Ferne.”
“Well, I’m delighted, of course, and it’s been much too long since we last had a nice, cozy chat.…” She batted her long eyelashes at him. “But there must be a little more to it than that.”
“A bit more, I have to admit. Before I get to it, do you mind if I slide a chair under your image? I find it strangely unsettling to have unsupported bodies levitating about.”
“Feel free.”
He got up and fetched a dinette chair, positioning it so that it looked convincing in the part. “That’s a little better,” he said, resuming his seat. “Now, what I wanted to ask you is this. Somebody’s been fooling around at the castle. Is it you?”
Her face remained expressionless for a moment. Then she threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, Inky, the word ‘blunt’ was invented for you. That’s always been your favorite tactic, hasn’t it? You always lay your cards right on the table. No bluffing, no subtlety, nothing.”
“Yes, at first. When the tactic fails, as it usually does, then I get sneaky.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed over the years that this is your usual opening gambit. But why, if it usually avails you nothing?”
“I didn’t say it availed me nothing. I can get a lot out of reactions. I like to read them, weigh them. The emotional overtones to any reaction, however insincere or pretended, are always very interesting. And very informative.”
“Really? Fascinating. And
“Oh, very interesting indeed.”
She smiled. “And informative, I hope.”
“That laugh spoke volumes.”
The smile faded. She seemed concerned. “And what did it tell you?”
He crossed his legs, chuckling.
She frowned. “I think you’re making it all up.” She studied his face. “Yes, you’re bluffing. Making me think you have one up on me already, and we haven’t even really begun to bargain.”
“Bargain? Are we at odds, in some way?”
She lifted her delicate shoulders. “Haven’t we always been?”
He considered it, nodding. “Well, yes, it does seem to me that we’ve butted heads one or two times over the years. Just why, I can’t imagine, because I’ve never had anything but the fondest regards for you, dear sister.”
“And I for you, dear brother.” Her expression hardened. “Now let’s cut the crap and get down to business.”
He laughed. “I really didn’t know we had any business.” He laughed again. “I suppose I can totally discount the first two minutes of this conversation. All that stuff about getting a message, coming to the castle. What exactly have you been up to, Ferne?”
She sat up and looked straight at him. “Never mind that. Listen to me. Your castle has been invaded. Successfully, I might add. What remains of your Guardsmen are prisoners or deserters. Most of them are of the latter category, having fled through sundry aspects.”
“As per their standing orders in case of a successful incursion into the castle,” he said calmly.
“Of course. Very wise, actually, as they had no chance.”
“Who are the invaders?”
“They originate from an aspect that Dad sealed off long ago, on a hunch that the inhabitants might be potential troublemakers. He was right.”
“Well, now,” he said, scratching his chin. “That could be any one of about a hundred aspects that Dad had doubts about.”
“Does it really matter which one? They are a race of bipeds, very warlike, very aggrandizing. Overwhelmingly so. They discovered the gateway quite readily, and instantly realized the unparalleled strategic value of the castle.”
He nodded. “Gateway to thousands of worlds ripe for conquest.”
“Yes. And they have technology, good technology. And a little magic, too; more, since they’ve been in the castle. So no worlds are safe from them.”
“They sound like a real going concern.” He shifted in his seat and recrossed his legs. “Looks like you’re putting your cards on the table, for once. I thought we’d be here for hours, playing cat and mouse.”
“It would have been fun, but … ” She gave him a sulky look. “Damn it, Inky, you have a way of putting me off my stride. That ‘reading reactions’ business was just a ploy to get me to think that you have something on me, when, in fact, the situation is entirely the reverse.”
“You have something on me?”
“You’re locked out, dear brother. On the outside looking in. You’re in New York, and you’ll never be able to summon the gateway to the castle, let alone stabilize it in a New York apartment. I have established the gateway. Elsewhere.”
“So, you
She chuckled gloatingly. “I knew you’d fall for that. You detected meddling and instantly suspected Trent, so you hied yourself to Earth to check him out. And he was as oily and as sneaky as always, and looking worried about your showing up there after all these years, nosing about. So you thought, ‘Trent is up to something.’ And he may very well be, if I know Trent. But it doesn’t have anything to do with what I’m doing.”
“Brilliant so far, sis. By the way, did I tell you that you’re absolutely stunning in that dress?”
“Thank you.” She reddened slightly. “Damn you! You always know exactly what to say to bring me up short. That’s why I’m not inclined to toy with you, Inky.YOU are much too dangerous for that, and I’m not ashamed to admit it.”
“I see.” He looked down, tapping one shoe against the other. “So, you’ve taken over Castle Perilous.”
“Oh, not yet. We’re only in the first stage of things.”
“You’re not in cahoots with these invaders?”
She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “They’re perfectly dreadful beasts, and I wouldn’t think of having anything personally to do with them.”
“So you just busted the containing spell and let them spill out into the castle? Unwise, Ferne honey. Unwise.”
“On the contrary, they’ve been very useful. They are a bargaining chip.”
“Indeed? Tell me this. Just where are you in the castle, if the castle has been invaded?”
“Well, you don’t think I wouldn’t take precautions, do you? We’ve sealed off the old family residence. We’re quite safe here, for the moment.”
“I see. So the Albion aspect is protected.”
“Naturally. And the Earth aspect is here, too, stabilized nicely. And the door is locked, Inky. Only I have the key.”
“What did you mean by calling the invaders a bargaining chip? What are you bargaining for?”
“For a share of control of the castle. And its power.”
“Of course. And you want to bargain with me.”
“Who else, my liege lord?”
“Why do I figure in at all?” he asked. “According to you, I’m locked out.”
“We need you.”
“Who is ‘we’?”
“Deems and I,” Ferne said.
He looked off, nodding, understanding. “I see. Old Deems is finally having second thoughts about abdicating in favor of me. Why, I wonder?”
She laughed mirthlessly. “He doesn’t want the throne. Through his profligacy and general ineptitude, he’s screwed up things in Albion to the point where he finally had to ask me for help. Magical help. The kingdom’s in a mess. Fiscally speaking, he’s just about at the end of his rope.”
Incarnadine folded his arms and nodded. “So, he wasn’t kidding.”
“Deems has trouble lying. There’s no guile in the man at all. And not a great deal of brains. Imagine him trying to pretend that he didn’t know how to reach me. Dead giveaway.”
