be that easy. I wonder what he's a lieutenant of.'
For a minute they lay together in silence. 'They expected your return,' Draycos said at last. 'That would mean they are involved with the falsified theft. Perhaps we should try to learn more about them.'
'What, you mean go looking for them?' Jack snorted. 'At three to one odds? You must be joking.'
'The correct ratio is three to two,' Draycos corrected him. 'You have forgotten about me.'
'Hardly,' Jack said, carefully sitting up. There was no sign of Raven and his buddies anywhere he could see. 'You were the one on our side I was counting.'
'Ah,' Draycos said, uncurling himself. 'I see.'
'Right,' Jack said. 'Come on, let's get out of here.'
'Sooo soooon?' a slurred and raspy voice came from the corner of the balcony.
Jack froze halfway to his feet. There, sitting against the rail in the shadow between two huge potted plants, was the thin figure of a Wistawk. 'Sorry,' Jack apologized. 'We didn't mean to intrude.'
'Not at all,' the Wistawk said, getting to his feet like a collapsible ruler unfolding. He wobbled for a moment as if trying to get back on balance, then abruptly straightened to stand perfectly upright. 'Come,' he said, darting suddenly to the edge of the balcony to stand between Jack and the rail. 'Come inside. Join the festivities.'
'Ah... thanks,' Jack said, trying to ease his way past their would-be host. The Wistawk clearly was drunk, and in his state probably thought Jack was another of his species.
Whoever was inside, though, probably wouldn't make that mistake. The Brummga's earlier comment about only a fool trying to sneak into a house in this neighborhood flitted through his mind. Had there been some sort of trouble between humans and Wistawki on Vagran today?
The Wistawk was too fast for them. Moving like a large four-limbed insect, he again got between Jack and any chance of escape. Dimly, Jack wondered how fast the alien would be able to move if he wasn't drunk. 'Come inside,' he repeated. 'Preenoffneoff!'
Jack winced as, behind him, the balcony doors were flung open. 'Ah, Preenoffneoff!' the drunk Wistawk greeted the newcomer. 'Another guest! Welcome him!'
'Another guest?' the newcomer said. His voice, as near as Jack could tell, was stone-cold sober. 'What is the meaning of this?'
Slowly, Jack turned around. Another Wistawk, even taller and thinner than the drunk, was standing in the doorway. His arms were folded, and he was staring at Jack with an unreadable expression. In the room behind him were at least twenty more of the aliens, seated in concentric circles around a pair sitting by a fireplace in the center. All were dressed in glittering finery, with ornate headpieces that caught the candlelight and scattered it around the room. All had apparently stopped what they were doing and were looking toward the balcony.
And with a sinking feeling in his stomach, Jack realized what they had done.
He and Draycos had just crashed a Wistawki bonding ceremony.
Chapter 13
'Shall we leave?' Draycos murmured from beside him.
'No,' Jack muttered back. He'd already seen how fast a drunk Wistawk could move. The group inside didn't seem likely to be that handicapped, which meant that outrunning them was out of the question. Now, too late, he remembered that the Wistawki he and Uncle Virgil had conned all those years ago had been rather elderly. Maybe that was the only reason the two of them had made it out of that scam alive.
Preenoffneoff took a long step out onto the balcony. 'Who are you?' he demanded, his voice sounding like sticks clattering together.
Did that mean he was getting angry? Jack wished he knew. 'Who am I?' he echoed, stalling for time as he tried desperately to remember something—anything—about bonding ceremonies. Uncle Virgil had had him read up on Wistawki culture in general for that scam, but this particular subject hadn't really come up.
They were sort of like human weddings, he vaguely remembered, but a lot more rowdy. One of the articles he'd read had compared them to a combination of wedding, pie-eating contest, and carnival. They also usually covered a two– or three-block area, with all of the happy couple's neighbors involved in the ceremonies in some way.
No wonder the Brummga had scoffed at the idea of Jack being able to disappear into this neighborhood. If they got mad at him crashing their party, there would be an awful lot of Wistawki he would have to run through before he reached someplace safe.
But even as that depressing thought occurred to him, the key word clicked.
Carnival!
'Who am I?' Jack repeated, drawing himself up to his full height. 'Why, I'm one of the entertainers, of course. The Great Jack O'Lantern, here to amaze and enchant and astound the young ones. I trust I'm not late?'
Preenoffneoff had been starting to take another step toward them. Now, though, he paused. 'I didn't hire any humans,' he said.
'Not specifically,' Jack said. 'The agency sent me over.'
He reached down and patted Draycos's head. 'Jack O'Lantern and his amazing electromechanical assistant Draycos.' He frowned. 'Surely you've heard of us. The Skyway Pavilion on Scintrell? I was one of the star performers there only three years ago.'
'There are so many,' Preenoffneoff said, waving a hand in a vague gesture as he stepped to one side. 'Very well. Come inside.'
'Thank you,' Jack said, bowing from the waist. 'A moment while I get Draycos reset.'
He leaned over and reached under Draycos's neck. 'I hope you know what you are doing,' Draycos murmured.
