Page 158 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“What about the vial’s contents?” Jaguar asked. “You said it should allow the vampire to unlock her secondary form, even though she is of the New Generation.”

They had got to the part that worried him most. The substance worked.

“There is no ‘should.’ It works. The vampire drank it and unlocked her secondary form,” Mikhail replied. “If you’re wondering whether it’s a forever kind of thing, it isn’t. We checked. The regeneration was restored only for the time needed for a complete first transformation. We have no idea what the principle is, however.”

How long would it take them to figure out what his words hinted at?

Not long, it seemed.

Jaguar clued in first. “This means that whoever these creatures are, reptilians, eighth species or whatever, they know how to fix the issues with our regeneration. Meaning…they know what is disrupting it.”

Mikhail nodded. “I am considering the possibility that they are responsible for it.”

“Strange shit!” Vladislav slammed his fist onto the table.

Those had been Mikhail’s exact thoughts as he’d witnessed Diana transform. For the umpteenth time, he forced back the urge to leave this meeting and go to Amelia.

“We need to find them and torture them until they spill everything!” Lyla Lee exclaimed with enthusiasm.

For once, Mikhail couldn’t help but agree with her. “We’ll start with The Seven Horses and—”

Someone knocked on the door.

Mikhail followed the sound to the entrance, at the far end of the room. The other creatures also turned their heads that way in confusion. All twenty members were around the table, including the two additional guests. They expected nobody else.

Knock-knock.

Mikhail held his breath without being sure why.

Knock-knock.

“Someone open the fucking door, damn it!” Vladislav shouted, running a nervous hand over his wrinkled-up forehead.

Mikhail obviously wasn’t the only one who felt the inexplicable tension.

Knock-knock.

Whoever was at the other end of the door, they were getting impatient.

Diana’s chair creaked against the floor. Under the stares of the Council members, she strolled over to the door, opened it, and stepped back.

“Thank you,” a female voice said.

Mikhail’s heart somersaulted in his chest and dropped to his shoes. Amelia walked in with a calm stride. A million thoughts ran through his mind for a fraction of a second. The unexpected visit in the hall, the familiar features of her face. She was divine, but tense, sad…

Amelia stood between Diana and some other vampire, whose name Mikhail couldn’t recall at this instance. She looked around the table at the creatures to the right, then to the left, then to the far end. Her gaze finally rested on him.

Mikhail stared into her blue irises, expecting to perceive the darker centre that brightened at the corners, creating the illusion of burning flames. He saw them, Amelia was still in there, but he identified something else as well…

“Hello.” She waved at them in greeting. “I am Amelia, the new Oracle.”

The voice was hers, Amelia’s, but a bit softer, prettier… With a hint of uncertainty?

Amelia took another look at the others, who were motionless as statues. Mikhail himself found it hard to breathe. He dug into his mind to find the right words, but his lips refused to move.

Lyla Lee giggled. “Lady, is that some kind of joke?”

“The Oracle died, goddamn it! These types of jokes are completely inappropriate!” Nyavolsky exclaimed before gaping at her. “Of course! I was wondering where I knew you from. I gave you a check-up on the nineteenth floor. Only you were human then.”

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