Another Fine Myth by Robert Asprin

“He seems to be okay, Aahz.” I reported.

“Good,” he sneered. “I’d hate to think of anything happening to him, accidental-like.”

Aahz was still not happy with our traveling companions. He had only grudgingly given in to my logic for bringing them along as opposed to leaving them behind. I had argued that they could be of potential assistance in dealing with the Deveel, or at least when we had our final showdown with Isstvan.

In actuality, that wasn’t my reasoning at all. I felt a bit guilty about having set Quigley up to get clobbered by the Imps and didn’t want to see any harm befall him because of it.

“It would make traveling a lot easier if we restored him,” I suggested hopefully.

“Forget it, kid.”

“But Aahz….”

“I said forget it! In case you’ve forgotten, that particular gentleman’s major pastime seems to consist of seeking out and killing demons. Now I’m aware my winning personality may have duped you into overlooking the fact, but I am a demon. As such, I am not about to accept a living, breathing, and most importantly, functioning demon hunter as a traveling companion.”

“We fooled him before!” I argued.

“Not on a permanent basis. Besides, when would you practice your magik if he was restored? Until we meet with the Deveel, you’re still our best bet against Isstvan.”

I wished he would stop mentioning that. It made me incredibly uncomfortable when he did. Besides, I couldn’t think of a good argument to it.

“I guess you’re right, Aahz,” I admitted.

“You’d better believe I’m right. Incidentally, since we seem to be stopped anyway, this is as good a time as any for your next lesson.”