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

concrete parking lot.
    “Miss Sol,” said Ms Pettigrew, her harsh and high pitched voice comparable to nails on a chalk board.
    Ari rolled her eyes. She had been attacked, kidnapped , and was currently being held in protective custody by a vampire, and yet she was more fearful of this old dragon than all of them combined. Ms Pettigrew was Ari’s landlord, though Ari often thought of her as a wicked stepmother. Ms Pettigrew must have been around sixty years of age, though she dressed as if she weren’t yet twenty. Currently she was wearing a pair of tight black shiny leggings, high heels, and a silver and black dress that didn’t quite make it to her knees, all held tight with a hideous pink belt around her waist.
    “Yes M s Pettigrew,” said Ari, spinning around to face the woman.
    “Going somewhere?” asked Ms Pettigrew, eying Ragon eagerly before placing one of her red manicured fingernails into her teeth and sucking hard.
    “Just staying at a friend’s for a while,” said Ari, making to turn around until Ms Pettigrew reached a hand out and grabbed her shoulder.
    “You’re two weeks behind in rent and now I find you packing a suitcas e and sneaking out at night,” snarled Ms Pettigrew. “This isn’t a halfway house; you think I won’t take your bond and rent your room out? You’ve been gone for days; I was just about to phone the police.”
    Ragon growled and both Ari and Ms Pettigrew looked up at him in surprise. Seeing the angered look on Ragon’s face, Ari felt fearful, but instead of bearing his fangs or moving over to Ari’s landlord threateningly, Ragon reached for something from his jacket.
    “How much does she owe?” he asked, holding his wallet out and flipping through several crisp, green hundred dollar bills.
    “ $250 to take her up to date,” said Ms Pettigrew, smiling sweetly at Ragon as she showed off her lipstick smeared, yellow teeth.
    “This should cover her for the next few months,” said Ragon, handing over a thick wad of bills.
    Ari stared in disbelief at the exchange .
    “Take this also,” he added, thrusting a gold credit card into the woman’s hand. “Consider her rent paid in full; no need to call the police now.”
    M s Pettigrew was still counting the money when Ragon placed his hand cautiously on Ari’s shoulder and directed her back to his bike.
     
    As soon as they got home, Ragon insisted that Ari quit her university studies. Ari had thought that their brief meeting with her landlord had instigated this.
    “You heard what that woman said,” said Ragon, pulling up a chair and placing a small laptop in front of Ari. “Do you have anyone else that might check up on you?”
    Ari looked up from the computer monitor .
    “ No not really. I’m supposed to report in with Centrelink to get youth allowance,” she said. “Do I really have to stop vet? It’s just…” she said, choosing her words carefully, “I worked really hard to get into vet.”
    “I know ,” said Ragon, looking down at her understandingly, before adding, “I mean… I know that you want to finish your course. And you don’t need to worry about getting money from the government. I will look after you. But it is just too dangerous you going to university. I can’t protect you during the day. If Kiara found out that you were spending your waking hours studying at university, she could easily send someone after you. Look at Paige. Look at what happened to her. Kiara doesn’t care what she has to do to see me suffer.”
    Ari’s eyes were wide when Ragon reached for her hand. It wasn’t until he retrieved the bag the pharmacy assistant had given them, that she realised he was beginning to bandage her wrist.
    “It’s my fault that you are in danger,” he said, slowly dabbing her wrist with iodine. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
    Ari let th ese words circle around her head. It was clear that Ragon cared about her; the question was why. Though she understood little of the ways