Chapter Thirty

	After they appear in the main hall, Heather takes a few steps
forward and faints.  Ahab drops the Trump trap off with Random, picks
Heather up, and brings her to the infirmary.  Ariana goes there as well,
to have her shoulder tended to.  Ahab deposits Heather on a bed and
leaves.  Heather decides sleep is in order.  Ariana has the quarrel
removed from her shoulder.  Brand smiles at her grimace of pain.  She asks
him how his spine is mending.

	Alex goes to Mebd's room, but no one answers his knock.  The door
is unlocked so he looks inside, but it is empty.

	Felix goes to his room.  Shortly afterwards, there is a loud
knock.  Gerard comes in and gives him a bear hug.  Felix tells him that he
almost died on the mission.  Gerard looks concerned and suggests some ice
for the bruises on Felix's neck.  He also reassures Felix that Mirelle was
lying, explaining that he got her to confess that she made the story up,
and showed her why that wasn't a good idea.  Gerard says he is sure Felix
is his child, and more importantly, Isabeux is sure.  He says that Isabeux
will be by later to talk to Felix.

	Ahab goes to Deirdre's room.  She notes that he has his riding
clothes on and says that she's leaving.  He can return after helping her,
but she doesn't intend to.  Ahab suggests it might be better to wait a few
days for things to clear up after Rygat's defeat.  Deirdre tells him that
she isn't going far, and notes that most of the mess is off towards Chaos,
anyway.  Ahab makes a few more attempts to talk her out of it while he
helps her pack.  Noticing how thin she is, he suggests getting some hand
weights.  She just looks at him and twines her finger in his hair.  He
comments that she wouldn't treat the hired help this way.  She replies
that she gave him life, so he owes her something.  Ahab comments that it
took her 800 years to make up her mind about that.  Deirdre suggests he
not make her regret her decision.

	Alex goes to see Random.  He is told that Random is in an
audience, and he'll have to wait.  Alex nods and stands there, making the
page uncomfortable.  He tries to use the Logrus to see who's with Random,
but the tendril is cut off.  Alex looks amused, making the page even more
uncomfortable.

	Mandor walks into the infirmary, still suffering from a hangover. 
He carefully sits down by Heather's bedside and waits for her to wake up.

	Gramble, Despil, Suhuy and Bleys leave Random's quarters.  Bleys
looks disappointed to see Alex.  Alex tells Bleys that he hopes it wasn't
too crowded where he went, since people seem to be dropping off like
flies.  Bleys says it wasn't.  Alex asks if Bleys saw a dog there,
commenting that Shard always seems to have trouble with Shadow.  Alex is
told he can go in to see Random now.

	Alex checks that Ahab has returned the Trump trap, and expresses
surprise that Gramble and the others haven't left yet.  Random says they
have hired Benedict to help them.  Reassured that everything is OK, Alex
is preparing to leave when Random tells him that the position of senior
ambassador has been vacated by Mandor, leaving the position to Alex.  It
seems that Mandor will be the new Crown Prince, assuming that Gramble
wins, and Mandor doesn't get himself killed.

	Heather wakes up and sees Mandor sitting next to her.  She
comments that this is much better than the last time she was here.  He
points out that he wasn't in Amber the last time.  She suggests that they
take a walk, so they leave, with Mandor walking very carefully.  Heather
can tell that he has a splitting headache.  They walk very slowly outside
and away from the Castle.  Eventually, they find a bench and sit down,
with Mandor doing so very stiffly.  Heather asks if she did this to him. 
He claims that he did this to himself.  He says that time is not on their
side right now, and that he must wait a while before giving a reply to her
letter.  Heather asks him to write.  He agrees, and says the separation
won't be long for her.  She's not sure that will be true, since she's
thinking of returning to Bedlam, and isn't sure what the time difference
is.  Mandor is looking rather uncomfortable, so she offers to help him
back to his room.  He accepts her offer, but asks her to go slower this
time.

	Ahab decides to surprise Deirdre by taking her down to the stables
via Pattern transport.  Deirdre turns pale and asks how he learned that. 
He says he learned it the hard way.  She asks him to promise to stay away
from Dworkin.  He requires an explanation.  Her eyes narrow, and she
informs him that it's not a request.  Ahab stops saddling the horse and
remarks that after 45 years, she still thinks she can give him orders. 
She claims she'll stop, if he promises her this one last thing.  He asks
what the alternative is.  She says he doesn't want to know.  He says he
doesn't like limits being placed on him.  She comments that they were
getting along so well.  Ahab replies that they always get along, as long
as he doesn't think.  Deirdre looks most displeased with him.  She tells
him to saddle her horse and then she will leave.  Ahab responds that the
correct way to talk to someone refusing your orders is not to give them
more orders.  She begins to thumb through her Trump deck.  She is upset
that he won't trust her in this.  He says he trusts her, but he doesn't
think her decision is the one he'd make if he knew all the facts.  He asks
if Dworkin should be considered a threat.  She says yes.  He asks if
Dworkin threatens her as well as him.  She points out that Dworkin was
responsible for her condition.  All she wants is for him to avoid Dworkin. 
Ahab wants to reason with Dworkin.  Deirdre argues that he's not rational,
so reasoning won't work.  She is fighting back tears at this point.  Ahab
agrees to avoid Dworkin, unless he thinks he can get away with it, but
Deirdre's still not happy.  She does agree to let him help her to a place
in Shadow.  Ahab says that killing Dworkin would be bad, because even if
he succeeds, everyone will be after him for taking away the Pattern. 
Deirdre suggests that killing Dworkin might not turn off the Pattern, and
says that it might be worth killing him to find out.  She has a very
dangerous look in her eye as she says this.  She asks one more favor of
Ahab, namely that he not tell his father the truth.  Ahab says Corwin's
mind is fragile enough as it is.  Deirdre allows him to put her on the
horse and directs him through Arden.

	Ariana goes to Dworkin's lab and knocks.  When no one answers, she
tries the door, but it is locked.  The second door is also.  Since she
doesn't know how to pick locks, she gives up and goes to the library.

	Alex goes to his room and uses the Logrus to look for the Grimoire
that he lost when his head exploded.  He spends all afternoon trying to
find it.

	Felix wakes up and goes looking for Driscoll or Ariadne.  He finds
Ariadne in her room, which is quite a mess.  She's cutting her hair with
giant scissors and asks him to help.  He tells her he'd like a sword and
wants her help in finding one.  She suggests they walk to it, after
stopping by the kitchen for some food.  After stealing lots of sweets from
the kitchen, she Trumps him to a bizarre Shadow and asks what kind of a
sword he wants.  She says the trick is to visualize the sword in as much
detail as he can.  The more detail, the better his chances of finding it. 
Once he has it firmly in mind, he should start walking.  She says she'll
follow behind to make sure he won't be eaten.  They start walking.  He has
some trouble, since he's never walked to something specific before.  After
a while, she tells him to squint, since he's paying too much attention to
the details.  After walking for another two hours, they stumble across a
rather decrepit and abandoned churchyard.  Ariadne points to a large,
two-handed sword stuck in a stone.  After looking around to make sure no
one else is there, Felix draws the sword from the stone.  The only
reaction comes from Ariadne, who starts to clap.  Felix says the sword
looks like what he wanted.  Ariadne says she hopes it's not cursed, which
almost makes him drop it.  They Trump back to Amber.

	Deirdre takes Ahab along an overgrown path through Arden.  Ahab
surmises that she is trying to avoid Julian.  He asks how she'd feel about
him making time with a sorceress from Chaos.  She asks who he has his eye
on.  He won't say, which she finds rather chivalrous.  He asks if this
means she won't kill him.  She points out that she'd hardly go through so
much effort to preserve his life if she wanted to kill him.  He asks if
she's sure she doesn't want to say good-bye to Julian.  She says not until
she can stand so he can kiss her ass.  Once they are clear of Arden, she
begins shifting Shadow.  Eventually, they wind up on a Shadow much like
Shadow Earth, except the technology is better.  She leads him to an
isolated place, similar to the moors of England.  Ahab comments that he
likes the mood.  She says it's in his blood.  They quickly come across a
mid-sized house.  She directs him around the back and tells him where to
find the key.  He carries her into the house and places her in the waiting
wheelchair.  She thanks him for his assistance and tells him he's free to
go do his sorceress.  He says he plans on flirting with her first, and
asks if she'll be answering Trump calls.  She says she will if she
recognizes the call.  He says his will be the weakest, which makes her
smile.  She comments that he takes after his father that way.  She asks
him again not to tell Corwin about that, since she knows Corwin won't
figure it out on his own.  He reassures her that he won't, gives her a
quick hug, and rides off.

	Heather finally manages to get Mandor back to his room, after a
pit stop.  He says that he really can't stay much longer.  She figures she
deserves it.  Mandor frowns, but says he's glad she was smiling when she
said that.  She says she's returning to Bedlam to get some help.  He asks
if he can use the letter in installments.  He has one request of her,
which is for her to be happy with herself.  Heather asks if he couldn't
have suggested something easier, like making Jasra pleasant.  Mandor says
he's quite happy with what he asked for, and begins to pack.  Heather
frowns when she sees he's taking his sword with him.  He gives her a kiss
to remember him by, and Trumps out.

	Heather decides to see how Brand is doing in the infirmary.  She
finds him reading a book, so she takes it away from him.  He raises an
eyebrow until she holds it for him, at which point he frowns and says
that's unnecessary.  She insists.  He asks why she's being nice to him,
and then apologizes, saying that Jasra's been keeping an eye on him.  He
asks how she is.  She says she'll get over it.  He disagrees, then decides
maybe that's not helping.  She asks if she'll wind up with a weight on her
if she isn't careful.  He doesn't think she'd survive the experience, and
asks how the smarmy bitch is doing, anyway.  Heather doesn't know, so he
asks her to find out.  She asks why the pages can't do that, but it turns
out that the last one who came near Brand still thinks he's a chicken. 
Heather looks displeased by this.  Brand also asks her to tell Gerard he's
a big bully.  She asks why she should risk winding up back in the
infirmary.  He says that Gerard had been told that Brand might be Felix's
father.  Brand found the idea rather distasteful.  He continues to press
her to find out what's happening to Mirelle for him, causing her to put
the book down out of his reach and leave.  A little while later, Brand
Trumps her and apologizes, saying he might have been out of line.  He asks
her to put the book back.  She says she's rather busy, but she'll do so
when she has the time.  She goes down to the dungeons and checks on
Mirelle, who is in a straight-jacket, staring at the wall and singing
softly to herself.  Heather doesn't bother to pass this information on to
Brand.

	Ariana can't find what she's looking for in the library, so she
tries to Trump Dworkin.  No such luck.  She arranges a meeting with
Random.

	Felix goes to Flora's room and knocks.  She looks much better,
having covered up most of her injuries with makeup, but she is still
missing her hair.  Felix tells her he's thinking of going to school in
Shadow again.  She is delighted by this, and mentions that Merlin was by
earlier that morning thinking about the same thing.  Felix is put out,
since he'd been thinking of this for a while and he feels like he's being
copied.  Flora suggests they might find it fun to go together.

	Ariana asks Gerard for some help about going to school in Shadow. 
Since she was raised in such a primitive Shadow, he suggests starting slow
and working her way up.  He also suggests not asking too many questions. 
Flora is mentioned as another person to talk to, so Ariana goes to see
her.  She agrees that Ariana should start off slowly.  She makes a few
suggestions, and then passes Ariana off to Driscoll, who's had experience
with this.  Ariana also asks Driscoll to help enhance her sword and armor.

	Ahab borrows Greyswandir for a visit to Tir-na Nog'th.  Corwin
offers to be his ground observer.  Ahab's first question involves what
went wrong between Corwin and Deirdre.  It turns out that their friendship
evolved into something more, until Deirdre got pregnant.  When she found
out, she got very cold and shut Corwin out.  She tried at least once to
abort Ahab, but failed.  At the very end, she returned to Amber, and
decided Ramon was a convenient dupe to be Ahab's father.  The duel between
Corwin and Ramon happened as Ahab was told.  Ahab asks how Dworkin fits
into all this and finds, with some effort, that Dworkin terrorized Deirdre
on her return, threatening to kill Ahab before he was even born.  It seems
that he feared Ahab for some reason.  Ahab also learns that Dworkin is
indeed the one who shot Deirdre.  Ahab asks what happened to Random when
Rygat attacked him.  He sees Random get hit and a red glow pulse on his
chest.  Finally, Ahab asks what would happen if Corwin found out that he
was Ahab's father.  There is a rapid play of visions, the gist of which is
that Corwin accepts him, and is sorry he didn't have more of a role in his
youth, but Deirdre kills herself.  At this point, Corwin Trumps Ahab and
says he has about five seconds until daylight, so Ahab comes through.  He
asks if Corwin has any plans.  Corwin says he doesn't, and suggests going
downtown to talk over breakfast.

	In the wee hours of the next morning, Alex finally locates the
Grimoire in a loose wallboard in Mandor's room.  He retrieves it, but
finds nothing else of interest with it.  He studies the Grimoire and
finally learns enough to understand Sorcery.  He is very tired by this
time and goes to sleep.

	The next morning, Alex drops by to see Mebd.  She is depressed
because Heather and Mary have left.  Alex offers to take her to breakfast. 
She makes a comment about not wanting to go down to the dining hall.  Alex
says that she can always have the food brought up to her, and demonstrates
by ordering a page to get breakfast for two.  He tells her that he's been
promoted, and asks if she's seen Heather since she returned.  Mebd says
Heather went back to the Shadow that Mary is from.  She thinks it's a bit
too advanced for her, and likes Amber better.  Alex tells her that he'll
be away for a short period, but when he returns he has something to
discuss with her.  However, he won't discuss it in Amber.  Mebd says she'd
have to let her mother know, and would need an escort for it to be proper.

	Dworkin reappears in Amber, but he's acting unusual, even for him. 
He seems to be avoiding the rest of the family, ducking out of sight and
locking himself in his lab.  Knocks on his door are answered with "There's
no one here."

	Ahab goes into Shadow to get a book and have some jewelry made. 
He stresses that the jewelry must be perfect and returns to Amber.  He
goes to see Flora and asks how she's doing.  She says she's not sure she's
all right at all, but doesn't want anyone else to know.  She asks if he's
familiar with the Nazis.  It turns out that Rygat put her in a warped
version of Nazi Germany, where people with blonde hair and blue eyes were
being exterminated.  Ahab says he'll have to see if Heather can up the
pain quotient on Rygat.  Flora says they must go walking sometime.  He
says he'll be leaving in a few weeks, so it will have to be soon.  He says
he's thinking of learning how to be a blacksmith.  They talk about
Mirelle.  He mentions that, lately, every time he gets mad at someone,
they either turn out not so bad, or someone else gets them first.  She
wishes him luck.  He says he'll be in touch and leaves.

	Ariana asks Ahab let her observe psychically when he uses his
Pattern teleport trick, but he says he can't without breaking a
confidence.  She asks what he can tell her.  He says that walking the
Pattern repeatedly helped.  She asks if he had Dworkin's help.  He says
no, and asks if Dworkin's around.  She says he has been, but he's acting
rather paranoid.  Ahab tells her that he thinks Dworkin wants to kill him
and Deirdre.  He asks if she'll tell him if Dworkin's attitude changes
when he leaves Amber.  She says she will, if he leaves before she does. 
They discuss each other's future plans.  He asks if she's sure she wants
to learn who her parents are.  She says she isn't sure anymore, and asks
if he knows of any female Amberites with hazel eyes.  He grimaces, and
wants to know if she's asking due to a vision.  She says this is based on
a memory, and asks who he's thought of.  He says the only person he knows
of is Mirelle.  They talk for a while longer.  Ahab asks her to pass along
a message to Dworkin when she sees him.  He wants to know if Dworkin's
willing to talk to him through an intermediary.  She agrees and asks for
his assistance in reforging her sword.

	Ariana reforges her sword, with Ahab's help, a few days later. 
She contacts Driscoll, who comments that people seem to be racking up
favors to him, but he smiles as he says that.  He has a new pair of
sunglasses that only get dark in bright light.  Ariana asks him some
questions about Mirelle, and learns that Mirelle is the one who told him
where to find her and Heather.  Mirelle is also the one who found
Driscoll.  They succeed in enchanting her sword and armor, so that they
are sharper and harder, respectively.

	Ahab hands Fiona a present as an apology for shooting her.  She
tells him it wasn't necessary.  She opens the box, smiles at the engraved
bracelet inside, and says he is more observant than she gave him credit
for.  He asks her for advice about the Dworkin problem.  She advises him
not to be in the same room with Dworkin, if he values his life.  For the
most part, she doubts Dworkin will have the guts.  Ahab asks what he's
afraid of.  Fiona says that Ahab is still the blood of Amber, and Dworkin
fears the Unicorn.  She adds that Dworkin is terribly afraid of Ahab, so
he's taking it out on Deirdre.  She thinks this is odd, since Ahab can't
affect Dworkin currently.  Ahab asks what she means by this, but she
pleads a pressing engagement.

	As Ahab exits the room, he sees Kimdyl walking down the hall while
reading a book of poetry.  Ahab lets her get within three inches of him
before he clears his throat.  She is quite startled and puts the book
away.  He asks if she's enjoying her stay.  She says that Alex is a bit of
a downer, since he thinks she has an ulterior motive for staying.  Ahab
says he'll have to think up something for her to tell Alex.  He asks her
out to dinner.  She asks what she should wear.  He arranges to meet her at
5:30.  When he arrives, she is wearing a black, sequined, form-fitting
dress that ends just above her knees.  Ahab is suitably impressed.  She
gives him a winning smile and asks if this is better.  He says he hopes
the maitre d' can stop staring long enough to seat them, which causes her
to blush.

	Ariana has her meeting with Random.  She asks if he knows where
Lord Vetch is, but he has no idea.  She chews him out for not telling her
about Martin/Vetch and storms out of the room.  She asks Alex about Vetch
next.  He knows where Vetch's estate lies, but doesn't think that will
help.  He figures Vetch is either in hiding or fighting against Gramble. 
He does promise to let her know if Vetch turns up.

	Ahab has his way with Kimdyl.

	Ariana walks the Pattern and tries using its energies to enhance
her memory, but blacks out.  She wakes up after some time has passed, with
no recollection of what happened.  She says "I suppose this means 'No,'
doesn't it?", and is surprised when the Pattern sparks in return.  Further
questions elicit no response, so she transports herself to the Primal
Pattern.  She appears in the center of it and tries again, attempting to
be more careful this time.  No such luck, she blacks out again.  She wakes
up to find Dworkin standing over her.  He says he thought only Ahab was
that stupid.  She allows that Ahab may have been a bad influence.  She
tells him she wanted to find out who her parents are.  He says that's not
the way.  She asks if he knows a better one, but he won't say.  She asks
if he'll teach her about the Pattern.  He asks what she offers in return. 
She asks what he wants.  He says he'll think about it, and asks her to
leave.  She tells him of Ahab's request.  Dworkin gets an evil look and
asks where Ahab is.  Ariana claims she doesn't know.  Dworkin says to tell
Ahab to arrange a meeting.

	Alex returns to Amber and tells Mebd that it's time to go.  She
Trumps Heather and tells her that Alex is taking her somewhere, and she's
talking Colleen with her.  Heather approves.  Mebd uses another Trump and
pulls through Colleen, a fifteen year-old with black hair.  Alex has the
pages carry the luggage down to a cart, and they set off.  Alex asks Mebd
how she thinks they travel.  She says she's never really thought about it. 
When they reach their destination, Alex turns to her and says he must be
frank.

	Ariana tells Ahab about her encounter with Dworkin and urges Ahab
to stay away from him.  Ahab says he is hoping to persuade another power
to interfere.  He also tells her he's ending their relationship.  Ariana
doesn't look surprised.  She offers to assist him if he needs her help,
and gives him a Trump sketch of herself.  Ahab mentions that he's decided
to stay in Amber, due to its proximity to the Pattern, his beloved
relatives, and other considerations.  He asks how her parental search is
going, and offers to help.  Ariana tells him she's tempted to just have
the Pattern transport her to her Amber parent.  Ahab thinks this is a
rather risky idea.  Ariana also tells him of her lack of success in
tracking down Vetch.  Ahab asks her to tell him if she gets a lead on
Vetch, since he owes Vetch for screwing up the attempt to free Dworkin.

	Six months pass in Amber.  During this time, Benedict and Eric
fight with Gramble's forces in Chaos.  Corwin and Fiona disappear.  Brand
leaves with Jasra and Rinaldo.  Bleys and Llewella show up occasionally. 
Caine, Julian, Gerard, Flora and Random remain in Amber.  Gerard starts
treating Mirelle with psychotherapy.  The Jewel of Judgment reappears and
gunpowder stops working in Amber.

	In Bedlam, Heather receives a white rose from a black raven every
Friday, like clockwork.  Mandor Trumps occasionally and says that Benedict
is a great help in the war effort.  He says that the war is going well and
should be over in a year or so.  Heather learns that she is pregnant, but
does not tell him.  Mandor thinks she's hiding something, but can't tell
what it is.  She starts seeing a therapist and seems to be making
progress.  Then there comes a day when the raven doesn't come on Friday. 
She Trumps Driscoll and asks him to find out what happened.

	Flora sets Felix up at UCLA, where he competes in Grecco-Roman
wrestling.  His coach is very enthusiastic about him, making comments
about sending him to the Olympics.  After his first term ends, Merlin
invites him up to Berkeley.  When Felix gets there, they hop into the car
and head for the coast.  Merlin says he's buying a boat, and he'd like
Felix to help him pick it out and learn to sail it.  Merlin picks up the
sport rather quickly.

	Heather gets a Trump call from Driscoll, who tells her that Mandor
is all right.  He says that Gramble won the war, but Mandor was wounded. 
She asks how bad.  He says it's not good, and offers to trade places with
her.  After pulling her through, he gives her a comforting look and Trumps
out.  Despil notices that Heather is five months pregnant, but hides his
reaction well.  He takes Heather to Mandor's tent.  Mandor looks pale,
like he's lost a lot of blood, and his left leg is bandaged up to his hip. 
Heather hurries over to his bedside.  Gramble is also there, and notices
her condition.  Mandor is unconscious.  Heather sits down next to the bed
and looks at Gramble for an explanation.  Gramble says that sorcery duels
can often be nasty.  It seems that Rygat was training a successor, and
Mandor had the bad luck to discover her first.  Gramble says that Mandor
accounted himself well.  Heather feels that has a futile sound to it.

	Mandor wakes up four to five hours later.  He looks pleased to see
Heather.  She comments that they seem to have reversed their positions. 
He asks if she's happy.  She says she was, until this.  She tells him that
they've won, which gives him a relieved look.  Then she drops the
bombshell of her pregnancy on him.  He seems happy and nervous at the same
time.  She says she didn't tell him earlier because she didn't want to
distract him.  He asks if it's all right with her.  She points out that
she's the one who told him to "put the tails back on."

	Mandor slowly heals, but he has taxed himself to the point where
he's frozen in his current shape, and must walk with a cane.  He asks
Heather to return to Bedlam, where it's safer.  She tries to get him to
come with her, but he insists that he'll be fine.  He also suggests that
she might consider going to Amber, but Heather's not enthusiastic about
that idea.

	Heather gives Ahab a Trump of Corwin's Pattern.  When he isn't
hanging out with Kimdyl, he spends his time walking that Pattern (which he
calls the Rose), and practicing teleporting and orienting himself in
Shadow.  Ahab discovers that Corwin has been spending a lot of time at the
Rose.  Not only has he been talking to his own Pattern ghost, but Ahab's
as well.  Ahab's ghost tells Corwin that he is his father.  When Ahab asks
his ghost why, he says it seemed like a good idea at the time.  Ahab
suggests that maybe Dworkin only needs to kill one of them.  Ahab's ghost
thinks that Ahab is as nasty as he is.

	At the end of the six months, Ahab returns to Amber one day to
find Kimdyl looking rather unhappy.  When he asks what's wrong, she tells
him that she is pregnant.  Ahab says he thought she'd taken care of that. 
She says she did, but it obviously didn't work.  Not knowing what else to
say, he says "Mom" and hugs her.  This causes her to start crying.

	Felix returns to Amber just in time to intrude on this touching
scene.  Ahab calls him Uncle.  It takes a while, but Felix eventually
figures out what Ahab's talking about.  While he's still adjusting to that
shock, he hears someone call his name.  Kimdyl stiffens at the voice. 
Ahab looks and sees a short woman with long black hair and green eyes
standing behind Felix.  There is a child of about ten standing next to
her.  Felix recognizes the voice as belonging to Murine, a Shadow woman he
had loved and lost while in school.  He turns around and asks what she's
doing there.  She runs into his arms and asks his forgiveness, saying she
had no idea.  Ahab asks who she is.  Kimdyl says she used to be on Rygat's
side.  Felix says she's not supposed to know about Amber.  She tells him
that she lied.  Felix realizes that she's not really from New Orleans. 
Ahab decides he's had enough shocks for one night and Trumps out with
Kimdyl.

	Murine tells Felix she's sorry.  He asks what she did, then
notices the child for the first time.  The boy is staring at him rather
intently.  Murine says the biggest mistake she made was falling in love
with him.  She says she had to leave him, because they told her to.  He
learns that she used to belong to a small force in Chaos that bears Amber
ill-will.  She claims meeting Felix caused her to leave them.  Felix still
doesn't understand what she's talking about.  He notices that the boy has
one green eye, and one brown eye.  Murine tells him the child is his son,
Foster.  She adds that if her former comrades know he's in Amber, they'll
kill him.  She calls Foster over to her and introduces him to Felix, who
is leaning up against a wall for support at this point.  Foster looks
confused and not quite willing to believe her.  Murine asks Felix to watch
Foster while she covers their trail through Shadow.  He asks why they want
Foster dead.  She says they have a plan for all of the half-breeds.  He
tells her to do what she must, but they need to talk further about this. 
She says she'll be back as soon as she can.  She tells Foster that she has
to leave for a while, and he'll have to stay in Amber with Felix.  Foster
says he thought his father was dead.  Felix asks who told him that. 
Foster says his grandmother did.  Murine says he must listen to Felix. 
Foster says he's not supposed to be in Amber, since they'll kill him. 
Murine tells him that's not true.  Foster asks if this means he's not
supposed to serve the Serpent.  Murine says he must serve himself.  Felix
makes an incoherent remark about being Trumped by the Serpent.  Murine
tells him to pull himself together.  She tells Foster once more to listen
to Felix, and leaves.

	Ahab brings Kimdyl to his quarters and asks her to marry him.  She
asks if it's because she's pregnant.  He tells her that's partially it. 
She asks him to wait until he's changed a few diapers.  He says that he's
had a blast with her all year, and he doesn't want his child to grow up
without parents.  She doesn't think it's fair to them, and wants to be
sure of his motives.  He says that if he hadn't liked her, he would have
used her and discarded her.  She asks for some time to think about it.

<- Back to the Log list