Day Watch

I sensed that he had covered us with a cowl of invisibility, and quite a powerful one too. Before I said a single word, I added some Power of my own to the cowl, drawn partly from somewhere inside myself, from my own mind, and partly from outside. It happened quite spontaneously, but I read the dumb astonishment in Edgar's eyes.

"I phoned and said there was a dead Light One in my room. And told them his name. That's all."

Edgar gave a barely perceptible nod and glanced significantly at Shagron, who gave the slightest of shrugs.

We stood there in silence until the knock at the door-a far less polite one this time.

The Light Ones didn't wait to be invited. They just walked straight in.

There were five of them-Tolik, Anton, and the girl shape-shifter could barely have had enough time to get from Pervomaiskaya Street to their office. Two others had come with them-a cultured-looking young guy wearing spectacles with eighty-dollar frames and another with a sunta

These last two and Tolik carefully examined, probed, and sca

Anton and the girl didn't interfere, but I could clearly sense the aversion emanating from them. Not even hatred-the Light Ones don't really even know how to hate properly. More like a desire to pin me into the corner, have me condemned and punished. Or simply to hit me with so much Power that I'd be driven into the Twilight forever.

And I also sensed there was at least one more Light One somewhere outside the room. Probably somewhere else on the same floor, or by the lifts. He was obviously covering the others' backs, and he had shielded himself really well for the job. I only spotted him, you might say, by accident. But I don't think that Shagron and Edgar had any idea he was there.

I frowned. The Light Ones had the numerical advantage- there were twice as many of them. And the two of them that I was seeing for the first time were very powerful magicians, almost certainly first level. In any case, the two of them together would be stronger than Shagron and Edgar. And Anton was no pushover either-he could give Shagron a good fight, or even Edgar. Plus the girl-she was a warrior. And that unknown one somewhere nearby. The balance of forces was not good at all. They'd grind us to dust, grind us as fine as powdered vanilla…

Meanwhile the Light Ones had finished their sca

"Well, why do you think I would have used so much Power?"

The one in spectacles and the other one I didn't know exchanged a quick glance.

"We demand to see your things."

"Stop, stop," Edgar put in hastily. "On what grounds, exactly?"

The one in spectacles smiled bleakly-with just his lips. "The Night Watch has reason to suspect that a forbidden artifact of immense Power has been smuggled into Moscow. You must know that such actions contravene the terms of the Treaty."

My Dark colleagues looked at me doubtfully. They were apparently expecting some unambiguous response. But what was it? On this occasion my magical internal help-all chose not to prompt me. But on the other hand, I knew perfectly well that there weren't any forbidden artifacts in my bag. And so I gestured magnanimously and said, "Let them look! All night long if they want."

"I protest," Edgar said quietly, and apparently without any great hope. "You don't have the sanction of your chief."

"The protest is rejected," the one in spectacles parried in an inflexible voice. "I'm the chief here. Show us your things, Dark One."

I didn't have to be asked twice. I neutralized the remains of the defenses with a single gesture and opened the door of the safe, where my bag was lying in total isolation, apart from a pair of clothes brushes. Part of its logo seemed to gaze out at us reproachfully: Fuj… I imagined a bored, squeaky voice pronouncing it as "phooey…"

I took the bag and tipped its contents out onto the bed. The Light Ones didn't take much interest in my things, but the sight of the final plastic bag put them on their guard-the second unknown magician even grasped the amulet in the pocket of his jacket.

When I shook the money out onto the bedcover, everybody looked at me. My own side and the Light Ones. As if I were some kind of psycho. An absolutely hopeless case.

"There," I said. "That's all I have. A hundred thousand. Actually a bit less now."

The magician in spectacles stepped toward the bed and rummaged disdainfully through my things, glancing into the plastic bags. But I realized that what he really wanted was tactile contact.

He wasn't even satisfied with remote sca

Good grief, what did they suspect me of? Probably some cretin really had tried to bring something forbidden into Moscow, and since I'd overdone it a bit protecting my miserable heap of bucks, now they suspected me of everything. That was really fu

The one in spectacles spent about a minute sniffing at my baggage. Then he gave up.

"All right. There's nothing here. We're declaring this suite off-limits. You'll have to change rooms."

The girl shape-shifter started and gave him a puzzled look. He spread his hands and I understood the meaning of his gesture. There was nothing to charge me with. No grounds. The shape-shifter tensed up, but the other magician put his hand on her shoulder, as if he were warning her not to do anything rash.

"Ye-es?" Edgar drawled insinuatingly, and something Estonian finally came through in that "Ye-es" of his. "Change rooms? In that case we request official permission for a seventh-level intervention. In order to avoid u

The Light Ones were a

"Why? We can influence the staff without any psychic correction."

"But you have a habit of declaring any influence a violation," Edgar explained in a very i

"I will per…" Ilya drawled slowly and then broke off. "No. I won't permit it. Anton, you go with them and do it all yourself. Try to make sure they move him as far away from here as possible, so that… Anyway, just do it."

Edgar sighed in disappointment. "Okay… if you say no, then it's no. But tell me, dear fellow, do you have any more questions for our colleague?"

Edgar's tone of voice was so prim and polite that I was afraid the Light Ones might decide he was mocking them. But they clearly knew Edgar pretty well. And maybe this caustic, biting politeness was the norm of behavior between the two Watches.

"No, we don't dare detain him any longer. But permit us to remind you that until our investigations are concluded, he is forbidden to leave Moscow, in co

"I remember," I put in as i

"In that case, permit us to take our leave. Colleague Vitaly, pack your things…"

I shoved all my bits and pieces into the first plastic bags that came to hand, put the plastic bags into the large bag, picked up my jacket from where I had dropped it on the armchair, and stood up. Edgar pointed to the door in invitation.

We went out into the corridor and took the elevator down to the vestibule, where Edgar suddenly turned to the Light One with us.

"Anton! Our colleague is not going to stay in this hotel any longer. We're taking him with us. If you need him, you can inquire at the Day Watch office."

The Light One seemed to have been taken by surprise, he glanced uncertainly at the hotel administrator sleeping behind his counter, then nodded indecisively. And we set off toward the exit.