最後的守夜人

《最後的守護人》以莫斯科為背景的奇幻小說。作者是盧基揚年科。

Final Watch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Final Watch AKA The Last Watch
Final Watch
Author Sergei Lukyanenko
Country Russia
Series World of Watches
Genre(s) Fantasy
Media type Print ()
ISBN 978-1401309275
Preceded by Night Watch, Day Watch and Twilight Watch
(Posledniy Dozor, Последний дозор) a fantasy novel by Russian writer Sergey Lukyanenko, sequel to The Night Watch, Day Watch, and Twilight Watch.
The English title of the book is The Last Watch and is to be released 14 Oct 2008 in the U.S./Canada and 2 Oct 2008 in the UK.
大意：安東在學習使用自己的新能力的時候，被格謝爾派去協助蘇格蘭的守夜人巡查隊調查一宗謀殺案。一個年輕的俄羅斯男人在一座“吸血鬼城堡”里被謀殺了，城堡是有名的旅遊景點。證據表明，他顯然是被吸血鬼殺死的。案情比表面上看來的更為神秘。有人想用遠程控制的槍來襲擊安東。最終，蘇格蘭守夜人巡查隊的頭兒，Thomas Lermont托馬斯·勒蒙，發現有人從梅林的墓里偷出了一件神器，而且顯然在試圖用這個神器來打開梅林的秘密貯藏室。在這裡，梅林藏了“Crown of All”（字面意思為“一切的皇冠”），沒人知道那是什麼。在守夜人巡查隊被裝備了魔法護身符和子彈的普通人襲擊之後，托馬斯和安東跟著某人進入了黃昏界。他們一直達到了黃昏界的第六層（安東的第一次），但是只發現事情的背後有三個人：一個光明力量的他者，一個黑暗力量的他者，和一個宗教裁判。托馬斯還告訴安東，黃昏界的第七層是他者的天堂，在那裡他們可以和平共處（以超越死亡的形式，他者just消失在黃昏界中）。梅林把“Crown of All”藏在了黃昏界的第七層里。
所有的他者對所發生的事情都感到十分憂慮。格謝爾讓安東去烏茲別克斯坦，去尋找Rustam盧斯塔姆，梅林當時的朋友，也是格謝爾曾經的朋友，後來的敵人。他也許知道一些關於皇冠被藏匿的地點以及皇冠本身的事情。安東在拜訪烏茲別克斯坦的守夜人巡查隊的時候，他們再次被帶著護身符和魔法武器的人類攻擊。各種線索開始表明安東的朋友，科斯加邵什金，是其中一個嫌犯，儘管他顯然已經死了。安東設法找到了盧斯塔姆。盧斯塔姆告訴安東，“Crown of All”是一個咒語，可以毀壞黃昏界各個層次之間的障礙，也能毀滅黃昏界和現實之間的障礙。咒語也許會導致世界末日，吸乾所有他者的力量或者甚至殺死他們－盧斯塔姆不清楚，也不在乎。他們再次被襲擊，安東發現他曾經的朋友，宗教裁判埃德加是那個神秘的他者三人組中的一個。
回到莫斯科，安東找出了神秘三人組中的黑暗他者－Gennadiy Saushkin根那迪·邵什金，科斯加的爸爸。他們認不出那個光明他者。兩個巡查隊都指派了人手去保護安東和斯維特拉娜五歲的女兒，娜佳，世界上唯一一個零度的他者（她不能產生任何的魔力，只能吸收別人的，因此她的魔法力量實際上是無窮的； 梅林也是一個零度他者，跟耶穌一樣。）只有零度他者可以到達黃昏界的第七層。埃德加和根那迪綁架了安東（他們抓不到娜佳），把他逮到了愛丁堡，這樣他就可以幫助他們想出得到皇冠的辦法。他們告訴安東，娜佳死了，因為他們在他的公寓旁邊放置了一顆核彈。核彈是唯一能毀滅黃昏界所有層次的武器。埃德加從宗教法庭的檔案中找到了一些信息，說“Crown of All”能給予所有進入黃昏界的他者最想要的東西。埃德加認為皇冠能讓他們復活，他想要與自己被殺的妻子重聚。根那迪想要回自己的兒子和妻子。他們同三人組（他們自稱為最後的守護者the final watch）的第三個人，女巫阿利娜見面了，她設法把自己轉變成了光明力量。她還揭露道，她毀壞了核彈，讓其無法爆炸，因為她新的光明力量身份禁止對如此多無辜者的毀滅。安東發現了梅林的秘密，但是他知道最後的守護者不會喜歡這樣，因此對他們撒了謊。他們把他帶到了黃昏界的第五層，遇到了梅林的守衛。最後的守護者忙於戰鬥的時候，安東來到了第六層。他在那裡碰見了梅林，小虎，伊戈爾，阿麗思和其他所有進入了黃昏界的朋友們，包括科斯加（科斯加說自己不怪安東）。他們都期待著安東能夠觸發皇冠。不管怎樣，他不能回去，因為最後的守護者在那裡而且他無法向前進入第七層，因為他的力量不夠。這個時候，娜佳出現了－斯維特拉娜剛剛激發了她，讓她來找到父親。在黃昏界的所有層中前進對娜佳來說不算什麼問題。她帶著安東往前行，回到了現實世界。黃昏界成為了一個圓圈，第七層成為了我們所有人所在的世界。
安東去觸發Crown of All，它確實藏在第七層。梅林把咒語放在了愛丁堡城堡古老的石頭裡。最後的守護者出現了，但是安東不為所動。埃德加把所有事情都弄錯了。黃昏界裡的他者最渴望的不是復甦，而是死亡。那裡沒有天堂，他們被永遠困在一個所有東西都是灰白影子的世界，困在真實生活的臨摹件里。他們想要結束這樣的生活，因為一旦他們真正的死亡，就能重新重生。梅林預見到了這個結果，因此創造了那個咒語（它毀壞黃昏界的效果只是暫時的）。不過，失落的他者們向安東請求原諒，因此他允許根那迪和埃德加死亡，這樣他們可以在被送進黃昏界之前就與他們所愛的人團聚。阿利娜選擇生存。然後安東觸發了皇冠（念出了咒語）。
Plot summary
Anton Gorodetsky is learning to use his new power, when Geser sends him to assist the Scottish Night Watch in Edinburgh in a murder investigation. A young Russian man has been murdered in a "Vampire Castle", a tourist attraction; the evidence shows that he was apparently killed by a vampire. The mystery is greater than it seemed. Someone tries to attack Anton using remote controlled guns. Finally the head of Scottish Night Watch, Thomas Lermont, reveals that someone stole an artifact from Merlin's grave and is apparently trying to use this artifact to open Merlin's secret storage. In that mysterious place Merlin apparently hid the "Crown of All" (nobody knows what it is). After the Night Watch is attacked by ordinary humans equipped with magical amulets and bullets, Thomas and Anton follow someone to the Twilight. They get as far as the sixth level (first time for Anton), but all they find out is that there are three people behind this - a Light Other, a Dark Other and an inquisitor. Thomas also tells Anton that the seventh level of the Twilight is the Others' paradise, where they can exist in peace together (upon death, Others just vanish into the Twilight). Merlin has hidden the Crown of All in the seventh level of the Twilight.
All Others are very worried about these happenings. Geser sends Anton to Uzbekistan, to look up Rustam, a contemporary and friend of Merlin, and a former friend - later an enemy - of Geser. He might know something about where the Crown is hidden and what it is. When Anton is visiting the Night Watch in Uzbekistan, they are once again attacked by humans with amulets and magical weapons. Various clues begin to point to Anton's friend, Kostya Saushkin, as one of the perpetrators, even though he is certainly dead. Anton manages to find Rustam. He tells him that the Crown of All is a spell which will destroy the barriers dividing individual levels of the Twilight, as well as the barrier between the Twilight and reality. It might cause the end of the world, strip all Others of their powers or maybe kill them - Rustam doesn't know, nor does he care. They are attacked again and Anton learns that his one-time friend, the Inquisitor Edgar, is one of the mysterious trio of Others.
Back in Moscow, Anton figures out who is the Dark Other in the mysterious trio - it is Gennadiy Saushkin, Kostya's father. They can't identify the Light Other. Both Watches assign operatives to protect Anton's and Svetlana's five-year-old daughter, Nadya, the only zero-level Other in the world (she does not produce any magical energy, she can only absorb, therefore her power is practically unlimited; Merlin was also a zero-level Other, as was Jesus). Only zero-level Others may get to the seventh level of the Twilight. Edgar and Gennadiy kidnap Anton (they can't get to Nadya) and take him to Edinburgh, so that he can help them figure out a way to get to the Crown. They tell Anton that Nadya is dead due to them planting a nuclear explosive near his apartment building. A nuclear bomb is the only weapon capable of destroying matter on all Twilight levels. Edgar found some information in the archives of the inquisition saying that the Crown of All will give all the Others who departed into the Twilight the thing they want most. In Edgar's interpretation it will bring them back to life, and he wants to reunite with his wife who was killed. Gennadiy wants to get his son and wife back. They meet the third part of the trio, or as they call themselves, the Final Watch - the witch Arina, who managed to change her affiliation to Light. She also reveals that she sabotaged the nuclear bomb not to go off, as her new Light affiliation forbids the destruction of so many innocents. Anton does figure out Merlin's secret, but he knows the Final Watch will not like it and he manages to lie to them. They take him to the fifth level of the Twilight, were they encounter Merlin's guardian. While the Final Watch is busy fighting it, Anton gets to the sixth level. There he meets Merlin as well as Tiger cub, Igor, Alice and all his Other friends who departed into the Twilight, including Kostya (who tells him he doesn't blame him). They are all hoping he will activate the Crown. However, he cannot go back, because the Final Watch is there and he cannot go forward to the seventh level, because he doesn't have enough power. At this point Nadya appears - Svetlana just initiated her and sent her to get her father. Travelling through all levels of the Twilight is not a problem for Nadya. She takes Anton forward - back to the real world. The Twilight goes in a circle. The seventh level is the one we all live in.
Anton goes to activate the Crown of All, which is indeed hidden in the seventh level. Merlin put the spell in the ancient stones of the Edinburgh Castle. The Final Watch appears, but Anton will not be bothered with them. Edgar got things wrong. The thing the Others in the Twilight want most is not resurrection, but death. There is no paradise there, they are stuck forever in a world where everything is just a pale copy, trapped in an imitation of life. They want it to end, because once they fully die, they can be reborn. Merlin has foreseen this and created his spell (its Twilight-destroying effect is temporary). However, the lost Others asked Anton to forgive, so he allows Gennadiy and Edgar to die, so that they can join their loved ones before it's too late. Arina chooses to live. Then Anton activates the Crown.