John Betancourt - Chaos and Amber

I shivered, not liking the sound of that. I'd have to practice keeping my mental defenses up. And it might mean using the Pattern to shield myself from any Logrus-spying.

“So… you're saying you looked through my eyes and drew a Trump of this clearing?”

“That's right.” He pulled it out and showed me.

I took it and threw it into the fire.

“Hey!” he said.

“This is a special place for Dad and me. We used to go camping here when I was a boy. Dad won't be happy that you're here. And he'll be furious if he discovers you made a Trump to get here.”

“Then we won't tell him.” He shrugged.

“I'm not going to lie,” I said.

He sighed. “Well, tell him whatever you want. I don't care.” He rose and, using the Logrus, summoned a couple of blankets for himself, which he spread out on the ground next to mine.

I heard a crashing noise, as someone came through the forest towards our camp.

“Is that Dad?” Aber asked me.

“Probably.”

A moment later Dworkin emerged from the bushes. When he spotted Aber and me sitting up by the fire, he frowned. He must have imagined he could quietly slip back into camp unnoticed.

“Hi, Dad,” Aber said.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Why aren't you home?”

“It got a little unpleasant there, what with the searches and all the torturing King Uthor has ordered.”

“Where have you been?” I asked Dad.

“Oh, here and there. Many people to see, many things to do.”

“I saw you with her,” I said to our father. “Tell me the truth.”

“Answers will come in time. You are not ready for them.”

“You're wrong.”

Dworkin shrugged. “I have been wrong before.”

“I need those answers!” I snapped. “I'm not a child anymore, and this isn't a game! All our lives are in danger! You say you need my help. Well, I'm not going another step with you until I get answers. And it better be the truth this time.”

“Would I lie to you?” he asked.

“Yes!” He had lied to me constantly since he had swept back into my life.

He sighed. “Very well. Ask your questions, my boy. I will answer as best I can. I owe you that. I owe you both that.”

For a second, I could not believe he'd finally given in. I almost expected to look around and see King Uthor's hell-creatures bearing down on us from all sides, Fate seemed so determined to keep me in ignorance. But it really was just the three of us here, sitting before the campfire, on a remote world far from home.

I licked my lips. “All right. Was that a unicorn I saw?”

“That was no unicorn,” Dworkin said. “That was your mother.”

“My—mother?” I felt my heart skip. Suddenly, everything began to make sense. My life in Ilerium—it had all been a lie. He had brought me there to keep me out of harm's way. The woman who had raised me as her own… she must have been paid. That's why Dworkin had taken care of her all those years. My mother—my real mother—had to be a shape-shifter… some lady of Chaos. But why not tell me the truth?

He let out his breath with an explosive sigh.

“Yes… I brought you here several times, long ago, so she could see you. You are her child… heir to all she represents.”

“The Pattern…” I whispered.

“Yes,” my father said simply.

Suddenly it all came clear. My mother couldn't be a lady of Chaos. She had to come from somewhere else… and she must incorporate the Pattern into her being the way the people of Chaos incorporated the Logrus. That explained all Dad's secrecy. If anyone had known about me, about my true heritage, I probably would have been assassinated years ago. He had kept my true mother a secret to protect me.

“Where is she from?” I asked.

“I am not really sure,” he said. “She found me, here, in this place.”

I didn't know what to say or do. A thousand conflicting emotions ran through me. But mostly I felt relief. The largest part of the puzzle had come into place, and I thought all the other pieces would fall into position with a little more effort.

Aber stared at both of us. “A unicorn? What are you talking about?” he demanded.

I ignored him. “And the Jewel of Judgment?” I asked my father.

“It is a part of her… just as it is a part of the Logrus, and much else in the universe. I needed it to create the Great Pattern.”

“Then you have the Jewel?” Aber demanded.

“Of course,” he said.

My brother stood. “I want it,” he said, and he held out his hand. “Give it to me.”

“No,” I said. I stood and put myself between them. We didn't have time for arguments now. “You're not returning it to King Uthor.”

“It's for the good of everyone,” he said. He peered around me at our father. “You stole it, Dad. It's weakened Chaos. It's going to cost King Uthor his throne… and the lives of Freda and all your other children. Not to mention me. Hand it over, and I'll make sure you're spared.”

I stared at him. “You sound like you mean it,” I said.

“I do.”

“But how can you offer a bargain like that? You're not the King—”

Our father struggled to his feet. “He's one one of them!”

“Yes,” Aber told him.

I stared blankly at him. “One of what?”

“King Uthor's men,” Dad said from behind me. I heard the whisper of his sword leaving its scabbard. “A spy, in the king's pay, prying into my affairs! Traitor!”

“You're the traitor,” Aber retorted. “You've fooled Oberon with this nonsense about his mother and a Pattern, but you haven't fooled me. You're playing with forces beyond your understanding. I've tried to shield you—to protect you all—but I can't do it any longer.”

“How long have you worked for King Uthor?” I asked.

“Since the party at Aunt Lanara's house,” he told me. “One of his ministers pulled me aside and warned me what would happen if I didn't help. We would all—Freda, Dad, you, me, everyone in our family—be arrested, tried, and executed for treason. By helping them, I've made sure our family will continue. Now, give me the Jewel. I'll return it. It's not too late!”

Dworkin threw back his head and howled with laughter.

“What is it?” I demanded.

“I put it the one place no one will never get it!” he said. “Around the neck of the unicorn!”

Aber looked horrified. “You couldn't—”

“I did .” He pointed his sword at Aber and advanced on him. “I ought to kill you here and now.”

“No!” I held Dad back. “He meant well“

“Me, a traitor!” Dworkin raged. He glared at my brother. “You are the only traitor here, Aber! A traitor to your own father!”

“ It's your own fault! ” I snapped. “If he knew what you planned, he might understand—”

“We do not have time for this!” He tried to push around me.

I blocked his way. “Then make time, Dad.”

“I won't be branded a traitor back home!” Aber snapped.

“Damnable children!”

He tried to cuff me out of his way, but I caught his wrist. Not this time. He grunted, and I saw his neck muscles cord. My feet began to slide across the grass.

Two could play at that game. Setting my feet, I gritted my teeth and held him. Then, with a surge of my muscles, I threw him back ten feet. He staggered and came up panting, giving me an odd look.

“You are strong here,” he said.

“Stronger than you.”

“Maybe—”

Behind me, I heard Aber say, “Don't fight him, Oberon. I can take care of myself!”

I glanced over my shoulder. Aber folded his hands, and when he unfolded them, a ball of darkness writhed there.