Becoming a Legend

  “I figured Lucan did that to you too when I saw you earlier. You still had the lines around your wrists until you changed. Is that why you’re here?” Devin asked, knowing there was more than the need to get away from Lucan that brought Andrew to them.

  “I’m here for the same reason all three of you are.” Andrew bit into the blood pack and guzzled it. “Arianna is special and needs as many on her side as she can get. I will protect Arianna with every cell in my body.” He ripped open the second pack and finished them both in less than two minutes.

  “Have any more?” Andrew asked. Devin turned to Arianna. She nodded, and Turner left again. “If you doubt me, ask her. Ari can now read people’s thoughts. I can lie all I want, but anything that I think, she can see if she tries.” Devin nodded as if he already knew. “But you know everything now, don’t you.” Devin smiled. Andrew stared over at Devin. How could he be so perceptive and still be just a day human?

  Arianna yawned, ending the conversation. “Are they going to take much longer?” Arianna nodded to the window and the tent below in the yard. Power levels were finally steady as each man reached their peak. Gabriel was, by far, the stronger baku, but Lucan wasn’t backing down.

  “They are still flexing their power. It will start soon, but nothing will change. Uncle can’t stand up to Gabriel. He’ll use as many tricks as he can and then disappear.” Andrew tipped back and closed his eyes; now that he was actually fed, he was sleepy too. “He’s been waiting years to challenge Gabriel, but it won’t make a difference.”

  “Does he have a plan in place?” Devin asked nonchalantly.

  “Me,” Andrew replied chuckling. “And I don’t think that’s going to work now. I’m guessing from here on out he’s winging it.”

  “Maybe I should go out there. What if something happens to Gabriel?” Arianna asked, standing and walking a few steps toward the door.

  “No,” all three men in the room replied in unison. Andrew reached up and took her hand. Electricity zinged through it, even though they were in their human forms. The momentary distraction allowed Andrew to pull Arianna away from the door.

  “Let’s just rest a little.” Andrew pulled Arianna back down to the couch. Turner returned with two more packs of blood.

  “I’m a bit tired,” Arianna added as she sat. Andrew moved her hand from his and placed it on his knee as he took the blood from Turner.

  “Then sleep,” Andrew replied, opening the blood. Arianna wrinkled her nose at the smell. This time, Devin didn’t protest at his suggestion. Something passed between Andrew and Devin, and they now didn’t want to kill each other.

  “How can you drink that stuff?” she asked, leaning over and taking a closer whiff. It smelled just as bad close up. Arianna pulled back and wrinkled her nose in disgust. Andrew laughed.

  “Um, we’re night humans; that’s what we do,” Andrew replied and drank the first bag all in one gulp. “Relax and get some sleep.” Andrew patted his lap, offering her himself as a pillow again.

  “I don’t need Devin skewering you while I’m trying to get some rest.” Arianna yawned again. She snuggled into him and felt his warmth around her. His warmth was different than Devin’s or Turner’s, but Arianna was too tired to ponder it further.

  ‘Is he safe?’ Devin asked to be sure.

  Arianna reached up and touched Andrew’s face. He let all the images in his head fall freely for her to pick through. Arianna smiled as she saw some from his childhood, and then she was fast-forwarded to the first time he met her. Arianna watched through his eyes as he saw her lying on Turner in the choir room getting some rest that she’d desperately needed. Arianna had opened her eyes to stare at him, and he was hit with an incredible desire to just scoop her into his arms and run away. His feelings were overwhelming, and she had to break the connection. He loved her more than anyone she had ever met. Arianna nodded to Devin as she slid closer to Andrew to rest on his bare chest. Turner and Thomas left the room and Arianna was alone with Devin and Andrew. She hesitated slightly, hoping that it wasn’t a set up so that they could finally kill each other. Arianna looked from Devin to Andrew. Neither held a bit of violence between them, but that could always change.

  “Ari, get some sleep, please,” Devin begged. Arianna looked back at him and tried again to crack his silent exterior. There was nothing. Devin had complete control of his emotions, as always. Arianna nestled closer to Andrew and closed her eyes. This new warmth overwhelmed her, and she couldn’t remain conscious for long.

  TWELVE

  Words floated through Arianna’s mind. She felt the warmth of Andrew beneath her, but the words floated in nonetheless. In a half-dreamlike state, Arianna lay and listened to Devin and Andrew talk. Andrew’s words were a bit muffled as she lay against his chest, but she heard them, waking her a bit.

  “Did my brother really live for two years without me knowing?” Andrew asked Devin as Arianna snuggled into his lap to get comfortable. Andrew shifted his arms as she moved, and didn’t look down at her.

  “Yes. From what Gabriel has uncovered, Lucan rescued him from the fire. Lucan had the choice of who to save in your family as your father was unconscious. He could have taken any of you—you, your mother, your father, your sister. He chose your brother.”

  “And me.”

  “No, not you,” Devin replied, shuffling papers working on endless paperwork.

  “But he saved me. That’s the only way I got out of there.” Andrew was confused. When the fire first started, he was in bed. He woke to the smoke and crawled downstairs. Maggie’s door was already open as he passed, and he assumed she was gone as he didn’t feel any life in the room. Andrew wondered why no one came up to get him when they got his sister since there was no feeling of life in her room. After he was rescued, he found out that Maggie was already dead and that’s why he didn’t feel any life in the room. Andrew didn’t have any memories beyond looking for Maggie. He woke days later in the hospital to find that his family was all dead. The nurses told him that Lucan had saved him.

  “No. Turns out you got out on your own, probably because you were smaller and the smoke didn’t reach you as quickly. Lucan’s men found you outside the house and assumed he saved you first and went back in. Turns out he didn’t. He only saved your brother.” Devin had read Lucan’s personal account of the fire from the stolen diary Randolph found years ago.

  Andrew reached down and stroked Arianna’s head, twirling her hair between his fingers as he thought. Andrew didn’t doubt that his uncle had been lying to him. A man who saw fit to chain his nephew to the basement wall was capable of anything. Andrew’s hands through her hair relaxed Arianna, but she was still awake. Arianna didn’t overhear and intrude on his thoughts, though she wanted to. Andrew mindlessly rubbed his sore wrists. They wouldn’t heal completely until he changed again with the new blood in him.

  “How long has he been holding you in the basement?” Devin asked. Andrew’s head snapped up, and he considered not answering.

  ‘Trust him,’ Arianna said sleepily. ‘If you trust him, maybe he can trust you.’ Andrew kissed a lock of her hair that he held in his fingers. She wanted peace between them. He would do anything for her, including befriending the Randolph dog if she asked.

  “About a year now. He finally figured out that I actually have been a baku longer than he thought. He’s a bit pissed and greatly afraid. He suspects that I have more power than I let on, but there’s no way for him to know for sure. I’ve been hiding my strength my whole life, and am very good at it.” Andrew already knew Arianna was awake, but didn’t tell Devin. Though he might not need to; Devin knew Arianna better than anyone.

  “And why don’t you just leave?” Devin asked, not returning to his papers.

  “And go where? Anyone that found me half-starved would send me back to Lucan. And on top of that, what would I do to get blood? Attack innocent people? As much as you want to think I’m my brother, I’m not.” Arianna felt anger course through Andrew, though it was di
rected at his uncle rather than Devin.

  “Did you truly not know your brother was alive?” Devin finally asked.

  Andrew shook his head no. “If I’d known, I’d have done something. Monster or not, he was still my brother.” Andrew remembered his older brother. His broad shoulders and wavy blond hair were so much more like his father and the Lucan family than Andrew ever was. Andrew’s own dark curls were completely from his mother’s side. Alex was the future of the family, and they had so many hopes riding on him. Lucan and Andrew’s own father suspected Alex would one day rule the clan. Plans were always made for Alex, and Andrew was left forgotten.

  “There was nothing left of your brother after he set the fire. He was completely crazed, and it didn’t help that Lucan kept him locked away and underfed.” Devin looked over and watched Andrew rub his wrists more. They had done surveillance of the basement chamber during a mission in the baku territory. After Alex attacked his family, Devin was granted full access to the data, and he had watched all the tapes they had acquired.

  “The notes on the night my family died are lost, but from what Gabriel and Randolph could tell, your brother broke free of his bonds and tried to run. Alex was too lost in his hunger when he stopped by my neighbor’s house and killed both of them. He wasn’t satisfied and came to my house. He killed my father, who was downstairs asleep in front of the TV, first. We were day humans and had no idea about this other world of night. Then he went upstairs and killed my mother and older sister. Randolph found him when he was killing my sister, but didn’t act since he didn’t want to start a war over a dead child. She was already gone. When Randolph realized I was still in the house, he went up to my room to confront Alex. Your brother had tried to bite me while I laid there, awake. It was this that probably saved my life. Your brother was equal in power to Randolph when he was fully fed. He couldn’t feed on me because I was awake. Alex was a tough match for Randolph, and fought evenly with him until Gabriel arrived. Gabriel and Randolph together took him out as they tried to subdue him. Your brother wouldn’t let them, probably for the same reason you wouldn’t run. They found me next. I was bitten but unharmed. Randolph took me in.”

  “And why not live with Gabriel? Then you could have stayed here,” Andrew wondered. He relaxed and began to play with Arianna’s hair again. It was good to finally get the truth, but even better to be holding onto her as he was told. Arianna calmed him like nothing in his life. Andrew could never deny the pull between them.

  “And live with a giant, white monster that was just like what killed my family? I was only five at the time, but I still knew. Gabriel was one of them.” Devin laughed a bit, remembering his fear of Gabriel. He looked so much like the other monster. Devin hung onto Randolph and wouldn’t let go. Now he knew that he clung desperately to one of the most ruthless leaders the dearg-dul ever had. Devin was a mere fly to the man; yet, Devin didn’t know that on that day.

  “Instead, you were raised to kill the kind that killed your family?” Andrew asked, amused at the irony of the situation. Devin stared at Andrew, waiting for Andrew to understand. Gabriel wasn’t the enemy. Devin always knew that. “No, I get it,” Andrew said, understanding. Devin wasn’t raised to kill baku. Now Andrew could see the truth, Devin was raised to kill one baku in particular: Edward Lucan. Devin wasn’t his enemy, but his savior and comrade in the same quest.

  “Are you here to be free, or here to be with Arianna?” Devin asked, avoiding the subject that Andrew already seemed to get. Arianna, on the other hand, was still confused, but she wanted to learn more. She refused to open her eyes and ask.

  “I am, and will always be, here for Arianna. I will protect Arianna with my life. Freedom from Lucan is just a bonus. I was actually going to ask Arianna after dinner if I could be her keeper, but it seemed like I’d need to get my question out quicker the way things were going. I got the idea that we wouldn’t be making it to the meal.” Andrew held back from kissing her sleeping forehead again as he talked. Devin may be letting her sleep in his arms now, but if he made any move, Devin could be across the room faster than humanly possible. Andrew felt the tension lessening in Devin, but he was still cautious.

  “If you’re serious, you need to be willing to follow one rule: Arianna’s safety comes before everything else,” Devin replied.

  “Meaning?” Andrew looked up, and then around the room. Thomas and Turner were back and also following the conversation.

  “Lose the baku you have protecting you,” Devin said. “They are standing outside the house right now trying to find a way in. You can’t be protecting her if there are people following you around sworn to protect you. No one here is allowed to be around her unless she comes first. To them, you come first.”

  Andrew waved a hand of dismissal, but the three men watching him were quietly analyzing him. “Not a problem. I didn’t plan to keep them around anyway. Send them away as soon as you want. Do whatever you please with them. They’re only trying to get in here to drug me and take me back.”

  “So, you know that?” Thomas asked in surprise, not being able to keep his mouth shut. Andrew was by far the strongest baku around, next to Arianna and Gabriel. It wouldn’t be hard for him to just get rid of the measly followers. In fact, even Thomas could get rid of them.

  “How dense do you think I am? I’ve always known that. It’s just now you guys know too. Did Ari tell you?” Andrew asked, looking over at Devin for an answer.

  “No. How would she know?” Devin replied. They had been tracking Andrew since his first encounter with Arianna over a year ago.

  “I’m sure she heard them talking silently. She was a bit concerned before, so I assumed she might have told you.” Andrew shrugged and smiled down at her. Arianna was frozen at her name again, bringing her closer to consciousness, and no longer wading in the warmth of her pillow.

  “In their heads?” Thomas asked, trying to analyze how Arianna could be changing again. He had been meticulous, over the last year, to report every little change he observed back to Devin. Arianna was still young, and it could take up to five years for her powers to stabilize.

  “Yeah, she can hear that now,” Andrew replied. It would have been a great secret in any other case, but these three men all knew Arianna better than he did himself.

  Devin was amazed and sat silent as he comprehended the growth of her power. He suspected something was different, but he wasn’t sure. Little changes were often happening, and were expected, but this was greater than anything he could fathom. Being able to hear thoughts not directed at her? This could help keep her safe.

  “Since when?” Thomas asked.

  “Tonight.” Andrew tenderly stroked the side of her face. She was back in deep sleep on his chest. “How much has changed this past year?”

  “A bit here and there. Nothing to worry about yet,” Devin replied. Devin was worried that things could progress too fast and affect her more than just physically.

  “And now?” Andrew asked. Andrew couldn’t help but also worry that her power would take off too quickly and consume her as it did his brother. Andrew didn’t know his brother survived the fire, but he knew the state his brother was in to start it. Andrew secretly watched his uncle and father turn his brother. It had changed Alex. Everything happened too fast, and the kind, loving brother Andrew remembered disappeared. Devin, of all people, knew what could happen if someone grew too fast in their night human powers.

  “She is stable,” Thomas replied as he looked over her aura. Thomas studied her until he saw something new but quickly found his composure without being able to look across the room. Devin nodded at Turner and sighed. Andrew looked down at his arm wrapped around the deeply sleeping Arianna. He saw what Thomas had been looking at and nodded. Andrew’s night human essence intertwined with Arianna’s essence.

  Devin paused. Arianna felt a hint of some emotion breaking through his calm, collected self, and it woke her from her slumber slightly. “And Ari? Are you serious?”

  “Yes
,” Andrew replied, not missing a beat. “I think I love her.” Andrew leaned down and kissed her forehead before murmuring quiet words that sent her deeper into sleep.

  THIRTEEN

  Arianna woke from her dream in panic. Nothing felt right. Emotions and words swirled around her and confused her. Everything was jumbled. Terror struck her, making her gasp a bit before finding her breath again. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, discovering herself alone in the living room where Devin and Andrew had just been talking. Taking a deep breath, Arianna attempted to calm down from all the muddled feelings she’d awoke with from the dream. It was just a dream. Her heart beat fast, and she tried to calm down. She tried again to remind herself—just a dream. Looking for security, she easily found all four of her keepers down the hallway in the kitchen. They sat around the table, talking. Arianna scanned the house and found that Molina was sitting just outside the door, vigilant as ever. Everyone was keeping her safe. It should be peaceful, but her heart continued to beat hard. Arianna still felt terrified. Something was wrong.

  In an instant, Andrew was sitting beside her on the couch. If she hadn’t felt his presence, she would have never even heard him enter the room. Andrew was a silent hunter, and the best of his kind. His stalking had been perfected over the years to avoid his uncle, but it was the best asset a baku could have. Molina didn’t even flinch outside the room. She hadn’t felt him pass her. Andrew was more powerful than Gabriel, and could be more deadly if he chose.

  “Sorry we left you alone,” Andrew said softly, not wanting to startle her. Arianna looked up and reached for him, taking his outstretched hand to calm herself. “We were talking before, after you fell asleep, and it seemed to keep you from reaching deep sleep. Devin said you haven’t been resting well, so we didn’t want to interrupt you.” His words were perfectly chosen. Arianna nodded. She assumed that Andrew knew more than he was admitting, and he kept it hidden deeply in his mind.