Page 63 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species

“Let’s vote!” Helena proposed.

Constantine gave a brief affirming gesture. “Who agrees on the extraction of genetic material from the Temple of the Dead Immortals?”

“What!? I can’t believe it! He approved it for a vote, for heaven’s sake! He approved it…”

“God damn it, shut up, Nyavolski!” Helena’s hand pierced the air. “Aye!”

Platinum followed, then Lyla Lee, Zia, and the extravagant vampire Sylvester.

“No, no, no…” Nyavolski kept mumbling.

Viktor frowned. “I do not support the desecration of the temple, but seeing as how we’ve discovered cancerous cells in the OR for the second time, I believe it is time to take that step.”

His hand joined in with the rest. A vampire, who often hid her face behind a ball mask, also lifted her hand.

Jaguar sighed. “I will support the idea, although I find it dangerous.”

“Eight ayes,” Dimitri noted. “I guess it won’t happen…”

“I also vote yes.” Amelia dared lift her hand. She felt as if she was betraying Mikhail, but she also believed in genetics.

Constantine observed the hands in the air. “Is that all the ayes? Shall we see the nays?” He waited for them to vote again. “Nine against nine… The deciding vote will be mine.”

The Council Chairman had two votes, but in this case, one would suffice. If Constantine voted against it, the proposition would be rejected.

“I vote against,” he said.

Helena slapped her forehead. “Oh, damn it!”

***

They said the icy abyss of Prokaliya changes a creature.

They said, in the end, all that remains of you is a docile animal that lives by the rules of the prison. You eat what you are told to eat. Sleep when ordered. Obey as instructed. Do as Prokaliya pleased.

They said that is the path of least resistance to survive. They said so much…

Mikhail lay on his abdomen on the ground, the coldness penetrating through the thick fabric of his frost-white prisoner’s clothes. His palms stuck to the floor, the tip of his shoes digging into the icy ground, and he pushed his body up on his arms, then lowered down. He repeated the movement, his breaths leaving trails in the air. Push-ups were much easier when your hands didn’tstickto the ice on the floor, but soon, when his body temperature rose, his skin would become numb to the blazing touch.

He pushed up, already insensible to the cold. To sustain his mind, he had to keep his muscles working. Had to remain mentally and physically strong for when an opportunity for escape would arise.

When he drained his energy and tiredness forced him to cease, the chill resumed. He collapsed on the bed – a piece of metal protruding from the wall, which couldn’t fit the entire length of his body – and stared at the walls. Their icy glow created an illusion of moving shapes in the darkness. He didn’t fear them, but he shuddered at their whispers – the desperate pleas of previous inmates, absorbed and forever confined in the ice.

Yes, he’d also heard about that, but he had always considered it a fantasy story for children.

He ignored the voices, summoning the only face that could make him forget his surroundings.

***

A biting chill crept across Amelia’s skin, forcing her wide awake. She jerked up in bed and opened her eyes to a translucent blue wall, its icy hues casting eerie shadows.What the hell?She glanced around and found herself in a tiny chamber – the ceiling hanging low above her head and the walls so close that it was hard to breathe.

She was cornered, with no escape. Her heart pounded in her chest when realisation dawned on her. This was Prokaliya. And she was needed somewhere else, but she couldn’t get there…

Amelia struggled for control over the vision, but as soon as she woke up, the image was gone. Her skin was damp and hot, though her insides felt chilled by black frost.

She raked her fingers through her hair, reliving what she’d seen over and over again.

“Give me more, damn it!” she screamed in frustration, but no one was listening.