Blake helped up Detective Novak. She wasn't physically injured, but she seemed dizzy as if she had hit her head.

'Are you all right?' he asked.

'It was Honsa all along,' she said in a stunned, blurry voice.

'We better call an ambulance, too,' noted Blake. 

Meanwhile, Sarah tied up Zelezny. Blake produced a stamp and tossed it to her. It was a powerful restraining spell called Signum, designed to prevent sorcerers from using their magic. The special ink they marked the skin didn't come off for at least 4 or 5 days. 

'I don't know if it will stop him from changing,' the woman said. 'We should get going.'

Blake nodded and took out his phone. Then he collected Novak's gun and put her arm around his own shoulder. Sarah picked up the unconscious Zelezny and threw him over her shoulder, like a big bag of potatoes.

They waited for the police van just outside the park. It was the rush hour, people tried to get home or to the pub from work. A traffic jam was about to shape up right in front of them. The rain stopped a while ago and they could see the sun slowly lowering on the western horizon, amongst the grey, raggedy clouds. It lit up the bottom of the sky with beautiful orange and scarlet colours. 

Sarah looked at the sun, then at her watch.

'Nineteen minutes until sunset,' she said. 'We are running out of time.'

The ambulance car arrived earlier, and Blake passed Detective Novak to them. The silver, yellow and blue van showed up five minutes later. It had a special holding cell inside, made for sorcerers and vampires, but it couldn't stop a gargoyle for a long time. Just to be on the safe side, Blake put a stunning spell on the already sleeping man when they closed him up.

'Twelve minutes,' said Sarah once they were finally on the way. 

'Okay, gentlemen,' said Blake to the three policemen riding with them in the back of the van. 'Wands at the ready. If Detective Zelezny wakes up, he is most likely to turn into a creature that could tear a vampire apart with ease. We don't want that, so if you see him so much as twitch his finger, give him your best shot.'

'Our orders are to bring him in alive,' added Sarah, 'as long as it is possible. The moment he became a threat to your or any civilian's lives, you are authorised to use lethal force. But first, try to stun him. Understood?' 

The officers nodded and murmured an agreeing manner. Blake grabbed Sarah's upper arm and pulled her away as much as it was possible in the limited space.

'I haven't received those orders,' he said in Italian.

'The agency wants to study him,' shrugged Sarah. 'Maybe offer him a job.'

'He is a murderer,' said Blake. 'He needs to face justice.'

'His special abilities would be wasted, not to mention the financial issues,' replied Sarah. The van ran over a pot-hole and Blake had to grab a handle. Zelezny groaned in his sleep. 'He needs a special holding cell with guards, in 24-7, somewhere far away from a prison. His whole thing literally is to kill people who belong to jail, one tiny slip and hundreds could die. While the MAGE could use him as a weapon.'

'He almost killed you!' argued Blake. 

'Which is quite hard. That just shows how useful he could be.'

'This isn't the right way, Sarah,' the man shook his head in disbelief.

'It is and you know it,' said Sarah patiently. 'You are not a police officer anymore, Cornelius. You need to learn how to think like an agent of the MAGE. We don't play by the laws and rules. We do what is in the best interest of humanity. That's the job, remember?' 

'Letting a murderer walk cannot be the best interest of humanity!' raised his voice Blake. He switched back to English unintentionally. There was something in his voice that made the officers sitting in their riot-gears look at him as if they were waiting for an order.

Sarah sighed.

'Look, Cornelius, even if I'd agree with you, which I don't, this is not our call. The orders are clear. If you don't like them, you need to talk to the Council.'

The Council was the heart of the MAGE. The 21 members were appointed by the UN, tried professionals from different fields of life. Scientists, military men, doctors, famous activists, politicians, journalists, lawyers and even artists from all over the world. Nobody knew who they were exactly, their identity was a secret to protect them. Their responsibilities were severe: they literally had to decide between death and life on a daily basis. Wars could break out and thousands of lives could be lost at every wrong decision. 

And they just made one. Blake was ready to convince them one by one, if it was necessary. Later. For now, he needed to focus: the job wasn't done just yet.

'Eight minutes,' reported Sarah. The van stopped and the driver already told them that they were in a little traffic jam. Blake ordered him to use the siren and the lights, but he said there was no point, the road was closed.

'Then turn back and find another way!' said Blake into the little intercom. 

'Yes, sir,' came the answer.

The minutes went by unnaturally slowly. Blake took a seat between a nervous-looking officer and Sarah. He sat with a straight back, hands beside him on the armrest, breathing slow and steady.

'Three minutes,' said the woman quietly. 'Be ready, gentlemen.'

The van took a sharp turn, the wheels cried and Sarah's body pressed up against Blake's. The car accelerated, the engine roared.

'Sir, what do we expect if he turns?' asked the officer whispering. He was very young and sickly pale. 'Honestly.'

'Even if he wakes up and changes, the cell will hold him,' said Blake. His voice was full of reassuring stillness and confident that he did not feel. 'There are magical circles on the floor, under bulletproof glass and on the ceiling,' he pointed at them. 'The circles are hooked up on a fully charged battery. The finest techno-magical hybrid holding cell there is. He might be physically strong, but strength cannot beat that.'    

'But if he manages to damage the circle, like, break the frame of the van, he will be out, right?'

'That's right,' nodded Blake. 'And he will be a grave danger to the innocent civilians around. I expect you to do your job up to your best standards, officer. We are the police. Our job is to protect.'

'Yes, sir,' he said in a shaky voice, but with gleaming eyes. 'I will do my best, sir,' he stood up, wand in hand, and stared at the sleeping Zelezny.

'Thirty seconds,' reported Sarah and she stood up. She borrowed an extendable baton and a handgun from one of the officers. 'Ten… Nine… Eight…' 

Blake got up, too, and he drew his wand. Deep breath in, out. In, out. 

'...Two… One.'

Nothing happened. Zelezny didn't move, didn't even give any noises. He just laid on the floor, arms and legs chained together, fixed on three different metal handles on the floor.

A minute went by, then another. 

'Arriving in five minutes, sir,' came the driver's voice from the intercom. 'We will park directly in the container, spells already in place. Everything alright back there?'

'We are doing fine. No sign of the monster,' replied Sarah, pushing the button.

Something big and heavy chose that exact moment for landing on the top of the van with a loud thud. One of the officers said something in his own language and shot a spell at the ceiling.

'Don't!' shouted Blake but it was too late. The curse, barely visible disturbance in the air, bounced off of the top of the van, hit the floor, flew by Sarah and blew up the box of the intercom. Blake grabbed the officer's wrist and pushed it down. 'Don't.'

Something was on the top and it tried to get in. A piercing noise, claws on metal told them that the creature was looking for a weak spot. Sarah looked at Blake.

'Who?' she asked.

'The daughter,' answered Blake. 'Helenka.'

Bamm! The thing on the top of the car hit it and the metal bulged. Another strike and it tore open. The hole was big enough for a human arm, or the gargoyle's claws.

'Everybody hold on to something!' said Blake and he pointed his wand to the floor. The Runes Movement and Denial sparked up. The tires cried as the brakes went off. Everything swung forward, including Blake, who would have ended up on the bars of Zelezny's cell if Sarah didn't grab his jacket. Zelezny wasn't that lucky: the invisible line of the magical circle stopped him hard. The hit woke him up. He groaned and tried to touch his head where it was bleeding, but he couldn't because the chains were too short. 

The van slid for a few more metres then stopped. The creature flew off the roof and had to be somewhere in front of them.

'Tell her to stop!' ordered Blake Detective Zelezny with his wand aimed at his heart. 'Now!'

The man said something in Czech. He looked confused.

'He said he can't,' translated an officer. 

'Tell her or we are all going to die,' said Blake.

'Cannot. She not in charge. The beast is,' Zelezny answered,

'Open the cell,' said Sarah. 'Let him go. Maybe the girl will leave in peace.'

It was a reasonable assumption. Could even work.

'No,' shook his head Blake. 'We can't…'

BAMM! They were out of time. The gargoyle attacked from the side now and the van tilted, then swung back on its wheels. The officer to whom Blake was talking to earlier hit the metal wall with his face first, went down and didn't move anymore. Then again: BAMM! This time the van tipped on its side and everyone inside fell. Sarah moved with inhuman speed and hugged Blake, protecting him with her own, much less fragile body. 

The frame of the van wrinkled, the bulletproof glass broke with a weird popping noise and the Runes in the magical circle died out. Then the back doors burst open and Blake finally got to see the creature. It was dark and big. Its mouth was full of tiny, pointy teeth but its face looked surprisingly sad. On the top of its head two small horns punctured its grey skin. It was so big that it couldn't fit in, not even its huge leather wings wrapped around its body. 

Blake pushed Sarah aside and took aim. The Rune of Light lit up on his wand. He managed to make a beam of light similar to actual sunshine enough for the gargoyle to back off. It wasn't good enough to stop it, though, and as the monster hit the van again, Blake rolled over the floor, almost out of the doors and lost his wand. He saw Sarah ripping open the door of the holding cell in the other end of the van. Zelezny looked at her in disbelief.

'Stop her. Go,' she said.

The sound of the tearing metal was so sharp and hurtful that the vampire had to cover her ears and she fell on her knees. There was a new hole, big enough to a grown man, on the side that was the floor before. The gargoyle stuck its head into it, looking for her father.

The last officer still standing picked up the gun Sarah dropped and aimed for the creature's eyes. He was so close it was impossible to miss and however durable the gargoyle might have been, there was no way that bullets shot directly into its brain wouldn't kill it.

Zelezny must have known that too. The ripped hole was almost exactly halfway between him and the officer. Zelezny was unarmed and too far to take out his colleague.

But he was close enough to take the bullets.

The bellows of the shots were deafening in the small space. Zelezny jumped forward and his body jerked one, two, three times. He fell on the bottom of the metal wall with a surprised face. He tried to say something, opened his mouth and died still with the same surprised expression on his face.