Page 89 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species

Amelia bared her teeth at Ban Ban, restraining herself from slapping his smug face. The women surrounding the long-haired one jumped to their feet and closed in on Amelia, dragging her away.

Their unwelcome touch on her was the last straw. Something inside her snapped. How many times would people force their will on her without asking what she wanted? The Higher Power who had sacrificed her family so she could become what she was – did he ever ask her opinion? Had the previous Oracle asked if she wanted Mikhail thrown into her path? Had Mikhail asked if she was fine staying at the Hospital without him, after he hadwillinglyleft with Presiyan without offering any explanation?

“Stop!” she yelled. “STOP!STOP!”

The vampires froze and pulled back. All dancing stopped. The drum fell silent, and the entire field came to a standstill, all eyes turning to her.

Amelia had the tribe’s full attention. Now was the time to show them who she was.

“I am the Oracle, and I will not become Ban Ban’s wife, nor anyone else’s from this tribe!” she declared.

Empty eyes stared at her. They didn’t understand her.

“Somebody translate!” she shouted.

A vampire leapt up from his kneeling position on the grass and translated her words.

A chorus of gasps rippled through the crowd.

Good.

“I came to the temple because the Creator sent me on a secret mission. Anyone who tries to stop me will incur his wrath!” She scanned the vampires with a stern gaze and added, “Even theHorned God!”

The translator spoke, and another wave of gasps and whispers erupted. Her last bit about the Horned God might have been too bold, but it seemed to work – even Ban Ban stared at her with a mix of awe and reverence.

Amelia straightened to her full height. “I will leave here, and none of you will stop me! And I will take those innocent creatures you have tied up with me!”

All eyes followed her hand, pointing to the pillar. Nyavolski’s face was twisted in a bear-like rage, Helena’s lips curled into a snarl, Viktor’s eyes burned with fury, and Alex seemed almost amused by the unfolding events.

“And you will never again speak of my presence in the temple!” Amelia finished.

The long-haired man stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. “You claim to be sent by the Creator…” He squinted. “The Creator of all that exists?”

Amelia nodded. “The very same.”

“But these creatures stole something from the temple. The protective magic sealed them in on its own. That same magic has manifested around the temple for aeons, perhaps by the Creator’s will as well.”

Amelia lifted her chin. “As I said, they are here doing what they were meant to do – what they were commanded to do.”

The vampire frowned, mulling over her words. “You werecommandedto steal the slab of Geraldine the Great?” he asked, his face a mask of confusion.

Amelia tried to hide her surprise.The slab of whom?She shook her head. Now was not the time for questions. She summoned all the confidence she could muster. “Are you questioning the Creator’s will?”

A tense silence fell over the meadow. The muscles under her left eye twitched.

Then, the long-haired man spoke. “So be it. If this is the Creator’s will, I will abide by it.”

Amelia exhaled the breath she’d been holding.

“But first, you must prove you are the Oracle. The Oracle’s eyes turn white when she speaks to the Creator. Show me!”

All right. This wasn’t too hard. Viktor had told her the other day in the autopsy room that her eyes had been white – meaning, her eyes changed colour when she received visions. And, according to Mikhail, when she was aroused…

Amelia scanned the semicircle of vampires around her; only the fire separated her from the bulk of them. They were so many and so close that she could barely see the pillar where her companions were tied, obscured by the wall of bodies.

She faced the long-haired man again and pursed her lips.How do I summon a vision?

One option was to release her hold on her mind and surrender to the overwhelming cacophony of scenes and images. For months, they had been impossible to decipher, and Amelia thought it was because they were directly from the Creator’s knowledge – his source of everything, as it were. Still, even if she couldn’t use them, from the outside, no one would know she was lost in them. And if she was accessing something meant for the Oracle, surely her eyes would turn white? She was about to find out…