Chapitre 1
Mom is standing in front of my father and watching him die. He is lying on the ground, and he is bleeding to death in front of us. Mom keeps an icy calm, and seeing me looking stunned near her, opens her arms to me. I take refuge in her embrace. I am terrified, and I shout:
“What happened?” Why is he bleeding?
“Simply because he fell, and he hurt himself.” Don’t worry, he’s going to live.
What a lie. She looks at me, and her smile sends shivers down my spine.
I wake up in a cold sweat. Today, I’m 16 years old. And on my 10th birthday, my mother killed my father.
I get dressed. I put on my uniform.
I’m pretty enough, I think. My curly hair is gathered in a bun.
My blue eyes sparkle. However, it is not me.
It’s someone else.
A girl of my age that I observed for years.
One of the most beautiful girls I’ve seen.
An orphaned girl.
A girl who is a bit like me, calm, self-effacing, who doesn’t really have
It didn’t matter if I knew she was as lonely as I was.
Because just by looking at her, I wanted to become her.
Because it was the only way for me to enter the school of the invisible, and to pass the entrance exam .
I had to become someone else.
I waited.
I went to her.
She was on a roof.
I looked at her.
She wasn’t looking at me.
“I know you’ve been looking for me all this time.
That you are watching me.
I don’t answer.
“And?”
“And yes."
I look at her with big eyes.
“What do you mean, yes?”
“If you want, take hold of me.”
Transform me. Because anyway, I don’t have anyone.
I don’t have any friends. No one would notice that I’m no longer me."
“So, you’re ready to disappear?”
-Yes.
If you promise to protect someone for me.
“Who?” And anyway, if I don’t protect him.
“If you don’t protect him, you’ll regret it.”
I’m going to do everything to gain control of my body, and...
-All right.
She raises her eyebrows.
“Okay, what?”
-
When I went down to the living room to have breakfast, I was greeted by the bright smile of my mother, who was sitting at the table making omelets.
“Hello my Lily!
-Hi mom.
I don’t respond to his smile, and I sit down in the kitchen chair. She gives me a plate of poached omelets.
As I eat, she sits down in front of me and stares at me:
“Your uniform suits you very well, Lys.
My uniform is composed of a white blouse with a red bow, a black jacket and blazer with a white pleated skirt.
-Thank you.
“I’m sure that when you get to this school, you’re not going to come home anymore.
Of course, Mom. My goal is to get away from you.
I look up to look at her. She is beautiful, my mother. She is blonde with platinum blonde hair. I’m much darker. She’s not really my mother, though. It’s an envelope. My mother is an infiltrator, who snuck under the skin of the real Elara Wellington, and nibbled away at her soul. The infiltrators are at the base of monstrous-looking creatures that infiltrate the skin of humans, and consume them by feeding on their negative emotions. My mother infiltrated Elara Wellington, and became her. And to continue to feed herself, she manipulated my father, isolated him from his family, made him obsess over her. And when he found out who she really was, she killed him. I swore to myself that I would become a huntress of infiltrators, and avenge my father. That’s why I decided to go to the Academy of the Invisibles, which trains infiltrator killers.
I would become a huntress, and I would expose my mother.
Why didn’t I report him?I’m half human half infiltrator, so I’m one of those hybrids who are ostracized by society.
If they find out who I am, I’d be in danger. If I become a real huntress, if I save lives, maybe I’ll be recognized and accepted.
“You look thoughtful. Thinking about how you’re going to make friends? It would be nice if you cared.
“I don’t need friends. I need to be the best.
“You know that if they find out you’re half-infiltrated...”
“They won’t know.”
In general, half-human, half-infiltrated hybrids are monsters that are quickly noticed and killed. I have a human appearance. And the infiltrator hunters can tell if someone is an infiltrator, but they don’t feel people like me, my aura is human.
I think about the path that led me to school. The discovery of the school by discovering forums about the infiltrators, considered an urban legend by most people and believed by the people of the forums, which explained the details of the secret world of the infiltrators and hunters. That’s where I discovered the invisible school, nestled in the heart of the Alps, near Chamonix. It was with the knowledge gained from the infiltrators that I started training, applied, and was recruited by the school after an interview to talk about my motivations, my training, my family, what makes a good hunter. And I was accepted.
I’ve worked to get to this point, and I intend to blend in.
After all, that’s why I completely changed my appearance.
My mother looks at me with a smirk.
-A hybrid who becomes a huntress of infiltrators, how funny!
“Do you think I can’t become one?”
“No, I don’t think so, my dear daughter. That said, I encourage you!
“Don’t you think about what will happen to you when I become a huntress?”
-What? By the way you want to denounce me? And to reveal by this that you are a hybrid? Do you think they’ll accept you? You’re naïve, Lys.
She starts laughing. I look at her, empty of expression.
“That’s what we’ll see, Mom.
It was without my mother that I went to the Paris region to the Pensionnat des Invisibles, a Gothic-style boarding school located on top of a secluded hill, overlooking a dense forest. evoking an atmosphere that is both mysterious and majestic, with walls adorned with sculptures of chimerical beasts that seem almost ready to come to life.
The windows were tall and wide decorated with colorful stained glass depicting historical and mythological scenes. It’s so beautiful! This is my new home. Where my true place is.
As I cross the threshold, I see a beautiful white-haired woman standing in the lobby, greeting me energetically. She wears a suit.
“Hello Lys. I’m delighted to see you. You are very punctual, as I can see.
She holds out a hand to me and shakes it.
-I am Sophie Dime, the director of the establishment. How about you?
I suggest you visit the school before classes start, what do you say?
“That would be perfect, madame!”
I follow her. The marble floor resonates under our feet. I looked around at the walls lined with portraits of former students and master hunters, their stark faces seeming to watch me suspiciously.
The corridors of the boarding school are large and winding, lined with finely chiseled Gothic columns. Here and there, chandeliers cast dancing shadows on the stone walls. We go to the classrooms with doors engraved with numbers, we visit the library of the boarding school, an impressive place with vertiginously high shelves filled with old books.
The training room is located in the heart of the boarding school, a huge vaulted room where students train for combat. The walls are covered with trophies and weapons.
She shows me the refectory, where the students eat, and leads me to a dormitory where I put my things.
She hands me a sheet of paper with the schedules, the different courses and the names of my teachers, explaining things to me that I don’t hear. I devour the place with my eyes. I’m free. I don’t live with my mother. I’m going to become a huntress!
She puts a hand on my shoulder, getting my attention.
“Of course, you have to have the gift of seeing the infiltrators to get into this school, but don’t think that’s how you’re going to become a huntress. Many people are expelled from school because they do not meet all the criteria. People who don’t get the right grades have a probationary period to improve and if they don’t live up to the demands of school, they leave.
And we like to see what the students who arrive are made of, so from the first day of class, after class, they have to face a half-infiltrator in front of everyone.
-What?
-And the grade counts.
“Madam, I don’t know how to fight the infiltrators!”
-You will have a simulation to prepare.
I feel that you are a promising student, Lys.
Here, it’s the law of the fittest and many get crushed. It’s very competitive, and there’s a ranking.
The highest are respected and have access to privileges, and those who allow themselves to be dominated become the playthings of the strong.
“I know I’m going to be the best.”
“Let me introduce you to Lys André, our new student. Welcome her warmly.
Do you want to introduce yourself, Lys?
-No.
-Oh okay.
The teacher, Mrs. Delaney, a red-haired woman who wears a large black dress, continues to smile, put her hand on my shoulder and shows me a corner where a boy with white hair and blue eyes was sitting.
“Go sit next to Sebastian.”
I sit next to Sebastian, who is staring into space. He seems to be calm, which is fine with me.
Mrs. Delaney stands in front of the blackboard, and smiles.
-We are in the process of being introduced to the world of the infiltrators. This course serves to understand the origins of the infiltrators, understand the psychology of the infiltrators, their powers, their anatomy, and learn the history of the hunters.
“Who can tell me the origins of the infiltrators and hunters?”
A dark-haired girl with blue eyes raises her hand, and with an arrogant smile, declares:
-We do not know the exact origin of the infiltrators, however we do know that throughout history, different cultures have described beings capable of manipulating humans into their form. And throughout history, we have seen historical evidence of their actions. For example, in the witchcraft trials there were infiltrators.Innocent and infiltrators were tried together. What we do know is that the ancestors of the Infiltrator Hunters are the shamans, psychics, sacred warriors, and magical scholars who wrote books that we still use about the Infiltrators. It is a hereditary gift."
“That’s all right, Diane,” said Madame Delaney. And can someone tell me why the infiltrator hunters are nicknamed the invisibles? No one? Still Diane? Do you know that participation is scored?"
At these words a blaze of hands was raised, and a black girl all made up was pointed out by Madame Delaney.
“I’m listening to you, Angelie.
-This is because the infiltrator hunters must be experts in camouflage, able to blend in perfectly with the infiltrators to kill them, and they must be invisible to the population, who must not know that the infiltrators exist.
I sit listening and writing what is said. I am determined to excel.
The really exciting class is the magic fighting class, where the teacher decides to put me in a simulation with Angelie in the training room. The professor, Mr. Woodcutter, a bearded man with big glasses, points to us as soon as we enter the room.
“Perfect.” The new student and Angélie, come to the center of the room. Ready for simulation?
I nod. We are then transported into a buzzing forest, with towering trees, their trunks adorned with moss and lichens, rising like sentinels, casting dappled shadows on the ground. The air is filled with the scent of damp earth and the delicate scent of wildflowers. A gentle breeze whispered through the leaves, creating a soothing symphony of rustling. The birds fly among the branches, forming an idyllic picture.
Are we really going to fight here?
“Where are they, the teacher and the others?”
“They observe on a screen in the training room,” replies Angélie.
A huge creature materializes in front of us. Its body is covered with thick fur, dotted with red spots. Clotted blood? His scarlet eyes glisten. Its sharp claws and wide-open mouth, filled with sharp fangs, reveal a forked tongue.
- Is it really a simulation?
Angélie looks at the monster with serenity.
“Oh yes, it’s a monster created from a stuffed infiltrator. He can defeat you, but he cannot kill you. And it disappears when you win. We’re going!
She rushes at the monster... and is immediately caught by the monster’s claws, and screams.
Lys! Come and help me!
Why doesn’t she struggle? She doesn’t use her powers? Is she stupid or what? She looks paralyzed. Where has his calm gone? It doesn’t really surprise me. With all her makeup, her flower-adorned bow in her hair and her stinky perfume, the perfect archetype of flirtatious fashion, she is more at home in a fashion school than in a hunting school.
He quickly throws it on the ground and rushes at me. Trickles of light shoot out of me, wrapping around the beast’s limbs.
She roars in frustration, struggling, but I strive to remain steadfast. The creature’s strength made me recoil, drops of sweat forming on my forehead as I held my grip on the swirling magic, their tentacles gesticulating against the monster’s claws. With each wave of my magic, the creature retaliated.
I grit my teeth, my arms hurt.
The monster, in response to my magic, causes living brambles to spring from the ground, enclosing me in a network of plant tentacles. The monster’s gaze sparkles as he contemplates me, revealing an intelligence that rivals my magic, a brute force tinged with a conscience.
Screaming to overcome my fear, I conjure up pillars of light, which rise from the ground in turbulent swirls, preparing to engulf the monster.
He summons bright protective glows that devour my magic.
His claws, emitting sparks of fiery energy, nibble away at my powers that hold him. He grabs me and throws me on the ground. He stands in front of me, towering over me from his impressive size, his claws ready to lacerate me...
“Please, magic, make me look like the monster!”
Seeing the monster suddenly hesitate, looking confused, I decide to act. Feeling the adrenaline boost the power of the magic that runs through my veins, I tap into this source, releasing a torrent of energy.
I raise my hands, directing the energy on the monster.
The light engulfs him.
I get up, panting and on the verge of tears.
Angélie rushes towards me and takes me in her arms.
-We won!
Shall we?
“You don’t belong in this school. And we don’t know each other, why do you touch me?
She walks away with a contrite smile.
“It’s because I’m afraid of monsters.”
“You’re here to hunt them!”
- I’m basically specialized in weapon making, not monster hunting! My family sent me here because they don’t want me."
She continues to smile as she says this. I raise my eyebrows. I don’t know what to say.
And I don’t need to. We find ourselves transported to the training room, where Mr. Woodcutter and the students applaud.
“You did well, Lys. I’m sure you’re going to be up to the task for the real fight. And you, Angélie... you will join the Disgraced if you continue on your way. I thought that putting you with a newcomer would push you to prove yourself.
Mr. Woodcutter looks at Angélie sternly. She lowers her head, but continues to smile.
The Diane girl approaches us, holding a boy's arm.
He is tan, and his piercing eyes are fixated upon me.
What does he want? He doesn’t have a girlfriend?
“Well done, Lys. If you win the real battle, we can let you into our group.
“Which group? And who said I want to get in?"
She keeps a condescending smile.
“Oh, everyone wants to get in. I will tell you more if I consider that you are worthy of entering it. Kisses!
She turned around with her boyfriend, whose emerald eyes had not left me during the conversation.
“Who does she think she is?”
-She is the number 1 student in our class, Diane Poitiers. And the guy is Léon Marquis.
She heaves a dreamy sigh. I roll my eyes.
“Calm down, he’s not handsome.” He has reptile eyes.
So this is him, the boy i'm supposed to protect?
“What, Leon! You’re crazy!"
We go together to sports classes, meals, investigation training courses where we analyze investigations related to infiltrators, advanced magic courses and strategy courses for hunting missions. And she talks, talks, talks, talks. I let her speak. She teaches me things about school. I write down the most important things she says. For someone who wants to be expelled from school, she knows a thing or two.
The mortality rate is thirty percent on average among students, the source of the missions to which they can be sent.
There are several clubs within the school, a dueling club, where students train, an ancestral magic club, cheerleaders, etc.
There are certain areas of the school that we must not cross; What for? Because these are places where knowledge or magic is stored that you shouldn’t have access to.
Some say that students have disappeared on their way to these places.
Students are judged on their magical skills, skills in combat, strategy, behavior, and completing missions for the leaderboard. Everything is noted.
The more points you have, the more privileged you are, you receive additional resources, exclusive activities and special equipment, leadership positions among students and better career opportunities.
Students who do not have the points are harassed, and often leave the school. It is an unspoken rule that harassment is accepted as long as it does not involve violence. It’s natural selection. To climb the rankings, there are those who try to sabotage the performance of their rivals, bribe guards, cheat, spread rumors and harass, exchange points clandestinely. Those who are caught can be expelled. Our points can be taken away from us if we don’t adhere to the rules and if we don’t have the required grades.
We have missions on the ground to monitor, capture, neutralize, infiltrate and rescue civilians.
If we fail a mission, we are taken points.
The school of the invisible is a ruthless place.
And to win, that’s what you have to be here.
I come out of strategy class, ready to go fight with a real monster. Someone like me, a half-infiltrator.
