she left to join my father. And they didn't acknowledge me, either. They forbade their children to play with me. I am the son of a devona.
The son of a man who should have lived the life of an animal. I have nowhere to go back to. My home is here now. My job is to do what Geser tells me to do.'
'Well, well... ' Semyon said quietly. 'That's a tough deal ?really tough. I remember how we drove back those counter-revolutionary bandits, the basmaches. You don't mind me saying that, do you?'
'What's wrong with it?'
'Well, maybe now they're not bandits any longer, but national heroes...'
'When Geser was a commissar in Turkestan my father fought in his detachment,' Alisher said with pride.
'He fought there?' Semyon asked excitedly. 'What year was that in?'
'The early 1920s.'
'No, I was there later ... In Garm, in 1929, when the basmaches broke through from abroad.'
They launched into a lively discussion of events from days of long ago. From what I understood, it seemed that Alisher's father and Semyon had almost crossed paths ?they had both fought alongside Geser when he'd been on active military service in the Red Army. To be quite honest, I didn't really understand how Geser could have taken part in the events of the Civil War. The Great Light One couldn't possibly have bombarded the White Guards and the basmaches with fireballs! Apparently not all Others had been indifferent to that revolution. Some of them had taken one side or other in the struggle. And the great Geser and his comrades had gone dashing about the steppes of Asia to fight the other side.
And I also thought that now I could probably guess why Geser and Rustam had quarrelled.
Part Two CHAPTER 2
EARLY IN THE morning is the right time to arrive in a new city. By train, on a plane ?it makes no difference. The day seems to start with a brand new leaf.
In the plane Alisher became taciturn and thoughtful again. I half-dozed almost all the way through the flight, but he looked out of the window as if he could see something interesting on the distant ground, enveloped in night. Then just before we landed, when we flew out into the morning and the plane started its descent, he asked:
'Anton, would you mind if we separated for a while?'
I gave the young magician a curious look. Geser's instructions hadn't involved anything of the kind. And Alisher had already told me everything about his family and friends, or rather, about the fact that he didn't have any.
But then, it wasn't hard to guess what a young guy who had left his homeland at the age of just over twenty might be thinking about.
'What's her name?' I asked
'Adolat,' he replied without trying to deny anything. 'I'd like to see her. To know what happened to her.'
I nodded and asked:
'Does that name mean something?'
'All names mean something. Didn't you ask Geser to give you knowledge of the Uzbek language?' Alisher asked in surprise.
'He didn't suggest it,' I mumbled. But really, why hadn't I thought of it? And how could Geser have goofed so badly? We Others learn the major languages of the world as a matter of course - naturally, with the help of magic. Less common languages can be lodged in your mind by a more powerful or experienced magician. Geser could have done it. Alisher couldn't...
'That means he didn't think you needed it,'Alisher said thought fully. 'Interesting...'
It looked as if Alisher couldn't imagine Geser making a mistake.
'Will I really need the Uzbek language?' I asked.
'It's unlikely. Almost everyone knows Russian... And anyway, nobody would take you for an Uzbek,' Alisher said, with a smile. 'Adolat means justice. A beautiful name, isn't it?'
'Yes,' I agreed.
'She's an ordinary human being,' Alisher murmured. 'But she has a good name. A Light name. We went to school together... '
The plane shuddered as the undercarriage was lowered.
'Of course, go and see her,' I said. 'I think I can find the way to the Watch office on my own.'
'Don't think it's only because of the girl,' Alisher said, and smiled again. 'I think it would be best for you to talk to the members of the local Watch yourself. You can show them Geser's letter and ask for their advice... And I'll get there an hour or an hour and a half later.'
'Weren't you on very friendly terms with your colleagues, then?' I asked quietly.
Alisher didn't answer ?and that answered my question.