assistants, long before you came to Cambridge, of course. He would be about fifty now, I think. He's

dean of the College of Sorcerers there. A good man. An excellent teacher. Calm, steady, and reliable."

assistants, long before you came to Cambridge, of course. He would be about fifty now, I think. He's

dean of the College of Sorcerers there. A good man. An excellent teacher. Calm, steady, and reliable."

"But if he's requested a field agent, that means he won't be in charge of the investigation," Kira pointed

out.

"Yes, that could pose a problem," Wyrdrune said. "We'll have to find out who the Bureau's sending out

there."

"That shouldn't be too difficult," said Kira. "We can have Archimedes ask Mona to access the Bureau's

data banks."

"We'll get Archimedes on it right away," said Wyrdrune. "Meanwhile, it would be in our best interests to

get out there before that field agent does and make contact with Ramirez. Our first problem will be to

convince him that Billy and Merlin are the same person . . . sort of."

"I don't think that will be a problem," Merlin said. "Paul is a sensitive."

"What? You mean he's atelepath ?" said Wyrdrune.

"Apparently, his mother had the gift as well," said Merlin, "though she never had any formal thaumaturgic

training. Paul can't send, he can only receive, but he's a very powerful receptor. And that's what worries

me. I once cautioned him about the responsibility of his gift and using it indiscriminately. However, this is

exactly the sort of situation where he'll feel that the most responsible thing to do is use it to find the

necromancer. And if the necromancer is a Dark One, Paul will be in a great deal of danger. A Dark One

would instantly sense his probing. We must leave for Santa Fe as soon as possible."

"I'll let Makepeace know we're leaving town, in case anything comes up," said Wyrdrune.

"I'll start packing," Kira said.

The land had changed. The centuries had worked their wonders. Once a primitive, tribal settlement, the

Dancing Ground of the Sun was now a city, throbbing with life. Life . . . and power.

It was still here. He could feel it, coursing through the soil. Some things never changed. There were

places on earth where the natural energies accumulated, places of power, and Santa Fe was one of them.

The humans felt it, on some vague, subliminal level, but they would never truly understand it. They

perceived it but dimly, thinking it was something indefinable, part of the city's atmosphere and charm,

believing it had something to do with the climate and the clean, natural beauty of the region, but it was

more than that. Much more.

It was no accident that at various times in history, the place where Santa Fe now stood had inspired

creativity. Rather, it was inevitable. There were places in the world where the suicide rate was greater

than anywhere else. Places that somehow sapped the vitality of those who lived there. Places that

possessed negative energy.