“I’d love to let you explore the changes you experience when you are a baku, but I need to get you evaluated before the blood is used up,” Gabriel explained. Arianna pulled back, momentarily embarrassed by her blunt actions, which had been almost instinctual.
“I think I might like the baku Arianna,” Turner replied, as Gabriel ushered Arianna upstairs. Arianna paused on the stairs to look back at Turner and Devin. While normally Devin was too reserved for Arianna to sense, she could now tell that he felt the same way as Turner. Devin stared back at Arianna. His face was as stoic as usual, and focused on his task, but his heart was not. Gabriel stepped in between Arianna and the two boys.
“Drink these,” Gabriel handed Arianna the two vials. Arianna tried to look past her uncle, but he forced the blood in front of her face. Arianna took the vials and obediently drank the sour red liquid. “That should last you until later.” Gabriel pushed Arianna down the hallway, toward a closed door. Arianna cautiously opened the door. Even from the doorway, Arianna could see perfectly into the unlit room.
“Since I sponsored you, I cannot enter the room with you, or the test will be forfeit,” Gabriel explained. Arianna hesitated at the doorway. A rather large baku was sitting in a chair, reading a paper in the dark. His long, scraggly white hair hung free to his waist. He paused as the door opened, and Gabriel pushed Arianna forward.
“We’re right behind you,” Devin said quietly.
“We won’t let you out of our sight,” Turner added.
The baku offered Arianna his hand as she walked slowly into the room. She had only had a glimpse of the baku on the night she changed into a dearg-dul. The refined man sitting in the chair reading was a stark contrast to the growling monsters she had seen. He folded his glasses and set them down on top of the paper.
“Even in this form my eyes are bad,” the man explained. “Welcome, prized baku Arianna.” The man motioned to the seat beside his. “I am Rafael. I am the current head of the Haggerty family. My job tonight is to assess your strength. We all know from the tests conducted earlier that you are a purebred baku, but we need to figure out what your rank will be within the community.”
“How can you do that? I still don’t even have my dearg-dul strength under control. I doubt I’m any good at this baku stuff,” Arianna replied, catching her reflection in the mirror across the room as she walked over and sat next to the inviting man. She hadn’t noticed that she was now standing almost eye to eye with Turner, who was slightly shorter than Devin. Her normally shoulder-length blond hair fell down to her butt, and was now a slightly blond-tinted white color. Her complexion was snow white, which made her lips and blue eyes stand out even more than normal. Arianna stopped and stared at her blue eyes, and then glanced back to the man waiting for her.
He studied her with his purple tinted eyes. “Correct. We baku do not keep our eye color when we change. Those are peculiar blue eyes.” He drifted off into silent thought. “Everything about you says you are a purebred baku, except for those eyes.”
“They seem to get me in trouble everywhere I go,” Arianna replied.
Rafael held open his hand. “Would you permit me to look inside your mind?” Arianna sliced her thumb against her palm and reached over for his hand. “What do you see in this room?” he asked aloud.
Arianna looked around the room. Everything was clear: the furniture, the books, the slight light coming from the party below in the corner of the window. And then she stopped looking. Turner was standing against the doorway, eagerly watching her. Arianna held herself still as she wanted to run back over to him. Gabriel reached forward, and pulled Turner from her view.
Rafael chuckled. “Teenagers,” he nodded his thanks to Gabriel. “And what about below, in the party.”
Arianna closed her eyes and drifted down to the sounds of the party. People were talking joyously to their neighbors. Each conversation seemed like it was taking place in the same room as Arianna. Sounds slowly became distinct voices. She could make out the shapes and sizes of each person by following their blood flow.
“Good, good,” Rafael replied. Reluctantly, he let go of her hand, knowing that his decision was already made up the moment he saw her sleeping.
“That’s it?” Arianna replied.
“Each of us test in our own way. I can tell from that where you should be ranked,” Rafael replied. Arianna stood to leave. As she neared the door, Rafael added, “Your father would be proud.”
Arianna wanted to stay and ask him what he meant, but Gabriel already was ushering her to the next room. Standing at the window, Andrew’s uncle didn’t even turn to her as she entered. Arianna could easily feel the contempt coming from the man, and he didn’t try to hide it. She moved further into the room and stood in the middle, alone.