Free MA11-12 Myth-ion Improbable Something Myth-Inc by Robert Asprin Page B

had gone by. The pacing had helped me some, allowing me to work off some of the panic and fear. For the moment it felt as if my mind was working pretty clear again, and I was proud of myself for how well I had done so far. I just hoped I would have a chance to tell Aahz and Tananda and let them be proud of me.
    I stared out at the empty road. The last thing I wanted was to be stuck on a vegetarian planet with some weird, hat-tipping people who didn’t believe in money.
    Down the street a couple people looked at me, seeming almost shocked because I was sitting on the sidewalk. I stood, tipped my hat at them, and leaned against the building instead.
    They smiled as if I were now suddenly all right, and went about their business. For the next few minutes I stared out at the empty road leading off toward the rock cliffs, trying to decide what to do. Should I walk back up there or stay right where I was?
    What would I do if I got to the cliff face and they weren’t there, which was likely? It would be almost dark by then and I would have to spend the night out in the wild. And, for some reason, that idea didn’t sit well.
    And what would I do if they never came back here? Should I head for the city with the golden cow in it? I remembered enough from the map that the city’s name was Dodge. I could work my way there, given time.
    I’d make that decision if Aahz and Tananda didn’t come back. Right now I just needed to make sure Aahz and Tananda could find me when they did get here. This little town was where they had left me; this was where I was going to stay. At least for the immediate future, however long that might be.
    If Glenda had managed to do something awful to Aahz and Tananda, I would face that problem later. Much later. And somehow make sure Glenda paid for her sins.
    With one last look at the empty road, I turned and headed back to Audry’s. At least there I could sit in the window and watch the street without being obvious.
    The music was still coming from what looked like a piano, even though the place was empty. The guy behind the bar smiled at me, and then frowned when Glenda didn’t follow me in the door.
    I decided I needed to have him on my side. I walked up to the bar.
    “Has my friend been back here yet?”
    “No,” he said. “You ain’t found her?” There was instant worry in his question.
    “Haven’t seen her since I left here earlier,” I said. “Been walking the length of your fine town looking for her.”
    “I was a wonderin’ what you were doin’,” he said. “Can’t imagine what might have happened to her, though. The full moon is still a few days off, so the round-up couldn’t have taken her. At least not yet.”
    I desperately wanted to ask him what the full moon had to do with anything, and what a round-up was, but he said both so matter-of-factly that I knew I would blow my cover if I asked.
    “Yeah, couldn’t be that.” I said instead.
    “She was askin’ about horses,” he said. “Maybe she got one and headed down the road?”
    I shook my head. “I checked. She didn’t. Mind if I just sit over there and wait?”
    “Not at all,” he said, reaching down and grabbing a glass. Before I could think of a reason to stop him that sounded good, he poured me another glass of the carrot juice.
    “On me,” he said, sliding the glass toward me across the bar. “Just tell your friend when you see her that she still owes me a surprise.”
    “Oh, trust me,” I said. “When she promises a surprise, she always pays off.”
    He didn’t know how truthful that statement was.
    He beamed at that and I took my glass of juiced carrots and went over and sat down so I could see out the window. The shadows were growing long and the heat was leaving the main street of Evade. It looked as if the nights in this area were pretty chilly. I was glad I hadn’t decided to go up to the cliffs just for that reason.
    Let alone whatever a round-up was.
    I took a sip of the carrot juice just to