Gemini

 Shadow-shifing is sometimes a bit of a pain. I know, I know, ask almost
anyone in Amber and they will say "All you desire can be found in Shadow."
 What about things you don't want? -or things you almost want?
  I was close but that usually only counts in assasination attempts
(That's what Random...I mean the King was fond of saying.) I was in the
vicinity of my quarry but his pescence seemed to leak from several
worlds...which was te right one? 
I'd actually been at this for about two days Amber time - well give and
take a few well deserved "rest breaks", and seemed no closer to the source
of the problems than when Miss Romanova had found me (I'm still not sure
how) in a bar on one of the Sadow Earths. Ghostwheel had vanished...almost
like whatever he had actually found scared him....I doubted this
however...He was a major power in his own right as well as being attuned
to Corwin's Pattern. Whatever had happened to Ghost I could not use his
Trump to contact him...this was not entirely re-assureing but then
Ghostwheel DID have other things that were more important to deal with on
other fronts.  
 I decided to work on a more effective method of deduction -blind luck.
 I walked along a street paved with blue stones. Daylight debated becoming
night. A bird called. The sound of a cat in heat. The road was powder
tightly packed. The sun rose and fell again. Following the tug of reason I
stepped through a shop. Glass breaking. Dusk. The road was wet pavement
and a car screeched to avoid me. I dodged. Gravity light - a real spring
in my step. - another into heavyness. Clouds in purple whisps. Black
cumulo-stratus. Dirty sheep. I was on a sidewalk now and walking steadily
toward the building. Once I found my quarry I could bring him to
justice...not mine...I had no grudge...but the offers of a Lady firmed my
stride.
 The walk had changed my clothing as well. Engeneer boots replaced the
subtle tooled leather of my riding boots...My doublet and jerkin, now a
green silk shirt lightly stiched in gold and a leather bomber style jacket
of an almost-grey green. My Levis...well some things never change.
 I entered the apartment building and looked through the listing ....There
he was!.
 It was just a matter of waiting untll sombody came through the door. 
 I held the door for a blue-haired old lady and her dog.
 She smiled and thanked me "Such a curtious young man."  And both she and
the poodle studiously ignored the "NO PETS" sign.
 As I entered I considerd how probible it would be that the ever-helpul
phone company would have left cpies of the phone book in the mail-room for
a new resident. 
 Quicky retrieving the book I looked up my targets number....how helpful a
room and floor number.
 I entered the elevator humming.
 The doors opened at my stop and I walked down the corrodor to it's end. I
was feeling confident... and why shouldn't I? I was a free ajent and thus
probably quite safe from any counter-plotting. After all he hah to be
aware of the plot to actually prepare for it.
 I knocked lightly on the door and was rewarded with it being opened a
short while later. The person who opened it was about my height but of a
lighter, almost bony build. He had suspicious eyes...not just eyes filled
with faint suspicion, but the sort of eyes you could not relly trust to
show what he was feeling. He matched the description of one of the
roomates.
 "Hello, can I help you?"
 "I hope so." I said with some enthusiasm. "I was wondering if Neil
happened to be at home?
 "Yes."
 Well that was helpful.
 "Um.. could I see him."
 "Neil," He turned to the right raising his voice slightly. "Somebody here
to see you."
  "Okay...just a sec..I have to send this off." 
A pause where the roommate stood in the doorway...not saying anything and
not letting me in.
 "I'm an old friend." I explaned, trying to get some sort of reaction from
him and failing desperately "We...we went to high school together."
 His eyes had a coldness to them. Through no fault of his they radieted
this. No matter how nice this person was you would never know until you
got passed them.
 "Um...we used to..ah..." I was saved by a voice coming down the hall.
 "Coming...sorry, I was just sending off some e......" It faded as the
person saw me.
 Wait a second.... What was going on?
 "You have a beard!"
 "I know you!"
  Both of these said at the same time as the roomate vanished into the
apartment.
 " Um."
 Another comment in unison...this ome more banal than the last.
 "I'd  like you to come with me." I'm so glad mother taught me how to stay
calm in inane and troublesome situations - or at least look that way.
 Neil gulped...he was shaken. I smiled inwardly.
 "Uh...just let me...um...get my shoes."
 "Be my guest."
 I knew he had nowhere to bolt on such short notice, and without either a
pen or paper he was quite harmless.
 
 The Doughnut shop was full of smoke no matter what the "no-smoking" signs
said and we sat as far into the non-smoking section as possible. I've been
known to smoke an occasional pipeful but this mad me as queazy as sitting
next to my "favorite" cousin at Court Ball.
 The coffee was bad but as time passed we drank lots.
 I had made a mistake.
 This was a Shadow of the Shadow I was looking for.
 Slight differences but telling ones.
 "Of course after I posted the first story with the title I ripped off
from Aurther C Clarke I thought "What the Hell!" and continued allong
those lines." Hyped on the coffee and a little intimidated by me Neil was
babbling freely. (Somehow the idea of me, Robyn, making anybody that
nervous is an odd one. Years before it would have given me the
giggles...now it just caused a certain tightness around the corners of my
mouth.)  
  "I thought after Clarke why not good ole' Robert H? I wrote the seqel to
the first one and named it "Have Chequebook will travel." Based on "have
Spacesuit will travel." I'm thinking of stealing "The Moon is a Harsh
Mistress." for a Sailor Moon story as well."
 "We have a problem." I said.
 "What?"
 I sighed, "Well things would e fine if i was off punishing those who
actually went to the trouble of TYPING and posting...but the fellow Im
after...the YOU I'm after just writes 'em and leaves it at that...or
creates a bunch of really dangerous fragments."
 "So what's the problem?"
 "I thought you were him..."
  "I AM him." Neil cut in, and then addes "Well, sort of."
 "Exactly....'sort of.' "
  "Doesn't this mean you're close then?"  Neil pressed.
 "I guess but...."
 "Who you need is somebody who thinks like him....well 'sort of'"

 We both smiled.




                                n.

 ___________________________________________________________________________
     Nene   Nene    Nene    Nene    Nene    Nene    Nene    Nene    Nene   
                    I met a Lady in the Meads,
                    Full beautiful, a faery's child,
                    Her hair was long, her foot was light
                    And her eyes were wild.
                                            J.Keats
  ________________________________________________________________________    
           Agent Of Chaos. Robyn, Duke of Amber. Unicorn Knight
 ****************************************************************************