Preface from _Realms of Fantasy_: This story takes up the affairs ofMerlin, son of Corwin, from where I left him at the end of _Prince ofChaos_, the 10th and most recent book in my Amber series. As a Prince ofAmber on his father's side and a Prince of Chaos on his mother's, Merlin hassome problems--not the least of these being that he finds himself in theline of succession for the recently vacated Throne of Chaos, a position heis not anxious to assume. He had felt himself well-protected from it by thenumber of claimants ahead of him. Unfortunately, they have been dying offmost rapidly, generally by means other than the natural. He suspects hismother, Dara, and his half-brother, Mandor, of having a hand in this. But herecently faced both of them down in a magical duel, and they seem to havehad second thoughts about his tractability, should one of them manage toseat him on the Throne. Time will tell. In the meantime, he went off to oneof Mandor's guest houses, hoping for a good night's sleep.

I awoke in a dark room, making love to a lady I did not recall havinggone to bed with. Life can be strange. Also oddly sweet at times. I hadn'tthe will to destroy our congress, and I went on and on with what I was doingand so did she until we came to that point of sudden giving and taking, thatmoment of balance and rest.

I made a gesture with my left hand and a small light appeared andglowed above our heads. She had long black hair and green eyes, and hercheekbones were high and her brow wide. She laughed when the light came on,revealing the teeth of a vampire. Her mouth held not a trace of blood,making it seem somehow impolite for me to touch my throat seeking after anytrace of soreness. "It's been a long time, Merlin," she said softly.

"Madam, you have the advantage of me," I said.