Page 24 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts (Hospital for Immortal Creatures #3)

“Because he has no loyalty to the Queen, and because he delivers results – for a price.”

They continued along a winding path beside the sleeping houses.

On one side, the palace towered above the night like the Queen’s relentless spy.

On the other, Antambazi sloped downward, its rugged terrain revealing tangled paths and weathered stone dwellings.

“Why didn’t you tell Mikhail about your issues with necromancy? ” Amelia asked.

Constantine shot her a sideways glance. “Issues? You make it sound worse than it is, Oracle.”

Amelia, despite having gained immortal abilities only recently, already understood she would never willingly part with them. That essence – animal spirit, invisible force, or whatever it was called – had fused with her being. “Mikhail would have found a way to help.”

“There’s no way to fix this.”

“It doesn’t seem that way. The stone the Queen has is one of the seven Sacreds…”

Without warning, Constantine yanked Amelia behind a nearby tree.

Headlights swept across the slope. A luxury SUV slowed, pulling up to a house on the opposite side of the street – a two-storey stone building with large windows and a welcoming garden.

Moments later, the engine cut out, and the back end of the car peeked out past the house.

“We’re taking that car,” Constantine said.

“What?”

He started towards the vehicle. The house obscured the front, leaving only the rear bumper in view, but the driver probably hadn’t stepped out yet.

“Wait!” Amelia hurried after him.

“Be ready to use your little trick.”

Before she could stop him, he rounded the corner. On the other side, they found the car’s owner entering the house through a back door. He glanced over his shoulder—

“Now!” Constantine called out.

Amelia obeyed, focusing on her hand. She turned her palm and willed the music to release. The same haunting melody began to flow. The reptilian’s surprised expression melted into bliss.

Now that he was unmoving, Amelia recognised his face. “He’s one of the Queen’s advisors.”

Constantine approached and searched the man, pulling a key from his wallet. “Any idea how fast reptilians regenerate?”

“Um… slower. Like the other species after the Changes. Why?”

“So they can die from trauma?”

“I suppose it depends on the type and—”

Constantine moved behind the advisor and snapped his neck in one swift motion. The reptilian’s lifeless body collapsed to the ground.

Her eyes widened in shock. She glanced at her hand, still radiating the melody – that same magic that had rendered the reptilian defenceless and enabled his effortless killing.

Constantine shoved the corpse behind the house and concealed it with gardening tools. “Get in,” he ordered, heading for the driver’s seat.

Amelia hesitated before getting into the passenger side.

He started the engine and drove off with practised ease, as though he knew the car and the route by heart. Killing a man to steal his vehicle hadn’t rattled him in the slightest. It seemed like just another routine for him.

When the luxury SUV started descending the slope, Amelia asked, “Was it necessary to kill him?”

Constantine steadied the wheel, guiding them towards the outer streets of the hub. “When your magic wears off, and that fool realises his prized car is gone, do you think he won’t ring the alarm?”

“That man is one of the Queen’s advisors. Everyone will recognise his car. Here, vehicles are a rare privilege. Not everyone even has the right—”

“Exactly. People will clear the way for us.” His features softened slightly.

“We needed a quicker means of navigating the realm. By the time his body is discovered or someone realises it’s not him driving, we’ll be long gone.

Trust me. We don’t know where the laboratory is, meaning we might have to search Antambazi to find it. ”

He was right, yet she couldn’t help but wonder – was one life worth one car? “Couldn’t we have waited for him to go inside and stolen the car later? He might not have noticed until morning.”

“Without the key?”

“You could’ve hot-wired it or something…”

“That trick doesn’t work on modern vehicles.” He shot her a sidelong glance. “Lesson number one when stealing a car: always take it with the key if you can.”

“Oh, thanks for the lesson…”

“As Mikhail’s other half, you should know how to steal a car.”

Amelia couldn’t tell whether he was joking or being serious. “I’m sure Mikhail doesn’t steal cars.”

The necromancer smiled for the first time since their journey began. “Exactly. That’s why one of you has to. Basic survival skill.”

Despite the tension gripping her, Amelia burst out laughing.

“And speaking of Mikhail…” Constantine’s expression turned cold. “If I find out you’ve lied, and you really stole his ring, and now hope to save him for forgiveness… I swear I’ll tear your head off before he even considers forgiving you.”

His words weren’t empty threats. They promised a death sentence.

Amelia liked having her head firmly on her shoulders.

More than that, she was relieved that Constantine – Mikhail’s best friend – was here with her.

Truly present, as she remembered him. For a moment, she’d feared he was lost, but now he was back.

“I’m happy to hear that.”

***

Amelia

The route to the city outskirts favoured their progress.

After about ten minutes of an almost spiralling descent, they reached the base of the hill.

Tall columns loomed ahead – massive and lit from below – marking the bridge that connected the inner districts to the edge of the realm.

Beyond the bridge, the road widened and straightened, part of it passing through the dilapidated shacks of a poverty-stricken neighbourhood.

“What is this place?” Constantine nodded towards a group of children who were playing, leaping over barrels.

“The outskirts. A sort of ghetto for those banished by the Queen. Did I mention her husband was the firstborn reptilian, Arius? She inherited his crown after he died of some unknown disease.”

Constantine raised his eyebrows. “That would explain how a non-reptilian creature ended up ruling over a reptilian realm.”

Amelia straightened up, facing him. “What do you mean?”

“She doesn’t smell reptilian to me. They reek of the sea, of saltwater, while she… reminds me of white flowers – lilies, jasmine…” Constantine wrinkled his nose as if the scent lingered in the air. “Something I can’t quite define.”

Even when she tapped into her Oracle abilities, Amelia’s olfactory sense was comparable to that of a cactus.

She made a mental note to return to the matter later and changed topics.

“The previous Oracle, Gea, worked with the Queen. She stayed in Antambazi of her own free will, helped the Queen collect some of the Sacreds, and then foretold that Mikhail would fall in love with me and give me the ring.”

Nothing in Constantine’s expression revealed his thoughts. “What are these Sacreds? That’s twice you’ve mentioned them now.”

“Seven items: the Manticore’s Ring, Hecate’s Mirror, Renenutet’s Necklace, Sandir’s Smoky Quartz, the Vampire’s Shifting Net, Callan’s Pocket Watch, and Belphegor’s Gloves – the ones you were supposed to retrieve from Hell.

Each grants power to its bearer, and together they form a formidable weapon.

When activated, they could allegedly cause an apocalypse.

The Queen has decided to gather them all.

She claims her goal is to use their power to remove the veil preventing reptilians from leaving Antambazi. ”

Constantine frowned. “Over the years, I’ve heard rumours about special artefacts tied to the different immortal species.

.. but ‘Sacreds’? That doesn’t ring a bell.

” The headlights illuminated the barren land beyond the outskirts.

Blackened soil, scattered with rocky outcrops, radiated a sense of despair and destitution.

While the skies above the city evoked a connection with nature, here they seemed to crush the ground beneath them, stifling any thought of life taking root.

“Where to now?” Constantine asked.

“South. If we assume Antambazi’s sea mirrors the Black Sea, then that means…”

“South is that way. The car has a compass.” He turned the wheel. “Let’s summarise. You’re saying the Queen is collecting seven items to remove the veil over Antambazi, but some reptilians already move freely between Antambazi and our realm?”

“Only the Chosen, like Sevar and Kathrine. She calls them that because they’re orphans she took in from the outskirts, guided by some inner impulse that told her to choose them. She claims she doesn’t know why some can pass through portals and others can’t.”

Constantine slowed down. “Why seven? What about the human species? No Sacred for them?”

“I don’t know… I also won—”

A violent jolt rocked the car, hurling Amelia against the windscreen. She raised her arms to protect herself from the dashboard. The seatbelt snapped taut across her chest, and a burst of white surrounded her. Airbags.

The engine stopped.

“Bloody hell!” Constantine shouted. “Are you all right?”

Amelia stirred, pushing against the airbags. “Yes. Are you?”

“Yes. Damn it, we hit something!” He got out of the car.

Ignoring the pain in her neck, Amelia followed. The front bumper above and around the right tyre was crushed, folded like an accordion.

“What did we hit?” She scanned the area. They had navigated numerous obstacles on the way here, but this stretch of land appeared flat.

Constantine ran a hand through his hair. “I’ve no bloody clue.”

Amelia looked up at the vast emptiness stretching around them. What if… She took a few steps forward in the direction they’d been travelling and extended her hand.

“Amelia?”

Her fingers collided with something solid. An invisible barrier. The boundary of the realm, concealed in plain sight. She laughed, though nothing was amusing about it.