I was really hoping he would be one of the second kind.
'A parallel world?'
There, now he was bringing in science fiction. But never mind, it didn't matter. Names are nothing more than sounds.
'Yes, and only people with supernatural powers can enter that world.'
'Vampires?'
'Not only. There are werewolves, witches, black magicians . . . white magicians, healers, seers.'
'And they all really exist?'
He was soaking wet. His hair was clumped together, his sweatshirt was clinging to his body, beads of sweat were rolling down his cheeks. But still the boy never took his eyes off me and was getting ready to repulse me. As if he really had the power to do it.
'Yes, Egor. Some people can enter the Twilight world. They take the side of either Good or Evil. Light or Dark. They are the Others. That's what we call each other, the Others.'
'Are you an Other?'
'Yes, and so are you.'
'Why?'
'You're in the Twilight world right now. Take a look around, listen. All the colours have turned grey. The sounds have faded away. The second hand on the clock is barely moving. You entered the Twilight world . . . you wanted to see the danger and you crossed the boundary between worlds. Time moves more slowly here, everything is different here. This is the world of the Others.'
'I don't believe it.' Egor glanced round quickly, then looked back at me. 'Then why's Grey here?'
'The cat?' I smiled. 'Animals follow their own laws, Egor. Cats live in all the dimensions at once, for them there is no difference.'
'I don't believe you.' His voice was trembling. 'It's all a dream, I know! When the light fades like that. . . I'm asleep. It's happened to me before.'
'So you've had dreams about turning on the light and the bulb not lighting up?' I already knew the answer, and anyway I could read it in the boy's eyes. 'Or it lights up, but only very, very faintly, like a candle? And you're walking along with the Dark all around you, and you hold out your hand and you can't even make out your own fingers?'
He didn't answer.
'That happens to all of us, Egor. Every Other has dreams like that. It's the Twilight world creeping into us, calling us, reminding us of itself. You are an Other. Still a young one, but you are. And you're the only one. . .'
I didn't realise straightaway that his eyes had closed and his head was slumped to one side.
'You idiot!' Olga hissed from my shoulder. 'This is the first time he's entered the Twilight independently. He hasn't got the strength for this. Pull him out quickly, or he'll stay here for ever!'
Twilight coma is a novice's problem. I'd almost forgotten about it, because I'd never worked with young Others.
'Egor!' I leapt across and shook him, grabbing him round the shoulders. He was light, very light – it's not only time that changes in the Twilight world. 'Wake up!'
The boy didn't respond. He'd already done what it takes others months of training to do – entered the Twilight on his own. And the Twilight world sucks the strength out of you.
'Pull him out!' said Olga, taking command of the situation. 'He won't wake up himself.'
That was the hardest thing of all. I'd done the emergency rescue courses, but I'd never had to drag anyone out of the Twilight for real.
'Egor, snap out of it!' I slapped him on the cheeks. Gently at first, then I started putting real force into it. 'Come on, kid. You're slipping away into the Twilight world! Wake up!'
He was getting lighter and lighter, melting away in my arms. The Twilight was drinking his life, the final ounces of his strength. The Twilight was changing his body, claiming it as permanent resident. What had I done?
'Seal yourself off]' Olga's sharp voice focused my mind. 'Seal yourself off, and him too.'
It always used to take me more than a minute to form a sphere. This time I did it in five seconds flat. I felt a stab of pain – as if a small shell had exploded inside my head. I threw my head back when the sphere of exclusion emerged from my body, shrouding me like a shimmering soap bubble. The bubble expanded, reluctantly enveloping me and the boy.
'That's it, now hold it there. I can't do anything to help you, Anton. Hold that sphere!'
Olga was wrong. She'd already helped me, with her advice. I'd probably have realised that I ought to form a sphere, but I could have lost precious seconds along the way.
It started getting lighter. The Twilight was still draining our strength – mine with an effort, the boy's with ease – but now it only had a few cubic metres of space to operate with. The ordinary laws of physics don't apply here, but there are parallels. A balance was being established between our living bodies and the Twilight.
Either the Twilight would dissolve and release its prey, or the boy would remain an inhabitant of the Twilight world. For ever. It's what happens to magicians who have pushed themselves beyond the limit, either through carelessness or because they have no choice. It's what happens with novices who don't know how to protect themselves against the Twilight properly and allow it to take more than they should.
I looked at Egor: his face was turning grey. He was slipping away into the infinite expanses of the shadow world.
I threw the boy across my right arm, took a penknife out of my left pocket and opened the blade with my teeth.
'That's dangerous,' Olga warned me.
I didn't answer. I just slashed my wrist.
When the blood spurted out, the Twilight hissed like a red-hot frying pan. Everything blurred. It wasn't just the loss of the blood, my very life was seeping away with it. I'd ruptured my own defences against the Twilight.
But the dose of energy was too large for it to absorb.
The world turned brighter, my shadow leaped on to the floor and I stepped through it. The rainbow film of the sphere of exclusion burst, releasing us into the everyday world.
CHAPTER 5
A THIN STREAM of blood splashed on to the carpet. The boy was slumped in my arms, still unconscious, but his face was beginning to turn pink. The cat was yowling in the next room as if his throat was being cut.
I lowered Egor on to the sofa, sat down beside him and told Olga to find a bandage.
The owl launched off my shoulder and dashed away like a white streak into the kitchen. She must have slipped into the Twilight on the way, because she was back in a few seconds with a bandage in her beak.
Egor opened his eyes just at the moment when I took the bandage from the owl and started binding up my wrist. He asked:
'Who's that?'
'An owl. Surely you can see that!'
'What happened to me?' he asked. His voice was hardly trembling at all.
'You lost consciousness.'
'Why?' His eyes wandered anxiously over the traces of blood on the floor and my clothes. I'd managed not to get any on Egor.
'It's my blood,' I explained. 'I cut myself by accident. You have to be careful when you enter the Twilight, Egor. It's an alien environment, even for us, the Others. While we're in the Twilight world, we have to expend our strength constantly, feeding its vital energy. But a little at a time. If you don't keep control of the process, the Twilight will suck all the life out of you. It's just a price we have to pay.'
'And I paid more than I should have done?'
'More than you had. And you almost stayed in the Twilight world for ever. It's not death – but maybe it's worse than death.'
'Let me help . . .' The boy winced as he sat up – he must have felt dizzy. I held out my hand and he started bandaging my wrist, clumsily but trying hard. The boy's aura hadn't changed, it was still iridescent, neutral. He'd already entered the Twilight, but it still hadn't left its mark.
'Do you believe I'm your friend?' I asked.
'I don't know. Not my enemy, I suppose. Or you can't do anything to me!'
I reached out and touched the boy's neck and he instantly tensed up. I unfastened the chain and took it off his neck.
'You see?'
'So you're not a vampire?' His voice was slightly husky.
'No. But that's not why I could touch the garlic and the silver, Egor. They won't stop a vampire.'
'But in all the films . . .'
'And in all the films the good guys always beat the bad guys. Listen, kid, superstitions are dangerous, they give people false hope.'
'Isn't there any real hope?'
'No. Not really.' I got up and felt the bandage. Not bad, it was quite tight and holding firm. In half an hour I'd be able to heal the wound with a spell, but I didn't have enough strength yet. The boy looked up at me from the sofa. Yes, he was a bit calmer now. But he still didn't trust me. It amused me that he paid no attention to the owl dozing on the television with an innocent air. It looked as if Olga had influenced his mind after all. That was all to the good: explaining who the talking owl was would have been rather tricky.
'Have you got any food?' I asked.
'What kind?'
'Any kind. Tea with sugar. A piece of bread. I used up a lot of strength too.'
'I'll find something. How did you get cut?'
I didn't go into the details, but I didn't lie about it either.
'It was deliberate. I had to do it to get you out of the Twilight.'
'Thanks. If it's true.'
He was a bit cheeky, but I liked that.
'You're welcome. If you disappeared into the Twilight, my boss would have my head.'
The boy snorted and got up. But he was still keeping his distance from me.
'What boss is that?'
'A very strict one. Well, are you going to pour me some tea?'
'Anything for you.' Yes, he was still afraid. And he was hiding his fear by being cocky and familiar.
'Get this straight – I'm not a human being. I'm an Other. And you're an Other.'
'But what's the difference?' said Egor, looking me up and down challengingly. 'You don't look any different.'
'Until you give me some tea, I won't say a word. Didn't anyone teach you how to treat guests?'
'Uninvited ones? How did you get in?'
'Through the door. I'll show you. Later.'
'Come on then.' It looked like I was going to get my tea after all. As I set out after the boy, I couldn't help recoiling at the smell. I just had to say something.
'You know what, Egor, why don't you wash your neck first?'
The boy shook his head without looking round, busying himself with making the tea.
'It any case, it's stupid only to protect your neck. There are five points on the human body where a vampire can bite.'
'Oh yeah?'
'Yeah. That is, I mean on a male body, of course.'
Even the back of his neck turned red.