Page 70 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“What happened to the other son?” Now she was as appalled as she was intrigued by this story.

“Callan was the youngest of all of Gord’s children. His life is a mystery because, unlike Ana and Sandir, he didn’t like to interact with either mortals or immortals. There’s almost no information about him anywhere… All I know is that, according to legend, he lived alone for many years in a fortress high up in the mountain. The only company he had were his two pets – a lion and a wolf. They sometimes prowled down to the villages and stole people who never returned. The few who saw the supernatural animals and stayed alive to tell the tale, claimed that the lion was black from head to toe, and on his back, he had two giant wings. The wolf was just as scary, with his enormous size and long sharp teeth like sabres. Probably neither of them actually existed and the animals were just Callan’s secondary forms. Unlike all others, he had two, so he’s believed to be the ancestor of manticores and lycanthropes.”

Shivers crept up and down her spine. “So, not everyone who can become… um… a lion, can also become a wolf?”

Dave threw her one of those are-you-an-alien looks again. “Nobody can turn into both! Except Callan. The locals believed that Callan was merciful, because he never sent the two beasts at the same time, so once he was a wolf, and the next time, a lion. Why he kidnapped people and creatures, though, nobody knows, but there are theories, including that he experimented on them… like Frankenstein, you know.”

She arched an eyebrow. “You know about Frankenstein?”

“Of course! I’m top of my class with Miss Susie. The other day, we had a maths test and I got the highest score!”

“You go to school?”

“All children in the Hospital go to school three times a week. Miss Susie’s the best! You remind me of her a little.” Dave smiled at Amelia again. “But she’s a witch, like Mum, and she taught me how to make potions. She even said I’m very talented because of the vampire perfume I invented. Not many witch children can cast spells before reaching immortality, you know.” He beamed with pride.

Amelia crossed her legs on the couch, suddenly uncomfortable. As much as she was fond of the boy, his last words had reminded her of his true nature. It was confusing. He was a… witcher, and yet he was a child.

The immortal creatures were creatures, and yet they were suffering from sicknesses like people.

Mikhail Korovin was a manticore, and he was…

Her heartbeat accelerated. She ignored it. “I’m really loving this story, and it’s helping distract me. Would you mind finishing it?”

“Oh, right!” Dave nodded. “Well, at some point, Callan also began living among humans, but kept his identity a secret, pretending to be a foreigner, a merchant or some other stuff. His death is as much a mystery as his life, to be honest. All the story says is that Callan was also killed by human hands. We don’t know how or why, but we do know that his end wasn’t any better than his brother’s or his sister’s, who were long gone by that time.” Story done, he pulled out a deck from his pocket. “Do you wanna play cards? Mum taught me to play poker when I was five.”

Amelia wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know how to play…”

“I’ll teach you!”

While Dave explained the rules, her mind wandered, and she struggled to pay attention.

Mikhail was a manticore, and he was…

As real as any other man could be.

Her belly warmed at the thought of him. God, was it possible that she was attracted to him?

He was intelligent, driven, handsome, and he was…

A beast, Amelia.

Had she lost her mind, seeing him as anything but the monster he’d shown her he was?

She stared at Dave, who was dealing the cards. He was a boy who resembled Sammy, but he was also a witcher and he could cast spells before reaching immortality.

A wave of panic went through her. Mikhail was as real as any other man, but he was not like any other man. For a short moment, she had forgotten his true self and had been charmed by his mask. His words, pleading for the salvation of his species, had deluded her. He might have presented himself as a saviour but he was still a beast, and she had no reason to trust that he would let her leave.

She swallowed hard, gazing at the boy. Not a boy – a witcher, Amelia.

That was when an idea formed in her head.

25

“Tell me about this vampire perfume of yours,” Amelia said a few hours later, after Dave had grown tired of the card game.

The boy was eager to explain. “Oh, it covers your true scent. Well, it doesn’t work if you’re already a vampire, but for all other species, it does the job.”

“Incredible. How did you do it?”

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