Becoming a Legend

by B. Kristin McMichael

  “Thanks,” she replied meekly. Arianna wasn’t disappointed with Mori ever. In fact, she was always impressed with him. Mori ran the complete security details through his computers and multitasked with everyone on her team. He never failed to have a complete grasp of every situation. He was their eyes and ears everywhere. He knew everything that was going on, and always was there to advise her.

  “Could it be someone close to her?” Andrew asked. He was naturally suspicious of everyone around her as they were of him. Beyond Devin, he thought any one of them could have a reason, and the resources, to hurt Arianna. Mori stopped typing.

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Mori replied.

  SIXTEEN

  Arianna changed into the jeans and t-shirt Gabriel brought as soon as he gave them to her. She was thankful to finally be wearing clothes that fit and had felt a bit exposed walking around the cabin wearing just Andrew’s shirt once Gabriel arrived. Andrew didn’t seem to mind her wardrobe and preferred she keep it. While it was a romantic notion to just wear his shirt, Arianna was trying her best to keep her hands off of him. Something drew her to him, and it frightened her more than anything. Every touch and kiss made her lose herself more. Clothes made a nice barrier to try to keep her, and his, hands to themselves.

  Arianna lingered in the bedroom after she put on the top and jeans. It didn’t take that much time to change, but by staying in the room, she could have at least a few moments alone from the madness that was now consuming her life. The last year had been crazy enough for one lifetime, and she wasn’t exactly enjoying the current situation. This roller coaster of emotion seemed like it might never end. First, she found out she wasn’t one, but two night humans combined. That was scary. Then, she found the family she had thought were all dead. That was exciting. Not too long after that, she lost the grandfather she was just beginning to remember. That was sad. And the pull between all the guys in her life was a completely different type of emotion—confusion.

  “Then you will pick them up?” Gabriel asked Andrew, as Arianna stood unnoticed on the other side of the bedroom door. Gabriel and Andrew were all business, planning their day. Andrew, of course, noticed Arianna immediately but knew that the reason for her extra time changing was to be alone, so he focused on his conversation with Gabriel.

  “Devin can’t mask himself like Turner can, so yes,” Andrew replied, sitting beside Gabriel on the couch. “I can actually mask both Devin and Turner, but it’s most important to mask Devin. He’s being heavily followed now that some suspect Arianna isn’t at the Randolph compound. He sent a message yesterday to me to let me know. He can’t seem to get rid of them.”

  “Did you tell anyone where we were taking her?” Andrew asked, changing the subject.

  “No,” Gabriel replied. “I figured that there could be an inside problem. Lucan is making problems for me while Seeger’s making problems for Arianna. It seems to be getting bigger and more complex every day, yet I have the nagging feeling it’s all connected along with the outsiders that have attacked Arianna, Patrick, and Ken. We’re on double patrols now to keep them out.”

  “Did you find more on the outsiders or the hybrids?”

  Arianna stepped out of her room, and they both turned to look at her. “Hybrids?”

  “From what I can tell, with the analysis we’ve done so far, those people that attacked Patrick and Ken were some sort of hybrid. They had multiple night human antibodies in them,” Gabriel explained. Andrew opened up his arms to allow Arianna to sit with him. He needed her close as much as she wanted to touch him.

  Arianna wanted to refuse, but could not. She climbed into his arms before asking, “Antibodies?” Devin had mentioned it once in his lectures, but he lectured so much she often forgot little details.

  “It’s similar to when you get sick. Your body builds up antibodies to fight off the sickness, and then they remain in your blood to do it again if you get re-infected. Night human transformation works similar to that. It’s like a disease that your day human body recognizes and makes antibodies for. That’s why you can only be one type of night human. They aren’t compatible. Once you have one night human type in you, you cannot be another. Like when you get sick with something like chicken pox, you build up antibodies and then can’t get it again.” Gabriel’s explanation was almost as lengthy as Devin’s, but at least this time, Arianna understood it a bit more. Arianna processed the description.

  “Doesn’t everyone normally have multiple antibodies? I mean, once you feed on someone that’s a different night human? Baku feed on tengu all the time. Logically they would have both baku and tengu antibodies then,” Arianna deduced, unconsciously snuggling closer to Andrew even though she was trying to keep her distance.

  “No, if you feed on someone, you don’t get their antibodies in your blood. That part is filtered out. You were the first one we ever saw that had both baku and dearg-dul antibodies. That’s why we knew you were special,” Gabriel explained.

  “And these people, are they like Arianna?” Andrew asked. He moved her closer and wrapped his arms around her. Arianna didn’t fight it. She was excited to hear that there were more people like her, but scared at the same time. Would they be friends or enemies? She had four clans of night humans to protect now. She could use friends more than enemies.

  “No, they are not like Arianna,” Gabriel answered. Arianna was disappointed and relieved at the same time. “We had some tissue to analyze along with the blood. You got a few cells in the sample you took. It came back that they both were one clan’s cells. They were only one type of night human, yet they had multiple night human antibodies.”

  “If that’s not possible by feeding, then how?” Arianna leaned back against Andrew, who began playing with her hair. Tingles went down to her toes, but Arianna concentrated on Gabriel, waiting for an answer.

  Everything kept getting more complicated and confusing the longer she was a night human. First, she was an oddity, and now, everyone was trying to copy her. These new people seemed dangerous. If they could actually copy her genes, would they succeed? Would that mean the end of the peace around her? While the baku and dearg-dul had been fighting for decades, it wasn’t always so. There were wars that included other clans. Devin refused to talk about anything outside the Randolph and Grace histories until she actually learned them completely, but Arianna always got a glimpse from the histories about other clans.

  “Injecting?” Andrew asked, bringing Arianna back to the conversation at hand.

  “No, that has been tried for centuries. It has to be something else. We need to get one of them alive to get our answers.” Gabriel stood and paced to the windows. “It will be hard since they are so protected, but we need to figure this out, for our clans’ sake and for Arianna.”

  “Will they be back?” Arianna hesitantly asked. She was bringing turmoil to her clans by just existing.

  “No doubt,” Gabriel replied, not turning back to her.

  * * * * *

  Arianna stared out the window. She wanted to be outside, watching dawn arrive, but she had promised Andrew that she would stay inside with Gabriel while he was gone. As Andrew ran further away, she felt like a part of her was missing. His touch had been constant for three days now; it was weird to feel him so far away. She watched, in her mind, as he ran to his destination. The link was never gone once she tasted someone’s blood, but now she felt something more with him. Andrew met Devin on a train, and they leapt from it easily, along with Turner. It would take Andrew less than thirty minutes to return with them, but it felt like an eternity. Arianna continued to pace from window to window waiting for him to return.

  Having Devin and Andrew both in the house at the same time would be a bit awkward, but Arianna needed to have them all close. At least Turner had quit his pursuit of Arianna in a romantic sense, and was happy to be her best friend, but that didn’t make anything easier between Andrew and Devin. Her feelings for Andrew were strong, but in the few alone moments she’d had with
Devin, she found that it was just as strong with him. Arianna literally felt like she was being pulled in half.

  “I heard that Seeger suggested you choose a mate,” Gabriel said quietly as he watched her pace. Arianna hesitated just a moment before turning to him. She got her emotions in check before looking at him. Being told by Seeger to do something was one problem, but the absurd suggestion she get married at seventeen was hard to fathom.

  “Yes, what does that mean?” Arianna faced her uncle, finally looking into his eyes. “Is he really suggesting I get married? Or is it just a boyfriend thing?” She had been wondering this ever since Seeger suggested it. Arianna couldn’t believe Seeger was actually suggesting she get married. She suddenly sensed that the three boys were on the move. Arianna felt their speed pick up. She began to pace again, waiting for her keepers to return.

  “Marriage. It might not be a bad idea,” Gabriel added for himself.

  “What?” Arianna stopped and faced her uncle. “Are you serious? I’m seventeen. I still don’t even have my driver’s license. Marriage?”

  Gabriel smiled and chuckled. “I’m not suggesting you go to Vegas this afternoon with one of the boys. I’m suggesting you select someone you can say is going to be your fiancé. I’m suggesting getting engaged. A very long engagement, if you’d like. Then you might not have to deal with all the proposals. Devin is overloaded with paperwork as is.” That much was true.

  “Oh,” Arianna said, not agreeing or disagreeing while she sat beside her uncle. He had seemed to age ten years in the past year alone. Arianna looked at the lines on his face, and then down to his hands. Gabriel was only a few years younger than grandfather was. “And how do I do that? Am I not caught in a political battle? If I choose a baku the Grace family will be happy and the Randolph estate upset, but the reverse would be true also. How can I actually choose someone and not upset the other? I can’t even choose Devin because he’s allied with the Randolph family.”

  “Ahh, my great niece is growing wise in her ways,” Gabriel praised her as he put an arm around her and hugged her for comfort. “That’s the exact problem Seeger is trying to force you into. He knows that there isn’t a dearg-dul you’re interested in, and you have a great chance of choosing a baku. Then he can rally the clan to get rid of you. If you are going to choose a dearg-dul, he wants it to be his son. You don’t have to let him win this one.”

  “I don’t?”

  “Nah. Play his game and say you’ll choose fiancé, but that you need time to complete your selection of keepers first. And even better, tell him you want to open selection from the other clans. He won’t want to rush you if you threaten to open the selection. Devin can ignore all marriage requests for the next year, and by then, you’ll have your license and be eighteen.”

  “Doesn’t Seeger still win?” Arianna pouted. She hadn’t even had a date beyond the keepers she had constantly at her side. She was too young to get married. Just the idea frightened her. That was one lesson Devin made sure she understood. There was no such thing as divorce in the night human world. When you chose to wed, it was forever, no matter how long you lived, or what the person turned out to be like.

  “Nope. Seeger wants a marriage, not the legend to be complete. He wants you and your power. Seeger is trying to force his son on you to get power in the Randolph house.” Gabriel relaxed and watched the young woman next to him. She had grown up in the last year.

  “Then why is he intent on killing me?” Arianna asked.

  “Well, I think someone like Seeger is happy to get the power any way he can. He has many plans in place. I’m going to assume here that while killing you is his top option, even he doubts his son will be able to do that. So, his second plan is to get Michael to marry you. It would lead to the same results, but you might make more of a fuss alive than dead.” The keepers were more than halfway home now.

  “How come they always bug me about the keepers each time we meet? How does that fit into his plan?” Arianna wondered.

  “To wear you down to being open for the whole marriage proposal. If you complete the legend, it will give you power, not him.” Gabriel laughed to know she was going against what Seeger wanted by actually doing what he asked.

  “Marriage,” Arianna said the word with a bit of disgust. “Yeah, I’m not very open to marriage at this point. Forever is a very long time.” Arianna felt Andrew nearing with Devin and Turner close behind. Forever was a very long time, but somehow she felt it would not be enough time when it came to Andrew and Devin.

  “But you will need to be soon,” Gabriel sighed. “Sooner than you will ever want to be. Night humans typically marry young. There’s no guarantee how long you’ll live. I’m ancient, and so was your grandfather, but your mother and father were not that young to die. Unfortunately, that’s how our life is. And besides, everyone will want you to produce an heir soon.”

  “Are you kidding me? I’m only seventeen,” she squeaked before sighing. Kids were definitely not on her mind. She didn’t want to have a family for years, if ever. Even just the thought was horrifying. Arianna was beginning to see that no one cared that she was only seventeen. She wasn’t an adolescent in this world. Here she was grown up already.

  Turner burst through the door first, running over to her to catch her and throw her in the air. Turner’s night human strength was always present even in his day human form. To him, day human Arianna was as light as a doll. Arianna laughed for the first time in a week as he caught her. Turner was always full of energy and laughter, and it was just what Arianna needed. Devin and Andrew followed close behind. Turner continued to hug her before reluctantly setting her down. His feelings for her hadn’t changed, but he understood she wasn’t meant for him. In time, he hoped to find the right person for him too, but for now he would just relish the time he could hold onto her, even though her heart belonged to someone else.

  “You look so much better than the last time I saw you,” Turner said, brushing her messed-up hair off her face. “I didn’t know if we could save you this time.” Turner’s concern poured off him, and Arianna needed to hug him again to reassure him that everything was fine.

  “Aren’t I supposed to be doing the saving?” she teased back and hit his arm playfully. His serious smile turned into laughter as he pulled back, pretending to be hurt.

  “I think I win that point,” he added, running away before she could argue over whether he surprised her or not. Devin approached Gabriel and sat beside him. As usual, Devin didn’t openly hug her like Turner, but she felt the overwhelming relief from him as well.

  “Enjoying your break?” Gabriel asked Devin.

  “Break?” Arianna asked Gabriel, pushing into their conversation.

  “Yeah, a forced break. I had to pretend to not be doing anything, which can be hard. There will be so much more waiting at home when we finally get back,” Devin complained. He was both strained and relieved at the same time. “I couldn’t even bring anything with me in case someone could trace us that way. So yes, I’m on a break.”

  “Can you start back up now since we’re connected to Mori?” Arianna asked, sitting next to Devin so that he could also see that she was doing better. Even though he wouldn’t do anything to show his concern in front of other people, Devin was just as anxious as Turner. Her closeness seemed to help him a bit.

  “We want to keep all unnecessary communications with the manor to a minimum, to keep you hidden here until you feel better,” Devin explained. “Therefore, I’m not doing anything while we’re gone. Molina is still in your apartment with Thomas, and can contact us if needed. So far, she hasn’t needed to.” Arianna couldn’t tell if the relief was from not being needed, or seeing her up and around.

  Gabriel stood and looked to Andrew. “I’ll do the patrol now. Nice job getting them here. I couldn’t have done better myself.” Gabriel patted Andrew on the back as he left the cabin. Gabriel was relieved that Andrew finally showed his intentions with Arianna. It would be helpful for Gabriel to ha
ve such a capable baku protecting her when he couldn’t.

  “Make sure to teach her,” he called over his shoulder as the door shut behind him.

  “Teach me what?” Arianna asked. Since she was the only female in the room, Gabriel’s remark had to be about her.

  “How to look for lies,” Andrew replied.

  SEVENTEEN

  “You want me to be a human lie detector test?” Arianna asked incredulously after Andrew had outlined the processes to her. She would go inside the minds of people and look to see if they were lying about where they had been and what they were doing. She would become her own security camera, just with a bit of sneaking into someone’s mind.

  “Yes,” Andrew replied, trying to keep a respectful distance between himself and Arianna now that Devin was back. “We need to be sure you’re safe. Mori doesn’t have any leads on how those toxins got into your apartment, let alone your room. He has cameras everywhere and still doesn’t know.” Andrew waited for his statement to sink in. Arianna’s smile turned around, and she stared at him more. “It has to be an inside job.”

  “Everyone with access to my place is sworn to protect me before they can serve in the estate,” Arianna replied, shocked that Andrew was actually suggesting someone she knew well had turned against her.

  “Yes, and at that time they were fighting for you. We can’t be sure everyone is now. Loyalties change. Objectives change,” Andrew replied, looking to Devin for support. It was obvious that they were on the same page as Devin took over the argument.

  “Ari. I know everyone loves you and is your friend, but we can’t be sure that they wouldn’t hurt you. The only people we can be certain of are your keepers. You would know if one of us betrayed you,” Devin replied.