Myth 13 - Myth Alliances by Asprin, Robert (ebook reader online free .txt) 📕

dimen?sions. They had some sort of evil device they planned to use to brainwash them.

those Wuhses so scared they'd wet their pants even think?ing of coming in here."

The younger one shut the door firmly. “I don't want them seeing what we're doing, that's all.”

“How could they? Come back here and listen to OshleenÕs plan.”

Oshleen! I knew that name. But from where?

A tall, slender female in military uniform strode past the older Pervect. I peered at her. She looked familiar. Where had I seen her? Maybe when Aahz and I visited Perv? She smacked a riding crop into her palm, then pointed it up at the wall.

“Caitlin?”

The smallest Pervect I'd ever seen jumped up on a chair and poked at some buttons on a board. A huge map ap?peared on the wall. I didn't recognize the country. It wasn't Wuh, or Klah, or Deva, or any of the other dimensions where I'd been, but there was an infinity out there.

“Now, here's my plan,” Oshleen proclaimed, indicating a city on the map. “Taking over only a portion of our fac?tory output we can still cover the initial point of insertion. We can start pushing into this territory here, here and here.” As she swung the crop, tiny red arrows appeared over the places she pointed to. “Expansion should be easy. They will fall to their knees before us. How could they re?sist? With our charm and business acumen, there's no way they can withstand us. It'll be a walkover.”

“Yes,” agreed Vergetta, holding up an object. My eyes were still dazzled from the spell light. Was it a pair of spectacles?

“They'll be ours, all ours,” gloated the Pervect in the mini-​skirt. “Their eyes, their minds, will belong to us.”

I was horrified. The Ten went on talking over my head, but all I could think was that Wensley and the others were right! The Pervects were trying to take over other dimen?sions. They had some sort of evil device they planned to use to brainwash them.

“Well!” the older female breathed, clapping her hands. “That took a lot out of me, I gotta tell you. Lunch has got to be ready, already.”

“I'm hungry!” the little one announced. “Let's eat.”

A stylish Pervect in a skirt and jacket snapped her fin?gers, and the box on the table leaped into the air. “I'm off to start gathering converts,” she explained. “I'll report back as soon as I have them.” She and the box vanished.

The remaining nine Pervects marched past us. The last one, the strong one in the short skirt, stopped to look around the room before she slammed the door. A blast of white light filled the room. I felt, rather than heard a hum. As soon as I was sure they were gone, I got to my feet and let the wall disguise slip. Tananda was already standing be?side me, a grim expression on her face.

“What's the matter?” I asked.

“I've met two of them before,” she mused.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

“Could you miss that flower-​print dress?” Tananda de?manded. “They were trying to take over a part of the Bazaar a couple of months ago.”

“What?”

“Running a protection scheme. Don Bruce sent Guido to ask me and Chumley to get rid of them. It wasn't easy. They were starting small, but as you can see, they had big?ger plans. They've taken over Wuh, and now they're going for another dimension.”

“Ten Pervects,” I shuddered.

“Ten wouldn't be enough to take over the Bazaar. Deveels are used to dealing with Pervects. But an unsuspect?ing dimension, unaccustomed to magik ...”

I slammed my fist into my other palm. “We've got to prevent it.”

“How?” Tananda asked. “We don't know where they went.”

I started for the door. “Let's ask Zol. I bet he could help us figure it out.”

“Hold it!” Tananda ordered, just before I touched the knob. “Look!”

To the naked eye, the door seemed like what it was: a door. But I knew what she meant. Letting my eyes go half-​shut, I looked for magik. The blue glow was so intense I had to clap my eyelids shut.

“What is it?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.

“An incineration spell,” Tananda replied. “We're locked in.”

Myth 13 - Myth Alliances

NINE

“I'll be out in a second!”

. HOUDINI

“Can't we just pop out?” I asked, squinting at the wall. Now that I had stopped to look, the door, the walls, the ceiling, and even the windows were covered by a flickering blue haze. I backed into the center of the room, as far from the perimeter as I could get. “One of them did. The others just walked out.”

“They know what spell they set,” Tananda pointed out. “We don't. We might manage to transport ourselves and still get fried.”

“What can we do?” I asked, trying not to sound as pan?icky as I felt.

Tananda looked at the magik field thoughtfully. “Polar?ity,” she stated at last. “It's supposed to keep people out, but not necessarily in. We could try to push it outward.”

“Okay,” I agreed, slowly. I had pried open a few magik traps in the past. I wished Aahz had been there to offer his advice, but it would probably be along the lines of "you

know what you're doing, kid, do it!" Which was no help at all, under the circumstances. If I knew Pervects they wouldn't linger over their food. They could be back any minute.

I rubbed my hands together as I stared at the blue fire. But what was I waiting for? I had to find a way out.

Now that