body, but aside from the damage to his clothes, there was no sign of any wound. There was a large hole

in the center of his shirt. The frayed edges of the cloth around it were charred and crisped. There was a

large, bright red patch in the skin over his chest, but even as they watched, it grew smaller and began to

fade. But that was not the most shocking thing about what confronted them.

body, but aside from the damage to his clothes, there was no sign of any wound. There was a large hole

in the center of his shirt. The frayed edges of the cloth around it were charred and crisped. There was a

large, bright red patch in the skin over his chest, but even as they watched, it grew smaller and began to

fade. But that was not the most shocking thing about what confronted them.

"Billy?" Wyrdrune said.

His chest rose as he drew a deep, shuddering breath and slowly, laboriously sat up. "I'm all right. Did

you get him?"

His voice had changed as well. It was a little deeper, but not as deep as Merlin's had been. And the

accent was different, too. It still sounded British, only it was no longer cockney, nor did it have the same

sound as Merlin's accent. It sounded more like a curious mixture of Welsh and Irish, with a touch of

working-class London East End.

"No, we didn't. He got away."

They heard a crash behind them and saw that Paul had lumbered to his feet and knocked into one of his

heavy bronze sculptures. It had fallen to the floor.

"Paul!" said Kira, moving over to him and taking him by the arm.

"I'm blind!" said Paul. "I can't see a thing!"

Kira led him over to the couch and sat him down. Wyrdrune stared as Billy got to his feet. He had

grown. They were the same height now, only Billy had filled out. His build had become more muscular,

more powerful. He moved over to the couch and bent down over Paul. He got down on one knee and

lifted Paul's chin with his fingers, staring intently into his eyes. Little sparkles played in Billy's unsettling

gaze. After a moment the sparkles faded.

"It's all right," he said. "The optic nerve hasn't been destroyed. The blindness is only temporary, Paul.

But it will be a while before you can see again."

"Billy," Kira said with awe, "your voice! The way you look! Whathappened to you?"

Billy stood and turned to face them. "I died," he said. He touched his chest. There was no trace of the

redness now.

"Youdied ?" said Kira.

"Well, in a sense," Billy replied, "only as my life was fading, Merlin gave up his life energy in an effort to

save me. And apparently Gorlois had the same idea at the same time."