Another Fine Myth by Robert Asprin

“But you said….”

“I’ve had time to think about it since then. The only reason a Deveel does anything is for a profit or out of fear. As far as his sticking his head into this brawl goes, I figure the fear will outweigh the profit. Trying to sell information to a madman is risky at best. My bet is he’s lying low until the dust settles.”

I reminded myself again of my faith in Aahz’s expertise in such matters. It occurred to me, however, there was an awful lot of guesswork in our planning.

“Um, Aahz? Wouldn’t it be a little safer if we had invested in a couple of those jazzy weapons back in Deva?”

“We don’t need them,” he replied firmly. “Besides, they’re susceptible to Gremlins. I’d rather go into a fight with a crude but reliable weapon than pin my hopes on a contraption that’s liable to malfunction when you need it most.”

“Where are Gremlins from?” I asked.

“What?”

“Gremlins. You said….”

“Oh, that. It’s just a figure of speech. There are no such things as Gremlins.”

I was only listening with half an ear. I suddenly realized that while I could see Quigley’s sleeping form, there was no sign of Tanda or Gleep.

“Where’s … urn … where’s Gleep?” I asked abruptly.

Aahz grinned at me.

“Gleep is standing watch . . . and just in case you’re interested, so’s Tanda.”

I was vaguely annoyed he had seen through me so easily, but was determined not to show it.

“When is… um… are they coming back?”

“Relax, kid. I told Tanda to leave you alone tonight. You need the sleep for tomorrow.”

He jerked his head pointedly toward the assassin’s robe I had been using for a pillow. I grudgingly resumed my horizontal position.