“I'm going to give you, Kalev, a chance to leave the way you came in!” Ava said in such a serious tone that I could tell she wasn't kidding at all.

“Oh, come on, why do you have to take things to this point? I thought we'd made progress now that we know our real names! What are you going to do if I refuse to leave without what's mine? Are you going to kill me?” He asked, “Listen, I've faced things you couldn't imagine even in your worst nightmares,” Kalev began to approach very slowly.

Ava's body stiffened as she held out her arms threateningly. She was very nervous even though she was trying hard to hide it.

“So..., give me the locket at once and stop wasting my time!” he demanded and looked at her with his fierce eyes.

“Don't take another step or I'll shoot you! I'm not playing either!” The young woman threatened him, very upset, while holding the small revolver in both hands.

“Give me the gun, Ava. And let's get this over with!”

Kalev continued to move forward slowly, ignoring her warnings. Then, without meaning to, Ava pulled the trigger and the firearm produced a loud bang. The abrupt sound of the shot broke the silence of the room, being heard in the hallway and also in the other adjoining rooms. The bullet hit the young man's chest and he fell backwards to the floor, lying motionless for a moment on the carpet.

“What did I do!” Ava exclaimed aloud, as if she didn't understand what had happened. She was dismayed by what had happened. Her hands were shaking uncontrollably and she dropped the gun to the floor.

“You shot me, your crazy bitch, or don't you see?” Kalev gasped as if he had suddenly regained consciousness. And with an effort he lifted his head to examine his wound.

“I didn't want to do it, you made me do it. I've never shot anyone before in my life.” Ava commented with tears in her eyes.

Kalev crawled to the wall leaving a blood mark on the carpet. And there he leaned against the wall to try to pull himself together.

“It's very serious!” Ava exclaimed when she saw the amount of blood he had lost. At the same time, she covered her mouth, not knowing what to do. “Stay like this, don't move! I'll go get a doctor! It'll be all right, you'll recover!”

“No! I just need... I need the amulet!”

Ava remained watching him without moving. She couldn't make sense of his request and thought maybe he was delirious from the pain.

“Quick! The locket! Give it to me! Or you'll have a dead man in your room in a few minutes.”

Ava despite still not understanding Kalev's strange request, nodded this time without hesitation, and looked urgently in the dress where she had kept it. Once she found it, she handed it to him immediately.

“You need a doctor urgently, you're bleeding to death!”

He ignored Ava's words and held the amulet in one hand. With trembling movements, he opened the container and drank the substance inside from the locket. A few seconds after absorbing the strange liquid, Kalev began to convulse frantically, making jerky movements.

Ava tried to approach him with the intention of helping him, but Kalev, watching her with his intense eyes, signaled her to stay away. After a few minutes the convulsions stopped and he remained seated with his head down. Ava looked at him in fright, unsure of what to do. She saw him so motionless that she thought he had lost consciousness and, despite his warnings, she reached over and took him by the hands. His skin was very cold and dark veins were visible on his face.

“Are you, all right?” she asked with concern.

“Do you care now?” he answered, moving his body repeatedly, as if he was checking his condition.

“I am not a murderer.” Ava replied “I thought if I gave you the locket, you were going to kill me anyway. You know what they say about people like you.”

“What do they say?” asked the young man, still with his head down.

“You know!”

“No! What is it?”

“That they are free to murder people!” she answered with a sigh.

“Oh, that!” exclaimed Kalev as if the answer Ava had given him sounded most ridiculous. Then, he began to move his body quite naturally, as if he hadn't been shot a few minutes ago. After checking his movements, he made a satisfied gesture with his face and slightly ajar the collar of his shirt. He inserted his hand and when withdrew it, had the lead bullet between his fingers. He contemplated the fragment of the projectile for an instant, and at the end he threw it with annoyance to the ground.

“What? How can that be possible? I just shot you!” said Ava with some skepticism. And unable to restrain herself, she rushed at Kalev with the intention of checking his wound from which she had seen him bleeding only a moment ago.

“Get away!” said the hunter, pushing her back.

“I can't believe it! How could you have recovered so quickly? It's impossible!”

“Forget about me and everything you've seen today!” Kalev stood up and put the amulet around his neck. They stood in silence for a moment, each immersed in their own thoughts. Until Kalev cleared his throat and extended his hand toward her. “I need the photograph and the paper with the directions the hierophant gave you.”

“I don't have your photograph here. Only the paper with the information.” Ava answered as she searched in the same dress where she had hidden the necklace.

“For your sake, I recommend that you destroy them!” Kalev took the papers that Ava gave him and burned them with one of the kerosene lamps.

“What am I going to do now with my contract? What am I going to tell the hierophant?”

“That's your business!” He replied curtly, showing that he was annoyed with her.

“What are you, some kind of demon? How can you be healed instantly, I can't understand?” Ava insisted.

“Questions and more questions, that's all that comes from your lips, isn't it? You behave like a nagging child, you're infuriating!”

“You're annoying me!” Ava shouted, grabbing one of her shoes and threw it at him with force. But Kalev managed to dodge it with a quick movement and the shoe ended up hitting a vase that shattered as it fell to the ground.

“You're out of your mind!” exclaimed the death hunter as he bent down to retrieve his glasses and the violin case he had left by the window.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door that was repeated insistently over and over again:

“Miss, Miss, are you, all right?” asked a man from the other side of the door.

“It's the hotel concierge! He must have heard the shot!”

“I don't know what you're going to do, but I'm getting out of here!” said Kalev, and at the same time opened the window of the room.

“Miss, please open the door or we'll have to force our way in!” shouted the janitor again. And he was heard talking to a guest who also seemed to have heard strange noises.

“Don't leave yet, I'd like to talk to you about what happened! Please!” she pleaded earnestly as she headed for the door without adding anything else.

Kalev watched her and didn't say anything either, he just followed her with his eyes.

Ava opened the door, looking angry at being disturbed so late at night, and excused herself for the strange sounds, saying that she was suffering from a severe headache and that she had broken one of the vases in the room as a result. Despite this, she made it clear that she was willing to make up for the damage caused earlier in the day when she left her lodging. Excusing herself again and without giving the concierge a chance to open his mouth, the young woman slammed the door in his face. The old janitor stared in bewilderment at the closed door in front of him, confused at such insolence shown by the young woman.

Ava turned again toward the room and noticed that Kalev had left despite her request. She walked over to the window that had been left ajar and closed it. From there she could see that the gas lamps overlooking the street had been extinguished, and now absolute darkness reigned outside.

As she walked towards the bed with her bare feet, she stepped on something that caused her a sharp pain and this unpleasant sensation spread from her foot to her whole body. She gave a cry of pain and when she lifted her leg, she saw that one of the fragments of the broken vase had been stuck. With two of her fingers she grabbed the piece of glass and ripped it out in one go, covering her mouth so as not to scream. Then she sat down on the edge of the bed and turned her gaze to the nightstand, where she noticed a gold coin gleaming on the piece of furniture.

“Why did you leave it there? What is it..., a gesture of pity or compassion? I don't need anything from anyone!” Ava shouted as she threw the coin on the floor, and lying face down on her bed, she began to cry...

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