MA11-12 Myth-ion Improbable Something Myth-Inc Read Free Page B

said, putting my shoe back on. “Maybe later.”
    “I still don’t like this idea,” Aahz said, turning to stare at the tent, which was clearly why we were on Deva.
    Tananda shrugged. “Neither do I, but we don’t have much of a choice, do we? You know anyone who might know what or where a vortex is?”
    Aahz shook his head, obviously trying to think of someone.
    “I just don’t like the price we’re going to pay.”
    “It doesn’t have to be that bad,” she said.
    Aahz said nothing.
    I finished one more last check for scales and glanced at the tent we were standing in front of. There was no sign, no indication that anyone was even in it. The crowd in the street seemed to give it a wide berth as well.
    “I just wish I knew what we were walking into,” I said. “A little hint would be nice.”
    “You’re staying out here,” Aahz said.
    I glanced around at the flowing crowds of white-and red-scaled acid demons and shook my head. “Not a chance.”
    “We need to stick together,” Tananda said, taking my side. “We may have to move quickly.”
    “That doesn’t sound good,” I said.
    Aahz made his disgusted noise, and then looked me right in the eyes.
    “Not a word comes from your mouth in there. Understand?”
    “Sure,” I said, making a motion across my mouth that I had sealed it.
    “Here,” Tananda said, smiling at me. “Let me help you with that.”
    She put her wonderful hand against my mouth. The smell of her skin was that of distant flowers, her touch was soft. She ran her hand along my mouth as I had done, and then patted my shoulder.
    “That was—”
    My mouth wouldn’t open!
    I tried again.
    The words sort of jumbled inside and the only noise that reached my ears was “Thrrrgggg wgggggeeee.”
    I tried to shout “What did you do?”
    What got to my ears was “Wgggggghhh dggggggghhh ygggggghhh dggggggghhh.”
    My lips were completely glued together. And the harder I tried to force them apart, the more painful it became.
    “I didn’t know you knew that one,” Aahz said to Tananda, completely ignoring my struggle. “I’ve wanted to use it a hundred times.”
    She smiled at my mentor. “There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.”
    Well, as far I was concerned, sealing my lips wasn’t something I had ever wanted Tananda to do with anything except maybe a kiss. I tried to tell her so, but again nothing sounded like a word.
    “Let’s do this,” Aahz said, nodding in satisfaction at my condition, and then stepping toward the tent.
    “Don’t worry,” Tananda said, smiling at my struggle as she took my arm and followed Aahz. “It’s just temporary. Trust me; it’s for your own good. And ours as well.”
    Not for the first time, it occurred to me that for someone who claimed not to have enough magikal talent to be a magician, Tananda occasionally displayed a lot more knowledge and skill than I had as the Royal Magician of Possiltum.
    At the tent flap Aahz didn’t even hesitate or knock, if knocking was possible on a big tent. He just stepped inside and Tananda led me right behind him.
    The place was huge.
    No, huge didn’t describe it. On either side of us the tent seemed to fade off into the distance. This was the first time I had seen one of the Bazaar tents that had bigger insides than outsides. Aahz had mentioned them, but until I stepped into the massive room on the other side of the tent flap, I had no idea that such a thing was really possible. I was going to have to have Aahz teach me the magik involved so I could do that with our rooms back at the palace.
    The tent was dimly lit and had a polished marble floor and dark, wooden-looking walls. There was almost no furniture. A simple wooden desk sat on the side of the room facing where we had come in. A massive map of what looked like dimensions filled the wall behind it.
    A woman sat at the desk, not looking at us at all. Whatever had Aahz and Tananda so worried about being here wasn’t clear on first glance.