"No," I said and shook my head. "Has she contacted you?"

Gesar nodded. Then suddenly he couldn't contain himself any longer-he slammed his fist down on the desk and burst out: "Just what did she think she was doing? First she deserts the Watch…"

"Gesar, every one of us has the right to resign," I objected. But Gesar had no intention of apologizing.

"Deserts! An enchantress of her level doesn't belong to herself! She has no right to belong to herself! If, that is… if she calls herself a Light One… And then-she's raising her daughter as a human being!"

"Nadya is a human being," I said, feeling myself starting to fume too. "Whether or not she becomes an Other is for her to decide… Most Lucent Gesar!"

Gesar realized that I was all set to blow too and he changed his tone.

"Okay. That's your right. Pull out of the fight, ruin the little girl's life… anything you like! But where does this hate come from?"

"What did Sveta say?" I asked.

Gesar sighed. "Your wife phoned me. On a number that she has no right to know…"

"Then she doesn't know it," I put in.

"And she told me I intended to have you killed! That I was hatching a highly complicated plot for your physical elimination!"

I looked into Gesar's eyes for a second. Then I laughed.

"You think it's funny?" Gesar asked in a voice filled with pain. "You really think so?"

"Gesar…" I said, suppressing my laughter with an effort. "I'm sorry. May I speak frankly?"

"By all means…"

"You are the greatest plotter of anybody I know. Worse than Zabulon. Compared to you, Machiavelli was a mere pup…"

"Don't be so quick to underestimate Machiavelli," Gesar growled. "I get the idea, I'm a plotter. And?"

"And I'm sure you have no intention of getting me killed. In a crisis, perhaps, you might sacrifice me. In order to save a commensurately greater number of people or Light Others. But not that way… by planning… and scheming… I don't believe it."