Julian glanced at me, then, “If you’re ready to go, she’s ready to take you through,” he said.
I crossed over and stood beside him, dropping the Logrus vision as I did so. I had decided it was not a good idea to bring the forces of the Logrus and the Pattern into too great a proximity. I reached out and touched the card, and Vialle’s image sprang into full focus. A moment, and it was no longer an image.
“Anytime,” she said, extending a hand. I reached out and took hold of it gently.
“So long, Julian,” I said, as I stepped forward.
He did not reply. Or if he did, I didn’t catch it.
“I did not mean for things to go this way,” she told me immediately, not releasing my hand.
“There was no way of foreseeing what happened,” I said.
“Luke knew,” she replied. “It makes sense now, doesn’t it? Some of those little remarks he made? He planned the challenge all along.”
“I guess so,” I said.
“He’s gambling on something. I wish I knew what.”
“I can’t help you on that,” I answered. “He didn’t say anything to me about it.”
“But you will be the one with whom he will get in touch, eventually,” she said. “I want to know immediately when you hear from him.”
“All right,” I agreed.
She released my hand.
“It would seem there is nothing more to say, for the moment.“
“Well,” I began, “there is another matter I think you ought to know about.”
“Oh?”
“It concerns Coral’s not being present at dinner this evening.”
“Go on,” she said.
“You are aware that we took a long walk about town today?”
“I am,” she said.
“We wound up below,” I continued, “in the chamber of the Pattern. She’d expressed a desire to see it.”
“Many visitors do. It is pretty much a matter of judgment whether to take them. Often they lose interest, though, when they learn about the stairway.”
“I did tell her about it,” I said, “but it didn’t discourage her. When she got there, she set foot upon the Pattern-“
“No!” she cried. “You should have watched her more closely! All that other trouble with Begma … and now this! Where is her body?”
“Good question,” I responded. “I don’t know. But she was alive the last time I saw her. You see, she claimed Oberon was her father, and then she proceeded to walk the Pattern. When she’d finished, she had it transport her somewhere. Now, her sister-who is aware that we went off together-is concerned. She was pestering me through dinner as to where Coral might be.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her that I’d left her sister enjoying some of the beauties of the palace and that she might be a bit late to dinner. As things wore on, though, she seemed to grow more concerned and made me promise to search for her tonight if she didn’t turn up. I didn’t want to talk about what had really happened because I didn’t want to go into the business of Coral’s parentage.”
“Understandable.” she replied. “Oh, my.”
I waited, but she said nothing more. I continued to wait.
Finally, “I was not aware of the late king’s affair in Begma,” she said, “so it is difficult to assess the impact of this revelation. Did Coral give you any indication as to how long she intended to stay away? And for that matter, did you provide her with any means of return?”
“I gave her my Trump,” I said, “but she hasn’t been in touch. I got the impression she didn’t intend to be away for too long, though.”
“This could be serious,” Vialle decided, “for reasons other than the obvious. How does Nayda strike you?”
“She seemed quite sensible,” I said. “Also, I believe she rather likes me.”
Vialle brooded a moment, then said, “If word of this gets to Orkuz, he could well get the impression that we are holding her hostage against his proper performance in any negotiations which might arise out of the situation in Kashfa.”
“You’re right. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“He will. People tend to think of such matters when dealing with us. So what we need to do is buy some time and try to turn her up before this begins looking suspicious.”