«No, that wasn't what I meant, Boris Ignatievich… I just had this thought. I didn't pity her.»
«And what does that mean?»
«I don't know. But I didn't pity her. I didn't pay her any compliments. I didn't make any excuses for her.»
«I understand.»
«And now… disappear, please. This is my job.»
«Okay. I'm sorry for turning you out into the field. Good luck, Anton.»
I couldn't remember the boss ever apologizing to anyone before. But I had no time to be surprised; the elevator had finally arrived.
I pressed the button for the top floor and automatically reached for the little button-earphones. Strange, there was music coming through them. When had I turned on the Walkman?
And what trick will chance play me
All will be decided later, for some he is no one,
For me he is my lord,
I stand in the darkness, for some I am a shadow,
For others I am invisible
I love Picnic. I wonder if Shklyarsky's ever been tested to see if he's an Other. He ought to be… But then, maybe not. Let him keep singing.
I dance out of time, I've done everything wrong,
Not regretting the fact
That today I'm like a shower that never fell,
A flower that never blossomed.
I, I, I—I am invisible.
I, I, I—I am invisible.
Our faces are like smoke, our faces are smoke
And no one will learn how we conquer…
Maybe I could take that last line as a good omen?
The elevator stopped.
I jumped out onto the top-floor landing and looked up at the trapdoor in the ceiling. The lock had been torn off, quite literally—the shackle was flattened and stretched. The vampire wouldn't have needed to do that; she'd probably flown to the roof. The boy had climbed up over the balconies.
So it must have been Tiger Cub or Bear. Most likely Bear; Tiger Cub would have broken the trapdoor out.
I pulled off my jacket and dropped it on the floor with the murmuring Walkman. I felt for the pistol behind my back—it was wedged in firmly. «So technology's all nonsense, is it?» I thought. «We'll see about that, Olga.»
I cast my shadow upward, projecting it into the air. I reached up and slid swiftly into it. Once I was in the Twilight, I started climbing the ladder. The thick, clumpy blue moss covering the rungs felt spongy under my fingers; it tried to creep away.
«Anton!»
When I stepped out onto the roof I even hunched over a bit, the wind up there was so strong. Wild, icy gusts—either an echo of the wind in the human world or some fantastic whim of the Twilight. At first I was sheltered from it by the concrete box of the lift shaft, projecting above the level of the roof, but the moment I took a single step I was chilled to the bone.
«Anton, we're here!»
Tiger Cub was standing about ten meters away. For a moment the sight of her made me envious; there was no way she was feeling the cold.
I don't know where shape-shifters and magicians get the mass for transforming their bodies. It doesn't seem to come from the Twilight, but it's not torn the human world either. In her human form the girl weighed maybe fifty kilograms, maybe a bit more. The young tigress poised in combat stance on the icy roof must have weighed a centner and a half. Her aura was a flaming orange and there were sparks wandering lazily over the surface of her fur. Her tail was twitching left and right in a regular rhythm; the right front paw was scraping regularly at the bitumen of the roof. At that spot it was scraped right through to the concrete… someone would get flooded come spring…
«Come closer, Anton,» the tigress roared, without turning around. «There she is!»
Bear was standing closer to the vampire than Tiger Cub. He looked even more terrifying. For this transformation he'd chosen the form of a polar bear, but unlike the real inhabitants of the Arctic he was snowy white, just like in the pictures and children's books. No, he had to be a magician, not a reformed shape-shifter. Shape-shifters were limited to only one form, two at most, and I'd seen Bear take the form of a pigeon-toed brown Russian bear (when we arranged a carnival for the Watch's American guests), and the form of a grizzly, at our demonstration classes on transformation.
The girl-vampire was standing right on the edge of the roof.
She looked worse, a lot worse since the first time I met her. Her features were even sharper now and her cheeks were hollow. During the first stage of the body's transformation, a vampire requires fresh blood almost constantly. But I wasn't about to be fooled by the way she looked: Her exhaustion was just her appearance; it was agonizing for her, but it didn't take away her strength. The burn mark on her face was almost gone; I could just make out a faint trace.
«You!» the vampire's voice rang out triumphantly—as if she'd summoned me to be slaughtered, not for negotiations.
«Yes, me.»
Egor was standing in front of the vampire; she was using him to shield herself from our operatives. The boy was in the Twilight she'd summoned, so he hadn't lost consciousness. He stood still, not saying anything, looking from me to Tiger Cub and back. We were obviously the two he was counting on most. The vampire had one arm around the boy's chest, holding him tight against her, and she was holding her other hand against his throat, with its claws extended. The situation wasn't that hard to assess. Stalemate. Both sides stymied.
If Tiger Cub or Bear tried to attack the vampire, she'd tear the kid's head off with a single sweep of her hand. There's no cure for that… not even with our powers. On the other hand, once she killed the boy, there'd be nothing to stop us.
It's a mistake to drive your enemy into a corner. Especially if you're going to kill him.
«You wanted me to come. So I've come.» I raised my hands to show they were empty and started walking forward. When I was midway between Tiger Cub and Bear the vampire bared her fangs:
«Stop!»
«I haven't got any poplar stakes or combat amulets. I'm not a magician. And there's nothing I can do to you.»
«The amulet! The amulet on your neck!»
So that was it…
«That's nothing to do with you. It protects me against someone incomparably superior to you.»
«Take it off!»
Oh, this was bad… really bad… I grabbed the chain, pulled the amulet off and dropped it at my feet. Now, if he wanted to, Zabulon could try to influence me.
«I've taken it off. Now talk. What do you want?»
The vampire twisted her head right around—her neck easily turned the full three hundred and sixty degrees. Oho! I'd never even heard of that one… I don't think our fighters had, either: Tiger Cub growled.
«There's someone sneaking up here!» The vampire's voice was still human—the shrill, hysterical voice of a stupid young girl who has acquired great strength and power by accident. «Who is it? Who?»
She pressed her left hand, the one with the extended claws, into the boy's neck. I shuddered, picturing what would happen if a single drop of blood was spilled. The vampire would lose control! She pointed to the edge of the roof with her other hand in a ludicrous gesture of accusation, like Lenin on his armored car.
«Tell him to come out!»
I sighed and shouted:
«Ilya, come out…«
Fingers appeared on the edge of the roof, and a moment later Ilya swung over the low barrier and stood beside Tiger Cub.
Where had he been hiding? On the canopy of a balcony? Or had he been hanging there, clutching the strands of blue moss?
«I knew it!» the girl-vampire said triumphantly. «Trickery!»