Concealment - Tiger's Eye Book 2

Chapter 35 - Kalinda Appears

Chapter 35 - Kalinda Appears

“What the hell?!” Topanga exclaimed.

I asked, “How is this even possible? Cats can’t glow.”

“It’s obviously some kind of magic,” Rolla said, “But I don’t know what.”

            Snow suddenly raised into the air similar to what I had just done less than a half hour ago. Her shape shifted. Snow isn’t a cat at all… she’s a Tigma. A girl our age appeared in Snow’s place and she stopped glowing and lowered back to the ground. Snow was under a spell the whole time. Nobody in the room needed a clue to figure that out.

“Who are you?” Rolla asked.

The girl smiled, “I am Kalinda. It is a pleasure to formally meet you after two hundred years.”

“What the hell is going on?” Topanga asked.

“I know this is confusing,” Kalinda said, “but I am a Tigma just like you. I am a Samoulte too.”

“Then where is your soul mate?” Pilote asked.

She lowered her head a little, “He’s dead. I’ve been living in a cat’s body for about 350 years.”

“I’m confused,” I said holding my head.

Carter put his arms around me “Let’s sit you down.”

            He sat with me on the couch and everybody took a seat waiting for Kalinda to start explaining herself. Nothing here in Murera is ever what it seems to be.

“I put that spell on myself a long time ago,” she said.

“Why?” Rolla asked.

“My soul mate and I lived with the Tigmas for a while but we got lost when the humans tried to kill us four or five hundred years ago I’m not good with dates. We had to live in the human world but witches hunted us. They killed my soul mate and I knew I needed to do something to protect myself so I performed the spell to turn myself into a cat. To perform a spell that powerful I needed leverage, I needed to channel power for something more powerful than myself. So I used the Samoulte Circle. When you performed the Samoulte Circle it broke my curse and I returned to normal.”

“How did you know about the Samoulte Circle?” Rolla asked.

“When my husband and I were lost the first time and we started getting hunted we used our Samoulte abilities because we wanted to know when it would be safe for us. When we learned it was going to take hundreds and hundreds of years we panicked. We learned about the Samoulte Circle but with all the spells put on the hidden Murera we just couldn’t find it even with our abilities. After he died using the Samoulte Circle for channeling power seemed like the best idea. It would allow me to only return to my original form when the war was approaching and I would be safe.”

“That’s why you follow me home that day,” Rolla said.

She nodded, “I remembered your face from the prophecy. I recognized your jewelry and your face. You looked like a Carter, I could see the resemblance between the both of us so I followed you hoping you would lead me to the Tigmas and you did. I’ve stayed down here ever since waiting for this moment. I wandered around Murera watching and helping out when I could. I knew Lily was the black tiger before anybody else. Being in cat form and using my Samoulte abilities allowed me to have some pretty bizarre but helpful powers. That’s how I knew about the black tiger prophecy before the war even began. I tried to warn your parents but I didn’t get to them in time.”

“So you’ve been living as a cat for 350 years?” I asked.

“Yes so you can imagine how relieved I am that you finally performed the spell.”