by Bell Stoires
She didn’t finish her sentence, rather stormed away and out of sight.
Unable to walk, Ari had been dragged by Mathew down a flight of stairs and into another room, where she was thrown into a cell. With only her underwear on, the skin around her thighs was rubbed roar, but Matthew seemed not to notice as he yanked the end of her chain and locked it to a metal post.
This close, she could see that Matthew had short glossy blonde hair which was parted to the side. His face was hard, with a chiselled jaw and angular nose. Both his lips and eyes were small, and though he looked handsome, there was a coldness to him that curbed any true good looks. He smiled down at her, his eyes roaming her bare skin, only covered by the bra an underwear Paige had not removed. Straightening up, somewhat slowly, he then backed out of Ari’s cell, slamming the door shut and locking it before racing from the room.
From behind the bars of her prison, Ari could make out a larger room which seemed to act as a central point for three other cells. Hesitantly her fingers moved to the collar around her neck, searching the cruel metal for a hinge or keyhole.
“Don’t bother,” said a small voice.
Ari looked around and saw Paige. The girl must have followed her. She was sitting on a bed in a cell opposite; her cage door was closed but there was no lock on it.
“It’s Paige right?” asked Ari, trying to keep her face steady as she spoke with the girl who had undressed her.
The girl nodded dumbly, staring at Ari with her head on the side, as if Ari were the first person she had seen in years.
“Paige, why the hell are you just sitting there? You could escape,” said Ari, now pacing around her cell.
“Why would I want to escape?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” said Ari, shaking her head in confusion.
Paige seemed to consider her words but then looking down at the ground, said, “I can’t help you.”
Ari gaped at the girl. It was clear that she had been brain washed or was suffering from Stockholm syndrome.
“Please don’t try to escape,” said Paige, watching Ari as she shook the bars of her cell.
“Why not, didn’t you hear them; they want to kill me.”
“Because I don’t want to be the one that has to put you back in that cell,” the girl said simply.
For the first time Ari paused and really looked at the girl. She was thin, almost emaciated, and judging from the many scarred bite marks on her wrists and neck, had been a prisoner of these monsters for some time.
“How long have you been here?” Ari asked.
“Since before I can remember.”
“What?” Ari said.
The girl shrugged. No wonder she wasn’t going to help her; these monsters were Paige’s family.
Despite Ari’s best efforts, the door to her prison remained firmly locked. Paige had watched her attempts to break out with a look of curiosity on her face, as if she couldn’t understand why anyone would want to leave. After a while Paige seemed to accept that Ari had neither the skills nor the tools to escape, and so she climbed onto the shabby bed in the corner of her cell, curled up and fell asleep.
Time seemed to pass by strangely in her windowless prison, though it couldn’t have been more than an hour or so since Ari had been placed in the cell, it felt as if she’d been there for days. She had all but given up hope of escape, when a small clicking noise sounded nearby and she looked up at Paige hopefully, but it wasn’t Paige who had made the noise; someone was climbing through a vent in the ceiling.
“Ragon,” Ari breathed, careful to keep her voice low.
Ragon didn’t answer her at first. He had landed cat-like on the floor and was looking wildly around the room for any sign of movement. He was wearing all black, giving him the appearance of a handsome cat bugler. The black beanie which hid his hair, did not steal from his bright green eyes, which surveyed the room slowly. When he glanced at Paige’s cell, he cocked his head to one side, but then he stood quickly, apparently satisfied she had not heard him.
“Are you alright?” he whispered, placing his fingers through the bars of Ari’s cell.
Again there was a kindness to his voice, almost tenderness. Ari nodded quickly, though she felt her eyes well with tears when Ragon scanned her exposed body. His face darkened when his gaze hovered over the steel bracelets and neck collar.
“What did that bitch...” he started to say, but then forced himself to look away, instead re-focusing his efforts on trying to bend the steel bars, though they would not give, “I’m going to get you out of here.”
Despite the iron bars creaking, they did not break. When he withdrew his hands, small flecks of rusted metal covered his skin and he brushed them away angrily.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
There was an equal measure of self-loathing and guilt in his voice, though Ari knew that the blame for what had happened fell on her, not him. Ragon warned her not to leave his house; he told her that someone might hurt her to get to him, but she had not believed him.
“Why are they doing this to me?” she asked, her eyes dancing between the door to the room and Paige, wanting to make sure that Ragon was not discovered.
Ragon sighed deeply.
“She made me…” he began to say, but then looked over at the main door to the room, his eyes bulging. “I will come back for you,” he whispered, and then vanished through the vent in the ceiling.
Ari watched him leave in disbelief, and a second later the door to the main room was flung open and Matthew walked in. Ari couldn’t stop the tears that fell freely; Ragon’s presence had allowed her to be tempted with thoughts of freedom and escape, but now as she saw Matthew, all hope was lost.
“It really is a shame I have to kill you,” said Matthew. “You could have kept Paige company.”
At his words Paige had woken, and she looked up at Matthew lovingly, sweeping her hair behind her ears as she sought to make herself more presentable.
“Why are you doing this?” asked Ari.
Matthew’s face contorted with rage.
He blurred towards her, tearing the key from its chain around his neck and said, “Kiara doesn’t like Ragon having pets. Though I am not sure you are a source at all; why there are no bites on you-”
As Matthew spoke, Ragon dropped silently to the floor behind him.
“-master,” cried Paige, her finger outstretched as she indicated Ragon.
Before Ari had time to respond, Matthew spun around and pulled Ari’s cell door closed. At the same time there was a loud slam and Ari looked up to see Kiara walking into the main room.
“Welcome,” said Kiara, her high cold voice bouncing around the room and making Ragon stop dead in his tracks.
Kiara stood framing the door, staring in disbelief at Ragon. Ari couldn’t help but gasp when she saw how beautiful Kiara was- beautiful and yet terrifying. This had been the first time Ari had been able to see her. Kiara’s pale complexion stood out drastically from the deep red shade of lipstick she wore to cover her full lips. She had a slender nose, which was almost entirely lost to her large dark eyes. Two perfectly shaped eyebrows overlooked these black pools, and a long fringe danced just above them, while lengths of perfectly straight dark hair lashed out around the edge of her oval face.
“You don’t look happy to see me,” said Kiara, batting her long eyelashes furiously at Ragon. “I was so confused to hear that you had a girl with you, that you had left that filthy mausoleum and bought a house…”
“What do you want?” asked Ragon.
Ragon’s voice was like ice; it sounded nothing like the kind whisperings and promises he had made only moments ago. It reminded her of the night she had been attacked, how Ragon had said ‘pathetic’ to the boy who had tried to rape her and then again when he had spoken about killing them, without remorse, without any trace of humanity.
“Want?” exclaimed Kiara. “What do I want? Nothing more than what you have already promised me; you swore you sought a solitary exis
tence.”
“Promised?” asked Ragon, forcing the word through his teeth as his fists clenched by his sides. “I promised you nothing. You have haunted my shadows since you made me, and… and-”
“-and, and what? You don’t deny it?” shrieked Kiara, before breathing in deeply and adding in a much calmer manner, “You know I had Paige search this blood bag for bite marks. I thought perhaps that you took a liking to her taste after so long of swearing off innocent blood, and decided to make her a source, but… but there was not a mark on her.”
Kiara had begun to circle Ragon, while he bent down low, preparing for her to strike.
“The girl means nothing to me,” he said, his eyes not meeting Ari. “I only just took her; I had no time to command her, let alone drain her.”
Ari’s face fell and she shuddered; Ragon’s voice was so hollow, so devoid of all feelings. Did he mean what he had said? Had he been planning to kill her after all? And yet why should she be upset to hear this? Ragon was a vampire; he had killed people; it shouldn’t surprise her to find out that he had wanted her blood all along.
“Well if you do not care for this one, then you won’t mind if Matthew kills her,” said Kiara, inclining her head towards Matthew, whose face broke into a knowing smile.
“No!” screamed Ragon, looking up in horror at Ari.
When Ari met his gaze it was pained even terrified; his eyes were wide like saucers and his mouth was open slightly.
“So it’s true?” asked Kiara; she was looking at him with a dazed expression. “Why would you risk breaking a Final Death Law for a mortal?”
“You don’t understand!” Ragon shrieked.
“Well, let me do us all a favour by removing that little conundrum,” said Kiara. “Matthew… Kill her!”
“Wait!” cried Ragon, “Let her go; I’ll… I’ll do anything.”
Kiara paused, her eyes flittered to Ragon’s retched face but this did not console her, on the contrary, she was glaring at him worse than ever.
“Your promises mean nothing to me,” she hissed. “You are… different. I can hear it in your voice.”
In an instant Matthew had blurred forwards, lifting Ari up by the elbow as he wrapped his fingers around her throat.
“Please,” cried Ari, her eyes wide with fear as she felt her windpipe crush under pressure.
“NO!” Ragon roared, blurring to Kiara and hitting her hard in the face.
Kiara’s body fell heavily to the ground and Ragon raced to Ari’s cell. He grabbed the bars, ripping the door from its hinges in an ear splitting screech of tearing metal. Matthew had just turned to confront him, but Ragon was too quick; he hit him savagely in the back with both fists, so that Matthew crashed to the ground.
“Ragon,” whispered Ari, her voice hoarse from where Matthew had strangled her.
Tearing his eyes away from her, Ragon reached down and hit Matthew again, pulling him up by his collar and aiming a hard blow at his head. Ari watched as Matthew’s face seemed to break, like stone under pressure, so that thin lines cracked down his normally perfect skin. At the same time Paige raced inside the cell, kneeling down beside her fallen master.
“Leave him,” said Ari, but the girl ignored her and began shaking Matthew violently, desperate for him to wake up.
“We have to go,” said Ragon, looking quickly back to where Kiara lay, still unconscious.
“But…” Ari began to say, holding her bound hands out to Paige.
Ragon looked down at the young girl and shook his head. Before Ari could argue, he had bent down, placing his head under her bound hands, so that she hung in front of him. Finally he lifted her legs and cradled her as best he could. He did not pause, or try to recover his strength, but ran.
Ari watched from Ragon’s arms as Paige began clawing at her own wrist with her nails. Soon blood swelled from the scratches and Paige pressed her hand against Matthew’s lips. Two white hands pulled Paige’s closer as Matthew regained consciousness.
“No,” screamed Ari, seeing the smile on Paige’s face falter as Matthew took both blood and life from her.
As Ragon raced away, Ari managed one last glimpse of Paige; the girl was crumpled and lifeless on the floor, white as a sheet. Matthew’s hands bent out at odd angles and he threw Paige away. Then he stood and moved like lightning after them. Ragon had just enough time to throw the door to the main room shut and blur away, before they heard loud pounding on the other side.
Still locked together, Ragon and Ari had barely reached the edge of Kiara’s property when they heard an infuriating scream come from the house.
“How dare you!” Kiara screeched.
Ragon didn’t stop to look back but kept running. When they reached a large brick fence lining the property, Ragon paused and then leapt over it in a single bounce. In that instant, Ari had seen Kiara standing in the entrance of her house as she shook with rage. As the pair locked eyes on one another, Kiara glared, but then looked up at the sky in frustration and recoiled back inside.
All the way home, Ragon ran, still cradling Ari in his arms. She had slowly begun to slip from his hands, though her bound wrists wrapped around his neck kept her in place. It was still dark, though the sky was beginning to lighten, and all around them were the chirps of awakening birds, as a pale orange light broadened on the horizon. As Ragon ran, he hugged the forest line of Mount Cootha, keeping them away from the prying eyes of morning joggers or any cars that might have been on the road this early. This was fortunate; Ari still only wore her underwear and the sight therefore of a man carrying a half-naked woman, bound around his neck, would have drawn unnecessary attention to them.
Soon Ari could see Ragon’s house from the street and smiled.
They had just reached the driveway when Ragon’s legs gave out and he fell heavily onto the gravel. Ari was thrown from him and crumpled on the harsh stones, the wind knocked out of her. She laid still then gasped for air. Looking desperately at Ragon, she frowned; he looked completely broken.
“Get inside,” he croaked. “Lock the doors.”
Instantly Ari was on her feet; she was half way to the door when a bright golden light from across the valley caught her attention. She squinted up at it, watching as it crept across the driveway, realising finally that it was the sunrise. The warm rays shone brightly down on her, bringing a sense of comfort, until a loud, blood curdling scream punctuated the air.
The sunshine singed Ragon’s skin, exposing scorched burnt flesh. He struggled to his feet but then fell back weakly, trying to hide his face from the light as it blistered. Ari watched him in confusion, and then the words he had spoken flooded back; we don’t do well in sunlight. Ari hesitated, watching as Ragon’s body contorted in the light. Looking down at him, she didn’t see the monster which had killed those boy’s, she only saw the mystery man from the library; the man with the bright green eyes who had caught her attention, time and time again, sitting on the couch by the stairs as he read.
“What are you doing Ari?” she asked herself, as she raced to Ragon and began dragging him back towards the house.
It took her a while to pull him inside. Her hands were still bound but she just managed to clasp onto him and gain enough momentum to pull. As soon as they were inside, she raced to each of the windows, pulling the heavy curtains closed so as to block out as much sunlight as possible, before remembering that they had UV protection. When finally she was sure that there was no light seeping through any cracks, she bolted the front door behind her and collapsed onto the floor next to Ragon, panting heavily from her efforts.
Ragon’s body was smoking a little, his beanie burnt and singed, and she laid her cold hands against his unusually hot skin, thinking that perhaps it might soothe the burns. Without realising it, her head dropped slowly onto Ragon’s chest, just as a strange floating feeling replaced the fearful terror that had been with her for what felt like hours. She blinked a few times, staring up at the bland ceiling. Soon her mind began to feel disjointed from her b
ody and she slipped into unconsciousness, one hand resting over Ragon’s silent heart.
Chapter 5- Returned Favour
Ari woke in a cold sweat several hours later. An acrid burning smell had roused her and her eyes opened heavily, as if great weights weighed down each eyelid. She breathed in and coughed. Jumping up in horror, Ari realised what the smell was.
“Ragon,” she breathed, looking down at his singed body.
His normally handsome features were distorted. His hair was scorched and his clothes were patchy, as if acid had eaten through them. Some parts of his skin were blackened and in others, the normally smooth marble surface was blistered. He looked dead; there was no other word to describe it. Trying hard to think, Ari removed the black buttoned shirt he wore, pulling away the fabric as delicately as possible where it had melted against his skin. Though her hands were still bound, she cupped them together, placing them over his heart. There was no beat, no sound- nothing.
“Damn it,” she swore.
Without thinking she began CPR. The chains around her wrists made it difficult, but she managed to intertwine her fingers and perform the necessary compressions against his chest. His stone body made trying to revive him challenging, as if she were pressing down on a block of ice. Quickly the effort became too much and in frustration she bit down hard on her lower lip and tasted blood.
She wasn’t sure how long it had been before she realised her actions were superfluous. Ragon was a vampire; did they even have a heartbeat? Did they need oxygen? When the muscles in her arms began to spasm from the effort, she finally stopped. Her bound hands dropped uselessly in front of her and she collapsed back on the floor next to Ragon.
This is bullshit, Ari thought.
Ragon had rescued her and now he was dead. The man who she had glanced at a thousand times during her study sessions in the library had died saving her. Pulling her knees up, she tucked them up under her chin and laid down so that her head was rested on Ragon’s shoulder, her blue eyes staring into his empty ones. No longer were his eyes a startling green; now they had been replaced with the all-consuming blackness of his pupils. As she began breathing deeply, fighting back the tears, a desire washed over her. She reached up quickly, using her legs to kick her upright as she placed her bound wrists against his cheeks. Llooking at him sadly, she leant down and kissed him on the forehead. It was not the kiss she had imagined from all her time day dreaming about him at the library, and she knew that she should be disgusted, but she couldn’t help it.