The Chronicles of Amber

He rolled his eyes, but dutifully trotted out of the room and down the stairs. Much as he liked to complain, I knew I could count on him, especially when Freda's safety was at stake.

Turning back to Dad, I said, “Do you have a plan?”

“Yes. Go in fast. Take Freda. Run away before anyone can stop us.”

I snorted. Well… it had a certain elegance to its simplicity. Unfortunately, I didn't think we would be able to simply walk in.

I said as much.

“Nonsense, my boy,” he said, grinning. “You are a fair swordsman. Together, Thellops cannot stop us.”

“He stopped you already,” I pointed out.

He shrugged. “He caught me by surprise. I made the mistake of trying to talk to him as a friend and an equal. We are neither.”

“Don't forget it.”

He grinned suddenly. “I still have one trick left, too. Something he has long forgotten…”

“Got it!” Aber cried, dashing in with Dad's sword. He passed it over, and Dad swiftly buckled the belt around his waist, loosening the sword in the scabbard and adjusting it to a comfortable position.

“Do you want to come?” I asked Aber. He might want to help rescue Freda.

“No!” Dad said firmly.

Aber swallowed. “Uh… not this time. I'm no fighter; I'd only be in the way. Besides, if I stay here, I can be your escape route. Call me when you need to leave and I'll bring you all back.”

“Good.” I knew I could count on him. “Then you'll definitely be staying here until you hear from us?”

He pulled a sour face. “If I have to. Any other Shadow would be a improvement over this dump, though. It doesn't even have a decent bath…”

I chuckled. “I don't care if you stay or not. Just make sure we can reach you at a moment's notice wherever you are, okay?”

He brightened. “Sure!”

Blaise appeared in the doorway. She had taken the time to wash her face, fix her hair, and change clothes. Now she wore a wine-colored blouse, leather britches, and riding boots—and she carried a bare blade: a nasty- looking shortsword with a serrated blade and a wickedly barbed point.

I raised my eyebrows. “Why the sword?” It definitely wasn't the weapon you expected to find in the hands of a beautiful woman.

“Someone has to watch your back,” she said in a no-nonsense voice. “If you and Dad are going after Freda, you'll need help. There don't seem to be any other men around”—she shot Aber a pointed look—“so I have to pitch in.”

Aber said, “I'll leave the manliness up to you. You have a bigger pricker than I do, anyway.” He seemed to find that amusing and snickered a bit.

“Do you know how to use that thing?” I asked Blaise.

“Try me and see.”

I chuckled. “Aber's right, you know.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“You aren't our sister. The real Blaise belongs in the afraid-of-breaking-fingernails camp.”

“There's no reason a woman can't look good and defend herself.”

I just shook my head. We definitely had interesting characters in our family. Every time I thought I had my siblings figured out, new twists in their personalities appeared. Blaise as protective warrior-beauty queen… definitely not the image I'd had of her.

Completely businesslike now, she joined our father at the bed. He had been studiously ignoring us. Dad had pulled a small pouch from some inner pocket and had emptied its contents onto the quilt—rings, bits of colored glass and stone, a few fingerbones, a large agate marble. He picked through everything and selected what looked like a small piece of charcoal.

“Do-it-yourself Trumps?” I guessed. That seemed the likeliest way into Thellops's lair.

Without a word, Dad hurried to the wall beside the door. Smooth and freshly whitewashed, it offered a clean surface ideal for drawing.

He sketched a rectangle the size of a door. Then, with a few simple lines, he added a rough representation of a workroom: a long wooden table cluttered with bottles, jars, and tubes filled with bubbling liquids; tall bookcases; and a jumble of books and papers. More than anything, it reminded me of Dad's workroom in Juniper. It just needed a few mummified cats and a selection of bizarre and complex machines to be complete.

Aber cocked his head and studied the wall critically. “That one can't possibly work,” he said. “There's no representation of the Logrus underlying it.”

“An ignorant comment based on foolish assumptions,” Dad muttered impatiently. He added a horned skull atop one bookcase and a glowing ball of light in one corner, then smiled half to himself.

“What do you mean?” Aber demanded.

“You are an idiot, my boy. The Logrus is immaterial.”

“So you're using the Pattern?”

“Of course. Not that it matters. Neither one needs to be incorporated into the drawing.”

“But it's the same idea. You need a magic underpinning to the image—” he began.

“Try telling the Logrus that. Or the Pattern. Both exist with no underpinnings whatsoever. They merely are.”

Dad returned to the bed and began gathering up his rocks, bones, and bits of glass, all of which he put back into his pouch. He dropped the charcoal in on top.

“That's crazy.” Aber shook his head.

Dad looked at Blaise and me. “Prepare yourselves.”

I drew my sword and went to stand beside him. As we all faced the picture on the wall, I half wondered if Aber might be right. Dad's drawing ranked among the worst Trumps imaginable. Sketchy black lines, faintly drawn from memory… how could it possible work?

But then, as I studied the image, I sensed an almost tangible power radiating from it. As Dad stepped forward and concentrated, the picture suddenly colored with browns and grays and ruddy oranges, coming to life. Instead of a black-and-white line drawing, we suddenly gazed through a shimmering doorway into Thellops's workshop.

Without hesitation, Dad stepped through into that room. He looked around quickly.

“Empty,” he announced. His voice sounded distant.

“Impossible!” Aber muttered, staring.

“Not at all.” I glanced at my brother. “You need to pay attention to what Dad's doing.” Some time ago, our father had mentioned offhandedly that Aber had no idea how Trumps really worked. I hadn't repeated that comment, since I'd known it would hurt Aber. But clearly my brother needed to adjust his methods of Trump- making if he intended to keep up.

“But—” Aber began, looking with bewilderment from the drawing to me and back again. “How—”

“I'll explain later. Right now, I want you to find some white-wash and cover up the Trump on the wall. Summon it using the Logrus if you have to. I don't care—just get it. I don't want anyone following us through the picture on the wall.”

“Come quickly!” Dad called, voice flat and far away. He held out his right hand to Blaise. She took it and he helped her step through.

“What if you need rescuing?” Aber asked. “I can't help if I can't get there.”

I said, “We won't. If we fail, we'll be dead.”

He sighed. “Okay. I'll do it as soon as you're gone. Anything else?”

“I can't think of anything.”

Dad called, “Hurry up, my boy!” The doorway to the workshop suddenly rippled like a lake touched by morning breezes.

I hefted my sword. Hopefully Dad's plan would work.

In fast. Rescue Freda. Run away.

Simple, at least in theory.