Roger Zelazny. Blood of Amber
страница №5
... pads, one for a rugged-lookingblond guy in green and black, another of a slim, russethaired man in brown
and black, and one of a woman who resembled this man so closely it would
seem they must be related. These last two, strangely, were done in a
different style; even by a different hand, I'd say. The only unknown one I
felt relatively certain about was the blond fellow, who, from his colors, I
would assume to be Luke's old friend Dalt, the mercenary. There were also
three separate attempts at something resembling Ghostwheel-none of them, I
would guess, completely successful.
I heard Luke growl something, and I saw that his eyes were open and
darting.
"Take it easy," I said. "You're safe."
He nodded and closed his eyes. A few moments later, he opened them
again.
"Hey! My cards," he said weakly.
I smiled. "Nice work," I remarked. "Who did them?"
"Me," he answered. "Who else?"
"Where'd you learn?"
"My dad. He was real good at it."
"If you can do them, you must have walked the Pattern."
He nodded.
"Where?"
He studied me a moment, then performed a weak shrug and winced. "Tir-na
Nog'th."
"Your father took you, saw you through it?" Again, a nod.
Why not push it, since I seemed to be on a roll? I picked up a card.
"And here's Dalt," I said. "You used to be Cub Scouts together, didn't
you?"
He did not reply. When I looked up I saw narrowed eyes and a furrowed
brow.
"I've never met him;' I added. "But I recognize the colors, and I know
he's from out your way-around Kashfa."
Luke smiled. "You always did your homework back in school, too," he
said.
"And usually on time;' I agreed. "But with you I've been running late.
Luke, I can't find a Trump for the Keep of the Four Worlds. And here's
someone I don't know."
I picked up the slim lady's card and waved it at him.
He smiled. "Gettin' weak and losin' my breath again," he said. "You
been to the Keep?"
"Yep."
"Recently?"
I nodded.
"Tell you what," he said at last. "Tell me what you saw at the Keep and
how you learned some of that stuff about me and I'll tell you who she is."
I thought quickly. I could say things so that I probably wouldn't be
telling him anything he didn't already know.
So, "The other way around," I said.
"Okay. The lady," he stated, "is Sand."
I stared so hard that I felt the beginnings of a contact. I smothered
it.
"The long-lost," he added.
I raised the card depicting the man who resembled her. "Then this must
be Delwin," I said.
"Right."
"You didn't do these two cards. They're not your style, and you
probably wouldn't have known what they looked like to begin with."
"Perceptive. My father drew them, back in the time of the troublesfor
all the good it did him. They wouldn't help him either."
"Either?"
"They weren't interested in helping me, despite their disaffection with
this place. Count them as out of the game."
"This place?" I said. "Where do you think you are, Luke?"
His eyes widened. He cast his gaze about the room. "The camp of the
enemy," he answered. "I had no choice. These are your quarters in Amber,
right?"
"Wrong," I replied.
"Don't bait me, Merle. You've got me. I'm your prisoner. Where am I?"
"Do you know who Vinta Bayle is?"
"No. "
"She was Caine's mistress. This is her family's place, way out in the
country. She's just up the hall somewhere. Might even stop by. I think she's
got a crush on me."
"Uh-oh. She a tough lady?"
"Very."
"What you doing making out with her this soon after the funeral? That's
hardly decent."
"Huh! If it weren't for you there wouldn't have been any funeral." "
"Don't give me that indignation crap, Merle. If it had been your dad,
Corwin, he'd killed, wouldn't you have gone after him?"
"That's not fair. My father wouldn't have done all those things Brand
did."
"Maybe, maybe not. But supposing he had? Even then. Wouldn't you have
gone after Caine?"
I turned away. "I don't know," I said finally. "It's too damned
hypothetical."
"You'd have done it. I know you, Merle. I'm sure you would have."
I sighed. "Maybe," I said. "Well, okay. Maybe I might have. But I would
have stopped there. I wouldn't have gone after the others too. I don't want
to make you feel any worse than you do about it, but your old man was
psycho; you must know that. And you're not. I know you as well as you know
me. I've been thinking about this for some time. You know, Amber recognizes
the personal vendetta. You've got an arguable case there for one. And the
death didn't even occur within Amber, if Random were T really looking for an
out for you."
"Why should he be?"
"Because I'd be vouching for your integrity in other matters."
"Come on, Merle-"
"You've got a classic vendetta defense - a son avenging his father's
death."
"I don't know. . . . Hey, you trying to get out of telling me the stuff
you promised to?"
. "No, but "
"So you made it to the Keep of the Four Worlds. What did you learn
there and how did you learn it?"
"Okay. You think about what I said, though," I replied.
His expression remained unchanged.
Then, "There was an old hermit named Dave," I began.
Luke fell asleep before I finished. I just let my voice trail off and
sat there. After a time, I rose and located the wine bottle and poured a
little into the glass, since Luke had drunk most of mine. I took it with me
to the window and stared down and out across the patio, where the wind was
rattling leaves. I wondered about what I'd said to Luke. It wasn't a full
picture I'd given him, partly because I hadn't had time to go into it
thoroughly, mainly because he hadn't seemed interested. But even if Random
did let him off the hook officially in the matter of Caine's death, Julian
or Gerard would probably be looking to kill him under the same vendetta code
I'd been talking about. I didn't really know what to do. I was obliged to
tell Random about him, but I'd be damned if I'd do it yet. There were still
too many things I had to learn from him, and getting at him might be a lot
harder if he were a prisoner back in Amber. Why had he ever gotten himself
born as Brand's son, anyway?
I returned to the bedside seat, near which I had left our weapons and
Luke's Trumps. I moved these items across the room, to where I seated myself
in the more comfortable chair I had occupied earlier. I studied his cards
again. Amazing. A whole bunch of history in my hand. . . .
When Oberon's wife Rilga had shown less hardihood than many by aging
rapidly and retiring to a reclusive life at a country shrine, he had gone
off and remarried, somewhat to the chagrin of their childrenCaine, Julian
and Gerard. But to confuse genealogists and sticklers for family legality,
he had done it in a place where time flowed far more rapidly than in Amber.
Interesting arguments both for and against the bigamous nature of his
marriage to Harla may be made. I'm in no position to judge. I had the story
from Flora years ago, and in that she'd never gotten along too well with
Delwin and Sand, the offspring of that union, she was inclined to the
pro-bigamy interpretation. I'd never seen pictures of Delwin or Sand until
now. There weren't any hanging around the palace, and they were seldom
mentioned. But they had lived in Amber for the relatively short time Harla
was queen there. Following her death, they grew unhappy with Oberon's
policies toward her homeland-which they visited often-and after a time they
departed, vowing not to have anything to do with Amber again. At least
that's the way I'd heard it. There could easily have been all sorts of
sibling politicking involved, too. I don't know.
But here were two missing members of the royal family, and obviously
Luke had teamed of them and approached them, hoping to revive old
resentments and gain allies. He admitted that it hadn't worked. Two
centuries is a long time to hold a grudge at high pitch. That's about how
long it had been since their departure, as I understood it. I wondered
fleetingly whether I should get in touch with them, just to say hello. If
they weren't interested in helping Luke I didn't suppose they'd be
interested in helping the other side either, now they were aware there was
another side. It did seem proper that I should introduce myself and pay my
respects, as a family member they'd never met. I decided that I would do it
sometime, though the present moment was hardly appropriate. I added their
Trumps to my own collection, along with good intentions.
And then there was Dalt a sworn enemy of Amber, I gathered. I studied
his card again, and I wondered: If he were indeed such a good friend of
Luke's, perhaps I should let him know what had happened. He might even know
of the circumstances involved and mention something I could use. In fact,
the more I thought about it-recalling his recent presence at the Keep of the
Four Worlds-the more tempting it became to try to reach him. It seemed
possible I could even pick up something about what was now going on in that
place.
I gnawed a knuckle. Should I or shouldn't I? I couldn't see any harm
that could come of it. I wasn't planning on giving anything away. Still;
there were a few misgivings.
What the hell, I decided finally. Nothing ventured. . : .
Hello, hello. Reaching out through the suddenly cold card. . . .
A startled moment somewhere, and the sense of an Aha!
Like a portrait come to life, my vision stirred.
"Who are you?" the man asked, hand on hilt, blade half drawn.
"My name is Merlin," I said, "and we've a mutual acquaintance named
Rinaldo. I wanted to tell you that he'd been badly injured."
By now, we both hovered between our two realities, solid and perfectly
clear to each other. He was bigger than I'd thought from his representation,
and he stood at the center of a stone-walled room, a window to his left
showing a blue sky and a limb of cloud. His green eyes, at first wide, were
now narrowed and the set of his jaw seemed a bit truculent.
"Where is he?" he inquired.
"Here. With me," I answered.
"How fortunate," he replied, and the blade was in his hand and he moved
forward.
I Sipped the Trump away, which did not sever the contact. I had to
summon the Logrus to do that--and it fell between us like the blade of a
guillotine and jerked me back as if I had just touched a live wire. My only
consolation was that Dalt had doubtless felt the same thing.
"Merle, what's going on?" Luke's voice came hoarsely. "I sawDalt. . .
."
"Uh, yeah. I just called him."
He raised his head slightly. "Why?"
"To tell him about you. He's your friend, isn't he?"
"You asshole!" he said. "He's the one that did this to me!"
Then he began coughing and I rushed to his side.
"Get me some water, huh?" he said.
"Coming up."
I went off to the bathroom and fetched him a glass. I propped him and
he sipped it for a time.
"Maybe I should have told you," he said finally. "Didn't think-you'd
play games-that way, though-when you don't know-what's going on...."
He coughed again, drank more water.
"Hard to know what to tell you-and what not to," he continued, a while
later.
"Why not tell me everything?" I suggested.
He shook his head slightly. "Can't. Probably get you killed. More
likely both of us."
"The way things have been going, it seems as if it could happen whether
you tell me or not."
He smiled faintly and took another drink.
"Parts of this thing are personal," he said then, "and I don't want
anyone else involved."
"I gather that your trying to kill me every spring for a while there
was kind of personal, too," I observed, "yet somehow I felt involved."
"Okay, okay," he said, slumping back and raising his right hand. "I
told you I cut that out a long time ago."
"But the attempts went on."
"They weren't my doing."
Okay, I decided. Try it. "It was Jasra, wasn't it?"
"What do you know about her?"
"I know she's your mother, and I gather this is her war too."
He nodded. "So you know. . . . All right. That makes it easier," He
paused to catch his breath. "She started me doing the April thirtieth stuff
for practice. When I got to know you better and quit, she was mad."
"So she continued it herself?"
He nodded.
"She wanted you to go after Caine," I said.
"So did I."
"But the others? She's leaning on you about them, I'll bet. And you're
not so sure they have it coming."
Silence.
"Are you?" I said.
He shifted his gaze away from my own and I heard his teeth grind
together.
"You're off the hook," he said at last. "I've no intention of hurting
you. I won't let her do it either."
"And what about Bleys and Random and Fiona and Flora and Gerard and-"
He laughed, which cost him a wince and a quick clutch at his chest.
"They've nothing to worry about from us," he said, "right now."
"What do you mean?"
"Think," he told me. "I could have trumped back to my old apartment,
scared hell out of the new tenants and called an ambulance. I could be in an
emergency room right now."
"Why aren't you?"
"I've been hurt worse than this, and I've made it. I'm here because I
need your help."
"Oh? For what?"
He looked at me, then looked away again. "She's in bad trouble, and
we've got to rescue her."
"Who?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"My mother," he replied.
I wanted to laugh, but I couldn't when I saw the expression on his
face. It took real balls to ask me to help rescue the woman who'd tried to
kill me-not once, but many times-and whose big aim in life seemed to be the
destruction of my relatives. Balls, or-
"I've no one else left to turn to," he said.
"If you talk me into this one, Luke, you'll deserve the Salesman of the
Year Award," I said. "But I'm willing to listen."
"Throat's dry again," he said.
I went and refilled the glass. As I returned with it, it seemed there
was a small noise in the hall. I continued listening while I helped Luke to
a few more sips.
He nodded when he was finished, but I had heard another sound by then.
I raised my finger to my lips and glanced at the door. I put down the glass,
rose and crossed the room, retrieving my blade as I did so.
Before I reached the door, however, there was a gentle knock.
"Yes?" I said, advancing to it.
"It's me," came Vinta's voice. "I know that Luke is in there, and I
want to see him."
"So you can finish him off?" I asked.
"I told you before that that is not my intention."
"Then you're not human," I said.
"I never claimed I was."
"T'hen you're not Vinta Bayle," I said.
There followed a long silence, then, "Supposing I'm not?"
"Then tell me who you are."
"I can't."
"Then meet me halfway," I said, drawing upon all of my accumulated
guesswork concerning her, "and tell me who you were."
"I don't know what you mean."
"Yes, you do. Pick one-any one. I don't care."
There was another silence, then, "I dragged you from the fire," she
said, "but I couldn't control the horse.I died in the lake. You wrapped me
in your cloak. . . ."
That was not an answer I had anticipated. But it was good enough.
With the point of my weapon I raised the latch. She pushed the door
open and glanced at the blade in my hand.
"Dramatic," she remarked.
"You've impressed me," I said, "by the perils with which I am beset."
"Not sufficiently, it would seem." She entered, smiling.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"I didn't hear you ask him anything about the blue stones and what he
might have homing in on you as a consequence of your attunement."
"You've been eavesdropping."
"A lifetime habit," she agreed.
I turned toward Luke and introduced her. "Luke, this is Vinta Baylesort
of."
Luke raised his right hand, his eyes never leaving her face. "I just
want to know one thing," he began.
"I'll bet you do;' she replied. "Am I going to kill you or aren't I?
Keep wondering. I haven't decided yet. Do you remember the time you were low
on gas north of San Luis Obispo and you discovered your wallet was missing?
You had to borrow money from your date to get back home. She had to ask you
twice, too, before you paid her back."
"How could you know that?" he whispered.
"You got in a fight with three bikers one day," she went on. "You
almost lost an eye when one of them wrapped a chain around your head. Seems
to have healed up nicely. Can't see the scar-"
"And I won," he added.
"Yes. Not too many people can pick up a Harley and throw it like you
did."
"I have to know," he said, "how you learned these things."
"Maybe I'll tell you that too, sometime," she said. "I just mentioned
them to keep you honest. Now I'm going to ask you some questions, and your
life is going to depend on giving me honest answers. Understand-"
"Vinta," I interrupted, "you told me that you weren't interested in
killing Luke."
"It's not at the top of my list," she replied, "but if he's in the way
of what is, he goes."
Luke yawned. "I'll tell you about the blue stones," he muttered. "I
don't have anybody on a blue-stone detail after Merle now."
"Might Jasra have someone tracking him that way?"
"Possible. I just don't know."
"What about the ones who attacked him in Amber last night?"
"First I've heard of it," he said, and he closed his eyes.
"Look at this," she ordered, removing the blue button from her pocket.
He opened his eyes and squinted at it.
"Recognize it?"
"Nope," he said, and closed his eyes again.
"And you don't mean Merle any harm now?"
"That's right," he answered, his voice drifting off.
She opened her mouth again and I said, "Let him sleep. He's not going
anywhere."
She gave me an almost angry look, then nodded. "You're right," she
said.
"So what are you going to do now kill him while he's out?"
"No;" she replied. "He was telling the truth."
"And does it make a difference?"
"Yes," she told me, "for now."
7
I actually did get a fairly decent night's sleep despite everything,
including a distant dogfight and a lot of howling. Vinta had been
disinclined to continue at questions and answers, and I hadn't wanted her
bothering Luke any
more. I persuaded her to leave and let us rest. I sacked out on the
comfortable chair, with my feet propped on the other one. I was hoping to
continue my conversation with Luke in private. I remember chuckling right
before I fell asleep as I tried to decide which of them I distrusted less.
I was awakened by the first brightening of the sky and a few arguments
of birds. I stretched several times then and made my way to the bathroom.
Half an ablution later I heard Luke cough and then whisper my name.
"Unless you're hemorrhaging, wait a minute," I replied, and I dried
myself off. "Need some water?" I asked while I was doing it.
"Yeah. Bring some."
I threw the towel over my shoulder and took him a drink.
"Is she still around?" he asked me.
"No."
"Give me the glass and go check the hall, will you? I'll manage."
I nodded and passed it to him. I kept it quiet as I eased the door
open. I stepped out into the hall, walked up to the corner. There was no one
in sight.
"All clear," I whispered as I came back into the room.
Luke was gone. A moment later I heard him in the bathroom.
"Damn! I'd have helped you!" I said.
"I can still take a leak by myself," he replied, staggering back into
the room, his good hand on the wall. "Had to see whether I could negotiate,"
he added, lowering himself to the edge of the bed. He put his hand against
his rib cage and panted. "Shit! that smarts!"
"Let me help you lie back."
"Okay. Listen, don't let her know I can do even that much."
"Okay," I said. "Take it easy now. Rest."
He shook his head. "I want to tell you as much as I can before she
comes busting back in here," he said, "and she will, too-believe me."
"You know that for a fact?"
"Yes. She's not human, and she's more attuned to both of us than any
blue stone ever was. I don't understand your style of magic, but I've got my
own and I know what it tells me. It was your question about who she was that
got me to working on the problem, though. Have you figured her out yet?"
"Not completely, no."
"Well, I know she can switch bodies like changing clothes-and she can
travel through Shadow."
"Do the names Meg Devlin or George Hansen mean anything to you?" I
asked.
"No. Should they?"
"Didn't think so. But she was both of them, I'm sure."
I'd left out Dan Martinez, not because he'd shot it out with Luke and
telling Luke would raise his distrust of her even further, but because I
didn't want him to know that I was aware of the New Mexico guerrilla
operation-and I could see that it might lead in that direction.
"She was also Gail Lampron."
"Your old girlfriend, back in school?" I said.
"Yes. I thought there was something familiar about her immediately. But
it didn't hit me till later. She has all of Gail's little mannerisms-the way
she turns her head, the way she uses her hands and eyes when she's talking.
Then she mentioned two events to which there had only been a single common
witness-Gail."
"It sounds as if she wanted you to know."
"I believe she did," he agreed.
"Why didn't she just come out and say it then, I wonder?"
"I don't think she can. There's something could be a spell on her, only
it's hard to judge, her not being human and all." He glanced furtively at
the door as he said this. Then, "Check again," he added.
"Still clear," I said. "Now what about "
"Another time," he said. "I've got to get out of here."
"I can see your wanting to get away from her-" I began.
He shook his head. "That's not it," he said. "I've got to hit the Keep
of the Four Worlds-soon."
"The shape you're in-"
"That's it. That's what I mean. I've got to get out of here so I can be
in shape soon. I think old Sharu Garrul's gotten loose. That's the only way
I can figure what happened."
"What did happen?"
"I got a distress call from my mother. She'd gone back to the Keep
after I'd gotten her away from you."
"Why?"
"Why, what?"
"Why'd she head for the Keep?"
"Well, the place is a power center. The way the four worlds come
together there releases an awful lot of free power, which an adept can tap
into-"
"Four worlds actually do come together there? You mean you're in a
different shadow depending on the direction you might take off in?"
He studied me for a moment. "Yes," he finally said, "but I'll never get
this thing told if you want all the little details."
"And I won't understand it if too much gets left out. So she went to
the Keep to raise some power and got in trouble instead. She called you to
come help her. What did she want that power for, anyway?"
"Mm. Well, I'd been having trouble with Ghostwheel. I thought I almost
had him talked into coming over to our side, but she probably thought I
wasn't making progress fast enough and apparently decided to try binding him
with a massive spell after-"
"Wait a minute. You were talking to Ghost? How did you get in touch?
Those Trumps you drew are no good."
"I know. I went in."
"How'd you manage it?"
"In scuba gear. I wore a wet suit and oxygen tanks."
"Son of a gun. That's an interesting approach:"
"I wasn't Grand D's top salesman for nothing. I almost had him
convinced, too. But she'd learned where I'd stashed you, and she decided to
try expediting matters by putting you under control, then using you to
clinch the deal-as if you'd come over to our side. Anyhow, when that plan
fell through and I had to go and get her away from you, we split up again. I
thought she was headed for Kashfa, but she went to the Keep instead. Like I
said, I think it was to try a massive working against Ghostwheel. I believe
something that she did there inadvertently freed Sharu, and he took the
place over again and captured her. Anyhow, I got this frantic sending from
her, so-"
"Uh, this old wizard," I said, "had been locked up there for-how long?"
Luke began to shrug, thought better of it. "Hell, I don't know. Who
cares? He's been a cloak rack since I was a boy."
"A cloak rack?"
"Yeah. He lost a sorcerous duel. I don't really know whether she beat
him or whether it was Dad. Whoever it was, though, caught him in
midinvocation, arms outspread and all. Froze him like that, stiff as a
board. He got moved to a place near an entranceway later. People would hang
cloaks and hats on him. The servants would dust him occasionally. I even
carved my name on his leg when I was little, like on a tree. I'd always
thought of him as furniture. But I learned later that he'd been considered
pretty good in his day."
"Did this guy ever wear a blue mask when he worked?"
"You've got me. I don't know anything about his style. Say, let's not
get academic or she'll be here before I finish. In fact, maybe we ought to
go now, and I can tell you the rest later."
"Un-uh," I said. "You are, as you noted last night, my prisoner. I'd be
nuts to let you go anywhere without knowing a hell of a lot more than I do.
You're a threat to Amber. That bomb you tossed at the funeral was pretty
damn real. You think I want to give you another shot at us?"
He smiled, then lost it. "Why'd you have to be born Corwin's son,
anyway?" he said. Then, "Can I give you my parole on this?" he asked.
"I don't know. I'm going to be in a lot of trouble if they End out I
had
you and didn't bring you in. What terms are you talking? Will you swear
off your war against Amber?"
He gnawed his lower lip. "There's no way I can do that, Merle."
"There are things you're not telling me, aren't there?"
He nodded. Then he grinned suddenly. "But I'll make you a deal you
can't refuse."
"Luke, don't give me that hard-sell crap."
"]ust give me a minute, okay? And you'll see why you can't afford to
pass this one up."
"Luke, I'm not biting."
"Only one minute. Sixty seconds. You're free to say no when I'm done."
"All right," I said. "Tell me."
"Okay. I've got a piece of information vital to the security of Amber,
and I'm certain nobody there has an inkling of it. I'll give it to you,
after you've helped me."
"Why should you want to give us something like that? It sounds kind of
self-defeating."
"I don't, and it is. But it's all I've got to offer. Help me get out of
here to a place I have in mind where the time flow is so much faster that
I'll be healed up in a day or so in terms of local time at the Keep."
"Or here, for that matter, I'd guess."
"True. Then-uh-oh!"
He sprawled on the bed, clutched at his chest with his good hand and
began to moan.
"Lukel"
He raised his head, winked at me, glanced at the door and commenced
moaning again.
Shortly, there came a knocking.
"Come in," I said.
Vinta entered and studied us both. For a moment, there seemed to be a
look of genuine concern on her face as she regarded Luke. Then she advanced
to the bed and placed her hands upon his shoulders. She stood there for
about half a minute, then announced, "You're going to live."
"At the moment," Luke replied, "I don't know whether that's a blessing
or a curse." Then he slipped his good arm around her, drew her to him
suddenly and kissed her. "Hi, Gail," he said. "It's been a long time."
She drew away with less haste than she might have. "You seem improved
already," she observed, "and I can see that Merle's worked something to help
you along." She smiled faintly for an instant, then said, "Yes, it has been,
you dumb jock. You still like your eggs sunny-side up?"
"Right," he acknowledged. "But not half a dozen. Maybe just two today.
I'm out of sorts."
"All right," she said. "Come on, Merle. I'll need you to supervise."
Luke gave me a funny look, doubtless certain she wanted to talk with me
about him. And for that matter, I wasn't certain I wanted to leave him alone
even though I had all of his Trumps in my pocket. I was still uncertain as
to the extent of his abilities, and I knew a lot less concerning his
intentions. So I hung back.
"Maybe someone should stay with the invalid," I told her.
"He'll be all right," she said, "and I might need your help if I can't
scare up a servant."
On the other hand, maybe she had something interesting to tell me....
I found my shirt and drew it on. I ran a hand through my hair.
"Okay," I said. "See you in a bit, Luke."
"Hey," he responded, "see if you can turn up a walking stick for me, or
cut me a staff or something."
"Isn't that rushing things a bit?" Vinta asked.
"Never can tell," Luke replied.
So I fetched my blade and took it along. As I followed Vinta out and
down the stairs, it occurred to me that when any two of us got together we
would probably have something to say about the third.
As soon as we were out of earshot, Vinta remarked, "He took a chance,
coming to you."
"Yes, he did."
"So things must be going badly for him, if he felt you were the only
one he could turn to."
"I'd say that's true."
"Also, I'm sure he wants something besides a place to recover."
"Probably so."
`Probably,' hell! He must have asked by now."
"Perhaps."
"Either he did or he didn't."
"Vinta, obviously you've told me everything you intend to tell me," I
said. "Well, vice versa. We're even. I don't owe you explanations. If I feel
like trusting Luke, I will. Anyhow, I haven't decided yet."
"So he has made you a pitch. I might be able to help you decide if
you'll let me know what it is."
"No, thanks. You're as bad as he is."
"It's your welfare I'm concerned with. Don't be so quick to spurn an
ally."
"I'm not," I said. "But if you stop to think about it, I know a lot
more about Luke than I do about you. I think I know the things on which I
shouldn't trust him as well as I do the safe ones."
"I hope you're not betting your life on it."
I smiled. "That's a matter on which I tend to be conservative."
We entered the kitchen, where she spoke with a woman I hadn't met yet
who seemed in charge there. She left our breakfast orders with her and led
me out the side door and onto the patio. From there, she indicated a stand
of trees off to the east.
"You ought to be able to find a good sapling in there," she said, "for
Luke's staff."
"Probably so," I replied, and we began walking in that direction. "So
you really were Gail Lampron," I said suddenly.
"Yes. "
"I don't understand this body-changing bit at all."
"And I'm not about to tell you."
"Care to tell me why not?"
"Nope."
"Can't or won't?"
"Can't," she said.
"But if I already know something, would you be willing to add a bit!"
"Maybe. Try me."
"When you were Dan Martinet you took a shot at one of us. Which one was
it?"
"Luke," she replied.
"Why?"
"I'd become convinced that he was not the one-that is, that he
represented a threat to you-"
"-and you just wanted to protect me," I finished.
"Exactly."
"What did you mean `that he was not the one'?"
"Slip of the tongue. That looks like a good tree over there."
I chuckled. "Too thick. Okay, be that way."
I headed on into the grove. There were a number of possibilities off to
the right.
As I moved through the morning-lanced interstices, damp leaves and dew
adhering to my boots, I became aware of some unusual scuffing along the way,
a series of marks leading off farther to the right, where
"What's that?" I said, kind of rhetorically, since I didn't think Vinta
would know either, as I headed toward a dark mass at the shady foot of an
old tree.
I reached it ahead of her. It was one of the Bayle dogs, a big brown
fellow. Its throat had been torn open. The blood was dark and congealed. A
few insects were crawling on it. Off farther to the right I saw the remains
of a smaller dog. It had been disemboweled.
I studied the area about the remains.The marks of very large paws were
imprinted in the damp earth. At least they were not the three-toed prints of
the deadly doglike creatures I had encountered in the past. They seemed
simply to be those of a very large dog.
"This must be what I heard last night," I remarked. "I thought it
sounded like a dogfight."
"When was that?" she asked.
"Some time after you left. I was drowsing."
Then she did a strange thing. She knelt, leaned and sniffed the track.
When she recovered there was a slightly puzzled expression on her face.
"What did you find?" I asked.
She shook her head, then stared off to the northeast. "I'm not sure,"
she finally said, "but it went that way."
I studied the ground further, rising and finally moving along the trail
it had left. It did run off in that direction, though I lost it after
several hundred feet when it departed the grove. Finally, I turned away.
"One of the dogs attacked the others, I guess," I observed. "We'd
better find that stick and head back if we want our breakfasts warm."
Inside, I learned that Luke's breakfast had been sent up to him. I was
torn. I wanted to take mine upstairs, to join him and continue our
conversation. If I did, though, Vinta would accompany me and the
conversation would not be continued. Nor could I talk further with her under
those circumstances. So I would have to join her down here, which meant
leaving Luke alone for longer than I liked.
So I went along with her when she said, "We will eat in here," and led
me into a large hall. I guessed she had chosen it because my room with its
open window was above the patio, and Luke could have heard us talking if we
ate out there.
We sat at the end of a long darkwood table, where we were served.
When we were alone again, she asked, "What are you going to do now?"
"What do you mean?" I asked, sipping some grape juice.
She glanced upward. "With him," she said. "Take him back to Amber?"
"It would seem the logical thing to do," I replied.
"Good," she said. "You should probably transport him soon. They have
decent medical facilities at the palace."
I nodded. "Yes, they do."
We ate a few mouthfuls, then she asked, "That is what you intend doing,
isn't it?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Because anything else would be absolutely foolish, and obviously he is
not going to want to do it. Therefore, he will try to talk you into
something else, something that will give him some measure of freedom while
he recovers. You know what a line of shit he has. He'll make it sound like a
great idea, whatever it is. You must remember that he is an enemy of Amber,
and when he is ready to move again you will be in the way." "It makes
sense," I said.
"I'm not finished."
"Oh?"
She smiled and ate a few more bites, to keep me wondering. Finally,
"He came to you for a reason," she continued. "He could have crawled
off to any of a number of places to lick his wounds. But he came to you
because he wants something. He's gambling, but it's a calculated thing.
Don't go for it, Merle. You don't owe him anything."
"I don't know why you think me incapable of taking care of myself," I
replied.
"I never said that," she responded. "But some decisions are finely
balanced things. A little extra weight this way or that sometimes makes the
difference. You know Luke, but so do I. This is not a time to be giving him
any breaks."
"You have a point there," I said.
"So you have decided to give him what he wants!"
I smiled and drank some coffee. "Hell, he hasn't been conscious long
enough to give me the pitch," I said. "I've thought of these things, and I
want to know what he's got in mind too."
"I never said you shouldn't find out as much as you can. I just wanted
to remind you that talking with Luke can sometimes be like conversing with a
dragon."
"Yeah," I acknowledged. "I know."
"And the longer you wait the harder it's going to be," she added.
I took a gulp of coffee; then, "Did you like him?" I asked.
"Like?" she said. "Yes,I did. And I still do. That is not material at
this point, though."
"I don't know about that," I said.
"What do you mean?"
"You wouldn't harm him without good reason."
"No, I wouldn't."
"He is no threat to me at the moment."
"He does not seem to be."
"Supposing I were to leave him here in your care while I went off to
Amber to walk the Pattern and to prepare them for the news?"
She shook her head vigorously. "No," she stated. "I will not-I cannot
-take that responsibility at this time."
"Why not?"
She hesitated.
"And please don't say again that you cannot tell me;' I went on. "Find
a way to tell me as much as you can."
She spoke slowly then, as if choosing her words very carefully.
"Because it is more important for me to watch you than Luke. There is still
danger for you which I do not understand, even though it no longer seems to
be proceeding from him. Guarding you against this unknown peril is of higher
priority than keeping an eye on him. Therefore, I cannot remain here. If you
are returning to Amber, so am I"
"I appreciate your concern," I said, "but I will not have you dogging
my footsteps."
"Neither of us has a choice."
"Supposing I simply trump out of here to some distant shadow?"
"I will be obliged to follow you."
"In this form, or another?"
She looked away. She poked at her food.
"You've already admitted that you can be other persons. You locate me
in some arcane Fashion, then you take possession of someone in my vicinity."
She took a drink of coffee.
"Perhaps something prevents you from saying it;' I continued, "but
that's the case. I know it."
She nodded once, curtly, and resumed eating.
"Supposing I did trump out right now;' I said, "and you followed after
in your peculiar fashion." I thought back to my telephone conversations with
Meg Devlin and Mrs. Hansen. "Then the real Vinta Bayle would wake up in her
own body with a gap in her memory, right?"
"Yes," she answered softly.
"And that would leave Luke here in the company of a woman who would be
happy to destroy him if she had any inkling who he really is."
She smiled faintly. "Just so," she said.
We ate in silence for a time. She had attempted to foreclose all my
choices, to force me to trump back to Amber and take Luke with me. I do not
like being manipulated or coerced. My reflexive attempt to do something
other than what is desired of me then feels forced also.
I refilled our coffee cups when I had finished eating. I regarded a
collection of dog portraits that hung on the wall across from me. I sipped
and savored. I did not speak because I could think of nothing further to
say.
Finally, she did. "So what are you going to do?" she asked me.
I finished my coffee and rose. "I am going to take Luke his stick," I
said.
I pushed my chair back into place and headed for the corner of the room
where I had leaned the stick.
"And then?" she said. "What will you do?"
I glanced back at her as I hefted the staff. She sat very erect, her
hands palms down on the table. The Nemesis look overlay her features once
again, and I could almost feel electricity in the air.
"Whatever I must," I replied, and I headed for the door.
I increased my pace as soon as I was out of sight. When I hit the
stairs and saw that she was not following,I took the steps two at a time. On
the way up, I withdrew my cards and located the proper one.
When I entered the room I saw that Luke was resting, his back against
the bed's pillows. His breakfast tray was on the smaller chair, beside the
bed. I dropped the latch on the door.
"What's the matter, man? We under attack or something?" Luke asked.
"Start getting up," I said.
I picked up his weapon then and crossed to the bed. I gave him a hand
sitting up, thrust the staff and the blade at him.
"My hand has been forced," I said, "and I'm not about to turn you over
to Random."
"That's a comfort," he observed.
"But we have to clear out-now."
"That's all right by me."
He leaned on the staff, got slowly to his feet. I heard a noise in the
hall, but it was already too late. I'd raised the card and was
concentrating. There came a pounding on the door.
"You're up to something and I think it's the wrong thing," Vinta called
out.
I did not reply. The vision was already coming clear.
The doorframe splintered from the force of a tremendous kick, and the
latch was torn loose. There was a look of apprehension on Luke's face as I
reached out and took hold of his arm.
"Come on," I said.
Vinta burst into the room as I led Luke forward, her eyes flashing, her
hands extended, reaching. Her cry of "Fool!" seemed to change into a wail as
she was washed by the spectrum, rippled and faded.
We stood in a patch of grass, and Luke let out a deep breath he had
been holding.
"You believe in cutting things close, buddy-boy," he remarked, and then
he looked around and recognized the place.
He smiled crookedly.
"What do you know;' he said. "A crystal cave."
"From my own experience," I said, "the time flow here should be about
what you were asking for."
He nodded and we began moving slowly toward the high blue hill. "Still
plenty of rations," I added, "and the sleeping bag should be where I left
it."
"It will serve," he acknowledged.
He halted, panting, before we reached the foot. I saw his gaze drift
toward a number of strewn bones off to our left. It would have been months
since the pair who had removed the boulder had fallen there, long enough for
scavengers to have done a thorough job. Luke shrugged, advanced a little,
leaned against blue stone. He lowered himself slowly into a sitting
position.
"Going to have to wait before I can climb," he said, "even with you
helping."
"Sure," I said. "We can finish our conversation. As I recall, you were
going to make me an offer I couldn't refuse. I was to bring you to a place
like this, where you could recover fast vis-б-vis the time flow at the Keep.
You, in turn, had a piece of information vital to the security of Amber."
"Right;' he agreed, "and you didn't hear the rest of my story either.
They go together."
I hunkered across from him. "You told me that your mother had fled to
the Keep, apparently gotten into trouble there and called to you for help."
"Yes," he acknowledged. "So I dropped the business with Ghostwheel and tried
to help her. I got in touch with Dalt, and he agreed to come and attack the
Keep."
"It's always good to know a band of mercenaries you can get hold of in
a hurry," I Said.
He gave me a quick, strange look but I was able to maintain an innocent
expression.
"So we led them through Shadow and we attacked the place," he said
then. "It had to be us that you saw when you were there."
I nodded slowly. "It looked as if you made it over the wall. What went
wrong?"
"I still don't know," he said. "We were doing all right. Their defense
was crumbling and we were pushing right along, when suddenly Dalt turned on
me. We'd been separated for a time; then he appeared again and attacked me.
At first I thought he'd made a mistake-we were all grimy and bloody-and I
shouted to him that it was me. But he just kept coming. That's how he was
able to do a job like this on me. For a while I didn't want to strike back
because I thought it was a misunderstanding and he'd realize his mistake in
a few seconds."
"Do you think he sold you out? Or that it was something he'd been
planning for a long time? Some grudge?"
"I don't like to think that."
"Magic, then?"
"Maybe. I don't know."
A peculiar thought occurred to me. "Did he know you'd killed Caine?" I
asked.
"No, I make it a point never to tell anybody everything I'm about."
"You wouldn't kld me, would you?"
He laughed, moved as if to clap me on the shoulder, winced and thought
better of it.
"Why do you ask?" he said then.
"I don't know. Just curious."
"Sure," he said. Then, "What say you give me a hand up and inside, so I
can see what kind of supplies you've left me?"
"Why?" I got to my feet and helped him to his. We moved around to the
right to the slope of easiest ascent, and I guided him slowly to the top.
Once we'd achieved the summit he leaned on his staff and stared down
into the opening.
"No really easy way down in," he said, "for me. At first I was thinking
you could roll up a barrel from the larder, and I could get down to it and
then down to the floor. But now I look at it, it's an even bigger drop than
I remembered. I'd tear something open, sure."
"Mm-hm," I said. "Hang on. I've got an idea."
I fumed away from him and climbed back down. Then I made my way along
the base of the blue rise to my right until I had rounded two shiny
shoulders and was completely out of Luke's line of sight.
I did not care to use the Logrus in his presence if I did not have to.
I did not wish for him to see how I went about things, and I did not want to
give him any idea as to what I could or could not do. I'm not that
comfortable letting people know too much about me, either.
The Logrus appeared at my summons, and I reached into it, extended
through it. My desire was framed, became the aim. My sending extending
sought the thought. Far, far. . . .
I kept extending for the damnedest long time. We really had to be out
in the Shadow boonies. . . .
Contact.
I did not jerk, but rather exerted a slow and steady pressure. I felt
it move toward me across the shadows.
"Hey, Merle! Everything okay?" I heard Luke call.
"Yeah," I answered, and I did not elaborate.
Closer, closer. . . .
There!
I staggered when it arrived, because it came to me too near to one end.
The far end bounced on the ground. So I moved to the middle and took a
new grip. I hefted it and carried it back.
I set it against a steep area of the rise a bit in advance of Luke's
position and I mounted quickly. I began drawing it up behind me then.
"Okay, where'd you get the ladder?" he asked.
"Found it," I said.
"Looks like wet paint on the side there."
"Maybe someone lost it just recently."
I began lowering it into the opening. Several feet protruded after it
reached the bottom. I adjusted it for stability,
"I'll start down first," I said, "and stay right under you."
"Take my stick and my blade down first, will you?"
"Sure.'.
I did that thing. By the time I climbed back he had caught hold and
gotten onto it, had begun his descent.
"You'll have to teach me that trick one of these days," he said,
breathing heavily.
"Don't know what you're talking about," I answered.
He descended slowly, pausing to rest at each rung, and he was flushed
and panting when he reached the bottom. He slumped to the floor immediately,
pressing his right palm against his lower rib cage. After a time, he inched
backward a bit and rested against the wall.
"You okay?" I asked.
He nodded. "Will be," he said, "in a few minutes. Being stabbed takes a
lot out of you."
"Want a blanket?"
"No, thanks."
"Well, you rest here and I'll go check the larder and see whether
anything's gotten at the supplies. Want me to bring you anything?"
"Some water," he said.
The supplies proved to be in good order, and the sleeping bag was still
where I'd left it. I returned with a drink for Luke and a few ironic
memories of the occasion when he'd done the same for me.
"Looks as if you're in business," I told him. "There's still plenty of
stuff."
"You didn't drink all the wine, did you?" he asked between sips.
"No.
"Good. "
"Now, you said you have a piece of information vital to the interests
of
Amber," I said. "Care to tell me about it?"
He smiled. "Not yet," he said.
"I thought that was our deal."
"You didn't hear the whole thing. We were interrupted."
I shook my head. But, "All right, we were interrupted," I acknowledged.
"Tell me the rest."
"I've got to get back on my feet, so I can take the Keep and free my
mother. . . ."
I nodded.
"The information is yours after we rescue her."
"Hey! Wait a minute! You're asking a hell of a lot!"
"Not for what I'm paying."
"Sounds like I'm buying a pig in a poke."
"Yes, I guess you are. But believe me, it'll be worth knowing."
"What if it becomes worth knowing while I'm waiting?"
"No, I've figured the timing on this. My recovery is only going to take
a couple of days, Amber time. I can't see the matter coming up that fast."
"Luke, this is starting to sound like some sort of trick."
"It is," he said, "but it will benefit Amber as well as myself."
"That's another thing. I can't see you giving something like this away
to the enemy."
He sighed. "It might even be enough to get me off the hook," he added.
"You're thinking of calling off your feud?"
"I don't know. But I've been doing a lot of thinking, and if I did
decide to go that route it would make for a real good opener."
"And if you decided not to, you'd be screwing yourself. Wouldn't you?"
"I ...
