The Legend of the Blue Eyes (7 page)

“She still doesn’t believe us,” Molina
replied. “Which part is hard to understand?” she asked Arianna.
“The part about vampires existing, or that you are one?”

“Both,” Arianna replied.

“Well, then we’ll start with the existence
of dearg-duls. I can prove that to you,” Molina replied. “Because
I’m one also.” Arianna unconsciously moved towards Devin as
Molina’s face slightly changed. Her features grew more refined and
elegant, her dark hair lengthened, and her incisor teeth grew
longer. It was the face she saw in the dark cell moments before.
Devin placed his arm around Arianna as she began to slightly shake
in fear. Molina instantly reverted back to normal as she could also
tell she shocked Arianna.

“You asked this morning, when you woke up,
about last night. I was told not to answer those questions before
you met with your grandfather, but I guess I can now,” Devin said,
as Arianna finally noticed he was holding onto her to calm her
down. Arianna moved away from him too, still unable to trust him.
“On the eve of a dearg-dul’s sixteenth birthday, a celebration is
held. It’s held then because all dearg-duls complete their
transformation on that day. We were all under the impression your
birthday was tomorrow, and that’s why there’s a dinner and dance
being held tonight. It’s to honor you joining society beside your
grandfather.”

Arianna leaned back against the couch. She
could see they weren’t crazy, but it was still too much to take
in.

“Wait,” she said as a thought came to her.
“My birthday isn’t tomorrow, it’s today.”

“Correct,” Devin replied.

“But I’m still me,” she replied. “You guys
must be mistaken about everything.”

Molina picked up a mirror
and handed it to Arianna. Arianna hesitantly took it from her.
Arianna stared at her own face in the mirror.
No long teeth
, Arianna thought.
Arianna quickly turned to Devin as she smelled the scent of his
blood. Devin gently pushed her hand to position the mirror back in
front of her face. Arianna dropped it when she saw the face staring
back at her. Gently, she touched her own face. It was different.
Her teeth were a bit longer and slightly pointed, her skin cleared
to perfect peaches and cream coloring, and her features refined to
that of almost perfection. She looked more like a supermodel
version of herself, than her real self. The mirror was not lying.
She physically changed. With the scent of blood fading, Arianna
stared at the broken glass on the floor.

“But,” she began, not knowing what to
say.

“It’s not a life I wish upon anyone,” Molina
said quietly. “Like us all, you are now trapped by the need for
blood. Do you remember how sick you felt last night?” Arianna
nodded. “Every time, when you need blood, you will feel that
way.”

“But vampires in the movies are always evil.
They kill people for blood,” Arianna complained. “I don’t want to
be that.”

Molina smiled. “I only said the movies are
based on truth, not that they are true. There’s a lot we need to
teach you, but we don’t have time tonight. This is why Lilly and
Dean brought you here to live.”

“To live? So, I’m not going back?” Arianna
asked. She already knew the answer to her question. There was no
way she could now live amongst her friends in her hometown. She
finally understood why Aunt Lilly wouldn’t give her date of
return.

“You need to stay here. For now, this is the
best place for you. Everyone here, humans and not, know about night
humans,” Molina replied.

“There are more?” Arianna asked, now looking
at Devin.

“I’m human,” he replied, holding his hands
up in surrender.

“I wish we had more time to explain
everything, but we need to get you to the dance.” Molina
replied.

“She needs to feed first,” Devin replied,
digging in the winter coat Gabriel had draped over Arianna earlier.
He tossed a plastic packet to Arianna. “Drink that before we
leave,” he ordered, all joking gone; he was serious again.

“What is it?” she asked.

“You don’t want to know,” he replied,
knowing she would reject his order. Arianna stared at the packet in
her hands unsure what to do with it. Devin took it from her and
pulled at it until a flexible tube hung from it. He handed the
packet back and disappeared into the additional room with Mori and
Molina.

As Arianna pulled the top off the tube, she
immediately knew what she had been handed to drink. Arianna
recapped the tube and stared at it. The scent was similar to
Devin’s blood, yet somehow different. Dressed in a tux, Devin
returned to the room to find Arianna still holding the full
bag.

“Are you still having problems?” he
asked.

“It’s blood,” she replied, disgusted.

“And?” he asked, impatiently.

“I’m not going to drink blood,” she
replied.

“You already have,” he responded. “I’m sorry
if this is strange to you. You can get blood from drinking it, or
injecting it, but we don’t have time to set up an IV.” Arianna
nodded, but still didn’t uncap the blood. “Not this again,” he
complained.

“Again?” she asked.

“You turned last night,” he explained. “To
stop the pain, I gave you my blood. You drank only enough to
slightly stop the pain before you passed out. At the safe house we
brought you to, you refused to take any blood given to you. I
figured this should be okay since it’s from your uncle,” Devin
continued to explain.

“It smells like your blood,” Arianna agreed.
“Why?”

“That would take more time than we have to
explain. Please, just drink the blood,” Devin begged. “We don’t
want anything to happen before you meet your grandfather.” Arianna
nodded, but still hesitated. In her hands, she was holding real
blood. Arianna pinched herself to find she wasn’t dreaming, but she
still didn’t feel like the situation was happening.

“Fine,” Devin replied. “We will do this the
easy way.” Devin opened the cap on the bag in Arianna’s hands.
Reaching down to the table, Devin flicked open a knife, and pricked
his finger. The blood began to bead up on the tip of his
forefinger. Arianna felt her face go warm at the scent of his
blood. Without thinking, she reached for his hand. Devin gently
pushed the bag in her hand to her face. Arianna felt an urge inside
her long for his blood, but she was satisfied with the blood from
the bag. When she finished, Devin took the bag from her and
recapped it.

“Thank you,” he said. “Was that so
difficult?” he added, quieter, almost for himself.

Arianna looked around the room. The sounds
had become louder, and the colors more vibrant in the dimly-lit
room. Arianna could feel her senses increase as she took in the
newly-colored room. Closing her eyes, she listened to Mori click on
the computer in the next room. Molina was pacing behind him.
Outside the door, she could hear footsteps at the end of the hall.
Beyond the hall, faint music was playing amongst the soft laughter
and talking of people. Arianna opened her eyes as Devin finally
stood.

“Everything is a bit clearer now?” he asked.
Arianna nodded.

“Why?” she asked.

“Though Molina makes it sound like a curse
to be a dearg-dul, there are some benefits. Your senses are much
more acute than before. You see more colors, even in the dark. You
hear sounds better than normal humans. Your senses of smell, sight,
and taste increase tremendously, and your sense of touch…” he
explained, reaching for her face as Molina returned. He quickly
pulled his hand back.

“It’s time,” she said quietly.

Devin gently offered his arm to Arianna as
they approached large, gold-and–white-trimmed double doors. Two
large men dressed in matching navy blue coats greeted them as they
passed. Arianna clung tightly to Devin as the array of colors
twirled before her eyes. In the grand ballroom of the Randolph
estate, over four hundred masked men and women had gathered to
celebrate with Lord Randolph the birthday of his only surviving
heir. The women, all dressed in brightly-colored, formal,
floor-length dresses, were being led by tuxedo-clad gentlemen. Many
people dotted the large open floor as they waltzed around the room.
Arianna paused at the sight. Devin smiled as he waited. It would be
the party of the year, and with their matching masks, no one would
recognize Arianna on Devin’s arm.

Arianna continued to gaze over the room as
Devin kindly ushered her along the back wall. Their faces all
concealed by masks, the beautiful women were dressed in their best
for such a special occasion. Shifting her gaze from the dancing
people on the ballroom main floor, Arianna looked around the
ornate, gold-trimmed room. There was a balcony above her, on which
people lounged, watching the floor below as they chatted, but the
raised platform across the room caught her complete attention.
Sitting in a plush chair was an old man. He immediately stood out
against the male guests in his deep maroon suit with gold trim. His
eagle eyes gazed over the crowd, obviously searching and observing
his guests. His hair was gray from the years and his skin slightly
wrinkled. She couldn’t guess his age, but she knew instantly who he
was.

“Correct,” Devin whispered in her ear. With
a brief nod from Devin to her grandfather, her grandfather’s face
lit up with a smile.

“It’s been years since he’s smiled so easily
in a crowd,” a large, red-bearded man said, approaching Devin. The
man grinned as he shook Devin’s hand. “You haven’t been up to visit
in a while.”

“I’ve been a bit busy babysitting,” Devin
replied. Arianna pulled closer to Devin’s arm as the young man who
was standing behind the bearded man peered at her. Arianna could
feel the young man’s gaze past the mask.

“The old man must be proud,” the fellow
replied. “To finally have his granddaughter home.” Devin nodded.
“Now that you have returned as well, don’t be a stranger. Come
visit any time. You and Brenton have a lot of catching up to
do.”

“As long as there isn’t more work to be
done,” Devin replied.

“I’ll have to have a talk with James. He
keeps you too busy. You’re only seventeen. You should be enjoying
your youth, not working.” The man laughed as he walked away. The
young man behind him didn’t speak, but followed the older man as he
walked on to talk with the next group of people.

“Who is he?” Arianna asked.

“Lord Winter,” Devin replied. “He runs the
Triclan City north of here, and he is a good friend of your
grandfather’s.”

“Why did the young man with him keep staring
at me?” Arianna asked. Devin didn’t reply. “It seemed like he knew
who I was.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Devin replied. “If
anyone suspected, it would be him. He probably does know.”

“But we’re wearing masks,” she added. Devin
shrugged again. “How come Lord Winter seems to know everyone even
if they’re disguised?”

“His sense of smell is great,” Devin
explained as the music changed. Arianna turned to the orchestra.
She recognized the tune as the melody began. It was the same song
the jewelry box was playing earlier in her room. Somewhere in her
memory, she could recall hearing the song before.

“This song,” Arianna began, as she looked
across the room to her grandfather. “It has words, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” Devin replied. “Would you like to
dance?”

Arianna shook her head no. “I don’t know how
to dance like that.” She pointed to the people on the floor
waltzing to the song.

“If you can remember this song, you should
remember how much you loved to dance to it,” Devin replied.
“Besides, it’s easy for the girl. You just follow my lead.” Arianna
tried to protest more, but being unwilling to let go of Devin’s arm
in the large crowd of people, she had no choice but to dance with
him.

Devin led her to the middle of the dance
floor. He placed his hand lightly on Arianna waist. Arianna’s heart
began beating faster. Standing so close to a cute boy who had
actually asked her to dance made her a bit dizzy. Hesitantly,
Arianna responded by placing her hand on his shoulder. As he
whispered directions in her ear and gently directed her with his
grasp, Arianna began to slowly remember dancing to the same tune
many years before. Devin easily maneuvered them between the people
as they joined the large group twirling around the dance floor.
Though only able to catch slight glimpses of her grandfather, the
happiness within him seemed to overflow as he grinned at the pair
dancing.

“You said my senses would increase,” Arianna
began, as they continued dancing. “But I also seem to feel what
other people are feeling now.” Devin remained silent. “Like the old
man over there dancing with the woman in the tight red dress. He is
overly happy to be dancing with her, and she’s bored to death. Or
the balding man across the room by the hors d’oeuvres table. He
isn’t hungry but trying to waste time. He is nervous about
something.” Arianna paused to wait for a reply Devin would not
give. “Why do I feel these things?”