"Well, it"s a couple of things," I admitted grudgingly. "First, I"ve got a bad feeling about those deals you just put together.""
"Now wait a minute," my mentor scowled. "We talked all this out before we went after the merchants and you said that double-dealing wouldn"t bother you."
"It doesn"t. If anything, I"m glad to see both the Mob and the Deveels getting a little of their own back for a change."
"Then what"s wrong? I got you everything I could think of!"
"That"s what"s wrong."
My mentor shook his head sharply as if to clear his vision.
"I"ve got to admit, this time you lost me. Could you run that one past again, slow?"
"Come on, Aahz. You know what I"m talking about. You"ve gotten me more money than I could spend in a lifetime, a beautiful house ... not just anywhere, mind you, but at the Bazaar itself . . . steady work anytime I want it ... in short, everything I need to not only survive, but prosper. Everything."
"So?"
"So are you setting me up so you can leave? Is that what this is all about?"
I had secretly hoped that Aahz would laugh in my face and tell me I was being silly. Instead, he averted his eyes and lapsed into silence.
"I"ve been thinking about it," he said finally. "You"re doing pretty well lately and, like you say, this latest deal will insure you won"t starve. The truth of the matter is that you really don"t need me anymore."
"But Aahz!"
"Don"t "but Aahz" me! All I"m doing is repeating what you shoved down my throat at the beginning of this caper. You don"t need me. I"ve been giving it a lot of thought, and you"re right. I thought you always wanted to hear me say that."
"Maybe I don"t like being right," I said plaintively.
"Maybe I wish I did need you more and things could go on forever like they have in the past."
"That"s most of growing up, kid," Aahz sighed. "Facing up to reality whether we like it or not. You"ve been doing it, and I figure it"s about time I did the same. That"s why I"m going to stick around."
"But you don"t have to ... what?"
My mentor"s face split in one of his expansive grins.
"In this case, the reality that I"m facing is that whether you need me or not, I"ve had more fun since I took you on as an apprentice than I"ve had in centuries. I"m not sure exactly what"s going to happen to you next, but I wouldn"t miss it for all the gold on Deva."
"That"s great!"
"... Of course, there"s still a lot I can teach you, just like there"s a lot I have to learn from you."
"From me?" I blinked.
"Uh huh. I"ve been learning from you for some time now, kid. I was just never up to admitting it before. You"ve got a way of dealing with people that gets you respect, even from the ones who don"t like you. I haven"t always been able to get that. Lots of folks are afraid of me, but not that many respect me. That"s why I"ve been studying your methods, and have every intention of continuing."
"That"s . . . umm . . . interesting, Aahz. But how come you"re telling me this now?"
"Because if I stay around, it"ll be on one condition: that you wake up and accept the fact that you"re a full partner in our relationship. No more of this "apprentice" crud. It"s getting too rough on my nerves."
"Gee, Aahz... I..."
"Deal?"
"Deal."
We shook hands solemnly, and I remembered he had refused this simple act when he first accepted me as an apprentice. A full partner. Wow!
"Now what"s the other thing?"
"Hmm, excuse me?"
"If I recall correctly, you said there were a couple of things bothering you. What"s the other?"
"Well... it"s this house."
"What about the house?" Aahz exploded, slipping easily back into his old patterns. "It"s got enough room for us and our friends and your bodyguards when they show up and b.u.t.tercup and Gleep and anyone else who wanders by." "That"s true." "What"s more, we got it for free. It"s a good deal."
"Say that again, Aahz." "I said, "it"s a good ..." Oh." "From the Deveels, right?" . "Oh come on, Skeeve. It"s just a house. What could be wrong?"
"To use your phrase, "The mind boggles." I"ve been trying to spot the-catch, and I want you to check me to see if my facts and logic are correct."
"Okay."
"Now. Deveels are experts at dimension travel. If I understand it right, they manage these "bigger inside than outside" houses by offsetting the dimensions just a bit. That is, if we numbered the dimensions, and Deva was one, then our door is in dimension one and the rest of our house is in dimension one point four or something."
"Now that"s one I hadn"t thought about before," Aahz admitted. "The Deveels have been pretty tightlipped about it. Makes sense, though. It would be rough to play the poverty-stricken shop owner with a place like this just over your shoulder. If I had thought about it I would have realized a Deveel needs someplace secret to keep his wealth."
"So we"ve effectively been given our own dimension," I continued; "An unlisted dimension that"s all ours. For free, no less."
"That"s right," Aahz nodded, but there was a note of doubt in his voice now.
"What I wonder about is how many of these offset dimensions do the Deveels have access to, and why is this particular one standing vacant? What"s in this dimension?"
"Our house?" my mentor suggested tentatively.
"And what else?" I urged. "I"ve noticed there are no windows. What"s outside our back door that the Deveels were so eager to give away?"
"Backdoor?"
I pulled away the tapestry to reveal the door I had spotted during our first tour. It was heavy wood with strange symbols painted on it. It also had a ma.s.sive beam guarding it, and several smaller but no less effective-looking locks around the edge.
"I tried to say something at the time, but you kept telling me to shut up."
"I did, didn"t I."
We both stared at the door in silence for several minutes.
"Tell you what," Aahz said softly. "Let"s save investigating this for another day."
"Right," I agreed, without hesitation.
". . . And until we do, let"s not mention this to the others."
"My thoughts precisely."
"...And, partner?"
"Yes, Aahz?"
"If anyone knocks at this door, don"t answer unless I"m with you."
Our eyes met, and I let the tapestry fall back into place.