Blood Hunter (The Grandor Descendant Series)

by Stoires, Bell

  “You look recharged,” said Ari, her eyes tracing Ragon’s pale flesh, where a few pink scars were already beginning to heal and turn into a pale white.

  Before Ragon could respond, Lea stepped forwards. She was looking uncomfortable, staring at all the vampires as her eyes traced the meshwork of healing tissue, relic of their fight with the blood hunter.

  “When vampires hunt here,” said Lea, choosing her words carefully, “do you… I mean do they kill their prey?”

  Every one of the vampires stopped to stare at her. Even Ari was looking at her with her mouth open.

  “That seems a strange question,” Ragon said finally. “And it’s a strange time to ask it.”

  “Yea,” said Ari, “Ragon and the coven just helped us defeat that monster. They almost died doing it; it’s not like they want to have to drink blood. It’s the only way they can survive. Does this have something to do with your circle… why they called you earlier to meet with them?”

  Lea didn’t respond at first. She was watching Riley, who had moved to stand defensively in front of Clyde, her eyes narrowed. Riley was nodding vigorously at Ari, clearly in agreement of Ari’s defence of the vampires.

  “Yes,” said Lea, turning to face Ari. “My circle wanted to meet because another human has gone missing. Up until recently, like the past few months, there haven’t really been any disappearances or deaths at the Pasteur Institute. We were under the impression that the vampires here weren’t allowed to kill sources; we thought that the Vice Chancellor stopped anything like that happening. And,” she went on, taking a meaningful look at Sandra, “there has been a lot of blood candy floating around. It seems as if there isn’t anyone policing it. I assumed that the blood hunter might have had something to do with the disappearances, but he’s dead and this latest human went missing only a few hours ago. ”

  “So what?” asked Ryder, advancing on Lea. “You think we are going around and killing humans? You think we just slaughtered a heap of them after the blood hunter drained us of all out strength?”

  “Well,” said Lea, colouring up, “it’s not like it is a huge stretch of the imagination. You are vampires; it is what you do.”

  “And I suppose no witch has ever done anything evil before?” said Ryder, “You know… like handing Ari over to the Ancients or-”

  “-that’s enough,” said Sandra, when Lea had sworn under breath. “We can’t start fighting between ourselves. There are going to be a lot of enquires about what has happened to the last two Vice Chancellors; we need to stick together. And the witches are obviously uneasy, that means that they will be on the guard too. I don’t know anything about these missing humans but Lea has a point; there is a lot of blood candy around and there isn’t anyone really doing anything about it. I should know; I kept thinking that someone would find out I was using and punish me, but no one seemed to care. Not Bridget or Gwen and they were one under the Vice Chancellor. And then there are the waeres. Riley’s pack may have left but if any vampire or wraith finds out that they aren’t extinct…” Sandra’s voice trailed off as she stared at every face in the clearing. “The point is, we need to be united if we want to get through all of this. No more snide remarks… we have to trust each other.”

  Lea took a step back from Ryder and nodded.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, “I didn’t mean that… well, what I meant is-”

  “-its fine,” said Ryder, “I know what you meant.”

  “In answer to your question,” said Ragon, moving towards Lea, “it’s forbidden to kill sources here; it’s not punishable by the Final Death Laws but it’s not allowed. There are too many vampires and the Ancients want us to remain in the shadows. If there were disappearances it would draw attention to us. The Pasteur Institution was not created to provide a substitute lunch room. If there are humans going missing and it is vampires behind it, then they would have a lot of explaining to do, not just to the witches but also to the Elders.”

  “But,” Ari added, noticing the hole in Ragon’s argument, “there isn’t an Elder here anymore. Victoria is dead and now Jack is too.”

  At the mention of Victoria, Thomas’s eyes grew watery and Sandra squeezed his hand for support.

  “But we’re the only ones who know there isn’t an Elder here right now,” said Clyde.

  “And the wraith,” added Ragon, chancing a glance at Chris.

  “You think he has already told the Ancients?” asked Thomas.

  “But he’s Chris’s father,” interrupted Riley.

  “Oh, don’t let that fool you,” said Chris. “We may be related but he is no dad.”

  “But,” said Lea, “if it were just as simple as vampires wanting more blood, or perhaps a fledgling that had lost control, then why would the humans be disappearing? Wouldn’t it make more sense for there to be a heap of bodies?”

  “That’s true,” said Clyde, “everyone knows that the Pasteur hospital in town is a front for any vampires who steps over the line. We were told by Gwen on our first day here that if we damaged a human then we could just take them there and it would all be sorted out. Why would someone go to the trouble of getting rid of bodies, when the hospital is there specifically to dispel any suspicious deaths?”

  “Clyde’s right,” Ragon added, seeing the concerned look on Lea’s face, “if a person goes missing there are search parties, interviews, a full police response… but if a person is killed by a bear or whatever, there isn’t any investigation.”

  Ari nodded her head in confusion; she couldn’t help but feel as if there might be some sort of alternative motive to the missing humans, though she couldn’t think what that might be. If it was as simple as a vampire losing control or just wanting more blood, then why would they go to the extremes of making the bodies disappear? It didn’t make sense. Ari thought about what Chris had told her earlier, about having heard someone speaking to him on the other side. Chris had said that the voice had told him he needed to control the shadows. As she thought about this, she remembered her visit to Lea’s grandmother’s house. There had been something that Chiara had said which didn’t sit right with Ari. It was not just the riddled premonition, but also the mention of the missing students on campus and something else… something that Jack had said about a farm. None of it made sense and yet all of these thoughts swarmed in Ari’s mind, tangling together to form a web of confusion.

  “Well,” said Chris, moving forwards as he looked at Riley, “I think, if we aren’t keeping secrets anymore, then there are a few things that should probably come out of the closet… starting with the fact that I am not a waere; I am a wraith.”

  Riley looked surprised for only a second then said, “I did notice that your transformation seemed to be particularly painful. Most waeres morph into animals without discomfort, but you look agonised. Also, I did wonder why you always seemed to choose a husky to morph into. Not exactly the best animal to choose during a fight.”

  “What!” said Chris, his tone sarcastic, “you don’t think I am a ferocious beast as a husky? So… so you really don’t mind?”

  Riley laughed and added, “If I am dating a vampire, I can hardly be anti-wraith. I’m not saying I will go out and buy a support the wraiths badge, but you aren’t that bad.”

  Chris nodded in appreciation while Clyde beamed at Riley. Riley however, was not looking at either boys; her large brown eyes had settled on Ari, and Ari thought she knew what was coming next.

  “Why can Ari do those things?” said Riley, “She can’t just be a witch. I have never heard of a witch who could do what she can.”

  Ari sighed; now was the time for her to admit not just to Riley, but to Ragon and the rest of the coven, what she had found out in Lea’s grandmother’s house; now was the time for her to tell them what her destiny was.

  “I’m the Grandor descendant,” Ari admitted. “When we went to Marblehead in Massachusetts, Lea’s grandmother told me about my ancestors; I’m not just descended from a witch but from the first witch, an
immortal called Grandor. It’s my destiny to protect the innocent from vampires… it’s my destiny to kill vampires.”

  There was a long silence that followed this. Ari looked sheepishly around at the rest of the vampires in the clearing, until her eyes finally fell on Ragon. He did not look distraught or even surprised; rather there was a grim sort of determination in his eyes, almost Ari thought, as if he had known all along.

  “I wanted to tell you sooner,” she said quickly, “but with everything that was happening, I didn’t want you to be afraid.”

  “Well,” said Ragon, reaching for Ari and intertwining their fingers together, “Ariana Sol… my girlfriend, the Grandor descendant. Talk about a match made in heaven.”

  “It’s a good thing we’re friends; I wouldn’t want to be a vampire that crosses you,” said Clyde. “We are friends… right?”

  Ari’s heart beamed. Ragon was not cowering away from her, nor were the other coven members. And so she finally knew why she had been targeted by the Ancients as a baby… she was the Grandor descendant. Her mind trailed back to the strange mark that had appeared on her palm at Lea’s grandmother’s house. At the same time she thought of the book she had seen in Marblehead, not the one detailing the blood hunter curse, but the one titled ‘Known Immortals.’ The symbol on her palm had been in this book; she had been too preoccupied with finding a way to kill the blood hunter, but now, after admitting her destiny to the group in front of her, she couldn’t help but wonder if there might be information about what it meant to be the Grandor Descendant in that book.

  There was still so much she didn’t know, but none of that mattered right now. She had Ragon and the coven, not to mention a witch, waere and wraith by her side.

  ****

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