Michael received this poster in his letterbox:
ATTENTION MICHAEL
Kagir Manor
The 13th Anniversary of the Witch Of Kagir.
You and friends are invited to attend a special event.
Please assemble at the entrance to Kagir Manor Road, 6pm
Saturday 23rd.
Michael thought the brochure was special as it named him specifically. So he contacted the boys to tell them, inviting them over to show them his personal invitation.
They thought it was a great publicity gag that someone was throwing and as they had nothing else to do they organized to meet at the appointed time.
Their journey into the misty evening was to be marked by adventure. They like everyone in the town had heard rumours that Kagir Manor was the home of the Cat People, a myth they all thought, as there had never been any proof found to support this claim.
After driving an hour in the mist they encountered three figures standing in the road.
These were people like they had not met before. Tall and fierce looking, very feline in appearance. As the men brought the car to a halt, the three figures approached and inspected their vehicle, their belongings and themselves. They conversed in a high-pitched language very catlike in tone.
The men were stunned by what they were seeing. The myth was no longer a myth. There really were Cat People. But how? None of the men felt the urge to question the Cat men who were inspecting their vehicle.
Eventually they were waved through and they proceeded further into the mist along the road to Kagir Manor.
Kagir Manor was an imposing building and shrouded as it was right now it looked even more imposing. They parked and made their way to the front door.
The ornate front door was answered by an equally awe-inspiring figure. This cat like man beckoned them into a huge vestibule. On entering the Manor, the men couldn’t help but feel this was not going to be as pleasant an evening as they had envisaged.
Inside the foyer of the Manor a large number of Cat People were gathered. Both sexes resplendently dressed for what must have been a gala performance of some kind.
But it was the hisssssssssss that reverberated through our ears that was most disturbing. That and the unwelcoming and aggressive atmosphere.
The men stood mesmerized by this spectacle. Unable to move, fearing for their lives when a voice cut across the hissing and suddenly there was silence.
At the top of the stairs stood the most beautiful woman they had ever seen. On either side of her were the most magnificent Cat men they could have imagined.
She seemed to glide down the stairs, her eyes fixed on the men in great interest.
“Good evening” she said.
“Welcome to Kagir Manor, I am Catfranka, I am sure you have heard of me, the Witch of Kagir?”
They were stunned when they heard her name. She was real! It wasn’t just a myth. But, now what? What would become of them now that she had them here?
The witch slowly walked around the men, one finger touching a shoulder, an arm of another. They stood silently, not sure what she was going to do next.
All the cat people were silent as well, waiting for Catfranka’s next words.
“Every 13 years I hold a Gala Ball here in the Manor and look to initiate new recruits to join me and my people. It seems this year the pickings were especially good.”
They looked at each other, each man stunned by what they heard.
Finally Michael managed to find his voice and spoke up.
“New recruits?” he whispered.
As the woman slowly turned toward him, he wondered if speaking up was a good idea. He waited, the fear building inside of him.
“Ah, Michael isn’t it?”
The thought flew through his mind, ‘She knows my name!’
“You are surprised that I know who you are? You did receive my flyer? Yes?”
Then he remembered the flyer in his letterbox a few days earlier.
ATTENTION MICHAEL
Saturday next
Kagir Manor…..
……………………………………………………………….
This story is collaboration between Jackie at To Breathe is to Write and Michael at Morpethroad.
It began when we realised our Friday Fictioneer stories
http://jlroeder.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/friday-fictioneers-jan-17-2014/
and
https://summerstommy.com/2014/01/15/friday-fictioneers-the-manor-house/
had a common ground and decided to try our hand at writing a story from this base. So this is the fruit of our labours, a lot of fun and always a pleasant exercise.
Morpethroad 