“I’ve never tried to arrest a sorcerer before, ” said Fugisawa.

“Especially a necromancer as powerful as this one seems to be. I

don’t think jail is the answer in a case like this. You don’t muzzle a

mad dog. You kill it.”

“I see, ” said Modred with a smile. “So if I tried to kill the

necromancer and failed, you’d be there to finish the job while she

was occupied with me.”

“That was more or less what I had in mind. ” Fugisawa frowned.

“Wait a moment. You said she”! You think the killer is a woman?“

“Perhaps not the actual killer, ” Modred said, “but there is a

woman behind all this. Actually, female would be the correct term,

not woman. Leila is not a human being.”

Fugisawa stared at him. “Leila? You know who it is?”

“Oh, yes. Our paths have crossed before.”

“What do you mean she’s not a human being?”

“She’s one of the Dark Ones.”

“The Dark Ones? I don’t understand. What is that? Some kind of

organization?”

“They’re the last of a race of immortal beings who were here

when your ancestors were still walking on their knuckles, ”

Wyrdrune said.

Fugisawa stared at them with disbelief. “What kind of nonsense

is this?” he said angrily. “I thought you were using a figure of

speech. Are you trying to tell me that these Dark Ones are literally

not human beings? That they’re some kind of aliens? Do you take

me for a fool?”

“Quite the contrary, Lieutenant, ” said Modred. “If I thought you

were a fool, I would not risk taking you into my confidence, but you

have clearly demonstrated that you are not a fool. You said

precisely the right thing.”

“And what was that?”

“That you do not muzzle a mad dog, you kill it. And that is

precisely what our mission is. To hunt down and kill the Dark Ones

before they can grow powerful enough to enslave the human race.”