by Bell Stoires
“Sameth,” said Ragon, in a relieved tone.
“Not just me,” said Sameth, pointing behind himself, at a large black convertible from which a man and two women sat, “Clyde just got here too.”
“You invited Clyde?” Larissa asked astounded.
Unable to fight her curiosity, Ari cranked her neck to see who had arrived. She saw the young man to whom Ragon was talking. Sameth looked no more than twenty years old; his eyes were wide and curious, although they didn’t quite have the same hopeful radiance you might expect in one so young. His features were round and boyish though handsome, with a wide forehead and matching pointed chin, that made Ari think he ought to belong in a boy band.
Looking a little farther past Sameth, and out towards the driveway, Ari saw another man sitting in the driver’s seat of a very fast looking convertible. When Ari locked eyes with the man she gasped; he was absolutely gorgeous. Clyde, as Sameth had called him, was well built, with muscles that seemed to bulge obviously through his clothes, and large broad shoulders. He had short brown hair with blondish tips, and large oval shaped sparkling eyes that matched his cheeky smile. His lips were large and full, and when he saw Ari staring at him, he winked.
“Clyde,” said Ragon, a little louder than necessary. “Thank you for coming, although I didn’t realise that you would be bringing friends with you. Will they be alright sharing one of the guest rooms?”
Reluctantly, Ari looked past Clyde and towards the two girls in the back of the convertible. When Ari had seen the blonde beauties, she had expected Ragon’s jaw to drop. What she had not expected was for him to appear put-out by their arrival.
“Well,” said Clyde, jumping over the door of his car and stepping onto the driveway, “I thought the more the merrier, besides, they taste just as good as they look,” he added, a wicked gleam lighting his face. “Oh and, we will all share the one room. I… err, wouldn’t want you to be put-out.”
At these words Ari’s mouth dropped; the two girls with him were sources.
As soon as the new arrivals moved inside, Ari moved over to the couch, her bacon and eggs suddenly forgotten. In a flash Sandra and Larissa were next to her, and she thought for a moment that Larissa, like Ragon, seemed somewhat irritated by the newcomers.
“Come and I will show you around,” said Ragon, and Sameth, Clyde and the two girls followed him up the stairs.
“Who was that?” Ari asked Sandra in a whisper.
“Oh, you mean Clyde?” asked Sandra. “Well Clyde… he’s ah, I guess you could say-”
“-a blood hungry, womanising jerk, that spends his time tricking girls into falling in love with him, and then getting them to spend the next few months of their lives being a blood bank,” Larissa finished for Sandra, glaring at the staircase from which Clyde had disappeared up.
“Seriously though Ari, Clyde has a reputation,” said Sandra, in a tone of warning. “Stay away from him; he’s bad news. It’s entirely typical of Clyde to steal the show. He’s a notorious ladies vampire. Wherever he goes, women follow, and they seem to be only too happy to be whatever he needs from them- lover, company or food source.”
“Besides,” said Larissa, leaning in even closer to Ari and whispering, “what about Ragon? He‘s twice the vamp Clyde will ever be.”
Ari stopped and thought for a moment. She couldn’t deny that since getting to know Ragon, the real Ragon and not just the one she had fantasied about at the library, that she had developed feelings for him; what those feelings were, she wasn’t exactly sure. Ragon had saved her, and was gorgeous looking, but it was fairly clear to her that he had no thoughts of their being any more than ‘rescuer and saviour’. And there was the fact that Ragon was a vampire, and had attacked her; could mortals and vampires even date? Valiantly she tried to put all of this into a sentence; she had felt a connection with Larissa and Sandra, and thought that if she could explain all of this to them, they might actually be able to help her.
“It’s not like that with Ragon and me,” she said simply, failing miserably at communicating everything that she thought and felt.
Sandra and Larissa turned to face each other, exchanged a knowing look and then stared straight back at Ari.
“Why did he rescue you then… if there is nothing between you,” asked Larissa, a smug edge to her voice, as if she knew so much more than Ari.
“That was the first time we properly met; when he saved me from those creeps,” said Ari. “In fact, since then Ragon has been stuck with me. Not only does he not think of me in that way, but he probably sees me as a giant pain in the arse. I saw him when we were at university together. There were a million girls in love with him… why would he possibly have thoughts for me?”
“Oh sugar, why do you think he saved you from Kiara then?” said Sandra, brushing her red hair to one side. “He would hardly have rescued you from her if-”
But Sandra was interrupted by the clicking sound of heels walking down the stairs. A moment later the two blonde guests of Clyde walked into the kitchen. Sandra gave them a pitying look, while Larissa glared at them.
Ari was just about to introduce herself, when the blonde girl stuck out her skinny wrist, as if in offering and said, “Clyde was wondering if you were hungry?”
Ari looked in horror at the girl, noting the large bite mark that already scarred her arm.
“So thoughtful,” said Sandra, in a voice of mock outrage. She was not talking to the blonde model, but to Clyde, who had just begun walking down the staircase also. “But Ari is not a vamp, and we are going to go out for dinner.”
“Besides,” said Larissa, “we have very different tastes, and I don’t feel like having your left overs.”
After that Larissa jumped from the couch and swept out onto the veranda.
“See you soon Ari,” said Sandra, before following Larissa.
Clyde bowed ever so slightly as the girls left.
“Your mates are even more beautiful than last I remembered,” said Clyde, smiling to Thomas and Cambridge.
Ari thought she heard Cambridge growl, but when she looked up at the gorgeous black man, she couldn’t see anything malicious at all about his appearance.
“How about you Sammy,” said Clyde, spinning the girl over to him as he added, “I promise you; they are delicious.”
Sameth looked once at the girl before tearing his eyes away, a little reluctantly in Ari’s opinion, and back to his suitcase as he said, “I bought provisions.”
Ari watched as Sameth fumbled with the zipper of his suitcase and soon found what he was looking for, then began drinking from a blood bag labelled AB negative.
“Seriously?” asked Clyde, moving over to the redhead and pulling her closer. “Cambridge, Thomas?”
“We ate last night,” they replied.
In response Sameth sucked harder on the blood bag, watching with slitted eyes as Clyde sunk his fangs into the girl’s neck. Ari, who had been watching Sameth, couldn’t help but feel unsettled when she saw his fangs unsheathe. There was something odd about the way that Sameth watched Clyde, and then Ari almost screamed when Sameth blurred over to the blonde, slid the sleeves of her shirt up, and guided her wrist to his mouth.
“Thank you,” he said quietly, gently piercing the girl’s skin as his fangs tore through her flesh.
Ari watched mesmerised at this exchange, just as her initial image of Sameth as being young and innocent was entirely lost.
“Ragon, what about you?” asked Clyde, staring at the blonde girl that Sameth had just drunk from. “That’s if Sameth left you some.”
Ari’s mouth fell open and she coughed loudly.
“Or perhaps you ate last night as well?” said Clyde, staring at Ari. “And here I thought you swore that you would never have a source. She is a beauty; I can see why you were tempted. Mind if I-”
“-Ariana is not a source,” said Ragon, and both Sameth and Clyde looked confused.
“It’s true,” said Thomas, “she has not been lulled. Kiara
has marked her for death because of her, err, association with Ragon. Ragon requested our attendance to form this coven, in order to keep Ari safe from Kiara.”
Clyde’s eyebrows disappeared up his forehead, while Sameth stared in unflattering disbelief at Ari. After a moment Clyde seemed to recover himself, letting out a long low whistle.
“Well my dear,” said Clyde, moving over to Ari as he took her hand in his and kissed it, “I am Clyde and I am at your service.”
Sameth made no proclamation, rather he moved out onto the veranda and sat down at the table, still looking stunned. Ragon followed after him, and Ari watched them enter into a whispered discussion, though she could hear none of it.
“Shall we?” asked Clyde, holding his elbow out for Ari.
Ari nodded and the pair moved out to the veranda.
“I apologise for my reaction,” said Sameth, standing the moment that Ari was outside. “I am Sameth.”
Ari shook Sameth’s hand, wincing slightly from the firmness of his handshake.
“Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, who would like to play a game?” asked Clyde, his eyes wide and enthusiastic. “I can’t imagine there are many activities in Australia.”
Both sources immediately said yes and Ari, though a little nervous, nodded her head in agreement. At this Ragon’s jaw dropped, but he recovered himself quickly and hesitantly agreed also. Thomas shook his head but Cambridge nodded slowly, as if deliberating on his answer.
“Oh hell- why not?” said Sameth, looking greedily at the blonde girl again.
“B1 and B2, be darlings and go get some playing cards from my bag,” said Clyde, slapping the girls playfully on the arse as they walked past.
Ari waited for them to be out of ears shot and said, “Their names are B1 and B2?”
“Hmm… what- no,” Clyde exclaimed, laughing lightly.
“What are their names then?” she asked.
Clyde looked at her for a moment in awe.
“I haven’t the faintest idea. I call the blonde one B1, and the other blonde one B2,” he said simply, “Although admittedly I do sometimes get them mixed up.”
“So if there both blonde how do you tell them apart?” asked Ari.
“Why would I need to tell them apart?” Clyde asked.
It was at least ten minutes before the two girls returned. Instantly Ari realised why they had taken so long; they had changed clothes. The taller of the two blondes was now wearing a low cut, black dress with pink heels, while the other girl had replaced her simple summer attire, for a pair of black tights and a tight blue dress. Feeling slightly underdressed; Ari looked down at her white shirt, jumper and pair of blue jeans.
“Right,” said Clyde, accepting the deck of cards. “Let’s play Sources-”
He was cut off immediately when Ragon jumped to his feet saying, “Ari will not be a source!”
“Of course not,” Clyde said smoothly, as if the idea was unthinkable. “She is far too lovely, besides we have two sources here, don’t we?” he added, pointing to B1 and B2.
Both girls sat down at the table and nodded enthusiastically.
“I don’t know the rules,” said Ari.
“Oh,” said B1, in an annoyingly high pitched, sickly sweet voice, “It’s easy-”
“The pack gets divided by the total number of players,” B2 continued, while simultaneously handing out the cards to everyone.
“All plain cards, like a two or a nine, stand for drink, so if you flip one of these over you have to have a shot,” continued B1, as she began slicing up a lemon. “But the face cards: jack, queen, king and ace, stand for different actions.”
“If a man turns over a Jack, then he must remove an item of clothing. If a girl turns over a jack, then they choose which guy will remove an item of clothing,” said B2 giggling. “And it’s pretty much the reverse for the Queen.”
“A king is a slave card, and you get to order someone to do something to you… I mean for you,” said B1, scratching her head, as though trying hard to remember the last rule.
“And then there is the ace. Ace is the source card. If you are a source and you turn an ace, you offer yourself for everyone to drink, but if you’re not a source and you turn an ace, then you can choose a source to drink from,” B2 finished.
“My dears, it is amazing how you explained that so well,” said Clyde, clapping quietly, “almost as if you share the same brain.”
Ari gulped and looked at Ragon; she didn’t like the sound of this game, but watched as B2 finished dealing out all the cards, and stared down at her own pile apprehensively.
“I will go first,” said Sameth enthusiastically, reaching for the first of his cards and flipping over a six of spades.
Ari watched his face light up as the models brought over a shot of tequila and passed it to him. B1 licked her hand and sprinkled some salt onto it, while B2 held out a lemon wedge for him in her mouth.
“Lick, sip, and suck?” said Sameth, before laughing to himself and then taking the shot.
Ari didn’t miss the double meaning.
Next to go was Cambridge. His large black hands flipped over a three of hearts and like Sameth; he took a shot of tequila from the girls. For the next few rounds it continued like this and Ari, along with the other players, was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol. She knew that she was drunk when the tequila no longer tasted foul.
The first to turn a face card was Sameth. When he drew a jack there was grin on his face and then he removed his shirt. It was several shots later that B1 drew her first face card. Like Sameth, it was a jack.
The blonde smiled wickedly to herself, hiccupped a little and then said, “Ragon!”
Ari was unable to hide her heightened expectations. The alcohol had removed most of her inhibitions and she watched expectantly as Ragon flung off the beanie he wore.
That doesn’t count… does it?” asked B1.
Before there could be much argument of the rules, Ragon growled and removed his shirt.
“Your turn Ari,” said Sameth.
“What, oh, yeah… right,” she mumbled, tearing her eyes away from Ragon.
Ari flipped a card over and stared down at a queen; she had no idea what to do. For a moment she thought hard and then, with a little smile to herself, removed her jumper, revealing a white tank top.
“Hang on a moment,” Clyde’s voice came from across the table, “if Ragon’s beanie doesn’t count, then Ari’s jumper sure as shit doesn’t.”
Ari glared at him and he smiled seductively right back.
“Your minion said item of clothing,” growled Ragon from next to Ari, “and correct me if I am wrong, but I believe a jumper counts as such an item.”
“What’s a minion?” B1 asked B2, her face screwed up in confusion.
Ari was a little surprised and confused at Ragon’s outburst. Though she had told Sandra and Larissa that she and Ragon did not share any feelings, this had not been entirely true, at least for her. Her drunken mind was fuming at Ragon’s lack of interest. Mimicking Clyde’s wicked smile, she removed her tank top to reveal a plan white bra.
“Looks like you have a spirited one,” Cambridge’s booming voice said, as he drew an ace.
Ari, who had reached for another shot of tequila to ward off her embarrassment, had almost missed Cambridge lunge across the table and begin biting at B2’s neck. She gasped but did not struggle, and Clyde and Sameth let out roaring laughs, just as the lemon which Ari had been sucking on, fell from her mouth.
“I see we weren’t the only ones to get a snack,” spoke an angry voice from the edge of the veranda. “And here I thought we were supposed to be keeping low key and protecting Ari?”
Ari turned, still opened mouthed, to see Larissa and Sandra balancing on the veranda railing. Larissa was looking at Cambridge in fury. In a flash he had removed himself from the girl’s neck, and sat back down at the table, casually wiping the blood away from his mouth.
“Ah Larissa and
Sandra; I see your sports have given you revised beauty. You look as flushed and fresh as if it were your first hunt. Please come and join us,” said Clyde, standing and requisitioning two more chairs from inside.
“Oh no honey,” said Sandra. “You all play; I think I will go and find Thomas.”
Larissa sat herself next to Clyde and, still staring at Cambridge with malice in her eyes, poured herself a shot. Shaking his head slightly, Ragon grabbed the remaining cards and reshuffled them, then divided them between the now seven players. Larissa was first to draw a card and when she flipped a jack over, immediately turned to Clyde and begun removing his shirt. Ari didn’t dare look at Cambridge, but instead stared at Clyde’s perfect body.
“Your turn,” Clyde said to Ari, smiling wickedly as he winked at her.
Instantly Ari looked down at her pile of cards. Had she been less drunk, she might have felt embarrassed, but as it was, she relished the attention Clyde gave her, hoping childishly that it might make Ragon jealous. A little hesitantly she turned her card, and to her relief saw a two of spades. She took the drink poured to her by B1, and quickly gulped it down.
“Thanks,” she muttered, feeling her head spin.
Ari had reeling from her shot when Ragon drew a queen. He sat still for a moment, paused in concentration, and then turning to the blonde, requested for her to remove an item of clothing. Ari watched B1 reach behind her back and untie a single black ribbon, enabling her entire dress to fall from her. Ari was trying not to stare at B1’s beautiful body and flat stomach, from which a small diamond belly button ring shone out.
The next to draw a face card was Clyde. He stared for a moment at the King of diamonds, as if all his dreams had come true. Leaning back against his chair, he looked over at Ari hopefully and then across the table, where a snarl was frozen on Ragon’s face.