Page 129 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

Alex shrugged. “He’s been like that ever since your little trip to Italy.”

Great. He had feared as much, but there was unfortunately nothing he could do about it. He went up to Volk’s bedroom and barged in without knocking.

Viktor was lounging on an armchair, head thrown back in ecstasy, pants to his ankles. Kneeling between his legs was a woman – all Mikhail could see of her was her straw-like hair, and her head bobbing up and down.

Fuck. He really should have knocked.

At the sound of his footsteps, she stopped in her endeavours and tossed him a glance over her shoulder. Viktor lifted his head, arching an eyebrow at Mikhail.

“It’ll cost you more if there’s two of you,” the woman said. “But I wouldn’t mind, handsome.”

“You’re done here.” Mikhail pointed at the door, then barked at Viktor, “And you – get dressed.”

The blonde sent a quizzical look Viktor’s way.

“You can go, dear.” The lycanthrope dismissed her with a wince.

“No return policy.” She covered herself up with her discarded clothes from the floor. On her way out, she brushed past Mikhail and whispered, “You’re missing out, you know…”

Mikhail waited until the door closed behind her and Viktor had pulled up his pants and zipped himself up. “You brought yourself a hooker? Here?”

The lycanthrope shook his head, displeased. “Yes. You just cost me two hundred bucks – I paid her in advance. And would you chill out? She’s a witch. Wipe that condemning look off your face, too. I’m not the only one who resorts to such pleasures here.”

Mikhail forced himself to take a deep breath. Losing control would not be in either of their best interests. “Viktor, have you transformed since the incident in Alberobello?”

“No.” Viktor’s tone suggested he felt insulted, and yet Mikhail couldn’t be sure if he was lying.

“Did any Tribunal agents drop by to see you?”

Viktor laid back on the messy bedsheets. “You mean the rat who’s been sniffing around lately?” He mocked, but Mikhail didn’t find anything about the agent funny.

“That’s the one.”

“He’s been ignoring me so far.”

Good. If Agent Kane wasn’t snooping around Viktor, he probably didn’t know about their rendezvous with the witches in Italy.

“If you do talk to him, under no circumstance mention anything about Amelia, the portal, and everything that happened in Alberobello,” Mikhail said.

“Damn it, my friend! You’re insulting me by thinking it’s even necessary to make that comment.”

Mikhail wasn’t concerned about Viktor willingly sharing information. If news spread of their role in the melee in Italy, he, too, would suffer severe repercussions. And the lycanthrope had a good survival instinct, after all. The problem was that if he was, as Mikhail suspected, close to a state of Vaka Hara, his mind was more easily distracted, making his body more susceptible to carnal desires. Then, any cunning person – say, sent over and paid for by a certain Tribunal agent – could wield their body to manipulate him into revealing his deepest secrets. And the fool would do it, without even realising it.

But if Agent Kane hadn’t questioned him yet, he’d have no reason to suspect Viktor’s altered mind state, and therefore he wouldn’t have a reason to send any hookers to bait him.

Or maybe Mikhail was wrong about all of it. Maybe Viktor hadn’t reached the state of Vaka Hara, and his rebellious act was nothing more than some strange side effect of his turning after the long abstinence. In which case, they had nothing to worry about.

Mikhail decided to lay his cards on the table. “Vik, I’m baffled. I feel like this is so much bigger than it seems.”

Viktor’s expression sobered. “The murder attempt on the kid?”

“Yes. I know it’s connected to the other two murders… And to Amelia.”

Instead of laughing it off or acting weird, Viktor’s gaze turned grave, his eyes locking onto him with intensity. Mikhail bit back a sigh of relief. He needed Viktor on his side. Aside from Zacharia, he was the only one who knew about Amelia, and his brilliant intellect allowed him to see connections where others couldn’t. Perhaps he could find a logical link between a mortal human, the Oracle, the other murders…perhaps even Amelia’s vision.

Mikhail hesitated. Could he trust his friend enough to tell him about the vision?

Just as he opened his mouth to mention it, Viktor beat him to it. “If you’re correct, there has to be a connection between Kaliope Gazis’ decapitated head, the chambermaid Mary Clare, and Dave, right? Three immortal creatures. If we dig deep enough, we’ll find something – a common acquaintance, situation, who knows… But how do we match that to our dear human Amelia? Assuming she’s still human?”

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