I should use the coffee grounds for a bit of fortune-telling?
'Scottish Colour,' I muttered.
My chest was feeling so cold now that it didn't hurt any more.
Part One CHAPTER 4
THERE'S NOTHING MORE absurd than to arrive in a new city and spend your time in a hotel room. That's okay for the red-hot after noon of the Spanish siesta. Or for newly-weds on honeymoon, when the size of the bed is far more important than the view out of the window.
But then, Valeria was caught in a hopeless situation. The police had told her not to leave the city. And she simply didn't have the strength to go out into that crowd of merrymakers, that swirling mass of tourists.
She opened the door immediately, as if she had been waiting just behind it. Although, of course, no one could have warned her, since I'd walked past the receptionist under the protection of a Circle of Inattention.
The girl was wearing nothing but shorts and a bra. Well yes, it was quite hot, of course. Even the good hotels here didn't have air-conditioning, the climate didn't really require it. As I said, it was quite hot - especially if you were drinking.
'Yes?' Lera challenged me drunkenly.
Her black hair was styled in a square cut. She was attractive, thin, quite tall.
One of her hands was on the handle of the open bathroom door. I had arrived just as she was on her way to the toilet.
'Hello, Lera,' I said politely. I wasn't exactly looking super-respectable, just shorts and a T-shirt, but I still chose the 'representative-of-the-authorities' tone of voice. 'Can I come in?'
'Why not?' Lera asked in surprise. 'Come...' She hiccupped. 'Come on through. Only ... I'll just be a moment.'
She went into the bathroom without even bothering to lock the door behind her. I shook my head, walked past the unmade bed and sat in an armchair by the window. It was a small room, quite comfortable in a formal sort of way. There was a bottle of Glenlivet whisky on the coffee table. It was more than half empty. Glancing at the door of the bathroom I sent a simple spell in Lera's direction.
I heard the sound of coughing in the bathroom.
'Need any help, Lera?' I asked, pouring myself two fingers of whisky.
Lera didn't answer. She was being sick.
I found some cold mineral water in the mini-bar and rinsed out Lera's glass ?it smelled strongly of whisky. Then I poured in a little bit of water and splashed it out straight on to the carpet. And then I poured in more water.
'I'm sorry...' said the girl, as she emerged from the bathroom, looking a lot livelier. 'I ... I'm sorry'
'Have a drink of water, Lera,' I said, holding out the glass.
A good-looking girl. Very young. And with very sad eyes.
'Who are you?' she asked and drained the glass avidly. 'Hell ?my head's splitting.'
She sat down in the other armchair and took her head in her hands.
We'd never be able to make conversation like that.
'Can I help?'
'Do you have any aspirin? Something for a headache...'
'Ancient Chinese massage,' I said, standing up and going round behind her. 'The pain will soon be gone.'
'Oh sure, I believe in massage, all the guys say they can do massage, anything to get their paws on you, . .' Lera began, and then stopped talking the moment my hands started taking away the pain.
Of course, I don't really know how to do massage. But I can disguise healing magic as massage.
'That's really good... you're a magician...' Lera murmured.
'Yes, I am,' I agreed. 'A fully qualified Light Magician.'
Right... stop the blood vessels cramping... draw the alcohol out of the blood... okay, pass it through the kidneys... neutralise the metabolites... balance the serotonin and adrenalin... restore the pH of the blood to normal... okay, and at the same time we'll reduce the output of hydrochloric acid in the blood...
Of course, I'm nowhere near as good as Svetlana. She could have done all this with a single touch. I laboured away for about three minutes. I had the Power, but I lacked the skill.
'Miracles like that don't happen,' Valeria said nervously. She turned round and looked at me.
'Oh yes, they do,' I said. 'You'll want to go to the toilet now. Don't be embarrassed and don't wait, you'll pass water every fifteen minutes. Until you get all the garbage out of your system... Stop. Wait a moment... '
I looked at her closely. Well, would you believe it...
'Don't drink any more,' I told