so stupidly.

'You have attacked my son,' Gesar said sadly. 'Who cast the spell of paralysis on him? You, Konstantin?'

'No!' Kostya exclaimed, panic-stricken.

'I did,' Witiezslav said dourly. 'Shall I remove it?'

'Remove it?' Gesar barked. 'You have used magic on my boy! Can you imagine what a shock that is, at his age? Eh? And who will he become now, after the initiation? A Dark One?'

My eyes almost popped out of my head. Kostya gave a faint squeal. Edgar clamped his jaws shut.

We must all have looked at Timur Borisovich through the Twilight at exactly the same moment.

The aura of a potential Other was quite unmistakable.

Timur Borisovich had no need to expose himself to the fangs of a vampire or a werewolf. He could become a perfectly respectable magician. Fourth- or fifth-grade.

Unfortunately, most likely a Dark Magician . . . But . . .

'And now what am I to do?' Gesar continued. 'You have attacked my little child, frightened him, crushed his will . . .

The superannuated 'little child' was scrabbling feebly at his necktie, still trying to tie the Windsor knot as neatly as possible.

'Is he going to become a Dark One now?' Gesar asked indignantly. 'Well? This was all planned, was it? Gesar's son a Dark Magician?'

'I'm sure he would have become a Dark One in any case . . .' said Witiezslav. 'With his way of life . . .'

'You have subdued his will, urged him towards the Dark, and now you make claims like that?' Gesar said in a menacing whisper. 'Does the Inquisition believe it has the right to violate the Treaty? Or is this a strictly personal attack? Haven't you got over Karslbad yet? We can continue this conversation, Witiezslav. This may not be Krasnaya Kupal'nya, but we still have plenty of space for a duel.'

Witiezslav wavered for a second, trying to withstand Gesar's stare.

Then he gave in:

'My apologies, Gesar. I had no idea that this man was a potential Other. Everything indicated quite the opposite . . . those letters . . .'

'And what now?' Gesar snapped.

'The Inquisition acknowledges its . . . its haste . . .'Witiezslav said. 'The Moscow Night Watch is entitled to take this . . . this man under its tutelage.'

'To carry out his remoralisation?' Gesar asked. 'To initiate him after he has turned to the Light?'

'Yes,' Witiezslav said in a whisper.

'Well then, let us consider this dispute settled,' Gesar said with a smile, slapping Witiezslav on the shoulder. 'Don't be upset. We all make mistakes sometimes. The important thing is to put them right, isn't it?'

My, that old European bloodsucker certainly had iron self-control.

'That's right, Gesar,' he said sadly.

'By the way, have you caught the renegade Other?' Gesar asked.

Witiezslav shook his head.

'What's in my little boy's memory?' Gesar wondered aloud. He looked at Timur Borisovich, already standing there fully dressed. 'Ai-ai-ai . . . Oleg Strizhenov. A 1960s movie star. What an audacious disguise!'

'So it would seem the traitor is fond of old Russian movies?' asked Witiezslav.

'Indeed. Personally I would have preferred Innokenty Smoktunovsky,' Gesar replied. 'Or Oleg Dal. Witiezslav, this case is a dead-end. The traitor hasn't left any leads.'

'And you can't even imagine who he is?' Witiezslav asked.

'I can imagine,' Gesar said with a nod. 'There are thousands of Others in Moscow. Any one of them could have assumed someone else's appearance. Does the Inquisition wish to check the memory of all the Others in the city?'

Witiezslav frowned.

'No, it can't be done,' Gesar agreed. 'I can't even vouch for my own colleagues, and the Others who don't serve in the Watches will refuse point blank.'

'We'll set an ambush,' Edgar declared. 'And if the traitor shows up again . . .'

'He won't show up,' Witiezslav said wearily. 'He has no need to now.'

Gesar smiled, looking at the gloomy vampire. Then the smile disappeared from his face.

'Now will you please leave my son's apartment? I'll be expecting you in my office to sign the report. At seven o'clock this evening.'

Witiezslav nodded and disappeared, only to reappear a moment later, looking slightly confused.

'On foot, on foot,' Gesar said. 'I've shielded off the Twilight here. Just to be on the safe side.'

I trudged off after the Inquisitors and Kostya – boy, was he happy to be out of there and on his way!

'Anton,' Gesar called after me. 'Thank you. You did a good job. Call in to see me this evening.'

I didn't answer. We walked past the bodyguards, still dead to the world, and I attentively scanned the aura of the