Page 152 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

She sighed. “A stranger gave it to me while I was in the city.”

“You were in the city?” Viktor barked.

She swallowed hard. “At The Seven Horses, to be exact.”

“When? And why don’t I know about this?” Viktor’s voice rose in anger with every word. “Who were you even with?”

Mikhail made a gesture for him to shut up. “I want to know what the girl has to say.”

“She disobeyed my orders!”

Alex scowled at him. “You can’t boss me around!”

“Get out,” Mikhail ordered Viktor.

The lycanthrope gaped. “What…”

“Get. Out.” Mikhail’s eerily calm voice made even Diana shiver. “Your personal issues with Alex can be cleared up later.”

“Fine. So be it.” Viktor stood up, ramrod straight, and stomped out the door.

After his furious exit, Mikhail said to Alex, “Your stepfather isn’t here. Speak.”

“Ten days ago, I went down to the city with a group of creatures from the Hospital.” At first, she was a little tense, but she relaxed more with every word. “We went to The Seven Horses where a lot of immortals get together. I’m not very good at dancing, so I just chilled at the bar, listening to the music. Then a woman sat down on the chair beside me, ordered a glass of wine and started reading this book.” Alex pointed to the black tome in her hands. “After thirty or so minutes, she finished her glass, left the book at the bar and disappeared. I thought she’d gone to the bathroom. But after three hours, she still hadn’t returned, so I couldn’t restrain myself… Nobody was watching, so I flipped through the book. It grabbed my attention instantly and I… I stole it.”

“Was she immortal?” Mikhail asked.

“Yeah. Everyone in there is.”

“What species?”

“I’m not sure. There were so many smells in there… It was almost impossible to tell them apart. It’s not like it’s written on their foreheads. But I thought I smelt a lycanthrope.”

“Do you remember what she looked like?”

“Nothing unusual. Long brown hair, black shirt, jeans, sneakers. Actually, most women at the bar were wearing dresses and heels, but not her. She sat there as if she didn’t belong.”

Constantine cleared his throat, breaking his silence. “Am I the only one who thinks it’s strange that a woman walks into a bar to read a book?”

“Why would it be strange?” Mikhail asked.

The necromancer smiled wide. “My friend, when was the last time you visited a nightclub? Not counting the short stay at The Witch.”

“I don’t know.”

“Once in the last hundred years?” Constantine suggested, but Mikhail shook his head. “It’s overcrowded and loud – certainly not the best place to read a book.”

“And the lighting is horrible, even for supernatural vision.” Alex pointed two fingers at her face.

“It was foisted on her!” Diana exclaimed.

Constantine inclined his head. “That’s what I think.”

“Are you saying that woman targeted me?” Alex’s eyes widened. “She expected me to take the book?”

“You were probably the only creature in that bar who might show interest in a forgotten book,” Constantine said. “And we’re supposed to think there’s this woman who can’t tell the difference between a library and a club, so she accidentally forgets her book right next to you? What are the odds?”

“Her brother couldn’t determine these men’s species?” Mikhail said. “And the drawing matches the description of a hypothetical eighth kind, whose existence we only know of from the planted book?” His gaze met Constantine’s until they reached a silent conclusion.

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