Chapter 012: Perspective
"You
ask in uncertain voice
What
you should do
As
if there were a choice
But
to carry on
Miming
the song
And
hope that it will work out right"
Horrified and speechless I sat there. If only my Mother had been someone
else. If only my Father had never told me about my heritage. If only, if
only, if only... There's not much point in thoughts like these, I know, but when
I get caught up in them I really get caught up in them. They're like a maelstrom
dragging me deeper and deeper down.
What kind of people would murder an innocent unborn
child? No, not people: monsters, cold unfeeling monsters. And to think that it
was a relative who had done this; Random's remark had made that quite clear! And
he had said this time... Oh Unicorn, did he mean that this had happened more
than once? I was afraid to ask, afraid of the answer I would probably get.
Meanwhile Adrian's act had signalled our official
business was at an end. Most people started talking, forming little groups of
trusted (or should I say least distrusted) relatives to discuss and gossip. A
lot of them also followed Adrian's example and soon everybody was queuing to
reach Random and Vialle.
Not me. I couldn't bring myself to it. Seeing that
nobody was paying much attention to me I decided to slip away quietly. I felt in
no mood to talk to anybody at that moment; the quiet of my personal bedroom
seemed a lot more agreeable to me. Actually, any place other than here seemed a
lot more agreeable.
But I was wrong to think I would be able to slip
away unnoticed: Diana stopped me just before I left the room, saying that she
wanted to talk. Cursing myself for my self-centred attitude I led her to a quiet
spot where we couldn't be overheard by anyone. I should have known better than
to leave her to her own devices. She was probably as shocked as I was, if not
more. Barely a day in Amber and already she had to face the worst imaginable
aspect of the Family.
I pushed away my own feelings for a moment. I had
promised Caine that I would take care of her, but I suddenly also realised that
I really cared for her. More than I had realised up to now. It was that same
special feeling I had for only a few other people: my Father, Wylde, Suzanne.
People I think I would try to protect with my life, if need be. I just wished I
could have spared her this afternoon's events.
Diana indeed did look as shaken as I felt, but she
made an effort to bring out her smile for me nevertheless.
"I hadn't expected anything like this,"
she said in a little voice. "The Trial was bad, but that business with
Vialle, that was the worst. I know you warned me about my Family, but I was too
excited at the prospect of finally meeting them. I should have payed more heed
to what you were saying, I realise that now."
"Well, I don't know if it's any consolation,
but all of this came as an enormous shock for me too. I guess I should have
payed more heed to my own words as well."
"I just can't understand how anybody could do
something like that," she sighed. She looked up at me with an imploring
look in her eye. "But surely they're not all that bad, aren't they? I mean,
Uncle Bleys has been really nice, hasn't he?"
I shook my head and sighed. "That's the real
problem. You see, everybody seems very nice, but when it comes down to it you
just can't tell who is for real and who is pretending. That's Amber for you: you
never can tell who you're friends are."
She looked dismayed for a moment, then veered up
with a new-found determination. "Well, if they're not I'll just run them
through with my sword!"
I couldn't suppress a rueful smile. "I can do
it too," she asserted a little indignantly. "I'm quite capable with a
sword. Uncle Caine did teach me something!"
"Shh! Don't mention that name here!"
Diana shrank back startled by my sudden outburst at
her slip of the tongue. I quickly glanced around but fortunately I saw nobody
near us.
"I'm sorry," I continued. "I didn't
mean to sound so harsh. And you misunderstand me: I don't doubt your
capabilities as a swordswoman. It's just that killing a relative is far from the
wisest way of resolving such things. I mean, take Uncle Julian for instance. As
you noticed he was totally on Murlas' side in the Trial."
"He was?" Diana looked a bit puzzled.
"Now you mention it, he did seem very lenient to me." I sighed; it was
not as if Julian had been that subtle.
"Anyway," I said, "my point was that
even he was glad the victim had at least not been a relative. As you've seen
today killing a Shadow person is but a minor offence; murdering a relative,
however, is serious business. Don't think you'll get away with as light a
punishment as Murlas got if you were to run through any of our uncles, aunts or
cousins, no matter how bad they really are."
"It's all so very difficult," she said
and sighed once again. "But that business with Vialle's child is really
foul. I just can't comprehend it."
"Perhaps you should have a chat with
her," I suggested. "See how she feels about it, how she copes with
it." I recalled my own conversations with the Queen; she was one of the
wisest people I knew, in the best possible sense of the word.
Diana thought about it for a little while, then
smiled and nodded. "Yes, I think that's a good idea. Will you come with
me?"
I considered it briefly, but the thought of again
having to face the whole Family rather daunted me. So I said I wanted some time
to rest and gather my wits before dinner, which Diana accepted. As I headed for
my chambers I didn't feel very relieved, though. I already missed Diana's
company.
The lonely hours before dinner didn't provide me
with any new insights. I tried to find some distraction in music, but I found no
way to really put my heart in it. Perhaps deep down I was too afraid to really
do so.
I had some doubts about attending dinner, but in
the end I decided to carry on, hoping a solution to my problem of dealing with
the Family would naturally present itself.
I dressed up and was about to leave when a servant
came round with a message from Random, saying that he wanted a word with me in
his study immediately after dinner. Good, I still needed to talk to him about my
personal problems.
I guess that none of my relatives had any pressing
business to take care of, for everyone was present at dinner. There seemed to be
a general feeling in the air that a lot of things were happening at the moment
with Amber as a sort of nexus of it all. It was a bit like a play where all the
actors are afraid to leave the stage because they might miss some crucial
information; everybody milling about on stage talking and playing subtle games
to find out what the others knew. I felt that we were still somewhere in the
first act and a lot of things were in the lap of the gods. I would like to have
a word with the writer, though, and get him to reassess my part in all of this.
And had he intended this to be a comedy or a tragedy?
I realised I did have some unsettled business myself. I walked up to Algo
and told him about my decision not to act as his second in the upcoming duel. He
was very disappointed although I tried to explain my reasons to him. Apparently
he had really counted on me to say yes, for he already had decided on the time
and place of the duel, which he was about to inform Adrian of. He grumbled a bit
about having to find another second on such short notice, but I knew he would
find someone.
Later everyone was presented with a small card with
Algo's iridescent harp logo and an invitation in stylish golden print. He
invited us all to witness his duel with Adrian the next day at noon in Telgan.
He would transport us all there by means of his Trump, since it seemed that
everyone had one of him now. I had picked up a rumour that Dworkin had drawn a
new Trump of Algo and had decided to distribute copies to every available
relative. He should have copied some other Trumps while he was at it, as well as
perhaps drawing some of the new relatives that had just surfaced like Diana and
Boadice. But I guess that's Dworkin for you...
During dinner I was seated in between Fiona and
Diana. Neither of them was in a very talkative mood, though, which suited me
fine. I ate and listened to the conversations round the table. All trivial
matters and I didn't feel a need to join in. Beside that I did feel a little
upset by the trivialities being discussed when the events of this afternoon were
still fresh in everyone's memories. Then again most of the others might not know
how to deal with all of that themselves.
After dinner I headed to Random's
study, only to find that I wasn't the only one he wanted to see. Our whole
little group of troubleshooters was headed that way, along with Martin and the
two newcomers Diana and Boadice. It made me think back to the begining of our
adventures, when most of us didn't yet know each other and cooperation was high
on our list. Things sure were different now. Everybody seemed to be pursuing
things of their own and it couldn't be denied that there was a certain amount of
tension between some of us. I'm afraid we weren't anything else but just a
typical group of Amberites, true to our blood in all respects as Murlas had only
recently shown. The only consolation was that there also were some that I could
call friends in this group.
When we entered the study Random was talking with
Fiona. Random beckoned us to close the door, so apparently Aunt Fi was also
involved in this meeting. I guessed it would be about the continuation of our
quest as that was also Murlas' punishment, which I figured they had already
decided beforehand. I sincerely hoped Random wouldn't force us to work together
on this once again, for although Murlas might have shown regret at his brutal
actions I wasn't about to trust him until he really proved to me that he had
changed his ways. Also I didn't think it wise to travel with Alexander while
that business with Wylde and Thena was still unsettled. Fortunately both of them
were absent at the moment...
We waited a few minutes in silence for Random and
Fiona to finish their conversation. Finally Random turned to us.
"Well," he said, "thank you all for
coming. As I hope all of you know by now, we're in some serious trouble. There's
some kind of threat, not only to Amber and the Family, but to our whole reality.
At the moment we still don't know all there is to know about this threat but
we're working on it.
Now, I sent some of you on a mission a little while
back when all this trouble first started and I already got some reports on what
you have done and the things you found out. First of all, though, I want to know
whether anyone still has something to tell that's relevant to the problem of the
Black Unicorn."
There was a moment of silence before Alexander
spoke up: "I don't know whether Benedict already told you this, but I once
again had an encounter with those pink golems, this time in Kashfa."
"No, he hasn't told me yet," Random said
frowning. "What happened?"
"Well, there was this sorceror in a tower in
Kashfa who had a bunch of these golems as bodyguards."
"And...?"
"Not much else really. We stormed the tower,
defeated those golems and I think Jasra finally managed to take out the sorceror
himself. I'm not sure, though, for it wasn't over yet when we left."
"We? Who's we? And what else did you find
out?"
Alex shifted a little uncomfortably. "I'd
rather not say in public, sir. It's a rather delicate matter. Perhaps it can be
discussed in private?"
"Nonsense! Spit it out! Nothing's too delicate
as far as the safety of Amber is concerned, and if I had wanted to talk to you
privately I wouldn't have invited you all together, would I?"
Alex clearly didn't feel happy about it, but except
for stubbornly refusing there was no way to avoid answering. "Besides Jasra
and me, the King of Kashfa and Dalt were also involved. I had contacted Benedict
about the situation and he agreed that it might provide an opportunity for
aquiring some extra information."
"So Rinaldo was involved in this too? Hmm, I
think I shall have a word with him soon. But what else did you discover? Who was
that sorceror? How did he get those golems? And what about Dalt's role in the
attack on Arden? Did you learn anything new about that?"
"No, I didn't have enough time, but I plan to
return to Kashfa soon to see whether I can learn the answers to those
questions."
Random made no attempts to hide his disappointment.
"You should have gathered more information while you were there. Time is of
the essence here. After all, you might return to Kashfa only to find Dalt is no
longer there. What then? You should have gotten more out of him when you had the
chance."
An awkward silence fell across the room while
Random considered his next point on the agenda. I hadn't known that Rinaldo was
the King of Kashfa. It's one of those Shadows bordering on the Golden Circle. I
believe I passed through it once while shifting away from Amber; nice place,
beautiful countryside. I wondered how Alex had got involved in that adventure
there. I mean, from what Adrian had told me I couldn't picture him and Dalt
working together very well. Maybe Rinaldo had smoothed things out in that
regard, but I couldn't imagine myself working together with the man that had
tried to kill me. Then again I really didn't know Alexander all that well. He
might feel different about such things.
Random resumed the meeting by asking me whether I
had already told the others about meeting Cerwen. I said that I hadn't, since I
assumed that he would like to tell them himself. He proceeded to do so.
"If we are to believe this Cerwen," he
said, "then there is at least one person in this Family involved in this.
At this moment there's no way to say who it might be, and I don't want to do any
speculating on the subject.
"Another thing that seems important to me is
this Black Trump that some of you found. It might be the same Trump that Martin
had acquired in Angel City, but it might also be a different one. Fiona will
spend some time examining it, as was agreed at the Trial.
"All in all there's still a lot we don't know,
although we keep making progress. You will all have to help once again. That
lead on - what were their names again? - Fox and Lisa looks very promising to
me. Most of all I want you to come up with some contacts and useful names and
identities."
"Fiona has told me that the situation in the
Courts of Chaos is also a bit precarious at the moment. I have considered it,
but I think it will be best to send the ambassadors all the same. However,
Adrian and anyone else who decides to go as well: be very careful, don't take
any unnecessary risks and certainly don't go off on any schemes of your own
while you're there.
"I believe Fiona had something she wanted to
tell you. Fi?"
Fiona rose from her seat and faced us all.
"Some time ago I was asked by some of you to investigate the disappearance
of Vincent. I'm glad to say that Vincent has been freed from his captivity.
However, you will have to continue for some time without his help. He's alive
and reasonably well, but that's all I can say about him. One point of
reassurance: I don't think that any of you are in personal danger as far as that
business with Vincent is concerned."
I was very glad to hear that. I admit that Vincent
hadn't been very high on my list of things that needed further looking into, but
that was why I had asked Aunt Fiona to do it for me. I had worried about him,
though, and the fact that he was alive and free relieved my mind from that
worries. I did have one further question about Fiona's assertion that we had
nothing to fear from that side, but I saved that for my private conversation
with her.
Suddenly Algo spoke up: "Listen, it's all very
well, but count me out of that information gathering business. I'm not going to
travel around while there's still people trying to kill me, you know. I mean,
someone poisoned me right here in Amber and they still haven't caught the
assassin. No, first I'm going to settle my unfinished business here" - a
meaningful glance at Adrian - "and then I'm going home to Telgan and I'm
going to stay there until I'm out of danger."
I couldn't suppress a smile when I saw Random's
expression. For once he seemed totally at loss for words, his mouth silently
opening and closing a few times while he was deciding whether he should get mad
at Algo or not. Finally he took Algo's arm and led him to the other side of the
room, where they talked privately for a few minutes. It was no use: Algo just
wouldn't change his mind, so in the end Random just consented to his plan.
"Algo has got a point," he said when they
had rejoined the group. "That attempt on his life is also a piece of
unfinished business that needs looking into. Personally I don't relish the idea
of assassins slipping in and out of Amber without being noticed either."
"Did someone try to kill Algo?" Murlas
asked innocently. I quickly explained to him and Boadice what had happened. Algo
muttered something about having Violet to thank for his life. My curiosity got
the better of me and I asked him who this Violet was.
"Oh, she just showed up some time ago while I
was in Telgan. Very strange, since nobody's supposed to be able to enter there
like she did, but never mind that. She's got the most horrible taste and she
decided to repaint my rooms in the most clashing colours possible. She also
smokes those horrible small cigars, but aside from that she's a very interesting
person, I'd even say fascinating. It was her powers that saved me from that
poison. Beside that I really don't know that much about her, but it seems that
Benedict does."
"Yes," Alexander interjected, "I
asked Benedict about her and hearing me mentioning her name made him smile. He
said that you would find out for yourself who she is pretty soon."
The thought of Uncle Benedict smiling made me
smile. At least this Violet was no cause of alarm to Algo or to any of us.
"Alright people," Random said,
"let's get back to the business at hand. You, as the younger generation,
are in a way freer than us; you're not bound up in all kinds of duties. This
makes you the perfect agents or spies or scouts or whatever you want to call it.
As you see we've got a couple of leads to follow, like for instance that Fox and
Lisa connection."
"I don't know," said Murlas. "When
we were following the trail from Angel City, instead of the people we were
looking for we found Azrain. I know I promised that I would strive to redeem
myself, but I don't want to go travelling through Shadow again without being
certain that he has been dealt with."
"We have Azrain in custody," Random
replied, "and there's no way he's going to escape; I think that you can
consider him dealt with for all practical purposes. And the fact that you ran
into him while following those other two might just been coincedence. As yet we
don't have any indication that Azrain might be involved in this whole Black
Unicorn business too. However, you can be sure that we will do our best to
determine his role in the bigger scheme."
"Be careful with him," Murlas said with
some real concern showing through in his otherwise cultured and controlled
voice. "Don't ever underestimate his abilities."
"Of course we won't. Now, I would like to know
from each of you what you think would be a good lead for you to follow."
Alexander said he wanted to continue his business
in Kashfa, but he insisted that he still needed to talk privately with Random on
that subject.
Murlas didn't have any real preferences, but he
mentioneds that he would like to have the Black Trump back after Fiona had
examined it, since it still was a possible link with his Father.
Boadice expressed a real willingness to help,
although she wanted some time to draw a few Trumps. I was very surprised, since
I didn't know up till then that she also had that skill. Boa thought that the
identity of Algo' assassins might be something for her to look into.
Adrian's course was unchanged, he would travel to
the Courts. Again he mentioned a desire to meet Merlin, saying that he might
find a real Brother in him. Alexander's expression remained neutral.
I was up next, and I hesitated a little. Finally I
said to Random that there was a certain personal matter I wanted to talk about
first, but privately. He nodded.
Diana said that she wanted to help me on my
personal quest; after all she knew what it was all about. That was, if Random
could agree with that. Again he nodded, this time with an air of amused
resignation.
Algo had already expressed his feelings quite
clearly, so Martin was the last in line. He said he wanted to go after Fox and
Lisa. I felt that he might be suspecting something about them being involved in
that atomic explosion that destroyed most of his hang-out Shadow. He might be
right too...
Having heard from all of us Random first had a few
minutes of private discussion with Alexander, and then it was my turn. No sense
in beating round the bush, so I told him the whole story of Suzanne. In the
course of my story Random's fown deepened. When I had finished he said: "I
don't like it. I don't like it one bit. It sounds like it could be very
dangerous, like there's a lot more to it than you've discovered so far. It has
got to be bigger: I can't think of anyone who might hold a grudge against
you." I could only agree.
"Experience has taught me," he continued,
"that things like this, that might seem small, can turn out to be very
important. You never know, though, it could all be something that was set up
only in order to mislead you."
"I know, you might be right" I replied.
"But honestly I just don't want to take the risk. I admit that it is a
personal thing, but I also think that the possibility that it might be some
relative who's behind all this makes it a Family matter. And even if this was
all planned as one big misdirection I feel that I at least have to try."
"Okay, it will be worthwhile to look into it
at least a little further."
I was very relieved. I had dreaded that he would
have ordered me to pursue a totally different course. Then I would have had to
face the dilemma of either following his orders or following my own wishes.
However, glad as I may be at the moment, I did realise that this dilemma had
only been postponed. There would come a time that I would have to make that
difficult choice between duty and personal interest, and I didn't know yet how I
would choose.
"Decision time, people," said Random.
"Adrian, your role in the ambassadors' party is a relative minor one, since
you're not an official ambassador yourself. However, that leaves you freer than
the others to do some investigating. But you know the score: no unnecessary
risks.
"Dorian and Diana, you will continue with that
piece of personal business. Algo will stay in the safety of his own Shadow until
that assassin has been found. Alexander, you will also go on with your previous
line of investigation.
"It seems to me, though, that it would be a
good idea to have someone else accompany Adrian to the Courts. Corwin, Bleys and
Benedict will probably be totally tied down in official business and Adrian will
need someone he can turn to for assistance. Boadice, what do you think of a trip
to the other side?"
"Oh, I think it would be fascinating,"
she answered with a smile. I saw that Adrian was also smiling; apparently he
quite liked the idea of having Boadice as his companion.
"Good, good," Random continued.
"Now, Murlas, perhaps it is best if you were to join Martin in his search
for Fox and Lisa. That is, if you both agree with that." They both nodded.
"Alright. One final point, though, and
that applies to each of you: keep in touch. You're only meant to investigate, to
scout the territory as it were, not to immediately act on what you find. As soon
as you run into any major resistance, call home and get help. Of course you
shouldn't contact us just for every trifle. We, that is us, the elder
generation, are each bound to be busy with our own things and we can't always be
interrupted. Perhaps it is better if you first were to try contacting your peers
before contacting any of us."
"I don't want to be the one who has to bring
this up each and every time," I said, "but in that case we still need
to have some Trumps. My own deck is far from complete and Diana hasn't got any
Trumps, but my own."
"That is a problem," he sighed. "If
only Dworkin was a little more consistent when he decides to make some new
Trumps; it seems that everyone has Algo's Trump now. There aren't any Trump
decks left at the moment, though."
"What about those two decks I saw in the
library?" Boadice interrupted.
Random looked very surprised and immediately
summoned a servant to bring him those decks. A few minutes later they were on
his desk. While Boadice studied them curiously, Random rummaged around in a few
drawers and finally produced a couple of Trumps of people that were not in the
standard deck. The only relatives that seemed to be missing were Dworkin - why
had he never drawn one of himself? - Diana, Boadice, Dalt and Sand.
I wondered about that Trump of Sand that was hidden
in my deck. Perhaps I should try to contact her one of these days and see
whether I could learn anything else from her. However, now that I was back in
Amber it might be a good idea to learn something of her role in the Family
history first. I still didn't know the reason why I had never heard of her
before. And there was still that favour that I had promised I'd do for her
concerning that - what was her name? - Aradia. Sand had seemed quite sure that I
would meet this Aradia, but I still hadn't run into her...or had I?
Meanwhile the others were discussing the
distribution of the Trumps. Random thought that with so many Trump artists
currently present it wouldn't hurt to copy all the Trumps and get a complete and
updated deck for everyone. He discussed it with Fiona and they came to the
conclusion that it would be a matter of two days to accomplish this. Fiona would
draw Boadice's Trump, who didn't want to do her own, and Fi said that her
Brother would be interested in doing Diana's.
I frowned a little at hearing this; I just didn't
like Uncle Bleys' excessive interest in Diana. However, I guess that this had to
be done, otherwise there would be no Trump of Diana. At least I had warned her
about him. I just hoped she would remember that warning.
Random said that he himself would draw Alexander's
Trump. I was a bit surprised. It seems that everyone turns out to be a Trump
artist nowadays.
Finally Adrian asked about the possibilities for
Trump contact between Amber and the Courts. Random said that it wasn't always
reliable because of the huge fluctuations in timeflow between here and there. At
Boa's request he elaborated a bit on the Courts, telling us that there were
about thirty Major Court Families with possible claims to the Throne, along with
over a hundred Minor Families. He warned Adrian and Boa that the Chaosians were
very keen on protocol. I sighed. That did certainly spell disaster for Adrian.
He's a very nice guy, but a bit over-enthusiastic at times; if he didn't learn
to curb his enthusiasm a little trouble would surely come.
After that the meeting broke up. All of us would
leave three days hence, when all the Trump drawing and copying was finished. And
there was also that duel tomorrow afternoon; Random hinted that he thought that
most of the Family would be present. I was curious as to what kind of duel it
would be, certainly when I heard Algo say that he had found another second in
Droppa MaPantz, the Court Jester. Hmm, I had the feeling it would prove to be
quite a show...
I managed to reach Aunt Fiona before she left and
said that Diana and I wanted a word with her. She was quite agreeable and
clearly a lot more rested and relaxed than before or during the Trial. We
secluded ourselves in a sitting-room nearby and I started telling her about my
new-found abilities (being able to see that Diana was a relative, noticing how
the timeflow in that Shadow had been tampered with, etc.).
"I wanted to ask you, though," I said,
"whether Diana is really ready to walk the Pattern or not. I'm not totally
sure about it; these things are still very new to me. And since you assisted me
when I walked It the first time..."
"Hmm, it's very interesting that you're
developing those abilities. I wish things weren't so busy at the moment, for I
would like to spend some time and do some experiments to see what you can and
what you can't do. But that will have to wait.
"As for Diana, I'm afraid that I don't have
any time to spare to guide her on her first Patternwalk. Maybe I can find
someone else who has and who's willing to help."
"I do think that she should essay it very
soon, at least before we go off into Shadow again. Having a Trump deck will make
her less dependent, but she needs Pattern if she is to stand on her own."
"Yes, I agree. I will see what I can do,"
she said with a slight frown. Then her face cleared and she smile a bit wickedly
at me. "So, what did you think of our little show today?"
Oh no! Not now! During the evening I had somehow
managed to push away my after Trial depression, and now Fiona was dragging it
all back up to the light again. I turned my face away and shrugged, saying:
"Oh, the Trial? Ah, well..."
"Yes," she said, "I had noticed that
you were somewhat disappointed by it all. I have to say that your question on
the matter of honour wasn't all that wrong in itself, it's just that in the past
we discussed it continually without ever reaching an agreement. However, a kind
of unspoken compromise finally developed out of the whole discussion, a
compromise that is more or less honoured by everyone. So you're never in danger
of someone plunging a knife into your chest under the pretense of honour."
She smiled kindly as she said this and I managed a
wan smile in return. The ease with which she had read my mind was somewhat
unnerving.
"Someone should have told us all of this a
little bit sooner," I said. "I mean, are we as newcomers just supposed
to know all of this?"
"I guess we Amberites just aren't that good at
being parents," she
"What you have to keep in mind is that most of
us have seen quite a lot of years passing by and there's a kind of cynicism that
comes with that certain kind of age. One way or the other it colours most of our
thinking."
I shrugged again as if to say that it wouldn't
happen to me. Then I quickly switched the subject. "About Vincent: I'm glad
to hear that he is safe, but I'm still a bit worried about my own safety. I
don't know whether I already told you this, but after Murlas had tried to
contact Vincent and found that Black Cloud instead, I received a Trump contact
myself. When I opened up, however, I saw that Black Cloud rushing towards me. I
managed to block it before contact could fully be established, but I'm still
worried about that."
"When did this happen? Shortly after another
Trump contact?"
"Well, yes, I guess so. We were in a very fast
timeflow Shadow at the time."
"Then I think you have nothing to worry about.
My guess is that it was just a kind of Trump-rebound, or Trump-echo if you like.
It's a kind of natural phenomenon that often happens when there's a big time
differential between Shadows. I wouldn't worry about that Black Cloud anymore;
that's been taken care of."
With that final reassurance she left. It was
already quite late, so Diana and I both decided to seek the comfort of our own
bedrooms. We arranged to meet before travelling off to Telgan to see the duel.
My night was surprisingly devoid of dreams and quite restful.
The next morning I found myself with too much time
on my hands. For a moment I considered burying myself in the library trying to
find some information on Sand, but no, I just didn't feel like it; I would put
that off till tomorrow.
Instead I went to look for Uncle Jaro. He had a
couple of hours of guard-duty that morning, but he appreciated my company and I
didn't really mind where we were as long as we had a chance to talk. His duty
proved to be guarding the cell where Azrain was being held. I worried a bit at
the mention of that name, recalling Murlas' warnings, but Jaro assured me that
it was all quite safe. There were in fact so many magical restraints placed on
that cell that a life guard wasn't really necesarry.
"The only reason I'm here," he said,
"is to see that nobody accidentally disturbs all that magic stuff. I guess
one of your new cousins might just wander this way..." He winked at me.
"I've heard that they're rather good-looking. What do you say? Is one of
them to your liking?"
I blushed a bit. "Yes," I replied,
"I guess they're both pretty. But it isn't right, is it? I mean, they're my
relatives!"
"Oh," he said and shrugged, "that
shouldn't be that much of a problem, should it?"
I didn't comment on it any further, but privately I
wondered about it. Diana was very pretty and I liked her a lot. I felt that she
liked me too, but to what extent? And how far did my own feelings go? It was
rather easy to keep her company for the sake of the promise I had made to Uncle
Caine, but wasn't there something growing underneath, some feelings beyond the
call of duty? Pondering these questions only helped to confuse me even more.
However, I realised I had to face them sooner or later and come up with some
suitable answers. Especially now Diana and I would continue my search for
Suzanne together.
Ah, Suzanne, there was another part of the problem.
Somewhat guiltily I realised that I was thinking of her less and less. Even the
whole case of her disappearance seemed to have taken on a whole new meaning for
me. I was now more focused on the relative or relatives who had taken her and
why they had done this, than on Suzanne herself. It was wrong, I know, but her
absence and Diana's presence (plus my own impotence in finding her) had somehow
wrought this change in me. Life can be so complicated...
I suddenly heard a mental miaow and within a second
the soft-pawed shape of Wylde had jumped onto my lap, immediately settling down
to sleep. I smiled and started stroking her. That at least was one relationship
I could be sure of.
For a moment Uncle Jaro tensed when Wylde appeared,
but as soon as he realised who it was he relaxed again. After a while our
conversation turned to combat. I told him all about our encounter with the pink
golems, a tale he appreciated very much. This talk of battle stirred a question
in me I had been wondering about for some time.
"Uncle," I said, "there's something
about that attack on Arden I don't really understand. Why attack Arden? I mean,
if their goal was an attack on Amber, wouldn't it have been wiser to go round
Arden? If I recall correctly that's what Uncle Corwin and Uncle Bleys did when
they tried to reach Amber in time to stop Eric from crowning himself King."
"Yes, that's right. Quite a fight, that was. I
was there, you know. I remember we had to use nets and blunted arrows to capture
Prince Corwin. But yes, you are right, they didn't go through Arden. They must
have thought it to be the better choice. Don't forget they were in a hurry to
stop Prince Eric; they must have figured that the way through Arden and the
inevitable confrontation with Prince Julian's forces there would take too much
time. Not that they didn't have to fight Julian by going round him, though.
"I think that the recent attack is a different
matter. From what I have heard the assualt force was really very small. It seems
to me that it was more a test than a real attack; they wanted to see how fast we
would react and who of the Princes would join the battle. Most importantly,
would Prince Benedict lead the troops or someone else?"
His assumptions seemed pretty sound to me. That
someone else who could have led the forces was of course Uncle Julian; after all
it was his territory. I could see that Random's decision to send Benedict to
Arden was in some way an insult to Julian, a sign that he wasn't thought to be
competent enough to fend off such an attack. Perhaps discrediting Julian had
been part of the attackers' plans. Perhaps that was also a reason why they had
focused their attack on Arden. Perhaps this line of thought was going a bit too
far. Then again, perhaps not...
"You see," Jaro continued, "that's
why everybody is still so jumpy. The King and most of the Princes and
Princesses, I mean. They all think that it was just a test and they realise the
real attack is still to come."