human, but it mentioned a sorcerer named Merlin—the same Merlin, apparently, who had recently

awakened from Morganna's spell and brought back magic to the world.

human, but it mentioned a sorcerer named Merlin—the same Merlin, apparently, who had recently

awakened from Morganna's spell and brought back magic to the world.

However, even the most advanced of human adepts were no match for a true immortal, as Wulfgar had

discovered when the human mage named Al Hassan, one of Merlin's pupils, had stumbled upon the place

of their confinement while in search of ancient artifacts. Al Hassan had fallen easy prey to them. They had

been weakened by their centuries of confinement, but the return of magic to the world had awakened

them. They were able to reach out and seize control of Al Hassan and induce him to remove the

runestones from within the pentagram. Yet, the struggle to direct their energies at him against the power

of the runestones had weakened them severely. They had no strength left to escape the pit and the

Warding Pentagram surrounding it.

With Al Hassan under their influence, channeling the life energies of his victims to them, they had started

to grow stronger, but the fool had lost the runestones and the spirits of the Council had found human

avatars to bond with, through whom their powers could be channeled. And Merlin, that misbegotten

half-breed who had taught magic to the humans, had joined with them and almost thwarted their escape.

As it was, many of them had been destroyed, but Wulfgar and a number of the others had managed to

escape. Merlin had fallen victim to their wrath, but the half-breed was stronger than they had suspected.

Before they could consume his life force, his astral spirit had fled. By now, it had doubtless found another

home. They were being hunted and a number of them had already been found and killed. The spirits of

the Council had clearly overcome their feelings about the sanctity of life . . . or perhaps bonding with the

humans had made them more pragmatic. Humans, Wulfgar had learned, could be highly efficient killers.

They would find him, he had no doubt of that. With the vast communications network that the humans

had developed, perhaps they had already learned about the girl he had killed the previous night. He had

taken no trouble to conceal her remains. He had purposely left the body in a place where it was certain

to be found. It was all a part of his carefully calculated plan.

Soon after his escape, he realized that the humans had become a great deal more sophisticated. It was

their world now and he would learn from them. While the others had dispersed to the far corners of the

earth, fleeing from the power of the runestones, seeking shelter and seizing human acolytes through whom

they had hoped to build their power, Wulfgar had been patient. If any of the others had succeeded in

becoming strong enough to defeat the power of the runestones, so much the better. If not, he needed

time in which to prepare.

Unlike the others, he had not immediately sought to build up his strength through necromancy. He was

more cautious. He took the time to allow himself to recuperate naturally from his long confinement and he

gave careful thought to how he would proceed. He would not waste his time with human acolytes. He

would not squander his precious energies enslaving and empowering them. He would save his strength,

gather his powers, and make certain that the life energy he took would be strong and young and vibrant.

That girl had not been his first victim, but she was the first he had chosen to reveal, for he felt ready now.

He would wait for the bearers of the runestones to come to him, as they inevitably would, and when they

came, he would choose the time and place where they would meet. He would not give them a chance to