Alex had no way of answering the woman's question. To begin with, he didn't even understand what she was trying to ask. "A brethren?" he asked. "I do not understand what you mean."
"Yes, brethren," the woman said as her smile grew wider. "I've always wanted to meet another one of us."
"I'm sorry, senior. I still do not understand what you mean by that," he said. "I do not see how we can be brethren of any sort."
The woman's smile faded and a concerned look appeared over it. "Are you not like me?" she asked, now slowly moving around Alex, her frilly clothes trailing behind her.
Alex couldn't tell where the clothes ended and where the mist began.
The woman encircled him. He felt her fingers trace him along the back as she moved, coming around to the front. At the front, she laid her gentle fingers around his jaw, slowly moving his head."