Page 6 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

Amelia watched them go, biting her lip. Why was a stranger taking responsibility for her actions?

She stepped out of her car on shaky legs and scanned the surroundings for the two men. With each passing second, air filled her lungs and slowed her heartbeats, but the strong feeling of danger wouldn’t leave her.

“Are you all right?”

She turned to the left and the stranger was next to her. The bald man was nowhere in sight.

Amelia focused on the man before her, taking in his features. Up close, those lips were far from the single fine trait on his face. In fact, everything about him was outstanding. His jawline and chiselled cheekbones radiated power, and maybe some arrogance. The hooded shape of his eyes made her think of dark secrets and mystery. And was the colour of his irises green or…?

She caught herself staring, so she cleared her throat. “I’m fine. But where…?”

“Where is that prick? He apologises for parking so close to you and blocking you in. He hopes that this will compensate you for the trouble he caused.” The man shoved a few banknotes in her hand.

She gaped at the money. “But it was my fault. I should be paying him.”

The stranger’s jaw tensed. “Well, he doesn’t think so.”

“Thank you for your help, but it was unnecessary. I don’t want this money. In fact…” She remembered the other car she’d crashed into, which had driven away, and looked for it down the street.

“If you’re wondering about the poor guy, you hit…” He cleared his throat. “It was me. I parked around the corner and came back to check up on you.”

That was embarrassing.

“Oh, no! I don’t know what got into me. I’m truly sorry.”

He waved his hand in dismissal. “Don’t worry about it. It was high time I got rid of that pile of bolts.”

“Here, you should have the money.” She shoved it back into his hand, but he refused to take it.

Amelia narrowed her eyes. She’d hit his car and instead of being angry, he had rescued her from the other man she’d also hit, given her money as compensation, and stuck around to check if she was all right. To top it off, she couldn’t recall a time when she’d met a more handsome man. Suspicious, indeed.

As if to confirm this, he said, “No need. The Oracle sent me.”

“Oracle?”

The man stared at her persistently with an indecipherable expression and eyes that were the most unusual colour. He took a small piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it over to her. “In case you ever need help again.”

Amelia glanced at the business card. “Mikhail Korovin, The Hospital,” she read out loud, raising her eyebrows. There was a phone number, too.

“Nice to meet you,” he said.

“You as well. I’m Amelia.” After another glance at the card, she asked, “What hospital?”

She could have sworn his eyes turned greener at her question. Instead of answering, he said, “Goodbye, Amelia. Take care.” With that, he left.

“Well… Bye?” Amelia was no less confused than at the beginning of their encounter, but he was already too far away for her to ask him more questions.

She got back into her car, still bewildered and clutching the business card and the money in one hand.

3

Viktor leaned against the table, crossing his hands over his dirty lab coat. He brushed away the wayward strand of raven-black hair that fell in front of his face and squinted with displeasure, deepening the wrinkles around his eyes.

“Bring me more wolfsbane.”

“More? You’ll kill him, Vik!” Alex protested.

Viktor raised his eyebrows at her. She had long reached immortality, but would always be the orphaned child he had taken under his wing in the mid-twentieth century. Throughout the years, her stubbornness had blossomed along with her beauty.

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