Page 10 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“Hello, precious.” Viktor smiled at her and, despite being famous for her hard-as-platinum heart, not even Platinum could resist his warmth. She smiled back.

Viktor might be a foster parent, but he was also a charming man. Before he’d become a scientist, he’d been a warrior. Before he’d become a healer, he’d been a murderer. Traces of his past still hovered somewhere under his kind features and soft voice. Or so he liked to think.

His thoughts circled back to the twins. They were good kids, but his extensive solicitude didn’t seem to do them any favours. It was selfish to deprive them of something so primal as the right to see and understand the world beyond these walls, to taste foreign cultures and meet different creatures, have fun, hurt and be hurt, love and suffer from love, face danger and survive it. But what could he do? Life was complicated these days. People evolved – they created, learnt, sought. Human technologies developed every year, scientific knowledge increased, and the hunger for unveiling the secrets of the world grew day in and day out. The time would come when humanity would discover the existence of immortal creatures. And then… What would save them from turning into precious trophies to be studied and be experimented upon, if they could no longer recover as fast?

Mikhail’s voice snapped him from his thoughts. “Welcome, all. Let’s start with the Blood Bank issue. One of you informed me earlier this week that there was trouble.” Korovin leaned back in his chair.

“We do have a problem – with the fucking Blood Bank.” Vladislav Nyavolski, a vampire and the chief Hospital surgeon, was not one to contain his wrath. “‘Cause I discovered that some creatures are snatching blood supplies from the Bank and selling them in town!”

“Oh, no. That’s a problem for the Blood Bank to solve, not us,” the red-headed nymph Elisanda Grace chimed in as the chief of the Hospital’s two Intensive Care Units. “As I’ve said many times before, that department needs a much tougher hand to oversee it. Maybe then they wouldn’t be misplacing blood every month.”

Vladislav ran his fingers through his black hair, which had started to turn grey around his temples. “When I need blood and I can’t have it ‘cause it’s disappeared into thin air, it is my problem. Grace is right, though. It’s total chaos over there, nobody’s supervising…”

Mikhail was quiet for a moment, tapping his fingers on the table. “You’re saying that someone is stealing blood and selling it?”

“That’s what I heard. Explains why I’ve got so much trouble in the operating unit lately.”

Dimitri Kolentsov, another vampire working with Elisanda, said, “What about that dump, The Seven Horses? They say you can find anything there, from alcohol and drugs to sex and organs. If blood supplies are disappearing, my bet is that’s where they end up. Nikolay owns it – they call him ‘the Righteous’.”

The usually quiet lycanthrope Braba joined in at that. “That piece of shit is still alive?”

“Yup. According to some, the Righteous lent a witcher some money three years ago, then he blackmailed him into paying a higher interest rate. The witcher lost it and cut off the Righteous’ hand in retaliation. It grew back, of course, but we all know how regeneration works these days… So, nobody calls him the Righteous anymore, they call him Babyhand”—Dimitri wiggled his fingers in the air—“if you catch my drift…”

Some creatures around the table erupted in laughter, but Korovin’s expression darkened. “Do we have a suspect for the missing blood?”

Vladislav shook his head. “No. I tried chatting Mrs. Sibel up, but she refused to admit there was a problem.”

“The Blood Bank needs a new supervisor. That witch is insane,” Elisanda said.

Viktor agreed, although he wasn’t happy about it. Mrs. Sibel was an extravagant witch who didn’t have the capacity to run a busy department like the Blood Bank. Despite this well-known fact, he had a feeling Mikhail was probably keeping her there out of respect since she had been one of the first healers to join the Hospital’s staff.

“We need to investigate further,” Viktor suggested. “Send someone to check up on the Righteous, and find out where he’s getting his blood supplies from.”

Constantine di Angelo, the only necromancer on the Council, shifted in his seat. His six-foot-seven frame attracted everyone’s attention. “I’m going into the city tonight. I can do it.”

“All right. Dig out who his dealers are. If you discover organs in his possession, cut off his other hand, too. I’ve warned him that I don’t want any illegal business close to Hospital territory. Especially the type that can spark human interest.” Mikhail’s gaze swept over the remaining Council members. “Anything else?”

Kaliope Gazis, one of the witches, said, “Considering the thinning of our ranks, mainly because of the Changes and low birth rates, I find it necessary to protect every single immortal creature. Would you agree, Mikhail?”

“Undoubtedly. That is our main goal here, Kaliope.”

She tapped her black lips with her index finger. “And threatening the life of a creature is a crime?”

“Of course.”

“Then I’m officially informing the Council that I will soon eliminate a group of humans. It will look like an accident.” The witch scanned each member around the table with her dark eyes. “I want your support, in case the Tribunal presses charges against me after the fact.”

Lyla Lee, another witch, gave out a screech. “The Tribunal! Fuck those bastards! Our lives were so much sweeter without them and their endless lines of questioning. ‘Why did you do it? Was it really necessary? Did anyone see you?’ As if I have to explain myself to them!”

Kaliope nodded in approval. “Precisely. We must do what we need to protect our own, and that’s the type of situation I’m dealing with. A clan of young witches is being constantly terrorised by a group of local bandits. The humans don’t know what the girls are. They target them for other reasons, but it’s getting out of hand.”

“The little minxes are attracting lustful eyes with their naked dances in the moonlight, huh?” Platinum shot out one of her usual snarky comments.

“Can’t the witches just bewitch the humans targeting them?” someone asked.

“As I said, the witches are inexperienced and still mortal; their magic is weak, thus they’re practically defenceless.”

“There has to be another way.”

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