Myth 08 – Myth-Nomers by Aspirin, Robert

nasty bite, but it would probably prefer you to back down.

Female Pervects seem to be cut from a whole different

bolt of cloth. Their eyes are narrower and set further back

on the head, making them look more . . . well, reptilian.

They never smile or laugh, and they don’t ever bluff. In

short, they look and act more dangerous than their male

counterparts.

Some of you may wonder why I am choosing this point

of the narrative to expound on the subject of female Pervects.

The rest of you have already figured it out. For the former,

let it suffice to say that the bodyguard Edvick introduced

me to was a female.

We found her in a bar, a lounge, actually, which the

cabbie informed me she used as an office between jobs.

She didn’t move or blink as we approached her table, which

I came to realize meant she had been watching us from the

moment we walked through the door. Edvick slid into a

vacant chair at her table without invitation and motioned

me into another.

“This is Skeeve … the Klahd I was telling you about,”

he announced, then fumed to me. “Skeeve, this here’s the

bodyguard I’d recommend for you. There may be some

better at doing what she does, but if so, I don’t know ’em.

154 Robert Asprin

For protection against physical or magikal attacks, she’s top

of the line.”

With that, he leaned back in his chair, letting us size each

other up like two predators meeting over a fresh kill.

Female Pervects seem to come in two body types. I’ll

tell you about the other type later, but the kind the bodyguard

was was the lean, wiry variety. Even sitting down I could