Chapter 2

Malaclypse and Co.

Perdita was putting all of her concentration in keeping Earl Grey under control.  He was nervous with Morgenstern around.  She managed to turn and wave goodbye to her mother.

"This way," was all he said as he led the way towards town.  Morgenstern needed no introduction.  As they had entered the town, it seemed as is all the citizens had turned out to get a glimpse at the magnificent steed and the rider in the white scaled armor.  Perdita followed close behind with Earl Grey, taking note of people's eyes as they went from Julian to her and back again.  The horses were making their way into the center of town and Perdita couldn't help but notice some of her coworkers in the crowd, like Franco, one of her enemies.  She couldn't help but give him the most smug smile imaginable at him as his jaw hung open, completely in awe of Morgenstern.

Once they had reached the center of town, Julian turned around and began to head back for the house.  However, Perdita noticed that things were different around her.  It seemed like buildings in town were mixed up, like the smithy standing where the general store usually stood., or the tavern now standing where the post office was and she was positive that the well at the edge of town was right there when she had gone in to work this morning.  The scene before her was becoming less and less familiar, right up to the point to where the house should have been.

There was no house, only a flat plane.  The surrounding grounds didn't look any different, but the house was gone.

"Weird!  What the heck happened to the house?!  What's going on?  Why's the house missing?" she asked, certain that she was not hallucinating.  "First the general store and then the well I pass by every morning is missing too!  This is weirding me out!"  Perdita was fighting with Earl a little to pull up alongside of Morgenstern without getting him spooked.  It took a little doing and a lot of soothing, but Earl finally managed to calm down a bit.

"That is why we're taking it slow," Julian replied.  "I am currently making use of an ability known as Pattern, something you will one day walk; this power will one day be yours.

"The Pattern is our heritage.  It is what sets us apart from the Shadows and what allows us to walk between the shadows," he paused, realizing that she might not know the terminology.  "Shadows are cast by Amber, the One True World.  There are an infinite number of Shadows "alternate worlds" or "alternate dimensions", but the name in irrelevant; all are imperfect reflections of Amber."  As they rode along, Julian continued on his instruction on the Pattern and teaching Thari, the language of Amber and Perdita was listening intently.

"One way and a fairly accurate way of describing how to use Pattern is to think of all of Shadow as a mathematical equation and Pattern as your pencil and paper.  Or your calculator, if you are Hellriding--which is what we are not doing right now, as your steed needs to get accustomed to the world changing around him.  When walking through Shadow, one must add or subtract features; doing so moves you through Shadow.  For example, your home of Helwelena did not have a flint monolith over there," he gestured to his left.  Perdita looked over to see that there was indeed a monolith standing where there wasn't one before.  "However, one of the Shadows bordering Helwelena does have the flint monolith."

"Adding and subtracting.  That's the crux of it and since the land rout to Amber passes through the Forest of Arden, I must add more trees to the vicinity, solving the equation that is Arden."  Perdita noticed that there were a great deal more trees around as he was speaking.

"Whoa!" Perdita breathed, whereas Earl had come to a halt. "Sorry, Earl  I didn't mean you.  So where are we now?"

Julian shrugged.  "All Shadows have a name, whether it is given by us or by its inhabitants.  This place may be called Monolithia, but whether or not it is or it isn't is irrelevant."

He paused before continuing again.  "Well, it is only irrelevant if you choose it to be.  Most of us don't bother worrying about the name of a Shadow we are only passing through; it is but a spot along our path to our final destination.  For most of us, it is only the final destination that is important and if its name is important to our reason for being her, we will know it, through one process or another.  If you chose to know the name of every Shadow you passed through when you traveled, you could, but you would probably be the first Amberite to do so in close to ten thousand years."  He seemed to pause again and the cry of a hawk could be heard overhead.

Julian looked up at it and smiled.  "And hello to you too, Orville."  He then turned back to Perdita.  "One of my hawks.  I often use Orville when I hunt, as it is easier for him to see long distances than it is for me."  He looked up at the bird again and then off to his right.

"It seems we have visitors nearby.  Let's intercept them," he said and turned Morgenstern to the right.  Perdita followed closely.  She could feel a tinge of excitement as she steered Earl in the same direction, trying to keep Orville in sight.  She silently wondered how many hawks her father owned.

"Visitors?  People you know?" she asked him.

"Yes," he replied, looking off into the distance.  "One of my nephews, his wife and," he squinted a little. "Someone I do not know."

"Great!" Perdita replied with a smile, feeling all pins and needles at the prospect of meeting them.  "So who is it?"

"It's Malaclypse, actually.  It would seem that you'll be able to meet him sooner than I had expected.  His wife is Reetha.  She's not from Amber originally, but she moved there some time ago.  You will probably like her."

The two of them continued on, Perdita not being able to see a thing, maybe due to the increasing trees or the rolling hills, or by the fact that they were still a long ways off from the newcomers.  She couldn't see anyone else nearby.

"You must have a sixth-sense for these things, because I can't see or sense anything.  Is that another Pattern-thing you're doing?" she asked.

"Actually, no.  It's more along the lines of a combination of Trump and Conjuring.  I devised a small instrument and implanted it in the hawk's brain which allows me to see through its eyes if I concentrate on it.  It also gives me a mental link with its thoughts, so that it can "speak" its little hawk-thoughts to me.  I can do some modifications on Earl Grey too, if you'd like.  Make him stronger, more durable, even give you two a mental link so you could "speak" with each other like I have my hawks."

"That would be so cool!  So how far away are we from Malaclypse?" she asked.

"I will take that as a yes then," he said with a smile.  "I was originally going to perform that, were you willing, on the trip to Amber, but I also wasn't anticipating meeting anyone else during the journey.  I know that Malaclypse has seen Orville and it has been quite a while since we have seen each other, so it is just as good that we meet up now.  I can perform the task later on, though."  He had that distant look again, probably communicating with Orville again.

"They are around a mile and a half distant.  Mere minutes away at this pace.  You have plenty of time to prepare yourself."

"Sounds good to me!  Now what?" Perdita was excited.

"Now?  Now we ride!" Julian instantly picked up the pace and Perdita went chasing after him.

It only took a couple of minutes before Perdita could make out out what looked like a cart being drawn by a pair of horses.  She thought she could make out three people sitting on it.  It took about another minute for them to get within earshot because she could hear the greeting of "Julian!  Whassup!" coming from the cart.  Julian simply chucked to himself and they continued forward.

As they approached Perdita could see three people--two in the seat and one riding in the bed.  The man in the bed was like nothing Perdita had ever seen.  He was oriental looking with dark hair and eyes.  He was wearing dark blue button down shirts of thick material and long sleeves.  His pants were black and wide at the bottoms.  His feet were in sandals and was also wearing a white headband over his forehead.  It was easy to tell that he was tall and well-toned.  He had angular features in his face and a harsh expression upon them.  He was watching both her and Julian intently as they approached.

The man in the cart was definitely Malaclypse.  He looked exactly like his Trump.  The young woman next to him looked short in stature with short, light hair and green eyes that were almost similar to Perdita's.  She looked fairly pretty.

Malaclypse raised his hand in greeting.  "Julian!  Long time no see.  How are ya?"  Perdita noticed that he was also speaking in Thari, like she and Julian had been for the past few hours.

Julian inclined his head.  "We're fine, thanks for asking."

"So who's this?" Malaclypse asked, pointing at Perdita and smiling as if he already knew the answer.

"This is my daughter, Perdita.  Perdita, this is Malaclypse and Reetha.  I confess I do not know who this person is."

Perdita politely tipped her hat to the group.

"This is my son, Matsubara Shinpachi," he said and jerked his thumb back towards the man.  He turned back toward him and spoke to him in a language Perdita had never heard before.  She wasn't sure what exactly was said, but she could tell by the way Mal had his hand extended toward her that he was pointing her out to him.  The only word she understood was "Perdita".  She was trying her best not to stare, trying to figure out the family resemblance since she saw none.

Julian spoke to Matsubara next in the same language Mal had just used.  Perdita was listening in obvious fascination.  Matsubara said nothing and only returned with an emotionless stare.

"Teach him Thari, will you?" Julian turned back to Mal.

"Duh, man, that's what we were about to do when you showed up," he replied.  Julian turned back to Perdita.

"Let's ride."

It was a few hours later when Mal was heard to exclaim in Thari "Eureka!  I believe he finally has it!"  Matsubara only gave another one of his stares, indicating that he was done learning Thari.

"So let's test out your new tongue, Matsubara-san.  Haw are you today?" Julian asked.  He only got the stare in return.

"I guess he's not the talkative type," Mal said to Julian.

"He ought to get along well with Benedict," Julian observed.  Mal sorted a laugh.

"Oh, stop it, you two!" Reetha joined in.  "He's still getting used to his new surroundings."

"Which is a real skill, since we're not even in Amber yet," Mal poked.

"No, but we're in Arden," Julian smiled with a wistful look in his eyes as he surveyed the huge trees and taking note of the wildlife abounding within.  "Long have I missed this forest."

"How long would you say we are from Amber, Julian?  Three hours?" Mal hazarded a guess.  Julian looked around and inhaled deeply before answering.

"At this pace, two hours, forty minutes, give or take."

"Of course," Mal replied.  "How could my estimations have been so far off?"  Julian gave him a sidelong glance.  Mal chuckled to himself and turned his attention to Perdita.

"Oi, you over there.  Perdita.  What's your story?  Where are you from?"

"I'm from a Shadow called Helwelena.  I was raised there with my mother.  I've only met my father recently when I had managed to activate his Trump.  We've pretty much been together ever since and that's about the tall and short of it so far," she replied almost eagerly.  "It's a long story, I think."

"You activated a Trump without even being trained in them?" Reetha asked.  "Wow."

"Concentration is all that's required," Julian replied.

"And working Trumps," Mal added.  "You must've timed it just right, 'Dita, 'cause they were turned off for the past thousand years."

"I guess you could say that.  One day I was staring at the Trump and it just happened to work.  but what do you mean, "turned off"?  What happened?" Perdita asked.

"See, there's this really creepy-weeeird hunchback in Amber by the name of Dworkin," Mal made the wiggly fingers and a face at "weird".

"Malaclypse!" Reetha snapped reproachfully.  "He's your Great Grandfather for the Unicorn's sake!"

"One thousand years ago," Julian cut in.  "Our King Random decided that it would be in our best interests if we were to stay away from Amber for a while.  This included anything associated with Amber--its scenery, likeness and the Trumps as well as other things.  Dworkin made the Trumps and in making them knows more things than any of us.  Random told Dworkin to shut them off for our duration away from Amber and Dworkin did so.  The thousand years is completed, so the power behind the Trumps now flows freely, whatever that power is."

Matsubara spoke up for the first time.  "These Trumps.  I wish to see them."

"Here.  Dig." Mal said simply as he handed over his case that contained his set of Trumps.  "You gonna let her have a gander at the Trumps?"

"She has already seen them," Julian replied.

"Izzat so?" Mal returned with a smile.  "I do hope he told you good things about me."  Matsubara meanwhile was sifting through the Trumps with a critical eye.

"Yes.  Dad was able to tell me a good little something about everyone.  Actually, I can't wait to meet them!" Perdita said with a grin.

"You soon will, Perdita.  Just remember that not all of them will want to meet you.  Some may completely ignore you which may be the best of all possibilities and others might want to make you a pawn in their game.  Just be cautious, daughter and you will live well." Julian said quietly.

"Sage words," Mal added.

The group rode on in silence for about another hour.  Matsubara handed back the Trump deck.  "Strange family that we have."  Julian glanced over at Mal who gave a laugh.

"Well, that's an accurate way of putting it," Mal replied.

"Not very nice though," Reetha added.

Mal had screwed his face up in a sour look.  "Since when have Amberites ever been accused of being 'nice'?"

"Natasha's nice and Aloria's sweet," she defended.

"Aloria is like her dad and that sweetness can fade away in a heartbeat if it's too cumbersome and Natasha is a Valkyrie like her mother was.  She could kick any of our arses.  I wouldn't be surprised if she could beat the snot outta Julian here!" Mal jerked his head Julian's direction.

"I would be surprised," Julian could be heard muttering.

"She's probably killed more people than I have, so how does that make her nice?" Mal argued.  Perdita raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing.  Matsubara was actually smiling with amusement with the group antics, but was also silent.  Reetha sniffed, crossed her arms and turned away from him.  Mal was smiling with his victory in the debate.

"By the way," Julian spoke up.  "Upon our arrival to Amber, you two will need to choose your rooms.  If you get to thinking now on what you would like in accommodations it will take less time for Math, the lord seneschal to assign you your rooms."

"Yeah, good point.  There should still be plenty of rooms available so you shouldn't have to worry too much about actually getting one." Mal said.

It was only a few minutes more of riding when Mal suddenly seemed to have a mood change.  He rolled his Trump case around in his hands and burst out with "Screw this waiting!"  He fished out a Trump and a moment later the only thing that remained of them was a rainbow after-effect.  The occupants and the cart they were in were gone.  Perdita found herself staring dumbly at the space that was previously occupied.

"Well, they were slowing us down and Mal undoubtedly Trumped to Amber.  We can ride at full speed now.  In fact, I think we should see if we can give your steed a workout," Julian smiled and suddenly took off.

Perdita took off after him with a cowboy yell of "Yee-haw!" and had Earl following him at a fast run for a good twenty minutes, just able to keep up with Morgenstern.  Perdita could tell that Earl was excited, having never run like this before.  She could also see how Morgenstern was navigating as if on auto-pilot, or as if he could make this kind of run through the forest in the pitch of night blindfolded.

Before long they were running up a massive mountain.  She followed as they went around the mountain, along a large wall and through a gate where the guards salute Julian and nodded at her as they sped past.  Slowing down they made their way to the stables where Mal, Reetha and Matsubara were waiting.

"Took you long enough," Mal grinned.

"You only won because you cheated.  Our steeds can't compete with the traveling speed of a Trump," Julian countered.

Mal shrugged.  "Cheating, winning...what's the dif?"  Perdita shot him a little scowl, but kept her comments to herself.

Julian dismounted and handed the reins over to a stable hand who had shown up once the riders arrived.  "Have a good rest, Morgenstern," he said and patted his shoulder.

Perdita also dismounted and gave Earl a good neck rub.  She mumbled soft and almost inaudibly as she praised him on his performance.  She readjusted her sword belt, removed her saddlebags from the saddle and readjusted her hat before finally handing off the reins.

"It's okay Earl," Perdita said softly to reassure him.  "It's a treat.  You deserve it."  Earl whickered softly and went with the stable hand.

"Let's get inside, eh? It's nicer in there," Mal indicates a door.

"I agree," Reetha said and hurried past, holding her nose.  Perdita sniffed the air but could find nothing wrong.  In fact, the stable smells almost reminded her of home.  Julian only smiled slightly and led the way into the Castle.

The way was large and open, filled with many statues, rich and lavish gardens and fountains.  Perdita was in awe and was even more so when they reached the inside where fine marbles of all colors were making up the walls and pillars.  Extravagant tapestries hung on the walls and rich rugs lined the floors.  She had never in her life seen anything so fancy.  Heck, Helwelena's best Inn didn't even hold a candle to all the opulence this place had!

Perdita suddenly felt very small and out of place.  She was suddenly very aware of the dust that was flying off her chaps as she walked close behind Julian.  As they turned a corner she could see a great hall before her filled with many life-sized statues in it, all made from a different material and most of them looking perfectly life-like.

"Flip me over and call me a pancake!" Perdita murmured in awe.

"The family," Mal introduced with a wave of his hand.

"Darniil carved most of these," Reetha nodded.  "He's a very talented sculptor."

"That he is," a new voice said from amongst the statues.  A blond man with blue eyes wearing white was standing next to what must have been his own statue, which was posed with arms outstretched in welcome and a kind smile on his face.  His white robes were a real contrast to all of Mal's black attire.

"Math," Julian nodded.

"Brother, Nephew, Niece-in-law," Math greeted with a bow and turned back to Julian.  "Are these new family?"

"They are," Julian answered with a hint of pride.  "This is my daughter Perdita and that is Malaclypse and Reetha's son, Shinpachi Matsubara."

"Excellent," Math responded.  He moved towards Perdita and gently took her hand, placing a light kiss upon it.  "Perdita." 

Perdita smiled and turned bright crimson.  She managed to remember her manners and stammered out "Charmed, I'm sure," with a thick southern accent.  It was clear that she was not used to such flattery or attention.  She fought to keep her head clear and not succumb to the shyness that had taken over.

Math moved to Matsubara next with a slight bow at the head.  "Matsubara-san."  Matsubara didn't say anything and only bowed in return.

"Well," Math continued.  "It seems my work will never be completed, what with all the new family members, but we cannot have the two of you sleeping on the floor, so I must do my job.  What do you require in rooms?"

"I will take a room with a balcony if possible and if permitted the accommodations should be 19th century Nipponese in type," Matsubara said.

"Oh, nothin' too fancy.  A place to sleep, a place to hang my hat and spurs and a spot to rest my load.  We could always hammer out the details later," she replied.

Math was looking genuinely astonished and turned to Julian.  "What is it with children these days?  So humble and unassuming with simple and modest desires!"

"Mmm," Julian replied in a neutral way.  "It will take long for them to learn."

"Quite so," Math said seriously and turned his attention to Matsubara.  "Matsubara, I must tell you that none of the rooms are equipped with shoji, but the modifications could easily be made is you so desired. The balcony is no problem.  All of the empty rooms have beds in them, but it will be no problem to remove the bed in yours and replace it with a futon.  The doors to the balcony can easily be replaced with shoji and painted screens are easy to come by," he paused and turned back to Perdita.  "There is an available room for you on the third floor.  I could show you to your rooms now, although it would be moot for you, Matsubara-san, since yours will be changing drastically.  I could go and have the servants begin changing it as the two of you become more acquainted with the Castle.  You do already have cousins here as well, conversing in the family's library.  Geo is there, Uraeus Leotah--a distant son of Fiona's, actually--and there's Cinder Hades, Bleys' daughter.  How about you go and speak with them while I ready your rooms."

Back