'I will answer one question,' said Rustam. 'One question. And then my debt to Geser will be no more. Ask, but do not make any mistake.'
I almost blurted out: 'Did you really know Merlin?' Oh, these sly tricks... ask one question, make three wishes...
'What is the Crown of All Things and what is the easiest way to get it from the seventh level of the Twilight?' I asked.
A smile appeared on Rustam's face.
'You remind me of a certain man from Khorezm. A cunning merchant to whom I owed money... and I promised to grant him three wishes. He thought for a long time and said: "I wish to grow young again, be cured of all ailments and become rich ?that is one wish." No, young magician. We shall not play that game. I am not granting a wish, I am answering one question. That will be enough. What is it that you wish to know? What the Crown of All Things is, or how to get it?'
'I really don't want to wind up like Pandora by asking "How do I open this box?'" I muttered.
Rustam laughed, and there was a hint of madness in his laugh.
But what else could you expect from a Light One who had dissolved into the Twilight and was living beside the enemies he had once condemned to eternal torment? He had fixed his own punishment, or penance, and it was slowly killing him.
'What is the Crown of All Things?' I asked.
'A spell that pierces through the Twilight and connects it with the human world,' Rustam responded instantly. 'You made the right choice, young magician. The reply to the second question would have confused you.'
'Oh no, if you're answering one question, then answer fair and square!' I exclaimed. 'Explain how this spell works and what it's for!'
'Very well,' Rustam agreed with surprising readiness. 'The strength of an Other lies in the ability to use the human Power flowing through all the levels of the Twilight. Our world is like an immense plain covered with tiny springs that give out Power, but do not know how to use it. We Others are merely the ruts into which this water flows from the hundreds and thousands of springs. We do not provide a drop of water to this world. But we know how to retain and use the water of other people. Our ability to accumulate that Power is the consequence of our ability to immerse ourselves in the Twilight, to break through the barriers between the levels and manipulate ever more powerful energies. The spell that was invented by the Great Merlin erases the barriers between our world and the levels of the Twilight. What do you think would happen as a result of that, young magician?'
'A catastrophe?' I guessed. 'The Twilight world is different from ours. On the third level there are two moons... '
'Merlin thought otherwise,' Rustam said. He seemed quite carried away now that he had answered the question and was perfectly willing to talk. 'Merlin believed that each level of the Twilight is something that didn't happen to our world. A possi bility that was never realised. A shadow cast on existence. He thought our world would not die, it would destroy the Twilight. Obliterate it, as the sunlight obliterates shadows. Power would flood the entire world, like the waters of the ocean. And under that layer of water, it would make no difference who had once been able to immerse himself in the Twilight and who had not. Others would lose their Power. For ever.'
'Is that certain, Rustam?'
'Who can say?' Rustam asked, spreading his hands wide. 'I answer your second question because I do not know the answer. Perhaps that is what would happen. People would not even notice the change, and Others would become ordinary people. But that is the simplest answer, and is the simple answer always right? Possibly catastrophe would await us. Two small moons colliding with one large one, blue moss starting to grow in the wheat fields... who can say, magician, who can say? Perhaps Others would grow weaker, but still retain some of their powers. Or perhaps some thing absolutely inconceivable would happen. Something we cannot even begin to imagine. Merlin did not take the risk of using the spell. He invented it to amuse himself. He found it pleasant to think that he could change the entire world... but he did not intend to do it. And I think Merlin was right. It is not