He frowned. “That's not possible. I was with you when you killed him. He said no such thing.”
“It's a long story.”
“Tell me.”
I did so, leaving out only my suspicions about the Pattern and the Jewel of Judgment.
“This is the first time I'm glad I'm not the king,” Aber said.
“What I don't understand,” I said, “is why it's taken everyone this long to try to get this Jewel of Judgment back. Didn't someone notice it was missing years ago?”
“Apparently King Uthor's been trying to get it back ever since it disappeared, but quietly. Searching, trying to find out who took it, and what caused the Shadows to appear.”
“If he's as powerful as you say, why can't he grab another one from a different Shadow? There must be plenty of rubies out there.”
“Sure, but not like this one. Apparently it's got magical properties. At least, that's what they said.”
“Oh?” That piqued my interest. Maybe I could find out more about it. “What does it do?”
“I'm not sure. But if Dad has it, you can bet he's been experimenting with it. That's probably what attracted King Uthor's attention. The king is… part of the Logrus, in ways I don't really understand. They're connected… a part of each other. And if the Jewel is connected to the Logrus too, then Dad's playing with it may have brought him under the King Uthor's scrutiny.”
I nodded. It sounded like a plausible explanation.
“And how did you find us?” I asked.
“You're not hard to track. If one knows how.”
“What do you mean?”
“I used your Trump.”
I frowned. “I didn't sense anything…”
“There are other ways to use them. I've been around you more than anyone lately, we're blood relatives, and I drew the Trump, so perhaps I'm more attuned to you than most. By concentrating very lightly on your card, I can tell where you are… sometimes even look out through your eyes.”
I shivered, not liking the sound of that. I'd have to practice keeping my mental defenses up. And it might mean using the Pattern to shield myself from any Logrus-spying.
“So… you're saying you looked through my eyes and drew a Trump of this clearing?”
“That's right.” He pulled it out and showed me.
I took it and threw it into the fire.
“Hey!” he said.
“This is a special place for Dad and me. We used to go camping here when I was a boy. Dad won't be happy that you're here. And he'll be furious if he discovers you made a Trump to get here.”
“Then we won't tell him.” He shrugged.
“I'm not going to lie,” I said.
He sighed. “Well, tell him whatever you want. I don't care.” He rose and, using the Logrus, summoned a couple of blankets for himself, which he spread out on the ground next to mine.
I heard a crashing noise, as someone came through the forest towards our camp.
“Is that Dad?” Aber asked me.
“Probably.”
A moment later Dworkin emerged from the bushes. When he spotted Aber and me sitting up by the fire, he frowned. He must have imagined he could quietly slip back into camp unnoticed.
“Hi, Dad,” Aber said.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Why aren't you home?”
“It got a little unpleasant there, what with the searches and all the torturing King Uthor has ordered.”
“Where have you been?” I asked Dad.
“Oh, here and there. Many people to see, many things to do.”
“I saw you with her,” I said to our father. “Tell me the truth.”
“Answers will come in time. You are not ready for them.”
“You're wrong.”
Dworkin shrugged. “I have been wrong before.”
“I need those answers!” I snapped. “I'm not a child anymore, and this isn't a game! All our lives are in danger! You say you need my help. Well, I'm not going another step with you until I get answers. And it better be the truth this time.”
“Would I lie to you?” he asked.
“Yes!” He had lied to me constantly since he had swept back into my life.
He sighed. “Very well. Ask your questions, my boy. I will answer as best I can. I owe you that. I owe you both that.”
For a second, I could not believe he'd finally given in. I almost expected to look around and see King Uthor's hell-creatures bearing down on us from all sides, Fate seemed so determined to keep me in ignorance. But it really was just the three of us here, sitting before the campfire, on a remote world far from home.
I licked my lips. “All right. Was that a unicorn I saw?”
“That was no unicorn,” Dworkin said. “That was your mother.”
“My—mother?” I felt my heart skip. Suddenly, everything began to make sense. My life in Ilerium—it had all been a lie. He had brought me there to keep me out of harm's way. The woman who had raised me as her own… she must have been paid. That's why Dworkin had taken care of her all those years. My mother—my real mother—had to be a shape-shifter… some lady of Chaos. But why not tell me the truth?
He let out his breath with an explosive sigh.