more fidgety than contemplative.
At the conclusion of the service we filed out, four seamen bearing Caine's casket, and we formed up into a procession that would lead to the cave and his sarcophagus. A number of Julian's troops came up to pace us as an armed escort.
As we walked along, Bill nudged me and gestured upward with his head, toward Kolvir. I looked in that direction and beheld a black-cloaked and cowled figure standing upon a ledge in the shadow of a rocky projection. Bill leaned close so that I could hear him above the sound of the pipes and strings that were now playing.
'Is that one some part of the ceremony?' he asked.
'Not that I know of,' I answered.
I broke out of line and moved forward. In another minute or so we would pass directly beneath the figure.
I caught up with Random and put my hand on his shoulder. When he looked back I pointed upward. He halted and stared, squinting.
His right hand rose to his breast, where he wore the Jewel of Judgment, as on most state occasions. Instantly, the winds rose.
'Halt!' Random called out. 'Stop the procession! Everyone stay where you are!'
The figure moved then, slightly, head turning as if to stare at Random. In the sky, as if by trick photography, a cloud blew itself together, growing, above Kolvir. A red, pulsing glow emerged from beneath Random's hand.
Suddenly, the figure looked upward and a hand flashed beneath the cloak, emerging moments later to perform a quick casting movement. A tiny black object hung in the air, then began its descent.
'Everybody down!' Gerard called out.
Random did not move as the others of us dropped. He remained standing, watching, as lightning emerged from the cloud and played across the face of the cliff.
The thunder that followed coincided almost exactly with the explosion that occurred high overhead. The distance had been too great. The bomb had gone off before it reached us-though it would probably have scored had we continued as we were, to pass beneath the ledge and have it dropped directly upon us. When the spots stopped dancing before my eyes, I regarded the cliff again. The dark figure was gone.
'Did you get him?' I asked Random.
He shrugged as he lowered his hand. The Jewel had ceased its pulsing.
'Everybody on your feet!' he called out. 'Let's get on with this funeral!'
And we did. There were no more incidents, and the business was concluded as planned.
My thoughts, and probably everyone else's, were already playing family games as the box was being fitted into the vault. Might the attacker have been one of our absent kin? And if so, which one? What. motives might each of them possess for the act? Where were they now? And what were their alibis? Could there have been a coalition involved? Or cold it have been an outsider? If so, how was access obtained to the local supply of explosives? Or was this imported stuff ? Or had someone local come up with the proper formula? If it were an outsider, what was the motive and where was the person from? Had one of us imported an assassin? Why?
As we filed past the vault I did think fleetingly of Caine, but more as part of the puzzle picture than as an individual. I had not known him all that well. But then, several of the others had told me early on that he was not the easiest person to get to know. He was tough and cynical and had a streak of cruelty in his nature. He had made quite a few enemies over the years and seemed even to be proud of this fact. He had always been decent enough with me, but then we'd never been at cross-purposes over anything. So my feelings did not run as deep for him as they did for most of the others. Julian was another of this cut, but more polished on the surface. And no one could be certain what lay beneath that surface an any given day. Caine . . . I wish I'd gotten to know you better. I am certain that I am diminished by your passing in ways that I do not even understand.
Departing, afterward, heading back to the palace for food and drink, I wondered, not for the first time, how my problems and everyone else's were connected. For I felt they were. I don't mind small coincidences, but I don't trust big ones.
And Meg Devlin? Did she know something of this business, too? It seemed possible that she might. Husband or no husband, I decided, we had a date. Soon.
Later, in the big dining hall, amid the buzz of conversation and the rattle of cutlery and crockery, one vague possibility occurred to me and I resolved to pursue it immediately. Excusing myself from the cold but attractive company of Vinta Bayle, third daughter of some minor nobility and apparently Caine's last mistress, I made my way to the far end of the hall and the small knot of people surrounding Random. I was standing there for several minutes, wondering how to break in, when he spotted me. He excused himself from the others immediately,: advanced upon me, and caught hold of my sleeve.
'Merlin,' he said, 'I don't have time now, but I just wanted to let you know that I don't consider our conversation concluded. I want to get together with you again later this afternoon or this evening-as soon as I'm free. So don't go running off anywhere till we've talked, okay?'
I nodded.
'One quick question,' I said, as he began turning back toward the others.
'Shoot,' he said.
'Are there any Amberites currently in residence on the shadow Earth I just departed-agents of any sort?'
He shook his head.
'I don't have any, and I don't believe any of the others do just now. I have a number of contacts there in different places, but they're all natives-like Bill.'
His eyes narrowed.
'Something new come up?' he asked then.
I nodded again.
'Serious?'
'Possibly.'
'I wish I had the time to hear it, but it'll just have to keep till we talk later.'
'I understand.'
'I'Il send for you,' he said, and he returned to his companions.
That shot down the only explanation I could think of for Meg Devlin. It also foreclosed the possibility of my taking off to see her as soon as I could leave the gathering.
I consoled myself with another plate of food. After a time, Flora entered the hall, studied all the knots of humanity, then made her way among them to settle beside me on the window seat.
'No way of talking to Random right now without an audience,' she said.
'You're right,' I replied. 'May I get you something to eat or drink?'
'Not now. Maybe you can help. You're a sorcerer.'
I didn't like that opening, but I asked, 'What's the problem?'
'I went to Bleys' rooms, to see whether he wanted to come down and join us. He's gone.'
'Wasn't his door locked? Most people do that around here.'
'Yes, from the inside. So he must have trumped out. I broke in when he didn't answer, since there'd been one attempt on his life already.'
'And what would you want of a sorcerer?'
'Can you trace him?'
'Trumps don't leave tracks,' I said. 'But even if I could, I'm not so sure that I would. He knows what he's doing, and he obviously wants to be left alone.'
'But what if he's involved? He and Caine had been on opposite sides in the past.'
'If he's mixed up in something dangerous to the rest of us you should be happy to see him go.'
'So you can't help-or won't?'
I nodded.
'Both, I guess. Any decision to seek him out should really come from Random, don't you think?'
'Maybe.'
'I'd suggest keeping it to yourself till you can talk to Random. No use stirring up fruitless speculations among
