Nightwatch w-1
Page 38
And we’re probably just the best of the best.
Yes, of course, there have been, there still are, and there always will be those who have not become Others, but managed somehow to remain people. But there are so few of them, so very few. Or perhaps we’re simply afraid to look at them more closely? Afraid to see what we might discover?
«Am I supposed to live for your sake?» I asked. The forest didn’t answer; it was already prepared to accept anything I said.
Why must we sacrifice everything? Ourselves and those we love?
For the sake of those who will neither know about it nor appreciate it.
And even if they did find out about it, all we’d earn for our efforts would be an amazed shake of the head and the insulting exclamation: «Stupid hicks.»
Perhaps it would be worth just once showing humankind who exactly the Others are? What one single Other is capable of when he’s not shackled by the Treaty, when he breaks free of the Watches?
I actually smiled to myself as I pictured the whole scene. The general picture, not just my place in it: I’d be stopped soon enough. So would any Great Magician or Great Sorceress who decided to violate the Treaty and reveal the Others to the world.
What a hullabaloo there’d be!
Aliens landing at the Kremlin and the White House wouldn’t even come close.
Impossible, of course.
Not my path.
In the first place, because I didn’t want to take over the world or throw it into total turmoil.
I wanted only one thing: that they not force the woman I love to sacrifice herself. Because the path of the Great Ones is genuine sacrifice. The appalling powers they develop change them totally and completely.
None of us are quite human. But at least we remember that we used to be human. And we can still be happy and sad, feel love and hate. The great magicians and sorceresses move beyond the bounds of human emotions. They probably feel emotions of their own, but we can’t understand them. Even Gesar, a magician beyond classification, isn’t a Great One. And Olga somehow failed to become a Great One.
They’d bungled something. Failed to pull off some grandiose operation in the struggle against the Darkness.
And now they were willing to fling a new recruit into the breach.
For the sake of human beings who didn’t give a damn about the Light and the Darkness.
They were jumping her through all the hoops an Other is supposed to jump through. They’d already raised her powers to third grade; now they were working on her mind. Very, very rapidly.
There had to be a place for me somewhere in this insane pursuit of some unknown goal. Gesar made use of everything that came to hand, including me. Whatever I did—hunting vampires, chasing down the Maverick, talking to Sveta in Olga’s body—all that was just playing into the boss’s hands.
Whatever I did now was bound to have been foreseen too.
My only hope was that not even Gesar was capable of foreseeing everything.
That I could find the only way to act that would ruin his plan. The great plan for Sveta’s powers.
And avoid causing Evil in the process. Because if I did, it would be the Twilight for me.
But in any case, I’d be doing Svetlana a great favor.
I caught myself standing with my cheek pressed against the trunk of a scraggy little pine tree. Standing there, hammering my fist against the wood. In fury or in grief, I couldn’t tell which. I stopped my scratched and bloody hand from moving. But the sound didn’t stop. It was coming from somewhere in the forest, from the very boundary of the magical barrier around the house. Blows in the same rhythm, a rapid, nervous drumbeat.
I bent over and ran between the trees, like some grownup still playing at paintball wars. I already had a pretty good idea of what I’d see.
There was a tiger jumping around in a little clearing. Or rather, a tigress. Her black and orange skin gleamed in the rays of the rising sun. The tigress didn’t notice me; right then she wasn’t capable of seeing anybody or anything. She dashed between the trees, with the sharp daggers of her claws ripping the bark. White scars sprang out on the pine trees. Sometimes the tigress stopped, rose up on her hind legs, and started slashing at the tree trunks with her claws.
I set off slowly back to the house.
All of us relax the best way we can. All of us have to struggle, not just against the Darkness, but against the Light. Because sometimes it blinds us.
But don’t feel sorry for us: We’re proud, very proud. Soldiers in the worldwide war between Good and Evil, eternal volunteers.
Chapter 4
The young man walked into the restaurant as confidently as if he came there every day for breakfast. But that wasn’t the case.
He went straight over to the table where the short, swarthy man was sitting, as if they’d known each other for a long time. But that wasn’t true either. With his last step he sank smoothly to his knees. He didn’t slump; he lowered himself calmly, without losing his dignity or bending his back.
The waiter who was walking past gulped and turned away. He’d seen all sorts of things in his time, let alone petty incidents like a mafia underling kowtowing to his boss. Only the young man didn’t look much like a minion, and the swarthy man didn’t look much like a mafia boss.
The trouble he could smell in the air threatened to be far more serious than a mobsters’ shoot-out. He didn’t know what exactly was going to happen, but he could feel it coming, because he was an Other himself, although he wasn’t initiated.
But only a moment later he had completely forgotten what he’d seen. He had nothing but a vague sense of unease somewhere in the region of his heart, but he couldn’t remember why.
«Get up, Alisher,» Gesar said in a low voice. «Get up. We don’t do that around here.»
The young man got up off his knees and sat down facing the head of the Night Watch. He nodded.
«We don’t either. Not any longer. But my father instructed me to bow on my knees to you, Gesar. He followed the old rules. He would have knelt. But now he will never be able to.»
«Do you know how he died?»
«Yes. I saw with his eyes, heard with his ears, suffered his pain.»
«Give me also his pain, Alisher, son of a devona and a human woman.»
«Take what you ask, Gesar, Exterminator of Evil, equal of the gods, who do not exist.»
They looked into each other’s eyes. Then Gesar nodded.
«I know the killers. Your father will be avenged.»
«I must be the one to do it.»
«No, you will not be able to do it, and you have no right. You have come to Moscow illegally.»
«Take me into your Watch, Gesar.»
The head of the Night Watch shook his head.
«I was the best in Samarkand, Gesar,» the young man said, staring hard at him. «Don’t smile; I know that here I would be the lowest of the low. Take me into the Watch. As a pupil of your pupils. As a guard dog. I ask this in honor of my father’s memory—take me into the Watch.»
«You are asking too much, Alisher. You are asking me to give you your death.»
«I have already died, Gesar. When they drank my father’s soul, I died with him. I walked along with a smile while he distracted the Dark Ones. I walked down into the metro while they were trampling his ashes underfoot. Gesar, I have a right to ask this.»
Gesar nodded.
«Let it be so. You are a member of my Watch, Alisher.»
Not a trace of emotion showed in the young man’s face, but he nodded and pressed his hand to his heart for an instant.
«Where is the thing that you have brought, Alisher?»
«I have it, my lord.»
Gesar reached his hand out across the table without speaking.
Alisher opened the little bag on his belt and took out an oblong bundle of coarse fabric, handling it with great care.
«Take it, Gesar, and relieve me of my duty.»
Gesar covered the young man’s
open palm with his hand and closed his fingers. When the young man withdrew his hand a moment later, it was empty.
«Your service is completed, Alisher. Now let us simply relax. Let us eat, drink, and remember your father. I will tell you all that I can remember.»
Alisher nodded. It was impossible to tell if he was pleased by what Gesar had said or simply willing to accept whatever the older man suggested.
«We will have half an hour,» Gesar stated simply. «Then the Dark Ones will arrive. They must have picked up your trail, even if they did so too late.»
«Will there be a battle, my lord?»
«I do not know,» said Gesar with a shrug. «What does it matter? Zabulon is far away. I have no reason to fear the others.»
«There will be a battle,» Alisher said thoughtfully. He looked around the restaurant.
«Drive all the customers away,» Gesar advised him. «Gently, unobtrusively. I wish to observe your technique. And we will relax while we wait for our guests.»
About eleven everyone started waking up.
I was waiting on the terrace, lazing in a beach chair with my legs stretched out, taking occasional sips from a tall gin and tonic and savoring the sweet pain of a masochist. Every time someone came out through the doors, I greeted them with a friendly wave and a little rainbow that sprang from my spread fingers and went soaring up into the sky. It was a bit of childish fun, and everybody smiled. When Yulia saw my greeting, she stopped yawning, squealed, and replied with a rainbow of her own. We competed with each other for a couple of minutes, and then made a rainbow together, a big one that stretched away into the forest. Yulia told me she was going to go and look for the pot of gold, and she strode off proudly under the multi-colored arch, with one of the terriers running obediently by her feet.
I was waiting for certain people.
The first to come out was Lena. Bright and cheerful, wearing just her swimsuit. When she saw me she was embarrassed for a moment, but then she nodded and ran toward the gates. I enjoyed watching the way she moved: slim and graceful, full of life. Now she’d plunge into the cool water, frisk about on her own for a while, and come back for breakfast with a keen appetite.
Next to appear was Ignat. In his swimming shorts and rubber sandals.
«Hi, Anton!» he shouted happily. He came over, opened up the next chair, and flopped down into it. «How are you doing?»
«I’m in a fighting mood!» I told him, raising my glass.
«Good man.» Ignat looked around for a bottle and didn’t see one. He reached out for my drink and took a sip. «Too weak, too much mixer.»
«I got plastered yesterday.»
«In that case you’re right; better watch yourself,» Ignat advised me. «We were guzzling champagne all evening. Then we threw in some cognac later. I was afraid I’d get a headache, but it’s okay. I got away with it.»
It was impossible to be offended by him.
«Ignat, what did you want to be when you were a kid?» I asked.
«A hospital attendant.»
«What?»
«Well, they told me boys didn’t work as nurses, and I wanted to help sick people. So I decided that when I grew up I was going to be a medical attendant.»
«Great,» I said. «But why not a doctor?»
«Too much responsibility for me,» Ignat admitted. «And you had to study for too long.»
«So did you get to be a medical attendant?»
«Yes. I used to ride around in an ambulance, with the psychiatric team. All the doctors loved working with me.»
«Why?»
«First, because I’m extremely charming,» Ignat explained, praising himself ingenuously. «I can talk with a man or a woman in a way that calms them down and makes them agree to go to a hospital. And second, I could see when someone was really ill and when he was just seeing something invisible. Sometimes I I was able to whisper in the doctor’s ear, explain that everything was okay and no injections would be required.»
«Medicine has suffered a great loss.»
«True,» Ignat said with a sigh, «but the boss persuaded me that I’d be more useful in the Watch. And that’s right, isn’t it?»
«I suppose so.»
«I’m bored already,» Ignat drawled thoughtfully. «Aren’t you bored? I want to go back to work.»
«I think I do too. Ignat, have you got a hobby? Outside of work?»
«What are you interrogating me for?» he asked in surprise.
«I’m curious. Or is it a secret?»
«What secrets do we have?» Ignat asked with a shrug. «I collect butterflies. I’ve got one of the best collections in the world, It fills two entire rooms.»
«Very laudable,» I agreed.
«Come around sometime and take a look,» Ignat suggested. «Bring Sveta; she tells me she likes butterflies too.»
I laughed so long even Ignat got the point. He got up, smiling uncertainly, and muttered:
«I think I’ll go help get breakfast ready.»
«Good luck,» was all I said. But I just couldn’t help myself, and when our handsome Casanova reached the door, I called to him, «Listen, is the boss right to be worried about Svetka?»
Ignat propped his chin on his hand, striking a dashing pose, and thought for a moment.
«You know, I think he is. She’s all tensed up somehow, just can’t let go and relax. And she’s got big things ahead of her, not like you and me.»
«You tried your best, did you?»
«What kind of question’s that!» said Ignat, offended. «Come around, honest, I’d be glad to see you!»
The gin had turned warm, the ice in the glass had melted. There was a slight trace of lipstick left on the plastic. I shook my head and put the glass down.
Gesar, you can’t foresee everything.
But to fight you, not in a duel of magic—that would be just plain ridiculous—to fight you in the only arena where I have a chance, in words and actions, I have to know what you want. I have to know how the cards lie in the pack. And what you’re holding in your hand.
Who were the players?
Gesar, the originator and organizer. Olga, his lover and consultant, a sorceress who had been punished for some crime. Svetlana, who had to complete the project and was being prepared with great care. Me—one of the instruments of her education. Ignat, Tiger Cub, Semyon, and all the other Light Ones could be left out of my calculations. They were instruments too, but only secondary ones. And I couldn’t count on them for support.
The Dark Ones?
Naturally, they were involved, but not in any obvious way. Zabulon and his henchmen were concerned about Svetlana’s appearance in our camp. They couldn’t do anything openly right now. But they could try to sabotage things on the sly or prepare a crushing blow that would bring the Watches to the brink of war.
What else?
The Inquisition?
I drummed my fingers on the armrest of the lounger.
The Inquisition. The structure that stood above the Watches. It reviewed disputes and punished those who had violated the Treaty—from either side. It was vigilant. It collected data on every one of us. But it intervened only in extremely rare cases, and its strength lay more in secrecy than in fighting power. When the Inquisition considered a case involving a powerful magician, it drafted fighters from the Watches.
But the Inquisition was involved somehow. I knew the boss. He squeezed the last drop out of every opportunity. And the recent business with Maxim, the maverick Other, the Light One who had gone to work in the Inquisition, was a good example. The boss had exploited the affair to train Svetlana and teach her the lessons of self-control and intrigue, but at the same time he’d discovered a new Inquisitor.
I wished I knew what they were preparing Svetlana for!
So far I was groping in the dark. And the worst thing of all was that the gap between me and Sveta was getting wider and wider. I put on the headphones and closed my eyes.
Tonight the fern will unfold its miraculous flower,
Clouds from the north, wind from the west,
Soon the enchantress will wave her hand to me.
I live waiting for a miracle, like a Mauser in its holster,
Like a spider in its web,
Like a tree in the desert,
Like a black fox in its hole.
I was taking a risk. I was taking a great risk. Great Magicians became great by trampling over their own kind, but even they didn’t dare go against their own. Isolated individuals didn’t survive.
I was running through the telescopes, away from the frightened eyes of children,
I wanted to sleep with a mermaid, but I didn’t know how to act with her,
I wanted to turn into a streetcar and drive into your window.
The wind blows from the borderlands, we don’t care anymore,
The wind blows from the borderlands, we don’t care anymore.
Be my shadow, my squeaking stair, my bright-colored Sunday, my sunshine with rain,
Be my god, my birch-tree juice my electric current, my bent rifle.
I can bear witness that you are the wind, you blow in my face and I laugh,
I do not wish to leave you without a battle, since you dream of me.
Be my shadow…
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
«Good morning, Sveta,» I said and opened my eyes.
She was wearing shorts and a swimsuit. Her hair was wet and neatly arranged. She must have taken a shower. While I, being a filthy swine, hadn’t even thought of taking one.
«How are you after yesterday?» she asked me.
«Okay. And you?»
«All right,» she said and turned away.
I waited. With Spleen playing in my earphones.
«What were you expecting from me?» Sveta asked sharply. «I’m a normal, healthy young woman. I haven’t had a man since last winter. I realize you’ve got it into your head that Gesar threw us together, like coupling horses, so you’re just being stubborn.»
«I wasn’t expecting anything.»
«Then I’m sorry you got a surprise!»
«Did you sense my trail in the room? When you woke up?»