lightning, the tingling. I saw that a rearing Unicorn occupied the place ofthe King among Dworkin's pieces, a representation of the palace at Amber onthe square beside it. His opponent's King was an erect Serpent, theThelbane--the great needlelike palace of the Kings of Chaos--beside it.

Dworkin's opponent advanced a Piece, laughing as he did so. "Mandor,"he announced. "He thinks himself puppet-master and king-maker." After thecrash and dazzle, Dworkin moved a piece. "Corwin," he said.

"He is free again."

"Yes. But he does not know he is in a race with destiny. I doubt hewill make it back to Amber in time to encounter the hall of mirrors. Withouttheir clues, how effective will he be?"

Dworkin smiled and raised his eyes. For a moment, he seemed to belooking right at me. "I think his timing is perfect, Suhuy," he said then,"and I have several pieces of his memory I found years ago drifting abovethe Pattern in Rebma. I wish I had a golden piss-pot for each time he's beenunderestimated."

"What would that give you?" asked the other.

"Expensive helmets for his enemies."

Both men laughed, and Suhuy rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise.Dworkin rose into the air and tilted forward until he was parallel to theground, looking down on the board. Suhuy tended a hand toward a femalefigure on one of the higher levels, then drew it back. Abruptly, he movedthe Fire Angel again. Even as the air was burned and beaten Dworkin made amove, so that the thunder continued into a roll and the brightness hungthere. Dworkin said something I could not hear over the din. Suhuy'sresponse to the probable naming was, "But she's a Chaos figure!"

"So? We set no rule against it. Your move."

"I want to study this," Suhuy said. "More than a little."

"Take it with you," Dworkin responded. "Bring it back tomorrow night?"