“Is that why there’s this legend, and I need five keepers? There’s something truly different about me?” Arianna added it all together.
“I don’t know.” Devin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Arianna leaned into him. All traces of worry were completely gone and replaced by his love.
SEVEN
Arianna and her crew returned home to her aunt and uncle’s diner early Friday morning. It was a late return, since she spent her birthday in Tricity, but a necessary one since she had yet another party to attend, this one being thrown by her uncle Gabriel. They had arrived home liked planned, and it would be an immediate trip to Gabriel’s house to get ready. Gabriel ruled in place of her for the baku family while she was gone or dealing with the everyday events of the dearg-dul clan. Arianna was thankful they didn’t expect her to completely take over like the Randolph estate had after her grandfather’s death the previous year. Arianna left her guards in the car as she ran back inside the diner to say hi to her guardians before heading to her uncle’s house.
“Auntie,” Arianna called into the kitchen between the people running around.
“She’s out front,” Lou replied from behind the large stoves. “I’ll keep some leftovers in the fridge for you. Who knows if they will actually have any decent food at that dinner? Baku may win the ‘I have more muscles than you contest,’ but they can’t ever seem to throw a good party.” Lou winked at her before she passed through to the front of the store. Lou had been running the kitchen at the diner as long as she could remember. It turns out that the lithe, long-haired, tattooed man was placed there on purpose by her grandfather, since Lou was also a dearg-dul and part of the Randolph clan. Thankfully, Lou was there the past year when everything exploded, since it literally exploded at the diner when her enemies tried to blow up her family. Lou had been the one to recognize the scent of the leaking gas and got everyone to safety.
“Hi, Uncle Dean,” Arianna said, passing her sandy-haired uncle who was halfway inside the latest machine he had bought, getting it ready to start making some new delicacy for the diner. Arianna had yet to get a tour of all the new kitchen equipment. She didn’t know how to use most of the old equipment since she always worked in the front of the diner; she definitely didn’t know how to use all the new, shiny equipment in the rebuilt diner.
“Ari? Back already? I thought the party would last longer.” Dean was always distracted these days. Luckily, they didn’t mind taking money from Arianna for the past year since she inherited the whole Randolph estate, but they were happy to be self-sufficient once again nonetheless.
“No, I haven’t gone yet. Is Aunt Lilly up front?” Arianna tried to look into the machine to see what Dean was so intently studying.
“Yes, at the register, I think.” Dean ducked back into the machine.
Arianna maneuvered through the waitresses and up to the register. When in front of the diner, her aunt was the picture of perfection. Her hair was neatly pulled back into a bun with not a wisp free. Her apron was spotless. Everything about her appearance bespoke a woman in complete control. She smiled as Ari approached. Even her smile didn’t show any sense of lost control. Aunt Lilly was perfection, and it was great to see her back to normal.
“Heading over to Gabriel’s now?” Arianna could still catch a hint of malice in Lilly’s statement even though her perfect smile didn’t waver. Lilly had grown up amongst the dearg-dul night humans, and just like the most of them, she was still having a hard time completely trusting the baku. Arianna’s mother had been a dearg-dul and Lilly’s best friend. Lilly couldn’t accept Travis Grace when they were alive, and didn’t approve of their marriage, but she loved Arianna like her own child every day of her life.
“Yep,” Arianna reached over and swiped a cookie out of the dessert case.
“And then you’ll be back here for only two more days, not three like normal?” The schedule was all thrown off with her birthday celebration.
“Yep.” Arianna munched on the cookie. Aunt Lilly helped a customer. Arianna waited, knowing she only had a few more moments left before she would actually have to leave. To her, Lilly was the definition of normalcy and comfort. In Arianna’s new night human world, sometimes she just needed normal.
“Did you have a nice birthday?” Lilly asked, turning back to Arianna.
“You mean after the council meeting, where they bombarded me again about finding more keepers?” Arianna replied.
“Again?” Lilly reached over and tucked a piece of Arianna’s hair out of her face.
“And they think I should get a fiancée,” Arianna added, waiting for a reaction to mess up that perfect exterior. Arianna loved her aunt more than anything, but it was always fun to try to do things to get her to be less perfect. Lilly smiled at the approaching customers and helped them with her perfect smile.
“Now that’s a topic I didn’t expect to approach for at least a few more years. I thought taking Turner as your keeper would be enough to keep everyone off the subject of marriage.” Lilly was calm about the situation.
“A few more years?” Arianna was shocked. “I want to go to college, be a young adult in the world, not married. I just want them to stop, and here you agree with them.” Lilly began to laugh as she played Arianna as much as Arianna played her. As her real smiled faded back into her fake smile, Lilly sighed.
“I agree. Why can’t they just let you be a kid for a little bit? Oh, and on that, thought,” Lilly reached under the counter.
“I’m not a kid,” Arianna pouted.
“No, you’re not,” Lilly replied, handing Arianna a small wrapped package. “Happy birthday, sweetie. Hope this one was better than the last.”
Arianna took the box and kissed her aunt’s cheek. “Thanks,” she replied before opening the box. The wrapping came off easily and Arianna dug in the packing chips. At the bottom of the box was a keychain with one car key on it. “A car?” Arianna began jumping up and down. “You really got me a car?” She ran over and hugged her aunt again.
“Hey, some of us need to breathe,” Lilly complained. Arianna loosened her grip, but kept smiling at her aunt. “Now you can’t drive it until you pass your test, but it’ll be parked out back until then.” Arianna nodded. She turned to leave, but ran back over to give her aunt another hug. Lilly patted her back and returned to helping another customer. It was one year ago that her aunt had planned to be Arianna’s sacrifice in the dearg-dul changing ceremony. As Arianna began to walk away, Lilly called out to her. “You better go upstairs before heading to the party. Someone has been waiting to talk to you.”
Arianna walked back through the diner, stopping to hug Dean and thank him also. Mary Ellen or Tish, whoever stopped by, could wait a few minutes to celebrate with her.
“It’s nothing too fancy. I’ve spent a few hours fixing it up so it should run perfect. But you still can’t be running around without anyone knowing, okay kiddo?” Dean said before pushing her on her way through the diner’s crowd. “Now, have a lovely time with your uncle.” Dean had taken to the baku much better than Lilly had.
Arianna walked back up the stairs to their apartment, staring at the key. She hadn’t expected to get her own car. Even though she was now basically rich from her inheritance, when she was home with her aunt and uncle Arianna still felt like the normal girl she had been before everything changed a year ago. As she tuned on the last landing, she suddenly stopped, running into someone who had been waiting in the dark.
“Oh, sorry about that,” Thomas said, catching her and keeping her from falling backwards down the stairs. “No crew?” he asked, looking behind her. She shook her head no. “Good. I need to talk to you. Preferably without the wolf around.”
“Didn’t I get everything changed correctly?” Arianna asked. She’d thought she took care of everything that would put Thomas right back to where he was a year ago, before he agreed to be her guard for the year.
“No, everything was fine. I got accepted into two Early Entr
y med school programs with my new grades. Everything is fine.” Thomas sat down on the top step. “Actually, I needed to talk to you about something else.”
Arianna sat down and peered up at him. Like her guards and Turner, Thomas towered over her. While it was true that most people were taller than Arianna, who was only just over five feet tall, her keepers were much taller. Thomas was lost in thought. Arianna looked down the dark stairwell. It was easier to read people’s hidden feelings when she didn’t see their faces to confuse her. Anxiety was written all over his face, but once she had turned away, Arianna felt the hope behind it.
“Can I be your tengu keeper?” Thomas blurted out.
“What?” Arianna was surprised. “You just got out of your bargain with Gabriel. You can go back and have a normal life, become a doctor, get married, have a family and a white picket fence.”
Thomas shrugged. “I thought that was what I wanted, but as soon as I got back home, I realized that somewhere along the way things changed. Maybe you remind me too much of my sister. But I feel this overwhelming urge to protect you.”
“I have my guards and Devin and Turner,” Arianna replied. “You don’t have to stay with me for that. Go live a life none of us get to live.” Arianna truly wanted that for him. She almost envied that his life was so much more his, than hers was hers. Her life had been planned for her the moment she was conceived. She was the legendary night human everyone was waiting for. Now she just had to live up to it, which was hard to do since she didn’t even know what the legend was.
“For once in my life, I’m making my own choice,” Thomas replied. “Med school and saving the world was always my dad’s dream. I can always go to med school later. Right now, I feel I need to be here. And you need a tengu.”
“Need a tengu?”
“Every baku is matched with a tengu at the turning ceremony. It’s a lifelong bond. And you never got one. So here I am, offering to be your tengu.” The hope was growing stronger the longer they talked. Thomas could see that he was swaying her in his direction.
Arianna was at a loss for words. She felt the seriousness in his voice and the truth in his heart.
“Are you offering to be the tengu keeper of the legend?” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“And you do know what that entails?” she continued. He nodded. “I’ll have to drink your blood for it.” He nodded again. There wasn’t a hint of the squeamishness he had before. Thomas had never been comfortable to even be around her when she was feeding. “And you’re fine with that?”
“If you’d take me.” Thomas stood, still waiting and anticipating the answer he wanted to hear.
Arianna didn’t hesitate to reply. He had already been the older brother she always wanted, and now he was offering to make the bond permanent. “Well then, you better go home and get dressed for a party, as Gabriel is waiting.”
EIGHT
Arianna paced around the large bedroom. She had been waiting for more than thirty minutes now, but she couldn’t enter her party until midnight. People were still arriving and custom dictated that she arrive last. She walked back to the dresser against the far wall and checked her hair for the tenth time. Devin was outside the door, and Turner was downstairs with Molina, observing each guest as they arrived. Gabriel stood at the front door and greeted everyone, also making sure that everyone entered on good terms. Arianna could sense each person as they arrived. In respect towards her, they didn’t keep their feelings shielded. She was their leader now. More than half the people that came were genuinely happy to be there. The other half were like starving wolves waiting to pounce. Arianna was fresh meat. She had been trying to keep her emotions hidden once she found out that everyone was feeding off her energy, but it was still hard for her to do. It was even harder when she couldn’t concentrate well. Her talk with Devin had her worried. Would she become a mindless beast someday? Would it be accelerated if something happened to Devin and Turner?
Arianna’s head snapped up at the newest guest entering. She didn’t need to see him to know who it was. Edward Lucan was now present at the party. Now the fun can really begin, Arianna thought. Arianna felt the hatred roll off him. He was mad, actually madder than usual. He didn’t speak to Gabriel as he entered, and Gabriel didn’t address him. Why does Lucan stay here if he hates it so much? Behind Lucan were three more people. Arianna stayed by the dresser as the last person passed by Gabriel and walked upstairs to the room she was in. His personal guards stood at the bottom of the stairs.
“Can I come in?” Andrew asked from behind the door.
‘Is Devin still there?’ Arianna knew the answer, but she couldn’t tell what was going on with Devin’s steel exterior.
‘Oh yes, the Randolph pup is here doing his job, staring daggers at me without a hint of emotion seeping out,’ Andrew replied in her head. It was easiest for both Arianna and Andrew not to talk aloud with people around.
“Come on in,” she replied for Devin’s benefit, as it seemed he wouldn’t be letting Andrew by him until she did so.
“I see your uncle has come with all his malice as usual,” she said as Andrew entered the room and shut the door behind him. Devin was not happy with that action, but allowed it anyways.
“Of course, it pains him each time he comes to these gatherings and remembers he’s not the most powerful. I think tonight might have been extra taxing, knowing that I was going to escort you. Are you ready to be the belle of the ball?” Andrew moved forward slowly as if he were stalking his prey. Andrew’s night human qualities were seeping into his day human form. He was more graceful and his appearance more finessed. Greater power than normal was radiating off him.
“I’m never ready for that,” Arianna replied.
Andrew eyed her over. He too knew this was the first time they had been alone in a room since the previous year. Instinct told her she should be backing up or moving into a fighting stance at least, but Andrew would never harm her. Instinct could not beat her heart’s feelings. Fortunately Devin was just outside the door, keeping them both too cautious to act on the feelings between them.
“It seems like your team planned ahead well.” Andrew was standing just inches from Arianna. He slid a finger in the side of the top of her strapless dress. Arianna shivered at his touch, and then was ashamed of herself when she heard Devin move outside the door. Andrew looked up at the door, but only moved his hand to her shoulder.
“What does that mean?” Arianna asked.
Andrew stepped back only inches before his motions sped up. Arianna could see him start to unbutton his shirt. As he was almost done, she reached up quickly and stopped him, her blush moving as fast as he was. Startled, he fell back into normal speed.
“How did you do that?” he asked, cocking his head to the side to view her like she was now doing a new magic trick.
“Do what? What are you doing?” she demanded.
“We have to appear in night human form at the meal. While your group can strategically dress you so that you don’t rip your clothing, men’s clothing isn’t as forgiving.” Arianna still stared at him. “I need to remove my shirt so that I don’t rip it into shreds.” Andrew finally noticed the blush in her cheeks. He smiled and gently touched her red cheeks with the tip of his finger. Arianna didn’t move though she wanted to hide her face from the predator in the room. “So now that I’ve answered your question, what about mine? How did you stop me when I shimmered?” He finished unbuttoning the last button.
“Shimmer?” Arianna heard new terms every day that people wouldn’t explain. Shimmer was a new one.
“When we’re in day human form, we can use a little of our baku energy and move quicker.” Andrew removed his coat but left his unbuttoned shirt on. “It’s called a shimmer. Everyone does it a different way, but one thing is always the same. The person shimmering is always moving faster than the one not.”
Arianna shrugged. “Maybe I’m just getting better at this night human thing.”
‘Mayb
e you’re just getting better at reading me,’ he replied.
Andrew smiled his smug smile and moved closer. He took one of her hands and placed it on his bare chest. His heart beat wildly beneath her touch. He seemed to be as entranced with her as she was with him. Arianna wanted to pull away, but couldn’t. It was always like that with Andrew. There was something that blocked all logical thought and drew her to him. She had spent the last year denying it, but it was true. Being alone with him could be dangerous.
Arianna felt the day human skin beneath her hand. It was more textured than his baku skin, but just as hard. Even in his day human form, Andrew was a force to be reckoned with. Andrew exhaled as her hand moved across his skin inadvertently. Arianna stopped as her hand moved to his scarred shoulder. She traced the scar with her fingertips. Andrew stood like stone, allowing her to explore. His emotions were almost as tightly controlled as Devin at this point, but a bit of worry slipped through. Arianna traced the scar along the top of his shoulder, pushing his shirt out of the way as she continued over to his back where she stopped. It was strange to see his otherwise perfect skin marred. When they changed into night humans most cuts healed and often disappeared completely. Only very deep cuts would leave scars. She slipped his arms out of his shirt and stared at the crisscross of scars marking up his back. Andrew had been whipped, and more than once.
“What are these?” she whispered, afraid to say it in her head as he might not answer her. Four new lines ran horizontal on his back over the scarred tissue. Arianna wanted to cover them up and pretend they weren’t there, but she couldn’t help but stare at them.
‘Punishment,’ Andrew replied silently.
‘Why?’ She still couldn’t break away from looking at the torn skin. It should have been healed. No night human she knew would let cuts go so long unhealed that they could scab over. All he needed to do was change into his night human form.