"You think there may be more than one?" asked Paul with concern.

"You think there may be more than one?" asked Paul with concern.

"Howwill you know?"

"The runestones," Kira said. "If the Dark Ones or any of their human acolytes are near, the runestones

will give off a glow." She paused. "That's how we know that you haven't fallen victim to them."

Paul glanced at her uneasily. "And what if I had?"

"Let's just say it's a good thing that you haven't," she replied.

Wyrdrune quickly changed the subject. "About this Bureau field agent," he said. "We, uh, have a way of

keeping tabs on the Bureau, to an extent. However, at the time we left New York, they hadn't yet

assigned anyone to the case. The moment they do, it's important that you let us know at once."

"And it's also important that the field agent doesn't know about us," Kira added. "At least, not until

we've had a chance to decide for ourselves whether or not the agent is someone we can work with."

"It's the kind of thing that has to be handled delicately," Wyrdrune added. "It's not that we don't trust the

Bureau, you understand, but any large organization is subject to security leaks. And in a situation like this,

that's something we simply can't afford."

"I understand," said Paul. "But what happens if you determine, for whatever reason, that the field agent

isn't someone you can trust with this knowledge?"

"Then we'll have to work around him somehow," Wyrdrune said.

"However, that may not be necessary," Merlin added. "We know that we can trust to your discretion in

this matter, Paul, and you will be in an ideal position to help us determine whether or not the field agent

can be trusted."

"You mean by using my gift," said Paul.

"Precisely."

"My so-called 'gift,'" Paul repeated wryly. "Over the years, I've come to look upon it more as a curse.

I've found that as I've grown older, my sensitivity's grown stronger. When I was just a child, I didn't think

much of it. Then when I discovered that it was something that made me different, something that the other

children could not do, it became fun, using it to read their minds and gain an advantage over them. After I

began my thaumaturgic training, I found that my sensitivity started to increase. I could look deeper into

people's minds, discover their most closely held secrets. And that was when it began to truly frighten me."

"I can imagine," Kira said sympathetically.

He looked at her. "Can you?" He shook his head. "I don't think you can. We have all done things in our

past, or thought things, that we would never wish to have revealed. There is an animal nature to the

deepest recesses of our minds that can be truly terrifying. Are you familiar with the work of Dr. Jung?"