Vampire State of Mind, page 19
His demon was almost asleep inside him; I could feel its drowsy relish. ‘Well, as long as one of us had a good time.’ I felt shrewish and snappy and not sure why. ‘Try to stay awake long enough to help go through these. We’re looking for mentions of ghyst.’
Sil picked up some of the papers and winked at me in an annoying way. ‘Okay, boss.’
‘Liam and I can split the e-versions; I’ll do the last three years, Liam you do the two years before, Sil, you can do the old paper copies. Oh, and make more coffee.’
We sat and skimmed through the council hand-outs until our eyes bulged.
‘Otherworld office has all this kind of thing on e-files.’ Sil had put his feet up on Liam’s desk and was flipping pages at twice the speed that we could have read at, being mere … humans.
‘I know. I hacked in. Couldn’t open your file. I think Zan might be reading them your end. Or trying to stop us getting in.’ Liam said without looking up.
‘He will have run a word-search function.’
‘All right, don’t rub it in, we all know how much better you are than us,’ I said irritably. The dust from the paper copies was in my eyes now and they itched, although not as much as my hands from wanting to punch Sil firmly in his self-satisfied face. ‘We don’t want to have to rely on Zan beating us to it. Even if he’s quite clearly going to.’
‘Just saying,’ he turned over a page, infuriatingly calmly, ‘that’s all. Gotcha!’ Sil laid down his leaflet like a winning poker hand. ‘Here. Ghyst-demon.’ He pushed the paper towards me, but the council’s relentless money-saving investment in tiny print meant that we all ended up huddled together trying to read.
‘Oh, no.’ I might not have a vampire’s skills, but I could speed read when I wanted to. ‘No.’ Shoved my chair back so hard that it cannoned off the far wall and nearly dropped me on the floor.
The boys exchanged a look. ‘It might not be that bad, Jessie.’
‘Right.’ I tapped the offending page and quoted. ‘“Ghyst-demon. Rare and semi-mythical, blah blah … rumoured to be unable to be killed, except by its own flesh and blood.” Look, they’ve spelled immortal with only one “m”.’
Sil patted my arm. ‘Well, at least we know now why Malfaire wants you. If you’re on his side he’s invincible. If not – ’
‘ – then I’m better off dead,’ I finished. ‘Oh, shit.’
‘If you die, do I get your computer?’ Liam asked, shakily trying to lighten the mood. ‘And your special mug?’
I sat with my head in my hands. If Malfaire killed me, there would be nothing on earth to stop him from forming an army of ghouls, Shadows, any vampire that felt restricted by the current rules and regulations, any Otherworlder, in fact, that wanted to stage a take-over bid. If he left me alive, then he’d want me to fight alongside him.
‘Jessie.’ Sil’s patting had turned into more of a rub. ‘You’re still under my protection.’
‘Oh yeah, and that worked really well last time, didn’t it? I seem to remember that you … It wouldn’t have ended well.’ I didn’t even look up. ‘What do I do? Liam?’
‘He won’t kill you.’ Liam sounded desperate. ‘He won’t. You’re his daughter. I couldn’t harm Charlotte for all the money in the world, and he must have some kind of feelings for you, otherwise why search you out? Why not let it lie? You’d never have found out that you were anything to do with him otherwise.’
‘Perhaps he wants to be sure of winning.’ Sil stood and leaned against the desk, legs crossed and hands in pockets. ‘If he’s certain that there’s no danger to him, he can attack with impunity.’ He seemed to come to a decision. ‘Jessie, I think you ought to move in with Zan and me.’
I blinked. ‘What, the pair of you live in one house? It must be like an episode of Big Bang Theory round your place. Anyway, I’ve got a flat, and I don’t anticipate moving out any time soon.’
Now Sil crouched down to look me straight in the eye. ‘Remember danger, Jessie? Remember the big bad demon who wants you dead? If you’re in Vampire Central then we can both keep an eye on you, and anywhere has to be more secure than your place.’
‘Vegan Central,’ added Liam.
‘You really call your place Vampire Central?’ Sil lived in an impressive three-storey Georgian house near York Minster. You could see Betty’s Tea Room from one of the upstairs bathrooms, if you stood on the vanity unit; just don’t ask me how I know. ‘Rachel needs me to pay the rent.’
‘Yes, but I glamoured Rachel once. That means she’s under my … ah, I was going to say power, but suddenly realise that makes me sound like a stage hypnotist. I’ve formed a mental link with her. I can make her forget that you ever lived there. Just like this.’ And Sil clicked his fingers. ‘So we can do this the easy way – the “I’m moving out for a few days” way – or we can do it the hard way.’ He clicked his fingers again. ‘Leaving you nowhere to go back to, when all this is over.’
‘Bastard,’ I managed, but my heart wasn’t really in it.
‘Sensible bastard, though,’ Liam said. ‘At least it would mean you had back-up 24/7.’
‘Or two more people to have to worry about.’ I sighed. It was a foregone conclusion already, obviously. I couldn’t think of a good reason not to do as Sil said, and a hundred reasons to go along with it, number one being ‘I don’t want to die alone’. ‘And what about Rach? What if Malfaire decides to … I dunno, find out where I’ve gone? He might … torture her.’
‘Force her to eat a cream scone?’ Liam gave me a direct look. ‘Malfaire hasn’t exactly had to struggle to find you so far, has he? You’re going to the vamps for protection, not to hide. I think he’ll know where you are if he wants you.’
‘Well, that’s reassuring,’ I said. ‘Remind me to send you on that empathy course next time it comes round.’
‘That would be dangerously close to Professional Development, and you know what you always say about that …’ Liam gave me a grin, but it was thin.
We were whistling in the wind, and we all knew it.
Chapter Nineteen
We put in possibly the least effective working day ever, mostly consisting of picturesque brooding on Sil’s part, half-heartedly monitoring the tracker programme on mine and fiddling with the pencil sharpener on Liam’s, but six o’clock eventually rolled around. ‘Better go home.’ I shut down the computer and eased my back. ‘No callouts, Liam, so we can all leave.’
‘Great! I’ll get a takeaway and sit around the house in my pants. What? Sarah’s at her mother’s, there have got to be some perks …’
‘I’ll buzz Zan to expect us.’ Sil took out his mobile.
‘Uh-huh. I need to go back to the flat tonight. Just tonight. It’s all right, I’ve given in to your macho demands that I come to your place. But, you know, I need to pack.’
‘Oh God, not all of it,’ Sil groaned. ‘Not the cuddly toys as well.’
‘Only for tonight, while I … how do you know about the cuddly toys?’
Sil sighed. ‘I have been in your flat, remember.’
‘Only when Malfaire …’
‘And I had to change my clothes.’
‘You changed in my bedroom?’ Indignation made me shrill.
‘I’m not sure. It was either your bedroom or a small offshoot of Hamleys’ toyshop, with an option on Cadbury’s best-selling chocolates and photographs of girls in school uniform … I really don’t think that this is important right now.’
Liam sighed. ‘Just one more night, Sil.’ He put on his coat. ‘And I shall see you both back here tomorrow morning, bright and shiny and probably wearing each other’s jumpers.’
‘Shut up, Liam.’ If I’d had my mobile to hand I would have thrown it at him, but it was in the pocket of my coat, which was hung up by the door. ‘Do you really have to come everywhere with me, Sil? What about last night; you let me go home alone then.’
Sil looked as if he was about to say something, then changed his mind. ‘Yep, everywhere.’ He pulled his soft black coat around himself like a cloak. ‘It might prevent Malfaire from harming you, if he’s got an audience.’
‘Oh yeah, ’cos that always stops the bad guys,’ I said sarcastically, dragging my coat down from the door and over my shoulders. Liam made a face.
‘You two should so get it on.’
This time both of us spoke in unison. ‘Shut up, Liam,’ and Sil held the door open for me, taking my arm as we marched out in pretended umbrage. At least, my umbrage was pretend, I couldn’t speak for Sil’s, but he was walking fast and unevenly, which was usually a sign that the vampire was pissed off.
‘Slow down!’
‘Why? You’re in danger, or haven’t you heard?’
‘Because at this rate, Malfaire won’t need to attack, he can wait for me to catch fire from the air friction. I’m not vampire, Sil. If you want to keep belting around like that then you’re going to have to let go of me first.’
Slowly he released me. ‘Sorry.’
‘Wow, you’re apologising again? Call the Guinness Book of Records. Anyway, why don’t we take a taxi?’
‘Because I can’t guarantee that a taxi-driver hasn’t been glamoured to drive straight into the river with you.’ He then muttered something which sounded like ‘merciful relief for us all’ but I charitably ignored it.
We headed down the main tourist area, now empty of all but the most determined sightseer, and towards the river. As we reached the walkway which led down the side of the bridge, I touched his arm. ‘Sil, I’m sorry, too.’
‘What?’ He swung round towards me.
‘About – you know. Everything. I never meant us to be enemies.’
‘Enemies. Is that what we are?’ His hair was escaping, one wisp at a time, from the ponytail behind his head, the locks joining to form a flopping straggle that made his cheeks look thinner and paler than usual.
‘I’m scared,’ I finally confessed. ‘I don’t know what to do. I don’t need any more people with grudges against me. Can’t we go back to how we used to be when you first came to work for me?’
His eyes softened, running to that almost blue-grey that they turned when he was being nice. ‘Oh, yes?’ He took a step towards me. ‘And how was that again?’
I couldn’t help myself. I wanted to but I felt so shaky, so confused, and Sil was standing there all nicely rumpled and, well, there. I stepped in, and his arms came around me and pulled me close until I could feel the solidity of his body against mine. As he tilted his head forward, I lifted my chin and moved towards his mouth as though he’d become magnetic.
There must have been mere millimetres of air between our lips, when I was hit a massive blow from the side and sent tumbling on to the cobbles with a wight on top of me, its white-sheeted, skeletal form pinning me to the ground. Sil made it two steps before another wight grabbed him around the neck and pulled him backwards down on to the flagstones beside the river.
The wights fought like Schwarzenegger on crack. I saw Sil’s head slam into the pavement just before I was dragged under the bridge by the wight which had me. It used my hair as a handle to hold me down whilst its bones were everywhere, striking out at me. Every blow connected, every blow hurt and with each impact my hair was pulled a little tighter. I kicked out at the legs but there was no flesh to impact on, no muscles to bruise, only a hawser-like strength.
The lipless face came in close, grinning obscenely with the mouth open for a bite which would remove half my cheek. I summoned all my hatred in one solid, leaden ball, twisted around, ignoring the pain from my head, then flung myself down on to the ground with the unbalanced wight underneath me.
There was a satisfying snapping sound as part of the ribcage gave way, shards of bone stabbing into the palms of my hands, with the wight making a noise like a hurricane trapped in a lift shaft and struggling to bring its legs underneath it. I sat on its damaged chest, one of its arms pinned under my knee, and tried to peer out of the gloom to see what was happening to Sil, but the wight took the opportunity to bring its free arm up and elbow me in the side of the head. My vision swung so that the lights across the river dipped and appeared to fall into the water for a few seconds. Without thinking I struck out sideways, catching the arm on the downswing and giving it such momentum that it bounced off the flagstones with a sound like a whip-crack. ‘You bastard!’
I didn’t think, I reacted. Leaned forward further into the shattered ribs and grabbed at the skull with both hands, which freed the wight’s arms. It closed them around my body, grabbing my waist and squeezing until it felt as though my kidneys were being forced into my windpipe, but I didn’t let go; I pulled at the skull and twisted. Kept on pulling, twisting until with one final crack the skull came free of the spinal column and the body collapsed back.
I slowly became aware of the splinters of bone piercing my legs and my face dripping blood; my hands were peppered with tiny slices from the broken ribs. But I was alive.
There was no noise from the walkway beyond the black cavern. Nothing but the distant cries of revellers heading home, a muted traffic whoosh from the bridge above. I disentangled myself from the remains of the wight and dragged myself on shaky legs to the corner of the steps, where I could grab on to the stonework for support and move hand-over-hand until I was in the open air. ‘Sil?’
He was braced against the brick wall, hands on thighs, bent nearly double and was gasping for breath, but, like me, alive. Head raised at my voice. ‘Jessie?’
His eyes were swollen and there was a bite out of his neck. ‘You okay?’ I couldn’t move to get any closer; it was taking all my energy to hang on to the step in front of me.
‘Yes.’
‘Where is it?’
He flicked his head at the water. ‘Threw it in the river.’ Coughed deeply and retched. ‘Yours?’
‘Pulled its head off.’
We hung in our random positions for a few moments, then caught each other’s eye and started laughing, the breathless, hysterical laughter of people who hadn’t expected to survive. Hiccupping, ridiculous laughing, until tears made my face sting, and Sil had a coughing fit which brought him to his knees on the cobbles.
‘I think I peed myself.’ I held my arms around me to ease the ache in my stomach, blood from the bone-cuts smeared across my T-shirt. ‘Ow, that hurts.’
Sil had to climb up the side of the building to get upright, ending up facing the brickwork with his forehead resting against it. ‘We need to get out of here.’
‘Let’s get back to the flat. Although I warn you, Rach might ask some very pointed questions about your presence. Either that or flirt with you, but I think her blood might be ninety per cent soya.’
‘Not sure I can walk, Jessie.’ Sil flicked a hand towards his leg. ‘Got a bit … bitten …’ The giggles threatened again briefly, but he managed to contain them.
‘You’ll have to lean on me.’ Cautiously, because I wasn’t completely sure of my own roadworthiness, I slid my way over to him and got an arm around his waist. Sil put his arm across my shoulders and we began a strange, limping process along the river walk. I tried to ignore how our bodies moved in rhythm and how he felt so cool and hard against me.
‘Bloody hell man, don’t you ever eat?’
‘Jessie, I’m trying very, very hard not to notice the fact that you are bleeding from at least three places. This is no time to bring up the subject of food!’
‘All right, forget I mentioned – ’
And we stopped. Five strides ahead of us stood Malfaire, a Shadow at either side. He was watching us come, a quizzical eyebrow kinked and a half-smile on his impeccable lips. I wondered how long he’d been working on that expression.
‘Good evening,’ he said. ‘And how are the love-birds flitting tonight, hmm?’
‘Piss off.’ Not exactly a quip to be proud of I know, but not bad for someone as beaten-up as I was.
‘Just heading home, are we? Are you finally intending to indulge our young vampire in his darkest desires, Jessica?’
Sil hissed. I could feel his demon rising, but it couldn’t help him. His body was too weak to sustain another attack.
Malfaire was looking us up and down so insolently, so knowingly, that I felt myself blush. ‘What do you want?’
‘Want? Well, I want you, Jessica, did I not say?’
‘And the wights?’
He made a dismissive gesture with both hands. ‘A courtesy detail. Flowers seemed inappropriate. And less lethal.’ He took a step closer and the Shadows came with him. ‘You’re my daughter, a chip off the old block, as I think you proved. Despatching a pair of wights was very impressive.’ Still coming. ‘I am giving you a final chance to listen to reason and come and fight alongside me, because the alternative will not be pleasant. But,’ he shrugged, ‘there you go, some people need a lot of persuasion.’
I stepped back and stumbled over a metal hook, the kind of thing the rivermen used to pull the boats to shore. It banged my already bruised ankle and tears came into my eyes. ‘You want me dead.’
‘Baldly put, but – yes, if you refuse to fight with me, then you must be against me.’ Another dismissive wave. ‘Although I think simply killing you would rather spoil the fun, don’t you?’ His gaze flickered over Sil. ‘I can do that at any time. But there are so many that you care for, I think I might enjoy reducing their number a little first. While you watch, and appreciate their pain.’
The Shadows moved a step closer and I bent down and snatched up the rusty metal hook. ‘Get those things away from us, you arrogant git.’
Malfaire stared at me for a second, then grinned. ‘My dear, I don’t think for one second that you mean me harm. After all, you’re a council employee, so you keep telling everyone, as though by denying your heritage you can make it cease to exist.’
By now there was only a couple of feet between us, and I could feel the chill air coming from the Shadows. If I’d leaned forward I could have kissed him. ‘You’re willing to gamble?’
