Or—and this would also not have required me to offend against veracity—I could justify my actions by the need to acquire additional information and clarify who was capable of resisting the Tiger, and how. After all, recent events at our office had demonstrated that this was a matter of priority!

And then the very existence of the two prophecies and my own strange dream positively demanded further investigation.

Of course, to be fair, I ought to have told people what was happening . . . at least Gesar. But even here I had a convincing excuse—a Higher Witch, let alone the former Head of the Conclave, was quite capable of intercepting practically any kind of message, even a pupil’s communications with his mentor.

So, from the official point of view, I was more or less in the clear. I could find a wagonload of excuses for my actions.

And I wasn’t really concerned about my own safety, either. I hadn’t required Arina to swear an oath not to harm me, but I had no grounds for suspecting her of anything bad. If I’d been able to work with Zabulon, I should be able to get along with a former Witch who was now a Light One.

So what was bothering me?

A pretty Chinese hostess was handing out glasses of champagne. Arina had splurged on first-class tickets—but then, why would an experienced Witch be short of funds? Arina, in the seat beside me, took a glass. I declined and, after a moment’s hesitation, asked for a cognac. A fourteen-hour flight—there would be plenty time to have a drink and then sober up.

The morning was starting to come together.

“Will you show me the chalice?” Arina asked.

I got my bag down without any objections and took out the artifact that Erasmus had made. Arina held it in her hands for a while, then shook her head.

“I can’t sense any magic.”

“Neither can I, but not everything can be sensed.”

“That’s true.”

Arina poured her champagne into the chalice and drank it. She shrugged. She raised the vessel to her ear and listened to it, as if it was a seashell.

“I’ve tried that,” I said. “I drank out of it, and listened to it. It seemed to me that Erasmus knew how to awaken the prophecy—but he didn’t think it necessary to explain.”

“How did you manage to persuade him to part with the chalice?” Arina asked curiously.

“A present from Gesar helped,” I said, and told her about our office bonsai tree that had found a new home with Darwin.

“Riddle upon riddle,” Arina said, and shrugged. “Everyone knows Gesar is a sly old fox, but I have no idea what he’s thought up this time . . .”

“Information for information,” I said. “Tell me about this Other we’re going to see.”