41

Mikhail placed Dave in the same intensive care unit as his mother. Although her condition hadn’t changed in years, the first thing that came out of Dave’s mouth when he woke was “How’s Mum?” It was clear the boy had a dire need to be close to her, and far be it for Mikhail to deprive him of that, especially after what he had been through.

On Mikhail’s orders, Zacharia’s men guarded Dave’s door; they had strict orders not to let anyone through except for those few taking care of Dave. Dozens of creatures who had befriended the boy through the years voiced their disappointment that they couldn’t bring him flowers, toys, treats, and other presents, let alone wish him a swift recovery. Mikhail eventually agreed to allow Dave’s friends to leave their gifts for him at the door, but he instructed the guards to verify the contents of each one before passing them on to the boy. He also asked them to create a list of all the creatures who dropped by for a visit.

Mikhail waited a day before visiting him. When he strolled down the corridor, he wondered at the audacity some fucker had had to paint the doors a bright green. They had also decorated the hall in various shades of green to “bring a sense of life and brightness” to the place. Such a paradox, when most of the residents behind those doors were attached to life support equipment. Then he remembered that fucker was none other than himself, and his mouth twisted in a crooked smile devoid of joy.

A vampire stood guard before Dave’s door, unarmed but far more dangerous than a man with a gun. Mikhail greeted him and moved closer to the door.

The guard growled, stopping him in his tracks. “He’s not alone.”

Mikhail arched an eyebrow, unable to contain his surprise. “Who’s with him?”

The vampire’s face twisted. “An agent of the Tribunal. He threatened to arrest me if I interfered with his interrogation. Insisted I stay outside.”

Mikhail burst through the door. Agent Kane’s grey wolfish eyes met his. The man had positioned himself in a chair beside Dave’s bed, meticulously writing notes in his little black notebook. Beside his authoritative figure, the boy had curled up into a trembling ball under the covers, eyes wide with terror.

“Hello, Mr. Korovin.” The faux politeness in the agent’s voice was palpable.

That obnoxious bastard of an agent was crossing lines, ignoring his rules, and threatening Mikhail’s guards – in his own building, no less.

Mikhail’s heartbeat drummed in his ears as if counting down the seconds until his patience would dissipate. He stared the agent down. Despite his lycanthropic immortality, Kane had a sickly appearance – pale yellow-grey skin, deep wrinkles at his temples, and a crooked, colourless line that barely resembled a mouth. A huge, bulging vein throbbed on the right side of his forehead, just beneath the hairline.

Mikhail’s vision blurred with rage, so he faced Dave instead. The boy’s helpless expression tugged at his heart, and he almost flinched. Were those tears sliding down his cheeks? At the sight, his pulse throbbed with a fury that threatened to consume him.

Amelia.

He thought of Amelia. If they locked him up for the murder of a Tribunal agent, he wouldn’t be there to protect her.

“Agent Kane, let’s have a chat outside.” It was a struggle for him to keep his temper in check, but he managed to tense his muscles enough to avoid hitting something – like a certain slimy agent.

“Of course.” A sly smile spread across agent Kane’s face, his eyes glowing with subtle deceit.

Mikhail threw a glance in Dave’s direction before stepping out into the hallway.

“Mr. Korovin, another attempt at a murder, I see? This time unsuccessful, luckily. I’m inclined to conclude that you’re losing your grip on things around here.” Agent Kane’s lips twisted into a cocky smile.

“You may be right. That’s why you’re here, the Tribunal, to restore the peace,” Mikhail bit back, feigning benevolence. “However, the health of our patients matters above all else. And when I give a strict order that someone is not to be disturbed until he recovers, I expect everyone to follow it.”

The agent took a step back, but his contemptuous smile didn’t waver. “Hmm. No one is to disturb the patient and yet you were on your way to do just that. Why? Perhaps you are trying to tamper with a key witness before the official inquisition of the Tribunal?”

The implication baffled Mikhail. “Tamper with a key witness?”

Agent Kane stared at him with his wolfish eyes. “The perpetrator will do everything in his power to wipe away the evidence, right? Or finish what he started…”

The agent was baiting him, hoping to spark a reaction. It required extreme willpower, but Mikhail once more focused on his tense muscles, picturing his anger like an animal he needed to get a tight grip on. It worked. When he spoke again, his tone was devoid of emotions and bordered on weariness. “Am I to understand that you are accusing me of trying to kill the boy?”

The agent smiled, showing off his yellow teeth. “Well, you know, guilty until proven innocent.”

“I thought the saying was innocent until proven guilty.”

“Only for agents who fail.”

“What’s going on here?” Elisanda Grace approached them, her white lab coat trailing her hastened steps.

“Good day, Miss Grace.” Agent Kane’s lustful gaze ran up and down her long legs. Hers glistened with hatred. Mikhail had a feeling that since she was the one who had discovered the dead chambermaid’s body, she had encountered Agent Kane already. Numerous times.

“I was notified there’s a Tribunal agent on this floor and I rushed straight up.” The business-like response couldn’t mask her animosity.

“But, Miss Grace, if you wanted to talk to me, all you had to do was wait. I was coming to you first thing this afternoon.”

Elisanda raised her chin. “I came here to tell you that our patient is in no condition for questioning.”

The agent nodded, without losing his ostensibly good-natured demeanour. “All right, then. I’ll postpone the boy’s questioning. See you soon, Miss Grace.” Turning to Mikhail, he said, “Mr. Korovin, it might serve you well to be more suspicious of others.”

“Thanks for the advice.”

Elisanda waited until the sleazy agent had disappeared behind a corner before letting out an annoyed huff. “What a nasty little weasel.”

“The Tribunal’s overachieved this time,” Mikhail said.

“I thought you and their eccentric leader were pals.”

“We are. That’s why we got the best. Agent Kane.”

At his words, Elisanda laughed, and Mikhail cracked a smile. Sure, the nymph was driving him crazy with her insane VIP patient ideas lately. But truth be told, he hadn’t been his most amicable self with her either, after the discovery of the chambermaid’s body.

“Seriously, though, Mikhail…” She sobered up and brushed back a lock of her hair. “At first, I wondered why they sent only one agent when usually it’s two or three, but now I get it. This guy equals five of the others. It feels like he’s in three places at once, jumping out unexpectedly and shooting out all sorts of crazy questions.”

“I know, Elisanda.” He gestured towards the boy’s door. “Tell me about Dave.”

“Physically, he’s good, but he’s afraid. He didn’t see his attacker and he fears it may happen again.”

“I’d like to talk to him.”

“All right, but don’t be too pushy.” Elisanda glanced at her golden wristwatch. “See you at the Council meeting this afternoon!”

Mikhail returned to the boy’s room. This time, the gifts grabbed his attention – toys, books, and flowers covered every free inch of space around the bed.

Dave observed the door with wariness, as if expecting the agent to walk in next. When he realised Mikhail was alone, his features relaxed. “I’m sorry for behaving poorly, Mikhail, but Mum warned me never to trust an agent of the Tribunal,” he whispered.

Mikhail sat in the chair next to him. “The Tribunal’s not so bad, Dave. Their agents are making sure that the order in our society is maintained. Agent Kane wants to help us figure out who attacked you.”

Dave winced at the mention of his attack. “Yeah, but I don’t remember anything, so I don’t want to talk to him anymore… Mikhail, promise me, please. Promise he won’t be showing up here anymore.”

Mikhail’s rage surfaced again. “I’m sorry, Dave. I have no power over the Tribunal agents, but if you tell me everything you can recall from that night, I’ll try to pass it on to Agent Kane word for word, so he doesn’t need to come back again.” As he spoke, guilt overtook him, leaving a bad taste in his mouth. Whatever he did, he could not stop the bastard from harassing the boy or anyone else.

“Okay, Mikhail…” Dave closed his eyes. “I was in Mum’s room when I suddenly craved something sweet. I decided to go to Stella’s place. She always has something delicious whipped up.”

“The head housekeeper Stella?”

Dave nodded. “Yeah. She barely eats human food, but she loves to prepare it. She’s converted part of her room into a kitchen and cooks loads of yummy things.” Dave licked his lips at the memory. “She says she wants to have a cooking blog. Here, these are from her.” He pointed to an open box on his nightstand. “Chocolate strawberry muffins. Wanna try?”

Now Mikhail understood why Stella had been so enthusiastic about preparing dinner for him and Amelia. “Thanks, but I’m not hungry. So, you went to Stella’s that night?”

Dave frowned. “I went out in the corridor and headed for the stairwell.”

“Not the lift?”

“I almost always use the stairs because I like running up and down them.” Mikhail remembered that he had indeed brushed past him in the stairwell on occasion. “I was just at the door to the stairs and started heading up when I heard footsteps. I looked down through the railing and there was someone down there, but I didn’t know who it was. They had a hood on. At first, I was worried, but then I told myself it was normal for someone to be walking up the stairs, even though it was past midnight. This building is huge, after all. But then his steps quickened…”

“His? Was it… a man?”

“Well, I don’t know. He had a hood on and wore baggy clothes. He…or she…almost caught up with me, as far as I could tell from the sound of the footsteps. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I had this feeling that he was chasing me . I don’t know what floor I was on, but I saw that one door had a note stuck on it saying ‘Disinfection in progress. Do not enter. Danger of intoxication.’ I… I had no idea if it was true. I thought that whoever was behind me wouldn’t enter the hallway unless they were following me. So, despite the warning, I went in and found myself in a dark corridor.”

Dave, as a kid and a witcher, didn’t have better night vision than a human – unlike his stalker, most likely.

“The door opened behind me and I saw the creature’s outline in the dark. Then I was sure it was following me. I rushed down the hallway and he or she ran after me, getting closer and closer…” Dave inhaled a loud gulp of air. “I could almost feel their breath on my neck, but they hadn’t caught up with me yet. At the end of the hallway, I started pressing the lift buttons, but nothing happened. I was praying for someone to appear… then I fell on the floor, and I don’t remember anything else.” Dave started crying. “Who will take care of Mum if something happens to me?”

Mikhail glanced around the room, trying to find something to reassure the kid. His gaze settled on the presents. “Nothing will happen to you, Dave. Not when so many creatures care about you.”

At the sight of his toys, Dave’s mood changed, in that typical way kids have to forget. “I guess you’re right.” He raised his head. “Why hasn’t Amelia come to see me yet? Is she mad at me about something?”

“Of course not.”

Dave stared at him for a moment longer, his lower lip protruding. Mikhail feared he would cry again, but instead, realisation seemed to dawn on the boy, and he smacked his forehead. “God, I’m so stupid! Of course, she won’t come, if Tribunal agents are sniffing around here.”

Mikhail smiled, relieved. “See, Dave? You are rather clever.”

He stayed for a few more minutes, listening to Dave rant about a vampire series he was watching on TV. According to him, the show portrayed vampires as much cooler than they were in reality, but it was worth watching anyway because of the sex scenes and cursing.

Mikhail was just about to leave when Dave’s trembling voice stopped him in his tracks. “Why would someone want to hurt me, Mikhail?”

Mikhail faced the boy. “Would you believe me if I told you someone made a mistake?”

From Dave’s room, he darted straight to Viktor Volk’s lab, but the lycanthrope was nowhere to be seen. Alex was absentmindedly using an enormous wooden spoon to stir a pot filled with some strange brown boiling liquid. Her focus, however, was on a thick book with a black cover.

“Where is Viktor?” Mikhail asked her.

Her gaze dragged upwards, her eyes lingering on the pages of her book as if loath to abandon the words, before finally meeting his. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen his face for two days.”

“What’s up with him, pup?” He had to ask, even though he suspected what the answer would be. Yet some part of him still hoped he’d be given another explanation for Viktor’s behaviour. Something along the lines of “a thousand-age mid-life crisis.”

Alex shrugged. “He’s been like that ever since your little trip to Italy.”

Great. He had feared as much, but there was unfortunately nothing he could do about it. He went up to Volk’s bedroom and barged in without knocking.

Viktor was lounging on an armchair, head thrown back in ecstasy, pants to his ankles. Kneeling between his legs was a woman – all Mikhail could see of her was her straw-like hair, and her head bobbing up and down.

Fuck. He really should have knocked.

At the sound of his footsteps, she stopped in her endeavours and tossed him a glance over her shoulder. Viktor lifted his head, arching an eyebrow at Mikhail.

“It’ll cost you more if there’s two of you,” the woman said. “But I wouldn’t mind, handsome.”

“You’re done here.” Mikhail pointed at the door, then barked at Viktor, “And you – get dressed.”

The blonde sent a quizzical look Viktor’s way.

“You can go, dear.” The lycanthrope dismissed her with a wince.

“No return policy.” She covered herself up with her discarded clothes from the floor. On her way out, she brushed past Mikhail and whispered, “You’re missing out, you know…”

Mikhail waited until the door closed behind her and Viktor had pulled up his pants and zipped himself up. “You brought yourself a hooker? Here ?”

The lycanthrope shook his head, displeased. “Yes. You just cost me two hundred bucks – I paid her in advance. And would you chill out? She’s a witch. Wipe that condemning look off your face, too. I’m not the only one who resorts to such pleasures here.”

Mikhail forced himself to take a deep breath. Losing control would not be in either of their best interests. “Viktor, have you transformed since the incident in Alberobello?”

“No.” Viktor’s tone suggested he felt insulted, and yet Mikhail couldn’t be sure if he was lying.

“Did any Tribunal agents drop by to see you?”

Viktor laid back on the messy bedsheets. “You mean the rat who’s been sniffing around lately?” He mocked, but Mikhail didn’t find anything about the agent funny.

“That’s the one.”

“He’s been ignoring me so far.”

Good. If Agent Kane wasn’t snooping around Viktor, he probably didn’t know about their rendezvous with the witches in Italy.

“If you do talk to him, under no circumstance mention anything about Amelia, the portal, and everything that happened in Alberobello,” Mikhail said.

“Damn it, my friend! You’re insulting me by thinking it’s even necessary to make that comment.”

Mikhail wasn’t concerned about Viktor willingly sharing information. If news spread of their role in the melee in Italy, he, too, would suffer severe repercussions. And the lycanthrope had a good survival instinct, after all. The problem was that if he was, as Mikhail suspected, close to a state of Vaka Hara, his mind was more easily distracted, making his body more susceptible to carnal desires. Then, any cunning person – say, sent over and paid for by a certain Tribunal agent – could wield their body to manipulate him into revealing his deepest secrets. And the fool would do it, without even realising it.

But if Agent Kane hadn’t questioned him yet, he’d have no reason to suspect Viktor’s altered mind state, and therefore he wouldn’t have a reason to send any hookers to bait him.

Or maybe Mikhail was wrong about all of it. Maybe Viktor hadn’t reached the state of Vaka Hara, and his rebellious act was nothing more than some strange side effect of his turning after the long abstinence. In which case, they had nothing to worry about.

Mikhail decided to lay his cards on the table. “Vik, I’m baffled. I feel like this is so much bigger than it seems.”

Viktor’s expression sobered. “The murder attempt on the kid?”

“Yes. I know it’s connected to the other two murders… And to Amelia.”

Instead of laughing it off or acting weird, Viktor’s gaze turned grave, his eyes locking onto him with intensity. Mikhail bit back a sigh of relief. He needed Viktor on his side. Aside from Zacharia, he was the only one who knew about Amelia, and his brilliant intellect allowed him to see connections where others couldn’t. Perhaps he could find a logical link between a mortal human, the Oracle, the other murders…perhaps even Amelia’s vision.

Mikhail hesitated. Could he trust his friend enough to tell him about the vision?

Just as he opened his mouth to mention it, Viktor beat him to it. “If you’re correct, there has to be a connection between Kaliope Gazis’ decapitated head, the chambermaid Mary Clare, and Dave, right? Three immortal creatures. If we dig deep enough, we’ll find something – a common acquaintance, situation, who knows… But how do we match that to our dear human Amelia? Assuming she’s still human?”

“As far as I know…”

“Well, if there’s no obvious link between her and the rest of them, then maybe she’s the link.”

Or more precisely – her vision.

“Actually, she’s had a—”

Viktor cut him off mid-sentence. “You still haven’t shown her to me. What’s she like? Does she have big – you know…” Viktor cupped his palms over his chest, mimicking breasts in a very childish manner.

Mikhail’s desire to seek out his advice evaporated. He barely resisted the urge to rip those hands off his body. “If you don’t snap out of it soon, I promise I’ll personally make you, as I’ve done before. I’m off.”

“Ah, so what? I bet you stole a peek.” He winked at him. “We’ve known each other long enough, after all.”

Unable to control his emotions – and that annoying protective instinct for Amelia – Mikhail grabbed Viktor by the throat. In the few seconds it took for the lycanthrope to realise what was happening and for his eyes to widen in astonishment, Mikhail was already releasing his grip on his friend and stepping back.

What the hell am I doing?

Viktor was still hovering dangerously around Vaka Hara’s abyss. Mikhail recognised the signs, because he had witnessed Viktor’s surrender once before. Last time, however, the lycanthrope had been overtaken by bloodlust. If all Mikhail had to worry about this time around was some foul language and a hooker in the Hospital, it might not be so bad…

Viktor would come to his senses, like he had before. And soon. But for the time being, it was better to keep him aside.

“Don’t bother showing up for the Council meeting today. Consider yourself temporarily suspended from your duties,” Mikhail said. If he tried to explain that he was doing it to give Viktor the time to recover, his friend wouldn’t understand, in his current state. Thus, he barked it like an order. Even the beasts followed hierarchy – to a certain extent.

Marching out of the room, his show of power left him in a rush and his shoulders slumped. Had he not brought Viktor to Italy, none of this would be happening.