“I will do it,” Talia said as she withdrew the twin blades and put them away. She removed her hood and tossed it on the bed. Talia removed all of her gear and let it drop to the floor. She undid her pants and shirt and let them drop to the floor also. Talia came up to Andrew and slowly undid her body armor. She stared intently into his eyes as she loosened each strap. “I never did thank you for saving my life that day.” Talia finally removed her body armor and tossed it away. She stripped down to only her natural, striking self. She drew closer to Andrew. “How can I thank you?”
Andrew quickly brought Talia into an embrace. He held her tight. “You don’t need to thank me,” Andrew said. “You need to get dressed. We have to meet the others in Chicago later today.” Andrew let go and left Talia standing alone in her bedroom. She simply gathered up her gear and one by one, put it back in the case. Talia returned to the closet and took out some clothes to wear. She was not sure about going back to Gothica. The thought of it scared her.
Chloe, along with Roxanne, followed the winding river of asphalt as they drove through the foreboding forest of shades of gray
After what seemed like an eternity, a gothic-looking mansion final came into view. Her dad had called Chloe and asked her to take over the interviews of Vlad Ravenclaw, Storm and the others. She agreed to help, but after asking what he was doing. Andrew informed her that he was traveling to Germany to find Wyatt, whom had fled there to avoid the authorities. So Chloe asked Roxanne to join her, hoping that her special talents would see through any shroud of deceit that Ravenclaw might throw at them.
Chloe parked her car next to the portico of the main entrance. Both women exited and walked up to the impressive door built of wood and metal. Roxanne grasped hold of one of the metal rings and announced their arrival. Soon the door creaked open and an older gentleman, attired in a black suit and tie greeted them.
“May I ask who is calling?” He looked at them with stern-looking eyes. It was as if he were scolding them for interrupting the household.
“Chloe Hawkins,” Chloe gestured towards herself, and then Roxanne. “Roxanne Turner, my assistant.”
“I will announce you to the master,” the man said closing the door.
“Creepy,” Roxanne commented.
“Yeah,” Chloe added.
The door opened again. A bony, thin hand appeared gesturing for them to enter.
The two girls stepped through the open doorway and it seemed into the past. The grand foyer resembled the architecture of medieval times.
“Follow me please,” the man said. He led them from the foyer down the hallway to the right. Portraits were hung on the wall, presumably ancestors of Vlad Ravenclaw. The one thing that struck both women, were the golden hues of the eyes in each painting. It made the men look surreal.
“Here we are,” the man gestured towards an already open door. He left them.
Both of them entered.
The grand hall was overwhelming with its stone and mortar fireplace. And in spite of the warmth of the fire, the room seemed cold. Dark wood and heavy-looking leather furniture were arranged to face the hearth.
Chloe made note of where everyone was in the room. All of the youth were seated quite properly on the furniture. All were presentably attired in suits and dresses, respectively. It was as if the room itself had commanded their respect. Next to the hearth was Vlad Ravenclaw. Chloe didn’t know what to make of the man standing there with long, straight black hair, well defined features and eyes which were dark and not a golden hue. His suit appeared to be of the finest material, tailored to show off his physically fit form. It wasn’t the room that demanded the respect of those youths; it was him.
Chloe briskly walked over to Vlad and presented herself to him; Roxanne followed.
“Chloe Hawkins,” Chloe extended her hand.
“A pleasure,” Vlad took her hand and bowed. “Vlad Ravenclaw.”
“Roxanne Turner,” Roxanne said.
“A pleasure Miss Turner,” Vlad now took hold of her hand. Roxanne shuddered.
“We would like to ask all of you some questions,” Chloe announced taking out her tape recorder. “Would that be alright?”
“Direct, aren’t you?” Vlad smiled, with stained fangs revealed. “I like that.”
“May we begin?” Chloe took charge.
“By all means.” Vlad gestured to two empty chairs in front of the hearth that faced towards the others. It was as if they had already been arranged that way on purpose.
Chloe and Roxanne were seated. Chloe loosened the buttons of her dark blue suit jacket. Roxanne did the same with her own dark brown one. Thus far she was disappointed at being unable to read the feelings of the others in the room. It was as if someone put up a psychic energy field to block her.
“I would like to start with Storm,” Chloe announced, as she reviewed her case notes. She looked up and at Storm, whom was seated right in front of her on the long sofa. Storm drew her eyes up from the floor and on Chloe. She was ready.
“Is there anything out of the ordinary that you recall on the night your family was attacked?” Chloe asked.
“You mean callously murdered,” Vlad interrupted.
“I’m asking the question here sir, not you,” Chloe chastised him. “You will not interrupt me again.”
“How dare you speak to me like this in my own home,” Vlad eyes narrowed and his lips curled, fangs revealed.
“I’m here to find out why Storm’s family was attacked,” Chloe stood her ground. She continued, “My father and I were hired by Wyatt’s’ mother to find him and prove he had no involvement in the events of that night. That’s what I am here to do sir. Are you going to let me conduct my investigation, or shall I go right now and turn this entire questioning over to the authorities? The choice is yours!”
“As you wish,” Vlad sat back down. He was unaccustomed to being told what to do.
“Now,” Chloe said as she pressed the record button again. “Please continue.”
“Things were pretty normal that day,” Storm said. “My parents were getting things ready for the winter solstice party. Since I was grounded, I spent most of the day in my room working on my missing assignments for school. My brother was helping my parents out.”
“So nothing was out of the ordinary?” Chloe asked.
“No,” Storm answered.
Chloe next turned her attention to the others. She decided to start with the boy with the thick and black hair. He had several earrings in his left ear with a beaded chain running to one in his nose.
“What’s your name?” Chloe asked.
“Seth,” he answered respectfully.
“Tell me what happened that night at JFK Prep?” Chloe asked.
“We all snuck out that night,” Seth glanced at his uncle, Ravenclaw, who gave a look of disapproval. Seth continued, “We decided to take my sister Amber’s boyfriend with us. When we got there, we all headed to the upstairs of the old dormitory. There we played with the Ouji board game. Afterwards we all went to make out.” Seth stopped and looked at the others. He saw by the look in their eyes that they were still as much afraid as he was. If it hadn’t been for Mister Knight finding them, they would all have died. He never had a chance to thank Mister Knight. Seth continued, “Gabriel and I were making out, when there was a knock at the door. I was pissed off at the interruption and got up to see who it was. As soon as I opened the door, this person in a mask, punched me in the face. I fell to the floor as they went after Gabriel. I jumped up and was about to go after them, when two more dressed the same, grabbed me. One of them was touching my shoulder blades, almost like they were giving me a massage. Well, all of a sudden I felt this weird tingling and then I blacked out. The next thing I knew, I was in this dark, stinking room.”
“That’s what happened to us,” added the boy with frizzy black hair.