Becoming a Legend

by B. Kristin McMichael

  ‘Jackson is here?’ Arianna tried to push herself up and off his bare chest. Andrew clamped down and smiled wickedly. His skin always brought tingles to her, but now he was pushing more feelings her way than normal. The skin contact made it hard to concentrate on anything but Andrew. She couldn’t make much of a sound without being embarrassed when she finally left her room alone.

  ‘And Nixon. Nelson should be here in an hour,’ Andrew replied and smiled back at her. He slid her up so that they were now nose to nose; the movement causing her to pout more at him. Then his statement sunk in.

  ‘What?’ Arianna’s head snapped up as she listened for the second new heart beating in the room. She found him in the kitchen. Both her human guards had arrived. Andrew leaned up and kissed her. Arianna wanted to respond better to his kiss, but she was distracted. Arianna thought that after a short nap, she would at least get a little time to accept what she would have to do: infiltrate the minds of her friends that trusted her. Arianna had always respected Jackson from the first day she met him. For over a year, she had thought he was a businessman who rode the same Friday night city bus with her. He was always dressed in a suit and tie. She had spoken to him many times before she knew the truth. He was part of her personal protection team. He would be the first test of this new power, and it saddened her to use him like that.

  ‘I hate this.’ Arianna complained. She really thought she had more time to prepare. Falling asleep wasn’t part of her plan.

  ‘What? I’m pretty sure I’m not a bad kisser. At least you didn’t think so last night,’ he teased. Andrew was doing his best to lighten the mood. He didn’t blame Arianna for her hesitation. Diving into anyone’s mind without their express permission wasn’t a nice thing to do.

  ‘Not this.’ She trailed her hand down his bare chest. She could never hate being alone with him or his loving teasing. ‘The part where I fell asleep again for hours. I’m not that weak girl. That just isn’t me.’ Arianna was frustrated. Away from the poison, she should have been getting better.

  ‘Oh I know that,’ Andrew replied. ‘You’ve been rejecting my advances for over a year now.’

  ‘What?’ Arianna was surprised. While he had often times kidded about running away with her just to piss off Devin, she really didn’t take it as more than teasing. There was the one time she was truly alone with him for twenty seconds where he asked her to fall in love with him, but she figured that was just him hitting on her because she was the first female baku he’d ever seen.

  ‘I’ve been making it quite clear that I’m interested in you, but you’ve been denying it.’ Andrew slid a finger across her cheek and made her shiver as her focus returned to him and her body pressed against him. His hands slid beneath her shirt and wrapped around her back. The skin-to-skin contact sent more shivers through her and made Arianna try to pull herself closer to him.

  More shuffling outside their room brought her attention back to the people in the living room. Immediately, Arianna turned red and gracefully maneuvered off of Andrew. Devin was just outside the door and even though he didn’t have super hearing, Turner did. Arianna felt a twinge of guilt sneak through her. She’d spent three days with Andrew and easily moved back into the warm feeling of his arms when she woke, but she couldn’t do that now. Not with Devin around. Not without making a choice. She had to remain neutral, or at least try, until she decided.

  Reading the rush of emotion from her, Andrew backed up and gave her space even though he wanted to chase her across the room. There was no reason for her to hesitate. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He was sure of that. Then he heard the cough in the kitchen from Devin.

  ‘He really doesn’t mind,’ Andrew added as Arianna moved closer to the door. The only reason she would be away from him now, with the need to be together so great, was Devin.

  ‘Not jealous at all?’ Arianna asked, disappointed. Part of her wanted Devin to care. It would make things ten times harder, but she still wanted it.

  ‘No, he’s jealous. How could he not be? But he doesn’t mind you being with me,’ Andrew replied. ‘And you can’t leave yet. You need to check Jackson and Nixon to see if either is the one poisoning you.’ Andrew patted the bed beside him. ‘I’ll be good,’ he promised. Arianna moved over and sat beside Andrew, making sure there was no skin-to-skin contact to drive her crazy. True to his word, he sat nicely as she closed her eyes.

  “Did you find out anything else after we left about the poison,” Devin asked Nixon. Arianna jumped into Nixon’s mind easily. There were no secrets there as he continued to talk with Devin. Nixon was still the hoops-shooting human half of the duo that also rode her bus.

  Turner began talking in the kitchen to Jackson with the same type of questioning. They must have had it planned. Once she knew that Nixon wasn’t the one, Arianna jumped out of Nixon’s mind and into Jackson’s, looking for his response. He wasn’t as much of an open book to her as she pressed into his subconscious. He was keeping several secrets, but upon examining each of them, he wasn’t involved in poisoning her. His secrets involved Molina, and their secret relationship. Even now, he was worrying about her back at the Randolph estate. Arianna was thankful. She could never really see Jackson as anything other than the straight-laced, suit and tie wearing, business man she had gotten to know.

  ‘Clean?’ Andrew asked curiously as Arianna brought her focus back to him in the room.

  ‘Yes,’ Arianna replied as she stood. Andrew reached over and grabbed her hand before she could move too far away. He gently kissed the tips of each of her fingers. He didn’t want to let her out of his sight, but he had to.

  ‘Both of them?’ he asked, delaying her for at least a moment longer.

  ‘Yes. Jackson is hiding his relationship with Molina, but neither knows anything about the poison. They don’t even know what it looks like from what Mori showed us,’ Arianna replied. She couldn’t take her hand from his. She was pulled in two directions at once. Part of her wanted to climb back into bed and cuddle with Andrew, and the other part wanted to go back out and see Devin, even if he wasn’t going to reciprocate her emotions.

  ‘Then you should go tell Devin. And stop by and test your blood counts again just to be sure you’re getting better.’ Arianna felt the twinge of worry behind his comment. Even she knew that she shouldn’t still be falling asleep all the time.

  NINETEEN

  Neither Nelson nor Mica had knowledge of the poison, or of the small, clear plastic disks distributing it. Arianna’s entire team, minus her most trusted team member, Molina, and keeper Thomas, were all crammed into the four bedroom cabin. Molina and Thomas were expected to arrive before the morning sun, which was too bright for Molina to travel in. Andrew kept to himself in her room the whole time, and her four guards were unaware of him, but Arianna was hyper-aware of him. Every movement he made caught her attention. She had never been so aware of anyone in her life. While she wanted to blow it off as a crush, she couldn’t let go of the feeling that it was more than that. As night ended, and everyone was finally going off to their rooms to sleep, Arianna continued to sit on the couch, watching TV.

  “Ari,” Devin interrupted her, though it wasn’t actually interrupting since all she was doing was sitting in front of the TV. She wasn’t really even watching it; her eyes were already closed. “You need to get some sleep. Your numbers are getting better, but not by much. You need sleep.”

  Devin offered his hand to her to help her stand. Arianna hesitantly took it. Faintly she felt something behind his touch. Worry or jealously, she couldn’t tell which as it may have been flickering between the two emotions. Devin led her over to her room. Andrew was sitting at the window watching the sun rise. For night humans, sunrise meant time to go to bed. Devin gave her hand to Andrew and walked away to the shared bathroom and into the room he was sharing with Turner.

  Arianna couldn’t stop the tears that were building up from falling as she heard the bathroom door shut. Just like that, Devin had given her away.
Arianna stared at the bathroom door Devin had just left from as the waterworks began. She wasn’t afraid to cry in front of Andrew because he felt what she was feeling inside and therefore already knew. There was no real hiding of her emotions from him anyway. Andrew slowly placed his arms around her, pulling her close. He turned her around and hugged her to hide her tears on his chest. He felt the hurt in her and slowly took the pain away.

  Sadness was quickly replaced by anger, and Arianna mentally went into the room Devin and Turner were in. Andrew didn’t stop her; he knew completely what she was doing. While she didn’t want to hurt anyone, she needed to see the truth. Turner was already asleep, and Devin was lying in bed reading as always. Arianna entered his mind and was shocked to find the space almost empty. Less than a half dozen thoughts floated about and none were a different color. Devin wasn’t hiding anything from her in that moment, but he wasn’t really thinking about much either. Arianna looked around his mind and found several doors. Andrew already knew about the doors. It was Devin’s way to keep track of everything. She looked at the locks, but didn’t even find door handles. Frustrated, she pulled out of his mind and continued to cry. Devin’s mind was a solid fortress that held his emotions and thoughts locked away.

  Andrew pulled her over to the bed. She wouldn’t find what she was looking for. Devin had spent years learning how to keep his emotions at bay in order to be the best baku hunter. Baku could sense emotion of any kind, especially in a person who was awake. Devin was a silent force, able to lock everything in his mind. Arianna sat down obediently at Andrew’s touch. She was still in shock and filled with sadness that immediately returned as his touch faded.

  “Ari,” Andrew said, crouching between her legs as he removed her shoes. She was making no effort to go to bed, so he was doing so for her. He slid his hand on top of hers as he sat down beside her. Some of the sadness faded, and she looked over at him finally.

  “I can feel everything you feel. He just broke your heart.” Unwillingly, Andrew started to feel the rage build in him. He didn’t want Arianna in the hands of another man, but he also couldn’t help the protective feeling that was creeping over him. Andrew was conflicted, but it wasn’t wrong to feel anger at anyone that hurt her. Devin was hurting her even if he thought he was protecting her. Andrew’s anger brought Arianna’s attention back to Andrew. She reached over and touched his face, her way of calming him.

  “Since I’ve been getting sick on and off for over six months now, Devin has never left my side. He used to let Turner help me sleep at night when I first turned a year ago, but not in six months.” The tears began again. Andrew more than filled the emptiness that Devin left, but it still hurt. “Was it all in my head? I thought he loved me. I’ve slept with only him for months. I thought that meant something. I thought that was his own way of telling me how much he loved me, that he wouldn’t let anyone else protect me.” The room blurred as the tears picked up, flowing. Andrew didn’t try to sooth the tears out of her but allowed her to keep crying. “I thought he loved me,” she repeated.

  “Was he your first love?” Andrew asked quietly. Arianna gave a tearful nod. Andrew pulled her to him and began taking away the hurt. Baku couldn’t just feel the emotions around them, but they could actually feed off of the energy. It was another way for baku to feed without taking any blood. By feeding on her hurt, Andrew could remove a large part of the pain she felt. Arianna felt her heart lighten as he finally laid her down in bed.

  “I really,” Andrew began before his anger took over again. “To take advantage of you and then throw you away,” he couldn’t finish. Andrew thought Devin was better than most teenage boys.

  “It was me,” Arianna tried to calm Andrew down as his baku form flickered. They didn’t need an angry baku running around the house, especially since he wasn’t actually supposed to be in the home yet. Everyone on her team thought Andrew was arriving last. “I read too much into it. Turner said that he couldn’t keep trying for my affection because of how Devin was with me. I thought that meant that, at some point while I was unconscious, Devin really did show the world he was in love with me. I assumed too much.”

  “Still, that’s no reason for him to use you and throw you away,” Andrew replied, his form still flickering. The idea that someone else had put their hands on Arianna was hard enough to deal with, but then to find that Devin had slept with her and then thrown her away was getting too much for Andrew to keep under control. Andrew stood to pace the room to wear off the energy building.

  “Use me?” Arianna asked, wiping the last of her tears away.

  “If a guy is going to sleep with you, he should have the decency to treat you right,” Andrew replied with a sigh as he rubbed his temples trying to calm his own anger. Arianna’s own sadness was subsiding which made it easier for Andrew to focus. He plopped down beside her.

  A blush ran up Arianna’s face, and she grabbed the pillow behind her head to cover her face as she mumbled her reply.

  “What?” Andrew asked. His hearing was as good as hers. He heard her, but was making Arianna repeat herself. Arianna repeated what she had said into the pillow a second embarrassing time. Andrew didn’t reply, but just stared at the pillow in shock and embarrassment of his own. She lifted the pillow slightly but kept it covering her face to repeat what she had said more clearly.

  “Ugh, you’re just like Aunt Lilly. He slept with me; as in sleep, not slept with me. I’m a virgin,” Arianna said quietly, mortified of saying it out loud to Andrew. Andrew, though embarrassed, was relieved and didn’t say anything more to add to either of their embarrassment.

  Once her awkwardness subsided, Arianna drifted off peacefully to sleep in Andrew’s arms. She was content there. Arianna was certain Andrew could never be as cold to her as Devin. He would always be the warm, loving spot in her heart.

  Arianna had only enjoyed her cozy slumber for a few hours when she was woken. The cry echoed in her head as Arianna sat up. Someone was calling for help. They weren’t calling for her, but someone was calling. She heard their desperate pleas. Again, she knew that she was listening to someone that had to be familiar to her, but she didn’t know who. They were in trouble.

  ‘Father,’ the male voiced called. ‘I’m stuck in the woods. Please. You have to send someone. It’s nearing high sun. I don’t know if I can find enough shade. Father.’ His plea rung loud and clear for Arianna. It had to be a night human, and a dearg-dul at that who would burn in the high noonday sun. While Arianna was completely immune to the sunlight due to her baku genes, the dearg-dul were not. Any exposure to high, daytime sun rays could instantly burn the flesh of dearg-dul to the point of killing them.

  ‘You made your mess, now deal with it,’ a second male voice replied. ‘No son of mine fails at anything.’

  Arianna concentrated to see if she could hear more. Nothing came. The voice stopped its pleading for now. She rubbed her arms to try to get rid of the goose bumps forming as she realized someone was in trouble again, and she was the only one that could help. Somehow, her new senses were kicking in more now that she was feeling better. Andrew lazily opened his eyes and pulled her back down into the bed and into his arms.

  “It’s cold out there,” he complained, throwing the covers back up over Arianna. He had seen her rubbing her arms. She slid out of bed and pulled a sweatshirt on over her pajamas.

  “What time is it even?” Andrew rubbed his eyes, looking around the room for a clock.

  Arianna looked at the clock. “Ten thirty.” She slipped her socks and shoes on and walked over to the door before Andrew could respond.

  “Wait a second,” Andrew gracefully left the bed and stood shirtless in front of her. Arianna caught her breath a second. It was a nice sight to wake up to, but for now she had to ignore it. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Someone is out there and needs help. I’m going to help.” Arianna pulled her hair up into a ponytail and reached for the door.

  “You’re not going anywhere. R
emember, we’re in hiding,” Andrew replied, grabbing her hand before she could make it to the door handle. Even right out of bed he was quick on his feet.

  “Not anymore, Molina arrived an hour ago, and Thomas is almost here.” Arianna placed her hands on his tight abs and leaned up to kiss him. He loosened his grip, and she quickly ended the kiss to slip out the door. Andrew moved to follow her.

  ‘You have to stay hidden until I have time to test both Molina and Thomas.’ She reminded him. Andrew wanted to pound on the door in frustration, as she was right.

  Arianna felt his frustration leak out of the room as she smiled to herself. She would be able to find the person and get them back before anyone would know but Andrew. The rest of the house was asleep, and Andrew couldn’t risk being seen. It would be easy. The voice wasn’t far off. She would jog out there and bring the person back in no time. Her plan was short-lived as soon as she opened the front door of the house; Gabriel stood in front of her.

  “Seems you think you get to go running around without any protection,” Gabriel commented. “Andrew said you’re leaving, and thankfully, I was already here.” Arianna huffed, knowing she would have to argue with Andrew later. Whoever it was trapped in the woods needed her help now.

  “There’s a dearg-dul trapped in the woods. I was going to go get him and come back. They’re harmless in the sunlight; you know that,” she replied before Gabriel could object to it being a trap.

  “And that’s not just an excuse?” Gabriel wasn’t persuaded.