Becoming a Legend (25 page)

“
I’m not sure. We found a second one out there, and all I can tell is they had been fighting. All the scrapes and cuts are from the fight.” Gabriel finished binding Michael. “You can stay here and watch him. Devin should be here soon with Arianna. “

“
What?” Molina asked, standing to follow Gabriel. “Arianna was outside? Doesn’t she understand how unwell she is?”

“
Stay here,” Gabriel ordered Molina.

“
But is Arianna in trouble?” Molina was unconcerned with the tied up, unconscious young man in the room. Michael’s pulse was strong, and he was just sleeping. Her main concern was, and would always be, Arianna. Molina knew about the extent of her sickness and running around during daylight hours, immunity or not, was not a good idea.

“
She just exerted herself too much getting to him in time. If she hadn’t, it could have been much worse. Thanks to her, both boys should live and come out of this completely fine.” Gabriel paused at the door. He pointed at Michael. “I don’t trust him or his family. Stay here and watch him.” Gabriel was one of the few people Molina didn’t ever disagree with. Gabriel was deadly if he chose to be so, and no one would see it coming. The old baku had experienced more in life than she ever imagined, and he was the only one without clouded judgment that felt as strongly about Arianna as she did.

Molina waited until she heard Devin and Gabriel talking before she walked over to Michael. She felt his pulse; he was already awake and waiting for her. He didn
’t open his eyes and stir, but he felt the pinch she gave him.

‘
Did you see the angel that rescued me?’ Michael asked in awe. ‘I’d do that all over again just to get her to come get me.’

‘
And did you see how sick she is? I thought you said it would only make her weak?’ Molina kept pretending to check him over and used the opportunity to pinch him hard again. It would leave a bruise for sure.

‘
What the hell are you doing so close to the cottage?’ she asked him mentally.

‘
I didn’t honestly know she was here. I was chasing the vrykolakas. I almost got him too.’ Michael didn’t open his eyes, but talked back anyways. ‘What’s the baku planning to do with me?’

‘
I don’t know. No one will trust you. Keep your mouth shut,’ Molina advised him.

‘
I have to say something when they finally know I’m awake.’ Michael tested the binding just a little bit. Gabriel had done his job well. Michael wasn’t getting out until someone let him.

‘
Which one of you started it?’ Molina sat down on a chair and pretended to watch him dutifully though he wasn’t going anywhere.

‘
Does it matter?’

‘
It will to Gabriel. You’re on their land.’ Molina wanted to slap him, but then everyone would expect him to wake up. She hadn’t been told to wake him. Michael was just as arrogant as his father.

‘
Shit, I went too far over the line again.’ Michael was actually sorry.

‘
Yeah, so you better make up something good. Just don’t get your father involved. He’ll mess things up for sure. Stick to our agreement.’ Molina stood and walked to the door, hearing Devin enter with Arianna. She listened to Arianna and then moved back to Michael.

Arianna jumped back out of the memory quickly.
They were speaking too much in code for Arianna to understand.

‘
I need more time to find more memories,’
she told Andrew.

‘
We don’t have more time. Gabriel wants to act now. Did she do it?
’ Andrew asked. Arianna’s demeanor told Andrew that she had.

‘
I don’t know.’
Arianna didn’t want to believe Molina would do anything to harm her. She was like the sister Arianna had always wished for. Molina was the only female in this new life of hers. She barely had time to see her friends now, but Molina was there every day.

‘
Should I check Thomas first?’
Arianna asked, trying to delay him.

‘
No. Mori agrees that he’s safe,’
Andrew answered. Molina was guilty, but Arianna didn’t want to admit it.

Arianna closed her eyes
, trying to will the tears away as Andrew silently captured Molina and subdued her. She didn’t resist. She didn’t even know Andrew was in the room. He acted quickly and took her down before anyone else even knew what was happening. Gabriel wasn’t needed. Devin came running from the second bedroom to find Andrew escorting Molina into the living room. Gabriel was right behind, flexing his power and making every night human in the cottage shiver. Arianna’s guards were all gathered in the living room for this new threat. Molina refused to look anyone in the eyes.

“
I hereby relieve you of your post,” Gabriel said, to the shock of Devin who hadn’t been in on the conversation. “Devin is now in charge of Arianna’s protection unit. All orders through him are final.” Gabriel looked around the room. The day human guards didn’t sense the power behind his statement, but they read the power behind his eyes. Gabriel was especially imposing to day humans. Every one of her guards nodded. Jackson looked betrayed as he stared at Molina. Arianna knew the one secret between them. Jackson had asked to be Molina’s keeper only weeks ago, and she had said yes.

TWENTY-ONE

“W
hat do we do now?” Arianna asked Gabriel. They were standing outside in the noonday sunlight. Most night humans couldn’t do so even in day human form, but it was fine for baku. Arianna did find that was one of the perks of being of mixed blood.

Each of her
night human guards were assigned a room to watch with a prisoner because they couldn’t go outside into the sun. Meanwhile the day human guards ran the perimeter looking for trouble. Arianna stood outside with her three keepers, Gabriel, and Devin, the newly-appointed leader of her guards. Devin didn’t look either surprised or uncomfortable in his new position. In fact, it was as if nothing happened to him, duty always took precedent his own feelings. His previous anger at Arianna running outside the house was stored away. Arianna was, on the contrary, a wreck. Andrew kept rubbing his hands over her arms. Not for warmth, but for releasing the feelings pent up inside her. It took Andrew taking away the pain for her to even talk to the rest of the group. Molina’s betrayal was the last straw after Devin’s emotional break from her.

“
We need to question each one and find out what they know and what’s going on. From what it seems, Michael and the other one were fighting for some reason. We need to find out why, and what they were doing on our land. Neither was invited or had permission. Molina also needs to be questioned, but she’s not a matter that we need to deal with immediately. Mori informs me that you’re clearing the poison from your system, but not completely free of it. That would suggest that even if Molina set the poison, she hasn’t had time to do so here,” Gabriel calmly analyzed the situation and summed it up for everyone.

“
Or that was what she was doing when I caught her,” Andrew suggested. He hadn’t given her time to actually act on what she was doing.

“
I can check again for you,” Thomas added. “I found an active one back at the Randolph estate before we left and dropped it off with Mori. I actually didn’t have time to tell Molina about it, so she doesn’t even know that. It kind of makes sense now though,” Thomas opened his wings to block the sun beating down upon Arianna though she didn’t notice it in her stressed state.

“
What?” Devin asked.

“
I was wondering why Molina was so good at finding them. When they were inactive there was nothing to detect them. I tried every day and spent hours searching the rooms. I had nothing else to do. The only one I did find was very obvious once I knew what the poison was like and what I was looking for. If she set them, then she would have known where to find them if they were turned off and hidden.”

“
Good. Then get inside and start checking the house. We need to be sure Arianna is free of that poison and that none of us have been exposed. Her entire food source is right here, and we can’t let her go without,” Gabriel explained as if Arianna wasn’t there. In fact, she wasn’t really there mentally as she continued to contemplate how Molina could betray her.

“I’ll
be leaving this all to you guys to sort out. I need to go prep another safe house, and doing that might require me to call in a few favors. I’ll be back within two days to move you all to another location. Keep her safe until then.” Gabriel stared at Andrew with his last words. Gabriel trusted Devin with Arianna, but Devin was still only human.

“
Wait,” Arianna finally came back to her senses. “Is it safe to have them locked up in the house?” Arianna remembered watching Gabriel bind Michael in Molina’s thoughts. It didn’t look like much to hold back a night human.

“
Yes,” Gabriel replied, noticing she was finally returning to her senses, though Andrew was still rubbing her arms to help.

“
But that was just rope. I could easily break through rope like that in my night human form.” Arianna was truly confused.

“
You could easily break through most of everything, but those two won’t be a problem. Michael Seeger is levels lower than even your guards. Actually, it’s quite a pity for a purebred, and I think his father knows that. The other one is also at a lower level, probably around Molina’s strength. He’s a young one, so his power will grow with time, but not in a few days. You’ll be safe with them bound.”

“
Grow in power?” Yet another new detail about her new night life.

“
Yes. I believe he’s as young as you,” Gabriel explained, looking to Devin for some sort of recognition of what Arianna was asking.

“
And that means the power for both of us will grow, why?” Arianna looked to Devin too.

Gabriel continued when Devin didn’t answer. “
It can take up to five years for a night human’s powers to mature. Being that Andrew here hasn’t changed much in power for the past two years, I’d guess he turned himself around the age of twelve.”

Andrew
didn’t deny the statement or agree.

“Eventually my power will be stronger than I am now?” Arianna asked. The thought frightened her. Everyone already wanted her for her power, and it would only get greater.

“Yes, that’s what I was trying to tell you before,” Devin complained. He looked at Gabriel while he spoke. Together, they were silently planning something. Arianna was still too much in shock to try to listen to them as they talked. She was already a sitting target. Now she was a sitting target that had more value than she ever thought.

Gabriel leaned over and
gave Arianna’s forehead a fatherly kiss. “Stay safe, and no more running through the woods while I’m gone.” Arianna nodded, and Gabriel vanished.

“
I’ll start checking,” Thomas said before excusing himself. Arianna was left with Devin, Turner, and Andrew, the three guys she would always love and who would always protect her. They were her safety, but Arianna even had doubts that they would all survive what was coming. She would be hunted. She already knew how the night humans worked. Three guys would not be enough to keep them away.

“D
oes that mean you’ll finally listen to me?” Devin asked, obviously still upset with her run through the woods, but unwilling to show that in front of Gabriel. Now that Gabriel was gone, he was a bit hostile toward her.

“
I won’t let her go anywhere,” Andrew replied, not waiting for her to answer. Devin gave Andrew a curt nod, turning to leave without her reply.

Turner nodded his agreement
with Andrew. “She has yet to get by me either when I’m awake. I think that together we can keep her here,” Turner tried to reassure Devin.

Devin
paused. He nodded to Turner but glared at Arianna. He needed a verbal confirmation from her.

“
I’m not going anywhere,” she added, exasperated. “You think I have enough energy left to go running around? Come on, let’s go interrogate our prisoners.”