“Okay, okay. You're right. I don't deny it. But things have changed—”

“Yeah. Her plans fell through and we've got her.”

“That's not what I meant. I'm changed. I understand her now, and I understand myself better. She can't push me around that way anymore.”

“Why is that?”

“That trip I was on... It shook loose my thinking quite a bit. About her and me. I've had several days now to mull over what some of it meant, and I don't think she can pull the same crap on me that she used to.”

I recalled the red-haired woman tied to the stake, tormented by demons. There was a resemblance, now I thought of it.

“But she's still my mother,” he went on, “and I don't like leaving her in the position she's in. What kind of deal; might be possible for turning her loose?”

“I don't know, Luke.” I answered. “The matter hasn't come up yet.” .

“Well, she's your prisoner, actually.”

“But her plans were directed against all of us.”

“True, but I won't be helping her with them anymore.

She really needs someone like me for carrying them out.”

“Right. And if she doesn't have you to help, what's to prevent her from finding someone like you, as you put it? She'd still be dangerous if we let her go.”

“But you know about her now. That would crimp her style quite a bit.”

“It might just make her more devious.”

He sighed. “I suppose there's some truth in that,” he admitted. “But she's as venal as most people. It's just a matter of finding the right price.”

“I can't see Amber buying someone off that way.”

“I can.”

“Not when that person is already a prisoner here.”

“That does complicate matters a little,” he acknowledged. “But I hardly think it's an insurmountable barrier. Not if she's more useful to you free than as a piece of furniture.”

“You've lost me,” I said. “What are you proposing?”

“Nothing yet. I'm just sounding you out.”

“Fair enough. But offhand, I can't see a situation such as you describe arising. More valuable to us free than a prisoner... I guess we'd go where the value lies: But these are just words.”

“Just trying to plant a seed or two while I work on it. What is your greatest concern right now?”

“Me? Personally? You really want to know?”

“You bet.”

“Okay. My mad brother Jurt has apparently allied himself with the sorcerer Mask back at the Keep. The two of them are out to get me. Jurt made an attempt just this afternoon, but I can see it's really a challenge from Mask. I'm going to take them on soon.”

“Hey, I didn't know you had a brother!”

“Half brother. I have a couple of others, too. But I can get along with them. Jurt's been after me for a long time.”

“That's really something. You never mentioned them.”

“We never talked family. Remember?”

“Yeah. But you've got me puzzled now. Who's this Mask? I seem to remember your mentioning him before. It's really Sharu Garrul, isn't it?”

I shook my head.

“When I brought your mother out of the citadel she left the company of a similarly stricken old guy with RINALDO carved on his leg. I was trading spells with Mask at the time.”

“Most strange,” Luke said. “'Then he's a usurper. And he's the one slipped me the acid?”

“That seems most likely.”

“Then I have a score to settle with him, too-apart from what he did to my mother. How tough is Jurt?”

“Well, he's nasty. But he's kind of clumsy, too. At least, he's screwed up whenever we've, fought and left; a piece of himself behind.”

“He could also be learning from his mistakes, you know.”

“That's true. And he said something kind of cryptic today, now you mention it. He talked as if he were about to become very powerful.”

“Uh-oh,” Luke said. “Sounds as if this Mask is using him as a guinea pig.”

“For what?”

“The Fount of Power, man. There's a steady, pulsing source of pure energy inside the Citadel, you know. Inter-Shadow stuff. Comes from the four worlds jamming together there.”

“I know. I've seen it in action.”

“I've got a feeling that this Mask is still in the process of getting a handle on it.”

“He had a pretty good grip when we met.”

“Yeah, but there's more to it than plugging into a wall outlet. There are all sorts of subtleties he's probably just becoming aware of and exploring.”

“Such as?”

“Bathing a person in it will, if he's properly protected, do wonders for strength, stamina, and magical abilities. That part's easy for a person with some training to learn. I've been through it myself. But old Sharu's notes were in his lab, and there was something more in them – way of replacing part of the body with energy, really packing it in. Very dangerous. Easily fatal. But if it works you get something special, a kind of superman, a sort of living Trump.”

“I've heard that term before, Luke...”

“Probably,” he replied. “My father undertook the process, with himself as the subject—”

“That's it!” I said. “Corwin claimed that Brand had become some sort of living Trump. Made it almost impossible to nail him.”

Luke gritted his teeth.

“Sorry,” I said. “But that's where I heard about it. So that was the secret of Brand's power...”

Luke nodded.

“I get the impression this Mask thinks he knows how it was done and is getting ready to try it on your brother.”

“Shit!” I observed. “That's all I need. Jurt as a magical being or a natural force-or whatever the hell. This is serious. How much do you know about the process?”

“Oh, I know most of it, in theory. I wouldn't mess with it, though. I think it takes away something of your humanity. You don't much give a shit about other people or human values afterward. I think that's part of what happened to my father.”

What could I say? Maybe that part was true and maybe it wasn't. I was sure Luke wanted to believe in some external cause for his father's treachery. I knew I'd never contradict him on it, even if I learned differently. And so I laughed.

“With Jurt,” I said, “there'd be no way of telling the difference.”

Luke smiled. Then, “You could get dead going up against a guy like that, along with a sorcerer, on their own turf.”

“What choice have I got?” I asked. “They're after me. Better to move now. Jurt hasn't had the treatment yet. Does it take long?”

“Well, there are fairly elaborate preliminaries, but the subject doesn't have to be present for some of them. It all depends on how far along Mask is with the work.”

“I'd better move pretty fast then.”

“I won't have you going in there alone,” he said. “It could be suicide. I know the place. I also have a small force of mercs bivouacked in Shadow and ready for action on short notice. If we can get them in, they can hold off the guards, maybe even take them out.”

“Will that fancy ammo work there?”

“No. We tried it when I pulled the glider attack. It'll have to be hand to hand. Body armor and machetes, maybe. I'll have to work it out.”

“We could use the Pattern to get in, but the troop can't... and Trumps aren't reliable for that place.”

“I know. I'll have to work on that, too.”

“Then it would be you and me against Jurt and Mask. If I tell any of the others here, they'll try to stop me till Random gets back, and that may be too late”.

He smiled. “You know, my mother would really be useful in there,” he said. “She knows more about the Fount than I do.”

“No!” I said. “She tried, to kill me. “.

“Easy, man. Easy,” he said. “Hear me out.”

“Besides, she lost to Mask last time they met. That's why she's a coatrack.”

“All the more reason for her to be wary now. Anyway, it had to be trickery, not skill. She's good. Mask must have surprised her. She'd be a real asset, Merle.”

“No! She wants all of us dead!”

“Details,” he explained. “After Caine, the rest of you are just symbolic enemies. Mask is a real one, who took something away from her and still has it. Given the choice, she'll go after Mask.”