Now came the real effort: the joining of black and white cubes to complete the master ward; the ward which, once set in place around the sleeping Kelson, would protect the boy from any possibility of harm.

Morgan wiped the palms of his hands against the spread to either side of the black-and-white pattern he had set up, then picked up Prime. Gingerly, he touched it to Quinte, its black component.

“Primus!”

There was a muffled click, and then the two cubes merged into a single oblong unit that glowed silvery-gray in the candlelight.

Morgan ran his tongue nervously across his lips and picked up Seconde, mated it to Sixte.

“Secundus!”

Again, the click, the silver glow.

He inhaled and exhaled slowly, gathering his strength for the next sequence. The procedure was draining much of his already depleted power reserve, but he had no choice but to continue if he wished to search the library. He couldn’t leave Kelson unprotected. He picked up Tierce and touched it to Septime.

“Tertius!”

As the coupling glowed, Kelson stirred, then opened his eyes with a start.

“What the—Morgan, what are you doing?” He raised up on both elbows and leaned toward the cubes, then looked up at Morgan.

Morgan raised one eyebrow in surprise, then rested his chin against one hand in resignation. “I thought you were asleep,” he said accusingly.

Kelson blinked at him in amazement for an instant, still not quite fully awake. Tentatively, he reached his left hand toward the remaining cubes.

“Don’t touch!” Morgan commanded, blocking Kelson’s reach with an outstretched hand. “Just watch.”

With a deep breath, he brought the remaining two cubes gently together.

“Quartus!”

Then he placed the resulting unit with the other three and sighed.

“Now,” he said, looking across at Kelson once more, “why are you awake?”

Kelson rolled over and sat up. “I heard you mumbling Latin in my ear. What are these things, anyway?” He eyed the four glowing oblongs suspiciously.

“They’re components of a Ward Major,” Morgan said, climbing to his feet. “I have to go out for a while, and I didn’t want to leave you unprotected. Once the wards are set, only I can break them. You’ll be perfectly safe.”

He reached down and picked up the units, stretched across the bed to place one at each of the far corners, the remaining two on the near corners.

“Wait a minute,” Kelson said, beginning to inch toward the edge of the bed. “Where are you going? I’ll come with you.”

“You’ll do nothing of the kind,” Morgan said, pushing the boy back on the pillow. “You’re going back to sleep, and I’m going down to your father’s library to hunt for clues. Believe me, if there were any way, I’d still be asleep, too. You’re going to need all the rest you can get before this night is over.”