Beorf whistled to attract the cat’s attention and threw him a piece of meat from his plate. The cat jumped to catch it.
“As you can see, this animal isn’t blind!” Beorf said. “Don’t trust the way his eyes look. I tell you, he’s not normal. Something about him makes me wary. I have a sense about these things when it comes to animals. I can feel their malicious intentions. This cat isn’t honest. It pretends to be blind when in fact it’s watching us and listening to everything we say.”
To calm her guest, Frilla took the cat upstairs and locked him in her room. She looked carefully at the eyes of the animal before putting him on her bed. The cat was definitely blind. Two large cataracts covered its eyes. After her thorough inspection, she was convinced that the young humanimal was mistaken, and she came back down to sit at the table. Beorf resumed telling them what he had seen in the forest.
“They were women. Their bodies were monstrous and powerful. They had wings on their backs and long claws on their feet. Their heads were huge and totally round. They had greenish skin, large noses, and teeth that stuck out like boars’. On top of that, these creatures had forked tongues hanging out the sides of their mouths. I saw a blazing gleam in their eyes. When I looked at them, I wondered what was keeping their hair in constant motion. I almost died when I realized that it wasn’t hair writhing on their heads but dozens of snakes! These hideous creatures are nocturnal, and they’re always screaming in pain because the snake-hairs constantly attack their shoulders and backs. The sores ooze a dark liquid, thick and sticky. What I also know is that as soon as other living creatures lock eyes with them, they’re turned instantly to stone.”
“But tell me something,” Amos said. “How do you know about the blazing gleam in their eyes if those who look at them are transformed into statues? Shouldn’t you have been petrified too?”
The question seemed to surprise Beorf. Indeed, he should have been subjected to the same fate as the other men, women, and animals. He took a few seconds to remember what had happened, then explained how he had met up with these monsters.
“I was picking wild fruit near a village when night caught up with me. I went to sleep in the still-warm grass. The screams of the panicked villagers woke me up. I morphed into a bear and went closer to the houses to see what was causing such terror. I hid behind the forge and peeped through a hole in the wall, but I couldn’t see things head-on. Then I noticed a large mirror in the blacksmith shop. The knights probably used it when they tried on new armor. The Knights of Light are so arrogant that if they could ride their horses with a mirror in front of them, all the better to admire themselves, they would. In any case, thanks to this mirror, I managed to see the creatures clearly-to see their reflections-without becoming a statue. I realize today that I was lucky to come out alive!”
“Now that we know what these beasts look like,” said Frilla, “I would like to know what they want and why they attack this realm and its inhabitants.”
Amos yawned. “At least we know how to avoid becoming statues,” he said. “What’s more, it’s obvious that-”
“Hush! Keep quiet!” Beorf whispered, grabbing his friend’s arm. “Look slowly at the beam above your head. Your blind cat is spying on us.”
Every member of the family looked up toward the ceiling at the same time. The cat was perched on a beam directly over the table, where it seemed to be listening to the conversation.
“You see, I was right,” Beorf said. “This animal has ears too big and eyes too round to be a mere domesticated cat. As soon as it comes down from the beam, I’ll take care of it! I’m sure that this dirty fleabag works for those monstrous creatures.”
At that precise moment, Barthelemy walked in, accompanied by five other knights. He came over to the Daragons’ table.
“By order of Yaune the Purifier, lord and master of Bratel-la-Grande,” he announced, “we are here to evict Amos Daragon and his friend Beorf Bromanson from the city. I am very sorry to have to do this, but I must obey orders. Fellow knights, take them away!”
Urban rushed forward, trying to prevent the knights from taking his son. He received a powerful blow to the back of his head and lost consciousness. Begging for mercy, Frilla did her best to convince Barthelemy to spare her son. Amos would be easy prey for the creatures that had Bratel-la-Grande under siege if he was left outside the town walls at night. But Barthelemy refused to hear the woman’s pleas. Beorf was about to take his bear form and fight for his life, but Amos gave him a reassuring nod, which convinced him to calm down. When the knights and their two prisoners left the inn, the cat jumped from the beam to the windowsill; as quick as lightning, it disappeared into the night through a broken window pane.
The two huge wooden gates and the iron grate were opened. Once the knights pushed Amos and Beorf out of the city, the gates were closed again. Amos and Beorf were left to fend for themselves.
“Let’s try to think, my friend,” Amos said. “We need a hiding place! I am only slightly familiar with the fields surrounding the city, and not at all with the forest. It’s up to you to get us out of here before the snake-haired creatures sink their claws into us.”
“I know where to go,” Beorf said. “Climb onto my back and hold on tight!”
As he said these words, the young humanimal morphed into a bear. Amos jumped on his back and gripped his fur tightly. In less than a second, they were on their way. Although it was dark, Beorf ran quickly. He knew the area well enough to avoid obstacles and easily found his way.
After running through the forest for a good while, Beorf reached the foot of a gigantic tree, and once Amos slid off his back, he became human again. Perspiring, he lay down, his back against the ground and his plump stomach bulging. It took him a few minutes to catch his breath.
“Let… us… go down… quickly!” he managed to say at last.
Beorf dug at the ground with his hands until a trapdoor appeared. One after the other, the two friends climbed down a ladder that took them underground, directly beneath the tree. When they reached the bottom of the hole, they were enveloped in total darkness. Beorf groped around for a lamp, which he soon found.
“Take a good look, Amos; I’m about to perform a magic trick!” Beorf said.
He grunted softly, a sort of moan coming out of his chest. Amos looked up and saw many small lights entering through the open trapdoor. Above their heads, dozens, then hundreds of fireflies were swirling around. They descended suddenly toward Beorf and gathered inside the big glass lamp he was holding in his hand. This was how light filled the underground room, which was in fact a library.
The four walls were covered with books. Tall ones, short ones, fat ones, skinny ones-there were books everywhere. A large desk and a comfortable chair occupied the center of the room. In one corner lay a heap of hay and some blankets to be used as a bed. Beorf went up the ladder to close the trapdoor.
“This hiding place is safe-no one will find us here,” he said. “Welcome to my father’s lair. He was a fanatical reader. Always studying. You’ll find books on everything. Some are written in strange languages that I can’t understand. Feel free to look at them. As for me, I’m dead tired and I’m going to sleep. If you want the fireflies to turn off their lights, you just have to grunt three times. Good night, Amos.”
Beorf had barely lain down on the floor before he started snoring. Amos walked around the room, looking at the books. There must have been more than a thousand. Some were old and dusty; others seemed more recent. Amos noticed that one book was sticking out from one of the shelves. It was an old book, transcribed by hand; its title was Al-Qatrum, the Territories of Darkness. Amos took it, sat down at the desk of Beorf’s dead father, and started to read.