“No way, punk,” the demon sneered. “We both know that won’t get him to desert an apprentice. I’m going to lure him back to Perv with a blatant lie. And you’re going to keep your mouth shut.”
“But…”
“. . . Because if you don’t, I’ll make sure there’s nothing left to keep him in Klah . .. meaning you! Now before you even think about trying to match magik with me, remember something. You’ve been studying under Aahz for a couple years now. / graduated after over three hundred years of apprenticeship. So far, I’m willing to live and let live. You should be able to earn a living on what you’ve learned so far, maybe even pick up a few new tricks as you go along. However, if you cross me now, there won’t be enough of you to pick up with a sponge. Do we understand each other?”
I was suddenly aware why nobody we met in our dimension-crawling ever wanted to tangle with a Pervect. I was also aware that someone had just walked into the room behind me.
“Rupert!”
“Uncle Aahz!”
The two pounded each other on the back. I gave them lots of room.
“Hey kid, this is my nephew Rupert . . . but I see you’ve already met.”
“Unfortunately,” I grumbled.
That earned me a black look from Rupert, but Aahz missed it completely.
“So what brings you to Klah, nephew? A bit off your normal prowl pattern, isn’t it?”
“It’s Dad. He wants you.”
“Sorry,” Aahz was suddenly his normal self again. “I’ve got too many irons in the fire here to get drawn into some family squabble.”
“But he’s dying.”
That stopped Aahz for a moment.
“My brother? Nonsense. He’s too tough to kill. He could even beat me in an unfair fight.”