Each of them opened one eye and peered at the others.
"Someone is not concentrating!" the eldest chided them.
"Yes, we are," the elegant one complained. "Something's wrong!"
The leather-skirted Pervect pointed at me. "He ... he's dispelling our magik! All of it!"
"How could he?" the one in the bustier said. "He's a Klahd."
"A Klahd who knows one more trick than you," I replied, loftily. "That's all that it takes, really. While you were bumbling around in my obfuscation spell..."
"You mean choking on your flash powder, sonny," the elder interrupted me. "We may be impressed by your tenacity, but we've seen the sleight-of-hand tricks before." "Fine," I shrugged. "I don't mind if you see the mechanism of my trap now that you 're inside it. The anti-magik shell comes from the jail on Scamaroni. You can't blip out of there, because neither spells nor magik items work inside it."
They gawked at me. The skirt-suited one recovered her wits first. "It was your voice we heard that night. You were there!"
"Uh-huh," I acknowledged, pleased that they were finally starting to catch on.
"What do you want?"
"I want you to cease your unfair control over the Wuhses. They are tired of living under your yoke and having you rob them blind and make them work for you as slaves to make you rich. They want you to pack up and leave, and stop draining their treasury. Otherwise, you can stay here. We'll even shove food through the barriers for you, but won't take them down unless you meet certain conditions."
The one in the coverall gawked openly at me. "Making us rich? You've got the wrong slaves here, pal. We can't even collect our fee!"
It was my turn to goggle. "What fee?"
The elegant one groaned, as if I was too stupid to live. "These fools hired us to work for them. They brought us in as financial managers. Our assignment was to straighten out the kingdom's cash flow problems. These moronic Wuhses have been undercutting our efforts at every turn. Did they tell you that? Did they tell you that we've managed to get them out of debt and keep them out of debt, but only by scaring them into submission? That we were able to stay on top of their out of control spending up until the last three weeks, when someone has gotten in our way every time we were going to get ahead."
"We've been here over two years," the littlest one moaned. "If they'd just cooperated we would have finished with our contract and been on our way in six months. That's what it was supposed to take." "Don't talk to him," their magician complained. "He's just here to cheat us and throw us out."
"No, I'm not," I goggled, honestly appalled. "Tell me about it."
"Not under these circumstances," the eldest one told me firmly. "We don't deal under siege."
I lowered myself to the ground and headed toward the door.
"No, Master Skeeve," Zol called to me. "Don't go to their level. Maintain your advantage."
But I was through listening to his advice. What the Per-vect Ten said made sense. I had observed from the beginning that the Wuhses dealt in a sidelong and cowardly fashion, except Wensley.
Wensley! I reached into my pocket and drew out the globe. The little figure in it jumped up and down. "Stop! Stop! Stop!"
"How do I release him?" I asked, holding up the sphere.
"Just release the wards," the robed Pervect gestured.
With my mind I opened a little door in the side of the glass ball. Suddenly, Wensley was beside me. I steadied him as he staggered, then he rushed toward the Pervects. I ran after him through the blinding flash of light.
"Hey, stop!" I shouted.
But I was too late. Wensley threw himself on his knees in front of the eldest Pervect.
"Dear lady," he pleaded, "I most humbly apologize."
"What is this?" I demanded. "Wensley, what are you doing?"
He looked up at me. "I had no idea how hard we were making it for them. We are not used to having anyone give us direct orders. Let us say that... we didn't take it well."
"I'll say, sonny!" the elder declared. "You've driven us clean out of our minds with all of your nickling and ... you say you're sorry?"
"I am, truly," the Wuhs vowed. "I'll do anything I can to help make it right." "Well, for a start, you can tell your hired gun here to stop interfering in our business ventures!" the skirt-suited one insisted. She walked over and whacked me on the chest with the back of her hand. "We're doing all this for your benefit. You people have been making it almost impossible for us to live up to the terms of our agreement. We're businesswomen. We have a reputation across thirty different dimensions of being the Pervects to come to when you need something done right in the minimum possible time, and you're doing a hell of a job of undoing years of hard work in a matter of weeks."
"I'm really sorry about the misunderstanding," I informed them, rubbing the sore place with my fingertips. "I didn't realize until I saw one used that those Pervomatics really were food choppers. But if it's so straightforward, why were you concealing from the Wuhses what they were working on? It looked pretty suspicious."
"Because these sheep, in case you haven't noticed, have all the morals of jackdaws," the eldest sighed, sinking down into a chair. "They'll take anything and rationalize that it's okay as long as no one else knows they're taking it. But why didn't you come to us in the first place and just ask us what we're doing, instead of putting us out of business in two dimensions?"
I heard a contrite little noise behind me, but I ignored it. I had been wrong enough times on my own in my life that I didn't have to ruin a second reputation to make my explanation.
"I got some advice I didn't understand properly," I shrugged. "It's all my fault."
"Don't let him take the blame, dear Pervects," Zol put in from behind me. "He came to me, and I inadvertently gave him a wrong steer. Please forgive us all."
I glanced over my shoulder. The little gray man stood in the doorway flanked by Bunny and Tananda.
The skirt-suited one pointed a finger. "Aren't you Zol Icty?" The Kobold bowed. "I have that honor."
She smiled, showing four-inch long teeth, an expression which was repeated on the faces of all of the Pervect Ten. "We have all your books."
"I'm sorry about your workroom," I told them, as the female in the business suit broke out a keg of wine to toast the new spirit of cooperation. "I think the alteration may be permanent. You can't do magik in here any more."
"As long as the computer runs, who cares?" the little one declared. "I'm Caitlin, by the way. I've been checking the archives on you around the dimensions. You've got a pretty hot reputation, for a Klahd."
"Thanks, I think," I replied.
Tananda shifted impatiently. "Hey, handsome, are you going to let us in, or do we have to stand here and watch you drink in front of us?"
I had to transit through the brilliant flash of light twice, once to open the fire spell outward, and once to accompany the rest of my companions into the room.
"Tananda's one of my former partners," I introduced my associates. "Bunny's my administrative assistant."
The tallest Pervect eyed Bunny curiously. "Aren't you a beauty queen?"
"I was on one occasion," Bunny explained. "I'm really an accountant."
"You are?" Oshleen continued in astonishment.
I remembered her now. (For those of you who missed our previous encounter please see that fine volume Myth-Told Tales, available from your finer stockists.)
"So am I. What do you think about secured investment in growth industry?"
"Depends on the track record of the companies involved," my assistant replied, instantly falling into the se- cret language of finance. "Are we talking seasonal or year-round value?"
I instantly lost track of the thread of conversation. Money management was not my long suit.