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."Freda's words on the journey in the carriage came back to me."That's what you did on the wayhere.""Yes.We traveled through many Shadows.We took an indirect route,""When can I go through this Logrus?""Soon.The Logrus is difficult and dangerous.It is not something to undertake lightly, and youmust prepare for it.And, afterwards, it leaves you disoriented.sick for a time." He hesitated."Besidesthe ability to travel through Shadows, it confers other powers, too."Other powers? That caught my attention."Like what?" I asked cautiously."This." Dworkin reached into the air and suddenly plucked a sword from nothingness.I gaped at him."How-""I had it in my bedchamber.I knew where I left it, and I used the Logrus to reach for it.tobridge the distance between my hand and where it lay.A kind of mental shortcut, if you will, betweenhere and there."He set the sword down on the closest table.I stared at it, still hardly able to believe my eyes."And I can do that?" I asked skeptically."Not now.Not yet.You must first master the Logrus.That, at least, is your birthright.bytradition, no one, not even King Uthor himself, can deny it if you ask.Of course, there is the problem ofgetting you to the Courts and back safely, without our enemy finding out and killing us.And once in theCourts, you must survive the Logrus.Not all of us do, you know.My brother died on his first attempt.Itdestroyed him, mind and body.It is not so simple a matter after all.""I want to try," I said firmly."You cannot show me this gift and then tell me I can't have it!""In due time.""You're playing games with me again!""Do I need to remind you of how many children I've already lost? It is not safe for any of us toleave here," Dworkin said firmly."Not now, not yet.Juniper is well defended for a Shadow, but beyondthe lands we control, there are creatures watching us.They are waiting for a mistake.any mistake.""Then we'll kill them!" I felt a yearning inside to be off, to walk the Logrus and gain the powersdue me.the powers my father and brothers and sisters already possessed."That crystal you usedagainst the hell-creatures- you must have more of them.""It is not so simple.Some of these watchers are relatives.The Courts of Chaos are.unlikeanything you can imagine, with your limited experiences.Struggle and conflict are encouraged there, andonly the strongest wield any real power.I have been away too long and have now lost whatever influenceI once may have held.""I don't understand," I said.He folded his arms, looking away."There are ancient codes of honor that are supposed toprevent death among us, among the Lords of Chaos.But out here in the deepest, farthest Shadows,those rules are often bent.or overlooked entirely.I am not important enough to try to demandobservance of the rights and protections due me.But some of our enemies are very, very important, Isuspect.And if they were to die-murdered or assassinated, whether by my hand, or yours, or ouragents'-it would call the wrath of King Uthor himself upon us all.We could not survive it, not one of us."I frowned, not liking the sound of that."Damned if we do, dead if we don't.When we kill ourenemies, it has to be in self defense.""Or it must look like an accident." He sighed and shook his head slowly, and I realized he did notlike the situation any more than I did."After all," he continued, "there is no harm in their watching us, orso they would say.""Spying on us.""Well, yes.""Then those hell-creatures in Ilerium-""They were soldiers drafted from another Shadow, sent to find and kill you, my boy.They arejust the hands of our enemy.cut off the head and the body will die.It's the only way, if we are tosurvive.""And this head.whose is it?""I wish I knew.It could be any of a dozen Lords of Chaos.My family has its share of hereditaryrivals and blood-feuds.And I freely admit I have made mistakes over the years.my own list of personalenemies is larger than it should be.It could be any one of them.""Is that why you left the Courts?""One of the reasons.I thought they would forget me if I lost myself among the Shadows."I chewed my lower lip thoughtfully.His story pretty much matched Aber's, and every word rangtrue.Sometimes, I'd found, just being alive was enough to make an enemy.I may have found my family.but I'd also gotten more than my share of trouble along with them."Before we can proceed," Dworkin went on, "I must check something.It will only take amoment."He crossed to a table cluttered with wires and tubes and beakers, crystals and glass spheres andcopper pots- the cast-off paraphernalia of a wizard or alchemist, as far as I could tell.He rummagedamong the bits and pieces, tossing first one then another aside, muttering to himself."How long have these feuds been going on in the Courts of Chaos?" I asked."Longer than anyone can remember.The Courts are ancient.""How old is that?" King Elnar's family had ruled in Ilerium for nearly a thousand years,"Every family in the Courts can trace their lineage back through the generations," he said, "to theman who first recognized the Logrus for what it was.His name is lost to us, but it is known that hecreated if from his own blood and magics that came to him in a vision.He built it, and then he wentthrough it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]