Page 98 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures

“We’re New Generation.”

He let out a short laugh, the low vibrations full of irony.

“What?” Diana shifted in her seat, turning her upper body to him.

“I find it funny you think it necessary to enlighten me about your New Gen status.” He grinned. “When it’s written all over your face.”

“Pardon me?”

“Stalking a necromancer for days? You do realise that if I had caught you in Istanbul, I would have ripped your head off?”

The vampire raised her chin. “But you didn’t catch me.”

His lips curled. “Pure luck. Do you want to know a secret, dove? Mada has been blocking me for weeks. I couldn’t use my necromancer senses, otherwise I would have tracked you. A more experienced creature would never have chased a necromancer the way you did.”

“I—”

“You wonder what else a more experienced creature would never have done? Strolling down the street with a real blade and intruding on three immortal men, convinced that she has something to trade with them. We could have tied you up and tortured you until you spilt your dirtiest secrets. You were lucky again, because Mikhail deemed you insignificant.”

“Insignificant?” Her mouth gaped open. “I helped you with the witches!”

“You would have been as good as dead if Viktor hadn’t turned. You’re skilled with the sword, but you’ve been acting irrationally for the short period that I’ve known you and I’m not saying it to insult you. I, too, have done many stupid things during my first century, including going to Hell.”

“You’re calling me irrational?” Diana huffed. “I’ve survived by myself for years.”

“A true feat, considering what I’ve seen. All your actions have been ignited by emotions and the urge to find your brother. Your last mistake? Getting trapped with me. You didn’t even ask for proof that your brother was alive. You readily jumped in the car with me, led solely by emotions.”

She shook her head. “You know what? I don’t care what you think about me. Just take me to my brother. He’ll tell you all you want and then we’ll go our separate ways.”

“As you wish, dove,” he said, eyes fixed beyond the car’s dashboard.

There was one slight problem, however.

Her brother wasn’t going his separate way, because he wasn’t going anywhere at all. He would be dead come morning. And since, during their trip, Diana had proven she had no valuable insights about the situation they faced, Constantine would have no choice but to consume her brother’s soul.

***

It was child’s play for Constantine to navigate the night streets of Mersin. The link he had established with Diana’s brother was like a tight rope between them, guiding him. When he parked his SUV before the desolate construction of a building, Luka’s presence became tangible.

Dark shadows welcomed them from the open terraces, a smell of decay crept from the inside, and traces of desperate souls still lingered in the air. A feeling of doom, as well. Constantine supposed the deserted structure was a hideout for drunkards and drug addicts.

Diana observed the building. “Are you sure Luka’s here? It doesn’t fit him.”

Nothing fits him anymore, Constantine could have said. Except the Otherworld. “He’s inside,” he said instead. “Do you want me to come with you?”

“Sure.” Her tone was reserved, but her eyes darted sideways, a flicker of unease in their depths.

They found the entrance and Constantine walked in first, kicking some empty bottles out of their way. The smell of piss filled his nostrils when he started up the staircase using his strong eyesight to lead. Diana’s catlike steps were inaudible despite the silence, but he sensed her presence behind him. Her sweet, heady scent cut through the building’s stale and rancid air.

Once they climbed to the second floor, Diana leapt from behind him and ran to the pile of clothes in the middle of the empty space.

“Luka,” she whispered in the dark.

It wasn’t a man, but a shell of one.

Constantine remained to the side, giving them some privacy. Anyway, Death was close. His tendrils crawled all over the walls, his eyes observed from the shadows. Constantine could feel his eagerness to reap inside his chest, as though it was his own.

The necromancer awaited, too.

---