Page 34 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

Yeah, I’m absolutely not insane.

“I owe you an apology. I did not warn Mikhail that you were not ready.”

What?

“My body has not been in great shape lately. I forget a lot.”

Who are you?

“I have not introduced myself, have I? They call me the Oracle.”

You’re what Mikhail was talking about?

“I am. The Oracle.”

Is that kind of like the Pope?

“It is much more. I am the Oracle of the entire world.”

Amelia laughed in her sleep. Or was she crying? Was she asleep?

“Did I say something funny?”

How are you in my head?

“Telepathically.”

Yeah, that explains it all…

“You think you are going insane?”

Aren’t I?

“No. It is time to open your eyes.”

I don’t want to.

“You are sleeping in a pool of your own vomit.”

You’re lying.

“Stop acting like a child.”

And what am I supposed to do instead?

“Pull yourself together.”

Amelia woke up to the sound of clinking dishes. She heard steps approaching but was too exhausted to open her eyelids or care.

She remembered her stomach turning and fainting. Her fingers traced up and down her body, even though she’d already checked for wounds and claw marks. Those bullets had felt real, and so had the lethal claws of the woman that had cut through flesh as if it were mere paper. The agony had been unbearable, but it wasn’t her flesh that had taken the hits.

It was his.

A door opened and closed; a key turned in a lock. Whoever had been here, was already gone.

Thunder struck and startled her. Outside, the rain was pouring, hitting against the windows, whispering secrets.

‘Patience, little seeker. Sometimes you just need to sit back and observe quietly.’

---