Page 53 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species
Amelia pushed down the impulse to offer comfort. She would use his temporary vulnerability to learn more about the ring. Sheneeded to, if she wanted to complete her task swiftly.
With that thought, she let him lead her to the top floor, then followed him up the narrow staircase to the tower. Through the arched windows, the city of Sofia sprawled out on one side, while the Vitosha Mountain loomed on the other.
Mikhail often came here when something troubled him. Just like tonight.
For a while, they were lost in their thoughts – Amelia gazing at the city that no longer felt like hers, and Mikhail staring at the mountains. Then he crossed the small space between them. “I should have done more to help Viktor.”
Amelia’s mind returned to the horrific tale Viktor had shared with them – a story of the unimaginable loss of his beloved and their unborn child. “How could you have done anything when you didn’t even know him back then?”
A deep crease formed on his brow. “I don’t mean then. Now. I knew he’d succumbed to Vaka Hara twice. But instead of helping him, I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts.”
Amelia frowned. “What’s Vaka Hara?”
“It’s a state where you lose control over the animal spirit within you,” Mikhail explained. “It starts to dominate you, and you become its slave. The animal has no morals, only instincts and needs – good and bad alike. Sometimes you can pull yourself back, but sometimes you can’t. They say if you let the animal take control for too long, you becomeit, with no way to return. Strong negative emotions – anger, hatred, a thirst for revenge – can push you into Vaka Hara.”
Mikhail clenched his fists. “But who wouldn’t react that way after what Viktor went through? I know I would have done the same. Outside of Vaka Hara, Viktor is the picture of self-control. He vowed to not transform because he didn’t trust himself. The truth is, years ago, he helped save me from falling into it when I was on the brink myself. You remember the murders and mytrip to Italy?” When Amelia nodded, he continued, “We went there to seek answers after learning the severed head of the witch had been delivered through a magical portal. We were attacked by a horde of enraged witches. Viktor’s transformation saved us. Without him, we would have all been dead. But after that, he started acting strange. I kept him sedated, hoping that with time, the animal would calm down. He was still off, but I thought he was managing. Then he seemed normal again… until he announced he wanted to do autopsies.”
Amelia processed his words. “Maybe he just got tired of working in the lab?”
Mikhail held her gaze for a long moment before responding, “The wolf in him has a passion for dissection.”
The mention of the word “dissection” caused a chill through her.
Mikhail’s eyes never left hers. “We call it an ‘animal,’ an ‘inner spirit,’ but in truth, it’s nothing more than a very dark part of yourself.” Something in the way he looked at her, or perhaps in his words, sent a shiver down her spine.
Amelia averted her gaze and focused on Sofia’s distant lights. The streets were full of people – hurried, burdened with work and thoughts, wrapped up in their own worlds, oblivious to the dangers that lurked beyond their comprehension. “Perhaps the similarities between humans and immortals are greater than they seem,” she mused. “In the end, it all comes down to mastering oneself. Humans struggle with their past, with dark thoughts and emotions, just to keep living each day. But that struggle makes them strong. Immortals face the same battle, but in the form of the animal or the inner spirit. And it’s that very spirit from which they draw their strength.”
“Perhaps you’re right,” Mikhail conceded after a moment.
They fell into a silence broken only by the howling wind outside. Amelia knew this was the moment to ask about the ring, but theright words eluded her. And she was too rattled after Viktor’s story to pursue it.
On the way back, they didn’t speak. When Mikhail left her at her door, all he said was, “Thank you for keeping me company.”
After midnight, Amelia put on her jacket and stepped into the corridor. Once she was sure no one was around, she took the lift down and slipped outside. The night was cold and snowy, so she pulled her hood over her head, grateful for the cover it provided.
The gazebo was about three hundred feet from the entrance, and with the chill in the air, it was deserted. Amelia sat on the bench, hidden under the thick canopy, and scanned her surroundings. Nothing resembled an improvised mailbox.
Then an idea struck her. She turned her palms upward and felt along the underside of the bench. Suddenly, her hand found a small gap where her fingers touched the edge of a piece of paper. She pulled it out and tucked it into her jacket sleeve.
She didn’t dare look at it until she was back in her room, sure that no one had seen her. When she finally unfolded the note, she read the words:
Hurry. She’s coming.
***
Amelia undressed, filled her glass to the brim with water from the sink and drank it in one gulp, but it tasted bitter on her tongue, as if drenched in bile.
When she fell asleep that night, the images swooped in on her like a nightmare.
Her body trembled with cold and shock. Her bare feet sank into the slush, and her chest burned with a fiery intensity. She had taken on the shape of an animal, galloping on enormous grey paws.
Her thoughts were so chaotic and frenzied that she couldn’t hold on to one. Her heart seemed lodged in her throat,simultaneously crushed by despair and ablaze with fury. Bare branches lashed against her face as she tore through the dense forest. One of them slashed across her hip, leaving a trail of blood, but the wound didn’t slow the animal’s momentum in the slightest.
Through the trees, a dilapidated wooden house reeking of rot came into view. The animal’s rage intensified, but Amelia couldn’t comprehend what drove it or what its intentions were. She was merely a passenger inside its body, seeing through its eyes.
The house loomed closer, yet the animal didn’t slow its pace. Amelia feared they would crash into the structure.
The creature burst through a window. Just before the glass shattered into a million pieces, Amelia caught a glimpse of the creature’s reflection in the glass – a massive grey-black wolf with yellow eyes, soaked in blood.
