Free The Legend of the Blue Eyes by B. Kristin McMichael Page B

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