The orderly came back and escorted me down a dank hall to a room with a thick iron door. I followed, trying to ignore the faint echoes of the inmates’ cries.

The orderly stopped, gripped the iron door handle, and looked at me. “The patient is already inside. After you enter, I will lock this door after you; someone will come to let you out in an hour. Do not touch the patient; do not undo his bonds. It would be wisest if you simply remain in the other chair.”

I rolled my eyes, thankful that he couldn’t see that. “I had no intention of going near him. I simply wish to ask him a few questions.”

The orderly looked askance at me. “You can try, I suppose, but the patient is rarely cooperative.” He opened the door and waved me in.

I walked purposefully towards the empty chair, barely noting the sound of the door closing. I took my time arranging my document case before sitting; I heard a faint sound that could have been a laugh from the other chair. I sat, and finally, deliberately, looked at the man I’d come here to see.

“You are very pale,” he said once I looked at him. He tilted his head to one side. “Like a glow-grub or the white minnows that live in the caves. Did someone leave you in a dark place too long, and leach the color from you?”

“I was born like this,” I said, keeping my voice level.

“Oh.” He tilted his head the other way. “You are not a vampire, though.”

“No,” I agreed.

“Hm. Do you have a name?”

“Victor Hunter.”

“Ah. Come to kill me, then?”

“No. I came to ask you some things.”

“I will not answer.”

I had expected difficulty; I had not expected a flat refusal. “Why not?” I demanded, more sharply than I intended.

The inmate’s polished-gold eyes narrowed. “I will not answer anything for anyone while I’m kept in this hellhole.”

I stare at the other man for a tick or two. Finally, I asked, “And if I can get you out?”

He may have smiled; the room was too poorly lit to tell. “Then I will give you anything you ask for.”

We sat in silence for the rest of the hour.