any spells. That little ribbon round your neck exists at every level of the Twilight... at least as far down as the sixth. And it will rip your head off if you use even a trace of magic'
'I won't test it,' I said. 'So now what?'
'Maybe you'd like to invite us back home?' the invisible Edgar asked.
'Surely you don't think that I'd give you Nadya?' I asked. I didn't feel afraid, I was simply astonished by the question. 'You can kill me.'
'I wasn't really counting on it,' Edgar said. 'But Gennady insisted on the question being asked ?he's very keen to make use of your little daughter.'
'The way he made use of his own son?' I asked, unable to resist, and was rewarded with a vicious scowl that wiped away every thing human in the vampire's face.
'Quiet now,' said Edgar, nudging my shoulder. 'Don't get carried away, or I won't be able to hold Gennady off. He's very upset with you ?can you guess why?'
'Yes. Why don't you make yourself visible? It's not a pleasant sensation talking to empty space.'
'Drive out of the yard,' Edgar said, laughing. 'I wouldn't like your bodyguards to notice us ... We'd finish them off before they even knew what hit them. But Svetlana's a different matter, I'm afraid she might prove too hot to handle.'
Gennady scowled again, demonstrating that he had a full set of teeth and that his four canines were larger than the average human size.
'I'm sure she would,' I said quite sincerely. I stepped on the gas and drove the car gently out of the parking lot. Maybe I should crash into a lamp-post? No, that wouldn't catch them out, they were prepared for tricks like that... 'For Nadya she'd grind you into the dust.'
'That's what I think too,' Edgar said as politely and peaceably as ever. 'The last thing we need is a rampaging woman on our trail. And whether or not your daughter can get through to the seventh level of the Twilight still remains to be seen. The chances are no better than if we give you a good shaking-up.'
I snorted.
'I'm afraid I'll disappoint you there. I can't do what's beyond me. I'm a Higher Magician, but not a zero-point one. You have to be Merlin to get through to the seventh level.'
'I told you we have to take the girl,' Gennady said in a quiet voice. 'I told you he couldn't do it!'
'Cool it!' Edgar reassured him. 'He can. He's just not motivated enough yet, but we'll help him, and he'll manage just fine.'
'Try it,' I said. 'But where should I drive?'
'Sheremetievo 2, where else?' Edgar laughed. His invisibility was gradually peeling away and he was appearing by stages, first as a transparent outline, then acquiring colours. Gennady still hadn't revealed himself and I could only see him in the mirror. 'I think the quickest way will be round the ring road, right? And try not to waste any time. We have a flight to Edinburgh in an hour ?I think we'll get there before anyone misses you. I don't really want to waste the last charge in my Minoan Sphere on a portal to Scotland. But bear in mind that if you're late for the plane, we will go through a portal.'
'I assume that Arina's waiting for you in Edinburgh?' I asked.
'You just drive,' laughed Edgar. 'And in the meantime I'll explain why you're going to help us.'
'Very interesting,' I said. There was a cold sensation spreading through my chest, but there was no way I was going to show any fear. But what difference did that make? Vampires can sense fear instinctively. It's hard to shield yourself from their perceptions even with magic.
慪ou're going to do your best for your daughter's sake, of course,' said Edgar. Tor your daughter's and your wife's. That wouldn't work with a Dark One, but it's just the trick for Light Ones.'
'You'd never get to my family'
'Perhaps I wouldn't ?on my own. Geser and Zabulon would give it everything they've got. I counted six bodyguards. How many do you know about? The two young fools on the staircase?'
I didn't answer.
'I expect there are at least eight, or even twelve,' Edgar said thoughtfully. 'There's no point in guessing, both the old farts have decided to play safe. But if there was an explosion beside your house ?not an ordinary explosion, but a nuclear one ?then even any Higher Magicians there would be killed. Hiroshima demon strated that quite clearly'
'You wouldn't go