Blood Hunter (The Grandor Descendant Series) by Bell Stoires Read Free Book Online Page B

computer’s search engine.  
     
    They continued like this for a while. It was tedious work, having to trace both parentage lines and then cross check these with the computer files. They couldn’t find any relatives of Ari’s that were still living, although after an hour, they were finally rewarded when one name stood out.
     
    “Ok, 1690, Mary Grandor, burnt at the stake for practising witchcraft,” said Ragon, reading out of a particularly old and dusty book.  
     
    “Witchcraft?” said Clyde, looking up quickly. “But does that mean… do you think Ari could be a witch?”
     
    Ragon shook his head, though his face hinted that he was contemplating this possibility.
     
    “I’ve heard the name Grandor before,” Ari said slowly, trying to recall exactly when and where she had heard it.
     
    For some reason a series of stars popped into her head. At first Ari thought of Orion’s belt, of the three bright stars that shone in a line; she had often seen the constellation from her bedroom window in the Grace Valley Orphanage. But why was she thinking the name Grandor had anything to do with stars?
     
    “Wait a minute,” said Ragon. “I’ve heard it too; when we went on our first date at the planetarium. There was a star constellation that I showed you called Grandor, remember?”
     
    “That’s right,” said Ari, struggling to remember exactly what the story behind the constellation was. “But what has that got to do with me?”
     
    “What constellation?” Clyde asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”
     
    “When we were in Australia and I took Ari to the planetarium, there was a book of stars and their positions. One of them was called Grandor. I can’t remember the story exactly, but it had something to do with Grandor’s heirs being marked, I think.”
     
    “But it’s just a story,” said Clyde, shrugging indifferently. “That doesn’t mean-”
     
    “-just like how vampires are make believe and stopping time, and witches and wraiths?” retorted Ragon. “We came here to find out why Ari is different, how she can do things none of us has ever seen before. This legend could explain all of that.”
     
    “What legend? It’s just a stupid constellation. Besides, a lot of legends could explain why she can do weird things? Maybe she is Zeus’s long lost daughter, or perhaps Aphrodite sneezed on her when she was a baby?” said Clyde, sneering. “Just because some stars were named Grandor and one of Ari’s relative has the same surname, I don’t think we should jump to conclusions. I think it’s far more likely that this Mary Grandor was a witch, who was burnt at the stake, and that Ari is also a witch.”
     
    “How many witches do you know who can do what Ari can?”
     
    “Well-” Clyde began to say, but Ragon cut him off.
     
    “-and how many witches do you know who can create magic without spells. Ari’s doesn’t chant anything when she stops time. She doesn’t use herbs or tools to see into the future… she just does it. Witches rely on spells to do magic, but Ari isn’t performing spells.”
     
    Ragon and Clyde stood frozen in contemplation, while Ari glanced down at the entry detailing one of her relatives, Mary Grandor, wrestling with the strange thoughts that pulled at every corner of her mind. Why was Clyde so determined that the legend behind the Grandor constellation was just a story? And what if it wasn’t just a story? What if it did have something to do with her abilities? All of these questions swarmed through her head, so that when the three of them finally left the Lancaster Titles Office and Ragon was scaling down the building with her on his back, she barely noticed the drop below.  
     
    They had kept a torn exert from the book which detailed Ariana’s relatives, and Ragon clutched onto this in one hand, while hailing a cab with the other. The first cab they saw drove straight past them, already full of passengers, just as Ari heard the unmistakable sound