the old hometown.»
«Oh, sure,» I said, trying unsuccessfully to determine whether such information could be harmful. It would become public knowledge very soon, if it wasn't already.
«So what else is going on? That other person who was Vinta Bayle…?»
«Gone,» I said. «I don't know where.»
«Very strange,» he mused. «I don't think we've seen the last of her. She was Gail, too. I'm sure. Let me know if she comes back, will you?»
«Okay. You want to ask her out again?»
He shrugged, then smiled. «I could think of worse ways to spend some time.»
«You're lucky she didn't try to take you out, literally.»
«I'm not so sure she would've,» he replied. «We always got along pretty well. Anyhow, none of this is the main reason I called…»
I nodded, having already guessed as much.
«How's my mother doing?» he asked.
«Hasn't stirred,» I answered. «She's safe.»
«That's something,» he said. «You know, it's kind of undignified for a queen to be in that position. A coatrack. Jeez!»
«I agree,» I agreed. «But what's the alternative?»
«Well, I'd sort of like to… get her freed,» he said.
«What'll it take?»
«You raise a very thorny issue,» I stated.
«I sort of figured that.»
«I've a strong feeling she's the one behind this revenge business, Luke, that she's the one who put you up to going after everybody. Like with that bomb. Like encouraging you to set up that private army with modern weapons, to use against Amber. Like trying for a hit on me every spring. Like-»
«Okay, okay. You're right. I don't deny it. But things have changed-»
«Yeah. Her plans fell through and we've got her.»
«That's not what I meant. I'm changed. I understand her now, and I understand myself better. She can't push me around that way anymore.»
«Why is that?»
«That trip I was on… It shook loose my thinking quite a bit. About her and me. I've had several days now to mull over what some of it meant, and I don't think she can pull the same crap on me that she used to.»
I recalled the red-haired woman tied to the stake, tormented by demons. There was a resemblance, now I thought of it.
«But she's still my mother,» he went on, «and I don't like leaving her in the position she's in. What kind of deal; might be possible for turning her loose?»
«I don't know, Luke.» I answered. «The matter hasn't come up yet.».
«Well, she's your prisoner, actually.»
«But her plans were directed against all of us.»
«True, but I won't be helping her with them anymore.
She really needs someone like me for carrying them out.»
«Right. And if she doesn't have you to help, what's to prevent her from finding someone like you, as you put it? She'd still be dangerous if we let her go.»
«But you know about her now. That would crimp her style quite a bit.»
«It might just make her more devious.»
He sighed. «I suppose there's some truth in that,» he admitted. «But she's as venal as most people. It's just a matter of finding the right price.»
«I can't see Amber buying someone off that way.»
«I can.»
«Not when that person is already a prisoner here.»
«That does complicate matters a little,» he acknowledged. «But I hardly think it's an insurmountable barrier. Not if she's more useful to you free than as a piece of furniture.»
«You've lost me,» I said. «What are you proposing?»
«Nothing yet. I'm just sounding you out.»
«Fair enough. But offhand, I can't see a situation such as you describe arising. More valuable to us free than a prisoner… I guess we'd go where the value lies: But these are just words.»
«Just trying to plant a seed or two while I work on it. What is your greatest concern right now?»
«Me? Personally? You really want to know?»
«You bet.»
«Okay. My mad brother Jurt has apparently allied himself with the sorcerer Mask back at the Keep. The two of them are out to get me. Jurt made an attempt just this afternoon, but I can see it's really a challenge from Mask. I'm going to take them on soon.»
«Hey, I didn't know you had a brother!»
«Half brother. I have a couple of others, too. But I can get along with them. Jurt's been after me for a long time.»
«That's really something. You never mentioned them.»
«We never talked family. Remember?»
«Yeah. But you've got me puzzled now. Who's this Mask? I seem to remember your mentioning him before. It's really Sharu Garrul, isn't it?»
I shook my head.
«When I brought your mother out of the citadel she left the company of a similarly stricken old guy with RINALDO carved on his leg. I was trading spells with Mask at the time.»
«Most strange,» Luke said. «Then he's a usurper. And he's the one slipped me the acid?»
«That seems most likely.»
«Then I have a score to settle with him, too - apart from what he did to my mother. How tough is Jurt?»
«Well, he's nasty. But he's kind of clumsy, too. At least, he's screwed up whenever we've, fought and left; a piece of himself behind.»
«He could also be learning from his mistakes, you know.»
«That's true. And he said something kind of cryptic today, now you mention it. He talked as if he were about to become very powerful.»
«Uh-oh,» Luke said. «Sounds as if this Mask is using him as a guinea pig.»
«For what?»
«The Fount of Power, man. There's a steady, pulsing source of pure energy inside the Citadel, you know. Inter-Shadow stuff. Comes from the four worlds jamming together there.»
«I know. I've seen it in action.»
«I've got a feeling that this Mask is still in the process of getting a handle on it.»
«He had a pretty good grip when we met.»
«Yeah, but there's more to it than plugging into a wall outlet. There are all sorts of subtleties he's probably just becoming aware of and exploring.»
«Such as?»
«Bathing a person in it will, if he's properly protected, do wonders for strength, stamina, and magical abilities. That part's easy for a person with some training to learn. I've been through it myself. But old Sharu's notes were in his lab, and there was something more in them - way of replacing part of the body with energy, really packing it in. Very dangerous. Easily fatal. But if it works you get something special, a kind of superman, a sort of living Trump.»
«I've heard that term before, Luke…»
«Probably,» he replied. «My father undertook the process, with himself as the subject-»
«That's it!» I said. «Corwin claimed that Brand had become some sort of living Trump. Made it almost
