“I told you. He was coming back from a girl’s room when I-”
“-yea you said; he was doing the walk of shame and you just happened to run into him,” Clyde interjected, snorting loudly in disbelief.
“You don’t understand and you aren’t even listening to me.”
“Your right; why would an immortal, who has lived for hundreds of years, understand about lust,” he said. “I get it; you like Ragon and you like Chris. You just can’t decide which you like best.”
“Yea you’re right; I like Chris but only as a friend… and I love Ragon. And just because you’ve lived for centuries, doesn’t mean you have loved!”
“Oh touché, but I know of love,” he said, his brown eyes dark and sad.
Ari cocked her head to one side; there was something about Clyde that had never quite made sense. Almost as if there was a piece of his past that had forced him into a chalice monster, rather than the kind person he might have been… some event that changed him.
“What do you know?” she said, and as she leaned towards him, her eyes large and round, she hoped finally to understand what it was that made him so dark and twisty on the outside.
“You wouldn’t understand,” he jeered, and a large cheeky grin spread across his face, highlighting his amusement.
“So help me to,” she said, but instead of smiling back like she normally would have, she kept her face resolved.
Clyde reached for the small silver necklace around his chest and drew out the locket attached to it. He thumbed it in his hands, purposefully avoiding opening it as he locked eyes with Ari.
“You know, once upon a time I was just like Ragon; I was in love with a mortal,” he said, carefully replacing the locket back underneath his shirt and taking a large gulp of his drink. “Her name was…” but his voice trailed off before he could say it, “anyway, she was a lot like you. Same charismatic, carefree independence, but she was also delicate… fragile. When we met, I had been a vampire for less than a decade, and I still had most of my humanity. We had only been together for a short while when I told her what I was. I thought for sure that she would cower away from me, confirm my fears that I was beyond saving, but she didn’t. Instead she begged me to turn her into a vampire. She told me that all she wanted was to spend eternity with me. But I couldn’t do it; I didn’t want her to become a monster too. I thought that turning her into a vampire would be a travesty.”
Ari was staring at Clyde unblinking, listening to his story.
“But what happened?” she asked.
“One day, just like any other that we had spent together, I promised her that I would come and see her at sunrise. She was only 17; she lived with her father, so I had to sneak into their house in London to see her. It was the 5th of November and it was 1605; there were riots all through the streets, and it took me much longer to get to her house than what I had agreed. When I climbed through the bedroom, she was lying on her bed, and for a moment I thought that she was sleeping, but then I realised that her heart was no longer beating.” Ari took in a sharp breath. “Her lips were cold when I placed my bloodied hand to them and tried to turn her… I already knew that it was too late but I had to try. When finally I gave up, I saw that there was a vial of poison on the floor. She knew that I wouldn’t change her unless forced to, so she made the choice simple for me; but I was too late.”
Suddenly Ari felt sick. So that was why Clyde acted the way he did; he blamed himself for her death. It was as if suddenly everything she knew about him made sense. He had let a mortal into his heart and they had died. Perhaps this was why he had tried so hard to save her life last year, after Sameth had nearly killed her; Clyde had said that he wasn’t going to make the same mistake again.
“It wasn’t your fault,” whispered Ari. “That happened years ago… centuries ago. You can’t keep blaming yourself.”
Clyde chuckled, but his smile didn’t reach his eyes. Without responding he downed his glass of whiskey, finishing the last of the thick brown liquid in a single gulp as he said, “One way or another, Rebecca would have died. I would have never turned her; if she had of lived, she would have grown old and died one day. I don’t regret the time I had with her; I regret not making her a vampire. Loving a mortal is stupid; that’s why vampires don’t do it.”
“So you… you don’t think that Ragon and I should be together?”
“I think that you need to tell him the truth,” said Clyde, his dark eyes resting on Chris who was now talking with Lisa, though looking over at Ari’s and Clyde’s table. “I think that if you don’t want to be a vampire, then you should let Ragon know, so that he can move on. I can understand why you would want to be with someone who isn’t a vampire… but stringing Ragon along is not the answer. You’ll just hurt him. He still has his humanity and if he lost you… I don’t know if he still would.”
After that Clyde stood and moved over to the drink’s table. Ari watched him leave with her mouth open. How could Clyde think that she was stringing Ragon along? She loved Ragon, but something Clyde said did strike home… she had to tell Ragon the truth; she needed to tell him about Chris. Ragon meant everything to her and it wasn’t right to keep this secret from him. As she walked purposefully towards Ragon, she grabbed a drink that was sitting abandoned on a nearby table and skulled it. Instantly she felt the alcohol tingle in her blood, giving her a sense of courage.
“Great idea throwing a party for your source,” said Bridget, while Gwen nodded in agreement.
“Bring the food to us,” Gwen added. “It’s almost like ordering in.”
“Gwen,” Bridget said, trying to stop herself from laughing as her voice took on a mock serious tone, “I’m surprised at you; you are the Cruor halls student representative! You’re basically one under the Vice Chancellor.”
“Yea but there is a new Vice Chancellor, and I don’t think he is as much as a stickler as Victoria was,” said Gwen.
Ari had crept behind Ragon and listened as the three spoke. It was only when she locked eyes with Bridget, that she remembered something from the previous night. It was Bridget who had been supplying the bartender with blood candy; the blood candy that had almost ruined Sandra’s life.
“Ragon,” Ari said, inserting herself into the conversation, just as Gwen and Bridget turned around to face her.
Neither Gwen nor Bridget said happy birthday, rather they stared at Ari in confusion.
Before Ari could say anything else, Bridget had moved in closer to Ragon, saying, “Is it just this one we’re to avoid, or do you have other favourites? I know how annoying it can be to share sources, but this girl seems a bit head strong. I have plenty of sources in Delta halls if you’d like a change.”
Ari was furious; she was just about to say something when Chris appeared. He took her by the hand and pulled her away from Ragon. Ragon watched her go with mingled curiosity but did not speak. When she and Chris were out of ear shot, Chris rounded on her.
“Favourites?” said Chris, “Are you really going to let him treat you like that?”
Ari turned back wildly to look for Ragon. She wasn’t in the mood to explain her relationship to Chris, and more than anything else, she wanted to talk to Ragon, to tell him what Chris was. She didn’t want there to be any secrets between them. Gwen and Bridget were both staring at Ragon’s retreating back as he moved over to her and Chris. He looked angry and when he reached her, he grabbed her hand so quickly that she felt her bracelet clatter against his marble skin.
“What’s going on?” snarled Ragon, his eyes fixed on Chris with hatred.
“Nothing,” Ari said hurriedly, “Chris was just saying-”
“-saying that she could do a lot better than a guy who has other favourites,” Chris cut in.
Ragon’s face contorted in anger but he did not speak. He looked hurt, as if Chris’s comment had wounded him somehow. Ari glimpsed a fleeting look at his sunken eyes, where large shadows were forming underneath. In a flash his mutinous expression changed to
one of desperation. Suddenly he let go of Ari’s hand, swaggering backwards. What was wrong with him? Ari made to move after him, but before she could, Chris reached for her.
“No wait,” said Chris.
Ari watched as Ragon raced for the door, threw it open and disappeared into the night.
“Let go,” she said, turning to Chris and pulling herself free, chasing after Ragon.
“Ari, he’s using you,” Chris said, racing after her.
Ari ran straight for the door, throwing it open and feeling the cold night air press down all around her.
“Ari, wait,” said Chris; he had caught up with her and once again reached for her hand.
Ari was too quick. She pulled her hand out of reach and glared at him.
“Look. I know what you said… I know you said that Ragon isn’t lulling you, but that doesn’t mean that he should treat you-”
But Chris’s words were cut off midsentence; Ari had thrown up her hands and stopped time. She watched as the expression on Chris’s face froze and she spun around, looking again for any sign of Ragon. She could still hear the music from her party and it disorientated her, as though someone was screaming in her ear, trying to make her loose her concentration. Reaching for her phone she called Ragon, but he did not answer. How could this be happening? She had been ready to tell him everything. Without waiting for Chris to unfreeze, Ari darted off into the darkness, determined to find Ragon and make everything right.
She wasn’t sure how long she spent looking for him. She had all but given up when she suddenly felt herself begin to shake. Clutching her chest, Ari felt the ground move and doubled over, falling to crumple onto her knees. Looking around, she watched as ominous shadows danced in front of her, until, from the darkness, they formed an image… a premonition. In her vision she saw Ragon, running past the vampire library towards the rear entrance, taking the same path that she and Ryder had when they had broken in to read the vampire chronicles. He was staggering as he ran, clutching at his arm and fumbling over his feet, as if he was hurt. But how could he be? She had seen him only a few minutes ago. What was going on?
Without sparing a moment’s thought about the meaning behind her premonition, Ari got gingerly to her feet and began racing towards the vampire library, desperate to find Ragon. She moved as fast as she could in the shadowed moonlight, navigating between the poorly pruned hedges along the side of the vampire library, until she finally reached the clearing from her vision. Just ahead of her she could hear harsh voices and tiptoed closer, trying to make out the image of a person standing near a large gnarled tree.
“I am doing this for her. Ari is my friend. You think I am an idiot? I saw the bite marks on her; you’re using her as your source. You think I am going to let her turn out like Greg, and all the other poor humans your kind have killed?”
There was a muffled reply that was too faint to make out, and so Ari inched closer still, hiding in the shadows of the library. It wasn’t until the moon moved from its cloud cover and the scene was brought into focus, that she saw who had spoken.
“You’re a vampire; how could I believe that you want to protect her?” said Lea.
Air’s mind was chaotic; how did Lea know about vampires? Peering past the bushes, she tried to see who Lea was talking to. Thick shadows cast from the vampire library, hid the stranger from sight. Throwing caution to the wind, Ari inched closer and her stomach coiled into a tight knot. Bound and semi-unconscious was Ragon.
“NO!” screamed Ari, racing over to the gnarled tree Ragon was chained to. “Lea, why are you doing this?”
“Ari you don’t understand,” Lea said, seemingly surprised to see her. “He’s a monster.”
Ari didn’t bother replying. Her trembling fingers had already reached for Ragon and she panted hard, trying frantically to release him. But it wasn’t chains that bound him; the twisted branches of the old tree had wound around his arms and legs, holding him firmly in place. How was that possible? How could the tree bend to hold him in place like this?
Before she could even begin pulling at the strange branches, Lea had raced over and grasped Ari’s hand, pulling her away. Ari fell to her knees and began crawling back towards Ragon again, this time battling against the contorted tree roots that had twisted up his legs. As she did so, Ari noticed that the bark of the tree was strangely coloured; thick silver lines ran up the length of it, making it almost appear jewelled. These long glittering trails glowed fiercely, like phosphorescent along a sandy beach at night.
No matter how hard Ari pulled, the branches did not give and Ragon remained hanging, his head bowed low as the tree wrapped tighter around his arms, which took the full weight of his body, while his feet remained fastened by the trees roots.
“Ariana,” Lea said, reaching for Ari again.
“Don’t touch me,” she hissed, pushing Lea away again and re-doubling her efforts to break the strange, silver branches. “What are you? Why are you doing this? Ragon hasn’t hurt you!”
“Please, just listen to me. Ragon is a vampire; he has tricked you into letting him steal blood from you, but you mean nothing to him. You are just his source.”
“That’s a lie,” Ari spat.
“It’s not a lie; it’s what they do. The charm I gave you tonight wards off vampires and when he touched you…”
But Lea had stopped talking; Ari had looked up at her in astonishment. Without pausing, Ari ripped the tiny charm from her bracelet and threw it to the ground. Looking down at the retched gift, Ari realised that the strange silver and wooden globe mirrored the tree before her exactly, and suddenly she understood why Ragon had looked so sickly when he raced away from her earlier. His hand had brushed against the charm bracelet; somehow it had poisoned him. But how had Lea done this?
“I know Ragon is a vampire… but he is a good one,” said Ari. Lea’s eyebrows rose in disbelief and so she went on, “He saved me, more than once, and he doesn’t feed off me.”
Lea did not speak but reached for Ari’s hand, pointing to the scar on her wrist, just above where her bracelet sat.
“When you told me that your boyfriend lived in Cruor, I knew he must be a vampire. I saw the bite marks and-”
“-that was an accident from when we first met; he was dying. He didn’t know what he was doing,” Ari said, cutting Lea off.
“He’s just commanding you to think that. That’s what they do!”
“He’s not. Vampire toxin doesn’t work on me the same way it does other people; vampires can’t control me,” Ari pleaded.
“What do you mean?”
Ari rolled her eyes, looking from Ragon and back to Lea. She knew she had no hope in hell of releasing Ragon without Lea’s help. Her best chance was reasoning with Lea.
“When a vampire bites me, it doesn’t do anything except hurt like hell.”
At these words Ragon opened his blood shot eyes; slowly he raised his head.
“Run,” he whispered. “She’s a witch.”
As he spoke, one of Ari’s eyes turned green, just as she felt the rush of wind around her face. It was frosty and terribly strong, but just as soon as it had come, it stopped. Her horrified eyes looked up at Lea, who was frozen, and then she looked back at Ragon, who remained slumped but quit still; she had just stopped time.
Desperate now, Ari dug her fingernails into the bark that was wound against Ragon’s flesh, trying to pry it away, even grasping a rock and smashing at the roots, but it was to no avail. She glanced around for help, until she remembered that her phone was in her pocket and quickly grabbed it, dialling Thomas’s number. She waited anxiously but he did not pick up; the rings of the phone seemed to scream in the quiet forest, ticking down the time that she had before Lea would un-freeze. Clyde, she thought; it wasn’t until the fourth ring that he finally picked up.
“What’s up?” he asked casually. “Calling me to listen to another sappy sto-”
“-Clyde thank god. You have to help me. Ragon is trapped-” Ari began, but she
was cut off when Lea suddenly unfroze and snatched the phone out of her hand.
“What are you?” Lea asked.
“What am I?” asked Ari, “What are you… I thought you were supposed to be my friend.”
“I am; that’s why I’m doing this.”
Ari shook her head angrily, redoubling her efforts to break Ragon free.
“Don’t bother; you’ll just hurt yourself,” said Lea, moving over to Ragon and running a finger along one of the branches that was wound around his wrist. “Do you know what type of tree this is? Its hawthorn, and when hawthorn is mixed with silver it becomes a powerful anti-vampiric agent. He is paralysed and naught but a witch can undo the binding.”
Ari stared at Lea; her red curly hair was wild around her face, giving her an almost demonic appearance.
“It is our job to protect innocents from vampires,” Lea added.
Blood Hunter (The Grandor Descendant Series) Page 22