MA08 Myth-Nomers and Im-Pervections Read Online Free PDF Page A

polite!” the Djin whispered insistently. “That’s what made him suspicious in the first place, remember?”
    “Not from around here, eh?” the cop snarled. “So tell me, Mr. Can’t-Walk-Like-Normal-Folks-Skeeve, just where is it you’re from ... exactly?”
    So much for keeping my origins a secret.
    “Well, I was born on Klah, but lately I’ve been living at the Bazaar at Deva where I ... ”
    “From off-dimension! I might have known. I suppose comin’ from Deva that you’re going to try to tell me you’re here on business.”
    “Well, sort of. I’m here looking for my business partner.”
    “Another one from off-dimension! Any more and we’ll have to fumigate the whole place.”
    The cop’s mouth was starting to get on my nerves, but I thought it wise to keep a rein on my temper, despite the warning from Kalvin. “Actually, he’s from here. That is, he’s a Pervect.”
    “A Pervect? Now I’ve heard everything. A fellow from off-dimension who claims to have a Pervect for a business partner!”
    That did it.
    “That’s right!” I barked. “What’s more, he happens to be my best friend. We had a fight and I’m trying to find him and get him to rejoin the company. What’s it to you, anyway?”
    The cop gave ground a little, then scowled at me.
    “Well, I guess you’re tellin’ the truth. Even someone from off-dimension could come up with a better lie than that. Just watch your step, fella. We don’t like outsiders much on Perv.”
    He gave me one last hard glare, then wandered off, glancing back at me from time to time. Still a little hot under the collar, I matched him glare for glare.
    “That’s better,” Kalvin chortled, reminding me of his presence. “A Klahd, huh? That explains a few things.”
    “Oh, yeah? Like what?”
    Like I said, I was still a little miffed.
    “Like why we’ve been wandering around without a plan. You aren’t used to metropolises this size, are you?”
    Mad as I was, I couldn’t argue with that. “Well ... ”
    “If you don’t mind, could I offer you a little advice without your asking for it?”
    I shrugged noncommittally.
    “It’s obvious to me this little search of yours could take some time. It might be a good idea if we hunted up a hotel to use for a base camp. If that cop had asked where you were staying on Perv, things might have gotten a little awkward.”
    That made sense. It also brought home to me just how much of a stranger in a strange land I was. On most of my adventures I had either slept under the stars or had housing provided by friends or business associates. Consequently, I had had remarkably little experience with hotels ... like none.
    “Thanks, Kalvin,” I said, regaining a bit of my normal composure. “So how do you recommend we find a hotel?”
    “We could hail a cab and ask the driver.”
    Terrific. The Djin was being his normal, helpful self. I was beginning to feel some things weren’t going to change.

“I’LL TELL YA , this would be a pretty nice place, if it weren’t for all the Perverts.”
    The taxi driver said this the same way he had made all his comments since picking us up: over his shoulder while carelessly steering his vehicle full tilt through the melee of traffic.
    I had ignored most of his chatter, which didn’t seem to bother him. He apparently didn’t expect a response, but this last comment caught my interest.
    “Excuse me, but aren’t you a Pervert ... I mean, a Pervect?” The driver nodded vigorously and half turned in his seat to face me.
    “There. See what I mean?”
    Frankly, I didn’t. If there was logic in his statement, it escaped my comprehension. What I did see, however, was that we were still plunging forward without slacking our speed. There was a tangle of stopped vehicles ahead which the driver seemed oblivious to as he tried to make his conversational point. A collision seemed inescapable.
    “Look out!” I shouted, pointing frantically at the obstructions.
    Without losing eye