"But apparently she could not bring herself to do it," Faegan said.

"No," Wigg said. "Her heart wouldn't let her. She could neither destroy her unborn child nor murder her baby. But Morganna was afraid that the voices in her head might eventually make her even more deranged, even though such was never actually the case. It was her fear of this unexplained madness that finally drove her to give up her child, rather than risk harming him because of what she perceived to be her decaying mental state."

He paused, then looked at the prince and princess. "All of this occurred before Morganna met Nicholas, the common smith who eventually became king of Eutracia, and Tristan and Shailiha's father.

"The Directorate had no idea of any of this when Nicholas, after we selected him to be king, took Morganna for his bride. But later that year, Morganna and Nicholas came to me, telling me her secret. A simple check of Wulfgar's signature in the Hall of Blood Records confirmed their tale. Aside from the head matron of the orphanage, only Morganna, Nicholas, the queen's parents, and I were aware of this. I was never to reveal this secret, at least until Wulfgar could be found. We have been searching for him ever since. This was yet another of the tasks of the consuls of the Redoubt, and another of the reasons they were taught how to examine blood signatures. As for Wulfgar, presumably he has no inkling of who he really is." Wigg paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. "And, despite our best efforts, I still have no idea where he may be." He looked down at his gnarled hands.

"And what would have become of Wulfgar if he had been found?" Shailiha asked anxiously.

"We would have been forced to train him in the craft, even before Tristan," Wigg whispered. "If his training went poorly, it was agreed that other arrangements would be made."

The blood rushed from Tristan's face. He moved his chair closer to the lead wizard.

"But that contradicts everything you have always told me," he said, thoroughly confused. "It was always my understanding that I was to be trained first, followed by Shailiha, should I die or fail in my eventual attempt to join the two sides of the craft. The Tome says so."

"The Tome says a great many things," Faegan interrupted, "and at first glance much of it can seem highly contradictory." Sighing, he shook his head. "I suggest we allow the lead wizard to continue."

"We came to believe that the voices speaking to Morganna were those of the Ones Who Came Before," Wigg went on. "We knew that the Ones were the original practitioners of the Vigors-the benevolent side of the craft. Therefore, their demand that she destroy this child, we reasoned, could only be of the greatest importance. They had no direct way to force her, but their constant beseeching was literally starting to drive your mother insane. Once we ordered the consuls to find Wulfgar, the voices blessedly stopped, never to return."

"But what about the Tome?" Tristan pressed. "It says I am to be trained first, does it not?"

"Correct," Faegan answered. "But unless I miss my guess, the lead wizard was about to remind us of the fact that the Tome was written long before the birth of Wulfgar. For reasons we still do not understand, the Ones knew of the eventual coming of you and your sister, and which parents would give birth to you. But Wulfgar's birth was apparently an unexpected surprise, even for the Ones." He rubbed his brow, thinking.

"And your mother told us that no azure glow appeared at Wulfgar's birth, as it did when you and your sister were born," Wigg added. "Wulfgar was born of a different father. We know from that Tome that Nicholas and Morganna were destined to find each other, and only from that union would the Chosen Ones be brought forth. And there is another reason why Wulfgar could never be one of the Chosen Ones." He paused, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly before resuming.

"You see, Wulfgar's blood signature is left-leaning."

Even more confused, Tristan, Shailiha, and Celeste looked to Faegan for the answer. But the crippled wizard's mouth hung open with astonishment-a rare sight indeed.

"Do you mean to say-"

"Yes," Wigg said.

Speechless, Faegan leaned back his chair. "Both Tristan and Shailiha's signatures are right-leaning, of course," he muttered, half to himself. "As were those of the king and queen. Therefore Wulfgar's left-leaning signature is a result of Eric, his endowed father."

"What are you talking about?" Tristan demanded. "What is a left-leaning signature?"

"Simply put," Wigg answered, "if one draws a perfectly vertical axis through the exact center of a blood signature, a trained eye can determine that each and every one leans slightly either to the left or to the right of center. Signatures leaning to the right indicate the possessor shall be more naturally attracted to the practice of the Vigors. Conversely, a left-leaning signature indicates that the possessor shall be far more inclined to want to follow the Vagaries. Additionally, the degree of deviation from the vertical axis tells us just how much influence, one way or the other, there shall be. Wulfgar's signature was the most severe left-leaning example ever recorded."

A deafening silence fell over the room.

"Do Forestallments change the lean of a signature?" Tristan asked at last.

"As far as we know, they do not," Wigg answered. "Forestallments are merely spells that remain dormant until being activated at a later time. The signature lean is hereditary. A child inherits the lean of his parents' blood signatures. If their leans are oppositional, then the stronger blood prevails. For example, my blood was stronger than Failee's, and thus Celeste's signature leans to the right. During the Sorceresses' War it was rumored that a spell existed that could actually change the lean of a blood signature, but none was ever found."

Shailiha finally found her voice. "Then Failee's signature was left-leaning, was it not?" she asked.

"Yes," Wigg answered.

"Are you telling us that Wulfgar, should he be trained in the craft, would be even more enamored of the Vagaries than the first mistress of the Coven?" Shailiha leaned forward, her hazel eyes intent.

"Yes," Wigg replied. "Even more so than Failee. The firstborn child of the woman destined to bear the Chosen Ones remains loose upon the world, with a left-leaning blood signature that knows no equal."

Something the lead wizard had mentioned struck Tristan as odd. The more he thought about it, the greater became his sense of dread. His nerves coiled up, almost as if he were about to go into battle.

"What were the 'other arrangements' regarding Wulfgar to have been?" he asked bluntly.

Again looking down at his hands, Wigg sighed.

"If we were fortunate enough to find him, it was decided we would first try to train him in the craft," he answered slowly. "The entire Directorate would be informed of Wulfgar's identity and sworn to secrecy. Together we would then do all we could to help him ignore the temptations of the Vagaries. But if the pull toward the dark side of the craft had proven too strong for him to resist, even with our help, the king, queen, and I had agreed upon other measures."

Tristan's heart went cold. "And they were?" he asked softly.

Wigg's aquamarine eyes looked straight into Tristan's with an unusual mixture of sadness and determination.

"It would then fall to me to take his life," the lead wizard whispered.

Tristan stared at Wigg in disbelief. "How could you do such a thing?" he breathed. "From what you tell us he is an innocent. Not only does he not know who he really is, but he remains untrained, as well. I cannot believe my parents sanctioned your ghastly idea."

"It wasn't my idea, Tristan," Wigg answered. "It was your mother's."