27
Amelia rested her forehead against the window.
The buildings and streets of Sofia shrank below, replaced by fluffy clouds.
They were flying on Mikhail’s private jet to Ljubljana.
From there, they’d head to Triglav National Park, in the centre of which stood the eponymous peak.
The sacred Temple of the Dead Immortals resided at the foot of the mountain.
In the seats in front of her, Helena and Vladislav were debating the effectiveness of the rabies vaccine on immortal creatures.
Nyavolski believed a timely dose protected some lycanthropes from a nasty rabies infection, a disease carried by a specific species of lycanthrope bats in certain parts of the Rhodope Mountains.
Helena dismissed vaccines as biological weapons created by governments to weaken natural immunity in humans.
While humans could be excused for their voluntary mutilation – whether from ignorance or choice – immortals who stuck a needle in their arms willingly were idiots.
The surgeon’s colourful tirade continued.
One seat ahead of them, Viktor was engrossed in a thick book on mummification. To Amelia’s left, Alex Volk was playing a game of heads or tails. At the far end, Zacharia was flipping through an encyclopaedia of Cats, Big and Small.
Amelia found his reading choice as perplexing as his presence on this flight.
While everyone else had been chosen for their medical knowledge and experience, Zacharia didn’t fit in with the science team.
Yet that hadn’t stopped the hybrid from throwing his booted leg over one knee and burying himself in his kitty book, an acquired beer can in hand.
Amelia waited for the plane to reach cruising altitude before moving to the seat across from him. “Why are you here, Zacharia?”
He finished reading the page he was on, then lifted his icy eyes to meet hers. “Why are you here, Amelia? These fools are headed straight to their demise.”
“You say that because you know Mikhail was against entering the temple, but scientifically, it’s the only logical step.”
“Yeah, yeah…”
Amelia wouldn’t let him bury himself back in his encyclopaedia, despite his clear impatience. “I know you’re here to keep an eye on me, probably because of Mikhail. But I can take care of myself.”
“I’m sure you can. Let’s just say I’ve always had a fetish for mummies. I couldn’t pass up a trip to the temple.”
She recognised the challenge in his gaze, but didn’t believe their mission was as dangerous as he made it sound.
Helena Nyavolska had sent an official request to the vampire tribe guarding the temple, asking permission for the descendants of one of the mummies to visit and pay their respects, and the vampires had agreed.
It was as if Zacharia had read her mind. “Nyavolska is nuts. So are the Beduin vampires. What happens when you mix a crazy person with a bunch of other crazies?”
Amelia tapped her chin. “Let me think… A negative and a negative makes a positive, right?”
Zacharia laughed. “I hope you’re better at the vision stuff than you are at calculating risks , Oracle.”
“Nyavolska has officially informed the tribe. They’re expecting us.” Amelia stood up. “Just don’t go throwing yourself onto any mummies, okay?”
Zacharia grunted. “No promises.”
When Amelia returned to her seat, Alex Volk angled herself towards her.
“Sucks, doesn’t it, having someone hovering over you all the time like you’re a fragile egg?
You get used to it.” She went on, not giving Amelia a chance to respond, “Men of certain species can be incredibly patronising with their loved ones…”
Amelia leaned back in her seat. “I get it, but I’m not anyone’s loved one.”
“Is that so?” Alex flung her blonde hair over her shoulder. Her brown eyes bore into Amelia. “I thought you and Mikhail were more than friends, if you catch my drift…”
Amelia’s stomach twisted. “We’re not.”
“Hmm… Strange. Then why did he put you on the Council? Can’t be for your leadership skills… And you’re kind of a useless Oracle.”
“ Useless? ”
“You don’t seem to get many visions…”
“I only share those I have the right to share,” Amelia said in a cool voice. She had rehearsed this line for such occasions.
Alex flipped the coin, caught it in the air, and slapped it on the back of her other hand without showing it. “Heads or tails?” she asked.
Amelia eyed the coin hidden under Alex’s palm. “Heads. What do I get if I win?”
“You get to be right.” Alex revealed the coin. “Tails. You’re wrong. Go again!” She repeated her coin-tossing ritual. “Heads or tails?”
“Heads.”
Alex lifted her hand to reveal the coin again. “Tails!” She marked a line in her notebook, which lay open in front of her. “Unlike me – thirty-five out of fifty isn’t bad, right? You’re zero for two… Heads or tails?”
“Sorry, Alex, I’ll pass.”
“Afraid of what you might learn about yourself? How much you can rely on your inner voice?” The girl patted her chest. “Knowing when it’s your mind and logic talking, and when it’s your intuition? The last two were tails. Logically, it should be heads now, right?”
“I guess…”
“Don’t guess. Decide!”
“All right. Heads.”
“Because it’s logical, right?”
Amelia didn’t respond, and Alex revealed the coin.
“Tails again!” she announced with glee. “If you keep at it long enough, you’ll learn to recognise your body’s signals – when it’s coming from your brain, from logic and knowledge, and when it’s your heart, your intuition.
The truth is always in what your heart tells you. Follow it, and you’ll never go wrong.”
Sudden turbulence interrupted her next toss. Alex continued, “Some species have stronger intuition than others, you know. Lycanthropes and manticores, for example. Probably because of the powerful animal spirits we carry within.”
“Vampires have an animal spirit, too,” Amelia said.
Alex laughed. “Vampires have a bat spirit. Not exactly terrifying. And aside from their fangs, they don’t really have any animalistic traits.
They don’t even grow much in size when they shift, so they don’t need a wardrobe change, nor are they restricted to wear only natural fibres…
” She wrinkled her nose. “But lycanthropes and manticores, like I said, have a much stronger sense of smell than most other species, and a better… intuition!”
Without giving Amelia a chance to respond, Alex said in a business-like manner, “I’m a lycanthrope by species, female by sex, and a scientist at heart.
Medicine is both my passion and my expertise.
Sometimes, I wish I’d been born a regular human – I’d have had access to so many more places to study medicine.
Instead, I’m stuck at the Hospital for Immortal Creatures.
It might sound cruel, but the problems with regeneration have been a fantastic opportunity for young creatures like me who are thirsty for knowledge.
Of course, it’s also why I can’t unlock my secondary form yet, but I’m working on a formula that might fix that… ”
Amelia leaned her chin on her fist, her elbow resting on the armrest. Alex was a fountain of information. Her blunt, almost crude honesty had a certain charm. With her rugged leather boots, brown tights, and rolled-up striped shirt, she resembled more an archaeologist than a medic.
“I’m telling you all this so you don’t mistake my scientific interest for idle curiosity,” Alex continued, relentless in her chatter.
“I’d never think that…”
“Then would you tell me how your physiological needs changed after your incredible transformation from human to immortal? Do you still have to… go number one? Is that what humans call it? How about number two? Forgive me, I sometimes still think of you as human.”
“Are you seriously asking me this?” Amelia wrinkled her brow.
“Yes.” Alex waited, eyes locked on Amelia’s.
“All right. Since my transformation, my physiological needs have drastically decreased, but they haven’t disappeared completely.”
The girl tapped her lower lip with a finger. “Haven’t disappeared completely… Care to be more specific?”
“No.”
“Hmm…”
Alex opened her notebook to a fresh page and, in large enough letters for Amelia to see, wrote ORACLE at the top, jotting down something smaller underneath.
“What did you write?”
“ ‘Feels discomfort discussing her physiological needs.’ ”
“Did you really need to write that down?”
“They say the powerful rule chaos. I say the wise take notes! You might find it absurd that I could forget such basic information, but if your daily life was as full of mental exercises as mine, you’d understand…”
“No, I don’t get why—” Amelia cut herself off. There was no point delving into the girl’s thought process or holding her accountable for taking notes on her private affairs. Instead, she smiled. “I hope I was helpful.”
She stared out the window, wondering if sleep might come easier on a plane.
Alex’s voice cut through her thoughts. “How about sex? Has that changed since your transformation? You must have a lover at the Hospital, no?”
Amelia almost jumped in her seat. After discovering the world of immortals and becoming one, she’d thought nothing could surprise her anymore.
She hadn’t expected Alex Volk.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t intend to discuss my love life.”
“Hmm…” Alex’s pen moved swiftly across the page again.
Amelia tried to sneak a peek, but Alex’s hand blocked her view. “What did you write now?”
“That you’re hiding something.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Silence always hides something.”
“I’m not being silent. There’s just nothing to discuss.”
“You don’t have a lover, then?”
Amelia sighed, giving up. “No. I don’t.”
Alex squinted, and just when Amelia braced herself for an accusation of lying, worse came instead.
“Then may I suggest someone?” Alex pursed her lips.
“Carlos Setti. Sixteenth floor, West Wing – apartment nine or ten, I think. I’m not sure, but I can check for you.
They say he has a very… accommodating instrument .
Not too big, not too small. Just right. His vampire nature implies dexterity, and the rumours confirm it.
His cunnilingus skills are legendary, not to mention his rich vocabulary – always a bonus in bed.
The only downside is, he’s quite busy. Understandable, given all those qualities.
But seeing as you’re the Oracle, you’d probably get priority. ”
Amelia studied Alex’s face, searching for any sign this was some twisted joke.
“I must warn you, though,” Alex continued in the same formal tone, “don’t let yourself get emotionally attached to Carlos. He’s very much a polygamist, and sharing… let’s say, the object of your affection, is always stressful for a woman.”
Amelia kept staring at Alex, unable to believe the words coming out of her mouth. Was she for real?
“It doesn’t have to be him, of course. Could be someone else. It’s just that I’ve heard exceptional things about him. Judging by your expression, you haven’t thought about it much, which leads me to believe that you’re not yet feeling the urges of the transformation. Don’t worry, they will come…”
‘The transformation is overwhelming. It awakens desires you might not expect…’ Mikhail’s words were so vivid in her mind, from their time in the forest, that it felt like he was right there, whispering in her ear.
A deep sense of longing filled Amelia, and her cheeks heated at the reminder of their time together.
Alex tilted her head and lifted a finger. “These things aren’t shameful to discuss, Amelia. This is what all those brave women fought for in the early twentieth century women’s rights movements – to freely discuss and demand the fulfilment of our sexual desires.”
“I thought they were fighting for gender equality,” Amelia said. “And they were mortal women. Human women.”
“Well, yeah.” Alex shrugged. “In the immortal world, women have always been free, but I admire those mortal women’s feminist movements.
Sometimes, I like to think of myself as one of them.
But where it starts doesn’t matter, because…
Don’t you agree it’s nice to be able to sit here, side by side, and discuss our needs without restraint? ”
Amelia was about to point out that they were discussing her needs, but she worried that might prompt Alex to share her own.
“I could tell you about myself,” Alex said.
“I’m one of those rare individuals who don’t go through such agonies during their transformation.
The only regular stimulation I crave is mental.
I want to learn everything – about the world, humans, creatures, religions, animals…
Everything! My appetite for knowledge is insatiable. ”
“I see…”
Alex sighed, as if her monologue had exhausted her. “I’m glad we had this chat, but now I plan to spend the rest of the flight exercising my brain and intuition.”
Following that, she resumed her coin-tossing game.