10.   Blue Sand.

“Aunt Deirdre?! What are you doing??” Akin yelled, looking back at the rapidly shrinking figures of Allysa, Lucky, and Lucky’s boys, desperately trying to slam the door shut so he would not be tossed out of the car widely careening this way and that through the streets and into the desert. His hands gripped the dashboard and his fingers turned white as he watched pedestrians scream and throw themselves away from the huge wheeled rhino. Only when the city remained behind and the ride became somewhat smoother, was he finally able to catch his breath and wonder whether Deirdre was aware of such a useful feature as brakes.

“Well, now what?”  He asked his aunt, catching his breath and shaking out his hands that had gouged a couple good marks into the dashboard from the wild ride.

Deirdre glanced at him as if she had just noticed his presence, then returned her attention to the road. She did not seem very happy at all. “Now, it’s about an hour or so ride to the factory. I must make sure Bugsy didn’t cause any damage there. Unfortunately he had a head start and I don’t have a trump of the place.” She continued after a short pause. “It’s mighty nice of you to come along, though I kinda didn’t expect it, but it’s to the better. We might have a fight on our hands when we get there. Meanwhile, tell me what’s it exactly you do for Random?  And why did he send you to search for that Elektra creature?”

Akin sat back and watched the desert pass by as he tried to think of the answers to her questions. “Well, what I’m doing right now, Aunt Deirdre, is basically being a spy. I’m supposed to be spying on Elektra for King Random. As for why I’m doing it. For a simple matter, that I’m bored! Things’ve been increasingly boring at Amber lately for me, and I wanted to do something better.” He sighed “Of course, I didn’t think of being a spy. But, since nothing else was currently pressing, I thought why not? What kind of a factory are we going to? How many do you think will be there? What can I do to help?” He asked with a slight smile. Aunt Deirdre might be a little bit nuts, but he had a feeling that things would never be boring with her.

There was a long silence as the car swallowed the road, blue sand gleaming on both sides under the full moon. She seemed even to murmur a song as if completely forgetting of his presence. Akin waited somewhat apprehensively while his aunt calculated the odds. A true child of Amber, as she was, one could never be sure what to expect next – answers or a dagger under his rib. Finally she made her decision.

“Well… I can’t truthfully say that I’ve never thought of being the Queen of Amber. After all, I’m the only one with a legitimate claim. You know of course that my father and your grandfather Oberon was involved with my mother and your Grandmother Faiella before divorcing Cymnea, his first wife. Eric was an issue of that affair. Although Oberon later divorced Cymnea and married Faiella, he’s never officially adopted Eric, so Eric’s claim to the throne was always rather shaky. Corwin, your father, was the firstborn in legal marriage of Oberon and Faiella, and I was the second and the last – my mother died giving me birth. So your father, not Eric, was the true heir to the throne. That’s why he fought Eric with such determination when we all thought that Oberon was dead and the throne – vacant. Needless to say, I was on his side all the time. Then Eric died anyway and Oberon himself, upon his return, proclaimed Corwin as his heir.

“Shortly before the Patternfall Battle, your father, however, refused the throne, which of course, left me as the next in line. Merlin wouldn’t count – Corwin never married Dara, his mother. After the battle, with Corwin having had renounced the throne and me presumed dead, Random was chosen as a king. I don’t recall much of what happened in the Abyss, and what I do recall – never ask me of that, but I did survive. For many years I aimlessly traversed Shadow, until I came to this one. I wandered in the desert playing idly with blue sand when I saw a few grains of a substance, which seemed familiar. I recalled that long time ago your father had shown me the same substance – the main ingredient in a highly combustible mixture he had brought from Avalon. There it was called ‘jeweler rouge’ – the only gunpowder ever known to work in Amber.

“So I stayed. Return to Amber with guns and fight Random as your father had done against Eric – yes, I thought about it, but there’ve been enough wars. I don’t have a heart to start another one. Also if your father had refused the throne – perhaps it’s not worth that much to fight for. Yet, I knew that Brand was also alive, and as long as he lived, Amber would be in danger – so one day my gunpowder might become very handy. I traveled to the cities in the East to obtain expertise in a large-scale ammo production and that’s where I met Charlie. I suppose it was love at first site… on his part. And I was so tired of being alone all the time! So we got married and I made him to move here. The factory – that’s where the gunpowder’s produced and the ammo’s made. Not just for rifles as in your father’s time… artillery shells, rockets – you name it, I got it.”

With one hand, Deirdre fished a pack of cigarettes from her handbag, pulled one out with her lips and handed the pack to Akin. In a lighter’s flicker her silhouette was breathtakingly beautiful. Akin could not help to wonder if those stories whispered in Amber about her and his father had any truth in them…  Could not possibly be, they were true siblings after all…  He returned his attention to her story.

“Oh, that Clarissa’s bunch! Officially they’re not even in the succession line because Oberon divorced Clarissa, his third wife. But there’ve always been rumors – the royal seal didn’t get applied to the divorce decree or some similar legal technicality… Fiona’s the firstborn, but the only thing she was ever interested in is the Pattern. That leaves Bleys and Brand. Bleys has lost his ambition long time ago, and no one would accept Brand, not even his true siblings. His children may be a different matter though. Rinaldo has no claim – Brand divorced Jasra, his mother. But Elektra…Elektra… Ugly or not, she’s legitimate, and able… and willing. If Clarissa’s offspring unites behind Elektra – Benedict’s army wouldn’t withstand their combined sorcery and the military expertise of Bleys... not without my guns.”

Akin silently drew on his cigarette, doing his best to sort out his thoughts. If what she was saying were true, and there seemed to be no reason to doubt it, the fate of Amber rested in the hands of an obviously unstable woman, who perhaps never fully recovered from whatever had been revealed to her in the Abyss. Covert operations being his specialty, he knew all too well that a coup d'état did not require a large force. A small group of men with Tommy guns would easily overwhelm the palace guard with their medieval arms and a few rifles left from Corwin’s time. A small group of men… just like Lucky’s goons. How convenient…

He still could not make himself to look at a petite redhead he had seen in the halls of the Castle as a sinister figure, but the wisdom of Random’s order to spy on Elektra now became more apparent. Though perhaps he must return to Amber at once. His information of Deirdre sitting on her cache of firearms, patiently waiting for a slightest disturbance in Amber to justify her taking over, might be much more important. Or perhaps it was wiser to keep silent for the time being. Strange as it was, he had never given much thought to his own legitimacy. But with Random’s rule now looking much less stable than just a half an hour ago, if Corwin and his mother had signed a marriage certificate, his own claim would be even more legitimate than that of his aunt. He pressed the half-finished cigarette into the ashtray. Perhaps he should stick with Aunt Deirdre for the time being. She may be a bit crazy, but she might make a pretty valuable ally… for the time being.

There was a change in the atmosphere in the vehicle since Deirdre had begun talking. Time seemed to slip by at a different rate, as when one looked at a spinning wheel that appeared to go backwards, even though the wheel would advance forwards. He felt the moment. He sensed fate and destiny getting closer and closer as they drove toward the factory. His heart beat faster as he lit another cigarette for Aunt Deirdre and one for himself. Damn, but this was getting exciting!

He thought it wise to brief her on the current political situation in Amber, but her pointed questions showed that she was quite familiar with the state of affairs – either she had agents planted there or been coming back herself on a regular basis. If she did, her disguise must have been a very good one. Akin grew more and more impressed with his aunt. She was especially interested in the cult of Elektra, but Akin did not know much about that. There seemed to be a number of sailors and other lower classes folk who worshipped a grotesquely ugly creature they called Elektra, but there were no leaders, no structure and no assemblies – just whispers floating in the Death Alley taverns. He did mention that real Elektra had nothing in common with that monstrosity and, as far as he could tell, was just a young harmless girl.

They arrived suddenly – a cluster of structures behind a chain link fence appeared seemingly from nowhere in front of them after another turn of the road. It looked dark and empty. Apparently she did know about the brakes as the car screeched to a halt just a few inches from the gates. A man in a military style uniform rushed from the guardhouse, coming to attention as he recognized Deirdre.

“Is Bugsy in here?”

“No Ma’am, they left half an hour ago.”

“They?”

The guard described a rather slim red-haired man who had arrived with Bugsy and had been taken on a tour of the factory, which was closed down for the weekend. Deirdre did not let him finish, drawing a deck from her purse and shoving the trump into the guard’s face.  “Him?”

Akin smiled faintly. So much for his aunt allegedly throwing her Trumps away.

“Yes Ma’am.  But him being with Bugsy… I didn’t think it was improper…” The guard grew concerned.

“Brand!” Deirdre slowly slid back into the driver’s seat and started very thoughtfully chewing her long, dark-red nails.

Akin sat back and watched her for a while, but then there were so many questions on his mind. “What’s Brand doing here? Do you think he’s going to attempt another grab for the throne... this time with those weapons?” He scratched his chin. “I think if Brand gets his hands on those weapons, things will become pretty hot pretty quickly in Amber. Can we move them to another location that Brand doesn’t know about?”

She looked like she was in a trance, perhaps having another one of her ‘episodes.’ But then the blue perfectly shaped eyes opened wide under long, luscious lashes. “The weapons and ammo could be moved, I suppose, but… but this is all so… contrived, don’t you see? No one’s bothered me in here for years. Then Jasra appeared, though I still don’t know how she found out of me being in here. But that was more than a year ago. Suppose she told Brand – he wouldn’t have waited all this time – not his nature. Either he just found out or it wasn’t Brand at all… but someone else… in the disguise of Brand… And look how everything happens at once. Bugsy attacking Lucky for no reason – and they’re childhood friends yanno… alleged Brand barging in, but not taking anything… And all on the same night as you two have arrived… I wouldn’t suspect you though – a son of Corwin would never turn against me. But what about the girl? And what if you’ve been followed without your knowledge?”

Akin nodded. “That’s true. I haven’t considered that. I suppose it was a bit too pat about Allysa. And, as far as my being followed...” He rubbed his chin wondering. “I wouldn’t know, but I don’t think so. At least, if our trumping here was an accident as Allysa’s said.”

“We must be certain before making any move. Of course I can’t just contact Brand… but you most certainly can.” Deirdre shoved in his hand two Trumps and almost pushed him out of the car. “Talk to Brand, find out what he’s up to, then get in touch with me. I must get back to town before Charlie makes more trouble for everyone…”

Under the fool moon and the starry skies, there he was standing all alone on a dusty road between dunes of blue sand, looking at the departing car in total bewilderment, clutching in his hand Trumps of Deirdre and Brand.

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