obliged to register with the local branch of the Watch if they stay in a town overnight. The justification for this is that lower Dark Ones too often give way to the animal side of their nature. That's true enough, but any magician, whether he's Dark or Light, is capable of things (hat would send a vampire running for his coffin in horror. Well, anyway, the tradition exists, and no one anywhere wants to change it ... despite all the protests from vampires and werewolves. But what's the point in monitoring the movements of Others from one country to another? That's important for people ?illegal migration, smuggling, narcotics... even spies, if it comes to that. But it's fifty years now since spies used to walk through border control zones with elk hooves tied to their feet, and they don't parachute into enemy territory at night now, either. A self-respecting spy flies in on a plane and moves into a good hotel. And as for Others ?we have no immigration restrictions, and even a weak magician can obtain the citizenship of any country without the slightest problem. So what was this absurd counter doing here?
It was probably for the Inquisition. Formally speaking, the customs posts belonged to the local Night and Day Watches. But another copy of the report was sent off every day to the Inquisition. And they probably studied it more carefully there.
And drew conclusions.
'Hello. My name is Anton Gorodetsky,' I said, stopping in front of the counter. We don't use identity documents, and that's a good thing. There are always rumours going round that they're going to start putting a magical tag on everyone, the way they do with vampires now, or else make an invisible entry in the ordinary human passports.
But so far we still manage without bureaucracy.
'A Light One,' declared the Dark Magician. He was a weak magician, sixth level at the very most. And physically very feeble: short, skinny and pale, with narrow shoulders and sparse blond hair.
'A Light One,' I agreed.
My colleague from the London Night Watch was a fat, cheerful black guy. The only things he had in common with his duty partner were that he too was young, and also weak, only sixth or seventh level.
'Hi there, bro!' he said happily. 'Anton Gorodetsky. Serve in a Watch?'
'Night Watch, Russia, city of Moscow.'
'Level?'
I suddenly realised that they couldn't read my aura. They could have read it up to the fourth or fifth level. But after that every thing was just a blurred glow to them.
'Higher.'
The Dark One straightened up a bit. Of course, they're all egotists and individualists. But they do admire their superiors.
The Light One opened his eyes wide and said:
'Oh! Higher! Coming for long?'
'Passing through. On my way to Edinburgh. I fly out in three hours.'
'Holiday or business?'
'An assignment,' I said without any further explanation.
Light Ones, of course, are liberal and democratic. But they respect Higher Others.
'Did you enter the Twilight there?' the Dark One asked, with a nod towards the human customs officers.
'Yes. Will it be caught on the cameras?'
The Dark One shook his head.
'No, we monitor everything here. But in town I recommend you should be more careful. There are plenty of cameras. Lots of them. Every now and then people notice us disappearing and re appearing ?we have to cover our tracks.'
'I'm not even leaving the airport.'
'There are cameras in Edinburgh too,' the Light One put in. 'Not so many, but even so ... Do you have the contact details for the Edinburgh Watch?'
He didn't bother to mention that he meant the Night Watch. That was quite obvious.
'Yes,' I said.
'I have a good friend who runs a little family hotel in Edinburgh,' said the Dark One, joining in the conversation again. 'For more than two hundred years already. Beside the castle, on the Royal Mile. If it doesn't bother you that he's a vampire...'
What was all this, nothing but vampires on every side?
'... then here's his card. It's a very good hotel. Friendly to Others.'
'I have no prejudices against vampires,' I assured him, taking the rectangle of cardboard. 'Some my friends have been vampires.'
And I sent one of my vampire friends to his death...
'There's a good restaurant in Sector B,' the Light One put in.
They were so genuinely eager to help me that I wasn't sure how to get past this solid wall of friendship and goodwill. Fortunately, another plane landed, and several more Others showed up behind me. Keeping a smile on my face all the time