Winger and Saucerhead sort of oozed down to street level and out of the way. I think Dean really wanted to slam and bolt the door. As he was about to surrender to temptation, a pair of owls swooped down and changed over right there, without bothering not to be seen. He went catatonic in mid-motion.
Magodor went angry.
Saucerhead and Winger went away, as fast as their heels and toes would shuffle. I have no idea what became of their funny-looking friend.
64
"Maggie. Maggie! Darling! Nobody, not even the loveliest goddess, ever learned anything with her mouth open."
"You are insolent beyond all tolerance, Garrett."
"Yeah. Show me where I've got a lot to lose. I'm not on anybody's side. Never have been. But I can't make any of you gods accept that. I don't care any more about your survival than you do about mine. Since everything I do offends somebody, why should I worry about it? Come on and join the Garrett zoo."
Dean forced the door open wider as we mounted the steps, but he did not look at us. His whole attention was on the shadows in the hallway. I told him, "You want to drool, you ought to see Star."
Magodor spat, "She's a moron."
"It isn't her mind that precipitates salivation."
"I am aware of how males see these things."
On my other hand, Adeth seemed to regain the lost spark of life. Suddenly Dean could see her.
He did not lose interest in the owl girls, but he was distracted. A redhead will do that to the most stouthearted of men.
I said, "Sometimes daydreams come true." He would recognize Adeth as a close approximation of my perfect fantasy woman. "And some nightmares do, too." Because Magodor suddenly chose to materialize in one of her more unpleasant forms.
Dean said, "I'll make tea," and headed for the kitchen.
I returned to the door long enough to get the Goddamn Parrot inside. He was perched on the railing out there, reciting poetry. I have trouble enough with the neighbors.
Magodor eyed Adeth warily but behaved herself. I guided them into the Dead Man's room, though I had no idea what good this would do.
Cat was there already, a recovered Fourteen in her lap, shaking. Magodor seemed surprised. "Who is she?" The cherub she recognized, at least by tribe.
The Dead Man touched me weakly. Bring the Shayir girls, Garrett. Ladies, if you please, a little less intense.
Like the Loghyr said, what good is nerve if you don't use it?
I went to the small front room. The owl girls cowered in a corner, too frightened to try a getaway. Maggie must be a real smouldering bitch.
Guess you don't pick up a nickname like The Destroyer because you fudge at marbles.
"Come with me, girls. Calmly. No need to be scared. We're just going to talk."
One—Dimna, I think—tried to run. I caught her, held on, patted her back. She settled right down. I opened an arm, and the other came for a hug. They really were simple.
The followers of the Shayir pantheon must have been pretty simple themselves.
Hell, I think No-Neck said they were lowest common denominator back when we were field-testing the Weider product. Or was that the Dead Man? Did it matter?
"It'll be all right," I promised the girls. I didn't mind seeing Imar and Lang plop back into the Black Lake of Whatsis, but to condemn similarly these two would be too cruel. The world could use more happy gods and goddesses.
I yelled, "Dean! Bring beer for me."
Dean came from the kitchen as I held the Dead Man's door for the girls. He had a big pot of tea, several mugs, and all the side stuff. The water must have been on. My beer was there. With backup. He told me, "I thought you might need fortification." He could not keep his eyes off the girls. His tray started to shake.
"That's an understatement."
Dean started to ask something but then saw Magodor trying to intimidate everyone with one of her nastier looks.
"Maggie, knock it off!" I snapped before I thought. "No wonder you guys worked your way down to the strong end of the Street. You had a stupid boss, yeah, but I haven't seen much to recommend the rest of you, either. Cat! Stop shaking. That cup belonged to my mother. It's about the last thing of hers I have left."
The Dead Man managed to slide in, What are you doing?
65
I was trying to break everybody's mental stride. If they were off balance they might think instead of just reacting.
It worked. Sort of.
Everybody stopped to gawk at me.
I said, "We came close to disaster last night. Because of stupidity and thoughtlessness. Imar and Lang nearly cost us the wall between this world and the darkness. The goddesses who set them up didn't show any forethought, either. It shouldn't have taken any genius to anticipate their behavior. Magodor, you never seemed stupid. When you maneuvered the ladies so they would manipulate the males... "
Garrett.
I was on a roll. I didn't want to hear from anybody yet.
"No," Magodor snapped.
Garrett, I fear it may be less simple than you think, complex as that is.
"Huh?"
Cat, Fourteen, and the owl girls contributed silence. I expected nothing more. Adeth, though, was turning out to be an unexpected zero.
The Adeth creature is no goddess, Garrett. I can read nothing there. And this is for the very good reason that there is nothing there.
"What?" It was me off balance now.
This Adeth is a construct. A golem or dibbuk, if you will, here specifically to catch your eye. We should get it out of the house. Its ultimate purpose may be more sinister.
I slipped my arm around the redhead's waist. I tried to lead her away.
Nope. Nothing doing. All of a sudden that little bit had the inertia of a pyramid.
"Cat. You know something about Adeth. You'd better let us know." I watched Magodor. Near as I could tell, she was unaware of what the Dead Man had sent me.
She cannot read me at all. I cannot get through to her. Presumably the dibbuk is blocking me.
Cat did not respond immediately.
I relayed the Dead Man's observations. The owl girls developed cases of the sniffles. Magodor considered Adeth. "Interesting. You were trying to get rid of her?"
"Yeah."
Magodor seemed to vibrate. A baby thunderclap announced Adeth's departure. "She is in the street again."
"Do you know anything about Adeth?"
"She was someone Imara knew. I never heard of her before Imara organized the plot to rid us of Imar and Lang and the others. She had no trouble making herself visible to mortals and could change her appearance quickly. Her only direct part was supposed to be to bring you to us, making Abyss, Daiged, and those think she might be one of the Shayir."
Cat said, "Mother got the whole plot idea from Adeth."
Did that make Maggie sit up? You betcha. Me, too.
"How long ago?" I asked. "Cat, I don't think you were any accident. You were created deliberately so your mother could assume... "
"Stop."
"I'm sorry. But... "
"Just stop."
"Plausible," Magodor observed. "Very plausible. Assuming she feared someone very powerful, a mortal identity would be a good place to hide."
"Please stop."
Adeth.
"Who or what is Adeth? It's very important."
"She was my mother's friend. I don't know. Maybe even her lover. She had a lot. When Imar wasn't looking. Adeth was just always around, ever since I was little. She never even noticed me."
Magodor snapped, "Where is your mother now? Where is the real Adeth?"
"I don't know. I've been here."