A Dark Night (Book One of The Grandor Descendant series)

by Bell Stoires

  As Ari looked at Ryder, she couldn’t help but ogle his black dress pants and pink shirt.

  “I didn’t know you were gay?” she said a little boldly.

  Once again she must have partaken in too much alcohol; her statement was testimony to that.

  Ryder laughed out loud, saying, “Neither do my parents,” before clinking glasses with her and then sweeping her into a warm embrace.

  She was surprised at how happy she was to see him and took him by the arm, forcing him to follow her back to where Ryder and Patrick were still sitting.

  “Wow,” said Ryder, his eyes locking on Patrick and Ragon. “Please tell me we are walking towards those two.”

  Ragon stood and moved to stand protectively in front of Ari, eying the hand that still grasped Ryder’s disdainfully.

  Both Ari and Ryder swooned, while Ryder said under his breath, “Oh my god, I hate you so much right now!”

  “This is Ryder,” said Ari, shoving him in the ribs to get him to shut up. “I lived with his family for a while back in high school.”

  Ryder shook hands with Ragon first before turning to face Patrick, and Ari said, “And this is Patrick.”

  When Ari looked back over to Ryder, she saw that he and Patrick were staring, puppy eyed at one another.

  “Well Ryder, want to get a drink, maybe stretch your legs on the dance floor?” asked Patrick.

  Ryder shrugged, but then followed Patrick back down the stairs a little too eagerly, glancing back at Ari, where a huge grin was threatening to take over his entire face. It wasn’t until Patrick turned back to smile at Ari also, that she realised what was wrong with this situation.

  “Holly hell,” she said, taking Ragon by the elbow and making to follow after them, “what’s Patrick going to do to Ryder?”

  “Keep your voice down,” said Ragon, looking up to see Sandra and Larissa walking over towards them.

  “But…” Ari began.

  “What’s wrong sugar?” asked Sandra.

  Sandra’s cheeks were pink and flushed, and Ari realised that she must have just fed.

  “Patrick just found a friend of mine,” she muttered, storming off to follow them into the club.

  Ari raced down the steps that would lead back to the main club. Twice she paced the club, searching desperately for Ryder, but he was nowhere to be seen. Her efforts had made her sweaty and on her second trip past the bar, she spied a long hallway, where a lightly glowing female sign, shone like a beacon to the girl’s bathroom. Everything around her felt chaotic, like she was on a merry-go-round and all she wanted to do was get off. Quickly she raced for it, pushing the door open with ease.

  Once inside she stared at her reflection. Her face was scorching and she splashed cold water onto her cheeks, hoping to relieve the burning. The bathroom, though being humid, provided a nice relief from the club, whose combination of loud music and dim lighting had left her feeling claustrophobic. But all too soon the nagging worry about what Patrick would do to Ryder came back to her, and she knew she had to find him.

  Leaving the bathroom, she walked further down the hallway, past the men’s room, until she found a large exit sign and pushed. She thought perhaps that Ryder and Patrick might have left the club, or else gone somewhere private to... Quickly Ari shook her head, she couldn’t think like that.

  The feeling of the cool night air on her cheeks was revitalizing, and she relished in its refreshment, until she looked up. The sight that met her eyes stopped her dead in her tracks. Ari opened her mouth in horror. A young girl, barely twenty, was being forced against the brick wall that formed part of the alleyway. Her eyes were bulged and desperate, and Ari realised that the dark haired man forcing himself on her, was the same guy who had been buying Ari shots at the start of the night.

  Thick black stains ran down the girls eyes, though she still looked beautiful and innocent. With one hand the man was pulling the grey dress that she wore up past her waist, while the other pinned her to the wall and covered her mouth. Apart from the three of them, the alleyway was deserted. There were large dumpsters lining the walls with foul rubbish spilling from them. An alley cat sat perched on one of these, watching the events, its iridescent yellow eyes reflecting the scene before it. The brute had his back to Ari, and so she raked the alleyway, desperate to find something that she could use as a weapon against him.

  Another small scream escaped the girl, and Ari turned to realise that the man had removed his belt and was stringing it around her throat.

  “Scream and your dead,” he said.

  The girl nodded, still sobbing silently, but stopped struggling; she was completely defeated. Without thinking, Ari threw her body onto the man’s back, desperate to stop him from further violating the girl. Instantly the man relinquished his hold on his victim. Ari’s attack had surprised him, and he swayed where he stood, before baking up and forcing his back against the brick wall, winding Ari as she fell heavily to the ground.

  “Bitch,” said the man, taking Ari by the hair and throwing her once more against the wall.

  Ari felt her head smash against the hard brick and then she stared up in horror at the dark haired man.

  “Two for the price of one,” he said greedily.

  Ari sucked in hard, about to scream, until she looked up and saw… Ragon. His green eyes were bulged and livid, and there was a wild untamed look to him which greatly contrasted with the crisp white shirt he wore. She watched mesmerised, as with one hand he clamped his fingers around the struggling man’s throat and lifted him into the air, so that he was dangling by his feet. The dark haired man clutched at Ragon’s fingers uselessly, while his lips slowly became blue at the edges. Without hesitation, Ragon forced his victim’s neck to the side before reaching into his pocket for something. Taking a small gleaming silver knife, he slit a deep cut into the man’s throat. Thick red blood gushed from the wound, spraying across Ragon’s face and leaving a scarlet stain on his skin and clothes. Ari shivered, watching the monster within take over.

  It took no more than a minute for Ragon to drain him. When he was finished, he threw the man aside as though he was garbage and rushed to Ari. Crouching besides her, his mad eyes focused on the swollen bruise which had formed across her cheek. He made to touch her but Ari moved away, unable to stop herself. Ragon blinked in fear and the two remained frozen, staring at one another for several more seconds.

  Leaving Ari, Ragon quickly swept over to the girl, touched his icy fingers to her pulse and said, “She will be ok, thanks to you.”

  Ari looked once at the semi-unconscious girl and back to Ragon.

  “Why?” she asked, unable to stop herself from asking the one question she had wanted to since she first met Ragon.

  “He was a bad man; he was hurting you-” Ragon began, but Ari cut him off.

  “-no, why me?” she asked, and when Ragon looked puzzled she added, “Do you know how many girls are attacked every day? How many creeps there are just waiting to prey on them?”

  “I know,” answered Ragon, a low growl lending a slight edge to his voice.

  “No, that’s not what I… Why me? You have probably saved a thousand women; you could have had them all! Why did you choose me?”

  The alcohol in her system had mixed with the adrenaline, allowing her to portray a sense of invulnerability that would not normally have been there. She had to know. Ragon was gorgeous, he was different and amazing, and hers was not the first life that he had saved; so why had he chosen to keep her? Why not disassociate her after her attack? Why would he risk breaking one of the Final Death Laws? The fear of not knowing fuelled her resolve to discover the truth, and she stared at Ragon, waiting for him to answer her.

  “I… I don’t know,” he said, and Ari thought from the way his eyes darted around the alleyway, that he was lying.

  “Well that makes two of us,” she said, trying to stand but failing.

  When Ragon offered to help her this time she did not flinch, but stared at him pointedly, wai
ting for an answer.

  His white shirt was now covered in blood, but still there were traces of the mystery man she had admired from afar in the library.

  “I couldn’t leave you after I found; I couldn’t leave you,” he said quietly.

  Slowly Ari’s face lightened. Reaching down to her dress, she tore at the soft fabric, and using the material like a face washer, began cleaning the speckles of blood off him. She had wiped most of it away when Ragon reached for her hand. He took it in his, gently intertwining their fingers together. He had seen her naked, watched her almost be raped, and yet now as he held her delicate hands within his, she felt closer to him than she had ever before.

  “I had to,” he whispered, bringing their hands to his cheek.

  Ari looked up at him hopefully. Her eyes were filled with wonder at his touch, invoking an urge in her that was so strong she felt her head sway, as though the ground around her were rotating. Ragon leaned closer to her, as though an invisible force urged him and Ari responded, her own pull gravitating towards him. Instinctively her mouth parted, the soft pink of her lips easing open.

  “There you two are,” a voice said loudly from behind them.

  Ari felt Ragon pull away, unwinding her fingers from his so that she once again swayed on the spot, as she readjusted her centre of gravity without him. Looking around, she saw Clyde. He was holding the door to the cub open, flanked by Sandra, Thomas, Larissa and Cambridge.

  Both girls looked horrified at what they had interrupted, but Clyde walked further into the alley, and looking at the girl on the ground said, “That’s not like you to hunt a chick.”

  Ragon’s eyes were full of daggers; it seemed that he had completely forgotten the girl on the floor next to him, and glancing from her to the corpse of the man at his feet, said, “While you were feasting, Ari was almost killed… by a human!”

  Both Larissa and Sandra exchanged worried looks, and Sandra said, “She only left our sight for a minute-”

  But Ragon cut her off, leaving the alleyway quickly and walking back into the club.

  “Are you ok?” Clyde asked Ari, after Ragon had left.

  Her heart was still pounding and there was an unrequited longing in her. Was she alright? No; no she wasn’t. For one fleeting moment she had thought… had hoped… but she was being stupid. How could Ragon possibly feel a connection with her? Still she thought, as she allowed Clyde to direct her back into the club, the way Ragon had touched her... she felt whole, as if everything in her life had been leading up to that moment, but she had missed it. Looking back she was surprised to see Thomas standing over the body of the dark haired man, touching a hand to his forehead, sternum and then left and right arm, as he crossed himself.

  Before the rest of the coven could leave the alley, Ragon had returned, flanked by a muscular security guard.

  “Do you want to tell me why you are covered in blood,” said the security guard, until his eyes fell on the girl on the ground.

  “I found her like this,” said Ragon. “I have already called an ambulance.”

  He was pointing to the girl who was now slumped against the brick wall. Now she was conscious and her hand was pressed gingerly around her throat, trying to soothe the large welts which had appeared there.

  “And who’s this?” the security guard asked, kicking the body in the alley way over, so that the face of the dark haired man was revealed. “I am guessing you are wearing his blood.”

  Ari looked down at the body. His eyes were fixed and dilated, and the large cut around his throat was now dull and thick with congealed blood.

  “Never seen him before,” Ragon lied, looking down at the man as though considering him. “When I heard a scream I came out here, then I saw him bleeding and tried CPR, but-”

  Just then there was a loud wailing noise and bright flashes of blue light. Ari felt her hand jerk, as Sandra pulled her towards the street. The police had arrived at the entrance of the club, and the seven of them had to get away quickly.

  “Hey, where are you going?” the security guard asked the group’s retreating backs.

  “Sorry we have a curfew; our parents worry,” Clyde said back mischievously, increasing his pace.

  As the coven slinked past the club’s entrance, they watched as the police began storming past them. At the same time Patrick appeared, though Ari noticed that Ryder was nowhere to be seen.

  Chapter 11- A Diary Entry

  That night Ari’s dreams were fuelled with fear. Oddly the vampires, or that was what she guessed they must have been, were unknown to her. There were two men and a woman. All of them reeked of decay, as if the flesh that clung to their body had long since lost any trace of life, yet their features were perfect, even beautiful. They were sitting on large stone thrones discussing someone, someone that they feared. In the dream, Ari was only an observer, part of the walls and ceiling, and she watched as though from a distance, mesmerised. The room was large and formed of pale sandstone, with one very small window, allowing only the faintest streak of moonlight through. Ari had tried to get closer, desperate to know what the people before her discussed, but she could not. The faces of the three vampires were hidden from her, shadows danced across their bodies, while the moon occasionally threw into light ominous features.

  On the damp floor an elderly lady was crouched low, and it was to her that the three beings were addressing. Ari looked at the obviously human woman and gasped. Her eyes were white and looked as if they were rolling into the back of her head. The old woman was quivering slightly, her back bent unnaturally as she tried to avoid eye contact with the vampires seated at the thrones.

  “I have told you all I know,” the elderly lady begged, her white eyes wide with terror as she glanced nervously at the blade the female vampire held.

  The vampires considered her. Both men seemed satisfied and nodded indifferently, but the woman shook her head in disbelief. She glowered down at the cowering mortal and rushed over to her. As she ran, a puff of chilly snowflakes flew in through the window, forcing her hair shiny red hair away from her face, showing small freckles dotting her cheeks. Without warning she bent down low and two fangs were revealed which bit into the wrinkled skin of the cowering woman. But the elderly woman only managed a stifled scream before she relaxed.

  “Now,” said the woman, who was again seated on her throne, a dagger once again held in her hand threateningly. “Tell us what you saw. Tell us of the child.”

  Slowly the elderly woman held out a hand, and pointed to where Ari was standing, as if suddenly realising she was there.

  “Hide,” the elderly woman said, locking eyes with Ari, while Ari stared back in confusion and disbelief.

  “What did you say?” asked one of the men, his normally marble features creased in confusion as he looked around the room, trying to see what the elderly woman could.

  “The child,” the female vampire pressed again, leaving her seat and rushing at the elderly woman.

  The vampire was staring at the woman ferociously; her eyes boring into her victims. Finally the old woman seemed to bend to the vampires will and hung her head. She leaned in close to the vampire, her mouth trembling and whispered something, something that made the vampires eyes open wide in concern.

  Then, without warning, the elderly lady reached for the knife that the vampire still held and used it to stab into her own chest. Thick red blood spilled from the wound; all three vampires watched its progression across the stone floor, mesmerised.

  “You’ll get no more from me,” the elderly woman croaked. “You’re time is up. The Gran-”

  But her words were cut off and she rolled over on the floor. There were grey wisps of hair partly covering her face and her eyes, which had in life been white, were now a vibrant blue in death.

  Ari woke covered in sweat and her heart pounding. Almost as soon as she had opened her eyes, everything she had dreamed about was forgotten. Only the dank smell of rotten flesh remained, and she looked around her bedroom searchin
g for the source of the putrid smell. Half-heartedly she tried closing her eyes and drifting back to sleep, but her heart was hammering too fast, and its constant pounding in her ears prevented any chance of a return to slumber. Sitting up in bed, a sudden dizzy spell caught her off guard and she gripped the sheets for support. Only when the light headedness had abated, did she remember she’d been drinking last night; she had a hangover- again. Her mouth was dry and tacky, and her memories clouded. For a little while longer she remained in bed, trying to recall the events of the previous night, but soon an overwhelming thirst urged her up.

  It was just after midday; the bright sun streamed through the windows that she had opened and she relished in it, appreciating the way her skin responded to the warm rays.

  These past few months had seen her life change considerably, and yet now, as she sat on one of the chairs on the veranda drinking a cold glass of water, she fully appreciated everything she had left behind. Living in darkness it seemed had blinded her to the rest of the world, almost as if every day, was a dark night. With this in mind she gingerly got up from her chair but before she could reach the veranda door, there was a loud barking from somewhere below. Racing to the banister, Ari peered below; she knew that the next door neighbours must have a dog; she had heard it bark on more than one occasion, but never had it sounded this close before. A fast movement in the backyard made her smile and she raced from the veranda, through the house and into the back yard.

  “Come here girl,” she said, crouching down low.

  There was no reply and so Ari stood up and inched towards the fence line and whistled. Suddenly there was a rustling noise from a line of shrubs. A large black nose poked out between the bushes and so Ari whistled again and waited. The moment she saw the long white tail, large fluffy paws and dark brown eyes, her heart broke. She wasn’t sure if it was because she was sad or happy, or just hungover, but she thought that if she tried to, she could easily cry. She didn’t realise until now, but she missed animals. Everything in her life, up until a few weeks ago, had been preparing her to become a vet. Since she had met Ragon, all of that had gone out the window.