The School of Bermuda - Volume 1 - The hunter's daughter

-21-

Lili held her fist suspended in the air, halted in her desire to knock on the door, her eyes widening as she listened to what was happening inside.

"We have been waiting for a long time, Amos," growled a man's voice. "We promised the others it would be this year."

"I know!" replied the professor. "Stop pressuring me like this. She is here for several years, I have time to earn her trust."

"How much longer do you think we are going to wait?" exclaimed an elderly woman's voice. "By the time you succeed, you will have become an alpha!"

"Don't be ridiculous, mother!"

Lili jumped in surprise. Mother? Wasn't Professor Butter's mother a hunter?

"Give me a little more time," Amos continued. "I will easily take control of that wand. Unlike this girl, I will know how to use it."

"We had a visit from Karel," the man's voice resumed. "You know he doesn't trust you at all."

"I'll show him... Always having to bow down to those damn wizards! It will be over once I have the silver wand and destroy the barrier."

This time, the little girl had heard enough. She silently backed away, but her foot suddenly met emptiness and she fell, trying to grab onto a shelf that she pulled down in her fall.

How could she have forgotten about the small platform in that spot, which elevated the desk?

"Who's here?"

As she was about to get up, Amos opened the door to his office. He observed the frightened young girl for a moment before realizing that she had heard everything, stretching his lips into a cruel smile.

"Well, well, it's precisely you that I wanted to see," he said.

Lili quickly jumped up and rushed towards the door, but the professor blocked her with a spell. She drew her own magic wand, but the adult easily disarmed her from a distance before approaching her. Grabbing her by the hair, he pulled her into his office, facing a large mirror where the images of two people appeared: the alphas Niheel and Rathel.

"I didn't introduce you to my parents, Lili, did I?"

"Amos, what is this?" Niheel asked.

"The girl we were talking about, Karel's daughter."

"Why didn't you lock your door? All our plans will be ruined, get rid of her!"

" I'm not going to kill her here, everything would be lost if they find her."

Amos turned his head towards the window to watch the sun slowly setting, then his gaze fell on the forest.

"But no one will blame me if a certain girl decides to disobey and venture into the forest while all the carnivorous creatures are terribly attracted to her blood."

The traitor pushed the child against the window, which he opened with a wave of his wand. Then he pointed his magical weapon at Lili.

"Fly deep into the forest, embrace the unknown,Never alone, you'll find your way back home."

Lili felt her feet leave the ground as she suddenly flew through the air, as if swept away by a powerful gust of wind.

She eventually fell unceremoniously among the trees, several kilometers from the edge of the woods, deep within the dark forest.

Her skirt, top, and stockings were badly damaged during her fall. She also had a few wounds, but the worst part was that she was lost, at the beginning of the night, in a place filled with monsters thirsty for fresh flesh.

Amos remained at his window for a moment, observing the forest. She would never be able to escape, especially at night, he thought, proud of himself. He finally stepped back to return to the classroom. A wave of his magic wand put the shelf back in place, and the broken vials back together. Then he approached the silver wand that remained there.

With a smile, he bent down to pick it up, but suddenly received a powerful electric shock. Perplexed, he tried again, but the shock was stronger and more painful. It was clear that he couldn't touch this wand, but why?

It was possible to use someone else's wand, he himself had experienced it during his years at school. He had saved a certain Eloïsa Poussin, with whom he had attended classes, by using her wand. This gesture had only served to throw off suspicion, not to mention that Donatello Tant and Sara Harisson were present that day.

So why couldn't he take the silver wand today? Annoyed, he levitated it with his own wand, going to the window to send the magical object into the courtyard. Then no one would suspect him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Lili looked around her. It was already pitch black, and the dense trees hid the moon, yet the little girl could see perfectly well around her.

Trembling with fear, she decided to move forward in an attempt to leave this place. She had the unpleasant feeling that creatures hidden in the bushes were watching her as she struggled to make her way through the trees.

After just a few minutes of walking, she jumped in fright as she heard a growl in front of her. Stepping back, she could see with horror a chimera emerging from a thick bush. Lili didn't wait a second longer and ran in the opposite direction, immediately pursued by the dreadful creature. She narrowly turned to the right, leaving the beast, which was very close to her, crashing into a tree. That only stopped the monster for a few seconds before it went back on the hunt.

Lili was desperate. She certainly wasn't running fast enough to outpace such a beast. Running without knowing which direction she was heading in, she suddenly tripped on a root and tumbled down a small slope. As she painfully got up, the chimera leaped down to join her.