‘I am delighted by the sense of humour demonstrated by the members of the Inquisition. Fáfnir was an insane psychopath, I actually knew him personally and there is nothing I would like less than to meet him again. In any case, he would hardly be suitable as a Messiah of Darkness. That’s beyond his grade … Eliminating Svetlana, now …’ Zabulon smiled. ‘… that’s a possibility. But at such a price … oh, no, never. And as for those half-witted Finnish magicians, what did you say they were – the horses of the Apocalypse?’
Edgar felt like a total idiot. He looked imploringly at Witiezslav. But the vampire hadn’t given up yet.
‘Why did you carry out the following actions: arranging the death of Alisa Donniko va, which could be interpreted as a ritual sacrifice for rematerialisation, and ordering two portraits from a well-known Moscow artist – one of the Dark Magician Edgar and one of the dragon Fáfnir?’
Zabulon became more serious:
‘I would also like to understand the circumstances of Alisa’s death better. As I understand, it is to be the subject of the next inquiry. Well, and as for the portraits …’
The head of Moscow’s Day Watch reached inside his jacket and took out two small framed pictures, each about twenty by thirty centimetres. Edgar was horrified to recognise one as a picture of himself. The other showed a dragon contorted by convulsions.
‘This is a small Christmas present for one of my finest employees, please pardon an old man’s sentimentality.’
And with that Zabulon took a step towards Edgar and held the portrait out to him. It was a good portrait, no two ways about it. But Edgar was only frightened even more by Zabulon’s whisper:
‘Smart boy.’
Zabulon returned to the circle.
‘And the second picture?’ Witiezslav asked.
‘Pure sentimentality,’ Zabulon repeated. ‘Those Regin Brothers stirred up old feelings. I remembered Fáfnir and … decided to have a portrait of him made as a keepsake.’
‘You were not planning to bring him back to life?’ Witiezslav asked again. This time Zabulon answered very seriously and apparently with absolute sincerity.
‘Not for a moment. There are less disruptive ways to achieve my goal.’
The Inquisitors exchanged glances.
‘Great Magician Zabulon,’ said Witiezslav, ‘the Inquisition has no charges to bring against you, you may return to your seat. However, we remind you that taken all together your actions appear extremely ambiguous and dangerous.’
‘I understand, I understand,’ Zabulon muttered as he walked out of the circle. ‘Soon it will be impossible to pick your nose without permission.’
Edgar looked at Gesar, expecting the old intriguer to be angry.
But no. Gesar wasn’t angry. He even seemed to have taken a genuine interest in what Zabulon had said. That is, he had clearly been quite convinced that the head of the Dark Ones would wriggle out of everything, but he was interested in the details.
They’d both known all of this beforehand.
Edgar struggled desperately to gather his scattered thoughts. That meant Svetlana really was going to be the mother of a Messiah of the Light … and a female one – that was a surprise. Zabulon was resisting it, but … but not by creating an Antichrist in the flesh. That had only been a diversionary manoeuvre, one in which Edgar had behaved like a naïve child.
But then what was the most important point?
‘The Inquisition now moves on to the consideration of the most important matter of the day, which is of exceptional significance to both the Light and the Dark,’ said Witiezslav, as if he were answering the question that Edgar hadn’t asked. ‘The case of Igor Teplov, a third-grade magician of the Moscow Night Watch. Is everyone familiar with the materials of the case?’
Nobody said anything. Everybody had been familiar with the materials for a long time.
‘I offer the prosecuting counsel, Anton Gorodetsky the floor.’
The Light One was standing opposite Edgar. He raised his head and nodded curtly to Witiezslav.
‘I shall be brief. In essence, our charges are simple – we accuse the respected magician Zabulon, here present, of deliberately sending Alisa Donnikova to the Artek camp, knowing that Igor Teplov would be there, restoring his powers. Zabulon had in all probability read the reality lines and realised that for Igor and Alisa those conditions would inevitably lead to … to love between them. A tragic and hopeless love, since the young people served different powers. A love that would end in a duel that would lead to the death of either Igor or Alisa, while the surviving opponent would be condemned by the Inquisition. We accuse Zabulon of the deliberate and cynical elimination – attempted elimination – of the Moscow Night Watch agent Igor Teplov. We therefore request the Inquisition to withdraw the charge brought against Igor Teplov of violating the Treaty and murdering Alisa Donnikova.’
‘Is that all?’ Witiezslav asked after a pause.
‘No. We also request the court to consider the matter of the death of a young boy – who was not an Other – as a result of the duel. Insofar as the duel was arranged by Zabulon—’
‘Objection!’ Zabulon exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.
‘Objection sustained,’ the vampire ruled.
‘Since we believe the duel to have been arranged by Zabulon, he is also guilty of the boy’s death, for which Igor Teplov cannot be held guilty. That is all.’
Witiezslav turned his head to look at Zabulon.
‘Can you reply to the essence of the matter?’
‘There will be no answer, I have already explained the reason,’ Zabulon replied coolly.
‘I offer the floor to the counsel for the defence.’
Edgar sighed. And began.
‘My colleague’s speculations are all highly diverting. We are witnessing an attempt to shield a criminal—’
‘Objection!’ Anton put in quickly.
‘To shield the accused,’ said Edgar, correcting himself. ‘Igor Teplov is guilty of the murder of the young witch Alisa Donnikova. And the worst aspect of the case is that he truly loved her. And worse still, in the grip of his maniacal passion, Igor Teplov incidentally caused the death of the boy Makar Kanevsky He killed a child. A human child, who also had a right to live. And there is more. As a result of his extensive gathering of power from children on holiday at Artek, seven of them suffered from nightmares for three months. Two cases of persistent incontinence were recorded. Nine-year-old Yurik Semetsky a resident of Moscow, died of asphyxiation a month after his return from Artek, when he drowned in his bath. We do not know as yet if this was a result of the actions of Igor Teplov … the Light Magician Igor Teplov.’
He looked at the accused. Igor’s face was stony. Impervious. Expressionless.
‘The Light Ones can put forward their groundless accusations as long as they wish,’ said Edgar. ‘Without any proof, without even any cogent explanation as to why the Day Watch of Moscow would sacrifice a young and promising member of its staff, one who had already received several commendations from the head of the Watch, in order to eliminate a third-grade Light Magician who possesses no real talent … That is a matter for their consciences. We only request the Inquisition to consider the situation impartially and punish the guilty party for violation of the Treaty.’
Edgar took a breath and added his final, decisive words:
‘Much is said about how Light Magicians who commit some ethically unjustifiable act dematerialise themselves voluntarily. They withdraw into the Twilight under the burden of their shame. We have all heard of this. But I, for instance, have never actually observed it. No doubt Igor Teplov regards the murder of a girl who was in love with him, and likewise the death and suffering of innocent human children, as ethically irreproachable actions.’