Ker-POW.

Instead of leaving my opponent stunned and helpless, the spell backfired and exploded in a brilliant green glow. By its light I saw a heart-shaped face somewhat distended by partial strangulation but entirely recognizable.

"Tananda!" I shouted. It didn't matter that I couldn't breathe; my spell dampened the sound anyhow.

She recognized me, too. Her eyes widened just as the green fireball faded. I felt the garotte around my neck release. Limply, I fell to the floor. With stars dancing across my vision, I undid my darkness spell. As I lay gasping, the torches on the wall kindled into life once more, lending feeble light to the room. Tananda stood with her hands on her hips, looking down on me. Her mouth was moving.

"Wait," I mouthed, and dispelled the cloud of blue magik that comprised the silence spell with a flick of my fingers.

"What are you doing here?" we both asked at once.

When she first saw me, Tananda had looked surprised, then delighted—then her brows drew down over her pretty nose.

"I can't believe you're cutting in on one of our jobs!" she said. "A couple of the others said you might do it, but I didn't believe it. I am so disappointed in you. I never thought you'd do anything like that. I thought I knew you."

"What?" I squeaked. I cleared my throat. "Cutting in? Who said that?"

"Somehow you found out that Marmilda hired us to protect her and the family inheritance," she continued, looking hurt. "Don't you think we could do it? We were all around for years before you came on the scene, remember? Or did you just want to show that you could do it better? You just have to let us know you're taking a case, Skeeve. You don't have to poach." Her eyes brightened as if she was going to cry.

"Poach?" I protested, clambering to my feet. "Wait a minute! I'm not poaching. Marmilda didn't hire me. Her brother did."

Tananda's eyes widened. "Her brother? Marmel?"

"Me," Marmel said, hesitantly, holding up a tentative forefinger from his hiding place behind the headboard. "I just want my inheritance. I didn't know about Narwickius."

"Oh, Skeeve!" Tananda exclaimed. She rushed me like an oncoming dragon and wrapped herself around me. She planted her mouth on mine and gave me such a thorough kiss that it robbed me of breath all over again. "Forgive me. I am so sorry for ever doubting you. I was surprised to see you, and ... I didn't think. Marmilda came to us with this case only a couple hours ago. She sneaked into the Bazaar after dark. She is very frightened. She said she only has until morning before the problems really start. Then, to find you here made me assume that she decided we just weren't going to be able to do the job and got you in on it, too."

I shook my head. I was hurt by the thought she might even think I would muscle in on their business, but that had to wait. As she said, there wasn't much time before things got rolling.

"You're not the only one on this case, are you?" I asked. "Where's Chumley?"

"Chumley and Guido are both coming before dawn. They sent me on ahead to find the Hoho Jug or the father's will," Tananda said. "We didn't want to wake Marmel." She grinned, and dimples dented both her cheeks. "I suppose the silence spell was to keep from disturbing Marmilda."

"Right," I said. "I didn't know she had gone for help on her own while we were working in here. I guess the silence cut both ways."

"It happens," Tananda said, then paused.

I took a deep breath. "Well, as long as we're both here, why don't we work together?"

"It's fine with me," she said, 'but I'm not the only one who has to agree. I have ... partners."

"Fine," I said, hastily, trying to ignore the pang the word awoke in me. "Then let's make a tentative agreement until the others get here. I figure we have looked through maybe a third of the hiding places in this room. I'm concentrating on the ones that give off a magikal aura "

Tananda didn't waste any time. "I'll take that side of the room," she said.

Marmel went to find Marmilda. She wasn't asleep; she only pretended to be until Marmel told her what had happened.

"I was just doing it to save us both, baby brother," she said.

"I know, big sister," Marmel said, sheepishly. "Me, too."

The two of them helped us by pointing out those hiding places their father used that they knew of, but there were dozens I turned up that surprised them. I found hidey-holes in the back of paintings, underneath throw rugs, in the false heels of shoes. All of them were chockfull of junk.

"I think there's more extradimensional space in here than in our tent." I said to Tananda, then corrected myself. "I mean, your tent."

Tananda stopped pulling stuffed rabbits out of a woolly hat and gave me a wry smile. "Skeeve ..."

BAMF!

At the blast of outrushing air, I went on guard, magik at the ready.

"Hey, Tanda, any luck?"

I lowered my defenses. The new arrivals while considerably crowding the minuscule available space in the room, were friends.

"Hi, guys," I said.

"I say, Skeeve!" Chumley exclaimed, then observed we were not alone. "Klahd!" he said, in a coarse voice. "You here?"

In private, the purple Troll was erudite and articulate. In mixed company, that was to say, when some of the people present were not close friends, he reverted to a monosyllabic form of speech he used in his public persona as Big Crunch, a not-too-bright enforcer for hire.

"That's right, er, Big Crunch," I said. "Hiya, Guido."

"Hey dere, Skeeve." Guido held out his hand for a shake. I noticed the bulge in the breast of his big-shouldered, pin-striped suit. He seldom went out without his pocket crossbow, a weapon with which he could pick the eye out of a pinbug at fifty paces. He was ready for business. "Gotta admit, I'm a little surprised to see you here."

"It's a coincidence, Guido," I assured him.

"Uh-huh, and since when do you believe in coincidences?" he asked, narrowing an eye.

"Conference, guys!" Tananda announced, taking both huge males by the arms and dragging them into a corner. "Marmilda and Marmel, could we have privacy for a while, please?"

"Certainly," Marmilda said, taking Marmel by the arm. "Come downstairs. You can help me wash dishes. Let the people do their job. Call us if you need anything." The two Imps retreated from the room.

My former associates huddled. Tananda spoke in a low voice, eliciting muffled exclamations from Chumley and Guido. I couldn't tell if they were upset or not. I waited nervously. What if they didn't want me in on this project? What would I do? I had a client, too. Then they broke into laughter.

Guido turned to me. "You got the jump on Tanda?" he said, slapping me heartily on the back. I slipped on a pile of multicolored teddy bears and sat down on a heap of shoes. "Dat's more than I can say I ever got."

"Dumb luck." I said modestly, picking myself up. Inside. I was slumping with relief.

"No, it wasn't," Tananda said, smiling at inc. "You've gotten a lot better at magik."

"So have you," I insisted.

"Not me,'" Tananda said, with a chuckle. She held out her hand and displayed a gaudy knuckle-duster with a huge green stone in the center. "I borrowed this ring from Massha. We knew we were going up against Narwickius. Couldn't take the chance that he had left one of his bully-boys on the premises. You've improved a lot without having to rely on gadgets."

"Practice," I said, modestly. "I'm doing what I can with what I've got."

"Never denigrate yourself, tiger," she said, leaning over and giving me a kiss on the cheek. "It would rake most people years to make the progress you have in months "