A Dark Night (Book One of The Grandor Descendant series) Read Free Page B

ground. His hands were suddenly bawled into fists and his eyes narrowed darkly.
    “It’s ok. They won’t be able to hurt you,” he said, moving further into the room. “They won’t be able to hurt anyone else, ever again.”
    What did that mean? This close, Ari could make out the stubble that lined her rescuer’s face. No longer was he wearing a beanie, as he often did at the library, but now his dark hair was free and it reached down past his ears. 
    “ But… but why did they attack me?” she asked.
    Perhaps if she had of been in a normal frame of mind , then she would have known that he could not know the answer to this question, but she was not thinking logically.
    “They were monsters,” he said , a dark look in his eyes.
    Ari watched his lips as he spoke and let out a little hysterical laugh.
    “What is it?” he asked, inching closer. “What else do you remember?”
    She tried to push her thoughts away from her and shook her head. When she stopped her brain felt scrambled, but still the same terrifying image remained.
    “It’s just… I thought I saw-” she began to say, recalling how the man before had rescued her. How he had moved faster than any man could. How he had broken bones as if they were twigs from a branch. How there had been fangs where there should have been teeth. How he had reached down to the boy who had almost raped her and bit him; how he had drunk his blood. 
    “What did you think you saw?” he asked, still moving closer.
    Ari felt the distance between them narrow and she was suddenly fearful. 
    “I think I’m losing my mind,” she said, backing away. “I thought you killed those guys and…”
    “- and what?” he asked.
    Slowly Ari shook her head again, but this time a small tear forced it way down her cheek. A deep low sigh escaped her rescuer and he moved away from her, so as to sit on the floor near the door, putting as much space as possible between them. Ari watched him, struck by how wretched he looked.
    D esperate to cling onto anything that made sense, Ari forced herself to remember something true, anything that was factual; her first time driving a car; the moment she realised she had been accepted into vet; her first kiss; the moment she had seen his green eyes staring at her from behind the book she had taken. All of these thoughts rang through her head, as if she were watching her life flash before her on fast forward. Escaping from this onslaught, one thought rose to the surface, bringing even more confusion: her favourite book, Dracula . The story about vampires, but that was impossible- it was just a story.
    Without having any parents, Ari had learnt early on that things like Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy were just make believe. But she had seen this, seen his fangs. Perhaps they were fake; prosthetics? But no, it wasn’t just that! He had moved too fast, been too strong; he had drunk blood.
    The only thing that made sense bought a nother wave of shivers over Ari and an odd smile appeared on her lips, giving her the appearance of a deranged person.
    “ I thought I saw fangs,” she whispered, not quite believing the word that she spoke. “I thought I saw you drink blood.”
    The stranger, who was still looking intently at Ari nodded once, saying, “I am sorry.”
    “But you saved me!” yelled Ari, trying to make sense of his apology. “You can’t be… I must be… what the hell is happening to me?” As she spoke Ari pulled at her hair, giving her a deranged appearance. “But I can’t have… and you can’t be…” She had begun rocking back and forth and then slowly sat down on the floor as she said, “What’s wrong with me?”
    “Nothing ’s wrong with you,” he said defensively.
    “But… but,” said Air, still swaying gently. “Oh god; I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
    “It’s ok,” said the stranger, his eyes livid as he watched Ari begin to cry. “You’re not going crazy.”
    “ But then how did