Bound (The Grandor Descendant Series Book 3) Read online

  “Well,” said Lea, taking a meaningful look at Ragon, “they don’t know the exact details. They just know that I have a vampire, err, who tells me things.”

  “What, like a pen pal?” said Ragon, laughing.

  “At least they no longer suspect me of being lulled,” said Lea, sounding serious.

  “And what am I?” asked Chris, his voice high and outraged. “Chopped liver?”

  Lea smiled and shook her head, saying, “You’re more of a lungs and spleen kind of guy.”

  “Well, he definitely isn’t brains,” said Sandra, joining in on the laughter.

  “And what about me?” asked Ari, once everyone had stopped laughing.

  “What about you?” Lea asked, looking at Ari sideways.

  “Definitely not lungs, spleen or liver,” said Chris, still laughing. “Maybe-”

  “-no, I mean, you haven’t told them that I am the Grandor-” Ari began, but Ragon hushed her immediately.

  “Of course not!” said Lea, shocked. “Gran told me I have to protect you. You were there; don’t you remember? I mean, it’s not like I don’t trust my circle, but the fewer people who know about your destiny, the better, for you and them.”

  Ari was about to respond when a high-pitched noise was omitted from the speakers on the stage. Everyone at the table turned to face the DJ’s box, wincing.

  “Attention comrades,” a boyish voice called via the speakers, when the music had stopped playing.

  Looking around, Ari spied three boys, two standing goofily to the side of the DJ and one standing atop the small stage inside the bar, gripping tightly to a microphone. The moment she locked eyes on them, Ari recognised them instantly as the Omega hall jokesters: Peter, Perry and Pip. Pip had commandeered the microphone from the DJ, who had stopped playing his music and like the rest of the crowd, was looking up at him in confusion.

  “We have a serious question to ask our noble visiting soldiers,” said Pip, unable to keep his face straight, as he gestured to a large group of men near the bar.

  “What did one sailor in line tell the other sailor in line?” asked Peter, moving up to the stage and pulling the microphone from Pip.

  The crowd was silent. Ari looked around at the naval officers, uncertain of what was going on, when finally Perry joined the other two on stage.

  “Quit poking me,” said Perry, before letting out a roaring laugh, which was mirrored by all in the crowd, with the exception of the naval officers.

  Ari watched as the look of surprise on the sailor’s faces quickly turned to anger. The three boys on the stage seemed to notice this also, and perhaps realising that they were outnumbered, gingerly handed the microphone back to the DJ before racing out of the club.

  “They should be in the armed forces,” said Chris, smiling at the retreating backs of Peter, Pip and Perry.

  “Why?” asked Lea.

  “Because that is real bravery,” he replied.

  “I’m going to get another drink,” said Ari, standing suddenly and pushing her chair out.

  When Ari walked back inside, she saw Clyde and Riley sitting together. Riley had a drink in her hand, though she sipped at it unenthusiastically, and kept pressing her hands to her stomach. It was obvious that although she pretended to be fine, she was still very much sick. Ari felt guilty for not making Riley stay at home in bed, but she that the girl would have insisted on coming anyway. Ari was just walking over to the pair, thinking of suggesting they call it a night, when someone caught her attention.

  “Ari! Hey Ari, come over here.”

  Ari spun around and saw Ryder sitting at the bar, the sailor he had knocked into earlier sitting next to him.

  “Not drinking too much are you?” she asked, taking a long glance at the soldier next to Ryder, who was guzzling down a beer.

  “Ari, this is Glenn,” said Ryder, introducing her to the soldier.

  Ari shook Glenn’s hand quickly, at the same time looking for any obvious bite marks on his wrist.

  “Could I tempt you with another one?” Ryder asked Glenn, indicating the soldier’s now empty glass.

  Glenn wiped his mouth and nodded once. Still thinking of ordering a drink herself, Ari looked across the bar and received a shock. An older man, also dressed in a sailor’s uniform, was glaring at her. Though his face was partly hidden by shadows, Ari was sure that she had never seen him before, and yet he was staring right at her. The stranger’s eyes were thin slits, causing small wrinkles to line the side of his face.

  “Do we know him?” she asked, nodding her head towards the stranger as inconspicuously as possible.

  Ryder shook his head indifferently but Glenn said, “Oh, that’s my commander, Cornel Green. He’s a bit of a hard ass. Probably isn’t too happy about the comedians earlier.”

  Ari nodded slowly and saw out of the corner of her eye, Riley racing to the bathroom. Without thinking she sprinted after her, trying to push the memory of the stranger’s glaring eyes out her mind. The moment she was outside the girl’s bathroom, Ari heard coughing. Was Riley being sick? Her hand was pressed against the door, about to push it open, when she heard a loud cruel cackle ring out around her.

  “Make sure she believes you! Here, take this,” said a high pitched female voice. “We will be waiting outside. You know what to do?”

  Moving away from the bathroom door, Ari inched towards the conspiring voices; she had heard that laugh before. Halfway down the dark corridor she found a large potted plant, who’s wilted and partly brown foliage provided the perfect hiding place.

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Gwen, looking imploringly at Bridget.

  Gwen, the senior resident of Cruor halls and Bridget, Ragon’s thesis partner, were both facing each other, and it was only when Ari craned her head around the potted plant, did she realise someone else was standing with them. Rick. Like Ari, Rick lived in Omega halls and he was also a vet student. He was unmistakable with his short spiky blonde hair and goofy three quarter length shorts, which he was now placing something long and slender into the pocket of. Ari stared at Rick in confusion. What the hell was he doing hanging out with Gwen and Bridget?

  Ari’s eyes dashed from Rick’s pocket and back to Gwen and Bridget. Much to Ari’s annoyance, both girls were absolutely beautiful, with blonde hair and faultless faces. Needless to say, Ari hated both of them. The fact that they were both vampires had nothing to do with the animosity that Ari felt towards them. Ever since Ari had arrived at the campus, Bridget and Gwen had done their utmost to try and put a wedge between Ragon and her. This and the fact that Bridget had tried to attack her one night at the forest near Delta halls, made Ari all the more desperate to find out what the girls were up to.

  “Gwen, this will be hilarious. Don’t chicken out now. Besides, how else will April learn?” said Bridget, clapping Gwen on the back as she moved back along the hall.

  Her heart thumping in her chest, Ari ducked out from behind the plant and raced back towards the bathroom, careful not to be seen. The moment she was inside, Ari remembered Riley. The girl was swaying slightly on the spot, her hand to her mouth as she coughed loudly. Ari thought she looked dreadful. There was a pale almost greenish tinge to her normally tanned face and her knees were shaking.

  “Jesus, Riley!” said Ari, watching as the girl raced back into a cubicle and began vomiting. “Are you alright?”

  “Just… peachy,” Riley replied, between heaving noises.

  “I think you need to go home and rest. Want me to grab Clyde and tell him-”

  “-no!” said Riley, and she flushed the toilet and tiptoed back towards Ari. “I’m fine. Probably shouldn’t have ventured out tonight. Still not feeling great. And I think that plate of nachos I had earlier isn’t agreeing with me. But I couldn’t stand it if Clyde knew he was right.”

  Ari watched as Riley splashed some cold water on her face and stared glumly at her reflection.

  “You sure you’re ok? I would stay but, it’s just I heard something be
fore and I am worried about-”

  “-seriously Ari,” said Riley, managing a half-hearted smile as she moved over to the door, “I’m just going to go back to Clyde’s and sleep. That’s if he doesn’t freak out that there is a waere in his bed.”

  Ari watched as Riley left the bathroom; she was torn between going after her and searching for Rick. After a few seconds of indecision, Ari decided to at least make sure Riley got back to Clyde ok, and raced back to where the pair had been sitting. By the time she got there, Clyde and Riley were both moving towards the exit, Clyde gripping Riley’s hand so tightly, that it looked like he were supporting her.

  Thinking again of Rick, Ari spun around, spotting him a few seconds later standing at the bar. He smiled momentarily at her, then took the two glasses the bartender handed him and walked casually towards the dance floor. Slowly he scanned the crowd of dancers and then moved over to a girl with blonde curly hair, hazel eyes and a wide array of piercings.

  “Thirsty?” he asked, thrusting one of the drinks he had purchased into the girl’s hand.

  The girl with the piercings looked at Rick in surprise. Ari was sure she’d never seen this girl before and wondered who the hell she was. Rick however seemed to know exactly who the girl was. He lent in close and whispered something to her, his lips brushing intimately against the girl’s intricately pierced ear.

  Perhaps Ari was being paranoid. Whatever she’d thought Gwen and Bridget had been planning, it surely couldn’t be anything sinister if it involved Rick dancing with a girl. Perhaps she had misunderstood. This thought had barely resonated when she heard Rick speak again, low and intimate. Immediately she stopped dead in her tracks.

  “Don’t you like the drink? Maybe you want something else?”

  As Rick leaned towards the girl with piercings, Ari noticed that he was showing her something near his neck. Ari stood on her tippy toes, trying to see what Rick was showing her, fearful that it might be a bite, but there was nothing there.

  After that Rick led the girl away from the dance floor and back towards the corridor near the girl’s bathroom. For a moment Ari remained rooted to the spot, glancing desperately towards Ragon, still in the outside smoking area, and then back to where Rick was disappearing down the hallway. Had Bridget lulled Rick to bring her this poor girl to feed from? There was no time to ask Ragon for help, by the time she got to him it might already be too late. Moving quickly, Ari decided to follow Rick and the mystery girl.

  “I thought you didn’t know who I was,” the girl said in a shy voice, as Rick pulled her along the hallway.

  “Of course I know you,” he replied. “And I know what you are.”

  “What?” the girl said, coming to a stop so quickly that Rick jerk back towards her.

  Ari stopped also, lingering in the dark hallway while straining to listen.

  “It’s ok. I know you’re a…” Rick started to say, before glancing around and adding in a whisper, “vampire.”

  The girl’s mouth fell open. Hiding a few feet down the corridor, Ari did the same. What the hell was going on? How could Rick know she was a vampire? Rick was a human!

  “Don’t worry; your secrets safe with me. I think it’s hot,” said Rick.

  Something strange was going on. From the way this girl was talking, it didn’t seem like she wanted to hurt Rick, in fact it was almost as if she liked him. But if Rick was right and she was a vampire, then what else would she want Rick for, other than to feed from him? She was sure Bridget and Gwen had something to do with it all.

  Still not certain of how this was going to play out, Ari kept her distance, following the pair until they reached the rear exit of the club. Half hidden behind the same potted plant as before, Ari felt a sudden wave of nausea hit her. Reeling over, she gasped loudly, trying to catch her breath, just as a familiar tingling sensation took over her extremities. Though Ari’s eyes were wide open, she could no longer see the dark hallway of the club anymore. Instead she was focused on an entirely different scene, one that had not happened yet… a vision of the future.

  In her premonition Ari was standing outside the club. It was night and the moon was bright in the sky, though there were large patches of grey storm clouds swirling in front of it, temporarily blacking out the large yellow orb. Two people stood underneath a conifer tree, whose long slender pine needles were falling around them every time the harsh wind blew. Ari peered at the two people in her vision, quickly realising that it was Rick and the mystery girl with the piercings.

  “I can’t stand it anymore,” Rick said suddenly, tearing the collar of his shirt down and exposing his neck. “Please April! I want you. I want you to want me.”

  “But I don’t want to…” April said sheepishly, until her eyes became large and her dilated pupils fixed on the rhythmic pulse in Rick’s neck.

  “I want you to,” said Rick, reaching inside his pocket, finally retrieving the slender object that Bridget had handed him earlier.

  With a pang of horror, Ari realised that he was holding a knife, and she watched in disbelief as Rick took the blade and slide it across his neck. Before he could complete the cut however, the vampire called April lost control and was bearing her fangs, throwing her head forward and biting into Rick’s exposed flesh. Ari made to scream but she was no more than an echo, able to watch the future but not to act on it. Then a bright flashing light dazzled the pair, and Ari turned to see Gwen and Bridget appear from the forest, laughing cruelly. Ari saw the source of the flash of light; In Bridget’s hands was a small black camera. April’s face broke into confusion as she glanced between Bridget and Gwen, then down to the ground. Rick had fallen there, pale and ghostly. Immediately April fell to her knees, her face broken with sorrow as she realised that Rick was dead.

  When Ari’s vision ended, she bent down low and breathed deeply, trying to catch her breath. It was hard work. Her dinner was trying to back track up her stomach and it was all she could do to stop herself from vomiting. But there was no time for recover. She had to get to Rick. Now. Forcing herself into a standing position, Ari raced down the now deserted hallway.

  When she reached the fire door, Ari threw it open.

  “Wait!” she screamed, looking around desperately, until her eyes fell on Rick and April, standing underneath the large conifer she had seen from her vision.

  “Ari?” said Rick; he was squinting at Ari, the dull light of the club acting like a spotlight behind her.

  “What’s your problem?” asked April, her eyes becoming pin prick sized as she glared at Ari.

  Ari backed away nervously. The vampire called April was no longer shy or nervous looking, but deadly. Ari felt her pulse hasten, just as her heart hammered in her chest. Instinctively her hands flung up to stop time but just before she released her power, she remembered that Gwen and Bridgett were hiding somewhere in the surrounding forest, waiting to surprise April. What if they didn’t freeze; what if they were too far away and saw Ari using her powers? Throwing caution to the wind, Ari turned her hands around so that her palms were facing April, in an expression of surrender.

  “I’m not here to get in the way. I just thought you should know that Rick’s been lulled. Gwen and Bridget are playing a joke on you. They’re hiding around here, waiting for you to attack him,” Ari said quickly. “I’m Ragon’s source,” she added inventively, “he told me to come out here and warn you.”

  “What?” April exclaimed, looking at Ari as though she were an escaped mental patient. “What are you talking about?”

  “If you don’t believe me, check Rick’s pocket. He has a knife in there that they told him to use on himself so you would attack him,” Ari explained.

  Still with her eyes on Ari, April reached down and retrieved the blade from Rick’s pocket. As soon as her hands gripped the blade, her face fell. She cocked her head to one side, apparently listening carefully.

  “Gwen, Bridget!” April yelled, “Get out here. Now!”

  There was a rustling from nearby and then
Gwen and Bridget appeared. Gwen looked a little dismayed at being caught out, while Bridget was glaring at Ari.

  “Seriously?” said April, shaking her head, before her eyes fell on the camera held in Bridget’s hands. “I tell you that I think a human is cute and this is how you react? What were you going to do? Send photos to my maker?” April turned to Bridget and added, “Or were you hoping to get published in V.A.M.P.I.R.E, writing about the symbiotic relationship between vamps and their sources?”

  “April, it was a joke,” Gwen said loudly.

  “Not a very funny one,” April spat back. “Why would you do this to me? Do you hate the thought of vamps and mortals dating that much? Is it so disgusting to you?”