Blood Hunter (The Grandor Descendant Series) (2 page)

Chapter 1- Mile High Club

“Good evening everyone; my name is Bert Rastus and I will be your pilot for the duration of our flight to England,” came the lazy, almost indifferent voice of the pilot, his voice blasting though the speakers on either side of the aisles. There was a high pitched sound, as if the microphone had malfunctioned, then Bert spoke again, choosing a few choice swear words before realising the speakers were working again and adding, “If I could ask you to grace our lovely hostess, Chantelle, with your attention; she will begin the inflight safety demonstration of our Bombardier Global 5000 aircraft… Go on Chantelle.”

Right on cue an extremely tall woman, dressed in a navy skirt and white blouse, made her way to the front of the plane, carrying an assortment of things in her hands. For a moment she stood there, smiling merrily, then glanced nervously at the speakers, apparently waiting. A few tense moments of silence followed this, then all of a sudden the pre-recorded safety instructions begun and the hostess pulled out the relic of a seatbelt, just as she demonstrated how to do it up.

“To fasten your seatbelt, place the metal tip into the…” 

Sitting a few seats back, Ari sighed and shifted in the plush chair to get comfortable; the in-flight safety demonstration was doing little to capture her attention, although she had smiled when Bert had demonstrated his use of colourful language when the speakers had malfunctioned. Ari hadn’t found out until a few hours ago, when the coven had decided to leave Australia and go to England, that Ragon actually owned the small private jet they were currently on. Ari, who had never been on a plane before, startled when a sudden roar sounded, and looked around quickly to gauge the other passenger’s expressions. The rest of the coven however seemed not to be concerned with the strange noises the plane was making. You couldn’t tell just by looking at them but everyone on the plane, with the exception of Ari, the pilot and the hostess, were vampires.

Opposite her Ragon was reading a magazine, flipping hurriedly through the pages and occasionally shaking his head, so that his dark hair jostled around his face. As always, his startling green eyes caught her attention; he really was gorgeous. Behind him was Sandra and Thomas; they were staring off blankly in opposite directions. Sandra’s red hair was not pulled into a tight bun as she usual wore it, but free floating around her face. It wasn’t just her lack of hair style that surprised Ari, but also the absence of makeup; normally Sandra wore extravagant blue eye-shadow, thick blush and dark mascara. Now however her face looked pale, almost ghostly; Ari didn’t think she had ever seen Sandra looking so frumpy. Thomas, her mate, seemed just as perfect as always; his blonde shoulder length hair sat neatly, now tied in a pony-tail, though there was something in his eyes and the concerned way they watched Sandra that made Ari feel worried.

A few chairs down, Patrick and Ryder were having a hurried and whispered conversation. Considering that the pair had only been together for such a short time, they had managed to mesh into almost a single person. They dressed similar, wore their hair the same way, and had the same flamboyant mannerisms. Currently the pair was wearing identical patchwork vests, and their brown hair was parted off to one side. Lastly, sitting in front of them, was Clyde. He was tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair, his head moving from side to side as he scanned the isles. For once his face was devoid of the cheeky smile that was normally there, making Ari certain that he must be inpatient about something.

Feeling the plane lurch forwards, Ari let out a small hysterical laugh.

“Ari, are you ok?” asked Ragon, looking up from his magazine so as to lean across and squeeze her thigh.

“Yea,” she muttered, now fumbling with her seatbelt, despite the fact that a seatbelt warning light had been glowing red for the last few minutes and the plane was now racing down the run way. “Just, should have been paying more attention.”

Ragon smiled at her, gently lifting up the metal flap of her seatbelt so as to lock it in place.

“Haven’t flown much,” he said, still smiling knowingly at her.

Ari cocked an eyebrow. Ragon, who was a vampire and had been watching her for the majority of her life, was bound to know that this was her first experience on a plane. She thought of reminding him of this but decided against it. Though the pair had been together for a couple of months now, it had taken Ari ages to convince him that a human and vampire could be in love, something which was unheard of in the vampire world. The fact that Ragon had not lulled Ari and made her his source was punishable by the Final Death Laws.      

“Don’t worry,” Ragon added, pulling Ari from her thoughts, “it’s all downhill from here.”

“Unless we crash,” said Clyde, winking cheekily. “Then it’s all downhill from here, just a lot faster than normal.”

Ari frowned; it was just like Clyde to say something like that and smile brazenly about it.

“I seem to recall you thinking it a good idea to throw me out of a plane to test my abilities,” said Ari, smiling sarcastically at Clyde.

“Oh please, you know that was just a con so that we could see if you could stop time,” said Clyde. “Which, might I add, worked like a charm. You’re welcome by the way.”  

Ari wasn’t like other girls; she could stop time, resist a vampires lull and see future events. It was because of these gifts that the Ancients, the most powerful vampires in the world, had murdered her parents over twenty years ago, and tried to kill her. It was also the reason why the coven was traveling to England; they hoped to find answers in her relatives. Ragon had traced most of her family line, but the rest of her ancestors details were not kept in Australia, but in the Lancaster Titles Office.  

“I’ve known Bert for years; he’s been flying my plane since I got it,” said Ragon, recapturing Ari’s attention. “So there is nothing to be worried about.”

“Maybe Ari could freeze the plane?” Patrick suggested, while Ragon frowned at him. “I mean,” he added, seeing Ragon’s eyes roll, “in the unlikely event that the plane crashes… which it will not… at all.”

Next to him Ryder laughed but stopped quickly.

“Maybe she could!” he said, looking Ari up and down and then sighing audibly in relief. “I feel safer already.”

“Yea, but if the plane stopped, then the motor wouldn’t be able to keep it up in the sky,” Thomas added, glancing away from Sandra so as to join in on the conversation.

“I don’t know,” said Ryder, still apparently impressed with Ari. “If she froze Kiara in mid pounce, and Kiara just hung in the air like a puppet, then doesn’t that mean that Ari is defying gravity; who says she can’t keep an airplane up in the air even without the motor working?”

Their conversation was put on hold when the plane jerked forwards and lifted from the run way. Ari was thrown back against her chair, the nose of the plane pointed towards the sky as the engine screamed below, pushing them high into the sky. Soon the steep accent finished and the plane levelled out. Next to Ari there was a clicking noise, and Bert’s voice blasted through the speakers once more.

“Well it should be smooth sailing from here. Next stop… England. With everything going well, our anticipated time of arrival is just after 7pm on the 31
^st
of December. Happy New Year’s Eve everyone!”

The moment the seatbelt sign turned green, Sandra and Clyde raced to the bar. Ari watched as the pair selected a dusty bottle of some sort of whiskey, and poured themselves generous portions. Thomas, who had watched Sandra leave, now had his eyebrows raised in concern. It was no surprise that Clyde was going to will away the long journey by drowning himself in alcohol, it was however uncharacteristic of Sandra to do the same. Ever since Larissa had been killed by Kiara, Sandra had been closed off and moody, a far cry from her usual bubbly self, and Ari couldn’t help but suspect that Sandra blamed her for her best friend’s death.

“You sure you’re ok?” whispered Ragon, seeing the worried look on Ari’s face; she nodded, just as Ragon pulled his seatbelt free and stood. “Come on,” he added, reaching for her hand, “I want to show you around.”

Ari followed Ragon through the cabin and towards the cockpit. The jet was not enormous but cosy, comfortably fitting the coven into lush leather armchairs, which could stretch out to form pseudo-beds if desired. At the end of the cabin was a large, self-service bar, trimmed with sleek mahogany and equipped with all manner of beverages. Though it was night, the drapes over the windows were all pulled down; Ari couldn’t help but wonder if the coven had instinctually done this, almost as if they were afraid that at any moment the sun might burst in on them, blanketing the vampires in beams of deadly rays.

“The view from up here is amazing!” said Ragon, poking his head into the cockpit, still pulling Ari with him.  

In the co-pilot’s chair was Chantelle; she smiled warmly up at them, eyeing Ragon for a little longer than Ari, as she sipped leisurely on a steaming cup of coffee. Next to her, in the pilot’s seat, was Bert. He was an older man, with a squat round face and only a thin wisp of hair covering his near bald head. There was a strong aroma of burnt coffee and cigarettes about him, but this unpleasant smell was lost to Ari by the magnificent view that stretched out in front of him. Thick black sky took up the entire window, punctuated by curling puffs of clouds, which hit the glass and dissipated around the plane. In the distance a crack of lightning temporarily highlighted the sky.

“Wow,” said Ari, leaning over the montage of buttons in front of Bert, so as to get closer to the giant window.

“You think this is good,” said Ragon, once again grabbing her hand, “wait till you see my next trick.”

Only Thomas glanced up when the pair skated through the aisles towards the rear of the plane. He had been watching Sandra, his eyes narrowed as she searched manically through her bag. Though Ari only glanced at Thomas for a moment, she couldn’t miss the longing in his eyes as he watched Ari laugh while Ragon pulled her through the plane; clearly Sandra was distancing herself not just from Ari, but also from him.

This thought however was lost to her almost immediately; Ragon had dragged her into… a bathroom? It was admittedly a lovely bathroom, not nearly as nice as the ensuite to Ari’s room at Ragon’s house in Mount Cootha, but large for a plane and very well presented. There was a white porcelain basin and toilet, and a large marble bench top, dotted with expensive looking soaps and aromatic candles. Behind these a gold leaf mirror stretched the entire length of the wall, making the room feel even larger than it was.   

“So, what wonderful things do you want to show me in here? Is there a special soap dispenser? Maybe a towel given to you by the royal duchess of…” she started to say, but her voice trailed away.

Ragon was looking at her lustfully, his eyes fixed on hers as he reached behind himself and closed the bathroom door. A second later he’d blurred towards her, approaching so fast that Ari’s dark brown hair blew wildly around her face, highlighting her blue eyes. Instinctively Ari bit her bottom lip, but soon Ragon had leaned in close and kissed her, displacing her teeth as his tongue danced inside her mouth. Ari reached up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her fingers intertwining into his dark hair so as to hold him in place. As she kissed him the small spattering of stubble which lined his jaw rubbed against her cheeks and she smiled.

Too soon Ragon broke away from their kiss and thinking that her pleasure would have to wait, Ari sighed. Then, just when she thought Ragon would open the door and they would re-join the coven in the cabin, Ragon reached out a hand and traced the contours of her collar bone. Slowly his fingertips worked their way to her shoulder and she glanced down at Ragon’s hand and watched, slightly awed, as he continued to trace his fingers down her arm, taking the strap of her singlet and bra with him as he went, so that her shoulder was bare.      

“Ragon are you sure that-” Ari began, but Ragon smiled and reached his spare hand out to Ari’s face and cupped it, silencing her immediately.

She shivered in response, a tingle that sent a wave of euphoria and anticipation from her neck and spread down her body. Ragon’s smile broadened at this, clearly enjoying the way she leant towards him as he continued to touch her. Slowly Ari closed her eyes and Ragon’s hands grew more confident, sliding from her lips, then exposing her lower teeth, and drawing down her neck. As he did this Ari’s head bent back, and with her eyes still closed she felt Ragon’s cold fingertips pull her shirt down entirely, as his hands rested on her chest.

Ari made to open her eyes but Ragon whispered, “Keep them closed,” and so she did, just as he pressed her up against the vanity and lent down to kiss her breasts, biting playfully at her nipples.     

There was something sensual about Ragon’s commanding nature that made Ari even more desperate for his touch, that and the fact that they were 20,000 feet up in the sky, in a private jet, while the rest of the coven were only a few feet away in the cabin.