Chapter One

	As our tale begins, Ahab is in the castle library busy trying to
read one of Dworkin's books discussing the nature of Shadow.  He isn't
having any luck, since the text seems totally unintelligible.  After a
while, Brand comes in and asks for the book, which Ahab hands over.  Ahab
leaves and finds Flora in the sitting room.  He asks her about the book,
and she tells him that Dworkin had the odd habit of writing his books
backward, so that you need a mirror to read it.  Ahab does a little more
research, then decides to call it a day.

	Felix wins a yacht race and heads for Bloody Jake's for some
lunch.  While there, he makes a comment about one of the waitresses, who
has mismatched eyes like his.  This annoys her, so he gets some flowers in
an effort to make it up to her.  She looks somewhat mollified, so he asks
her to sit down with him and his buddies.  She does so, and then pulls out
a pad and starts asking Felix some very odd questions.  Things like, what
is your height and weight, is the Pattern what gives you that vacant look,
and where do you sleep in the castle?  Felix is somewhat nervous about
answering the last one, so he gives her the location of an empty room on
the same floor as his.  The waitress puts her pad away and leaves.

	Ahab returns from riding in Arden and makes his way to the dining
hall for dinner.  Present are Deirdre (Ahab's mother), Julian, Eric,
Gerard (Felix's father), Isabeux (Gerard's wife and Felix's mother), Flora
and Brand.  Brand is sitting away from the others, reading the book he got
from Ahab earlier in the day.  Noticing that Brand doesn't seem to be
using a mirror, and feeling a little peeved at him, Ahab sits down at his
left and starts reading over his shoulder.  Everyone else at the table
stares.  Ahab tries to determine if Brand is really reading the book or
just faking it, but Brand notices and repositions himself so that Ahab
can't tell.  Ahab asks Flora if it is rude to read at dinner, to which she
replies yes.  Brand just ignores Ahab.  Giving up on this line of
conversation, Ahab asks Flora about Felix's whereabouts.  As the dinner
ends, Eric stands and announces that Corwin's tomb will be dedicated the
following morning.  Most of the elders do not look surprised, although
Deirdre glares malevolently at Eric.  Ahab asks if there has been any word
from Corwin, and Eric says no.  Deirdre stands up and storms out of the
room.  Ahab remarks that he had heard Corwin was a unique individual. 
Brand replies that he was overrated and leaves.

	Felix waits around a while for the waitress, but she doesn't
return.  He realizes that he is missing dinner and hurries home, arriving
just as Brand is leaving.  Ahab fills him in on the evenings events, but
Felix really isn't interested.  His primary concern is food, so he sits
down next to Gerard and helps himself to some dessert (much to Gerard's
dismay).  Eric and Julian leave together.  Flora asks Felix if he had a
good race.  Felix says yes, then tells them about the strange waitress. 
Ahab makes a sarcastic comment about how odd it is for people with
mismatched eyes to be acting strangely, which Felix ignores.  Isabeux is
concerned and asks Felix what kind of questions the waitress asked.  Ahab
passes Gerard a note.  Gerard suggests that if Felix encounters this
waitress again, he should bring her to the castle, then whispers something
to Isabeux and leaves the room with Ahab.

	Ahab and Gerard go to another room to talk privately.  Ahab asks
Gerard about the tension between the rest of the family and Brand.  He
also tells Gerard about his earlier experience with Brand and the book. 
He is concerned about the fact that Brand appeared to be able to read the
book without a mirror.  Gerard assures Ahab that this behavior is par for
the course for Brand.  Ahab tries to get Gerard to tell him about the
conversation between Julian and Eric at dinner, but Gerard won't answer
his questions.  Finally, Ahab expresses concern about Deirdre's reaction,
but Gerard is not worried.

	Their conversation finished, Ahab returns to the dining room,
where he pretends to be interested in Felix's tale of the day's yacht
race.  His overreactions bother Isabeux, who keeps starting at him.  When
Felix finishes, Isabeux warns him not to let Ahab get him into trouble. 
Ahab promises her that he won't, but Isabeux is not convinced.  After
Isabeux and Flora leave, Ahab asks Felix why he gave the waitress the
wrong room location.  Felix admits that he doesn't really know.  Ahab
berates Felix for telling her anything at all, claiming that she could now
waltz into the castle and steal Trump decks from the library.  Frightened
by this thought, Felix leaves to check the library, giving Ahab a good
laugh at his expense.  Felix checks on the room that he told the waitress
about, but it is locked, so he goes to bed.  Ahab works out for a while,
then asks one of Eric's guards for the key to the room.  Ahab makes up the
bed in his own room so that it looks like he's in it, and places a note on
the pillow saying "Sorry Uncle Brand, I got suspicious."  He then proceeds
to spend the night in the other room, but nothing happens.

	The next morning, the family attends the dedication of Corwin's
tomb.  Deirdre, Ahab, Eric, Caine, Julian, Gerard, Isabeux, Felix, Fiona
and Flora are in attendance.  Deirdre is still upset about the dedication,
and is wearing her sword.  Brand seems amused by the whole proceeding. 
The dedication proceeds uneventfully until the end, when Eric announces
that he is naming himself Lord Protector of Amber until Oberon returns. 
Caine, Gerard and Julian don't seem surprised.  Fiona seems disappointed. 
Brand simply leaves.  Deirdre stiffens and begins to argue with Eric,
claiming that Corwin is not dead and therefore has the superior claim to
the throne.  While this is going on, Ahab asks Flora what Amber needs to
be protected from.  Flora doesn't answer, but gives him a look that tells
him to shut up.  Deirdre challenges Eric and attacks him with her sword. 
Eric manages to hold her off (barely) until Deirdre's back is turned to
Caine, Julian and Gerard, who grab her and disarm her.  Eric orders her
thrown in the dungeon and they take her away.  Ahab picks up Deirdre's
sword and begins to leave as well, when he notices Felix shaking his head
sadly at the whole proceeding.  Irritated by this, Ahab tells Felix to
watch his step and heads back towards the castle.

	Ariana begins walking through Shadow with her maidservant and
personal guard.  After a while, she runs across a white-haired man wearing
sunglasses.  She recognizes him as the man who told her about Amber and
brought her to walk the Pattern.  The stranger warns her of an impending
civil war in Amber and asks for her help.  She agrees, and he shifts
Shadow to bring them to a Hellenic looking Shadow, much like the Shadow
where Ariana grew up.  He leaves her and her retinue with another Amberite
named Mirelle.  Ariana asks Mirelle to tell her the stranger's name, but
she refuses.  Since Ariana is ignorant of most of her Amber heritage,
Mirelle shows her Trumps of the family.  The deck includes the standard
Trumps, along with ones of Osric, Finndo, Sand, Delwin, the stranger and
Ariana.  The Trump of Fiona is wrapped in silk, because Mirelle is afraid
she can tell when someone touches her Trump.  In talking about Amber,
Mirelle reveals that Random is her brother, and that she is not welcome in
Amber.  Ariana returns the Trump deck to Mirelle, who seems somewhat
surprised by this.  When Ariana asks for more information about Amber, she
is shown to Mirelle's library.

	In a rainy, Georgian Shadow, Heather is woken up by Mebd, her
servant, who tells her there is a wounded man asking to see her.  Heather
accompanies Mebd to her sitting room where she finds Brand lying on the
divan with a large wound in his abdomen.  Heather touches him to make
psychic contact, waking Brand up.  He embraces her as his daughter, and
tells her that she must be careful since he might have been followed by
his attacker.  His attacker was an Amberite named Driscoll, who carries a
clear, crystal sword.  He has been following Brand for three days.  At
this point, a servant Trumps Heather to report that she has another
visitor.  This one has dark glasses and white hair.  Heather pulls the
servant and the visitor (the same man who brought Ariana to Mirelle)
through to her.  The stranger sees Brand and immediately draws his sword,
asking Heather if she knows who that is.  Heather realizes that this is
the Driscoll that Brand was referring to, and accuses him of shooting
Brand.  Driscoll claims that Brand would have killed him first if he'd had
the opportunity.  He asks if Brand is still alive, and when Heather tells
him yes, he insists that Brand should be killed now.

	Felix notices that the door to the room he told the waitress about
is open and investigates.  When he walks into the room, the door is
slammed behind him and the waitress pops up shouting 'boo.' She seems
disappointed that he doesn't jump in surprise.  Felix notices that she
looks very different today, as she is clad entirely in black leather.  He
asks her if she slept in the room the previous night.  She claims she
didn't and then asks him the same question.  When he admits he didn't, she
accuses him of lying to her.  She walks to Felix's quarters and tells him
that this is his real room.  She claims she can tell this because it
smells like him.  Felix invites her into his quarters, but she wants him
to show her the Pattern.  Felix says he can't do that and closes the door
to his quarters so he can Trump Flora and ask her what to do.  Flora tells
him to bring her through, but when they look in the hallway, the woman is
gone.

	Ahab goes to the dungeon to retrieve the scabbard for Deirdre's
sword.  Julian gives him a bag containing her things and tells him that
Caine has Deirdre's scabbard.  Caine gives the scabbard to Ahab,
instructing him to use it better than Deirdre.  After Caine leaves, Ahab
mutters that he'll use the *scabbard* wisely.  Julian hears this and asks
if Ahab is sure he wants another scar.  Ahab responds that next time he'll
shoot from a distance, but then says he won't do anything rash.  He gets a
Trump of Deirdre and Hellrides to a Shadow with bright light.  He tries to
contact Deirdre from there, but can't get through.

	Heather turns to Driscoll and says she won't allow him to kill
Brand, and that he can either leave or help.  Driscoll responds that he
can help slit Brand's throat.  Heather mentions a dream she had that she
thinks was warning her about Driscoll.  She starts tending to her father. 
Driscoll asks her for more information about the dream, but she ignores
him.  When she doesn't hear anything more from him, she turns and finds
him studying a Trump.  she lunges at him with a sword, but he easily
side-steps her.  She asks to see the Trump, but he refuses.  She asks if
he drew them, to which he responds with an enigmatic "maybe."  He mentions
that Brand seems to be looking worse, and that she can't watch him and
tend to Brand at the same time.  He also tells her that the maid she sent
to get help won't be coming back.  Heather is upset to hear this.  She
looks at him closely and asks him if his clasp moves, but he won't answer
her.  She turns back to Brand and Driscoll begins concentrating on the
Trump again.  Heather turns suddenly and knocks the Trump out of
Driscoll's hand with a whip, but he grabs a hold of it again.  Brand
contacts Heather psychically and tells her to get Driscoll's sunglasses
off and attack him mentally.  Heather asks Driscoll about the clasp again,
and this time he tells her that the clasp does move.  Brand psychically
urges her again to attack Driscoll.  Upset, she speaks aloud to Brand's
body, telling him that Driscoll saved her life, to which Brand counters
that Driscoll set up the situation that he saved her from.  At this,
Driscoll looks at Heather in surprise and says "It was you!"  Brand tells
Heather that Driscoll is an adept liar.  Heather accuses Driscoll of
hiring her attackers and tries to knock his sunglasses off.  She misses,
and Driscoll slams her up against the wall with one arm pinned up behind
her back.  Brand, apparently not as badly injured as he appeared, gets up
and throws a vase at Driscoll.  Driscoll releases Heather and draws his
sword, but Brand disappears, followed quickly by Heather, leaving Driscoll
alone.

	Ariana asks Mirelle about the various factions in Amber.  Mirelle
takes her Trump deck and divides the cards into four piles.  The pile with
the red heads (Bleys, Fiona, Brand) is on one side, the pile with the
burly fighter types (Eric, Caine, Julian, Gerard) is on the other.  The
third pile represents the missing or undecided (Osric, Finndo, Benedict,
Corwin).  The final group contains those who are trying to stop the
fighting.  Ariana and Mirelle spend the rest of the afternoon discussing
Amber and the Pattern.

	Brand psychically wakes up Heather and berates her for letting
Driscoll into her home.  He informs her that, contrary to what she
believes, she is not a vampire, she is an Amberite.  Heather complains to
him of being left alone with her mother, a Shadow of Fiona, for 30 years
until she died.  Brand tells her that he has many relatives who want him
dead, and that if she doesn't help him, they'll kill her too.  Therefore,
she must stop Driscoll from revealing the location of her Shadow.  She
agrees to do this.  Brand shifts Shadow to leave her in Driscoll's path,
and then leaves.  When Driscoll comes across Heather, he says that he is
surprised Brand didn't kill her.  Heather complains that she's been
waiting a while for him, which makes Driscoll suspicious and he begins
looking around for a trap.  Heather asks him what he did to her maid, and
he tells her he placed a hole in Mebd's memory.  Driscoll offers her the
choice of coming with him, or staying where she is.  Heather agrees to go
with him.

	Driscoll and Heather arrive at Mirelle's villa while she and
Ariana are eating dinner.  Ariana asks for Driscoll's name and he tells it
to her.  Heather looks around somewhat disdainfully, picks up one of
Mirelle's vases and correctly analyzes its time period.  Heather and
Driscoll argue some more about who injured who, until Driscoll leaves. 
Heather is shown to a room by Mirelle.

	While Ahab is riding through Shadow, he comes across a Shadow path
and follows it to Heather's home.  He asks to see the owner of the house,
claiming that he's a relative.  Mebd asks for proof, which Ahab provides
by showing her his Trump deck.  She brings him to the library and goes
looking for Heather.  When she can't find her, she returns and asks if
he'd like to leave a message.  At this moment, Mebd is Trumped by Heather. 
She tries to leave the room to take the call, but Ahab recognizes that
she's getting a Trump contact and grabs her.  He insists that he talk to
the person who's Trumping her, but Mebd denies that she's getting the
call.  Heather senses Mebd's fear, tells her that she'll be there shortly,
and breaks the contact.  Ahab lets go of Mebd and heads for the sitting
room, which he had passed on his way in.  Mebd threatens to call the
constable and picks up a vase.  Ahab finds the bloodstains that Brand left
on the coach, and tells Mebd to go ahead and get the constable, he'd love
to hear the explanation she gives for the blood.  Heather Trumps Mebd to
stop her from throwing the vase (it is a valuable piece, after all).  Mebd
is afraid of the swords that Ahab is carrying and asks Heather to pull her
through.  Heather does so, then Trumps some other servants in her manor,
but is blocked from going through to them.  Left alone, Ahab investigates
the library.

	Driscoll arrives at Heather's manor.  Ahab recognizes Driscoll as
the man who beat him badly in Shadow, many years ago.  They talk about
that encounter.  Apparently Driscoll felt Ahab was making a mess of things
in his Shadow and decided to teach him a lesson.  Ahab asks who Driscoll
is.  Driscoll won't say, but he gives Benedict as a character witness. 
Ahab asks Driscoll about the owner of the house.  Driscoll says she's not
there, and erases the bloodstain from the coach.  Ahab insists on looking
for her, but Driscoll refuses to assist, so Ahab asks who's blood was on
the coach.  After some hedging, Driscoll admits it's Brand's.  Upon
hearing this news, Ahab wants to finish Brand off immediately, but
Driscoll insists that now is not a good time.  The two eventually leave
and go their separate ways.

	Back in Amber, Flora tells Felix to make sure that he keeps the
woman in sight if she shows up again, and leaves.  As soon as she is gone,
the woman reappears and asks if Felix is ready to go.  Felix tells her he
won't bring her to the Pattern, so she says she'll take him somewhere. 
Felix asks what her name is.  She asks him if he's civilized or
uncivilized.  Puzzled, he tells her he's civilized.  She reveals that her
name is Ariadne.  Felix kisses her hand.  She asks if he's sure he won't
take her to the Pattern.  When he refuses once more, she asks him to buy
her dinner at Bloody Jake's.  He agrees and she leaves.

	Felix Trumps Flora and tells her Ariadne's name and that he's
taking her to dinner.  Next, he heads down to the stables, where he runs
into Ahab.  Felix asks Ahab if he slept in the empty room.  Ahab avoids
answering the question.  Felix starts to leave, but overhears Ahab calling
him a "splendid little runt" under his breath.  He takes issue with Ahab
over the remark, calling Ahab a weasel.  Ariadne appears and asks how long
the two of them are going to fight.  Felix introduces her to Ahab.  When
Felix tells her that Ahab is uncivilized, she tells Ahab to call her
Spider.  Felix and Ariadne ride off.

	Heather Trumps Brand from her room.  Brand asks her if she's done
yet.  She tells him that she hasn't had a chance.  She asks him why she's
having so much trouble Trumping out of Mirelle's Shadow.  Brand tells her
that there's only one way in or out of the Shadow, and she'll have to ask
Mirelle or Driscoll to show it to her.  He tells her that Ahab knows about
her now, and offers to kill him in exchange for her killing Driscoll.  She
asks him to save her land, which is going to be foreclosed on soon.  He
promises to do so, but says that she'll owe him for the favor.  Ariana
passes by Heather's room during the Trump contact and hears Heather's half
of the conversation.

	Heather asks Mirelle if she minds Mebd's presence.  Mirelle says
it's not a problem.  Heather asks to be allowed to leave and get some more
servants.  Mirelle tells her that Driscoll said not to let her leave. 
Heather takes a knife and cutting board and tries to carve a Trump of
Driscoll, but he arrives at the villa only 20 minutes after she starts it. 
She complains to Driscoll about not being allowed to leave.  He tells her
that he can't guarantee her safety if he returns to her Shadow.  She
insists that she must go back, so he shows her the way to leave Mirelle's
Shadow.  Once clear of the Shadow, Heather uses a Trump of her study to
return home.  She sketches a Trump of Driscoll and tries to contact him
with it but can't get through.  Having taken care of things at home, she
Trumps Mebd and has her pull her back to the villa.  Mebd wants to go back
home, but Heather thinks it's too dangerous.

	Ariadne asks Felix if he trusts her.  When Felix tells her "No,"
she says she was afraid of that, and knocks him out.  When he regains
consciousness, he finds himself in a tower with black windows.  Ariadne
asks if he trusts her now, since she could have killed him but didn't. 
She gives him back his kilt pin, but not his Trump deck, and asks him to
tell her what's been going on in Amber.  He tells her about the day's
events .  She says Deirdre's arrest will piss Corwin off, and tells him
that Brand shot Corwin.  Felix asks her where he is, but she'll only say
that it's someplace safe.  She takes his hand and asks him if he'll be her
friend.  Somewhat miffed at being kidnapped, Felix points out that her
actions so far have not been very friendly.  Ariadne tells him that if she
is found in Amber, she could be killed.  Felix considers this, and agrees
to be her friend.  When she hears this, Ariadne concentrates and
transports them both to Mirelle's villa.  Ariadne introduces Felix to
Mirelle, who clearly doesn't know how to handle this unexpected visitor. 
Both Heather and Ariana hear the commotion in the courtyard and come out
to investigate.  Ariadne sniffs Heather and says that she doesn't smell
right.  Ariana, Heather and Felix talk while Mirelle goes inside to get
some food.

	Ahab eats dinner in his quarters, since he doesn't feel like
dealing with the rest of the family after what happened to Deirdre.  After
dinner, he Trumps Benedict to find out Driscoll's name.  Benedict tells
him not to worry about Driscoll.

	At breakfast the next morning, Isabeux mentions that she's worried
about Felix, since he isn't there.  Ahab tells her that he last saw Felix
with Ariadne.  Isabeux asks him to check and make sure Felix is OK.  Ahab
pulls out his deck and Trumps Felix.  Felix excuses himself from the
others and takes the call.  Ahab asks what he's been up to.  Felix starts
to tell him, but he only manages to mention that Ariadne knocked him out,
before Ariadne tells him not to say any more.  After determining that
Felix is OK, Ahab breaks the contact.

	Driscoll appears next to Felix and asks who the call was from. 
He's not too happy to learn that it was Ahab.  Ariana warns Driscoll
privately about what she overheard Heather saying to Brand.  Driscoll
warns her to be careful that Heather doesn't catch her spying.  Heather
gets a Trump call from Brand telling her to hurry up.  Driscoll tells
Felix that he'll have to leave and escorts him out.  He tells Felix to
talk to Benedict if he has any questions.  When Driscoll returns, Ariana
asks him why he brought Heather to the villa, if he knows that she can't
be trusted.  Driscoll answers that he thinks it's the best way to keep an
eye on her.  Ariana doesn't seem convinced.

	Heather asks to speak privately with Driscoll.  Ariana follows
them as they leave.  Heather tries to make psychic contact with Driscoll
by touching him, but she can't get through.  She takes Driscoll to the top
of a hill, so she can be sure that no one else is within earshot, and they
talk.  Apparently, both of them shared a dream in which Heather fed
Driscoll's clasp a sugar cube.  Driscoll asks Heather why Brand was in her
home.  She tells him that Brand is her father.  Then she takes his
sunglasses off, and looks into his eyes.  She tells him that Brand wanted
her to take his mind and pats his cheek.

	Heather leaves, and Ariana emerges from hiding.  She asks Driscoll
what happened.  He tells her, and she asks him why he risked his life that
way.  He says it was a test of Heather, but Ariana doesn't think it was a
very smart one.  On their way back, Ariana tries one of Driscoll's
cigarettes, much to Driscoll's amusement.

	Felix realizes that he never got his Trump deck back from Ariadne,
so he sails out on his yacht and screams at the top of his lungs for her
to return them.  When this yields no results, he returns home.  He finds a
note from Isabeux, telling him that she's gone to the summer estate and
Gerard is busy doing something for Eric.  Felix slips a note of his own
under Benedict's door, explaining that Ariadne has his Trump deck and he'd
like it back.

	Ahab visits Deirdre, who urges him to find Corwin.  He tells
Julian that he's leaving, and says to come looking for him if he's still
gone by Sunday dinner.  With this taken care of, he sets off.  After
riding for a while, he comes across a castle surrounded by armies.  He
approaches and is allowed to pass by the armies.  He tells the guards at
the Castle gate that he is Ahab of Amber, and after a while he is taken to
see Corwin and Bleys.  After introducing himself as Deirdre's son, he
tells them that Deirdre is Eric's prisoner and that she sent him looking
for Corwin.  He also tells them of Brand's recent behavior, and that he
does not support Eric as Lord Protector.  Corwin asks if Deirdre is being
treated decently.  Ahab says she is.  Corwin and Bleys leave for a while
to confer.  Eventually, Corwin returns and suggests that Ahab not return
to Amber too quickly.