The Dawn of Amber Complete Collection by John Gregory Betancourt

Author:John Gregory Betancourt [Betancourt, John Gregory]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, General, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Epic
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-TWO

For a second, I could not believe he’d finally given in. I almost expected to look around and see King Uthor’s hell-creatures bearing down on us from all sides, Fate seemed so determined to keep me in ignorance. But it really was just the three of us here, sitting before the campfire, on a remote world far from home.

I licked my lips. “All right. Was that a unicorn I saw?”

“That was no unicorn,” Dworkin said. “That was your mother.”

“My—mother?” I felt my heart skip. Suddenly, everything began to make sense. My life in Ilerium—it had all been a lie. He had brought me there to keep me out of harm’s way. The woman who had raised me as her own… she must have been paid. That’s why Dworkin had taken care of her all those years. My mother—my real mother—had to be a shapeshifter… some lady of Chaos. But why not tell me the truth?

He let out his breath with an explosive sigh.

“Yes… I brought you here several times, long ago, so she could see you. You are her child… heir to all she represents.”

“The Pattern…” I whispered.

“Yes,” my father said simply.

Suddenly it all came clear. My mother couldn’t be a lady of Chaos. She had to come from somewhere else… and she must incorporate the Pattern into her being the way the people of Chaos incorporated the Logrus. That explained all Dad’s secrecy. If anyone had known about me, about my true heritage, I probably would have been assassinated years ago. He had kept my true mother a secret to protect me.

“Where is she from?” I asked.

“I am not really sure,” he said. “She found me, here, in this place.”

I didn’t know what to say or do. A thousand conflicting emotions ran through me. But mostly I felt relief. The largest part of the puzzle had come into place, and I thought all the other pieces would fall into position with a little more effort.

Aber stared at both of us. “A unicorn? What are you talking about?” he demanded.

I ignored him. “And the Jewel of Judgment?” I asked my father.

“It is a part of her… just as it is a part of the Logrus, and much else in the universe. I needed it to create the Great Pattern.”

“Then you have the Jewel?” Aber demanded.

“Of course,” he said.

My brother stood. “I want it,” he said, and he held out his hand. “Give it to me.”

“No,” I said. I stood and put myself between them. We didn’t have time for arguments now. “You’re not returning it to King Uthor.”

“It’s for the good of everyone,” he said. He peered around me at our father. “You stole it, Dad. It’s weakened Chaos. It’s going to cost King Uthor his throne… and the lives of Freda and all your other children. Not to mention me. Hand it over, and I’ll make sure you’re spared.”

I stared at him. “You sound like you mean it,” I said.

“I do.”

“But how can you offer a bargain like that? You’re not the King—”

Our father struggled to his feet.

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