Farther, perhaps. That balance I spoke of. Few seem to appreciate what a delicate thing it is. I have traveled in the shadowlands near to Amber, and I have walked in Amber herself. I also have known the shadows that lie by Chaos side. I have met many people and seen many things. Then, when I encountered Martin and spoke with him, I began to feel that the changes I had been told would be for the better would not simply result in a revision of Amber more along the lines of my elders’ liking. They would, instead, turn Amber into a mere extension of the Courts, most of the shadows would boil away to join with Chaos. Amber would become an island. Some of my seniors who still smart at Dworkin’s having created Amber in the first place are really seeking a return to the days before this happened. Total Chaos, from which all things arose. I see the present condition as superior and I wish to preserve it. My desire is that neither side emerge victorious in any conflict.”

I turned in time to see Benedict shaking his head.

“Then you are on neither side,” he stated.

“I like to think that I am on both.”

“Martin,” I said, “are you in this with her?”

He nodded.

Random laughed.

“The two of you? Against both Amber and the Courts of Chaos? What do you hope to achieve? How do you plan to further this notion of balance?”

“We are not alone,” she said, “and the plan is not ours.”

Her fingers dipped into her pocket. Something glittered when she withdrew them. She turned it in the light. It was our father’s signet ring that she held.

“Where did you get that?” Random asked.

“Where else?”

Benedict stepped toward her and held out his hand. She gave it to him. He scrutinized it.

“It is his,” he said. “It has the little markings on the back that I’ve seen before. Why do you have it?”

“First, to convince you that I am acting properly when I convey his orders,” she said.