Myth-Fortunes

"That's the one I am talking about," Samwise's voice came from behind the image of the completed uppermost tomb. On its side was the image of a swan wearing a crown. A pink hand protruded through the illusion and pointed. Just to the west of the structure on which we now stood, another point aimed toward the sky. Even at this distance it dwarfed the first pyramid and all the other ones close to it. "That could be yours, Aahz. You, at the top of the highest point in the Valley of Zyx. Think of it!"

Aahz was not mollified. "And how do I know you won't build a bigger one in Phase Three?"

"Footprint, Aahz," Samwise said, emerging from the benben with a smile on his face. "You can only put

so many square feet in a yard. Tell you what: you can register my plans with the Pharaoh's clerk—but only after Phase One is complete. I don't want Suzal pulling my license before I'm through. I've had enough problems. You will start tomorrow, won't you?"

"We-eel ..." Aahz was letting himself be persuaded. "Maybe I won't tell the Pharaoh what kind of scam you're pulling. ..."

"The local beer's very good. I'll make sure you have your own barrel."

"I don't know," Aahz said. "I don't want to break any local laws. I bet if I read through the regulations in that tomb— what was its name, Skeeve?"

"Waycross."

"I bet there'll be dozens of rules we're violating."

"Daily barrels of beer?" Samwise offered, looking increasingly desperate.

"Two," Aahz said. "It's a hot climate. You don't want me dehydrating on you. I might start to lose my equilibrium, and you know what happens when a master magician loses his equilibrium. What do you think, kid?"

"Catastrophic," I agreed. "Better make it three barrels."

Samwise gulped. "W-w-why not? I'm sure you'll help me save more than you're costing me. I hope."

"Double, at least," Aahz said, with a casual wave.

"Well, then," Samwise said, pulling two more papyri out of his pocket, "let's formalize our agreement." The first one was between M.Y.T.H., Inc., and And Company. The second, which Aahz read over twice as carefully, was a personal contract for Aahz. I noticed that the terms had been written in exactly as discussed. It puzzled me, until I saw the Pyxie peering out of the Imp's pocket. It looked exhausted. Those miniature beings were the fastest scribes in all the dimensions. Samwise probably figured he couldn't lose a minute when signing a prospect. He flicked a talon at a series of dotted lines. "Sign there, there, there, and there."

That was when I stepped in. "We'll take that first one back with us tonight and bring it back tomorrow," I said, taking it from Samwise. "Aahz will want to read it over first."

Meaning it had to go up before the partners to agree if we took it. Bu

"No problem, no problem!" Samwise said. "Do you want to take the second one home with you, too? The only way to make sure that everything is the way you like it is to sign right now. Because I warn you, the terms will go up every few hours. Standard Deveel contracts."

I opened my mouth to suggest that Aahz do just that, but he was too impatient. He grabbed the second document and put his name on the dotted line.

"Thank you," Samwise said. He snatched it away as if he was afraid that Aahz might change his mind and tear it up on the spot.

I heard a loud rip.

"Ow!" Aahz bellowed. "What did you just do to me? I wasn't going to sign it in blood!"

I looked at his finger. A narrow slit had opened up in the pad just under the talon. Yellow-green blood welled up.

"That's strange," I said. I didn't know Pervects could get paper cuts. Their scaly skin was too thick and tough. I'd known Aahz to squeeze handfuls of broken glass without cutting himself.

"Just bad luck," Samwise said and then looked guilty.

Chapter 7

"Well, you don't know everything about me."

Once out of the Imp's sight, I popped us back to Deva. We appeared in the president's office in M.Y.T.H., Inc.'s headquarters in the Bazaar with an explosion of displaced air. Everyone looked up.

"Hi, everyone!" I said. At her desk, Bu

"Nothing much," Bu

"No problem," Aahz said, settling back in the armchair in the corner of the president's office. "There's not much to report on our end."

It was Bu

Apart from that, I hadn't seen any real moments when the others showed difficulty accepting Bu

I settled back in the chair that she had picked out for me and tried not to feel jealous as she sat down behind the desk that had been mine for so long. Bu

splayed. This chair was made to keep a lady's knees together. Bu

The rest of her—formerly my—office had been redecorated to suit her tastes, sleek and subtle. I admit that my style is more the 'finding it out on the curb' chic, or 'it felt good to sit on.' The walls were a pale shade between tan and pink, with white trim like whipped cream sprayed into curlicues. An oval mirror on a stand opened through extradimensional space Bu