Page 99 of Hospital for Immortal Creatures
Diana knelt next to her brother, seemingly trying to make sense of the babbling nonsense coming out of his mouth. She brushed his forehead, whispering encouraging words, and then begging him to stand up.
It didn’t take long for Death to arrive.
When he did, Diana hauled her brother’s body into her arms and hugged him, her soft whimpering filling the silence. She was hurt, vulnerable, and indifferent to the necromancer behind her back. Engulfed by sorrow, she didn’t see Constantine turn into a skeleton.
He scanned the place with his necromantic vision, hunting for Luka’s soul. Two ghosts in the corner froze at the sight of the turned necromancer, but he wasn’t here for them today. He sent his consciousness up, like a boomerang aimed after the departing soul. He would find it and capture it, and then return to his skeleton…
Only, his mind remained in place, as if glued to his shape. No matter how much he attempted to, he couldn’t travel upwards. What the fuck? Constantine struggled once again. Nothing happened. He was in his secondary form, but separating his consciousness was impossible.
Was this part of Mada’s curse?
He returned to his human shape, swearing inwardly. Diana was still crying over her dead brother’s body, her shoulders shaking slightly with her sobs.
Constantine approached her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “He’s gone.” And so was his trail leading to those who had hired the vampire to deliver the head.
A low sound – a suppressed sob, half a wail – escaped Diana. Constantine’s grip on her shoulder tightened as he drew her into his embrace, and she allowed him to. In a low and comforting voice, he said, “He’s gone, Diana. Him, his soul. That’s just a corpse you’re spilling your tears over.”
The acrid smell of the space around them and the distant hum of flies filled the air. Diana nodded, but her eyes remained fixed on her brother’s lifeless body. Constantine understood – underneath all that armour, she was just a young creature who had lost a loved one.
He tugged her closer and her body trembled against his, her pain palpable. The scent of roses and pepper enveloped him, mingling with the salt of her tears, which soaked into his shirt.
For better or worse, she was now his single lead to find justice for the beheaded Kaliope Gazis.
32
For days on end, they drugged him, ensuring he wouldn’t wake up. Alas, as strange as it was, Viktor’s hearing had not been impaired, which meant that along with the tantrums of the furious wolf inside of him, he was forced to listen to Alex’s constant blabbering.
“A member of the Council was killed. Kaliope Gazis. Decapitated.”
Viktor knew that already.
“Another murder.”
Ten minutes later.
“A vampire. Chambermaid.”
And then.
“Fifth floor. Killed by her boyfriend for money.”
Alex wasn’t satisfied with that story. She sensed something wasn’t making sense. And she kept on chattering. Loudly. Over and over. And over again.
Her sceptical voice reached him from his left. “Did I tell you why I don’t believe that the chambermaid was killed by her roommate and her boyfriend?”
Viktor wanted to scream. No, not again!
“At least about a dozen times,” her brother replied.
“How can you be so indifferent? Aren’t you the least bit curious? Don’t you want to solve the case?” Now Alex was the one who sounded frustrated.
“No. And since Korovin announced it to the Council, the case,” he said, imitating her voice, “is solved.”
“Yeah, right. Don’t tell me you believe that.”
“Well, I do. Why would he lie?”
“I’m not saying he’s lying, only that he’s trusting the Tribunal too much. I don’t think they investigated thoroughly since it’s the murder of a nobody – a chambermaid – and not some high-end creature.”