Page 157 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

He lifted his gaze to Amelia and met her silver-white eyes. The Oracle’s irises.

She spoke smoothly, “If you call Mikhail now, he will dismiss the meeting and rush up here, prohibiting me from telling the creatures what I am allowed to. The chosen ones will not complete their missions. The defeated will stay forever lost and the corrupt will prevail.”

Zacharia put his phone back in his pocket. Like it or not, she sounded very convincing…

A thousand fucking devils!

49

The scrutiny of the creatures in the great hall was as heavy as if someone had forced the whole weight of the Hospital on Mikhail’s shoulders. The table was more crowded than ever, with every single member attending, plus the vampire Diana, perfectly fine and alive at the far end beside Constantine, and Alex, who was present due to the latest events and discoveries.

Mikhail announced that Diana had come to him with her brother’s story, according to which Kaliope Gazis’ head was delivered to the Hospital through a portal. Mikhail kept to himself the bit about the trip to Italy and the mass murder of the witches, in case any of the creatures around decided to report to Agent Kane what they discussed at the meeting.

Following that, Mikhail gave Diana the floor, and she filled in the blanks for the other Council members. Alex then took over and read excerpts from The Journal of C. – it was what they’d started calling the mysterious book. In contrast to Diana’s discomfort in front of such a large audience, Alex lapped up the attention she received.

When she got to the part with the eighth kind, the Council members shifted their gaze from Alex to Mikhail and back, with suspicion. They observed his reaction, expecting his opinion. And whatever he said or did not, they would judge him. Harshly. Unfortunately, there was nothing much he could offer. And every time he tried to focus, his mind drifted to Amelia.

He had long been used to venturing past what others considered moral, but this time he had damn near crossed his own boundaries. He didn’t trust himself to go back to her. Amelia was too enticing a conquest for his beast. For a very short moment, it hadn’t been Mikhail pressing tight against her. It had been an animal, chasing its primal desire to conquer. He’d wished to dominate her body and subdue her mind. He’d craved to punish her with an equal dose of pleasure and pain. And as much as Mikhail had been struggling to put sense into his other self, the demons from his past rebelled, fuelling his darkness.

Until he found the strength to fight it, he would only trust Zacharia with her.

But… He slouched in his chair, wincing. That same beast who had coveted her was now whispering inside his head for him to go back to her. And Mikhail was more than tempted to. This time, however, another strong compulsion overpowered both of them. It was the need to protect. To make sure Amelia was fine.

She had admitted she was starting to like him, because she had given a chance to the man behind the manticore. Why hadn’t he seen beneath the face of an attractive woman who had concealed something from him? She had more than one reason to distrust him. Besides, her visions must have confused her. What the hell had he expected? She wasn’t Valeria. Her goal was not to harm him. She was just scared of all the changes occurring to her.

Changes.

The word struck him. He had dismissed the idea once, but the signs were prominent. The right age, change in dietary preferences, acquiring new skills. These were all pointers of… A transformation.

Amelia could be in the process of turning into an immortal creature. And if he wasn’t mistaken, she was a New Generation creature, regardless of the species. If she attempted to unlock her secondary form, in case she had one, she would die. And that—the idea of her dying—

Stop winding yourself up!

Mikhail was just now realising what a grave mistake he had made. Maybe that was what the Oracle had meant. Maybe his role was to help Amelia with her transformation. He should warn her, and teach her how to handle her body’s changes.

“Mikhail, what do you think about that?” somebody asked him.

He searched around the table, noticing that Alex had stopped reading. He still had obligations here. He cleared his throat. “A theory about an eighth kind sounds implausible, but there are some strange coincidences between the vampire’s sketch and the book. I am inclined to pursue the topic further.”

“Mikhail, I’m sorry I have to say this, but I believe this to be a complete waste of time.” It was Elisanda. Of course. The woman seemed to have forgotten how to keep her mouth shut.

“I’ll go down to The Seven Horses and talk to the Righteous about those gentlemen,” Constantine offered.

Elisanda huffed. “As if he would talk to you, after you cut off his good hand.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I have my ways.”

The nymph raised her eyebrows. “Since you’ve got time on your hands… Why don’t we talk about how to improve our work here, at the Hospital, instead of wasting breath on fairy tales? Quite frankly, I don’t believe the box with the witch’s head was delivered through a portal, as this woman claims.” She threw a side look at Diana. “The stories about witches opening portals through time and space are just that. Stories.”

Mikhail tuned her out. If he was right, and the Oracle did intend for him to help Amelia with her transformation, then he needed to get to her…

But Elisanda’s next words drew his attention once more. “At the last Council meeting, we talked about reducing the number of patients.”

He definitely heard that. “You’re still on about that?”

“Yes. And as you’ll recall, many supported my idea.”

“This is not something I intend on discussing today.” He regretted his sharp reply the moment it passed his lips. He couldn’t lose control in front of these creatures.

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