Page 57 of Anatomy of the Immortal Species
“Something is bothering you. You’ve been standing still for forty minutes.” Mikhail’s deep voice sent a shiver down her spine.
She had sensed his approach before hearing him but was deliberately delaying eye contact. Every time she looked at him, her heart fluttered, sending her back to her childhood dreams, where he was her lonely prince.
Her mind, however, remained sharp in Mikhail’s presence, never letting her forget he had already stripped her soul bare once, only to hurt her afterwards. And that day in the conference room, he had almost stripped her body, only to leave her feeling disappointed, ashamed… and unbearably aroused.
Finally, Amelia turned to face him, bracing herself for the brief tremor that always weakened her knees when she saw him.The wind tousled his light chestnut hair, and his dark clothes blended with the ominous bulk of the Hospital behind him.
It was a good thing that, after thatincident,Mikhail’s behaviour had taken a different turn. He hadn’t brought up their past again. He was polite – with a friendly manner, even – but distant. Over the past week, Amelia had spent hours with him and his inner circle, planning their upcoming journey to Kamchatka, theorising about C. and the reptilians, discussing her role as the Oracle – and concluding that none of them had any idea what that role was.
Despite the strange dynamics between them, Amelia had to admit that she was beginning to feel somewhat comfortable in the building, often forgetting the real reason for her return. Now, as Mikhail stood before her, with the Hospital looming behind him like an extension of himself, the thought of stealing his ring and being on the run from him forever sent another chill through her.
She met his gaze. “Nothing’s bothering me.”
“Then, walk with me.” He gestured towards the courtyard.
Amelia shrugged. She had nothing else to do – well, except stealing the ring. It wouldn’t hurt to spend more time with him,
They walked together across the courtyard, along narrow paths surrounded by piles of snow. Earlier, from her window, Amelia had observed the creatures shovelling snow to keep the roads and driveways clear. Despite their efforts, the snow was more persistent than ever tonight, and by the time Amelia and Mikhail reached the central gate, her leather boots were soaked, and snowflakes dusted the blonde strands pulled by the wind from beneath her hood.
“It isn’t exactly the best time for a walk, isn’t it?” she said, though she made no effort to return. She was immortal now. It wasn’t as if she could catch a cold. In fact, she didn’t know what she could or couldn’t get sick from – at least she might learnabout colds now.
“On the contrary.” Mikhail smiled, signalling the creature guarding the gate to open it.
He led her into the forest, where the oak trees intertwined their branches, and Amelia’s feet sank into the snow, just as they had two months ago when Mikhail had brought her here. Back then, outside the Hospital’s gates, his presence had lost its threatening edge, and Amelia had found him almost friendly.
“What do you hear?” Mikhail asked.
She tilted her head, thinking she hadn’t understood the question. “What do you mean?”
“What do you hear? Describe all the sounds reaching your ears.”
Amelia strained to listen. “The howling of the wind.”
As if angered by her words, the wind flung a fresh batch of snowflakes in her face. She raised her hand to shield herself and glanced longingly towards the Hospital, visible through the gaps in the branches overhead. The glowing windows promised warmth and comfort. “The weather’s awful! Let’s go back!”
Mikhail shook his head. “Stand still and tell me what you hear.”
“The howling of the wind, Mikhail.”
What was he getting at?
“No one is born with knowledge,” he said. “As you know, children of every immortal species are born not much different from humans, and they unlock their true abilities only after reaching immortality. That transition is often quite stressful. For example, it took me a long time to adjust to my heightened sense of smell, especially around the odours I detested. Saying that my stomach churned every time I smelled garlic or onions would be an understatement.”
“I thought only vampires had an issue with garlic,” Amelia joked. She knew by now that many of the myths about vampires, as believed by humans, were just that – myths.
“The whole garlic thing is a human fairytale. And no, neithera vampire nor any other species would burst into flames if you threw garlic at them. I just dislike the smell… Because the stronger a stimulus, the more it overwhelms your senses. It’s like they latch onto your perceptions and block out everything else. You, for instance, are fixated on the wind and refuse to hear anything else.”
“I’m not refusing! I just can’t—”
Mikhail stepped closer, forcing her to lift her chin to maintain eye contact. “The easiest way to overcome that sound is to make it your friend. Listen without prejudice. Be grateful that it allows you to hear it. Let it into you, let it blend with you…” There was a glint in his eyes she hadn’t seen since that moment in the meeting room. She held her breath, waiting for his next words. “What you call ‘howling’ will soon become a beautiful melody. You’ll feel it, you’ll understand it. In that melody, you’ll hear the true sounds of the wind, the snow falling…” He froze, his gaze shifting to the side. “…the footsteps of forest animals, the life beneath the frozen streams…” His eyes wandered to the branches and the Hospital’s windows peeking through them. “The crackling of a fireplace and the voices gathered around it, the television in the central security post…”
When his eyes returned to hers, his voice lowered to a whisper. “And many other sounds, some expected… some not that much. Will you try?”
Amelia had been holding her breath the entire time. “I could never hear all those things you do.”
He smiled. “Of course you can. You’ll hear much more than I do.”
She listened again to the wind’s howling, before surrendering. “It’s still just wind.”
