"Unfortunately, yes. It's generally much more of a contest between two vampires, however, and I am happy to report that I have not yet met a vampire who wants to meet my eyes."

"Does anything block this?"

"Training. I developed my current capacity for this, I was not born with it. Vampires only have the advantage because they have had the opportunity to practice."

"I was thinking along the lines of, like, contact lenses, or background static, or running all the words through a recording before listening to them."

"Glasses don't affect it, nor does background noise. Listening to or watching a recording might well work, however."

"If necessary I can go around with a high-tech setup that turns everything I hear into a recording a moment before I hear it. I can probably even make it inconspicuous."

"That might actually be a feasible defence. I'm impressed."

"I'll make you one too if you like. Worth testing. Gimme a sec." Cam fiddles with his computer. He adds a shirt to his ensemble; it has holes for the wings but looks like it won't come off without scissors. He tugs on one of his earlobes, and puts his computer in his pocket. "Try me. Gently, please."

"There isn't an adjustment dial on the effect: It's more a matter of phrasing things properly. I'll start with something blatantly wrong. I am not standing here in front of you."

"Well, that sounds like a blatant lie."

"That's good. My dress is about the same color as the porch, and it makes it difficult to tell where I am in this half-light."

"Bullshit."

Isabella smiles. "Alright." Her tone shifts, becoming brighter and cheerier. "My father owns this castle, but he's away on business. Would you like to come in?"

"I'm already in your castle," Cam says. "And strongly suspect your father is dead or something, though you haven't mentioned him."

"Eighty years dead, yes. It appears that your device works, at least against voice alone. Would you care to look into my eyes for this next part? Also, can you tell when I'm trying to nudge you?"

"The eyes thing has a verbal component, right? I could set up something similar to my audio thing with a pair of glasses but it would be way more obvious. I can sort of tell, more of a tone of voice thing than anything else."

"That's good. It takes a little practice for people to be able to notice sometimes. The eyes thing does have a verbal component, but it's sufficiently different that glasses might be necessary."

"And it can be recovered from in short order, no lasting side effects?"

"Side effects would only be likely if you were dominated for an extended length of time. A test should be reasonably safe."

"Right. I suppose if you were going to do this maliciously you could have done it without warning me." Sigh. "Go."

She meets his eyes, and there's an immediate feeling of pressure as she speaks. "Raise your right hand."

Cam hisses. His hand twitches, but that's all. "Okay, unless that was at full oomph, my earplugs aren't helping me here."

"Would you care to try it again without them? It would be useful to know wether the earplugs have any effect at all."

"Sure." A bit of wire materializes sticking out of each of his ears; Cam pulls and they turn out to be hooks attached to bits of electronics.

Isabella waits for all the electronic bits to be cleared. "Again, then." She raises her eyes to meet his once more. "Raise your right hand." This time, the pressure is at least twice as strong.