"Oh, help yourself, by all means."

Makepeace refilled his glass.

"Now, I don't know what sort of nonsense you might have told Hyphen—er,

Inspector Harper-Smythe—that made him believe you had anything to contribute

to

this investigation, but I have more than enough to worry about right now

without

you lot, believe me," Blood said. "I—"

"Can I say somethin' now?" said Billy.

Blood sighed. "Yes, what is it, Slade?"

"Look, what's it gonna take to convince you I'm tellin' you the truth about

ol'

Merlin?"

"I almost wish you were, Slade," said Blood wearily, "It's going to take a

sodding wizard to help me solve this one." He snorted derisively. "I don't

suppose you could make yourself disappear? That might convince me."

"There are limits to what I can do with this boy's body," Billy said, his

voice

suddenly deeper and without a trace of Cockney accent. "He's not fully mature

yet, and magic use tires him easily. Just speaking like this is a strain on

his

vocal cords. I have to allow him to replenish his energies; otherwise I could

cause him great harm."

"Well, that's terribly convenient, isn't it?" said Blood with a tight smile.

"Honestly, Slade, do you really think that speaking in some sort of comic

opera

voice is going to—"

"With your permission, Chief Inspector," Wyrdrune said, looking at Billy

uneasily. "I studied under Merlin and knew him well. There are things I could

ask nun that only Merlin Ambrosius would know."

"Oh, why not?" said Blood with an airy gesture of helplessness. "You might as

well."

"What were the circumstances of my expulsion from school?" Wyrdrune asked.

"A fire spell you were using as part of a special-effects display for some

rock

band went out of control and you burned down the concert hall," said Merlin.

"You always did overreach yourself, Karpinski."

Wyrdrune's eyes grew wide, and he exchanged shocked glances with Kira. He

swallowed hard. "What... what was your father's name?" he asked softly.

Billy chuckled. "Gorlois, may he roast, the last surviving member of the

Council

of the White. I helped Uther kill the bastard."

"My God," said Wyrdrune. "It is Merlin!"