Becoming a Legend

by B. Kristin McMichael

  “You ran off without telling Devin again?” Turner asked, while concentrating on the people behind them.

  ‘I can’t tell what they are; they don’t even seem like any type of night human I know,’ Arianna said in her head, projecting her thoughts to Turner.

  “I wouldn’t say ran off. I did go to the theater. I just happened to meet Andrew there,” Arianna replied. Turner tried to suppress the small growl that slipped out at the mention of Andrew. The two people backed slightly away, misinterpreting his growl.

  “You know you can’t be alone with him,” Turner brought his reaction back under control. “He isn’t safe.”

  “He’s as safe as you or Devin,” Arianna replied. “Besides, I wasn’t alone. Thomas was with us.”

  “And Thomas is on his side,” Turner added. Thomas coughed his displeasure at the bus stop, now over a block away. Thomas had excellent hearing. The guy and girl following them didn’t hear or pay attention to Thomas.

  ‘Neither can I. If you hadn’t been hesitant, I don’t know if I’d have sensed them at all. They seem close to baku and dearg-dul, but not completely,’ Turner replied.

  “You know someone your size needs protecting,” Turner commented, exaggerating his height to make a point.

  “I don’t need protection,” Arianna complained. “At least not from Andrew.” All the dominant testosterone drove her nuts. It was hard enough to be caught between them all the time, but the excessive competition was crazy.

  ‘They’re stalking us,’ Arianna commented, not turning around. She felt the followers behind her. Because she was the first female baku on record, Arianna assumed that the girl must be a dearg-dul, but the girl was just a bit different than what Arianna would call a dearg-dul. Arianna couldn’t sense a physical difference, but the girl’s scent was just off somehow.

  “You know, I’m running out of short jokes.” Turner tried to lighten the mood to keep the people behind them guessing. Arianna pulled away from him and punched him lightly in the gut before crossing her arms in protest.

  ‘This is exactly what Gabriel was talking about. We need to take them back unharmed and alive. Something is really off with them.’ Arianna continued her pout while they walked.

  ‘They almost smell like you.’ Thomas referred to the mixture of night humans that Arianna was.

  “I’m not finished growing,” Arianna complained. Turner was an excellent tactician. She knew where he wanted this conversation to go. “But if I wanted, I could be as tall as you.” Arianna changed from day to night human form. She grew almost eight inches in height. Now she was only slightly shorter than Turner. Turner smiled as she understood his jab at her height.

  “But I’m still taller,” he added, changing instantly to his night human form also. He was now still a head taller than her. Fur covered much of his body and long, sharp claws protruded at the end of each finger. He was an excellent fighter. Those claws could be deadly when he needed them to be.

  “Not fair,” Arianna complained, and Turner swooped her off her feet and into his arms, retracting his claws to be safe. The normally overwhelming feeling of love that pulled Arianna to Turner was subdued by his concentration. “Put me down.” She playfully hit his chest. Turner nuzzled his furry face to hers to make her squirm.

  ‘We can’t strike first,’ Arianna complained. ‘Devin and Molina are on their way but want us to wait.’

  “What’s the magic word?” Turner rubbed his furry face against her cheek.

  “Now?” Arianna guessed. Turner laughed and put her down. He really did have to follow her command, even if he didn’t like to follow rules. Arianna slid to the ground and pretended to pout. Turner then dramatically dropped to his knees and bowed before her.

  “Oh, all powerful leader, I am sorry to have offended you.” Turner picked up her hand to kiss it. Arianna smiled at his display and his ever-growing plan. With her hand near his mouth, he could take blood from her discreetly so that he was powerful enough to fight anyone. Her team, with the exception of Devin, had grown used to using her blood when fighting to protect her. With a power-up from her blood, her guards and keepers could defend her against anyone, keeping her completely safe.

  ‘So, you want the girl or the guy?’ Turner asked. Turner jumped up, swooping Arianna into his arms to carry her to the park. He wanted to keep in the moment with her in his arms, but the strangers behind them were waiting.

  ‘The baku,’ Arianna replied, still trying to sense which one was the baku. Arianna guessed the male had to be. ‘We don’t need a repeat of our exercises with Gabriel.’ The previous week Gabriel had taught Arianna how baku could make someone fall asleep with just a tap to the back. Turner, being the smart-aleck he was most of the time, said that it wouldn’t work on him. Gabriel proved otherwise.

  ‘Hey, good way to ruin a man’s self-confidence.’ Turner set her down finally.

  ‘Stay back,’ Arianna commanded of Thomas when he made to move. ‘We don’t know where they came from or if there are more.’

  Arianna didn’t hesitate as the two people behind them suddenly charged them. In a blink of an eye, Arianna was behind the male, pressing down expertly on his shoulder. He slumped to the ground instantly. Gabriel had been smart to show her that move so recently. Arianna turned to find Turner exchanging blows and slowly winning over the girl as well. He was trying to not hurt her, but the girl fought ferociously. Arianna heard a crack as he landed another blow. The girl fell to the ground and hit her head, leaving her body limp.

  “I said not to hurt them,” Arianna complained as she approached the girl, and Turner stood over the now unconscious boy. Turner dragged the body of the boy over next to her. Arianna picked up the girls arm. Something was extremely off with her. Arianna was the only hybrid night human that ever existed. Now it seemed like there were more.

  “I wasn’t trying,” Turner replied. “I’m just still not used to your blood.” Arianna’s unique blood was ten times more powerful than even the strongest night humans. Turner had used her blood several times in the past, but he still couldn’t control the great increase of his own strength due to drinking it.

  “Devin is on his way with Molina, so we need to just wait,” she said quietly, still studying the two unconscious bodies. Arianna walked over to the boy and looked at him. He had to be a baku for sure, but not one of her clan. Arianna had yet to meet the other clans. Between running the Randolph clan of dearg-dul and the baku Grace clan, she had little free time to do anything else. And when she did get a moment or two, Gabriel was always there, trying to train her further for a moment like this.

  “What do you think they are?” Arianna asked, looking down at the two people. She stared hard at them, but nothing distinguished where they came from. The girl’s bleach-blond hair was noticeable, but not associated with a specific location. The guy was just average in height and coloring. Nothing on their clothing placed them from a particular area or clan.

  “She smells more dearg-dul than anything. Yet there’s another scent on her,” Turner explained, leaning down over the girl. He had more knowledge of the night human world because, unlike Arianna, he was raised in it. He looked over the girl first. Something seemed odd about her blond hair, but he couldn’t place it. Next, he moved over to the guy.

  “Maybe she’s been hanging out with this guy too much,” Arianna suggested. “Maybe my existence is really changing everything. More night humans getting along...”

  It was a stretch to think that night humans could get along. They’d been fighting for hundreds of years, and her birth didn’t change a thing. Both sides targeted her parents to kill her mother before Arianna was even born. They couldn’t even say for sure who killed her father just before her fifth birthday. The only way to keep her safe was to put her with Lilly and Dean, her mother’s best friend who had recently lost a child. They kept her hidden and away from prying eyes for almost eleven years, until Arianna turned into a dearg-dul on her sixteenth birthday like all other dearg-duls had
.

  “No, it isn’t his scent.” Turner confirmed Arianna’s suspicion with his excellent lycanthrope sense of smell. Turner stared harder at the girl. He reached down to pick up her arm and froze. Over forty people appeared out of nowhere and encircled Arianna and Turner along with the two unconscious forms at their feet.

  “I wouldn’t touch them if you want to keep your arm,” an older, gray-haired man said, stepping from the group.

  Arianna turned slowly to view all the people. They ranged from as young as herself to as old as her great uncle Gabriel. The youngest of the group stared hard at her with his dark eyes, studying her intently. Arianna’s blue eyes seemed to mesmerize everyone standing around them, but he was especially hooked. Beyond the immense curiosity, Arianna felt the hatred burning inside each person. The hate wasn’t directed at her, but at Turner beside her. Each person there seemed to want to claim Arianna for their own. The oldest of the group waited for a response from Turner. The crowd was made up entirely of night humans, but they were all different kinds. Arianna looked around one more time before turning back to Turner.

  “And you’d be threatening us, why?” Turner asked the older man. “If I remember correctly, they attacked us.” Arianna reached behind Turner and into his back pocket. She pressed the button of the locator as Turner waited for a response. Even being outnumbered, Turner smiled at the motion. Devin and Molina were already on their way, but now they would hurry.

  The man smiled, causing crinkles at the corners of his eyes. He wanted to move closer and touch Arianna, but the response it would provoke from her keeper next to her kept him away. “It was a simple misunderstanding. And since I can see they caused no harm, I’ll take them back to our clan and decide the punishment.”

  ‘Forty-two night humans,’ she replied. A puff of dust flitted into the air as Thomas landed beside her. Thomas moved his large black wings near to protect Arianna’s back as he stood beside her. Arianna grabbed his arm and connected to his blood. Her ability to talk through blood only extended to those she had drank the blood of. Thomas wasn’t one of them.

  ‘Options?’ Turner asked. He had also scanned the crowd. It would still be a few minutes before Molina and the others arrived.

  ‘I can take Arianna out of here through the sky,’ Thomas suggested.

  ‘I can’t be sure if anyone is a tengu; their scent is all messed up,’ Arianna replied, still unsure of what to do. ‘That’s a chance we shouldn’t take right now. You could easily get away from any of them alone, but with my extra weight, it might not be possible. And we can’t leave Turner alone.’

  Thomas snorted, and Turner didn’t even turn to glare at him. Thomas and Turner’s dislike of each other went beyond their night human forms. Thomas was the typical studious, never-do-wrong student and Turner never followed a rule in his life. Everything about the two boys conflicted, and it was hard to keep them from fighting about everything. After a year, they still bickered all the time, but it was more like an old married couple.

  ‘Yes. You can, and you will. Your safety is our top priority,’ Turner replied, and Thomas nodded. They never could get along unless the topic was Arianna’s safety.

  ‘But we don’t know if it’s safe to whisk me away. Right now just keep them talking. Molina should only take another thirty seconds or so.’ Molina was the head of Arianna’s security team. She was the best dearg-dul when it came to protection and was never far behind Arianna ever. Turner looked back to the older man to continue their conversation.

  “I don’t know if I’d say no harm. First off, they are trespassing. These grounds belong to Lady Randolph. We’re within our right to detain and question any night human that has not previously asked for permission to be here,” Turner explained.

  “I believe we have permission,” the man replied.

  “From whom?” Arianna asked, pausing from her search for Devin and Molina.

  “Lord Seeger was to arrange for our visit here,” the man replied with a slight bow to Arianna.

  “You need more than just the permission of Lord Seeger and the council to show up here,” Arianna replied, and the man’s eyes quickly flashed across the crowd to another person. The young man gave a slight shake of his head no. Arianna recognized the boy. He had a slight familiarity to him that she couldn’t place. “And I see there was no permission from the Grace clan. Thus, they were trespassing.”

  “I believe we’re on neutral ground here,” the older man replied.

  “This land is jointly run by the Randolph and Grace families. There’s no more neutral land between the two clans as each are free to go anywhere within both clan’s boundaries,” Turner explained. The man’s smile faltered as he took in the knowledge.

  “The rumor is true?” he asked quietly.

  “Did you think Seeger was lying?” Thomas replied though the question wasn’t meant for him. “It has been this way for a year now. You could at least use secondary sources.” Thomas would be the one to complain that someone attacking them didn’t do enough of a background check before attacking. Thomas followed the rules and lived by them.

  “That was just the first offense,” Turner continued. “Second, we do not allow unprovoked attacks here on any kind of night human. Offenders have the right to defend their actions before the Lady Randolph. But they need to wake first.” Turner pointed to the two people lying still unconscious on the ground. Turner bent down to touch the teenager lying at his feet in an attempt to wake him.

  “That’s not advisable,” the man said just before Thomas instantly surrounded Arianna with his wings while Turner threw his arm out. One dart hit Turner’s arm while two more hit Thomas, all intended for Arianna. Turner took the dart from his arm and flung it accurately at the assailant in the group. Reaching over he grabbed the two stuck in Thomas’ wing and randomly threw them to hit two more people in the crowd. Turner, while slightly stunned from the dart, still stood to protect Arianna. Thomas, taking double the dose, leaned into her.

  The man smiled, and his fangs grew while his eyes muddied to a brownish color. He was a night human and that he was the leader of the group was evident as his power started to seep out. He was still no match for Arianna, but now both her guards were injured. Arianna strained a smile in return. It would be a game of chicken: who had the most power and who would move first.

  ‘Get here quick,’ she sent a message to her guards and Gabriel. ‘Turner and Thomas are barely hanging on’ Arianna heard Devin and Molina coming from not too far away. Gabriel was further away but running at full speed.

  “It seems you have to make a choice,” the man took a step forward as Thomas slumped to the ground leaning against Arianna.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled as his eyes shut. Arianna felt the pain ripple off Thomas. Whatever was in those darts was effective.

  “You can either protect your friends,” the man waved to Turner, who was now bracing himself against Arianna, also trying to make a good show of strength that was slowly fading.

  ‘I can hold on longer,’ Turner told Arianna. ‘Your blood will eat through the drug quickly. I’ll just be a bit weaker than we want at this point.’ He laid his head on her shoulder as it began to ache.

  “Or, you can protect the two at your feet. Either way, we’re not leaving without taking two people back with us.” The man slowly took another step forward. Arianna looked at Thomas, whom she was completely supporting in a sitting position on the ground, and to Turner who was fighting to stay awake. Devin was still too far away to be helpful yet. The man tentatively reached down and took the girl to pass on to someone next to him. Next he reached for the boy.

  Devin’s first punch landed on an unsuspecting person on the outside of the ring of supporters. The leader hesitated as he heard the crack of Devin’s fist against several people.

  ‘Sorry,’ Arianna said to Turner as she let him slide to the ground next to Thomas.

  Reaching forward, she lunged at the man who had refocused his attention to quickly grab the boy befo
re Devin made it any further. Arianna’s long nails missed the boy, but caught the man’s arm as he hurriedly retreated with his companions in tow. Arianna committed the blood to memory. This man was an enemy. Molina was right behind Devin, fighting their way into the circle. Swiftly after the lead man left, the forty-two night humans began to also leave, just as quietly as they came.

  THREE

  “Man, that leaves quite a headache,” Turner complained, as he sat at the diner with Arianna and Thomas. Thomas nodded in agreement. Turner sat next to Arianna in the newly rebuilt diner. After last year when it was blown up, it was rebuilt to better than new condition. The squeaky red vinyl seats looked like the old ones, but shinier. The new color theme added a touch of black to the red and white décor. The diner owned by Arianna’s guardians had always been a bit run-down, now it only looked old in a retro way.

  “I could give you a little more blood,” Arianna offered. “Maybe it would help make it go away faster.”

  “No, I think that’s what’s causing the headache,” Molina said, sitting down beside Thomas. “Mori analyzed what was found left over in Thomas’ blood, and it was a drug specifically designed for your blood. It’s twice as effective when he has your blood in him.”

  “Someone is making drugs based on my blood?” Arianna was a bit alarmed. “When did they get hold of my blood?”

  “Not your blood,” Devin added, seeming to still be mad from earlier. He sat in the booth behind Thomas and Molina with his back to the four of them. He didn’t even turn around to talk to them. Arianna didn’t need her sensitive baku night human form to pick up the slight anger he was still radiating.

  “They designed the drug for both dearg-dul and baku blood, and put it together, as if they knew they would be shooting someone who had both blood in their veins,” Molina replied when Devin didn’t continue.