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.

“The witcher is a goner. We either help him or send him directly to the grave and spare him the torture.”

Alex was sceptical, forcing Viktor to wonder who she’d inherited that endless obstinacy from. With her blonde locks and warm brown eyes, she was a more beautiful version of her deceased mother, whom Viktor had seen only once, seventy-two years ago. The young lycanthrope had collapsed in front of the Hospital’s entrance, nine months pregnant. Her condition had rapidly deteriorated, and she passed away a few hours later. But not before she’d given birth to twins – a boy and a girl.

Back then, Viktor had been a surgeon in the Hospital and had performed a C-section, oblivious to the bond he would create with the two little creatures he’d helped bring into this world. Whether because they were the same species, or because he’d witnessed them take their first breaths of air, he didn’t know, but something happened that day that tied him irreversibly to them.

Today, Alex was following in his footsteps with her love for science, while Grigor… Well, he did sometimes show his face in the lab…

Alex headed past the laboratory tables, to the supplies closet, returning promptly with a small envelope in hand. Viktor emptied its contents into the boiling cauldron.

“Tell me”—he glanced at her over his shoulder as he stirred the pot—“what are the most common symptoms of wolfsbane poisoning?”

“Stiffness, tingling, gastrointestinal problems, rhythm disturbances, unconsciousness, seizures. Cause of death is respiratory failure and cardiac arrest,” Alex recited.

“Very good. I believe that this potion—”

“And I can’t believe that after all this time, you still think there’s something I don’t know!”

Viktor couldn’t help but laugh. “Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, and the architect of accomplishment. Look at your brother. There’s so much he hasn’t learnt these past seventy years.”

Alex grabbed the wooden spoon from his hands and started stirring. “He has different interests, none of which have anything to do with healing.”

Viktor was aware the boy hopped from one hobby to another like a bee seeking pollen, and he’d never landed on the flower of healing of his own volition. It was said that the first century of a creature’s life was dominated by the awakening of desires, sensations, and abilities. Grigor was seventy-two, so it was no surprise that he’d so far dedicated his entire life to amusements. “Maybe you should also try to relax and have fun every now and again.”

“How am I supposed to do that when I already know everyone in this building?”

“ Everyone, really?”

“Yes. And they’re all boring, to say the least. You don’t allow us to go out on our own…” She let out a dramatic sigh.

“That will change one day.”

“You’ve been saying that for seventy-two years now. Nothing ever changes.”

It was Viktor’s turn to sigh. No matter what biological species one was born as, each creature began their life mortal. At some point, usually around twenty-five, but sometimes later – thirty, forty, even fifty years old – they would become immortal. And in that moment, their immortal secondary form was unlocked.

The first turning was a special moment. Every internal organ and bone inside the body would tear and regenerate. That was how the body reconstructed and adapted to the new shape. Once this painful process ceased, every turning that followed was a blessing. Or…that was how it was supposed to go.

In the last few years, however, the first transformation had had detrimental effects on the immortals, regardless of their species. The weakened regenerative abilities couldn’t sustain the body during the first turning. Many lost their lives trying to adapt to their new biological form. They called them the New Generation – creatures that had become immortal after 1744 and couldn’t unlock their secondary form. They had all the qualities of their species, except the ability to turn and harness the powers brewing inside them.

Alex and Grigor were New Generation, so Viktor found it very reasonable to be extra protective and forbid them from leaving the Hospital premises alone.

They knew the reasons behind his precautions, yet as he grabbed an old book off a nearby shelf, he said, “I can’t afford anything to happen to either of you.”

“Being locked up in here is worse than anything that could happen out there.” She leaned over the potion. “How much longer?”

“Half an hour, and you don’t need to stir it constantly.”

“I know that. I was asking how much longer until we accept that regeneration will never be the same as it used to be. A century? Two?”

Viktor raised his eyes from the book. “The good news is you’re immortal, even without your secondary form. You can wait as long as it takes.” Even as he said the words, he realised they were a lie. The so-called immortals were ageing, albeit slowly. It was only a matter of time before they started dying of old age.

“And what would change, if I could turn?”

“The lycanthrope’s secondary form is incredibly powerful. Were someone to attack you, you could defend yourself.”

“Why would anyone attack me? All the wars are over.”

“Humans are dangerous.”

“Humans are harmless, Vik!”

“You can’t be sure.”

“Witches and nymphs don’t have a secondary form, and they’re doing quite well.”

“Witches have magic and nymphs have poison. I wouldn’t exactly call them helpless.”

“And you think I’m helpless?!”

Grigor chose that moment to barge into the room. He resembled his sister, except where she was petite, his shape was tall and strong as a bull. Alex frowned at his sly smile and T-shirt half-bunched up around the waistband of his jeans.

Responding to her grimace, Grigor tucked the rest of his shirt in. “I think I stumbled onto something interesting.”

“The practical mechanisms of chlamydia infection transmission are hardly interesting,” Alex bit back.

“Are you angry because you can’t find yourself a boyfriend, little sis? And for your information, we can’t contract chlamydia. You should know that, Ms. Smarty-Pants, but I guess you’re not that smart, after all.”

“Of course, I knew that!”

Viktor returned to his book. Over the years, he had developed the incredible ability of tuning out the twins when they quarrelled. This came in handy most days, but even more so when he had to focus on the potion he’d been brewing the past few days. A stupid witcher had enraged a young nymph, and she had pierced his chest with her nails, releasing the infamous nymph poison into his bloodstream. If he was to survive it, his only hope was some unseen magic. Or a miraculous potion.

“Korovin went to the Oracle again,” Grigor announced.

Alex puffed. “So? He goes every ten years.”

“Yes, but this time she may have actually told him something important.”

“May have?”

“This morning, he left the Hospital early and seemed… different.”

“Quit it with the suspense, already!”

Grigor couldn’t contain his smile. “You have no idea the things you can learn on the fifteenth floor after… um… offering something in return…” He cleared his throat. “So, a vampire told me that a friend of hers saw Korovin on the thirteenth floor as he was exiting the Oracle’s room. And then a guard at the gate—”

“Let’s get back to work!” Viktor interrupted, pointing to the potion. Wasting time on assumptions could lead to losing lives. Besides, if anything of consequence had occurred, Mikhail would have told him.

Grigor obeyed, grabbing his lab coat from the hook in the corner. Soon, a pleasant silence settled over the laboratory. Alex was stirring, and her brother attempted to catch up, reading all the newly added ingredients from the piece of paper Viktor had used to write down each step.

“We doubled the wolfsbane dose, although your sister didn’t agree with that.”

“Typical for the omniscient Alex.” Grigor smirked.

She bared her teeth. “Get out!”

Viktor intervened before another scandal brewed inside his lab. “Do you know what the symptoms of wolfsbane poisoning are, Grigor?”

The boy turned to his sister, expecting her to answer in his stead. When he realised Alex had no such intentions, he muttered, “Yes, I do… Well… Loss of vision?”

***

“Good day, sir.” The balding medical orderly who greeted him was one of the very few humans in the Hospital.

Mikhail nodded and headed towards the reception. The corridor bubbled with chatter as creatures of all types waited to be summoned for their check-ups. In the early days of the Hospital’s existence, these gatherings in the waiting room had been a rare event because the patients hadn’t been in any condition to speak, and their companions had been too worried to venture into conversation.

As the years passed, the panic around the impaired regeneration had increased with the number of treated medical conditions. Immortals feared death so much that any minor injury like a broken bone, a cut finger, a thorn in the eye, indigestion or a fallen tooth brought them straight to the Hospital from all over the world. These lesser injuries had paved the way for a sense of community and companionship among all manner of patients.

A worried mother of two caught Mikhail’s eye. The little boy in her lap wept while waving his bandaged hand in the air. A girl sat quietly on the chair next to them with an expression that was a mixture of guilt and satisfaction. Mikhail didn’t need to smell their typical vampire scent to know what had happened. Vampire children grew sharp canine teeth even before they became immortal, and they never shied away from using them to punish their younger siblings. It was a sight he had grown accustomed to.

He strode onwards, reminiscing about the Hospital’s creation. At first, it had been just an idea, then it had evolved into the central three-storey building with two wings… Kidnapping human staff, training creatures to become nurses and doctors, expanding the structure…

He had no remorse about all the evil he’d done to create this one good thing. In every creature, there was light and darkness, an endless cycle that kept the world spinning unless one lingered too long in either. For Mikhail, the world would not stop spinning until he accomplished his goal – a goal he believed was for the greater good.

Mikhail marched into the Oracle’s room, despite knowing full well that she didn’t like to be disturbed in the daytime. He found her in front of the bookshelf, sitting in her wheelchair with an open book in her lap.

She paid no attention to him for a long while until finally, she lifted her white eyes from the book to meet his.

How on earth does she read when her eyes are like that?

“Ah! I know what you must be thinking. How can I read with these horrid white eyes?”

He didn’t like that she seemed acquainted with his thoughts. Or maybe she was just good at guessing? After all, who wouldn’t have assumed the same?

“Actually, I was wondering what you gain from dicking me around,” he said.

If she was surprised by his rudeness, the Oracle did not show it. Instead, she tapped the book on her lap. “Have you ever heard that to fully understand a book, you need to read between the lines?”

“You mean to say that I shouldn’t have taken your words literally?”

“You always think that everything revolves around you. If you read the lines, you understand the stories of the book. But they are all fiction, even the ones that describe true events have been embellished. If, however, you read between the lines, you will discover the author’s story and, believe me, it is usually much more interesting than all the garbage spilt across the pages.”

All right. Apparently, they’d be talking about books.

“What are you reading?” Mikhail’s disinterest was not well masked.

Her bright white eyes focused on him. “Nothing you would comprehend. Tell me what happened.”

Relieved that the Oracle didn’t think him a worthy collocutor, he said, “There was a young woman, human. I was driving past the place you sent me to when she crashed her car into mine. I was in a hurry because time was running out, so I headed down the road in search of a parking space and left her. At first. But then something scrambled up my senses and urged me back to her. Right on time to see a guy yelling at her. I got rid of him, and then talked to her. It didn’t take long to realise she had nothing to do with the immortal world. So, I’m asking you, did you send me there to waste my time, or is there a larger purpose behind it?”

Instead of answering his question, the Oracle asked, “What happened after, manticore?”

“I left.”

“And you are sure she was a regular human?”

“Completely.”

“Hmm…”

Mikhail’s anger stirred under the surface. “What does that mean? Hmm?”

“Just what I said.” The Oracle lowered her gaze, turned the page of her book, and started reading. Or whatever it was she was doing with her white eyes. “Now, leave. You have a Council meeting to attend.”

“That’s all you’ll say?”

“When I have more, you will be the first to know.”

I’ll tear off her head way before then.

Without glancing back at him, the Oracle said, “I advise you to wait before you add another sin to your list. Who knows, maybe your problems will resolve themselves. I would also warn you to not come here during the day, but what would be the point in that…”