Me?
Hugh nodded.
"I'm supposed to stop the end of the world? How?"
"First, I ought to tell you that it's not just me that believes all this about the millennium. It's not even Circle
Daybreak that believes it. It's the Night World Council, Jez."
"The joint Council? Witches and vampires?"
Hugh nodded again. "They had a big meeting about it this summer. And they dug up some old
prophecies about what's going to happen this time."
"Like?"
Hugh looked slightly self-conscious. "Here's one. It used to rhyme in the original, I think, but this is the
translation." He took a breath and quoted slowly:
'In blue fire, the final darkness is banished. In blood, the final price is paid."
Great, Jez thought. Whose blood? But Hugh was going on.
"Four to stand between the light and the
shadow,
Four of blue fire, power in their blood. Born in the year of the blind Maiden's vision; Four less one and
darkness triumphs."
Jez blinked slowly. "What's blue fire?"
"Nobody knows."
"'Four to stand between the light and the shadow...' Meaning to hold off the end of the world?"
"That's what the Council thinks. They think it means that four people have been born, four Wild Powers
who're going to be instrumental in whatever's coming, whatever battle or disaster that's going to destroy
us. Those four can stop the end of the world-but only if all of them fight together."
"'Four less one and darkness triumphs," Jez said.
"Right. And that's where you come in."
"Sorry, I don't think I'm one of them."
Hugh smiled. "That's not what I meant. The fact is, somebody around here has already reported
finding a Wild Power. Circle Daybreak intercepted a message from him to the Council saying that hell
hand the Wild Power over to them if they make it worth his while. Otherwise hell just sit tight until they're
desperate enough to agree to his terms."
Jez had a sinking feeling. She said one word. "Who?"
Hugh's expression was knowing and regretful. It's one of your old gang, Jez. Morgead Blackthorn."
Jez shut her eyes.
Yeah, that sounded like Morgead, trying to shake down the Night World Council. Only he was crazy
and nervy enough to do that. He was stubborn, too-perfectly capable of letting disaster come if he didn't
get his way. But of all the people in the world, why did it have to be him? And how had he found a Wild
Power, anyway?
Hugh was speaking again softly. "You can see why we need you. Somebody has to get to him and find
out who the Wild Power is-and you're the only one who stands a chance of doing that."
Jez pushed hair off her face and breathed slowly, trying to think.
"I don't need to tell you how dangerous it is," Hugh said, looking into the distance again. "And I don't
want to ask you to do it. In fact, if you're smart, you'll tell me to get lost right now."
Jez couldn't tell him to get lost "What I don't understand is why we can't just let the Council take care of
it. They'll want the Wild Powers bad, and they have a lot more resources."
Hugh glanced back at her, startled. His gray eyes
were wide with an expression that Jez had never seen before. Then he smiled, and it was an incredibly
sad smile.
"That's just what we can't do. You're right, the Council wants the Wild Powers. But not so they can fight
the end of the world. Jez... they only want them so they can kill them."
That was when Jez realized what his expression was. It was gentle regret for innocence-her innocence.
She couldn't believe how stupid she had been.
"Oh, Goddess," she said slowly.
Hugh nodded. "They want it to happen. At least the vampires do. If the human world ends-well, that's
their chance, isn't it? For thousands of years the Night People have had to hide, to live in the shadows
while the humans spread all over the world. But the Council wants that to change."
The reason Jez had been so slow was that it was hard for her to imagine anybody actually wanting to
bring on the Apocalypse. But of course it made sense. "They're willing to risk being destroyed
themselves," she whispered.
"They figure that whatever happens, it'll be worse on the humans, since the humans don't know it's
coming. Hell, some of the Night People think they're what's coming. Hunter Redfern is saying that
vampires are going to wipe out and enslave the humans and that after that the Night World is going to
reign."
Jez felt a new chill. Hunter Redfern. Her ancestor, who was over five hundred years old but looked
about thirty. He was bad, and he practically ran the Council.
"Great," she muttered. "So my family's going to destroy the world."
Hugh gave her a bleak smile. "Hunter says the Old Powers are rising to make vampires stronger so they
can take over. And the scary thing is, he's right. Like I said before, the Night People are getting stronger,
developing more powers. Nobody knows why. But most of the vampires on the Council seem to believe
Hunter."
"So we don't have much time," Jez said. "We have to get the Wild Power before Morgead makes a deal
with the Night World."
"Right. Circle Daybreak is fixing up a safe place to keep the Wild Powers until we get all four. And the
Council knows we're doing it-that's probably why that ghoul was following me. They're watching us. I'm
just sorry I led it here," he added absently, with a worried look around the room.
"Doesn't matter. He's not telling anybody anything."
"No. Thanks to you. But we'll meet someplace different next time. I can't endanger your family." He
looked back at her. "Jez, if the Night World manages to kill even one of the Wild Powers-well, if you
believe the prophecy, it's all over."
Jez understood now. She still had questions, but they could wait. One thing was clear in her mind.
"I'll do it. I have to."
Hugh said very quietly, "Are you sure?"
"Well, somebody has to. And you were right; I'm the only one who can handle Morgead."
The truth was that she thought nobody could handle Morgead-but she certainly had a better chance than
any Circle Daybreaker. Of course, she wouldn't survive the assignment Even if she managed to steal the
Wild Power out from under Morgead's nose, he'd hunt her down and kill her for it
That was irrelevant
"He hates me, and I hate him, but at least I know him," she said out loud.
There was a silence and she realized that Hugh was looking at her oddly. "You think he hates you?"
"Of course. All we ever did was fight"
Hugh smiled very faintly-an Old Soul look. I see."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
'It means-I don't think he hates you, Jez. Maybe he has strong emotions for you, but from what I've
heard I don't think hate is one of them."
Jez shook her head. "You don't understand. He was always gunning for me. And if he found out I'm half
human-well, that would be the end. He hates humans worse than anything. But I think I can fool him for
as long as it takes to get the Wild Power."
Hugh nodded, but he didn't look happy. His eyes were bruised and tired. If you can pull it off, you'll
save a lot of lives."
He knows, too, Jez thought. That I'll die doing this.
It was some comfort that he cared-and more
comfort that he didn't understand why she was doing it. Sure, she wanted to save lives. But there was
something else.
The Council had tried to mess with Hugh. They'd sent a stinking ghoul after him. They would probably
send something different tomorrow-certainly, they'd keep trying to kill him.
And for that, Jez was going to wipe the floor with them. Hugh wasn't any kind of fighter. He couldn't
defend himself. He shouldn't be a target.
She realized that Hugh was still looking at her, with pain in his eyes. She smiled to show him that she
wasn't afraid of dying.
"It's a family affair," she told him-and that was true, too. "Hunter's my
great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. It's only right that I stop him. And if anything happens to
me-well, one Redfern less is probably a blessing to the world."
And that was the last part of the truth. She came from a tainted family. No matter what she did, who she