Page 97 of Rescued By the Beast
A yellow light, flickering like candlelight, emanates from within, creeping through the windows. The smell of burning herbs begins to permeate the air, heavy and enigmatic, mixed with the smoke that drifts from the chimney.
I inhale the aroma, and an unexpected wave of relaxation washes over my body. A soft, involuntary smile forms on my lips.
But something is not right.
My thoughts disperse, as if a soft mist is trying to drag me to a distant place, where everything seems calm and peaceful, but I know it is an illusion. The feeling of discomfort still lingers, latent, warning me of imminent danger. I shake my head, clearing the mist from my mind. Ted, beside me, also shifts uneasily, trying to shake off the same strange feeling that hangs in the air.
When we finally reach the door, a young, soft voice, but laden with palpable malice, reaches us from inside the cabin.
"Come in, my dears..."
The door opens by itself, and before us appears a woman sitting in a rocking chair. She continues to rock gently in front of the fireplace, her profile turned away from us, but even so, I can see how stunning she is. Her appearance is ethereal, as if the years have not touched her.
She looks anything but an old woman.
Suddenly, she turns her face towards us. When her dark eyes meet mine, my body freezes, my breath catches in my throat. I don't dare take another step. Ted also stands still, an inexplicable feeling of immobility in both of us. There is a wickedness in her beauty, an intensity in her gaze that makes me shudder all over.
"But know this, if you are not willing to lose, you will gain nothing in return. Everything has its price, and balance is only maintained when you are able to offer what is required."
I swallow hard and walk through the door.
"I'm willing."
"Well, well, what do we have here?" She rises with supernatural grace and, in the blink of an eye, is standing before me.
Her smile, with red lips, stretches in a way that is as seductive as it is threatening.
"Have you come to break the curse that afflicts you?" She makes a move to touch my face with her finger, but I instinctively recoil.
Her eyes sparkle with silent malice. I start to shake my head, but she speaks again.
"I cannot break it, but I can... transfer it. To someone connected to you, a sister... or perhaps a close friend..." Hervoice is low and inviting, as if she were baiting me, waiting for me to take the bait.
How does she know about Lucy?
I take a deep breath, about to refuse, but as soon as the air fills my lungs, I hesitate. For a moment, I completely forget what I came here to do, I even forget that I should resist her proposal. Suddenly, everything seems tempting, a false sense of tranquillity and a certainty that the witch is right, something that incites my acceptance.
Until a growl behind me cuts through the fog in my mind.
I take a stumbling step backwards, my heart racing, terrified of what the witch almost forced me to do. I hold my breath, trying my best to avoid inhaling the burnt herbs that still linger in the air.
"We've come to save our friend," Ted says through clenched teeth, carrying the unconscious Mark in his arms. "He's been poisoned with cold iron."
"Well..." She glances at Mark's inert form and raises her eyebrows. "You came at the right time, he's almost dead."
I gasp loudly, my hands shaking so much that I clench them into fists, my claws cutting into my palms.
"You can put him up there." The witch points to the wooden table near the fireplace.
She watches us, her posture relaxed, while Ted and I carefully place Mark on the table.
"What are you willing to pay in exchange for his life?" The question comes in a soft tone, but with immense weight.
My heart races. I look at Ted and see that he is also apprehensive.
The pain in my body is already unbearable, I can't stand being in this form any longer. I need to close the deal before I transform.
"I..." My voice comes out hoarse, but there is no more time to hesitate. "I offer one of my extra cat lives."
