“Ah, I love you,” said Riley, and for a moment she wrestled from the chair she had been sitting in, finally managing to uncork herself from the seat as she moved to hug Lea. “Just don’t mention any of this to Clyde or he might have a heart attack. Or he might kill me. Hell, he might kill everyone!”
“No problems,” said Lea, winking.
When the decorations had been taken down and the group departed, Ari left Omega Halls to see Ragon. Her thoughts centred on Ryder, and the look of utter longing and despair he had when he’d left. She couldn’t imagine what he must be going through.
The moment Ari walked into Cruor halls, she couldn’t help but notice bright red banners hanging around every inch of the entrance. Long red streamers and glistening balloons had been draped along the stairs, while pinned to the windows, was the banner, “Cruor hockey match tonight. Kick, punch... bite.”
“What’s with all the decorations?” she asked Ragon, after entering his room.
“Yea, they’re a little... over the top. It’s all Gwen’s doing. They’re for tonight’s match. This is her version of a university sports event. I think she’s under the impression that if she has enough team spirit, the Ancients will remove James Frater from his seat of power and appoint her as Vice Chancellor.”
“Oh right, yea, I spoke with Ryder before; he said he was playing in the match,” said Ari, sighing loudly and looking down at her bracelet, so as to play with the little letter J charm.
“What’s wrong? I know that look.”
“It’s just... Ryder. He asked Lea to do a locating spell to try and find Patrick, but she point blank refused,” said Ari.
“And?”
“I just wish there was something I could do,” she admitted. “He’s not coping with losing Patrick. I think he blames himself. But instead of dealing with his emotions or talking to me, he’s using the hockey match as a distraction.”
Ragon moved to her, taking her hand and kissing the palm of it. When she looked into his eyes, she felt sea of love flood her heart.
“Do you think we could go and support him?” she asked. “I just feel like I need to do something to remind him that there are people who love him.” Ragon looked as if he were going to argue, and so Ari added, “Please. It’s just a stupid hockey match. I promise to be a good source and pretend to be under your command.”
“Alright, alright, we can go. God it infuriates me how easily you can manipulate me! Just make sure you wear something warm. It’s ice hockey.”
When it was time, Ragon and Ari made their way down to one of the large ovals on the Eastern side of the school. Ragon was right; it was freezing outside, and Ari was glad that she had decided to wear her large jacket and scarf. She had even, after much insistence from Ragon, been persuaded to wear one of his beanies. It was a little too big for her head, but when she pulled her hair out to either side of her face, it kept her ears warm.
When they reached the oval, Ari saw that an enormous stand had been erected, looking down onto a perfectly smooth skating rink. There were heaps of people making their way onto the stands, most obviously human, carrying hotdogs and drinking bears. While on the ice, dressed in uncharacteristically flimsy attire, were the vampire players. Ari knew they were vampires, not just from their lack of protective clothing, but also by the sports jerseys they wore, where the word Cruor was etched on the back, followed by a number.
“Look,” said Ari, when she and Ragon had taken a seat in the first row. “There’s Ryder.”
Below them Ryder was talking with a group of five other players. With a pang in her heart, Ari saw that each of the players had donned black paint against their cheeks, painfully reminding her of how Patrick and Ryder had looked, when they had gone up against the blood hunter. Catching Ryder’s eye, Ari waved at him enthusiastically, just as a loud whistle blew, and the players made their way onto the field to begin the match.
“Shake hands,” said a loud male voice, and Ari realised that James Frater was refereeing the match.
Two surly looking vampires moved towards the centre of the oval, neither of which Ari recognised. One of them, a boy with blonde spiky hair, pulled his helmet down to cover his face, then he shook hands with the boy opposite him, before falling back into line with the rest of their teammates. Another loud whistle sounded and a small hockey puck was thrown into the centre of the ring, where a vampire was waiting for it with his stick.
After that the game was a fast blur. Ragon and a few of the other vampire spectators seemed to be the only ones capable of fully appreciated the match. Had it not been for the cheerleaders, Ari wouldn’t have even known who was in front. The moment Ryder’s side scored, a group of girls, all dressed in red pleated skirts and white long sleeve jumpers, skated to the centre of the ice and began cheering. The spectacular gymnastics made Ari in no doubt that they were also vampires.
“Aren’t all these humans just a little bit suspicious of Cruor halls excellent hockey players and their gold medal cheerleaders?” asked Ari, when the cheering had finished and the game recommenced.
“They’re sources.”
“What?” said Ari, her mouth open in surprise as she scanned the crowds, “All of them? But how can they all be-”
Words failed Ari. Not because there was at least a hundred sources here, but because as she’d glimpsed down to the players box, Ari saw an injured vampire bite into the neck of a sources. The vampire acted as if this action was just as simple as requesting a bottle of water, and, judging from the lack of reaction from the stand, so did everyone else.
“But,” said Ari, when she had recovered, “how, how can they risk this? I mean, what if a human decided to come to the game who wasn’t lulled?”
“They’re pretty careful about these things. It’s just like the campus club and the branding ink. Vamps have ways to hide their activities from humans. Gwen organised these games, so you can be damn sure she hasn’t forgotten anything.”
When the match had finished, James Frater skated to the centre of the rink, a microphone in his hand as he addressed not just the players, but the crowd.
“Excellent game! Now, as many of you will have noticed, the Pasteur Institute has welcomed a great deal of new vampires in the last week. Many of these students have instigated their studies at the Forensic and Research Morgue. Tonight we welcome them to our university.”
As James spoke, Ari turned to Ragon and whispered, “What are they doing, studying at the FARM?”
“Beats me.”
Chapter 14- A Lesson
What with being so concerned about Ryder, trying to study for her end of semester exams, and the fact that she was supposed to be helping Lea find out where the missing students had gone, Ari had no chance to prepare for her driving exam. Ragon had booked the exam for late Friday afternoon, and Ari had asked him to take her for a driving lesson right before she was due to sit it. She wasn’t thrilled about having Ragon as a pseudo-instructor, but she didn’t really have a choice. She knew that Ragon wouldn’t be happy if she asked Chris to help her, and so she tried hard not to get distracted with lustful thoughts, as she and Ragon drove around the campus parking lot.
“Stop chewing your nails,” Ragon had said from the passenger seat, as he’d watched her attempt a reverse parallel park.
“I’m not ready,” Ari said, slamming the breaks on and glaring at him. “The exam is in less than an hour and I can’t even reverse a car properly.”
“Ari you are the cleverest, most beautiful and determined person I know. You will be fine. I promise.”
“Why do I even need to do this stupid test?”
Ragon stared at her, pulling the hand brake so that the car came to a stop, as he said, “You were the one who wanted an English driving licence. Remember?”
“Yea, but, I feel sick. Maybe I am coming down with something? Feel my forehead?”
“That’s just the nerves. I remember when I first went for my licence-”
“-they made you take a driving e
xam for using a horse and cart?” Ari asked, smiling sarcastically.
“Add sarcastic to your list of attributes.”
“What’s going on over there?” asked Ari, pointing off into the distance, where bright lights shone around one of the schools ovals.
“Looks like another hockey match.”
“Maybe that means Ryder will be back,” Ari said, hopefully.
When she could no longer put it off any longer, Ari drove Ragon’s car to the entrance of the Pasteur Institute and waited for 5pm. It was just starting to get dark when a small black car pulled up. Ari grimaced as the heavy set woman with short dyed blonde hair got out of the driver’s seat and introduced herself as the driving examiner.
Ari was barely listening and quickly got into the car, adjusting the seat so that she could reach the pedals comfortably, while feeling like a little kid. When the woman held out the car keys and instructed Ari to start the car, she did so, though nervously. The rattling hum of the engine was unsettling somehow, and when Ari gripped the steering wheel, she could feel how sweaty her palms were.
The driving lesson lasted just under half an hour, and Ari was pleased with only one thing; that she had managed not to freeze her instructor. Even as Ari pulled the car to a stop at the Pasteur Institute, she knew she had failed. She had spent the majority of the test craning her neck to see the various crosses and comments that the instructor had made on the examination paper and in the end, had wanted to get out of the alienating car so much that she had not even bothered sticking to the speed limit.
“I’m afraid that you did not pass,” the instructor said, handing Ari the piece of paper that detailed exactly where she had gone wrong. “You need to remember to look in the rear view mirror and side mirrors more regularly and practise your hill starts, not to mention observing the speed limit.”
Ari sighed loudly and took the piece of paper. Her hand was on the handle of the car when she felt it open. She looked up to see Ragon smiling widely at her.
“How did you go?” he asked, holding out his hand to help her out of the car.
“Failed,” she said miserably, handing him the piece of paper as she moved to walk back to Omega halls, keen to drown her sorrows with a drink.
Preoccupied with her thoughts of failure, it wasn’t until Ari was a few paces away, that she realised Ragon was not beside her. She spun around, searching the grounds, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was then that she noticed the driving instructor’s car was still parked there. Was another poor student about to be tortured after her?
As she looked more closely at the black car, Ari noticed that there was already someone sitting in the driver’s seat and gaped when she realised that it was Ragon. With her heart hammering, Ari raced to the car, but before she could reach it, the plump driving instructor had gotten out, walked over to her and handed her another piece of paper, all the while clutching a handkerchief to her neck. Ari’s mouth was open as she stared at the green PASS stamp that had been marked next to her name.
“But,” Ari began to say.
“Make sure you pop into the Isle of Man transit office to organise the photo for your driving license,” the woman said, already walking back towards her car.
“Congratulations,” said Ragon, exiting the car and blurring over to Ari, a large smile on his face.
“Tell me you didn’t,” said Ari, pulling away from him.
She could tell by the slight pinkish glow to Ragon’s cheeks that he had only just fed, and he wiped his mouth self-consciously as she stared at him in disbelief.
“If you mean didn’t bite her, then I can’t” he said.
Ari’s face dropped.
“I thought you wanted to pass?” he said in confusion.
“Yea I do want to pass, but not by you attacking my examiner and lulling her!”
Ragon looked down at his feet, while Ari placed her hands on her hips.
“I just wanted you to be happy,” he said softly.
Because Ari couldn’t think of anything else to do, she laughed. She knew that Ragon’s actions had stemmed from his love for her. Still, it was wrong to attack people. But then again, Ragon was a vampire. His diet was blood, human blood. He couldn’t attack only evil people all the time; sometimes there just weren’t any bad guys around.
“You can’t fix all my problems for me,” she said finally, when her laughter had died down. “I need you to let me do things on my own. I have to be able to fail at some things.”
“Ok, next time you take a driving test I won’t lull your examiner,” he said, a brief smile sweeping his face before he saw Ari’s eyes narrow. “Kidding! You going back to your room now?”
“Yea,” said Ari, “I was originally going to have a drown-my-sorrows drink, but now I think I might have a celebratory drink. Care to join me?”
“Oh love, I can’t. I’m sorry. James Frater has called a mandatory meeting before the hockey match.”
After that Ari went back to Omega halls alone. Ragon had walked her to the entrance, waited for her to enter, then left, promising he would come and see her later. Ari was just on the second level, halfway to her room, when she heard someone call her name and spun around.
“Hey, Ari! You up for a game of cards?” said Peter.
Peter, flanked by Pip and Perry, held two plastic bags in their hands, each full with cans of Jack Daniels.
“Nah,” Chris said, poking his head out from the door that Peter had emerged from, “Ari’s too straight laced for poker.”
Ari’s eyebrow raised and she inched towards Peter’s room curiously. As she stepped inside, she saw that his study desk had been pulled into the centre of the room and was now covered with a bright green cloth. There were five chairs all around the table; Chris sat in one next to Rick, while the three opposite them were empty, presumable where Perry, Pip and Peter had been sitting.
Chris moved across the room, grabbing another chair as he smiled and said, “Or are you feeling like living on the wild side? Hey, how did your driving exam go?”
“Passed,” said Ari, though she did not elaborate.
“So how bout it?” asked Chris
Slowly she nodded, just as Chris rummaged through the plastic bags and cracked open a can of Jack Daniels. Silently he handed it to her, still smiling wickedly. Without really considering it, she reached out her hand and accepted the drink, taking a large gulp of the sweet flavoured liquid, before sitting down in the chair Chris had indicated.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a new player,” said Perry, dealing Ari in by placing some coloured chips in front of her.
“So, what are the stakes?” she asked.
“Not clothes, just chips; this is a serious game,” Peter said, trying to keep his face straight.
“That and before you arrived, we were five guys playing,” Pip added. “Kind of a no-brainer there.”
“I see,” said Ari, throwing her now empty can into the rubbish bin.
“You just inhaled that,” said Perry, admiringly.
“I like a girl who appreciates whiskey,” said Peter, winking at Ari.
“Yea well, she doesn’t always have good taste,” said Chris, taking a large gulp of his own drink, swaying, and then getting another two cans, one of which he handed to Ari.
Though Ari took the drink from Chris, she glared at him, waiting for him to sit back down before kicking him hard under the table.
“Ouch,” said Perry, rubbing hard at his leg. “Who was that?”
“I don’t know, maybe a dog bit you or something. I hear huskies are a particularly vicious breed and I think someone said there was a feral one sighted around here,” said Ari, not looking at Perry but glaring at Chris.
“I think we would have noticed a husky in here,” Rick said lamely, and everyone looked at him, before Ari and Chris burst into laughter.
“No more drinks for you Rick,” Chris said.
After the first few rounds, Ari was noting a definite pattern with regard to the score. The thr
ee P’s had won every hand and soon Ari’s pile of chips were beginning to dwindle. Fortunately the alcohol that Chris was supplying kept her from really caring about her losing streak. On one hand, when only Ari and Chris were left in, Ari leaned across the table and tried to peak at his cards.
“No cheating,” said Chris, his eyes resting on Ari, who caught the double meaning behind his words.
“I call,” Ari said, throwing down her cards and realising a split second later, that the pair of nines she thought she had, was actually a six and a nine.
The second she did, Chris jumped into the air and screamed, “Yes, I beat you!”
“Nooooo,” Ari said dramatically, looking at her few remaining chips and slumping in her chair.
Bound (The Grandor Descendant Series Book 3) Page 27
