“Thanks,” I said to Semyon. “Don’t worry . . . I’m taking all this very calmly. A Prophet—so what?”

“I remember we had a clairvoyant in Petrograd,” Semyon remarked eagerly. “So in 1916, on New Year’s Eve, we asked him what the prospects are. And then he laid it all on us . . .”

I managed to intercept Las in the yard, just as he was getting into his freshly washed Mazda. He was frankly delighted when I showed up.

“Anton, are you really busy?”

“Well . . .”

“Why don’t you scoot over to Sheremetyevo with me? Boris Ignatievich told me to follow in your footsteps and look for anything odd. Maybe you could come along?”

“What are we going to do about you?” I asked, clambering into the right-side front seat. “All right, I’ll go. But you’ll owe me one, you know that.”

“Goes without saying,” Las said delightedly, turning on the motor. “I’m a bit pushed for time—I had to change my plans for today.”

“What plans were they?” I asked as we drove out of the car park.

“Well, it’s like this . . .” Las was slightly embarrassed. “I was going to get baptized today.”

“What?” I thought I’d misheard.

“Baptized,” Las repeated, looking at the road. “All right, isn’t it? We can get baptized?”

“Who are ‘we’?” I asked, just to be on the safe side.

“Others!”

“Of course we can,” I answered. “That’s, like, that’s . . . a spiritual matter. Magic’s magic, and faith . . .”

Las suddenly started talking nineteen to the dozen.

“I just thought—the devil only knows what they’ll make of me practicing magic . . . I always used to be an agnostic—a broad-profile ecumenist, that is—but then I thought . . . better get baptized, to make completely sure.”

“There was this character in The Simpsons: to make completely sure, he observed the Sabbath day and performed the Salat too,” I remarked, unable to resist the jibe.

“Don’t blaspheme,” Las said strictly. “I’m serious . . . I found this church especially for it, in the Moscow region. They say all the priests in Moscow are corrupt. But in the provinces they’re closer to God. I phoned them yesterday and had a talk—well, some acquaintances recommended me—they promised to baptize me today, but then Gesar gave me this assignment . . .”

“You’re moving kind of fast,” I said doubtfully. “Are you really ready for the sacrament of baptism?”

“Of course,” Las laughed. “I’ve bought a cross, and a Bible just in case, and a couple of icons . . .”