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!"
Chapter Eleven
"Nice jail. Looks strong."
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 populace down on our necks. By the time we reached our destination, I was pretty sure I could get us back to the Dispatcher's by the route we were following, and positively sure that if I tried to take us there by the back routes, I would get us totally and helplessly lost.
"Well, Boss. This is it. Think we can crack it?"
I don't think Guido really expected an answer. He was just talking to break the silence that had fallen over us as we stood looking at our target.
The Municipal Building was an imposing structure, with thick stone walls and a corner tower that stretched up almost out of sight into the darkness. It didn't look like we could put a dent in it with a cannon… if we had a cannon, which we didn't. I was used to the tents of the Bazaar or the rather ramshackle building style of Klah. While I had been gradually getting over being overawed by the construction prevalent here in Blut, this place intimidated me. I'd seen shakier looking mountains!
"Well, one thing's for certain," I began, almost under my breath.
"What's that?"
"Staring at it isn't going to make it any weaker."
Neither of my assistants laughed at my joke, but then again, neither did I.
Shaking off a feeling of foreboding, I turned to my staff.
"All right, Guido. You stay down here and keep watch. Massha? Do you think that belt of yours can lift two? It's time I went topside and took a good look at this impregnable cell."
My apprentice licked her lips nervously and shrugged.
"I don't know, Hot Stuff. I warned you that the controls on this thing don't work right. It could lift us right into orbit for all I know."
I patted her shoulder in what I hoped was a reassuring way.
"Well, give it a try and we'll find out."
She nodded, wrapped one arm around my chest, and used her other hand to play with the jewels on her belt buckle.
There was a sparkle of light, but beyond that nothing.
"Not enough juice," she mumbled to herself.
"So turn it up already," I urged. - Even if the vampires tended to avoid light, we were lit up like a Christmas tree and bound to attract attention if we stayed at ground level much longer.
"Cross your fingers," she said grimly and touched the jewels again.
The light intensified and we started up fast… too fast.
"Careful, Boss!" Guido shouted and grabbed my legs as they went past him.
That brought our progress to a halt… well, almost. Instead of rocketing up into the night, we were rising slowly, almost imperceptibly.
"That's got it, High Roller!" Massha exclaimed, shifting her grip to hang onto me with both arms. "A little more ballast than I had planned on, though."
I considered briefly telling Guido to let go, but rejected the thought. If the bodyguard released his grip, we'd doubtless resume our previous speed… and while a lot of folks at the Bazaar talked about my meteoric rise, I'd just as soon keep the phrase figurative. There was also the minor detail that we were already at a height where it would be dangerous for Guido to try dropping back to the street. There was that, and his death-grip on my legs.
"Don't tell me, let me guess," I called down to him. "You're acrophobic, too?"
The view of Blut that was unfolding beneath us was truly breathtaking. Truly! My life these days was so cluttered with crisis and dangers that a little thing like looking down on buildings didn't bother me much, but even I was finding it hard to breathe when confronted up close with sheer walls adorned with stone creatures. Still, until I felt his fingernails biting into my calves, it had never occurred to me that such things might upset a rough-and-tumble guy like Guido.
"Naw. I got nothin' against spiders," he replied nervously. "It's heights that scare me."
I let that one go. I was busy studying the tower which could be viewed much more clearly from this altitude. If anything, it looked stronger than the portion of the building that was below us. One feature captured my attention, though. The top portion of the tower, the part I assumed was Aahz's cell, was shaped like a large dragon's head. The window I had been expecting was actually the creature's mouth, with its teeth serving as bars.
I should have anticipated something like that, realizing the abundance of stone animals on every other building in town. Still, it came as a bit of a surprise… but a pleasant surprise. I had been trying to figure a way to get through iron bars, but stone teeth might be a bit easier. Maybe with Aahz working from the inside and us working from the outside, we could loosen the mortar and…