“Logical,” the creature said as it shifted toward a pig-body shape. “The price is 10% of your find.”
I could see the anger growing in Aahz’s body, his green scales stiff on his neck. Giving away anything to do with money was beyond something Aahz could do without undue stress.
Tanda put her hand on his arm and stepped forward.
“Your price is high for simple directions. We will give you 5% of anything we acquire on this venture, no matter what the value. Otherwise we will look elsewhere for help.”
The creature now looked like a quatra-piggy, a type of demon I had seen in the street on an earlier trip here. But that body was quickly changing to a new shape.
“You will not find help elsewhere,” the shifting demon said. “But your offer is fair and I will accept. I assume you need to go to Vortex #1 first?”
“Yes,” both Aahz and Tanda said at the same time. The creature, now shifting back into a beautiful woman again, nodded. “That can be arranged.”
She looked at Aahz and Tanda with a serious look. Her voice was firm and very solid. “Since I have a financial stake now in what you are attempting, I must warn you that a Vortex dimension is not a place to take lightly. It is a very dangerous, and sometimes tempting, place. It will be very easy to miss your path and become lost.”
Then she looked at me, her beautiful blue eyes boring into my heart. In my best dreams I would remember what this creature looked like forever. She had transformed into the most striking female I could have ever imagined. Every part of my body wanted to move to her, to touch her, to never leave her. Her gaze seemed to bore deeper and deeper into me as my legs got weak and my stomach did flip-flops. I desperately wanted my lips to be free to tell her how much I loved her.