Welcome to Almusilaa

Chapter Seven

The council members had come to a decision. I was positively fuming along with the rest of the familiars.

I sat with the other Familiars at Charlie's feet as our fate was decided for us. Eleanor sat by us with a scheming look on her face.

"We will not give into the criminal's demands." The woman said.

"But it says in the book that only the witch who did this can undo this!" I protest. My chest heaved with angry breaths.

"We have read the Grimore and consulted with a researcher. We know a way you can get your bodies back with out needing the criminal's cooperation." Said a different council member, this I guessed was a warlock.

"It won't work." Eleanor chimed in. She hadn't said a word before now, so they hadn't silenced her.

"You may be powerful, but you can't compare to the might of the council." The same man said in obvious contempt.

Eleanor laughed. It was a mirthless laugh.

"I have studied this magic for longer than you have been alive, infant." Eleanor said. "There is no other way then my way." She cackled louder at the look of indignation on the man's face as he stroked his mostly grey beard.

"Silence!" He yelled as he made a swiping motion with his hand. Eleanor was silenced then, but she continued to laugh.

"As I was saying, we have a researcher who has been working on this since we received your letter. Come with me." He said as he and another council member stood and went to the door, standing beside it as they waited us to follow while Eleanor was lead off to another door.

We walked back out through the waiting room and foyer before the council man led us through another door. This door led to a set of stairs that went down. Fluorescent lights hung from the sloping roof.

We made our way down the narrow stair case before we came out in a wide hallway with white cinderblock walls. The grey carpet had faded in the center from the passage of time and people. In the most faded parts, the carpet looked it was ready to rip at the slightest wrong move.

The council man stopped at a door right by the bottom of the stairs and opened it, looking in. The door was wide open and I got a peek inside.

It was a smallish office, with a lady behind a cramped desk piled with leather bound books and odd contraptions, contrasting sharply with the pale grey filing cabinets and the modern furnishings.

The books were very old, some had cracked covers and all of them had pages yellowed with age.

"Hello Colin, the bodies are in the next room, I'll join you in a second." The woman said. She didn't even look up as she shuffled around things on her desk.

Colin led us to the next room, pushing open the door before searching for the light switch. Even before he turned on the light I could sense the room was large. I was proven right as soon as bright light came from more fluorescent lights.

The room was vast, with four familiar tanks lining one wall and three tables on the other wall. More tables littered the room, each covered in books and other assorted things. Some old style hospital curtains were set up in the back corner.

A woman walked in behind us with a steaming cup of coffee, lost in her own thoughts and nearly bumping into us.

"You're here, we've been waiting for you." Mrs. Suffrage exclaimed, immeadiatly looking around. She locked eyes with me and smiled.