Bound (The Grandor Descendant Series Book 3)

by Stoires, Bell

  “You’re not leaving this room,” Clyde said authoritatively, as if the matter was no longer up for discussion.

  “You can’t tell me what-” Riley started to say, but Clyde cut her off mid-sentence.

  “-you honestly expect me to let you go out there,” he said. “You’re a waere. I can’t let anything happen to you… either of you,” he added in a whisper, looking down at her stomach.

  “I can’t shift,” said Riley, pressing her hand against her stomach, almost in anger. “There is no chance of them finding out what I am.”

  “Darling, Clyde’s right,” said Ryder, and though Ari knew it would break Riley’s heart, she nodded also in agreement.

  “But what about Natalie?” said Riley, “She saved my life and now she is being hunted; that’s my fault!”

  “It’s not our fight,” said Clyde.

  “No, it’s not your fight,” Riley spat, her face now red and blotchy. “You don’t understand. I spent my whole life running. Hiding from vampires, scared of wraiths. We could never be seen, never heard… my whole life. It’s like we don’t exist. There’s no one to look out for us except other waeres.”

  “Riley,” said Clyde, moving over to her and taking her hand in his. “You exist to me; if you didn’t, I would have no purpose. If I lose you, then, then I lose everything.”

  Riley let out a loud sob; soon she was crying openly, only pausing to stammer, “I’m sorry; it’s these stupid hormones.”

  “It’s ok, love,” Clyde whispered, touching his hand to her face and wiping away the tears. “Sandra and Thomas are out there now. They aren’t going to bring Natalie in. That’s the whole reason we wanted the coven to be involved in the patrols. We will keep your secret safe. I promise. No one is going to find out about you, or any other waeres.”

  One by one the coven left Ari’s room, until only Ari, Ragon, Clyde and Riley remained.

  “Clyde,” said Riley, looking up at him adoringly, her face still glistening with tears, “would you mind going to the shops and getting me something to eat. I’m starving and I don’t feel like going up to the cafeteria. I think I just need to rest for a bit.”

  “What do you feel like?” he asked, his face lightening.

  “Um, maybe some fried chicken, a few pickles, a noodle salad and some ice-cream?” said Riley. “Preferably mint, but I would also accept choc-chip.”

  “Anything else?” asked Ragon, laughing.

  Riley shook her head and Clyde moved over to the door.

  “Actually,” Ragon said, moving to follow him, “I have to meet with Bridget now. We’re supposed to be going over our thesis presentation.”

  “That’s still going ahead?” Ari asked, surprised, “I just thought, what with everything going on, that it might have been cancelled?”

  “Nope,” said Ragon. “I don’t think anything would be able to stop Bridget. She’s kind of like a freight train, and not in a good way.”

  “Is it still alright if I go?” asked Ari.

  Clyde and Ragon both looked at Ari surreptitiously.

  “I think she will have to,” Clyde said finally, when it was apparent that Ragon wasn’t going to answer. “It will look suspicious if she doesn’t. Most vamps have their sources around for things like that.”

  Ragon nodded stiffly.

  “Ok, so, I will stay here with Riley and then when Clyde comes back, I’ll meet you at Cruor halls for your presentation,” suggested Ari, looking at Ragon. “You never know,” she added, winking, “you might need some delicious blood to help you with your nerves.”

  “Ari,” said Ragon, sighing as opened the door, “don’t tease me.”

  The moment the door closed, Riley sat bolt upright in bed, the tears no longer staining her face.

  “I need you to get a message to Natalie,” she said.

  “What? We’re you… we’re you just faking everything you said to Clyde?”

  “I have to warn her,” said Riley, searching Ari’s face for any trace of understanding.

  “Weren’t you here for Clyde’s ranting? Didn’t you hear him? And you want me to defy him?”

  “Leave Clyde to me; besides, I’m the one who is defying him. You’re simply doing me a favour,” Riley said, smiling innocently.

  “I don’t think Clyde will see it that way. In fact, I’m pretty sure he would kill me, like actually kill me, if he even knew that we were talking about this. What about asking Sandra and Thomas to warn her if they see her? ’m supposed to be watching Ragon’s thesis presentation tonight.”

  “Natalie barely trusts us, and that was with me being a waere and after you saved her life,” said Riley. “Please Ari. You just need to pop into the forest and warn her. It won’t take long. You will still have plenty of time to make it to Ragon’s presentation tonight without him or Clyde be any the wiser.”

  A long silence followed this, during which Ari tried desperately to ignore the pleading look on Riley’s face.

  “Please Ari,” Riley added, “It’s my fault that she is being hunted. Every vampire on the campus will be looking for her, wanting to prove there are waeres and God knows what they will do if they catch her. No one can know that we still exist. I don’t know why we were prosecuted all those centuries ago by the Ancients, but if they learn that just one waere is alive, they won’t stop until we are all dead. This isn’t just about Natalie. This is about saving an entire species. I wouldn’t ask you to do this if it weren’t important.”

  “But what am I supposed to do? We have no way of contacting her!”

  “She’ll probably still be in the Three Prong Trek,” said Riley, “that’s where we saw her last. And Sandra and Thomas are on waere-watch anyway, so it’s not like you have to worry about a vampire seeing you in the forest. We just need to tall Natalie what happened and that she has to get out of here.”

  “I really don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “Ok,” said Riley, her voice suddenly distant and cold.

  Slowly Riley tried to pull herself out of bed.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” asked Ari.

  “Well, if you won’t help Natalie then I will.”

  Ari hung her head, burying her face in her hands as she gave in and said, “Alright; I’ll do it. Geez, you and guilt trips! I can’t believe Clyde fell for it before, and what’s worse, I can’t believe I am falling for it now.”

  Clyde returned half an hour later, laden with food. The moment he appeared, Ari jumped to her feet and bolted for the door. She was afraid that if she remained too long, he might somehow manage to discover what she and Riley were planning, as if her guilt might be etched in the expression on her face.

  “Have to get to the cafeteria before it closes,” she lied, not chancing a glance back at him.

  As she dashed down the hallway, Ari heard Riley say, “That darn cafeteria food… down right addictive.”

  The moment Ari had agreed to look for Riley, she texted Chris and Lea to meet her in Lea’s room on the first level of Omega Halls. She may have been foolish enough to have been guilt tripped by Riley, but she wasn’t stupid enough to go into the forest by herself. True, she hadn’t told them why she wanted to see them; just that she needed to talk to them about something. Hopefully they would both be in a daredevil mood.

  When she reached Lea’s room, she knocked quickly and entered. Chris was already there and Ari was pleasantly surprised to see that the witch and wraith were not only talking to each other caudally, but were deep in discussion about something. Ari almost felt awkward as she filed into the small room, waiting for a gap in their conversation so as to ask for their help with Riley’s request.

  “She seriously wants you to go out and find a waere-girl that the entire vampire student body is looking for?” Chris said flatly, after Ari had explained everything.

  “And to warn her about it?” added Lea.

  “After you both were almost killed this morning?” said Chris.

  “Yep,” said Ari, “but I hav
en’t told you the best part.”

  “There’s more?” asked Lea.

  “I was kind of hoping that you would come with me,” Ari said quickly. “If Ragon found out, he would kill me, but only after digging up my body, because Clyde would have defiantly already found me and killed me by then. Besides, I don’t know who it was who attacked us last night, but there was something familiar about her, and I can’t shake the feeling that she was after me, not Riley or Natalie. Look I know it’s dangerous, and if you don’t want to-”

  “-count me in,” Chris said suddenly, while Lea scoffed next to him. “If only we knew a witch who would come with us,” he added, looking at Lea with wide eyes.

  “Pleeeeease,” Ari cooed, batting her eyelashes furiously at Lea. “This isn’t just about Natalie or Riley. If the vamps find out that waeres are still alive, they will hunt them down and kill them all. This is about saving an entirely species.”

  She had stolen Riley’s words, hoping to impress the importance of their mission, and in truth, to reassure herself that what she was doing was the right thing. She was rewarded when Lea nodded slowly.

  “Alright then,” said Lea.

  After that Chris, Ari and Lea all walked briskly to Delta house, careful to avoid being seen.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Lea, as they crept past the lake and made their way to the stone steps that would lead to the Three Prong Trek.

  “I don’t exactly have a choice,” said Ari. “It’s not like this was my idea.”

  “Yea, but surely there would be a better way to warn Natalie,” said Lea.

  “I’m open for suggestions,” Ari replied, turning to face Lea expectantly. “Besides, Sandra and Thomas are supposed to be on waere-watch. It’s not like they are going to turn us in.”

  “They might turn us into Ragon,” said Chris, a wicked grin on his face. “I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”

  The silence that followed was deafening. Finally Chris broke it by walking forwards and pointing to the sign at the start of the forest, ‘The Three Prong Trek,’ which outlined the three possible routes they could take through the forest.

  “So which one are we taking?” he asked.

  Lea shrugged but Ari walked purposefully forwards and indicated the middle path.

  “I saw Natalie take this one last time we were here,” she explained. “We might as well go with it.”

  The further and further they made their way through the thick canopy, the less the light seeping through the forest leaves reached the path, so that after ten minutes or so of walking, the path was no longer discernible in front of them. A sudden bright light came from where Chris was standing, and Ari realised that he was using the light of his phone to guide his way.

  “I think maybe we should go with something a little more subtle,” said Lea, frowning at him.

  “Well, I was going to drag the moon down, but this just seemed easier,” Chris replied sarcastically, and Ari laughed lightly.

  “Ouch,” Ari said.

  She had run into the back of Lea, who had stopped walking abruptly. Lea however did not acknowledge this; she had begun swaying back and forth and was whispering something quickly under her breath.

  “Lampyridae,” she said, and Ari was amazed to see tiny golden lights emerging from the depths of the forest, humming louder and louder as they approached.

  Ari’s mouth fell open. All around them, lighting their path, were a family of fireflies.

  “Yea, a bunch of fireflies is much more low-key,” Chris said sarcastically, though Ari couldn’t help but notice the impressed look in his eyes as he watched Lea, reflecting the tiny orange glow of the insects around them.

  Lea smiled and waved her hands, allowing the tiny glowing insects to light the path for them.

  “Incredible,” Ari said slowly, now easily able to see the illuminated path before her.

  “Yea,” Chris whispered, still looking at Lea. “Incredible.”

  For the next hour or so the group continued like this. Lea had just mentioned that it was probably time to turn around when the many humming wings of the fireflies suddenly became silent, and one by one their lights began to grow fainter, as they fell to the ground. Ari turned to face Lea in confusion, and saw with a throb of panic that she, like the fire flies, had fallen to the ground.

  “What the hell is happening?” asked Chris, rushing to Lea’s side, where many lightly glowing fireflies had fallen down all around her, sprinkling her with tiny bursts of golden fading light. “Lea?”

  “Lea, say something?” yelled Ari, racing to the girls side also.

  Lea did not move, but Ari thought that like the fire flies, she had become pale and sickly looking.

  “We have to get her to a doctor,” said Chris, moving to pick her up. “Maybe it was the magic? Maybe it drained her?”

  The moment Chris’s outstretched fingertips touched Lea, he screamed. Falling to the floor, he began writhing in agony, twitching and convulsing as if he had been poisoned.

  “Chris!” Ari exclaimed, reaching out to touch him; what the hell was happening?

  “I wouldn’t try that again,” someone said, and Ari spun around, just as Chris’s eyes looked up in horror.

  “Dad?” he asked, his eyes meeting the pale, ghostly figure of his father, who was now standing in front of them.

  The second Ari had realised who it was, her mouth dropped open in surprise. She had seen Chris’s father on two occasions; the first was when he had helped the Triad to break through Lea’s magic and kidnap her, and a second more recent time, when the coven had been battling the blood hunter, and he had brought Chris back to life.

  “You don’t belong here,” said the wraith, and Ari watched as Chris’s previously pain stricken face, fell in confusion.

  “Excuse me?” asked Chris, staggering to his feet.

  “You’re a wraith. You belong with your own kind… you belong by my side,” he said.

  “Chris is nothing like you,” Ari spat, moving to crouch down protectively in front of Lea.

  She was certain that whatever was wrong with Lea, it was Chris’s father’s doing, and she wasn’t going to let him get another shot at her.

  “He is more like me than you know,” said the wraith, and Ari thought she saw a smile lend light to his black eyes. “The witch has fallen because I have bound her in this place. The spell I have cast displaces her magic to her skin. Her good magic.”

  “Why would you do that?” Chris asked flatly, his eyes now thin slits as he advanced nearer and nearer his father.

  “To show you who you really are,” he said. “Her true nature is good magic. That’s why it is agony for you to touch her. Your true nature is evil; the two repel each other. When you touch her, you touch her goodness and it burns you.”

  Tentatively Ari reached for Lea; unlike Chris, she did not scream out in pain, but tried to cradle her in her arms. What Chris’s father was saying must be true, but Chris wasn’t evil!

  “You think attacking my friend will make me want to join you?” asked Chris.

  “No, but it will make you realise who you are,” he said simply. “Trouble is coming. The Ancients have heard of the existence of waeres. They are sending someone, a new Vice Chancellor. And there are other things in motion… things which the Ancients have been planning for decades. You aren’t safe here anymore. The shadows are advancing.”

  “Chris,” Lea stammered, and Chris turned away from his father, racing back to Lea’s side though careful not to touch her. “Just because you were born a wraith, it doesn’t define you... we set our own destiny.”

  Even as Lea spoke, her face was growing more and more pained, as if the act of speaking was costing her greatly. Eventually her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she fell silent again, taking short little breaths.

  “Undo this,” said Chris, now turning to face his father again.

  “Come with me now and I will,” he replied. “If you don’t, she will die. Only good magi
c can displace the spell on her skin. And, as I have just told you, your magic is evil.”

  “Then I’ll stop it,” Ari cried.

  “Your magic is neither good nor evil,” said the wraith, considering Ari. “Besides, you know little of it.”

  “I know that I am the Grandor descendant. I know that it is my job to get rid of your masters!” Ari said back.

  Chris shook his head manically, staring from Lea and then up at Ari. Ari noticed right away that something had changed in Chris’s expression. His eyes were now fixed on Lea, and there was a look of desperation and determination that Ari thought she had never seen before. Without hesitating, Chris reached down and picked Lea up, cradling her head against his shoulder as he stammered against the burning power of her good magic. The moment he had touched her skin, his face broke into a snarl and small beads of sweat covered his brow, but he did not cry out as he had done before, rather stood determinately, apparently deep in concentration.