Blood Hunter (The Grandor Descendant Series) (33 page)

Chapter 19 – Campus club for Sups

Ari walked slowly and purposefully back towards the campus bar, her feet dragging along the floor. She wanted desperately to go after Ragon but she couldn’t. At the end of the day, she knew he was right. Walking through the club with her head hung low, Ari was just about to leave when Ryder spotted her.  

“What’s wrong muffin?” he asked, looking at her sideways.

Before Ari could say anything, Ryder had reached out two hands and hugged her. A few wayward tears spilled out of Ari’s eyes before she could stop herself.

“Come on, let me get you a drink,” said Ryder, grabbing Ari’s hand and directing her to the bar. “Then you can tell me everything. Alcohol drown s the sorrows. Admittedly it doesn’t work the same way it used to for me, but it should fix whatever ails you.”

The very last thing Ari thought she needed right now was alcohol, but after four shots with Ryder at the bar, she was beginning to remember how great it was not to feel anything at all. In no time at all she was tipsy, and when they moved to the outside smoking area, she was surprised to see Clyde sitting by himself at a table.

“Clyde,” Ari yelled, smiling at him toothily; Ryder was right, alcohol really did drown sorrows. “Wait a minute,” said Ari, her nose twitching, “I am supposed to be angry at you.”

“Why?” Clyde asked casually.

“Because,” Ari slurred, stretching out her hand and jabbing Clyde hard in the chest, “because… because…”

“Ari, I may be immortal but I don’t have forever,” said Clyde. “Because what?”

“Because Ragon is mad at me because of Chris,” Ari explained.  

“So you finally told him?” said Clyde. “And this is my fault, why?”     

“Finally told him what?” asked Ryder; both Ari and Clyde ignored him.

“It’s your fault because you think you saw something, that you didn’t actually see,” Ari rambled. “Well, I mean you did see it. But it wasn’t what you think it was. Well, it was, but not in a bad way.”

When she had finally finished her ranting, both Clyde and Ryder stared at her in confusion.

“Ari,” said Clyde, “you aren’t making a lot of sense, but I assume you are talking about the midnight nudity I witnessed between yourself and Chris.”

“Ohhh raunchy,” said Ryder, his eyes widening.

“It’s not raunchy,” Ari countered, hiccupping loudly. “Chris was only naked because he had no clothes.”

“Yes,” said Clyde, “I did assume that.”

“What I mean is,” said Ari, drawing breath dramatically, “is that Chris was naked because he wasn’t a man… he was a dog. That is to say, he was a wraith, or rather, is a wraith. I think I am getting my tenses messed up. What were those shots you gave me? I think I need a few more.”

“Excuse me,” said Clyde, no longer sitting back on his chair but staring at Ari intently.

“He’s only part wraith,” said Ari. “His father wasn’t very nice. Apparently he was involved in the waere persecutions and so he can transform into an animal. The only thing is… is that when he does his clothes are stripped from him. The night you found us outside, he had just transformed into a dog, a husky to be more precise.”

Both Clyde and Ryder stared at Ari.

“I probably shouldn’t have told you that,” she added, slapping her hand to her forehead. “So, how bout those shots?”   

For the next half an hour or so, all three continued to drink copiously. The more Ari drank, the less she thought about Ragon and what she would say to him when she saw him next. Periodically she kept checking her phone, but there were no messages or missed calls from Ragon. Chris had texted her a few times, checking to see if she was alright, but she had ignored him. On the up side, all seemed to be forgiven between herself and Clyde. Now that he knew that Ari had not cheated on Ragon, he was back to his usual charismatic self around her.

“Ok, who wants to challenge me in pool?” asked Clyde, standing dramatically.

“Um, I can’t really play,” Ari admitted, standing clumsily as she hiccupped.

“You know what the best thing is for a crap pool player?” asked Clyde, grabbing her by the elbow and directing her inside. “Alcohol!”

“It seems to be the cure for everything,” Ari muttered, and Ryder looked at her curiously.

Moving over to the last free table, Clyde inserted a few coins and then pushed the lever for the balls to be released.

“Shall I break?” he asked.

Ari couldn’t help but notice that Clyde was spending an unusual amount of time looking over his shoulder. It wasn’t until she caught what he was looking at, that she realised why. At the table next to theirs, was one of the most stunning girls Ari had ever seen. Like Clyde, Ari stared at the girl, unable to stop herself, until Ryder poked her in the ribs with the pool cue and Ari finally turned around to take her shot.

When Ari successfully sunk the white ball, she surrendered the cue back to Clyde and glanced across her shoulder at the mystery girl. She was not beautiful in the same way that Ari was, but she was hot in a way that Ari could never be. She wore a pair of tight jeans and a singlet shirt with matching ankle brown boots. Her hair was long and light brown, similar to Ari’s but wild looking, almost untamed, and for someone living in the UK, she was unusually tanned.

“Clyde… would you like me to fetch your tongue; I think it rolled onto the floor somewhere?” Ryder said sarcastically.

Clyde snapped up straight, looking at Ryder with an evil grin on his face. Moving purposefully over to the pool table, he leaned down low to take his shot. His back was to the girl, but Ari saw that out of the corner of his eyes he was checking to see if she was watching him.

“Is she looking at me?” Clyde whispered.

Ari smiled but shook her head.

“Ah! A worthy opponent,” said Clyde, standing tall and brushing imaginary dust from his clothes.

Ari continued to shake her head, albeit with a smile on her face.   

It was less than five minutes after they had started playing, when Ari lost spectacularly to Clyde.

“You know,” said Clyde, pulling Ari’s un-sunk balls back into the centre of the table, as he began to rack a new game, “if I weren’t such a gentlemen, you would be pant-less right now.”

Ari was just about to retort, when a sudden noise next to them had all three turning to face the opposite pool table.

“Get your hands off me!” 

Ari spun around to see the mystery girl being pushed up against a wall. The girl looked wild and untamed; she was gripping onto a pool cue, trying to wedge it between herself and a boy who was pressed up against her. He leered down at her, breathing heavily as his hands reached down to her waist.   

“I just want your number,” he said, slurring his words.

Ari was just about to walk over when Clyde moved quickly to the guy and tapped him lightly on the shoulder, saying, “I believe that’s your
cue
to leave.”

Leave it to Clyde to make a joke like that.

The boy spun around to see Clyde and sighed. The boy swayed, and it looked as if he was going to leave quietly, but then pulling his arm back, he threw a well-aimed punch at Clyde’s face. Clyde was ready for him however, catching the boy’s hand in his own and throwing him hard onto the pool table.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” hissed Ryder, moving over to Clyde and forcing him away from the boy.

Instantly the boy jumped to his feet and charged at Clyde. Clyde smiled, waiting until the boy was less than an inch away from him, before moving quickly to the side. The resulting thud of the boy smacking into wall behind Clyde was deafening.  

“I think we should leave,” said Ryder, looking around the bar nervously.

Clyde looked over at the girl in the tight jeans. She was looking at him with a mixture of interest and indifference. For a moment Ari thought she might say something to Clyde, but then a group of guys walked over to the pool table, took one look at the boy slumped on the floor, and moved over to Clyde, cracking their knuckles and flexing their muscles menacingly.

“Great,” Clyde muttered to himself, “the baboon has friends.”

Ari watched as Clyde backed away slowly towards the rear door, luring the boys outside of the club.

“Join me outside?” he asked, and both Ryder and Ari followed suit.

A moment after Ari, Clyde and Ryder had left the campus club, the group of boys joined them.

“What the hell’s your problem man?” said the leader of the group, moving over to Clyde with murder in his eyes. “That’s my boy you hit.”

“That moron is your boy?” Clyde said in horror. “What does that even mean?”

Ari knew by the way that Clyde jeered the boys on, that he wanted to get into a fight with them, and she thought she knew why. She couldn’t help but notice the way Clyde kept glancing over to the mystery girl, who had also followed them outside the club, as if hoping that she was watching him- which she was.

Suddenly two of the boys charged at Clyde, but Clyde merely smiled, letting them hit him full pelt without the slightest sign of discomfort. Both boys staggered around, as if they had just run into a wall, and then began throwing poorly aimed punches and kicks in every direction, like deranged boxers. Clyde kept them at bay with little effort, as if he were trying to protect himself from a wayward bee that was trying to sting him, despite that fact that he had torn its wings off. Seeing their friends in trouble, three more boys joined the fight, and soon there were many fists flying through the air.

“What the hell is going on over here?”

Ari watched as another man moved outside; there was something familiar about him.    

“Come on, we have to go,” the familiar man said, pulling the mystery girl with him as he forced her to run away.

“At least tell me your name!” Clyde yelled after the girl’s retreating back, when there was no one left to fight with.

“Riley,” she called back, not turning as she disappeared into the darkness.

Chapter 20 – Self Sacrifice

In the true nature of being drunk, Ari waited until Ryder and Clyde had dropped her off at Omega halls, before walking back towards Cruor to see Ragon. In her best imitation of stealth, Ari slinked past the entrance and crept along the foyer, snickering at herself as she did so, marvelling at her cunning ability to enter the vampire halls undetected. She had just reached the bottom of the stairs that would lead her up to Ragon’s dorm room, when laughter rang through the halls. It was a deep booming laugh. Spinning around, Ari moved over to common room; she recognised that laughter.

“Oh my,” a high pitched voice said, “sounds like you two have had quite the adventures. Perhaps as exciting as our own, hey Ragon.”

As soon as Ari walked into the common room, three faces turned to stare at her; Ragon, Bridget and… “Cambridge!” Ari screamed, running over and hugging him.  

When Ari pulled away, she was pleased to see how happy Cambridge seemed; a happiness she’d feared he’d lost after his mate had been killed. Thinking of Larissa, Ari hung her head.

“What’s wrong little one?” asked Cambridge, his loud booming voice bringing comfort to Ari’s foggy mind.

“Nothing,” Ari lied, swaying slightly on the spot. “I’m just happy to see you.”

“And I you,” said Cambridge, still looking at her sideways.

Ari tried to make eye contact with Ragon but couldn’t; she still felt so guilty.

“I didn’t realise that your source was so popular,” said Bridget, laughing loudly as she poured a glass of thick red liquid. “Though I appreciate how much simpler it is to share blood bags.”

A sudden shrill anger overtook Ari. She had just about had enough of this obnoxious bitch. Bridget had been the one to supply Sandra with blood candy, and was now trying to move in on Ragon. The alcohol fuelled her resolve and Ari rounded on Bridget, her eyes narrowed.

“I am not a source. I’m Ragon’s girlfriend,” she said, swaying slightly on the spot, before Cambridge reached out a hand to steady her.

Bridget sat back against the couch and then turned incredulously to stare at Ragon, clearly in disbelief.

“Are you going to let her say such things? Surely you could command this delusion out of her!” said Bridget.

Ari glared at Bridget, about to unleash hell. The hatred which flared inside of her was pushed to the surface, quickly bubbling over. At the same time an unusual hotness had spread through Ari. These sharp hot flashes transformed her anger into shock, as her eyes opened wide in realisation. What was happening? Fearing the answer, Ari reached up and touched her hand to her forehead, where a few beads of sweat were lining her brow; she was losing control. Any moment she would bust into sunshine. Despite the heat, all colour drained from her face and she shot from the room, desperate to get as far away as possible from Ragon and Cambridge.

“What did you command the poor delusional fool to do?” asked Bridget; Ari heard the girl’s comment like a shadow in her mind, whirling past her ears as she rushed away.

Even though she was drunk, Ari managed to race past the entrance of Cruor halls and out into the campus grounds. The faster she ran, the more she felt her body burn, as if tiny fires were spreading throughout her system, one igniting the next, the breeze fuelling them. The heat was so intense that she thought her blood was on fire, like molten from a volcano that threatened to burst from her veins and lick her skin, until there was nothing left but ashes.

“Ari, where are you going?”

Ari turned around wildly to see Ragon racing after her. No, she thought.   

“Get away from me,” Ari roared.

“Talk to me,” he said, moving closer to her. “Look, I’m sorry about-”

But his words were cut off when Ari began shaking and then collapsed onto the ground. In the back of her mind she heard Ragon take in a sharp intake of breath; she knew she didn’t have long.

“Ari, what’s wrong? Are you ok? Say something. What’s happening?”

Desperately trying to hold herself together, Ari stammered, “Please go, I’m-” but before she could finish her sentence she stopped; the energy of talking was too much and instead she focused all her efforts on keeping her powers inwards, rather than bursting from her in hot sunshine.

Paralysed with fear and concentration, she watched as Ragon reached for her but then quickly pulled away, as if burnt. His eyes locked on hers and widened. One of Ari’s eyes had turned green and she was beginning to glow. At first it was only a few flickers that escaped from her, but the longer Ragon stared at her, the brighter she became.

Taking one last desperate look at her, Ragon blurred away, running as fast as he could back into Cruor halls. Ari watched him leave with relief, her face breaking into a smile. It was then that she felt her body give in, just as bright yellow beams burst from her, and once again she glowed with the intensity of the sun. To anyone who might have looked out of their window at that point, they would have seen an intensely bright light. Perhaps they might have thought that someone had lit fireworks, or else was playing with firecrackers; only if they were close enough would they have realised that sunlight poured from a girl. 

Though it felt like much longer, the light which escaped from Ari lasted less than a minute, and when she was finally certain that she was no longer glowing, she fell back against the icy grass, panting. As soon as she hit the ground, thick curls of steam erupted around her, but she did not move; the near frozen ground felt amazing against her scorching skin and she remained there. Taking deep breaths, she calmed herself. When finally she felt that it was safe to move, she got gingerly to her feet and saw that the grass underneath her was black and scorched.

Ari shivered as she looked back towards Cruor halls; Ragon was nowhere to be seen. He was alright, but Ari didn’t dare go and check on him. What if it happened again? She was still drunk; she knew she couldn’t control her emotions, especially not if Bridget was around still. Pushing away the infuriating thought of Bridget, Ari began the walk back to Omega halls, alone.  

When she finally reached the entrance to Omega halls, she sighed in relief. Her hand was outstretched, ready to pull the door open, when suddenly she felt someone push hard against the glass, blocking her way.

“You’re going to have to do better than that to keep me away,” said Ragon. 

Ari turned to face him. She wanted to make quite sure that she was in control and kept glancing down to her hands, afraid that they might suddenly burst into flames again.

“Seriously, I don’t think that you should be around me right now; you need to be careful,” she said, still watching her hands.

She had taken her time to pronounce each syllable; the alcohol having left her feeling out of control.

“You’re playing nice with a wraith and you think that I should be careful?” jeered Ragon, pushing the door open and allowing Ari to walk past him.

“That’s different and you know it,” she said, slowly beginning to climb the stairs up to her room.

“Not really.”

“Please can we just do this tomorrow?” she said, spinning around so that she blocked the entrance to her room.

“If you think I am going to let you go to sleep alone, with a wraith down the hallway,” said Ragon, glaring at Chris’s door, “then you clearly don’t know me at all.”

“Ragon!” she yelled, unable to keep the hysteria out of her voice. “In case you didn’t notice but I almost just killed you.”

“You’re over reacting. You just got upset. Look at me; there’s not a scratch on me!”

Ari glanced up; this was not true. There were singe marks on his clothes and an acrid smoky smell; Ragon had clearly only just gotten away in time.

“Ok, maybe there are a few scratches,” said Ragon, “but nothing a little blood won’t cure.”

At the word blood, Ari remembered the girl she had seen him drinking from and a sudden wave of jealousy washed over her.

“That girl…” she said, turning away from Ragon as she moved over to her wardrobe and searched for a fresh pair of clothes. “The one at the club this afternoon-”

“I needed blood.”

“Ragon I-” Ari started to say, but Ragon cut her off.

“-Ari, I didn’t mean for you to see me like that. And, and I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just reacted instinctually.”

“It’s ok Ragon; it was an accident,” said Ari, knowing this was true.

“But it shouldn’t have happened. I keep thinking back to what the wraith said, about you deserving someone that isn’t going to-”

“-going to what? Love me. Protect me? Risk everything to be with me?” Ari countered quickly. “Because if you don’t think I deserve that, then maybe you’re right.”

“Ari, it isn’t that simple. I know us being together is hard. I never even dreamed that you would be able to see me as anything other than a monster but, but I love you enough to want what’s best for you.”

“And that’s you!” said Ari.

Now that Ragon was talking about their not being together, she couldn’t help but want to fight for their relationship. Yes, they had some troubles, but she knew that more than anything else, she wanted to be with him.

“I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” he said, reaching for her cheek and tracing it slowly with his finger. “Ever since you came into my life, you have been placed in danger, time after time; first with Kiara, then Sameth and now the Ancients. I just can’t help but think that you wouldn’t be better off without me.”

“Don’t you dare say that! You saved me from those boys at uni, and you rescued me from Kiara. Being with you is the only reason I am still alive. If it weren’t for you, I would have died with my parents.”

“But maybe if I had of just kept my distance, protecting you from the shadows, then none of this would ever have-”

“-Ragon, please don’t say this stuff to me. I know it’s how you think, but it’s breaking my heart. Don’t imagine for one second that I wouldn’t have gone through everything we’ve been through, a thousand times, just to have you in my life. I need you. I love you. Every couple has problems; ours are just more… colourful. But it’s because of them that we have been brought together; I don’t regret anything that has happened to me. All of it led me to you.”

“Did we just make up?” asked Ragon, smiling at her cheekily.

“I guess so,” said Ari. “I hate it when we fight. I was just so mad about Bridget.”

“Yea, and I was angry about the wraith.”

“He has a name,” Ari said slowly.

“Ok, I was angry about Chris. You should have told me what he is.”

“I know,” she said, “I wanted to but he said that if the vampires knew about him, they would try to get him to use his powers to hurt people. I tried to tell him that you were different, but he begged me not to. The whole time I felt sick lying about it. But as much as you don’t trust him, I do. Chris has been a really good friend to me.”

“I don’t think that all he wants is to be your friend.”

Ari moved to Ragon, pushing him on the bed and climbing into his lap, her eyes locking onto his as she said, “Chris is just a friend. I love you. I want you!” 

Ragon smiled, reaching down and pulling her singlet up. Instantly her stomach squirmed, as a hot flash signified the increase of her heart rate; for one terrible moment she thought that she was about to burst into a brilliant glow again.

“Wait,” she said, when Ragon had pulled her close to him, so close that her warm stomach pressed up against his stone, cold hard one.

“What?”

“I don’t know; I mean I don’t think-”

“-don’t think,” he whispered, sliding her shirt all the way off and cupping his hands around her face, kissing her passionately.

Ari obeyed and all thoughts of fire and brimstone were swept from her mind, replaced with desperate desire. In that moment she wanted him badly… needed him. Without thinking of the consequences, she reached for his shirt and pulled it off him in one fast motion, quickly drawing back to his perfect body as she planted playful bites down his chest.

“God, you make me so crazy,” he said, reaching for Ari’s chin and forcing her mouth towards his.