Body swap between Anton and Olga

The body swap between Anton Gorodetsky and Olga is the central tactical maneuver of the second story, "Among His Own Kind," a desperate measure taken when the Day Watch frames Anton for a series of murders of Dark Ones. Boris Ignatievich, the head of the Night Watch, orchestrates the exchange not merely to hide Anton but to use his vulnerability as bait in a larger game. The swap forces Anton to inhabit Olga's body—a woman imprisoned for eighty years in the form of a polar owl—and to navigate the world through her physicality, her social position, and her diminished magical powers, while Olga, in Anton's body, carries out the Watch's counter-operations.

The Swap and Its Immediate Aftermath

The exchange occurs in Boris Ignatievich's private office, a space that contains a hidden bathroom with a Jacuzzi and a panoramic one-way window. Without warning or consent, the boss utters words in an ancient language, and Anton experiences a sensation of flying, weightlessness, and overwhelming joy before finding himself on the floor in Olga's body. He sees his own hands now slim and adorned with silver rings, his legs long and shapely, his feet in blue-and-white sneakers. When he speaks, a low, vibrant woman's voice emerges. Olga, now in Anton's body, helps him up and immediately comments on the difficulty of walking as a man. The shock is profound: Anton's center of balance has changed, the world looks different, and he has not shaved properly that morning. Olga, despite her centuries of experience, admits it is the first time she has ever swapped sexes. The boss apologizes, explaining there was no time for hesitation.

Navigating a New Body and a New Social Role

Anton must quickly adapt to Olga's physical form and her social identity. He finds her keys, money, credit card, makeup, and a panty liner in her purse, but the empty pockets of her jeans make him feel as though he has lost something. He transfers bank notes from the handbag to his pocket to regain a sense of confidence. When he encounters Garik in the hallway, the field operative senses something amiss—a different intonation, hesitant movements, a new aura—and gives him a timid, uncertain smile, a reaction Anton has never seen Garik direct at Olga before. Anton realizes he must play the part of the boss's aggrieved girlfriend, a cover story that explains any odd behavior. Later, when he catches his reflection in a mirror, he sees a beautiful young woman swaying her hips as she walks, and the sight causes him to stagger and almost fall; his motor reflexes work only as long as he forgets his appearance.

Confronting Svetlana and the Burden of Truth

Anton's most difficult task is to reveal his identity to Svetlana Nazarova, the woman he loves. He drives Olga's orange sports car to Svetlana's apartment, struggling with the unfamiliar controls and the attention the car attracts. Inside, protected from observation by the apartment's defenses, he tells Svetlana that he is only inhabiting Olga's body. Svetlana's reaction is immediate and violent: she slaps him, accusing him of eavesdropping on her private conversations with Olga, and then bursts into tears. The scene exposes the deep emotional wound between them—Anton's fear of loving a woman destined to become a Great Sorceress, and Svetlana's frustration with his emotional distance. She rails against his cowardice, calling him a "spineless wimp," but eventually sobs in his arms. The encounter forces Anton to confront the inevitable future: Svetlana will soon outgrow him in power, and their love, like cut flowers, is already dying.

The Escape and the Hunt

Later, when the Day Watch corners Anton in the Maharajah restaurant after the murder of a Dark Magician, he uses Olga's body to escape. He punches Zabulon in the stomach, sweeps his legs, and dashes outside, running down Pokrovka Street as the Dark Magician fires Shahab's Lash—a killing spell—at him. A passing driver, Maxim, stops his silver Toyota and rescues Anton, who is still in Olga's form. Anton later realizes that Maxim is the Maverick, the rogue Light Magician he has been hunting. The body swap, which was meant to protect Anton, instead places him at the scene of a new murder and deepens the trap. He eventually meets Olga in the Novoslobodskaya metro station, where they reverse the swap by invoking the boss's true name, Gesar, and returning the gift of exchanged bodies. The process is painful, leaving Anton's muscles twitching and his ears ringing, but he is finally back in his own form, ready to face the final confrontation.