tell she was tall, taller than me, anyway. Where Pervish
males, as typified by Aahz, were generally built like walls, |
she was as slender and supple as a whip … a rapier to
their ax. I’ve mentioned that the men reminded me of lizards, |
well, she made me think of a poisonous snake . . . graceful
and beautiful without being attractive. She was wearing a
dark waist-length cape that was almost a poncho except it
was open in front, revealing a form-fitting jumpsuit under-
neath. Even a violence know-nothing like me could tell the
cape would be perfect for producing and vanishing weapons
with unsettling ease. Overall, she impressed me as being
the most deadly woman I had ever met . . . realizing I
haven’t met that many green, bald, scaly women.
” I hear you drink,” she said bluntly, breaking the silence.
“Not well… and, after last night, not often,” Ireturned.
That earned me a curt nod.
“Good. A girl’s got to watch her reputation.”
It never even occurred to me that she might be referring
to her way with me. She was stating quite simply that if
anything happened to me while she was on guard, her pro-
fessional status would suffer. What’s more, she didn’t want
to risk that reputation on a fool. As one inclined to talk too
much, I was impressed with how much she could communi-
cate with so few words.
“Ever work with a bodyguard before?”
“Yes. I have two back on Deva. They were . . . busy
elsewhere, so I came to Perv alone.”
MYTH-NOMERS AND IM-PERVECTIONS 155
There was a flicker in her eye and a slight tightening of