50 #2
He was just about to continue his way to Sofia when his cell phone went off. As he pulled it from the inside of his leather jacket, a shiver of warning ran down his spine, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
The plain display read: Mikhail K .
The manticore’s voice was an angry growl when Zacharia answered. “Tell me you’re not at the Hospital!”
“The Iskar Gorge,” Zacharia said.
“Good. The Hospital is under siege. Armed reptilians and humans are all over the courtyard—”
Zacharia started up his bike. “I’m heading there now.”
“No!” Mikhail shouted. “Don’t come here under any circumstances! I need you to act from the outside. Find—”
The line went dead. Zacharia tried calling him back, but hit only a robotic voice: “The number you have dialled cannot be reached at the moment. Please try again later.”
A thousand fucking devils!
***
Viktor removed his dirty gloves. His breathing eased now that the last autopsy had shown nothing unusual.
Ever since he’d learned about the Konig impersonator, he couldn’t think of anything but the general.
He longed to pick up his trail. To stalk him.
To pin him against a wall. To make him bleed, both inside and out.
To ask him how he knew about the Kreiss Hunters and Cristiano Konig.
How he’d found out about the immortal species. How many more creatures he had harmed.
He craved to dig his claws into him. To gut him. To gouge out his eyes. To tear off his arms. While he was still breathing.
Viktor stormed out and slammed the door of the autopsy room behind him. He imagined catching the general and inflicting upon him all the suffering he had caused others.
Act, you cowardly bastard!
Viktor paused in his steps and rested his forearm against the wall, burying his head under it. The animal inside him pounded in his chest, fierce and untameable. It struggled to break free and seek vengeance.
Viktor possessed a perfect sense of smell, a predator’s instinct, a menacing animal form, and was filled with bottomless hatred. He could catch the general much faster than the Tribunal’s agents.
Then what are you waiting for?
No, he didn’t want to sink into Vaka Hara. Not again…
But it’s so nice there. Pleasure without sin. And blood, lots of blood…
Viktor straightened from the wall, determined not to give in to temptation.
He had promised Mikhail, Alex, and Grigor – he had promised himself.
Running, he reached the other part of the basement that served as a parking lot.
Instead of taking the side stairs, he headed for the car ramp.
He sprinted as if someone were chasing him, in a desperate need to exhaust his body.
A second later, he was outside.
“Stop right there!”
Viktor searched the source of the words, his nose catching a distinctive scent. A few feet away, a man in military clothes and a black mask faced him, the barrel of his rifle pointed at Viktor’s head.
Viktor raised his hands, assessing his surroundings. Only now did he notice the courtyard’s air was filled with many voices coming from the direction of the main gate. From his position, he didn’t have an unobstructed view, but if he moved ten paces to the side…
“I said, stay put!” the man shouted.
Another armed man in military gear appeared. “Is there a problem?”
“I caught one of them. He’s going to cause trouble,” said the first.
“No one’s causing any trouble.” The other man shifted behind Viktor and pressed his rifle against his back. “Move!”
Viktor obeyed, too stunned to resist. Even the wolf inside him remained silent.
But neither of them was prepared for what awaited them as they rounded the corner of the building.
The entire Hospital courtyard was swarming with armed soldiers in black masks.
In front of the building’s entrance. Under the trees.
By the fountain. Around the benches and gazebos.
Near the central guard post. Along the entire length of the fence.
There were at least a hundred. Maybe two hundred?
During his second scan of the yard, Viktor perceived the creatures kneeling on the ground.
“Sit down!” someone ordered him.
Viktor knelt on the ground, his eyes focusing on the man who believed he would make it out of this unscathed. The soldier was larger than an average man. The mask hid his features, but his scent… Viktor wrinkled his nose, confused. This wasn’t a typical human smell.
He stared into the eye holes of the mask and finally understood. Reptilian. This man was a reptilian.
Humans and reptilians. On the Hospital’s grounds. Armed.
A movement drew Viktor’s attention to the centre of the courtyard.
The soldiers stepped aside to make way for a blonde woman in a white dress. Her gait was fluid, and her features strangely familiar. A man and woman in military clothes flanked her sides, their faces stern and clear of masks.
The wolf inside Viktor whimpered, frightened.
This time, it was Viktor’s instinct, warning him of mortal danger.
Then, he saw him. Walking leisurely through the courtyard, his calculating eyes sizing up the captured creatures, his smile growing wider with each step that brought him closer to the Hospital.
General Petrov.