“What is he planning now?” another man asked his companion.
“It’s too early,” the curly-haired man said to the younger man with him.
Arianna slightly tapped the hand firmly holding her in place. Devin leaned nearer to Arianna.
“What’s going on now?” she asked curiously.
“When a dearg-dul turns, they need a large amount of blood. So a sacrifice is chosen and presented to the person at their coming-out party. At midnight, when they turn, they drink from their sacrifice. The person coming now is the sacrifice for you,” Devin explained.
Arianna looked around the room for a clock and found large, ornately-decorated clock across the room from the platform. 11:26. Arianna turned back to her grandfather, and he smiled as the girl next to him was beginning to panic so badly that her cool cover was breaking. She was as confused as the crowd.
“A dearg-dul turns at midnight, right?” Arianna asked, and Devin chuckled. “But that girl, if she’s supposed to be me, won’t turn for another thirty-four minutes.” Devin gazed across the room to Molina, who nodded her reply to the situation.
“Everything must be set then,” he explained, as Arianna followed his gaze. Devin released his grip on Arianna who instead took his arm.
Arianna watched as her sacrifice neared. “So, what happens to the sacrifice?” she asked Devin.
“They die,” Devin replied.
“But what if you don’t want to kill a person?” Arianna asked, not approving of the situation.
“The first time anyone turns, they black out like you did, and won’t know the difference. In normal situations you can take blood from someone without killing them by just stopping when the heartbeat changes. But for the first time, most people can’t stop because they are overcome with thirst,” Devin explained.
“But you’re not dead,” Arianna replied pointing out that she had changed without a sacrifice.
“I was prepared to die, but for some reason you stopped,” he added. “You don’t need to worry about the person who sacrifices themself,” he added, seeing Arianna’s concern. “That person knows what will happen. They choose to be the sacrifice. I’d have gladly died for you.”
Arianna turned to watch the hooded person passed nearby Arianna and Devin’s location in the crowd. Arianna caught the faint scent of lilacs, which she vaguely recognized, as the person passed. When they slowly began to climb the stairs, the whispers in the crowd increased.
“Everyone seems a bit talkative today,” Lord Randolph said loudly, as the sacrifice approached the top stairs. “I understand I’m causing a bit of confusion by beginning this early, but I figured that since my granddaughter actually turned last night, it would be alright.” The crowd burst into more conversations. Arianna tried to listen to everyone, but the fear growing on the fake Arianna’s face caught her attention. “Since she didn’t finish the transformation last night, I figure we can finish it now.” The fake Arianna began to back away from Lord Randolph on the platform. “Don’t be scared, dear,” he said kindly, though Arianna could feel the wickedness in his voice. “Everything has been prepared, just how you asked.” Lord Randolph stepped down to the hooded person and untied the cape around her neck.
At the same moment, as the sacrifice’s face was finally revealed, Arianna finally knew where the scent was from. Breaking from Devin’s grasp, Arianna pushed her way through the crowd to the staircase. Hurrying to her aunt at the top of the stairs, Arianna tried to climb two stairs at a time.
“Don’t, Aunt Lilly!” Arianna called to the woman, who watched Arianna trip as she approached her.
Arianna felt the sting in her knee as it hit the edge of the stairs, but quickly stood to continue up the last few. Arianna desperately wanted to save her aunt. As she moved to continue, Devin appeared beside her, and offered her his hand. Arianna finally realized the crowd had become completely silent. Arianna turned to her grandfather as he nodded to Devin. Molina and the other guards removed several people from the crowd. Remembering her aunt, Arianna climbed the last few steps and hugged her.
“What do you think you are doing?” Arianna asked, pulling her mask off.
“Arianna?” Lilly questioned. “But why are there two of you?” Arianna hugged her aunt closer, protecting her from the fake Arianna who had just planned to kill her.
“I can explain that,” Lord Randolph replied. “It’s so nice to finally meet you Arianna,” he added, kissing his granddaughter’s hand before returning to the platform next to the trembling impostor. “As everyone who isn’t human here can tell from the scent of her blood, the girl on the steps is my real granddaughter, Arianna Caoimhe. There was a bit of trouble this morning, but it has all been sorted out now.” In one fluid movement, Devin reached forward and grabbed the base of Lord Randolph’s walking stick as he pulled the sword from its case. Before anyone could speak, Lord Randolph moved so quickly that only Arianna could watch his movements. With one swing, the frightened girl’s head rolled to the floor behind her. Arianna shuddered at the sight.
As she stood in shock, Arianna held onto her aunt. Both were horrified by Lord Randolph’s actions. Arianna had never seen anyone die before. The headless body remained lying on the top platform next to her grandfather as he handed the bloody sword to Devin. Confused, Arianna was disgusted by the scene in front of her, but the scent of blood was beginning to make her thirsty. Suppressing the thirst within, Arianna stared at her cold-hearted grandfather. Lord Randolph’s evil expression softened as he looked kindly down at Arianna.
“I’m sorry about shedding blood at your party,” he replied honestly. “It will be cleaned up in a moment.” Lord Randolph waved a hand. Several people appeared on the steps and removed the body.
The crowd stood like stone below, watching the scene unfold. Unable to move or talk, everyone stood completely still waiting for some indication of what to do. It was obvious, by the scent of her blood, Arianna was a purebred, a rarity amongst most families, but expected of the Randolph family.
Arianna continued to hug her aunt to keep from shaking as Lord Randolph addressed the crowd. “With great pleasure, I’d like to introduce everyone to my granddaughter, heir to the Randolph family.” Lord Randolph offered his hand to Arianna, but scared, she continued to hold onto her aunt. Lord Randolph smiled. “I guess she’s a bit shy since this is our first meeting as well.” Devin walked back down the stairs to Arianna.
“I’ll stay beside you,” he said only to her, knowing Arianna was afraid to let go of the only person in the room she knew. Hesitantly, with the urging of her aunt, Arianna took Devin’s arm and walked up the last few stairs to the platform beside her grandfather. Lord Randolph beamed as she neared him. Arianna could feel his genuine happiness, yet she couldn’t do anything but fear him. The applause began as she took her grandfather’s outstretched hand.
Arianna began to feel her knees weaken. The scent of blood was becoming more overwhelming. The body of the dead girl was gone and the blood wiped away, but her scent was now mixing with the new scent of additional blood. The aroma was growing stronger, and, closing her eyes, Arianna felt her face flush. It wasn’t the overpowering thirst she felt before when Devin had given her blood, but more of an automatic reaction to the large amount of blood she could smell. Arianna opened her eyes as she felt Devin place his hand softly on her back to steady her.
“A toast,” Lord Randolph began. “To my beautiful granddaughter, Arianna.”
“To Lady Arianna,” the crowd cried in unison as they raised their red-liquid-filled glasses.
Lord Randolph nodded to Devin standing beside Arianna. He momentarily let go of her back, causing her to turn towards him. Quickly, he pricked the tip of his finger and Arianna stared at the blood. The scent of his blood was different than the blood in the glasses below and from the blood of the imposter. The slight sweetness in the smell made Arianna unable to keep her composure. A thirst began that hadn’t been triggered by the scent of the blood below. Arianna felt the c
hange come over her as she involuntarily began the transformation into a dearg-dul. The scent of blood and the change of her body disorientated her. Arianna reached out her hand for Devin, and he smiled in response, bowing to Lord Randolph. Confused, Arianna turned to her grandfather. He smiled as the crowd began to whisper. Arianna listened from one conversation to the other.
“It can’t be,” an overweight woman with brown curly hair proclaimed.
“It’s true,” a younger, well-dressed gentleman whispered in disbelief.
“But how can it be,” an older, gray-haired man asked his wife.
Arianna turned back to her grandfather after she scanned the crowd, wondering why they were shocked.
“What’s wrong?” she asked him.
“Nothing is wrong,” he replied. “They are all just entranced by your beautiful blue eyes.”
Arianna looked down below at all the transformed faces. She searched from dearg-dul face to dearg-dul face. Hidden behind colorful, feathered masks, she could not tell who each person was, but one thing was all the same. She could see only brown eyes staring back at her.
SEVEN
The dance continued once Arianna released her dearg-dul form, and the chatter died down. As she sat beside her grandfather watching the crowd of richly colored dresses twirl before her, periodically she could hear someone ask their neighbor about Arianna. She sat and listened to several of the conversations, still unsure as to why she was any different from the people standing below her, or what it meant. Strangely, Arianna was now relaxed sitting next to her grandfather. Love was pouring off of him, masking the slight murderous feeling she felt before.
“Grandfather,” she hesitantly began. Lord Randolph nodded, as he stopped watching their guests, and turned to Arianna giving her his full attention. “Why am I different?”
Lord Randolph smiled and patted her hand. “You truly don’t remember anything of your past, do you?” Arianna shook her head no. “We have a lot to tell you about, but don’t worry about it tonight. We have plenty of time.” Arianna tried to hide her disappointment from his loving stare.
Arianna returned to sitting in silence, and watched the people below enjoy themselves. She hadn’t noticed when Aunt Lilly left, but the faint fragrance of her perfume was not in the room any more. Unable to concentrate any longer on the people whispering about her, but not having an answer to her question of why she was different, Arianna yawned as she looked at the clock: two in the morning. Where’s Gabriel, she wondered, knowing he would answer her questions. Arianna closed her eyes and listened to the footsteps of the people dancing. She searched around the room. He wasn’t in the ballroom. She focused her attention on the rest of the building. Outside on the patio, she could hear the faint, distinct steps of Gabriel. Arianna opened her eyes to find her grandfather watching her.
“Are you getting tired?” he asked. Arianna nodded, wondering how she could detour to the patio before heading to bed. Arianna looked below at the people dancing. To leave the room, she could go straight through the dance floor, or around either side. If she headed around the right side, she could walk near enough to see if Gabriel was outside.
“Did you want to say goodnight to Gabriel?” Lord Randolph asked, surprising Arianna. It was of no use lying to him. Arianna nodded. Lord Randolph stood and offered her his hand. “I’ll take you to him.”
Whispers and stares followed them as they walked. Arianna tried to stay shielded behind her grandfather’s large, powerful arm as he led her around the right side of the room to the patio doors leading outside. Relieved to find that Devin was following close behind, Arianna tried to ignore the curious guests.
Outside, the cool spring air smelled wet, as if it had just rained. It perfectly hid the scent of her uncle as he stood outside, watching the stars. Gabriel only moved slightly to acknowledge he heard them near him. Arianna could feel the tension between the two older men, and Devin seemed to be anxiously waiting for something to happen.
“Nice night,” Gabriel commented. “What do you think, old man?”
Lord Randolph chuckled. “If I’m an old man, what does that make you?” he replied. “Arianna was heading to bed, but I believe she wanted to talk to you first. We will be right inside the door,” he said kindly to Arianna. Arianna nodded her head, thankful to be left alone with Gabriel.
“Not enjoying the party?” Gabriel asked. Removing his coat, he placed it around his tiny grandniece. “Too much to take in at one time, isn’t it?” Arianna nodded as she realized it was still quite cold outside, and his warm coat felt good.
“Why do they stare and talk about me?” she asked. “I know I’m different than them, but I don’t understand why.”
“You mean your blue eyes?” Gabriel asked. “They make you very special to them. There has never been a dearg-dul born with blue eyes. If I remember right, there’s some sort of legend that goes along with your eyes. Everyone is curious if you are truly the person of legend.”
“A legend? That’s a lot to live up to. What does the legend say? Do I have to do something?” she asked.
“I don’t know the specifics.” Gabriel could see her disappointment. “I’m not a dearg-dul. You should ask Devin. I’m sure he can explain it to you.”
“But he’s not a dearg-dul either,” Arianna said.
“No, but he was raised by the most powerful dearg-dul alive today, so he has a very good understanding of dearg-duls,” Gabriel explained.
“Who is that?” Arianna wondered.
“Your grandfather,” Gabriel replied. “Most of the people, if not all of them, that are in that room there respect and fear him.”
“Do you?” Arianna asked.
“No. To me, he will always be that short crybaby that was older than me by a few years, yet always acted five years younger,” Gabriel responded. Arianna nodded her head as she stared into the room of dancing people. She had sensed the fear in the people in the room because they feared her grandfather.
“Why do I have blue eyes? Why am I, yet again, different than everyone?” she asked, not expecting a response. She had spent her life being different for as long as she could remember. She was always the child without parents. Though she loved her aunt and uncle dearly, they couldn’t hide the fact they were not her parents.
“Because you are not just a dearg-dul,” Gabriel replied.
“But Grandfather said I’m a purebred dearg-dul,” Arianna explained, confused by Gabriel’s comment.
“Purebred sounds like it means one-hundred percent, but really it’s a measure of the strength of your dearg-dul genes,” Gabriel explained. “You are also what we consider a purebred baku.”
“Baku?” she repeated, unsure of the word.
“There are more types of creatures that live off of human blood than just dearg-duls,” he replied. “Humans are food to different types of creatures which some call demons. We prefer not to be called demons, but rather ‘night humans’. This is yet another conversation you should have with Devin.”
Arianna felt light-headed. Her day had been filled, non-stop, with new sights, sounds, tastes, and ideas. Now, Gabriel was adding in one more piece of the puzzle. Arianna felt strained from trying to understand everything. Gabriel ushered her to a bench to sit down. She would need time to sort out what she was being told. Arianna stared into the vast dark sky dotted by tiny stars. In the past twenty-four hours, her life had changed by leaps and bounds, not the baby steps she was used to. She had been content in her own little world, living with her aunt and uncle. Their life, while sometimes a bit hard, was happy and full of love. She had friends, a home, a school, a life, but now it was all being taken away. Arianna winced as she felt her previous life shatter.
“Can I just go back to normal?” she asked.
“I wish it was that easy,” Gabriel replied. Gabriel put his arm around her and squeezed. “You should get some sleep. Things always seem better after the rain has passed.” Gabriel waved to Devin who returned, removed the coat, passed it
back to Gabriel, and escorted Arianna back to her room.
“She’s more unbelievable than expected, right James?” Gabriel said, as Lord Randolph joined him on the patio, both men staring into the dark night. “She grew up too fast.”
“Agreed,” the older man added. “I thought it would take forever until she returned, but in the blink of an eye she was turning sixteen. She seems a bit stressed tonight. Did we do the right thing, sending her away to live with Lilly and Dean?”
“What choice did we have? Her parents were both murdered. Neither one of us could provide her with complete safety. We had to let her go. It was Travis and Tiffany’s wish.” Gabriel wrapped his coat around himself. “Though it would have been easier if Lilly or Dean had mentioned a bit about her past to her. She is in for quite a shock now.”
“I could already see it in her eyes. She’s confused, and it’s only going to get worse,” Lord Randolph added.
“Isn’t that what Devin’s for?” Gabriel asked as Lord Randolph sat beside him. “You trained him well.”
“Thanks, but that wasn’t my intension,” Lord Randolph added. “He filled the void she left. He has always been such an eager young man, wanting to learn as much as he can, as quickly as he can.”
“Then what happens now? Is it finally time to end this feud?” Gabriel replied.
“I hope it ends this easily, but it will take time,” Lord Randolph added. “I wish it would have ended sixteen years ago, but it didn’t. It has been so long that we’ve been on opposite sides. You’ve gotten old, friend.” Lord Randolph stared at the graying man beside him.
“So have you,” Gabriel added, chuckling. “Our time is almost up. Hopefully we can set everything straight for her before she takes over.” Lord Randolph nodded, as they both stared into the star-filled sky in silence.
*****
Arianna returned to the room in which she had awoken that morning. Though everything was how she left it, it didn’t feel comforting since she had been kidnapped from the same room. After much reassurance from Devin that she was safe, Arianna tried to relax with a hot bath. As she soaked in the tub, she pondered everything that had happened since she had left home. It was all too unbelievable. Her Uncle Gabriel, her grandfather, dearg-duls, personal guards, drinking blood, kidnappings, murder, and a new, extravagant lifestyle swirled through her head as the last of the bubbles faded away. Her life had changed drastically in just a short twenty-four hours. Every fact she knew to be true was being shattered, one after another. Her life, as she knew it, was a lie. Her aunt and uncle were not related to her. Her family, which she thought was dead, was not. Her birthday wasn’t even on the day she thought.