“Excuse me,” he said, and the rock parted and he passed within.
Immediately, I felt Mandor’s gaze heavy upon me. “We probably only have a moment,” he said. “Not enough time, really, to go into everything I wanted to cover with you.”
“Very private, huh?”
“Yes. So you must arrange to dine with me before the funeral. Say, a quarter-turning hence, bluesky.”
“All right. Your place, or the Ways of Sawall?”
“Come to me at Mandorways.”
The rock phased again as I nodded, and a lithe demonic figure entered, shimmering bluely within a veil of cloud. I was on my feet in an instant, then bowing to kiss the hand she extended.
“Mother,” I said. “I hadn’t anticipated the pleasure-this soon.”
She smiled, and then it went away in a swirl. The scales faded, the contours of her face and form flowed. The blue went away into a normal though pale flesh color. Her hips and shoulders widened as she lost something of height, though still remained tall. Her brown eyes grew more attractive as the heavy brow ridges receded. A few freckles became visible across her now-human, slightly upturned nose. Her brown hair was longer than when last I had seen her in this form. And she was still smiling. Her red tunic became her, simply belted; a rapier hung at her left hip.
“My dear Merlin,” she said, taking my head between her hands and kissing me upon the lips. “I am pleased to see you looking so well. It has been quite a while since last you visited.”
“I’ve had a very active existence of late.”
“To be sure,” she said. “I’ve heard some report of your various misadventures.”
“I’d imagine you would have. It’s not everyone has a ty’iga following him about, periodically seducing him in various forms, and making life, in general, very complicated with unwanted efforts at protection.”
“It shows that I care, dear.”
“It also shows that you have no respect for my privacy nor trust in my judgment.”
Mandor cleared his throat.
“Hello, Dara,” he said then.
“I suppose it must seem that way to you,” she stated. Then, “Hello, Mandor,” she went on. “What happened to your arm?”
“A misunderstanding involving some architecture,” he replied. “You’ve been out of sight, though hardly out of mind, for some time.”
“Thank you, if that’s a compliment,” she said. “Yes, I go a bit reclusive every now and then, when the weight of society becomes troublesome. Though you’re hardly the one to talk, sir, vanishing far long stretches as you do in the labyrinths of Mandorways-if that be indeed where you take yourself.”
He bowed.
“As you say, lady, we appear to be creatures of a kind.”
Her eyes narrowed, though her voice was unchanged, as she said, “I wonder. Yes, I can sometimes see us as kindred spirits, perhaps even more than in our simplest cycles of activity. We’ve both been out and about a lot of late, though, haven’t we?”
“But I’ve been careless,” said Mandor, indicating his injured arm. “You, obviously, have not.”
“I never argue with architecture,” she said.
“Or other imponderables?” he asked.
“I try to work with what is in place,” she told him.
“Generally, I do, too.”
“And if you cannot?” she asked. He shrugged.
“Sometimes there are collisions.”
“You’ve survived many in your time, haven’t you?”
“I can’t deny it, but then it has been a long while. You seem made of very survivable stuff yourself.”
“So far,” she responded. “We really must compare notes on imponderables and collisions one day. Wouldn’t it be strange if we were similar in all respects?”
“I should be very much surprised,” he answered.
I was fascinated and slightly frightened by the exchange, though I could go only by feeling and had no notion of specifics. They were somehow similar, and I’d never heard generalities delivered with quite that precision and emphasis outside of Amber, where they often make a game of talking that way.
“Forgive me,” Mandor said then, to the company in general, “but I must absent myself to recuperation. Thank you for your hospitality, sir.” He bowed to Suhuy. “And for the pleasure of crossing-paths with you”-this to Dara.