Myth 13 - Myth Alliances, Asprin, Robert [microsoft ebook reader TXT] 📗

candy, unwrapped it, and immediately spat it out again. Licorice. No news was in?deed no good news.

Myth 13 - Myth Alliances

FIFTEEN

“Darling, your slip is showing.”

G. ROSE LEE

“This has to be your fault,” Oshleen accused, striding alongside Paldine up the main street of Volute. “How could you blow something as perfect as the deal we had on those glasses?” Vergetta trotted to keep up behind her two young associates. Five of the others trotted in their wake.

Caitlin had refused to come.

“Straightening out other people's messes is not my bag,” she had snorted, and gone back to working on her program to translate the specs of every Wuhs they knew into computer game characters for a game she called “Pre?tend Pushovers”.

Niki, who distrusted anything in which Monishone and/or high sorcery was involved, offered to stay behind and keep an eye on the Wuhses. Vergetta had to agree. They started doing things when the Ten were not in resi?dence. And she had begun hearing rumors of unrest.

That was all right; eight of them was more than enough

to straighten out a misunderstanding. One should have been. She didn't know what had gotten into Paldine, carry?ing on like that. Brainwashing, indeed! They were busi?nesswomen, not voodoo economists.

“I didn't do it, I tell you,” Paldine protested. “Every?thing, everything I did was according to our plan. We ought to have been raking in the gold pieces by now. This item ought to have netted us ten thousand this week alone.”

“Well, that's five percent of what we need,” Oshleen snorted.

“You think I don't know that? Bofus, that imbecile, claimed a group of strangers bounced in here, and started talking nonsense about how we were planning to rule the world, starting with everyone who bought our toy. Non- Scammies. Everyone believed it. They are so gullible.”

“It's those Wuhses!” Loorna growled. “I told you we have to find that D-​hopper and confiscate it. Then I'm go?ing to tear all of them limb from limb. When I think of all the hard work we've put in trying to pull their fat out of the fire, I could just scream!”

“It can't be the Wuhses,” Nedira stated, flatly. “To stand up in front of a crowd of strangers and make a speech like that? It's just not in their nature, dears. Wuhses couldn't do it.”

“Who else?” Loorna demanded. “Who else knew we were selling merchandise to the Scammies?”

“I still want an explanation for why the fire barricade went for a walk the other day,” Tenobia added. “Monishone saying that it ought to have been tethered down all along still doesn't ring true.”

“The Wuhses can do some magik,” Monishone sug?gested. “Perhaps we have overlooked a real magician among them.”

“I still tell you they couldn't be responsible for this,” Nedira protested, trotting ahead to catch up with Paldine. The marketing specialist opened her stride.

Vergetta threw up a magikal barrier to stop them all from

outdistancing her. The younger ones ran into the barrier and bounced back several feet. She hauled them up one by one.

“Slow down, darlinks. Nedira is right. Don't go charg?ing in making accusations. We ask this Bofus, quietly and calmly. And then we tear down his shop around his ears.”

“We'd better not go charging in at all,” Charilor ex?claimed, brushing herself off. She pointed in the direction of Bofus's store. “Look at that!”

Vergetta rendered the group of Pervects invisible with a hasty chant. “Over here, darlinks,” she urged, grabbing the two tall females by the hand. “We don't want them smelling us, either. We have to pick the only place in the known universe where their you-​know-​what don't stink.”

The eight of them stopped. On the main street a protest was under way. Hundreds of Scammies marched in an oval, carrying picket signs that read “Our brains are our own!” and “Down with dictaters!”

“Their spelling stinks, too,” Charilor growled.

“I can't believe they fell for the rantings of some wan?dering nutcase,” Vergetta grumbled.

“Maybe we've got a rival,” Loorna remarked darkly. “The Deveels probably want to open up their own shop and freeze us out.”

“Already?” Oshleen asked. “We haven't been operating for five days yet.”

“You know what they're like! Master merchants. We could learn a thing or two from them.”

“Yeah, I'd have liked to,” Charilor said, “but that inter?fering Trollop got in our way. Now we can't ever go back to the Bazaar.”

“That's all water under the bridge,” Vergetta reminded them. “What do we do about this? Never have I seen such an overreaction. They bought in to what this person or per?sons said, without ever checking with us, and the story seems to have grown since this morning. Here comes a sign that says 'Protect our children's future!' From a toy! Can you believe it?”

“Face it,” Paldine pointed out, “we picked them because they'd be easy to sell to.”

The crowd grew and grew. A Scammie carrying a voice-​amplifying cone faced the door.

“Come out, traitor! Come out, Bofus, and face your neighbors! You monster!”

“Hmmph!” Vergetta snorted. “I can't imagine why he won't come out, with a nice, friendly invitation like that.”

“Get the traitor!” shouted the Scammie with the loud-​hailer.

“Yeah!” the mob cried, shaking their fists. “Get the trai?tor!” They rushed toward the door.

When the first line of protesters got within two paces of the door, they suddenly bounced and went flying backwards.

“Riot control,” Oshleen observed. “Very good. Oh, look, here comes the cavalry.”

As they watched, dozens of uniformed police officers in helmets and armor came pouring out of the store front like clowns out of a magikal