having fun and half the time I don't even know who I'm making love to."

"Both of us," said Modred with a smile.

"Yeah, well, I don't do threesomes. Change back."

In an instant Modred was gone and Wyrdrune stood in his place once more. The transformation

having fun and half the time I don't even know who I'm making love to."

"Both of us," said Modred with a smile.

"Yeah, well, I don't do threesomes. Change back."

In an instant Modred was gone and Wyrdrune stood in his place once more. The transformation

"Okay, I admit it," she confessed reluctantly, "but every time you shapechange to his aspect, I can't help

feeling like I'm cheating on you."

"But you're not. I'm still here."

"I know, and in a kinky sort of way, I suppose I get off on it, but it still feels weird when you take me by

surprise like that."

"Look at it this way, you have two lovers for the price of one."

She grimaced. "If you ask me, this little magic family of ours is getting just too strange to cope with. Half

the time, Billy's not Billy, but he's Merlin. And I've gotten used to that, but when he turns into Gorlois, he

still scares the hell out of me. And since you and Modred merged into one person, I've been feeling off

balance about ninety percent of the time. I understand it, but I just can't get used to it. I knew you and

Modred as two separate people. And I saw him die. I can't forget that."

"I know. I wish you could let go of that," said Wyrdrune. "We've been over it so many times. You only

saw hisbody die. His runestone absorbed his spirit and bonded with me. He's still alive, Kira, just as I

am. Now we're both here together. And we both love you, you know."

"I know you do, but I'm not so sure about Modred."

She touched the ruby runestone in his chest. Modred's runestone.

"I don't really know if Modred's capable of love. I just can't . . . connect with him the way I do with you.

It makes me feel strange, that's all. And since you merged with him, you haven't been the same."

Wyrdrune frowned. "You never told me that before. How am I not the same?"

"I don't know. I can't quite put my finger on it. But, there was always a sort of boyish quality about you

that I loved. Even in the beginning, when I thought you were a pain in the ass, I found myself responding

to it. You were a fuckup, but you were sort of cute about it. And you still are, sometimes, but then other

times, it's just not there. There's like . . . an edge about you that wasn't there before."

She stared down at the sapphire runestone embedded in the palm of her right hand.

"And the fact that Modred's runestone can transform you into him just makes me wonder whatmy

runestone could do tome . I mean, we always knew the stones were animated by the life forces of the

Council, but they never did anything to reallychange us. The idea that I could suddenly turn into a