Speechless, the prince half sat, half fell back down into his chair. It seemed to him as if the world he had once inhabited with his parents had just been turned completely upside down-as if Nicholas and Morganna had somehow suddenly become people he had never really known at all.

"But why?" Shailiha whispered. It was all she could do to get the question out.

"Have you not been listening?" Wigg responded. "Wulfgar is very close to possessing the highest blood quality ever known, second only to that of the Chosen Ones-the two of you. In addition, his left-leaning blood signature is without question the most severe ever witnessed. This combination is unprecedented. Trained by an unscrupulous master, Wulfgar could eventually wield power that only Tristan's son Nicholas has to this date demonstrated. To allow him to roam loose in the world would be disastrous."

"But to kill him…" Tristan said softly. "How could Mother have even dreamt of such a thing?"

"Morganna realized that Eutracia and the Vigors must come first, even at the expense of her losing her firstborn child all over again," Wigg told them. "It was not out of selfishness or shame that the queen made this decision. It was out of sacrifice."

"But why bother to train him at all?" Celeste asked. "Left untrained but in your care, he would have been harmless, would he not?"

Wigg smiled. "One might first come to that conclusion," he replied. "But he still might have been irresistibly called eventually to abandon us. Untrained, he might not be completely aware of what it was he was searching for, but the pull might be irresistible. Better to train him ourselves, and then do what we must, rather than leave him as raw clay for someone else to mold."

"Then why not train him and also imbue him with death enchantments, as the consuls were?" Tristan suggested. "That way, if he ever practiced the Vagaries, his death would be a certainty. At least he would be allowed to live for as long as he could hold out against their temptations. That would seem far more fair, not to mention more compassionate."

"Well done," Wigg answered. "And that possibility was considered. But in truth, it would have been far too cruel."

"What do you mean?" Tristan asked.

"First," Wigg explained, "suppose for some unknown reason the death enchantments were to become unraveled, as seems now to be the case with the consuls. Wulfgar would then be not only trained, but completely unbridled, as well. And second, when the death enchantments are activated, the transgressor's demise is particularly ugly and painful: yet another deterrent to the practice of the Vagaries. Morganna would have none of that. No, far better for me to have ended Wulfgar's existence painlessly, under our control, than to leave him to the inevitable torment of the death enchantments."

Thinking of all he and his family had been through, Tristan lowered his head.

"Does it never end?" he asked softly.

Recognizing the prince's pain, Wigg gave a rueful half smile.

"No," he answered. "Not so long as the Vagaries exist as an art unto themselves and there are those of endowed blood unable or unwilling to resist its temptations. The Tome says that only the Chosen Ones can end the struggle, by combining the two sides of the craft for the good of the world. Even though we still do not know how this is to be accomplished, we believe that is why you and your sister were put upon the earth. Your parents believed it, too, and were willing to sacrifice everything toward that goal. Even themselves."

"And Wulfgar was never found," the prince said sadly.

After a long silence, Faegan changed the subject.

"Who is Krassus?" he asked.

"As Krassus said, he is a consul," Wigg answered, a bit of guilt beginning to crowd in upon the edges of his craggy face. "Or I should say 'was.' And without doubt he was the most powerful of them. Perhaps even more powerful now, if Nicholas imbued his blood signature with certain Forestallments before he died. As with those that you and Shailiha carry, they can bequeath on the bearer many exotic abilities. Krassus was first alternate to the Directorate of Wizards. That meant that should one of us have died, Krassus would be the one to take his place. His unique two-colored robe signified his position in the hierarchy. But until such time as he would have been called upon to join the Directorate, Krassus had no vote or involvement. His duties were strictly those of a wandering consul. You would not have known him."

"But if this Krassus truly wants you and Faegan dead, why didn't he take the opportunity to kill you today, while you were both in his warp?" Tristan asked.

"Because maintaining a wizard's warp takes a great deal of energy," Faegan answered. "To attempt to kill one of us would be to risk losing control of the warp, thus allowing us the chance to fight back."

"And he wants Wulfgar," Celeste said. "But why?"

"No doubt to use his enormous potential to fulfill whatever portion of Nicholas' dream he vowed to complete," Faegan answered.

"We must find Wulfgar first," Tristan said adamantly. He knew he was stating the obvious. But for him it had been as much a statement about his family as it was one regarding the welfare of his nation, or the craft.

Wigg thought for a moment, then looked over at Faegan.

"Tell us, old friend," he asked. "What are these Scrolls of the Ancients that Krassus kept referring to?"

Faegan closed his eyes, his brow furrowing with concentration. Tristan could tell that the master wizard was about to employ the gift of Consummate Recollection to find the answer.

" 'And the survivors shall discover two parchments, each replete with the workings of the acts delayed,' " he began, quoting from the Tome. " 'They shall be of indescribable value-the keys enabling the descendants to partially unravel the mystery that is the craft. But in the hands of those practicing the Vagaries, the Scrolls of the Ancients shall become as potent a weapon as ever witnessed in the history of the world.' "

Faegan opened his eyes. It was clear that after the draining experience of having Krassus invade his mind, the effort of using the gift of Consummate Recollection had fatigued him. "That was the first such quote from the Tome regarding the scrolls," he said tiredly. "When I am more refreshed, I will attempt to recall the others."

"What are the 'acts delayed'?" Wigg asked him. "Does this refer to the art of Forestallments?"

"That is my initial impression," the master wizard answered. "And if that is true, the scrolls would teach us much. I have an almost infinite number of questions about the Forestallments. For example, how does one place them into the blood, and how can we tell whether they are event or time activated? Once placed there, can they be removed? Can one discern whether they are open ended and lasting forever or are closed ended and therefore limited in duration? Is there any way to tell from one's blood signature what the gifts shall eventually become? For that matter, do the scrolls hold these answers, or are we altogether wrong in assuming that they refer to the Forestallments? The study of Forestallments is without doubt the most frustrating and at the same time most fascinating aspects of the craft I have ever encountered. But why does Krassus want these scrolls so badly? And what do they have to do with Wulfgar?"

"Krassus said that we should go to Farpoint, three days from now," Tristan interjected. "That something would happen there-something that would convince us of his desire to carry on Nicholas' work. Do either of you know what he might be talking about?"

Both Wigg and Faegan shook their heads.

"I have no inkling either, but I will go," the prince announced.

Closing his eyes, Wigg rubbed his forehead. His heart wanted to warn the prince about the wisdom-or lack thereof-of traveling to Farpoint, the very place Krassus had dared them to visit. But he also did not possess the strength to argue the issue. Especially now, with the ever-headstrong Tristan.