Mything Persons

A figure had emerged, fighting to pick his way across

the steeply sloped surface while dragging a struggling

girl by one arm.

Vic!

This was the first time I had gotten a clear look at my

foe, and I was moderately surprised. He was younger

than I had expected, barely older than myself, and in-

stead of a menacing cloak, he was sporting a white

turtleneck and sunglasses. It suddenly occurred to me

that if sunglasses enabled me to pass for a vampire, that

they would also let a vampire pass undetected among

humans.

The vampire suddenly stopped as his path was barred

by Tananda, who appeared as if by magic over the

edge of the roof. He turned to retrace his steps, only to

find that the trio of Aahz, Guido, and Chumley had

emerged behind him, cutting off his retreat.

"I believe, gentlemen and lady, that up there is the

elusive body that started this whole thing," I heard

myself saying. "If you can spare a few more moments, I

think my colleagues will have him in custody so that you

might interrogate him at your leisure."

"Don't be too sure of that. High Roller," Massha

cautioned. "Look!"

His chosen routes of escape cut off. Vic was now

scrabbling up the roof peak itself, Luanna hanging in

his grip. While I had to admire his strength, I was a. a

loss to understand what he was trying to accomplish

with the manuever. It was obvious that he had been ex-

posed, so why didn't he just give it up?

The answer became apparent in the next few mo-

ments. Reaching the apex of the roof, the vampire

underwent a chilling metamorphosis. Before the strike

force could reach him, he hunched forward and huge

MYTH-ING PERSONS

159

batwings began to grow and spread from his back. His

plans gone awry, he was getting ready to escape.

In immediate response to his efforts, Tananda and

Guido both produced projectile weapons and shouted

something to him. Though the distance was too great to

make out the words clearly, it was obvious to me that

they were threatening to shoot him down if he tried to

take to the air.

"We may have a murder case yet," Kirby murmured,

squinting to watch the rooftop drama unfold.

"Murder?" I exclaimed, turning on him. "How can

you call it murder if they're only trying to keep from

escaping your justice? "

"That wasn't what I meant," the vampire said, never

taking his eyes from the action. "Check it out."

I looked ... and my heart stood still.

Aahz had been trying to ease up the roof peak closer

to Vic and his hostage. Vic must have seen him, because

he was now holding Luanna out over the drop as he

pointed an angry finger at my partner. The threat was

unmistakable.

"You know, eet is people like zat who give ze vam-

pires a bad name, eh?" Pepe said, nudging me.

I ignored him, lost in my own anxiety and frustration

at the stalemated situation. A noticeably harder jab

from Massha broke my reverie, however.

"Hey, Hot Stuff. Do you see what I see?"

I tore my gaze away from the confrontation and shot

a glance her way. She was standing motionless, her

brow furrowed with concentration and her eyes closed.

It took me a few moments to realize what she was

doing, then I followed suit, scarcely daring to hope.

There it was! A force line! A big, strong, beautiful,

glorious force line.

160 Robert Asprin

I had gotten so used to not having any magical energy

at my disposal in this dimension that I hadn't even

bothered to check!

I opened myself to the energy, relished it for a fleet

moment, then rechanneled it.

"Excuse me," I said with a smile, handing my sun-

glasses to Kirby. "It's about time I took a hand in this

directly."

With that, I reached out with my mind, pushed off

against the ground, and soared upward, setting a course

for the cornered vampire on the roof.

Chapter Nineteen:

"All right, pilgrim. This is between you and

me!"

—A. HAMILTON

I had hoped to make my approach unobserved, but as I

flew upward, the crowd below let out a roar that drew

the attention of the combatants on the roof. Terrific!

When I wanted unobtrusive, I got notoriety.

Reaching a height level with that of the vampire, I

hovered at a discreet distance.

"Put away the nasties," I called to Tananda and

Guido. "He's not getting away by air."

They looked a bit rebellious, but followed the order.

"What's with the Peter Pan bit, partner?" Aahz

shouted. "Are you feeling your Cheerioats, or did you

finally find a force line?"

"Both." I waved back, then turned my attention to

Vic.

Though his eyes were obscured by his sunglasses, I

could feel his hateful glare burning into me to the bone.

"Why don't you just call it quits?" I said in what I

161

162 Robert Asprin MYTH-ING PERSONS 163

hoped was a calm, soothing tone. "It's over. We've got

you outflanked."

For a moment he seemed to waiver with indecision.

Then, without warning, he threw Luanna at Aahz.

"Why can't you all just leave me alone!" he

screamed, and dove off the roof.

Aahz somehow managed to snag the girl's hurtling

form, though in the process he lost his balance and

tumbled backward down the roof peak, cushioning the

impact with his own body.

I hesitated, torn between the impulse to check on