lisher, cook, translator… is there anything else you do?”
“Oh, I’m into a lot of things. Photography, tour guide .. .
I even draw a little. Some of these drawings I did. I’d be
willing to part with them for the right price.”
He gestured at some of the sheets adorning the interior,
and the cab veered dangerously to the right.
“Ah . . . actually, I was interested in something else you
said just now.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“Tour guide.”
“Oh, that. Sure. I love to when I get the chance. It’s
sweet money. Beats the heck out of fighting the other hacks
for fares all day long.”
I glanced at Kalvin and raised a questioning eyebrow.
“Go ahead,” he said. “We could use a guide, and you
seem to be getting along with this guy pretty well. You
know what they say, ‘Better the Deveel you know.’ “
Obviously the Djin’s knowledge did not extend to De-
veels, but this wasn’t the time or place to instruct him. I
turned my attention back to the driver.
“I was thinking of hiring you more as a guide than a tour
guide. How much do you make a day with this cab?”
‘ ‘Well, on a good day I can turn better than a hundred.”
“Uh-huh,” I said. “How about on an average day?”
That earned me another over-the-shoulder glance.
“I gotta say, fella, you sure don’t talk like a Klahd.”
“I live at the Bazaar at Deva,” I smiled. “It does wonders
for your bargaining skills. How much?”
We haggled back and forth for a few minutes, but even-
tually settled on a figure. It seemed fair, and I wasn’t exactly
in a position to be choosy. If the device the cabbie had used