Authors: B. Kristin McMichael
“W
hat plan do we follow?” Arianna asked Devin. He still studied her to make sure there were no lasting effects from the poison. Devin didn’t reply, but continued to stare at her. Arianna stared back. After a few moments, when Devin was finally convinced she was fine, he turned back to the table.
“I g
uess we move on to plan six.” Everyone nodded except Arianna. Again, he was using cryptic code talk that didn’t include her.
“
Which is?” she asked impatiently.
“
Mori, set it all up,” Devin directed everyone back to the computer. With one click, Mori was back on the screen.
“
It will take me a minute,” Mori replied from the computer.
“
And this is?” Arianna asked.
No one added any more information as she waited only a moment for Mori to finish whatever he was doing.
Devin nodded to Andrew, who’d quietly slipped away and had returned with a bag packed for Arianna.
“
Ready to go, princess?” Andrew asked. Obviously everyone knew what plan six was and were all doing their part now, forgetting about Arianna’s obvious lack of knowledge.
“
I’m not going anywhere until I know exactly what’s going on,” Arianna demanded, and thankfully she had the strength to back up her demands. Andrew hesitated and deferred to Devin for an explanation. Devin had an endless amount of additional plans but none of them included Arianna refusing.
“
Let her stay until I make the call. As long as she’s not in the picture, they won’t know the difference. Then she needs to leave immediately. Go to the second option and keep her hidden. I’ll tell Gabriel, and we will go back to the Randolph estate,” Devin replied.
“
Wait, what’s going on, where are we going?” Arianna was thoroughly confused by now.
“
We need to get you out of here before they find you. We are going to inform them that you’ve decided to take a vacation and will be returning soon, so all inquiries need to be in a written format. That way we can continue to stall them,” Turner replied, quickly understanding that she wasn’t happy without knowing what was going on. “You hide for the time being, and we stall them as we prepare for war. They will not attack if they don’t know where you are.”
“
No, I can’t run. Who will lead the clans?” Arianna was worried, not just about the dearg-dul but also Gabriel. More people had challenged him before she took over. His authority was basically cemented with her presence. Without her around, he would be back to having to defend his position and thus hers.
“
Yes, you will run, and you will stay safe. Andrew will make sure of it. Now that you’re healed, you should be able to keep up with him. Hopefully he can keep up with you. We will stall the clans and keep them in order. No one but us will know that you’re hiding.” Devin moved back to the computer.
“
And we will be leaving you guys here?” Arianna asked, looking around the room. These guys, and the ones in the other room guarding the hostages, were her family.
“
Yes, the more of us that go, the easier it will be to find you. For now it will just be you two,” Turner added again as Devin was typing into the computer. Arianna worried for the people she would have to leave behind. She was the strength of the group, whether she knew how to use it or not.
‘They
can take care of themselves,’
Andrew added for Arianna’s benefit.
“
Connection is up,” Mori replied from the computer. Across the screen flashed multiple faces.
“
Minimize them all so we can see them all at once,” Devin directed Mori. Mori followed his orders.
Several men stared back at the screen. Their own connection showed a blank screen. The men ranged in ages from not much older than Arianna to her great uncle Gabriel
’s age.
“Who are they?” Arianna asked.
“Sidhe, vrykolakas, brujería, draugur, gangshi, uruku, lamia, loogaroo, and obayifo.” Devin pointed to each man as he named which night human they were. None of it made sense to Arianna, but she nodded anyway.
Devin reached over and pulled Arianna closer to him. She felt the surge of needing his touch just like Andrew once she was close enough. A bit of his love was seeping through the closed doors in his mind. Devin kissed her forehead before pushing her out of the picture.
‘I’m doing this for you,’
he said before hitting the button to turn on the connection.
‘You leave when I click off. I need you to stay safe.’
“
I thought this would be the easiest format rather than having everyone running around causing trouble on our grounds. We’ve had two recent incidents and over a dozen in the past year of clans coming, uninvited, on the grounds of either the Grace or Randolph clans,” Devin said to the men staring back. “Miss Arianna has decided to take a vacation and will be away for several months. Since I know you all are seeking an audience with her, we wanted to ask you to formally present your case in written format so that we can assess them all in good time. Personal invitations will only be made to those we deem worthy of meeting her in person.”
“
Impossible,” an older grey-haired man replied. “You will never give us the time of day. After avoiding us for the past year, are we to believe you will actually read our letters? Since you contacted us, I will gladly formally issue the right to challenge.”
Devin smiled at the older man.
“If you check the records, a challenge can only be issued during a person to person meeting. This doesn’t count.”
‘
This isn’t going to work,’
Arianna complained to Andrew.
‘I’m past my birthday. They will follow me and try to issue a challenge.’
‘
And we will keep them away from you,’
Andrew replied, pulling her close into his arms, hoping that his strength alone would take care of her.
‘
And I’ll have to spend my life hidden,’
Arianna added. Andrew’s arms brought comfort, but she still felt the dread of life running away.
And the moment I return, there will be war
, she added to herself.
The men all started arguing over each other and none of the conversations could be made out. Several men could be seen as lifelong enemies
; others were acting like old friends. Some were more guarded in their dislike, but what Arianna could tell, there wasn’t a single clan in power of more than their own group right now. None even held two clans, let alone four. As the old man Arianna only met weeks ago raised his hand, everyone stopped talking.
“
I believe you have a guest right now,” the man said to the group. They all immediately quieted down, eager to hear his words. “I think my grandson Polo would like to say something.”
“
Oh, I’m sorry. We found him in a bad condition from fighting with someone on our grounds, which he illegally entered. We needed to give him time to heal, and we thought it was best to do that asleep, so he cannot speak at the moment.” Devin looked over the screen to Andrew, and Andrew nodded with a smile. “He will probably be out for at least another half an hour or so. We might need to keep him under longer. He was outside during the midday sun. You know how taxing that can be.” Devin faked his concern and pleasantries for the men on the screen.
“
That can’t be correct. Polo contacted me and said that he was with you guys,” the man retaliated.
“
You must have heard him wrong. He was only slightly conscious when we rescued him. He passed out before he even made it back to the house here where Lady Arianna was,” Devin replied. No one on the screen was satisfied. Arguments began to grow as several of the men agreed. Slowly the arguments simmered down for someone else to talk now.
“
Speaking for the chosen one, if you disregard our ways, it will mean war. We will not stand to be put aside or have our traditions ignored,” a younger, thirty-something man with golden hair replied. Several of the younger men all nodded with him. The older men were slower to follow. They had lived through wars that the younger men had not.
“There’s
no disregard, Lord McKinny. We will thoroughly read each offer. If we deem no one suitable, we will call for a challenge ourselves,” Devin replied.
‘
Is he serious?’
Arianna asked Andrew. Devin would never call for a challenge.
‘
No, he’s trying to buy time for us to train you better. If I can get you up to the top form we expect, there will be no dispute. They will all listen, and fear your power,’
Andrew replied. He was actually enjoying the show. Devin was a master of his emotions, and nothing that was said ruffled his feathers or deterred him from his plan. For a baku, who fed on emotion, Devin was amazing.
“
This isn’t a discussion. You either honor our ways or not,” the grandfather of the group scolded Devin sternly. “Not one of us will stand by and let a non-head dictate to us. We are issuing the challenge. Disrespect that, and it means war.”
“I’m in,” said the younger blond haired man, starting a chorus of agreement. Before long the whole group agreed.
Devin shrugged, not replying to the insinuation that war was starting. He moved over to the computer to turn it off without even giving the men a reply. Instantly thoughts of war and innocent people crowded Arianna’s mind. Even though each man was far away, she could feel their emotions and hear their thoughts jumble into her head. They meant it. They would start a war for her, and the people who would suffer were those around her. It would not be a war between everyone, but a war against the people she loved. They would attack both the Randolph and Grace lands where she had grown up and where all the people she loved lived. They would attack the night human Tricity where Turner was from. The only place Arianna had ever found that accepted night humans alongside day humans, a place of peace. Arianna pictured face after face of friends back home she had grown up with. They would all suffer to keep her from marriage. The men were planning destruction. Each man thought he could win a tournament, and they were willing to do anything to get ahold of Arianna. Before either Devin or Andrew could stop her, Arianna appeared before the nine men.
“I issue the challenge,” she said, taking her future into her own hands. “Those that wish to participate must talk now and promise to never again attack dearg-dul, lycan, tengu, or
baku held lands.”
The men, old and young alike, eyed her like a steak dinner. She was the prize they all had waited a lifetime for. Eagerly they all agreed, one by one, confirming what Arianna already knew. This was the only way to help her people.
“We will do this the way I want it done,” Arianna continued after they agreed.
‘
Ari,’
Devin said, sounding desperate.
‘You don’t have to do this. We can keep you safe.’
‘For how long? A day? A week? Months? And what about war?’
Arianna didn’t look at Devin, knowing that she was disappointing him.
‘They will not act. This is all show. Please, let’s at least try.’
Desperation was beginning to seep out of his cool exterior.
‘
This is my future and these are my people,’
Arianna replied, not looking away from the screen.
‘This is my choice.’
“The contest will be held in one month. Wherever I make my appearance on the eighteenth of May will be the location. Your competitor will have to be in the main room by midnight to be considered entered. They may only bring two personal guards with them. Until we meet on the eighteenth, I’ll demand that none of the contestants enter
Randolph or Grace territories. Anyone that tries to meet me beforehand will be disqualified.” Everyone nodded. Not a soul would disagree with her at this point.
“Each must state your contestant now.” She looked over at Thomas who began writing things down quickly. Thomas was the one who was best at forming plans. Every plan that Devin had made in the last year, Thomas had looked over before they set it in motion. It was nice to have someone so smart on her side, and with her rash decision, it was necessary if she were to stand a chance.
“But that’s not how we do this,” the oldest of the group, the vrykolakas, complained. “Tradition dictates...”
“This is how I do things. I rule over four clans. I do what I please, how I please,” Arianna tried to sound as haughty as her position required as she interrupted him, but deep down she was nervous that they would all see through the illusion. “If you wish to play my game, you play by my rules. I do believe the family of the one being fought over gets to dictate the rules, do they not?”
“But,” the man continued to complain. “The head of the family will set everything up.”
“And that is what we are doing.” Arianna stared at the man, daring him to say more. He did not.
She waited and found that no one else wanted to add to the conversation. She was breaking tradition, but what they didn’t know was that she didn’t actually know the tradition. So little had been explained. Arianna was doing her best to fake it and get along without anyone turning to war.