Onbekend(34)

Arianna continued to blush, not knowing how to respond.

Devin walked to the door. “If you want, I can give you a tour of the house and grounds while everyone is asleep,” he offered. Arianna nodded. “Take your time getting ready. No rush.”

Arianna sat on the bed as Devin shut the door behind him. She finally realized she, too, was dressed in her pajamas. When did I put these on, she wondered, as she searched her hazy memory. Nothing, she thought. I can’t remember anything after the kiss last night. Arianna fell back against the fluffy comforter and pillows and stared at the ceiling. Arianna laid still and listened as the soft dripping of Devin’s shower began. Beyond the water, she could hear no sounds. Everyone in the house was still asleep.

“Molina was explaining how each dearg-dul has a keeper to drink blood from. Since I drink your blood, does that make you mine?” Arianna asked, as they walked around the estate gardens.

“It’s a little more complicated than that,” Devin replied, sitting on the edge of an empty fountain. “There are rituals involved in making someone your custodian.”

“Like what?” Arianna asked.

“How about I explain that to you in a few years? Dearg-duls usually take four or five years or longer to choose their keeper. It’s a big decision. Once you choose someone, it can’t be undone,” Devin replied.

“But Molina said I can have as many as I want,” Arianna replied. “Couldn’t I just choose someone new, if I make a bad choice?”

“She didn’t explain it all to you. Once you make someone your custodian, they are obliged to follow your every order. They’ll never be able to tell you no, and they will always know how to find you if you call for them. It’s a bond formed between two people, and it’s stronger than you can imagine.” Devin watched the clouds drift overhead.

“Well, then, some day, when I finally get to choose one, can I choose you?” Arianna asked.

“You don’t need to make me into a custodian to keep me close. I already live only to protect you,” Devin replied, not looking at Arianna, who was staring at him. “You’re sure the sun isn’t bothering you at all? No blisters?” Devin took her face in his hands and scanned it over, looking for burns. “It must be the baku in you.”

“What are baku?” Arianna asked. “I know Gabriel is one and you say I am also, but what exactly are they?”

“They are very similar to dearg-duls. They come out only at night and drink human blood. That’s why I think baku and dearg-duls can’t get along. They need the same food. The only difference is where dearg-duls are sensitive to sunlight; baku can sit in the sun all day long in their human form. On the other hand, dearg-duls can turn any time they choose, but baku can only change into their baku form at night time.”

“What does a baku look like?” Arianna asked more specifically.

“You saw them when I picked you up at Gabriel’s house: those men I fought with. Big, pigment free, long white haired guys? They always look like that,” Devin replied. Arianna pictured the men that appeared out of nowhere to surround them that night.

“They all looked the same,” Arianna complained. “With straggly hair, and very tall, muscular bodies. Eww. Will I look like that if I change into a baku?”

“I don’t know,” Devin replied. “I’ve never seen a female baku before.”

“What?”

“I’ve only ever encountered male baku, never female,” he repeated. “There are some females, children of purebreds that can partially transform, but never a full transformation. I’d guess, with being a purebred, it will be a full transformation for you.”

“Eww,” she repeated, imagining herself growing into a large, ugly, muscular man. “If dearg-duls change at sixteen, then when do baku change?”

“There’s no special age. Baku change through a ceremony that I believe Gabriel, or the head of the clan, performs. I’ve never seen a baku changing,” Devin admitted. “I do my best to avoid them. They don’t bring back too many fond memories for me.”

“Right,” Arianna replied, remembering the reason Devin was also an orphan. “Then what happens to me now? This isn’t a life I ever dreamed of, or wanted.”

“You learn to live this life and decide what you want now,” Devin replied.

“And what if I want my old life back?” Arianna complained, picking at the stone beneath her.

“You can’t go back,” Devin replied. “Just forward.” Arianna hung her head in defeat. She knew that she couldn’t go back. There was no way to erase all that she knew. But that didn’t mean she didn’t want to go back.