A Dark Night (Book One of The Grandor Descendant series) (39 page)

William seem
ed to melt under Sandra’s touch and he smiled at her saying, “If what you say is true and they could not have committed the murders, then of course they would be free to go.”

“But how can you prove that Ryder was a mortal when the girls were killed?”
asked Nikolas.

“You will not trust our testimony?” Clyde asked rudely
, raising an eyebrow.

“We require a witness,”
said Nikolas, smiling with snarled fangs.

“What about Ariana?”
William asked, turning away from Sandra so that his greedy eyes rested on Ari.

“What about Ari?” Ragon
said, moving away from Ryder so that he was back at her side, his fangs now beared.

“She is mortal
; we can question her and find out when Ryder was turned,” said William, as Nikolas advanced on her.

“R
yder was made the night of your Halloween Party,” Ari said quickly.

Nikolas laughed
but continued to walk towards her, saying, “I am afraid that we will require more than just your word.”

“Ragon
, you would be wise to step back; you know that valuing mortal life above an immortal is sacrilege and punishable by the final death law,” William said warningly.

“She is mine,” Ragon replied
protectively, while Clyde moved closer to them also.

“And
we have allowed you to keep her, but you will not stand in the way of our inquiry,” said Nikolas. “We must be sure. One bite and she will be under our command, and we will be able to question her and be sure that what she says is true.”

“No,”
Ragon roared.

But it was too late
; before he or Clyde could so much as move, Nikolas was at her side, taking her hand almost lovingly in his as he bit down. She felt the pricking sensation first; then a sharp pain coursed through her veins. This was not what she had expected and she clenched her teeth, wishing that the numbing sensation that was supposed to be spreading throughout her body, as she had seen many times before, would hurry up and relieve her. But this calming sensation never came and she stood in agony, as one of her eyes went green while the other remained blue. Next to her, Clyde and Thomas were restraining Ragon, his arms lashing out to desperately to try and reach her. 

After a moment Nikolas seemed happy that he had taken enough blood. Withdrawing his fangs, he wiped his mouth on his shirt and walked away. At the same time Thomas and Clyde released Ragon, and he raced to Ari, bandaging her wrist tightly with a fragment of his shirt. Ari knew what was coming; Nikolas was about to bind her to his will. She would be forced to answer anything he asked, do whatever he wanted. She was hoping and praying that he would only ask her when Ryder had been made. Any further questions could be very dangerous, not only for her, but also for the rest of the coven.

“Now,”
said Nikolas, licking his lips as he concentrated hard on Ari.

Ari stood still, watching him intently. She was waiting for an
y intrusion into her mind, and then she heard something inside her head, and knew that it was Nikolas:

W
hen did Ryder become a vampire?

For a moment she considered her answer, “Just after th
e Halloween Party,” she said.

Nikol
as looked a little disappointed but moved closer to Ari:

A
nd who was it that attacked you my dear?

A
riana had been waiting for this and her eyes, one still coloured green, glanced nervously over to Ragon and Clyde, who both looked worried. For a few moments she hesitated, certain that her body would betray her and answer Nikolas truthfully.

When she knew that she could no longer remain quiet, she looked up at Nikolas and said,
“I don’t know. I never saw their face.”

The confusion t
hat plastered her face was mirrored by Clyde and Ragon, and indeed the rest of the coven. At her answer Nikolas had blinked a few times, clearly disappointed, but he did not argue. Instead he walked over to the chains, from which Patrick and Ryder hung, and slashed at them, causing both men to fall heavily to the ground, as the metallic binds cluttered next to them.

“Bronson!”
roared William.

Instantly a young man, no older than
seventeen, raced down the stairs and moved over to William and bowed.

“You will offer yourself to these guests,”
said William, indicating the frail bodies of Patrick and Ryder, who were now crumpled on the floor. “They may need your help to encourage them.”

Bronson moved over to Ryder first, sitting h
imself on the floor next to him and cradling Ryder’s heavy body into his arms. He held Ryder’s head lovingly and directed his mouth towards his wrist. As soon as Ryder heard the gently whoosh of blood from within its artery, he struck. The smell of blood seemed to awaken Patrick, who crawled over to Bronson also and clamped two fangs into his thigh, drinking hungrily from his femoral artery. Ari looked away instantly, unable to watch.

“Well Ryder and Patrick,”
said William, as soon as they had drunk their fill, “we seem to have been mistaken. You may go.”

The coven and Ari left quickly after that; Thomas helping Patrick while Clyde supported Ryder. The Elders waved them farewell from the front entrance as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred at all. As soon as they were back on the road, Ragon turned around in his seat to face Ari, a look of absolute confusion plastered on his face. Looking around, Ari realised that it was not just Ragon who was looking at her in such a way. Sandra and Thomas were eyeing her apprehensively and Clyde, who was in the driver’s seat, was watching her with narrowed eyes from the rear view mirror.

“What?” she asked.

“How did you do that?” said Ragon.

“You mean lie to Nikolas?” she asked
, looking around. “I didn’t really do anything. When he asked me who attacked me… I just lied.”

“But you shouldn’t have been able to,”
said Clyde.

Ari knew that;
she had seen the other mortals become mindless slaves after they had been bitten, but there was nothing commanding about Nikolas before or after he had bitten her. True, she was terrified of him and she was fearful for her friend’s lives, but he had no control over her.

“I am sure there are plenty of mortals who can resist a vampire lull,” Ari said thoughtfully, but Clyde shook his head quickly.

“No, there aren’t. When vampire toxin gets into the blood, it paralyses the neurons, giving the owner of the toxin control over its victim for as long as the poison remains in the system,” said Clyde. “When the toxin spreads throughout the nervous system, the victim had no choice but to submit. Only fledglings are incapable of doing this, but an Elder like Nikolas would be able to command any mortal he chooses.”      

“But Ragon told me that he could control me after he bit me,” said Ari, recalling how Ragon had attacked her when he had been dying.

Ragon was shaking his head slowly, as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. “No. I never tried to control you, so I don’t know if I would have been able to or not.”

“S
o what does that mean?” asked Ari.

“Well for one thing, I think we can add resist vampire toxin to your expanding cred
entials,” said Ragon.

“
And we have another reason why the Ancients would want you dead,” said Clyde.

“What
, why?” asked Ari.

“T
he only reason that vamps are allowed to have humans as sources and not kill them afterwards, is because we can command them at any point to forget everything, or to do whatever we want. If anyone knew that there was a mortal who was able to resist our lull, then that could be very dangerous for vampires,” said Clyde.

The silence in the car seemed to stretch on forever.

Finally Clyde broke it by asking,
“Where am I driving to?” 

Ragon, who was deep in thought next to him in the front seat, suddenly reach
ed for his phone and dialled a number quickly.

“Hi Bert, can we be ready
to leave tonight?” Ragon said into the phone, and then waited for a reply. “Excellent; shall we say one hour? I know its short notice; don’t worry… you will be compensated.”

Everyone in the car was watching Ragon when he replaced his phone in his pocket.

“What the hell was that all about?” asked Clyde, unable to hide his curiosity.

“I think Ari
was right,” said Ragon. “We need to find out what it is about her that is making her a target, and I think we should start by going to the UK and tracing her lineage. Everyone is welcome, but I will understand if you decide not to come. I have asked much of everyone here already, and it is clear that Ari is capable of looking after herself.”

“Count me in,” said Clyde, not bothering to consider
Ragon’s words as he nodded enthusiastically, “I was getting sick of all this sunshine; it’s making me miserable.”

Slowly everyone in the car nodded also and Ari sat back against the chair, her heart a little lighter
; she was going to find out who she was.

Epilogue

When they were home, Ragon rounded on Ari.

“Ari my love,” he said, and Ari looked up to see Crystal in his arms. She was asleep- her large jowls sprawled over Ragon’s muscular arms as she snored loudly. “We can’t bring her with us. There is no place for a dog in our life right now and I know how much it would hurt you if anything happened to her.”

Ari tried not to think as she cried. Perhaps sensing her pain, Crystal’s ears pricked up and Ari reached for her, placing her into her lap as she traced a finger from her forehead to her nose, so that a small line formed in her fur.

“I’m sorry,
” said Ragon. “I can pay for her to be looked after at a kennel,” he began, but Ari shook her head.

“I
have a favour to ask,” she said.

“Yes
.”

“
But I haven’t asked you yet,” she said, smiling lightly.

“It doesn’t
matter; whatever you ask of me I will do.”

“Give me a break,” Clyde
yelled from the living room, but Ari and Ragon ignored him.

“Can we go to your family Mausoleum?”
she asked. “And… and about Crystal- I want to give her to Lee.”

The moment Ragon had said that they needed to find someone to care for Crystal, Officer Lee Ryans
face popped into her head. She pictured his short blond hair and dark eyes, and remembered how she had joked with him, saying that the cocker spaniel he had owned had his eyes, as if she were his child and not a pet. Ari didn’t know how she knew it, but she was sure that would keep Crystal. Lee was kind, he was good, and his life was as far away from all the madness which was constant in Ari’s. 

“Lee?” said Ragon.

“Officers Ryans,” said Ari, reaching for Ragon’s wallet and retrieving the small business card that had the policeman’s home address and after-hours mobile number written on the bottom.

It didn’t take long for the coven to pack. Ari had gathered Crystal’s toys, her food, and a large bed that she had ordered off the internet, and was finally ready to leave.

“You’re going to be better off with Lee,” she said,
and Crystal’s large brown eyes stared up sadly, so that Ari had to try hard not to look at them and feel guilty.

When they finally reached Lee’s house, Ari had settled Crystal in her bed on the front door and atta
ched a note, explaining that Crystal needed a new home. Fresh tears welled in her eyes as she bent down and said goodbye.

“I love you,” she whispered, and Crystal nudged her hand, wanting her to continue patting her. “You will be safe with Lee. You can’t come to Britain; I don’t want you getting hurt too.”

“You’re doing the right thing,” said Ragon, reaching down and patting Crystal also.

“This… this must have been how you felt when you left me at the orphanage,” said Ari, trying to hide her teary face.

Ragon smiled, turned to look up at Ari and said, “You’re right- I felt like I was giving you a second chance.”

Quickly Ari hugged Crystal
and before she could change her mind, reached for Ragon’s phone and sent a message to Lee, saying that there was something waiting for him outside his house.

The coven watc
hed from the car as Lee raced to his front door, opened it and saw Crystal. Instantly Ari knew that she had done the right thing. Crystal would never replace the dog that Lee had lost, but they both needed each other. Lee was no longer wearing his police uniform, but a pair of track pants and a white t-shirt. Had Ari not been so sad at loosing Crystal, she might have thought that he was handsome, but as it was, she saw only the white bundle of fur that Lee had picked up. For a moment Lee looked around, confused, but then he smiled, reached down and read Crystal’s name tag and the pair went back inside.

“I have one more favour to ask,” said Ari, as Clyde started the car.

Ragon smiled at her, simply nodding his head and waiting.

“My parent’s grave,” she said sheepishly, “before we go I want to visit them.”

I
t was fifteen minutes later when Clyde drove down the steep driveway of the Toowong Cemetery. The moment Ari had seen the tall iron gates that signified the entrance of the graveyard, a shiver ran up her spine and her stomach dropped. She had nothing but horrifying memories of this place, but she knew that she needed to brave it in order to say goodbye to her parents.

Ariana had spent her entire life wondering what had happened to them
and why she had been abandoned on the door steps of the Grace Valley Orphanage twenty-four years ago. This year she had discovered the painful truth; that they had been killed by a vampire. But she didn’t know why; nor did she know why the Ancients, the most powerful vampires that existed, wanted her dead also. Those answers lay in her family tree.

“Do you want me to leave you alone for a moment?”
asked Ragon, when it was just the pair of them outside his family tomb.

Ari nodded. The moment that she had stepped through the cemetery
, small tears had begun to fall from her eyes and trace their way down her face. She didn’t want to alert Ragon to this, so kept her silence as she stepped into the tomb, trying hard to position her hair so that it hid her face from sight.

The moment Ari placed her foot on the cold brick floors she knew exactly what she needed to do. The tomb was cast by
many eerie shadows, all borne from the moon whose light only just managed to creep through the door and into Ragon’s family mausoleum. Reaching out a shaking hand, Ari found the familiar crypt in the centre of the room and traced her fingers along the names she knew were etched there-
Bridget and George Hutton
.

“Goodbye mum and dad,” she
whispered.