Bound (The Grandor Descendant Series Book 3) (27 page)

“I know that you took a beating today but do you need to litter my room with these,” said Riley, reaching for the three empty blood bags and throwing them into a bin.

“I did not take a beating,” Ragon said, undignified.

Instinctively Ari looked at Ragon’s neck. There was no longer any indication of the trauma the EDTA rope had caused, rather the skin around it was just as perfect as the rest of him. Clearly the blood had done wonders to heal him.

“Oh I am sorry; did you hit Gwen and her band of bamboos with your head?” Clyde asked, just as Thomas let out a laugh.

There was the smallest hint of a growl from Ragon but he did not argue any further.

“So, this James Frater is a bit of a conundrum, hey,” said Ryder.

“I don’t know what he is but he sure as hell is no vampire,” Ari said. “And, he didn’t freeze.”

“What?” Thomas asked. “What do you mean?”

“When Gwen charged at Ragon, I stopped time so I could move him out of the way, but I couldn’t do it by myself. I thought that Gwen was going to kill him and then James Frater… he, he helped me, while you were all frozen.”

“But how?” asked Ryder. “Do you think you selectively unfroze him or do you think he is immune to your powers?”

“I don’t know!” Ari exclaimed. “I have only been able to selectively unfreeze someone once, when we were in Latvia, being held captive by the Ancients. I have tried since then but I have never been able to do it.”

“Maybe it means your powers are growing?” Sandra suggested.

“I don’t know,” said Ari. “He didn’t seem surprised by what I could do.”

“But you said he was with the Ancients, that must mean that he knows you aren’t a normal girl,” Ryder countered.

“What I don’t get,” said Thomas, “is why, if he knew what you are capable of, did he not sentence Ragon and you to death? And why he helped Ragon when Gwen was about to kill him? I thought that the Ancients wanted you both dead.”

Slowly Ari nodded her head. James had become a complete mystery to her. How had he unfrozen? Why had he helped them? Why had he lied and said that he didn’t know what Ari could do?

“And why would the Ancients send someone who isn’t a vampire to run the school?” asked Thomas, jumping to his feet and pacing around the room.

“I wish I knew more about what it means to be a stupid Grandor descendant,” said Ari, more to herself than anyone else. “If I could control my powers then the Ancients wouldn’t be able to threaten us anymore.”

“Yea,” said Ryder, smiling, “you could bust out a sun storm every time a vampire annoyed you.”

“Maybe you should speak with Lea’s grandmother again?” suggested Thomas. “It was her who told you that you were a Grandor Descendant, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t know,” said Ari, recalling when she had met with Chiara. “I mean, yea, she was the one who told me about my destiny, but she didn’t seem like she was all there. She kept speaking in riddles. But she did have a book in her collection which mentioned the Grandor legend,” Ari added, remembering the strange book entitled ‘known immortals.’ “There might be more information about my ancestors in it. I didn’t really get much time to peruse it. There were more important things going on at the time.”

“Maybe,” said Riley, chewing on her bottom lip as she glanced nervously around the room, “maybe we should ask Natalie if she knows why James didn’t freeze?”

Blank faces stared back at Riley, until Ari spoke.

“What?” she said. “I don’t understand. Why would Natalie know anything?”

“Well, your powers don’t work on waeres when they are in animal form, right?” said Riley, just as Ari nodded, “But, when you tried to freeze me while I was in my human form, you couldn’t,” again Ari nodded, though this time a little slower. “And, Natalie was able to tell us things about my pregnancy, like how the father of the baby must not be a waere, because I can’t shift… so maybe she knows a reason why you can’t freeze me now, even while I am in my human form?”

Ari stared blankly at Riley; that made no sense at all. How could a waere girl know anything at all about her Grandor magic?

“Are you serious?” asked Clyde, looking at Riley as if she were insane and had just broken out of an asylum. “There is a new Vice Chancellor on campus, and you want to run around chasing down the one thing we know they are after, even though you just happen to be one yourself?”

“I just thought,” Riley admitted, “that if we found Natalie, she might be able to help, and maybe,” she added, her cheeks flushing, “maybe she would be able to give us some advice on this baby. She seemed to know so much; maybe I am not the first waere to have a baby with a vampire?”

Sandra smiled knowingly at Riley and said, “Oh Riley honey, I know you are scared, but we won’t let anything happen to you, or the baby. I’m sure you miss being able to shift and being with other waeres, but it’s just too dangerous right now for you to be around them. Not with the vampires on campus and everyone on high alert for waeres.”

“And, from what James was saying about that stupid hockey match, there might be more vampires coming to the campus,” Thomas added.

“It was strange the way he spoke about that. Wasn’t it?” said Ryder. “One minute he held Ari’s and Ragon’s life in his hands, and the next, he was announcing that Gwen had organised some stupid sports event.”

“A hockey tournament?” said Sandra, “Why would vampires travel here for a hockey game?”

“It was all very strange,” said Ragon, nodding in agreement.

Ari, who had stopped thinking about James, was once again looking at Riley. Ari should have realised why Riley really wanted to find Natalie. It had nothing to with why James had not frozen; she wanted to know more about her miraculous pregnancy.

Clyde moved over to Riley and kissed her on the cheek.

He too seemed to be thinking about this, because he said, “We’ll get through this together.”

“So, does this mean that we are staying here?” asked Riley, looking up at Clyde as she took the plastic bag out of her rubbish bin and tied a knot into it, throwing Ragon’s left over blood bags away.

“You can’t leave,” said Sandra. “We’re safer together, besides, Riley can’t shift into an animal. What chance is there of anyone finding out that she is a waere?”

“Sandra’s right,” Thomas said, “besides, if you leave now it will look suspicious.”

“I know,” said Sandra, racing over to Riley, “I will throw you a baby shower.”

“Oh… a baby shower; how adorable,” purred Ryder, clapping his hands together in excitement.

At the exact same time, Clyde growled, but before he could respond, Riley spoke again, “I think your right; we have to stay here. Besides, I don’t think that I am supposed to fly while being pregnant.”

Ari smiled at Riley, wondering if, like all the other things she had come to learn about being pregnant, she had read this on the internet.

“No,” said Clyde, glaring at Sandra. “We’re not leaving, but no baby shower! We don’t need to draw any unwanted attention to the fact that waeres not only exist, but there is one living in Omega halls and she happens to be pregnant with a vampire’s child.”

Riley looked down at her stomach and Sandra nodded obediently, though there was a mischievous look in her eyes that told Ari the idea of throwing Riley a baby shower, was most definitely not over with.

Chapter 11- Love me Not

The next morning uncharacteristically warm rays shone through Ari’s bedroom window and blanketed her face, waking her instantly. She had felt the gentle heat of the sunshine and smiled, realising that not only had the rain stopped but the sun was shining in its place. It took her a moment to realise why the sunlight splashing across her face had left her heart racing, then she jumped to her feet, her eyes scanning the room for Ragon.

Looking down, Ari saw that there was a note for her on the dressing room table:

‘Morning my love, will be staying inside today. Come see me if you get bored. Ragon’

It was the first day in months since Ragon had been forced to remaining indoors, hiding inside Cruor halls, where the UV protective glass kept him safe from the sun. Ordinarily the weather on the Isle of Man was conducive to vampires walking around during the day, but not on days like today. Today there was only one thing to do, and Ari moved to her wardrobe, reaching to the very back as she pulled out a long maxi dress. She smiled at the peachy fabric, letting the silk run through her fingers before throwing it on. She hadn’t worn a dress like this since… since before she had moved to England.

Matching her outfit with a white jacket and cute ballet shoes, Ari grabbed her bag of books and raced from her room, eager to get to the cafeteria before her first class. 

“You look radiant,” said Lea, waving for Ari to join her at a table.

Ari smiled and moved to sit beside Lea, the loose fabric of her dress flowing out as she glided through the mess hall. As she took the first bite of her toast, Ari noticed that she was by no means the only one to be donning summer attire. There were many girls dressed in singlet shirts so as to show off their pale shoulders, while a few had even been adventurous enough to wear shorts.

“You got much on today?” asked Ari. “We should lie in the sun after class!”

“Can’t, the circle wants to meet later. Apparently another student has gone missing.”

“What!” Ari said, coughing as she choked on a wedge of bread.

“Yea, I told my gran about it and she’s really worried.”

“Shit,” Ari said, “is there anything I can do?”

Lea looked across the table sceptically, then her eyes became dull and unfocused, finally she looked up at Ari and said, “Actually, you have premonitions of the future, right?”

“Yea, but I have no control over when they come or what they are about. They just pop into my head now and then.”

“What if,” said Lea, whispering low as she leaned over her bowl of cereal, so as to provoke a private conversation, “what if I were able to put a spell on you that would open your mind up to clairvoyant vibrations?”

“What vibrations?”

“It means that you would be more susceptible to being able to see into the future. Maybe we could give you some of the missing students’ photographs or personal possessions and you might be able to see something?”

“I don’t know,” Ari said, “seems like a long shot.”

“Well, it’s the only shot we’ve got.”

Ari nodded firmly, then, thinking about the new Vice Chancellor, added, “Oh, and just so you know, we met the guy the Ancients sent to be the new Vice Chancellor. His name is James Frater.”

“What’s he like?” asked Lea.

“Like no one I have ever seen before, except I have seen him before. He was at the Ancient’s castle when they took me to Latvia. And, he isn’t even a vampire.”

“What?” Lea asked.

“Yea, and there’s more.”

Ari dived into the story about being called to trial by James Frater and that somehow he had unfrozen.

“But how the hell…” said Lea, her voice trailing off.

“I don’t know. But I have been thinking about it. I need to know more about being the Grandor Descendant. All the things I can do… but I don’t know how to control any of it. I was hoping that you might speak with your gran and ask if you could borrow one of the books she has; it’s called ‘Known Immortals.’ I saw it when we were at Marblehead.”

“But why that book?” asked Lea.

“Well, I didn’t really think much of it at the time, but when you and Chris left to get her books and your gran was speaking to me alone, a strange symbol appeared on my hand, and then I saw the same symbol on my palm when James didn’t freeze, or unfroze… whatever.”

“But what has that got to do with-” Lea started to say.

“-I saw the symbol in that book, ‘Known Immortals’. I didn’t get a chance to look at it properly; we were running against the clock to find a way to reverse the blood hunter curse, but I am sure it was the same symbol.”

“And you think this symbol has something to do with you being a Grandor Descendant?” asked Lea.   

“I don’t know,” Ari admitted; she was about to say add something, when a tall girl with dark hair sat down next to Lea.

Ari’s eyes widened when she realised that it was Emily, one of the witches out of Lea’s circle, who had joined them at the table.

“Hey Em,” said Lea.

“Hey,” said Emily, smiling indifferently at both girls.

“You alight?” asked Lea, looking at her with concern, “you look a little peaky.”

Emily rolled up the sleeve of her shirt and showed them a small band-aid.

“Just got the free flu vaccine,” she explained, “the needle hurt like a bitch but it’s a really good idea. You can never be too safe. Besides, they’re free. You should go and get one.”

Inwardly Ari shook her head. She hated needles, had always hated them. When she had been a child at the Grace Valley Orphanage, she was supposed to get vaccinated, but she had run screaming from the nurse’s station. Fortunately her fear of needles stretched only to the human species, and not the rest of the animals in the world, otherwise her chosen profession as a vet might have been hopeless.

For the rest of the day Ari had to contend with a series of particularly detailed lectures by a substitute pathology teacher. Though the subject matter was interesting, Ari found it difficult to enjoy it, not without feeling guilty about what had happened to Dr Helen. She tried hard not to think about the gruesome way she had discovered her previous pathology teacher’s body, but images of the small elf-like woman kept cropping up in her head, making her feel nauseous and remorseful.

When the last lecture of the day finally ended, Ari raced from the theatre hall and moved quickly to the pond outside Delta halls, where she had arranged to meet with Ryder. It was twilight, and the deep red sun in the sky was just beginning to set, signalling the end of what had been a gloriously sunny day.

She had only been waiting for half an hour or so when Ryder finally arrived, appearing on the opposite side of the canal.

“Sorry,” he said, looking up at the sky, “had to wait for it the sun to set.”

“It’s ok. Besides, I’m the one who should be apologising to you. You sent me a text ages ago and we are only just talking now. I’m sorry. I’m such a bad friend.

“You’ve had enough on your plate,” Ryder pointed out.

“Yea, well, anyway, how are you? What’s going on between you and Patrick?” she asked, indicating for Ryder to sit down beside her on a patch of grass.

At the mention of Patrick’s name, Ryder’s eyes had shone momentarily but then he looked away. Reaching out for a pebble, he took aim at the water and threw the stone so that it skimmed across the surface, bouncing several times before sinking to the freezing depths below.

“I don’t know,” he said finally. “He’s been staying at Mark’s place in town.”

“Mark has a house here? Isn’t that kind of odd? I mean, the soldiers left ages ago, so why is he still hanging around? And how the hell did he manage to get a house so quickly?”  

“Apparently he bought it a couple of months ago,” Ryder said.

“And he just happened to buy a house in the same area where his fledgling was?”

“And drive a wedge between us. Yea, that pretty much sums it up,” Ryder said gloomily.

“But haven’t you tried to talk to Patrick?”

“Sure,” said Ryder, his twinkling eyes locking onto hers before he looked away. “But it doesn’t matter, nothing I say matters. It won’t change what he thinks.”

“Which is what exactly?”

“That I cheated on him,” he said glumly.

“Well, we just have to make him see the truth,” she said, standing suddenly and striding away, Ryder at her heels.

“And how do you suppose we do that?”

“We’ll go to Mark’s house, find Patrick and tell him,” she said plainly.

“But…” Ryder began to argue, but Ari was already walking away; her mind was made up.  

Ari and Ryder walked to Cruor halls. Watching Ari disappear up the second flight of stairs, Ryder said he would meet her outside in a few minutes after he got changed. Ari waved to show her agreement and continued to move to Ragon’s room. She knew she had to tell Ragon what she was going to do, but more than that, she needed him, or rather his car.

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” said Ragon, after Ari had explained her plan. “You’re getting involved.”

“Ryder is my friend,” she said defensively, while searching his room for his car keys.

“I know that, but Patrick and Ryder are adults, adult vampires, who are old enough to work these things out themselves.”

“But they haven’t worked it out,” she said, her eyes lighting up when she spied the small silver keychain in a draw at Ragon’s desk. “This stupid fight has been going on for ages. And, don’t you think it is a little suspicious that Mark just happened to buy a house in the same town that his fledgling lives? What if Mark is just like Kiara was, possessive of his fledgling? What if he is driving a wedge between Ryder and Patrick on purpose? I mean, we of all people know about that. Look at what Bridget did.”

“Mark bought a house here?” said Ragon, his voice sounding troubled before he could stop himself. “Alright, but I am coming too,” he added, blurring over to Ari and grabbing the keys from his draw before she could take them.

“But!”

“No buts! Besides, you can’t drive,” he added.

“Excuse me?”

“In case you haven’t noticed but here in England we drive on the right side of the road, and you don’t have a license to drive on that side,” he said, smiling lightly to himself, “not yet anyway.”