Page 27 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts (Hospital for Immortal Creatures #3)

Amelia

Daylight pierced through the veil of night, though a sliver of darkness still lingered. Constantine slowed the car as he spotted a cluster of trees rising from the barren wasteland. Ten reddish crowns, symmetrically arranged on either side, framed a central gap that could only be a portal.

“I think we’ve found it,” Constantine said.

Amelia nodded. Fear of the unknown crawled along every nerve in her body. It took all her willpower not to slide into the backseat with Mikhail, but being close to him would cloud her focus. Hearing his steady breathing was enough for now. The rest could come later.

The car’s headlights drew the attention of the reptilian guards stationed at the portal. Their lack of graphite uniforms suggested they weren’t Chosen, but ordinary sentries. Two of them stepped forward, inspecting the vehicle.

Constantine eased to a stop. “Are you ready?”

She would never be. “You remember what I said about the coat, don’t you?”

“What’s with the obsession with your coat? It’s not even cold outside of Antambazi.”

“It’s just… precious to me. Sentimental value. Look, that must be it.” Amelia pointed to a shimmering black expanse stretched like a silk veil between two neighbouring trunks.

They parked a few metres away from the guards. The sentries surrounded the car, hands resting on their holsters at their hips. One of them gestured for the windows to be rolled down. Constantine obliged. Amelia’s music echoed through the night, and all the reptilians fell into a trance.

Constantine drove the car towards the strange material they assumed was the portal. The treetops closed in around them, and the car’s front pierced the black expanse.

Not even a beat later, he slammed on the brakes and reversed sharply. “It’s a trap. The portal leads to Hell.”

Amelia’s hand remained extended out the window, keeping the reptilians in their stupor. Time was pressing. “What are you talking about?!”

“Those flames?” He pointed ahead, where darkness stretched out. “That’s Hellfire. Trust me, I’ve been there. You can’t mistake them for anything else.”

“Constantine, there’s nothing…” She fell silent, because movement did indeed appear ahead – a massive lorry hurtling towards them at high speed. “Someone’s coming!”

“Who?”

Perhaps the lorry was delivering goods. They must have stumbled upon one of the trade portals connecting to Earth. But why wasn’t it slowing down…?

“Constantine, pull over! It’s going to hit us!”

“Who the hell is going to hit us?!”

She reached for the wheel. She couldn’t afford to lose anyone else. Not again. Not the way she had lost her parents and Sammy…

“Amelia, there’s nothing in front of us!” Constantine yanked her hands off the wheel. “And your music’s stopped! Those reptilians will wake up any moment now.”

She blinked.

The lorry flickered. For the briefest moment, its shape dissolved – revealing only blackness beyond it.

Her eyes widened.

“It’s not real,” she whispered. “None of it is real.”

The flames, the lorry, and even the looming sense of dread – everything was part of the illusion guarding the gate.

The portal reflected fears.

She raised her hand to restart the music a second before the lorry was about to collide with them. “It’s magic. An illusion! The portal shows you your fears. I’m not seeing flames – I see the lorry that killed my family. I think we just need to drive through it.”

The lorry was still speeding towards them, yet it never seemed to get any closer.

Constantine’s fingers tightened on the wheel. “If you’re wrong and that really is Hell…”

“I’m not.”

The necromancer stared straight ahead. Whatever held him captive prevented his foot from pressing the pedal.

“Please, just drive!” Amelia reached over, covering his hand with hers.

He exhaled, his lips forming a grim line. Then he pressed down on the accelerator.

Terror surged through Amelia, throwing her back to the past and the crash that had taken everything meaningful from her life.

Not this time, not this time, not this time…

Amelia repeated to herself, squeezing her eyes shut.

This time , the meaning of her life was in the car again – in the back seat – and she would let nothing harm him.

“Damn it!” Constantine shouted.

Amelia looked around. They were on a dusty forest path. Outside Antambazi.

“We made it!” He slammed his fist against the steering wheel.

Amela took a deep breath. “Pull over for a moment.”

“Have you lost your mind? There’s no time…”

“Please, Constantine.”

He hit the brakes hard.

She faced him. “Presiyan is a traitor. In my coat, there’s a letter I want you to give to Mikhail.”

“What are you doing?” His gaze tracked her hand as she reached for the door handle.

“I still have work to do in Antambazi. Take care of Mikhail.” Amelia stepped out of the car without looking at the rear seat. One glance would be enough to change her mind.

“Amelia, get back in the damn car!” Constantine yelled.

The Sacred around her wrist shimmered faintly, as if the necromancer’s tone had angered it. “When you read the letter, you’ll understand…”

“Get your arse in here, or I’ll come out and stuff you into the boot myself if it’s the last thing I do!”

She slammed the door and sprinted to the portal.

Reaching the palace before the Queen was imperative.

She would hide the Shifting Net somewhere and use it at her next chance to collect the other Sacreds.

The Queen wouldn’t be able to prove Amelia had helped Mikhail and Constantine escape – no one could claim they’d seen her near the laboratory.

Just as she was about to leap into Antambazi, Constantine’s arm locked around her waist. “You crazy woman! You’ve completely lost it if you think I’m leaving you in that nest of vipers! Do you want Mikhail to rip my head off, for God’s sake?”

Amelia kicked helplessly in the air. “I have to find the rest of the Sacreds!”

He started dragging her to the car. “You’ll get them another time!”

“Please, let me go! I need to return Mikhail’s ring.”

“Do you think he’ll care about that ring? He’s already sacrificed it once to keep you safe.”

“I’m safe…” Amelia’s voice trembled with desperation. She tried to plant her heels into the ground, resisting Constantine’s efforts to shove her back into the seat. They were wasting so much time arguing. “The Queen trusts me. Gea collected the Sacreds for me. I can’t leave now…”

“Oh, yes, you can!” Constantine growled in her ear.

A new emotion ignited within her. Despair morphed into resolve. “Let me go!”

With stunning speed, the Shifting Net – in bracelet form, now – unwound itself from her arm and sprang over Constantine’s head.

He released her, reaching for it, but the threads had already begun to grow, unfurling into a mesh of tendrils that engulfed him.

In seconds, they expanded into a vast living net, tightening around his body and knocking him to the ground.

“Constantine!” Amelia knelt beside him, pulling at the net, but it wouldn’t budge.

“Tell your damn pet to get off me, for heaven’s sake!”

“I… I don’t know what to do.” Her eyes darted over the net. “Let him go!” she shouted at the object. The Sacred didn’t react. “I think… I think it’s angry because you wouldn’t let me go…”

A distant noise caused Amelia to turn her head. The sound of an engine signalled an approaching vehicle.

Inside the net, Constantine resumed his struggle against the net’s hold while Amelia clawed at it from the outside, tugging frantically and muttering under her breath. “Please, please, please…”

The necromancer kicked and pulled, but the Sacred seemed determined to restrain him. “I promise I’ll let her do whatever she wants!” he shouted.

The net slackened. The living strands leapt back onto Amelia’s arm, and before they fully settled, they’d already reshaped themselves into the delicate, feminine design.

Too late. Headlights from a large SUV pierced the night. Amelia recognised one of the vehicles used by the Chosen. The black vehicle blocked their escape route, and from its side doors stepped Kathrine, flanked by a trusted subordinate.

“What’s going on here?” Kathrine observed the stolen car with its dented bumper. From her position, she couldn’t see Mikhail in the back seat.

“Someone’s decided to go for a stroll?” The other reptilian quipped, a massive pistol appearing in his hand.

Amelia raised her palm, but no music played. The witcher had warned her that the magic would only work within Antambazi. Her gaze shifted to the Sacred on her arm…

The reptilian advanced towards her, weapon aimed at her. “No sudden moves, or I’ll be forced to shoot.”

Was it her imagination, or had the Shifting Net tightened around her arm?

Kathrine set off for Constantine, weapon in one hand and handcuffs in the other. “I’ll secure him. You keep the Oracle under control,” she instructed her subordinate. Clearly, she didn’t consider Amelia dangerous enough to warrant neutralising.

The Sacred tightened once more around Amelia’s muscles, as if insisting otherwise.

What was she supposed to do?

As Kathrine reached Constantine and prepared to restrain him, he said, “Do you really intend to cuff me, Kathrine? I thought we’d resolved those issues between us.”

“Don’t do anything stupid, necromancer, or I swear, this time you’ll regret it.” She circled behind him, reaching for his hands.

“Touch him, and I’ll cut your head off, you reptilian bitch!”

All four swivelled their heads towards the bushes by the roadside.

A figure stood there – a woman, cloaked in the shadows of the forest. She could have been a spectre, but she wasn’t.

Dressed in tight-fitting clothing that blended with the darkness, she held a pistol in one hand… and a massive sword in the other.

She stepped forward, letting the moonlight illuminate her face.

Diana?