Wild Cards [02] Aces High by George R.R. Martin

will have to write this one off. You will forget me as soon as I have-"
    He saw Darlingfoot turn his head suddenly, to glance past him. Croyd turned and looked in the same direction.
    A young, plain-looking oriental woman was approaching, hands in the pockets of her coat, collar raised against the wind.
    The wind shifted, blowing directly toward him now.
    Something about the lady . . .
    Croyd continued to stare. How could he have thought her plain? It must have been a trick of the light. She was breathtakingly lovely. In fact- He wanted her to smile at him.
    He wanted to hold her. He wanted to run his hands all over her. He wanted to stroke her hair, to kiss her, to make love to her. She was the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid eyes on.
    He heard Devil John whistle softly.
    "Look at her, will you?"
    "Hard not to," he replied.
    He grinned at her, and she smiled back at him. He wanted to grab her. Instead, he said, "Hello."
    "I'd like you to meet my wife, Kim Toy," he heard the red man say.
    Kim Toy! Even her name was like music...
    "Tell me what you want and I'll get it for you," he heard Devil John say to her. "You're so special it hurts."
    She laughed.
    "How gallant," she stated. "No, nothing. Not just now. Wait a moment, though, and perhaps I'll think of something."
    "Do you have it?" she asked her husband.
    "No. It was taken by dogs," he replied.
    She cocked her head, quirked an eyebrow.
    "Amazing fate," she said. "And how do you know this?"
    "These gentlemen have told us about it."
    "Really?" she observed. "That is so? That is what you told him?"
    Devil John nodded.
    "That's what we told him," Croyd said. "But-"
    "And the bag you dropped when you saw me approaching," she said. "What might it contain? Open it, please, and show me."
    "Of course," said Croyd.
    "Anything you say," Devil John agreed.
    Both men dropped to their knees before her and fumbled unsuccessfully for long seconds before they were able to begin unrolling the top of the bag.
    Croyd wanted to kiss her feet while he was in position to do so, but she had asked to see the inside of the bag and that should really come first. Perhaps she might feel inclined to reward him afterward, and--
    He opened the bag and a cloud of vapor swirled about them. Kim Toy drew back immediately, choking. As his stomach tightened, Croyd realized that the lady was no longer beautiful, and no more desirable than a hundred others he had passed this day. From the corner of his eye he saw Devil John shift his position and begin to rise and at that moment Croyd realized the nature of his attitude adjustment.
    As the smell dissipated, something of the initial wave of glamour rose again from her person. Croyd clenched his teeth and lowered his head near to the mouth of the bag. He took a deep breath.
    Her beauty died in that instant, and he extended his power.
    Yes, as I was saying, the body is lost. It was destroyed by dogs. Devil John did his best for you, but he has nothing to deliver. We are going now. You will forget that I was with him.
    "Come on!" he said to Darlingfoot as he rose to his feet.
    Devil John shook his head.
    "I can't leave this lady, Croyd," he answered. "She asked me for-"
    Croyd waved the opened bag in front of his face.
    Darlingfoot's eyes widened. He choked. He shook his head.
    "Come on!" Croyd repeated as he slung the bag over his shoulder and broke into a sprint.
    With one enormous leap Devil John landed ten feet ahead of him.
    "Weird, Croyd! Weird!" he announced as they crossed the street.
    "Now you know all about pheromones," Croyd told him.
    The sky had become completely overcast again, and a few flurries of snow drifted past him. Croyd had parted with Darlingfoot outside another bar and had begun walking, down and across town. He scanned the streets regularly for a taxi but none came into view. He was loath to trust his burden to the crush and press of bus or subway.
    The snowfall increased in intensity as he walked the next several blocks, and gusts of