'Well, I've been giving it a lot of thought, and I figure it's about time we left Possiltum and moved on.' 'Um. Aahz?' I said.
'I know, I know,' he waved. 'You think you need practice. You do, but you've come a long way. This whole thing with the trouble you handled only proves my point. You're ready to…'
'Aahz?'
'All right. I know you've got friends and duties here, but eventually you have to leave the nest. You'll just have to trust my judgment and experience to know when the time is right to…'
'I've already quit!'
Aahz stopped in midsentence and stared at me. 'You have?' he blinked.
I nodded and pointed at the pile of gear we had been packing. He studied it for a moment as if he didn't believe what he was seeing.
'Oh,' he said at last. 'Oh well, in that case, I'll just duck over to talk to Grimble and discuss your severance pay. He's a tight-fisted bird, but if I can't shake five hundred out of him, I'll know the reason why.' 'I know the reason why,' I said carefully. Aahz rolled his eyes.
'Look, kid. This is my field of expertise, remember? If you go into a bargaining session aiming low, they'll walk all over you. You've got to…' 'I've already negotiated for a thousand!' This time, Aahz's 'freeze' was longer… and he didn't look at me. 'A thousand?' he said finally. 'In gold?' 'Plus a hefty bonus from the King himself,' Tananda supplied helpfully.
'We've been trying to tell you, Aahz old boy,' Chumly smiled. 'Skeeve here has been doing just fine without you.' 'I see.'
Aahz turned away and stared silently out the window. I'll admit to being a bit disappointed. I mean, maybe I hadn't done a first-rate job, but a little bit of congratulations would have been nice. The way my mentor was acting, you'd think he…
Then it hit me. Like a runaway war-chariot it hit me. Aahz was jealous! More than that, he was hurt!
I could see it now with crystal clarity. Up until now I had been blinded by Aahz's arrogant self-confidence, but suddenly the veil was parted. Aahz's escape from Perv wasn't nearly as easy as he was letting on. There had been a brawl-physical, verbal, or magikal-some hard feelings, and some heavy promises made or broken. He had forced his way back to Klah with one thing on his mind: his apprentice… his favorite apprentice, was in trouble. Upon returning, what was his reception? Not only was I not in trouble, for all appearances, I was doing better without him!
Tananda and Chumly were still at it, merrily chattering back and forth about how great I was. While I appreciated their support, I wished desperately I could think of a way of getting it through to them that what they were really doing was twisting a knife in Aahz.
'Umm… Aahz?' I interrupted. 'When you've got a minute, there are a few things I need your advice on.'
'Like what?' came the muffled response. 'From the sound of things, you don't need anybody, much less a teacher with no powers of his own.'
Tananda caught it immediately. Her gadfly manner dropped away like a mask and she signaled desperately to Chumly. The troll was not insensitive, though. His reaction was to catch my eye with a pleading gaze.
It was up to me. Terrific.
'Well, like… um.'
And Massha exploded into the room.
'Everything's ready downstairs, hot stuff, and… oh! Hi there, green and scaly. Thought you were gone for good.'
Aahz spun around, his eyes wide.
'Massha?' he stammered. 'What are you doing here?'
'Didn't the man of the hour here tell you?' she smiled, batting her expansive eyelashes. 'I'm his new apprentice.'
'Apprentice?' Aahz echoed, his old fire creeping into his voice.
'Um… that's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about, Aahz,' I smiled meekly.
'Apprentice?' he repeated, as if he hadn't heard. 'Kid, you and I have got to talk … NOW!'
'Okay, Aahz. As soon as I…'
'Now!'
Yep. Aahz was back.
'Um, if you'll excuse us, folks, Aahz and I have to…'
For the second time, there was a BAMPH in the room.
This one was louder, which was understandable, as there were more beings involved. Specifically, there were now four Deveels standing in the room… and they didn't look happy.
'We seek the Great Skeeve,' one of them boomed.
My heart sank. Could my involvement with the Mob have been discovered so fast?
'Who's asking?'
Aahz casually placed his bulk between me and the intruders. Tananda and Chumly were also on their feet, and Massha was edging sideways to get a clear field of fire. Terrific. All I needed to complete my day was to have my friends soap up the trouble I had started.
'We are here representing the merchants of the Bazaar on the Deva, seeking an audience with the Great Skeeve.'
'About what?' my mentor challenged.
The Deveel fixed him with an icy glare.
'We seek the Great Skeeve, not idle chit-chat with a Pervert.'
'Well, this particular Pervert happens to be the Great Skeeve's business manager, and he doesn't waste his time with Deveels unless I clear them.'
I almost said something, but changed my mind. Concerned or not, this was not the time to take a conversation away from Aahz.
The Deveel hesitated, then shrugged.
'There is a new difficult at the Bazaar,' he said. 'A group of organized criminals has gained access to our dimension threatening to disrupt the normal flow of business unless they are paid a percentage of our profits.'
Tananda and Chumly exchanged glances, while Massha raised an eyebrow at me. I studied the ceiling with extreme care. Aahz alone was unruffled.
'Tough. So what does that have to do with the Great Skeeve?' he demanded.
Anticipating the answer, I tried to decide whether I should fight or run.
'Isn't it obvious?' the Deveel frowned. 'We wish to retain his services to combat this threat. From what we can tell, he's the only magician around up to the job.'
That one stopped me. Of all the strange turns events could have taken, this had to be the most unanticipated and … well, bizarre!
'I see,' Aahz murmured, a nasty gleam in his eye. 'You realize, of course, that the Great Skeeve's time is valuable and that such a massive undertaking would require equally massive remuneration?'
Every alarm in my system went off.
'Um …ahz?'
'Shut up, k… I mean, be patient. Master Skeeve. This matter should be settled in a moment.'
I couldn't watch.
Instead, I went to the window and stared out. Listening over my shoulder, I heard Aahz name an astronomical figure, and realized there might be a way out of this yet. If Aahz was greedy enough, and the Deveels stingy enough…
'Done!' said the spokesman.
'… Of course, that's only an advance,' Aahz pressed. 'A full rendering will have to wait until the job is completed.'
'Done,' came the reply.
'… And that is the fee only. Expenses will be reimbursed separately.'
'Done! The advance will be awaiting your arrival.
