Chapter 2 #2
He sighed. “I broke the neck of the first one, hit the second very hard, which wasn’t enough to kill him, then I fed. I think you saw some of that. Now—” He swirled his glass between his thumb and fingers but didn’t drink. “—why abandoned buildings?”
I blinked. I’d thought he would ask me where I lived, if I had family who would miss me, friends who checked in with me, not this.
I considered giving him some line, an excerpt from the email I’d sent to my agent. Bullshit, in other words. I opened my mouth to do just that, but out came the truth.
“There is a strange beauty to them. Something happens when nature reconquers a space. It’s as if the space becomes a world that is neither wild nor domesticated. It’s like a dream, but more like the place’s dream, not your own.”
He seemed to consider that for a minute, then nodded. “Your turn.”
“Why were they trying to kill you?”
“You mean other than because I’m a vampire?
I don’t think there was any specific reason beyond that.
I assume they found me, most likely through some old photograph and through properties I own and owned.
You’d be surprised by the research skills some of these men pick up at priest school.
” There was disdain in his voice, but it was like he couldn’t bring himself to fully commit to it.
Like he couldn’t find the fucks to give.
I drank more wine. “You don’t seem to like priests.”
“Several of them just tried to kill me. They would’ve shot you too, by the by, if you had stood between me and the barrels of their guns. And you were about to get in their line of fire.”
“But you were faster.”
“I was, indeed, faster. Let us drink to that.” He lifted the glass to his lips. He only pretended to drink though, and I didn’t join him.
“Ethan, are you an only child?”
“Yes.”
He raised one eyebrow at the curt answer, but when I didn’t elaborate, he let it go.
“What have you done to the people? Here in the restaurant, I mean.” I looked at an old man sitting close to the entrance and reading a newspaper. “This isn’t normal. How they are basically ignoring us and just leaving wine on the table.”
“I can control minds. Not an unlimited number, and some are easier than others. Let’s just say that no one here will remember us, but the service will be impeccable.” He looked at me, gauging my reaction. “This troubles you.”
“Are you going to do this to me as well?”
“Come now, two in a row. The first, I was happy to give you, but now you’re just cheating.
” He smiled. It warmed his whole face. “In any case, I answered that already back at the church, so let’s not count it.
And let me say it again, in case you missed it in the confusion.
No, I will not entrance you again, even if it would make this easier.
Easy is not always the best way to proceed. Why did you become a photographer?”
He put his hands on the table, one on either side of the wineglass.
His nails still looked unusual. They were one solid shade, a milky white.
I got the sense that they were hard, but the vicious, blade-like edge that had struck me before seemed less pronounced now.
I chalked that up to the light being warmer and brighter in here.
“I don’t know. I’ve just always liked to take pictures, ever since I was little. I got my first camera when I was ten, was the photographer for the student newspaper, and it just sort of went on from there.”
“A true calling.” He propped his chin on one hand.
“Why are your nails strange?”
Auris laughed. It was melodious. “It comes with being a vampire. There are changes to the body. My nails are sharper than those of a human. At nighttime, they lengthen at will. I had one pulled out once. Now, I don’t have a comparative experience from when I was still human, but it was excruciating and took nearly a week to grow back.
” He paused before he launched into his next question.
“Your license plates tell me you’re not from here. Did you come alone?”
There it was. I drank more wine, swallowing hard before I answered. “Yes, but people know where I went. They know where I’m staying and when I’ll be back.”
“I believe the first part, but you did lie about the last part.”
It was true, too. I had told people where I was going.
My agent knew, my friends knew. I’d also said I would be gone for as long as I needed to finish the job, which could take another week or another month.
If they didn’t hear from me straight away, no one would panic, because it wouldn’t be the first time I’d lost myself in a project.
“I didn’t lie.”
His smile was indulgent but not unkind. “Yes, you did. You’re a better liar than most. You’d fool a good many people, but I can tell. I think I get an extra question now, so tell me, is there someone in your life, someone you love?”
I didn’t manage to hide the jolt this sent through me, the clicking in my throat. He narrowed his eyes slightly, so he had seen, although I had no idea why it mattered.
I was recently single, yes. I’d been left for another man. Auris hadn’t explicitly asked about a romantic relationship though.
“My father. I talk to him on the phone regularly. I listen to every insignificant detail about his life that he tells me, which has to be love, because I don’t know what else to call it.”
As I said it, I suddenly sounded pathetic to myself.
Auris simply nodded. “Go ahead. Your turn.”
“You said before that your clothes are an illusion. What does that mean?”
He waved his hand in front of him. “It’s a vampirism trait. We are difficult to notice, at least in detail. Close your eyes and imagine my face.”
“Huh?”
“It’s the best way I know to demonstrate it.” He smiled. “Don’t worry; I’ll not suddenly disappear.”
As if that were a worry. But I was just curious enough to let my eyes fall shut.
“Good. You’re probably more visual than most, as a photographer. Imagine my face.”
I tried and…failed. Sure, he was beautiful. I’d noticed that. Something about his eyes had surprised me, but I wasn’t quite sure what anymore, couldn’t picture it.
“You…have long hair.”
He chuckled, the sound melodic, and I opened my eyes.
There he was—long black hair, dark clothes, pale skin flushed over the cheeks and lips. Black eyes, no distinction between iris and pupil, and he had an angular jaw and high cheekbones. He was model worthy. Not a face you should be able to forget.
He smiled. “Now you’re looking more closely.”
“What is this? Are you doing this to me?”
He shook his head. “No. It’s not something I actively do or can control. It was explained to me as a predator’s trait, much like the wolf’s mottled fur helps him blend in the underbrush. It extends to what I wear, oftentimes to people I engage with.”
I reached for my wine and took another sip, just enough to feel the gentle burn of the alcohol.
“You really don’t have to be worried about me going to the police, then.”
“I was never worried about that. My turn. Why did you come to the church on this night, today?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t get any real work done, just drove along the coast and snapped random pictures. The church happened to be close, and I thought some low light photographs would be good.”
“Coincidence, then?”
“Is that a question?”
He licked his lips. “Not at all. It’s your turn.”
“How old are you?”
“Ah. This one always makes people’s minds go all looped and twisted.
I was born in 491. It’s rare to know this so exactly, but I even know the date.
” He leaned back in his chair. “You see, my mother was a witch. She had been taught to write and read, and she had read everything she could get her hands on. She was also a seeker of magic, and she had it. But that is a different tale. So should we round it out to about one and a half thousand years?”
I didn’t know what to say. The things he would have seen, the people he would have met…
“How is that even possible?”
He leaned forward. “Ethan, it’s my turn, and you are cheating again. But since you really seem to want to know, magic and vampirism make it possible.” He shrugged as if that were obvious. “If you could have one wish—just one, but anything at all—what would you wish for?”
That one stumped me. There were so many things I wanted—the perfect light each time I took a picture, people clamoring to get more of my work—but…
“I’d want to redo a conversation.”
I drank more wine, draining the glass, letting the velvety flavor soothe me. Auris silently refilled it, and I took another sip of that too. The wine was heavy and rich and earthy. It also went to my head quickly.
I looked up at him. It was possible he was waiting for me to elaborate, or maybe he was just staring.
But no, this wasn’t staring. This wasn’t uncomfortable.
His eyes were uncanny, but they didn’t scare me, and for some reason, I wondered what those red lips would taste like, how it would feel if he kissed me.
My body tingled with heat. I didn’t understand why the fear I rationally knew I should feel didn’t seem all that urgent to me.
He opened his mouth, but I didn’t let him speak.
“Excuse me.” I got up and headed to the men’s room. The short hallway was just a few steps from the table he had chosen. It was too close for me to slip out another way, and I…I was no longer sure I wanted to slip away and run.
At the same time, I had no idea what I did want.
I pushed the green lacquered door open and found it opened into a bathroom just as lush as the restaurant with the fine lamps and neat tablecloths and good wine.
It was bright and clean and smelled of lavender.
Gray tiles lined half the walls, and above them, dark red paint dominated the room.
Disinfectant had been set out on the sink counter next to the wall-mounted soap dispensers and the wall above the sinks was lined with mirrors.