A Dark Night (Book One of The Grandor Descendant series) (38 page)

“
But why do the Ancients want me dead?” she asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?”
said Ragon, looking at her outstretched hand longingly, “because you can stop time.”

“And see into the future,” she said indifferently.

“Excuse me,” said Ragon. “Since when do you see into the future?”

Ari turned away from her family tree to stare at him. She had entirely forgotten to tell him that she had seen Sameth attacking her, before it had happened.

“The night that Sameth attacked me, when we were in the car, I had a premonition of it happening. I tried to get away, but he caught me and…”

“So you can stop time, see into the
future and god knows what else. That’s why I’ve been tracing your family tree. You can’t be the only one that can do all that. I have watched you your entire life; it’s not like you fell into a vat of toxic waste or got bitten by a radioactive spider. You’re different, and I thought that if we traced your heritage, we could find out if there were people related to you that were different too. But I don’t know what our next move is. When Kiara died, the last piece of puzzle died with her. So far every person I have investigated that is related to you, are already dead.”

“But isn’t it obvious what we should do
then?” asked Ari, looking at Ragon intently and mocking him by using the same perturbing tone.

R
agon looked at her in confusion then after a moment, shook his head.

“Go over to the UK
and trace down my great, great, great, whatever grandmother’s family history,” she said. “If there is any chance that we can find answers in my family lineage, that’s where we should start.”

Chapter 27
- A Third Power

For the rest of the day, Ari remained on the couch cuddled up next to Crystal, allowing the ibuprofen she had taken to whisk her into a painless stupor. She had not spoken to Ragon after their conversation about going to the UK, but had sat silently, finishing an entire bag of corn chips and allowing the salt-induced coma to take over. When Ari awoke she was laying down, her head rested in Ragon’s lap while the empty packet of chips had fallen to the floor. For a second she blinked in confusion, wondering why she was asleep on her couch, rather than curled up in her bed next to Ragon. Then the memories from the morning came crashing down on her and she sat bolt upright as her stomach turned.

“Are you alright,” asked Ragon, reaching for her.

“Fi…fine,” she stammered, catching her breath.

As she moved from the couch she stretched, reaching her arms up over her head so that her aching muscles pulled tight. She was just about to move to her room, when someone appeared from the hallway. 

“So what’s the plan?”
asked Clyde.   

“Ragon and I are go
ing to the UK,” Ari blurted out.

Clyde stared at her in dis
belief but then said, “I meant about the Elders.”

At the mention of the Elders, Ariana instantly felt guilty. She had
entirely forgotten about the letter that they had sent Ragon, saying that they wanted to, ‘discuss the fledgling Ryder.’

“Y
ou’re seriously going over to Britain?” said Clyde.

At these words Ragon stood, moving protectively over to Ari.

“What, you weren’t going to tell me?” said Clyde, now staring at Ariana.

“I just told you,” she said
, a little defensively.

“What’s t
his about the UK?” asked Thomas, when he too had joined the group downstairs.

No one answered at first and then Clyde said, “A
pparently there isn’t enough danger for Ari here, so Ragon wants to see how long she will last in Britain.”

“Hang on a minute,” Ari said
defensively, “it’s my decision and I want to go.”

“We find out that qui
te possibly the oldest vampires in the history of all vampires are after you, and you want to bring the meal to them?” said Clyde.

“I thought the Ancients were in Latvia,” she said angrily.

“Well they are… but there are a shit load of vamps in the UK,” Clyde argued. “It’s almost always overcast there!”

Ari opened her mouth, about to a
rgue, but then Ragon spoke.

“Where’s Sandra?” he said, clearly wanting to change the subject.

“She’s not doing too well,” Thomas said in a whisper, moving his eyes to the staircase t
hat led towards their room.

“Well we need to leave soon if we plan on being punctual
for the Elders,” said Ragon, moving over to the veranda doors and pulling them open so that a light breeze swept through the house.

The sun was setting and the first hint of Venus beginning to shine was apparent. Ari moved quickly to her room, desperate to splash cold water on her face and change out of her clothes.

Ten minutes later and everyone was waiting out the front of the house.

“So we are actually going?” asked Thomas.

“You
know we cannot ignore a summons; to do so would cause even greater trouble. Besides, the letter says that they want to talk to us about Ryder, we have no reason to fear prosecution” said Ragon.

“
The letter does not mention Ari; I don’t think we should bring her,” said Clyde.

“But-
” Ari began.

“He’s right,” Ragon said
, cutting her off, “it specifically invited my coven, you are not an immortal therefore you were not invited.”

Though his words had not meant to be hurtful, they had stung her. She was just about to argue when Sandra and Cambridge walked into the room. It was clear
from her puffy eyes and that Sandra had spent most of the night crying. Cambridge on the other hand, had a small back pack slung over one shoulder and walked purposefully towards the door.

“What’s with the bag?”
asked Clyde.

Cambridge ignored him, not even lo
oking up at the sound of his voice.

“Cambridge, where are yo
u going?” asked Ragon, and Ari remembered that Cambridge must still be furious with Clyde for saving his life.

Cambridg
e considered Ragon and said, “There is nothing left for me here.”

Ari had expected S
andra to protest at these words but she did not. Instead she watched as Cambridge opened the front door. 

“But you are a member of the coven,”
said Thomas. “The Elders will expect your presence.”

Cambridge shrugged, clearly he no longer considered himself part of Ragon’s coven
, nor did he care what the Elders expected of him.

“Cambridge,” Ragon said, recalling his attention.

Reluctantly Cambridge turned around. His face was lined, causing deep creases in his chocolate skin, which had the effect of adding many years to his age. His eyes, though still dark, were empty looking and his posture was contorted, as if just standing caused him pain. For a moment it looked as if Ragon could not think of what to say but then he nodded at Cambridge and blurred over to him, whispering something in his ear so quietly, that no one else could hear it. For a moment Cambridge looked surprised, but then nodded and blurred into the night.

Ari wanted desperately to know what it wa
s that Ragon had told Cambridge, but knew that it was not her place to ask.

“Shall we?”
asked Clyde, moving over to the door and holding it open.   

“What about me?” Ari
asked. “You can’t leave me at some random hotel. In case you have forgotten, but the Ancients are after me, and they have obviously sent someone here to kill me… I am safest while I am with you.”

As she spoke her eyes had rested on Ragon. For a moment he seemed conflicted.

“She comes with us,” he said finally, and though it looked like all the members of the coven wanted to argue, they did not.

It took them a little under an hour to reach the Elder’s residence. When they finally arrived, the large doors to their house were already open, and William raced outside, greeting them.

“Welcome, welcome, come in,”
he said, shooing away the man servant who had also been waiting for their arrival.

The coven entered quickly, Ragon and Ari bringing up the rear. Ragon was walking so that Ari was partly hidden behind him, but it was impossible to conceal her completely, and soon Nikolas had joined them and was looking at the group, scanning each and every face carefully.

“You seem to be a few members short,” said Nikolas.

“Cambridge and Sameth left,” Ragon lied, being careful to ensure that the Elders had no reason to suspect Sameth’s death.

“And who do we have here?” said William, moving over to Ari, “your lovely source?”

Ari did not speak but remained still, afraid her fear would betray their guilt.
 

“And what of Larissa?” asked Nikolas
, ignoring Ari.

At these words Sandra tensed, while Ragon cursed under his breath for not mentioning her.

“She was killed,” said Ragon, a low growl escaping him.

At this William and Nikolas looked at each other in surprise.

“I am sorry for your loss,” said William, moving over to Sandra and touching a cold hand to her shoulder.

Sandra nodded in acceptance, but did not appear comforted by William’s gesture.

“Killed by whom?” Nikolas asked, looking sceptically at Ragon.

“Kiara,” Ragon replied.

“And why would she do that?” asked Nikolas.

Ragon shrugged but said, “I don’t know. I went to her estate to confront her about it but it had been burnt down. I am not sure if she survived the flames or not.”

On hearing of Kiara’s possible death, both Elders seemed concerned.

“If
she has met the final death then she will be missed. She was a favourite of many, including the Ancients,” said William.

“And it was not you who lit the blaze?” asked Nikolas, his penetrating eyes fixed on Ragon.

Ragon shook his head.

“Dark times indeed,”
said William, moving further into the house and directing his guests to follow him. “The last time we spoke, I made mention that we were investigating the mass murders in Brisbane. Do you maintain the statement that you have no knowledge of who it is responsible for these deaths?

Ragon fro
ze and Ari almost ran into him.

“
That is correct,” said Ragon, continuing to follow the Elders as they walked past the grand staircase and towards the back of the house.

Though it was clear that the Elders had removed all traces of their lavish Halloween decorations, the house still maintained an eerie gloom. Despite the many man servants who seemed to be cleaning, the house felt dark and cold; the windows were drawn closed and the only light came from a few choicely lit candelabras hanging from the ceiling.

The Elder
s had directed them into a large room, which looked as if it might once have been a kitchen. There was no oven or stove top, but unlike the rest of the house, with its wooden floors, this room was tiled and there as a sink and large refrigerator standing off to the side. Ari breathed in and coughed; the unmistaken smell of bleach wafting to her nostrils made her nose crinkle, and she took in small shallow breaths. 

Then one of the topless servants walked over to a carefully
concealed door and held it open.

“Forgive the mess,”
said William, walking through the door and down a set of steep stairs.

Ari followed suit. It wasn’t until William reached out and tugged an old style light switch that she
realised they were in the Elder’s basement.

Instantly the room was thrown into light and Ragon, who had been directly behind the Elders, gasped at what he saw. Ari felt Ragon reach for her hand and squeeze it as though in warning. Leaning past his shoulder, she tried to see what had shocked him and then her stomach dropped. The basement was small and dank, with brick walls and crudely placed wooden beams along the roof. The floor was polished concrete but stained. Tied to two of the large beams were thick metallic chains, each binding the hands of Ryder and Patrick, so that the pair hung like marionettes suspended in mid-air. Thick coiled chains wrapped around their feet, anchored to the floor by large bolts. Neither wore shirts, and there were large slash marks across their skin that seemed incapable of healing. For a split second, the scene of Kiara tied up and bleeding flashed at Ari, and she lunged forward, desperate to save Ryder.

“What is the meaning of this?”
asked Ragon, holding tight to Ari so that she could not draw attention to herself.

“We are charged with keeping peace,”
said William, trying to maintain an air of neutrality.

“Funny,
this doesn’t look very peaceful to me,” said Clyde, a crude smile forming across his face.

“Be careful,” Nikolas
hissed, “we are above reproach; do not test our hospitality.”  

“Why are they being tortured?”
asked Thomas, holding his palms outward to the Elders, in a clear sign of submission.

“We are trying to discover who it is t
hat is responsible for the murders that have rocked our otherwise peaceful town,” said Nikolas.

“And why should you be questioning them?”
asked Ragon.

“Well, when news came to us tha
t there was a fledgling in town, and that he was made by a member of your coven, and then we heard about your source being attacked, it seemed a natural conclusion to point the finger at young Ryder here. We all know what a hassle controlling the young ones can be,” William said smiling. “Always wanting to go out, unable to control their desires; this wouldn’t be the first time a fledgling has stepped out of line.”

“Those deaths started
months before Ryder was turned,” Ragon replied defensively.

“You seem to know a great deal about these deaths,”
said Nikolas, his eyes fixed on Ragon.

Ragon did not answer
but, letting go of Ari, moved protectively over to Ryder and Patrick, who seemed to be semi-conscious. Their eyes were closed, but unmistakably sunken.

“You have no claim to hold them,
” said Ragon.

“Claim?”
growled Nikolas, “You dare to challenge our authority?”

It was then that Sandra moved over to the Elders, gently touching Willia
m on the shoulder and saying, “Challenge? By no means, but surely you could not blame these senseless attacks on two immortals that could not have possibly committed these crimes. Would your efforts not be better spent trying to catch the real culprits?”