John Betancourt - Chaos and Amber

Holding the Pattern, I faced my half-brother Taine and the hell-creature guards. Hissing, they shielded their eyes and staggered back.

I hurled the Pattern toward the first of them. The hell-creature stood transfixed, unable to move, unable to run, as the Pattern grew huge.

“ Kill! ” I shouted. It was half command, half wish.

As though obeying my will, the Pattern touched the nearest hell-creature, and in that instant his skin sagged, his flesh seemed to wither, and his eyes lost their glow. Like a dried leaf, he crumpled to dust.

“ Now, the others— ”

As if it understood my words, the Pattern moved again. The three remaining guards tried to flee, but didn't get far. It touched them, too, and as it did, they became dust.

I felt a surge of pride and power. Finally I was doing something real. Finally I could deal with a threat against my family and myself.

“Now—the serpent—” I commanded.

The glowing Pattern began to move toward him.

“Son of Dworkin,” the serpent said, in a low and gravelly voice. It was now looking straight at me. A coldness touched my heart. “You are revealed. Your magic is like a child's. Be gone!”

Then it unfolded its hands and made a quick motion, almost like throwing a dart at a dartboard. A wall of darkness raced toward the Pattern—toward me—growing huge. I turned too late, and it seemed to blot out everything.

Gasping, I sat up in bed. For a second, I didn't know where I was or what had happened. My head pounded. I felt feverish and disoriented.

Aber. He was bending over me. I saw concern in his eyes.

“Oberon?” he demanded. “Are you all right?”

“Yes.” Panting, I lay back. Beneath me, the sheets were soaked with sweat. “I… I think so. I just need to catch my breath.”

“What happened?”

“I had another vision. I saw Taine and the serpent-creature again.”

Horace stood just behind Aber, peering around at me. He was pale, and I saw the scarlet imprint of a hand on his left cheek. Aber must have backhanded him for letting his guard down—or for waiting too long in calling him.

I looked around the room, but saw no sign of that dark mist. It must have been killed or destroyed when the window closed.

“How long has it been?” I asked.

“At least two hours,” Aber said, sitting on the edge of the bed next to me. He folded his arms and sighed. “You started moaning in your sleep, Horace said, so he tried to wake you. Finally, when he couldn't, he came to get me.”

I nodded.

“Leave us,” I said to Horace. “Wait in the next room. Aber and I need to talk privately. If I need you again, I'll call you.”

“Yes, Oberon.” He ran out.

Much as I liked Horace, I did not yet know how far I could trust him to guard my privacy. From certain things that had happened in Juniper, I knew we had spies among us… possibly even a family member. I didn't want servants hearing about these visions. That serpent-creature knew a lot about magic, and I didn't want it to figure out how I had come to its tower.

After the door had shut behind the boy, I turned back to my brother. Quickly I told him all I had seen and done in the tower of bones. When I got to the part about changing the Pattern and using it to kill the hell-creatures, he just sat there with his mouth open, fascinated and, perhaps, more than a little awed.

I felt a surge of pride once more. This time I really had done something to strike against our enemies. If only I knew more about this Pattern and how it worked…

“You did well,” Aber admitted when I finished my story. He had an odd look in his eyes. “This Pattern seems to have a power greater than we realize… perhaps nearing that of the Logrus.”

“And Taine is still alive, though I don't think he's going to last much longer,” I said. “He looked terrible. He's really been abused. Do you think we can rescue him? Is there anything you can do to find out the location of this tower?”

“I hope so. I'll try contacting him with a Trump as soon as I get back to my room. Maybe I'll be able to reach him now that we're home. I don't think he's very far from here.”

“That's what Dad said the last time.” Taking a deep breath, I sat up, remembering. “Dad's audience with King Uthor—what happened? Is he back yet?”

“Not yet.”

I chewed my lip. “It's been too long. Something's wrong.”

“We don't know that. Maybe he's still talking with the king. Or…”

“Or what?”

Aber swallowed. “Maybe he's been arrested.”

“If so, wouldn't someone tell us?” I said. “Besides, why should he be arrested? As far as we know, he hasn't done anything.”

“I suppose you're right. But I've never heard of the King's guards searching someone's house… especially not a Lord of Chaos's house. They wouldn't do it without cause.”

“No, they wouldn't.” I mulled that over. “There must be a reason. But what?”

“Something Dad's done—”

“Or something he's suspected of,” I said.

We looked at each other.

Neither of us had an answer.

We talked for another hour, trying to work out what Dad might have done to incur the king's wrath, but we made no real progress. It could have been anything… from insulting the wrong woman at a dinner party to swiping King Uthor's wooden leg (assuming he had a wooden leg, which I very much doubted—but we had a good laugh over it).

Despite all our theories, we both kept coming back to the guards who had searched our house. What had they been looking for? Something small… something easily hidden… something Dad shouldn't have had. What could it be?

My instincts told me the answer was important. It might well be the key to understanding everything that had happened to our family, from the murders of so many of our brothers and sisters to the attack on Juniper Castle.

“We might as well sleep on it,” I finally told Aber, since we didn't seem to be making any progress. “Maybe the answer will come to us.”

“I guess.”

“And you'll try to reach Taine with his Trump?”

“Right away. And what about you?” he asked. “Will you be safe now?”

“I think so.” I sighed, eyes distant. “I don't think the serpent-creature will try anything else tonight.”

“I'm sure he won't. He'll deal more cautiously with you from now on. After all, you might surprise him with another magical attack, and next time you might kill him.”

“It wasn't anything deliberate. I was lucky.”

“Luck is all it takes.” He gave a shrug. “Sometimes it's better to be lucky than skilled. Something is still troubling me, though.”

I nodded. “Our enemies know too much about us. And I don't like that serpent spying on me in my own bed in my own room in this house. How long has it been doing that? Does it know everything we've been talking about?”

“I don't like it, either,” he admitted. “It doesn't make me feel safe here.”

I stood and began to pace like a caged tiger. “Is there something you can do to protect us? Some charm or spell to keep prying eyes out?”

“Spells can be set up to shield us. I'm sure Dad could do it, and easily. Freda, too.”

I chewed my lower lip thoughtfully. He hadn't volunteered his own magical talents to protect us. What did that imply? Uncertainty… or weakness?

“That's no help,” I said. “Dad and Freda aren't here, and we need protection immediately. For all we know, that serpent is watching us right now and plotting his next attack.”

“If so…” He made a rude gesture toward the ceiling.

I couldn't help myself; despite the gravity of the situation, I chuckled. But it still didn't change the situation.