by Bell Stoires
Leaving the hospital bought an overwhelming sense of foreboding. Her hands were shaking when she signed her discharge forms, trying hard not to make eye contact with the surly nurse who glared at her, clearly disapproving of her decision to leave. Ari couldn’t entirely blame her. She still looked and felt like death. Kiara’s attack did nothing for her previous injuries, but Ari couldn’t think about pain now- not physical pain anyway.
As soon as they arrived at the house, she jumped out of the car and ran inside. Cambridge and Sandra were sitting on the floor and Thomas was pacing around the living room. A loud squeal followed by a flash of white fur, preceded Crystal bounding at Ari. Ari allowed Crystal to knock her to the ground and cuddled the dog hard. She didn’t care that it felt as if she might pass out from the pain; she needed a friendly face right now. In the few weeks she had been parted from Crystal, the puppy had grown exponentially. She was at least a full foot taller than Ari remembered her, and Ari thought that she was finally beginning to grow her large paws. Ari allowed Crystal to lick her face, and soon she was covered in slobber.
“Where is Ryder?” asked Ragon, glancing around the house nervously.
A second later, Ryder and Patrick blurred into view, and Ryder raced over to Ari. But before he could reach her, Ragon and Clyde intercepted him.
“I was just going to hug her,” Ryder said casually.
Both Ragon and Clyde looked at Patrick nervously but then begrudgingly allowed Ryder access, and watched as he moved over to Ariana, purposefully trying to mimic mortality, as he walked slower than normal, apparently with great effort.
“Are you ok?” asked Ryder, holding his breath when he was finally in front of Ari.
Ariana shook her head; no, she wasn’t alright. Nothing was right about what had happened to Larissa. When Ryder hugged her, she startled at how cold he felt, like an icy breeze. Then her sad eyes drifted to Sandra, who was sitting cross legged, with her head in her hands. As soon as Ryder released her she raced over to Sandra, and reached a shaky hand for her.
“Oh God; I am so sorry,” said Ari.
Cambridge looked up at her and said, “Now that you’re back, we can bury Larissa, and then… I will be leaving.”
Ari’s stomach instantly dropped. Bury Larissa? The thought was utter madness. She watched as Cambridge, followed shortly by Sandra, moved over to the veranda and jumped off the edge. Everyone else in the coven mimicked this except herself and Ragon.
“Here,” said Ragon, helping her to her feet.
The pair walked out the front door and down the back of the house holding hands, with Crystal following shortly behind. It was pitch black outside; there was no moon and the clouds in the sky had masked all traces of any stars. Still, in true Brisbane tradition, it was a warm night, and the smells of honeysuckle, jasmine and frangipani, swelled in the air, permeating their path as they walked. Ari let Ragon guide her down the set of hidden steps that led to backyard. Sandra and Cambridge had two large shovels and were digging a hole next to an old frangipani tree. After a while, Sandra was no longer visible and only the top of Cambridge head could be seen from the giant gape in the earth.
Ari watched as Cambridge jumped from the hole he had dug and moved over to a shadowed area. Slowly he bent down and picked something, returning a moment later with Larissa’s body cradled in his arms. Instantly Sandra began crying and Thomas moved over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder consolingly. Ari let silent tears stream down her face, not feeling that she deserved to share their misery. As Cambridge walked past her, Larissa’s frail body was thrown into view. No longer did Larissa have the air of an immortal; her hair, once blonde, was now whitish silver and her eyes, though closed, were lined with wrinkles. Cambridge didn’t look at the rest of the mourners but jumped into the grave he had dug, with Larissa still in his arms.
For a few moments he remained the grave, whispering something that Ari couldn’t hear. A great wave of sadness mingled with anger washed over Ari, and she felt the wind swell around her as if in response to this, as one of her eyes turned green while the other remained blue. For a moment the warm night air blew only around her, like a whirl wind, but then the force was pushed outwards. In response, small frangipani flowers were forced from their maker, falling slowly down from the branches to land over Larissa’s body, serenading her in gold and white blossoms.
After a while Sandra broke free of Thomas to join Cambridge in the grave. Nobody spoke, but after a moment the pair returned holding hands, but with puffy eyes that were lined with tears. Slowly Cambridge moved over to the shovel on the ground, a determined look on his face. In a second Ragon was there also, reaching for the spare shovel and then Clyde moved over to them also, relieving Cambridge of the shovel in his hands. Sandra fell to her knees as Clyde and Ragon began filling the grave just as Cambridge stood back, unable to watch his mate committed to the earth. It didn’t take long for the grave to be filled with fresh dirt and when they had finished, Clyde and Ragon stood back, so as to allow Cambridge to kneel by the edge of swelling in the earth.
“A few months ago, Larissa said that she wasn’t sure if she would have wanted to become a vampire if she had the choice again. But when she was dying,” said Sandra, standing with shaky legs to move closer to Cambridge as she lent down and reached for a handful of dirt, “Larissa told me that if she had the choice again, she would have chosen you… every time.”
At these words Ari felt a deep pain in her heart, and the tears that she had fought hard to keep quiet suddenly burst from her, as the wind blew furiously again. This time the frangipani tree shook from the disturbance, just as hundreds of small golden flowers glided down over the grave to cover it. No one was perturbed by this small miracle; rather it felt fitting… as a symbol of their loss. Cambridge reached for one of the newly fallen flowers that neatly covered the grave, and took it in his hand lovingly. He spun the flower in his hand, watching the yellow and white blend until the different coloured petals were no longer discernible. Then he stood purposefully, bawling his fists into a ball but keeping the delicate flower safe from being crushed. He didn’t look at anyone, but moved away towards the house.
“I will go with you,” said Ragon, immediately following Cambridge.
“And I,” Sandra, Clyde and Thomas said.
Ari stared in confusion at everyone. Go where? It wasn’t until Cambridge’s loud booming voice spoke that she finally understood.
“No,” roared Cambridge, “Kiara is mine.”
“Cambridge and I will go with you,” said Ragon, exerting his authority. “Everyone else can stay and watch Ari and Ryder.”
At this there was immediate uproar. Ariana too was arguing. She wanted to kill Kiara as much as everyone else, and the very last thing she wanted was for her friends to feel trapped here, unable to seek revenge because they had to babysit her. She would not be a burden to them anymore.
“I am going,” said Sandra, her normally cheerful disposition completely vanished.
“Well if Sandra is going so am I,” said Thomas, moving closer to his mate.
“And so am I,” said Ari.
Everyone turned to look at Ari.
“No,” said Sandra. “Kiara is dangerous and Larissa died protecting you; it seems a pretty poor way to repair her sacrifice, if you go out and get yourself killed.”
Had Sandra thought that these words would comfort Ari, she was horribly mistaken. It was true; Larissa had died protecting Ari, and that was something that Ari would have to live with for the rest of her life, however long that might be. Ari’s mouth was open, ready to retort, when Patrick suddenly spoke.
“I know that this isn’t really the right time for this,” he said, retrieving something from his pocket, “but Ryder and I have been summoned by the Elders.”
“What?” Clyde asked, blurring over and reaching for the envelope that Patrick held.
For a moment Clyde read the cursive writing and then said, “They’ve summoned you and Ryder?”
Patrick nodded grimly. This was the very last thing that the coven needed.
“But, why?” growled Ragon.
Patrick shrugged, but there was an alarmed look in his eyes, which gave him the appearance of an old and worried man.
“Ok… well Ryder and Patrick will go to the Elders; Cambridge and I will go find Kiara; Sandra and Thomas can stay with Ari,” said Ragon.
“I am not staying behind,” said Sandra, her voice no longer kind with her usual deep southern accent, but harsh and nasal.
“But-” Ragon began to say, until Thomas cut him off.
“If Sandra goes then so do I,” he said.
Ragon scoffed, his eyes darting from Sandra and Cambridge as he considered his options.
“Very well; Patrick and Ryder will go to the Elders, and the rest of us will go to Kiara’s,” he said finally.
Chapter 25- Exit Kiara
It was less than thirty minutes later when Ryder and Patrick left to go to the Elders, while the rest of the coven drove to Kiara’s estate. The drive was met with silence. When the group finally pulled up to Kiara’s house, they knew that something was wrong. The normally closed and ominous looking iron gates that signalled the entrance to Kiara house were open, despite the distinct feeling of emptiness about the place.
“What the hell?” Clyde said.
The group surveyed the scene and then Cambridge jumped out of the car and began running towards the front door, which was open, its hinges askew, as if the door had been ripped open.
“Wait!” Ragon roared at Cambridge, who was already blurring through the open front door and into the house.
Cambridge did not pause but kept running. Ragon reached for Ari’s hand and pulled her close, running at a human pace, before entering the house. Ari winced when Ragon grabbed her; she could still feel the pain from her surgery and tired her best to mask if from the group.
The moment they were inside, Ari looked around wildly. The large main windows in the living room, whose heavy curtains would normally have hung low so as to keep the sun out, were smashed, and there were many railings from the banister staircase that had been punched out and were lying on the floor below.
“Kiara!” screamed Cambridge.
No-one answered and after a moment’s pause, Cambridge flew up the staircase. Still being pulled by Ari, the pair followed suit. As soon as they were on the second landing, Ari gasped. In front of her, Clyde crouched down low, ready for an imminent attack, while Cambridge’s eyes darted wildly around.
In front of them, laying in several pieces was a man. His head was wedged between two remaining banisters and his arms and torso were thrown against a door, as if acting as a weight to keep it shut.
Pushing the remnants of the man aside, Ragon pushed the door. It creaked loudly, sending an eerie ringing through the quiet house. As soon as the door was open, Ari made to walk through, but Ragon quickly grabbed her hand, pulling her close back. Peering over Ragon’s shoulder, Ari looked inside. There was a chair in the centre of the room that had been pushed over and tied to it was Kiara. But it was not the Kiara that Ari recognised. Across her body were many large slash marks that had not healed, while giant pools of blood leached around her. In a second Ragon was on his knees, next to Kiara as he surveyed her. Her face, normally marbled and perfect, had begun to wrinkle and her vibrant dark eyes were dulling, as if large cataracts were whitening them.
“Is she dead?” asked Ari, moving inside the room slowly.
Ragon shook his head and said, “Dying.”
“What happened to her?” asked Ari.
To everyone’s surprise, it was Thomas who answered.
“This is an early torture technique. It is designed to be slow and painful, bleeding the vampire dry with many slices through veins and superficial arteries by a knife that is dipped in an anti-coagulant, so that the body can’t repair itself. Normally whenever a vampire was left like this, it was to send a message. Kiara had been told to do something and she had failed.”
Realising Kiara’s looming death, Cambridge paused for a moment, apparently deep in thought. Ari couldn’t help but wondered how he felt; he had been ready to kill her, but someone had beaten him to this. Slowly Cambridge moved over to a large white table, withdrew a chair similar to the one that Kiara was tied to, and sat down on it, apparently satisfied to watch her die.
At the same time Ragon began to untie the chains binding Kiara and then in a barely audible whisper, asked, “What happened?”
Ari felt a wave of jealousy and anger sweep over her.
There was a knife still stuck in Kiara’s back and Ragon went to pull it out, but was stopped by Sandra, who shook her head, her eyes alight with malice as she muttered, “Leave it.”
At these words Kiara’s eyes had flittered open, and her head rolled as she tried to focus her vision. She seemed to attempt to struggle, but then slumped into Ragon’s arms, her wide eyes settling on his face.
“Who did this?” Ragon asked again, looking down at her.
It looked as if Kiara was trying to speak but instead large bubbles of blood came from her mouth, and Sandra moved over to Cambridge, hoping for a better view, so as to watch Kiara suffer also.
“Who is after Ari?” asked Ragon.
Ari’s eyes widened; how would Kiara know who was after her and why would Ragon assume that she did?
“Why did you attack her as a baby? Who told you to do that?” pleaded Ragon. “Who did you promise that you would kill her? Why?”
Ragon was shaking Kiara now, desperate for answers to his questions.
“Twenty four years ago… I was told to kill a man and woman,” Kiara whispered, her voice ragged and as each word marked with a heavy wheeze and bloody gasps. “And so I did, and then I realised that they had a child with them; the ones who ordered me to kill them didn’t know about her… but before I could kill her also… you came along-”
“Who did this to you; why?” Ragon asked, cutting her off.
“Shok,” was all Kiara was able to say.
Thomas took in a sharp breath while Ragon stood up, letting Kiara’s body clatter to the floor un-mercilessly. He moved over to the window and pulled the large curtains open, looking out onto the grounds. Seemingly satisfied, Ragon moved back to Kiara.
“Is it Shok who is after Ari?” asked Ragon, kneeling back down to Kiara.
Kiara shook her head suddenly and her eyes became wide and livid; then she laughed manically before coughing.
“Tell me,” said Ragon, shaking her again as the white in Kiara’s eyes began to grow larger. “Why is all of this happening now? Why didn’t you tell them that it was me who had saved Ari? How have they found out now that she is alive? Did you tell them? Why do they want her? Who wants her?”
Despite her injuries, it was only now, when Ragon spoke, that Kiara finally looked hurt, as if Ragon’s words had slashed her, adding to the many slices in her body.
“I didn’t tell them you took her… because they would have killed you,” Kiara whispered hoarsely.
Ragon looked stunned for a moment and then laughed.
“Everything I have done… I did to be with you,” said Kiara, a large red bubble forming at the end of her sentence.
“You liar,” exclaimed Ragon. “Everything you have done… you’ve done to hurt me!”
It was Kiara’s turn to laugh now. It was not the same manic laugh she had made earlier, but a small quiet laugh.
“No… I’ve done everything because I love you,” she said.
Ragon looked puzzled; his eyes were creased disbelievingly then he whispered, “Then tell me who is after Ari.”
Kiara’s eyes were wide and fearful, as if she had been waiting until the point of death before she revealed this last, great secret. Ari watched as her lips parted and she clutched uselessly onto Ragon’s collar.
“The Ancients,” she whispered, and went limp in Ragon’s hands, the blood no longer seeping from her wounds.
At those words Ragon’s whol
e body tensed.
“We have to leave this place,” said Clyde, moving over to a large candle and retrieving a lighter from his pocket.
Ari watched him curiously, but soon became distracted as Sandra reached for something lying atop a dressing table. Ari couldn’t see what it was, but heard the unmistakable clinking of glass, as whatever she took, was placed into her pocket. But before Ari could ask what Sandra had taken, Ragon reached for her hand and raced her to the window. At the same time Clyde lit the candle and tipped the burning wax down the silky sheath of the curtain lining the room’s window, before dropping the candle to the floor, so that the entire curtain was ablaze. Seeing the fire, Sandra and Thomas jumped through the window quickly. Ragon had lifted Ari into his hands, about to follow them, when he looked over and realised that Cambridge had not moved.
“Come on,” said Ragon, glancing nervously at the fire that was glowing ever brighter.
“I want to wait until the light goes out in her eyes,” said Cambridge, adjusting himself in the seat so as to get comfortable, apparently unperturbed by the flames that had jumped from the burning curtains and were now licking the surrounding floor and walls.
“Come on,” Ragon said again, this time more urgently.
It was clear that Cambridge wanted to die. Breaking the silence, Ari coughed; the smoke curling from the burning curtains had wafted over to her, and she clapped her hands to her mouth, trying desperately to breathe.
“You really want to die here, next to Kiara?” Clyde said abrasively.
Ari looked over at Clyde in disbelief? What was he doing?
“Perhaps you secretly loved her too, like Sameth?” Clyde jeered.
There was no warning. One second Cambridge was staring at Kiara, watching her die, the next he was charging at Clyde, who was ready and waiting for him. Clyde’s hands clasped around Cambridge, forcing the pair to fall backwards and out of the burning house.
Ari shook her head; Clyde’s snide remarks had been said to save Cambridge’s life. She knew it would be many, many years before Cambridge realised this and forgave him. With one last look at Kiara, Ragon jumped from the burning house, Ari clutched tightly in his arms.