Once we were alone, we stared at each other, neither wanting to be the first to speak.
“You never did get around to asking Hay-ner how much was at stake, did you?” Aahz sighed absently.
“That’s the money side of negotiations and I thought you covered it,” I murmured. “Funny, we both stood right there the whole time and heard every word that was said, and neither of us caught that omission.”
“Funny. Right. I’m dying.” My partner grimaced.
“Not as much as you will if word of this gets out,” I warned. “I vote that we give them the money to pay it off. I don’t want to, but it’s the only way I can think of to keep this thing from becoming public knowledge.”
“Done.” Aahz nodded. “But let me handle it. If Matt the Rat there gets wind of the fact that the whole thing was a mistake on our part, he’d probably blackmail us for our eyeteeth.”
“Right, “I agreed.
With that, we, the two most sought-after, most highly-paid magicians at the Bazaar, turned to deal with our charges, reminded once more why humility lies at the core of greatness.