Reunion by Kara Dalkey

Do I look like a keeper of Atlantean knowledge? You should ask your prince.” Corwin slowly got up and dusted himself off.
    Nia closed her eyes a moment. “He doesn’t know, either. But he senses its importance within the unis.” She ran her fingers over the inscriptions and images on the wall—images of octopuses and mermyds and dolphins.
    Corwin could feel homesickness radiating from her. He gently grasped her upper arm. “Nia, come on. I know all this reminds you of your homeland, but if we stay here much longer, you won’t live to see it again.”
    â€œYou’re right,” Nia said, determination returning to her face. “I lost sight of my purpose for a minute. It’s good that you’re here with me. The prince chose his land Avatar wisely.”
    Chose wisely? Corwin thought as they began to crawl back out of the hole. And here I thought I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
    It took a little while for Corwin to catch sight of the castle again. But once he had, the path opened wider and wider until it led onto a clearing surrounded by trees. Castle Carmarthen was not far away, just over a slight rise.
    â€œLooks like we finally got some luck,” Corwin murmured.
    â€œCorwin,” Nia warned.
    Suddenly the bushes ringing them shifted and rustled. Armed and liveried men on horseback emerged from under the trees into the clearing. “Guess again,” Anwir said, riding on a stout pony. “Luck is with someone today, but not you. There they are, your lordship,” Anwir told a rider who had the armor and tabard of the captain of the guard.
    Corwin prepared to grab Nia and run, but the rest of the horsemen closed around them in a semicircle. “Just when I was sure I couldn’t possibly think any worse of you, Anwir, you’ve gone and proven me wrong,” Corwin said.
    The insult didn’t seem to bother Anwir a bit. Instead, he responded with a broad grin. “Why, thank ye, lad. I’ve your late master’s reputation to surpass, ye know.”
    â€œOh, you’ve well surpassed Fenwyck in villainy, Anwir.” Corwin turned round and round, looking for a hole in the circle, some avenue of escape. But there was none. “How did you find us?”
    â€œMy man followed you,” Anwir said, pointing at a bush. From behind it emerged the man who had been “sleeping” at the inn table. “He said you made enough noise crashing through the woods that a deaf man could have tracked you.”
    Corwin sighed. Fenwyck always said I was too clumsy to be a good house-thief. Continuing to study the circle of riders, Corwin recognized one of them—one of the mages from Vortigern’s court. The mage leaned over and whispered in the captain’s ear. The captain nodded. “Enough of this chatter,” he declared. “Corwin of Carmarthen, you and your sorceress companion are under arrest for assault upon a royal personage. You are to accompany us to the court of His Royal Majesty, King Vortigern, where you will be tried and sentenced for your crime.”
    All the riders looked wary and had their hands on sword hilts or bows. The mage looked as though he had a spell gesture prepared to unleash.
    But Corwin knew their preparation was unnecessary. Even if he and Nia had had the strength of last evening, they could not have overcome so many. Weak as they were today, it was hopeless. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to her. “I failed you.”
    To his surprise, she shook her head. “These people will take us into the castle, won’t they?”
    â€œProbably.”
    â€œThen we will be closer to our prince. We haven’t failed yet.”
    Yesterday she was the voice of doom; today she is the voice of insane hope , he thought. I’m not sure which voice I like less.
    Corwin allowed the guards to escort him and Nia to a wooden wagon on which sat a large wicker cage. The guards