Four
Years Later
The
Man in Black hadn’t reared his ugly masked head.
Llewella hadn’t been heard from since she disappeared at Martin’s
coronation.
Life was slowly beginning to readjust now that Martin had assumed the
throne.
Ashlyn
had found plenty of ways to spend her time.
She threw herself into learning her Pattern powers, for one.
She had been wanting to learn about the Abyss as well from her father so
she could open those cool Abyss Holes beneath the Man in Black the next time he
should return.
However, Brand had been artfully dodging the subject and had not given
her a straight answer to date.
Ashlyn
was in her room in her favorite chair curled up with a mug of hot chocolate.
She looked over at the table that held all her pictures.
Something seemed to be nagging at her.
She reached over and picked up her Trump deck and began to finger through
them.
Her hand came to rest on Anastasia’s Trump.
Ana
had been gone for two years now and Benedict had given her an indefinite leave
of absence from the Rangers until her return.
It wasn’t unlike Amberites to disappear for a time without a trace and
show up whenever.
Still, something about her absence just didn’t seem right.
Usually Ana would at least call her to join her on some kind of shopping
spree or else she would call just to let someone know how she was doing.
It wasn’t like her to be quiet for so long, but it wasn’t enough to
get worried over—according to the elders.
Shadows had different time flows, after all.
Ashlyn was concerned just the same since she couldn’t reach Ana by
Trump.
Maybe it was just because she missed her company.
They were a lot alike and got along infamously.
Where there was Ana, Ashlyn wasn’t very far behind.
Ashlyn
sighed heavily and put the Trumps away in their pouch on her belt.
She rose out of the chair, taking care not to upset the hot mug of
chocolate.
She felt the need to clear her head.
She wasn’t expected to be on duty for at least another day or so.
She grabbed her riding cloak and gloves and headed for the stables.
Maybe an afternoon ride would be just what she needed.
She
walked down the row of stables until she had gotten to the end.
A white horse poked his head over the half door and whinnied at her, his
ears pinned and his silver-grey forelock all tousled.
A stable boy had come running.
“Can
I be of service Lady?” he asked with a little bow.
“You
can fetch me my saddle,” she said, her eyes not leaving the horse.
“Yes
Lady.
However, might I suggest a different mount?
Moon Dancing hasn’t been ridden in a while.
He’s developed a temper, you see,” he tried to reach for the halter
and lead rope that hung alongside the door but couldn’t as he jumped back to
avoid the horse’s teeth.
“You
at least brush him out once every so often?” she asked.
“He doesn’t appear barn sour to me.”
“Well,
yes we do, but he doesn’t like anyone to really handle him but you, Milady,”
the boy said apologetically.
“You’re
not supposed to show fear around him.
You’re the boss, not him,” Ashlyn reminded as she stepped up to the
challenge.
She reached for the halter with one hand and practically socked the poor
horse in the mouth as he whipped his head around to prevent her from taking his
halter.
He instantly quieted, seemingly stunned and simply stared back at her.
“That’s
a little more like it,” she said as she produced a carrot from beneath her
cloak.
He whickered at her as if to say, “I’m sorry for being a brat” and
buried his nose into her arm in search of the carrot.
She gave him the crunchy treat and gently caressed his snout while
speaking to him in soft tones that the stable boy couldn’t make out.
“I’ll
saddle him up myself,” Ashlyn said as she took her saddle from the boy.
“A
good idea, Lady,” he replied and quickly made himself scarce.
In
no time Ashlyn was astride the spirited beast and they were heading for the
concourse at a brisk pace.
She let him take the bit and Ashlyn thrilled at the feeling of power
beneath her as they began to thunder along and she bent over his neck and
settled in for a good run.
Just
as they reached the top of the concourse Ashlyn was aware that there was another
horse and rider coming in behind them.
Ashlyn slowed Moon Dancing to an easy canter and let the other rider
pass.
The rider came by her in a near blur and she heard “Catch me if you
can!” as he passed.
It was her father, decked out in his favorite green riding outfit.
She stepped up to the challenge by giving out an answering battle cry and
Moon Dancing didn’t need her to use the spurs to get going and they continued
to thunder down the concourse in pursuit.
Brand
strung her along as he usually did, taking the most difficult route he could,
going into the woods, dashing over fallen trees, jumping over small culverts and
thickets.
It was an elaborate game of Follow the Leader and Brand was finding it
harder and harder to evade Ashlyn as she gained ground.
He headed for the concourse and tried to cut across it again and was
surprised to find that Ashlyn was right on his heels and still gaining.
Ashlyn
smiled with triumph as Moon Dancing surged past Brand and seemed to turn on even
more speed.
He finally began to slow down as they reached the bottom of the hill.
“You
don’t let that horse out enough,” Brand said as he joined her.
“And
you’re either losing your touch or you’ve got too much on your mind,”
Ashlyn eased Moon Dancing to a walk and pointed him in the direction of Amber
City.
“No,
I think you’re finally beginning to catch up with me!” he replied
appreciatively as he brought his mount alongside of her.
“So what brings you to the Concourse?
It’s been a long time.”
“Needed
to clear my head, I guess.
I’m feeling way better now,” Ashlyn said with a smile.
“Since you’re here, I wanted to talk to you about learning something
from you.”
“I’m
not sure if this is a good time.
I don’t think—” Brand began
“Father,
I really have a legitimate reason!” Ashlyn cut him off.
“Isn’t
that your cousin Sorsha coming toward us?” Brand indicated a rider in the
distance.
Ashlyn sighed.
“Isn’t
that convenient?” she replied with sarcasm and threw Brand a frustrated look.
“We will talk about it some more later.”
She let the reins out a little and took Moon Dancing out to meet Sorsha.
When Sorsha realized who it was riding toward her, she smiled and waved.
“Ashlyn!
It’s been a ling time!” Sorsha greeted.
“What
news of your travels?
There’s something different about you,” Ashlyn caught up with her.
“I’m
not wearing that heavy Jewel,” Sorsha replied.
“You
didn’t lose it?” Ashlyn leaned forward in alarm.
“No,
not at all.
I was in Avalon visiting Coral.
She hasn’t been the same since the Jewel of Judgment had been
extracted from her eye.
Since she is so attuned to it, she’s been going through serious
withdrawals—very dangerous to her health.
I volunteered to give her mine.
Now she’s recovering just fine and now I don’t have to worry about
where the Jewel is,” Sorsha replied as Ashlyn followed alongside of her to the
stables.
“That’s
good news,” Ashlyn agreed.
“You
should take time out to visit Avalon.
It’s very much changed.
Finch would probably enjoy the visit.
He’s told me all sorts of stories about you,” Sorsha suppressed a
giggle.
“Most
of which is untrue,” Ashlyn replied.
“He and I have that infamous “love/hate” relationship.”
“Anyway,
you’ll find that Avalon is still there—the floating rock, I mean.
The planet itself, however, is no longer there.
Very strange.”
“Sounds
like it,” Ashlyn agreed.
“Very interesting.”
“Well,
I’ve got to hurry in.
I promised Allanon I’d get some swordplay in before dinner,” Sorsha
urged her mount into a gallop, leaving Ashlyn behind.
And
swordplay wouldn’t be the only thing before dinner, Ashlyn grinned after
her.
She eased Moon Dancing into a run and thrilled at the wind against her
face and the thundering power beneath her.
She could feel her hair coming loose and could imagine Jasra or Flora
saying something about how it would look at dinner but she didn’t care.
She started wondering why she didn’t go out riding more often.
As
Moon Dancing reached the top of the Concourse, Ashlyn slowed him down to a jog
and cooled him off as she headed in the direction of the stables.
She was lost deep in thought over the interesting tidbit that Sorsha had
left her with about Avalon.
She barely realized that she had pulled Moon Dancing to a complete stop.
She
pulled out her Trumps and began to fish through them and pulled out the one of
Finch.
She paused for a moment considering.
Her curiosity was getting the better of her, despite the fact that she
knew she shouldn’t go just to stay out of Corwin’s way.
She began to concentrate on the card and within half a minute she had
contact with Finch.
“Ashlyn!
A pleasant surprise as always,” he responded.
Ashlyn could sense her shoulders tensing up.
“Hey,
Finch!
I just talked to Sorsha a little bit ago and she was telling me that
Avalon is now nothing more than a floating rock.
What happened?” she asked.
“Doesn’t
sound like Sorsha told you everything.
Want to come and see for yourself?” he held his hand out for her.
“Certainly,”
Ashlyn graciously accepted his hand and he had pulled her through.
What she had completely forgotten to do was dismount before taking his
hand, for now she and Moon Dancing were in a room inside Castle Avalon.
She quickly dismounted and put her hand over the horse’s nose to calm
him.
Finch was unsuccessfully trying to smother a laugh.
“Are
we at least on the ground level?” Ashlyn asked once he had calmed down.
“Yes.
We’ll have to get him out the front door to get him to the stables,”
he said.
“Is
your father about?” she asked as she led Moon Dancing to the door.
“I’m
not sure.
Haven’t seen him all day,” Finch replied and led the way.
Ashlyn was thankful that the only trek they would have to make was
through the main hall.
Just as they reached the front door they all stopped short to the sound
of another door opening.
Corwin had stepped out to see what all the noise was about.
He saw the horse, saw Finch and saw Ashlyn who did nothing and shook his
head with a frown as he stepped back inside without a word.
Ashlyn sighed a huge breath of relief once she had Moon Dancing out the
door and safely in the stables.
“So
what’s been going on?” Ashlyn asked Finch casually.
“Allow
me to give you the grand tour,” he said and offered his arm.
“We’re quite safe here on the rock.
The Castle, Corwin’s Pattern and the surrounding town are all quite
safe.
It’s just now that there’s no planet beneath us so we’re floating
aimlessly around in nothingness.
Take a look for yourself,” Finch guided her to a cliff edge.
Ashlyn looked over and was surprised to see nothing but a vast, starry
expanse.
She carefully backed herself away to keep from getting that dizzy
feeling.
“Finch,
how’d it disappear?”
“We
didn’t really know what it was at first.
It was a huge bird of some kind.
It laid its eggs on the planet, using it as a nest.
When the eggs hatched, the force of it had ripped the planet apart quite
literally.
So now there’s no more planet,” Finch explained.
“So
what became of the birds?” Ashlyn asked.
“No
one knows.
They just flew away and we’ve never seen them since,” he said
casually as if it were an everyday occurrence.
“They were just these big, huge, fiery-looking birds.
No one had ever seen them before.”
“Is
there anything your father is able to do?”
“Not
really.
We’re just going on with our lives now.
Will you be staying in Avalon long?” he asked.
“No.
You know very well that I can’t stay,” Ashlyn said and absent
mindedly rubbed her shoulder.
“Well
at least come down into town with me.
I know of this little bar that serves great beer,” Finch said with a
smile.
Ashlyn only nodded.
She would have to be on her guard.
Beer at the bar sounded harmless enough.
For whatever the reason, it always seemed like common sense took a
vacation whenever she was around him.
“Great!
You’ll love this place, I promise!”
The
bar seemed to be a reputable place enough when they first entered.
The crowd was getting more and more lively as dark began to fall.
Finch found a space at the bar and ordered two beers.
“Not
bad,” Ashlyn commented.
“Have you brought Vince by?
I’m sure he’d enjoy this.”
“No,
not yet,” Finch said with a big smile.
Ashlyn could feel tension grip her shoulders.
There was something about that smile she did not like.
“Would
you consider yourself to be a drinker, Ashlyn?”
“Not
to get drunk, if that’s what you mean.
Blake and Vince are known to hit the bottle once every so often,” she
replied as she turned to survey the room.
There was a good looking man in the corner checking her out and people
continued to stream in.
“Here.
Try one of these,” Finch offered her a red concoction in a small shot
glass.
“What
is it?” she asked suspiciously.
“I
call it a beer chaser,” he replied casually.
Ashlyn found herself reaching for the little glass.
She could smell the sweet smell of strawberry.
What could a simple chaser hurt?
It
tasted sweet and she loved the way it seemed to linger as it trickled down the
back of her throat.
She paused for a moment to see if it had any real effect on her, but
didn’t notice any.
“That
was tasty,” she smiled back at Finch and reached for another beer that Finch
had placed in front of her.
As soon as she had finished it in a matter of two gulps, she had the
chaser again.
She was beginning to feel very relaxed, but to her, it didn’t feel as
if she was losing her senses.
She reached for a third beer that seemed to appear by magic and threw it
back right along with the chaser with the air of a pro.
By this time she was feeling so relaxed that she felt ready to sleep
right where she sat.
Before she realized what was really happening, her senses and her sight
were fuzzing and things were passing by in a whirl.
It
wasn’t until she awakened the next morning did she get an idea of what had
happened.
She found herself in a room, in a bed, alone (—Whew!) but no clothes
but her unmentionables fully stuffed with lots and lots of Avalon paper
currency.
Her clothes and belongings were in a small heap on the floor beside her,
also stuffed with currency.
After she had counted it all, there was about $150.
Now there was no question in her mind as to what had happened the night
before.
Ashlyn
let out a long sigh and rubbed her temples.
Her head was absolutely throbbing, but she managed to get back into her
clothes.
She neatly stacked the money and purposely left it on the nightstand.
No sense in getting caught with evidence if you’re going to deny what
happened.
She
sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled out her Trumps.
She was going to forgo the coffee until she reached home.
She thought of Finch for a fleeting moment, but quickly brushed him
aside, knowing that there would be no point in pursuing him or getting anything
that resembled an apology.
She decided to deny the fact that she had ever set foot in the place.
What could he prove, anyway?
She would have to retrieve Moon Dancing later.
In the meantime, her own room and a cup of very strong coffee awaited
her.
She activated the Trump and stepped through as soon as she had contact.
