Page 4 of Illuminated

“Yes. Put your seatbelt on, relax. It was in earnest when I told you that you did not have to fear me.”

He reached for the camera bag I’d left on the passenger seat, handed it to me. He waited patiently. I… I trembled. I didn’t want to run only to get caught. If I got in the car then maybe…

Before I could speculate about that maybe, I got in, turned off the flashlight, and put my camera in its bag, zipped that up properly. I wasn’t really sure why, but fear did strange things to a person. I pulled the seatbelt across my chest. He got in the driver’s seat, readjusted it for his height. He was taller than my five-nine, then. Yes, he had seemed taller. I squinted. His black shirt no longer looked wet and filthy, and when he shifted forward in the seat, I didn’t see any tears at all in the back.

“It’s an illusion,” he said.

“What?”

“The clothing. You’re looking at my collar. The clothes are still ruined, but you find it difficult to notice, so there is no reason to doubt your sanity.”

That was hilarious, because there definitely were reasons. But I would not disagree with the vampire who had taken me hostage.

The vampire. The creature that shouldn’t exist.

He started the car and turned neatly on the narrow road. He seemed extremely comfortable behind the wheel, driving with a speedy dexterity that I had never seen before. It was just like that display of speed and strength in the church had been. Unnatural.

On the way to the main road, I noticed another car, parked off to the side. He slowed, took a close look, and I considered only much later that he wanted to make sure there was no one else in there.

For several minutes, I didn’t speak, and he seemed comfortable with the silence. Finally I said, “Where are we going?”

He looked over to me. His face was illuminated in the dashboard light. “Cromere. I’m Auris, by the way. What’s your name?”

“I won’t tell anyone what happened. Will you let me go when we get to the city? Or keep the car, just let me go. You can drop me here, and I’ll just walk.”

“I’m not going to leave you by the side of the road in the middle of the night, and I have no intention of stealing your car. Again, you’re safe with me. You can tell everyone what happened, if you really want to. Perhaps you even find someone who believes you. But I do insist that you wait until we’ve had a chance to talk. Your bag is right over there, so should I dig out your ID, or will you tell me your name?”

He was right, I had left my bag and wallet on the floor of the passenger side, and all he had to do was reach over. “Ethan,” I said.

“A pleasure, Ethan. If only the circumstances had been different. I had hoped they would be different, but fate will not be changed.”

“I freed you. They… they put you on that cross, and I freed you. Please. It’s not like I want a reward, but let me go, okay?”

He turned his black eyes on me again. “I will not keep you against your will, and I won’t ever hurt you, but we must talk. You did free me, but they saw you.”

“Those… but they’re… they’re…” Dead. They were dead, but I couldn’t say it.

“Yes, they are.”

He spoke with distinct finality, and even if he hadn’t, I wasn’t sure how to respond or whether I would even want to. I remained silent for the rest of the drive.

Chapter Two

My hotel was in Cromere, and I knew how to get to my hotel. Other than that, Cromere was a busy place, and there were no abandoned buildings there that I wanted to capture on film, so I hadn’t explored. I didn’t know my way around the place at all.

The city lights felt warm and safe, though, but the night had felt safe right up until I had entered the church and found a vampire there, bound to a cross.

Auris parked the car in a cobblestoned street. It was quiet here, and there were few pedestrians around. He got out and opened my door when I didn’t, stood outside patiently waiting. When I didn’t move, he held out his hand. “Come on,” he said.

Once more I was struck by… something. How much I wanted to admire him, maybe. I remembered all too well what he had done, but at the same time, he looked unique in such a way that I wanted to take my camera out and snap a few pictures. There was something about him that I couldn’t place, something that made my eyes itch with the need to see, and my instinct told me to catch it with my camera so I could truly understand what made him unique.

He was also attractive, which was what really threw me. He wasn’t the type of guy I liked when I went for guys. I preferred older Daddy types, and he just… wasn’t that at all, and how was I even thinking about that when I had seen what he could do? What he was capable of?

I got out of the car. I left my bag there, and the moment the door fell shut behind me, I cursed myself for it. I didn’t know what good it would do, because I only had my wallet, journal, and a bottle of water in there. I would have liked my camera bag with me, though, because I was pathetic like that.

When I had found Auris in the church, his face had been cut up, and then he had fed and now his smooth skin looked like he should take a model job, move to Paris, have both women and men line up to date him. I wasn’t going to hit him over the head with my water bottle, but I wanted him in front of my camera. Some part of me did.

He hit the fob to lock the car, and in a fluid motion, he put his arm around me, his hand settling on my hip.

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