Becoming a Legend

by B. Kristin McMichael

  “I’ve been off for weeks,” Arianna admitted. She looked back to him and saw he was still waiting for an answer. Devin was worried about the excessive amount of energy she used to heal the dying tengu. “But no, nothing new this time.”

  “Good. Then we need to call a quick meeting of the council. They’re all here at the estate.” Devin shuffled through his papers, reorganizing them. He turned to her and moved closer on the bed.

  “What for now?” Arianna asked. Arianna was growing more and more impatient with the council. She dreaded every meeting that they called, and she didn’t want to start calling her own. The old, unpleasant men were a bit too much to handle.

  “To tell them you’ve made some progress, and that we need to be left alone so that you can get to know your two new keepers better,” Devin replied, pulling her onto his lap. Arianna had to concentrate to keep from melting into his arms.

  “Get to know better? I already…” she began, but Devin put a finger on her lips and silenced her with a kiss. It was the first time in a while that he’d made a move on her. Of course they were completely alone in her bedroom, but it was still nice to see him feel anything toward her.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Arianna tried to pull away, but Devin stopped her. A slight chink in his emotional armor opened, and she felt his love seep out. Arianna wanted to relish in the feeling that was so often hidden, but he silently answered her question first, knowing that she could hear his thoughts if they were loud enough.

  ‘Security has been breached. We need to get out of here, but we need a good cover. Mori has already set everything up. I’ll explain more later. We’re being monitored, so we can’t go quiet for long.’ Devin pulled back from the kiss and stared at her a bit more before continuing. ‘At least not without keeping occupied with something that requires no talking.’ Devin maneuvered Arianna off his lap and under him. He rested on his arms above her as he began kissing her again.

  ‘Breached?’ Arianna could only squeak out one thought before she decided she would rather enjoy the attention from Devin. Security problems were instantly forgotten.

  ‘Someone is trying to harm you, so plan B was put into action. Gabriel left first, but will be back soon to get you.’ Devin was finding no difficulties in making out with Arianna while talking at the same time. Arianna, on the other hand, couldn’t fully comprehend the words he was saying. Devin noticed and stopped mid kiss. Arianna pulled back and sighed. He was back in protection mode already, his heart bottled up. ‘Andrew is waiting for you.’

  Arianna flinched at Andrew’s name. She shouldn’t be making out with one boy one day, and another the next. She knew how Andrew felt about her, and unless she made up her mind and chose one of them, she wasn’t being fair to either. Devin rolled to his side and gently touched her face. Arianna closed her eyes and just felt his touch. His calloused fingers were always gentle with her. It was different than the sparks that went with Andrew’s touch, but not any less satisfying. Andrew was exciting and she was drawn to him, but Devin was mysterious and just as loving when they were alone. Arianna’s heart felt like it was being torn in two. She loved them both in their own ways.

  “Has the council met my keepers then?” Arianna asked, looking around the room for the source of their spying. Nothing stood out, but Devin seemed to be sure that their conversation was not private—even in her own bedroom.

  “No, they’re waiting in the living room to go with us.” Devin nodded to the room outside her door.

  Arianna pulled Devin close and kissed him again. ‘That’s Patrick in the living room, not Andrew.’

  ‘And Patrick is pretending to be your new baku keeper. It was his offer after you saved Ken’s life.’ Devin kept the kiss going, not necessarily out of necessity.

  ‘I saved him?’ Arianna asked, completely forgetting what she had been doing before she passed out this time. It was becoming a regular thing now, so she hadn’t thought back to the moment.

  “What happened back at home?” Arianna asked, momentarily distracted from their kissing session.

  “Just as you suspected, you could save Ken. You’re stronger than anyone can imagine. The council will be happy to hear that.” Devin raised his eyebrows, mocking his own comment. Devin reached over and pulled Arianna on top of him. Arianna wanted to struggle and wiggle away, but it was too nice to be so close to him, no matter how torn her heart was.

  “Can’t we just stay here, alone, little longer?” Arianna complained. It was true that her time with Devin was limited lately—mainly because she kept falling asleep. Since Devin was offering, Arianna was going to try to take advantage of the situation and have more time with him. It was only a secondary benefit that she could avoid the council.

  “That’s a thought,” Devin’s fingers traced her back, ending up on her neck, “but I’m sure we need to get to the meeting. They’ll all be happy to hear the news on the keepers. If you really insist we stay here, though, it’s your word I must follow.” Devin raised his eyebrows, challenging her to order him around. Arianna hadn’t, and couldn’t, bring herself to order him around. Arianna heard Patrick cough from the living room. His hearing was excellent in his baku form.

  “What else would they love to hear?” Arianna asked, teasing Devin as she cuddled closer to him, bodies so close that he sighed.

  “That you’re awake and ready to meet with them,” Devin replied, extracting himself from the bed reluctantly. Arianna reached back up to him and tugged at his arm. He tried to keep his cool and pull away, but couldn’t when she was making her sad face.

  “Maybe we can stay here just a little bit longer?” she begged, knowing how to get her way. Devin sighed. It was a battle he wasn’t going to win. Responsibility warred with his duty to make her happy.

  After delaying the inevitable, Arianna finally got up and met with the council. Arianna stood in front of the men she despised for the second time in less than a week. All twelve of them ignored her and continued talking with their neighbors. They were beginning to feel she wasn’t worth their time unless they called the meeting. Arianna tried to glare at Devin for actually making her meet with them again, but couldn’t get thoughts from the morning out of her mind. He didn’t smile back, but she felt the confidence radiate off him. Arianna focused back on their silent conversations but immediately grew grumpier. Not a single person was willing to acknowledge her even in their minds. Finally, the chatter calmed down as Seeger stood.

  “And to what do we owe the pleasure of your company for this emergency meeting?” Lord Seeger asked, though he already knew why they had been called. Arianna already got that he was the one that bugged her room to listen in on even her most private conversations. The presence of the tengu and baku behind her explained it all to the rest of the council also.

  “I have a formal commitment from a tengu. After our last meeting, Thomas asked me to stay on as my keeper. My cousin Patrick owes me a life debt, so he’s here for the week to help me figure out who would be the best choice for a baku keeper from the Grace clan. Whoever I chose will be obligated to be my keeper. Baku rules dictate that they must follow the orders of the clan or be exiled, so there will be no dispute on the issue,” Arianna said the rehearsed speech just as Devin told her to. The eyes of all the men snapped to her. She had never shown any inclination over the past year to even trying to fulfill the legend and collect a keeper of each race.

  “We plan to keep to ourselves in my apartment this week as Patrick and I go over every possibility that would lead to the best match. When I return to the Grace clan next week I can announce my choice.” The men around the table continued to stare at her in awe. They had tried for a year to get her to take them seriously. The legend stated she must have a keeper of each race to gain power over all the clans. Dearg-dul tended to be very superstitious, and they took the legend seriously, even if the seventeen-year-old brat they called their leader didn’t.

  “Additionally, I will be unable to make personal appearances this week.” Lo
rd Seeger raised his eyebrows in a question he wasn’t willing to ask. “Devin and Turner will be gone all next week to visit Lord Winter. With two of my best guards gone, they feel it will not be safe for me to be out and about. If you need anything, I can be reached in my quarters.” Everyone continued to stare. “I’m done; you can all leave now.”

  The men all watched as she stood and followed Devin out of the room. She slowed her walk to hear what everyone was saying as she left. Once they were far enough away that everyone began to talk, Arianna leaned over to Devin. “Can we sit a minute? I’ve not been feeling well.”

  Devin nodded, ushering her to a seat. Ahead, her guard slowed, as had the ones behind her. Unknown to the council men, Arianna used her superb hearing to listen to the room she just left.

  “What’s she planning now Seeger?” a raspy voice asked.

  “How am I supposed to know?” Seeger replied, tapping the cane he liked to carry around. He didn’t need it, but he felt that it added to his authority.

  “You bugged her room ages ago; we all know that. So what’s going on? She spends months rejecting our plans and now is going through with it?” the man continued.

  “Maybe she has finally listened to Randolph’s dog,” another replied, indicating Devin. Arianna cringed. It bothered Devin to be called a dog. No one, besides Andrew, ever did to his face, but it hurt anyways.

  “No, it wasn’t his suggestion,” Seeger replied, neither admitting nor denying that he had bugged her room.

  ‘Anything good?’ Turner asked, plopping down next to Arianna in the hallway. Turner was actually the best actor of the group. Arianna could always see behind his facade, but his outside was always the cheerful exterior and rebel to the last straw. Turner casually brushed his reddish brown hair away from his face as he asked, making more of a mess of his hair than fixing it.

  Arianna smiled and brushed his hair back, straightening it. ‘They aren’t even using silent communications as they assume I cannot hear them. How can they be so stupid?’ Arianna went back to listening to the room.

  “You said she wasn’t listening to us,” one voice accused someone. They were now in a heated argument as to why Arianna did what she did.

  “It seems she is,” Seeger replied, contemplating the situation himself.

  “What are we supposed to do now?” someone else asked. “She might actually go through with finding everyone. Once that’s done, everything will start. We don’t have the rest of the legend, so we have to proceed with caution. Don’t you see how powerful she already is?”

  “Then we need to plant someone as a mole,” a third voice argued.

  “I’m already on that,” Seeger replied. “My son is coming next week to stay here at the manor. I’m going to get him a job close to the brat and make sure she falls for him.” Arianna pulled in the anger she was trying to contain for Seeger. First, he killed her grandfather and got away with it, and now, he was calling her a brat. No one liked her being in power even though Devin did the majority of the work. It was the symbol of her that they disliked. None of the men liked coming in second to a teenage girl who was more than twice as powerful as the next in line. They couldn’t even challenge her.

  “Can he actually do that? She’s pretty attached to the Winter boy and Randolph’s dog,” the first voice added.

  “Don’t worry about Michael,” Seeger replied. “The boy won’t even know what hit him. He already thinks she’s his soul mate. He’s so easily fooled. All I had to do was feed him some lies about her. He will want to confirm what I say, but then he will do anything to win her over.”

  “Maybe you should have him come early if Turner and Devin are gone this week,” the second voice suggested.

  “We have some work to do first, but he will be here soon,” Seeger replied as all the men finally stood to leave the room. One man paused next to him as the rest exited.

  “Do you think, once he gets her to fall for him, he will still be loyal to us? He already wants to marry her. That’s problem enough. What if the other clans come for her before Michael can act?”

  “My son is my son. He knows what comes first,” Seeger laughed.

  “And he will be able to kill her?” the voice asked Seeger. Arianna tried to remember which man was talking, as she knew Devin would ask, but she could not.

  “Of course,” Seeger replied. “She will be weakened from the poison, and he knows who’s in charge. Since she won’t marry, we need to get rid of her before we lose the clan to an outsider.”

  Arianna relayed everything back to Devin, Turner, and Thomas. Slowly she stood and listened for more, but no one continued to talk. She stretched and yawned. Unfortunately, it was true that she wasn’t feeling well. Turner wrapped an arm around her and ushered her to her room. His strength was just what she needed after finding out Seeger wasn’t planning to stop just with her grandfather’s death. She was next on his list.

  “We need you to stay awake,” Turner said quietly. Arianna’s head snapped up, and she looked to ask why, but kept silent. Devin had fed her what to say to the men word-for-word, but hadn’t explained anything. She didn’t know what they were doing from then on, and didn’t get a chance to ask.

  As they entered her apartment, Molina began setting up equipment around the room. They ushered Arianna into the dining room and continued to set up various sound muffling machines. Molina whizzed about and her purple spikes of hair bobbing about kept Arianna’s interest even though her tiredness was setting in. Molina was in a hurry, but she stopped to smile at Arianna with all the concern of an older sister. Fortunately, Molina had been a part of her team for the past year as Arianna was otherwise surrounded by male guards and keepers. While Molina was tough as nails, she was also a girl. The only girl Arianna could go to for any advice or just for girl time when the testosterone got to be too much for her to handle. Arianna and Molina had a special bond being female in a male world.

  “That should be good,” Molina added for the men in the room as Arianna saw she was already done.

  “Do you feel okay?” Molina asked quietly.

  “Umm, sure.” Arianna sat back and closed her eyes.

  “Sorry,” Molina added even more quietly, and Arianna didn’t know if she actually heard it or not.

  “Nelson, go check with Mori that we’re safe to talk.” Molina was always in charge but even she had a soft spot for Arianna. Molina sat beside Arianna and felt her head for a fever.

  “Safe?” Arianna tried to suppress a yawn. Nelson returned to the room and nodded. Arianna closed her eyes and laid her head on the table. It was surprisingly comfortable.

  “Ari.” Turner nudged her face gently. “Ari, please stay awake. Don’t make me pinch you.” Arianna smiled but didn’t raise her head.

  “We need to talk now, and don’t have much time,” Devin added. Arianna still didn’t move. She was too tired. “Ari, please open your eyes,” Devin pleaded. He reached over and stroked her hand. Momentarily, she felt the zing and tingle that she typically felt only with Andrew. It zapped her upright and she looked over to him. Devin was already across the room, standing by Patrick, waiting for something.

  “As you thought, she has more than triple the amount of any of us. Not only was she breathing it in for weeks like we were, but feeding on you guys gave her even more toxin,” Molina explained, holding Mori’s report.

  “My father just landed on the roof,” Patrick added to Devin. Arianna peered over at him, but he didn’t meet her gaze. They were again making plans without consulting Arianna. She rubbed her eyes and then decided to just rest her head again. They weren’t talking to her anyway.

  Arianna could, for once, sense something from Devin, and it was worry. She opened her eyes and stared at him. Worry was etched all over his face. It wasn’t like Devin to be worried.

  “What?” she asked groggily, trying to stay awake. “What toxin, and what’s going on?”

  “Someone has been poisoning us here. I’d give you two guesses, but I think y
ou only need one.” Devin kneeled before her. He took her hand and held it on his chest. She felt everything inside him. He was concerned and didn’t want to worry her. He was also determined to get her better.

  “I’m so tired. Is that from the toxin or because I’m hungry?” Arianna temporarily forgot that she fed already today. Arianna reached over and pulled him to the seat next to her.

  “Both. And we can’t feed you. Mori thinks even our supply of fresh blood has been tampered with. Andrew didn’t come back with us because we didn’t want to expose him to the toxin. We are all poisoned right now.” Arianna felt the yearning in Devin. His thoughts barely peeked through his normally blocked mind. Arianna used the last bit of her energy to pull herself over onto his lap. Devin relaxed a little. He nodded to Molina who took her arm and began to draw a tube of blood. Arianna didn’t even refuse like she normally would have. There was little fight left in her.

  “Turner and I are leaving to go to Tricity and will stay there until the toxin leaves our blood. Thomas and Molina are going to stay here and will need to detox later. Thomas is the least affected by the poison, so he was the best choice. And you will be going to your summer home.”

  Arianna’s eyes shot open. She had only been without Devin once since she had changed into a night human, and she remembered the dread of being without him. Yes, he could drive her nuts and was closed off most of the time, but Devin knew better than anyone how to take care of her. Could she really do the night human thing without him? She clung as tight as she could to him.

  “But,” Arianna complained. Devin gently placed a finger on her mouth to silence her. She felt his disappointment at being away from her, too. “No, I can’t be without you,” she replied, after his finger moved. Tears began to catch in the corners of her eyes. “I can’t.” Arianna normally wouldn’t cry in front of so many people, but the threat of Devin being taken from her made the tears unstoppable.