Page 38 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“How high?” the manticore asked.

Zacharia shrugged. “No clue. But I’ve also heard that nowadays no witch in her right mind would pay such a price just to open a portal.”

“And yet, someone agreed. There are a lot of witches at the Hospital – maybe one of them knows something.”

“Toying around with the space-time continuum is a dark deed. Nobody talks about it openly, even among their own kin. As far as I know, our witches here are what you might consider modern.” The hybrid grinned at the word. “I doubt they keep in touch with the traditionalists.”

“I’ve heard about a division among the species.” Mikhail grabbed his phone. “Let’s talk to the expert.” He dialled up Constantine and put him on speaker. As soon as the necromancer picked up, he explained, “Zacharia has a theory to explain how Kaliope’s head arrived at the Hospital. The sucker behind it used a portal.”

“Portal? As in, teleportation?” The gravelly voice asked over the line.

“Right. Zacharia spotted something on the security footage. Someone quickly dropped the box through the portal and scrammed, before reappearing on the other side or whatever it’s called—”

“I am well aware of how a portal works. But I doubt that’s what happened.”

“Why?” Zacharia joined in.

“I imagine you know that only a witch – and a powerful one, at that – can open a portal. Creatures from all species pay them for this ‘job’. But have you ever asked yourselves why the witches who open portals are so few, despite the heaps of riches this might bring them? And why they themselves don’t use portals?”

“I haven’t concerned myself with witches, nor their portals.”

Mikhail’s sour comment urged Constantine to explain. “That’s all well and good, my friend, but in this case, the devil is in the details. Most of the witches don’t want to pay a double price for opening and using a portal.”

“A double price?”

“Yes. The witch pays a price for the portal, and the person who passes through the portal also pays a price.”

“To the witch?” Zacharia added.

Constantine chuckled. “Well, yes, of course, to the witch. She can ask anything of a client – their youth, eyes, firstborn child, whatever the hell she can think of.”

“I’ve heard of such deals,” Mikhail noted.

“But that’s not all. The customer pays the witch but also needs to settle his bill with the Higher Powers. Something like a thank you for being granted the ability to move through space and time.”

“And what’s the price for that privilege?” the manticore asked.

“Something that nobody takes seriously. A part of the soul.”

“Just a part?” Zacharia chimed in. “Doesn’t sound too bad.”

“You have no idea, brother. Because… For what shall it profit a creature, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”

Mikhail knitted his brows. “What?”

Constantine sighed. “Why do I bother to wax poetic? My point is, passing through a portal is an expensive endeavour. Despite that, I’ve heard a lot of stories about creatures who were ready to pay the price.” He was quiet for a moment. “However, this is the first I’m hearing of someone opening a portal into the present. A portal opens to the past, to return to someone whose death you can’t overcome. Or to the future, if you have troubles in your present and need to find a solution. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I’ve never heard of anyone who’s done it, just so they can hop over to London or New York the quick way.”

Mikhail frowned at the phone. “And yet, this portal was clearly opened in the present.”

“This is very strange, brother… but if you are right, surely there aren’t many creatures that have just gone through a portal or witches that are currently willing to open one. Witches in regular clans don’t usually discuss these things openly—” A loud honk interrupted Constantine’s speech, followed by a string of colourful curse words. “Sorry, guys, this fucker cut me off on the highway.”

“Going somewhere?” Mikhail asked.

“The seaside.”

“It’s three in the morning.”

Constantine laughed. “I have three mermaids waiting for me.”

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