A Dark Night (Book One of The Grandor Descendant series) by Bell Stoires Page B

inside,” he croaked. “Lock the doors.”
    Instan tly Ari was on her feet; she was half way to the door when a bright golden light from across the valley caught her attention. She squinted up at it, watching as it crept across the driveway, realising finally that it was the sunrise. The warm rays shone brightly down on her, bringing a sense of comfort, until a loud, blood curdling scream punctuated the air.
    The sunshine singed Ragon’s skin, exposing scorched burnt flesh. He struggled to his feet but then fell back weakly, trying to hide his face from the light as it blistered. Ari watched him in confusion, and then the words he had spoken flooded back; we don’t do well in sunlight . Ari hesitated, watching as Ragon’s body contorted in the light. Looking down at him, she didn’t see the monster which had killed those boy’s, she only saw the mystery man from the library; the man with the bright green eyes who had caught her attention, time and time again, sitting on the couch by the stairs as he read.        
    “What are yo u doing Ari?” she asked herself, as she raced to Ragon and began dragging him back towards the house.
     
    It took her a while to pull him inside. Her hands were still bound but she just managed to clasp onto him and gain enough momentum to pull. As soon as they were inside, she raced to each of the windows, pulling the heavy curtains closed so as to block out as much sunlight as possible, before remembering that they had UV protection. When finally she was sure that there was no light seeping through any cracks, she bolted the front door behind her and collapsed onto the floor next to Ragon, panting heavily from her efforts.
    Ragon’s body was smoking a little, his beanie burnt and singed, and she laid her cold hands against his unusually hot skin, thinking that perhaps it might soothe the burns. Without realising it, her head dropped slowly onto Ragon’s chest, just as a strange floating feeling replaced the fearful terror that had been with her for what felt like hours. She blinked a few times, staring up at the bland ceiling. Soon her mind began to feel disjointed from her body and she slipped into unconsciousness, one hand resting over Ragon’s silent heart.

Chapter 5- Returned Favour
     
    Ari woke in a cold sweat several hours later. An acrid burning smell had roused her and her eyes opened heavily, as if great weights weighed down each eyelid. She breathed in and coughed. Jumping up in horror, Ari realised what the smell was.
    “Ragon,” she breathed, looking down at his singed body.
    His normally handsome features were distorted. His hair was scorched and his clothes were patchy, as if acid had eaten through them. Some parts of his skin were blackened and in others, the normally smooth marble surface was blistered. He looked dead; there was no other word to describe it. Trying hard to think, Ari removed the black buttoned shirt he wore, pulling away the fabric as delicately as possible where it had melted against his skin. Though her hands were still bound, she cupped them together, placing them over his heart. There was no beat, no sound- nothing.
    “Damn it,” she swore. 
    Without thinking she began CPR. The chains around her wrists made it difficult, but she managed to intertwine her fingers and perform the necessary compressions against his chest. His stone body made trying to revive him challenging, as if she were pressing down on a block of ice. Quickly the effort became too much and in frustration she bit down hard on her lower lip and tasted blood.
     
    She wasn’t sure how long it had been before she realised her actions were superfluous. Ragon was a vampire; did they even have a heartbeat? Did they need oxygen? When the muscles in her arms began to spasm from the effort, she finally stopped. Her bound hands dropped uselessly in front of her and she collapsed back on the floor next to Ragon.
    This is bullshit, Ari thought.
    Ragon had rescued her and now he