Chapter 026: Cousins, As Usual

 

"Cousins? You mean there's more of you?"

 

Thorn, Bone issue 2 - Jeff Smith

 

     "I'm sorry you had to wait," I said, sliding into a chair, "but something came up."

     "Yes," Murlas replied, "I noticed that you were... busy when I returned from my visit with Martin." He smiled slightly and I did my very best not to frown. How much had he noticed? And just how much of it had he noticed on purpose? I sighed inwardly. Oh well, it just goes to show that there is no such thing as privacy in the court of Amber. Hopefully he hadn't picked up enough to realize that it had been Wylde who I had been... busy with or the reason for us being... busy.

      "So what did have our cousin have to say?" I asked casually.

     "Oh, he had some very interesting news and he even supplied us with a possible starting point for our quest. How do you feel about a little quest for a young woman called Lisa?"

     "Sounds interesting," I said, "tell me more."

     "It seems that she is once again in our reality, but this time she is being pursued by something sent after her by her former employer."

     "So we go out and find her, and then what? Do we bring her back here?"

     "That all depends, I think. Martin very much wants to keep her alive. He told me that Random has already promised to give her asylum here in Amber. However, we must not forget what our principal objective is: information."

     "Well, unless you've got a better way, I guess we'd better start packing for another hellride," I said.

     "There are two other things," he said. "First, I had quite a conversation with Rhiane. What it all boils down to is that she wants to come along with us." I waited a moment or two for Murlas to add some comment on Rhiane's inability to recognize private conversations for what they were and leave them alone, but no such remark was forthcoming. Apparently their conversation had cleared up that little misunderstanding, and he was willing to accept her. I considered Rhiane for a moment. I had heard from Diana that she was quite a skilled fighter, so she would indeed be a perfect replacement for Adrian. Besides, Random had said we'd better take some other people along. Very briefly I wondered where she stood in this whole situation with Corwin's Pattern, her being Eric's daughter and all, but I felt I would be finding out soon enough.

     "If you don't have any problems with her joining us, then I don't either," I said. He nodded. "So what's the other thing?" I asked.

     "There is some personal business I would like to take care of before we leave," he said. "This will probably take some time, so I fear we cannot depart right away tomorrow morning." Hmm, seeing as how I kept spending time on my personal affairs, it seemed only fair to allow Murlas some time to take care of his as well.

     "How much time do you think you'll need to finish this business?" I asked.

     "I estimate a day or two."

     "Good, then we'll leave in the morning two days from now." He nodded.

     "That is settled then," he said. "By the way, did you manage to learn anything new from that Black Trump?" Uh-oh, the moment I had dreaded was here. He was of course going to ask me to give it back, but I wasn't ready to part with it just yet. However, I had promised to return it to him after our adventures in the Overshadow, so I guess I really had no choice.

     "Not much, I guess," I replied. Murlas frowned a bit, as if he somehow felt my reluctance.

     "What did you learn?" he urged.

     "Well, to really use the thing effectively you've got to have some kind of intuitive contact with it. The only way to master it is with lots of practice."

     "More practice than one can manage in two days, do you think?" Murlas asked with a slightly sarcastic tone of voice.

     "Oh yes, much more than that," I said innocently. He sighed almost inaudibly.

     "Do you expect," he began again, "to be able to make some real progress with the Trump in a mere two days' time?" I shrugged. I got the feeling that he really wanted to have the trinket back, but that he was somehow a bit too polite to just demand that I'd give it to him there and then.

     "I can always try and see how far I get, can't I?" I replied. "Things like that have sometimes a tendency to progess really fast when you least expect them to." Again that almost-sigh from my cousin.

     "Will I be able to contact you by Trump during that period?" he asked.

     "Of course you will," I said, inwardly smiling. It seemed I was going to keep the card a bit longer.

     "Well, if I should by any chance suddenly have a need for it, then I will call you," he said, getting to his feet.

     "Okay," I said. "Good luck with your personal business and see you in two days." He nodded and headed off in the direction of his chambers. I stayed for a few minutes in the sitting room where I had found him, studying the Black Trump for the umpteenth time. So much hassle over such a small object. No, I would probably not be able to master it in just two days, but like I said to Murlas, one can always try.

     That night at dinner the table was buzzing with the latest Family gossip. Rumour had it that earlier that day Rhiane had challenged Murlas to a duel! There was to be no fight, though, for later on Rhiane had retracted the challenge and had even (shock! horror!) offered her apologies to Murlas. This appeared to amuse most of the Elders to no end; the ruling opinion of Rhiane seemed to be: easy to manipulate. All in all they considered it to be a small victory for Murlas, although some of them felt that taking advantage of a relatively young and innocent relative was too easy and therefore bad show. Ha, where were they when Caine was ready to murder Diana? Not there to help her, that much is certain.

     Okay, okay, perhaps I wasn't being entirely fair, but I had the feeling that Murlas was being condemned just because he was Murlas. I mean, I wouldn't want to fight a duel with Rhiane, not after the things Diana had told me about her, and if I could manage to worm my way out of it and get her apologies as well, I'd feel rather proud of myself. No, to me this was a clear victory for Murlas, and the fact that he had magnaminously allowed her to join our little mission after what had happened made an even greater impression.

     After dinner I was approached by Diana for a little private talk. She looked a bit worried and it soon became clear what was on her mind: Adrian. Corwin had spent the whole day looking for clues of his whereabouts and had finally decided that he'd be more likely to find them outside of Amber. His plan was to quietly slip away and search for his son without anyone knowing, but he had decided it would be a good idea to have someone come along, just in case. That someone, of course, was Diana. As I said she was a bit worried, both about Adrian and about what she was getting herself into. Despite Corwin's idea of keeping their search as quiet as possible she had thought it better to warn me that she was going away, for which I was grateful. I tried to reassure her that it was okay and that I wouldn't tell anyone. Actually, I was glad that she was helping Corwin, seeing as how I currently wasn't able do so myself. I told Diana to take care and to call me in case of any emergency. I kissed her too, but I realized that I was holding back a bit on the passion. My recent activities with Wylde were still too fresh in my memory...

     Later, while I was busy fidgeting with the Black Trump in my room, there was a knock at my door. I wasn't too surprised to find that it was cousin Rhiane. I invited her in and poured us some wine (as usual).

     "I guess you already heard that I'm coming with you and Murlas," she began. I nodded and she nodded in return. She looked a bit preoccupied, as if there was something on her mind.

     "When are you planning to start searching?" she asked.

     "Well, Murlas still has some unfinished personal business to take care off, so we agreed that we will depart two days from now."

     "Two days from now?" Rhiane didn't look happy to hear this. "But I've got to get away earlier than that."

     "Oh?" I said inquiringly. What kind of trouble was this girl in?

     "Yes," she said, "I've run into some problems and I have to get away from Amber as soon as possible."

     "These problems of yours," I said, "they are of a personal nature?"

      "Yes, actually they are." Okay, okay, so she wasn't going to tell me unless I applied a lot more pressure and I just didn't feel like doing that. Her problems were her own; I wouldn't want her prying in my affairs either.

     "Then I suggest you'd better go off ahead of us and contact us in two days' time."

     "That seems a bit awkward," she said. "Can't we just agree to meet somewhere?"

     "We could do that if we had any idea where our quest will take us, which we don't, so..."

     "You want me to go off and start searching on my own?" she asked.

     "You could do so," I said, "but I don't think it would be wise. You'd better find a little quiet spot in Shadow to wait those two days out."

     "Do you have any suggestions?" she asked. "This is still rather new to me and I fear I lack some experience."

     "Just let your feelings guide you. I think it'll be a good way of practicing your skills a little bit."

     "So you want me to contact you in two days' time?" I started to nod, but then reconsidered. If she was off somewhere in Shadow there was no way of knowing how fast time would pass for her. As she had already admitted herself, she lacked the experience to take such things into account.

     "I'll call you," I said.

     "Alright," she replied, "see you then." She finished her wine and left, leaving me to alone again with the Black Trump.

     Several hours later I was interrupted in my studies by a Trump call. It was Rhiane, again.

     "Just one more thing," she began, "oh, and sorry, by the way, for calling so late." I grunted and prompted her to get on with it.

     "I would very much like you not to tell anyone that I'm gone," she said. Hmm, so her problems would be trying to catch up with her. Ah well, they would still be her problems to deal with. I shrugged.

     "Okay, I'll keep quiet about it." She smiled and bade me goodnight. As I was left staring at the now lifeless Black Trump I wondered whether or not to inform Murlas of our new partner's personal problems. In the end I decided against it, figuring that if he would find out about them it would probably be soon enough. I shuffled the Trump back into my deck and after a final glass of wine I lost myself in the comforting quietness of my sleep.

     The next couple of days were relatively quiet, in that I kept to myself most of the time, studying and practicing with the Black Trump. I'd like to think I made some progress in those two days, but I was still far from experienced in handling the thing. I felt like something of a cross between an all but inept juggler and a puppetmaster, pulling the strings in the intricate web of power to make the Trump do what I wanted. Pity I had to give it back.

     The only thing that disturbed my studies was a short visit from Gerard the first day. He appeared to be a bit annoyed; he wanted to know whether I had seen Rhiane. Hmm, this would not have anything to do with her personal problems, now would it?

     "No, I haven't seen her," I replied innocently.

     "I understand that she was supposed to leave together with you and Murlas," he urged. He clearly didn't approve of this.

     "I heard as much," I said, "but we're not leaving until tomorrow."

     "Hmph," he grunted, "well, if you do see her, just tell her that I want to have a word with her most urgently." There was a bit threatening edge to his voice, but I decided to ignore it; they weren't my personal problems.

     The second day I got a Trump call from Murlas. I asked him whether he had taken care of everything.

     "Yes, I have. I shall introduce you to her another time." I raised my eyebrows inquiringly. Her? He noticed my expression and explained that he had spent the last two days bringing his fiancee from out of Shadow to Amber. He had kept quiet about her until she was safely here. Murlas had a fiancee? I decided that I really would want to meet the woman in question. Not now, though, later.

     I told Murlas of the arrangement I had made with Rhiane, saying that it would probably be a good idea to wait with calling her until we were outside of Amber. I informed him of the little I knew about Rhiane's personal problems, including Gerard's visit for good measure. Murlas didn't show any sign of knowing more about the matter. We broke contact to gather some travelling equipment and such, and about half an hour later I met him down at the stables. The head groom wore a strange sort of half despairing, half aquiescing expression as we took two fine horses from him. Recalling all of my own adventures I figured that he probably saw more of them leave than return to the stables.

     We quickly rode through the city and then towards Arden. Once we got there I Trumped Rhiane. We had to wait a while for her to pack, before she Trumped through to us. Fortunately she hadn't forgotten to bring her own horse. While we started making our way through the forest Murlas took some time to explain to Rhiane why we were looking for Lisa, and who Lisa was for that matter. I mused a bit on that question; there were certain things beside the Nexus I would like to ask that lady about once we found her. I only hoped that this time she wouldn't be packing a machine gun.

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