Becoming a Legend

by B. Kristin McMichael

  Arianna bit down and immediately felt his strength flow into her. He was right about having used too much blood to save the two people that were now just more pieces in the puzzle. Blood flowed into her mouth for only a moment before Arianna licked the wounds closed and moved to lay down on his chest. Andrew was now a comfort to her more than anyone else. She’d seen inside his mind. There was much that he remembered every day, but he didn’t keep it from her behind locked doors like Devin. Arianna’s hands trailed down Andrew’s chiseled chest. His night human form was completely magnificent. Sighing, Andrew moved her hand to the bed and forced her to sit up.

  “I promised we would talk, so it’s probably best that I move away from you because you’re not encouraging me to talk right now.” Andrew slid a bit away from her but bent down first to kiss her. Sighing, Arianna moved away to the other side of the bed. She leaned against the wall and stared at Andrew. The cool wall only slightly helped her focus on the conversation with the man in front of her.

  “I’ll answer anything you want,” Andrew said. He hated to even have just a bed between them. “I have no idea what Devin has and hasn’t told you, so you just ask away.”

  Arianna debated. Her life around the night humans was only bits and pieces. Every day someone else sounded like they were talking in a foreign language. Hundreds of questions filtered through her mind. There were many questions left unanswered, but finally she asked her first question. “What’s a vrykolakas?”

  “They’ve really kept this from you all this time?” Andrew pulled his hands through his hair, which was now dark brown as he switched back into day human form. “I can’t believe he would be that naïve. This is basic knowledge for all night humans.”

  “Who kept it from me?”

  “Devin,” Andrew stood and began to pace to collect his thoughts. “I’m sure he thought he was protecting you, but he’s not. You’re right in that you need to know the truth. Here is the first history lesson you should have gotten.

  “There are thirteen major night human clans in North and South America. We keep the clans divided based on connecting continents since large bodies of water can interrupt communications, including the long-range connection you have with people you drink from. Only two clans were originally here, the natives that were here before the settlers. The rest are all imports such as your family of dearg-duls or our family of baku.” Andrew sat back down, looking at her to see if he should continue.

  “Like immigrants? The dearg-dul immigrated here?” Arianna clarified, and Andrew moved back to pacing.

  “Yes, the original dearg-dul were Irish- hence your middle name ‘Caiohme’- it’s a Gaelic name. Of the thirteen clans,” he continued both talking and pacing, “Four are what we consider demons, such as the lycan, that don’t need blood and can survive on raw meat instead. They traditionally will kill and feed off of anything, blood, tissue, guts. The other nine are considered vampyr, such as you and I, who need blood, and prefer human blood, to function.” Arianna reached up and caught Andrew’s hand as he paced, and she pulled him in to sit beside her.

  “Then this vrykolakas is an immigrant night human family then?” she asked. Thus far there was nothing Devin needed to keep from her.

  “Yes, like the baku or dearg-dul, the vrykolakas are a family of vampyr.” Andrew set his hand on her thigh, getting distracted from his line of thought momentarily. His finger traced little circles as he waited for her to understand what he was saying.

  “Then why keep this from me. I mean, they had me thinking that there were just four kinds of night humans.” Arianna pulled his hand back to hers as he didn’t respond right away. “What’s so bad if I knew more?”

  “Because then they might contest for the right to be your mate.” Andrew couldn’t hide the anger growing inside of him at such a thought. Any time someone mentioned marrying her or being her mate, Andrew reacted the same way and always would. She was his and his alone.

  “I’m not some prize to be won. You don’t need to worry so much,” Arianna said, cooling down the simmering rage.

  “Ahh, but you are.” In a flash Andrew shimmered across the room. It was all he could do to not pick her up and run away from all of it. “Why didn’t he tell you about this?” Andrew banged his head on the door. “You could have just left the vrykolakas out there. Ugh. How can Devin truly be this stupid not to tell you?”

  “I don’t understand.” Arianna rose hesitantly and walked over to him. She placed her hand on his scarred back. The ridges were many under the palm of her hand. Arianna wondered how someone could beat their nephew enough to leave permanent lines. Andrew sighed in defeat.

  “You’ve invited the vrykolakas into your house. Rules dictate that now he’s a guest. I have no doubt that he’ll call for the right of challenge. There are many laws that govern the thirteen night human families. One is that when a female of the family is unmarried, the other families can call for a meeting to judge who is best fit to be their mate. Most don’t fall under that rule; I mean who fights over an unnamed female? But when it’s the head of a family, there are always suitors. The reason Seeger keeps trying to get you married is that at seventeen, you’re now old enough to be contested for.”

  “Okay, I just decline. I’m the head of my family. I can do what I want,” Arianna traced the scars some more. She lost count after ten of how many lines crossed his back. “Right?” she asked, a little unsure, as Andrew didn’t reply. Andrew sighed, trying to reign in his disappointment over the situation.

  “Why didn’t Gabriel just leave him there then if it was going to be a problem?” Arianna asked. Why couldn’t she do the right thing, and why didn’t anyone tell her why she shouldn’t do things rather than just to not do them?

  “Would you’ve let him? You’d have run back out there yourself, and we all know it. This is truly Devin and Turner’s fault in not telling you.” Andrew turned around, making her hands move to his chest. Andrew was right; any dying night human was going to be her problem if they were on her land. She wasn’t going to be like Randolph and have a cold heart.

  “What does it mean if we don’t accept the challenge?” Arianna replied, not looking into his eyes but studying the muscles beneath her hands.

  “War,” Andrew said quietly. “The clans are at peace because we agreed to the rules. If one clan breaks the rules, the others will call for punishment and retribution. The only retribution they will want is you. We won’t give you to them, so it’ll be war. Our four clans against the rest.” Arianna let go of the breath she was holding. Become a trophy in a tournament and wed some unknown night human, or take her clans to war.

  “How do we get out of this mess?” Arianna asked. Andrew slid to the ground and shook his head. There was really no real option at this point that didn’t end in war.

  “Marry me right now?” Andrew was joking, but he noticed she was actually contemplating his offer. “It was a joke. Really.” He patted the floor beside him. Arianna shifted to sit down beside him, halfway onto his lap.

  “Well, maybe we could run off and elope,” she suggested, not taking it as a joke.

  Andrew placed his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “They know where we are now. None of the clans will let you out of here without the challenge being issued.”

  “Gabriel whisked me in here, undetected; can’t he just get me out?” Arianna asked.

  “Hopefully,” Andrew replied, wiping a strand of hair back from her face. “Maybe.”

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Arianna and Andrew sat on the floor silently for quite a while. She heard Devin and Turner softly talking strategy with Thomas. Thomas was analyzing everything as usual. Hopefully he would find a new solution. Michael was sitting in his room, also not communicating with anyone. Molina was awake, bound and awaiting her fate. The vrykolakas was also awake and listening intently to Arianna and Andrew as they talked. Each person had a guard on them, but none of the prisoners were moving.

  “Anything else you want to
ask, or is your brain on overload right now?” Andrew didn’t object when she nuzzled closer. He wrapped his arms around her. She was so small and fragile, yet she was still the toughest person he knew, dealing with the night human life unexpectantly thrown at her.

  “Yes.” Arianna hid her face in his chest. “What did Devin mean when he said my baku has found its mate?”

  A low rumble came from Andrew as his laugh muffled against her face. “That one should have been obvious by now.” Andrew emphasized his statement by creating a row of goose bumps down her arm by just touching her.

  When he finally noticed the pink reaching all the way to her ears, he stopped laughing and pulled her back so that he could see her face. Arianna tried to hide her beet red cheeks, but she couldn’t pull away from his touch. There was something between them, but it couldn’t be so serious so quickly. In a week’s time she couldn’t go from accepting his offer to be her keeper, to actually being in love with him. That only happened in fairy tales.

  “Not really,” she admitted, struggling to hide her face.

  “Aww,” he teased. “That hurts. To find out you don’t feel the same way about me that I do about you.” Her cheeks continued to burn. She wasn’t about to admit how she felt. Not with everyone in the house listening intently.

  “I didn’t say how I feel about you,” Arianna replied.

  “And you don’t have to, because I can see it.” Andrew took her hand, and wrapped it in his.

  “See what? I feel like the world’s biggest idiot. I don’t get it. Am I that obvious with my feelings?” She tried to push him away. For Devin’s sake alone, she’d been trying hard to curb her need to feel Andrew’s skin against hers every time they were within a five foot radius of each other. Now, with Devin just giving her away, Arianna was more confused than anything on her feelings for the two boys.

  “For night humans, yes.” Andrew pulled her closer.

  “Easy for you to say, you’re a baku.” Arianna continued her futile struggle.

  “Not just baku. Any night human can see we’re meant to be together. Just ask Michael Seeger in there.” Andrew nodded his head toward the room where they were keeping him. “He seemed to finally understand you’re not free to be with anyone but me. Whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me. We are a match.”

  “Explain,” Arianna demanded as she stopped struggling. Unless she truly wanted to hurt him, she was trapped in his arms. Her day human form could never fight off someone his size and strength.

  “You really haven’t seen it?” Andrew stopped teasing her. “At all?” She shook her head no. “Oh. I thought you were just playing hard to get. Again.” Andrew pulled back from her so that nothing was touching.

  “What would I see? Remember, clueless new night human here.” Arianna reached over to take his hand again, but Andrew pulled away.

  “I’m not sure how to explain this without showing you. Let’s do it this way. Sit over there.” Andrew motioned to the bed while he stayed by the door. Arianna tentatively moved to the bed and sat down, waiting.

  “Look at the essence of the night humans around you. You know the part you see when you decide what type and how powerful a night human is. Look at your own essence. Do you see it?” He waited. He’d been in the auditorium the day Gabriel first taught her about night humans. Even then, before he first talked to her, he couldn’t keep away. Something was always drawing him to her.

  “Yes. It’s like a faintly-colored light, flickering around the edges of your skin,” Arianna answered.

  “Now, close your eyes and watch my essence,” Andrew commanded. After her eyes were closed, he began to walk slowly toward her. Once he was close enough, about five feet from her, the pull to touch him became overwhelming.

  “Do you see it?” he asked quietly, reaching for her hand. He felt compelled to touch her as well.

  “What am I looking for?” she replied, opening her eyes and peering up to see that he was now towering over her. Andrew shimmered back to the door. “I don’t know what to see.” Arianna was truly confused by what she was to look for.

  “Sorry. Let’s try this again.” Andrew took a deep breath, trying to shake the feeling that he needed to run back over to her. Arianna closed her eyes again and waited.

  “Look at my essence again, but this time also watch yours,” Andrew explained better. Doing his best to walk slowly, Andrew crept across the room at a snail’s pace, giving each step several moments before taking another.

  Arianna’s essence reached out to Andrew as he neared. The very edges of her light were trying to grasp at his, and his were doing the same. Once he got close enough, the two lights wrapped around each other, intertwining little tentacles of brightness so that you couldn’t see where one began and the other ended. At the touch of the light, Arianna felt the urge to grab Andrew and press herself tight against him as if it was the only way to keep herself sane. Andrew stepped back and the lights broke away from each other and the urge was only slightly suppressed. He moved back to the door and waited. A small trickle from his essence still lingered behind, barely touching hers.

  “Um,” Arianna said as she opened her eyes. “That’s not normal, is it?”

  “What did you see?” Andrew asked, bracing himself on the door. He wasn’t sure he could do it again so quickly. The need to touch her always increased when they were alone. Going to and from her was draining on him.

  “It was like our night human essences were hugging. I’ve never seen that before.” Arianna wrapped her hands in the bedspread to keep herself on the bed and not running over to him.

  “I’d like to think it’s more than hugging,” Andrew teased and her cheeks flushed bright red.

  “To answer your question, no, that’s not normal if that’s what you want to call it. That’s your night human picking mine as a mate or vice versa. That’s what Seeger saw back there in the room finally. It’s a very subtle thing for anyone that’s not directly being pulled to the other. For us, though, it can be quite powerful.” Andrew slowly walked back over, and it was obvious now to Arianna the moment the light touched.

  “That’s a bit of an understatement.” Arianna reached over and passed her hand through the area where the light met. She pulled back a little but the lights stayed connected.

  Andrew reached over and came closer. More of their light merged. Arianna felt the urge to touch him and Andrew didn’t stop her as she reached for him. As her hand neared his hand, wisps of light from Andrew reached out for her. Arianna’s hand hovered near him as the light licked at her. She didn’t physically feel his touch, but she couldn’t stop from moving forward to touch him.

  “How long has it been like that?” Arianna remembered first meeting him over a year ago. It was quite powerful. He was in his baku form there to judge her power. She remembered the urge to kiss him and how they both acted on it before she could say no.

  “I don’t know. It’s been like that for months since I noticed it. It’s a good thing my uncle didn’t.” Andrew chuckled as he moved his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

  “Will it always be like that? Or when you get mad at me, does it go away?” Arianna asked.

  Andrew laughed. “Choosing a mate is a life time commitment in our world, just like marriage. Once your night human finds its partner, that’s the only one you will ever have.”

  “Even if something happens to one of them?” Arianna was curious. Had he parents been mates? Was that why her dad never even considered remarrying?

  “Even if something happens,” Andrew replied, trying not to think of such an outcome. “You’re stuck with me for life. I hope you’re prepared.”

  “So what now? There’s obviously no need to worry about the vrykolakas, since it looks like I already found my mate,” Arianna used the same term as Andrew, though it now sounded different than before.

  “That’s the problem.” Anger boiled beneath the surface again. Andrew was losing control of his emotions.

  “Ex
plain?” Arianna asked, not understanding where his anger came from.

  “The clans don’t recognize the mates our night human side chooses.” Arianna kissed his bare chest and his anger boiled off a little at her touch. The thought of Andrew choosing someone else would make her angry too, but Arianna was still naive of the night human world. She assumed there was a solution to be reached.

  “Then we make them listen. I’m the head of four different clans. I’ll decide who I want to be with,” Arianna logically replied. Andrew huffed a bit and kissed her forehead.

  “That would work fine if you had more support and were at full strength. You have neither. The rest of the clans will unite against you, no matter who your choice is. They would rather have one ninth chance of winning you than zero chance with you choosing.” Andrew sighed. The situation was not good right now. “And you can’t just go into hiding. Gabriel can handle the Grace clan, but you’re needed at the Randolph estate. Devin can do the work alone, but you’re the head. They will revolt without you there. If Seeger takes over, then that would mean trouble for everyone you care about.”

  “Then we need to just run off and elope?” Arianna replied, going back to their original solution.

  “Miss Arianna, are you asking me to marry you?” Andrew tried to lighten the mood. Arianna smiled and didn’t blush this time. She didn’t care if everyone in the house heard her. She now knew what she felt was beyond real; it was part of her. While it was strange to think about it, Andrew was her other half and always would be. It took seeing it with her own eyes to finally admit what she had been feeling for months when she was around Andrew.

  “I don’t think asking is necessary when you can’t even tell one from the other,” Arianna pointed to her light wrapped around his.

  “I suppose not.” Andrew nuzzled into her head and sighed. “We need to talk to Devin. He knows the politics better than I do. If running away and getting married will do it, then we will be gone before the noonday sun sets. I plan to be beside you forever Arianna Grace, as I can’t live without you.”