"That would require a renegotiation of our agreement, Master Flink," I said, "involving substantially higher fees regarding magikal wear and tear, disposal of the body, that kind of thing."
Flink looked dismayed. I pressed my advantage.
"Wouldn't you be happier if I said that this Manticore here was prepared to make amends for the destruction he caused?"
Evad came forward, his big paws clasped together contritely.
"Why—" Flink thought about it. "I suppose so."
"He stabbed my husband!" a woman cried out.
"And my nephew!" boomed a stout man, bringing forward a boy wearing bloodstained coveralls.
"He hurt a lot of people, not just buildings," Flink pointed out.
"Well, we can fix that, too, at no extra charge," I said agreeably. "Tolk!"
"Yessir!" the Canidian said, trotting forward.
I pointed to the wounded townsfolk. "Heal!"
Chapter Thirteen
"We're not in this for the money."
In spite of having to maintain our disguises the walk home was much more relaxed than the outward journey. My students laughed and congratulated one another, recapping the whole mission to Humulus and their own successes.
"You were brilliant, Jinetta!" Pologne exclaimed. "I have never heard the fight song rendered with more spirit!"
Jinetta preened with pleasure. "I wish Coach could have been here to see it. But you, Pologne! Your hovering was picture perfect. We could have been back in the lab!"
"That was some pretty flying," Bee said wistfully. "I wish I could do that."
"Oh, you will," Jinetta assured him. "It just takes practice. I'll spot you."
"We all will," Freezia promised. "That was amazing! To think all the magik we learned in school actually has a use in the real world! I thought all the 'power-in, power-out' nonsense was just academic. And, oh, I was never so grateful to see a force line in my life!"
"Me, too," Melvine grunted. "You don't really appreciate them when they're gone. On Sear it didn't seem like such a big deal, but here—"
"You were fabulous," Jinetta told him enthusiastically. "I'm sure none of us could have held on to that big lummox for so long with a diminishing power ratio! And with all those people yelling, too—it was so distracting!"
"Don't forget Bee's calculations," Tolk said. "Wow-wow-wow! We rebuilt that whole town hall in an hour!"
"That was nothing," Bee said modestly. "I read in an old scroll that items that had been bonded for any time had a sympathetic cohesion that could be rejoined by magik. I wouldn't have believed you could have put it together again like a jigsaw puzzle, until Melvine here showed us."
The Cupy waved a hand. "Easy! With all of you and Evad there to steady the stone blocks, I had no problem raising the walls. Nice redecoration, there, by the way, Freezia. When you were done I couldn't see a single crack in the plaster, and the frescoes looked like new."
"Thank you," the petite Pervect said, beaming. "A Magikal Arts major doesn't seem to have turned out to be the useless piece of parchment my parents were afraid it would."
"And how about Pologne's illusion when Skeeve sent the Manticore home?" Bee asked. "Those flames were so real I could almost smell them."
"Oh, it was just a little of this, and a little of that," Pologne said, blushing green.
"We are the best," Tolk exclaimed. "Hey, you know, we oughta have a name! Like—Skeeve's Students! Then we could have matching tunics, and school colors, and everything!"
"Ehhh," Jinetta said. "I don't know about the rest, but I like the idea of a name. Skeeve's Students is a little too pedestrian, and it sounds sort of grade-schoolish. We're here for advanced studies. No offense, Tolk."
"None taken! I'm not very good at names. I bet you are! What do you think?"
"I don't know. Someone throw out some ideas."
"Well," Bee began. The others turned toward him eagerly. "You know Master Skeeve and my sergeant, Swatter, were partners in M.Y.T.H., Inc. What if we called ourselves something related to that."
"Oooh," Pologne squealed. "My parents would be so impressed. I know they've heard of M.Y.T.H., Inc."
"They're famous for magik," Tolk said. "But you Pervects have a lot of amazing machines. So, we're both magikal and technological. Can we do something with that?"
"That's a great idea, Tolk," Freezia exclaimed. "How about it, Jinny?"
The tallest Pervect knitted her scaly brows together. "I know! How about Myth-ka-Technic University? That combines both disciplines along with ancient spirituality!"
"Oh, that's good," Pologne said. "It sounds—advanced."
"Terrific, Miss Jinetta," Bee said. "I like it."
"Not bad," Melvine agreed. "You're good with words."
"Well, thank you!" Jinetta beamed.
"Now, about those tunics," Tolk said.
I listened, letting them jabber on happily, heaping praise on one another and accepting compliments. I was pleased with the way things had turned out. Mostly. I had taken Bunny aside while Tolk was repairing jabbed thighs and gouged shoulders to ask her for our bag of gold. Facing her was almost worse than facing a drunken Manticore. Even after the two extra days we spent in Humulus offering our assistance repairing the town hall as a gesture of good will, she was still angry about it.
"I cannot believe that you paid out our entire travel budget on two tubes of poison!"
"Manticore venom," I corrected her, but my ears were burning. Bunny was the only one who wasn't ecstatically happy about the outcome of our adventure. Gleep trotted alongside her, laying his long neck against her knee, and rolling big blue eyes up at her.
She ignored him, stalking along with crossed arms. "I don't care. You gave away a whole bag of gold because you felt sorry for that sting-tailed oaf! He's the one who got drunk. You didn't put that bottle into his paws. You're not responsible for his problem."
"No," I said with a sigh. She was right. I was being soft. Part of me knew it was counterproductive, but part of me was glad. Evad had been so grateful for my 'deal' that I didn't even think ahead to the fearsome task of having to explain to Bunny why I needed our entire traveling budget so the Manticore could pay off his debts. The reward we had been paid by the headman did cover the amount I had given Evad, plus a little left over. Bunny was not appeased. Still, I thought it had been a great learning experience for my pupils.
"Look, Bunny," I said persuasively, "think of it as an investment. What if you had a potion that changed its effect when you wanted it to? Studying this phenomenon could get us a big profit one day. Think of the applications for non-magicians!"
In spite of herself, she let the corner of her mouth quirk up in a half-smile. "You're just trying to dance your way out of trouble. Skeeve, it's your money. I wouldn't be a very good accountant if I didn't tell you when you were wasting it."
"You're the best," I said sincerely. "Who knows? This really could be the beginning of an important magikal breakthrough. An exclusive!"
"Right up until the time that the Deveels figure out what you did and undercut your deal with the people on Mantico," she pointed out.
I grinned back. "So it's a limited exclusive. But we made a profit, didn't we?"
"My uncle wouldn't consider it a very good return, and neither would Aahz."
"If I'd continued on in magik the way I started out, only caring what I could make from it, you wouldn't still be here, would you?"
Bunny shook her head. "I wouldn't give you the time of day. All right, Skeeve, it's your money."
"It's ours," I declared. "We all earned it."