The Chronicles of Amber

been there to see it. Do you really think he'll be okay?”

“Sure,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “He just needs time and rest. We've already sent for a doctor. Just a matter of waiting for him to show up.”

“Good.”

“How about you?” I asked. “Are you feeling better now?”

He thought for a second. “Actually, yes.”

“Up for a drink?”

“Almost.” Aber stood unsteadily and began straightening his clothes and brushing himself off. Clouds of yellow dust puffed out from his pants and shirt. “So, where have you been, Oberon? I've been trying to reach you for weeks. I had just about given up!”

I shrugged apologetically. “Time runs differently here. I don't think it's been more than a few hours since I last saw you. At least, that's what it feels like. How long has it been since you've seen me?”

“I'm not sure.” He frowned. “At least four or five weeks. Maybe longer. I've been on the run most of that time just trying to stay alive. The lai she'one finally cornered me in the Beyond, right after the last of the storms let up. That's when I started trying every card I had left.”

“Did you reach Freda? Anyone else?”

“No. I couldn't reach anyone except you.”

I felt my heart plunge.

“If Freda's been hurt or killed…” I said.

“I imagine King Uthor has her, but…” He shrugged. “I don't know. She wasn't publicly executed, at least. Not like Mattus and Titus.”

“What!” I stared at him, shocked. “When? How?”

“Uthor put them to the sword about two weeks ago.” At my horrified expression, he went on grimly, “Their heads are on pikes outside the palace gates. I'm surprised Blaise didn't tell you.”

“No, she didn't say anything.” I swallowed hard. Two brothers, dead. Freda, my favorite sister, probably captured. And all the others… Right now, Uthor might be torturing them… or worse. I remembered how Lord Zon had used my other brothers' blood to spy on Dad in Juniper.

My thoughts turned back to Freda. Just a few hours ago, as these Shadows reckoned time, she had tried to contact me through my Trump. Had I missed my chance to save her? By not answering, had I gotten her captured or killed?

Unfortunately, there was nothing I could have done at the time—those unicorns would have killed us both if I'd tried to bring her through to join me. I sighed.

“Let me try her now,” I said.

“I just did. But go ahead.”

Quickly, I pulled out my deck of Trumps, riffled through them until I got to her card, and held it up. I concentrated hard, staring at her picture.

Nothing.

“Well?” Aber asked.

I just shook my head. Lowering the card, I returned it to my deck. Until I saw her body, I refused to believe anything bad had happened. I'd try again later… and as many times as it took to reach her. If that failed, we would have to find a way to rescue her. I couldn't leave her in Uthor's clutches.

“What about Conner?” I asked quietly.

“I don't know. I couldn't reach him, either. Nor Fenn, Isadora, Syara, Pella, or Leona. Have you heard from anyone other than Blaise?”

“No.”

He shook his head slowly. “I'm not surprised. With the king's whole army out hunting for us, we didn't have much of a chance.”

“You're still alive.”

“By the skin of my teeth. What about you? Have you heard from anyone else?”

“From Freda a few hours ago. But time is running so slowly here, it must have been weeks ago in Chaos.”

“A pity.”

I nodded. Bad news, indeed. For now, I could only hope at least some of our siblings were alive and in hiding. After all, we came from a big family. If Blaise and Aber had escaped, others might have, too. We would work on contacting them as soon as we had a safe place to gather our forces.

Aber looked around the room. “Where are we, anyway? This isn't Juniper, is it?”

“No, Juniper is gone. This is a small tavern in a Shadow cast by the new Pattern. If it has a name, I don't know what it is.”

“Are we safe?”

“As safe here as anywhere, at least for now. I wouldn't risk much magic using the Logrus, though, just in case.”

“Fair enough.” He stood. “I need to get cleaned up. I'll tell you everything else after a long, hot bath… I assume there are long hot baths here?”

“There you go.” I jerked my thumb toward the small basin on the washstand against the far wall “Jump in.”

He raised his eyebrows. “You're kidding, right? I want a real bath, with scented oils. Then a massage. Then a good hot meal—a light cream of mushroom soup, then salad and braised lamb chops, followed b—”

I couldn't stop laughing.

“What is it?” he demanded.

I said, “Do I look like I'm kidding? You aren't going to get any of those things here. If you're lucky, maybe the innkeeper can get you a bowl of whatever stew he's got simmering in the fireplace. You might be stuck with bread, cheese, and wine.”

“I'll settle for a steak if there's nothing better. Or I can always get it myself.”

“As I said, I don't think it's a good idea for you to use the Logrus here. What if Uthor has a way to track you when you use it?”

“Magic doesn't work that way.”

“Humor me.” I shrugged. “I never claimed to be an expert, just paranoid.”

“No bath. No servants. No food.” He shook his head glumly. “This isn't going to work, Oberon. There's nothing here. A Lord of Chaos could walk right in, kill us all, and destroy the Pattern.”

“First he has to find us. Then he has to kill me. And then he has to find the Pattern. It's not as easy as it sounds. It's been hidden, just like last time.”

“Where is it, then?”

“Safe. And it's going to stay safe from now on. I'm not telling anyone.”

“Even me?”

I chuckled. “Especially you. You were on King Uthor's payroll, remember?”

“Unwillingly! They threatened to kill me, remember. And anyway, look where it got me—hunted through the Beyond and a dozen other Shadows of Chaos,”

“Even so.”

He shrugged. “Okay. It's not like I need to know. Or particularly want to.” Rising, he started for the washstand. “If I'm going to avail myself of your so-called bath, the least you can do is find me some decent clothes while I'm getting cleaned up!”

“Would you settle for a towel?”

“I'll get my own.” He reached into the air and plucked a towel from nothingness—using that Logrus trick again to summon whatever he needed.

“I said no Logrus tricks!”

“Oh—sorry. It's instinct, I guess. I wasn't thinking.”

I sighed. “Just don't do it again.”

For the first time, I wondered if the Pattern would let me do the same sort of summoning-trick. I'd have to