“It’s nothing, really,” she said hastily. “Now it’s your turn. Since I’ve told you my story, maybe you won’t mind me asking how you got started as a magician.”
That set me back a bit. Like her, I had been raised on a farm. I had run away, though, planning to seek my fortune as a master thief, and it was only my chance meeting with my old teacher Garkin and eventually Aahz that had diverted my career goals toward magic. In hindsight, my motives were not discernibly better than hers, but I didn’t want to admit it just now. I kind of liked the way she looked at me while laboring under the illusion that I was someone noble and special.
“That’s too long a tale to go into just now,” I said brusquely. “There are still a few more answers I’d like from you. How come you used our place as a getaway route from Deva?”
“Oh, that was Vic’s idea. We teamed up with him just before we started working our con at the Bazaar. When it looked like the scam was starting to turn sour, he said he knew a way-off dimension that no one would be watching. Matt and I didn’t even know it was your place until your doorman asked if we were there to see you. Matt was so scared about having to tangle with you that he wanted to forget the whole thing and find another way out, but Vic showed us the door and it looked so easy we just went along with him.”
“Of course, it never occurred to you that we’d get stuck with the job of trying to bring you back.”
“You better believe it occurred to us. I mean, we didn’t think you’d have to do it. We expected you’d be mad at us for getting you involved and come after us yourself. Vic kept saying that we shouldn’t worry, that if you found us here in Limbo he could fix it so you wouldn’t be able to take us back. I didn’t know he was thinking about setting up a frame until he sprang it on your partner.”