To Rule in Amber

by John Gregory Betancourt

  When I reached the first pool, pale shapes of fish drifted ghostlike beneath the surface, passing among the dark silhouettes of lily-pads. In the center, a marble statue of a nymph on a pedestal poured an endless stream of water from an amphora.

  I sat Conner on the low wall around the fountain, and he leaned down to the water and drank greedily for a long time. Then he sat back, gasping. After a minute, he drank again. I waited patiently. He needed time to gather his strength.

  At last he sat up and looked at me.

  "Where are we?" he asked in a rough voice.

  "It's just a Shadow," I said. "I don't know its name. Dad, Blaise, Freda, and Aber are all inside the inn - that big building over there." I pointed. "I'll take you in as soon as you're cleaned up a bit."

  He licked his lips. "You wouldn't happen to have any food, would you? Maybe some bread or cheese -"

  "Sorry, afraid not. I didn't want to leave you here while I went back to the kitchens. If you want, though, I can run back -"

  He didn't wait for me to finish, but reached out and pulled what looked like half a leg of lamb from mid-air. Of course he had used the Logrus. The meat steamed, obviously fresh from someone's dinner table. From the smell, it had been basted with mint jelly, too.

  He bit into it eagerly, chewing and swallowing in great gulps. I didn't blame him for not waiting; I would have done the same thing in his place.

  I sat beside him and watched him eat. When he finally finished, he drank again, more slowly this time, then washed his hands and face.

  "Better?" I asked. His strength seemed to be returning. Along with his table manners.

  "Yes, thanks. Who else did you say was here?"

  I told him.

  "That's it?" He stared at me incredulously.

  I nodded. "And now you."

  "All the others? What about Titus?"

  "Are you strong enough to walk?" I asked, changing the subject. I didn't want to tell him the bad news about Titus yet. He had been very close to his twin.

  "I… almost." He sighed then shook his head. After another short rest, he managed to stand and wade waist-deep into the pool, where he kicked off his rags, dunked his whole body under the water, and began splashing and scrubbing his body. When he finally emerged five minutes later, he didn't stink nearly as badly. Then he used the Logrus to find clean clothes and put them on, heedless of the occasional passers-by who gave us strange looks and a wide berth.

  "What happened to you after Dad, Aber, and I left the Beyond?" I asked him.

  He pulled on his pants slowly. "Uthor's men… it was a long time ago." He gave a shudder. "Titus and I went to stay with our uncle, but they arrested us anyway. That was the last I saw of my brother. In the dungeons under the palace, King Uthor had me tortured for a while, but I didn't know anything about you or the Pattern. Not really. Finally, I couldn't take it. I confessed to everything they asked. I remembered saying I helped cause the storms and plotted with Dad to overthrow the king. That made them happy. I signed a lot of papers, admitting my guilt, and after that they threw me into a cell and forgot about me. I lived off rats and mice, mostly."

  "Horrible!" I murmured. "What about the Logrus? Couldn't you use it to call someone?"

  "Spells block it in the dungeons."

  "Oh." That made sense, since prisoners would certainly try to use it to escape. "And then… ?" I prompted.

  "Then an old man came for me -"

  "Suhuy?" I asked.

  "I didn't know his name." Shrugging on his shirt, he tried to button it with shaking hands. I stepped forward and helped. "He said he was bringing me to you. He pointed his staff at me. The next thing I knew, I was lying face down on the ground at your feet."

  "Interesting," I said thoughtfully. As much as I appreciated the safe return of my brother, I needed to know more about this mysterious Suhuy and his motives. Why did he want to meet me and make a good impression? How could rescuing Conner possibly be of benefit to him… unless he knew of our coming fight with Uthor and expected Uthor to lose. My thoughts about the powers of the Pattern being greater than those of the Logrus returned. Might I have hit on the truth by accident? I would have to talk to Dad about it. Maybe, between us, we could figure it out.

  "Do you know if any other family members are still being held by Uthor?" I asked.

  "Mattus, I think."

  "Mattus and Titus were both executed, according to Aber."

  "No! Are you sure?"

  "He saw their heads stuck on the palace gates."

  Conner sat alongside the pool and began struggling to pull on his boots. Twice he almost fell backward into the water. In other circumstances it might have been comical. In other circumstances I would have laughed.

  He said, "Someone told me King Uthor had arrested Freda - but that can't be true. You said she's here."

  "We rescued her from Thellops. He was using her to spy on us."

  Conner rose. He produced a swordbelt using the Logrus and buckled it on. Then he faced the inn and took a deep breath.

  "Ready," he announced.

  "For what?"

  "Dinner!" He grinned feebly.

  The others were still seated at our round table. When Conner and I walked in, I found the lights had been turned down; more dancers swayed on the floor now, and the band played a fast if discordant tune.

  It took everyone a moment to realize I hadn't returned alone. Then another moment to realize the unkempt stranger was actually the long-lost Conner.

  "I found him outside, looking for us," I said. "He escaped from Uthor's dungeon… with a little help from a friend."

  After much back-slapping and hugging and not a little crying from Freda, we dragged over another chair and ordered more food. While Conner tucked into a couple of thick steaks, I pulled Dad to one side and told him about what had really happened.

  "Suhuy…" he murmured. "I know him. He was Thellops's apprentice. He would have become Keeper of the Logrus a thousand years or more from now, when Thellops died… he must consider that sudden promotion a favor and be seeking to pay you back for it. He would not want to be indebted to any of us."

  "He was talking about a game…"

  "Oh?"

  I repeated Suhuy's comments about upsetting the gameboard. Dad chuckled, then shrugged.

  "There is a philosophy, based on the earliest writings of our people, which claims all of Chaos is a game for greater beings. Those who follow it call themselves Kindred. Perhaps he is one… a harmless enough faith, as faiths go. The Kindred seek to grow more powerful and, through their increased importance to the game and its outcome, grow closer to those who roll the cosmic dice. If he is one of

  the Kindred, you have done him a great favor by eliminating Thellops. Elevating Suhuy to a new position of power and rank would be important to him."

  "That must be it," I murmured. And yet I still had a feeling, vague though it was, that something did not quite make sense.

  "Our family is much reduced," I said. "Conner may well be the last to join us."

  "There is at least one more…" He chuckled, but did not elaborate even when I gave him a questioning look.

  I let it go for now. I would pry the truth out of him when I had more time.

  As for Conner… he was still gorging himself at the dinner table. If he wasn't careful, he would make himself sick. Still, with Freda and Blaise doting over him like over-protective aunts, I knew he would be fine.

  "We can't stay here," I said suddenly. "If Suhuy can find us, so can King Uthor."

  "Blame the Logrus," Dad said. "It may be tracking us for them. Every time we use it, we are be telling them where we are and what we are doing."

  "Aber told me the Logrus didn't work that way!"

  He chuckled. "Have I ever mentioned that Aber is a fool?"

  "Too often," I said.

  He snorted. "You cannot rely on gossip for a true understanding of how the Logrus and its powers work. It is tied to the King of Chaos and the Keeper of the Logrus. My
researches have proved this conclusively. If the king and Thellops did not know what every single person was using it for -

  including us - it is only because there are millions of people using the Logrus at any given time. Yes, Chaos and its Shadows are that big. But if either one of them focused his attention on one man or his family… yes, he would know what we were doing, and where."

  "Then you must all stop using the Logrus. It's convenient, I know… but surely the Pattern can be made to work just as well. And Pattern-based Trumps seem immune to the Logrus and its influence."

  "I agree," Dad said. My surprise must have shown because he quickly continued: "I made a mistake in Juniper. I underestimated our enemies. I had no idea Uthor and Thellops were involved. Of all the people in Chaos, only they had the power to spy on us through the Logrus. I will not see that same mistake repeated. Once we leave here, we are through with the Logrus. Forever. Any who disagree will be cast out for the common good."

  I nodded. "Very well." I felt exactly the same way. We had to take every precaution against Chaos.

  "Where shall we go?" Dad said. "We need a new home - a world we can shape to our own liking. I have a vague impression of a likely Shadow close to the Pattern…"

  "I took you there from the Pattern. It's a promising land, well laid out, but it's empty - no people at all. We will have to bring in everything and everyone we need."

  "Then we will do this thing. We will build there at once." He clasped me on the shoulder. "And this time, Oberon, we will not repeat our mistakes!"

  Fifteen

  Despite our ambitions, we did not manage to leave the inn the next day, or even the next week.

  Conner must have been running on pure nerve the night before. When he awakened in the morning, his months of imprisonment had caught up with him. Too weak to do much, he lingered in bed, with Freda and Blaise playing nursemaids. They plied him with light soups and delicate pastries from the inn's more-than-capable kitchens, to Conner's delight. He seemed to enjoy the attention.

  Since the Logrus had already shown Suhuy and (I assumed) everyone else in King Uthor's camp where we were staying, I figured it wouldn't matter if my family continued to use it here. Everyone to his or her own talent…

  I put Aber and Blaise on gold-gathering duty. The two of them spent an afternoon pulling in several tons of gold through the Logrus. Gold bricks, gold nuggets, gold plates and silverware - they

  found it all and brought it into our suite. When the floors groaned from the load, I hired several wagons and carted it all down to the Imperial Bank of Selonika, where its deposit caused quite a stir.

  The bank manager dispatched runners to the palace every few minutes with updated totals as clerks weighed and carefully logged in our wealth, and they quickly returned with a line of credit marked

  "unlimited." No less a personage than Prince Marib himself signed the letter.

  It also came with an invitation to luncheon at the palace. I sent my brother. While he and the prince dined and became fast friends, I took Blaise on a shopping spree. We bought dozens of horses, mules, goats, sheep, cows, pigs, chickens, and other domestic animals. And then we bought several dozen large heavy-canvas tents, lanterns and oil, picks and shovels, seed and grain, and enough foodstuffs to last us at least six months. Beds and furniture… tables… silverware… we would need everything ahead of time, especially since no one would be able to use the Logrus to bring in last-minute items. Blaise hired maids, butlers, cooks, and other servants.

  We needed a warehouse to hold all these purchases, so I bought one of those, too - and hired an accountant and a dozen burly workers to manage everything. Money flowed like water. A steady stream of deliveries began to arrive almost immediately.

  With my permission, Aber revealed to Prince Marib some of the truth about our family. We intended to export supplies from his Shadow to ours until we established our own economy. Envisioning a huge profit, Prince Marib seemed delighted at the prospect, according to Aber, and quickly sent us lists of his city's best chartered architects, stonemasons, hostlers, and various other tradesmen who could help. Aber, Blaise, and I spent the rest of the day visiting them, hiring their services at higher-than-normal cost, and generally arranging things. They would hire whatever construction workers were needed to commence construction of a castle and town immediately.

  Foundations needed to be dug first, and that could begin even before the blueprints were finalized.

  In the meantime, our father spent the day in his room, drawing new Pattern-based Trumps. He made a set for me first, one showing each of the surviving members of our family - and with some amusement I noticed his drawing of Aber showed a court jester complete with pointy green hat and curly-toed shoes with bells on their tips. Tit for tat; that's how Aber portrayed Dad on his Trumps. At my request, Dad also created a Trump showing my bedroom at the inn. This way I could return as needed.

  Since I had already paid in full for everyone's suites at the inn for the next fifty years, this room would always be held empty for me, for use whenever I needed it.

  When he finished the Trumps - clearly not his best work, sloppy but serviceable - we Shadow-walked back to the empty world I had selected for our new home. He wanted to see it for himself.

  We spent the last daylight hours on a quiet ramble through the hills and small mountains ("Ideal for a castle," he commented), down through the ancient oak forests ("enough wood for a half-dozen towns"), then onto the white sandy beach ("a good natural harbor"). The weather remained mild, the sun bright, and game plentiful, from birds and fish to rabbits and deer. The only thing missing was a stone-quarry, but we both agreed a site for one could easily be found in the west.

  Using my new Trump, we returned to the inn for a late dinner. The pessimist in me half expected to find the place ablaze and the guests slaughtered as Uthor's hell-creatures overran the city, but everything appeared calm and peaceful.

  Almost too peaceful.

  On the second day after Conner's return, Aber and I breakfasted with Prince Marib at the palace. His Majesty's invitation had been extended to me through Aber, and although I suspected it originally might have included our father, by the time Aber delivered it, it only included me. I was delighted to accept, however. It wasn't every day I got to dine in a palace, and I planned to pick up ideas for our own castle's construction.

  The prince sent a covered carriage for us at eight o'clock in the morning. Aber and I stepped up into the cab, the driver whipped up the matched team of white geldings, and off we raced up the streets

  of the city.

  "Is there anything I should know about the prince before we meet?" I asked Aber in a quiet voice.

  "He's quite a lot like you."

  "Short, bald, and middle-aged?" I said, raising my eyebrows. "I've seen his statues…"

  Aber laughed. "Idiot… not physically alike. But he did remind me of you. You both have an annoyingly noble streak. You're always thinking of everyone else, rather than just yourselves… the greater good, I guess you'd call it." He shrugged. "In his case, he's thinking of his whole principality.

  Trade with us will make everyone here rich, if they handle it right, and he knows it. He doesn't want to screw that up."

  "That's the mark of a good ruler," I said. I looked out the window at the passing buildings.

  Merchants were already opening their shops, rolling down bright canopies and rolling out barrels of fruits, vegetables, and other items. Children laughed and darted here and there, playing games. A few old women scrubbed the sidewalks on their hands and knees. They all seemed happy and well-fed.

  Aber said, "Everyone seems to like him, both personally and as a ruler. You have that talent, too."

  "I think you overestimate me," I said. "Mostly I just want us all to survive."

  "And thrive," he said.

  "Well, yes."

  He smiled. "If we get to pick our king, you've got my vote."

  I raised my eyebrows. "Dad's first in line
. He's the king."

  "Uh-uh." He shook his head. "He's a creature of the Logrus, like the rest of us. The Pattern is yours alone. Besides, he doesn't have the skills of a leader - or the interest. He'd rather putter around his workshop, inventing things and playing with his magical toys. He can't organize a whole new world.

  You've been doing all the work. You deserve the title."

  "Maybe…" I frowned. I had always assumed Dad would be our leader. And yet, what Aber said made a lot of sense. Dad had made more than his share of bad decisions over the years, and he didn't exactly inspire loyalty.

  "And," Aber continued, "you have the military experience to protect us. That has to be more important than anything else right now. I don't want to get slaughtered in my sleep. Dad -"

  "We'll talk more about it later," I promised, as the carriage rolled through the high marble gates of the palace. "Right now, we have a prince to impress."

  Prince Marib, looking splendid in a brilliantly feathered crown and robes of deep purple trimmed in gold, greeted us in a garden located at the center of his palace. Tame monkeys laughed and chattered from the intricately trimmed trees around us as his steward ushered us to cushioned seats around a small glass table.

  I bowed graciously, and Aber did the same.

  "Please, be at ease," he said, smiling cordially and motioning for us to sit. "While we acknowledge the formalities of the past in Selonika, we don't cling to them. Your brother has told me you come from the far-off land of Chaos. Please observe whatever customs are usual to your people. I am eager to learn more of them."

  "You are very kind."

  I sat to his right, and Aber sat to his left. At his gesture, beautiful women began wheeling in trays of delicate pastries and sweetmeats. They served us on glass trays, then withdrew.

  Marib began to eat at once, but lightly. We followed his example.

  "I understand you are pioneers," he said. "I will do whatever I can to assist you. However, doubtless due to my own shortcomings in education, I do not quite understand the magics Aber mentioned, and neither do my ministers. Can you tell me more of this place called Shadow, where you will dwell?"