"You got it on you?"

"You got it on you?"

"Very nice," said Loomis. "I couldn't even spot it. My compliments to your tailor. I'll get you a permit for

it. If anybody asks, you put in the request to me through Paul before you arrived here."

"I appreciate that," Modred said.

"Right. I'll see you in about an hour."

Paul sighed after Loomis had left and glanced at Modred. "I hope you know what you're doing," he said.

"Between Loomis and the Bureau, you're burning your candle at both ends. What was all that about

contacting the Bureau and undercover agents?"

"I was thinking of passing Kira off as an undercover Bureau field agent," Modred said. "Her cover will

be that she is a sorceress attending the convention this weekend and Billy will be her apprentice."

"She's much too young to be a sorceress. And what happens when the real Bureau field agent shows

up?" asked Paul.

"I haven't quite worked that part out yet," Modred replied.

"Do you really have contacts in the Bureau?"

"Yes, several, but they are unofficial ones."

"What does that mean?"

"It means," Modred replied, "that we can expect only a limited amount of cooperation on their part.

They will provide what help they can, but they will not take foolish chances. They cannot reveal that they

know me, nor can they reveal what they know about the Dark Ones. In other words, if I were to get in

over my head with the Bureau, I'd be on my own."

"That doesn't sound very encouraging," said Paul.

"Not to worry," Modred replied with a smile. "Both the Bureau and the I.T.C. have been trying to catch

me for years and they've never even come close. Besides, all I have to do is shapechange back to

Wyrdrune and they'll never find me."

"Yes, but they'll find me," said Paul. "This body is the only one I've got and while I could change my

appearance, I do have a career in this town. I'd hate to lose it. Trying to deal with the Dark Ones is bad

enough, but putting yourself at odds with the Bureau and misleading the police . . ." Paul shook his head.

"I just hope you know what you're doing, that's all."

"At the moment, I'm playing it by ear," said Modred. "My chief concern right now is to make sure that

neither the Bureau nor the police get in our way. And that's going to require a certain amount of finesse.

You see, Paul, neither the Bureau nor the police will stand a chance against the Dark Ones, not unless

they are incredibly lucky. Immortalscan be killed, but it's extremely difficult. A mortal would only be able

to do it if he caught one of them off guard. And not even the senior mages of the I.T.C. could hope to

match the thaumaturgic powers of the Dark Ones. Only the runestones can do that. Our first priority has