Inheritance

Chapter 22

I follow Rex down the stairs to the ground floor, the old man's fitness is obviously superior to mine. I'm out of breath by the time we exit the stairs. Rex turns into the first hallway on the left and stops abruptly in front of a portrait of a Lady that looks vaguely familiar. He says something under his breath and then it seems like I've stepped into Hogwarts. I stand there, dumbfounded, as the Lady in the painting starts to move, smiling softly as the stands up from her chair and pulls the frame of her portrait towards her. The painting's pulled back like a curtain revealing even more stairs. What kind of Azkaban is this? Surely there's a limit on the amount of stairs allowed in a building? Rex at me looks over his shoulder, "Come on, Katei. The other's are waiting and this won't be the strangest thing you see today." Without further delay he practically trots down the stairs, not leaving me any chance or choice for response.

This stairwell looks like something you'd find on your way to a medieval castle's dungeon. Grey stones are lit by flickering torches. Despite the bright flames the air is cold and wet on my skin, almost as if I walked out of the house on a misty winter morning in my Summer pyjamas. The stairs themselves are made out of the same stone as the walls, fuelling my imagination with images of Slytherin's common rooms. What is it with me and seeing Harry Potter things everywhere? Whatever these people are I sincerely doubt they're witches and wizards. Even with everything strange that happened, I'm fairly certain I would've spotted a wand if they'd used one.

After passing a few archways and heavy-looking doors, Rex comes to a standstill in front of a surprisingly modern door considering our surroundings. I half expected another Lady to appear on the shiny door, or Rex to mumble something under his breath again. So, imagine my surprise when he took a credit-card looking thing and inserted it between the door and the pane. A small 'beep' sounded followed by a series of clicks before the door popped open slightly. Flashing me an amused smile Rex pushes the door further allowing us to enter what seemed like a very fancy boardroom.

Voices sounded all around us as we entered, but quickly grew quieter as people seemed to realise we had entered. There were probably a dozen people in the room if you included Rex and I. Out of the other ten people I only recognised my pseudo-kidnapper, his friend and... Chris? The other seven were complete strangers. Within seconds of us entering the room was silent and eleven pairs of eyes were fixed on me. Yay... Attention! Maybe they should point a spotlight at me to make sure nobody misses me. The return of my sarcastic inner voice calms me a bit. Whoever said sarcasm and irony has no real value obviously hasn't stood in my shoes. After an incredibly awkward beat or two a velvety voice orders everyone to sit. Rex leads me to a chair at the round table in the middle of the room. After I take my seat it takes me a moment and a half to find the person that ordered us to sit. She looks almost exactly like the woman in the portrait upstairs, I'd be almost certain they're one and the same if it weren't for the scars on the left side of her face.

"You're late Pateras, we were set to begin nearly eight minutes ago," voices another woman, her expression cold and her voice emotionless. Rex rolls his eyes beside me. "Really Jord? Don't we know each other well enough to work on a first name basis? Besides I got her here in one piece despite the kilometres of stairs we had to walk down. If you install an elevator I might even be early next time," Rex teases. The woman scoffs but I saw her mask falter for a split-second. It's obvious the two of them have a history, and I have a feeling it's a very complicated one too. "Enough you too, we don't have time for your squabbles, quite literally. Let's just find out what the girl knows," another stranger adds. His voice deep and a bit ticked off. Someone's got a short fuse it seems. "You're quite right, Matthew. However, a little more patience would go far. Now, Katy is it? What do you know?" Wait, she's talking to me? "It's pronounced Kahtay and I don't know anything. I thought Rex brought me down here so I could finally get some answers and know what's going on. Mr. Trystie over there knows everything I do." Trystan looks at me, annoyance swimming in is emerald green eyes, though they look more like kryptonite with that glowing effect than anything else. His friend and Chris try to conceal snickers behind their hands, bringing a smirk to my lips, despite the circumstances. "Your f- I mean Rex brought you down here because we all need to find out what's going on. Though I must admit you are at bit of a disadvantage right now, but I promise you, once you've answered our questions we'll tell you everything you need to know." I'm not overly fond of her word choice, I've watched enough shows to know there is a world of difference between what you need to know and what you want to know, but seeing as it's probably the best offer I'll get right now I nod slowly.

"Great!" she smiles, her smile's a little uneven, it kind of looks like the scar makes smiling uncomfortable. "First thing's first. Did you know any of the intruders at your house?" A guy asks, he looks a year or to older than my 17 years, definitely the type of guy girls at my school would swoon over, heck, up until yesterday I'd probably have swooned with them. I start to shake my head, but then I hear Livore's annoying voice echoing through my mind as she spoke to her accomplices. "Yeah. I recognised one of them. Livore Suzcka, she's a... girl that goes to my school." Chris finally looks me in the eye. "You sure Kat?" I take offense at his disbelieving tone, I wouldn't lie about something like this. My world might've been turned on its head, but I'm still me, and I hate lies. "You really think I'd lie about this Chris?" He shakes his head, his cheeks taking on a red tinge. "Of course not Kat, I'm just making sure. It was crazy back there." Since the Lady in the painting revealed the stairwell I'd sort of forgotten that Chris was there too. I'd also forgotten that he'd apparently been lying the entire time I've known him. "I'm sure," I say, my tone cold enough to save the polar ice caps. Jord interjects before Chris can respond. "Has she shown any malice or cruelty in the past?" I almost snort at the question. "Is the sun warm?" I answer. "That would be a yes then, Jord. I know how struggle with children," Rex quips next to me, earning his own polar-saving glare from her. "You know what?" she asks coolly, "I think that's all we really needed to know. Now if you'll excuse me I've got someone to find." She's already out the door before anyone else can say a word.

"Really Rex? You couldn't have a little compassion? You know as well as I do that it was as difficult for her as it was for you. Go apologise. Now. The rest of you may leave, Jord was right. Katei has given us what we needed to know and we've got Time to find." Exasperation colours the woman's velvet voice and Rex huffs next to me before he practically drags his feet out the door. Everyone else follows after him, though it looks like Chris considered telling me something as he paused beside me on his way out. He must've thought better of it, because he just sighed and continued on his way.