by Bell Stoires
Still looking at Ari, Clyde said, “Why don’t you remove the rest of your clothing then meet me at the edge of Ragon’s property… just at the start of the forest.”
Ari stared at Clyde without blinking, just as a startled silence settled on the table.
It was only when Clyde winked at her, then turned to face B1 and said, “I will join you in a moment,” that Ari realised Clyde was talking to the blonde bombshell and not her.
Clyde had pointed to a spot a few metres down from the house. The area was bathed by filtered moonlight and was lined by a few large palm trees. B1 quickly got to her feet and, turning to leave, slid off her remaining undergarments, so that she was naked when she walked away from the table. Ragon had not watched the girl; his eyes had been narrowed and fixed on Clyde.
“Well,” said Clyde, standing also to leave, “please feel free to continue, we may, err… be a while.”
Clyde blurred after the blonde. Ari watched as the pair made their way down to the deserted forest at the base of Ragon’s property. They had finally stopped in front of a large oak, when Clyde took B1’s hands in his and then pushed them up over her head, forcing her against the tree.
“Keep them there,” said Clyde, just loud enough for Ari, back at the table, to hear.
A small gasp met everyone’s ears and Ari turned away, just as she heard Clyde let out a long wicked laugh from below.
Back at the table, Cambridge drew a nine of spades and accepted the drink handed to him by B2, who was looking sulky. Ari’s vision had become blurry and she had begun to feel the floor sway, as the tequila finally caught up with her. She had not drunk this much in a long time and she knew that if she didn’t stop now, she would lose all self-control. Suddenly a long loud moan reached her ears, reminding her of Clyde’s pleasure and unable to stop herself, Ari looked over the veranda. Clyde had been kissing B1 passionately, forcing his tongue deep into her throat until he suddenly pulled away, then in a flash struck at her neck, sucking hard.
“Your turn,” said Ragon.
Struck by the harshness of his voice, Ari’s attention averted back to the game. She was surprised when she flipped the last card of the deck over and saw that it was a king.
“Ragon… take me to bed,” she said, her voice seemingly segregated from her body.
Her mind was clouded by alcohol and she wasn’t even certain of what she had said. All she knew was that she was going to have one hell of a headache in the morning. Ragon moved over to Ari quickly and reached down so as to cradle her in his arms. Ari managed one last look down at herself and realised with indifference, that she was only wearing her bra and jeans. The last thing she heard before her eyes closed, were the screams of pleasure coming from the forest below and then everything went dark.
Chapter 8- A time for answers
It took a while for Ari to convince herself to open her eyes the next day. Her dreams had been hazy and full of lust. She remained perfectly still under the covers of her bed, cringing when she recalled some of the events from the previous night. Tossing in her sheets, she felt one of her pillows fall to the floor and was just about to sit up and retrieve it, when she felt it being placed gently under her head.
“What the…” she said, forcing her eyes open as she stared up at a doubled image of Ragon.
“Here,” he said, retrieving a large glass of water next to her bed and handing it to her.
Ari blinked up in confusion. On top of her bed side table was some ibuprofen; she reached for the tiny white pills eagerly.
“Kill me,” she whispered in a thick crackling voice.
Ragon smiled and turned to face her.
“You’re not hungover?” she asked, looking at the smile on his face in confusion.
Ragon shook his head.
“I can’t remember what the effects of alcohol had on me while I was a human, but since I have been a vampire, I haven’t really felt drunk, unless I haven’t feed for a while,” he said.
“How long have you been here?”
“About 200 years, give or take,” he said smiling.
Ari blinked and took the ibuprofen from the table, washing it down with a few gulps of water before finishing the entire glass.
“I think that will be the last time I play Sources,” she said.
“I won’t argue.”
“Are the others up yet?” she asked, ignoring his snide remark.
Ragon looked around the room and then cocked his head, as if sensing their presence.
“Sandra and Thomas have left, probably hunting, and both our human guests are still sleeping. I don’t expect Cambridge and Larissa to wake for some time; they spent a lot of the morning shouting.”
“Oh,” said Ari, recalling the way that Cambridge had attacked B2 or B1; she wasn’t sure which. Instantly she pushed her hands over her face and dug her head into the pillow, saying, “Why did Larissa get so upset at Cambridge? Wouldn’t you… err, I mean vampires, have to feed on others normally?”
Ragon looked over at Ari with a curious expression on his face.
“I guess Cambridge was trying to make Larissa jealous,” said Ragon. When Ari returned a blank expression he added, “Larissa and Clyde have a past. For a while they were lovers.”
“What… really?”
Ragon nodded once but looked a little taken aback by Ari’s obvious interest and then said, “Clyde is known for his vigorous attempt at bedding women.”
Ari blushed in response and a wave of nausea overtook her. Leaping from the bed, she rushed into the bathroom and began convulsing as she heaved up last night’s festivities. Her head still bent over the toilet, Ari felt Ragon besides her, and tried not to feel embarrassed as he took her hair in his hands and held it out of her face.
“I had no idea that Clyde would make you so sick,” he said, laughing lightly to himself.
“You… you don’t need to watch this,” she said, heaving again into the toilet.
Ragon said nothing but remained by her side, until finally she had thrown up all she could. Moving away from the toilet, Ari swayed on the spot and instantly Ragon was behind her, holding her upright.
“Th… thanks,” she stammered, moving over to the sink and washing her mouth out. Looking into the bathroom mirror, Ari gasped. She had not realised until now, but she was still only wearing her bra and jeans. Reaching for a towel, she quickly covered herself, saying, “Geez, how many times did I get the Queen card last night?”
Ragon, who had averted his eyes, said, “You were quite insistent that a jumper should not count as clothing.”
Ari caught the tone of displeasure in his voice. It hurt her to hear him so obviously disinterested at the prospect of her being undressed. Once again she pictured Ragon before she knew him; when he would sit in the library and read, admired by all the girls who passed him. Even back then she had found him attractive, had fantasised about him, wondered what he would look like when he smiled. When he had rescued her everything had changed. She had discovered that Ragon wasn’t even a man at all… he was a vampire. But if Ari was being entirely truthful with herself, she didn’t really care about that. Not in the way a girl with a normal upbringing would. Ari had no friends, no family… nothing; but with Ragon it felt like she had someone who cared about her, someone who wanted to keep her safe, wanted to know she was ok… and she cared about him too; no matter how much she tried to remain indifferent. She hadn’t noticed it until she had seen how he had acted around others, seemingly hollow of emotions, but when they were alone together, she could see that there was another side to him. A side that wanted to let his guard down. But the way he was talking to her now pushed all of that out of her mind; his comment had hurt her.
“I’m happy to leave at any point if you don’t want me here anymore,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
Ragon froze. His dark green eyes stared at Ari’s blue ones, searching them for something.
“It’s not that I don’t want you here; it’s just that I woul
d rather you were somewhere else.”
Ari stared back in disbelief, her fears confirmed.
Ragon moved towards her and said, “I mean, you’re only twenty-four, and there are things that you will want that you can’t get here. I want you to be normal, to live a normal life, without vampires trying to kill you and playing stupid games with-” but he broke off quickly.
Ari had moved out of the bathroom and was sitting back on her bed. Her head was in her hands and when Ragon followed her, she looked up at him, desperate to explain how she felt.
“Before all this happened I wasn’t happy,” she said. “I mean I wasn’t unhappy, but I was just sort of… existing but not living. I never really had a family; both my parents died when I was really young so I never knew them. But since I have been here with you, it’s the closest I’ve felt to belonging. What you are doesn’t bother me. It just feels right having someone that… having someone that cares I’m alive.”
Ragon had stood in silence listening to her. When Ari stopped speaking, he moved over to her and knelt down beside her.
“How could you be happy with a monster?” he asked.
At once Ari saw the gorgeous stranger in the library again.
“Those boys in the park were the monsters,” she said, and before she could stop herself or think better of it, she reached a hand out to touch the side of his face, startling slightly at how icy cold it was. “You’re just a nice guy who has the unfortunate infliction of needing to drink blood and a severe allergy to the sun.”
Still with her hand against his cheek, Ari hoped that Ragon would reach for her, but when he didn’t she removed her hand and looked down, embarrassed.
“I promised you that I would do my best to look after you. I have called my closest friends here to make sure that I keep that promise. Once I know that Kiara is no longer a threat to you, you can decide if you want to stay.”
After their conversation Ragon left; she had watched him disappear with mingled emotions. She had poured her heart out to him and he had thrown it back in her face. Was she really that surprised? Yes, deep down she thought, had hoped, that Ragon might actually feel something for her. After everything he had done; all those times he had said that he wanted to keep her safe, but no, he did not have feelings for her, not beyond what he had declared, that he would not hurt her. But why then had he gone to all the trouble of protecting her from Kiara? Why not just command her to forget him and let her live her life without him? It didn’t make sense.
Shaking her head in confusion, Ari reached for a towel, intent on having a shower. She had just opened the bathroom door when she heard Ragon talking to someone else, Sandra and Thomas she guessed. Throwing caution to the wind, she leaned her ear against the wooden frame of her door, listening.
“How’s Ari?” asked Sandra. “What in God’s name were you thinking… letting her play Sources? You’re lucky her clothes are all she lost last night.”
“Good afternoon to you too,” Ragon said in a flat tone.
“Have we heard from Cambridge and Larissa yet?” asked Thomas, obviously wanting to ease the tension.
“You mean aside from the ranting this morning?” said Ragon.
“Did you have to invite Clyde?” said Sandra. “I thought the idea was to protect Ari… not throw a lunatic at her.”
“I needed everyone,” said Ragon. “You know of Kiara’s ties in our world-”
“-what’s that?” Clyde interrupted. “Did I hear my name?”
Ari heard a growl.
“How are your lovely sources?” Sandra asked sarcastically, her voice light yet marked by fake warmth.
“A little drained,” Clyde replied chuckling. “I was just about to check on Ari. That is why you asked me here isn’t it; to make sure no harm comes to her. It’s a little unorthodox, hell, keeping a non-lulled human is a lot unorthodox, but a friend’s gotta do what a friend’s gotta do.”
“I think the care you’re offering isn’t quite what Ragon had in mind,” said Sandra.
Suddenly a loud knock sounded in Ari’s ear and she raced away from the door, desperate not to be seen eavesdropping.
“Besides, she knows she has me to look after her,” said Sandra.
Ari opened her bedroom door a little hesitantly and was greeted by Sandra’s wide smile.
“Morning sugar; how are you feeling?” she asked.
“Awful,” moaned Ari.
“Well, you should know better to play Sources with strange vamps,” she said, moving further into Ari’s room and closing the door behind her. “And they don’t get any stranger than Clyde.”
Ari blushed and reached for a pair of jeans and a top. Sandra looked down at the clothes in Ari’s hand, wiggled a finger at her and walked over to Ari’s cupboard.
“Why don’t you try something different?” said Sandra, showing Ari a summer dress.
Ari frowned at the outfit but took it from her, walking back into the bathroom and closing the door as she shimmied into it. When Ari emerged a few moments later, Sandra looked at her impressed. The dress was a watermelon colour, which showed off her curves in all the right places. Ragon had not supplied her with any make-up, and she looked jealously at Sandra’s perfectly painted face.
“Sandra,” she said, reaching out to touch her arm.
As always, whenever Ari came into close contact with a vampire she was surprised at how cold they felt. But it felt strange thinking of Sandra as a vampire. Perhaps it was because she had begun to think of her as more of a friend, and it felt odd to associate her with something that at any moment might decide that they were hungry and attack her.
Thinking of her friendship with Sandra, Ari decided to test the waters and said, “Could you, err, tell me a little bit more about your world?”
Since Ragon had said that she did not belong around vampires, she had found herself desperate to know anything and everything she could.
“Oh honey, what do you want to know?” asked Sandra, smiling sweetly as she took a seat on Ari’s bed.
“Um, everything,” Ari said eagerly, moving over to the bed also and sitting cross legged on it.
“Have you asked Ragon anything specific about vampires?”
“Yea, bits and pieces, about sunlight and controlling mortals,” Ari answered, frowning slightly at her apparent inability to construct a sentence in her hungover state.
“Well, there isn’t a lot to us; we are pretty much what you see. The immortal damned, destined to drink blood to sustain our immortality and good looks,” Sandra said dramatically, battering her eyelashes and stroking her ruby hair. “But seriously, we hunt at night, hide during the day, and in general tend to stick to ourselves. Some of us form partnerships, like Thomas and I, but most remain solitary.”
“And it’s, um, abnormal for a vampire like Ragon to want to protect me, isn’t it?” she asked.
Sandra looked up and frowned.
“It’s not unheard of, but yes, it’s abnormal. Most vamps don’t see humans as anything more than a blood meal. The group here are a little different, well most of us, Thomas, Larissa, Cambridge and I, we don’t have sources.”
Ari leaned in further, betraying her eagerness.
“But you guys were surprised when you found out that Ragon hadn’t lulled me,” said Ari, “and that he had asked you here to protect me.”
Slowly Sandra nodded and said, “It’s not that vamps are incapable of feeling anything for humans, it’s just… just that it is a strange situation. Most of the time the human gets turned, so there is no need to protect them.”
“But Ragon doesn’t want to turn me,” said Ari.
It wasn’t a question; it was a statement. She asked it even though she already knew the answer; no, Ragon didn’t want to turn her. He had no intention of that. That’s why he had asked all of his friends to come to Australia, to protect her; the question was why.
“But if it is so unusual, then why is Ragon doing it?” said Ari.
Sandra looked at Ari
curiously and then said, “Perhaps you should ask him that.”
Ari frowned; she had already tried that. Thinking instead about her original question, Ari asked, “So where do you get the blood from?”
As soon as she said this, Ari realised how stupid she must have sounded.
“From people of course; some we kill and others we just feed from. Like I said, the vamps in this house lead a relatively murder-free life; we just disassociate ourselves from mortals after we have gotten what we need from them. But the majority of vamps aren’t like us. Most of the time, vamps just like killing. The older you get, the less you see people and the more you see cattle, no offense.”
“What about the sunlight? Ragon almost died when he was only out there for a few minutes.”
Sandra shivered slightly, replying, “Yeah, vamps don’t like the sun; we don’t tan well.” She inspected her own milky, white skin before adding, “Only vamps that have had enough go into the sun to play.”
“Had enough; how could you have enough of being beautiful, strong, fast and whatever else you guys can do?”
“You would be surprised just how long forever can last,” said Sandra, and Ari thought she saw something sad behind her new friend’s eyes.
Ari had gone back to sleep after her brief conversation with Sandra. All thoughts of having a shower had vanished, and she allowed the ibuprofen to wisp her into a peaceful slumber. It was dark when she finally emerged from her room and heard laughter coming from the veranda.
“So who is up for another round of Sources?” Clyde asked playfully, his eyes lighting up when they fell on Ari.
Sandra glared at Clyde and Thomas raised his eyebrows, but Clyde ignored the two and said, “Just a suggestion.”
Ari couldn’t help but notice that Cambridge and Larissa were sitting next to each other and holding hands, acting in the same lovesick way they had done when first they arrived. She guessed by the way that they were talking animatedly, that they had sorted out their differences.
“I’m bored,” said B1, looking over at Clyde lustfully.