Winds That Will Be — Aedan's Journal
"Shortly After That, the Door Burst In and the Unicorn and Julian Were There"
Aedan's Journal. Session 6-24-00.
© 2000 Todd Worrell
Caine took my hand and led me up, up, up. We wound through zig-zag halls and narrow stairs in areas of the castle I had never seen nor heard anyone mention. We paused before a shining silver arch on which danced yellow and white fire, or maybe it was thousands of little, shifting leaves. We passed through the arch and I reached overhead to touch it, but my arm didn't reach. That didn't make sense. My uncle tugged on my sleeve and we continued on.
We were outside, under the clear night sky on top of the tallest tower where it touches Kolvir. Wearing a pink frilly dress and leaning against the mountain, Magni was playing his violin. Instead of music, I heard the soft chirping of crickets. The iron band around Magni's neck glowed with the same yellow-white fire.
Seated on the crenellation in a three-piece lime green suit was my cousin Carl. As he raised match and cigar, he saw us approaching and inclined his head over his shoulder. Caine released my hand and shoved me forward.
Behind Carl, a rope was tied around the three stone steps where the stairs to Tir appear. It fell away into the dark night below. Rappelling gear was attached. The next thing I knew I was in motion down the side of the mountain. I looked down and saw the earth hidden by a soft twilight haze. I plunged into the fog, heedless of how fast I was going. Half-familiar faces seemed to race by me in the mist: Variga, my sorcerous tutor from home; the red-skinned butler from Finvarra's lands; Random, grimacing as roses bloomed from a crown of thorns on his head. The wet air rushed past my face and the fog dissipated. Below me the ground loomed, a writhing mass of blue-skinned imps. They scrabbled over one another in the hundreds, climbing something taller that was directly in my way. It was manlike, and the rope ended just above its head. I tried to slow down and found myself going faster. I glanced at the man and saw that it was Gabriel, smiling and holding one fist out to me. He was clutching something…I could almost make it out…he opened his fingers slightly….
Something bumped my shoulder—not hard enough for the speed I was going. I felt something grasp my shoulder and shake it gently.
"Aedan?" A man's voice, soft and close to my ear. "Are you awake?"
I opened my eyes. Gabriel was leaning over me. In one hand he held a shuttered lantern. I mentally shook myself. It was the middle of the night. I was still in a bunk room near the Great Hall.
"Hello?" I said.
He nodded and motioned for me to follow him as he left the sleeping room. I swung my legs off the bed and shrugged into my clothes before going outside.
Gabriel stood down the hallway a few paces. I caught up to him as I was putting on my jacket.
"Has something happened?" I asked.
"Yes," he said. "Trumps are working again."
Oh. I hadn't known that they had stopped working. Some of us slept at night. Gabriel looked significantly tired, wearing the same clothes as the day before. However, his hair seemed slightly less green.
He proposed a trip to the docks to experiment with trumps. Gabriel thought that using sorcery in or near the castle was risky. Apparently Gabriel didn't want to turn back into a tree. My presence was requested to keep an eye on things. What if he did conduct his experiment, I wondered, turned into a tree, and I didn't stop him? That would be pretty funny and I half-hoped it would happen.
So we went. Things were quiet around the castle—no more explosions, invasions, contusions. We saddled up four horses. Gabriel planned to contact Martin and Carl via Trump later, so we might need transportation. When he saw me emerge from the stables leading a huge, blue, fey beast, he blinked. I waited for him to say something. He blinked again.
The ride through the city was actually very pleasant. The early morning breeze off the sea helped me awaken more fully. Salt air and the cries of seagulls spoke of simple days. The troubles we had experienced in the castle didn't appear to have touched the town. Everything was as it always was.
We made our way to the beach, well away from the high tide mark. Gabriel unfurled a horse blanket and a pale linen cloth he had brought with him. He sat on the blanket. I perched nearby on a large log.
Brand's son took out his trumps. On the ride down he had convinced me to loan him the trumps I had which he did not: Osric, Finndo, Deirdre, Eric, and Oberon. He added these to the four mystery trumps I had loaned him earlier. Then he mumbled and jumbled and spent the better part of an hour caressing the cards into and out of various piles. Finally, he cast the cards.
Then he sat and looked at them. He stared at them. He frowned at them. He harrumphed at them. He sighed at them. Finally, he took out a small leather-bound notebook and began scribbling. I sauntered over.
Gabriel described the state of the universe as he saw it. It took him several deep breaths. He said something about decay and stagnation in the far past, a choice between two mighty evils, and, ultimately, abandonment of all we knew or held dear. I think he was just talking to hear his voice, because most of what he said didn't make any sense. After perhaps ten minutes of adjectives, he sifted through the Portrait Trumps. I perked up.
This was what I was waiting for.
Caine had demonstrated the use of Trumps as a communication tool when he occasionally spoke with Random, Julian, or Gerard. He had also performed the infrequent trump scrye as Gabriel had just done. The final part was to touch each of the portrait trumps and feel for "resonance" with different aspects of the reading. I had dutifully memorized the meanings of the tarot cards and could perform the scrye admirably well. However, the resonance stuff wasn't easy for me. Gabriel appeared to have little difficulty, as he moved through the portraits at a pretty quick pace. He summarized his findings for me.Benedict resonated with the recent past, the Magician card.
Osric had a presence in the distant past, the Hierophant.
The White-Haired Man figured strongly in the atmosphere, the King of Swords reversed.
Martin resonated near the Two of Swords, as the Goal of the scrye.
Random's card appeared to be connected somehow with the seventh card, the card of place, the Five of Cups reversed.I walked down the beach toward the shore. Waves broke and spilled. I crouched in the soft sand and let my mind find its own way.
My thoughts centered on the White-Haired Man and Random. It sure looked like Whitey was involved in our current dilemma. The King of Swords reversed indicated a crafty, stubborn, or cruel person. I thought that deception was part of its context as well. If we could discover who this fellow was, we might be able to identify someone intimately involved with the current problem. Also, I thought, we might discover our enemy. Wait. That sounded like Caine's voice in my mind. I shook my head and tried to stay awake.
Random's association indicated that something lost would be returned. Maybe he wasn't really dead. Or, since he was the King, this card could mean anything kingly: royal regalia, the Jewel of Judgment, and maybe the Faery veil. I hoped that whatever returned would be welcomed.
As I walked back to Gabriel and the horses, I saw that we had visitors. Two men in three-piece suits stood speaking with Gabriel. One of them was my cousin Carl, dressed in conservative dark blue or black. It was hard to tell in the pale moonlight. The man with him was more stylishly decked out. His suit was pale green, with wide lapels, brown leather shoes with white spats, and a cool broad-brimmed hat. As I approached the group, Carl introduced us.
"Prince Martin, this is Aedan, son of Deirdre." I shook Martin's outstretched hand.
"Aedan," Carl continued. "His Highness, Martin, Prince of Amber."
I was a little confused by Carl's use of a title. Random had told me that he hadn't ever recognized Martin as his heir. In fact, he said he made efforts to remove Martin from official duties and such so that people wouldn't assume he was the heir. If that were true, Martin should be a Lord like the rest of us, not a Prince.
But now wasn't a good time to get into that. Carl would have told Martin that his father was probably dead. In fact, almost immediately after we were introduced, Martin announced that he was going to find Random. He and Carl mounted the two extra horses and rode off at a brisk pace toward the castle. Gabriel returned my borrowed trumps.
I saddled Trick and soon Gabriel and I were riding at a walk. The moon shone down on us like a mother watching her children. Was my mother up there somewhere? I looked and saw Tir. The moon wasn't full enough for it to exist, but there it was. Only, it looked unstable. As I looked closer, I saw that it was actually made up of clouds, and it was shifting and breaking up even as I examined it. In moments, it was gone. I must have pulled on the reins, for Trick stopped. He whickered questioningly at me and I urged him forward. Gabriel and I approached the castle in silence, each lost in our own thoughts.
* * *
This time, I left explicit instructions with the guards that I was not to be disturbed unless something exploded or someone saw the Unicorn again. I slept well and late. By the time I washed and shaved most of the castle was up and about. I sauntered down to the kitchen.
The whole area was a mess. Flour covered nearly every surface in three rooms, and little goblin-tracks indicated the likely culprits. Broken eggs dotted the walls. Pots were strewn about, tables tipped over, chairs upended.
Apparently, the kitchen crew had all decided that it was a good time to take a vacation. Nobody was about. Someone ought to clean this up, I thought.
I dug in the pantry and found some breakfast: cold cereal mix on toasted bread. It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I was too hungry to argue with my stomach. I had six slices.
Feeling slightly better, I wrote a note to Elissa, the day shift kitchen supervisor indicating that I expected a meal up to the usual standards for dinner that evening and promising an extra half-crown to every member of the staff that came to work today if the place were clean by suppertime. I had the money, and it was undoubtedly the best thing I could spend it on right now. The castle guards especially could use a good meal to boost their morale.
Gabriel trumped me to say that he had gone off with Brand to visit his home shadow. He was still wearing the same green shirt and brown vest and dark circles lived under his eyes. I told him he needed some beauty rest. He laughed a bit too long, proving my point. I passed him the three mysterious trumps. He relayed what his father told him. The white-haired man was from chaos, often seen in the Sawallways. The younger man was Corwin's son. The woman was one of Corwin's women, although Brand used a less wholesome term. I thanked Gabriel and went to check on things in the Great Hall.
Guards were guarding. Lieutenant Lorisa saw me enter and saluted before me. She had nothing much to report. Raj had left early in the morning for Rebma, purpose unknown. Gabriel was in and out all night. Martin had been here briefly before three in the morning and was believed to be prowling the remains of the western tower with a small squad of men. No sign of Gregory, Giselle, Magni, or Carl.
Well, of those four I thought I could most easily find Magni. Violin music had been reported coming from the Royal Chambers until the early hours of the morning. I marched down the hall and up the stairs.
The place seemed almost back to normal this morning. Only the occasional leaf or vine gave evidence that there had been a battle raging here the day before. I checked in the Throne Room and the ash tree was gone.
The double doors to the royal chambers were closed. The rampant unicorn gracing the wood panels seemed, I don't know, almost giddy. I placed my ear to the door and heard throat-scarring snoring. The doors were locked, but that only slowed me for a minute. Caine had drilled me on lockpicking until I could solve most locks underwater in less than a half minute. When you must concentrate, ignore all distractions. Focus until the world disappears. I had hated him for the hours spent, but now I thought good things about him and opened the doors.
I followed the snores and found Magni wrapped in the sheets of the royal bed. Two, no three, empty gin bottles adorned the bed with him.
"Hey," I prodded his ugly foot, "Wake up."
He did slowly, one bleary eye peered at me.
"Not everybody's dead." I told him, briefly, about the encounter in the Pattern Room the night before. He agreed to go with me to interview the survivors.
The less said about Magni's morning habits the better. In perhaps half an hour he was dressed, shaved, fed, and ready to go.
"I think we should question Corwin first," I suggested.
"I vote for Gerard," he said.
"Well, then, let's split the difference."
"Fine."
We knocked on Flora's door. A rumpled servant answered the door. She informed us that my aunt was still asleep. I left word to expect us later in the day.
Gerard's rooms were closest, so we went there next. Magni played his violin along the way. When we arrived, he pounded on the door.
"Enter," came a deep male voice from the other side of the door. Magni pressed the latch and opened the door. We entered.
Gerard was in the second room of his suite, standing over a large sea-chest. He folded a large shirt and placed it in the chest. In the lid of the chest was his big sword. As we watched, he rolled a few maps up, tied them closed, and stowed them in the chest as well.
"You seem to be fleeing," Magni said.
"I'm going to the Courts of Chaos."
"Oh that makes sense. Let me see if I've got this right." Magni counted off on his fingers "Random dies, Fiona dies, the Pattern is in trouble, Gerard goes to Chaos."
"You missed some," Gerard intoned. He was ignoring Magni's obnoxious tone pretty well. Actually, too well.
"Like what? 'Kill Magni'?"
"I'm not needed here. The Unicorn gave me a task."
"When?" I asked.
"Julian brought her," he said flatly. "Before he died."
Either Gerard was in shock, or he was under some spell of sorts, but he definitely wasn't acting like his usual self. In the six months I had known him he had been happy, angry, morose, angry, bitter, and angry, but never so devoid of emotions.
"Why don't you sit down and tell us what happened, from when you decided to go to the Pattern Room?" I prompted.
Gerard kept packing as he told us his tale.
"I was angry at the thing on the Pattern. So I decided to walk it. I was walking it when Julian tackled me and I had to trump off or perish." He pointed at his sword. So far, I had the feeling that he was lying about something. He didn't appear to be telling the truth about his anger.
"I heard two gunshots, then I blacked out. When I came to, the monster wasn't there." Gerard calmly sorted through a stack of books and placed two in his chest.
"Who was there?" I asked him.
"Benedict, Corwin, and Flora."
"Wait, wait, wait," Magni said. "Benedict was there?"
"I believe so."
"Anyone else?" I inquired.
"Brand was there. I think Benedict arrived later. I don't know."
This didn't sound good. Two gunshots. Brand. Benedict. Gerard hadn't mentioned Julian's disappearance at all. He was probably still in shock.
"So why are you leaving?" Magni wanted to know.
"Things are alright here now."
"No they're not!" Magni pounded his fists on his thighs.
"Gerard," I interrupted "When did the Unicorn give you your task?"
He thought about this for a moment.
"The timing was off. Some time after I was pulled off the Pattern."
"You coward!" Magni approached my uncle and poked him in the chest. "You're running away."
"It is important that we ensure a lasting peace with Chaos."
"Are you going to the Courts to negotiate?" I asked.
"In part," he admitted blankly. "The Unicorn told me—"
"Was the Unicorn speaking in Caine's voice?" Magni remarked.
"What else?" I returned Gerard's attention to the conversation. "Why are you going to the Courts?"
"I need to convince them that things have changed."
"Well, for that you won't need your sword." As Magni said this he moved one step closer to the famous blade.
"I'm going to return it to its maker."
"In the Courts?" I said.
"Yes."
"What if we want to see it?" Magni couldn't take his eyes off the sword.
"You can visit it in the Hendrake museum."
"Gerard," I touched him gently on the shoulder. He paused in his packing. "Who made the sword?"
"One of Benedict's older brothers."
I thought of Gabriel's trump scrye that morning.
"What is his name?" I asked.
"I can't say," Gerard shook his head.
"Osric?" I guessed.
"Yes." Even this admission didn't affect him. This was more than just shock at a brother's death. Something was wrong with the big man.
"Gerard, you're a joke." Magni moved up and pushed at my uncle's chest. "By leaving you make everything you've ever done a joke."
"That's exactly right," Gerard intoned. He turned and resumed packing, ignoring Magni's gibes and taunts. I stood and walked to the door. Opening it, I looked back. Magni was clutching and unclutching his fists while staring eagerly at Gerard's sword. When he saw me watching him, he forced his hands to relax. I walked out the door and he followed.
* * *
Swords have a prominent place in the history of Amber. Corwin's Greyswandir is nearly as legendary as the man himself, or perhaps even more now. Corwin got fat, but Greyswandir stayed mysterious and deadly. It is a thing of the night sky and known even in my homeland.
Bleys' Werewindle glows with the heat of the midday sun. It flashes and cuts a deadly arc as my redheaded uncle laughingly dances through his enemies.
Gerard's sword's name is not known. It has always been called, simply, the "Great Sword of Gerard." It is larger, being a broadsword, and looks considerably heavier than most comparable weapons. I had seen him use it in Tir to trump away. Doubtless it had other fantastic uses as well. From the sparkle in Magni's eye I knew he coveted it beyond what was generally considered safe around Gerard.
But that was before Gerard became an emotionless zombie.
I would have to find out more about Gerard's sword.
* * *
My brain buzzed. It was Gregory and Giselle. Magni laid a hand on my shoulder and the four of us spoke briefly. They had been unable to find the fey nexus called the Inn at the Crossroads. So they had decided to find the Dagda in hopes that he could clarify a few things. Traveling through Shadow was different now. He and Giselle met many more travelers, and the veils between shadows seemed to be weaker and fewer. Currently, they were on the Chaos side of Ygg.
According to Gregory, the old tree had altered their course away from it. Giselle wondered if it had something to do with Corwin's attempt to redraw the Pattern there. I told them what I knew, which was that Corwin had succeeded. He had told me that his realms were entirely shadows of his desire, and ultimately he got bored with them.
"Oh," I remembered. "The fey seem to have left the castle."
"Well, the friendly ones left with us," Giselle said. "The ones that remain are probably more subtle."
"Thanks."
I cut the connection. We were practically at Corwin's door, so by unspoken agreement we went there next. This time, Magni didn't knock quite as loudly. Another rumpled servant answered the door. After a brief negotiation, she returned.
"He'll see you," she said, and showed us in. The room was spectacularly clean, as only an area that requires near-daily cleaning can be. Corwin's servant looked puzzled.
"I don't understand," she said. "He seems a little different today."
"How so?" I asked.
"He's a little…fragile."
So we waited. Or, more accurately, I waited. Magni poured himself a drink at the bar. Then he bent over to examine Corwin's sword. Grayswandir was in a scabbard, on a belt, hanging over the back of a chair. Magni peered at it and tilted his head back and forth. We both heard a noise from somewhere in the back rooms. Magni straightened.
A moment later Corwin came through the door. His hair was ruffled and he was wearing a dressing gown over riding trousers. His feet were bare.
Plus he had lost thirty pounds since yesterday.
"Uncle," I ventured. "I hope we aren't disturbing you."
"No, no. I am having trouble sleeping. Please take a seat. What can I do for you?" We all sat down.
"Magni and I are trying to make sense of what happened in the Pattern Room last night. We would like to hear your account of events."
"Who else have you spoken with?"
"Gerard," Magni said scornfully. "He told us that he is leaving Amber for Chaos."
"I'm not surprised Gerard is leaving," Corwin said. "He was bothered by Julian's sacrifice."
"What exactly happened?" I asked.
"Julian ran across the Pattern, stepping only on the damaged spots. It was like that rift on the Primal Pattern before…."
"What is the Primal Pattern?" Magni leaned forward, his arms resting on his knees.
"A template," Corwin fluttered his hand. "It's gone."
He lapsed into a prolonged silence.
"You went to the Pattern Room with Flora?" I prompted.
"Yes. Gerard was shouting something about Brand. Flora and I showed up. Brand was there. Gerard appeared. He looked at Brand, then walked toward the Pattern instead."
"What was Brand doing?" I asked.
"Observing the beast. I don't know what he was doing with his mind. He looked surprised when Gerard stepped onto the Pattern. The beast seemed to shift its focus to Gerard then.
"Shortly after that, the door burst in and the Unicorn and Julian were there. They, well….What happened next was I accidentally shot Flora in the face. I wasn't aiming for her. I was aiming for myself and she interfered."
"You were trying to kill yourself?" I said gently.
"Yes. It seemed like a good way to fix…I was feeling…." Corwin looked at the floor, lost in vague emotions. I waited a moment.
"What did the Unicorn do at this point?"
"I looked up. She was with Brand. Then she walked over to Benedict—I don't know when he arrived. Then she came toward us."
"Did she pause before every person?"
"Yes."
Magni and I looked at each other. Perhaps Gerard had spoken with the Unicorn. But he hadn't mentioned being angry at Brand. Something was still missing from the story.
Corwin had slipped into silence again. I thought it best that we leave as things were getting rather awkward. We agreed to have a family meeting over dinner that night.
In the hallway, Magni and I agreed that Corwin had changed.
"He's definitely more coherent," I said.
"Less inebriated," Magni said.
"More lucid,"
"Less bloated."
"Yes, neat trick that," I agreed. "I wonder how he managed to slim down so fast. I know a few people in Shadow who would kill for that spell."
"Yeah, whatever." At six and a half feet tall, Magni probably only weighed a hundred and sixty pounds. He obviously wasn't concerned. "What do we do now?"
"I think," I decided, "that we should check on the Pattern. Have you ever done any rappelling?"
* * *
We exhorted the guards at the Pattern Room station with a short motivational speech about Duty, the Good of Amber, and Status with the Chicks. Sometimes I contemplated what it would be like to be a castle guard: all that standing at attention, the tacky uniforms, taking orders. What a rotten job.
The door to the Pattern Room showed signs of recent mending. Good. That corresponded with what we had heard about the Unicorn's sudden appearance. Also, it was nice to see that the repair work was back to its usual response time. Maybe things were getting back to normal around here. Although it would be nice to have a king/regent/big chief, I would be satisfied with some regular meals.
Inside, the Pattern was back to resembling a giant blue stovetop element. Aside from a recent splatter of blood on the wall, the giant chamber was only as spooky as it was supposed to be.
Except for the fact that Magni was shambling toward the beginning of the Pattern and mumbling to himself. I came up alongside him.
"Where's the beginning? Is that it? I can't see very clearly. Where is it? The beginning? I'm just gonna walk it. Just a little—"
"Magni," I stepped in front of him.
"You wanna arm wrestle? Let's wrestle."
"No, I don't want to wrestle."
He curled around me and shuffled away.
"It's so bright, so, so powerful. Yes, powerful…"
I grabbed his shoulder and shook him. He shrugged me off and lurched forward.
"Ahh, the beginning. It must be, because the end is in the middle, right? Right. So, so bright and, mmmmmm, powerful…"
That was enough. I opened my mind up to the vision of Tir and Magni collapsed in a heap. He began snoring immediately.
I had meant to check in with Martin anyway, and I had promised myself that if I could avoid it I would never climb those stairs. So far I had kept my promise: Random had carried me once; I had trumped Gabriel a couple times; I had fallen through the floor into the ocean once; and Gabriel had transported a crowd of us through to the infirmary. I hoped to keep my streak going.
"Hello?" his voice was a bit hoarse, but a good tenor. If he had a good ear, he could probably be a decent singer.
"Martin, it's Aedan. I would like to speak with you. May I come through?" I reached out my hand. He reached out his.
I took my tall friend with me.
Martin was in the Royal Chambers sitting room, still sporting the entire suit and tie ensemble he had worn when he arrived—the tie was even knotted. If looking impeccable was a requirement for a regent, Martin was definitely in the running.
I deposited Magni on a nearby couch.
"What happened to him?" Martin asked.
"Narcoleptic. He just falls asleep sometimes," I snapped my fingers, "like that."
"Uh-huh," Martin sounded skeptical.
I gave him a quick report of recent occurrences. He nodded a lot and looked thoughtful. Put him in a robe with a cigar and he would look like a skinny Random.
In return, he told me that Carl had ridden off through Arden. Martin himself had discovered no new evidence in what he considered the "disappearance" of his father. At some point Magni awoke. For once, he sat and listened quietly.
I showed Martin three of the trumps we had found in his father's bedside table. He identified the white-haired man as Mandor Sawall. The woman he didn't recognize. The brown-haired young man was Corwin's son.
"What is his name?" I asked.
"I can't say. I took an oath. Hey, where did you get these anyway?"
Magni and I looked guiltily at each other.
"Oh, we scoured the castle yesterday," I said. Technically, this wasn't lying. Not yet.
"We're having a family meeting at dinner," I quickly changed the subject. "Will you be there?"
"Yes," Martin said. "Who else will?"
"So far, I've only spoken with Corwin. He'll be there. I expect most of our cousins will attend. I will start contacting everyone as soon as we're done here."
"Okay. You had best get going, then. I'll see you later."
We left. When we were well away from the royal chambers, Magni and I split up the mysterious trumps. He took the Chaosian and the woman. I kept Corwin's son and Martin's own trump. I took out my deck and eyed it wearily. I intended to speak with everyone in the family who was still alive. It would take a couple hours. Magni said he had other stuff to do and left.
I went to my rooms and started calling.
The good news was, it didn't take me an hour to try to contact all of my known relatives by Trump. The bad news is that almost nobody answered. Benedict was the exception.
He was somewhere urban, more techno than Amber. Behind him, the hint of a crowded city street. He was in an alley somewhere. I could almost smell the stench.
"Uncle," I began.
"What?" He grimaced. He was frowning too.
"We are having a family meeting at dinner tonight. I was hoping you would attend."
"No." He didn't sever the connection, but he didn't look happy.
"We could use your insight," I prodded.
"I want to keep them guessing."
"I believe that if we pool our knowledge we will have a greater chance of deciding upon the correct course of action. I expect that tonight we might actually be able to identify the person responsible for the latest mess." Was that true? I didn't know. I just wanted Benedict around Amber. It had always seemed like a good idea to my intellectual superiors throughout history.
"Have them call me when they want me back," he snarled one last time and was gone.
I couldn't recall when I had ever seen him so hostile, so angry. It was out of character for the man Caine had once told me "made rocks seem lively."
No one else on my long invitation list answered except my cousins. Gabriel said he would try to be there. He and Brand were in or near the Fount of Power. His father was healed enough to try to bathe in the Black Fountain again. That didn't sound like a good idea to me, but Gabriel wasn't amenable to the idea of stopping him by himself. Heck, if half the stories about that fountain were true all he would need to do was toss in a magical match and the entire place would explode. I attributed his reluctance to sentimentality for his home shadow.
Gregory and Giselle had needed to go all the way to the Grand Temple of the Serpent to find the Dagda. They said that things were uneasy in the Courts of Chaos and a formal envoy from Amber was requested. I warned them of Gerard's imminent appearance. In his current state, he would make a terrible envoy. Gregory agreed but didn't think that he could rightfully call himself an official ambassador of Amber without more sanction than my opinion. He and Giselle would accept Trump calls and would probably be able to attend dinner. I was to call them about an hour prior to the serving of the appetizers.
Which led me to the kitchens.
Elissa had returned and was ordering the staff about with her usual aplomb. Yes, she had gotten my note. No, she wouldn't promise anything. Yes, I should leave now and thanks for poking my nose in where it didn't belong like a typical lord ordering the servants around. She handed me lunch and pushed me out the door.
I liked Elissa.
Since that was taken care of, I had some free time. I ambled down to the basement toward the alchemy labs. Gwydion wasn't there, but the place was still locked up. I unlocked the place, went in, and looked around. The wards were up, albeit faint. I spent the better part of an hour reinforcing them. I left Gwydion a note asking him to check in with me when he returned. Various useful chemicals made their way into my possession.
Gwydion had a special meditation chamber that was useful when racking spells. I spent an hour in there, reworking a few of my more useful magics. Then I bolted the doors behind me and left.
* * *
My cousins had gathered in the sitting room affectionately known as the Cloak room, as in cloak and dagger. It was near the Great Hall, was windowless, had three entrances, and was a common place for clandestine gatherings. But I think its popularity was due to the fact that it was one of the few rooms near the Great Hall with several comfy chairs and a large fireplace.
Gabriel paced melodramatically behind a small circle of stuffed armchairs and tables. His green shirt was torn on one sleeve. Gregory slouched on a couch wearing dirty riding clothes. I was glad I had taken the time to change into my finest lace shirt for dinner already. Green velvet pants and black, pointed leather shoes completed my handsome outfit. I dropped into a small divan. Gabriel stopped pacing and cleared his throat. We both looked at him.
"I called you here because there were some things I wanted to tell you," he said theatrically.
"There's a family meeting at dinner in an hour," I reminded him.
"There are a few things I don't want our elders to know."
That got our attention.
So the three of us had an unofficial pre-meeting meeting. Giselle was looking in on her mother to learn how serious the gunshot wound was. Carl hadn't been seen all day. Magni was expected to show up at dinner. Martin was still acting as regent of sorts, keeping things going and investigating the death of his father the king.
"I have learned a few things about the Pattern," Gabriel began.
We waited. My ear itched. I scratched it.
"Brand's perspective is that the Pattern exists as an abstract reflection of the tools used to maintain its power: the children of Oberon."
"Do you mean all the members of the family?" Gregory asked.
"No," Gabriel said. "Brand did not seem to think so."
"What do you mean by 'tools'?" I inquired.
"All of our elders were created by Oberon to fulfill certain roles. They created a level of tension that was necessary to maintain Shadow, and the pre-eminence of Pattern energy at this end of the universe. If this were the case, the conflict between Eric's cabal and the redheads might well have been encouraged by Oberon."
"Every elder had a role?" I asked.
"I believe so."
"So my father's role was to eliminate the beast on the pattern and die ignominiously?" Gregory spit out the question accusingly.
"I don't know," Gabriel admitted. "I think, according to Brand's theory, that the roles of the elders and the tension they generated deteriorated with Oberon's death."
"That would seem to make sense," I said.
"So, by manipulating his children, Oberon kept the Pattern strong and healthy?" Gregory sounded doubtful.
"In theory, yes." Gabriel sat down and kicked off his shoes. A rank odor arose. Immediately, Gregory and I leaned forward to light several aromatic candles on the table in the center of our circle.
"So Random's removal of Gerard and Julian from their posts was intended to produce added tension," I suggested. "When that wasn't enough, he tried more drastic measures."
"Which culminated in the Jewel exploding," Gregory said.
"And the faery veils being eliminated," Gabriel added.
"Was the Jewel definitely destroyed?" I asked.
"Brand said that it was gone for good," Gabriel replied.
While we digested that bit of information, Giselle appeared. She had washed and changed into an salmon-colored evening gown. I checked the water clock. We had perhaps twenty minutes before dinner.
"My mother should be down shortly," she pronounced. "Please don't stare."
"I'll be my usual suave self," Gregory chuckled.
"How reassuring."
"So I shouldn't be complimenting Flora on her fashion sense?" Gregory asked facetiously.
"That would be a bad idea," Giselle admitted.
Gabriel had been massaging his feet. He wiped his hands on his pants and leaned toward my divan.
"Aedan, you mentioned you had seen the Pattern today. Is it working normally?" Gabriel said.
"I suppose so." I thought of Magni's weird behavior. "Although I don't think that anyone has walked it since the beast disappeared."
"Did it look the same?" he asked me.
Had it? I suppose so. I had studied it for signs of damage and found none. However, if a line had shifted a few inches I probably wouldn't have noticed. I told Gabriel so. He sat back and peeled off his socks. The candles flickered disappointingly. I was losing my appetite.
Meanwhile, Giselle and Gregory had been arguing. Realizing that we were observing them, they turned to us.
"Swayvill is quite deceased," Giselle stated.
"King Swayvill?" Gabriel asked pointlessly.
"Yes," Gregory said. "That was part of the reason why they wanted a formal envoy from Amber. But more importantly, Mandor is in line for the kingship."
"He will never be King in Chaos," Giselle cut in.
"I didn't say he would," Gregory said petulantly. Although he wouldn't admit it, it was obvious that his father's death was affecting him.
"His position, or the Dagda's position, in my father's court would seem to indicate his place in the Chaosian court," Giselle said.
"A puppet master," Gregory concurred. They made a cute couple: bickering while agreeing with each other.
"In any event," Giselle said, "someone of Chaos helped cause all this." She waved with her arms to include the veil's destruction, Random's death, the events in the Pattern Room. "Where his loyalty lies in the end is anyone's guess."
"Don't bank on it lying with us," Gregory said. It must have been a very long ride to Chaos and back with both of them practicing their conversation skills. Hadn't they mentioned a host of Sidhe rangers accompanying them? I asked about their companions.
"They faded away when we got to the Temple of the Serpent." Gregory shrugged.
"Yeah," Giselle nodded. "They're Chaos's problem now. Even Lord Tall, Dark, and Pointy." Further questioning revealed that she was referring to a Knight of the Unseelie Court who rode with their party through Shadow. His purpose was unknown.
"Did you ask him why he was going to Chaos?" I inquired.
"Aww, he wouldn't have told us anyway," Giselle waved my question away.
I was a little worried. His presence in Chaos was probably not a good thing for Amber—and we had taken him there. It seemed careless to me and I hoped that a month from now I wouldn't feel tempted to say "I told you so."
I told them what I knew. The mysterious Trumps were of Mandor, Corwin's son, and a woman associated with Corwin. Martin was allegedly in charge of things and would be at dinner. I recounted the events around the Unicorn's appearance in the Pattern Room without including my speculations about Brand and Gerard.
Finally, we all agreed that there wasn't any reason we should oppose Martin as regent. Hey, if he wanted the job, he could have it.
On cue, a manservant appeared bearing a washbasin, towels and a comb. He stood before Gabriel, who looked around apprehensively.
"Oh, please," Giselle exasperated, "allow me." She wiggled her fingers and all the dirt and grime fled from Gabriel's person. He looked almost new, if a little sheepish. Gregory and I grinned at each other and extinguished the candles.
Just then we were called to dinner.
Good. I was hungry.
* * *
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