this jacuzzi, which was like a small swimming pool.

No doubt about it, genes are a remarkable thing. Gesar's son couldn't become an Other, but in his human life he enjoyed every possible boon.

I walked in, got my bearings in those wide, open spaces and approached the bath. Timur Borisovich looked at me and frowned. But he didn't make any sudden movements.

'Your bodyguards are sleeping,' I said. 'I assume you have an alarm button or a pistol somewhere within easy reach. Don't try to use it, it won't help.'

'There's no alarm button here,' Timur Borisovich growled, and his voice sounded like Gesar's. 'I'm not paranoid . . . So you must be an Other?'

Right. Apparently it was full and frank confession time.

I laughed.

'Yes, I am. I'm glad no long explanations will be required.'

Timur Borisovich snorted. He asked:

'Do I have to get out? Or can we talk like this?'

'This is fine,' I said generously. 'Do you mind?'

The Great Magician's offspring nodded, and I pulled up a chair and sat down, heartlessly creasing his expensive suit.

'Do you understand why I'm here?'

'You don't look anything like a vampire,' said Timur Borisovich. 'Probably a magician? A Light Magician?'

I nodded.

'You've come to initiate me,' Timur Borisovich decided. 'Was it too much trouble to phone first?'

Oh, calamity . . . He didn't understand a thing after all.

'Who promised you would be initiated?' I asked sharply.

Timur Borisovich frowned. He muttered:

'I see . . . here we go again. What did you come here for?'

'I'm investigating the unsanctioned dissemination of secret information,' I said.

'But you're an Other? Not from state security?' Timur Borisovich asked anxiously.

'Unfortunately for you, I'm not from state security. Tell me absolutely honestly who promised you would be initiated, and when.'

'You'll sense it if I lie,' Timur Borisovich said simply.

'Of course.'

'Oh Lord, all I wanted was just to spend a couple of hours in peace!' Timur Borisovich exclaimed in a pained voice. 'Problems here, conflicts there . . . and when I climb into the bath, in comes a serious young man looking for answers!'

I waited. I didn't bother to point out that I wasn't simply a man.

'A week ago, I had a meeting with . . .'Timur Borisovich hesitated, '. . . a meeting, in rather strange circumstances . . . with a certain gentleman . . .'

'What did he look like?' I asked. 'No need to describe him, just picture him to yourself.'

A gleam of curiosity appeared in Timur Borisovich's eyes. He looked at me hard.

'What?' I exclaimed, bewildered.

I had good reason to be . . .

If I could trust the mental image that had appeared in the businessman's mind (and why not?), then the person who had come to talk to him was the now little known but once famous movie actor Oleg Strizhenov.

'Oleg Strizhenov.' Timur Borisovich snorted. 'Still young and handsome. I thought there was something badly wrong with my head. But he said it was just a disguise . . .'

So that was it. Gesar had had enough wits to disguise himself. Well then . . . that improved our chances.

Feeling a bit more cheerful, I said;

'Go on. Then what happened?'

'That were-creature,' said Timur Borisovich, inadvertently confusing our terminology, 'gave me a lot of help with a certain matter. I'd got involved in a bad business . . . entirely by chance. If I hadn't been told a few things, I wouldn't be lying here now.'

'So you were helped.'

'Helped big time,' Timur Borisovich said with a nod. 'So naturally I got curious. Another time we had a real heart-to-heart. Remembered old Tashkent and talked about the old films . . . And then this phoney Strizhenov told me about the Others, and said he was a relative of mine. So he'd be happy to do anything at all for me. Free and for gratis, no return favours required.'

'So?' I asked, urging him on.

'Well, I'm not an idiot,' Timur Borisovich said with a shrug. 'You don't ask golden fishes for three wishes, you ask for unlimited power. Or at the very least for a pool full of golden fishes. I asked him to make me an Other, like him. Then this "Strizhenov" started getting edgy and hopping about like he was on a red-hot skillet. Said it couldn't be done. But I could tell he was lying. It can be done! So I asked him to make a real effort to turn me into an Other . . .'

He was telling the truth. Every single word. But he wasn't quite telling me