Myth-Fortunes

Chapter 3

As we cleared the massive square edifice, I goggled in wonder at a new, marvelous structure ahead of us.

"You didn't tell us that you'd already built one pyramid," Aahz said.

And an impressive sight it was, too. I had never seen anything like it outside of the storybook or history books in my mother's study. A perfect, smooth triangle of pearlescent white, it loomed above the wide desert floor like a mathematical absolute. It didn't look so large from a distance, but as we glided toward it, I realized what I thought were insects walking on the stones were people my size and larger. As we paddled closer, I studied them. Their bodies were similar to denizens of my dimension, Klah, but their heads and feet resembled those of animals.

A narrow staircase led up the center of one side of the pyramid to a tiny doorway, a startling rectangle of black in the gleaming white side. The people trudged up and down the steps bearing cloth bundles, jars of colored paints, and rolls of thick parchment.

"Er, well, that one's not mine," Samwise said, fingering his collar. "That's Diksen's. He built it. I used to work for him."

"You mean you're copying his blueprints?" Aahz asked suspiciously.

"Not at all! Not at all! I'll show you my plans as soon as we get to the office. They're completely different. That one's mine."

Ahead, I could see a pier made of plain slabs of stone. Beyond it was a small square building that looked like an outhouse for Waycross's tomb. Above that were three incomplete rows of enormous, rough rectangular blocks arranged on top of one another.

Compared with the completed pyramid, Samwise's project was a deep disappointment. On every side, plain blank cubes of pinkish-gray rock were piled higher than the completed portion. Many of these were surrounded by Ghords busy with hammer and chisel. Small objects that caught the light flitted back and forth between them on wisps of magik. I thought this pyramid looked more like the aftermath of a demolition than a building site. Still, more blocks were rolling upwards to the empty spaces on ramps that had been piled up against the outer edge on each side of the building.

I peered at the stones, but I couldn't see anyone moving them. It wouldn't surprise me if Samwise's people were using magik to do the construction; there was an unbelievable amount of raw power available both above and below ground. I glanced around for wizards. I saw no one whose demeanor said to me "professional magician at work." Instead, at the corners of every level and in prominent stations among the workers, stood large, husky locals. Each held a short whip and a narrow striped, stick with a curled-over top like a shepherd's crook crossed on his chest. These Ghords glared at the tourists on Camel-back who paddled around in the sand at a safe distance to watch the work in progress.

I paid our Camel when we arrived at the pier and made a mental note to add the small silver coin to the invoice when Samwise started paying M.Y.T.H., Inc., for its expertise. We disembarked. The Camel swam away, muttering and spitting.

"I thought you said this was a union job," Aahz said, watching one of the massive slabs arrange itself in place and settle down.

"Absolutely," Samwise said. "No choice, really. I just took the path of least resistance."

"But these stones are moving all by themselves. Magik!"

"No magik," Samwise said, wincing. "Scarabs. The Universal Sacred Hegira of the Everlasting Brotherhood, Teamsters Interdimensional."

"USHEBTIS?" Aahz whistled. "Powerful group. Tough workers."

"They've pretty much got a stranglehold on this dimension," Samwise admitted. "I have an ongoing argument with their chief negotiator and shop steward, Beltasar. You'll meet her later. She's always coming by with a complaint."

"You think they might be causing the problems?" I asked.

"I don't think so," Samwise said doubtfully. "I hope not. They've had more than their share of accidents. They keep babbling about an ancient curse."

I raised my eyebrows. It was time for the other shoe to drop. Here it was. I exchanged glances with Aahz. "And is there an ancient curse?"

Samwise flinched defensively. "No! Or I wouldn't have started this project in the first place."

"What about the curses in Waycross's tomb?" I asked. "There are probably thousands of them listed on that building."

"No!" Samwise was adamant. "Those have nothing to do with me. I've kept this enterprise honest . . . well, as honest as any real estate development," he admitted.

Now that I knew Scarabs were carrying the stones, I could see the tiny black dots as they swarmed toward the next block in line. Amazingly, the massive object rose about an inch, then glided as if under its own power toward the ramps. The overseers stood aside. No need to harry Scarabs with the whip. They were all hustle and go.

Aahz did some calculations in his head.

"So, there's three hundred of them per block? How much can one of them carry on its own?"

Samwise made a dismissive gesture. "Are you kidding? If union rules didn't forbid it, a Scarab would carry a whole block by itself. The only reason there's a crowd under each stone is for safety. If it tips, a Scarab can break a leg or crack a shell, and you don't want to know what my insurance bills are like already."

"Then, what are all the muscle-men for?" Aahz asked.

"Security," Samwise said. "Come on in. I'll show you the list of things that have gone wrong. Here's the office." He led us toward the small stone hut on the edge of the building site.

I should have guessed that the Deveels' trick of using extradimensional space had spread to other places. What we walked into was a small stone hut, but inside Samwise had spared no expense. An atrium with a triangular skylight soared above us. On the gleaming gray marble wall ahead, the words "And Company" stood out in high bronze letters. A girl with a wonderful, curvaceous figure but small, round ears, a thick snout, and beady, piglike eyes occupied the reception desk. Like all the other Ghords we had seen, she wore a white linen headdress; a thin, pleated robe; and a fancy beaded necklace. She was dealing with a large, angry Gorgon woman who held onto a smaller male by his forearm. Snakes whipped around the woman's head in fury.

"You're kidding! Oh, I don't believe it." The Gorgon pushed away from the desk and stormed toward us, dragging her small and apologetic husband along. The few snakes left on his head waved feebly. "Can you imagine?" the Gorgon fumed at us. "Can you imagine? I wanted to buy one of these tombs for my husband—but they say he has to be dead before I put him in it! Of all the nerve. Come on!" She dragged

her husband away. He stumbled behind her like a toddler.

"Reminds me of one of my girlfriends," Aahz said fondly, watching her go. "Yeah, those were the days."

I knew from experience how formidable Pervect women could be. I didn't want to generalize, but I couldn't imagine dating one myself.

"This is my receptionist," Samwise said, leading us to the desk. "Any calls?"

"No, sir," the girl said. She glanced at Aahz and primped the edge of her headdress with an upturned hand.

"Hey, gorgeous," Aahz purred, leaning over the desk to gaze into her eyes. "Howya doin'?"

She beamed at him, showing peg-shaped teeth at the corners of her jaws.

"Miss Tauret, these are the people from M.Y.T.H., Inc. Will you have refreshments brought into the main conference room?"

"Certainly, sir." When she rose from her desk, I saw that her shapely legs ended in thick, cylindrical gray feet.

Samwise led us down a wide corridor. On the walls, images of buildings had been incised and painted. I read a couple of the labels as I went by. A very gaudy, high-rise building was marked "Carnival Warehouse, Vaygus." A white, almost featureless cylinder said, ".Info Ctr ©, Kobol." A tiny canvas tent was named as "Shaharwadi Empire Headquarters, Deva."

"I think I've seen that one," I said, pointing at the third image. "I bought some stuff-sacks there. The place is huge!"

Aahz glanced back at it. "Yeah, I've been there, too. Nice place. Your work, Samwise?"

The Imp shrugged, a little embarrassed. "Uh, no. These were done by the last architect to own this office, Ahmahotel. He retired a couple of years ago. Here we are. Have a seat."

We perched on stools around a high, white tabletop. Samwise unrolled a huge yellow parchment. He did his best to smooth it, but its wrinkles wouldn't let it lay flat. The plans looked like they had been deliberately crumpled up, then flattened out.

"This looks exactly like the building next door," Aahz said, frowning. "If this is a scam, it's a pretty inept one."

"No scam, Aahz, I swear to you!" Samwise turned the paper around so we could both see it. "It's really different."

"It looks the same to me," I said.

"Well ... it was designed by Diksen, too," Samwise admitted. "But he discarded it! He had a lot of good ideas. He's a very creative guy. I knew he wouldn't mind."

"Uh-huh," Aahz said. "Does he know you're using a plan that you plucked out of his waste-papyrus basket?"

"Oh, yeah, no problem," Samwise said. I thought he was talking just a little bit too fast, "He drew it up. It didn't work for him. He threw it away. I rescued it and adapted it. He didn't say I couldn't. What's the

problem with that?"

"I don't know yet," Aahz said. "Tell us and save us all a lot of time."

"You said you worked for him," I pressed. "Why aren't you with him any longer?"

"I had big ideas of my own," the Imp said, describing arcs in the air. "Plenty of big ideas."

"Such as?" Aahz asked.

"Financing," the Imp said, with his arms spread triumphantly. "Diksen had to stump up for that whole thing out there by himself. I came up with a much better idea to build my dream pyramid. It's a cooperative venture. Every buyer helps find more buyers. The more they bring in, the lower their buy-in becomes. It's a win-win proposition."

Aahz groaned. "That's just what I was afraid of. Why didn't you tell us that in our office in the Bazaar and let me say 'no' then? C'mon, kid, we're leaving." He stood up.

"Aahz, just listen!" Samwise begged.

BOOM! The floor lurched out from under me. I pushed away from it with a handful of magik and retrieved Aahz before he hit the ground. Samwise was tossed sideways. He grabbed onto a hank of air and steadied himself.

"What was that?" Aahz demanded as soon as his feet were back on the ground. "An explosion?"

"No, nothing like that, I'm sure," the Imp said. He hurried out into the hallway. A Ghord with the face of a bull rushed toward him. He whispered in Samwise's ear.

"Oh, no," Samwise said. He strode toward the doorway, but it was too late. A fist-sized knob of black buzzed in the door and hit him smack in the chest. It backed up a handspan and zipped up to the Imp's eye level. It shook a tiny finger in his face.

"Have I not told you a thousand times? It has happened again!"

Samwise took a pace back and rubbed the point of impact. "Beltasar," he said weakly.

I regarded the newcomer curiously. Since my first visit to the Bazaar at Deva, I had made friends and acquaintances that ranged from the size of a building down to the size of my thumb. I had thought at long distance that Scarabs were all black, but Beltasar was an iridescent blue with complicated designs incised on her shell in bright coral, turquoise, and gold. Her large, round eyes were also turquoise, and they were fixed with disapproval on the Imp.

"Another stone came right off our backs!" she exclaimed. "Unauthorized use of an unregistered magician on a union site will get you fined ten gold pieces per incident."

"There aren't any magicians working today," Samwise squawked. "It has to be your fault. You dropped a stone? Whose was it? What will my clients say?"

"They'll say you run a dangerous operation," Beltasar said, firmly. "It landed on your building."

"What?" Samwise yelped. He hurried outside, the Scarab flitting next to him. We followed.