He gnawed his lower lip. “There’s no way I can do that, Merle.”
“There are things you’re not telling me, aren’t there?”
He nodded. Then he grinned suddenly. “But I’ll make you a deal you can’t refuse.”
“Luke, don’t give me that hard-sell crap.”
“]ust give me a minute, okay? And you’ll see why you can’t afford to pass this one up.”
“Luke, I’m not biting.”
“Only one minute. Sixty seconds. You’re free to say no when I’m done.”
“All right,” I said. “Tell me.”
“Okay. I’ve got a piece of information vital to the security of Amber, and I’m certain nobody there has an inkling of it. I’ll give it to you, after you’ve helped me.”
“Why should you want to give us something like that? It sounds kind of self-defeating.”
“I don’t, and it is. But it’s all I’ve got to offer. Help me get out of here to a place I have in mind where the time flow is so much faster that I’ll be healed up in a day or so in terms of local time at the Keep.”
“Or here, for that matter, I’d guess.”
“True. Then-uh-oh!”
He sprawled on the bed, clutched at his chest with his good hand and began to moan.
“Lukel”
He raised his head, winked at me, glanced at the door and commenced moaning again.
Shortly, there came a knocking.
“Come in,” I said.
Vinta entered and studied us both. For a moment, there seemed to be a look of genuine concern on her face as she regarded Luke. Then she advanced to the bed and placed her hands upon his shoulders. She stood there for about half a minute, then announced, “You’re going to live.”
“At the moment,” Luke replied, “I don’t know whether that’s a blessing or a curse.” Then he slipped his good arm around her, drew her to him suddenly and kissed her. “Hi, Gail,” he said. “It’s been a long time.”
She drew away with less haste than she might have. “You seem improved already,” she observed, “and I can see that Merle’s worked something to help you along.” She smiled faintly for an instant, then said, “Yes, it has been, you dumb jock. You still like your eggs sunny-side up?”
“Right,” he acknowledged. “But not half a dozen. Maybe just two today. I’m out of sorts.”
“All right,” she said. “Come on, Merle. I’ll need you to supervise.”
Luke gave me a funny look, doubtless certain she wanted to talk with me about him. And for that matter, I wasn’t certain I wanted to leave him alone even though I had all of his Trumps in my pocket. I was still uncertain as to the extent of his abilities, and I knew a lot less concerning his intentions. So I hung back.
“Maybe someone should stay with the invalid,” I told her.
“He’ll be all right,” she said, “and I might need your help if I can’t scare up a servant.”
On the other hand, maybe she had something interesting to tell me….
I found my shirt and drew it on. I ran a hand through my hair.
“Okay,” I said. “See you in a bit, Luke.”
“Hey,” he responded, “see if you can turn up a walking stick for me, or cut me a staff or something.”
“Isn’t that rushing things a bit?” Vinta asked.
“Never can tell,” Luke replied.
So I fetched my blade and took it along. As I followed Vinta out and down the stairs, it occurred to me that when any two of us got together we would probably have something to say about the third.
As soon as we were out of earshot, Vinta remarked, “He took a chance, coming to you.”
“Yes, he did.”
“So things must be going badly for him, if he felt you were the only one he could turn to.”
“I’d say that’s true.”
“Also, I’m sure he wants something besides a place to recover.”
“Probably so.”
“Probably,’ hell! He must have asked by now.”
“Perhaps.”
“Either he did or he didn’t.”
“Vinta, obviously you’ve told me everything you intend to tell me,” I said. “Well, vice versa. We’re even. I don’t owe you explanations. If I feel like trusting Luke, I will. Anyhow, I haven’t decided yet.”