A Dark Night (Book One of The Grandor Descendant series) (21 page)

“But what is blood hunting?” Ari asked confused.

“If a fledgling kills their maker, they inherit their maker’s powers, and become a blood hunter,” Ragon explained. “Some vampires lose all morals, and so fledglings can easily begin to crave their maker’s power. The more of your blood line you kill, the hungrier you become and the more powerful.”

“So every time you create a new vampire, there is a risk that they will
want to kill you?” asked Ari. 

As she spoke, she had reached nervously for her glass and sipped from it, before remembering
that it had been empty for ages. Ragon had noticed her movements, and quickly raced towards the roof exit, pushing the door open and disappearing through it. Ari watched him as he went. A moment later however, he had returned, a new bottle of white wine in his hands. He opened the bottle, smiling down at Ari and poured her a fresh glass.

“
Iz et to Mademoiselle’s liking
?” he asked, imitating a French accent and waiting eagerly for Ari to try the wine, as his hands imitated curling a moustache.    

Ari picked up the glass and held it up to the light cast down by the stars. She then smelt the liquid, breathing in the slightly intoxicating fumes a little too deeply and coughing. Finally she took a mouthful of wine, swished it around, and then swallowed. She smiled up at Ragon in response, and h
e filled her glass to the rim.

The light-hearted moment had
reminded her of their kiss and she stared longingly at his lips. Yet as she took another sip of the delicious fruity wine, their conversation about blood hunters came flooring back.

“But why would a fledgling want to kill their maker
, just to get a bit more powerful?” asked Ari.

“Power is everything to immortals
, and it’s not just a bit more power, a blood hunter’s powers are magnified. The bond between maker and fledgling is sacred, but vampires have few moral guidelines and some would do anything for power.” 

“But
what do you mean,
magnified
; aren’t you all already powerful enough? Why would you need access to more power?”

Ragon let a soft smile curl his lips
, and said, “All vampires are privy to certain powers; eternal youth, super strength, and all the other things that come with being immortal. But these powers are just imitations of the original vampire’s powers, the powers of the Ancients. Becoming a blood hunter and destroying your blood line gives you access to more power and greater control over these abilities. A blood hunter who is only a few decades old could easily be stronger than a vampire who is centuries old.” 

Ari nodded, while considering the implications of Ragon’s words. This meant that if Ragon killed Kiara, he would become more powerful. Turning to face him and ask about this, she found her thoughts wanning as she watched his lips meet with the glass he was holding, as he sipped from it.

It felt like a lifetime since they had kissed. She could remember the moment, as though it was off in the distance, but too far away to focus on. Taking another large gulp of wine, she let the alcohol fuel her will, and boldly placed her hand on the table, hoping Ragon might interpret this as a sign for him to take it. A few minutes of silence followed this. Ari wanted to ask Ragon what he felt about her, why he had asked her on this date, what their kiss had meant… and so many other questions.

“So what happens now?”
asked Ari.

She liked the multi meaning of her question, and sat waiting for Ragon to answer.

Ragon cocked his head to one side saying, “I thought that would have been obvious.”

Ari was frustrated; Ragon had answered her question with an equally ominous one, leaving the interpretation back to her.

“Well,” Ragon said, when it became obvious to him that Ari was not going to jest with him any further, “It is getting late; the restaurant will be shutting soon, and I want to get you back to the safety of the house.”

Ari nodded
and allowed Ragon to sweep behind her, and pull her chair out as she stood. She glanced back at the telescope that adorned the roof and then up to the stars. Off in the distance towards the west, she could just make out the Grandor constellation, and the three twinkling stars which bejewelled it.

After Ari walked down the steep roof access stairway, careful not to trip this time, and entered the restaurant, she realised how late it must be. Almost all of the previously full booths on the main floor of the planetarium were empty, their tables set anew for tomorrow night’s guests. As they walked towards the grand staircases that lead to the car park, Ragon was greeted once again by the moustached man, who shook his hand vigorously. Ari thought that there was a look of disappointment in the manager’s eyes, as he returned his hand to his pocket, this time with nothing in it.                                                        

When Ari and Ragon were finally back in the car, she felt the effects of the alcohol, as if many tiny bubbles were bursting through her veins, disorientating her focus. She watched the street lights blur past as they drove, acting like a cheap imitation of the shooting stars which were still darting across the sky above. When they were only a few minutes away from home, Ari’s head slumped against the window, partly cradled by her seatbelt, and she began to drift off. She felt the engine die, just as Ragon’s cold hands reached under her and he picked her up and carried her inside.

“Is everyone still out hunting?”
she asked, still in his arms.

Ragon looked down at her, smiling softly
as opened the front door, walked inside and said, “It appears so.”

The fact that she was in his arms had heightened her resolve and she looked at him, hoping for more.

“Ragon… What do you want?”

In an instant he
had placed her on her feet, looking around the house momentarily, as if wanting to make quite certain they were alone. His breathing was fast and erratic, while hers had completely stopped. She was afraid that if she did anything he might hesitate. Her eyes were plastered on his, and she felt him reach for her hand and intertwine their fingers together. As soon as they were locked like this, her eyes closed. It felt so wonderful that even this most humble of gestures could sweep her off her feet. With her eyes still closed, she felt Ragon lean in close to her, brushing the strains of hair that covered her face, and tuck them behind her ear. 

“What I want
…” he said, breathing heavily into her ear, “is you.”

Suddenly Ari’s body was on fire.
Why had they wasted the entire night with chit chat? She felt as though she were being engulfed by flames, as tiny electric impulses surged from every neuron in her body. This spasm of excitement ran havoc over her. Her heart was pumping so erratically that for one horrifying moment, she thought she might be having a heart attack. And then, when she thought her heart couldn’t beat any faster, she felt Ragon’s lips meet hers, and he kissed her. 

“Breath,”
he whispered, grasping both his hands to her cheeks, as he pulled her even closer.

But
Ari had no thoughts for air; instantly she was reaching up, grasping his hair and dragging him closer. He moved obediently towards her, pressing his hard body up against hers and slamming her into the wall behind them. Rather than being hurt, Ari jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, as her arms swung around his neck for support. At the same time, Ragon’s hand clutched her head, with a few of his fingers intertwining in her hair, so as to kiss her more fully, and soon their tongues were alive in each other’s mouth.

Ragon’s hands were still intertwined in Ari’s hair, pulling her head back, so as to angle her mouth and expose her
neck. She moved one of her hands from around his neck, and made to place it on his back, but Ragon had reached for it, throwing it above her head so as to pin her to the wall. Then he began kissing softly down from her lips and to her neck.

Oh God, she thought, feeling an u
ncontrollable desire to tear the clothes from him. 

Her unrestrained hand made to undo the black tie of her dress, but Ragon took the ha
nd that fumbled for the strings, and threw it behind her, so that it joined her other hand. He had no trouble at all restraining both her hands with only one of his, and took this opportunity to kiss her again on the lips, while one hand dragged her dress upwards, revealing a thigh. His fingers were pressed hard against her leg, almost too hard. Once again he was kissing her neck, and lovingly prying her legs further apart, so that she straddled him more fully. She felt her body move in a rhythmic riding motion, pressing herself into him hard. His hand had made to dive in between her legs, but suddenly he stopped. For a moment his whole body went rigid, as he became transfixed on her neck. In an instant he threw Ari to the ground. 

“Stop!” he
yelled.

“Wh…
what?” she stammered from below.

Her eyes were wide in horror. His words had been more of a growl than a sentence, but Ari obeyed his command, frozen in place on the floor below him,
with only her chest heaving from the excitement. Suddenly she gasped; her eyes had locked onto Ragon’s fangs, which were protruding from his mouth.

“
Get away-” he screamed, racing away from her and out onto the veranda, where he jumped down and disappeared into the night.

Ari had watched from the floor as Ragon left the house. For a few minutes she remained there, as the last few moments of her life flashed to her, like a cruel tease. Reluctantly she dragged her dress back down past her thighs, and moved to stand up. A sudden knocking at the door made her move away from the living room, and back towards the front entrance.

“That was quick-” she
said, fumbling for the locks and then pulling the door open.

Instantly her eyebrows rose in confusion. There was no one there. She was just about to close th
e door, when someone spoke.

“I di
sagree; it’s taken me far too long to catch you alone,” said Matthew, emerging from the shadows of the garage and blurring over to Ari, to hold the door open before she had a chance to slam it shut.

A crisp scream broke from
Ari’s mouth, but it was stifled almost instantly when Matthew swept over to her, and silenced her.

“Did you like the flowers?” he asked cruelly, laughing lightly to himself.

Ari tried to bite down on his flesh, but his skin was too tough, like stone or leather.

“You don’t seem happy to see me,”
he said, as Ari began to shake in his hands, “and when I have been waiting for so long to spend some quality time with you.”

Ari tried to struggle b
ut Matthews grip was too strong.

“I have been lonely without Paige
you see,” he said, picking Ari up and carrying her over to the couch, while still holding his hand over her mouth. “Perhaps if you hadn’t angered Kiara so, then I would have been able to keep you alive as a pet also. I am going to remove my hand now. Please don’t scream; I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

Slowly Matthew peeled his hand away and Ari glared
up at him, her eyes bulging as she said, “Why shouldn’t I scream; you’re just going to kill me anyway.”

“Yes,”
said Matthew, “but if you behave I won’t go after Ragon when I am done with you.”

Ari considere
d his words for only a moment; he had won. There was no way that Ari was going to do anything that would mean any harm would come to Ragon, or any of the other coven members. Slowly she nodded her head in submission and Matthew beamed at her, gently brushing her face so as to catch the hair that was stuck in her mouth.

“Why are you doing this?”
asked Ari, as silent tears streamed down her face.

Matthew turned to
look at her, a look of genuine confusion lining his face.

“For Kiara of course,” he said, reaching out to pat Ari’s head, as though she were a dog.

“But she’s in love with Ragon,” Ari stated boldly.

As soon as she had spoken, she knew this was the wrong thing to say.

Instantly Matthew was standing, and he leered down at her, slapping her hard in the face as he said, “That’s not true; she loves me.”

Ari yelped when she was struck, but did not scream. She hid her face from Matthew, and reached a shaking hand out to touch her burning cheek.

“If she loves you then why would she want me dead? If she loves you, then she wouldn’t care about Ragon, or who he is with,” said Ari.

She didn’t care anymore if her words made Matthew angry. Her only chance was making Matthew understand that he was no more than a pawn in Kiara’s s
ick game to get Ragon back.

For a few moments Matthew
tried to compose himself, until finally he said, “I would be very careful what you say to me. Kiara wants me to take you back to her, but I think that she would not be too unhappy if I killed you beforehand. That’s if you behave.”

Now Ari understood.
Kiara wanted to make her suffer. Well Ari wasn’t going to play along; better to be killed quickly by Matthew, than tortured to death by Kiara. She shivered as she thought of the cruel games that Kiara would have in store for her. She knew then that she wasn’t going to let Matthew take her alive.