The Great Book of Amber

“It figures,” I said.

“I've reason to believe they didn't make it back to the Courts with her.”

“Oh?”

“I understand these black thoroughfares you guys use ', are dangerous to outsiders,” he observed. “But I can show you what's left of this one-it's a black pathway ;` now, actually. I'd like to follow it, but I don't know that I can, get away for long. Also, is there a way to protect me from the trail itself?”

“Just being in our company would keep you from harm as we traveled it,” Jurt said.

I stood. The cook and t vo dishwashers glanced in our direction.

“There is somebody you have to meet, Luke,” I told him. “Right now.”

“Why not?” he said, rising. “Where is he?”

“Let's take a walk,” I said.

“Sure.”

We got to our feet, headed back to the servants' door. “So, whether she was a willing accomplice or a magical time bomb, Mom might have co

“Well, I gather he didn't exactly come to her with clean hands,” I said.

“True, but I wonder how elaborate his plans really were, to begin with,” Luke mused. “This is the most cheerful thing I've heard all month.”

We exited into the little covered walkway that ran along the side of the palace. Luke halted and looked around.

“Where is he?” he asked.

“Not here,” I said. “I just needed a point of departure with no witnesses to say I'd kidnapped the king.”

“Where are we -going, Merlin?” Jurt asked, as I

swirled a spiral from the center of the spikard, drawing upon sixteen different power sources.

“Good idea. Kidnap away,” Luke was saying as he was caught up along with Jurt.

I used it as I had when I'd transported myself from Amber to Kashfa, forming the target from memory rather than discovered vision. Only this time there were three of us and a long, long way to go.

“Have I got a deal for you,” I said.

It was like stepping into a kaleidoscope, and passing through about 120 degrees of cubist fragmentation and reassembly, before emerging on the other side beneath a towering tree, its top lost in the fog, in the vicinity of a red and white '57 Chevy, its radio playing Renbourn's “Nine Maidens.”

Luke's ghost emerged from the front seat and stared at the original. Luke stared back.

“Hi,” I said. “Meet each other. You hardly need an introduction, though. You have so much in common.” Jurt stared at the Pattern.

“That's my dad's edition,” I said.

“I could have guessed that,” Jurt told me. “But what are we doing here?”

“An idea I had. But I thought Corwin would be here, and I might discuss it with him.”

“He came back, and he left again,” said the resident Luke, overhearing me.

“Did he leave a forwarding address, or say when he might return?”

“Nope.”

“Damn! Look, something that got said just a little while ago gave me the idea that you Lukes might want to change places for a time-if this Pattern could be persuaded to approve some leave.”

Luke, whom I decided to continue calling Luke when his ghost was around, brightened suddenly. I resolved to think of his double as Rinaldo, to keep things sorted.

“It's an experience no man should do without,” he said.

“Then why are you so anxious to get away from it?” Rinaldo replied.

“To help Merle find Coral,” Luke said. “She's been kidnapped.”

“Really? By whom?”

“Agents of Chaos.”

“Hm.” Rinaldo began to pace. “Okay, you know more about it than I do,” he finally said. “If Corwin gets back soon and the Pattern excuses me, I'll help you any way I can.”

“The trail will be getting colder while we wait,” Luke observed.

“You don't understand,” Rinaldo said. “I've got a job to do here, and I can't just take off-even if it's to go and be a king somewhere. What I do is more important.”

Luke glanced at me.

“He's right,” I said. “He's a guardian of the Pattern. On the other hand, nobody's about to hurt Coral. Why don't Jurt and I pop on back to the Courts for a few minutes, to check on the progress of the funeral? Corwin might show up while we're about it. I'm sure you two will find something to talk about.”

“Go ahead,” Luke told me.

“Yeah,” said Rinaldo. “I'd like to know what we've been doing.”

I looked at Jurt, who nodded. I went and stood beside him.

“Your turn to drive,” I said.

“Back soon,” I remarked as we faded into the first jump.

... And so again to the Ways of Sawall, and back into our ruddy garb over demonform. I also changed our facial appearance to the nondescript before Jurt returned us to the funeral party, not wanting a matching set marching along.

The Thelbane proved deserted. A quick check outside, however, showed us the procession, perhaps a quarter way across the Plaza, halter and in a state of confusion.

“Uh-oh,” Jurt remarked. “What should I do?”

“Take us down there,” I told him.

Moments later, we were at the outer edge of the crowd. Swayvill's blazing casket had been lowered to the ground, a guard posted about it. My attention was immediately attracted to a knot of figures perhaps twenty feet off to the right of it. There was some shouting going on, something lay upon the ground, and two demonic forms were being held tightly by several others. My stomach tightened as I saw that the two were the pair I had ensorcelled to resemble Jurt and myself. Both were protesting something.

As I pushed my way forward, I withdrew my spells, causing the two to revert to their own appearance. There were more shouts as this occurred, including an “I told you!” from the nearest. The response to this was a “Yes, they are!” from someone I suddenly realized to be Mandor. He stood between them and the thing on the ground.

“It was a trick!” Mandor said. “A distraction! Release them! “

I decided the moment was propitious for dropping the spells that masked Jurt and myself. Glorious confusion! Moments later, Mandor saw me and signaled for me to approach. Jurt, I saw, off to my right, had stopped to talk to someone he knew.

“Merlin!” he said as soon as I was near. “What do you know of this?”

“Nothing,” I said. “I was way to the rear, with Jurt. I don't even know what happened.”

“Someone gave two of the security guards your appearance and Jurt's. This was obviously intended to create confusion when the assassin struck. They rushed forward insisting they were guards. Obviously, they weren't. Clever-especially with you and Jurt on their black watch list.”

“I see,” I agreed, wondering whether I had helped an assassin to escape. “Who got hit?”

“Tmer, with a very professional dagger stroke,” he explained, left eyelid twitching. A faint wink? Meaning? “And he was gone in an instant.”

Four mourners, having made a stretcher of cloaks, raised the fallen body. After they'd moved only a few paces with it, I saw another knot of people beyond them.

Seeing my puzzled expression, Mandor glanced back.

“More security,” he said. “They're surrounding Tubble. I think I'll order him out of here for now. You and Jurt, too. You can come to the temple later. I'll see that security's even heavier there.”

“Okay,” I said. “Is Dara here?” He glanced about.

“I haven't seen her. Don't now, either. You'd better go.

I nodded. As I turned away, I saw a half-familiar face off to my right. She was tall and dark-eyed, shifting from a swirl of multicolored jewels to a swaying flowerlike form, and she had been staring at me. I had been trying to recall her name earlier, and had failed. Seeing her brought it back, though. I approached her.

“I have to leave for a time,” I said. “But I wanted to say hello, Gilva.”

“You do remember. I was wondering.”

“Of course.” .

“How are you, Merlin?”

I sighed. She smiled her way into furry, half-human solidity.