ignoring my apprentice. “It occurs to me that I’ve only got your word on all this ... that Vic is still alive and all. If you’re taking advantage of my good nature to get me involved in something crooked ...”
“He’s alive,” I assured him. “I’ve seen him myself since we were here last ... but you didn’t answer the question. What was that you were saying about what would happen if we took hours to plan the jailbreak?” The Dispatcher shrugged.
“I suppose you guys know what you’re doing and I should keep my mouth shut, but I was getting a little worried. I mean, it’s sundown already, and if you’re going to make your move before the execution, it had better be soon.”
“How do you figure that?” I frowned. “The action isn’t slated until high midnight. I had figured on waiting a while until it was dark and things quieted down around town a little.”
“Are you kidding?” the vampire said with a start, his eyebrows going up to his hairline. “That’s when ... oh, I get it. You’re still thinking in terms of your off-dimension timetables. You’ve got to ... umm, you might want to be sitting down for this, Skeeve.”
“Lay it on me,” I said, rubbing my forehead again. “What have I overlooked now? Even without the blindfold and the cigarette I’d just as soon take the bad news standing up.”
“Well, you’ve got to remember that you’re dealing with a city of vampires here. Sundown is the equivalent of dawn to us. That’s when things start happening, not when they start winding down! That means ...”
“... that high midnight is a major traffic time and the longer we wait, the more people there will be on the street,” I said, trying to suppress a groan.
Once the basic oversight had been pointed out, I could do my own extrapolations ... with all their horrible consequences. Trying to fight back my own panic, I turned to my assistants.
“Okay, troops. We’re on. Guido, grab that rope you saw. We may need it before this is over.”
The bodyguard’s eyes widened with astonishment. “You mean we’re going to start the caper right now? But Boss! We haven’t planned ...”
“Hey, Guido,” I said, flashing a grin that was almost sane. “You were the one who said that over-planning was a problem. Well, if you’re right, this should be the most successful jailbreak ever!”
VILHELM WAS RIGHT about one thing. The streets were nowhere nearly as crowded as they had been the times we navigated their length well after sundown. Only a few stray beings wandered here and there, mostly making deliveries or sweeping down the sidewalks in front of their shops prior to opening. Except for the lack of light, the streets looked just like any town preparing for a day’s business ... that and the red eyes of the citizens.
We hugged the light as we picked our way across town ...
That’s right. I said “hugged the light.” I try to only make the same mistake a dozen times. In other dimensions, we would have “hugged the dark” to avoid being noticed or recognized. Here, we “hugged the light.” Don’t laugh. It worked.
Anyway, as we picked our way through the streets of Blut, most of my attention was taken up with the task of trying to map a good getaway route. Getting Aahz out of jail I would deal with once we got there. Right now I was worried about what we would do once we had him out ... a major assumption, I know, but I had so little optimism that I clung to what there was with all fours.
The three of us looked enough like vampires in appearance to pass casual inspection. There was no way however, that we could pass off my scaly green partner as a native without a disguise spell, and I wasn’t about to bet on having any magical energy left after springing Aahz. As such, I was constantly craning my neck to peer down side-streets and alleys, hoping to find a little-traveled route by which we could spirit our fugitive colleague out of town without bringing the entire
“He’s alive,” I assured him. “I’ve seen him myself since we were here last ... but you didn’t answer the question. What was that you were saying about what would happen if we took hours to plan the jailbreak?” The Dispatcher shrugged.
“I suppose you guys know what you’re doing and I should keep my mouth shut, but I was getting a little worried. I mean, it’s sundown already, and if you’re going to make your move before the execution, it had better be soon.”
“How do you figure that?” I frowned. “The action isn’t slated until high midnight. I had figured on waiting a while until it was dark and things quieted down around town a little.”
“Are you kidding?” the vampire said with a start, his eyebrows going up to his hairline. “That’s when ... oh, I get it. You’re still thinking in terms of your off-dimension timetables. You’ve got to ... umm, you might want to be sitting down for this, Skeeve.”
“Lay it on me,” I said, rubbing my forehead again. “What have I overlooked now? Even without the blindfold and the cigarette I’d just as soon take the bad news standing up.”
“Well, you’ve got to remember that you’re dealing with a city of vampires here. Sundown is the equivalent of dawn to us. That’s when things start happening, not when they start winding down! That means ...”
“... that high midnight is a major traffic time and the longer we wait, the more people there will be on the street,” I said, trying to suppress a groan.
Once the basic oversight had been pointed out, I could do my own extrapolations ... with all their horrible consequences. Trying to fight back my own panic, I turned to my assistants.
“Okay, troops. We’re on. Guido, grab that rope you saw. We may need it before this is over.”
The bodyguard’s eyes widened with astonishment. “You mean we’re going to start the caper right now? But Boss! We haven’t planned ...”
“Hey, Guido,” I said, flashing a grin that was almost sane. “You were the one who said that over-planning was a problem. Well, if you’re right, this should be the most successful jailbreak ever!”
VILHELM WAS RIGHT about one thing. The streets were nowhere nearly as crowded as they had been the times we navigated their length well after sundown. Only a few stray beings wandered here and there, mostly making deliveries or sweeping down the sidewalks in front of their shops prior to opening. Except for the lack of light, the streets looked just like any town preparing for a day’s business ... that and the red eyes of the citizens.
We hugged the light as we picked our way across town ...
That’s right. I said “hugged the light.” I try to only make the same mistake a dozen times. In other dimensions, we would have “hugged the dark” to avoid being noticed or recognized. Here, we “hugged the light.” Don’t laugh. It worked.
Anyway, as we picked our way through the streets of Blut, most of my attention was taken up with the task of trying to map a good getaway route. Getting Aahz out of jail I would deal with once we got there. Right now I was worried about what we would do once we had him out ... a major assumption, I know, but I had so little optimism that I clung to what there was with all fours.
The three of us looked enough like vampires in appearance to pass casual inspection. There was no way however, that we could pass off my scaly green partner as a native without a disguise spell, and I wasn’t about to bet on having any magical energy left after springing Aahz. As such, I was constantly craning my neck to peer down side-streets and alleys, hoping to find a little-traveled route by which we could spirit our fugitive colleague out of town without bringing the entire
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