Page 83 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species

Amelia passed by the grave of a lycanthrope who was famous forslaying the hundred-handed witch.“And how will youexplain why you’re poking Sergei?”

“I’ll tell him there’s a legend in my family that Sergei swallowed a magical coin, and finding it will reveal a great family secret. I’m searching for it.”

“Via bone marrow aspiration?”

“Oh, please! You don’t think this Vlas guy with his prehistoric dress has any clue about genetics or medicine, to know exactly what I’m doing?”

Amelia stopped before sarcophagus thirty-seven.Nikolay Korovin, 473-1764. Manticore. Quencher of the greatest war between nymphs and witches in history.

She read the inscription again, and again. Her heart raced. Was this Mikhail’s father?

“I found him. Quick! Help me open it!”

Amelia tore her eyes away from the sarcophagus with reluctance and went to Helena.

“Grab the lid on the other side,” the nymph instructed.

Amelia’s fingers brushed the cold surface of the sarcophagus.I’m about to open a mummy’s coffin, for real…

She hesitated. Did Zacharia have to share all his concerns right before they entered the temple?

“We lift on three. One…”

“Helena…”

“What?”

“Well, what if there’s something in there?”

“Yes, a mummy. That’s what we came for.”

“But what if there’s something… else?”

“What else?”

“A curse…” Amelia whispered. “Or a demon?”

Alex approached them. “You found it! Let me help. I trained for a while in preparation for joining Zacharia’s guards. Lots of weightlifting.”

She grabbed the lid in the middle and lifted it in one swiftmotion. Amelia and Helena held the two ends, lowering it to the ground, careful to not make any sound. The three of them hovered over the open coffin. Inside it was a brown, withered body. Sergei Davidoff had been laid on his back, with his hands resting on either side of his torso.

“I expected him to be wrapped up in bandages…” Helena studied the corpse.

Amelia had also imagined she’d find more than just a dried corpse that reminded her a lot of the formalin bodies she’d practised on during her anatomy classes. Facing a somewhat familiar image helped her calm her breathing.

Helena opened her suitcase and retrieved the aspiration needle. She plunged it into the mummy’s sternum with the enthusiasm of a scientist who’d stop at nothing to prove their thesis. Then she inserted the syringe and pulled out the bone marrow.

“Done,” she announced a moment later and tucked away the material and her tools into the bag. Together, they replaced the lid, covering the mummy.

Pacing to the exit, Amelia ran a hand over her forehead, releasing a deep breath of relief. They’d done it!

“That’s it?” Nyavolski’s eyes widened when they returned to the entrance.

“I told you it would all be all right.” Helena smiled, eyes on the medical kit.

“What do you think is inside the other two halls?” Alex asked, shifting the bag on her shoulder.

“More mummies. I checked while we waited,” Zacharia said.