And the Two-in-One was enmeshed in a web of green fire.
He howled and flung out his arms, trying to tear apart the magical bonds. But they didn’t yield. The amount of Power in them was very great – more than even the Twilight could withstand.
A murky, whitish Shield appeared, dividing the office in two, but even through the Shield the blazing web threatened to burn out our retinas. The Two-in-One staggered, trying to stay on his feet, but the web glowed even more brightly, biting into his flesh.
‘Now then!’ Gesar shouted with the wild abandon of a hunter finishing off a wounded animal.
The green flames soaked into the body of the Two-in-One and the glow faded. The Shield was extinguished and the Two-in-One stood there as if he was listening carefully to something in his grotesquely huge body.
He burped, releasing a cloud of foul-smelling green smoke.
Everything went quiet, apart from the cups and saucers rattling on the desk. And then a small cup split in two, spilling out an unfinished espresso.
The Two-in-One raised his head and growled quietly.
‘Well, we had to try it, didn’t we?’ Zabulon said apologetically.
The Two-in-One advanced slowly towards us.
‘The Sixth Watch has been re-established!’ Arina announced, stepping forward and standing beside me. ‘Two-in-One, the Sixth Watch has been re-established. By virtue of the right of the Covenant of Blood, we demand negotiations!’
The giant fixed his gaze on her and paused for a moment before speaking. ‘Who are the members of the Watch of Six?’ he asked.
‘I, Arina, for the witches. Zabulon for the Dark Ones. Nadezhda for the Light Ones. Egor for the Mirror Magicians. Innokentii for the Prophets. And…’ Arina hesitated for a moment ‘Konstantin for the vampires.’
‘I shall talk to him first,’ the Two-in-One announced. ‘By virtue of the right of the first Others, he speaks first.’
Kostya stepped out to join Arina. ‘I am the Dark Other Konstantin Saushkin, the Master of Masters.’
‘This is deception!’ the Two-in-One declared. ‘You are dead.’
‘I have been dead for a long time,’ Kostya said coolly. ‘I am thrice dead. I died when I became a vampire, initiated by my own father. I died far from the Earth, isolated from Power. I died on the sixth level of the Twilight, killed by Anton Gorodetsky. I am undead. What right have you to be indignant that someone who is dead has joined the Watch?’
‘You hindered me.’
‘I corrected your error. You had no right to attack a future member of the Watch of Six.’
The Two-in-One hesitated again before he replied.
‘Speak.’
‘By virtue of the right of vampires, the first Others, who concluded the Covenant of Blood with you, I hereby annul that covenant henceforth and for ever. Not everything should be resolved in the simple manner to which you are accustomed. I declare the Covenant of Blood abrogated.’
‘Whom do you offer in sacrifice as confirmation of your words?’ the Two-in-One asked. ‘You know the rules. Bound by blood. Love and hate. Nobility and treachery. Strength and weakness.’
‘I offer in sacrifice Anton Gorodetsky,’ Kostya said, and I heard Svetlana screech behind me. ‘I loved him as my oldest friend. I hate him as my killer. He acted nobly in becoming my friend, defying the rules of the Watches. He acted treacherously in sending me to my death. Because of him I have become strong and because of him I have become weak.’
The Two-in-One didn’t react in any way to Kostya’s words. ‘Now you speak, witch,’ he said.
‘I am a Dar—… a Light Other, the head of the Conclave of Witches,’ Arina declared. ‘By virtue of the right of witches, who stole their right to Power from the vampires and shapeshifters, by virtue of the women who concluded the Covenant of Blood with you, I annul it henceforth and for ever. There is too much blood and too much evil, even for us witches. The Covenant of Blood is abrogated.’
‘Who is to be sacrificed for your words?’
‘Anton Gorodetsky,’ Arina said. ‘I loved him…’ Suddenly she laughed. ‘Even a decrepit old witch has the right to fall in love with a man. I hate him because he did not notice my love; he loves another and could never be mine. He acted nobly in not noticing my love and he acted treacherously in failing to notice it. I would have given him my strength, but he has no need even of my weakness.’
‘The Mirror,’ said the Two-in-One.
Egor sighed. ‘Now, how does it go… I am Egor Martynov, an uninitiated Other and a Mirror Magician… probably. By virtue of the right…’ he said and stopped for a moment. ‘By virtue of the right of the Party that preserves equilibrium, by virtue of the right of the Party that realises its purpose only in death, I annul the Covenant of Blood, because the balance must be maintained in some other manner. Without destroying everything. I abrogate it for ever and all the rest of it, blah, blah, blah.’
‘Your sacrifice?’
‘Anton Gorodetsky,’ Igor said. ‘I love him, he saved me. And I hate him, he deceived me. He acted nobly in defending my right to a destiny of my own, but he acted treacherously, because his own destiny was more important to him. He showed me strength and I chose weakness. There. That’s about it.’
‘The Prophet?’ the Two-in-One enquired.
‘I am Innokentii Tolkov,’ Kesha said. ‘A Prophet. A Light One. First-Level. I represent all Prophets, because I am the only one who suits in this case. I annul the Covenant of Blood, because there is no future in it. And I wish to see the future. Henceforth and for ever.’
‘The sacrifice?’
‘Anton Gorodetsky…’ Kesha said, his voice faint. ‘He saved me too, kind of. But that’s not the important thing. I love him because he is Nadya’s father. And I… I hate him. Because I have to name him, and he knew that I was going to name him. And he behaved nobly: he never tried to stop me being friends with Nadya, although I know that he doesn’t like me, he thinks I’m a clumsy, namby-pamby weakling. And I’m a traitor… because Nadya and I deceived him. And I have strength, which I know not only foretells the future, but also changes it, only I am weak… and I cannot change the future so that I could name someone else.’
‘The Dark One,’ said the Two-in-One.
‘That’s me,’ said Zabulon, without making the slightest attempt to move. ‘Zabulon, a Higher Dark One, representing the Dark Ones, obviously. I annul the Covenant of Blood; it is an archaic and irrational use of material. Henceforth and until the end of time. My sacrifice is Anton Gorodetsky. I love him – he is the most successful of my descendants. I hate him, he became a Light One and he likes it – I hate him especially because he likes it. He is a fine and noble enemy, but he is prepared to use treacherous means and that makes me especially furious because he would have been a truly great Dark One. And I am stronger than him, and would probably always have been stronger, but I could not do what he is doing now. In that way I am weaker. I have tried to do something of the kind sometimes, and I always stopped in time… but he does not know how to stop.’
‘The Light One,’ the Two-in-One announced.
I couldn’t stop myself – I turned and looked at Nadya. And I nodded to her, because right then she was feeling really, really bad, and there was nothing I could do to support and protect her.
‘I am Nadezhda Gorodetsky, a Higher Light One,’ said Nadya. Her voice was matter-of-fact – the very sound of it made my blood run cold. ‘I annul the Covenant of Blood. I hate it: perhaps there was a time when it was the best answer, the correct solution, but that time was long ago. I abrogate it for ever. Let there be nothing but good or nothing but evil, if that’s what people deserve. But we’ve had enough of this balance. A balance of good is always a balance of evil too. I… I…’