An operation approved at the highest level.
Approved by the Light.
Why was I getting so involved? I had no right to be. None at all. And I had absolutely no chance either. I could console myself with the wise parable about the grain of sand that stopped the clock, but right now I was a grain of sand caught between mill wheels.
And the saddest thing of all was that these were the mill wheels of my own side. Nobody would persecute me. Nobody would fight me. They’d simply stop me doing all those stupid things that wouldn’t do any good in any case.
Then why did I feel this pain, this unendurable pain in my chest?
I was standing on the terrace, clenching my fists in impotent fury, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
‘Looks like you’ve managed to figure something out, Anton.’
I glanced at Semyon and nodded.
‘Hard to take?’
‘Yes,’ I admitted.
‘Then just remember one thing. You’re not just a grain of sand. Nobody’s just a grain of sand. Especially if he’s an Other.’
‘How long do you have to live to be able to guess what someone else is thinking like that?’
‘A hundred years, Anton.’
‘Then Gesar can read any of us like an open book?’
‘Of course.’
‘Then I’ll have to learn how not to think,’ I said.
‘For that you have to learn how to think first. Did you know there’s been a skirmish in town?’
‘When?’
‘A quarter of an hour ago. It’s all over already.’
‘What happened?’
‘A courier arrived to see the boss, from somewhere out east. The Dark Ones followed him and tried to eliminate him. Right there in front of the boss.’ Semyon laughed.
‘That means war!’
‘No, they were within their rights. The courier entered the city illegally.’
I looked around. Nobody was in any hurry to go anywhere. They weren’t starting up their cars or packing their things. Ignat and Ilya were lighting up the barbecue again.
‘Shouldn’t we be getting back?’
‘No. The boss handled things his own way. There was a small fight, without any casualties. The courier’s been made a member of our Watch, and the Dark Ones had to leave empty-handed. The restaurant suffered a bit, that’s all.’
‘What restaurant?’
‘The restaurant where the boss met the courier,’ Semyon explained patiently. ‘We’ve been told we can carry on with our holiday.’
I looked up at the blindingly blue sky swelling with the heat.
‘You know, somehow I’m not in the mood for a holiday. I think I’ll go back to Moscow. I don’t suppose anyone will mind too much.’
‘Of course not.’
Semyon took out his cigarettes and lit up. Then he said casually:
‘In your place, I’d find out exactly what the courier brought with him from the east. Maybe that’s your chance.’
I laughed bitterly.
‘The Dark Ones couldn’t find out. Are you suggesting I should start rummaging in the boss’s safe?’
‘The Dark Ones couldn’t take it. Whatever it was. You have no right to take what the courier brought or even touch it, of course. But just finding out …’
‘Thanks. I really mean that.’
Semyon nodded, accepting my gratitude graciously.
‘We’ll settle up in the Twilight. You know, I’ve had enough holiday too. After lunch I’m going to borrow Tiger Cub’s motorbike and go back to town. Want a lift?’
‘Uhuh.’
I felt ashamed. It was the kind of shame that probably only Others can feel. We can always tell when someone’s helping us out, when they’re giving us something we don’t deserve but can’t possibly refuse.
I couldn’t stay there any longer. Stay there and see Svetlana, Olga and Ignat. Listen to their truth.
I would always have my own truth.
‘Can you handle a motorbike?’ I asked, clumsily trying to change the subject.
‘I rode one in the first Paris – Dakar rally. Let’s go give the others a hand.’
I glanced sullenly at Ignat. He was chopping wood, handling the axe like a real virtuoso. After every blow he froze for a moment and looked round quickly at everyone, flexing his biceps.
He really loved himself. Sure, he loved the rest of the world too. But he came first.
‘Let’s do that,’ I agreed. I swung back my arm and threw the sign of the triple blade through the Twilight. Several blocks of wood flew apart into neat sticks of firewood just as Ignat raised his axe for the next blow. He lost his balance and almost fell. Then he started to look around.
Naturally my blow had left a spatial trace. The Twilight was vibrating, greedily drawing in energy.
‘Antosha, what did you do that for?’ Ignat asked crossly. ‘That’s not the sporting way!’
‘But it is efficient,’ I said, walking down from the terrace. ‘Shall I chop some more?’
‘Don’t bother,’ said Ignat, bending down to collect up the firewood. ‘Carry on like that and we’ll end up grilling the kebabs with fireballs.’
I didn’t feel at all guilty, but I started helping anyway. The firewood had been chopped cleanly and the cuts glittered a rich amber yellow. It seemed a shame to put something so beautiful on the fire.
Then I looked at the house and saw Olga standing at the ground-floor window.
She’d been following my little escapade very closely. Far too closely.
I waved to her.
CHAPTER 5
TIGER CUB’S motorbike was really great, if such a vague word can ever be applied to a Harley, even the most basic model. After all, there are motorbikes, and then there are Harley-Davidsons.
Why Tiger Cub needed it, I couldn’t imagine. As far as I could see, it was only ridden once or twice a year. Probably for the same reason as she needed a huge house to live in at the weekend. In any case, we arrived back in town before it was even two in the afternoon.
Semyon handled the heavy two-wheeled vehicle like a master. I could never have done it, not even if I’d activated the ‘extreme skills’ implanted in my memory and reviewed the reality lines. I could have got there almost as fast by expending a considerable portion of my reserves of power. But Semyon simply drove – and his superiority over an ordinary human driver was down to nothing but experience.
Even riding at a hundred kilometres an hour the air still felt hot. The wind struck at my cheeks like a rough towel. It felt like we were riding through a furnace, an endless tarmac furnace full of vehicles that had already been roasted in the sun, slowly crawling along. At least three times I was sure we were going to crash into a car or an inconveniently placed pillar.
It wasn’t likely that we’d be killed outright. The rest of the team would sense what had happened and come and put us back together, piece by piece, but it wouldn’t exactly be fun.
We arrived without any mishaps. After the ring road Semyon used his magic about five times, but only to make highway patrolmen look the other way.
Semyon didn’t ask my address, even though he’d never been to my place. He stopped outside the entrance to the building and switched off the engine. The teenagers swilling cheap beer in the kids’ playground stopped talking and stared at the bike. How great it must be to have such clear and simple dreams: beer, E at the nightclub, a hot girlfriend and a Harley
‘How long have you been having premonitions?’ Semyon asked.
I started. I hadn’t really told anyone that I’d been having them.