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you ignore me, we're no problem to one another."
"But you are a problem. Of the worst sort. You threaten our existence. You
cannot possibly expect us to overlook that."
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I swallowed about three times. The guy in the chair projected a furious
temper, restrained only with great effort. I must have some power in the
situation, though I couldn't catch a whiff. "How am I a threat?"
"You have been enlisted by the Godoroth to find theTempleKey . That simple
name doesn't tell you that the group who fails to take possession of it will
perish."
"I think you got the wrong guy. I don't know anything about anyTempleKey ."
A whispering filled the air. Ice formed on my tailbone and crawled northward.
"Curious, Mr. Garrett. Torbit says you are only partially lying. But." He
rambled through an eyewitness review of my visit with the Godoroth. Maybe he
was Imar in a good mood.
I searched the crowd, trying to get a good picture of faces. The Dead Man
would want every detail if ever we met again.
I said, "You got all the details, then you know I didn't agree to do
anything. I just slid on out of there."
"There was an implication. You did not refuse."
"Won't stand up in court. Duress and coercion." Which got me a blank look.
Duress and coercion? Wasn't that what being a god was all about? You could
make people do what you wanted? Weren't mortals toys?
He took it his own way. "Granted, you did not swear allegiance to the
Godoroth. That is good. But why, then, were you on the Street of the Gods
asking questions? Why were you visiting temples?"
"I was pretty sure it was a con of some kind. Those Godoroth characters
didn't convince me that they were real gods. They just told me that they were.
They hadn't shown me anything a clever conjurer couldn't manage." If you
overlooked my magic rope. "I figured somebody wanted to set me up."
My audience stirred. Most probably didn't understand me. The guy in the chair
had to mull it over before he got it. Give him that. He could step out of his
own viewpoint. Not that he credited the mortal viewpoint with much value.
That chill whisper filled the air momentarily.
"It appears that, once again, you are telling most of the truth. Very well. I
believe you understand the situation. Foreign gods have come to TunFaire. They
have been awarded a place on the Street of the Gods. This means great
inconvenience and dislocation for many gods, but for us and the Godoroth it
means one group or the other has to go. For my part, I do not care to fall
into oblivion."
"Me neither."
"You still believe you are being hoodwinked?"
"It's starting to look like the real thing."
"I want that key, Mr. Garrett."
"I'll say a prayer for you."
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Teensy thunderbolts crackled at his temples. Maybe it was something I said.
He regained control. "You fled from my friends. If you are not in the service
of the Godoroth, why run?"
"Give them an eye, chief. Most of them look like nightmares come true."
More teensy thunderbolts flickered. I wasn't doing too good here. I looked
around. Things moving in and out of the light might have lurked under my bed
when I was a kid. This was a much bigger crowd than the Godoroth. And not real
friendly. Bad cess to the infidel, I guess.
"Where will you look for the key?"
"I'm not interested in any key. I just don't want to be between gangs of
divine sociopaths who have no interest whatsoever in my welfare."
Crackly whisper in the air. Stir in the crowd, which seemed larger every time
I checked. They were not all nightmares, either. This pantheon was well
supplied with attractive goddesses, not one of whom had trouble with her hair
and all of whom had normal teeth and the usual complement of limbs.
I didn't need the whispers translated. Torbit the Strayer whatever he, she,
or it was had reported the truth of my lack of interest. No grail quest for
me. Forget thatTempleKey . Garrett has no desire to save any holy bacon. I
said, "I have friends in the beer business who do care and who do need my
help. I'd rather be solving their problems."
"There is little time, Mr. Garrett. We need a mortal to rescue us. Our
remaining worshippers are few and of little value because of their age. Belief
is not a requirement. Free will is. I see no more likely candidate than
yourself. You work for hire. We have resources beyond your imagining."
Yeah. Everything but loving followers eager to bail your asses out.
22
I'm sure I didn't say that out loud. Must have been my body language. Dumb,
to be twitching and aggravating the gods like that.
The head guy growled, "Put him into the lockup room. Some time with his
thoughts should help him develop a new perspective."
I liked my old one fine, but several unpleasant fellows disagreed. I had seen
them on their day jobs as gargoyles. And not only did they have heads like
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