"Nice jail. Looks strong.'

—H. HOUDINI

VILHELM was right about one thing. The streets were

nowhere nearly as crowded as they had been the times

we navigated their length well after sundown. Only a

few stray beings wandered here and there, mostly mak-

ing deliveries or sweeping down the sidewalks in front of

their shops prior to opening. Except for the lack of

light, the streets looked just like any town preparing for

a day's business....hat and the red eyes of the citizens.

We hugged the light as we picked our way across

town....

That's right. I said "hugged the light." I try to only

make the same mistake a dozen times. In other dimen-

sions, we would have "hugged the dark" to avoid being

noticed or recognized. Here, we "hugged the light."

Don't laugh. It worked.

Anyway, as we picked our way through the streets of

Blut, most of my attention was taken up with the task of

trying to map a good getaway route. Getting Aahz out

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98 Robert Asprin

of jail I would deal with once we got there. Right now I

was worried about what we would do once we had him

out... a major assumption, I know, but I had so little

optimism that I clung to what there was with all fours.

The three of us looked enough like vampires in ap-

pearance to pass casual inspection. There was no way,

however, that we could pass off my scaly green partner

as a native without a disguise spell, and I wasn't about

to bet on having any magical energy left after springing

Aahz. As such, I was constantly craning my neck to peer

down sidestreets and alleys, hoping to find a little-

traveled route by which we could spirit our fugitive col-

league out of town without bringing the entire populace

down on our necks. By the time we reached our destina-

tion, I was pretty sure I could get us back to the Dis-

patcher's by the route we were following, and positively

sure that if I tried to take us there by the back routes, I

would get us totally and helplessly lost.

"Well, Boss. This is it. Think we can crack it?"

I don't think Guido really expected an answer. He

was just talking to break the silence that had fallen over

us as we stood looking at our target.

The Municipal Building was an imposing structure,

with thick stone walls and a corner tower that stretched

up almost out of sight into the darkness. It didn't look

like we could put a dent in it with a cannon ... if we had

a cannon, which we didn't. I was used to the tents of the

Bazaar or the rather ramshackle building style of Klah.

While I had been gradually getting over being overawed

by the construction prevalent here in Blut, this place in-

timidated me. I'd seen shakier looking mountains!

"Well, one thing's for certain," I began, almost

under my breath.

"What's that?"

"Staring at it isn't going to make it any weaker."

MYTH-ING PERSONS 99

Neither of my assistants laughed at my joke, but then

again, neither did I.

Shaking off a feeling of foreboding, I turned to my

staff.

"All right, Guido. You stay down here and keep

watch. Massha? Do you think that belt of yours can lift

two? It's time I went topside and took a good look at

this impregnable cell."

My apprentice licked her lips nervously and shrugged.

"I don't know, Hot Stuff. I warned you that the con-

trols on this thing don't work right. It could lift us right

into orbit for all I know."

I patted her shoulder in what I hoped was a reassuring

way.

"Well, give it a try and we'll find out."

She nodded, wrapped one arm around my chest, and

used her other hand to play with the jewels on her belt

buckle.

There was a sparkle of light, but beyond that nothing.

"Not enough juice," she mumbled to herself.

"So turn it up already," I urged.

- Even if the vampires tended to avoid light, we were lit

up like a Christmas tree and bound to attract attention

if we stayed at ground level much longer.

"Cross your fingers," she said grimly and touched

the jewels again.

The light intensified and we started up fast ... too

fast.

"Careful, Boss!" Guido shouted and grabbed my

legs as they went past him.

That brought our progress to a halt... well, almost.

Instead of rocketing up into the night, we were rising

slowly, almost imperceptibly.

"That's got it, High Roller!" Massha exclaimed,

shifting her grip to hang onto me with both arms. "A

100 Robert Asprin

little more ballast than I had planned on, though."

I considered briefly telling Guido to let go, but re-

jected the thought. If the bodyguard released his grip,

we'd doubtless resume our previous speed... and while

a lot of folks at the Bazaar talked about my meteoric

rise, I'd just as soon keep the phrase figurative. There

was also the minor detail that we were already at a

height where it would be dangerous for Guido to try

dropping back to the street. There was that, and his

death-grip on my legs.

"Don't tell me, let me guess," I called down to him.

"You're acrophobic, too?"

The view of Blut that was unfolding beneath us was

truly breathtaking. Truly! My life these days was so

cluttered with crisis and dangers that a little thing like

looking down on buildings didn't bother me much, but

even I was finding it hard to breathe when confronted

up close with sheer walls adorned with stone creatures.

Still, until I felt his fingernails biting into my calves, it

had never occurred to me that such things might upset a

rough-and-tumble guy like Guido.

"Naw. I got nothin' against spiders," he replied nerv-

ously. "It's heights that scare me."

I let that one go. I was busy studying the tower which

could be viewed much more clearly from this altitude. If

anything, it looked stronger than the portion of the

building that was below us. One feature captured my at-

tention, though. The top portion of the tower, the part I

assumed was Aahz's cell, was shaped like a large

dragon's head. The window I had been expecting was

actually the creature's mouth, with its teeth serving as

bars.

I should have anticipated something like that, realiz-

ing the abundance of stone animals on every other

building in town. Still, it came as a bit of a surprise...

MYTH-ING PERSONS 101

but a pleasant surprise. I had been trying to figure a way

to get through iron bars, but stone teeth might be a bit

easier. Maybe with Aahz working from the inside and us

working from the outside, we could loosen the mortar

and....

I suddenly realized that in a few moments we would

be level with the cell... and that a few moments after

that we'd be past it! Unless something was done, and

done fast, to halt our upward progress, we'd only have

time for a few quick words with Aahz before parting

company permanently. With time running out fast, I

cast about for a solution.

The wall was too far away to grab onto, and there was

no way to increase our weight, unless....

When Aahz first taught me to fly, he explained the

process as "levitation in reverse." That is, instead of

using the mind to lift objects, you push against the

ground and lift yourself. Focusing my reservoir of magi-

cal energy, I used a small portion to try flying in reverse.

Instead of pushing up, I pushed down!

Okay. So I was desperate. In a crisis, I'll try anything,

however stupid. Fortunately, this stupid idea worked!

Our upward progress slowed to a halt with me hang-

ing at eye-level with the cell's dragon mouth.

Trying not to show my relief, I raised my voice.

"Hey, Aahz! When are visiting hours?"

For a moment there was no response, and I had a sud-

den fear that we were hanging a hundred feet in the air

outside an empty cell. Then my partner's unmistakable

countenance appeared in the window.

"Skeeve?" he said in a skeptical voice. "Skeeve!

What are you doing out there?"

"Oh, we were just in the neighborhood and thought

we'd drop in," I replied in my best nonchalant voice.

"Heard you were in a bit of trouble and thought we'd

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better get you out before it got serious."

"Who's we?" my partner demanded, then he focused

on my assistants. "Oh no! Those two? Where are Tan-

anda and Chumley? C'mon, Skeeve. I need a rescue

team and you bring me a circus act!"

"It's the best I could do on short notice," I shot

back, slightly annoyed. "Tananda and Chumley aren't

back from their own work yet, but I left a message for

them to catch up with us if they could. Of course, I'm

not sure how much help they'll be. In case you're

wondering why I'm being carried by my apprentice in-

stead of flying free, this particular dimension is excep-

tionally low on force lines to tap in to. If anything, I

think I'm pretty lucky that I brought 'these two' along

instead of ending up with a whole team of for-real magi-

cians who are too proud to use gimmicks. It's thanks to

'these two' that I made it this far at all. Now, dtf you

want our help, or do you want to wait for the next team

to float past? I mean, you're in no rush, are you?"

"Now don't get your back up, partner," Aahz said

soothingly. "You caught me a little off-guard is all. So

tell me, just how do you figure to get me out of here?"

That brought me back to earth ... or as close to it as 1

could get while suspended in mid-air.

"Umm... actually, Aahz, I was kinda hoping you

might have a few ideas on the subject. You're usually

pretty good at coming up with plans to get us out of

tight spots."

"What I want to know," Guido snarled, turning

slightly in the wind, "is how come your partner hasn't

figured a way out of there all by himself, if he's so all-