where the Dark Ones had been entombed. He became possessed by

them and he removed the runestones from within the pentagram,

which enabled the Dark Ones to grow strong enough to break free.”

“So that was how he died, ” said Fugisawa.

“He died because I killed him, ” Modred said. “But I was too late.

The Dark Ones had already escaped.”

“And the runestones became part of you because you were all

descended from the three daughters of Gorlois, the sole surviving

member of the Council?” Fugisawa said.

“Except for Billy, who was descended from his son, that being

Merlin, ” Wyrdrune said.

“This much I understand, ” said Fugisawa. “I think. What I still

don’t understand is the exact nature of the runestones.”

“None of us fully understands it, either, ” Wyrdrune said. “Not

even Merlin. It’s a spell, after all, that predates even him. The

runestones themselves are not the astral spirits of the Council.

They’re a living enchantment—part of a living enchantment—that

is powered by the essence of those spirits. We can draw upon that

power, but only when the runestones allow us to. In other words,

we couldn’t misuse it or call upon it simply anytime we wanted to.

There has to be a direct threat from the Dark Ones.”

“Or one of their acolytes, which is what I suspect this Kanno

might be, ” said Modred. “If, indeed, he is our killer.”

“And the runestones will tell you that?” said Fugisawa.

Modred nodded.

“How will you know?”

“In the presence of the power of the Dark Ones, ” Modred said,

“the runestones emit a glow. The closer we are and the greater the

power, the brighter the glow.”

“And there’s no way they can make a mistake?” asked Fugisawa.

“There’s only one thing that will trigger that reaction from them,

” Wyrdrune said. “If Kanno is the killer, we’ll know very soon.”

The phone in the back of the limo rang. Modred picked it up. It

was the chauffeur on the intercom.