The Day Watch Part 47

A wedge of gray marble reached almost to the very center of the hall. That was the Inquisitors' area, and they, of course, were already in their seats. Seven of them. In principle the Inquisition was not regarded as a power equal to the two Watches, but Edgar knew that those seven included two Great Ones-one Dark and one Light. If it wished, the European office could probably fight Gesar and Zabulon on equal terms.

That was good to know.

Anton was followed in by three Light Ones from Moscow. Gesar... well, of course, where would they be without Gesar! Svetlana... that was natural too. And that Uzbeki, Gesar's secretary or personal a.s.sistant.

The Dark Ones were already walking along the corridor behind Edgar. Zabulon... Sensing the approach of his chief, Edgar involuntarily looked round-and received a friendly nod from the head of Moscow's Dark Ones. Well, well... smile, you Judas ... you're even worse than Judas: He betrayed his teacher, but you're betraying your disciple!

But then another two Dark Ones followed Zabulon into the hall. Edgar had been prepared to see Anna Lemesheva, but not Yury, who winked mockingly at him. The same Yury who had given Edgar the timely warning about Zabulon's underhand schemes-he hadn't been prepared for that!

Edgar forced himself to turn away from his colleagues and look straight ahead.

Igor was brought in last. Two rank-and-file Inquisitors walked in beside him and accompanied him to the circular grille, three meters across, in the center of the hall.

There was no special magic in that circle, or at least Edgar couldn't sense any. And the mechanism that had once been used to invert the grille and plunge the accused into a deep well shaft looked as if it had rusted up long ago and was no longer used. But even so it didn't look as if standing on that circle was pleasant.

However, Igor paid no attention to that and stood in the center of the circle with his arms crossed on his chest.

"In the name of the Treaty..."

One Inquisitor came forward from the group. The only one who was not wearing gray robes. Witezslav, the Higher Vampire.

"We are Others. We serve different Powers..."

Edgar mechanically repeated the words of the Treaty, trying to work out what Witezslav would start with. And how he could extricate himself from this mess now.

"Today the European Tribunal of the Inquisition has to consider a claim brought by the Night Watch of the city of Moscow, Russia, against the Day Watch of the city of Moscow, Russia," the vampire announced after the reading of the Treaty. "A counterclaim by the Day Watch of Moscow against the Night Watch of Moscow forms part of the proceedings. Its subject is the duel between the Light magician Igor Teplov, and the Dark witch Alisa Donnikova..."

There were no surprises so far... Edgar felt himself clutching the dark, cool wooden top of his desk and made an effort of will to calm himself down. After all, he was an experienced lawyer. And how were legal proceedings between people any different from legal proceeding between Others?

Except, of course for the nature of the sentence...

"However, the sequence of proceedings will be changed somewhat," said Witezslav. "The Tribunal is also obliged to resolve another two matters connected with the main claim. The first concerns a sect of Dark Ones who call themselves the Regin Brothers, who are guilty of attacking the Inquisition's vault and stealing the artifact known as Fafnir's Talon, smuggling it into Russia, and resisting the Night Watch of Moscow. Bring in the accused."

Another two young Inquisitors led in the four Finns. Faint smiles appeared on the faces of all the Others present-after all, it was impossible to imagine a more ludicrous-looking quartet.

"There is probably no need to recite the circ.u.mstances of the incident," said the vampire. "Everyone present is familiar with the materials collected by the Inquisition on this case. The Inquisition's job is to p.r.o.nounce judgment. Just, impartial, and strict."

It was clear from the expressions on the faces of the four accused that they were not antic.i.p.ating leniency.

"The punishment for a crime as grave as attacking employees of the Inquisition and stealing a highly dangerous artifact from the vault is unconditional-dematerialization," the vampire declared. He paused and then added something that made the Finns lift up their heads: "But... But the accused did not partic.i.p.ate directly in the incident in Berne. As the materials of the case make clear, the leaders of the sect, who unfortunately were killed while being detained, made the four young magicians act as couriers. Therefore, the Inquisition qualifies their actions only as smuggling and resisting the Night Watch of Moscow. There are also extenuating circ.u.mstances: profound and sincere remorse, a.s.sistance rendered to the investigation after detention, the youth of the accused, and the absence of any previous offenses. If the Night Watch of Moscow can adduce any further extenuating circ.u.mstances and will withdraw the personal accusations against the Dark magicians, the Inquisition has the right to mitigate its sentence."

Gesar stood up to speak for the Light Ones. He spread his hands in a broad gesture. "The Night Watch of Moscow has no... personal charges to bring against the accused. In addition, we believe that the leaders.h.i.+p of the sect of the Regin Brothers was provoked into committing its crime by a certain... a certain unidentified Dark magician."

"That has not been proved," said Witezslav.

"Only the ident.i.ty of the provocateur has not been established," Gesar said with a smile. "The fact of his existence is in no doubt."

Witezslav nodded and turned to face his six colleagues. For a few moments the Inquisitors shared their thoughts with each other without speaking. Then Witezslav looked back to the four motionless Finns. "In the name of the Treaty, bearing in mind the clement att.i.tude of the Night Watch, the absence of any grave consequences, and the other extenuating circ.u.mstances, the Inquisition offers you the right to choose your punishment. The first option-you are condemned to death by hanging but your civil rights will not be affected..."

The large young black man sighed heavily and the Chinese and the Finn grabbed his elbows and held him up.

"The second possible punishment is that from this day until the end of your lives you will be forbidden to use magic. You will have the right to live ordinary human lives, without using magical means to prolong or improve the quality of those lives."

The Finns looked at the Inquisitor, stunned. Zabulon giggled shrilly, but immediately a.s.sumed a serious expression.

"The second... the second!" Yukha Mustajoki said in a choking voice. The others nodded.

"Does anyone present have any objections?" Witezslav asked.

Gesar got to his feet again. "As a small gesture of goodwill... we consider it possible to permit the accused to use magic... minor magic... with inanimate objects." It seemed as if Gesar had to struggle to p.r.o.nounce every word, that he was forcing himself to show mercy. "Say, to find some... small item... that's been lost... a key or a coin... To drive the flies out of a room... according to the regulations, flies are regarded as inanimate, are they not? To clean the carburetor in a car..."

The vampire's face expressed faint surprise.

He doesn't understand, Edgar thought.

"The Inquisition has no objections..." the vampire said eventually. "Apply the seals to the accused!"

Two Inquisitors raised their right hands, and fine threads of glimmering energy streamed through the air toward the accused. The seals were applied permanently, leaving the condemned prisoners capable of only the very weakest forms of magic. Probably the Inquisitors really hadn't understood that Gesar's unexpected kindness had only made the punishment worse. It was one thing to be completely deprived of all magic and gradually come to terms with life as a human being. It was quite different to feel every day that you were a helpless cripple who had to manage with a pale shadow of your former abilities.

But then, the Finns hadn't thought about that yet. They were led out of the hall, absolutely crazy with happiness.

Yukha kept trying to break away and shake everybody's hand, but the vigilant guards forced him to walk out simply by nudging and shoving him.

Edgar shook his head. He actually felt quite glad that the Dark Brothers had been saved. But what a price to pay... He would probably have preferred a quick death.

"The next matter for this hearing to consider has not been announced in advance," said Witezslav. "The Inquisition requests the leader of the Night Watch of Moscow, known under the name of Gesar, to step into the circle of the accused..."

Zabulon smiled in triumph.

"And also the leader of the Day Watch of Moscow, known under the name of Zabulon."

Edgar was delighted by Zabulon's slightly perplexed expression. But just how genuine was it?

"The Inquisition's first question is for the Great Magician Gesar." Witezslav was speaking politely now, but very firmly. "Gesar, have you carried out interventions in the Book of Destiny of the Great Enchantress Svetlana Nazarova, here present, with the intention of compelling the said Great Enchantress to become the mother of a Light Messiah?"

The hall fell silent.

"Rephrase your question, Witezslav," Gesar said in a soft voice. "Or I shall take offense."

The vampire bared his teeth in a smile. "Answer the substance of the point, Great Magician Gesar."

"Very well," said Gesar with a nod. "I was not expecting these accusations, but... I will explain for the Tribunal."

You were expecting them, thought Edgar. You were expecting everything, you cunning old schemer...

"An intervention of that kind is impossible in principle. Even for me," Gesar declared modestly.

Witezslav seemed confused by that.

"But, Great Magician Gesar, Svetlana Nazarova's Book of Destiny..."

"Shows that she will become the mother of the greatest of all Light enchantresses; in poetical terms a Light Messiah." Gesar smiled happily. "This is a great joy for the Night Watch of Moscow... and, indeed, for all Light Ones! But the respected Inquisition must understand that such things cannot be written into a Book of Destiny.

Absolutely not. There is no way. Not even by using a certain artifact familiar to you which belongs by right to the Night Watch."

"But interventions were made in Svetlana Nazarova's Book of Destiny?" the vampire continued to insist.

"Yes," Gesar said, and nodded. "As everybody, or almost everybody, knows, it is possible to make a new entry in a Book of Destiny, but it has a direct effect on the balance between Light and Darkness. It is fairly simple to introduce trifling changes in the destiny of an ordinary human being. It is rather more difficult to make even insignificant changes in the destiny of an Other. And the more powerful that Other is, and the more serious the change, the greater the disturbance suffered by the Light and the Darkness. Respected members of the Tribunal, can you calculate the consequences that would ensue from introducing into a Great Enchantress's Book of Destiny an entry that would make her the mother of a Messiah?"

No one replied.

"Any one of us... all the Others taken together, would be dematerialized if they attempted that kind of meddling.

We'd be reduced to dust! The world would collapse! And you accuse me of committing such acts."

"Light magician Gesar, what changes were entered into Svetlana Nazarova's Book of Destiny?"

Gesar shrugged. "Nothing but trifling details. I am obliged to be concerned for my colleagues' well-being, am I not? A trip to some Italian resort or other... a course of lessons in a driving school... and something else... I can present a detailed list, if you wish. There's nothing serious. Just the small pleasures of human life."

Witezslav thought for a moment and asked, "Where were the new entries made? Before or after the entry about the birth of the greatest of all Light Enchantresses?"

"I think, before ..." Gesar said with a smile.

"And in that way, you adjusted the time of the event." Witezslav was not asking-he was thinking out loud. "You maximized the probability that Svetlana's future daughter would be a Messiah of the Light..."

"Possibly," Gesar agreed. "But what of that? All I did was to improve the daily life of one of my colleagues."

"And could you not have used other methods to improve Svetlana Nazarova's living conditions? Free vacations, bonuses, friendly advice?"

Gesar looked genuinely offended now. "I made use of what came to hand. The Inquisition has a right to be surprised if I hammer in nails with a microscope... But there's no way you can charge me with that."

The Inquisitors exchanged glances. This time the silent consultation lasted for almost a minute. Edgar felt a trickle of cold sweat running down his back. It would really cause a ruckus if the Inquisition charged Gesar. The dematerialization of a Great Magician was not such a simple proposition as dealing with the four Finns...

"Not cognizable," Witezslav said eventually. "Great Magician Gesar, having heard your explanations, the Inquisition accepts that you have not violated the letter of the Treaty..."

"The letter or the spirit." Gesar corrected him sharply.

"The letter or the spirit," the vampire agreed in a voice that betrayed his frustration. "However, your actions are still considered to be dubious and dangerous."

"No more so than the attempt by the Day Watch of Moscow to eliminate Svetlana Nazarova shortly before her initiation," Gesar snapped. "Do you have any more questions for me?"

"No," said Witezslav. "You may return to your seat."

Throughout the questioning, Zabulon had stood modestly on the very e.g. of the circular grille... He didn't seem upset that no charges had been brought against Gesar. And that made Edgar feel uneasy.

"Dark magician Zabulon, the Inquisition has some questions for you," said Witezslav. "Was the attack by the sect of the Regin Brothers provoked by you?"

"No one is obliged to testify against himself..." Zabulon said in a dull voice.

"Is that a confession?" the vampire asked in a lively tone.

"No, it is a reminder of the law. You have no right to ask such a question. Therefore I shall not answer it."

"Very well. Your objection is accepted. Great Magician Zabulon, have you been planning, in order to oppose the future Messiah of the Light, to resurrect the Great Magician Fafnir, who was consigned to the Twilight and dematerialized more than a thousand years ago?"

Zabulon began blinking rapidly and exclaimed in a voice full of amazement, "Where did you get a nonsensical i.e. like that?"

"Did you act to prevent the initiation of Svetlana Nazarova and carry out other actions directed against her?"

"Yes, within the limits permitted by the Treaty," Zabulon replied briskly.

"And Fafnir?"

"What about Fafnir?" said Zabulon, answering a question with a question. He looked at Edgar and winked.

"Why did you send to Prague a certain member of the Day Watch, ideally suited for the rematerialization of Fafnir?"

"I have no i.e. what you're talking about!"

"Did you plan to exploit the following parallels: Fafnir as the Antichrist, the four members of the Regin Brothers sect as the four horses of the Apocalypse..."

Zabulon burst into laughter. He laughed and wheezed happily for a long time, the way someone might laugh if they had just pulled off a risky but very amusing hoax. Then he wiped away the tears that had sprung to his eyes and said in a calmer voice, "I am delighted by the sense of humor demonstrated by the members of the Inquisition. Fafnir was an insane psychopath. I actually knew him personally and there is nothing I would like less than to meet him again... in any case, he wouldn't suit as a Messiah of Darkness. That's beyond his level...

Eliminating Svetlana, now..." Zabulon smiled. "... That's a possibility. But at such a price... oh, no, never. And as for those halfwit Finnish magicians... what did you say they were-the horses of the Apocalypse?"

Edgar felt like a total idiot. He looked imploringly at Witezslav. But the vampire hadn't given up yet.

"Why did you carry out the following actions: arranging the death of Alisa Donnikova, which can be interpreted as a ritual sacrifice for rematerialization, and ordering two portraits from a well-known Moscow artist-one of the Dark magician Edgar and one of the dragon Fafnir?"

Zabulon became more serious: "I would also like to understand the circ.u.mstances of Alisa's death better! As I understand, it is to be the subject of the next inquiry. Well, and as for the portraits..."

The head of Moscow's Day Watch reached inside his jacket and took out two small pictures in frames, about twenty by thirty centimeters. Edgar was horrified to recognize one as a portrait of himself. The other showed a dragon contorted by convulsions.

"This is a small Christmas present for one of my finest employees-please pardon an old man's sentimentality..."

And with that Zabulon took a step toward Edgar and held the portrait out to him. It was a good portrait-no two ways about it. But Edgar was only frightened even more by Zabulon's whisper: "Smart boy..."

Zabulon returned to the circle.

"And the second picture?" Witezslav asked.

"Pure sentimentality," Zabulon repeated. "Those Regin Brothers stirred up old feelings. I remembered Fafnir and...

decided to have a portrait of him made as a keepsake..."

"You were not planning to bring him back to life?" Witezslav asked again. This time Zabulon answered very seriously and apparently with absolute sincerity. "Not for a moment. There are less disruptive ways to achieve my goal."

The Inquisitors exchanged glances.