yourself. Vic kept saying that we shouldn't worry, that
if you found us here in Limbo he could fix it so you
wouldn't be able to take us back. I didn't know he was
thinking about setting up a frame until he sprang it on
your partner."
I tried to let this console me, but it didn't work.
"I notice that once you found out that Aahz was
being framed, you still went along with it."
"Well... I didn't want to, but Vic kept saying that if
you two were as good as everyone said, that your
partner could get out of jail by himself. We figured that
he'd escape before the execution, but with the whole
dimension hunting him as a fugitive that he'd be too
busy running for home to bother about catching us."
I was starting to get real anxious to meet this guy Vic.
It also occurred to me that of all the potential problems
our growing reputation could bring down on us, this
was one we had never expected.
"And you believed him?"
Luanna made a face, then shrugged.
"Well... you're supposed to be able to do some
pretty incredible things, and I don't want you to think I
don't believe in your abilities, but I was worried enough
that I sneaked back to let you know what was going on
.. .just in case."
It was almost funny that she was apologizing for giv-
ing us the warning. Almost, but not quite. My mind
kept running over what might have happened if she had
believed in me completely.
"I guess my only other question is who is this citizen
that Aahz is supposed to have killed?"
"Didn't anybody tell you?" she blinked. "It's Vic.
He's from this dimension... you know, a vampire.
Anyway, he's hiding out until the whole thing's resolved
one way or another. I don't think even Matt knows
where he is. Vampires are normally suspicious, and
after I sneaked out the first time, he's even gotten cagey
around us. He just drops in from time to time to see
how we're doing."
Now I knew I wanted to meet friend Vic. If I was
lucky, I'd meet him before Aahz did.
"Well, I do appreciate you filling me in on the prob-
lem. Now, if you'll just come back to Blut with us and
explain things to the authorities, my gratitude will be
complete."
Luanna started as if I had stuck her with a pin.
"Hold on a minute! Who said anything about going
to the authorities? I can't do that! That would be dou-
blecrossing my partners. I don't want to see you or your
friends get hurt, but I can't sacrifice my own to save
them."
An honest crook is both incongruous and infuriating.
Aahz had often pointed this out to me when some point
in my ethic kept me from going along with one of his
schemes, and now I was starting to understand what he
was talking about.
"But then why are you here?"
"I wanted to warn you. Vic has been thinking that
76 Robert Asprin MYTH-ING PERSONS 77
you might come into Limbo after your partner, and he's
setting up some kind of trap if you did. If he was right,
I thought you should know that you're walking into
trouble. I figured that if you came, you'd look up the
Dispatcher, so I waited there and followed you when
you showed up. I just wanted to warn you is all. That
and...."
She dropped her eyes again and lowered her voice
until I could hardly hear her.
"... I wanted to see you again. I know it's silly,
but...."
As flattering as it was, this time I was unimpressed.
"Yeah, sure." I interrupted. "You're so interested in
me you're willing to let my partner sit on a murder rap
just so you can watch me go through my paces."
"I already explained about that," she said fiercely,
stepping forward to lay a hand on my arm.
I stared at it pointedly until she removed it.
"Well," she said in a small voice. "I can see that
there's nothing more I can say. But, Skeeve? Promise
me that you won't follow me when I leave? You or your
friends? I took a big risk finding you. Please don't make
me regret it."
I stared at her for a long moment, then looked away
and nodded.
"I know you're disappointed in me, Skeeve," came
her voice, "but I can't go against my partners. Haven't
"you ever had to do something you didn't want to do to
support your partner?"
That hit home ... painfully.
"Yes, I have," I said, drawing a ragged breath. "I'm
sorry, Luanna. I'm just Worried about Aahz, that's all.
Tell you what. Just to show there're no hard feelings,
can I have a token or something? Something to remem-
ber you by until I see you again?"
She hesitated, then pulled a gossamer-thin scarf from
somewhere inside her outfit. Stepping close, she tucked
it into my tunic, then rose on her tiptoes and kissed me
softly.
"It's nice of you to ask," she said. "Even if I don't
mean anything to you at all, it's nice of you to ask."
With that, she turned and sprinted off down the road
into the darkness.
I stared after her.
"You're letting her go!?"
Suddenly Massha was at my side, flanked by Guido.
"C'mon, Boss. We gotta catch her. She's your
partner's ticket off death row. Where's she goin'?"
"To meet up with her partners in crime," I said.
"Including a surprisingly lively guy named Vic ...
surprising since he's the one that Aahz is supposed to
have killed."
"So we can catch 'em all together. Nice work, Hot
Stuff. Okay, let's follow her and...."
"No!"
"Why not?"
"Because I promised her."
There was a deathly silence as my assistants digested
this information.
"So she walks and Green and Scaly dies, is that it?"
"You're sellin' out your partner for a skirt? That
musta been some kiss."
I slowly turned to face them, and, mad as they were,
they fell silent.
"Now listen close," I said quietly, "because I'm not
going to go over it again. If we tried to follow her back
to their hideout, and she spotted us, she'd lead us on a
wild goose chase and we'd never catch up with them ...
and we need that so-called corpse. I don't think her
testimony alone will swing the verdict."
Robert Asprin
78
"But Boss, if we let her get away...."
"We'll find them," I said. "Without us dogging her
footsteps, she'll head right back to her partners."
"But how will we...."
In answer, I pulled Luanna's scarf from my tunic.
"Fortunately, she was kind enough to provide us with
a means to track her, once we recruit the necessary were-
wolf."
Guido gave my back a slap that almost staggered me.
"Way to go, Boss," he crowed. "You really had me
goin' for a minute. I thought that chickie had really
snowed you."
I looked up to find Massha eyeing me suspiciously.
"That was quite a kiss. Hot Stuff," she said. "If I
didn't know better, I'd think that young lady is more
than a little stuck on you... and you just took