Page 155 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

Amelia took a deep breath. “Am I allowed to ask a question?”

“I would expect nothing less.”

“Why did my family die?”

“So you could know pain and suffering. They will be essential to your journey.”

That’s it? Amelia could not believe it. “So… they died for me?” If that was true, she had no desire to live anymore. Not at their expense.

“I can sense what you are getting at, thus I will rephrase – they volunteered for you. If it had not been for you, they would also never have existed.”

She stared into the thick white fog. ‘Patience, little seeker. Sometimes you just need to sit back and observe quietly.’ This was not one of those times.

“Why am I having visions of other people’s memories? Did the Oracle give them to me?”

“Some of them, she did.”

“Those of Mikhail?”

“Ah, yes, Mikhail… Something about him calls to you, does it not?” There was a pause, but before Amelia could decide what to make of his words, the Creator’s tone became stern once more. “Amelia, the clock is ticking. You are at a crossroads and you have to choose your path, because now it is time for your answer. Tell me, Amelia, do you want to live, or do you wish to die?”

“I’ll live.”

I’ll live!

“Then I have a task for you.”

The words echoed in her ears. The white disappeared.

She was regaining sensation in her body, floating in the air… She would fall as soon as Katherine let go of her hand.

“I will wait for you!” Katherine yelled. Her face twisted with dread when their hands untangled.

Then Amelia fell. She knew already that when she met the ground, she wouldn’t die, but burst into a billion pieces, held together only by her skin. And it would hurt a lot.

The seconds before the end were the most exciting moments in her life. Why, as she neared her death, did she feel reborn?

I thought I chose to live…

Three hundred and twenty, three hundred and ten, three… Counting. Counting kept her sane. It wasn’t that different from anything else in her life. No different from an exam coming up, her next goal, another challenge.

Her body hit the ground. The scream that burst out of her soul halted before it could be heard. There was nothing left inside her body to release it. She had crashed into pieces. Only, very soon, she would put herself together once more.

Someone stood above her. A beautiful face, a pronounced jaw, ice-cold eyes. Danger.

This time, however, he wasn’t here to kidnap her. He was here to save her.

Her. Amelia.

But also…the Oracle.

In the reality of her room, Amelia was vaguely aware of something changing in the air. A realisation floated in her mind. I’m seeing the Oracle’s memories… But right as it did, another flash hit her.

She didn’t know how long she had lain on the ground. When she regained her vision, darkness surrounded her. No, not just darkness – the abyss.

Then she sensed the end was close when she woke up in a Hospital room, hooked to machines. The clacking of a pair of heels counted down her last seconds. When the noise stopped, her time was over. The poison spread through her arteries, blessing her cells with the longed-for death.

Gea.

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