of his hair, touched the close-shaven side of his face, and felt desire—wonderful, miraculous desire—course through me like a shaft of brilliant sunlight, as if the sun was shining brightly beyond my closed eyelids.
Roberto’s abrupt withdrawal opened my eyes, and I found that the light I had thought I’d imagined was real. Only it wasn’t sunlight, it was our skin: my skin blazing brightly with white luminescence, Roberto’s skin a dimmer glow.
I gasped. “My God. We’re glowing! What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Roberto said, as startled as I. “I thought you might know what this was.”
To our vast relief, the glowing of our skin dimmed and disappeared after we broke apart.
“No one saw us,” Roberto said. “What just happened?”
“We lit up like two freaking lightbulbs. That’s what happened!”
“Yes.” He gave a brief, shaky laugh. “But what caused it?”
Reality shifted suddenly again.
The moon full and round, pregnant with light and energy. Rays, shafts of light, coming down from it. No, that wasn’t quite right— pulled down from it. By me. Hitting me, filling me with buzzing power like a battery getting a sudden blast of charge. Light filling me, pouring out of my skin, setting me aglow . . .
I crashed back to the present. To Roberto’s voice.
“. . . it was almost as if sunlight emanated from us—”
“No,” I whispered hoarsely. “Moonlight . . . moonlight spilling from our skin. What in God’s creation are we?”
Sudden awareness rippled across my skin, that feeling of like to like, as energy brushed faintly across me.
“What’s that?” I asked as my skin prickled. Turning in a circle, I tried to pinpoint where that feeling was coming from.
“What is what?” asked Roberto.
“That. Don’t you feel it? It’s like what I feel with you, only it’s more distant. It’s coming from . . . the sky. There!” I pointed to a bird on the distant horizon and wondered if I was crazy. No airplane, no crazy tourist hang gliding or parasailing. Just the bird—my vision zoomed in. An eagle.
Roberto suddenly urged me inside.
“What is it?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s another like us,” he said, sounding grim.
“Where?”
“Where you pointed.”
“I pointed to a bird.”
“Exactamente.”
“You can’t be serious.” I stopped. Turned to look at him. “You are! You think that eagle is someone like us?” I said with disbelief.
He nodded. “If I can take on the form of an animal, so can someone else.”
My voice squeaked up an octave. “You’re telling me that you can shift into an animal ?”
“Into a jaguar. Can you not shift into animal form?”
“Uh . . . no.”
That seemed to surprise him. He shook his head as urgency regained its hold. “Inside the restaurant, quickly.”
“Why? If it’s someone like us, don’t you want to meet him?” I asked, bewildered.
“It’s a male,” Roberto said. Opening the door, he ushered me inside the restaurant. “I have found other males to be quite dangerous.”
“You’ve met others?” Aware of our environment, I lowered my voice. “Like us?”
“Met them and killed them.”
“You killed them?” I said in a shocked whisper, swinging around to face him. We were drawing attention again, but our voices were lowered beyond what normal humans could hear.
“It was kill or be killed,” he said, gripping my shoulders. “Other males come here occasionally to challenge me, to try and take my territory.” Planting a quick kiss on my mouth, he spun me around and led us back to our table. With a gesture from Roberto, our attentive waiter rushed over. A quick spatter of Spanish later, Roberto was leading us out the front door. His two bodyguards, waiting near the entrance, fell into place, one in front of us, one behind.
“I didn’t see you pay,” I continued to whisper, even though there was no longer a need to.
“I had the waiter charge the bill to my account.”
No credit cards,
Roberto’s abrupt withdrawal opened my eyes, and I found that the light I had thought I’d imagined was real. Only it wasn’t sunlight, it was our skin: my skin blazing brightly with white luminescence, Roberto’s skin a dimmer glow.
I gasped. “My God. We’re glowing! What did you do?”
“Nothing,” Roberto said, as startled as I. “I thought you might know what this was.”
To our vast relief, the glowing of our skin dimmed and disappeared after we broke apart.
“No one saw us,” Roberto said. “What just happened?”
“We lit up like two freaking lightbulbs. That’s what happened!”
“Yes.” He gave a brief, shaky laugh. “But what caused it?”
Reality shifted suddenly again.
The moon full and round, pregnant with light and energy. Rays, shafts of light, coming down from it. No, that wasn’t quite right— pulled down from it. By me. Hitting me, filling me with buzzing power like a battery getting a sudden blast of charge. Light filling me, pouring out of my skin, setting me aglow . . .
I crashed back to the present. To Roberto’s voice.
“. . . it was almost as if sunlight emanated from us—”
“No,” I whispered hoarsely. “Moonlight . . . moonlight spilling from our skin. What in God’s creation are we?”
Sudden awareness rippled across my skin, that feeling of like to like, as energy brushed faintly across me.
“What’s that?” I asked as my skin prickled. Turning in a circle, I tried to pinpoint where that feeling was coming from.
“What is what?” asked Roberto.
“That. Don’t you feel it? It’s like what I feel with you, only it’s more distant. It’s coming from . . . the sky. There!” I pointed to a bird on the distant horizon and wondered if I was crazy. No airplane, no crazy tourist hang gliding or parasailing. Just the bird—my vision zoomed in. An eagle.
Roberto suddenly urged me inside.
“What is it?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s another like us,” he said, sounding grim.
“Where?”
“Where you pointed.”
“I pointed to a bird.”
“Exactamente.”
“You can’t be serious.” I stopped. Turned to look at him. “You are! You think that eagle is someone like us?” I said with disbelief.
He nodded. “If I can take on the form of an animal, so can someone else.”
My voice squeaked up an octave. “You’re telling me that you can shift into an animal ?”
“Into a jaguar. Can you not shift into animal form?”
“Uh . . . no.”
That seemed to surprise him. He shook his head as urgency regained its hold. “Inside the restaurant, quickly.”
“Why? If it’s someone like us, don’t you want to meet him?” I asked, bewildered.
“It’s a male,” Roberto said. Opening the door, he ushered me inside the restaurant. “I have found other males to be quite dangerous.”
“You’ve met others?” Aware of our environment, I lowered my voice. “Like us?”
“Met them and killed them.”
“You killed them?” I said in a shocked whisper, swinging around to face him. We were drawing attention again, but our voices were lowered beyond what normal humans could hear.
“It was kill or be killed,” he said, gripping my shoulders. “Other males come here occasionally to challenge me, to try and take my territory.” Planting a quick kiss on my mouth, he spun me around and led us back to our table. With a gesture from Roberto, our attentive waiter rushed over. A quick spatter of Spanish later, Roberto was leading us out the front door. His two bodyguards, waiting near the entrance, fell into place, one in front of us, one behind.
“I didn’t see you pay,” I continued to whisper, even though there was no longer a need to.
“I had the waiter charge the bill to my account.”
No credit cards,
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