Chapter 6 Chapter 5

I opened the door for the wolf first, and then went to open my own room.It rushed into the dark room, turned around and closed the door with its mouth.Immediately behind the door came a long, screeching sound, like a ripping of damp spandex.The shapeshifter is returning to the appearance of an ordinary person. I went into my room, turned on the light, and closed the door.Put the "Shooter U" in the corner of the room, and it still smells like gunpowder.I took off the blood-stained T-shirt and threw it in the trash.I looked in the mirror. It's so handsome!There were clots of blood on the shoulder, and deep red grooves appeared where the bullet shot in, which was terrifying.

But that's okay.The first priority is to heal.Immediately cast the "Avicenna" spell, and the next morning no traces can be seen.For us magicians, what is bullet damage?snort!A piece of cake.But first I closed the curtains and turned off the overhead light.But if I get shot in the head, no magic will work. In the shower, I wash off the sweat and blood, enjoy the warm water, and try to connect the unrelated things in my mind. The "Scottish Hole" is an extraordinary place through which energy flows from the ordinary world... to where?Obviously the deepest layers of the Twilight Realm.There is no doubt about it.

College student Wei Jia was killed by a vampire.Why?Because Victor saw him in the mirror maze and recognized him.For vampires, hiding one's identity is very important.There is no doubt about it. Yegor is invited to Edinburgh as a potential mirror magician.He would side with the Night's Watch patrol.Foma will not do things against himself.That said, Foma fears, a fierce battle is about to begin in which dark forces will gain the upper hand.He was very worried and took all possible precautions.It seems that Gesar also sent me to Scotland at his request.There is also no doubt about it.

But what happened next was a bit confusing. Victor was sucked blood.Vampires have a throat like a vacuum pump, which can evacuate people in three or four minutes.But the vampire spit blood into the creek again.Why?he is not hungryBut a vampire is never so full that even a ration can't fit.For vampires, blood is not only food, but also the only form of energy supply they can accept.It takes only fifteen minutes for a vampire to digest the human blood it drinks.Why did he spit it out?So that others will not suspect vampires?However, ordinary people don't believe in the existence of vampires, but the inspection team can make judgments based on the shape of the wound.

Why kill the guards?And the method is so cruel!Who did he get in the "burrow"?Even so, there are many ways to incapacitate an ordinary person without harming him, such as casting spells such as "Morpheus" and "Vampire Calling", or even hitting a dull club on his head, of course. It's cruel, but not fatal!What a senseless and inexplicable killing... As for the robot shooter, it is even more unpredictable.Sometimes we and the dark forces also use firearms.This practice is more common for young Others - they believe in heavy pistols, automatic guns with silver bullets, and powerful grenades... But what reason would make them put remote-controlled robots Where does the Sagittarius come to the peace and tranquility of Edinburgh?I didn't even know that these things were no longer just samples, but mass-produced in China.Of course, there's nothing complicated about it - just a swivel mount, a camera, night vision, a bolt and trigger for any kind of pistol.The guy who set up the weapon in the path I was passing hid, staring at the monitor screen, turning the joystick, pressing the "fire" button... a wizard and a vampire can do this.Even ordinary people can do it.

This is how the same thing?Why attack me?Assaulting high-ranking Lightbringers, members of the Night's Watch Patrol—this is a very serious act.The guy who does this probably has nothing left to lose... I dried myself off, put on my silk robe, and walked out of the bathroom.Well, it's time for something to eat, even the chocolate in the minibar will do.Drink another hundred grams of whiskey, or a glass of red wine.Then she fell into a deep sleep on the silk-woven sheets without even dreaming. Someone knocked on the door, as if reading my mind.I responded, fastened my bathrobe, and walked over to open the door.

Standing at the door was a girl, or a young girl—she was fifteen or sixteen years old, and this age could be defined in different ways.The girl was barefoot, her wet black hair glistened, and she seemed to be only wearing a red and black silk gown. "Can I come in?" Her voice was like that of a middle school student. "I should have thought of that," I said, "come in." "Why should you have thought of it earlier?" The girl lowered her eyes. "Should we study the statue?" "I didn't bring a microscope. But if it's a male wolf, he's sure to piss on the weapon."

"Hmph, you're really rude, you're still a Lightbringer!" The girl frowned, walked to the sofa and sat down, putting one leg on top of the other. "Not to piss, but to mark it! Is it all right if I come into your room? It won't tarnish your reputation, will it?" "Unfortunately not, girl." I said and opened the minibar. "Would you like something to drink?" "Hot milk with honey." I nodded: "Okay, I'll call the restaurant right away." "There is no room service here." "They'll make an exception for me," I said confidently.

"Forget it, have a glass of wine, red." I poured myself a glass of whiskey on the rocks, and suddenly found a small 50ml bottle of "Gold Cup" liqueur nearby, so I mixed some into it.In order to sleep well, you need a large glass of "iron brown essence".Just because she doesn't want milk with honey doesn't mean I have to say no to good whiskey... "Who have you offended like this?" asked the girl. "It's the first time I've seen an automatic cannon shoot like this." "That's not a cannon." "Whatever," the female guest snorted. "I'm a girl, it doesn't matter if I'm wrong."

"You're not a girl, you're a shapeshifter." I looked at her face carefully. "I remember you." "Really?" Her expression suddenly disappeared without a trace. "remember me?" "Of course. Your name is Galia. You found my daughter when Alina the Witch kidnapped her." "You remember." The girl smiled. "I thought you forgot..." "No," I handed her the red wine. "Thank you, you helped us a lot at that time." "Your daughter is very good." She swallowed a big mouthful of wine and frowned slightly. "The wife is beautiful too."

I nodded: "What are you going to do now?" "I don't know." She shrugged. "Zabulong told me that this time is a major task, and I should help you, even though you are the Messenger of Light. I should do my best to help you." "Why did you come here?" I asked. "I don't mean to offend, but you are too young after all. And your energy is only level five." "Because I..." Galia didn't continue. "Although there are only five levels, can I help you?" "Help." I drank my cocktail in one gulp. "Sorry, I really want to sleep." "Me too. My side is scary though. It's all red and black. Can I sleep in your place?" She glanced at me, then lowered her eyes sheepishly. I put down the glass and nodded: "Of course, it's okay to sleep on the sofa? I'll get you a pillow and a quilt." "Bright Messenger..." The girl elongated her voice in aggrieved and disappointed way. "Forget it, I'll go back from heaven to hell. It's more fun there after all!" She walked out proudly with the cup in hand.I glanced through the door, and her whole room was in shades of crimson and black.There are still small patches of black fur on the ground - she has recovered too quickly, and the skin has not been completely replaced. Gallia stuck her tongue out at me as she closed the door. Precocious puberty, women's liberation, sexual revolution!No, I'm not lying.This girl remembered me four years ago, which is still very useful to me.Or maybe it wasn't four years ago, maybe she fell in love with me later, after that time—when her hormones kicked in with romantic feelings and vague desires. Oh, how she can seduce me!Crossing one leg over the other, keeping the bathrobe low on purpose, eyes sparkling. The ridiculousness is not here yet.If someone else had been in my place, she would still have come.The sex drive of the shapeshifter will soar after being restored.Some guys take advantage of this specifically, earning them the reputation of being the "ecstasy lover". Yes, sometimes I can’t help but feel aggrieved, why am I a Lightbringer... But I was too sleepy to get excited about having sex with young transgender girls.I mechanically set a few protective spells - it's like brushing my teeth before bed, then climb into bed and listen to the noise outside the window - people are still having fun and the city is not in a hurry to fall asleep.I pick up my phone, turn on the music, and close my eyes.Following the phonograph that played records, the era of cassette tape recorders has gone with the popularity of CDs. MDs have not flourished, and now even DVDs are almost out of date. The only thing left is the cold digital MP3.But we're used to it.We no longer feel uneasy about it. I am asleep.No one shot me in the dream.Nobody cut off anyone's head with a blunt knife.No one chased or killed anyone else. In the dream there was no girl in a silk gown, nor Sveta.Only one eye—a curious, malevolent eye—was fixed on me. It's always unpleasant to be woken up by a phone call, even if it's from a loved one or an old friend. It was bright outside the window.I took my head off the pillow and looked around the bedroom—everything was fine, except that I kicked the quilt to the floor when I fell asleep.I reached for my phone to check the number. There's no phone number, just simply "Zaburon"—even though the Darkbringer's number is never in my phone book. "Hello, Dark Messenger." "Are you okay, Anton?" Zaburon asked with concern. "Is the shoulder injury healed?" "Thank you for your concern, it's okay." I couldn't help touching the place where the wound was still yesterday.The skin there is pink and a little itchy. "I'm glad that the gift I gave came in handy," Zaburon said in the same polite tone. "I want to share a piece of information with you. There is no candidate for a mirror magician in the Kingdom of Great Britain. There is one in France, one in Poland, and two in Italy... I really can't figure out why Thomas is in such a hurry to get Yegor to Edinburgh go." Apparently, my childish little trick was of no use.Zaburon has learned the truth. "Hopefully he won't be used," I said. "Of course, of course," Zawulong responded repeatedly. "This is too despicable. For its own benefit, the light force wants to use this poor child again... Anton, my dear, what is going on with you? I heard that there was another murder yesterday? Another murder The blood was sucked dry?" "Yes," I sat down on the bed. "Another one was killed. The man's head was chopped off by a model of a beheading knife." "Where's his blood?" Zawulong asked curiously. "Dumped into the cleaning bucket." "Understood." "I'm glad you understand," I said. "Hehe, don't be too polite, Anton..." Za Wulong hesitated. "Ask Foma, has he already visited his neighbor in the grave?" "What?" I thought I didn't hear clearly. "Visiting a neighbor's grave?" "Has he already visited the neighbors in the grave?" Zaburon said with a smile, and then hung up. I cursed in a low voice, got up and went to the bathroom, took a cold shower, and washed up.Then find a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, and for some reason I don't want to wear light shorts and a T-shirt.If it's cooler, I'd rather wear a jumper or jacket. The phone rang again. "Hi, Gesar." I glanced at the screen and greeted. "How is your place?" "The shoulder injury has healed," I replied, without the slightest doubt that Gesar knew everything. "Where did the shoulder injury come from?" "I was attacked last night." I briefly told him what had happened.There was so much silence over the receiver that I had to blow into it like I would with an old-fashioned corded phone. "I think so," Gesar said coldly. "I think……" "Shall I go have breakfast first?" "Go ahead," agreed the chief. "Go and find Foma after dinner, and tell him that there is no time to hide and put on airs. Let him look up the inscription." "Which inscription is there?" I said this in a tone as if I was looking for inscriptions all day long. "Merlin's inscription." "Oh..." I got a clue. "Merlin's... Isn't he in the grave?" I said something nonsense.However, from Gesar's silence, I knew I was right. "Anton, where are you from..." He cursed briefly. "Go to Foma and have an open and honest talk with him! I'll be in touch with him too." "Yes!" I replied curtly and put the phone back in my pocket. It's getting more and more complicated, isn't it? There is an inscription.The inscription is in the tomb.In Merlin's grave. But Merlin is a mythical figure!King Arthur, Knights of the Round Table, Merlin... none of them ever existed in reality. Ho!Archmage Gesar and Thomas Rivermarch didn't exist, nor did the crazy vampires, shapeshifting girls, wizards of light, and wayward young wizards who inadvertently acquired advanced energies. Strangely, my mood suddenly improved a lot.Maybe it's because things are finally moving?I ran downstairs, said hello to the previous porter, and opened the dining room door. There is no ordinary person in it. Just two young vampires and a shapeshifting girl. The vampire was eating carpaccio, and Galia was eating quiche.It's strange, usually after two consecutive transformations, the shapeshifter will eat several kilograms of meat. "Good morning." I greeted them. The vampire smiled sheepishly and nodded in answer.Gallia was mashing the pie with a fork.Apparently she was a little embarrassed when the hormones wore off.I don't know where she got the clothes - black trousers, white thin shirt, short-sleeved jacket.It's a bit like the schoolgirls in Japanese cartoons. "Hello," I sat down beside me. "Did you sleep well?" "Ok." "You didn't have a nightmare, did you? Your room is scary, so it's no wonder you're afraid to spend the night there. The designers were over-intentional, weren't they?" Gallia glanced at me thoughtfully, and fed a piece of omelet into her mouth: "Thank you, Lightbringer. To be honest, I really like you. Shall I get you something to eat? Let me serve you once?" "Okay." I agreed. The girl went to the dining table: there were omelets and fried eggs on the insulated tray, as well as bread, sausage, cheese, meat and some vegetables.There was a small refrigerator in the corner by the kitchen door.Interestingly, is the blood that vampires drink stored there?Does the bartender serve it to the guests in the evening?Now the bar is empty, and even the beer taps are covered by colorful cloth covers. My phone rang again. "Let me have breakfast first." I grabbed my phone and begged. "Anton?" "It's me, Foma." "Are you up, Anton?" "Yes, having breakfast." "I'll send a car to pick you up. Can you leave the hotel in five minutes?" "Uh..." I stared at Xie Miao who appeared at the door.His face was glowing and he was waving happily at me. "Can I go with my colleagues?" "And that dark emissary? The shape-shifting girl? Forget it." "No, my colleague from Moscow is here. He is the Light Mage." Foma let out a long breath. "All right, Gorodetsky. Come along, the two of you. The driver knows where to go." "I want to ask you something." I informed him in advance. Lymont sighed again. "Maybe I have to... tell you something too. Hurry up, I'll wait." I put away my phone and smiled at Galia, who was approaching with plates and a coffee pot.At this time, Xie Miao also came from the door. "I brought you coffee. I don't know why, but I think you'd drink coffee instead of tea," said the girl triumphantly, and looked at Semyon suspiciously. "Wow! Galochka Dobronlavova!" Semyon smiled. "I remember you, I remember you... How is your work? Is Marina Petrovna all right?" There was a blush on the girl's face.She put the cutlery on the table. "You know," Semyon said to me, pretending to be mysterious, "Galochka doesn't like the chemistry teacher, so she wants to frighten her. At night, she hangs around the teacher's house, changes her shape beforehand, and then Howling and baring her teeth. Her chemistry teacher is very gentle, and her husband is a road policeman, and he is also very gentle. Just like what is often said in fairy tales, on the evening of the third day, the husband was worried that a mad dog would attack his wife when he came back from get off work, so he went to came out to pick her up. When he saw our Galochka hiding in the bushes, he realized that it was not a dog but a wolf, so he took out his pistol and shot. When Galochka wanted to get rid of the angry society When the Defenders of Order slipped away, two bullets hit her right in the ass. So we hurried off, figured out what happened, and then went to Galia's house to talk to her... No problem, no Inquisition, we settled the matter quickly." The girl turned and ran out of the restaurant.The two vampires looked at her suspiciously. "You don't have to be so mean," I said. "In order to save me, she rushed into the hail of bullets yesterday." Semyon grabbed a piece of sausage from the plate and began to chew.Then sighed: "It's all starch... Of course it's nice to rush into the fire of bullets. But what about killing the teacher?" "It's not good," I said sullenly. We took the robot shooter wrapped in a bathrobe and got into the taxi waiting at the door.The metal tripod protrudes to the outside of the car, but we don't care too much about that. The driver is an ordinary person.The Edinburgh Patrol seems to employ ordinary people in its work more widely than we do.We quickly drove out of the tourist-concentrated area and galloped towards the bay. "Thank you for calling me here," said Semyon, looking out of the window with undisguised joy. "I've had enough of Moscow . . . Tell me, what's going on?" I talked to him about it.At the beginning, Xie Miao put on the appearance of an experienced old scout, and listened to me casually, as if he was listening to a young recruit telling a horror story.Then he got serious too. "Antoha, are you sure about the energy gathering in that place?" "Why don't you ask the driver to turn around and pass by the 'burrow'?" Semyon sighed, shook his head, and said curtly: "Secret Kiln." "What's the meaning?" "The Chamber of Secrets. Something extremely important is hidden there." "Xie Miao, I still don't understand..." "Anton, let's assume, for example, that you are a very powerful magician who can enter the fifth floor of the Twilight Realm." "I can't." "Let's imagine!" "I can't get there, it's easy to imagine." "So, imagine that you can go so deep, deeper than all others you know. You suddenly need to hide something very important, such as magical equipment, powerful spells ...Or a bag of gold. What to do? Bury it in the ground? It will be found. Especially when you hide something magical, no matter how you cover it, it will create an energy field around it. So, you I have to take this thing to the depths of the Twilight Realm..." "Put it there, let's say the fifth floor." I nodded. "However, it will be pulled back..." "So you need a constant replenishment of energy. Here...it's like you put a buoyant thing on the bottom of the water, it will float up. But if there is a stream of water above it to hold it down..." "I see, Semyon." "Do you have any idea? Who's hiding what in there?" "Yes," I admit. "But first I must ask Foma about it." The phone in my pocket rang again.What kind of crime did I suffer... "Hello!" I didn't look at the display screen, and responded directly. "Anton, I'm Gesar." The voice of the boss was a little strange.He seemed rather flustered. "Speaking." "I talked to Foma... He promised that now that the matter is over, he will be frank with you and Semyon..." "Thank you, Boris Ignatievich." "Anton..." Gesar was silent for a moment. "One more thing...we checked Viktor Prokhorov's past and found something." "What?" I knew it would definitely not be a good thing. "Don't you think he looks familiar in the photo?" "An ordinary lad. The most common kind in Moscow, not impressive." I found myself, as usual, starting to talk nonsense when I got excited. "There are plenty of boys like this in any college..." "Imagine what Victor looked like when he was a kid. When he was a kid..." I honestly tried it, and replied: "What I came up with was an ordinary Moscow schoolboy. From any school like that..." "But you must have seen him, Anton, more than once. He was in the same class as your former neighbor, Kostya Shoshkin, and they were good friends. He must have been at Kostya's often. I think he might have bumped into you sometimes, maybe swinging his schoolbag around, or laughing stupidly." "Impossible..." I murmured.I was so taken aback by Gesar's words that I didn't pay much attention to the rare vividness with which he spoke.Swipe your schoolbag and laugh out loud?Really common situation.If you live in an apartment with children, you must have bumped into their schoolbags, heard their laughter, and stepped on chewing gum that was thrown on the floor.Who will remember their appearance... "Anton, there is no doubt that the only vampire Viktor knew was Kostya Shoshkin." "But Kostya is dead, Gesar!" "I know," Gesar replied. "Or more accurately, we think he's dead." "There's no way he's going to escape," I said. "Impossible anyway. Three hundred kilometers away from the earth. There is no energy there. He burned up in the atmosphere. He was burned, do you understand, Gesar? Burned up!" "Don't shout," Gesar said calmly. "It's burnt out. We've thoroughly probed the airtight spacesuit with radar, but we don't know if Kostya Shoshkin is in it, Anton. It's impossible to determine at such an altitude. You should think about it, think about it carefully." Think about it." Gesar hung up the phone.I looked at Semyon—he shook his head regretfully: "Anton, I heard you." "What do you think?" "Don't rush to the funeral if you don't see the body." Foma Lemont lived in the suburbs.The quiet and expensive residential area is full of comfortable villas and well-manicured small gardens.It was in the garden that he met us.The head of the Edinburgh Night Watch was sitting in the ivy-covered wooden pavilion, reading cards on an old coffee table.Wearing rumpled gray trousers and a long-sleeved knitted T-shirt, he looked like a common man near retirement.If surrounded by a group of grandchildren - he would be the head of a huge family.Seeing us coming in, Remont bowed politely, greeted me and Semyon, then put the cards away, muttering: "I didn't figure it out..." "Fuma, I think it's time to have a frank talk." I cast a sidelong glance at Semyon. "You have no objection to the presence of my colleague?" "No objection. Gesar has vouched for him." "Foma, today I spoke to Zaburon of the Moscow Patrol." "I know who Zaburon is." "He...he asked me to ask you...have you visited your neighbor in the grave long ago?" "Last night." Remont replied in a low voice. "Also, Gesar...he asked about the inscription, Merlin's inscription." "The inscription is not in the tomb," Remont replied, turning his gaze to Semyon. "Do you know who Merlin is?" "There is such a magician." Xie Miao scratched the back of his head. "A great magician of the Light Forces. A long time ago." Lemont looks at me: "And you?" "I thought Merlin was a mythical figure." I said honestly. "You both make sense." Remont smiled. "Merlin, the great magician of the Light Force, is a mythical figure. The real Merlin... is not so cute. Of course, he did help the young Arthur pull the sword from the boulder and make him king. Although We can privately think that Arthur has no right to the throne at all. Merlin is not a big villain, he is just doing anything to achieve his own goals. Need to elect someone who listens to him as king? Then choose. Need to let the king be respected The respect and love of the subjects? Of course it is necessary, who wants the world to be in chaos! Then make the king a noble and wise person. Let the king have his own royal dolls - a beautiful round table and a brave knight. Do you know? Arthur To die at the hand of a child born on a certain day? It was predicted long before Mordred was born. Do you know? What did noble Arthur do?" "Don't dare to guess." Remont sneered, and began to quote scriptures: "'King Arthur ordered that all babes born on the first day of May be brought before him by women of noble houses. For Merlin told him that a child born on the first day of May would destroy him and take all his dominions .Out of fear of death, King Arthur ordered to find all the babies born that day. Many children of nobles and knights were sent to the king, and Mordred was sent by the king's wife. The children were taken on board, Then the boat drifted into the sea. Some babies were only four weeks old, some were even younger. When the boat happened to be drifting towards the castle on the shore, it capsized, and almost all of them All the children died because of this, only Mordred was washed ashore by the waves. He was adopted by a kind person until he was fourteen years old, and then the kind person took him to the palace. This story is in "The Death of King Arthur "There is a narrative at the end of the book. Many nobles and lords of the Arthurian dynasty felt extremely indignant at the plundering and death of their children, but this sentiment was mainly directed at Merlin, not King Arthur. I don’t know whether it is out of fear or love, Peace is not threatened anyway'." "It's really the best successor to Emperor Herod's career." Semyon muttered. I was silent, thinking of a cartoon that Najushka liked very much, about the young King Arthur and the funny and forgetful wizard Merlin.I imagined the subsequent development of the plot in this cartoon-King Arthur gradually grew up under Merlin's training.He ordered that the crying, fussy, ignorant toddler be put on a dilapidated ship... Is this a symbol of purity and nobility?This is the legendary King Arthur who is always praised? "It doesn't look like the cute boy in the Disney cartoon, does it?" Lemont seemed to understand my thoughts. "It's not quite like the weird magician who guarded him, is it? But you shouldn't blame Arthur, this is his fate. Who made him meet such a master." "How did Mordred survive?" I asked. A hint of sarcasm flashed in Remont's eyes. "It's hard to tell. How did the little boy Arthur become the heir to the throne? It's possible that Mordred didn't survive at all. It's just that someone told a little guy that he was King Arthur's son. kill him at the right time. It doesn't matter what kind of blood he has, what matters is who he thinks he is." "Is he still alive?" "Mordred? Of course not. He's just a man. Arthur is a man. They're long gone." "Where's Merlin?" "He stayed in the Twilight Realm forever..." Remont nodded. "However, Merlin is indeed a great magician. I think he is the greatest magician ever. I think," he glanced at Xie Miao, "Merlin is a zero-degree energy magician..." I nodded and understood that he was talking about the magic "constant temperature" of zero-degree energy.Merlin doesn't inject anything of himself into that energy that travels through the world, he has nothing.Because of this, he became a great magician.He absorbs the energies scattered in space and uses them to perform miracles. There has never been such a powerful magician in the world. Until another magician is born.my daughter.Nadya. "Merlin left behind a lot of magical equipment after his death," Remont continued. "He made them playfully, as if he didn't have to do anything at all. The sword of the king is a typical example. There is also Merlin's cloak, Merlin's chalice, Merlin's crystal ball and Merlin's crutch." "Didn't he spend a lot of effort on naming?" Xie Miao laughed, but stopped immediately. "And Merlin's inscription?" I asked. Lymont shook his head. "Merlin's inscription is nothing more than a key. It is kept in Merlin's tomb, which is twenty-two miles away from the ... The magician puts some things in there. You may think I'm sentimental, and I do visit my own graveyard a lot. But Merlin's graveyard doesn't like to visit. I hoped for protection spells. But it didn't work. The graveyard was destroyed." "I thought Merlin's tomb was in Brittany," Semyon said. "No, south of Edinburgh, near Peeblesshire, where the Tweed meets the Edelston Water. Not far from here." "What does that inscription look like?" I asked. "It's a stone, it's full of magic, and it's full of unknown symbols. Merlin's inscription..." Remont glanced at us, hesitated for a moment, and continued, "...it's a key, more precisely Said to be the main part of the key to the chamber of secrets that Merlin built at the bottom of the lake. The lake is long gone, but the chamber of secrets remains." "The chamber of twilight?" I asked. "right." "Fifth floor?" Lymont sighed. "My little friend, if it doesn't exceed the fifth floor, I will go there myself. You can also ask Gesar or Andrew to go. Such a senior magician can be found. But the secret room belongs to Merlin Xiu, and it is on the deepest floor. That is to say, on the seventh floor." "Wow, my god!" Semyon exclaimed in surprise. "On the seventh floor? Is there really a seventh floor? Isn't it a legend?" "Yes. But I don't know who on Earth can get there..." Remont spread his hands. "What about the key? What about the inscription?" "What about the inscription... I've read the inscription—it's only useful for avoiding the guardians on the fifth floor. But after that, I have to go down, and I can't." "Ever tried?" I asked. "Why try?" Remont waved his hand. "Go to the Twilight Realm to find what Merlin left behind? Anton, you should now understand what kind of guy he is... Do you think he can leave anything good?" I shrugged. "It was believed that the 'Crown of All Things' was hidden in the Chamber of Secrets," Lemont said. "Sounds tempting, doesn't it? But I've always felt that 'Crown of All Things' is actually 'The End of All Things.'" Semyon opened his mouth to say something, but immediately changed his mind. "What else is in the key?" I asked. "Is it Merlin's crystal scepter, or Merlin's worn-out boots?" Lymont shook his head. "That's the most unpleasant part of this. You all understand that energy flows from this world to the deepest layers of the Twilight near the Chamber of Secrets." "right." "That is to say, if you try to enter the Twilight Realm in the 'burrow', you can only reach the third floor. If you go deeper, you will encounter obstacles formed by energy vortexes. This is not only to fix the secret room on the deepest layer of the Twilight Realm The motivation is also to prevent curious guys from breaking in." "Few curious guys can reach the third floor..." Xie Miao muttered, then scratched the back of his head immediately. "Sorry, no more, no more." "That is to say, Merlin's inscription is not helpful for passing through the third layer of the Twilight Realm." Fuma continued. "I believe that no one knows this secret except me, and I learned it by accident. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was a catastrophe near the bridge... A young girl fell and was caught by a sharp iron The stick pierced the artery..." "Bleeding." I understood what he meant. "Yes. If a person dies due to excessive blood loss, there will be a temporary excess of energy in the twilight world. The speed of the vortex in the third layer will slow down, and then you can go deeper." "Do people have to die?" I asked. "No idea. You know very well that I haven't tried it. Embalmed human blood is not suitable, there is no doubt about it. That's why the 'burrow' murder alarmed me. But the protective spell on Merlin's grave is intact,没人靠近过它，更没人打开过。所以我就放松了警惕，把这一切归结于巧合。直到昨晚我才决定去一趟梅林的墓地。” “发现它被遥控装置打开了，”我说。“是这样吧？类似于核电站使用的那种机器人？” “你怎么知道？”莱蒙特问。 “昨天我遭到过这种装置的袭击。”我朝那个带枪的三脚架指了指。谢苗把它从车上拿下来靠到了亭子旁边。“带无线遥控的自动射击装置。” 莱蒙特毫无兴致地朝那件武器看了看，冷冷一笑： “我们老了，安东。虽然我们还能活上一段时日，不过我们真的老了……格谢尔、阿里-阿沙弗、鲁斯塔姆、乔瓦尼、我……还有其他那些记得没有电、蒸汽机车和炸药的日子的魔法师。最年长、阅历最丰富的魔法师……几乎全是最强大的魔法师。我们低估了年轻一代。炮弹、机器人、电话……”他咬了咬嘴唇，朝拾掇得整整齐齐的房子望了望，眼里流露出的忧郁我时而会在格谢尔那里见到。 也许就是这种忧郁让我能够原谅作为守夜人巡查队领导的格谢尔所干的任何事情。 “是个年轻的家伙干的，”福马接着说。“他非但不惧怕科技手段，而且很善于使用它们。” “我大概知道他是谁，”我小声地说。“科斯佳·绍什金。” “把《富阿兰》一书攫为己有的高级吸血鬼？”莱蒙特蹙起了眉。“我知道这事。可他不是死了吗？” “没有人见过他的尸体，”我回答。“至少……他敢去夺取梅林留下的东西。而且他能够不假思索地使用科技手段。此外，他肯定对我怀恨在心，恨到了能向我开枪的地步。这是我的错！我打发他上了黄泉路。他躲过了死劫，现在决意报仇。” “安东，不要意气用事，”谢苗直截了当地说，然后向福马致歉并解释道：“您别生气，莱蒙特先生！安东是个性急的小伙子。昨天他还认为科斯佳死了。现在一下子又改了主意。眼下我们需要担心的是另外一件事。莱蒙特先生，您是怎么看的？嫌犯找到梅林的密室没有？” “梅林是个老派的魔法师，”莱蒙特稍加思索，然后作答。“钥匙应该有三个部分。三是个有魔法、有能量的数字。三、七和十一。” “嗯，确实是些简单的数字，”谢苗表示赞同。“怎么就没想到呢。那么钥匙的第三部分在哪里？” “第二部分我是偶然得知的，”莱蒙特说。“对第三部分我一无所知。只是假设它应该存在。至于究竟是什么——物体、咒语、祭品、时辰？我全然不知。也许是在月圆之夜赤裸着身体进入黄昏界，嘴里叼一朵飞廉花。梅林可是很爱开玩笑的。” 我们谁都没再说话。过了一会儿莱蒙特勉强地笑着说： “好了，朋友们，我把自己知道的所有秘密都告诉你们了。我觉得咱们没必要事先就搞得惊慌失措的。梅林的密室会被拥有超强能量的高级他者征服。这个他者还会在'地洞'里放某个普通人的血，以获得钥匙的第三部分。这一部分究竟是什么谁也不知道。我们就别瞎操心了，进屋喝杯茶吧。” “英国人的饮茶习惯！”谢苗满怀敬意地慨叹。 福马揶揄地瞥了他一眼，纠正说： “这可不是英国人的习惯。别忘了，你们是在苏格兰，进屋去吧……” “我还有一个问题，”我打断了莱蒙特的话。“您干嘛邀请叶戈尔到爱丁堡来？” “你说的是那个年轻的魔术师？”莱蒙特长吁一声。“我觉得应该慎重行事。如果碰到特别棘手的麻烦，我们守夜人巡查队首当其冲会遭受损失。我这里有战斗力的魔法师可是为数不多啊。镜子是最佳选择，它能对抗……” “对抗谁？”见莱蒙特说到一半就打住了，我立刻追问。 莱蒙托夫的这位先辈看了看我，那种愤怒之情让我感受到了他们家族惯有的暴躁脾性，正是这一点让俄罗斯诗人英年早逝。 “梅林！满意了吧？” “您是觉得，他……” “对于梅林而言，最金贵的就是他自己。所谓'万物之冠'，他可能指的把自己从虚空中拯救出来的方式。这种玩笑很是符合他的风格。” “这样的事还从来没发生过。”谢苗摇摇头。 “是没发生过。但像梅林这样的魔法师也从未有过。在能量足够强大的魔法师抵达第七层之前，通俗地说，在没有谁傻乎乎地为梅林送去一个新的庇护所之前，他自己——如果愿意，也可以说成是他的灵魂——或许还在那里打盹儿呢……你们愿意梅林重归世界吗？我本人可一点也不愿意！正因如此，我需要身边有一个潜在的镜子魔法师。也许他会派得上用场。也许他能变成镜子摧毁梅林。你有什么不满意的，戈罗杰茨基？” “绝对不能这么做！”我大声喊道，就连我自己也没料到甚至会有心疼的感觉。我的脑海里已经一片混乱——被我杀了的科斯佳有可能还活着，黑暗力量的魔法师梅林渴望复活，叶戈尔对这一切都全然不知……“他小时候就被我们用来作过战！现在又要被拉下地狱，用他来抵御梅林？他可还是个孩子啊！” “好啊！”莱蒙特也提高了声调。“你的话有道理！那我马上把所有潜在镜子魔法师的档案全都搬出来，你要随意地重新点一个？你要另外指定一个候选人？九岁的女孩，十五岁的男孩，年轻的丈夫和父亲、身怀六甲的妇女……他们不可能在不确定的状态中活到老，他们迟早会选择光明或者黑暗！他们全都很年轻，几乎全是孩子！你来选？你来帮我避免使用这个卑鄙的伎俩？” “行！”我大喊一声，一跃而起。“我来选！我来帮你！把档案拿出来，福马·莱蒙特先生！” “我这就去拿！”他也站了起来。“让你选，让你选！” 我们僵立在那儿，恶狠狠地望着对方，并没有立即意识到彼此的脸颊上都已淌下了热泪。

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Notes: 一书的第二部中描述过。——作者注 一书的第三部中描述过。——作者注