tice."
I was still having problems focusing on what she was
saying. Not only was her voice mesmerizing, she was
easily the loveliest woman I had ever met... well, girl
actually. She couldn't have been much older than me.
What's more, she seemed to like me. That is, she kept
smiling hesitantly and her deep blue eyes never left
mine. Now, I had gotten respect from my colleagues
and from beings at the Bazaar who knew my reputation,
but never from anyone who looked like ....
Then her words sank in.
"My apprentice?"
I stole an involuntary glance at Massha before I real-
ized the misunderstanding.
"Oh, you mean Aahz. He's not my apprentice any
more. He's my partner. Please come in. We were just
talking about him."
I stood to one side of the door and invited her in with
a grand sweeping gesture. I'd never tried it before, but I
had seen it used a couple of times while I was working
the court at Possletum, and it had impressed me.
"Umm—Boss? Could I talk to you for a minute?"
"Later, Guido."
I repeated the gesture, and the girl responded with a
quick smile that lit up the room.
"Thanks for the invite," she said, "but I'll have to
take a rain check. I really can't stay. In fact, I shouldn't
be here at all. I just thought that someone should let you
know that your friend... Aahz is it? Anyway, your
friend is in jail."
That brought me back to earth in a hurry.
"Aahz? In jail? For what?"
"Murder."
"MURDER!" I shrieked, dropping all attempts to be
urbane. "But Aahz wouldn't.. .."
"Don't shout at me! Oh, I knew I shouldn't have
come. Look, I know he didn't do it. That's why I had to
let you know what was going on. If you don't do some-
thing, they're going to execute him... and they know
how to execute demons over here."
I spun around to face the others.
"Massha! Go get your jewelry case. Guido, Nunzio!
Gear up. We're going to pay a little call on our neigh-
bors."
I tried to keep my voice calm and level, but somehow
the words came out a bit more intense than I had in-
tended.
28
Robert Asprin MYTH-ING PERSONS 29
"Not so fast. Boss," Guido said. "There's something
you oughta know first."
"Later. I want you to...."
"NOW, Boss. It's important!"
"WHAT IS IT!"
Needless to say, I was not eager to enter into any pro-
longed conversations just now.
"She's one of'em."
"I beg your pardon?"
"The three that went out through the back door. The
ones your partner is chasing. She's the broad."
Thunderstruck, I turned to the girl for confirmation,
only to find the doorway was empty. My mysterious
visitor had disappeared as suddenly as she had arrived.
"This could be a trap, you know," Massha said
thoughtfully.
"She's right." Guido nodded. "Take it from some-
one who's been on the lam himself. When you're run-
ning from the law and there are only a couple of people
who can find you, it gets real tempting to eliminate that
link. We've only got her word that your partner's in
trouble."
"It wouldn't take a mental giant to figure out that
you and Aahz are the most likely hunters for the Deveels
to hire. After all, they knew whose house they were cut-
ting through for their getaway," Massha added.
Guido rose to his feet and started pacing.
"Right," he said. "Now suppose they've got Aahz.
Can you think of a better way to bag the other half of
the pair than by feeding you a line about your partner
being in trouble so you'll come charging into whatever
trap they've laid out? The whole set-up stinks, Boss. I
don't know about strange dimensions, but I do know
about criminals. As soon as you step through that door,
you're gonna be a sitting duck."
"Are you quite through?"
Even to my ears my voice sounded icy, but for a
change I didn't care.
Guido and Massha exchanged glances, then nodded
silently.
"Very well. You may be right, and I appreciate your
concern for my well-being. HOWEVER ..."
My voice sank to a deadly hiss.
"... what if you're wrong? What if our fugitive is
telling the truth? You've all been on my case about not
doing anything to help Aahz. Do you really think I'm
just going to sit here while my partner AND friend
burns for a crime he didn't commit ... on the off-
chance that getting involved might be dangerous to
me?"
With great effort I forced my tones back to normal.
"In ten minutes I'm going through that door after
Aahz... and if I'm walking into a trap, it had better be
a good one. Now do any of you want to come with me,
or am I going it alone?"
Chapter Four:
"It's useless to try to plan for the unex-
pected ... by definition!"
—A. HITCHCOCK
ACTUALLY, it was more like an hour before we were
really ready to go, though for me it seemed like a lot
longer. Still, even I had to admit that not taking the
proper preparations for this venture would not only be
foolish, it would be downright suicidal!
It was decided that Nunzio would stay behind so there
would be someone at our base to let Tananda and
Chumley know what was going on when they returned.
Needless to say, he was less than thrilled by the assign-
ment.
"But I'm supposed to be your bodyguard!" he ar-
gued. "How'm I supposed to guard you if I'm sittin'
back here while you're on the front lines?"
"By being sure our support troops get the informa-
tion they need to follow us," I said.
As much as I disliked having to argue with Nunzio, I
would rather dig in my heels against half a dozen Mob-
type bodyguards than have to explain to Tananda and
30
MYTH-ING PERSONS 31
Chumley why they weren't included in this rescue mis-
sion.
"We could leave a note."
"No."
"We could...."
"NO! I want you here. Is that plain enough?"
The bodyguard heaved a heavy sigh. "Okay, Boss.
I'll hang in here until they show up. Then the three of us
will...."
"No!" I said again. "Then Tananda and Chumley
will come in after us. You're going to stay here."
"But Boss...."
"Because if Hay-ner and his crew show up again,
someone has to be here to let them know we're on the
job and that we haven't just taken off for the tall
timber. Assuming for the moment that we're going to
make it back, we need our exit route, and you're going
to be here making sure it stays open. All we need is for
our hosts to move in a new tenant while we're gone...
say, someone who decides to brick up this door while
we're on the other side."
Nunzio thought this through in silence.
"What if you don't come back?" he asked finally.