Nine-year-old Amy Winter's holiday plans have gone from exciting to total disaster.
How is she supposed to have any fun being packed up and sent to stay with a weird relative she can't even remember?
And Aunt Penelope is as weird as they get. With...
Upon satisfying Mr. Purrington's hunger and her own, her aunt had led her back out the front door and straight towards the stairs spiraling down into the ground. To Amy, the candle lit staircase looked like an endless, coiled slinky.
Instantly, Amy imagined them sliding down the very wide banister, as though it was a slippery dip.
"I agree. Why take the stairs?" Aunt Penelope surprised Amy again with her words. It was as though she had somehow read her thoughts. "I just knew you were going to be a great Storyteller." Aunt Penelope squeezed her hand. "Here's your umbrella."
"What's this for?"
"To control your speed of course. We have to get down to the twentieth floor and those sweeping stair bends can get a little fast without a brake to slow you down. The handrail is wide enough for me to sit on, so you shouldn't have any problems. And since it's your first time, I will set your umbrella to Turtle speed," Amy noticed the slide on her aunt's umbrella was pushed all the way up to the rabbit picture.
Amy saw her aunt push several wooden beads across a bamboo frame connected to the stairs.
"What's that?" her curiosity got the better of her.
"Its a counting frame for when we pass each floor. I suppose some people might call it an abacus. I'll just select our destination floor to Twenty and we can be off... Ready?"
Aunt Penelope jumped up onto the banister, like she had been doing this for years. The yards of her skirt material bunched around her legs.
"Climb aboard, now hold your open umbrella behind you, just like a parachute... that's it, and when you're ready... lean back and don't forget to-"
"Don't forget to... what?" Amy shouted down the stairs as her aunt had already begun her descent, getting faster with each turn.
"HAVE FUUNNnnn....
weeeeee!"
Her aunt's voice echoed up the stairwell just as Amy leaned back a little and felt herself start to move down the banister at a much slower speed. She still gained momentum at each turn but she really wanted to go faster, so she tried to adjust the slide, but couldn't reach it while she was moving.
Next time, she thought as she passed the third floor.
Amy wondered why the house was so empty. There was no sign of anyone.And it was exactly the same on all nineteen of the candlelit floors.
"Why have all these rooms, if there's no-one to use them?" Amy asked her aunt when she finally came to a stop at the twentieth floor, feeling exhilarated, ready for what ever her aunt had in store for them next.
"Oh my dear...no-one?" Aunt Penelope grinned, her eyes gleaming with secrets. "Nothing is always what it seems, especially here. When we start your training, you will understand a lot more. Believe me, this house is packed with individuals from all walks of life. They just don't roam the corridors."
Amy followed her Aunt into a very small room, only big enough to fit eight people. There were three coloured buttons; blue, orange and yellow on the back of the door and a display that read, "Floor: 20."
"This lift is the quickest way to the Library . Trust me, if we had to take the stairs it would take all day."
Aunt Penelope pushed the orange button twice and two black chairs came out of the wall.
"Very comfortable aren't they?"
Amy nodded sinking back into the soft leather.
"Just make sure you put on your seatbelt."
Amy thought her aunt was joking until a seatbelt appeared over her shoulder.
"And watch out for the safety hand rail coming up out of the floor."
Amy tensed, worried now. A seatbelt and a safety rail? What was going to happen?
She didn't have too long to think about it as her aunt pressed the yellow button, calling out "Hold on tight."
She looked directly at Amy and winked.
And then
they
d r o p p e d.
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