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?"