“Hello?” I repeated.
Again, no answer. No sounds of any sort.
I set the candle upon a nearby table and crossed to the bed. I raised a sleeve and let it fall. A silvery shirt was laid out upon the counterpane beside a black pair of trousers-my father’s colors. They had not been there when last I had visited.
I seated myself beside them and stared across the room into a shadowy corner. What was going on? Some bizarre household ritual? A haunting? or…
“Corwin?” I said.
In that I’d hardly expected a reply, I was not disappointed. When I rose, however, I bumped against a heavy object hung upon the nearest bedpost. I reached out and raised it for a better view. A belt with a sheathed weapon hung upon it. These had not been present last time either. I gripped the haft and drew the blade.
A portion of the Pattern, contained within the gray metal, danced in the candlelight. This was Grayswandir, sword of my father. What it was doing back here now, I had no idea.
And I realized with a pang that I could not stick around to see what might be going on. I had to get back to my own problems. Yes, timing was definitely against me today.
I resheathed Grayswandir.
“Dad?” I said. “If you can hear me, I want to get together again. But I have to go now. Good luck on whatever you’re about.”
Then I departed the room, touched the silver rose as I passed and locked the door behind me. As I turned away, I realized that I was shaking.
I passed no one on the walk back, and when I approached my own door I wondered whether I should enter, knock, or wait. Then something touched my shoulder, and I turned around but no one was there. When I turned forward once again Mandor stood before me, his brow slightly creased.
“What’s the matter?” he asked. “You appear more troubled than when you left.”
“Something totally different,” I told him, “I think. Any word from inside yet?”
“I heard a shriek from Jasra while you were gone,” he said, “and I hurried to the door and opened it. But she was laughing and she asked me to close it.”
“Either ty’igas know some good stories or the news is favorable.”
“So it would seem.”
A little later the door opened and Jasra nodded to us.
“Our conversation is concluded,” she said.
I studied her as I entered the room. She looked a lot more cheerful than she had seemed when we’d left. There was a bit more of a crinkling about the outer edges of her eyes, and she seemed almost to be fighting the corners of her mouth down into place.
“I hope it was a fruitful interview,” I said.
“Yes. On the whole, I’d say it was that,” she answered.
A glance at Nayda showed me that nothing had changed in terms of her position or expression.
“I’ll have to be asking you for a decision now,” I said. “I can’t afford to cut things much closer than this.”
“What happens if I say no?” she asked.
“I’ll have you conducted to your quarters and inform the others that you’re up and about,” I said.
“As a guest?”
“As a very well-protected guest.”
“I see. Well, I do not really care to inspect those quarters. I have decided to accompany you and assist you under the terms we discussed. “.
I bowed to her.
“Merlin!” Nayda said.
“No!” I answered, and I looked to Mandor. He approached and stood before Nayda.
“It is best that you sleep now,” he told her, and her eyes closed, her shoulders slumped. “Where is a good place for her to rest deeply?” he asked me.
“Through there,” I said, indicating the doorway to the next room.
He took her by the hand and led her away. After a time, I heard him speaking softly, and then there was only silence. He emerged a little later, and I went to the door and glanced inside. She was stretched out on my bed. I did not see any of his metal spheres in the neighborhood.