“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.
“And you are?” Chloe asked.
“Jazz,” he answered.
“Jazz is right. We were attacked the same way,” the other girl answered. She had a Victorian look but still wore the black makeup and hair like the rest.
“And you are?” Chloe asked her.
“Melissa,” she replied.
Chloe looked at Roxanne. She was hoping that Roxanne would use her special gift to pick up on the vibes in the room. Roxanne sensed what Chloe wanted.
“May I use your bathroom?” Roxanne asked Vlad.
“You may,” Vlad replied. He pointed in the direction of the bathroom. “There is one just down the hallway on the right.”
“Thank you,” Roxanne said. She left the room.
“Please explain to me about who you are,” Chloe turned her attention to Vlad.
“What do you mean?” he asked for clarification.
“Explain what kind of vampires you are.”
“Is it important to the investigation?”
“It so that I have a better understanding, that’s all.”
“Very well,” Vlad agreed. He began, “There are two types of vampires. There is Sanguine, which need to feed off of the blood of others, and cannot achieve satisfaction through any other feeding methods.” Chloe shivered at the thought of it. Vlad continued, “Psychic are vampires that feeds directly upon the vital energy of a being, and cannot achieve satisfaction through the intake of blood.” Vlad moved closer to Chloe. He went on, “Psi feeding methods can be long ranged or up close. The families in the clan are a mix of both.” He smirked, “We are known as hybrid and require both blood and vital energy to satisfy our needs.” Vlad glanced in the direction where Roxanne had gone. His lips spread into a thin smile and with narrowed eyes said, “You’re assistant’s psychic energy is strong. We could feed off of her forever.”
Roxanne did have to use the restroom. Once she was done though, Roxanne stood in the hallway and closed
