The Courts Of Chaos

«I do not believe that he can reach you at the moment. On the other hand, he was able to reach me.»

«Why?»

«He did not use a Trump. He does not have one for me. He used a reverberation effect of the black road, similar to the means by which Brand once escaped Corwin.»

«You know a lot of what has been going on.»

«I do. I still have sources in the Courts, and Brand transported himself there after your struggle. I hear things.»

«Do you know where our father is right now?» Random asked.

«No, I do not know. But I believe that he has journeyed to the real Amber, to take counsel with Dworkin and to re-examine the damage to the primal Pattern.»

«To what end?»

«I do not know. Probably to decide on the course of action he will take. The fact that he reached me and ordered the attack most likely means that he has decided.»

«How long ago was this communication?»

«Just a few hours - my time. But I was far from here in Shadow. I do not know what the time differential is. I am too new at this.»

«So it could be something extremely recent. Possibly only moments ago,» Gerard mused. «Why did he talk with you rather than one of us? I do not believe that he could not reach us if he wished to.»

«Perhaps to show that he looks upon me with favor,» she said.

«All of this may be entirely true,» Benedict stated. «But I am not moving without a confirmation of that order.»

«Is Fiona still at the primal Pattern?» Random asked.

«Last I heard,» I told him, «she had set up camp there. I see what you mean…»

I shuffled out Fi's card.

«It took more than one of us to get through from there,» he observed.

«True. So give me a hand.»

He rose, came to my side. Benedict and Gerard also approached.

«This is not really necessary,» Dara protested.

I ignored her and concentrated on the delicate features of my red-haired sister. Moments later, we had contact.

«Fiona,» I asked, seeing from the background that she was still in residence at the heart of things, «is Dad there?»

«Yes,» she said, smiling tightly. «He is inside with Dworkin.»

«Listen, urgency prevails. I do not know whether or not you know Dara, but she is here-»

«I know who she is, but I have never met her.»

«Well, she claims she has an attack order for Benedict, from Dad. She has his signet to back it up, but he did not speak of this earlier. Do you know anything about it?»

«No,» she said. «All we did was exchange greetings when he and Dworkin were out here earlier to look at the Pattern. I had some suspicions then, though, and this confirms them.»

«Suspicions? What do you mean?»

«I think Dad is going to try to repair the Pattern. He has the Jewel with him, and I overheard some of the things he said to Dworkin. If he makes the attempt, they will be aware of it in the Courts of Chaos the moment that he begins. They will try to stop him. He would want to strike first to keep them occupied. Only…»

«What?»

«It is going to kill him, Corwin. I know that much about it. Whether he succeeds or fails, he will be destroyed in the process.»

«I find it hard to believe.»

«That a king would give up his life for the realm?»

«That Dad would.»

«Then either he has changed or you never really knew him. But I do believe he is going to try it.»

«Then why send his latest order by someone he knows we do not really trust?»

«To show that he wants you to trust her, I would guess, once he has confirmed it.» «It seems a roundabout way of doing things, but I agree that we should not act without that confirmation. Can you get it for us?»

«I will try. I will get back to you as soon as I have spoken with him.»

She broke the contact.

I turned toward Dara, who had heard only our side of the conversation.

«Do you know what Dad is going to do right now?» I asked her.

«Something involving the black road,» she said. «He had indicated that much. What, though, or how, he did not say.»

I turned away. I squared my cards and encased them. I did not like this turning of events. This entire day had started badly, and things had been going downhill ever since. It was only a little past lunchtime, too. I shook my head. When I had spoken with him, Dworkin had described the results of any attempt to repair the Pattern, and they had sounded pretty horrendous to me. Supposing Dad tried it, failed, and got himself killed in the attempt? Where would we be then? Right where we were now, only without a leader, on the eve of battle - and with the succession problem stirring again. That whole ghastly business would be in the back of our minds as we rode to the wars, and we would all begin our private arrangements to fight one another once more as soon as the current enemy was dealt with. There had to be another way of handling things. Better Dad alive and on the throne than a revival of the succession intrigues.

«What are we waiting for?» Dara asked. «Confirmation?»

«Yes,» I replied.