Chapter 16 end

Gesar did not immediately respond.To be precise, he replied two minutes later. "Anton, can you..." "No, I can't," I said. It was getting brighter.The twinkling stars in the southern sky have receded.I took a sip of Coke and continued: "Thank you for the talismans. They hit the nail on the head and hit the nail on the head. But let's get out of here now. If there's another pervert..." "Anton," Gesar's voice softened a lot. "What happened?" "We had a bad fight with Edgar." Gesar was silent for a moment, and asked:

"Is he still alive?" "Alive. Run through the tunnel. But at first he kept trying to kill us." "Has our friend the Inquisitor gone mad?" "Maybe." Gesar hummed into the microphone, and I suddenly understood that the boss was thinking.He was thinking about how to better use this news in the war of words with Zawulong, and how to use the embarrassment of Zawulong's old subordinates to insult the Dark Emissary to his heart's content. "Gesar, we are very tired." "The helicopter will pick you up soon," Gesar said. "It's very difficult to locate the tunnel. Wait a minute, I'll be in touch with Tashkent. Are you at... Rustam's place?"

"We are on the plateau where you once killed the Darkbringer with the 'White Mirage'." It was rare for me to embarrass Gesar, so I didn't want to miss this opportunity. "The helicopter will arrive soon." Gesar hesitated for a while and said, "Have you talked to Rustam?" "Talk." "Did he answer the question?" "Answered. But not all questions answered." Gesar took a long breath: "Very good, it's good enough to answer some questions... Is there no chance to convince him?" "Yes. I have used all four bracelets against Edgar."

"Really?" Every word I said excited Gesar. "What did you find out?" "The name of a vampire with whom Edgar was in league." "Really?" After a moment of silence, Gesar asked, "Who is it?" "Shoshkin." "This is impossible!" Gesar shouted at the top of his voice. "It's ridiculous!" "So the spell didn't work." "My spell couldn't have gone wrong. You might have missed him," Gesar said mildly. "Anton, don't be so bookish. I'll let you know what Edgar doesn't want to tell you when you come back."

"I'll wait and see," I teased. "I mean the remains of Konstantin Shoshkin. It's in our patrol." It was my turn that I had nothing to say.Gesar continued: "I don't want to upset you again. You may not want to see the charred bones of Konstantin Shoshkin...but you're going to be disappointed, forgive me for saying this. Konstantin Shoshkin is dead. Yes There's no doubt about it. Even an advanced vampire can't live without a skull. Now. Relax, the helicopter will be here soon." I hung up the phone and looked at Alisher—he was lying not far away, chewing chocolate.I say:

"Gesar said that Shoshkin's remains are stored with us." "Yes," he replied calmly. "I've seen it. His skull is embedded in the molten glass from the burning of the airtight space suit. Shoshkin is dead." "Don't be sad," Alfonky said. "Such a situation can happen. No spell is a panacea. You can find ways to deal with it subtly, and you can even make up lies to deceive it." "Edgar can't lie..." I murmured, thinking of his twisted face. "No, he can't..." I raised the phone to my eyes, entered the player menu, pressed the random play button, and heard a female solo song accompanied by guitar.The phone's speakers do their best to bring out the magic of the music.

"Alfonky!" I said. "You know, my daughter mentioned you when I was still in Moscow." "Really?" Alphonse was surprised. "You have a daughter who is a magician?" "Yes," I admit. "It's just that she's still young. She's only six years old. She always asks if you'll give her a necklace, the blue one." "What a clever little girl!" Alfonky admired. "I thought of asking for a necklace when I was only six years old! The turquoise is also very well chosen...take it!" I don't know from which pocket he took out the necklace and handed it to me.I looked at the string of sky blue turquoise curiously.

"Alfonki, the necklace also has magic power, right?" "Only a tiny bit. I enchanted the string to keep it going forever. As for the necklace, it was just a plain chain. Beautiful! Originally chosen for my great-granddaughter, who is old enough to just love to dress up. It's okay, I'll buy something else. This one is for your daughter, you're welcome." "Thanks, Alfonky," I said, putting the necklace away. Alisher coughed and said in a low voice: "Maybe it's none of my business, music people are weirdos! But I think there should be a formal investigation into this song."

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Notes: . ——Author's note