Bound (The Grandor Descendant Series Book 3) (40 page)

“After Ragon left me dying in my house in Australia, I escaped. When I was strong enough to use my connection to him as my fledgling, I tracked him down. I knew that you,” Kiara added, glaring at Ari, “would be with him. When I arrived at the Pasteur Institute, I saw Bridget, and she told me that you were masquerading as Ragon’s source. I thought that if I killed you, the Ancients might forgive my failure, but once again you thwarted my plans and escaped.”

“And so… you sent Bridget after me,” Ari said, her finger outstretched, to point accusatorily at Kiara. “You were the friend who came and saw her, the witness that Gwen couldn’t produce.”

“After I failed to dispatch of you in the forest, I saw the girl you were with transform into an animal,” Kiara said, brushing her long black hair to one side. “When I realised she was a waere, I knew that if I told the Ancients, they might forgive my failure. But how could I keep my original promise and kill you, when I had to transport the waere-girl to Latvia? And so I caught up with my old friend… and Bridget did hate you so much. Asking her to kill you was the easiest thing in the world. Poor Bridget; it is a shame.”

Suddenly Joseph and Lace faced each other, seeming to contemplate one another’s thoughts. Ari watched them, confused by their apparent silent conversation. Then Joseph blurred over to Natalie, reaching out and snapping her neck with an ear shattering crunch. Ari screamed, shocked by the sudden violent outburst, while Natalie fell to the floor, her neck bent oddly to one side… dead. Riley woke to the sound, trembling and then reached out a hand to touch Natalie, just as slow tears fell from her eyes, blanketing her dead friend.

“That is the fate of all waeres,” said Lace, “and the fate of any vampire who dares form a connection with one,” she added, her eyes darting to all of the vampires before her.

Her deadly warning had the desired effect. Immediately every vampire in the crowd was nodding their head, clearly understanding that such a union was forbidden.

“Now,” said Joseph, moving away Natalie as he contemplated Riley.

“Don’t you touch her!” said Ari, moving towards the stage before James could restrain her.

“I don’t plan to,” said Joseph, smiling sweetly at Riley. “We need her.”

Before Ari could reach the stage, there was a sudden whirlwind. Ari looked around in confusion, and saw a man appear on the stage, next to the Ancients. He was tall and slender, his face drawn and calculating, his eyes dark. It was Chris’s father.

“Ah, Christopher,” said Virgil, and Ari was confused for a moment, until she realised that she had never asked Chris what his father’s name was; apparently they shared the same name.

“Dad?” asked Chris, looking up at the wraith, his eyes wide and his mouth open in surprise.

“Excellent,” said Lace, “most excellent. You have everything you need for the connection spell?”

Christopher nodded, reaching into the pocket of his black cloak and retrieving a small glass vial as he said, “I have the blood of three virgin witches. It should take most of the night for the spell to be complete. The girl will need to remain alive; it can’t work if she is dead.”

“What are you doing?” asked Chris, still staring at his father.

“A connection spell,” Lace said in answer. “Your father has agreed to use Riley to find the remaining waeres in the world. Once they have been identified and tracked, we can ensure the race is destroyed once and for all. Then there will be no more waeres and no chance of this disgusting union happening in the future.”

“And you still agree to my terms?” asked Christopher.

Slowly each of the Ancients nodded their head, though Ari thought that there was a sulky expression on Virgil’s face.

“The boy can go with you,” said Lace. “Ensure he does not cross paths with us again; we will not grant him leniency a second time.”

The wraith bowed slightly and moved from the stage to where Chris was standing, still being restrained by a vampire.

“You bastard!” Chris roared, his eyes becoming darker and darker, blacking out the normally green colour of his irises.

Ari recognised the change in Chris immediately. It was not just Chris’s eyes which had become dark, the light from the room seemed to have been sucked out if it, leaving large shadows in its absence. Chris’s father turned to look at him; Ari thought that he looked sad, even remorseful. In a few fast strides, he made his way to Chris and before Chris could respond, had reached out a powerful hand and struck him hard in the head. Chris crumpled under the attack but before he could hit the floor, his father held out his hands and caught him. At the same time the lights in the room returned, dispersing the shadows. Ari watched as the wraith pulled Chris into his arms and carried his unconscious son towards the door.

“Ensure you bring the girl to my room,” he said, having reached the door and turned around to face the Ancients. “I will need her for the connection spell.”   

The Ancients nodded and watched Christopher leave, their eyes narrowed as they darted from the wraith to his son, clearly confused by what had just happened.

“And as for you Ariana Sol,” said Lace, “you will reconsider our original offer to join us. We would have use for your talents.”

“I will not,” said Ari, her face resolved as her eyes settled on Ragon.

“Still so determined to die?” asked Joseph, “Well, perhaps the life of Ragon and your friends will convince you otherwise. We will make it simpler for you this time… join us or they all die. There is no help for the waere girl, but you could still save the others. You cannot expect a fairer trade? You can have the night to consider our proposal. Don’t be foolish.”

“You can stay with them in dungeon tonight while you consider,” said Lace. “We won’t be making the same mistake twice. You will stay in close contact to Ragon and his other vampire traitors right up until their execution. That way if you decide to burst into sunshine, it will result in their deaths. If you defy us, their blood will be on your hands.”

“And, as for you little witch,” said Lace, “I wouldn’t try any spectacular escape efforts. Any attempt to rescue the vampires or Ariana will result in not only your death, but the death of Emily, your last remaining circle member, not to mention that of your grandmother, Chiara’s, and every other Crown witch still living.”

Lea looked down at her feet, her fists tightened into balls at her side.

“Take the prisoners away,” said Virgil.

Chapter 19- Old Feelings Die Hard
              

After that Ragon, Ari and Lea were dragged back to the cells. Lea was thrown into a prison next to Sandra, while Ari and Ragon were placed opposite each other, just in sight but out of reach. Clearly the Ancients had been expecting them. The cages in which Ari and Lea had been tossed were nothing like that of the covens. Where Ragon’s cage was cut from hawthorn and strewn with silver, the cells which Ari and Lea were kept in were fashioned from iron, with tall thin bars and a large lock, sitting prominently on the outside of the solid metal door.

James opened the door for Ari and gestured for her to go inside. For a moment she hesitated. There was something about James Frater, something that didn’t sit right with her. Why was he in league with the Ancients? Why had he called them his family? Why had he not been affected by her powers? What had happened to his hand earlier when she had touched him? All these questions bubbled in Ari’s mind as she stared at him defiantly.

“What is it?” he asked, seeing the perplexed look on Ari’s face.

“Who are you?” she said, and for a moment, James looked confused. “When we were back in Latvia, you wanted to know about the Grandor descendant. Why?”

“I was curious,” said James. “I told you, I had heard the Ancients mention the name before.”

Again James held the door out for Ari to enter and this time she did so, turning to face him as he swung the huge metal door closed and locked it.   

“You helped me before,” she said, her eyes locked resolutely on his, and for a second, just a second, she thought she saw something familiar in his green eyes.

Seeing the change in Ari’s expression, James shook himself and narrowed his eyes, saying, “Well, if you want to help yourself and your friends, you will heed the Ancients. It’s simple… if you want to live then you will join them.”

“But they’re monsters,” Ari called after him, when James had begun retreating to the dungeon door.

James stopped, his hand rested on the handle and spun to face Ari.

“There’s a little bit of monster in everyone,” he said, and then he left.  

The moment the dungeon door closed, the room was thrown into darkness. Only the glow from the hawthorn cells provided any light. It produced a strange radiance, ominous and blue, casting an eerie glow over the vampires kept behind the cages. It made Ragon look sickly, as if just being kept behind this magical prison was draining him of strength. His face was lined and sunken, his eyes dark and shadowed.

“What are we going to do?” asked Ragon, and all the eyes of the coven turned to face him.

Only Lea looked away. Her eyes were plastered on the door, a mixture of hopelessness and regret lining her face.

Before Ari could respond, several questions had been flung at her, each bringing with it a wave of nausea and fear.

“Riley,” Clyde croaked, “did you… do you know where she is? Is she alright?”

“What did they want?” asked Thomas.

“Where’s Chris?” asked Sandra, looking around.

Ari sighed. How was she supposed to tell Clyde and the rest of the vampires what they had just learnt? What didn’t the Ancients want? They wanted Ari to join them in exchange for the lives of the coven. They wanted to take over the world, and they wanted to kill every single waere. Finally the reasoning behind the waere persecutions had been explained. The Ancients had slaughtered them because they had discovered that vampires and waeres could procreate. How was she supposed to tell Clyde that Riley was alive but that she would only remain so long enough for Chris’s father to locate every single waere in the world, so that they could be slaughtered just like their ancestors? And Chris, Chris had been the bargaining chip which the Ancients had used to ensure the wraith performed the dark magic that would connect Riley and all other waeres.

Ragon was shaking his head, his eyes dark and lost to shadows. He seemed to be unable to talk, unable to admit to the coven, to his best friends, that there was no hope. Seeing the defeated look in Ragon’s eyes, Ari opened her mouth, the words spilling from her as she told the coven everything that they had found out.

“The Ancients are here. They have taken over the whole school; they’ve killed all the witches,” said Ari, her sad eyes glancing towards Lea’s cell, though still the girl did not look up, “and Kiara’s alive… she captured Natalie and told them that Riley was pregnant and that you were the father. That’s why they killed off all the waeres centuries ago. They found out that vampires and waeres can have children together. They think it is an abomination. Chris’s father negotiated to have Chris returned to him, but they only agreed if he performed a connection spell. They are going to use Riley to find all of the waeres and kill them.”         

“NO!” Clyde screamed, suddenly standing and slamming his body hard against the prison walls, which shot thick silvery light at him, coiling up his arms and face. He crumpled to the floor, howling in pain as his body twitched. “Why did I fall for her?”

“Riley is the best thing that has ever happened to you!” Sandra said incredulously.

“Exactly,” said Clyde, “and now, because of me, she is paying for it. She would have better off if she never met me. She would be safe… probably still with Paul and her pack, hiding in the forests she loves so much.”

“Clyde, honey,” said Sandra, cooing gently to him from her cell, “Riley loves you just as much as you love her. You two found each other, you were meant to. You belong together. The love you shared produced a miracle, and despite the odds, the danger, hell, the most powerful vampires in the world brainwashing vampires and waeres to hate each other, you still fell for one another. That’s not something you should regret… it’s something you should be grateful for. People go their entire lives looking for that kind of love. Just look at you. You have lived more than your fair share of lifetimes and it has taken you this long to find your soul mate. And besides, we won’t let the Ancients hurt Riley. We are going to get out of this.”

“But that’s just it,” said Ragon, laughing sardonically. “They’ve agreed to let us all live if Ari stays with them… if she joins them.”

“And Riley?” asked Sandra, looking up hopefully.

Ari shook her head and Clyde let out another wail, his fingernails raking his hair painfully.

“They are going to kill her as soon as the connection spell has located all the waeres,” said Ragon.

“What good is it if I am alive and Riley isn’t,” said Clyde.

“But we can’t let them,” said Sandra. “We have to be able to fight them. We have to be able to get out of these cells, save Riley and-”

“-and what?” asked Ari. “They know that I can burst into sunlight, that’s why they have kept me down here with you. So if I try to escape and save Riley, I will kill you. And I can’t freeze my way out of these iron bars. They have us right where they want us. We don’t even have Chris anymore, and they told Lea that if she helps they will kill Emily and her entire family.”

“The only chance is if Ari agrees to stay with them in exchange for our lives and Riley’s,” said Ragon, and Clyde looked up hopefully at him. “They want Ari badly… hopefully bad enough to put aside their hate for waeres. They won’t be able to kill Riley until after the connection spell is complete; they need her alive for it to work. Maybe we can bargain for Riley’s life too?”

Silence followed this proclamation. It was deafening. Though Ragon’s words had spoken hopefully, Ari knew there was no hope. The Ancients hated waeres, what’s more, they thought of Riley and Clyde’s union as an abomination. There was no way they would include Riley in their deal to have Ari on their side. And, Ari thought bitterly, what good was being alive if she was under the Ancients control? Forced to do their bidding? Made to help them destroy the world. Was this what her mother had meant, when she had told Ari that she needed to do the right thing? Was this the decision that Grandor knew she would one day have to make?

Ari wasn’t sure how long it had been when the door to the dungeon creaked open and someone appeared. The light behind the door was blinding, temporarily casting a familiar silhouette around the person standing there. There was a clicking of high heels along the concrete floors and Ari watched as the person moved over to Ragon’s prison and leant down, crouching in front of it.

“Kiara?” breathed Ragon, his voice dry, his lips bloodied and cracked.

Kiara’s back was to Ari, but she imagined the lustful look on the woman’s face as she contemplated Ragon.

“Oh Ragon,” said Kiara, and Ari was surprised to hear a tone of genuine sorrow to her voice. “What have you done? Why would you go up the Ancients? You must have known that you couldn’t win!”

Ragon smiled at her; it was a kind smile, one that touched his eyes and made Ari shiver involuntarily.

“I thought you were dead,” he said.

“I almost was,” said Kiara. “Shok left me bleeding and you left me burning but no… I did not die.”

She inched closer to Ragon’s cell, reaching out her hands, which were still covered in long black gloves, so as to stretch her hands through the prison bars. Finally her fingertips reached Ragon’s face. Ari’s mouth fell open; Ragon had not cowered away from Kiara but remained where he sat, looking up at her, wide eyed.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

“You know why,” said Kiara. “I’m here for you. The Ancients will not honour their word. After Ariana says that she will join them, they will kill you all. They will make it look like an accident, blame it on someone else… I know them. I know how they work. I was Virgil’s assassin for many years. They want Ari, but they know that the only way to truly own her is to take away the bonds which keep her human. Like I said, I know them. I know how they work.”  

“Ragon doesn’t want or need your help,” said Sandra, her southern accent scornful. “The other vampires… they will not stand for what the Ancients have done. As soon as word of the Ancient’s betrayal reaches the Elders, they will have to act. The Final Death Laws-“

“-don’t be a fool!” hissed Kiara, her head jolting angrily towards Sandra, as she pulled her hand out from Ragon’s cage, almost as if she had forgotten that she and Ragon were not alone. “The Ancients wrote the Final Death Laws. They can just as easily be unwritten.”

“There are plenty of vampires who will oppose this action. Not every vampire will want to go along with this plan,” Thomas interjected. “The Ancients will be lucky if half the vampires follow them. The rest will form a coo, and there will be a struggle for power. How can the Ancients hope to overthrow all those vampires?”

“Thomas, you really are a doubter, aren’t you. Do you honestly believe that the Ancients would attempt this so lightly? Did you not hear them? They have been planning this for decades. They have ensured this plan would come to fruition and smoothly. Did you not see all those vampires in the hall, waiting for their instructions like obedient puppies?”

“But how?” asked Thomas, and again Kiara seemed to be annoyed that there was an audience to her testimony. “How did they get so many to follow them in this foolhardy scheme? They must realise that it will not just be other vampires, but that the witches and wraiths will surely fight against them.”

“For the past two decades, blood candy had been growing more and more popular, unchecked by the Elders,” said Kiara, talking to Thomas, as if he were a child and she were explaining something simple. “Why do you think that is?”