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mission.”
    “No.  And yes.”  Gilgamesh inspected what little of Shadow’s glow he could sense.  He metasensed no indication of anything he and Tiamat had flagged as potential trouble signs.  “So, Shadow, what can you tell me about the Crows you Gurus look up to?”  At four twenty three in the morning, August 2 nd , 1968, after just over ninety minutes of deep discussion, he and Tiamat had both experienced one of those eye-opening shared moments of discovery.  Those Gurus of Gurus existed, and were real at the juice level.  Nothing else made sense.  The big question was whether Shadow was one.  He guessed ‘yes’, based on power.  Tiamat thought not.
    They were both positive Thomas and Chevalier were Gurus of Gurus.
    Shadow paused.  “You’ve figured out that such Crows exist, eh?  Unfortunately, at the present time, I’m not at liberty to say anything about them.  Why?”
    “We believe Crow killer, who we’ve linked to the Transform disappearances and the rise of the Hunters, is one of these Crows, or some other senior Crow able to work at those power levels.  For political reasons we’re calling this person Rogue Crow, though his common use name is Wandering Shade.”  Gilgamesh settled into the comfortable overstuffed chair under the cuckoo clock, and went on to outline the large body of evidence he had collected and the various bits of logic behind his assertions.  His talk took nearly twenty panic-edged minutes.
    “Hmm,” Shadow said, when Gilgamesh finished.  The older Guru sat on the couch, opposite Gilgamesh, and fidgeted nervously, shaken by Gilgamesh’s news.  “I can add a few more pieces to your puzzle.  Wandering Shade does experiment with Beast Men and he does use withdrawal scarring on his charges.  He is a police officer in Kansas City, or was, and he often uses controlled Beast Men as bodyguards, and to help him in certain police operations.  He’s not an officially recognized Guru, and certainly not a Guru of Gurus.”  At the latter, the older Crow’s eyes twinkled for a moment.  “Before your mission I placed him as an established mature Crow, around Occum’s age.  I fear you may be right, though.  Wandering Shade might be a false identity of one of the most senior Crows.”
    Gilgamesh nodded, not sure what more to say.
    Shadow smiled.  “Congratulations, Gilgamesh.  You’ve completed your task.”  Shadow paused again.  “You don’t suspect me in this, do you?”
    Gilgamesh gulped and fought down his urge to break for the door.
    “I see,” Shadow said, after Gilgamesh did not respond.  “I understand your problem.  This is annoying.  Sky figured this out before your Tiamat was ambushed and imprisoned, and none of us, including myself, were willing to listen to him.”  Shadow sighed.  “As usual.  So why did you come and visit me in person?”
    “Shadow, if you’re Rogue Crow, you know enough about me to stop me no matter what I’m doing or what precautions I’m taking.  By the fact I haven’t already been stopped, I have to trust that you aren’t Rogue Crow.”
    Shadow licked his lips and fidgeted with dross constructs for a minute.  “You trust your Tiamat enough for you to relax yourself around her so she can see into your innermost soul, then,” Shadow said.  “You also have at least one other you similarly trust to check up on you and make sure you haven’t become a pawn of Rogue Crow.  My guess would be Sky.  Oh, and probably the Gymnast as well.”
    So much for his elaborate protections.  Gilgamesh shrank away from Shadow, feeling the same gut-churning fears he had felt when he had been a fledgling and dealing with senior Crows.  They knew all the tricks.
    “How much do you know about Detroit?” Shadow said.
    Gilgamesh relaxed at the subject change.  “There’s something wrong there, something to do with the Focuses.  It’s attracted Kali’s attention, as well as the attention of the Hunters.”  Kali had