by Bell Stoires
“I’m sorry,” she cried, using all her effort to lift her hands so as to close his eyes with her fingers tips.
As she made to pull her hands back, she felt a vice-like grip on her wrist. Her heart sung in her chest just as a smile spread across her face; Ragon was alive. But her joy faltered when she looked down and saw that Ragon’s eyes were wide open and his fangs were poised to strike.
“No,” she screamed.
But Ragon seemed not to hear her, and Ari cried out again when she felt two sharp stabs as he punched through her soft skin. She watched in horror as a thin smile spread across Ragon’s lips and he began to suck hard on her wrist, thick blood trickled from his mouth.
“Please,” she screamed, and Ragon’s eyes opened wide before he suddenly ripped her arm out of his mouth, so ferociously that she felt her skin tear against his sharp fangs.
“Get away!” he gasped, Ari’s red blood dripping from the side of his mouth.
Ari’s half closed eyes were fixed on Ragon and her mouth was open in horror. She was in too much shock to flinch when he reached for his burnt shirt and tore it into strips, winding several pieces around the bite on her arm.
“What can I do?” he asked helplessly.
Ari sat on the floor shivering, rocking back and forth, her bound hands holding her knees up to her chin again. Ragon made to move towards her and she flinched; in response his eyes widened.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered, just as he scooped her up, carrying her towards the bathroom in her room.
Ari didn’t jerk away when Ragon lifted her but became limp as she accepted her fate; she had no more energy to fight. No longer did she see the boy she had dreamt of- now there was only the monster.
Once inside the bathroom, Ragon turned the shower on, quickly checking the temperature before moving under the water, Ari still cradled in his arms. Gently the water soaked into the pair’s clothes and Ragon leaned against the shower wall, slowly dropping to the white tiled floor as he continued to cradle Ari in his arms. The water ran dark with blood and dirt; billowing steam whirled around Ragon’s frozen body, like wind gently moving an early morning mist. Finally Ragon’s eyes fell on the chains still fastened around Ari’s wrist and throat. Moving very slowly, he freed her hands with a simply tug against the metal, so that the broken links clattered onto the shower floor. More carefully his hands reached for the metal collar, gently wrapping his fingers so they were underneath it, until the choker broke. Ari felt the pain against her already swollen neck, but still she did not cry out.
It was at least half an hour before Ari spoke. She felt numb, remembering how Ragon had told Kiara that she meant nothing; how he hadn’t had a chance to bite her.
“Why?” she asked, her voice shaky as she looked up at him for the first time, staring into his green eyes.
“I am a monster. I’m so sorry,” Ragon replied simply, not daring to look at her.
Ari didn’t respond but moved to sit opposite him, so that she was no longer in his arms. He didn’t fight her but sat numbly with his eyes lowered to the floor. Ari’s hands made to touch the roughly made bandage on her wrist, when suddenly she realised that she was still only wearing a bra and underwear. Instantly her knees were drawn up to her chest as she tried to cover herself.
“You needn’t be embarrassed,” said Ragon.
“I’m practically naked,” Ari exaggerated, “and you’re… you’re fully clothed,” she stammered.
“I could remove more if you would prefer,” he said, but there was no trace of a smile.
At the mention of his lack of clothing, Ari looked across at his body; where before there had been huge gashes and holes in his burnt skin, now it was once again flawless, though the intense white of the bathroom tiles gave him an almost greyish pallor. Unable to stop herself, Ari’s eyes locked onto his toned muscles, as images of him rescuing her popped into her head. No, she thought, she shouldn’t think like that; it wasn’t right.
“I thought you were dead,” she whispered, shaking her head slowly.
“I am,” Ragon replied quickly, a small smile tracing his lips.
“No I mean, I thought you were gone; you had no heart beat and no pulse.”
“You should be so lucky. How is your arm?” he said, clearly wanting to change the subject. “I’m so sorry. It was the sun; it drained me... I would never have attacked you otherwise, although I know that doesn’t change the fact that I did.”
Ari laughed a little before looking down at the rough bandage on her wrist. Torn flesh was just visible, as were purpling bruises that braceleted her wrists.
“Actually, it doesn’t really hurt anymore,” she lied.
“It’s the venom; it takes away the pain… temporarily anyway. That way our prey can’t err… escape.”
“Convenient. So when you bite someone they don’t feel it?”
The moment she spoke a vivid flashback of him attacking her popped into her head just as an uncontrollable shiver ran down her spine. At the same time she wondered why, if vampire toxin was supposed to take away pain, did it still hurt her so much?
“Yes. We bite a mortal and they lose their flight and fight response, among other things,” Ragon replied.
“Other things; like what?”
Ragon looked decidedly uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going, but then glancing down at her bandaged wrist, said, “The venom also allows us to control our victims… for a time.”
At these words Ari thought of Paige; the girl who had sacrificed herself so that Matthew could regain his strength. Was this happening to her now? Was that why she had saved Ragon? But then she remembered she had dragged him inside well before he had bitten her. But why had she saved him? The fact that she could be controlled by a vampire would have explained perfectly why she had tried to help him. Ari shook her head in confusion.
“You can control me?” she said weakly, her mind reeling with the implications.
“No I can’t! Well I could… but I wouldn’t. I bit you out of instinct; I had lost too much blood and I couldn’t help myself, but controlling you is my choice and I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“But if you could control me, you could make me forget you ever attacked me?” she said slowly, instantly regretting her words “You could make me forget all of this, and… and you said to Kiara that you were planning on… planning on doing that anyway.”
“It was tempting, but I won’t take away your free will; I will have to live with what I have done… we both will. Besides, I told Kiara that so she wouldn’t think that-”
But his words broke off; wouldn’t think what, Ari thought.
“What do you mean?” she asked nervously.
Ragon looked upset for a moment, but recovering quickly, said, “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Ari looked down. She was so confused and too scared to think properly. Everything that Ragon was telling her made sense and yet it was utterly unbelievable. The fact that vampires were real was one thing, but the thought that they could invade her mind and control it was, well, frankly scaring the shit out of her. What if Ragon was controlling her right now? Making her think that she had rescued him before he had bitten her? And why didn’t Ragon want to hurt her?
“You said you could control me for a time?” she asked, pushing away this thought.
“That’s true, I said I could, but I also said I wouldn’t.”
“I mean, how long does the venom last?” she asked.
“It depends on the age of the vampire; for me usually about 7 days.”
“And how does it work- the controlling part?” she asked.
“There’s a neurotoxin in our venom which acts on a human’s nervous system. For a certain amount time, which depends on how strong the vampire is, the vampire has the power to bend them to their will. Then the mortal has to do everything they are told. It’s kind of like their mind becomes an extension of the vampires.”
“Bend them to their will?” Ari asked curiously. “S
o that’s what Kiara meant, that’s why she was looking for bites on me. She expected you to do that to me?”
“So many questions!” said Ragon. “When I bite someone, I don’t know… I can feel their blood racing through my system, restoring my immortality. At the same time I can feel my venom coursing through my… victim’s blood, binding to their neurons. And, I don’t know how to describe it; it’s like they become a part of you; under your control,” he said. “All we need to do is think a command and the source must do it.”
“Source?” asked Ari.
“It’s what we call a human who we feed from.”
“Is that why Paige…” Ari began to say, but her voice trailed off, remembering the girl’s still body on the floor of that concrete dungeon.
Ragon nodded solemnly.
“She wouldn’t have had a choice. Kiara and Matthew probably shared the control of her mind; it would have been the easiest thing in the world to get her to-” said Ragon, before Ari quickly interrupted him.
“So how often do you need to um, feed?”
“It depends on how much we take from our victim and how reckless we are,” replied Ragon.
“Reckless?”
“Yea like playing in the sun, or smashing through fortified iron bars- stuff like that,” he said smiling.
Another few moments passed in silence. Ari watched mesmerised, as drops of water cascaded majestically down Ragon’s body, almost as if he were a marble waterfall. Somehow watching him made her feel peaceful. Despite everything that she had been through, there was something reassuring about being close to him so that slowly she began to replace the monster with the boy she had dotted on, for all those years.
“I am sorry,” Ragon said again, interrupting Ari’s thoughts.
Ari raised her gaze from his abdomen and asked, “Why did they take me?”
“To hurt me; Kiara made me and she wants to own me. Decades ago I left her; I think that the thought of my being happy has offended her.”
He was happy? What did he mean? Was he happy with her? But they weren’t even together. He had saved her and then he had been stuck with her.
“So,” said Ari, “Kiara made you? And that’s why she took me; to get back at you for leaving her?”
“Yes.”
“How did it happen? When did you become a vampire?” she asked.
Ragon took a deep breath and exhaled.
“It was 1815 and I was a soldier. Napoleon’s War against the kingdoms had bought him many enemies, and many nations rallied to bring about his end of tyranny. Fourteen countries had risen against Napoleon and the first French Empire. Though the war had been coined the hundred day battle, I didn’t live past the first two months. It was, as far as I can remember, a relatively painless death. One moment I was charging at the enemy and the next I was lying in a ditch. No one could have told you how long I was dying for. I was unconscious and almost dead when I felt a stabbing pain in my neck. I came to and saw a woman leant over me. I don’t know why she decided not to kill me. When I awoke the next night I was a vampire. For a time I followed her but…” he said, his voice suddenly trailing off.
As Ari listened to his story she couldn’t help but sympathise with him. He had not chosen this life; it had been forced on him.
“The woman was Kiara?” She asked, and Radon nodded. “But why didn’t you hide from her?”
“I did. She has followed me throughout the decades. Whenever I moved to new city to escape her, she would find me; she is my maker and I her fledgling. So we share a bond; I can’t hide from her. In the end I just gave up. Finally I decided to remain in Brisbane; a city where the weather was generally so sunny that it would be impossible for her to terrorize me during the day. But enough talk of her; we should get out. I need to get you to a doctor.”
“I can’t go to a hospital! Don’t you think they’ll want to know what the hell happened to my arm?” asked Ari. “What am I supposed to tell them… a werewolf bit me?”
Ari was struck by her sudden change in attitude. One minute she was cowering from Ragon and the next, wanting to protect his secret. Again the fact that vampires could control humans crossed her mind, and she wondered if that was the case with her and Ragon.
“Werewolf?” laughed Ragon. “There aren’t any left.”
Ari let an awkward silence follow this statement.
“Well the pharmacy,” he said finally, “we can get something to bandage your arm there.”
Ari nodded once.
“After you,” she said, gesturing for him to leave first.
As soon as she heard the bathroom door close, she reached for a towel and begun drying herself. Her whole body ached; reaching out a hand to wipe away the fog from the mirror, she gasped at her reflection. She looked deathly pale and desperately tired, and felt it. There was large cuts and bruises on her backside from where she had been dragged by Matthew. Her wrists and neck were red and swollen, and already there were purpling bruises starting to form around her throat. She didn’t remove the torn remnants of Ragon’s shirt from her arm, too afraid of what she would find if she did.
It was sunset when Ragon knocked on her bedroom door and asked if she was ready to go to the pharmacy.
“But what about Kiara and Matthew?” asked Ari, when she was on the back of Ragon’s bike, her eyes darting around as she looked for anything suspicious on the street where she had been abducted the previous night.
“Kiara won’t attack outright,” said Ragon.
“How can you be sure?”
“It’s not her style, besides, she prefers to plan rather than to act on impulse,” he said.
“So what’s our plan?”
Ragon smiled and touched his jacket pocket surreptitiously, saying, “Don’t worry, I have one.”
The ride to the chemist shop was relatively uneventful. Unlike last time, Ari had no thoughts what’s so ever of screaming out for help. Though she didn’t like the thought of having to live hidden with Ragon for ever, possibly under his control, she had accepted that for now, it was definitely safer for her to be with him than anywhere else.
When finally they arrived at the twenty-four hour chemist in Red Hill, the young pharmacy assistant gawked at Ragon when he presented her with requests for all manner of bandage material.
“Dog bite,” he muttered.
Ari laughed quietly to herself. She knew the girl’s astonishment had nothing to do with why they were there, and everything to do with Ragon’s god-like appearance. He had seen it a hundred times before in the university library. Girls would glance over at him, staring at his obvious good looks, and he would ignore, as if oblivious to their interests.
The assistant was flushed in the face, and fluffed her hair with her spare hand when Ragon handed her some money. Clumsily she dropped the change all over the register and coins spilled onto the floor. Ari watched as the girl raced around to the front of the counter and bent down low and seductively, so as to pick up the fallen change.
It had taken another five minutes for them to leave, with the girl finding any excuse to keep Ragon in the store, even offering to bandage the bite for them. Her eyes had raked Ragon’s body shamelessly after this, perhaps hoping that he would be required to remove his clothing in order for her to help.
“It’s for our daughter,” Ragon finally lied, tugging at the bag of goods the assistant clutched desperately in her hands.
At this statement the girl stared at Ari, looking at her for the first time in unflattering disbelief. Finally she surrendered the bag, albeit somewhat unwillingly, and watched as the pair exited the store together.
“I just have to drop this off,” said Ragon, indicating several brown envelopes that he had taken from his jacket pocket.
Ari glanced at the letters in Ragon’s hand, only managing to read the name on the first one- ‘Sandra and Thomas’. She watched as Ragon moved over to the large red and white post office box and dropped the envelopes inside. Her curiosity was peaked and she wanted to
ask who the letters were to, but fought the desire to be nosey.
Instead she waited for him to return, letting her eyes become mesmerised by the large moon that had risen in the sky, as tiny stars began to dot the blackness surrounding it.
It was a few minutes into their journey home when they passed a small shabby block of units in Paddington and Ari tapped Ragon on the shoulder.
“Do you think I could grab some things from my apartment?” she yelled to Ragon, indicating the building.
Ragon paused for a moment but then swung the bike around, finally pulling into the cracked driveway that she had pointed to.
As she got off the bike and made her way up the step flight of steps to her apartment, Ari stared up in confusion at the door, realising that she didn’t have a key to get inside.
“Allow me,” said Ragon, throwing his weight hard against the door and forcing it open.
“Guess I won’t be getting my security deposit back,” Ari muttered, though Ragon seemed not to hear her.
Once in her apartment, Ari packed a large bag full of clothes as well as some personal possessions. The place was small, studio sized, and Ragon paced around it, occasionally glancing at some of her belongings.
“You don’t have many…” Ragon began to say, seeming to pause as he searched for the right word, “err, pictures.”
Ari looked around. There were small bright pink and yellow post-it notes stuck onto an old computer monitor at her desk, as well as on the fridge and freezer doors, but no pictures to speak of.