‘It’s part of the legend. Each night human family was given part of the legend originally. The lycans had the first line which you, along with everyone else of the Randolph clan, have already heard. The dearg-dul had the second line explaining why you’d have to have five keepers. Each family has more of the legend. I overheard your grandfather once telling Devin, and swearing him to secrecy. He might have even had heard the whole legend.’ Molina tried to convince Arianna.
“Ari?” Devin asked a second time, finally realizing she was talking to someone.
“What?” Arianna asked, coming back to the conversation between her keepers.
“Were you talking to Gabriel?” Devin asked. “Is he close by?”
“No. Why?” Arianna replied, shutting out Molina’s pleas for the moment.
“He just told Andrew that he secured a different spot for us to transfer to. We’re deciding when to move.” Devin watched her, still waiting to know who she was talking to. Arianna wasn’t openly saying, and that made him suspicious.
“Oh, okay. But what do we do about our guests?” Arianna asked. Michael may have been taken care of, but Molina and the vrykolakas still remained.
“We don’t do anything. Andrew will take you to Gabriel and then return for Turner, Thomas, and me. When we’re sure we’re safe, we’ll come back for everyone else. The team will keep everyone here and safe until we can get them. Then you can rest and recover.” Devin had abbreviated the plan, but it was all she really needed to know.
“Why not just let me do the legend, and try to see if five types of blood can heal me?” Arianna tested Devin to see if he knew that the blood would heal her.
“No way. I will not take a chance with the unknown results,” he stated firmly, meaning it was the end of the conversation.
“Shouldn’t that be an option? Obviously blood alone isn’t healing me fast enough. Wouldn’t it be easier for me to try the legend? If I was strong enough, I could stand up to the clans. Maybe we wouldn’t have to run.” Arianna suggested, gaining strength from her own conclusion. Devin knew something.
“We don’t even know what the legend states,” Devin began, turning to walk back to the computer to start working with Mori on setting up everything.
“Except that the blood of five will heal me forever, and I’ll be immune to sickness after that,” Arianna interrupted, and Devin stopped in his tracks. He didn’t turn around.
“How much more are you keeping from me?” Arianna asked. None of the keepers in the room moved to interrupt them. While the basics of the legend were known to all night humans, most didn’t know the specifics.
“Where did you learn that?” Devin asked, surprised, anger boiling. Turner looked to Thomas, confused. Thomas shrugged. Neither had heard that before. Molina was correct. Devin looked at the faces of each man in the room, searching for the one that told Arianna before it dawned on him. Devin immediately changed direction and ran to the room Molina was in. Arianna realized his intent and met him there in time to pull Molina out of the way of his fury.
“How could you know that?” Devin demanded, yelling at Molina as Turner and Thomas held him back. Andrew stood between Devin and Arianna in his full baku form. Andrew didn’t fear Devin hurting Arianna, but he wasn’t about to take the chance of an accident in the state Arianna was in.
“What’s going on?” Andrew asked both Arianna and Devin.
“No one knew that but Randolph and me. Have you been spying on us that long?” Devin demanded of Molina from where he was being held down by Turner and Thomas.
“Ari, please get away from her. She’s trying to get you to do something very dangerous. Please, Ari, trust me,” Devin replied, begging Arianna. For once Arianna felt feeling behind his words. He was truly worried. Maybe he had a reason for this too, but in the same way, he was acting just like Molina. Everyone was acting in what they considered her best interests, but they never allowed her to know all the details and decide for herself.
Andrew wrapped his arms protectively around Arianna and pulled her away from Molina. There was anger in the air between Molina and Devin, but none of them held it toward Arianna. Arianna was one of the safest people in the room, but Andrew felt the air was too charged to leave her unprotected. Arianna didn’t need to be between Molina and Devin, if needed, Andrew would step in too. It wasn’t a fair fight with Molina chained up, and even though she poisoned Arianna, she didn’t do it out of anything but love, which was clear to everyone as she looked at Arianna.
“Devin, I need to know the truth,” Arianna said calmly. “Is what Molina is saying true?”
Molina glared at Devin across the room, daring him to lie. Devin ignored her and gauged Arianna. Would she be able to make a good decision if she knew everything? There was so much more in their world Devin really wanted to shield her from. Devin didn’t want Arianna turning into what Randolph was: a monster.
“She deserves to know everything,” Molina added. “We can’t just go around leaving her in the dark. I have never, and will never, betray her. She will save us all, but she needs to be around long enough to do so. She needs the power of the clans.”
Devin hung his head in defeat and stopped fighting against Turner’s grip. Turner let go, and Devin sat down on the floor with his face in his hands. He wasn’t crying, but he was defeated. Molina had more faith in Arianna than he did. Devin could see that Molina truly believed in Arianna.
“The reason the council is pushing you to fulfill more of the legend is because they don’t know any more than the first two lines. Your grandfather searched for years to complete each line of the legend, and found that your fate, if you are the legend, is to start a revolution. I know that the blood of five can heal her, but at the same time, it will make her take a part she never asked for. Arianna deserves the chance to choose her own fate. She doesn’t have to be the child of the legend.” Devin stared at Molina, offering a challenge.
“And how can she decide her own fate if you keep things from her?” Molina countered. Randolph had declared what Arianna could or could not be told. Devin was just following orders.
“I never planned to keep everything from her; I just don’t want to throw too much at her at once, especially when she has been sick because of you,” Devin hammered out his last point.
“I didn’t do it to make her sick, and I knew it couldn’t kill her. I tested it on myself first,” Molina admitted. “I got better within a week. I really thought she would be fine. I’d have never given it to her if I thought it would do otherwise.”
Arianna looked between them. Neither was lying, but she needed to be sure.
“Are you both willing to let me see into your minds to see if I can tell what to believe?” Arianna gave the only proposal she could think of.
“Yes,” Devin replied first.
“She can do that now?” Molina asked, hurt she was left out of the new knowledge. Arianna nodded. “Of course. I’d never hide anything from you. Let’s just hope it’s the same for Devin.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Andrew looked across the room to Arianna, who was sitting only feet from Molina. He didn’t fear the dearg-dul; she was considerably weaker than everyone in the room. He also didn’t fear her giving Arianna knowledge. Devin may have thought he could protect Arianna by keeping her away from the truth, but that wasn’t true. Arianna’s ignorance of the real night human world created their current problem. But part of him wanted to join Devin in strangling the dearg-dul. Molina had put Arianna in harm’s way by poisoning her. Also, he was anxious to see what was going on in Molina’s mind. Andrew approached Arianna and placed a hand on her back to let her know he was nearby, but at this point touch wasn’t needed. Arianna felt him as much as he felt her.
Arianna stared at Molina who waited patiently. Arianna closed her eyes and entered Molina’s mind for a second time. Where there were secrets before, Molina’s mind was now an open book to Arianna. Not a single ball remained that was a different color, and there were many of
them. Arianna cringed, not knowing where to begin. Molina was being completely open, but that didn’t mean Arianna was all-seeing in her new power.
‘Andrew,’ she called outside her mind and knew that, that no matter where she was, he would hear her.
“May I enter with her?” Andrew asked Molina, distracting her from watching Arianna.
“Yes, I have nothing to hide,” Molina replied, nodding before going back to watching Arianna.
‘Ari, where are you?’ Andrew asked as he joined her, but with all the thoughts floating around, he couldn’t find her.
‘They’re all the same color,’ Arianna said, coming near him. ‘Does that mean she’s completely honest or completely lying? Can someone be completely lying to you?’
Andrew laughed. ‘I didn’t think of it that way. I think no one can completely lie because there will always be truth in their lives. I’d have to go with ‘completely open’, so that you can see whatever it is you need to look for.’
‘And how do I do that? It was easier looking for a lie.’ The number of balls were increasing in the room. A new set entered at the same time someone else entered the bedroom. Jackson’s face popped up everywhere around her.
‘I guess we know who entered,’ Andrew replied, feeling Arianna beside him.
‘Yep. Where do we start looking, and what am I exactly looking for?’ Arianna asked. While it was now easy for her to go in and out of their minds, Arianna still didn’t know how to sift through all the thoughts efficiently.
‘You already know how to dive into the memories, but for something like this, you want to just get a glimpse and not go through them to see each moment. To do that don’t take a hold of the memory in your hands. Instead, just look into it and watch the mini scene unfolding. If you see something you want to know more about, touch the memory and go into it, but if you stay back you can gaze through many of them at once.’ Andrew walked her over to the nearest pile that was of her, and not Jackson.
Mini bubbles of memories floated past Arianna with pictures of all her time with Molina. Most of the memories were from the past year, but others also followed. Molina had been watching over Arianna for years before Arianna even knew about night humans. Memories of Arianna’s much simpler day human life floated by. Soon she was surrounded by how Molina saw everything happen. The past year together was now surrounding her. Emotions began to pour off the bubbles floating around her.
‘Do you feel that?’ Andrew asked in barely a whisper. Andrew was beside Arianna watching all the scenes also, and sensing all the feelings.
‘It’s love, isn’t it?’ Arianna replied. It wasn’t the same type of love she felt from him, but it was love.
‘She loves you like a sibling,’ Andrew replied, pushing a memory closer to her. Being an only child, Arianna had never felt that kind of love before. Andrew did. There was no bitterness behind his words but inspiration that there could still be that kind of love without a blood bond.
Arianna looked at the scene before her. From Molina’s view, Arianna was riding the bus in her pre-night human days. Arianna was slumped over, wiping away tears discreetly. Jackson had yet to board and Molina was having a hard time sitting still on the bus, she wanted to go comfort her. Arianna’s pain was also Molina’s pain. Molina wanted to know who would cause her so much pain and beat the crap out of them. Arianna was the little sister Molina missed dearly.
Arianna could remember the day herself, but didn’t know anyone saw her. Molina had been watching her for some time before she ever entered the night human world and obviously already knew most of those lonely days where Arianna felt lost without having family around. It wasn’t the same to be raised by Aunt Lilly and Uncle Dean, no matter how much they loved her.
‘I think this is the one you want to see,’ Andrew interrupted the movie playing before Arianna. ‘I will leave this to you now. I think I need to go back out and talk with everyone. Devin is getting anxious for you to find out what you need to know, or he doesn’t want you in his head. I don’t know which it is, but I’ll keep him company until then.’ Andrew’s presence disappeared.
Arianna picked up the bubble that was pushed toward her. The world in Molina’s mind changed, and she was now melting into a scene at her grandfather’s mansion. The walls of the residential area of Randolph manor swirled into view.
A loud crash in the next room brought her violently into the world through Molina’s eyes. Molina looked up from the tracking devices. They had more problems than just that Arianna was missing, which they knew was going to happen, it was just a matter of when. There was a baku on the property. He had hidden himself well, but Mori still picked up a slight trace. They didn’t know who the baku was, but to be missed by all the Randolph security meant he was strong, very strong, possibly Gabriel himself. Molina stood and crept near the doorway downstairs. Something inside her warned to proceed with caution. Another crash covered up the sounds of the door opening. Molina kept moving downstairs. More crashes came as Molina paused outside the room Devin was in with Randolph.
“When you’re done destroying our home, we can continue talking.” Lord Randolph’s voice was ice, cutting through the hostility in the air.
“They took her,” Devin said, the despair evident in his voice. “I told her I’d keep her safe, and they took her.” Steely-emotioned-Devin was actually breaking down.
“This was one of the scenarios that we knew could happen. Seeger has been plotting for years to get the dearg-dul behind him.” Lord Randolph was calm and didn’t even seem to worry over his granddaughter’s disappearance. It was odd. Everyone on her team was extremely worried, but Randolph was not.
“What if they do something to her? It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have left her alone.” Devin was now over his violent outburst and on the verge of tears. This shocked Molina as she had never seen any sort of emotion from the boy since the first day he came into the Randolph manor.
“Her uncle will find her,” Randolph assured Devin. “No need to worry. It’s kind of his specialty.” This was the first time Molina was hearing that Arianna had an uncle. When she had asked why Devin had found Arianna in baku territory only a night ago, he gave a reply that it was where her parents had lived. Arianna assumed that the baku took Arianna’s dearg-dul mother in after Randolph kicked her out. Molina didn’t know that meant there were actual relatives still alive.
“But she didn’t finish the feeding when she turned,” Devin replied. This Molina agreed with. Somehow, Arianna stopped feeding on Devin when she was starting to affect him. No one had ever not finished the turning. Arianna was the first. “She might run out of blood before anyone can find her.”
“She won’t die that easily,” Lord Randolph dismissed Devin’s worry and began to pick up the larger objects that had been tossed around the room.
Devin wanted to complain but stopped. No one questioned Lord Randolph.
“Now, I need to take care of some more business before we dispatch the imposter.” Lord Randolph was dismissing Devin. “You’re certain she had blue eyes?” he asked Devin one last time.
“Yes, positive,” Devin replied. Blue eyes? Molina was startled. She hadn’t even thought to look at Arianna’s eyes when she transformed. “Did you know she would?” Devin asked.
“I suspected because Gabriel said he thought she was a baku,” Lord Randolph answered. He was always the most honest with Devin, and only Devin. Molina’s mind began to race at the possibility. First, they had suspected that Arianna was the dearg-dul of legend. Second, Randolph just said Arianna was a baku. That confirmed Arianna was the dearg-dul of legend.
“And what does that mean?” Devin asked. “People whisper about the blue eyes coming soon, but I have never known what it means. And no one has ever answered me when I ask.”
“Because to speak of it means death,” Lord Randolph replied, waving his hand in the air as if death wasn’t a problem. “I have ordered that anyone who actually speaks the prophecy will be put to death.”
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“Is it that bad?” Devin asked. Molina had heard whispers of the legend; even she didn’t know the truth. All anyone would say was a blue eyed dearg-dul would join the clans together through mending the clans with five keepers by their side. No one actually knew what it all meant.
“No, but I never want her to learn of it. I have collected the verses over the years from the dearg-dul, lycan, baku, and tengu. I have begun trying to acquire the rest from the other nine clans. With some bartering, by the end of the year, I should have the whole prophecy,” Lord Randolph explained as he began to tap his cane on the floor.
“All of the dearg-dul who are older than my daughter had heard of the rumor that a blue eyed night human would be born with the power to save or destroy us. The child will need blood from five different types of human to become an all-powerful night human able to do what no one else can,” Lord Randolph explained. “You can read what we’ve found later.”
“Arianna will be a savior to the night humans by drinking the blood of five different humans?” Devin asked, letting go of his breath at the same time Molina did.
“That, or the death of us,” Lord Randolph replied. “Once she has the blood of five keepers, she cannot be killed by poison or disease and her power will be off the charts. She will either save us or destroy us—if we do not destroy ourselves. I don’t want her told of this. She will stay my grandchild only, no legend.” A siren began wailing in the background.
Molina immediately jumped up and returned to the stairs to make a rather noisy entrance. Arianna was the night human of legend sent to save them all, but Lord Randolph would never let that happen. What would happen to the night humans if Arianna didn’t save them? Molina thought of the small, fragile girl she watched for a year. Was she strong enough to save them? Would she even want to after her rather brief introduction to their world? Arianna may not want to save the night humans, but Molina was sure: she would save Arianna by any means necessary.