Chapter Forty-six: "Are You Feeling Threatened?" Alex wakes up and still feels like shit. He casts Weaken Structure on his shackles, and pulls them loose. He tries to bring the Logrus to mind and falls unconscious. When he wakes up, he tries to make it look like he's still shackled and rests. Sand walks in some time later. She points out that she came by earlier when he was unconscious, so she knows he's freed himself. She hangs a pendant on the wall, in case he gets a little more clever. He asks if he can take a walk. She tells him her puppies could use the exercise. She asks if he's feeling threatened. He tells her he's used to this from Amberites. She says she'll drop in later and leaves. Alex examines the pendant and determines that the stone is a white opal about the size of the Jewel of Judgment. He casts Process Surge on the pendant and is blinded by a bright flash of light. In the living room of the summer house, everyone waits for Foster to remove the spell on Felix. Foster concentrates for a while, to the point that he stops breathing. He is partially successful at removing the spell, making Felix aware but unable to speak or move. Ariana makes psychic contact with Felix and finds out what happened to him. He and Riftvan were in Chaos looking for the plant Riftvan had told him about, when Foster showed up. Felix was unable to send him home, so they continued. He Trumped Eric to let him know they were in the area. He remembers that Foster was tugging on his pant leg, then nothing. Ariana tells Felix that Foster was probably responsible for what happened, and that he's taken the Logrus. Felix is understandably upset. Ahab touches Felix and starts bringing the Pattern to mind. It hurts Felix. Ariana tells Ahab this, so he stops. Foster goes out to the beach. Ahab follows and tries to convince him to come back inside. Gerard convinces Bleys to come through. Eric does not look happy to see Bleys and leaves the room. Bleys suggests Ariana get a drink for Felix, because he's going to need it. She gets one for Bleys as well. Bleys releases the spell and Felix collapses to the floor. Both of them down their drinks. Bleys looks at Felix, decides he doesn't want to hang around, and Trumps out. Ariana tells Felix that he has reason to be angry, but Foster does seem to be genuinely upset by what he did. She also points out that Foster has spent most of his life in Chaos, and they probably have different attitudes about this sort of thing. She asks him to at least listen to Foster. Felix asks her for the bottle the drink came from. Ahab brings Foster in. He asks Foster to wait in the hall for a moment while he talks to Felix. He asks Felix to hear Foster out. Ariana finds Foster in the hall as she's returning with the bottle of brandy. He looks very nervous. She tells Foster that Felix is feeling betrayed and advises him to tell the truth. Ahab finishes talking with Felix and motions Foster to come in. Felix questions Foster about what happened. Foster claims not to remember most of it. He blames it on the Logrus madness. Ariana looks at Ahab to see how much of this is true. Ahab studiously avoids showing any expression. Ariana draws her own conclusions and does not look happy with Foster. Felix tells Foster he wants to see Vetch and get some answers. He adds that those answers had better coincide with what he hears from Ahab, Ariana and Eric. Foster nods. He's holding onto the chair and white-knuckling it. Felix suggests Foster go out and play. Foster is gone like a shot. Ariana gives Felix the bottle and leaves. Gerard frowns. Felix asks if Gerard has a problem. Gerard says that it's Felix who has the problem and leaves as well. Ariana walks out to the beach and looks for Foster, but there's no sign of him. She senses the recent use of Logrus in the area and follows its trail. It leads through shadow, out past the Golden Circle. Ahab talks to Felix and reminds him that Foster grew up in House Vetch, where things are probably very different. Felix is upset that Foster didn't answer most of his questions. Ahab admits that Foster didn't lie, but he didn't tell the truth, either. He suggests that Felix give Foster one more chance to come clean. Felix agrees, but says he expects Ahab to tell him what happened if Foster doesn't. Ahab thinks that's fair. Ahab gets a Trump call from Kimdyl, asking where Nicholas is. Ahab tells her the baby is with Isabeux. He asks if she's still upset. She claims she's taken care of that. Ahab says they'll talk soon. Ariana Trumps Felix and tells him where Foster's heading. She asks whether he wants to find Foster or let him go. Felix says he'd need to walk the Pattern to find Foster. Ariana tells him she can trace the Logrus trail Foster left behind. Heather gets a psychic image of the Keep of Four Worlds from Jasra and begins drawing a Trump of it. Brand Trumps her and asks how the Star is getting on. Heather says she doesn't talk to it much, since it keeps insisting she walk it. Brand wants to know what she's up to. Heather points out that he's never much cared before. Brand claims he's bored out of his mind and her Trump was on the top of his pile. She asks how the knitting is coming. Brand says it's almost done. Know all he has to do is lose Benedict. Heather asks if that won't make Benedict even more upset when he finds Brand. Brand says he doesn't like being under house arrest. He asks what she's hiding from him. Heather plays innocent. Brand asks how his granddaughter is doing. Heather says she was complaining about the service this morning. Brand asks if she's no longer putting out. Heather says it was a joke, and she doesn't want to pursue it. Heather and Brand exchange a few barbs. She asks what he's so pleased about. He claims there's nothing in particular and asks how Rinaldo is doing. She says she gave him to someone more responsible. Brand asks who and pulls the information from her mind. He also tells her that there are some precautions he thought of after bathing in the Fount of Power that might help lessen the insanity one experiences afterwards. Heather is relieved that he won't stop her. Brand warns her to look out for Bleys and Fiona. Heather says she's more worried about Dworkin. Brand tells her that Deirdre killed Dworkin. Heather is rather shocked. She's surprised that the Pattern is OK, since she thought they were linked. Brand tells her that the Pattern would hardly have let Deirdre kill Dworkin unless it wanted him dead. Heather asks for Brand's information on the Fount. Brand offers to give her all his notes if she gets Benedict to leave him alone. Heather points out that Benedict isn't pleased with her, due to the Caine incident. Brand feels she should be more worried about Caine. He points out that he can't give her his notes until he leaves Amber, which he can't do until Benedict is less watchful. He breaks the contact. Mebd wanders mournfully by. Heather asks her to come in. She tells Mebd to sit up straight and points out that Mebd's the one who called the wedding off. Mebd sobs that it was only to save Alex's reputation and cries onto Heather's shoulder. After five minutes, Heather moves Mebd off of her shoulder and gives her something to dry her eyes. She asks if Mebd talked it over with Alex beforehand. Mebd replies that Chaos is his home, and she can't do that to him. She says she'll wait, and if he contacts her, he really loves her, and if he doesn't, he doesn't. Heather tells Mebd that she's setting herself up, and Heather won't have that. Mebd asks what she's supposed to do then and starts crying again. Heather says she's going to talk to Alex's mother, then him, and they'll work something out. Mebd looks hopeful. Heather tells her to get cleaned up. Mandor walks in after Mebd leaves and comments that maybe they should have had a son. Heather tells him of Brand's request. Mandor says he could keep Caine busy, but he won't bother Benedict, even for her. Alex tries Process Snuff on the pendant, and is blinded by another flash from the jewel. Weaken Structure on the door also produces a flash. Alex holds the pendant and tries shapeshifting. No luck there, but he begins to feel a presence psychically. It starts out slow but builds in intensity, eventually resolving into an image of an emaciated man with dark blond hair and green eyes. He asks what Alex is doing here. Alex says he came looking for Delwin. Delwin points out this was a bad choice. Alex tends to agree. He notes that Auntie Sand is not the best hostess. Delwin calls her a power- mongering bitch. He advises Alex not to cast any spells around the pendant. He says he can't keep this up for long without being noticed, but he'll see if he can help. Alex doesn't hold out much hope. The contact fades. Sand arrives with a couple of wolves. She tells Alex it's time to find out what he knows. He warns her she'll be disappointed. She advances on him. He closes his eyes, sets off the pendent, and jumps over a wolf. Unfortunately the wolf isn't affected as much as he'd hoped by being blinded. It's jaws close on something near and dear to him. He stops and another one grabs his neck. He Mental Disrupts the wolves and they let go. He runs out the door and uses Fire Finger to seal the door shut. He hobbles down the hallway to the right and eventually reaches a set of stairs. Just as he reaches the top, the wolves arrive at the bottom. He throws a torch and Process Enhances it as it reaches them. One of the wolves catches on fire and runs off yelping. He Process Enhances the other wolf as it leaps for him, which causes its muscles to spasm, but it still lands on him. The impact knocks the air out of Alex. He Process Snuffs the wolf, which turns it into a dead weight. He throws the wolf off of him and kills it. Sand arrives and tells him that wasn't nice. He tries to open the door. Suddenly he feels it would be a good idea to walk down the stairs to Sand instead. Sand observes that he's been injured and asks if he'd like her to take care of that. Alex says he could take care of it, if his shapeshifting wasn't being stifled. She claims that's a natural aspect of the shadow and leads him back to his cell. She admits that he's a lot like his father, and she may have to break that part of him. Alex asks how his father is. She says he's preoccupied at the moment. Alex is horrified to note that she is wearing a Spikard. She decides she won't need to torture him, since she can just take the information she wants from his mind. She leads him into another cell and has him lie down. He notes lots of interesting torture devices on the walls. She strokes his temples and says this won't hurt unless he resists. Suddenly, there's a rather large explosion from another part of the castle. Sand tells him she'll have to postpone this and to have a nice nap. The world goes dark. Alex wakes up to the sound of Bleys' voice. Bleys is urging to him to hurry up, since he doesn't have much time. He asks Alex to extend his hand. Alex does so and is pulled through to Avernus. Alex thanks Bleys and asks how he learned about his predicament. Bleys says he was informed by Delwin, who Sand has better protected than Alex. Alex expresses his gratitude and is shown to a nice, soft bed. Bleys mentions that Alex has put him in a bit of a predicament, since Sand will not be pleased. Alex observes that Bleys has a Spikard as well and figures he will have the facilities to deal with her. Ariana asks Felix if he wants to follow Foster, Trump him, or leave him alone. Felix gets a horse and has Ariana pull him through. He Hellrides after Foster and catches up with him after twenty minutes. Foster says he was looking for those answers Felix wanted. Felix points out he thought Foster would not have to leave Amber to get them. He asks if Foster has a Trump of Vetch. Foster admits he does and proceeds to blame Vetch for the whole mess. He claims he's always wanted to take the Logrus but he never had the chance. Then Vetch recently began pointing out all of Foster's possible enemies, and he was feeling powerless. Felix points out that Foster's only ten. Foster says he's used to doing things on his own, and he's got to get used to not needing to. Felix asks why Foster didn't tell him. Foster says Felix would have said no. Felix points out that Foster just left him in Chaos. Foster argues that wouldn't have been necessary if Felix had ended the contact with Eric. He was afraid Eric would get suspicious. Felix asks if Foster's planning to go all the way to Chaos. Foster says he will if that's what it takes to get the information Felix wants. Felix thinks that will take a while and wants Foster to come back with him. He swings Foster up behind him and mentions that when he says to go out and play, he means to stay in the same shadow. Ahab retrieves Nicholas from Isabeux, who is sad to see the baby go. Ahab Trumps Kimdyl, and has her pull him through. Her hair is quite a bit longer. She takes Nicholas away from Ahab and coos over him for a while. Ahab points out that he didn't change that much in the course of a day. Kimdyl asks if they can start over again. Ahab asks if they need to. Kimdyl observes that she has been a silly git and asks him to forgive her. He does so and asks her not to do it again. He asks where she went. She says she found a shadow where she could get her head together. Ahab tells her that Vetch did something that's probably left Felix unhappy with him, and explains what happened. Kimdyl says she almost forgot about that. Ahab thinks that since she has a Trump of Vetch, Felix may be contacting them. They spend the rest of the day making up for lost time. Felix and Foster return to the summer house. Foster goes up to his room. Felix takes the bottle of brandy with him to his. Ariana works out her anger at Foster and Vetch by smashing rocks until dawn. At one point, when she's run out of ammo, she hears a voice behind her. It's Riftvan. She yells at him for what he did to Foster. He says he had his reasons. She asks what they were. He won't say. He feels the less she knows, the better. She tells him two can play at that game and offers to exchange information. He asks what she wants to know. She asks why it was necessary for Foster to take the Logrus. He says Foster was in danger. She asks whether it was from the Hendrakes or others. He says yes and asks for her information. She tells him she's carrying twins. He is somewhat surprised and mentions that twins are unusual in Chaos. She tells him he's ruined the relationship between Felix and Foster. He points out there wasn't much of a relationship to ruin and feels they will recover. He adds that there really is a plant in Chaos that can help Murine. Ariana asks if he's willing to tell Felix where it is. He asks if she can guarantee his safety. She says she can stop Felix from killing him. He opts to give her directions to the plant. Ahab and Kimdyl talk in the morning. She seems to be much more pleasant. Ahab remarks that first Deirdre, now Kimdyl is undergoing a personality change. They discuss Vetch while she feeds Nicholas. Lucretia arrives at Mandorways, trying desperately to hide her nervousness. She curtsies deeply. Heather tells Lucretia that Alex has taken a shine to a member of her house. Lucretia admits that Alex mentioned that to her. Heather asks what Lucretia's thoughts are on the matter. Lucretia says Alex seems to be rather pleased with Mebd and she suggested he follow his heart. Heather asks if that's all she said. Lucretia admits she felt obligated to point out the situation he'd find himself in. They discuss Lucretia's relationship with Eric. Heather asks if Lucretia knows what her son has said to Mebd. Lucretia says she hasn't talked to him since he told her about his engagement. Heather tells her that Mebd has broken off with Alex. Lucretia asks if it was due to something Alex said. Heather figures it must have been, since Mebd got the idea that the marriage would ruin Alex's station. Heather wonders where Mebd could have gotten such a dreadful idea. Lucretia points out that it's popular court opinion. Heather says she'll let Lucretia know if she has need of her and dismisses her. Riftvan begins giving Ariana directions to the plant. She points out that it would be easier if he just took her there. He thinks it's out of character for her to trust him that much. She points out that she hasn't gotten much sleep. She adds that he could trap her just as easily with his directions. He allows that this is true. He tells her that she will need someone with his level of skill to use the plant effectively and offers to give her some references. She doesn't think Felix will want Riftvan near Murine right now. Riftvan points out that a well applied sleep spell can work wonders. Ariana refuses to do that to Felix. She asks what will happen when the children are born. Riftvan tells her they'll cross that bridge when they come to it. She insists on knowing. He says what happens depends on their gender. They'll probably be girls, in which case nothing will change. She asks what will happen if one of them is a boy. He says he'll have to marry her. She asks what will happen if she refuses. He claims she won't have any choice in the matter. It's too important. She asks how he plans to coerce her. He points out that he's been in her mind once before and it would be easy to gain access again. He asks if that would be necessary. She replies that they'll cross that bridge when they comes to it. She asks how old he is. He's says he's 3, 087 years old. She him to talk to Felix about what happened to Foster. Much to her surprise, he agrees. Ariana wakes Felix up and tells him what Riftvan told her about the plant. Felix says he doesn't believe that story and he's mad at Riftvan for tricking him. Ariana points out it might help to talk about what happened with Riftvan. Felix eventually agrees to go. Ariana has Felix promise not to attack Riftvan. Felix gets dressed and they walk out to the beach. Felix tells Riftvan he doesn't believe him. Riftvan says he understands. Felix asks why Riftvan doesn't get the plant himself and bring it back. Riftvan replies that he could do that and asks if that's what Felix wants. Felix responds that he wants Foster to know both of his parents. He says he wants Riftvan to get the plant, bring it back, and administer it to Murine in the presence of himself, Foster and Gerard, so if Murine dies, Foster will know who's responsible. Riftvan points out that he wasn't the one who poisoned Murine. Ariana asks if he knows who did. He says he can't reveal that information. Felix says he's still mad about the events of the previous day. Riftvan observes that it does tend to stiffen one up. Felix remarks that he's stiffer than Riftvan could ever hope to be. Ariana chuckles. Riftvan starts laughing. Felix tries to throw Riftvan into the ocean but Ariana trips him up, causing him to stumble and giving Riftvan time to backpedal out of range. Riftvan says he's willing to help, but he wants a guarantee of safe passage. Felix says he could only guarantee that at the summer house. Riftvan warns that whoever attacked Murine may try again and disappears. Ahab and Kimdyl go down to breakfast. Brand spends most of the meal smiling at Lyss, who looks rather nervous. Much to Ahab's surprise, Kimdyl tells Flora that the wedding will be taking place in Amber after all. Flora hurries out of the room. Ahab tickles Kimdyl. She cuffs him. They go up to his room and start getting frisky. Lyss knocks on the door and asks if she can hide in there. Ahab lets her in. It seems Brand has given Deirdre the slip and is after her. Ahab asks how much she's learned about using the Jewel. She claims she hasn't learned much, but then she thinks of something and concentrates. After a while she notes that Brand will be busy with a migraine for a while. Ahab is rather pleased to hear this news. Heather Trumps Brand. He comes into view with a frown on his face and his eyes closed. Heather asks how closely he's being watched. He figures Benedict is around. She asks what's keeping him from Trumping out. He tells her it's the threat of bodily harm that Benedict laid on him. That's why she needs to talk Benedict out of it. She asks how. He says she simply has to outsmart him. Or she could bring Brand the Jewel. Heather tells him she's through doing that. She asks if there's any particular angles he'd suggest. They agree that playing up Brand's obligations to Rinaldo might work. Heather Trumps Benedict. She points out that she needs Brand to defend the Star and asks if he's really that dangerous. Benedict feels Brand is if he's running loose. She asks what Brand might do. Benedict asks if she wants the list. She points out that Brand's been in a lot of pain lately, which causes Benedict to smile. She says Brand drew the Star to get away from the family in the first place, so if he's released he'll leave them alone. Benedict tells her he'll release Brand if she can keep him within the boundaries of the Star, but she will be responsible for him. Heather breaks the contact, remembering belatedly that she forgot to try the Rinaldo angle. Ariana eats breakfast and gets some sleep. Felix takes his morning swim and then wrestles with Gerard. Gerard gives him a good workout. Felix asks Gerard for advice. Gerard says it's awfully complicated, but advises Felix to be himself and do his best. Felix doesn't think that's been working with Foster. Gerard isn't sure what else to try, since Felix was always such a pleasant child. He points out that it's only been a couple of weeks. Felix tells Gerard that Ariana woke him up that morning and Vetch paid a visit. Gerard feels Random should know. Felix explains what Vetch is going to do. Gerard asks if Felix trusts Vetch. Felix feels that since Murine belongs to Vetch's house, he won't hurt her. Besides, he doubts Vetch would kill her in front of everyone. Felix finds Foster in the living room. Foster asks if he's still mad. Felix says he's better than yesterday. He asks if Foster wants to join the others outside. Foster is reluctant at first, but then decides to go, saying he owes Rinaldo a few. Felix changes and comes outside to find Foster dunking Rinaldo head-first into the ocean. Apparently Rinaldo stuck a sand crab on Foster. Ariana and Driscoll eventually tell him to stop, so he drops Rinaldo, who lands sputtering in the water. Ariana brings Rinaldo in and puts him down next to Isabeux. Isabeux lectures him. Everyone spends a nice day at the beach. Ahab and Kimdyl pick out the wedding dress. Flora is delighted that they've made a selection. Ahab apologizes for the change in plans. Flora says it's all right, she loves surprises. Ahab Trumps Foster. The call comes through while Foster is dunking Rinaldo. Once Foster drops Rinaldo, Ahab asks if he deserved that. Foster says he did. Ahab remarks he's glad that Foster's doing better. Foster says he has to stay in Amber, which Ahab thinks is a good idea. He says he was calling to make sure his advice had turned out right. Foster asks how bad a shape he was in when they caught him and how much Ariana saw. Ahab tells him now would be a great time to get over his inhibitions. He points out that when they found him he was out of his ten year-old mind. Besides, Ariana was in more of a motherly mode, and probably didn't pay much attention. Foster doesn't look happy to hear this. Ahab realizes that Foster probably has a crush on Ariana. He points out that she brought Foster out of the madness and was rather concerned. Foster is sorry he asked. Ahab points out that he doesn't like to lie. Foster says things seem to be more relaxed in Amber, and he rather likes that. Alex uses the Logrus to pull himself back to Chaos. His mother is having a hot toddy. She asks what Alex told Heather, and is quite unhappy that Mebd was in the room when Alex called her about the engagement. Alex tells her he almost saw his father and explains what happened. He mentions that he lost his Trump deck. She gives him hers. He takes out her Trump and hands the rest back. She tells him to take it, since most of them won't talk to her anymore. Alex is unhappy to note that she keeps Eric's Trump. Alex asks what Heather told her. She tells him about her audience with Heather. They spend some time discussing what a bitch Heather is. Lucretia mentions Eric will be back soon. Alex observes that repeating one's mistakes doesn't help matters. Lucretia storms out of the room. Ahab notices that Lyss is taking a cat nap. He asks Kimdyl if he radiates responsibility or just has that gullible look. Kimdyl thinks Lyss just has too much faith. She asks if he's going to look for his mother. He says he was getting around to it and Trumps Deirdre. She gives him a look that says it's about time. He claims he didn't want to embarrass her by rushing to her rescue too quickly. She holds out a hand and he pulls her through. She tells him that Brand stuck her somewhere she couldn't get out of. They both feel all Trump artists should be shot. Ahab tells Deirdre what Lyss did to Brand. Deirdre is amused. Ahab asks if the Pattern tried to stop her from killing Dworkin. She says it didn't. Ahab suggests that there may be a connection between that and why the Pattern wanted his birth. He asks how Corwin is doing. Deirdre figures he's doing well enough. Ahab observes that Corwin has been looking confused lately, but Deirdre claims that's his natural look. She says Corwin is just smart enough to be dangerous. Ahab asks her to kick Lord Vetch in the balls if she sees him. Deirdre asks if that isn't one of Ariana's lovers. Ahab replies "Most of them." They puzzle over why Dworkin put the Jewel in Lyss' eye socket.