Special guests at the front desk

Things were different when I came around the corner to the front desk. It was late enough in the evening now, and the library would be closing soon. Fewer students were about, and through the doors I could see the late evening light fading away into deep dusk. The biggest difference however, were the three people standing waiting at the desk, as Claude scrutinized some documents they’d handed him.

Standing into the center seemed to be the leader, a beautiful woman with middle eastern features. She looked to be in her mid 20s, and stood 5’7, with perfect proportions and an incredible ass, and her body seemed powerful while still totally embodying femininity. Her eyes seemed to be such a bright brown they were almost amber yellow, and she wore expensive clothes that seemed both sophisticated and hard-wearing in their quality and cut; dark jeans and dark boots, and black leather jacket completing the look.

She seems so familiar… have I seen her somewhere before? But where…?

To her left was a young-looking girl, who had the appearance of an 18 year old and a mischievous vibe. Her pink hair was only cut to her shoulders, and she was dressed in pastel colors and seemed to be incredibly cute, as though she’d carefully selected everything in her clothes and appearance to be disarming. I couldn’t quite make out her vibe beyond that, but for some reason she worried me a little.

Finally, to her right was a muscular man with a tanned complexion, who’s heritage seemed to be from the pacific islands. He was short, yet his muscular body and something about the serious edge he projected sent out an aura not to mess with him. It was interesting, in that he didn’t seem like a typical “tough guy”, with a big ego, however he radiated a confidence than conveyed how seriously capable he actually was.

The presence of these three immediately captured my attention, and while the people around us simply seemed to walk by like they were any other patrons, I felt as though they were notable instantly. Claude turned to me as I approached, clearly grateful to see me.

“Ah Elise, perfect timing. Take a look at this, it’s been so long since I’ve seen one of them, and you were always more the expert on this type of thing.”

He extended those same documents, which I accepted and studied. Formal style paper belied how official they were, with the Dean of the Universities personal signature and stamp denoting their legitimacy. Elise’s memories recognized this instantly; A personally signed waiver, allowing unrestricted access to the forbidden rooms of the library.

Rather than fill in the section on the reason for the visit as would normally have been required, it was left conspicuously blank, but with such clearance given from the highest authority they wouldn’t need to justify themselves like an ordinary PHD student or lecturer would.

Who could swing such influence so suddenly? Just who were these people?

I had an uncomfortable suspicion I knew who they may be, especially after what I’d just read.

“We’d like to visit the Krait room first, if at all possible.”

The woman in the center spoke first, her confidence seeming to indicate she was the leader. I quickly roused myself from my thoughts, my stolen memories confirming the Krait room as the one I’d so recently been studying in;

“Hmm? Why yes, of course.”

I knew I couldn’t deny them access with the documents they’d brought, and I didn’t want to get Elise in deep trouble if I tried. My best chance would be to try and learn as much as possible about these people while I could. I walked into the office, pretending to get the key to hide the fact I’d already used it today, before returning and leading them there.

I could feel their eyes boring into my back as we walked, and hurried to the silver door, hoping to get away from them. Something about them unnerved me, so I decided to try and shift gears and take back some momentum.

“So, writing a history, or biology research paper? I hear the Krait room contains plenty of research on the natural world.”

“Hmm, something like that. I suppose we’re just trying to learn as much as possible.”

The woman in the leather jacket mused, as her subordinates followed, before the pink haired girl piped up;

“Oh yes, it’s a hybrid study all right. A little bit history and a little bit biology.”

She giggled a little, as if she knew something I didn’t, before we reached the silver door once more. I opened it and stepped aside, being thanked by the woman in the leather jacket as her and the pink haired girl entered. The man nodded for thanks and walked in after, and I could see them searching briefly before taking the book on Skinwalkers I’d been reading off the shelves and leaving again.

“We’ll just be taking this one, for now. I trust there’s no objections?”

The woman in the leather jacket queried, eyebrow raised. I knew there were none I could raise with the dispensation the dean had given them.

“None at all. I’ll just mark it down at the front desk.”

She smiled, her gaze seeming to hover over my lips for a moment before replying;

“Thank you… Elise was it? You’ve been an excellent help. You may well see more of us soon.”

With that, she lead the way for her subordinates as they left, leaving me to maintain my poker face as I saw them to the entrance and out. It seemed like I released a breath I didn’t know I was holding when they were gone.

This can’t be a co-incidence… they have to be Mortiferis de Informem!

A knot of anxiety burrowed in my stomach while I thought about them, with their clear influence and immediate knowledge of where to look, they certainly had to know all about skinwalkers. If not belonging to the group that hunted skinwalkers, they could be skinwalkers themselves, and I wasn’t sure which idea terrified me more.

If they are Mortiferis de Informem, and I hadn’t been here tonight, would they have caught me totally by surprise? Getting that book… are they hunting me? Or are they here for Candida? Or maybe some other skinwalker entirely?

It seemed the more questions I asked myself, the less clear the truth was. I bit my lip and saw my knuckles go white on the desk as the stress worked its way through me, causing…