Little Myth Marker By Robert Asprin

I paused to take a sip of wine, and for once no one interrupted me with questions.

“If you look back on it, most of the problems we’ve been having have originated directly or indirectly from Markie. She mouthed off about Bunny being in my bed to get Tananda upset, and when that didn’t work she made a few digs about her living here free that got her thinking about leaving . . . just like she deliberately made Massha look bad in the middle of her magic lesson for the same reason, to get her to leave.”

“Almost worked, too,” my apprentice observed thoughtfully.

“The business in the Bazaar was no accident, either,” I continued. “All she had to do was wait for the right opportunity to pretend to get mad so we wouldn’t suspect she was blasting things deliberately. If you recall, she even tried to convince me that I didn’t need to take dragon poker lessons.”

“Of course,” Markie put in, “that’s not easy to do when people think you’re a kid.”

“The biggest clue was Gleep. I thought he was trying to protect me from Bunny, but it was Markie he was really after. I keep telling you that he’s smarter than you think.”

“Remind me to apologize to your dragon,” Aahz said, still staring at Markie.

“It was a good plan,” she sighed. “Ninety-nine percent of the time it would have worked. The problem was that everyone underestimated you, Skeeve . . . you and your friends. I didn’t think you’d have enough money to pay off the irate merchants after I did a number on their displays, and your friends …” She shook her head slowly. “Usually if word gets out that I’m on assignment, it makes my work easier. The target’s associates bail out to keep from getting hit in the crossfire, and trying to get them to stay or come back only makes things worse. Part of sinking someone’s career is cutting them off from their support network.” She raised her wine in a mock toast to me.