four palms towards Ezok. "Eleanore needs rest like you. Though I must say, your healing talent is rather good. You did well patching the girl up."

Unsure which hand to shake, Ezok noticed a faint smile creep onto the woman's face.

"Thank you for the help," Ezok replied weakly, clasping her many hands. Raya seemed odd but friendly.

"Well, we psykers ought to aid each other," she said, examining the boy's wounds again. "You have a remarkable regenerative ability, but you've still lost a lot of blood. Kosek, give him a double ration."

Kosek shrugged and muttered "Damn bossy women." He then called over a youth whose body was covered in writhing, grasping tentacles.

"This here's Aleksey, our youngest psyker. Though I suppose you and your sister are the babies now. Kid's powers are sloppy but he tries to pitch in when he can."

"Great to meet you!" Aleksey exclaimed cheerfully, vigorously shaking Ezok's hand. "I hope we can be friends! I love making new connections."

Stolen novel; please report.

Despite everything, Ezok couldn't help a small smile at the young mutant's earnest enthusiasm.

Finally, Kosek beckoned over a tall, slender woman with piercing serpentine eyes.

"And this is Shen, our resident witch. She can control the whispers better than anyone."

"Witch? What do you mean?" Ezok was immediately on guard - this woman exuded a strange aura.

"I do not fear what others dread," Shen declared haughtily. "To me, the whispers are tools, not enemies. I make them serve my bidding."

A chill ran down Ezok's spine at her words. He could not stay in a place with daemon worshippers for long. The other psykers noticed his hostile mood.

"Ooo, got a problem with me, boy?"

Kosek rolled his eyes in annoyance at Shen. "Kid's no fool. Your heretical leanings make him wary, as they should."

The woman traced a finger along the leader's chest. "Naive Kosek, I don't meddle in your quaint faith that a rotting corpse on a throne will save your wretched souls." She noticed Kosek's lack of reaction and lost interest.

Shen turned her gaze back to the boy. "Tell me child, do you believe in the Emperor?"

Ezok glanced around at the other psykers. They seemed unafraid of the woman, watching with interest as she baited him. With no weapon, Ezok felt helpless.

"Boring..."

The woman fell silent, but Ezok could still sense the aura of corruption radiating from her. The warp barrier around the woman pulsed erratically.

Kosek grimaced. Shen was a very unconventional yet necessary ally for survival, even if she was a heretic - she was a psyker like them first and foremost...

"Well, that's the core of our group. The other psykers I've taken in lack real skill, just able to nudge a cup of water or heal scratches. Our little band calls ourselves the Orange Elephants, the toughest crew in this sector."

Kosek struck a pretentious pose and haughtily declared, before giving the boy a patronizing smile.

"We psykers ought to stick together, so I'm inviting you and your sister to join my crew," the man extended his hand towards Ezok. "Let's go kill all the bastards who look down on us freaks!"

Ezok was uncertain about clasping this gang leader's hand, and still unsure whether to trust the heretical woman. But he had little choice - he desperately needed shelter. These people had helped him and Eleanore.

"Pleased to meet you all," Ezok said sincerely. "Thank you for taking me and my sister in. I hope we can be of aid to each other." The boy shook Kosek's hand.

After the introductions, the group left Ezok to rest in the room.

"You need to recover after everything that's happened. Get some rest for now, I'll keep an eye on you," Kosek said, sitting down on a chair nearby and taking out a tattered book.

Ezok nodded gratefully and sank back into the pillow, exhaustion overtaking him. Sleep came swiftly.

Some time later, he awoke to soft footsteps. His sister Eleanore stood by his cot, pale and haggard but looking much improved overall.

"Brother, how are you feeling?" she asked softly, sitting on the edge of the cot and taking his hand.

"Much better, don't worry. I'm just glad you're alright," Ezok reassured her, happy to see his sister recovering.

The girl gave a thankful smile in return. Then her gaze fell upon Kosek, who had put his book aside and was watching them.

"Thank you so much for the help," Eleanore said earnestly.

Kosek smiled, then spoke in annoyance:

"Girl, stop using hypnosis. It may be habit but I find it quite rude."

"Sorry..." Eleanore tried to stop her involuntary hypnosis.

"It's fine, just watch your gifts. We're all psykers here, no need to be on edge with us."

He looked thoughtfully at the girl:

"You two are strong - but have much to learn in controlling your powers. Shen could help with that."

Ezok objected unhappily.

"She's a heretic!" His words sounded to Kosek like fear and unwillingness to involve himself with the woman.

"Well, as you see, she's not wearing a human skin coat or trying to eat people or burn strange symbols into her flesh. If she frightens you so, I can teach you to handle your psyker gifts myself."

Ezok forced a crooked smile. No matter how this psyker lea

"Brother..."

SIGH

"So what will we do once we've recovered?"

Kosek slapped his thighs.

"Good question. You can work logistics, theft, robbery, manufacturing - whatever suits your talents." Kosek paused before continuing.

"Our gang deals in stealing and selling servitors. We need people who can repair flesh and machine. People who can infiltrate warehouses and take control of servitors. People who can kill any bastard getting in our way. For the last, we buy autoguns but I aim to set up our own production."

The man winked at the girl. "Your sister says you two are the best thieves around, and you seem adept at cogitator hacking."

Ezok nodded, then stated confidently: "True, we're not useless. Can we work on servitor repair? I've no wish to get caught in firefights again..."

Kosek grinned wickedly.

"First you'll aid dealing with the mess you've landed us in," the man tossed an old book onto the boy's bed. "The Adeptus Arbites are sending a punitive force!"

Ezok and Eleanore exchanged bewildered glances. Neither understood how they could help.

"Even if you're kids, you'll need to participate in slaying the hunters." Eleanore couldn't hold back: "What are hunters?"

Kosek shrugged and explained very slowly:

"They come with the governor's men. Witch hunters sense when we use our powers, ours don't affect them. Hunters suck you dry like a sweet drink. Hunters are nasty beasts constantly seeking out psykers. No one they've caught has been found again." Bitterness and hatred seeped into Kosek's words, unconcealed resentment. "We take no hunter prisoners, though death's too good for those bastards... Best they don't fall into my hands alive."

The man's thoughts shifted, deciding to enlighten the two teenagers about their role in the coming battle.

"The governor's forces will be here in a week, so Aleksey will teach you to work the mortar. Can you foretell? Use scrapcode? Handle heavy weapons?"

Eleanore uncertainly volunteered: "I can foresee, but not very well." "I can access cogitators but lack practice."

Kosek looked quite pleased. "Well, the mortar doesn't need great accuracy, and the governor's dogs use standard Adeptus Arbites tactics. Three other gangs will join us, you two just need to hit the enemy with the mortar so we can defend effectively. Your brother will take ballistic data from our servo-skull. Aleksey will teach you all you need to know. The Green Groxes gang will bring autoguns and heavy stabbers. You both can heal, so physically stronger than normals - you'll handle the mortar fine."

Ezok looked distrustfully at Kosek.

"Mortar, heavy stabber, autogun!!? Gang warfare in the lower levels is different..."

Kosek bared his teeth in a bloodthirsty grin, then waved dismissively. "We've nothing to fear. The governor only changed two years back. We pay tithes to the local nobles - the more noise the gangs kick up, the faster the governors cycle out."

"Cool," said Eleanore, clearly liking how the gang operated.

Ezok still had some doubts, his main concern being safety. Kosek suddenly glared in annoyance at Eleanore.

"Stop trying to hypnotize me!"

"Sorry!" Eleanore jerked in surprise, for the first time suppressing her gift. Kosek sighed and opined: "Sometimes our gifts bring more trouble than they're worth..."

"Alright, you two rest today. Find Aleksey tomorrow and start practicing with the mortar. Survive the hunter battle, and I'll assign you to work with logistics."

Kosek got up and left the room, leaving the siblings perplexed.