are you dancing around?”
“Who told you to get out of the country and go to Gothica?” Andrew closed the folder. He pushed it aside and leaned in the same way as Wyatt had just done. Their faces were just inches apart. Andrew’s eyes were intense, purposeful. “Who was it Wyatt?”
“Doctor Straussman, Claudia, told me she got a call from Ana,” Wyatt explained. “She told Claudia that we did not need that kind of attention for the Knights. She also said that the public had become more aware of our presence and we might have to disappear like back in the 1800’s.”
“Did you know about the Knights of VanHelsing’s book?” Andrew switched the subject.
“Maybe,” Wyatt leaned back now. He shrugged. “It was said that the only one to see the book, if it were real, would be a VanHelsing and no one else. That way only one person knew of our secret identities and the number of ‘kills’ we had.”
“Why were you excommunicated from the clan?” Andrew switched again.
“For not following the laws of the clan,” Wyatt cursed. “They were stupid rules anyway. I mean come on. One of them was we could only feed off the blood of the ones deemed acceptable by the clan. With my disease, I could not always wait for our blood feasts. Sometimes the urge came on so strong I had to have it. Well, when Ravenclaw found out this, he was enraged and so were the ruling council. They met and had me excommunicated. Storm’s father was on the council. Sure I was angry at him, but not enough to kill him or the others.”
“How did you get involved with the Knights?” Andrew asked now.
“One night I was with a group and we were having a blood feast,” Wyatt recounted for Andrew. “Well, all of a sudden the slayers broke in and attacked us.” Wyatt stopped and lowered his head. Andrew gave Wyatt a few minutes to collect himself.
“They killed everyone but you, right?”
“Yeah, even the blood dolls,” Wyatt added.
“So why did you want to become part of them, if it bothered you that they killed all of these young people?” Andrew was curious.
“I had no choice,” Wyatt sniffed. “It was either join the order, or be killed. And well I was angry at Mister Higgins and the others for kicking me out of the clan. Besides, it was way cooler to be a slayer.”
“Do you have any idea who else would want the Higgins family dead?” Andrew asked. He took a glass and filled it with water. Andrew passed the glass to Wyatt, who thanked him and took a drink of the refreshing water. Andrew took the other glass and poured himself some water. It tasted really good.
“I don’t know,” Wyatt answered. “Except for the Knights of VanHelsing, probably no one else.” Wyatt stopped to take another drink. He went on. “The Knights and the descendents of Vlad the Impaler have been enemies for centuries.”
“Were there any quarrels in the clan that you were aware of?” Andrew took another drink.
“No,” Wyatt started, but stopped to think for a moment. He had a puzzled look as he thought deeply. Andrew sat there patiently. Soon Wyatt continued, “There was this one time when this author from Chicago came to interview Ravenclaw and the rest of us for her book.” Wyatt looked at Andrew, “She was the one who flew the copter. What was her name again?”
“Kara Sadler,” Andrew provided the answer.
“Yeah her,” Wyatt snapped his fingers. “Anyway she wanted to interview Ravenclaw all alone, so they went into his study and shut the door. Well, the others left, but I stayed behind and listened at the door.”
“What did you hear?” Andrew put the glass down and leaned closer.
“Well, she said she had just returned from Germany,” Wyatt answered. He stopped to take another drink. He continued, “The problem was Ravenclaw discovered me at the door and kicked me out of the house.”
“This was all before you were kicked out of the clan?” Andrew clarified.
“No,” Wyatt laughed. “I had managed to sneak into the house. There were so many of us, that no one even noticed me. I pretended to do the same when the others left, but snuck back in a few minutes later.”
I have enough for now.” Andrew stood to leave.
“What are you going to do with the book?” Wyatt looked very worried.
“You have no ‘kills’ in the book.” Andrew put the folder in his briefcase and closed it. He gave Wyatt a reassuring look, “And you had nothing to do with the Higgins family murders. I am going to ask the judge to dismiss the charges.” Andrew smiled now, “And your mom should be very happy about that.”
“What about Claudia and the other two Knights,” Wyatt asked.
“I’m sorry,” Andrew apologized. He had forgotten that Wyatt had no knowledge that they were killed. Andrew sat back down, “I’m sorry Wyatt, but last night Claudia and the others were killed.”
“What!” Wyatt cried out in disbelief. “How?”
“Last night, they were attacked and killed at a blood feast,” Andrew explained. “They were going to make a kill.” Andrew stopped to drink some more water. He needed to collect his thoughts to explain the rest to Wyatt. He continued, “What they didn’t realize was that it was a trap. They were tortured and killed by the group of teenagers.”
“Tell me how was possible,” Wyatt retorted. “You know how well they are trained. So tell me how did a bunch of kids overpower three trained killers, huh?”
“They couldn’t,” Andrew agreed. “You and I both know that. They had to have had help.”
“I can’t talk about it anymore.” Wyatt shook his head. “I just want to go, okay?”
Andrew called the jailers. They quickly entered the room and released Wyatt’s leg chains from the hook. “I will talk to the judge,” Andrew reassured Wyatt as he was lead out of the room. “You should be home by the end of the day.” Wyatt smiled and mouthed ‘thank you’ to Andrew, who gathered up his briefcase and left through the other doorway.
Storm yawned and stretched as she opened her eyes. She sat straight up and was confused at her surroundings for several minutes. The furniture, the fireplace, and everything else were unfamiliar. Where was she? Storm soon remembered she was in Andrew’s house.
Storm tossed aside the blanket and was about to leave the room, when Chloe came in with a tray. “I hope you are hungry,” Chloe smiled.
“I’m not hungry.” Storm sat back down and covered up with the blanket.
Chloe set the tray on the coffee table and removed the cover. A waft of flavorful steam rose from the pancakes and sausages. It engulfed Storm with its inviting aroma. Storm eyed up the food, and in fact she was starving. Storm looked to Chloe for approval, who nodded that it was okay, so she immediately dug in. Chloe watched as Storm hungrily devoured the food. Chloe just sat there in awe. Soon Storm was done and pushed the tray away. She settled back on the couch.
“Is Mister Knight here?” Storm inquired.
“No, he went to interview Wyatt at the jail,” Chloe informed her.
“What about me?” Storm worriedly asked.
“What do you mean?” Chloe asked. She got up and joined Storm on the couch. “Did you do something wrong?”
“Well, it’s just that, urn what happened last night,” Storm muttered.
“What did happen last night?” Chloe asked.
“Something terrible,” Storm confessed.
“What?” Chloe pressed for an answer.
“We killed those people last night.” Storm buried her face in her hands, overcome with shame. “We tortured them…they begged for mercy, but…”
“But what,” Chloe took hold of Storm by the shoulders and forced her to uncover her face. Chloe stared at Storm, “Who was there? Tell me, Storm.”
“The members of the council were there!” Storm blurted out. She broke free of Chloe’s grasp and buried her face again.
“Who is the council?” Chloe questioned.
“Ravenclaw and the rest of the heads of the households,” Storm spoke through her covered face. “It was a trap and we were the bait.”
“What do you mean a trap?” Chloe was sharp towards Storm.
“Ravenclaw had me call them!” Storm uncovered her face and screamed at Chloe. “He…He had me pretend
