Page 39 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

Zacharia perked up. “I thought they weren’t real?”

“They are real as hell in the human nightclubs. Send over the footage; I want to see that portal. Meanwhile, I’ll ask around.” With that, the necromancer hung up.

Zacharia wasted no time and loaded the news column about the dead politician on the computer screen. “Which brings us to this – Kaliope’s mystery admirer, lover, whatever he was. Police are saying the case is closed. We’ll hardly be able to get more details without attracting attention. He’s not just a regular dude, but a politician.”

Mikhail gave the article a quick read, then leaned back in his chair. “Convenient death, too…”

“You know what I think? He had the bad luck of being with Kaliope when someone decided to off her. They killed her in front of him and he got so scared, he had a heart attack. They cleaned up after themselves, took the witch’s body, and sent her head to us.”

“Possible,” Mikhail agreed. “But what was she doing with him in the first place?”

Zacharia smirked. “Eh, don’t make me talk to you about the birds and the bees… Besides, it seems highly unlikely that this mortal had anything to do with the portal stuff.” Mikhail said nothing. “What? You think the minister has something to do with this whole thing? He decapitated her, cleaned up after himself, and as a reward called over a hooker, who gave him a heart attack from all the fucking? If that’s true, then karma really is a bitch, my friend.”

Later that evening, Zacharia was relaxing on a couch in Tina’s apartment in the city.

“Have you ever been with a human?” he asked as she passed him a bottle of beer.

“Of course.” She settled next to him on the couch. “Why do you ask?”

Zacharia drank half his bottle in one big gulp. “I’m just surprised that immortal women can fall for mortal men.”

“Who knows…” she mused. “There’s something hot about knowing you have the physical advantage over a man when he thinks he can control you.”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “You don’t like being controlled?”

“I like diversification. A change in the roles, on occasion.”

Tina grabbed the bottle from his hand and placed it on the table by the couch. After that, the riddle surrounding Kaliope and her mortal lover’s deaths vanished from Zacharia’s mind as he focused on solving carnal enigmas instead.

14

The surgical unit occupied both wings of the ninth floor, with twenty operating rooms in constant use.As head of the department, Vladislav Nyavolski took pleasure in monitoring his subordinates up close. He was always present to lecture anyone who messed up, especially those he deemed less experienced among his staff, and occasionally others as well. His tone was often far from pleasant, but every bit of knowledge or criticism he imparted was for the good of the medical practice. And, unlike most of the creatures who strolled up and down the corridors only so they could have a place to live and feel protected, he valued his job from the bottom of his heart.

Vladislav ordered the medical textbooks and magazines in a neat pile on his desk, wiped his computer monitor, blew off an invisible dust bunny from the keyboard, fished out a blue ballpoint pen from his wooden pencil holder and made changes to the schedule for the surgeons.

Many creatures still lived as they would in mediaeval times, but not him. Vladislav was in step with everything new, regardless of its creator and it didn’t bother him to work with human inventions.

A faint knock on the door distracted him. “Come in.”

A witch who worked in some department or other stepped into his office. “Doctor Nyavolski, I apologise for interrupting, but something urgent came up and I need to leave early today. I spoke to Michelle. She’ll cover my shift.” The witch stared at the floor, shifting her feet. “Again, I apologise.”

Vladislav wondered why the hell she thought it necessary to bother him with such insignificant matters. On the other hand, she was pretty, addressed him as doctor, which very few creatures deemed mandatory in this hospital, and she’d apologised several times.

“That’s all right, dear. Go.” He dismissed her with a hand gesture.

Over two hundred years ago, when Mikhail Korovin had offered him a position at the Hospital, Vladislav was nothing more than a useless vampire without any direction or purpose in life. He used to spend his days traversing the streets in search of lonesome people whose blood he could feast on. Sometimes he had taken part in arranged fights against lycanthropes and other creatures. Everybody thought he’d have no chance and yet, more often than not, he’d walk out as the winner, leaving the audience astounded. He might not have had the strength of a wolf, but he had the aggression of a tiger.

But in the operating room – his OR – he found his peace. His work as a doctor channelled his enormous energy towards something worthwhile. His planned workflow, the disciplined team and the immaculate performance were all things he cherished. Keeping on top of the strict schedule was Vladislav’s daily motivation.

His other reason for waking up was his wife, Helena. Sometimes her nudging was a gentle push, but other times it felt more like a kick in the nuts. And there were those moments – like this morning – when the motivation had come in the form of a kiss and a pair of nimble hands busying themselves with his enormous erection. Oh, he was well known for his gifts. No wonder people said that he was indecently endowed in more than one way.

Nostalgia for the good old bachelor days stirred, but the image of Helena, with her velvety skin and fire-red hair, quickly sobered him up. That very same hair would spread across his face and chest while she rode him at a heavenly pace, and when it was all over, she’d rest her naked body against his and fall asleep, leaving the red flames to engulf and nearly suffocate him. That memory alone was enough to erase all others.

He didn’t miss the olden days one bit, he realised, like he always did when he thought about his past. He had long ago had his share.

Just as he was finishing the schedule, his work phone buzzed again.

“Yes.” Annoyance filtered through his voice.

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