“There was a coup, at dawn, this morning.”

“Palace?”

“Possibly that, too. But it was backed by external military force.”

“What was Benedict doing while this was going on?”

“I ordered him to pull the troops out yesterday, right before I came home myself. Things seemed stable, and it wouldn't have looked good to have combat troops from Amber stationed there during the coronation.”

“True,” I said. “So somebody moved right in, almost as soon as Benedict moved out and did away with the man who would be king, without the local constabulary even suggesting that that was not nice?”

Random nodded slowly

“That's about the size of it,” he said. “Now why do you think that might be?”

“Perhaps they were not totally displeased with the new state of affairs.”

Random smiled and snapped his fingers.

“Inspired,” he said. “One could almost think you knew what was going on.”

“One would be wrong,” I said.

“Today your former classmate Lukas Raynard becomes Rinaldo I, King of Kashfa.”

“I'll be damned,” I said. “I'd no idea he really wanted that job. What are you going to do about it?”

“I think I'll skip the coronation.

“I mean, over a slightly longer term.”

Random sighed and turned away, kicking at the rubble.

“You mean, am I going to send Benedict back, to depose him?'.

“In a word, yes.”

“That would make us look pretty bad. What Luke just did is not above the Graustarkian politics that prevail in the area. We'd moved in and helped straighten out something that was fast becoming a political shambles. We could go back and do it again, too, if it were just some half assed coup by a crazy general or some noble with delusions of grandeur. But Luke's got a legitimate claim, and it actually is stronger than Shadburne's. Also, he's popular. He's young, and he makes a good appearance. We'd have a lot less justification for going back than we had for going in initially. Even so, I was almost willing to risk being called an aggressor to keep that bitch's homicidal son off the throne. Then my man in Kashfa tells me that he's under Vialle's protection. So I asked her about it. She says that it's true and that you were present when it happened. She said she'd tell me about it after the operation Dworkin's doing now, in case he needs her empathic abilities. But I can't wait. Tell me what happened.”

“You tell me one more thing first.”

“What is it?”

“What military forces brought Luke to power?”

“Mercenaries.”

“Dalt's?” “

“Yes”.

“Okay. Luke canceled his vendetta against the House of Amber,” I said. “He did this freely, following a conversation with Vialle, just the other night. It was then that she gave him the ring. At the time I thought it was to keep Julian from trying to kill him, as we were on our way down to Arden.”

“This was in response to Dalt's so-called ultimatum regarding Luke and Jasra?”

“That's right. It never occurred to me that the whole thing might be a setup-to get Luke and Dalt together so they could go off and pull a coup. That would mean that even that fight was staged, and now that I think of it, Luke did have a chance to talk with Dale before it occurred.”

Random raised his hand.

“Wait,” he said. “Go back and tell me the thing from the beginning.”

“Right.”

And so I did. By the time I'd finished we had both paced the length of the studio countless times.

“You know,” he said then, “the whole business sounds like something Jasra might have set up before her career as a piece of furnirure.”

“The thought had occurred to me,” I said, hoping he wasn't about to pursue the matter of her present whereabouts. And the more I thought of it, recalling her reaction to the information about Luke following our raid on the Keep, the more I began to feel not only that she had been aware of what was going on but that she'd even been in touch with Luke more recently than I had at that' time.

“It was pretty smoothly done,” he observed. “Dalt must have been operating under old orders. Not being certain how to collect Luke or locate Jasra for fresh instructions, he took a chance with that feint on Amber. Benedict might well have spitted him again, with equal skill and greater effect.”

“True. I guess you have to give the devil his due when it comes to guts. It also means that Luke must have done a lot of fast plotting and laid that fixed fight out during their brief conference in Arden. So he was really in control there, and he conned us into thinking he was a prisoner, which precluded his being the threat to Kashfa that he really was-if you want to look at it that way.”

“That other way is there to look at it?”

“Well, as you said yourself, his claim is not exactly without merit. What do you want to do?”

Random massaged his temples.

“Going after him, preventing the coronation, would be a very unpopular move,” he said. “First, though, I'm curious. You say this guy's a great bullshitter. You were there. Did he con Vialle into placing him under her protection?”

“No, he didn't,” I said. “He seemed as surprised as I was at her gesture. He called off the vendetta because he felt that honor had been satisfied, that he had to an extent been used by his mother, and out of friendship for me. He did it without any strings on it. I still think she gave him the ring so the vendetta would end there, so none of us would go gunning for him.”

“That is very like her,” Random said. “If I thought he'd taken advantage of that, I was going to go after him myself. The embarrassment for me is unintentional then, and I guess I can live with it. I prime Arkans for the throne, and then he's shunted aside at the last minute by someone under my wife's protection. Almost makes it look as if there's a bit of divisiveness here at the center of things-and I'd hate to give that impression.”

“I've got a hunch Luke will be very conciliatory. I know him well enough to know he appreciates all of these nuances. I'd guess he'd be a very easy man for Amber to deal with, on any level.”

“I'll bet he will. Why shouldn't he?”

“No reason,” I said. “What's going to happen to that treaty now?”

Random smiled.

“I'm off the hook. I never felt right about the Eregnor provisions. Now, if there's to be a treaty at all, we go at it ab initio. I'm not even sure we need one, though. The hell with 'em.”

“I'll bet Arkans is still alive,” I said.

“You think Luke's holding him hostage, against my giving him Golden Circle status?”

I shrugged.

“How close are you to Arkans?”

“Well, I did set him up for this thing, and I feel I owe him. I don't feel I owe him that much, though.”

“Understandable.”

“There would be loss of face for Amber even to approach a second-rate power like Kashfa directly at a time like this.”

“True,” I said, “and for that matter, Luke isn't officially head of state yet.”

“Arkans would still be enjoying life at his villa if it weren't for me, though, and Luke really does seem to be a friend of yours-a scheming friend, but a friend.”

“You would like me to mention this during a forthcoming discussion of Tony Price's atomic sculpture?”

He nodded.

“I feel you should have your art discussion very soon. In fact, it would not be inappropriate for you to attend a friend's coronation-as a private individual. Your dual heritage will serve us well here, and he will still be honored.”

“Even so, I'll bet he wants that treaty.”

“Even if we were inclined to grant it, we would not guarantee him Eregnor.”

“I understand.”

“And you are not empowered to commit us to anything.”

“I understand that, too.”

“Then why don't you clean up a bit and go talk to him about it? Your room is just around the abyss. You can leave through the hole in the wall and shinny down a beam I noticed was intact.”