The Shroudling and the Guisel - Roger Zelazny, ebook
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The ShroudlingAnd The Guisel
Roger Zelazny
Preface from _Realms of Fantasy_: This story takes up the affairs of
Merlin, son of Corwin, from where Ileft 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, Merlinhas
someproblems--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
isnot anxious to assume. He had felt himself well-protected from itby 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
hadsecond thoughts about his tractability, should one of them manage to
seat himon 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.
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Page 1
 I awoke in a dark room, making love to a lady I did not recall having
goneto bed with. Life can be strange. Also oddly sweet at times. I hadn't
thewill to destroy our congress, and I went on and on with what I was doing
andso did she until we came to that point of sudden giving and taking, that
momentof balance and rest.
I made a gesture with my left hand and a small light appeared and
glowedabove our heads. She had long blackhair and green eyes, and her
cheekbones werehigh and her brow wide. She laughed when the light came on,
revealingthe teeth of a vampire. Hermouth held not a trace of blood,
making itseem somehow impolite for me to touch my throat seeking after any
traceof 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
beginagain on my part.
"Unfair," I said, staring into those sea-deep eyes, strokingthat pale
brow. There was something terribly familiar there, but I could not
understandit.
"Think," she said, "forI wish to be remembered."
Page 2
 "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 notesaying your
parentsno longer permitted you to play with me...thinking me a vampire."
"It seemedso, my Prince of Chaos and of Amber. Your strange strengths
andyour magics ...."
I looked at her mouth, at her unsheathed fangs. "Odd thing for a family
ofvampires to forbid," I stated.
"Vampires?We're not vampires," she said. "We are among the last of the
shroudlings. There are only five familiesof us left in all the secret
images of all the shadows from here to Amber--and farther, on into that
placeand into Chaos."
I held her more tightly and along lifetime of strange lore passed
through my head. Later I said, "Sorry, but I have no idea of what a
shroudlingis."
Later still she responded, "I would be very surprised ifyou did , for
Page 3
 wehave always been a secret race." She opened her mouth to me, and I saw by
spirit-light a slow retraction of her fangs into normal-seeming dentition.
"They emerge in times of passion other than feasting," she remarked.
"So you do use them as a vampire would," I said.
"Or a ghoul," she said. "Their flesh is even richer than their blood."
"'Their'?"I said.
"That of those we would take."
"And who might they be?" I asked.
"Those theworld might be better off without," she said. "Mostof them
simply vanish. Occasionally, with a feast of jokers, only parts of some
remain."
I shook my head.
" Shroudlinglady, I do not understand," I told her.
"We come and go where we would. We are anundetected people , a proud
people. We liveby a code of honor which has protected us against all your
understanding. Even those who suspect us do not know where toturn to seek
us."
Page 4
 "Yet you come and tell me these things."
"I have watched you much of my life. You would not betray us. You, too,
liveby a code."
"Watched me much of my life?How?"
But we distracted each other then and that moment came to a close. I
wouldnot let it die, however. Finally, as we lay side by side, I repeated
it. By then, however, she was ready for it.
"I am the fleeting shadow in your mirror," she said. "I look out, yet
yousee me not. All of us have our pets,my love , a person or place of
hobby. You have always been mine."
"Why do you come to me now, Rhanda ?" I asked."After all these years?"
She looked away.
"Mayhap you will die soon," she said after a time, "and I wished to
recallour happy days together at Wildwood."
"Die soon? I live in danger. I can't deny it. I'm too nearthe Throne .
But I've strong protectors--and I am stronger than people think."
Page 5
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