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."