file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Roger%20Zelazny%20-%20The%20Shroudling%20And%20The%20Guisel.txt
Roger Zelazny. The Shroudling and the Guisel
Preface from _Realms of Fantasy_: This story takes up the affairs of
Merlin, son of Corwin, from where I left him at the end of _Prince of
Chaos_, the 10th and most recent book in my Amber series. As a Prince of
Amber on his father's side and a Prince of Chaos on his mother's, Merlin has
some problems--not the least of these being that he finds himself in the
line of succession for the recently vacated Throne of Chaos, a position he
is not anxious to assume. He had felt himself well-protected from it by the
number of claimants ahead of him. Unfortunately, they have been dying off
most rapidly, generally by means other than the natural. He suspects his
mother, Dara, and his half-brother, Mandor, of having a hand in this. But he
recently faced both of them down in a magical duel, and they seem to have
had second thoughts about his tractability, should one of them manage to
seat him on the Throne. Time will tell. In the meantime, he went off to one
of 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 having
gone to bed with. Life can be strange. Also oddly sweet at times. I hadn't
the will to destroy our congress, and I went on and on with what I was doing
and so did she until we came to that point of sudden giving and taking, that
moment of balance and rest.
I made a gesture with my left hand and a small light appeared and
glowed above our heads. She had long black hair and green eyes, and her
cheekbones 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 any
trace of soreness. "It's been a long time, Merlin," she said softly.
"Madam, you have the advantage of me," I said.
She laughed again. "Hardly," she answered, and she moved in such a
fashion as to distract me entirely, causing the entire chain of events to
begin again on my part.
"Unfair," I said, staring into those sea-deep eyes, stroking that pale
brow. There was something terribly familiar there, but I could not
understand it.
"Think," she said, "for I wish to be remembered."
"I...Rhanda?" I asked.
"Your first love, as you were mine," she said smiling, "there in the
mausoleum. Children at play, really. But it was sweet, was it not?"
"It still is," I replied, stroking her hair. "No, I never forgot you.
Never thought to see you again, though, after finding that note saying your
parents no longer permitted you to play with me...thinking me a vampire."
"It seemed so, my Prince of Chaos and of Amber. Your strange strengths
and your magics...."
I looked at her mouth, at her unsheathed fangs. "Odd thing for a family
of vampires to forbid," I stated.
"Vampires? We're not vampires," she said. "We are among the last of the
shroudlings. There are only five families of us left in all the secret
images of all the shadows from here to Amber--and farther, on into that
place and into Chaos."
file:///G|/Program%20Files/eMule/Incoming/Rog...-%20The%20Shroudling%20And%20The%20Guisel.txt (1 of 10) [10/16/2004 5:23:12 PM]