The cold air of Spitsbergen invigorated the friends, tired from the long flight.
At the airport they were met by a tall, broad-shouldered policeman in a warm winter uniform with a short-cropped red beard.
"My uncle Eric Odegard. Or just Eric Sr. I was named after him."
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Will Gardner. Lawyer." Will shook the huge Norwegian's hand.
"Very nice to meet you. I'm Eric. The chief of Fortitude police. Although of course chief is a strong word. We only have four people in our department."
After loading the guests' bags into his car, the police chief drove them to his home.
"Now you'll leave your things, rest and then we'll go, or rather sail, to the prison to meet the suspect. The winter storm season will start any day now and it will be very difficult to get there."
"Are there any other routes besides the water?" Will asked, surprised.
"No," Odegard shook his head, "only by sea. You'll understand why later."
"The issue of using federal and state prisons to hold suspects is currently being decided. Only convicted persons will be sent to Spitsbergen."
"Would be nice," Will sighed, "it's hard to make such a difficult journey every time."
The underground prison was located in one of the rocky bays. The boat slowly went behind a huge rock sticking out of the water. Having gone deeper into the bay, Eric Sr. brought the vessel to a huge cave.
"Like in Dumas' novel "The Three Musketeers", where the entrance to the Bastille from the water is described," Will whistled. "It doesn't look like a natural cave."
"It's not natural," the police chief nodded. During World War II, the Germans placed a secret submarine base here.
"Strange," Will was surprised. "I read that the Germans only had a weather station on Spitsbergen."
"Well, well, of course. Of course, the secret base would have been trumpeted throughout the world. Everyone involved in its construction was eliminated. When the war ended, this place was simply forgotten. Much time passed and the Congress decided to make it a prison for those under investigation for magical crimes and for those who were sentenced for it."
"Creepy" Will felt uneasy from the cold sea wind howling among the gloomy coastal rocks "Why couldn't they find a more accessible and less scary place?"
Odegard smiled and said to his nephew "Eric, explain to your friend why Congress decided to make a prison here"
"It's simpler than it seems. Spitsbergen is ideal for a well-guarded prison with Dementors. The British have a similar one, but it's in the North Sea. The only difference is that it's not guarded by Dementors."
"And why do you need these creatures, Eric? You saw how aggressive they are. They almost killed us in Oslo"
"I agree with you, Will. They are dangerous, but very good guards. The Norwegian police get along well with them. Not a single attack."
Lawyer Will Gardner always met his clients dressed in a suit and tie. He felt awkward walking with a backpack through the dark, cold corridors lit by medieval torches, dressed like he was going on a hiking trip, in a warm Chicago Bears football team hoodie, hiking boots and camouflage pants. Will felt like a student. But in a suit in this godforsaken cave, you would freeze to death in half an hour. He was beginning to understand why lawyers who worked on such cases made huge amounts of money. Sometimes they had to adapt to very strange circumstances. The prison aroused curiosity in Will, mixed with fear. This is how the lawyer imagined the inside of King Arthur's castle. Footsteps echoed loudly in the vaulted corridors along which dementors escorted prisoners and visitors. Each cell was closed with a thick iron door, like a safe in Fort Knox. And probably sealed with some kind of clever spell, but Will didn't know that for sure.
The Dementor gestured for the lawyer to go into the interrogation room, where his client was already waiting.
Will had been in many prisons in his line of work: high security, minimum security, and even spent some time in a military brig, but he had never seen such a scary place as this one. His client was chained up, his clothes clearly unsuitable for such a cold place.
"Hello, Professor Brookman, I'm your lawyer. My name is Will Gardner. I will do everything I can to prove your innocence." Will gestured for the Dementor to leave the room. The order was immediately carried out.
"I've been waiting for you for a month. I'm very glad you came." Brookman tried to get up, forgetting about the chains.
"I would have come earlier, but only recently learned about your case. I was in a hurry. Let's not waste time. Tell me why you are accused of possibly murdering Professor Rizzo. Were you enemies?"
"No. But we weren't friends either. I was against his teaching methods for moral and ethical reasons. Christopher believed that all means were fair in achieving the goal."
"Did he teach this to his students?"
"He taught and was proud of his ugly values. Such teachers cripple the psyche of children, instilling in them evil"
"What else was suspicious about Rizzo's behavior?" Will carefully wrote down all the information in a spiral notebook.
"His marriage was arranged in order to get a teaching position at school. Family life was a burden to him. Christopher tried not to go home even during the holidays."
"That's interesting. So, he could well have staged his disappearance in order to leave forever with a girlfriend"
"He did so...most likely. Christopher was secretly dating someone. He often returned to his bedroom late at night in a very good mood, humming songs"
"Any guesses who he was dating?"
"No, Mr. Gardner. He was a very arrogant man, and he considered me an eccentric with old-fashioned values."
"And how did your values not coincide with Professor Rizzo's?"
"He was quite willing to allow the use of spells with malicious intent. If you want to open someone else's car, go ahead; if you want to do evil first, he'll teach you. Rizzo always followed the rule of "strike first." Note, not in response to evil, but to generate evil yourself."
"Don't people with such views get fired from school?"
"They would have fired you from a regular non-magical school. But in our business, the main thing is to raise a fighter - cold-blooded, able to calculate ten moves ahead. Personally, I never approved of such things. But everything changed after the Second Wizarding war. Children have to grow up earlier. After all, everyone understands that there will be a third."
"For some reason, in America and here in Europe, everyone is talking about the third war," Will said, confused.
"Because one evil always gives way to another, dear Will. This is basically human. One criminal and tyrant is followed by another. Everything is like in ordinary life. Do you know what the worst thing is?"
Will shook his head.
"Any evil always finds its supporters."
"Unfortunately, you are right, Professor." Will took out the necessary papers. "Please sign the agreement so that I can officially represent you in court. And this petition for transfer to Chicago. The case will be heard there."
"Why Chicago? Rizzo disappeared in Massachusetts. I am also a resident of Massachusetts."
"It doesn't matter. Our firm is registered in Chicago. So, according to the rules of Congress, we can ask to send cases to our city." The lawyer hid the papers in his backpack. "Let's continue. You said Professor Rizzo was in a good mood. Witnesses say that the day before you had an argument. What caused the quarrel?"
"Rizzo started introducing spells of his own invention into the lessons. I tried to explain to him several times that it was against the rules, but he waved me off, calling me an old fool who was out of touch with reality. I must admit that the spells he invented were very powerful. Much stronger than some of the old ones."
"I have another question about the so-called book of ancient recipes. What is it? What was its value?"
"Why are you asking Will?"
"The book is missing. Didn't they tell you about it during the interrogation?"
"There was no proper interrogation. I was arrested, brought here, and a week later the jury issued a true bill. Now I'm waiting for the trial."
"What wildness!" exclaimed Will amazed by the legal chaos happening in this community. "They made a jury, they are already using lawyers, but the procedure itself is not yet properly regulated. Well, we will work with what we have and improve the process for the future. I will pass on my comments to Mr. Everton from Congress."
"Thank you, Will. You have a great future. It's good that there are people who care."
"Thank you, sir." Will blushed. He had never been complimented like that before. Rather, he was reproached for his excessive love of money and obsession with profit.
"Now about the book. At first glance, it does not represent anything special. But only at first. This is a book that tells how to brew a potion to remove unforgivable spells."
"That is ..." Will understood what the professor was getting at.
"Yes, yes. To revive those who have just died from unforgivable spells, to extinguish the unquenchable flame and much more. That is, to become omnipotent. The only problem is that the uninitiated will not understand anything in this book the first time. Everything is encrypted and disguised as simple recipes. To decipher it, you need a key that only the owner has. The book would be useless to anyone else"
"So, we need to prove that Rizzo simply faked his kidnapping to run away with someone he was having an affair. Deciding to frame someone he had conflicts with. Sounds good. We'll work with that"
Will stood up, slammed the folder with the documents shut and shook the professor's hand. "I'll do everything to help you"
"Thank you, Mr. Gardner. I have great hopes for you. This place is terrible. And I can't imagine what will happen to me if I'm convicted."
On the dock, Will was blinded by the bright sunlight. Taking a deep breath, the lawyer stood silently, looking at the lifeless mountains along the coast. It seemed that the shadows of World War II were still everywhere.
For some unknown reason, runic patterns were carved on the mooring bollards. After briefly looking at them, the lawyer walked up the gangway to the boat.
They sailed back almost silently. Only occasionally exchanging short phrases.
Will liked the police chief. Eric Odegard was serious and laconic. Sometimes he smoked.
"Look, Will, there are bowhead whales in the distance. We'll be sailing towards them soon."
"I've never seen bowhead whales," Will sighed, looking at the fountains rising above the water.
The boat, rocking on the waves, was heading back to the port. It seemed like one of those endless winter storms was approaching.
In the evening, Eric Odegard set the table. While his nephew went about his business, he invited Will to the table and brought a bottle of vodka.
"Well, lawyer, shall we drink to our acquaintance?"
"Easy. Pour! Do you have any whiskey?"
"You're insulting me. We don't drink that. We Scandinavians don't hold whiskey in high regard."
"Okay, give me what you have."
After the first glass, Will relaxed. A pleasant warmth went through his body.
"Tell me what happened on the island? Eric told me that your town suffered greatly from an attack by the dark."
"It happened. It all looked very strange. To carry out the attack, they used implantation into people's consciousness and control over their actions. It all looked like an ancient virus that began to spread again due to a melted glacier with an infected mammoth carcass. Allegedly, people were infected. But that's nonsense. None of us had ever encountered mind implantation. This was something completely new and scary. They attacked us long and hard. That winter, the previous police chief died. He was my friend, and after him, my wife. Then several more city residents, business travelers and tourists. When the Americans built a prison here, it became quiet. Your authorities sent serious Aurors to clear the area. After the clearing, they sent Dementors to guard it, and it became completely quiet."
"I can't understand the behavior of the Dementors. After all, they attacked us for some reason"
"Dementors from Spitsbergen do not go to other places. For greater security, we sealed the area where they live with runes. Those who attacked you were sent by others. And they are very strong if they can control these creatures"
"And this someone sees Eric and me as a serious threat. Nothing new. Sending someone, but hiding yourself is cowardly. Everything is like in my usual legal practice"
"People are the same everywhere" sighed Odegard "Let's go warm up in the steam bath. I have a real wet steam with stones, not a stupid electric sauna"
"I've never been to a steam bath"
"Oh-oh-oh, we'll fix that now, Will." Odegard smiled like the Grinch and rubbed his hands.
The next hour reminded Will of the circles of hell described by Dante. Hot steam, a strange bath broom made from the branches of some deciduous tree, with which Eric Sr. whipped him all over his body lying on a wooden shelf. Periodically they ran outside, plunged into the icy water of the fjord and ran back into the hot steam bath.
Will felt like he was literally born again. The cold and fatigue left his body. Every cell warmed up. He wanted to live again. It was a new strange feeling.
Then Eric Jr. came, and the gathering continued with the three of them.
"You know, Will, I love animals very much, but I hate people terribly. That's why I live in this wilderness. Whales, birds, fish, polar bears, walruses. I don't understand how I'll move to a big city. Even if it's clean and beautiful like Oslo. I don't like people. And I can't do anything about it," Odegard said sadly.
Will drank the glass in one gulp. "It's nice up here in the north. There's nothing superfluous."
"Let's drink to the north!" Eric Jr. suggested, his voice a little slurred.
The guy clearly couldn't keep up with Will and his uncle in terms of pace.
"To the north!" his uncle raised his glass.
Will liked the harsh northern island more and more. Something very important was being revealed to him - something eternal. Something you won't find in Chicago.
Having gone out for a smoke, Odegard and Will sat down on a large boulder near the icy sea. Instead of his down jacket, the lawyer threw a police jacket over his shoulders, in which he looked much more serious.
"Beautiful..." Will slowly took a drag on his cigarette. "It feels like I'm being reborn now."
"You're going through a process of rethinking, man. It's necessary. Even if it's not always pleasant."
Will just nodded silently in response. A whole unknown world was opening up to him: the north, ancient rituals, ancient power, ancient evil.
"Erik, I just realized that I didn't live before, I just existed. Without seeing the obvious things around me. It's so strange." Will stared into the distance.
"Let's go have a drink. The polar night will begin the day after tomorrow and nothing will be visible except the northern lights."
Odegard went into the house, and Will took out his phone, took a selfie in a police jacket with the coat of arms of Norway and the inscription "POLITI", and sent the photo to Kalinda. A heart came in response. He smiled and hid the phone. A large herd of white reindeer ran in the distance. There was something incredibly majestic about it. Will continued to watch until they disappeared over the horizon. Stubble grew on his face. The past few days had made the lawyer sterner, stronger. Everything left in his past life was so unimportant.