Page 7 of Illuminated

“Why are your nails strange?” I asked, not sure why that was relevant.

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 the 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 question. “Your car plates tell me you are not from here. Did you come alone?”

There it was. I swallowed, drank more wine before I answered. “Yes. But people know where I went. They know where I’m staying and when I will be back.”

“I believe the first part, but you did lie about the last part,” he said.

It was true, too. I had told people where I was going. My agent knew. My friends knew. I had 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. It’s a good life skill, but I can tell. I think I get an extra question now, so tell me, is there someone in your life, someone that you love?”

I didn’t succeed in hiding my reaction to the question. He narrowed his eyes slightly, so he had seen, although I had no idea why this mattered.

I was recently back to being single, yes, 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, or at least notice 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,” I said.

He chuckled, that melodic sound, and I opened my eyes.

There he was, long black hair, dark clothes, pale skin that was flushed in the cheeks and lips. Black eyes, no distinction between iris and pupil, and he had an angular jaw that made him look really masculine, despite the hair.

“Now you’re looking more closely,” he said.

“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 into 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 bite of 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 was just close, and I thought some low-lighted photographs would be good.”

“Just coincidence, then?”

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