"A man can be judged by what takes his interest the most." A sudden, but soft voice said from the room behind me. "While I would normally expect one such as yourself to be drawn to a blade or armour, I must say I am surprised at your taste for art."

  "It is an incredible piece." I replied as I turned to face my sudden company. "The artist is incredibly talented to have captured their subjects' likenesses such as they have."

  None of the doors had opened, at least not that I had heard or otherwise detected and as I took in the room I realised that I was still somehow alone. The light was limited within the dining room with only the candles on the table and the small number of lanterns on the walls, but it was enough to see that whoever had been speaking was very much invisible.

  "It is good to make your acquaintance Sir Desin." The suddenly visible shadow of a man said from the furthest end of the table. I blinked with his sudden appearance, struggling to make out any details of his features even as my vampiric nature began to pull the darkness away.

  The shadow condensed into a man as he stepped into the flicking candlelight, and for a moment I found myself grasping for the empty space at my hip where Sunchild normally was. Its absence was keenly felt as he stepped closer, raising a hand and smiling warmly at my obvious reaction.

  "You are in no danger, and if I had wished you to come to harm I wouldn't have invited you into my home to do so. The carpets are awfully expensive to replace." Continuing to move closer, the smile broadened and he gave a very slight bow with his head and shoulders. "I am Janus Hassildor, Count of Skingrad."

  "You're a vampire."

  The simple nod was almost lost to me as I found myself staring into the burning pits of eyes. They glowed very slightly from within the tightened bones of his face. Eyebrows, jawbones and cheekbones all pushed against his flesh but it was obvious that he was still very much human. Unlike the others Viconia and I had encountered, he could have passed for human with a passing glance. It was only when he smiled that the illusion would truly be broken at the sight of the fangs pushing from his gums.

  "Yes. I am. I also assure you that despite your encounters with others of my kind you have nothing to fear from me."

  For a moment I considered the difficulty involved in turning and smashing the display cabinet to get my hands on the broken sword but reconsidered it. For the moment at least I wasn't in any overt danger and I still had my own abilities to call upon if needed.

  Taking his offered hand in my own I felt the strange power and solidity that seemed present in all vampires. The simple act of shaking hands with him immediately increased my wariness as I could feel the overwhelming strength in him, and the incredible control that he had over it.

  "I am fully aware of your exploits and understand how... unsettling my appearance is." the grin he provided this time was calculated and ensured that his lips remained closed to hide his fangs. "You can also fully understand and appreciate why I am not seen out in public.

  Eager to shed my nervousness, although keeping a small part of me ready for anything I breathed deeply and tried to relax. My nerves were shredded as I had also realised very quickly who the vampire was that I encountered during the night. "It also explains why so little is known about you."

  "A necessary requirement for a man in my position. The utmost secrecy is required, lest I suddenly find myself surrounded by enemies and the County under siege." There was no disguising the unease and the way he felt about that scenario but instead he sighed, turning his gaze upon the painting instead. "She's beautiful, is she not?"

  "Your wife, I assume?"

  "I had this painting commissioned sixty-five years ago, and although the artist is long since dead I have several other samples of his artworks throughout the hall. It reminds me of a better time."

  Studying the portrait of the Count I compared it to the man who stood beside me. There was no mistaking that they were one and the same, even though the man in the painting was approaching sixty and the vampire beside me looked no more than a day over thirty. My flesh crawled with his close proximity, but unlike Volmyr or the vampires of Glenvar there was nothing else untoward about him. There was no obvious bestial side and other than the obvious vampiric traits in his face and jaw line there was nothing there to suggest the curse at all.

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  "Please be seated." He said, turning away from the painting with barely concealed traces of a deep and lingering pain while motioning towards the nearest seat. "My butler will be along shortly with refreshments, and our meal will not be long after."

  I took my seat uneasily; still unnerved by his very nature to sit still and I caught myself staring at him intently without meaning to. He noticed my apprehension, sitting down with a grim smile and meeting my gaze.

  "I must apologise for our meeting like this, and for any concerns that you may have. It is rare that I reveal my true nature to anyone but several incidents of late have brought me into this awkward position. I can promise that you are in no danger and I am no threat to you, but in fact I have invited you here to ask for your assistance in a matter that you are well suited for."

  He saw my questioning expression, leaning forward slightly and pressing his long fingers together in front of him as he rested his elbows on the polished tabletop. "But before I ask you, I wish to tell you some information that I hope will put your fears at rest."

  Sitting back into the comfort of the high backed chair I couldn't bring myself to say anything so instead nodded.

  "Let me begin by saying that I know all about you, and your experiences against the other Vampires in your travels. You might be surprised to hear how pleased I was that a hero such as yourself recovered Maegalla's Sword from Nornalhorst. It was a pleasant surprise receiving word from some of my agents that you had successfully eliminated Volymr and his entire brood. I also applaud you and Madame DeVir for dealing with Larissa's blood coven in Glenvar; she was not one to be underestimated and you did the Empire a great service in removing her."

  "You speak of them as though you knew them intimately."

  "In a way you could say that I did." There was no venom in his words as he gestured between us. "Despite what you may have thought at first, I have no love for my kind. My wife and I were turned just over fifty years ago and since then I have pledged my studies and authority in combating the threat of vampirism throughout southern Cyrodiil. I also have considerable sway in northern Elsweyr, Valenwood and influence in all neighbouring counties. It is a dark and covert war that I have been privately waging for the better part of four decades; four decades that have also included research into the curse and towards ways to combat and cure the various strains."

  The smile this time was honest and open and revealing fangs in what was meant to be friendly gesture. "Thanks to the efforts of you and your companion, I can rest lightly for the time being knowing that two of the greatest threats in Cyrodiil are nought but ash and bones."

  "But this doesn't explain why you have invited me today." I said simply.

  "No, it doesn't but it does give you an idea of my overarching goals. I hate these beasts with a burning passion but by becoming the demon I have allowed myself the time and power to study the creatures and fight fire with fire... So to speak. I invited you today," he continued, leaning back in his chair with his hands on the armrests. "Because of our own mutual hatred and encounters with the creatures and after the events last night I have a request to make of you."

  Pausing thoughtfully for a moment as he collected his thoughts, I found myself watching the way his fingers tapped on the armrest of his chair. "Last night during one of my weekly.... outings you might say, I encountered one of my kind feeding within Skingrad. This came as something of a great surprise, as I pride myself with being meticulous of keeping this plague from my city. At first I had thought that it was simply a single, starving animal that had either been existing within the wilds on its own or had been missed by my hunters. Whatever its story, the more I thought on it this morning, the more I came to believe that it may be one of the many travellers that have arrived recently."

  I swallowed lightly, my mouth dry and guts cramping as he spoke but forcing myself to look nothing more than curious at his revelation.

  "I will be completely truthfully with you Kaius," he said simply, using my first name freely. "I invited you today, in the middle of the day because I was suspicious and believed that you, of all people may have been this vampire. You are obviously experienced in these matters and known that it can be difficult to identify a Vampire when it's not in its animal form. The easiest way that I could prove whether the creature in question was indeed you or not, was simply inviting you to a civilised lunch in the middle of the day. If you had refused or failed to arrive, then... there were other avenues available to me to discern the truth."

  There was a pregnant pause as I weighed up my options, trying to wet my lips with a suddenly dry tongue. The Count had obviously placed a lot of faith upon our meeting, and upon me by merely revealing his true nature to others. "But what if the vampire you saw last night is me anyway?" I asked with a deadpan expression, watching his own intently.

  His expression was one of curiosity, almost trying to determine whether I was making a joke. Laughing, he waved me off, chuckling to himself as my expression remained set in stone. "Quite impossible as you are clearly sitting in front of me, and you travelled through the noonday sun to come here."

  Taking in a deep breath, I let the vampire loose very slightly, feeling my face grow tight, the skin and muscles pulling at my shifting bones as my jaw restructured and brow and cheeks became more pronounced. My fangs pushed out of my lips, peeling them apart in a horrific smile as I looked at him with a visage that was akin to his own.