“Do you know Perv? Have you been here before?” I
said, my hopes rising for the first time since I opened the
bottle.
“No, but I’ve heard of it. Most Djins I know avoid it
like the plague.”
So much for getting my hopes up. Still, at least I had
Kalvin talking seriously for a change.
“Well, to answer your question, I’m here looking for a
friend of mine. He … well, you might say he ran away
from home, and I want to find him and bring him back.
The trouble is, he’s . . . a bit upset at the moment.”
“A bit upset?” The Djin grimaced. “Sahib, he sounds
positively suicidal. Nobody in their right mind comes to
Perv voluntarily . . . present company excepted, of course.
Do you have any idea why he headed this way?”
I shrugged carelessly.
“It’s not that hard to understand. He’s a Pervect, so it’s
only natural that when things go wrong, he’d head for…”
“A Pervect?”
Kalvin was looking at me as if I’d just grown another head.
“You have one of these goons for a friend? And you
admit it? And when he leaves you try to get him back?”
Now, I couldn’t speak for any of the other citizens of
Perv, but I knew Aahz was no goon. That’s fact, not idle
speculation. I knew the difference because I had two goons,
Guido and Nunzio, working for me. I was about to point
this out when it occurred to me that I wasn’t required to
give Kalvin any kind of explanation. I was the owner, and
he was my servant.
“I rather think that’s between my friend and me,” I said
stiffly. “As I understand it, your concern is to assist me in
any way you can.”