Jasra sucked in her breath.
“It would destroy one not of the blood,” she said. “Correct?”
I nodded.
“Or even one of us,” I said then, “if any of a number of mistakes be made.”
Jasra chuckled.
“Supposing her mother’d really been carrying on with a footman or the cook?” she remarked.
“She’s a wise daughter,” I said. “At any rate, once one begins the Pattern, one may not turn back. I was obliged to instruct her as she went along. That, or be a very poor host and doubtless damage Begman-Amber relations.”
“And spoil all sorts of delicate negotiations?” she asked, half seriously.
I’d a feeling just then that she’d welcome a digression concerning the exact nature of the Begman visit, but I wasn’t biting.
“You might say that,” I said. “At any rate, she completed the Pattern, and then it took her away.”
“My late husband told me that from its center one can command the Pattern to deliver one anywhere.”
“True,” I said, “but it was the nature of her command that was a bit unusual. She told the Pattern to send her wherever it wanted.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.”
“Neither do I, but she did, and it did.”
“You mean she just said, ‘Send me wherever you want to send me,’ and she was instantly dispatched for points unknown?”
“You’ve got it.”
“That would seem to imply some sort of intelligence on the part of the Pattern.”
“Unless, of course, it was responding to an unconscious desire on her part to visit some particular locale.”
“True. I suppose there is that possibility. But have you no means of tracing her?”
“I’d a Trump I’d done of her. When I tried it, I reached her. She seemed pent in a dark place. Then we lost touch, and that’s it.”
“How long ago was this?”
“A matter of hours by my subjective reckoning,” I said. “Is this place on anything near Amber time?”
“Close enough, I believe. Why didn’t you try again?”
“I’ve been somewhat occupied ever since Also, I’ve been casting about for some alternate way of approaching this.”
There came a clinking, rattling sound, and I smelled coffee.
“If you’re asking whether I’ll help you,” Jasra said, “the answer is yes. Only I don’t really know how to go about it. Perhaps if you were to try her Trump again with me backing you-we might reach her.”
“All right,” I said, lowering my cup and fumbling forth the cards. “Let’s give it a try.”
“I will assist you also,” Mandor stated, rising to his feet and coming to stand to my right.
Jasra came over and stood to my left. I held the Trump so that we all had a clear view.
“Let us begin,” I said, and I moved forward with my mind.