Page 11 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

Kaliope shook her head. “These human pieces of garbage don’t deserve to live! They’ve been grooming vulnerable girls into prostitution for years! Only now, they want these girls. It doesn’t matter if they’re human or not. It isn’t right.”

“Which reminds me”—Jaguar waved his hand—“did you hear the news?”

“What news?” Vladislav straightened up.

“Two Bulgarians, a billionaire couple, are wanted for bribing politicians. They’re suspected of trafficking contraband, drugs…”

“So?”

“They’re vampires.”

The room lit up with angry indignation.

“No way!”

“They can’t be that stupid!”

“But they are…”

“Those idiots are playing with fire!”

“Has the story been picked up by the mainstream newspapers, or is it in the local news only?”

“Authorities say they ran abroad. Bulgarian police must have moved fast, because Interpol already issued a Red Notice. It means they are internationally wanted fugitives.”

“Now that is something that truly threatens the immortal world…”

“This is serious.” Mikhail clenched his jaw. “I’ll call Presiyan and offer our help to the Tribunal to find the two Bulgarians before the humans do. They may still be in our territory. But let’s go back to Kaliope’s request for a second. The bandits threatening the witches – how many are there?”

The witch raised four fingers in the air.

“I suggest you deal with them some other way,” the manticore said.

“How, Mikhail?”

“Charm them. Make them switch businesses, leave the country, have them think they’re butterflies, I don’t know. Even if the girls can’t do magic, you can. And if the Tribunal find out you bewitched mortals, which is highly unlikely, it’ll be easier to get you off than it would be for flat-out murdering them.”

Kaliope frowned. “If these guys go away, others will take their place. Something horrid needs to happen to them, to serve as an example.”

“The Council cannot support murder. Not unless all other options are exhausted. It will not be put to a vote.”

Platinum slammed her palm on the table. “I agree. This is human business. We shouldn’t intervene.”

Kaliope winced but said nothing else.

When it was clear the issue was resolved, Elisanda fixed her cornflower blue eyes on their leader. “Mikhail, have you visited the Oracle again?”

His face remained impassive. “I have. She sent me on a wild goose chase through town. I came back empty-handed.”

Platinum tossed her long hair over her shoulder. “I expected nothing less.”

“Pity,” Elisanda said. “I was hoping for a fresh development.”

Vladislav made a puffing sound. “What development? The Oracle lost her marbles ages ago. Don’t you remember what she was like when we cut her open? I’ve no idea how she’s still breathing. How long has it been? Sixty years?”

Lyla’s demented laugh echoed through the room. Her curly hair looked wilder than ever, a sharp contrast to her haute couture sleek apparel. “Have I ever told you how, once, I asked the Oracle for advice? I wanted a nobleman to marry. You know what she said? She told me to go to the forest at noon and save the farmer’s daughter from bandits. So, I did, and you know what happened? The idiot married her! And I got nothing. I went back to the Oracle to tell her what happened, and she said, ‘I thought you wanted him to marry?’ I said, ‘Yes! But to me!’ She said I should wait and it would happen. I waited until one day, he just died. Since then, I don’t fall for her tricks.”

Viktor wasn’t a huge fan of the clairvoyant, but he knew one thing for sure. “The Oracle doesn’t waste words.”

---