“But you don’t understand,” said Rhoshamandes. He glared at Roland.

“What don’t I understand?” The other shrugged.

“I’ve walked this earth since the early days of ancient Egypt,” said Rhoshamandes. “I was born in Crete before the flood. I’ve traveled the world. I’ve never seen anything like him! I’ve never seen anything that looked this human and wasn’t human.”

“Are you sure?” asked Roland. “Maybe you saw them and you didn’t realize what they were. Think back. Think hard. I have seen one other very like him. And so have you. Try to remember.”

“When?” asked Rhoshamandes. He seemed slightly annoyed. “Where?”

“The ballet, Rhoshamandes, the theater, the place we always meet, the place we always go together. You and I. Don’t you remember? Saint Petersburg, the debut of Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty ballet. Think back.”

Derek’s breath caught in his throat, but he sat very still, disguising his excitement. He made his mind a blank as if these words had no import for him, when in fact they meant everything. Go on, talk, explain. His soul ached. He looked away as if he’d become bored.

These creatures could read human minds, this he knew, but they couldn’t read his mind, though they constantly pretended that they could. Something in the circuitry of his brain blocked them.

Only when they drank from him could they sometimes access his thoughts, catch from him images he sought unsuccessfully to bury.

“We were there together, you and I,” said Roland. “Don’t you recall it? It was a wonderful night. And we saw the being together, you and I, across from us in the dress circle. Think back! I can’t remember the name of the man who was with the being, but we knew, both of us, that the creature wasn’t human.”

“Ah, that one,” said Rhoshamandes. “Yes. I do remember. The one in the box with Prince Brovotkin. And afterwards, we tried to find them, the Prince and the other one. We couldn’t. And you said that the Prince had seen us staring at them, that he’d sensed something.”

“We left Saint Petersburg immediately, but we should have stayed, investigated….”

“Yes, of course, it’s coming back. But all we had was a glimpse, and we weren’t certain.”

“Rhosh, remember the being’s skin, smooth, dark brown skin, like this one’s skin, and the being’s hair. The hair was the same, thick like this and with loose curls and the very same golden streak in it, only broader and on the right side of the head.”

Was it possible?

“I don’t remember.”