“I see the advantages,” I said. “That is the fastest way to get a man up there and Benedict is certainly a good man. He should have no trouble dealing with Brand.”
“Do you really think Brand will make no other preparations?” Ganelon said.
“From everything I’ve heard about the man, he’s smart even if he is daft. He just may anticipate something like this.”
“Possibly. Any idea what he might do?”
He made a sweeping gesture with one hand, slapped his neck and smiled.
“A bug,” he said. “Pardon me. Pesky little things.”
“You still think-“
“I think you had better remain in contact with Benedict the entire time he is up there, that is what I think. If Brand gets the upper hand, you may need to pull Benedict back immediately to save his life.”
“Of course. But then-“
“But then we would have lost a round. Admitted. But not the game. Even with the Jewel fully attuned, he would have to get to the primal Pattern to do his real damage with it-and you have that under guard.”
“Yes,” I said. “You seem to have everything figured. You surprised me, moving so fast.”
“I’ve had a lot of time on my hands recently, which can be a bad thing unless you use it for thinking. So I did. What I think now is that you had best move fast. The day isn’t getting any longer.”
“Agreed,” I said. “Thanks for the good counsel.”
“Save your thanks till we see what comes of it,” he said, and then he broke the contact.
“That one sounded important,” Random said. “What’s up?”
“Appropriate question,” I answered, “but I am all out of time now. You will have to wait till morning for the story.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“As a matter of fact,” I said, “yes, if you’ll either ride double or go back to Amber on a Trump. I need Star.”
“Sure,” Random said. “No trouble. Is that all?”
“Yes. Haste is all.”
We moved toward the horses.
I patted Star a few times and then mounted.
“We’ll see you in Amber,” Random said. “Good luck.”
“In Amber,” I said. “Thanks.”
I turned and headed toward the place of the stairway, treading my tomb’s lengthening shadow eastward.
Chapter 13
On the highest ridge of Kolvir there is a formation which resembles three steps. I sat on the lowest of these and waited for more to occur above me. It takes night and moonlight to do this, so half of the requirements had been met.
There were clouds to the west and northeast. I was leery of those clouds. If they massed sufficiently to block all moonlight, Tir-na Nog’th faded back to nothingness. This was one reason why it was always advisable to have a backup man on the ground, to Trump you to safety should the city vanish about you.
The sky overhead was clear, however, and filled with familiar stars. When the moon came up and its light fell upon the stone at which I rested, the stairway in the sky would come into being, sweeping upward to a great height, taking its way to Tir-na Nog’th, the image of Amber that rode the night’s middle air.
I was weary. Too much had occurred in too brief a time. Suddenly to be at rest, to remove my boots and rub my feet, to lean back and rest my head, even against stone, was a luxury, a pure animal pleasure. I drew my cloak together before me against the growing chill. A hot bath, a full meal, a bed would be very good things. But these assumed an almost mythic quality from that vantage. It was more than sufficient simply to rest as I was, to let my thoughts move more slowly, drifting, spectatorlike, back over the day’s happenings.
So much . . . but now, at least, I had some answers to some of my questions. Not all of them, certainly. But enough to slake my mind’s thirst for the moment . . . I now had some idea as to what had been going on during my absence, a better understanding of what was happening now, a knowledge of some of the things that had to be done, of what I had to do. . . . And I felt, somehow, that I knew more than I realized, consciously, that I already possessed pieces that would fit the growing picture before me, if I were only to jiggle them, flip them, rotate them properly. The pace of recent events, particularly today’s, had not allowed me a moment’s reflection. Now, though, some of the pieces seemed to be turning at odd angles. . ..