Flora must still be on Earth, because I can't reach her. Swell. She could get Gerard to listen. Me, I'm stuck scrounging up some Amberite to fill in for him on the diplomatic duties. Well, if Gerard won't help, his son will do. Duncan ran like the coward he is. Just as well, I suppose. Sand worked much better than he would have, with a little coaching. God, I'm not getting paid enough for this job. The staff came across Alastair's Trump deck. Hmm. I suspect there will be a slight delay in getting it back to him. He can always get another one. I can't as easily. Dad was in there. He looked different somehow. It's hard to describe. But it was definitely him. So I tried it. Just for the Hell of it. I'm not sure what I was expecting. It was cold. Just like Flora's. If he was dead, it wouldn't be cold, would it? Could he still be alive? I have to know. I can't get away now, things are too busy. But soon. If he is alive, I have a bone to pick with him. How could he leave Mum and me like that? Colin arrived with our missing Regent Pro Temp, who proceeded to bleed all over the Great Hall. Amberites are so messy. It seems Colin found Alastair bound and soaked in his own piss in some pocket Shadow and tried cutting him free through a Trump contact. It didn't work, of course. He nailed Alastair in the shoulder in the process. Alastair didn't look too happy. I wouldn't either if I'd pissed myself and had it witnessed. Rather embarrassing for an Amberite. The man who would be King has returned, but left Alastair to deal with the diplomatic functions anyway. How typical. Still no sign of Flora though. I wish she'd get back. I'm anxious to look for Dad. Perhaps if I get closer to him his Trump will work. Of course, I don't know where he is, but it's definitely someplace away from Amber. Time to do some Hellriding, I think. Still no luck reaching him, but I got through to Rasa. She's on Earth. With Flora. How strange. Well, I wanted to go home... Still nothing on Dad's Trump. It's not like before though. Rasa says she tried Dad's Trump and almost reached him. And Flora moved someone fitting Dad's description to a private hospital... He was in an accident of some sort. Of course, no one knows anything about the hospital or the ambulance that took him there. That bitch! How long has she known he's alive? After I find Dad, she and I are going to have a little talk. If I find Dad. No, I'll find him, if I have to walk through every single hospital within 100 miles. We reached him! Only briefly, but it worked. His face is all bound up in bandages. Couldn't see anything that would help me find the place, though. Damn. At least I know he's still alive. Rasa hit upon a good idea. We found where Dad was living, looked for contacts, and found his barrister, name of Bill Roth. He proved to be very useful. It's amazing what people can remember when threatened with a good law suit. Flora put Dad in a mental hospital! At least we finally know where he is. Well, we found the hospital, but he broke out not long ago. Bully for you, Dad, but the timing sucks. Trump places him back at Flora's, and she's not answering. Shite! We were so close! He shot me! The bastard shot me! I don't believe it. Hi daughter, nice to see you, ! OK, so he didn't remember who I was. That's still no excuse. He didn't even give me a chance to explain. Damn him. And he took my Trumps. Admittedly, they were Alastair's Trumps, but damn it, I haven't even had them for a day yet. At least he didn't wound me too badly. Nothing the good old family endurance couldn't handle. And he clocked Flora good. She deserves it, the bitch. The problem is, how do I find him now? The APB turned up nothing and he's abandoned my bike. Think, Lilith. He has my Trumps. He has my wallet. He'll have to notice the pictures and make the appropriate conclusions. Doesn't do me any good, though, even if he does. He doesn't have my Trump, I don't have his, and he sure as Hell isn't going to drop by Flora's again. I'll bet he eventually goes to Amber, though. I guess all I can do is go there and wait for him. Man, this is boring. At least there's lots of books to pass the time with. Of course, I may be wasting my time here altogether. But the library is the quietest entry point of all the castle Trumps, and I'm guessing Dad isn't stupid enough to show up here openly. Besides, this is as good a place as any to hide from Flora. At least until I've calmed down enough to play the dutiful attache again. I'd give anything to know what Eric said to Flora when she got back. I'll bet he's pissed as Hell. Good. Rasa is another complication. Explaining my presence on Earth wasn't too difficult. I did grow up there, after all. But she was starting to get suspicious of my reasons for tracking Dad down. Let's face it, finding missing Amberites isn't something an attache gets involved in. Especially when she's been trying hard up until now to stay out of family affairs. And then I managed to get back to Amber ahead of her and Flora. I suppose I could say I used an extra Trump I had and hope she doesn't wonder what happened to it. Or do what the family does and not say anything at all about it. Problem is, if I do that, she's bound to remain suspicious, and I really don't want her spreading the story around to the rest of the clan. I could tell her the truth, but could she keep the secret? Can I take that chance? Hell, if Dad returns, it won't remain a secret for long anyway. I have mixed feelings about that. I'm getting tired of playing servant. On the other hand, I really don't have any desire to get sucked into the family fun and games. Being merely a servant has spared me that, thus far. Whatever happens, once Dad comes back, my loyalty is with him. Unless he keeps shooting me.