What Will You Chose to Sacrifice? (Part1)

Dear readers, thank you all for your support. It filled my heart with warmth and helped me cope with losses and difficulties. May God protects you, and your loved ones will be next to you. Sincerely, Anya.

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Ashley slipped into the office next to her father's room and closed the door tightly. Since Rick was a special patient, there was no one else on the floor but him. The exception was the medical staff who monitored Stein's condition and responded in case of emergency jumps in his indicators.

Daniel's knowledge and skills were vast in the medical field, but his skill level would not have been sufficient at a critical time.

During her days in the hospital, Ashley knew the schedule of all the doctors and nurses, where they were at what time of day, and where they were not. So at that moment - she knew for sure that in this office no one would bother her.

She brought the phone to her ear and whispered in a conspiratorial voice, "Room 735. Do you remember what it looks like?" Having received an affirmative answer, the girl hung up and waited.

A few seconds later, a small figure materialized in the air. Sean exhaled and sat down on the floor.

"Wow! You really did it!" Ashley ran to her friend and hugged him. For a long time he could not move more than a meter, and this time he was able to cover a distance of several blocks! "Why are you so sad? Did something happen to your parents?"

Sean shook his head, "No, I guess. I don't know. Every time I try to tell someone or even think about it, I get a headache," the boy closed his eyes. He couldn't help crying in pain when called Ashley, but now he didn't want her to see him cry.

"Then don't tell me why. Let's figure out what to do. When the adults notice you ran away, we'll have problems. Although... I will say that it was I who put you up to it, because I was bored," the girl smiled. She was no stranger to getting whipped for bad behavior.

"I have to get to Peru. But I don't know where it is," Sean replied.

"Peru? You mean, the country?" asked Ashley. She was an inquisitive child. And as a true pirate, she learned the names of countries and their flags at the age of three.

"Yes. Ashley, you know everything. Can you help me get there? We can teleport in turn. You see, I am good at doing it." Sean looked at his best friend hopefully. It didn't matter if they played together, quarreled or fought - Ashley was in his eyes the coolest girl he knew. And the smartest one.

"Hmm, this is probably far away. Adults will definitely not let us eat sweets for the whole year," she opened a browser on her phone and pressed the voice search button, "Peru."

A number of pictures and a list of links for the specified request were displayed on the screen. The children sighed. There were too many pictures.

"Do you know the exact place? I'm not afraid, but I think we might get lost," she asked Sean.

The boy frowned. He seemed to have heard Armand's brother mention a gate. "Gate of the Gods. Check, is there such a place?"

"Gate of the Gods, Peru," Ashley repeated the request, and the images in the browser were the same. "Oh, there is even a video! Let's watch? This will make it easier to imagine the place. Maybe we can get there right away, what do you think?"

"Let's do it," Sean said eagerly.

But before they had time to press the "play" button, the door to the room flew open, and Daniel appeared on the threshold. Not the happiest Daniel.

"Armand, I found him, he is in the clinic. Nick is not here," the man replied to his friend on the phone and hung up. "Well, well, what is this secret meeting we have here?" A benevolent smile played on his lips, but his eyes burned with fury.

"Let's run!" Ashley shouted and grabbed Sean's arm.

"Stay where you are! Just dare to evaporate, forget about sweets for the rest of your life!" the man barked, and the children froze. Even at such a young age, they could assess the extent of such a threat.

"Sean, what the hell?!" Daniel was not modest about the way he spoke, "Do you have any idea how you made everyone worry?! "

Sean lowered his head, now he and Ashley will not get into any Peru. The children knew that they could teleport at any moment and no one would stop them, but even without explanation, they understood that it was not a good thing to do this.

"I need to go to Peru! Mom and Dad are in danger!" the boy cried out with resentment in his voice. Daniel's heart ached at the look of the child. Oh, this couple was clearly the weak point of their family.

The man exhaled heavily and ran a hand through his hair, "Haa, okay. Let's figure it out. Stay close and don't touch anything unless I ask you. Is it clear?"

"Clear," the children answered in unison.

"Sean, do you know where Nick is?" Daniel asked.

The boy shook his head, he didn't want to talk about his weird relative, if Nick could be called a relative at all.

"Let's go to the ward. We need to calm Corey before she gets all the police in the city crazy busy," the man waved his hand, pointing the children to the door.

They went out into the corridor and felt that something strange was happening around. The air felt heavy, and with each step, they seemed to move through layers of cobwebs that wanted to hold them back.

Daniel stopped abruptly and pushed the children behind him. A nurse lay on the floor not far from the door to Rick's room. She was supposed to bring the medicine, but a tray with a syringe and ampoules was lying on the floor next to her.

"Stay where you are," Daniel said quietly and cautiously approached the room. The door was open. The man pushed it forward.

Corey lay in the aisle in an uncomfortable position, her eyes were fixed on the ceiling. Daniel's heart sank into the abyss, he himself felt that he was falling somewhere down.

The man grabbed the woman's body in his arms and put his fingers to her neck. Corey's pulse was weak, but it could be felt.

"She's in a trance. She will wake up in ten minutes," an indifferent voice sounded from the depths of the room.

Daniel gritted his teeth and looked at the guest with disappointment and incomprehension, "Nick, what the hell are you doing?!"

Nicholas was standing by Rick's bed and moving his hands over the man's body as if scanning him, as Lina usually did.

He lifted his head and looked at Daniel. Completely black pupils, a motionless face like a mask - this was not Nick, it was someone else. And that someone was dangerous.

The creature stepped away from Rick's bed and walked silently towards Daniel. Corey's body slipped out of Anderson's hands. He himself froze as if paralyzed, unable to take his eyes off the black eyes that resembled an abyss.

Nick stopped in front of Daniel and put his hand on the man's head. A wave of current passed through Anderson's body, it seemed to him that a little more, and each cell would boil.

"I am taking back what originally belonged to me, human. The power of the gods flows in the blood of Teser. You, like the one who is dying in that bed, got it by accident."

The skin on Daniel's face turned gray, blood began to flow from his nose, a stifled wheeze escaped from his throat, and the man collapsed to the floor, losing consciousness.

Nicholas looked at the two people indifferently and turned back to Rick's bed. He took a step, froze, and threw his hand forward, blocking the chair flying at him.

"The mouse decided to show up?" a light chuckle escaped the creature's lips. Before him stood two small children, clenching their weak fists, and looking with such fury that Nicholas admired for a second.

He had already seen this look. Only that was a long time ago. Very, very long ago, that the echoes of those memories were chaotic flashes that did not affect the soul that died millennia ago.

Nick returned to Rick and raised his hand over the man's body. "Another stupid thing on your part, and I will kill this man without lifting a finger," the creature's voice was flat, as if he were commenting on the weather outside.

"D-don't touch my dad!" Ashley screamed from behind Sean. The boy pushed the girl behind him, although he was slightly shorter than her.

"This person's body is dying. Even if I don't touch him, he has no more than a day to live." Nick wiggled his fingers. Blue energy from Rick's body began to flow into the palm of the creature. "Only his soul is clinging to life. How unusual."

The readings on the gauges blinked. The patient's heart rate jerked several times and turned into a straight line. A monotonous long squeak filled the room.

The creature turned its head to the children, "This man should have died years ago," he raised his hand over Rick's body again, and the squeak stopped. The pulse thread twitched in an uneven rhythm.

"He took what did not belong to him. Like the sons of the Anderson family," Nick looked at the girl, "So did she."

Sean stepped back, pushing Ashley toward the exit. "If you touch her, I will kill you." The boy's gaze became heavy and not childish at all. Flames flashed in his palms.

The creature tilted its head and bared its teeth in a chilling smile, "Oh yes you can, Sean Nicholas Anderson. You can."

Nick turned his gaze to the pale Rick, whose life was about to end. The face of the creature again became without a hint of emotion. "You know why I'm here, young heir Teser? But so be it, I'll leave you a choice. You can follow me and stop me. Or stay here and save this man. Decide whose life you are willing to sacrifice to kill me."

Nicholas's body was covered with a gray haze and disappeared.

The loud squeak of the monitor deafened Sean.

Rick's heart stopped beating.