16

“Get up! Korovin is waiting for you.”

Amelia opened her eyes at the command. Hovering above her was the chambermaid she’d knocked over the other day. She rushed out of bed, suddenly more alert than ever, and glanced around the room, almost expecting to see Mikhail. Of course, he wasn’t there.

“I’ll be outside. You have five minutes.” The woman pointed to the new clothes at the foot of the bed.

Amelia narrowed her eyes. “Where is he?”

“I’ll take you to him. Hurry up, I don’t have all day!” With an annoyed huff, the chambermaid walked out of the room.

Amelia didn’t need to be told twice. This was her chance. She hurried to the bathroom to clean up, changed into cotton black pants and a blouse, and marched into the hallway.

Two women stood guard at her door. They were tall and slim, with short boyish haircuts and stone faces. The obvious similarities between them suggested they were twins, or at least sisters. If they were wearing any weapons underneath the tight leather clothes that fit their flawless bodies as a gauntlet, Amelia couldn’t tell.

The chambermaid was waiting for her a few feet down the corridor, as if keeping her distance from the twins. Amelia caught up with her and they strode along walls with lamps that resembled candelabras and silent marble figures with eyes burning through her back. The nearest one was of an exquisite woman in a long robe, whose right hand was raised high above her crowned head, fingers spread wide and pointing to the ceiling as if trying to reach for something. Her features and body were delicate and feminine. Out of the tips of her fingers protruded dagger-like nails, the sight of which sent shivers down Amelia’s spine. Yet, the urge to touch the stone overwhelmed her.

“Ana. Mother of Nymphs,” the chambermaid explained.

“She’s… gorgeous…” Amelia’s words came out as a whisper. The impeccable work of art made the invisible hairs of her nape rise. Her fingers skimmed over the stone.

“She is. They say the marble statues are as alluring as she was in person.”

Amelia turned to the chambermaid, pulling her finger pads away right before they touched the sculpture. “Is she a goddess?”

“The daughter of a god. We need to go.” The woman tapped her black shoe against the floor.

Was she nervous about making Mikhail wait?

“Turns out you can speak, after all,” Amelia said as they picked up the pace.

They passed under the arch at the end of the hallway and found themselves in a murky lobby with a lift.

When she didn’t receive an answer, Amelia tried again. “What’s your name?”

The woman gave her a wary glance. “None of your business.”

“None of your business? How long have you worked for Mikhail Korovin? You seem very young.”

“Look, I have nothing against your kind, but I am not allowed to talk to you.” The chambermaid stepped inside the lift.

Amelia followed. “Who forbade you? Mikhail? Did you know he kidnapped me?”

The indifference on the woman’s face was a clear enough answer. She pressed the button for the twentieth floor and, after a short while, the doors revealed another lobby with grey walls. While they walked, the dark chestnut floor barely creaked. Through the window, the outside world was gloomier than ever. They hurried down the hall to their right, past numerous identical doors, until they reached a warm room with a humble library and a wooden desk.

In front of the window, facing away from them, Mikhail’s broad shoulders appeared frozen. He stared through the window pane, his light brown hair grazing the back of his neck.

“Thank you, Mary. You’re free to go.” He dismissed the chambermaid without turning around and she obeyed with a small curtsey. Finally, he acknowledged Amelia, his colourful eyes raking over her form before he spoke. “We didn’t start on good terms, Amelia.” His voice was like dark chocolate – rich, with a trace of bitterness.

Amelia stayed by the door. She had rehearsed this encounter a million times in her head and yet the only thing she managed was, “How is any of this possible?”

“I will explain anything you’d like, but first, I owe you an apology for keeping you locked in for days.” He crossed his arms, drawing her attention to his broad chest. And making her wonder about the scars beneath. Did they really exist? “This was probably the first time you witnessed an immortal transformation. Am I right?”

She returned her focus to his face, reminding herself that she wasn’t here to dwell over his past and his wounds. She was here to negotiate her way out of this place.

“Transformation is the most natural thing in the world,” he said.

“This place…” She trailed off, her eyes drawn to the documents and books scattered across his desk.

“A study.” Mikhail pointed to the shelves of books. “Sometimes I come here to read and work. By the way, blue looks good on you.” The corners of his lips twitched. “It matches your eyes. Do you like the clothes they bring you? Or would you prefer dresses?”

Had he complimented her?

She glanced down to inspect her clothes. Dresses? An image from her dream of him running his hands down the woman’s white dress appeared in her mind and her heart rate quickened.

“I don’t want dresses.” She shook her head and met his eyes. “So, this place really is a hospital?”

Mikhail made himself comfortable into one of the chairs and motioned towards the other one. After a moment of hesitation, Amelia accepted the invitation and sat.

“Yes. As I told you before, the Hospital for Immortal Creatures. The first ten floors are where the doctors work. The rest is used as living accommodations, common rooms, conference halls and training rooms.”

Amelia let that information sink in before she asked, “Are you saying many people live here?”

“Hundreds. Of creatures . Anyone in need of shelter is welcome to stay, so long as they contribute with something.”

“What do you mean, creatures?”

“Living things. Creatures of the seventh species are called humans.”

“Seventh?” What the hell are the other six?

He pursed his lips. “Although, to be completely honest, humans were among the first to roam the earth, if not the very first…”

She blinked a few times. “What are the other species?”

“Witches, vampires, lycanthropes, nymphs, necromancers and, of course, manticores. That’s what I am.”

Amelia thought about the winged animal. “You say it’s a hospital for immortal creatures… You don’t really mean immortal , do you?”

“I do.” He leaned on his elbows, eyes fixed on her face as if measuring her reaction.

She stared back at him, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Only…it didn’t. And eventually, she had to admit to herself that no, he wasn’t about to burst into laughter, proclaiming that it was all a twisted joke.

Mikhail stood and approached her with an outstretched hand. “Let me show you.”

Amelia’s eyes froze on his long fingers. He wanted her to take his hand. If she touched him and truly felt him, would that mean that everything else was also true? Or would he disappear like a vision?

“Come on,” he said. “I have already kidnapped you, so what’s the harm in coming with me now?”

His lips curved slightly, causing her to blink. Had he just attempted a joke?

Before she knew what she was doing, her palm slid over his, as if she were compelled. A jolt of electricity ran through her when their fingers touched, forcing her to pull away. But it was too late – the spark had already crawled up her hand and spread through her entire body. When it was over, she lifted her head to meet his eyes, only to find his face inscrutable.

“Is there a problem?” he asked.

“No...”

“Let’s go, then.”

Walking in silence to the lift, Amelia fought the urge to sneak a glance at him, but his presence was too hard to ignore, and not just because of his imposing height and strong physique. His entire being emitted an unusual energy that charged the air around him and sent warning signals to her body’s defence mechanisms. She suppressed the feeling of imminent danger, reminding herself that she had a purpose – to convince him that her kidnapping was a ridiculous mistake. And she could only do that if she kept her wits about her and carried on with a conversation.

Mikhail pressed the button for the tenth floor and settled in as far away from her as possible in the lift. Maybe he also has no desire to be close to me. The thought calmed her and allowed her to focus on counting numbers for the rest of the ride.

When they reached their destination and stepped out of the lift, Amelia recognised the green and white hallway from her escape attempt. “Why are we here again?”

“Someone wants to see you.”

It had to be Dave.

“This is the East Intensive Care Unit.” Mikhail led her through the hallway. “Most of the creatures here are in very poor physical condition. Often, the machines they’re hooked to are the only thing keeping them alive. But we don’t turn them off unless the relatives decide it’s time.”

She shot him a glance. “I thought you said that you’re treating immortal creatures?”

“That is true. But in reality, it’s more like creatures who were immortals. Until 1744. After that, our regenerative abilities got screwed up. Now, traumas lead to infections and blood loss often is detrimental. And recently”—his expression turned grim—“we discovered a carcinoma inside an immortal body. And here is where you come in. You have to help me restore the six species’ abilities of self-healing to the way they were.”

Amelia held in her frown. “What makes you think I can do that?”

He shrugged. “The Oracle.”

“But… how?”

Mikhail stretched his hand, pointing to the hallway. “Let’s go for our walk. It might spark something.”

Amelia doubted it, but she might as well humour him with this walk . It wouldn’t hurt to learn a little bit more about him and the… immortals. She still had a hard time digesting the concept.

“So, given what you said about the regenerative abilities being screwed up… What still separates immortals from humans? What makes you different?” she asked.

“At the level of the immune system, we are probably similar to humans, but that’s not the whole picture. We can still transform, and our strength and speed remain unchanged.”

Mikhail halted in front of the door Amelia recognised as Dave’s room.

The boy appeared with a wide grin across his face, reminding her once again of Sammy. “Amelia! I’m so glad you came!”

“Hey, Dave!” She smiled at him and waved in greeting.

“Did you manage to escape from the Tribunal?” he asked as he led them inside the room.

“I’m here, aren’t I…”

“I told you there’s no reason to worry. Amelia is perfectly safe,” Mikhail reassured Dave, leaning his back against the wall.

While she relaxed on the couch, her eyes landed on Dave’s mother. “I wouldn’t want to disturb your mum.”

“Oh, no worries! She loves hearing voices. Look, Amelia! Ever since I met you, I’ve wanted to show you my greatest invention!” Dave rushed to the wardrobe and rummaged through the insides until he retrieved a small glass vial with transparent fluid. “Vampire scent perfume! Isn’t it so cool, Amelia? Imagine this – today, you’re a nymph; tomorrow, you spray on a drop of this, and you’re a vampire!”

She had no idea what to say, so she just kept the conversation going. “Do you create other interesting things like that?”

“Oh, yeah! When I was younger, I made a love potion.”

Amelia’s jaw dropped. She chanced a glance at Mikhail, who confirmed it with a nod. “Does it work?”

“Well… I’m not sure… The only girl I tried it on didn’t want to talk to me anymore after that. And then we came to the Hospital and there aren’t really any girls my age in the Hospital.”

“It must be very boring for you here.” Amelia turned to the woman on the bed, whose condition hadn’t changed a bit since she’d last seen her.

“Nah, I have friends! Every day, someone comes by to see Mum, and we talk a lot. They bring me cool stuff, like… Oh, check this out!” Dave took out several books, toys and other small objects he showed off as gifts from the Hospital staff.

They spent half an hour listening to stories from Dave’s books about powerful heroes and wonderful adventures, and then Mikhail, using a tone much softer than the one he used to address Amelia, explained to the boy they must go, but promised to come back again soon. His gentle and carefree tone made Amelia question whether the memory of the creature he’d turned into was just a figment of her delirious imagination.

But as they stepped out into the hallway, that curious threatening energy enveloped her once again. There was no way a regular human could emit such power.

“Dave… is he like you?” she asked.

“He’s a different species. A witcher. Although at this age, he’s practically like any other kid. Still mortal.” Amelia’s confusion must have shown on her features, for he clarified, “Immortality is reached at different ages – twenty, thirty, forty, depending on the species. That’s when the body stops ageing, becomes stronger and unlocks the secondary form, for those species that do have one.”

“So, immortality is inherited?”

“Yes.”

Two women in short white aprons flew past them without paying them any attention.

A sudden thought occurred to her. “Why would someone want to smell like a vampire?”

Mikhail’s lips shaped the slightest smile. “Honestly? I have no idea. Every creature has an odour that’s typical of the species and the creature itself. It’s not always detected by everyone, but let’s say that some immortals can discover a lot about you just from the way you smell. I imagine the so-called perfume that Dave created masks that smell.”

She ignored the urge to sniff the air around herself. “And if you’re already a vampire?”

“Why don’t you ask the inventor next time? I’m sure he’ll be more informative.”

They headed down the hallway, passing by a man in civilian clothes, who nodded at Mikhail.

“The Hospital has twenty operating rooms, within which every type of surgery is performed. The immortal world is extremely dynamic. Creatures from all over the globe come here for help.” Once more, he must have noticed the scepticism written on her face, so he explained further, “We may appear humans, but we’re not. If you pierce a human through the heart with a stake, he’ll die immediately, right? But if you do that to a manticore or lycanthrope or any other immortal species, they could live like this for a day or two, or five, long enough to reach the Hospital.”

“Do you cure people – actual humans, I mean?”

“Very rarely. But we do have humans who work here. Some nurses, assisting staff, and a few doctors.”

She tried to conceal her excitement. Maybe if she found one of them, they could help her escape. “Are there any other hospitals like this?”

“No. There are different groups across the world – vampire tribes, witch clans and necromancers that have their own healing methods, but those are often ancient and ineffective. I prefer to rely on modern medicine.”

They descended in the lift to another lobby with yellow walls and picturesque paintings.

“Mikhail! So good to see you, old friend!” An attractive man in an elegant striped suit headed towards them, leaning against his cane.

“How are you, my friend?”

As Mikhail greeted him, Amelia ran her gaze up and down the man who, despite the cane and the limp, she found incredibly charming.

“The old bones are healing.” He knocked on the side of his lower thigh with the tip of his cane and winked at Amelia. “These are not the best of times for nonsense. I learnt that the hard way. Who’s the lady, Mikhail? I don’t think we have met.”

Mikhail stepped in front of her. “We have to go. Get well soon, my friend,” he said, then grabbed her hand and led her to the wooden door to the left. Out of earshot, he warned, “Novak is a lycanthrope who turns into a bloodthirsty wolf in a heartbeat. Trust me, you don’t want to have anything to do with him.”

“I thought he was cute,” Amelia attempted a joke solely so she could distract herself from the burning sensation his touch had provoked.

“Just stay close and don’t talk to anyone.”

He gestured for her to follow until they found themselves in a large gym with wooden floors, a Swedish wall and all kinds of exercise equipment. There were balls of different sizes, weights, sticks, and ropes – and tens of men and women in sportswear making good use of them. Contemporary music played from the speakers, causing vibrations to reverberate through the space.

“Is this a sports hall?” she asked.

“It’s a rehab centre. All the creatures you see here are recovering from surgery.”

Amelia observed a blonde woman on the treadmill. She was young and clearly in good physical shape. The muscles on her legs stretched out as she ran. “All right. I believe that this is real. But I don’t think I can help you cure these people, creatures, or whatever it is you want to call them.”

Mikhail quieted her with a hand gesture. “Not here. Let’s go outside.”

On their way back, he disappeared through a door labelled Changing Room and emerged a moment later with a black parka jacket. He placed it on her shoulders. “It’s cold outside.”

Amelia shoved her hands in the sleeves, trying not to flinch at his unexpected chivalry.

When they reached the ground floor, Mikhail continued, “As you can see, this is just like any other hospital. There are doctors and patients. This is the reception. Everyone passes through here first.”

Fresh air grazed against her cheeks as they stepped once again out of the lift. The door to the left was labelled Radiology and the one to the right led to the reception desk. A creaking noise caught her attention just as a man burst in through a third door, holding his hand close to his body, his face twisted with pain. He veered right and continued to the reception entrance. When the doors opened for him, Amelia got her first look at the dozens of people sitting on chairs lined up on both sides of a long corridor.

With effort, she tore her gaze away and asked, “You’re not Bulgarian, and yet you speak the language perfectly?”

“Nationality is a fleeting thing when you’re immortal. But you’re not completely right about me. I’m half Bulgarian.”

‘My mother was Bulgarian…’ He’d said as much in her dream. But if that was true, what else about her dreams was?

“I’m fluent in many languages,” he added. “But Bulgarian is one of the oldest languages in the immortal world, despite the fact the country itself and the concept of “Bulgarian” have only existed since 681. We used to refer to our collective language as ‘South-eastern’. Whatever name it goes by now, the history behind it is why it’s considered the official language in the Hospital – even if we don’t call it that.” He paused, as though gauging how much more to say, and ended with, “You might be surprised, but various creatures have always inhabited these lands. With variety comes multilingualism, and that is why along these halls, you will hear many different languages.”

They exited the building through the door to the main gate and headed out into the courtyard. It was sometime in the late afternoon, neither day nor night. ‘Twilight is when all the chickens fall asleep and the evil spirits awaken to roam the earth,’ her grandmother used to say. Amelia had always thought that chickens and evil spirits had no place together in a sentence. ‘ Don’t listen to your grandmother’s nonsense,’ her father would tell her. He’d raised her to never believe in spiritual, paranormal and esoteric gibberish. What would he have said now, if he’d met Mikhail?

A gust of wind scattered the leaves on her feet. The autumn afternoon was beautiful, although it felt more like winter. She eyed the two roads that were winding down the courtyard and towards the black gate in the distance. A massive stone wall, at least eight feet tall, surrounded the entire grounds. The sharp metal spikes coming out of the top made it look even taller. A few men in uniforms hovered around the fence.

At that moment, the black gate split open, and a car entered the Hospital grounds. Its engine rumbled through the yard until it disappeared behind the building.

Mikhail followed her gaze. “The underground parking is at the back.”

She spun around to take in the sight of the Hospital, and she gaped.

A grand entrance, with a curved archway nestled between two smaller arches, extended upwards to a central edifice featuring towering windows and pointed details. The exterior was a soft ebony shade, adorned with intricate embellishments and even more arches – taller ones, with peaks going even higher. The tallest reached high up into the sky, its top hidden in the clouds. The main building stretched out in two opposite directions, like wings, all the way into the forest, with similar arched elements and dagger-like forms.

“This is one of the most gorgeous buildings I have ever seen! It’s gigantic! How is it possible I haven’t heard about this place until now?” Amelia tore her eyes away from the building just in time to catch the satisfaction on Mikhail’s face.

“The building is concealed from humans with powerful magic. Only someone who is already within the grounds can see it. If you were outside these gates, the only thing you’d see would be thick forests that would cause the hairs on the back of your neck to bristle.”

“How does one reach this place?”

“There are two mountain paths that are maintained all year round. Of course, only immortals can find them. A human like you would get lost immediately.”

She shook her head. “I can’t believe all of this exists. And I’m even more confused as to what I’m doing here. The Oracle must have it wrong.”

Mikhail guided her down a path with benches. “They say she’s never wrong.” The conviction in his words was like a rock she was struggling to break, to no avail.

Amelia pursed her lips. “Why don’t we just go to her and ask?”

“Right now, she’s not fit to answer questions.”

“You keep her locked up in a room, too?”

Mikhail stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. “Of course not. She’s ill.”

‘My body hasn’t been in great shape lately,’ had said the voice in her head, which had introduced itself as the Oracle. The realisation that it was probably the same Oracle Mikhail was referring to, made her tremble inwardly. The Oracle was not only responsible for her being there, but moreover, she was now communicating with her…telepathically?

“How ill?” she asked.

“She’s in a coma. After someone tried to kill her.”

“Oh.”

“Yes. Probably because she led me to you.”

“But how is that possible, when I know nothing about”—Amelia gestured to the courtyard and the building behind them—“any of this!”

Mikhail took his time to peer deeply into her eyes, before he said, “When I asked her what to do to help the immortal species, the Oracle sent me to the place where I found you, saying that someone would need assistance. She never mentioned you by name.”

Hope rose in her chest. “So she may not have meant me!”

“It’s possible.” His shrug didn’t suggest he was reconsidering the possibility, though.

“Clearly, there’s been a mistake. You can’t keep me here because of a simple coincidence.”

He nodded his chin at her. “But if it isn’t a coincidence, then whoever made an attempt on the Oracle’s life will probably go after you next. So, until we’re perfectly convinced that you have nothing to do with the immortal world, you’re staying here.”

Amelia’s hope was shattered. Mikhail might not be insane, but he was definitely deluded. Case in point, he wasn’t even wearing a jacket in the freezing cold! Her best course of action for now seemed to be acceptance, so she changed the subject. “What’s the Tribunal? Dave keeps mentioning it.”

“A group of creatures that strives to maintain order in our world.”

“Why does Dave hate them?”

“He’s just repeating what his mother taught him. Most creatures aren’t happy with the Tribunal because nobody enjoys having to abide by their laws. But thanks to them, Dave’s mother’s assaulter was apprehended and convicted.”

The wind carried over the sound of cheerful laughter.

“The young ones find the courtyard particularly romantic at night.” Mikhail pointed to the gazebo in the distance.

“How do you maintain all of this? Surely it costs a lot of money and effort.”

“An immortal existence has its perks. Over the years, I’ve managed to save up enough, and make a lot of friends who help me. And besides, our services are not free. Every patient pays as much as they can and every member of staff receives compensation. Money is earned in the immortal world, same as it is in the human one.”

“You say, ‘over the years.’ How many, exactly?”

Mikhail hesitated before answering, “Four hundred and three.”

Amelia gaped again. She was getting used to the idea of him not being human, but she still thought of him as a thirty-five-year-old male. With the capacity to live forever. Not as someone who had already lived forever . She forced her jaw shut. “It barely shows…”

A tiny crease appeared in the middle of his brow. “It’s not that long, really.”

Amelia took a step away from him.

“Are you afraid of me?”

“Because you’re basically a mummy? No.” Amelia moved further back. “Because you turn into an animal…”

“I never should have transformed in front of you.” His voice was even.

Amelia gazed towards the three guards in black uniforms who were marching by the gate and didn’t pay any attention to her and Mikhail.

“Amelia, give me two weeks to find out why the Oracle sent me to you. After that, I’ll drive you to the city completely unharmed, and you will never see me again.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, curling up inside the thick jacket. The cold was already crawling up her skin.

“What do you say about my proposition?” Mikhail asked.

Did she really have a choice? “Why are you doing all of this?”

“What?”

She waved her hand around. “The Hospital, the Oracle… Why do you need to fix the immortal world’s problems, when you could just live your life? You have everything that most humans dream of – eternal youth and a pile of money.”

“Humans don’t understand the meaning of life.” His jaw tensed, sparking up her curiosity.

“And what may that be?”

“It would take too long to explain. And as for why I’m doing all of this – I have my reasons.” Mikhail’s voice became sharper than the cold. With each passing moment, night was falling, and the Hospital behind him resembled more and more a black monster with a thousand glowing eyes.

The sight made her shiver. The world she had known had begun to fall apart three years ago, but now she realised it had never truly existed.

Maybe... it was time she created her own?

“All right.” Amelia raised her chin. “Say I agree to these two weeks… What would happen if, in the end, it turns out that I do play a role in all of this?”

“Do you have reason to believe so?”

“No, of course not. But just hypothetically…”

“Hypothetically? Your life would change completely.”

The way he talked suggested that she had no say in anything, which annoyed her even more than his aloof composure. “What if I don’t want it to change?”

“Some choices do not belong to us. But you will be generously rewarded for your assistance when you leave. Whenever that may be. Do you want a medical residency somewhere in particular? In Bulgaria, abroad… Say the word, and we’ll arrange it for you. Or would you prefer your own hospital? I’ll supply the necessary funds. Whatever you desire, name it.”

“How do I know you’re not lying?”

He sighed. “Why would I lie? I could just lock you back inside, right?”

He could. Yet another reason not to trust him.

“Why don’t you?”

Mikhail waved his hand with nonchalance. “We live in a modern era. Keeping up the peace with humans is vital for us.”

Amelia pretended to take her time and consider. Mikhail kept quiet, giving her the space for thought, although they both knew that she didn’t have a choice.

“I have one condition,” she said in the end.

He arched his eyebrows. “Go on.”

“I want to go into the OR. I want to see how an immortal body differs from a human one.”