Chapter 15 Chapter 1

In the evening, when the analysts and technicians had dispersed, and the combat team members who were on duty tonight had just begun to gather at the headquarters, Gesar called Anton over.The corridor on the second floor smells of freshly brewed coffee, hot cinnamon buns, and a faint scent of tobacco—almost everyone in the night watch patrol team is in fashion this year, and even witches can’t escape it . Anton hadn't worked in the information center for almost a year, and Garico replaced him as the head of the operator girls at the computer center.Anton was promoted to a second-level magician at the beginning of the year, and he was required to sit in an armchair and type on the keyboard for a long time, and the stored program was too useful.

"Coffee?" Semyon asked.Anton nodded, and at this moment, the phone rang.There was silence in the room where the four combatants—Semyon, Garico, and Big Bear—were sitting.Everyone can feel the boss's phone call. And can feel who it is calling. Under everyone's attentive gaze, Anton took off the microphone. "Come over to me when you're done with your work," Gesar ordered without greeting, "Come over after you finish your coffee." "Yes," replied Anton in a steady voice, "as you will, Boris Ignatievich." He thought for a while, and lit his pipe.If Gesar hadn't reminded that time was running out, then he didn't have to worry too much.

"Will you reprimand?" Garico imagined.Anton just shrugged.Anything is possible.From accusing him of betraying the cause of the Night's Watch Patrol to being promoted; from asking him to sit in his office without leaning out to ordering him to rush to Darkbringer headquarters.When the High Sorcerer came up with something, it was useless to try to guess his plans.Not to mention if the sorcerer was in such a violent state of mind that Gesar had been in the last few months. In short, all of them were in a bad mood.Failure after failure this year.It all started in the summer, when the unprovoked arrest of a witch practicing illegally led to a conflict with the Darkbringer.Then, Igor, who survived this conflict, the lovely boy Igor Jeplov got a chance to go to "Altek" to rest and recover his strength, but he fell into the trap of the dark messenger.That dastardly dark witch, Zaburon's girlfriend, Alyssa Tonikova, who had more than once participated in the most complex plots of the Night's Watch, set a trap to charm him and make him fall in love with her.

This time she didn't get away with it—Igor was able to finish her off anyway.But for this he goes beyond the limits allowed by his self-defense, and so his fate is now at stake. Vidari Rogoza showed up about a month ago, and it was a total disaster.At first, they thought he was an ordinary dark emissary, and then they began to suspect that the Ukrainian foreign boy was a special envoy to help the Day Watch patrol team.And Rogoza is actually a mirror -- a rare occurrence that has occurred fewer than ten times in the Patrol's recorded history.In fact, he is a direct product of the Twilight, a person who is indistinguishable from ordinary people, not even molded by others, and yet he is a terrible fighting machine.If only they had understood that right away...but they didn't.In the battle with the mirror, Xiaohu was sacrificed, Svetlana was exhausted, and several magicians were damaged to varying degrees.

Very, very bad. Anton scolded himself more than once, and more than twice, for not thinking of analyzing the situation related to the appearance of the mirror in detail.Because there is a similar situation in the top-secret file: a magician who does not belong to any type appears, his power increases rapidly, a decisive confrontation-then disappears.Everything fits together until the final moment, when Vidari Rogoza melts into the air, ceasing to exist, disappearing into the depths of the Twilight that spawned him. But Anton, Garico, or Semyon didn't matter.For them the mirror was one of those rare occurrences mentioned only in lectures and archives.But why didn't Igor and Olga not get all the truth right away with their work experience?They have met the mirror before...

Everything sucks.All was unsuccessful.Dark forces, seemingly irritated by the recent string of successes of the Night's Watch patrols, set out to strike them one blow after another.And have to admit, very successful. Anton shook his head and rejected the second cup of coffee Xie Miao suggested.He cleaned his pipe carefully and looked at the bear involuntarily.The latter is also cleaning the pipe.That small, long, thin pipe that originally belonged to Xiaohu.Girl Xiaohu smokes it occasionally, more often with her friends.But now, Little Tiger is gone, and Big Bear alternates smoking his own pipe for a while and smoking hers for a while.Perhaps, this is the only way Xiaohu expresses his emotions after his death.He touched the pipe lovingly... That stare, full of melancholy regret, when Vidari Rogoza began to cease to exist.Rogoza did not fall into the hands of Big Bear, and Big Bear's desire for revenge could not be curbed.

The same goes for Arish, the Lightbringer from Uzbekistan whose father was killed by Alisha a year ago. Anton also had a score to settle with the Sun Watcher Patrol and its leader, and of course it was an impossible score to settle.The peace binds both parties, and the Inquisition supervises the execution of the peace treaty. There is only one way out - rush forward regardless, and challenge the enemy to a duel... like Igor did, for example.But what happened?The witch is dead.However, the magician himself is on the verge of cessation of existence, awaiting the verdict of the European branch of the Inquisition.It is not difficult to guess what kind of verdict it will be...

Anton stood up, nodded to his friends, and walked to the third floor. Feeling bad, people all over the world are waiting, as if the number 2000 can change anything, but in fact, what is the difference? It wasn't until he came to the door of the office that Anton became a little interested. He felt very powerful magical protection.The Night Watch patrol building itself was closed and no observations allowed.The team members' offices are specially separated from the meeting room by a baffle.However, it seems that today Gesar has paid a lot of supplementary force to ensure the secrecy.The air in the corridor was stuffy, still, full of energy.And this invisible wall extends to a certain place in the twilight world, which is much farther than the first and second floors that Anton can reach.He walked into the office and closed the door tightly behind him.He felt a slight movement after the momentarily interrupted protection closed behind him.

"Sit down, Anton," Gesar said.Then very friendly: "Tea? Coffee?" "Thank you, Boris Ignatievich," Anton called Gesar again by his profane name, "just had it." "Have a beer?" Gesar unexpectedly suggested. Anton struggled to restrain his drowsiness, and it was better to wring his hands.Gesar never gave up the joys of life.Either run to the disco with young people, flirt with young and silly girls, or spend the night with a certain girl, or sit in a restaurant, enjoy exotic food, and make restaurant hospitality go round and round, His familiarity with unconventional gourmet knowledge makes the chefs amazed.He even went out to have fun with the team, drinking beer with smoked bream, vodka with less-salt gherkins, and red wine with fruit in their own way.

One thing Gesar was totally out of touch with was entertainment in the workplace.Once, on the birthday of Yulia, the youngest and most beloved female magician in the inspection team, ten members of the analysis department drank a bottle of brandy at work, and those who made mistakes were punished severely by him in a very clever way. Once.Even Olga, who had participated in the mistake with everyone, could not rescue them.The punishments for each are individually thought out and embarrass everyone to the max.For example, Yulia could not go to the patrol office for a week, but studied at school with her peers, went to coffee-ice cream parlors with girls in the same class, and went to the cinema and discos with boys in the same class.Yulia returned to the patrol full of complaints, and for a long time she repeated: "Gentlemen, you don't know how stupid they all are! I hate it!"

She received an extra day of punishment for saying "I hate it to death", and had a long discussion with Gesar about "can the female magician of light experience bad feelings towards people"... So now Anton was standing in front of Gesar, already leaning towards the armchair, but froze, forgetting to sit down. "Oh, you sit," Gesar did not forget to remind him, "there is no truth in standing. I said, do you want to drink beer?" "The weather doesn't seem suitable." Anton pointed out the window and replied.Outdoors, there are large groups of snowflakes.The most typical weather during the Christmas season. "The weather isn't right for . . . and it's not the place." Even he himself was surprised that the last sentence was more like a question. Geselton fell into deep thought. "Yes, it could have been some interesting place," he said in a rather interested tone, "for example, to a small café in the south-west, where the dentists are concentrated, can you imagine? Moscow Dental Doctors’ favorite cafe! There’s also a pizzeria at Belorusskaya Station, which is like a feast when the plague prevails.” "Boris Ignatievich," Anton couldn't help it, "where did you dig up these organizations? A restaurant for mountain skiers, a bar for lesbians, a snack bar for sanitary technicians, a dumpling shop for stamp collectors ..." Gesar spread his hands: "Anton, my dear, let me remind you again what we're dealing with. We're dealing with..." "Dark Messenger." Gorodetsky muttered and sat down in the armchair. "No, boy, you're not right. We deal with people. And people—this isn't a bunch of cloned sheep chewing grass and farting at the same time. Everyone's an individual. That's what we're happy about because It makes the work of the Darkbringers difficult. It is our disaster, because it makes our work difficult. And we should know even a little bit about those who know the endless battles of the Patrol for their souls. All of them. It's not just me, you know? It's us! And we're supposed to know everyone - from acne-chewing half-boys at discos chewing LSD to planting cacti in every spare moment The old professor with degenerated blue blood... Actually, the food in the bar where the cactus growers are concentrated is quite interesting, and you can also interview quite freely. But you and I can't go anywhere now, do you feel protected? ?” Anton nodded. "Believe me, I set it up for a reason. It's much more complicated to ensure safety in a crowded place. Maybe I can't allow myself to abuse my power now..." Gesar wiped his face with his palm and sighed.He does look tired. "I said take it, a small gift." Anton took a small item from his hand in surprise.A thing that looks like a globe: a bow made of pointed bones, with two wooden boards inserted at both ends... yes, it is a ball made of bone needles.The inside of the ball is empty... oh no.is not empty.Full of power.Dozing, bound power... "What is this?" Anton asked a little nervously. "Don't be afraid. Liquify happiness." "...What is liquefied happiness?" Gesar sighed and said: "Hey, how would I know? I'm just kidding. Figures of speech are like this. A use of language. Metaphor. Anyway, I don't believe in happiness, and as to whether it can be liquefied—even less .but you have - something like a magical engine of white noise. If it is necessary for you to have absolutely-I emphasize 'absolutely' secret conversation so that no one can hear it in any way, then Just crush the ball in your hand. It is very likely that you will hurt your hand, but this is an unavoidable price. However, within twelve hours you will not be monitored within a radius of ten meters around you. Whether it is instrument monitoring, Or magical monitoring. Some kind of completely peaceful and harmless way, conversations, events will be recorded. By the way, the evil spirit itself cannot be detected even by magic." "Thank you," Anton said gloomily, "I don't know why this gift doesn't inspire me very much." "You'll thank me for it. Hey, do you drink beer anyway?" "Drink. But why does it have to be beer?" "In order not to break our own rules too much," Gesar smiled in satisfaction, "we are at work after all." He pressed the selector and said softly: "Olya, bring us beer." Anton was no longer surprised by anything.But Gesar closed the selector and explained: "Kalachka is an excellent secretary, but she is a fourth-level female magician. She will reveal information to the enemy without even knowing it. So I changed my secretary today." Olga came in a few minutes later.She carried a tray with huge mugs filled with pale beer, huge two-liter crystal flasks also holding beer, and assorted cold plates. "Hello, Antonshka," Olga greeted very politely, "don't you like 'Bushwazel' beer?" "Which Lightbringer doesn't like Czech beer." Anton tried to make a joke.Not a great joke, but the intention to make a pun is amazing in itself.He hasn't had this thought for a long time... "Is Sveta okay?" Olga asked still in a polite tone. Anton gritted his teeth.The heaviness that left my heart suddenly returned. "It's all like that..." "No effect?" Anton nodded. "I'll look for her at night," Olga promised. "I think she's ready for a visit. I can comfort her a little... believe me." this is correct.Who can comfort a great wizard who has long lost her magical powers, if not another great female wizard? "Go, Olya," begged Anton, "Sveta will be very happy." Gesar coughed lightly. "You have time," Olga interrupted him coldly. "Anton, you know... I wish you success. I wish you success very sincerely." "What success is there?" Anton asked puzzled. Olga did not answer him, but stooped a little, and kissed him lightly and tenderly on the lips. "Really!" Only Gesar said. "After I exchanged bodies with Anton," Olga said unceremoniously, "you may not have any reason to be jealous of me because I treat him well. Let alone for such a trivial matter. All right, children! Don't be naughty, don't drink too much, and if anything--just call me." "What if there is something?" Gesar frowned and said, but Olga had already walked out.The great magician watched her off.As soon as the door closed, he sighed, and then said, "Living with the great sorcerer—is a test. Even for me. How did you manage to do it, Anton." "Svetlana hasn't really become a great witch yet," Anton points out.He took a sip from his beer glass.The beer is fantastic.This is what real beer should look like. "Are you happy about this?" Gesar asked with interest. "No," Anton said, picking up a piece of goat cheese, "not happy." "Why?" Gesar asked slightly curiously, "You must know that now you have lived a happy and equal life for decades. Ideally - fifty years." "Gesar, if the woman you love feels that she is an incomplete cripple, what kind of happiness is there?" Anton asked bluntly, "and if it's my fault, even if it's only in the Somehow?" "In a way?" Anton nodded. "Yes, to a certain extent." Gesar was silent for a moment.Then came the question that Anton had waited three weeks ago, but was no longer waiting. "Tell me, what happened between you and Zaburon?" "He's been at my house. Just like that time." "Using the help of your vampire friend again?" Gesar asked with interest. "No, after that incident, I closed the door of my house to him. How Zaburon got in, I simply don't understand." Gesar nodded and took a sip of beer. "Later Zaburon suggested that I...betray. He said that Vidari Rogoza was a mirror mage created by the Twilight Realm in response to the strengthening of the Night Watch patrol. Said that his main task was to destroy or capture Si Vetlana's power. If I'm late for the Inquisition meeting, Rogoza will take away Svetlana's power and cease existence himself." "So you agree?" Anton thought for a while before forming an answer.He had this conversation with Gesar many times—in his head, of course.But I couldn't find the right wording after all... "Gesar, the only necessary option is the continuation of the contradiction. Obviously, Svetlana's death or..." "Or?" Gesar was clearly interested. "Or a lot of people... the deaths of many ordinary members of the inspection team have weakened our strength in this area as a whole." Gesar nodded in satisfaction. "Do you understand yourself?" "No, not quite. I rummaged through the files and found a few similar cases, one of which ended in the destruction of the entire Kyiv Night Watch patrol, with the exception of its chief, Alexander von Kicheri Difficult. The target of the mirror happened to be Baron von Kicheri, but he was able to protect himself. As a result, ordinary combatants and magicians died." "But why didn't you contact me?" Gesar asked with interest, "Didn't you tell me about Zaburon's visit in advance?" "How do I know what he is waiting for? It is possible that he is waiting for me to consult with you. Zaburon is obviously trying to outwit me, but I have not been able to find the trap. It may be a mistake to try to contact you .So I chose the third way, trying to keep the mirror away from Svetlana. The most primitive way is - hit his car." "Great," said Gesar in an unfamiliar squeaky voice, "well done, Anton. You didn't make it, but the attempt was good. But why on earth did you tell no one?" Who is Rogoza?" "Then why are you so secretive about it, Boris Ignatievich?" asked Anton, without looking up, "but you still want to say that the events in Kyiv in October 1906 were not investigated by you. Or that your memory does not retain a haggard hundred years of events? Know that the situation is exactly the same! A certain Vladimir Sabarev came to Kyiv from Poltava to patrol the night watch team registration, was later found next to the murder scene of a woman with obvious vampiric features, and was later caught at a witches' orgy that was dispersed..." "What did I ask you to do?" Gesar roared, furious. "Is it to interrogate you about your suspicious relationship with the Dark Emissary, or to hear you accuse me?" "You asked me, Boris Ignatievich, to have a beer with me and to ask some questions." Gesar took a heavy breath, then shook his head. "No, I don't intend to ask you for the time being. I still have the right to order for the time being." "Give it a try," Anton said happily, "I won't argue, and I will definitely execute the order. To the top. It's just that this is not what you need, right? It's not an executor who lacks initiative." Gesar spread his hands helplessly. "Great. You convinced me. I want to ask you something. Anton..." "First answer...about the mirror." "Listen, then. If you look at what is documented and proven, the mirror has appeared nine times. Of these - only two have been in our favor. The last three mirrors have appeared - all on the side of the Darkbringer." , every time because of the obvious superiority of the light force, when planning... planning a large event of one kind or another. It is impossible to fight against the mirror, he can repel any magical attack, and reach the same level as the opponent , can protect itself magically from ordinary attacks. Only one can choose who to sacrifice—whether to sacrifice dozens of other ordinary magicians or one of the great magicians." "So you decided to hand over Xiaohu and Svetlana to him." "I haven't decided anything! First of all, before Xiaohu died, I wasn't sure what we were facing, was it really—a mirror?" Gesar slammed the table with his fist, spilling all the beer Sprinkled, "Besides, no one should be sacrificed, everything should either end with the capture of Rogoza, which means - he is not a mirror at all, but an ordinary foreign envoy, or it will end with our retreat .I didn't expect Xiaohu to be blown up!" "She's an impulsive girl." "No, Anton. You are wrong. Although she is energetic and impulsive, she is also an Other who controls herself very well. Her sudden outburst," Gesar said after a moment of silence, "seems to be I underestimated her affection for Andrei Chunikov..." "They've been dating a lot lately," Anton admitted. "He's even been to her grandfather's house. You know Xiaohu values ​​being alone. When Andre... hey, why did he mess with this Rogoza?" Woolen cloth?" "I want to show off myself in front of Xiaohu..." Gesar sighed, "Hey, boys, girls, young and ignorant, often use all their strength in front of each other in vain, bragging about their magic, those who were injured in battle Scars, amulets, and defenses...why is there so much human folly in you?" "That's because we are also—people. Different people, but just people. And the real other can't be made all at once." Gesar nodded. "You're right, Anton. To live the life of a human being in general, complete, for eighty or a hundred years, to lose kin and dear ones in the human race, to see how ridiculous it is for a politician to build a millennium empire , and philosophers who have created eternal truths for a generation or two... At that point you become the other, and you live your first ordinary human life for the time being - you are still human. Although You can walk in the twilight world, cast spells and monitor the reality line... You are still human for the time being, Anton. Svetlana is also human. Tiger is also... Andreika is also human. So the dark forces Use human weakness to catch you. Use human weakness, use emotion..." "Is love—is that a weakness?" "If love is in you - that's strength. But if you're in love - that's weakness." "We're not going to use another way just yet." "You will, Anton. It's hard to say, but you will..." Gesar stared into his eyes, "How is it? Are you still angry with me?" "No. I'm sure you've tried to...be better." "Yeah, tried. And got over it—that's the weird thing." "Xiaohu and Andrei died, and Svetlana lost her strength—is this the way to deal with it?" Anton shouted angrily. "Yes. Because other arrangements are much more obscure than this one. And what happened, however strange, helped Zaburon and his men." Gesar also smiled.Coldly, sarcastically, he drew an unnaturally meaningful smile. "All this won't help Svetlana..." said Anton.After speaking, he became silent again, because Gesar shook his head. "It's still ahead, Anton. It's just the beginning." The captain of the Night Watch poured himself a second glass of beer, took a sip, and sank into the armchair. "Boris Ignatievich..." "Anton, I understand everything. You are tired, I am tired, all of us are tired, we are full of sorrow, pain, sorrow. But we are at war, and the war is not over yet. It's far away. You want to come out of the war—you just come out! Live the life of an ordinary light bearer. But you are still in the patrol team for the time being... Are you in the patrol team, Anton?" "yes!" "That would be great. Do you like beer?" "Like it," Anton muttered. "That's great. Because you're flying to the hometown of this wonderful drink. To Prague." "When?" Anton asked numbly. "Tomorrow morning. More precisely - daytime. The early flight has been rescheduled to six, so you'll have to connect." "why?" "Did you know that the European Chamber of the Inquisition moved from Berne to Prague?" "Yes, of course. Because those big fools stole Kokchi Favnir..." "Exactly. The Inquisition has a tradition of changing seats for fifty to one hundred years, if not for this matter, and this time with the fact that the Berne inspectorate smashed a nail. Anyway, they have a reason to finally start investigating our case." .” "Then what is this gift for... for Igor?" "Yes. He's already there. We're filing a formal complaint, alleging that Alyssa Tonikova conspired to make Igor fall in love with her in a deliberate plot by the dark emissary, thereby causing him to have a nervous breakdown and excessive use of People collect power... and... the unpleasant incident of the little boy drowning, of course the Dark Emissary tried to blame us... claiming that Igor confused Alyssa..." Anton said angrily while evaluating the irrationality of the accusation. "Back it up!" As if the Darkness could stop being the Darkness, messing things up, forcing cooperation, buying or blackmailing—it had to be.But kick back... "Anyway, the court will decide who is guilty and to what extent Igor is responsible. The lad challenged Alyssa to a formal registered duel, so there is nothing wrong with the patrol. But if the Inquisition accuses him of going beyond self-defense or deliberately setting A treacherous trick—then he will die, disappearing into the Twilight Realm. He is barely alive now...and, it seems, he doesn't even want to fight. And we need Igor, Anton. You even I can't even imagine how much I need it!" "Boris Ignatievich, what actually happened there?" Anton asked. "Actually? No idea. We're not up to no tricks, you can believe it. I sent Igor on vacation because the lad finally pulled his last punch. You know how rehabilitative it is to work at Pioneer camp?" Joyful children's faces, cheerful laughter, passionate voices..." Gesar's voice became warmer.Anton felt that for another moment—the always serious leader of the night watch patrol would lick his lips and start purring.But Gesar himself interrupted himself, continuing: "Either our accusation is just, and then there is a chance to save Igor. Or everything that happened—it was an accidental tragedy...then the Inquisition faces We don't and can't blame, but Igor can't stand what happened. He himself will punish himself for the death of that child, and Alisa..." "What's the matter with Alyssa?" "Because he really fell in love with her... There is also an unfinished Other." Gesar observed the changes in Anton's facial expression and nodded, "Fell in love, there is no doubt. So you To Prague. To represent us in court. Attorney and plaintiff at the same time. I will give you all the required documents." "But...but..." Anton panicked, "I have no experience!" "No one has experience. You'll gain experience here." "I feel in my heart that as time goes on there will be more and more of these ... legal trials to replace honest battles and open confrontations. Don't you worry, I will probably be in Prague before the meeting. Possibly Come with Olga and Svetlana." "Why—with Svetlana?" "Is it possible that we can prove that Svetlana was incapacitated by the dark emissary's tricks, and thus obtained permission to treat her?" "How...how?" "Just like Igor at the beginning, the bad thing is that if I have the ability to treat second- and third-level magicians who have lost their power, it is extraordinary to restore the power of a great female magician. Here The only thing that can help us is a direct decision of the Inquisition. And not the Moscow Inquisition, at least the European Tribunal." Gesar raised his glass, smiled and said: "Done, Anton. Cheers to success." "Boris Ignatievich, don't tell me anything now!" Anton almost cried. "Okay, no. But I've talked more than I should. If you want to suffer from insomnia..." Gesar pondered for a moment, "then bring together everything that happened in the last year .The stroke of fate, the death of Alyssa Donnikova, the appearance of the mirror, these clumsy imitators of the Legins brothers with Kokchi Favnir...and thanks to the second millennium There was widespread hysteria over the end." "But there is no connection between these events!" said Anton inappropriately. "Then you can sleep peacefully." Gesar smiled. Late December—a hectic and decidedly unserious time.It is a busy time before the festival, a time for exchanging gifts and drinking champagne with the team members regardless of whether it is a working day, a time for brightly colored lights, and a time for visiting the New Year's Fir Tree Market.On Christmas and New Year's Eve, the antiquity of the Other also calms down. Both the Lightbringer and the Darkbringer suddenly enter into a dreaming mood, and sometimes even hope to forgive the opponent's past mistakes, the slightest and less serious mistakes. Edgar, a dark magician, a member of the Day Watcher patrol team, he came to the Russian capital from Estonia, and was late for the mobile action team for the first time during the day.The reasons are so prosaic that any self-respecting magician would be ashamed to say so. Edgar was feeding the ducks by the clear water pond in the garden in the middle of the street.He plunged into unexpected and sudden memories, exactly like a teenager lost in fantasy after drinking a large beer, forgetting all the time.When he came to, the mobile operation had already begun. If age can teach anything, being good at deciding why hurry when you're late should certainly be among the wisdom available.So Edgar didn't rush to stop the car, didn't rush to the subway, but calmly crushed the small white bread he bought, and fed it to the edge of the unfrozen water or scurrying around on the ice. Eat the lively and clever wild ducks, and then walk to the "Qingshuichi" subway station.The Christmas snow creaked majestically underfoot. Twenty minutes later Edgar walked into the office of the Patrol Team of the Day Watchers, still dignified and unhurried.An elderly vampire couple decorates a Christmas fir tree in the duty room.They greeted Edgar with respect and measure. "The boss has asked you," the vampire husband told him, "and he has ordered you to go to him as soon as you appear." "Thank you, Philibage," Edgar thanked him. "Is the boss in my office?" "It's already there." "Oh, by the way, happy upcoming holidays!" "Happy to you too, Edgar." Edgar ascended to the upper echelon and threw a "Khozhda" sign at Zaburon through the darkness. "Come in." Zawulong responded. The leader of the Sun Watch patrol requires strict hierarchical discipline from his subordinates, but at the same time he can find a way to respect the freedom of personality of even the most humble shapeshifter among the gatekeepers, and trust the top of the Sun Watch patrol. magician.He didn't ask Edgar directly why he missed the meeting.If it's missed, there's good reason for it. But there's really no good reason, so Edgar thinks it's all right to tell the truth.that's it.What's more, there is no plan for any important action today, and if there is any dangerous situation, they will find him through the twilight world, or if there is a worse situation, they will call his mobile phone, so Edgar doesn't think he is anything special fault. "Boss, good evening." "Good evening, Edgar. How's the weather?" "Little snow. Fine, no wind. Sorry, boss, I missed a short meeting to discuss work plans. Nothing urgent?" "No. But now." Zaburon wears his favorite gray suit and gray shirt as usual.Edgar thought about it, but he had never seen the boss in other clothes.如果是在普通世界里，他只穿西服套装和灰色衬衫，还有在黄昏界的形态下什么也不穿。 “您想象得到吗，头儿，我沉醉于幻想之中。在清水池大街徘徊，我想起了萨马拉，十二年。” 扎武隆勉强能看得见地微笑一下，轻声哼了起来： “摄影室……在此刻又是萨马拉城，十二年……” 守日人巡查队的头儿原来还有一副响亮的、训练有素的男中音嗓子。尽管这两位黑暗魔法师彼此了解已经多年，但埃德加尔还是第一次听到扎武隆唱歌。 “喂鸭子了？”扎武隆感兴趣地问。 "yes." 扎武隆叹了口气，没有在回忆中沉湎多久。时间很短，简直就只有半分钟。 “好了，埃德加尔。谈正事吧。你明天飞到布拉格去。” “去法庭？” “是的。要听几个案子，其中包括阿利莎的谋杀案和关于列金兄弟行动的案子。” “不是准备明天放他们吗？”埃德加尔惊奇地问，“还是光明使者改主意了？” “不是改主意了。案子转交到了欧洲庭。我觉得格谢尔在尽力把他们行动的责任加在我们头上。似乎是我们有计划地策划了行动，或是设下圈套。” “但是他们没有证据！没有任何证据！” “所以我派你去布拉格。看看那儿有什么事，什么状况。任何人也别放过。够了。近一两年我们在他们面前总是卑躬屈膝，是时候抬头了。” “形势所迫，所以卑躬屈膝。”埃德加尔说。迎接圣诞，接着是二千年到来的情绪在古老的哥特式建筑的布拉格已经完全燃烧起来。埃德加尔可喜欢这座抑郁的城市啦，它是欧洲灵魂的化身，是一座让置身其中的黑暗使者感到自由自在无拘无束的城市。 “顺便说一句，很有可能你和那几位列金兄弟乘坐同一航班。找个时机暗示他们一下，莫斯科守日人巡查队不打算让在其领土上受难的黑暗使者受委屈，叫他们别怕也别泄气。” “我们确实要保护他们吗？” “确实。你看到没有，埃德加尔，我把一些计划与这三个荒谬的家伙联系在一起。我暂时还需要他们这个国际组合。……所以顺便关照一下他们。光明使者多半会让奸细盯上他们。也要盯住那奸细，别让他掺和。没有必要别发生冲突，只是跟他保持距离，就这样。” “明白，头儿。” “拿着吧。”扎武隆打开桌旁的保险柜，把两个辟邪物和充好电的手杖交给埃德加尔，“我想你不会要用到武器。但是以防万一……而手杖该在哪儿使用你知道的。” “在科斯特尼扎？在那个由骨头做成的小礼拜堂？”埃德加尔迅速反应过来。 扎武隆点点头。 “黑暗！”埃德加尔略带嫉妒地对自己说，“我已经七十年没在那儿出现过了。” “顺便自己也洁洁身，”扎武隆建议道，“你知道怎么做吗？” 埃德加尔皱了皱眉头。交情归交情，但扎武隆毕竟是超级魔法师，而埃德加尔暂时还未达到一级水平，尽管具备该级别的明显素质。至今埃德加尔仍不得不使用普通人的名字，但是从另一方面讲，他的姓已经完全被忘记了。 “我大体上掌握了这些技术。”看得出来，埃德加尔不高兴说出这个。 “这回你正好练一练，”扎武隆使话题严密完整，“就这些，去准备吧。你身上的事情多吗？假如多——给其他人一些吧。给沙戈隆或别拉舍维奇。” “明白了，头儿。我会给他们的。” “祝你成功。” 埃德加尔走了出去，到自己的办公室去了一趟，呆了没几分钟，给沙戈隆留下一封信，把它挂在黑暗中就准备回家了。 在楼下他遇到阿丽塔。 “你好，美人！” “你好，埃德加尔。你不想去滑冰吗？” “没时间。” “你得了吧，”小女巫说，“新年快到了，有什么事呀？光明使者现在更关心香槟酒的制作质量，而不是他们平日那些害人的勾当。过节时应该娱乐，而不是工作。” “不见得，”埃德加尔叹了口气，“但还是没时间。我要出去。” "where to?" “布拉格。” “哇！”阿丽塔嫉妒地说，“去很久吗？” “不知道。一周左右吧……” “在布拉格过新年！”阿丽塔叹了口气，“而且不是别的什么新年——是二千年……我是不是要和你一起飞去呢？” “好啊，”埃德加尔没有劝阻，“但不是跟我一起去。要知道我可不是去开斋的……” 他也有点嫉妒，如果小女巫去布拉格，她在那儿将内心完全放松地休息，而埃德加尔出差办事的机会太多，而且往往每次都不可能无根据地幻想似乎工作不会太多。 工作总是很多。而且逢年过节时特别多——像成心作对似的。而在一些大的节日里工作比在最郁闷的预示中所显现的还要多。谁会说年份的四个数字中第一个数字的变化不是大的节日呢？ 在回家的路上埃德加尔查看了一下可能性，得知去布拉格的早班飞机延至晚上，所以只好白天转机前往。售票处自然没有机票，也不需指望有保留的票。但这一点埃德加尔倒不担心：他的造票技巧已经经过检验——没有比这再简单的了！当然，他者所持有的票是“正确的票”，哪怕这发生在登机前的一分钟。 收拾行装——对他者而言不需要太长时间。他们会问，既然可以在路上买到一切，干吗拖拉着行李？所有的行李——就是两个辟邪物、一根手杖和装着孤零零的一本杂志和几叠绿色外汇的公文包。 当然，一切可以用钱买到的东西，他者就是不花钱也可以得到。但是，首先不值得白白浪费力量，再说影响也完全不一样。你若是让人类的售货员吃苦头，把他揍成馅饼，守夜人巡逻队会给你安上实施未经许可的行动的罪名。他们干得出来的。 再说，不管怎样埃德加尔也会可怜售货员的，当然倒不是因为馅饼的缘故。万一需要从汽车商店开走一辆吉普呢？人——是基础。是饲料基地，是培养基地。应该关心他们……这种意识形态太像光明使者的意识形态了，这没什么可怕的。 黑暗使者能感觉到“关心”与“心痛”之间的区别。 能明显感觉到。 埃德加尔夜里想好好睡一觉，尽管要在不习惯的时间睡着比他想象的要难。已经差不多瞌睡了，埃德加尔想起，当初跟阿丽塔去溜冰就好了。 一清早埃德加尔发现有人在他的自然魔法硬壳上使了很大一阵子力。加强了，编入了不易受干扰的割不断的装甲线。当然是扎武隆干的，还会是谁呢？不可能有别人了。哼……埃德加尔想，难道这任务不简单，很危险吗？还是扎武隆只不过是为自己留后路呢？ 在参加了与光明使者的多次交锋后，扎武隆给守日人巡查队的许多队员设置了个人保护茧。他从哪儿吸取能量来保护这无数的保护茧？ 也许，这个问题的答案莫斯科只有两个人知道——扎武隆本人和他永久的对手格谢尔。也许，还有以领导者身份出现的宗教法庭。 沙戈隆自作主张把埃德加尔送到机场。看样子，刚刚修理好的魔法师就是喜欢开着刚刚修理好的“宝马”在节前的莫斯科奔驰。他找到了一个简单得出奇而且有说服力的理由：着手目前的案子。那里的案子可真是——少得可怜。一位被发现能在黄昏界中行走，而且无意中在镜子中看到自己的十三岁小女孩的歇斯底里症发作。驯服，劝导，拥护……这都是些给略识门径者干的事儿。还有半个彼留列沃城都在对他哈哈大笑的发疯的魔方进化变形人。 这些甚至都不算什么事儿。这是不足挂齿的小误会。是些家丑。 已经到了机场大楼入口时，守日人巡查队高层的另一位魔法师打电话给他——朋友同事们叫这位魔法师为尤拉，尽管他显然已经可以公开地使用黄昏界的名字。沙戈隆因为对巡查队有特殊的功绩才用沙戈隆这个名字。而尤拉显然比沙戈隆强大，而且也比他年长得多。 “你好，埃德加尔。你去布拉格吗？” “怎么啦？”埃德加尔用一种奥德萨似的风格回答。 “听着，别打断我的话。我知道一点点头儿的计划，也知道为什么派你去。一切都不像乍看起来的那么简单和纯粹。今明两天有几位光明使者会去布拉格，假如格谢尔近日内飞去那里，我不会感到惊奇。根据某些小小的特征可以判断，光明使者在着手准备一起大规模行动。扎武隆着手进行应有的回应是可以理解的。因此你在那儿……要小心一点。特别是在路上。” 尤拉闭上嘴不说话了，仿佛在等待埃德加尔的回答，而后者因记得前者请求不要打断他，也默不吱声。他只是朝黄昏界探着身子，企图感受扎武隆——但他找不到头儿的半点儿影子。他在何处漫游，在怎样的秘密处所，在黄昏界的哪一深层空间——全然不知。强有力的魔法师的个人动机是周围人难以理解的。 “记得头儿是怎么派阿利莎·东尼科娃去休假的吗？”尤拉继续说，“你想想她的命运。你当然想问我为什么要对你讲这些？我预先回答你。因为我是——黑暗使者。还因为有机会与你并肩工作了一段时间，随你怎么理解，但我更喜欢在健在的他者中看到你，而不是在黄昏界的影子中看到你，再见，埃德加尔。” 尤拉关闭了电话。 埃德加尔在那里站了一会儿，把烟斗紧紧攥在手里，接着将手机塞回腰间，提起公文包，朝售票处走去。 黑暗！魔法师想，刚才这是什么？remind?警告？而且明显是通过扎武隆的思考。他们提到阿利莎…… 扎武隆只不过是牺牲了女巫阿利莎。冷酷无情地、没有应有的怜悯。就像象棋棋局中的小卒。在巡查队的游戏中对棋盘上没有个性的棋子充满好感是可笑的……但是他者也是会感觉和会爱的呀。埃德加尔按人之常情同情阿利莎，但即使他预先知道一切，也决不会去救她，哪怕动动指头都不会。因为每一种游戏都有残酷的，一经制定就永远要执行的法则。而加入到游戏中的每一个人，已经既不能从游戏中走出来，也不能与法则背道而驰。小女巫阿利莎走了，小女巫阿丽塔来了。法则继续起作用。阿丽塔也许更加可爱一些…… 埃德加尔把女售票员弄得像陷入沉思的完全自动化的机器一样。她给了他一张蓝色机票，取消了某位不幸的乘客的机票。唉，这位不幸的乘客只能晚些时候飞走了，因为在人类世界和他者的世界中，法则是由后者制定的。尤拉为什么要警告我呢？已经坐到吧台边喝着昂贵但索然无味的啤酒时，埃德加尔思索着。总不会是由于利他主义吧？总不会那样去破坏游戏规则吧。 同时他联想到扎武隆从莫斯科消失时没有将自己副手的位置交给尤拉，没有交给尼古拉——扎武隆之后守日人巡查队最强的两位黑暗魔法师，而是交给他，明显屈居于前两位之后的埃德加尔。尤拉是在上个世纪就得到承认的超级魔法师，尼古拉的资历浅一些，战后才得到承认。埃德加尔暂时连一级水平都未达到，而且二级，坦白地讲，还未完全掌握。自然，埃德加尔仍然是一位强大的魔法师。自然，他比莫斯科的大部分他者，不论是黑暗使者，还是光明使者都要强大。但是他毕竟屈居于尤拉和尼古拉之后。 扎武隆为什么这样做呢？是不是尤拉想巧妙地报复一番？出于简单的嫉妒之心？吓唬吓唬，什么事都有可能的，或者是拿我这个好出风头的同行打打趣儿？ 从爱沙尼亚把埃德加尔招到莫斯科也有些仓促，而且不符合逻辑。他住在这个波罗的海小国，领导着一支人员很少的消沉的巡查队，突然——轰隆一声巨响！吧嗒一下！被紧急召到莫斯科！紧急搜罗一位后继者——典型的“热情的爱沙尼亚小伙，”勉勉强强才达到四级水平的魔法师……顺便说一句，他应该给塔林打电话。莫斯科有什么呢？是啊，一来就马上把埃德加尔投向忙乱的两周行动的考验中，稍后不得不去参加艰难的轻骑兵袭击，从光明使者手中夺回未经允许进行魔法实践的女巫。这就是全部。后来便是三个月的因循守旧，直到十一月中旬，出乎意料地被指定为扎武隆不在场时守日人巡查队头儿的执行者，镜子的来访，莫斯科大学的宗教法庭会议。 如果想想，那么守日人巡查队的老魔法师完全可以试着教训这位仕途走得太快的波罗的海巡演者，因为“暗算”一词在此不是非常适当。扎武隆可是很少离开莫斯科的。而扎武隆在场时，埃德加尔仅仅是作战队员中的一员。当然可以说是强有力的精英，但是——有着平等的权利。 在杯中的啤酒空了的那一刻，埃德加尔决定，原因猜够了，倒不如尝试一下制定一条路线……考虑周全的行动路线，哪怕是最荒诞的方案。 那么阿利莎是怎样完蛋的？她没来得及吸足力量，她没能识别出身边的他者——光明使者，她没能避开明显要输掉的交锋，最主要的是——她屈从于情感，企图呼吸光明使者的感情。 埃德加尔的力量方面一切很正常，再说扎武隆也与之分享力量。他的两个辟邪物——简直就是力量的智囊。特别是充足电的那个。一旦埃德加尔利用这辟邪物——整个欧洲的他者都会感到巨大而可怕的魔法能量的释放。加上那根战斗的魔杖——虽然攻击面很窄，然而非常快，而且不停顿。夏巴藤——可不是闹着玩的！ 那么说，埃德加尔即将要做的就是尽可能认真地观察光明使者，其实是关注光明使者。此时此刻有三位光明使者在舍列缅季耶沃机场。其一是上次行动中已认识的被黑暗使者下层称为“扎武隆宠儿”的安东·戈罗杰茨基，在对应镜子的事件中他不知为何听命于扎武隆，因此而帮了黑暗使者……或者迫使所有的人相信，他帮了黑暗使者？更可能是后者，否则，他如何在自己的守夜人巡查队里站住脚呢？ 其二，在免税店里一位与守夜人巡查队无关的能治病的中年女人嗅了嗅香水，她更有可能是一名偶然的女乘客。 其三，在办理登机手续处值班的警察是他者，在任何一个机场都是如此。 在舍列缅季耶沃二号机场的黑暗使者除了埃德加尔外还有四位。被监护的列金三兄弟。他们警觉地一会儿瞅着停留在大厅对面尽头酒吧里的安东，一会儿瞅着埃德加尔，加上自动游戏机旁一位法力较弱的魔法师。此人对一切都没在意。看来，他试图额外挣点钱，让机器发给他最大限额的彩金。一个俄语词“劣质品”非常到位地描述了像他这样的人。 最简单的排列。 办理登机手续和护照检查进行得很快，去捷克暂时不需要护照。不过，为了以防万一，埃德加尔准备了一本爱沙尼亚护照和一本阿根廷护照。绝对是合法的——阿根廷是一个非常好的国家，它非常开放地售卖自己的国籍。 埃德加尔在一个酒吧里度过登机前所剩的一点点时间。自然不是在扎武隆的宠儿光明魔法师戈罗杰茨基呆的那个酒吧。埃德加尔与他目光相遇了一次，惟一的一次。就是说，我知道你在这儿，你也知道我在这儿，所以我们的任务是相似的。在法庭上捍卫自己人，消灭对手…… 戈罗杰茨基值得赞扬的是，他明确地让对方明白：法庭开始时——我们再一比高下。现在暂时搭乘飞机，别相互干扰。 奇怪，“相互”一词在此不合适。但另一个词你又找不到……也许，这只不过是当他者还未划分为黑暗使者和光明使者时，他们还很自然地共同反对命运和生活急剧变化的那个久远年代的残存？那时，当然任何一位能治病的人，离某个吸血鬼要比离与自己相同的芸芸众生的普通不幸者更近。黄昏界善于使人们接近。 但是黄昏界也善于使人们隔离，而且黄昏界的这一能力显现得淋漓尽致——如今在地球上还找不到比黑暗使者和光明使者更不可调和的敌对双方。美国和以伊朗和伊拉克为首的伊斯兰世界的虚弱对抗算得了什么呀……甚至已经消失在过去的美国和苏联的“冷战”也远比不上巡查队之间的战争。那都是些儿童游戏。不聪明的人玩的儿童游戏。 埃德加尔喝着最苦的，但并非美味的咖啡，一古脑儿考虑着所有的事，但没有一件是具体的。比方说，为什么这些车站的酒吧都很贵，而且似乎并没有在食品中搞鬼，怎么竟能冲出倒胃口的咖啡，倒出倒胃口的啤酒和做出完全无法食用的夹面包片。人们生活中的许多不幸可以加罪于巡查队的斗争，但这事儿可不能怪它了。 受监护的——整个肤色不同的三人一伙——从候机厅不断地向他投以不善的目光。可以理解，列金兄弟对待他就像对待普通奸细一样。Let them go.他们是些笨头笨脑的家伙。不聪明也不专心的笨家伙。既然这样，在黑暗的事业中应该利用他们。所以扎武隆决定利用他们是完全公正的。应该说，镜子罗戈扎访问期间，科克奇·法弗尼尔事件大大地把光明使者给弄糊涂了。列金兄弟本身没有怀疑，他们接受了一次早有预谋的针对守日人巡逻队的打击，而且还让变得更强大的镜子在开始行动前灌满了力量。这就预先决定了有利于扎武隆和他的近卫军与光明使者下一次交锋时的最终成功。 也理应如此！ 埃德加尔毫无同情心地观察着穿着古板西服和昂贵雨衣的愤怒的师长被彬彬有礼的海关人员带走——埃德加尔恰好将坐在他的座位上飞往布拉格。 已经上路了。埃德加尔乘列金兄弟中的一位离开座位之机坐到他们三人中间，坐在看起来思维最健全的那位——白人身边。 “你好，老弟。”埃德加尔热情地打招呼。 “芬兰人”眼睛睁得老大，很警觉地仔细打量了他一眼。 “我们是——黑暗使者，”埃德加尔悄声地继续说道，“我们不会放弃自己人的。我被派过来在有需要时保护你们。在法庭上我们能为你们辩护——请你们相信。所以，为黑暗效力的人，昂起头来。我们的时刻即将到来。” 说完这些埃德加尔站起身，头也没回地回到自己的座位上。 就这样，让他们绞尽脑汁去想吧…… 这是多么动人心弦啊！埃德加尔好不容易保持住了一副一动不动的庄重表情，忍着没笑出来。而“芬兰人”那双圆溜溜的眼睛完全说明了另一回事——他的确担忧而害怕。 “我不该那样的，”埃德加尔轻轻地嘟哝着说，“他们还像孩子一样……可我在嘲弄他们。” 埃德加尔难过地叹了口气，翻开杂志。好在飞布拉格比飞往，比方说，南萨哈林斯克要近一些。三下五除二——就已经到那儿了。无需任何中途转机和类似在座位上做梦这样的噩运。尽管，如果仔细想想，最方便的旅行方式莫过于走黑暗使者的正门。只是开通从莫斯科到布拉格的正门——是不允许的滥用行为。也就是说，只好跟普通人一样坐飞机。 其实，不是，不是跟普通人一样。他者至少不存在机票问题。

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Notes: 一书第三部“只为自己人”中详细描写的莫斯科守夜人巡查队的行动。