Day Watch

They brought two buckets of water from somewhere and he began dousing the glowing embers.

I stood there for a while, following his sparse, precise movements. Igor looked as if he'd spent his entire life putting out campfires. Probably he did everything like that-playing the guitar, putting out fires, working on his computer, caressing a woman. Precisely. Conscientiously. Reliably. Satisfaction guaranteed.

White steam billowed up from the hot embers. The children scattered in all directions. Then suddenly, still dousing the fire, Igor asked, "Do you like swimming at night, Alisa?"

I shivered. "Yes."

"So do I. By one o'clock, the children will have settled down and I'll go to the beach for a swim, where we were this morning. Come along if you like."

For just a moment I lost my head. It was a feeling I'd completely forgotten. Instead of me hitting on a man, he was hitting on me!

Igor splashed the remains of the water onto the campfire and looked at me. He smiled. "I'd be really glad if you could come. Only… don't get the wrong idea."

"I think I've got the right idea," I replied.

"Will you come?"

I really wanted to say no. Just to provoke him. But it would have been stupid, after all, to give up my own pleasure for the sake of one little gibe.

"Probably," I said.

"I'll be waiting," Igor replied calmly. "Shall we go? A glass of ryazhenka before bed is very good for tired camp leaders. It guarantees sound, healthy sleep." His smile was wonderful.

In Artek "lights out" comes at half past ten.

The bugles sounded solemnly in the loudspeakers and a gentle woman's voice wished everyone goodnight. I was standing in front of the mirror, looking at my reflection and trying to figure out what was happening to me.

Had I fallen in love?

No, that was impossible! I loved Zabulon. I loved the greatest Dark magician in Moscow! One of the few individuals who really controlled the fate of the world. And what was an ordinary human being, compared to him? Even if he was attractive. Even if he had a fine figure. Even with that idiotic reliability that oozed out of him with every move he made. He was an ordinary male of the human species with the ordinary little thoughts of human males. Pretty good for a resort romance, but nothing more than that. I couldn't really fall in love with him!

The cell phone in my purse rang and I started. Mom? Unlikely-she was terribly careful with money and never rang me on my cell.

I took it out and accepted the call.

"Hello, Alisa."

Zabulon's voice sounded tired. Affectionate and tired, as if he'd barely been able to find the strength to make the call, but really felt he had to…

"Hello," I whispered.

"You're feeling anxious, I can sense it. What's happened to you, my little girl?"

There's no way to hide anything from him. Zabulon knows everything… at least, everything he wants to know.

"I'm thinking about taking a friend for the month…"I sighed into the phone.

"Weil, what of it?" Zabulon sounded puzzled. "Alisa, I'm not jealous of your dog, and I'm not going to be jealous of some little man who amuses you either."

"I haven't got a dog," I said miserably.

Zabulon laughed, and all my stupid thoughts just seemed to evaporate.

"All right then! I'm not bothered if you have a dog or you don't. I'm not bothered if you have a human lover. Calm down, my little one. Relax. Recover your strength. Amuse yourself any way you like. Debauch the whole of Artek, including all the Young Pioneers and the old plumbers if you like. My little fool…"

"I'm behaving like a human being, aren't I?" I suddenly felt ashamed.

"It's nothing to worry about. It won't last long, Alisa. Build up your strength… only…" Zabulon paused for a moment. "Never mind. It's nothing."

"No, tell me!" I tensed up again.

"I have faith in your common sense," Zabulon said, and hesitated. "Alisa, just don't get carried away, all right? Your vacation is strictly governed by the terms of the old treaty between the Watches. You don't have the right to take a lot of Power. Only crumbs. Don't turn into some crude energy-vampire. You're on vacation, not out hunting. If you overstep the mark, we'll lose this resort forever."

"I understand," I said.

How long was that blunder with the Prism of Power going to keep coming back to haunt me?

I didn't start pouring out promises or swearing by the Darkness and my own Power. Promises mean nothing. The Darkness doesn't bother itself with petty details, and I had no Power right then. I simply promised myself that I wouldn't overstep the defined boundaries for anything. I wouldn't let down Zabulon and the entire Day Watch.

"Then have a good vacation, my little girl." I thought I caught a hint of sadness in Zabulon's voice. "Have a good vacation."

"Couldn't you come? Just for a short while?" I asked hopelessly.

"No. I'm very busy, Alisa. I'm afraid we won't be able to talk for the next three or four days. But don't you worry. What good is a tedious old miscreant obsessed with global problems as a partner for a young witch on vacation?"

He laughed.

We generally tried not to say things like that on the phone, especially the cell phone, because they listen to all of them and record everything. It all sounded like a flippant conversation… But what if some ordinary little human being picked up the thread and started following it? Then we would have to waste time and energy on him.

"I love you," I whispered. "Thank you."

"Good luck, my little one," Zabulon said affectionately. "I kiss you."

I switched off the phone and smiled to myself.

Well then, everything was all right. So where had that stupid feeling of alarm come from? And where had I gotten the crazy idea that I was in love with Igor? Love was something different. Love was pure delight, a fountain of emotions, sensual delights, and enjoying spending time together. But what I was feeling-this strange, timid alarm-was only the consequence of my illness. It just felt strange to associate with a man without having any idea of how to control him… I couldn't threaten him with a pistol, like those half-witted bandits…

"Alisa?" Olechka's curious little face had appeared in the doorway. "Are you coming in to see us for a minute?"

The girl was barefoot, in just her panties and top. She'd already gone to bed, but she got impatient.

"I'll be right there," I said. "Shall I tell you all a story?"

Olechka lit up: "Uh-huh!"

"A happy one or a scary one?"

The girl wrinkled up her little forehead. But, of course, curiosity won out. "A scary one."

All children like scary stories.

"Run back to bed now," I said. "I'll be right there."

Ten minutes later I was sitting on Olechka's bed in the dormitory, telling the girls a story in a low voice:

"And in the morning the little girl woke up and went over to the mirror and looked-and all her teeth were red! She tried cleaning them with toothpaste, and washing them with soap, but they were still as red as ever. She couldn't say a single word to her parents, in case they noticed. It was a good thing her younger brother had fallen ill and her parents took no notice of her at all. That's the way it always is-the little ones get all the attention and nobody even looks at you, not even if all your teeth are red…"

Scary children's stories are so wonderful! Especially if you tell them at night, to a pack of silly little girls, with a mysterious half-light coming in through the window.

"I've guessed it already," Natasha said in a bored voice. Such a serious girl, you couldn't impress her with scary stories. The others started hissing at her indignantly and she shut up. I carried on, feeling Olechka's little heart pounding as she pressed herself against me. There would be a good harvest for me there…