«None of us wish Sveta any harm,» Olga said sharply. «Is that clear?»
«We don't know how to wish anyone harm. It's just that sometimes our Good is no different from Evil.»
«Anton, let's stop right there. I have no right to answer your questions. And we shouldn't spoil this surprise vacation for the others.»
«Just how much of a surprise is it?» I asked suggestively. «Well, Olya?»
But she'd already pulled herself together, and her expression remained impenetrable. Much too impenetrable for a question like that.
«You've found out too much already.» Her voice was louder; it had assumed its former tone of authority.
«Olya, we've never been sent off on vacation at the same time. Not even for one day. Why has Gesar sent all the Light Ones out of Moscow?»
«Not all.»
«Polina Vasilievna and Andrei don't count. You know perfectly well they're just office workers. Moscow's been left without a single Watch operative!»
«The Dark Ones have gone quiet too.»
«So what?»
«Anton, that's enough.»
I nodded, realizing I wouldn't be able to squeeze another word out of her.
«Okay, Olya. Six months ago we were on equal terms, even if it was only by accident. Now we're obviously not. I'm sorry. This is clearly a situation for someone with more experience.»
Olga nodded. It was so unexpected I could hardly believe my eyes.
«You've finally got the idea.»
Was she kidding me? Or did she really believe I'd decided not to interfere?
«I'm pretty quick on the uptake,» I said. I looked at Svetlana. She was chatting happily with Tolik about something or other.
«Are you angry with me?» Olga asked.
I touched her hand, smiled, and went into the house. I wanted to do something. I wanted to do something as badly as a genie who's been let out of his bottle for the first time in a thousand years. Anything at alclass="underline" Raise up castles, lay waste cities, program in Basic, or embroider in cross-stitch.
I opened the door without touching it, by pushing it through the Twilight. I don't know why I did it. I don't often do things like that, just sometimes when I've drunk a lot, or when I get really angry. The first reason didn't fit here.
There was no one in the living room. Why would anyone want to sit inside, when outside there were hot kebabs, cold wine, and more than enough beach chairs positioned under the trees?
I flopped down into an armchair. Picked up my glass—or Sveta's—from the low table and filled it with cognac, then downed it in one, as if it were cheap vodka, not fifteen-year-old Prazdnichny. Poured myself another glass.
That was when Tiger Cub came in.
«Don't mind, do you?» I asked.
«Of course not.» The sorceress sat down beside me. «Anton, has something upset you?»
«Just ignore me.»
«Have you had a fight with Sveta?»
I shook my head.
«That's not the problem.»
«Anton, have I done something wrong? Aren't the guys having a good time?»
I stared at her in genuine amazement.
«Tiger Cub, don't be stupid! Everything's just great. Everyone's enjoying themselves.»
«And you?»
I'd never seen the shape-shifting sorceress look so uncertain of herself. Were they having a good time or weren't they—you can't please everyone.
«They're moving ahead with Svetlana's training,» I said.
«What for?» the young woman asked with a slight frown .
«I don't know. For something that Olga couldn't do. For something very dangerous and very important at the same time.»
«That's good.» She reached for a glass, poured herself some cognac, and took a sip.
«Good?»
«Sure. That they're training her, giving her direction.» Tiger Cub looked around, trying to find something, then frowned and looked at the music center by the wall. «That remote's always going missing,» she said.
The music center lit up and Queen started to play «It's a Kind of Magic.» I was impressed by how casually she did it. Controlling electronic circuits at a distance isn't a simple trick; it's not like drilling holes in a wall just by looking at it or keeping the mosquitoes away with fireballs.
«How long did you train to work in the Watch?» I asked.
«I started at around seven years old. At sixteen, I was already involved in field operations.»
«Nine years! And it's easier for you—your magic's natural. They're planning to turn Svetlana into a Great Sorceress in six months or a year!»
«That's tough going,» the young woman agreed. «Do you think the boss is wrong?»
I shrugged. To say the boss was wrong would have been about as stupid as denying that the sun rises in the east in the morning. He'd been learning how not to make mistakes for hundreds—even thousands—of years. Gesar might act harshly, even cruelly. He might provoke the Dark Ones and leave the Light Ones to carry on alone. He might do anything at all. Except make a mistake.
«I think he's overestimating Sveta's strength.»
«Come off it! The boss calculates everything.»
«I know he calculates everything. He plays the old game very well.»
«And he wishes Sveta well,» the sorceress added stubbornly. «Do you understand that? In his own way, maybe. You would have acted differently; so would I, or Semyon, or Olga. Any one of us would have done things differently. But he's in charge of the Watch. And he has every right to be.»
«So he knows best?» I asked.
«Yes.»
«And what about freedom?» I asked, pouring myself another glass. I didn't really need it; my head was already starting to hum. «Freedom?»
«You talk like the Dark Ones do,» the young woman snorted.
«I prefer to think they talk like I do.»
«It's all very simple, Anton.» Tiger Cub leaned down over me and looked in my eyes. She smelled of cognac and something else, a light floral smell. It wasn't likely to be perfume: shape-shifters don't like anything that is scented. «You love her.»
«Sure, I love her. That's no news to anyone.»
«You know she'll soon be on a higher level of power than you?»
«If she isn't already.» I didn't mention it, but I remembered how easily Sveta had sensed the magical screens in the walls.
«She'll go way beyond you. Her powers will totally dwarf yours. Her problems will seem incomprehensible to you; they'll seem weird. Stay with her and you'll start feeling like a useful parasite, a gigolo; you'll start clutching at the past.»
«Yes.» I nodded and was surprised to notice my glass was already empty. My hostess watched me closely as I filled it again. «So I won't stay. I don't need that.»
«But there isn't anything else on offer.»
I'd never suspected that she could be so hard. I'd hadn't expected her to be so worried about whether everyone liked her hospitality and her home, and I hadn't expected to hear this bitter truth from her either.
«I know.»
«If you know that, Anton , there's only one reason you're feeling so outraged about the boss dragging Sveta upward so fast.»
«My time will soon be gone,» I said. «It's sand running through my fingers, rain falling from the sky.»
«Your time? Yours and hers, Anton.»
«It was never ours, never.»
«Why?»
It was a good question. Why? I shrugged.
«You know, there are some animals that don't reproduce in captivity.»
«There you go again!» the young woman exclaimed indignantly. «What captivity? You should be glad for her. Svetlana will be the pride of the Light Ones. You were the first one to discover her; you were the one who saved her.»
«For what? One more battle with Darkness? An unnecessary battle?»
«Anton, now you're talking just like a Dark One yourself. You love her! So don't demand or expect anything in return. That's the way of the Light!»