bluffing. He does that sometimes. He hasn't got the kind of force to risk another attack on Amber. Your guys would slaughter him. If he wants Mom or me, I think he'd be willing to tell me why, and that's what we want to find out, isn't it?»
«Well, yes,» I said. «But-»
«Let me go,» he said to Vialle, «and I'll find a way to get him off your back. I promise.»
«You tempt me,» she told him. «But I don't like your talk of settling accounts with him at this time. As Merlin said, I want to avoid this conflict - for more than one reason.»
«I promise not to let it go that far,» he stated. «I can read the dice. I'm good at playing things by ear. I'm willing to postpone gratification.»
«Merlin…?» she said.
«He's right, in that,» I answered. «He's the deadliest salesman in the southwest.»
«I'm afraid I don't understand the concept.»
«It's a highly specialized art, back on that Shadow Earth we both inhabited. In fact, he's using it on you right now.»
«Do you think he can do what he says?»
«I think he's very good at getting what he wants.»
«Exactly,» Luke observed. «And since we both want the same thing here, I think the future looks bright for all of us.»
«I see what you mean,» she said. «How much danger would this put you near, Rinaldo?»
«I'll be as safe as I am right here in Amber,» he said.
She smiled.
«All right, I'll speak to Julian,» she agreed, «and you can go to him and see what you can learn from Dalt.»
«A moment,» I requested, «It's been snowing on and off, and that's a pretty nasty wind out there. Luke just came in from a more temperate clime, and it's a pretty flimsy-looking cloak he has on. Let me get him something warmer. I've a nice heavy one he can take, if he finds it suitable.»
«Go ahead,» she said.
«We'll be right back.»
She pursed her lips, then nodded.
I passed Luke his weapons belt and he buckled it on. I knew that she knew I just wanted to talk to him alone for a few minutes. And she was certainly aware that I knew it. And we both knew she trusted me, which brightens my existence, as well as complicating it.
As we passed along the hallway toward my rooms, I'd intended to fill Luke in concerning the upcoming coronation in Kashfa, as well as a few other matters. I waited, however, till we were well away firm the sitting room, because Vialle has inordinately acute hearing. This, though, gave Luke a foot in the door, and he began to speak first.
«What a strange, development,» he said. Then, «I like her, but I've a feeling she knows more than she's telling.»
«Probably true,» I answered. «I guess we're all like that.»
«You, too?»
«These days, yes. It's gotten that way.»
«You know anything more about this situation that I should be aware of?»
I shook my head. «This is very new, and she gave you the whole story I know. Would you, perchance, know something about it that we don't?»
«Nope,» he said. «It came as a surprise to me, too. But I've got to pursue it.»
«I guess so.»
We were nearing my stretch of corridor now, and I felt obliged to prepare him.
«We'll be to my rooms in a minute,» I said, «and I just wanted you to know your mother's in there. She's safe, but you won't find her too talkative.»
«I'm familiar with the results of that spell,» he said. «I also recall that you said you know how to lift it. So… That leads into the next topic. I've been thinking. This interlude is slowing us down a bit in our plan for going after Mask and your brother.»
«Not all that much,» I responded.
«We don't really know how long this is going to take me, though,» he went on. «Supposing it drags out a bit? Or supposing something happens to really slow me down?»
I gave him a quick glance.
«Luke, what have you got in mind?» I asked.
«I don't know. I'm just supposing. Okay? I like to plan ahead. Say we get delayed on this attack…»
«All right. Say that,» I said, as we neared my door.
«What I'm getting at,» he continued, «is, what if we get there too late? Supposing we arrive and your brother has already undergone the ritual that turns him into hell on wheels?»
I unlocked my door, opened it, and held it for him. I did not like entertaining the possibility he had just described, because I recalled my father's stories of the times he'd encountered Brand and faced that uncanny power.
Luke stepped inside. I snapped my fingers and a number of oil lamps came to life, their flames dancing for a moment before settling to a glowing steadiness.
Jasra was there in plain sight before him, holding a number of my garments on outstretched arms. I was concerned for a moment as to what his reaction might be.
He halted, studying her, then advanced, his speculations concerning Jurt forgotten. He regarded her for perhaps ten seconds, and I found myself growing uncomfortable. Then he chuckled.
«She always liked being decorative,» he said, «but to combine it with being useful was generally beyond her. You've got to hand it to Mask, even though she probably won't catch the moral of it.»
He turned away and faced me.
«No, she'll probably wake up mean as cat piss and looking for trouble,» he reflected. Then, «She doesn't seem to be holding that cloak you mentioned.»
«I'll get it.»
I moved to an armoire, opened it, and fetched out a dark fur one. As we traded, he ran his hand over it.
«Manticore?» he asked.
«Dire wolf,» I said.
I hung his within and closed the door while he donned mine.
«As I was saying when we came in here,» he offered, «supposing I don't come back?»
«You weren't saying that,» I corrected.
«Not in so many words,» he admitted. «But whether it's a small delay or the big one, what difference does it make? The point is, what if Jurt goes through with the ritual and succeeds in obtaining the powers he's after before we can do anything about it? And supposing I'm not around right then to give you a hand?»
«That's a lot of supposing.» I said.
«That's what separates us from the losers, man. Nice cloak.»
He moved toward the door, glanced back at me, at Jasra.
«Okay,» I said. «You go down there, Dalt cuts off your head and uses it for a football, then Jurt shows up ten feet tall and farting fire. I'm supposing. How does that separate us from the losers?»
He stepped out into the hall. I followed him, snapping my fingers again, leaving Jasra to the darkness.
«It's a matter of knowing your options,» he told me, as I secured the door.
I fell into step beside him as he headed back down the hall.
«A person who acquires that kind of power also picks up a vulnerability, by way of its source,» he said.
«What dows that mean?» I asked.
«Specifically, I don't know,» he told me. «But the power in the Keep can be used against a person who is empowered by the Keep. I learned that much in Sharu's notes. But Mom took them away before I read them all, and I never saw them again. Never trust - that's her motto. I think.»
