Page 113 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species
“Now, let’s talk somewhere more comfortable.” Presiyan lifted the mask to his face, the edges clinging to his sharp features like a glove. Without another word, he walked out, leaving the door to his cell open.
Mikhail followed.
Presiyan had taken Mikhail to his private quarters, where he’d been left alone to bathe and change into clean clothes. The Tribunal leader had been cryptic about the unfolding events but had hinted humans were involved. All the Tribunal cardinals and agents had been mobilised and on high alert for a potential threat.
On the way back to the Hospital, Mikhail had relaxed, knowing Amelia was with Constantine and safe. He had planned to give himself a few hours before facing her. He had caught his reflection in the mirror and, by God, he did resemble a beast – terrible enough to scare her or, at the very least, put her off him for good.
He had intended to tidy himself up first, but as soon as he’d caught her scent in the corridor, his feet had led him straight to her. His desire for her had flared up, uncontrollable. The humanpart of him. The animal part of him. And above all, that part between the two, which represented his truest self.
Mikhail returned to the present. He didn’t like the story of the temple, nor the results of the genetic tests. Actually, many things furrowed his brow, especially the part about the stolen mummy. And that he still didn’t know who was behind his imprisonment. Presiyan had told him he couldn’t reveal the name.
“I was imprisoned in Prokaliya because I was accused of the disaster in Alberobello, of killing a bunch of witches, and of compromising the secrecy of the immortal world,” Mikhail said. “I don’t know who framed me, nor do I know why. Nor why the camera footage shows just me. Actually, I do know – because whoever provided it wanted only me to look guilty. It’s someone who has a personal vendetta against me.”
“And how come they released you early?” Constantine asked.
“Presiyan decided that our friendship was more important.”
Zacharia chose that moment to join the impromptu gathering. “Welcome back, brother,” he said, raising a white envelope in front of his face. “Looks like this is my early Christmas gift for you. You can thank Constantine – it was his idea for me to dig deeper into this.”
Mikhail took the envelope and inspected it. “Why Christmas?”
“Because I expected to hand it to you around Christmas of 2102. Figured that’s when they’d let you out of prison.”
“More like 2172.” Mikhail pulled out the envelope’s contents – three photographs of a naked female body. Aheadlessfemale body.
In the first photo, the body lay on its back. The first thing that struck Mikhail was the black nail polish on the fingers and toes. The second photo showed the corpse from behind, giving a clear view of the tattoo covering the left half of the buttock and part of the back of the left thigh – the Council’s tattoo. The last photo was a close-up of the upper back, just below the point of thesevered neck. There was another, smaller tattoo there – three interlocking triangles. What Viktor referred to as avalknut.
“The missing body of Kaliope Gazis,” Zacharia announced in a mock-dramatic tone.
The others jumped up from their seats as if scalded, all inching closer to get a better view.
“That—” Viktor grabbed the photo from Mikhail’s hands, observing it with wild, wide eyes. “Fucking pervert bastards! It had to be the Kreiss Hunters!”
Zacharia shared a look with Constantine, then frowned. “The Kreiss Hunters?”
“Several centuries ago, there was an organisation of humans searching for supernatural creatures in the world. They called themselves the Kreiss Hunters,” Mikhail said, wanting to spare Viktor from going through the story once again.
The lycanthrope, however, clenched his teeth. “I’ll tell them about the Kreiss Hunters.” He went on to explain the history of the Kreiss Hunters to the rest of the group, the same way as he’d done with Amelia and Mikhail – what seemed like ages ago.
When he finished, Nyavolski shook his head. “Un-fucking-believable! I’ve never heard of such disgusting practices…”
Viktor’s upper lip curled. “Because I made sure that bastard König died in excruciating agony before his twisted ways led to more innocent victims.”
To this day, Mikhail remembered Viktor’s blood-soaked face, twisted with satisfaction and madness, after he had punished König. It had been the catalyst for his second fall into Vaka Hara.
“König marked his victims with three triangles, which was the original symbol of the Kreiss Hunters. Historically, it was a Viking symbol called a valknut, but König claimed it as his own,” Viktor explained.
“Hmm…” Helena rubbed her temples. “How is it possible that this maniac, who was supposedly killed by Viktor, is still aliveand active today? Because that’s what you’re saying, right – that he murdered Kaliope? Could he be some kind of witcher? Or perhaps he’s using a time portal?”
“Kaliope isn’t König’s only recent victim. Just before the Tribunal arrested me, Viktor called me to the autopsy room. He’d been working on the body of a woman with her stomach removed and she had the same tattoo on her neck,” Mikhail said with bitterness. Even then, he should have done something, but it had been easier to pretend it was just a coincidence. And how he despised the wordcoincidence…
Amelia met his gaze. “There’s more, Mikhail. I was in the autopsy room with Viktor, standing over a man’s body, when I had a vision of another man, in his mid-fifties, with greying hair and blue eyes. There was something familiar about him, like I’d seen him a long time ago but couldn’t quite place him… He was standing over the man whose eyes I was seeing through at that moment. He said to him, ‘You’ll be a fine addition to my collection.’ Then the vision ended. Viktor and I turned over the body and saw the valknut tattoo on his neck.”
Nyavolski tapped his foot. “Still, how could a dead König commit these murders?”
“It wasn’t him, but a copycat, and I bet you I know what he looks like.” Constantine took out his phone and typed a few things, then lifted it before Amelia’s face.
Her eyes widened at whatever she saw. “It’s him. The man from my vision…”
