Shifters (Feline english version)

Chapter 5-1

Once I uttered these words, a flash of satisfaction crossed Charles' face, before he resumed his usual impassive look. He passed me without a word and implicitly invited me to follow him, as he reached the austere and cold hallway, where he waited for me to join him. He then headed towards the back of the room, to the right of a magnificent wooden staircase, and stopped in front of a wrought-iron glass door.

- 'Come with me,' he said, lowering the handle.

I followed in his footsteps and we crossed the door that led to a new wooden porch, almost identical to the previous one, overlooking a small, well-kept courtyard. Once outside, he went down the few steps and stopped in the middle of the alley.

- 'Amelia... She agreed to help us.'

As soon as his last word ended, the air began to tremble like an undulating veil. Then it tore itself apart, revealing a completely different landscape. I was no longer behind an isolated house, standing in the middle of a courtyard, but in the centre of a kind of hamlet. It consisted of a dozen wooden buildings of simpler construction than the main house, scattered here and there concentrically, the furthest away almost touching the first trees of the surrounding forest. In the centre of this approximate circle, an earthen square where a handful of people gathered, including the famous Amelia, at least as I assumed.

It was with wide eyes that I stared at the new landscape that surrounded me. How many more shocks would I have to deal with today? It was starting to be a little too much for one person, even for me. Suddenly, I remembered Charles' first sentence when I thought he was crazy.

« Humans are not the only people on this planet. »

How much more would I discover?

- 'How do you do that?' I gasped.

- 'We had nothing to do with it. Amelia created it for us. An illusion for our protection. She's a very promising young witch. As she has just included you in the spell, it no longer has any effect on you and no longer prevents you from discerning reality.'

- 'A witch!' I marvelled, staring at the tiny woman Charles had pointed to. She looked like any young girl in her twenties I could have met on the street.

I shook my head, hoping that it would clear my head and perhaps put things in their place. But of course not.

- 'What are you gonna tell me now? Vampires, zombies... the Loch Ness monster, maybe?'

- 'It's my turn to charge you with reading too many science fiction novels... and sarcasm doesn't suit you,' he glacially criticized me, without answering my question.

If there were other "supernatural beings", why would he not tell me about them? I had just entered the twilight zone and my mind was having trouble assimilating all this new information. Might as well stay focused. As long as I had nothing concrete to underpin them, the best thing was to focus on the current problems.

Charles introduced me briefly to the people present, without going into details. The looks I saw ranged from timid hope to outright hostility. Nothing new for me, even if I felt a slight pinch in my heart as the feelings I was repressing threatened to overwhelm me again.

I had to find a moment to be alone. No way I'm going to break in front of all these inhospitable stares. Unfortunately, my wish was not granted and Charles led me without a word of explanation to the nearest building, between the square and the main house. It was made of wood, very long although not very tall, and vaguely reminded me of a barn.

When we entered it, my eyes, used to the late morning sun, took some time to acclimatize to the sudden darkness. We were in a square room with a rustic aspect. Effect reinforced by the exposed structure and the raw wood floor. For the time being, the place was almost completely empty except for the chairs stacked one on top of the other and stored against the left wall, which made me think that this place was a meeting room.

This impression was confirmed when I saw a platform furnished with a rectangular table with chairs, all placed on the same side and where two people were already standing. Two women, I realized, in an intense conversation. A conversation that stopped abruptly the instant they noticed our presence.

The one on the left was not very tall and was in her early fifties, with light brown hair that was either blond or grey, difficult to say in this half-light, and soft eyes tinged with sadness. Her face reminded me of someone, without me being able to say who. The second was tall and slender and seemed younger, although her haughty and cranky look and her black clothes aged her. She stood up straight, fists on her hips, and stared at me with a hostile look.

- 'Christina, let me introduce you to our council. This is Carla, my wife,' Charles told me, pointing to the smallest of the two women with a wave of his hand, who shyly and wearily smiled at me. 'And Daphnee, my sister,' he continued nodding to the high-heeled harpy who kept staring at me. 'The third member is me, of course,' he ended with a fake smile. 'We are the three oldest members of this community. It is therefore up to us to resolve any disputes and problems that arise. At least, in theory,' he concluded in a sinister tone.

- 'We're not just trying, Charles! We were doing very well without having to involve this... girl in the pack's affairs.'

Okay. Obviously, Daphnee was not my biggest fan! It was good to know, although not surprising. She certainly wasn't one of the people who voted to integrate me into the community. Her voice was in accordance with her appearance: massive, authoritative and condescending.

- 'Three people disappeared, for heaven's sake!' Carla snapped as she got up from her chair. 'Is that what you call doing well? Still as arrogant as ever! You don't even want to admit that we need help. I remind you, by the way, that we are not a pack, but a metamorphic community,' she added in a heavy tone of unspoken words.

I stared at her for a moment, surprised by the unexpected burst from this seemingly shy and reserved woman. That "don't be fooled by appearances" was not such an old saying.

- 'Not hers, at any rate!' Daphnee replied with anger, before pinning me with her dark gaze.

That woman was scary. There was a particularly disturbing kind of negative aura emerging from her. Her imposing Spanish aristocratic stature, combined with her dark clothes, must also have had something to do with it. A style she certainly cultivated deliberately, in order to frighten the poor "mortals". Because there was no doubt about it, she felt she was superior to everyone else.

- 'From whose, then?' Carla asked sweetly. 'Do you have a better idea to suggest? Because so far, I don't think you've presented us with any miracle solutions.'

- 'Forgive me for interrupting such a warm conversation,' I mocked. 'I perfectly understood that I was the ugly duckling here, but despite the high opinion you have of me, I still decided to help you... if I can,' I continued in a tone that clearly meant that I didn't know why I was doing this. 'So the question is... do you want it or not?'

All this procrastination was starting to weigh seriously on me. I was shocked, scared and completely lost. My breaking point was not far away, and it wouldn't take much for me to reach it. So, either they decided, or I'd get out of here and never come back.