A Dark Night (Book One of The Grandor Descendant series) (37 page)

Chapter 25
- Exit Kiara

It was less than thirty minutes later when Ryder and Patrick left to go to the Elders, while the rest of the coven drove to Kiara’s estate. The drive was met with silence. When the group finally pulled up to Kiara’s house, they knew that something was wrong. The normally closed and ominous looking iron gates that signalled the entrance to Kiara house were open, despite the distinct feeling of emptiness about the place.    

“What
the hell?” Clyde said.

T
he group surveyed the scene and then Cambridge jumped out of the car and began running towards the front door, which was open, its hinges askew, as if the door had been ripped open.

“Wait!” Ragon roared at
Cambridge, who was already blurring through the open front door and into the house.

Cam
bridge did not pause but kept running. Ragon reached for Ari’s hand and pulled her close, running at a human pace, before entering the house. Ari winced when Ragon grabbed her; she could still feel the pain from her surgery and tired her best to mask if from the group.

The moment they were inside, Ari looked around wildly. The large main windows in the living room, whose heavy curtains would normally have hung low so as to keep the sun out, were smashed, and there were many railings from the banister staircase that had been punched out and were lying on the floor below.

“Kiara!”
screamed Cambridge.

No-one answered
and after a moment’s pause, Cambridge flew up the staircase. Still being pulled by Ari, the pair followed suit. As soon as they were on the second landing, Ari gasped. In front of her, Clyde crouched down low, ready for an imminent attack, while Cambridge’s eyes darted wildly around.

In
front of them, laying in several pieces was a man. His head was wedged between two remaining banisters and his arms and torso were thrown against a door, as if acting as a weight to keep it shut.

Pushing the remnants of the man aside, Ragon pushed the door. It creaked loudly, sending an eerie ringing through the quiet house. As soon as the door was open, Ari made to walk through, but Ragon quickly grabbed her hand, pulling her close back. Peering over Ragon’s shoulder, Ari looked inside. There was a chair in the centre of the room that had been pushed over and tied to it was Kiara. But it was not the Kiara that Ari recognised. Across her body were many large slash marks that had not healed, while giant pools of blood leached around her. In a second Ragon was on his knees, next to Kiara as he surveyed her. Her face, normally marbled and perfect, had begun to wrinkle and her vibrant dark eyes were dulling, as if large cataracts were whitening them.

“Is she dead?” asked Ari, moving inside the room slowly.

Ragon shook his head and said, “Dying.”

“What happened to her?”
asked Ari.

To everyone’s surprise
, it was Thomas who answered. 

“
This is an early torture technique. It is designed to be slow and painful, bleeding the vampire dry with many slices through veins and superficial arteries by a knife that is dipped in an anti-coagulant, so that the body can’t repair itself. Normally whenever a vampire was left like this, it was to send a message. Kiara had been told to do something and she had failed.”

R
ealising Kiara’s looming death, Cambridge paused for a moment, apparently deep in thought. Ari couldn’t help but wondered how he felt; he had been ready to kill her, but someone had beaten him to this. Slowly Cambridge moved over to a large white table, withdrew a chair similar to the one that Kiara was tied to, and sat down on it, apparently satisfied to watch her die.

At the same time Ragon
began to untie the chains binding Kiara and then in a barely audible whisper, asked, “What happened?”

Ari felt a wave of jealousy and anger sweep over her
.

There was
a knife still stuck in Kiara’s back and Ragon went to pull it out, but was stopped by Sandra, who shook her head, her eyes alight with malice as she muttered, “Leave it.”

At these words
Kiara’s eyes had flittered open, and her head rolled as she tried to focus her vision. She seemed to attempt to struggle, but then slumped into Ragon’s arms, her wide eyes settling on his face.  

“Who did this?” Ragon asked aga
in, looking down at her.

It
looked as if Kiara was trying to speak but instead large bubbles of blood came from her mouth, and Sandra moved over to Cambridge, hoping for a better view, so as to watch Kiara suffer also.

“Who is after Ari?”
asked Ragon.

Ari’s eyes widened; how would Kiara know who was after her and why would Ragon assume that she did?

“Why did you attack her as a baby? Who told you to do that?” pleaded Ragon. “Who did you promise that you would kill her? Why?”

Ragon was shaking Kiara
now, desperate for answers to his questions.

“
Twenty four years ago… I was told to kill a man and woman,” Kiara whispered, her voice ragged and as each word marked with a heavy wheeze and bloody gasps. “And so I did, and then I realised that they had a child with them; the ones who ordered me to kill them didn’t know about her… but before I could kill her also… you came along-”

“Who did this to you;
why?” Ragon asked, cutting her off.

“Shok,” was all
Kiara was able to say.

Thomas took in a sharp breath while
Ragon stood up, letting Kiara’s body clatter to the floor un-mercilessly. He moved over to the window and pulled the large curtains open, looking out onto the grounds. Seemingly satisfied, Ragon moved back to Kiara. 

“Is it Shok who is after Ari?”
asked Ragon, kneeling back down to Kiara.

Kiara shook her head suddenly
and her eyes became wide and livid; then she laughed manically before coughing.

“Tell me,”
said Ragon, shaking her again as the white in Kiara’s eyes began to grow larger. “Why is all of this happening now? Why didn’t you tell them that it was me who had saved Ari? How have they found out now that she is alive? Did you tell them? Why do they want her? Who wants her?”

Despite her injuries, it was only now, when Ragon spoke, that
Kiara finally looked hurt, as if Ragon’s words had slashed her, adding to the many slices in her body.

“I didn’t tell them
you took her… because they would have killed you,” Kiara whispered hoarsely.

Ragon
looked stunned for a moment and then laughed.

“Everything I
have done… I did to be with you,” said Kiara, a large red bubble forming at the end of her sentence.

“You liar,”
exclaimed Ragon. “Everything you have done… you’ve done to hurt me!”

It was Kiara’s turn to laugh now. It was not the
same manic laugh she had made earlier, but a small quiet laugh.

“No
… I’ve done everything because I love you,” she said.

Ragon looked puzzled
; his eyes were creased disbelievingly then he whispered, “Then tell me who is after Ari.”

Kiara’s eyes were wide and fearful, as if she had been waiting until the point of death before she revealed this last, great secret. Ari watched as her lips parted and she clutched uselessly onto Ragon’s collar.

“The Ancients,” she whispered, and went limp in Ragon’s hands, the blood no longer seeping from her wounds.

At those
words Ragon’s whole body tensed.

“We have to leave this place,”
said Clyde, moving over to a large candle and retrieving a lighter from his pocket.

Ari watched him curiously,
but soon became distracted as Sandra reached for something lying atop a dressing table. Ari couldn’t see what it was, but heard the unmistakable clinking of glass, as whatever she took, was placed into her pocket. But before Ari could ask what Sandra had taken, Ragon reached for her hand and raced her to the window. At the same time Clyde lit the candle and tipped the burning wax down the silky sheath of the curtain lining the room’s window, before dropping the candle to the floor, so that the entire curtain was ablaze. Seeing the fire, Sandra and Thomas jumped through the window quickly. Ragon had lifted Ari into his hands, about to follow them, when he looked over and realised that Cambridge had not moved.

“Come
on,” said Ragon, glancing nervously at the fire that was glowing ever brighter.

“I want to wait until the
light goes out in her eyes,” said Cambridge, adjusting himself in the seat so as to get comfortable, apparently unperturbed by the flames that had jumped from the burning curtains and were now licking the surrounding floor and walls.

“Come on,” Ragon said
again, this time more urgently.     

It was clear that Cambridge wanted to die.
Breaking the silence, Ari coughed; the smoke curling from the burning curtains had wafted over to her, and she clapped her hands to her mouth, trying desperately to breathe.

“You really want to die here,
next to Kiara?” Clyde said abrasively.

Ari looked over at
Clyde in disbelief? What was he doing?

“P
erhaps you secretly loved her too, like Sameth?” Clyde jeered.

There was no warning. One second Cambridge was staring at Kiara, watching her die, the next he was c
harging at Clyde, who was ready and waiting for him. Clyde’s hands clasped around Cambridge, forcing the pair to fall backwards and out of the burning house.

Ari shook her head;
Clyde’s snide remarks had been said to save Cambridge’s life. She knew it would be many, many years before Cambridge realised this and forgave him. With one last look at Kiara, Ragon jumped from the burning house, Ari clutched tightly in his arms.                                                             

Chapter 26- A Parting Of The Ways

On returning home, Cambridge did not stop to talk to any of the other coven members but jumped off the veranda and sat by Larissa’s grave.

“It will be light soon,” Cly
de said to no one in particular.

“I will make sure he comes inside,” she said, jumping off the veranda also
and joining Cambridge by Larissa’s grave.

Thomas followed shortly after her and Clyde moved over to the veranda, before shaking his head and moving upstairs to his room,
so that it was only Ragon and Ari left. The moment Ari’s eyes fell on Ragon, the mounting fear she had tried to supress, swept back over her.

“Why would the
Ancients want my parents dead?” asked Ari.

Ragon looked down at his feet.

“If I only knew who they were… maybe we could work out why the Ancients want me dead too,” said Ari.

Almost as soon as she spoke, she saw a strange look in Ragon’s eyes, quickly followed by him looking down at his feet.

“What?” she asked.

“There is something I haven’t told you,” said Ragon.

Ari’s heart churned and she felt it flutter in her chest. What hadn’t he told her?

“I know who your parents
were,” he said slowly.

“What?” Ari asked.

Ragon did not respond but turned around and began walking towards his library. Ari watched, her mouth open, and then followed silently behind him.

When they had traversed the winding staircase that led to Ragon’s desk, Ragon moved over to the large book shelf, retrieved something and handed it silently to Ari. Ari reached out and took the dark brown folder, opening it quickly. The first thing she saw was the coroner reports of the girls. She flipped past them quickly, and soon saw a family tree. For a moment her eyes widened, but then something fell out of the folder and she reached down to pick it up. It was an old and torn newspaper article. She looked down to see the faded image of a man with his hands around his a woman, in whose arms there was a baby girl.

“After all these years and everything you’ve suffered
… I wanted to tell you; I was going to but I didn’t want to cause you any more pain,” said Ragon.

Ari, who had become engrossed by the newspaper clipping, didn’t hear him.

“Police no closer to finding missing couple and child,” she read in a shaking voice. “It has been almost 2 weeks since the mysterious disappearance of Brisbane couple, George and Bridget Hutton and their 2 year old daughter, Sarah.”

After that Ari read in her head, no longer wanting to share her past with Ragon:

‘Friends of the family say that the Hutton’s were a quiet, well liked and respected members of the community of Bardon. Despite the absence of any forensic evidence, Police continue to label their disappearance as suspicious. Forensic officers surveying the family home, say that there were no signs of their intending to leave and there has been no activity on the couple’s financial accounts, or on their passports. While police state that they remain hopeful, the daily searches of the Bardon state forest have now been reduced to every three days. The community is urged that if they have any knowledge concerning the whereabouts of the Hutton family or anything pertaining to the case, that they should contact Crime Stoppers or phone the police directly.’

Ragon d
id not speak but hung his head. Hesitantly he inched towards Ari, kneeling down on the floor besides where she sat at his desk. Her breathing had become ragged, wether that was from her injuries or the news of finding out her parents were, she wasn’t sure. Her stomach was knotted and tense, and for one horrible moment it felt as if she could feel the knife Sameth had stabbed her with, prising her flesh apart again.

“George and
Bridget Hutton,” she said accusatorily. “I saw those names etched on a stone casket in your family mausoleum.”

Ragon’s eyes widened
and he whispered, “I should have told you.”

“
I won’t ever keep anything from you again
,” Ariana said, mimicking Ragon’s words from a few weeks ago. “That’s what you promised me after I found out that Kiara had killed my parents. And I actually believed you!”

“I was going to tell you
but you were so happy for a while, and then everything with Sameth happened and…” he tried to explain lamely.  

“You could have found a moment to pull me aside and tell me that my parents were buried next to yours,” she said, her eye
s no longer tearful but angry. “You could have found a second to mention that my real name was Sarah.”

Though she had been able to forgive
Ragon for not telling her that Kiara had killed her parents- this was a whole different thing. She had understood his reasoning for keeping this part of her past from her; he had felt responsible. But they had found out over a month ago, during the Halloween Party, that Kiara had killed her parents because she was told to. There was no reason for Ragon to feel guilty any longer; so why hadn’t he told her the truth? She stared up at him, desperate for an answer that would make all her pain go away. After a few passing seconds, when she realised that no explanation would come, she got up from the chair, taking the newspaper article with her as she descended the stairs.

Though she had seen the family tree that Ragon had begun to construct, along with the coroner files of the other girls that had been killed, neither of these things mattered right now. If she was being truthful with herself, all of her anger was being fuelled by an even greater sadness, one which had nothing to do with her parents and everything to do with the loss of Larissa. This realisation swept over Ari and she found herself falter on the last step.

Feet d
ragging against the floor, Ari moved to the door and pushed it open, leaving the library and Ragon behind her. Part of her wanted to be alone but the other part of her wanted to race back to the library and be with Ragon. But Ragon had kept all of this from her. The most annoying part of all of this was that, it wasn’t just his world, it was hers now too and it wasn’t fair for him to try to shut her out of it. She had almost made it to her bedroom, when there was a knock at the front door. She smiled, thinking that it must be Ryder and Patrick returned from the Elder’s summons. Stretching out a hand, she made to open it but someone blurred past her and shoved her back, causing her to slam into the wall.

“What the hell?” she said, her voice breaking
with shock, as she stared back at Clyde’s livid face.

“Sh
h,” he said, holding a finger to his mouth, while using his other hand to pin Ari to the wall.

Ari’s face was confused
but she remained still, until Clyde eased the door open, letting it swing open by itself.

“Err… message for Ragon Young,” said young girl, looking around for who had opened the door.

Remaining hidden behind the door,
Clyde stretched out his hand and waited for the girl to drop the envelope into it.

“Thanks,”
said Clyde, slamming the door in the girl’s face.

For a
moment Clyde did not move; the envelope remained in his left hand, while his other was across Ari’s chest, still pinning her to the wall.

“Um,”
said Ari, looking down at Clyde’s arm. “Are you going to move your hand?”

Still Clyde did not move
and Ari raised her eyebrows saying, “Well?”

“I’m thinking,” Clyde responded, turning to smile at her.

Ariana shook her head and pushed him away.

“Who was
that?” asked Ragon, skidding to a halt as he stared from Clyde to Ari.

“Messenger,”
said Clyde, handing Ragon the envelope.

Hesitating for only a moment, Ragon
took the envelope and tore it open. The moment his eyes met the small cursive print on the page, his face dropped.

“Jesus,” he said, looking
protectively at Ari, before seeing Cambridge and Sandra climbing back up the veranda and into the house, the rising sun lighting their path.

Ragon waited until Sandra and Cambridge had moved over and then
read out loud:           

Ragon’s Coven

Please join us to discuss the fledgling Ryder no later than 7pm tonight.

Yours eternally
,

William and
Nikolas

“What does that mean…
to discuss the fledgling Ryder
,” asked Ari, moving over to Ragon and tearing the letter out of his hand.

No one answered her; apparently they were just as mystified about the letter
’s meaning as she was.

“So what are we going to do?”

“The sun has just risen,” said Clyde, looking at the filtered rays that had managed to transverse the large curtains in the living room. “And the Elder’s note said to meet them no later than 7pm. All we can do is wait; when it gets dark we’ll go to Nikolas and William’s estate and find out what this is all about.”

Ari sighed. It was terrifying to
contemplate that Ryder was being held by the Elders. What was worse, she couldn’t think of any reason why they might want to
discuss
him; she knew they didn’t have a problem with homosexuality, and it wasn’t like Ryder had been causing trouble since he became a fledgling. Ari knew this because Ragon had said that Ryder hadn’t left the house since his turning. So what then did the Elders want to discuss?

The worry
about Ryder ate away at Ari, that and the newspaper article she had just read, which told her who her parents were. She found herself scanning the pantry, thinking to distract herself with food. The moment the squeaky door swung open, Crystal barked and raced from the couch and into the kitchen, her wet nose pressed against Ari’s leg as she eyed the biscuits Ari was holding.

“We’ll share then,” said Ari, taking her bag of corn chips back to the couch where she and Crystal began eating them. 

“Ariana,” said Ragon.

She didn’t respond
but looked up expectantly; it was Ragon’s turn to do the talking.

“I don’t
expect you to forgive me,” he said. “But regardless of how you feel towards me, everything that I know, I want you to know also and for you to be safe.”

Ari blinked dumbly at him
. His eyes were lined and looked weary, painfully reminding her of how Larissa had looked after she had died. Instantly she felt guilty and had to try hard to remind herself why she was angry with Ragon in the first place. She watched as he produced the familiar dark brown folder and began pulling out several documents.

“This is your fami
ly tree,” he said, holing up a piece of paper.

At these words Ariana
placed the packet of chips onto the table and inched closer to him, careful not to upset her surgery site. Reaching for the copy of her family tree, Ari saw that she was the root of it. Her eyes traced the unfamiliar names all connected to hers, until one name stopped her dead in her tracks.

“Jamie?” she said
, looking at the line that connected directly to hers, but which was crossed out, with a small
d
above it.

“Your brother,”
said Ragon, a sombre look on his face. “He died when he was two.”

“But…” Ari said, looking at the small
d
in confusion, until she read the dates next to his name and realised what the
d
stood for- deceased.

A
wave of sadness overtook her. In front of her was a list of the family she had never known; of the brother who had died when he was baby and the parents who were killed by Kiara.

“W
hy does it stop here?” she asked, pointing to the last name on the tree, having traced the lines up until she read the last entry, her great, great grandmother- Lady Geraldine Grand.

“That’s as far back as
I could trace your family line. After we went to the morgue and found out that all the girls who had been killed went to the same orphanage as you, I decided to trace your family line. But that is all that I could find; the rest of it is in the original record,” he replied.

“And whe
re’s the original record?” she asked.

“In the UK,” he replied.

“Let me see if I have got this straight?” Ariana said, drawing in a large gulp of air. “Twenty-two years ago, when I was a baby, a group of prehistoric vampires commissioned Kiara to kill my family but they didn’t know that I existed. Kiara, who was so in love with you that she didn’t want to risk the Ancients finding out that you had stopped her from killing me, kept the fact that she hadn’t managed to kill me a secret. But somehow they figured out that I do exist and that I went to Grace Valley Orphanage, and so burnt down the building, along with all the records and began killing every twenty-four year old who went there, hoping to kill me also?”

“That pretty much sums it up,”
said Ragon.