was nothing like King Kong. He didn't have the height for that, since he only stood about three metres at the withers. But the toothy, gaping jaw, muscular limbs with sharp claws, coarse dark green fur and brutish, flaming-orange eyes impressed me far more than the sentimental giant from the old movies.
And King Kong probably never had such a repulsive acrid smell either. How could a golem stink, when it consisted of concen trated Power, not flesh, or even clay, and it had been stored in a magical vessel? I didn't know. Maybe it was an accidental side effect. Or maybe it was a joke by the deva's creator?
'Go and kill it!' Edgar shouted, pointing to the snake. Kong roared and went dashing towards the snake in huge bounds. The snake slithered towards him, not at all frightened by his sudden appearance, even seeming to liven up at the prospect of a worthy opponent. The earth shuddered under the impact of their feet and coils; the monkey's thunderous roar and the snake's deafening hiss fused together into a single mighty rumble.
Now was the time! While they were entranced by the prospect of the forthcoming battle.
I turned round ?and froze. Standing behind me was a short old man with a beard, dressed in white. At some moments he looked absolutely real ?I could count every last hair in the grey beard and gaze into the weary face furrowed with wrinkles; at others he became a hazy white shadow, through which I could see the grass and the sky.
The old man pointed slowly to the ground at his feet. Then he repeated the gesture.
Did he want me to go down to the sixth level?
I jabbed my hand downwards. The old man nodded, and an expression of relief appeared on his face.
He began melting away into the air.
There was no time to hesitate. At any moment one of the 'Last Watch' might look round and realise that I was preparing to make my escape.
The Power is within me! I can go down to the sixth level.
The Power is within me! I can see it always.
I must do this! Therefore I will do it.
I felt a blast of icy wind.
As I stepped through the barrier I heard Arina's voice:
'Somebody really is?
The voice fell silent, cut off at the border of the sixth level. At the border that protected the world of Others who had withdrawn.
'Thank you for coming,' the old man said. And he smiled.
Before I answered, I looked around me.
Daytime. A blue sky with white fluffy clouds and a sun. A meadow of green grass. Birds twittering in the trees.
An ancient grey-haired man standing in front of me. His clothes had probably never been white ?the coarse greyish sackcloth had only appeared to be white at first glance. And he was barefoot too... but the effect was not a pastoral, sentimental closeness to nature. He was simply a man who went barefoot, who didn't think it was worth wasting time on making shoes.
'I greet you, Great One,' I said, bowing my head. 'It is an honour for me ... to see the Great Merlin.'
The old man looked into my face curiously. As if this wasn't the first time he had seen me but he'd never had a chance to look at me properly before.
'An honour? How much do you know of my life, Light One?'
'I know about some things,' I said, shrugging. 'I know about the ship with the little children.'
'And even so it is "an honour"?'
'It seems to me that you have already paid for many things. And, in addition, for millions of people you are a wise defender of good and justice. That also counts for something.'
'There were only nine of them...' Merlin muttered. 'Legends ?they always exaggerate. The bad things, and the good things...'
'But they did exist.'
'They did,' Merlin confirmed. 'Why do you think that I have already paid? Do you not like the heaven that awaits Others after death?'
Instead of answering I bent down and plucked a stalk of grass. I put it in my mouth and bit it. The juice was bitter... only not quite bitter enough. I screwed my eyes up and looked at the sun. It was shining in the sky, but its light was not blinding. I clapped my hands - the sound was very slightly muted. I breathed in, filling my lungs with air ?the air was fresh... and yet there was something lacking in it. It left a slight musty odour, like the