Page 159 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“She slipped away from me in Radiology,” his wife Helena added.

“A human? A human is the Oracle!” Platinum chimed in, starting a wave of exclamations and questions.

Mikhail tuned them out, his attention focused on Amelia, whose expression indicated she wasn’t feeling well.

He had to do something.

He was the leader.

And this was Amelia.

He’d finally figured it out.

***

Amelia was lost. The energy in the room was too demanding and exhausting. She had made a grave mistake, thinking that she could handle the immortal world. Surrounded by so many creatures, all she craved was to hide and relieve herself of this hurricane of visions that engulfed her every time she attempted to see something specific. Or something, period.

After waking up from her encounter with the Creator, an idea had dawned on her, or maybe a wish, an impulse to speak. To creatures. The words reverberated in her head. The image of each individual was like a picture in her memory.

Following that, the torture began. Faces, voices, scenes, emotions, and sensations merged into one another and changed in a fraction of a second, excruciating to her senses. How could she complete her duties as the Oracle, if she couldn’t distinguish the different events from each other and every struggle to do so nearly killed her, mentally and physically?

At last, she had discovered she could turn it off. Just as she had conjured up the dreams about Mikhail, she could summon or dismiss her visions. Only, the dreams had come clearly and one by one, whereas everything now was a mixture of hazy events. Hundreds. Thousands. All at once.

‘You can do it, little seeker.’ She would survive this, and once she had a chance to reach a secure and isolated location, she would figure out her next steps.

Amelia still wondered why she had accepted the Creator’s deal. It wasn’t just the threat to her life that had swayed her decision. It was the realisation that her family had sacrificed everything for her to be in this position. And at that moment, a surge of warmth had spread through her chest. For years, she had thought pursuing medicine was her way of making amends for surviving when her loved ones hadn’t. But perhaps fulfilling the Oracle’s task was her true path to redemption.

Not that it was an easy task. Because those visions she was supposed to experience? Well, they didn’t work.

She straightened her spine, remembering Mikhail was in the room. She couldn’t focus on him just now – not when his mere presence drew all her attention. This time, she had something bigger to accomplish, something beyond the two of them. And she would sort everything out. But not before completing her task and sharing those first words she had received after waking up.

The room continued to fill with ever-rising and ever-louder chatter. The creatures talked over each other and bombarded Amelia with questions she could not answer. Mikhail had once told her Council members were like a pack of wolves who needed a steady hand and a firm voice to keep them under control. She had imagined him as that firm, leading voice, maintaining a tight rein over everyone else. But when she darted a glance at him, all he did was sit back in his chair and watch, a tortured expression on his features.

Amelia averted her eyes from his once more and tuned in to the discussion.

“I didn’t know the position of the Oracle could be inherited,” a young woman said. “Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. Alex Volk, healer and scientist.”

“Not many creatures do,” a man to Amelia’s left chimed in. Dark eyes, striking features, expensive male perfume, low voice… For some inexplicable reason, the hairs on her neck stood up. “My name is Constantine. Necromancer. I’ve been waiting to meet the new Oracle for a long while.”

On instinct, Amelia looked at Mikhail – he was clenching his fists on the table, his gaze intense. Still, he had not yet moved. Did he expect her to silence everyone on her own?

“Oracle, do you know who is behind the murders at the Hospital?” asked a black-haired woman with shaggy pink highlights.

“Shut up, witch! There are far more important questions we should ask the Oracle. Like, how do we prevent the ageing?” a beauty with platinum-blonde hair spoke up.

“Damn it! Again with this?” the surgeon yelled.

“Show some respect, creatures!”

“Anything about the Changes?”

“I have a personal question…”

The redhead woman Amelia had seen around the hospital addressed Mikhail. “And you were aware this whole time, but didn’t inform the Council?”

The hostility in her words stung. Amelia wanted to tell her that nobody knew or could have foreseen this, but she found no strength to rise above the noise.

Mikhail’s deep voice cut through the commotion, his tone commanding silence. “Silence, creatures!” He rose to his feet, his expression transformed from tortured to stern. His eyes gleamed with a golden intensity, reminiscent of her childhood dreams. Amelia’s heart swelled with a sudden ache.

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