Nightwatch

The world turned brighter; my shadow jumped onto the floor and I stepped through it. The rainbow film of the sphere of exclusion burst, releasing us into the everyday world.

Chapter 5

A thin stream of blood splashed onto the carpet. The boy was slumped in my arms, still unconscious, but his face was returning to pink. The cat was screeching in the next room as if its throat were being cut.

I lowered Egor onto the couch, sat down beside him, and said:

«Olga, a bandage…«

The owl launched off my shoulder and dashed away like a white streak into the kitchen. She must have slipped into the Twilight on the way, because she was back in a few seconds with a bandage in her beak.

Egor opened his eyes just at the moment when I took the bandage from the owl and started binding up my wrist. He asked:

«Who's that?»

«An owl. Surely you can see that!»

«What happened to me?» he asked. His voice was hardly trembling at all.

«You lost consciousness.»

«Why?» His eyes wandered anxiously over the traces of blood on the floor and my clothes. I'd managed not to get any on Egor.

«It's my blood,» I explained. «I cut myself by accident. You have to be careful when you enter the Twilight, Egor. It's an alien environment, even for us, the Others. While we're in the Twilight world, we have to expend our strength constantly, feeding its vital energy. But a little at a time. If you don't keep control of the process, the Twilight will suck all the life out of you. It's just a price we have to pay.»

«And I paid more than I should have?»

«More than you had. And you almost stayed in the Twilight world forever. It's not death—but maybe it's worse than death.»

«Let me help…« The boy winced as he sat up—he must have felt dizzy. I held out my hand and he started bandaging my wrist, clumsily but trying hard. The boy's aura hadn't changed, it was still iridescent, neutral. He'd already entered the Twilight, but it hadn't left its mark.

«Do you believe I'm your friend?» I asked.

«I don't know. Not my enemy, I suppose. Or you can't do anything to me!»

I reached out and touched the boy's neck and he instantly tensed up. I unfastened the little chain and took it off his neck.

«You see?»

«So you're not a vampire?» His voice was a bit husky.

«No. But that's not why I could touch the garlic and the silver, Egor. They won't stop a vampire.»

«But in all the films…«

«And in all the films the good guys always beat the bad guys. Listen, kid, superstitions are dangerous; they give people false hope.»

«Isn't there any real hope?»

«No. Not really.» I got up and felt the bandage. Not bad; it was quite tight and holding firm. In half an hour I'd be able to heal the wound with a spell, but I didn't have enough strength yet. The boy looked up at me from the couch. Yes, he was a bit calmer now. But he still didn't trust me. It amused me that he ignored the white owl dozing on the television with an i

«Have you got any food?» I asked.

«What kind?»

«Any kind. Tea with sugar. A piece of bread. I used up a lot of strength too.»

«I'll find something. How did you get cut?»

I didn't go into the details, but I didn't lie about it, either.

«It was deliberate. I had to do it to get you out of the Twilight.»

«Thanks. If it's true.»

He was a bit mouthy, but I liked that.

«You're welcome. If you disappeared into the Twilight, my boss would have my head.»

The boy snorted and got up. But he was still keeping his distance from me.

«What boss is that?»

«A very strict one. Well, are you going to pour me some tea?»

«Anything for a good man.» Yes, he was still afraid. And he was hiding his fear by being cocky and familiar.

«Get this straight—I'm not a human being. I'm an Other. And you're an Other.»

«But what's the difference,» said Egor, looking me up and down challengingly. «You don't look any different.»

«Until you give me some tea, I won't say a word. Didn't anyone teach you how to treat guests?»

«Uninvited ones? How did you get in?»

«Through the door. I'll show you. Later.»

«Come on then.» It looked like I was going to get my tea after all. As I set out after the boy, I couldn't help wincing at the smell. I just had to say something.

«You know what, Egor, why don't you wash your neck first.»

The boy shook his head without looking round.

«In any case, it's stupid only to protect your neck. There are five points on the human body where a vampire can bite.»

«Oh yeah?»

«Oh yeah. I mean on a male body, of course.»

Even the back of his neck turned red.

I tipped five heaped spoons of sugar into the mug and winked at Egor:

«Pour me a glass of tea with two spoons of sugar… I want to try it before I die.»

He obviously didn't know that old joke.

«And how many should I take?»

«How much do you weigh?»

«I don't remember.»

I estimated his weight by eye.

«Put four in. To prevent the onset of hypoglycemia.»

He washed his neck after all, but it didn't completely get rid of the smell of garlic. Gulping down his tea, he said:

«Explain!»

This wasn't anything like the way I'd envisioned it. Follow the boy when the Call reached him. Kill or capture the vampire. And take the grateful boy to the boss—who would be able to explain everything properly.

«Once upon a time…« I said, cracking myself up. «Like the begi

«I'm listening.»

«Okay. I'll start with something else. There is a human world.» I nodded toward the window, the little courtyard outside, and the cars crawling along the road. «There it is. All around us. And most people can't move beyond it. That's the way it's always been. But sometimes we turn up. The Others.»

«And vampires?»

«Vampires are Others too. They're a different kind of Other, though; their powers are determined in advance.»

«I don't understand,» said Egor, shaking his head.

Okay, so I'm no tutor. I'm no good at expounding the basic truths; I don't enjoy it…

«Imagine two shamans who have gorged themselves on narcotic mushrooms beating on their tambourines,» I said. «A long, long time ago, back in primeval times. One of the shamans is honestly putting one over on the hunters and the chief. The other suddenly sees his shadow, which was trembling on the floor of the cave, acquire volume and rise up until it stands erect. He takes a step forward and enters the shadow. He enters the Twilight. And that's when the most interesting part begins. You understand?»

Egor didn't say anything.

«The Twilight changes the person who has entered it. It's a different world, and it makes people into Others. But who you become depends entirely on you. The Twilight is a raging river flowing in all directions at once. Decide who you want to be in the Twilight world. But make up your mind quickly; you don't have much time.»

Now the boy understood. His pupils contracted and his skin turned slightly paler. An excellent stress response; he really would make a good operational agent…

«Who can I become?»

«You? Anybody you like. Your choice still hasn't been made. And you know what the basic choice is? Good or Evil. Light or Darkness.»

«And are you good?»

«First and foremost I'm an Other. The difference between Good and Evil lies in your attitude toward ordinary people. If you choose the Light, you won't use your powers for personal gain. If you choose the Darkness, that will be what you do most of the time. But even a black magician is capable of healing people and finding people who have been lost without trace. And a white magician can refuse to help people.»

«Then I don't see what the difference is!»

«You will. You'll understand when you choose one side or the other.»

«I'll never choose!»

«It's too late, Egor. You've already been in the Twilight, and you're already changing. In a couple of days the choice will have been made.»

«If you chose the Light…« Egor got up and poured himself some more tea. I noticed it was the first time he hadn't been afraid to turn his back on me. «Then who are you? A magician?»

«A magician's apprentice. I work in the office of the Night Watch. Someone has to do it.»

«And what can you do? Show me, I want to check.»

There it was, straight out of the textbook. He'd been in the Twilight, but that hadn't convinced him. Petty fairground tricks are far more impressive.

«Watch.»

I held my arm out toward him. Egor froze, trying to understand what was going on. Then he looked at his cup.

The steam had stopped rising from his tea. The tea was crackling as it turned into a cylinder of muddy-brown ice with tea leaves frozen into it.

«Oh,» said the boy.

Thermodynamics is the simple part of manipulating matter. I allowed the Brownian motion to start up again, and the ice boiled. Egor shrieked and dropped his cup.

«Sorry.» I jumped up and grabbed the cloth from the sink, then squatted down to wipe up the puddle on the linoleum.

«Magic's nothing but trouble,» said the boy. «That was a good cup.»

«Just a moment.»

My shadow bounded toward me. I entered the Twilight and looked at the broken pieces. They still remembered the whole, and it hadn't been the cup's destiny to get broken so soon.

Still in the Twilight, I raked the shards together with my hand. A few of the smallest pieces, that had fallen under the stove, eagerly moved a bit closer.

I emerged from the Twilight and put the white cup on the table.

«Now you only need to pour more tea into it.»

«Fantastic.» Apparently this little trick had made a big impression on the kid. «And can you do that with any kind of thing?»

«Almost any kind.»

«Anton… what if the thing was broken a week ago?»

I couldn't help smiling.

«No, sorry, then it's too late. The Twilight gives you a chance, but you have to take it quickly, very quickly.»

Egor's face darkened. I wondered what it was he'd broken a week ago.

«Now do you believe me?»

«Is that magic?»

«Yes. The most primitive kind. It takes almost no effort to learn.»

I probably shouldn't have said that. The boy's eyes lit up. He was already figuring out his prospects. His profit.

Light and Darkness…