tory Two

AMONG HIS OWN KIND

Prologue

His name was Maxim.

Not such a very unusual name, but not ordinary either, not like all those Sergeis, Andreis, and Dmitrys. And a name with a fine Russian ring to it, even if its roots did go back to the Greeks and the Varangians, maybe even the Scythians.

He was happy enough with his appearance. Not the cloying good looks of an actor from some TV serial, but not a dull, ordinary face either. A handsome man, he stood out in a crowd. And he'd built his body too, but without overdoing it¡ªno bulging veins, no fanatical workouts at the gym.

He was happy with his job as auditor for a major foreign firm, one that was profitable¡ªhe could afford to indulge all his interests, and he didn't need to worry about the protection rackets.

It was all just as if one day his guardian angel had simply decided: "You shall be a bit better than all the rest." Only a bit, but still better. And that suited Maxim just fine. Why try to scramble higher up the ladder and fritter his life away on acquiring a fancy car, invitations to high-society parties, or an apartment with an extra room... what for? He enjoyed life for its own sake, not for material possessions. Life was the exact opposite of money, which in itself meant nothing.

Of course, Maxim had never thought about this quite so clearly. One of the quirks of people who've managed to find their place in life is that they believe that's the way things ought to be. Everything simply works out the way it ought to. And if someone feels shortchanged by life, then he has only himself to blame. He must be either lazy and stupid. Or else he thought too much of himself and tried to "get above himself."

Maxim was fond of that phrase: "getting above yourself." It put everything in perspective so neatly. For instance, it explained why his intelligent and beautiful sister was throwing her life away on an alcoholic husband in Tambov. She'd gone off looking for someone with better prospects... and just look what she'd found. Or take his old school friend who'd been lying in a hospital ward for more than a month now. He'd wanted to expand his business, and he had. He was lucky still to be alive, lucky his competitors happened to be so civilized... the market in non-ferrous metals had been carved up a long time ago.

Maxim might be in danger of "getting above himself" in only one part of his life, and it was such a very strange and complicated part that he preferred not even to think about it. It was much easier to simply accept the strange thing that sometimes happened to him in spring, occasionally in the fall, and only very, very rarely at the height of summer, when the oppressive heat became totally unbearable, emptying his head of all logic and caution, including even those vague doubts about his psychological balance... Maxim didn't think he was in any way schizophrenic, though. He'd read quite a lot of books and consulted specialists... only, of course, without going into all the details.

No, he was normal. Obviously some things that existed simply defied reason and couldn't be judged by the usual human norms. Still the idea he might be "getting above himself" bothered him... Could he be?

Maxim was sitting in his car, a neat, well-cared-for Toyota, with the engine running quietly. It wasn't the most expensive of cars but it was still way better than most in Moscow. In the dim light of early morning, no one could have made out his face behind the steering wheel, even from just a few steps away. He'd spent the whole night like that, listening to the gentle purring sound of the engine, chilled through but determined not to turn the heater on. As usual when this happened to him, he didn't feel like sleeping. Or smoking. He didn't feel like doing anything at all; it felt good just to sit there like that without moving, like a shadow in the car parked at the curb, waiting. The only thing that troubled him was that his wife would think he'd been with his mistress. How could he prove to her that he didn't have a full-time mistress and all his flings amounted to no more than brief vacation romances, fleeting affairs at work, and occasional professional services when he traveled on business... and he hadn't even bought those on the family's money; they'd been provided by clients. He couldn't have refused, they'd have been offended. Or decided he was gay and offered him boys the next time...

The glimmering green figures on the clock flickered and changed: five in the morning. Any moment now the street-sweepers would come creeping out to work. This was an old district, prestigious; they were very strict about keeping things clean around here. It was a good thing it wasn't raining or snowing either; the lousy winter was over, it was dead and gone, and now spring was here, bringing its own problems, including the temptation to "get above himself"...

One of the doors of the nearby building slammed. The young woman who had come out stopped as she adjusted her purse on her shoulder, about ten meters away from the car. These buildings had no courtyards, they were inconvenient to work in and probably to live in as well: What was their prestigious reputation worth if the plumbing were rotten and the meter-thick walls were covered with mildew¡ªand it was probably haunted...

Maxim smiled gently as he climbed out of his car. His body obeyed him with no reluctance; his muscles hadn't cramped up during the night; if anything they felt stronger than ever. And that was a sure sign.

But seriously, he wondered, do ghosts really exist?

"Galina!" he shouted.

The young woman turned toward him. And that was another sign he was right, otherwise she would have run for it; after all, who wouldn't be suspicious of a man lying in wait outside the door early in the morning...

"I don't know you," she said, in a voice both calm and curious.

"No," Maxim agreed. "But I know you."

"Who are you?"

"A judge."

He pronounced the word solemnly, rolling it off his tongue. A judge. Someone who has the right to pronounce judgment.

"And just who are you intending to judge?"

"You, Galina." Maxim was focused, intent. Everything around him seemed to be turning dark, and that was a sure sign too.

"Oh, really?" She looked him over quickly, and Maxim caught a glint of yellow fire in her eyes. "You think you'll be able to manage that?"

"Sure I will," replied Maxim, raising up his hand. The dagger was already in it¡ªa long, narrow blade made of wood that had once been light-colored but had become darker over the last three years, gradually stained...

She didn't make a sound as the wooden blade slid into her chest and pierced her heart.

As always, Maxim felt a momentary panic, a brief, searing surge of horror¡ªwhat if he'd made a mistake this time, after all? What if?

He lifted his left hand to touch the simple little wooden cross that he always wore hanging on his chest. And he continued standing there, holding the wooden dagger in one hand and clutching the cross in the other, until the woman began to change...

It happened fast. It always happened fast: The transformation into an animal and then back into a human being. The animal, a black panther, lay there on the sidewalk for a few moments, its eyes staring blankly and its fangs exposed, a victim of the hunt, dolled up in a matching skirt and jacket, pantyhose and dainty shoes. Then the process was reversed, like a pendulum making its final swing.

What Maxim found amazing was not the rapid transformation that came too late for his victim, as usual, but the fact that there was no wound left on the body. That brief moment of transfiguration had purged her and made her whole. There was nothing but a cut on her blouse and her jacket.

"Glory be to Thee, O Lord," Maxim whispered, looking down at the dead shape-shifter. "Glory be to Thee."

He didn't really resent the role allotted to him.

But it was still a great burden for a man who didn't like to get above himself.