Bound (The Grandor Descendant Series Book 3)
Read Bound (The Grandor Descendant Series Book 3) Online
Authors: Bell Stoires
By Bell Stoires
© Bell Stoires 2014
Book 3 of the Grandor Descendent Series
Even in the shadows there is light and where there is light, there is love.
Ariana Sol was just like other girls- but not anymore. She is the Grandor Descendant, related to the first witch, an immortal called Grandor, who placed upon his family line the responsibility of destroying vampires and freeing the humans of their tyranny. And yet it wasn’t this which scared Ari. She could freeze time, see into the future, resist a vampires lull and burst into sunshine… By all means she was capable of stopping and destroying vampires.
No, what scared Ari was that she was in love with one.
But falling for Ragon is the least of Ari’s problems. Students have started to go missing from the Pasteur Institute and Lea’s circle suspect a vampire may be behind their disappearances. In this final instalment of the Grandor Descendant Series, Ariana must confront the truth about her past, in order to save not just her own future, but everyone’s.
Text copyright © 2014 by Bell Stoires
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address above.
The Characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author would like to thank Edge Concept Photography
facebook.com/edgeconceptphotography
for front cover photography; Illuminated Imagery
facebook.com/IlluminatedImagery
for front cover graphic design; Begitta Design
www.begitta.com
for styling and provision of gowns for use in cover art.
Table of Contents
Chapter 2- Waere problem: STAT
.
19
Chapter 3- Four legs and Fur
.
27
Chapter 7- Makers and Fledglings
.
67
Chapter 9- Favourite Scary Movie
.
83
Chapter 10- School Tribunal
.
95
Chapter 12- The Circle of Thirteen
..
119
Chapter 17- Prisoners of War
.
162
Chapter 18- Waere Persecutions Explained
..
168
Chapter 19- Old Feelings Die Hard
..
174
Chapter 20- Everyone has a Choice
.
178
Chapter 22- Fallen Friend
..
194
Chapter 24- Just another School Day
.
201
Chapter 25- The Immortal Grandor
.
206
Chapter 28- Mr and Mrs Young
..
222
The door to a high stone room opened slowly and a man emerged from the darkness. He was tall, with dark hair highlighting his green eyes. He took three strides across the enormous room and came to stop in front of a stage, where a trio of high backed chairs faced him. The chairs were not empty; seated on them were three beings. Collectively they were known as the Ancients.
“Ah James,” said Virgil, the oldest of the Ancients. “What news have you brought us?”
“The shipment is ready,” said James, his voice sounding bored. “It will, I think, be easy to convince the Elders of your plan, once an example has been set at the farm.”
“Excellent, excellent,” said the other male, Joseph. “And have you brought the test subjects we spoke of?”
James clicked his fingers lazily and a figure, which had been hovering outside, immediately blurred from the room, returning a moment later with two shackled prisoners. The captives fell to the floor, clearly defeated, though there was a wild and untamed look about them. Their eyes darted all around the room, searching for something, while thin layers of sweat formed on their brow and upper lip.
“And they are bound vampires?” asked Lace, not addressing the newcomers or the man who held them, but James.
“For two hundred years,” James confirmed.
“How long have they been taking the substance?” Lace asked.
“A little over three months. They are now addicted,” James said.
“I see,” said Lace, squinting as she contemplated the two crumpled figures on the floor.
Both prisoners were slight vampires, not large in build but short and thin. The male was slightly balding and had dark eyes, while the female was much younger, with strawberry blonde hair tied into a long plat, though several wisps of hair had fallen out, to give her a tussled appearance.
“From whom did you obtain this blood candy?” asked Joseph, addressing the captives.
“From, from a friend in Dublin,” the male replied, stuttering, his thick Irish accent drawing out his words; he did not look at Joseph as he spoke but kept his eyes firmly plastered to the stone floor. “I know we shouldn’t have but…”
“Indeed,” said Lace, looking across at Joseph, “I think we can safely say that the blood candy has spread further than anticipated.”
“Yes,” said Virgil, quickly leaving his throne, as he too blurred towards the cowering figures, clearly wanting to be included in the conversation. “But what hold does it have on them?”
“How long has it been since they last took any blood candy?” asked Lace, once again addressing James.
James shrugged and looked at the vampire who had bought in the prisoners. Quickly the vampire dropped to his knees before speaking.
“A little less than a week now, my most honourable and supreme-”
“-enough,” said Virgil, silencing the grovelling vampire with a flick of his hand. “A week you say? Hmm, not a long time, but it should suffice to discover how great the addiction is.”
Besides him, both Lace and Joseph nodded, then Lace inched closer to the crumpled Irish couple on the floor, lifting the males head as she said, “Tell me, be honest now, would you like some more?”
The man’s eyes stopped darting around the room and widened, looking at Lace hopefully. Quickly he nodded.
“And,” said Joseph, and the man’s eyes shot up to look at him, “what would you do in order to obtain some?”
The man on the floor was breathing fast now, his hands bawled at his sides as he whispered, “Anything.”
“Would you break the Final Death Laws?” asked Lace, reaching into her robe and producing a clear glass bottle, whose deep red contents swished as she uncorked the lid. “Would you kill another vampire?”
The moment Lace had produced the blood candy, the eyes of the man on the floor had fixed unperturbedly on the glass vial in her hand. He did not answer but lunged at Lace, his greedy hands outstretched, ready to take the vial from her. Lace laughed loudly and held the blood candy out of reach, bringing down her spare hand like a hammer, so that it smashed hard into the man’s face. Immediately the man crumpled to his feet again, only looking up from broken teeth and a bloodied face, so as to keep the blood candy in view.
“You misunderstand us,” said Joseph, his eyes furrowed following the spectacle. “We do not require you to attack one of us for the blood candy.”
“No,” said Lace, and now her voice was kind, almost loving; she stepped across the man on the floor and advanced on the female, kicking the girl so that she was sprawled on her back. “We require you to kill another.”
A small whimper came from the female vampire but this quickly vanished when, like her mate, her eyes grew wide as she looked up at the vial of blood candy that Lace held.
“You, you want me to kill Bonny?” asked the man, his eyes torn between the blood candy in Lace’s hands and the face of his mate.
“That,” said Lace, moving away from the vampire called Bonny, so as to tempt the man with another whiff of the blood candy, “is correct.”
The Ancients watched with wide evil eyes as the man struggled to his feet, a grim determination set on his face.
“Unshackle him,” Lace ordered.
“But, but your majesty, what if he attacks you?” asked the guard.
“Do as I say,” hissed Lace.
The guard moved over to the shackled man and unlocked his binds. Slowly the man stood, moving over to the vampire called Bonny, who was looking up at him in horror, her eyes wide. Again she let out a cry.
“Please no,” she said, as the man approached, “William, no. Please William, please! We have been together for centuries.”
Bonny’s slight Irish accent was not as strong as her mates, but it twanged with tones of horror and sadness.
William looked down at her, a mixture of pity and dreadful defiance etched in his eyes, as he said, “I know my love.”
Glancing once more at the blood candy in Lace’s hand, he charged at his mate. Bonny cried out when William struck her, but the cry lasted only a second, before ringing silence filled the hall. William had torn her head clean from her body and was now holding the bloody mess in his hands, staring down in disbelief at what he had done. He let out a soft sob and then screamed in rage, tearing his gaze from the frozen, lifeless eyes of his mates.
“Filthy addicts,” muttered Virgil, though his eyes shone oddly, completely contraindicating his words.
Chapter 1-
For My Country
Ari sat in her room, her mind drifting through the large open windows, whose curtains swayed gently from the chilly English breeze. It was August and the academic semester had just begun, after three glorious months break. Glancing at the thermometer attached to the heater in her room, she saw that it was fifteen degrees Celsius; not exactly warm, but an all-time high since she had been on the Isle of Man, though it was still a far-shot from the weather she had been use to in Australia.
Opposite her was Ragon; though she did not look at him, she could see out of the corner of her eye that his focus was rested solely on her and not with Riley or Clyde, who were arguing as they always seemed to be lately.
“You sound like my old pack leader, Paul,” said Riley, glaring at Clyde, as she shook her head in sheer determination.
“Well then, maybe he was right,” Clyde snapped back.
“Ari, what do you think?” asked Riley.
Ari startled, pulling her eyes away from the window so as to look from Clyde to Riley. This really wasn’t an argument that she wanted to get involved in. Since their battle with the blood hunter, Clyde had become excessively protective of Riley. Always it was the same argument; Riley wanted to shift into her animal form and spend time in the forest, as she had done her entire life. Clyde however wanted her to remain with him, safe and sound, and under lock and key.
Though it pained her to admit it, on this point, Ari couldn’t help but agree with Clyde. Riley was a waere. This was significant, not because Riley could turn into any animal she pleased, but because for the last several hundred years, if not longer, it was believed that waeres were extinct. The reasoning behind the Ancients decision to slaughter an entire immortal race had been lost centuries ago, but Clyde knew enough to be sure that Riley would not be safe if any vampire found out about her.
“Um,” said Ari, glancing around for Ragon’s help.
“Maybe Ari and I should get some fresh air,” Ragon suggested. “You know, let you two discuss this in private?”
Ari rushed to her feet, her long brown hair piling around her slender face and framing her high cheek bones.
“Please stay,” said Riley.
Turning back to face Riley, Ari nodded. It was hard for her to resist the large brown eyes that stared back at her. Though she had only known Riley for a short time, already it felt like the girl was an intricate part of the group. Moving a little hesitantly at first, Ari made her way to her desk and pretended to preoccupy her time with organising herself for the start of the new semester, purposefully avoiding the glare shot at her by Clyde.
After completing the first few years of veterinary science in Australia, Ari was now in her fourth year of studying vet at the Pasteur Institute. Despite the many dramas of her first semester at her new university in England, she had sworn to herself that this semester she would not slip behind, again.
When Ari peaked up from her notes a few minutes later, Clyde was still shooting her an angry look. She thought of trying to convey that she agreed with him on the subject of Riley shifting, but she knew that would only hurt Riley’s feelings, something which Ari had been trying to avoid at all costs. She felt oddly connected to Riley. Not just because they were both in love with vampires, but because they were both different from normal girls, and this difference had made them targets their entire lives.
“Riley, just think about it,” said Clyde, standing suddenly and blurring over to Riley. “You’re a waere and you have decided to stay on a campus where vampires not only study but also live. This is the one place in the world where you are most vulnerable. And, and you’ve been sick,” he added lamely, clearly trying to think of any reason to prolong her using her powers.
“Ok, well I’ll just go pack my bags, shall I?” Riley asked, sarcastically.
“That wouldn’t be a bad idea,” said Clyde. “I have friends in Ireland. We could-”
“-I was joking!” Riley said quickly, taking in an exasperated breath. “I like it here. I like it here with you. Besides, I have been hiding my whole life. I’m sick of it. I don’t want to leave. Ari’s here and so is your coven. We’re safer together.”
“Well then, you’re just going to have to stay incognito,” said Clyde, “which means no shifting. Besides, as I keep trying to remind you, you aren’t well.”
“It’s just a stupid stomach bug,” Riley argued, though her voice lacked conviction.
Just a stupid stomach bug was putting it lightly, thought Ari. There had been a bug going around the campus which Riley had caught, but unlike most of the students here, Riley seemed unable to shake it. She looked thinner than normal, and her eyes were sunken and drawn out. Clyde had gone to the shops and bought her every manner of remedy the pharmacy assistant had suggested: chicken soup, cold and flu tablets, tissues, he had even offered to take her to the Pasteur Hospital… Riley had refused all of it. Riley was stubborn and self-dependent; a trait which Ari admired in her, up to a point.
“Ari, what do you think?” Riley asked again, raising her eyebrows and looking at Ari imploringly.
“Um,” said Ari, looking once again at Ragon for help.
