Page 114 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species
Constantine passed the phone to Helena, gesturing for it to be circled to the group.
“Who’s that?” Mikhail asked after a glance.
Constantine nodded to Zacharia. “Let’s listen to our amateur photographer. I guarantee you’ll find his story about his latestmodelinteresting.”
“With pleasure,” Zacharia said. “As you know, I’ve beendigging around Kaliope’s late lover, the minister. I’ll give you the short version. Minister Vrabchev knew about the existence of immortal beings – was probably a member of these Kreiss Hunters. Or at least part of some subsidiary organisation of theirs. I suspect he was fascinated, even captivated, by the immortal species. To the extent that he told his wife about them. She, however, was not in the least intrigued and promptly sent him off to a psychiatrist…”
Constantine chuckled.
“Unappreciated by his wife but still keen, the minister met Kaliope. The poor fool was so besotted with her that he didn’t even bother to hide their affair. Unfortunately, however much Mrs. Vrabcheva disliked this relationship, she didn’t have the power to stop her husband. So, she could only seethe with anger and remain silent. Until one day, fate smiled upon her in the form of General Petrov.”
“The man from the photo,” Constantine said.
Zacharia nodded. “A former general of the Bulgarian Land Forces. There are many unknowns here, but after some digging, I discovered the general and Minister Vrabchev were part of the same social circle. At some point, Vrabchev must have become a liability. Why and how, I still don’t know. What’s clear is the general decided to get rid of the minister, and the minister’s disgruntled wife made the perfect accomplice.”
Mikhail furrowed his brow but said nothing.
“She wasn’t exactly thrilled to spill the beans to me, but she did it anyway – and that’s what sent me on General Petrov’s tail. I eventually found his workshop. A hideout where he dismembers immortal beings and arranges their organs like bloody trophies on his wall. It’s in Ivanyane, ten miles outside of Sofia, in an isolated compound of several houses, all owned by the general.”
Mikhail shifted in his chair. His problems were piling up, and he hadn’t even been free for twenty-four hours.
“You’ve probably guessed by now that it’s where I found Kaliope’s body, too.”
Nyavolski slammed his fist into his palm. “That general is a bloody reptilian! Let’s catch him and cut him to pieces…”
Zacharia shook his head. “He’s not a reptilian. Definitely not.”
“Could it be that reptilians don’t exist at all, and someone has just made us believe it with that stupid diary and Elisanda’s nonsense?” Helena wondered.
“They exist – Amelia and I were attacked by one,” Mikhail said. “But now it seems that more than one faction was involved in Kaliope Gazis’ murder. The reptilians took her head to send it to me, while the general got the body to indulge in his twisted games. Which means the reptilians are workingwiththe humans. Or at the very least, have some kind of arrangement.”
“Probably,” Zacharia agreed, “but that doesn’t answer the question of why the general decided to get rid of Minister Vrabchev.”
“Do you have any theories?”
The hybrid shrugged. “The simplest explanation is that both the late Minister Vrabchev and this mysterious General Petrov are in cahoots with the reptilians. And whichever other humans are under their command. I’ve no idea what their exact agenda is, but it must be to inflict harm on immortals – or, perhaps more specifically, this Hospital. If I were to throw around another guess, I’d say the minister really was smitten with Kaliope, and he might have had second thoughts about working against immortals. Or perhaps about working against us, since that would have meant putting Kaliope in a direct line of fire. Anything’s possible… But we may never know the truth. Either way, he’s out of the picture now.”
“And so is Kaliope,” Mikhail mused. “It appears she didn’t die because of some silly old feud with Elisanda, as I first thought.”
Viktor cleared his throat. “What do we do about this general,Mikhail?”
His words were delivered in a calm tone, but Mikhail recognised the dark thirst for vengeance in his eyes – a thirst he knew he couldn’t satisfy. “I’ll speak to Presiyan.”
“Presiyan?! He was the one who locked you up!” the lycanthrope snapped, jumping to his feet and shaking his head.
“And he’s also the one who let me out.”
Viktor ran a hand through his hair. “When Amelia and I found the second tattooed body, we hesitated about contacting the Tribunal. We decided not to because we didn’t trust them after what they did to you.”
Mikhail met and held his gaze. “I understand, my friend. But Presiyan only did what he had to, as per the rules and laws of our world. Say what you will, but I still consider him an ally.”
44
The Hospital building retained its shadowed beauty, yet Amelia found it much more welcoming now. Welcoming and alive.
Mikhail was on the phone, his back to her, giving her the chance to admire him unnoticed. His broad shoulders were relaxed, his voice steady and calm.
When the call ended, Mikhail faced her. “Presiyan will dispatch his agents to capture the general. Petrov is a significant figure in the human world. It must appear like he’s suddenly gone on holiday.”
