Her eyes were darting, taking in everything as she drank. I wondered whether she'd recovered instantly and might not now be stalling for time as she sipped, her mind racing, spells dancing at her fingertips. Her eyes returned more than once to Mandor, appraising, though she gave Nayda a long, hard stare.
Finally, she lowered the goblet and smiled.
«I take it, Merlin, that I am your prisoner,» she said, choking slightly. She took another sip.
«Guest,» I replied.
«Oh? How did this come about? Accepting the invitation escapes my mind.»
«I brought you here from the citadel at the Keep of the Four Worlds in a somewhat cataleptic condition,» I said.
«And where might `here' be?»
«My apartment in the Palace of Amber.»
«Prisoner, then,» she stated.
«Guest,» I repeated.
«In that case, I should be introduced, should I not?»
«Excuse me. Mandor, I introduce Her Highness Jasra, Queen of Kashfa.» (I intentionally omitted the «Most Royal» part.) «Your Majesty, I request leave to present my brother, Lord Mandor.»
She inclined her head, and Mandor approached, dropped to one knee, and raised her hand to his lips. He's better at such courtly gestures than I am, not even sniffing the back of her hand for the scent of bitter almonds. I could tell that she liked his manner - and she continued to study him afterward.
«I was not aware,» she observed, «that the royal house here contained an individual named Mandor.»
«Mandor is heir to the dukedom of Sawall in the Courts of Chaos,» I replied. Her eyes widened.
«And you say he is your brother?»
«Indeed.»
«You've succeeded in surprising me,» she stated. «I had forgotten your double lineage.»
I smiled, nodded, stepped aside and gestured.
«And this-» I began.
«I am acquainted with Nayda,» she said. «Why is the girl… preoccupied?»
«That represents a matter of great complexity,» I said, «and there are other things I am certain you will find to be of much greater interest.»
She cocked an eyebrow at me.
«Ah! That fragile, perishable item- - he truth,» she said. «When it surfaces so quickly there is usually a claustrophobia of circumstance. What is it that you want of me?»
I held my smile.
«It is good to appreciate circumstance,» I said.
«I appreciate the fact that I am in Amber and alive and not occupying a cell, with two gentlemen behaving in a conciliatory fashion. I also appreciate the fact that I am not in the straits my most recent memories indicate I should occupy. And I have you to thank for my deliverance?»
«Yes.»
«Somehow I doubt it was a matter of altruism on your part.»
«I did it for Rinaldo. He tried getting you out once and got clobbered. Then I figured a way that might work, and I tried it. It did.»
Her facial muscles tightened at the mention of her son's name. I'd decided she'd prefer hearing the one she'd given him, rather than «Luke.»
«Is he all right?» she asked.
«Yes,» I said, hoping it were so.
«Then why is he not present?»
«He's off somewhere with Dalt. I'm not sure as to his location. But-»
Nayda made a small noise just then, and we glanced her way. But she did not stir. Mandor gave me an inquiring look, but I shook my head slightly. I did not want her roused just then.
«Bad influence, that barbarian,» Jasra observed, choking again and taking another drink. «I'd so wanted Rinaldo to acquire more of the courtly graces, rather than doing rude things on horseback much of the time,» she continued, glancing at Mandor and granting him a small smile. «In this, I was disappointed. Do you have something stronger than water?»
«Yes,» I replied, and I uncorked a bottle of wine and poured some into a goblet for her. I glanced at Mandor and at the bottle then, but he shook his head. «But you have to admit he did well in that track meet against UCLA, in his sophomore year,» I said, not to let her put him down completely. «A certain amount of that comes from the more vigorous side of life.»
She smiled as she accepted the drink.
«Yes. He broke a world record that day. I can still see him passing over the final hurdle.»
«You were there?»
«Oh, yes. I attended all of your meets. I even watched you run,» she said. «Not bad.»
She sipped the wine…
«Would you like me to send for a meal for you?» I asked.
«No, I'm not really hungry. We were talking about truth a little while ago…»
«So we were. I gather there had been some sorcerous exchange back at the Keep, between you and Mask-»
«Mask?» she said.
«The blue-masked sorcerer who rules there now.»
«Oh, yes. Quite.»
«I do have the story right, don't I?»
«Yes, but the encounter was more than a little traumatic. Forgive my hesitation. I was surprised and did not get my defenses up in time. That was really all there was to it. It will not happen again.»
«I'm sure. But-»
«Did you spirit me away?» she interrupted. «Or did you actually fight with Mask to get me free?»
«We fought,» I said.
«In what condition did you leave Mask?»
«Buried under a pile of manure,» I said.
She chuckled.
«Wonderful! I like a man with a sense of humor.»
«I have to go back,» I added.
«Oh? Why is that?»
«Because Mask is now allied with an enemy of mine - man named Jurt, who desires my death.»
She shrugged slightly.
«If Mask is no match for you, I fail to see where Mask and this man should represent a great problem.» Mandor cleared his throat.
«Begging your leave,» he said. «But Jurt is a shape shifter and minor sorcerer from the Courts. He also has power over Shadow.»
«I suppose that would make something of a difference,» she said.
«Not as much as what the two of them apparently plan to accomplish,» I told her. «I believe that Mask intends running Jurt through the same ritual your late husband undertook - something involving the Fount of Power.»
«No!» she cried, and she was on her feet, the rest of the wine mixing with Nayda's spittle and a few old bloodstains on the Tabriz I'd purchased for its delicately detailed pastoral scene. «It must not happen again!»
A storm came and went behind her eyes. Then, for the first time, she looked vulnerable.
«I lost him because of that…,» she said.
Then the moment was gone. The hardness returned.
«I had not finished my wine,» she said then, reseating herself.
«I'll get you another glass,» I told her.
«And is that a mirror on the table?»
