Vampire State of Mind, page 25
‘One of the humans. The vampires are mine to deal with.’
I had to let him think that the choice was his, but without that actually being the case. ‘I have history with the Enforcement team. I’m due some revenge …’
Eleanor’s pupils distended. I tried to beam her good vibes but … couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. A little suffering would be good for her. The bitch.
Malfaire shook his head. ‘No. That would be too easy. Cold blood is so much more satisfying.’
Good. ‘That leaves my adopted sister, my colleague or my best friend.’
Abbie gave a squeal and Liam started. They all fixed their eyes on my face.
‘Hmm. I don’t believe your workmate is sufficiently close to you.’
Malfaire clearly didn’t know about just how much time Liam and I spent in one another’s company or how personal our conversations could get when we were. ‘Fine.’
‘And your sister is not truly your sister, is she? You will be undergoing some distancing from your family.’
‘So. Rachel then.’ I tried to look as though I didn’t care one way or the other.
The women both started yelling at once; Rach jumped to her feet and Abbie pushed herself in front of her. ‘Now, listen here, you’re not going to …’
‘Jessie?’ Liam’s eyes met mine. ‘Can you?’
‘I have to.’ I tried to will him to understand, whilst widening my eyes at Sil. The vampire’s expression never faltered, but then he’d had more practice than me at this sort of thing. ‘I have to, Liam.’
Liam looked me up and down, then nodded. ‘Yeah.’
‘Go to your friend, Rachel.’ Malfaire gave Rach a little shove and she tottered out from Abigail’s shielding bulk. ‘Say goodbye, everyone.’
Another shove and Rach wobbled into my arms. A coil of magic came with her, keeping her from flailing at me, as she so clearly wanted to do. Her face was shocked blank. ‘Jessie, you won’t,’ she said, as though trying to convince herself. ‘You won’t.’
I raised my hands to either side of her head. Couldn’t look her in the eye. ‘I am so sorry, Rach.’
She squeaked and tried to move her head away, but Malfaire had her trussed. Every ounce of blood had drained from her skin, she was blueish pale and her eyes looked drugged. ‘Jessie …’
I flicked a glance at the bound vampires. Sil was still not blinking. Okay. We could do this. Carefully positioned my hands, palms cupping her above the ears. Twisted.
Rachel gave a little sigh and dropped at my feet. Revulsion crawled down my spine like a bug and I must have gone pale myself, because Liam came over and grabbed my arm. ‘It’s over, Jessie,’ he whispered. ‘You did it, it’s over.’
Abbie, her face shocked immobile, whispered, ‘You are no sister of mine.’
Malfaire, on the other hand, looked jubilant. ‘My daughter.’ He sounded almost fond. ‘I knew you could do it.’
I huddled into Liam, not wanting to see the results of my actions. Chanced one quick look at Sil. He’d closed his eyes. Good.
‘Now you’ll let them go?’
Malfaire wrinkled his nose at me. ‘Oh, all right. They were no fun anyway.’ And then an alien stare. ‘And, of course, I know where your parents live, should you need additional persuasion.’
I clenched both hands into Liam’s shirt. ‘Liam. He stays with me.’
A perfect eyebrow rose. ‘Really? This one, too? Jessica, you greedy girl. Yes, he can stay. After all, once we call the full force of the Dark to us it’s hardly going to matter who we left alive at this juncture. None of them will live through the battle.’
‘Can I …?’ I let go of Liam, faced Malfaire. Had to do this right or he’d never go for it. ‘Malfaire …’ That smile curled his lips again. ‘Could I beg a favour?’
A sigh, as though he over-indulged me all the time. ‘Go on.’
‘Could I have a few minutes alone, to say goodbye to them before you let them leave? I may never see them again and it would mean a lot to me.’
A shrewd look. Had I pushed it too far? ‘You cannot escape, Jessica. And now that you have killed, in full view of your pathetic Enforcement, well, you would be hunted even should you try to leave.’
‘I know.’ Yes, go on Malfaire, remind everyone that I come under the Otherworld heading now, that Enforcement are my nemeses instead of … well, Eleanor and I hadn’t exactly been doing one another’s hair, but at least we’d been in it together. Now I’d very definitely stepped over the species line. ‘Believe me, Malfaire, running away is the last thing on my mind.’
‘Well then. All right. Oh, but I’ll keep this one until you rejoin me, in case you decide to change your mind.’ Malfaire hooked one arm around Liam’s shoulders in a kind of prison-buddy hug.
‘But …’
‘Your choice.’ His arm tightened painfully. I could see Liam’s skinny shoulders being forced inwards under the pressure.
‘Yes. As long as I can say goodbye.’
Malfaire gave a short nod. ‘Very well. You have ten minutes. If any of them are still here after that time,’ he gave Liam a matey squeeze that nearly drove him to his knees, ‘I’m sure you wouldn’t like the effects,’ he finished, and he and Liam, moving in step like a hellish three-legged race entrant, left the room.
Slowly the magic around the vampires and Enforcement dissolved and they sat up. ‘Well. I suppose that’s bought us a few minutes.’ Eleanor’s voice was bitter.
‘A few minutes might be enough.’ Harry sounded harsh.
‘Is this what the Treaty has come to? You opposing us? War?’ Zan stood, straight-backed and imposing and, for a second, I felt a tiny shiver of warning down my spine.
‘God, you all have a high opinion of me, don’t you? You think I’d really ally myself with Malfaire? I’m beginning to hate myself by association.’ I put my hands on my hips and stood over Rach’s fallen body. ‘Sil? Do your hocus-pocus.’
Getting stiffly to his feet Sil joined me. ‘You took one hell of a risk, Jessica.’
‘Better than the alternative.’
He inclined his head, bent down beside Rach and whispered something in her ear.
‘This carpet smells funny,’ were her first, unLazaruslike words. ‘What happened?’
‘Sil still has a mind-tie with you. He kind of put you under, so Malfaire would think you were dead.’
My sister stared accusingly at me from the bed. ‘You bitch,’ she said, between sobs. ‘I always knew. You’re evil, Jessica.’ It felt like she’d pushed her hand between my ribs and was clawing at my heart.
Rachel stared at me. ‘You killed me,’ she said, rubbing her neck.
‘But you aren’t dead. Evidently.’
‘But you chose me. You killed me. Not Liam, not Abigail. Not even Eleanor. I thought you were my friend.’
‘It had to be you, Rach. You’re the only one Sil has ever glamoured, or, at least, the only one he’s admitting to. The only one he has an influence over. I’m glad he was paying attention.’ I looked at the vampire and got a dark-glass gaze in response.
‘Okay, so now what?’ Harry was rubbing his arms. I noted that Eleanor had grasped at his jacket cuff and was holding on for dear life; this touch of vulnerability almost made me stand down from Hatred Defcon One, until I remembered the silver bullets, and I forced myself to look away. Now was not the time to weaken on the loathing front.
Zan looked at me. ‘Jessica?’
‘What? I think I’ve done you lot enough favours for one day.’
Sil was giving me the stare. ‘I think it might be time for Plan B,’ he said.
‘Plan B? What on earth is that? We never came up with a Plan B. We barely had a Plan A.’
Zan leaned in close, his mouth against my ear. Little tickles of breath made my hair stand on end along my neck. ‘Jessica,’ he whispered. ‘There are several panicked humans in here. I suggest you think of a Plan B with some alacrity.’
Sil gave me a small smile. ‘She’s never been the world’s greatest planner.’
‘I know. I’ve seen her office.’
The two vamps flanked me like a couple of bookends as I stared at the humans, now huddled around one another on the bed. Rach kept rubbing her neck and Abbie was avoiding looking directly at me.
‘Okay. Plan B it is.’ They had to get out of here. Malfaire wouldn’t hesitate to kill everyone if his mood dictated it. ‘Zan, can you get them to Harrogate?’
The vampires stared at me. ‘Harrogate?’ Zan repeated.
‘What for, a bit of pre-apocalyptic shopping?’ Sil’s eyes were munitions grey again.
‘Caro. The vampire I helped at the Dead Run, she owes me. Take them to her and ask her to … I dunno, look after them until they get the all-clear. Malfaire won’t know where they’ve gone so he won’t be able to come after them if everything goes wrong this end. Get my parents there as well.’
Zan turned to Sil. ‘Take them, as she says.’
‘I’m not leaving Jessie. You go.’ Sil grabbed my hand.
‘Nor I.’ Zan took my other hand. I felt as though they’d tethered me, but their rigidity, useless as I knew it to be, was somehow comforting.
‘It’s all right, we’ll take the van.’ Eleanor stood up, obviously trying for control. ‘I think we have to radio through a report in any case.’ She glanced to Harry for confirmation, but he wouldn’t meet her eye, just kept his gaze firmly fixed on the carpet.
‘Phone Mum and Dad,’ I said to Abbie. ‘Tell them to meet you there. If Malfaire is still doing his phone-block thing, ring the neighbours and give them the message that way.’
Abbie barely glanced at me. ‘I don’t know what’s going on here, Jessica,’ she said. ‘You were my baby sister, now you’re not even human and you’re some kind of killer planning on fighting demons and letting war break out again.’ She shook her head. ‘I used to change your nappy! But you’re not even human …’
‘Talk to Mum and Dad, Abbs. It’s their story really, not mine. I didn’t ask for any of this and now I’m just doing the best I can. Oh, and I’m trying to avert war, not let it happen.’ I took a breath. ‘And you never changed my nappy. If you don’t count that time you were looking for that necklace thing that I swallowed.’
The vampires exchanged a look, and then a shrug.
Abbie walked over to Zan with Rach clinging to her like a toddler. ‘Where do we find this Caro?’
Zan wrote the address on a bit of card. Abbie blushed as she took it from him; that was one serious crush she had going. Then Zan took them all to the back stairs, returning to Sil and me with a weary expression. ‘I instructed them to leave quickly and quietly. It was a clever thought, Jessica, to send them to Caro.’
‘What about you two? Malfaire will kill you if he finds you’re still here.’
Zan and Sil exchanged a quick glance, then Sil laid a hand gently on my cheek. ‘We’re not leaving you, Jessie. He’s a monster and, let’s face it, if we think that …’
‘You want us to go, and yet, a human remains,’ Zan said. ‘Why?’
‘Liam and I have been team-mates for a long time and I trust him to do exactly as I ask, not fanny about asking daft questions, present company very much included there, guys. And, I don’t think Malfaire will see him as any kind of threat, so he’ll be safer than you would be. Is that enough?’
‘But …’ Sil began. Zan silenced him with a raised hand.
‘I fear any questions will merely justify point one.’
‘Thank you.’
Sil looked into my eyes. As I’ve said, I’m immune to the whole vamp mind control thing so he can only have done it to let me see the shifting of the darkness inside him. ‘Zan and I will stay in the house.’
‘But he’s beaten you so many times already, what makes you think …?’
Sil pulled me closer towards him. ‘Jessie, if anything happens to you, Zan and I will go out fighting, know that.’
Gosh.
The two vampires melted away into the darkness, of which there was quite a lot in this house. Slowly, stomach churning, I went down the main staircase, keeping one hand on the oak banister for support.
‘Ginger Rogers had more style.’ Liam was standing in the hallway.
‘She didn’t work for York City Council.’ I reached the bottom and lowered my voice. ‘Are you okay?’
The ‘I’m so cool I can make jokes’ act fell away. ‘I am fucking terrified, Jessie.’ His skin was taut with fear and a silken gloss of sweat lay sheer on his skin. ‘What now?’
‘Thanks for not asking why I didn’t get Malfaire to let you go with the others.’
‘Hey!’ A return of the sense of humour. ‘You’re my boss. Let you stay here alone and I kiss goodbye to the Christmas bonus.’ But his fingers dug into the skin of my arm. ‘Sarah and Charlotte,’ he breathed. ‘Does he know about them?’
‘They’ll be fine at Sarah’s mother’s; even if he does know, he won’t know where to look for them.’
He closed his eyes for a second and a little of the tension left him. ‘Okay then. What’s the plan? As Malfaire can’t even be killed by his own flesh and blood – what do we try next?’
‘Oh. My. God.’ It must have been the terror and the dread that did it. Like the tumblers of a lock suddenly freeing up to allow access to a safe, my brain clicked into gear. ‘Is it really as simple as that?’
‘Er, Jessie? Human, no telepathy.’
‘I’ve just, ohhh, it could be, but how can, ohhh …’
‘And again, in English?’
Where was Malfaire? How long had we got before he turned up? I lowered my voice and started to talk really fast. ‘When you brought the office stuff here, did you bring everything? Everything we had in the fridge?’
‘Yep. Pretty much.’
‘No, it’s important. All the stuff from the fridge?’
‘Er, yes. There wasn’t much in there. And we brought the paperwork. We left the dead files, but I picked up everything that’s open at the moment. Why?’
‘Because I have a plan.’
At almost cartoon-speed I outlined my idea to Liam, who flinched. ‘You think that’s it? That’ll work?’
‘It’s the only hope we’ve got right now. You wait for …’ I tailed off as Malfaire came sauntering around the corner accompanied by his pair of Shadows.
‘Jessica.’ He clicked his fingers and the Shadows flowed off into hidden corners. I was clearly supposed to be aware they were still present. ‘We find ourselves alone at last.’
‘Hello.’ Liam gave a little wave. ‘Still here, still listening, still paying the fan club subscription fees. I might not be armed but I can bite bloody hard if you’re after a fight.’
Malfaire hardly gave him a glance. ‘Humans do clutter the place up, don’t they?’ he said to me. ‘Perhaps we should …’
‘Malfaire.’ I had to stop him thinking about Liam, although it already helped that he considered my front-line weapon to be beneath contempt. ‘I think we should let Liam carry on staffing the office. If people notice the tracker programme is down, we could have chaos breaking out on the streets.’ The demon’s expression went thoughtful, so I pressed home my advantage, ‘I mean, yes, we want chaos, ultimately, but we want chaos we can be in charge of. Not chaotic chaos,’ I finished lamely. ‘Keep things running until we can step in and take over. We don’t want the humans implementing some kind of “scorched earth” policy, do we?’
Liam’s eyes flashed wide for a second. The reality of the danger we might be in if I couldn’t do something fairly drastic was clearly sinking in. And I knew that there were plans in high government for terminal action should the vampires try to rise. I’d once slept with a blabbermouth journalist – something Liam didn’t know about. At least, I hoped he didn’t.
Malfaire waved a hand. Didn’t even seem bothered enough to waste words on a mere human. I leaned towards Liam, steadied myself against his shoulder, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. ‘See you later,’ I said, and then under cover of wiping away non-existent lipstick (I worked for the council, lipstick in my job would have been like clothes on dogs) I whispered in his ear, ‘Sil and Zan are in the house.’
Malfaire pulled me away rather more roughly than I thought the situation warranted. I barely had time to grimace at Liam in a way that I really hoped he understood, before I found myself in a high-ceilinged reception room, with the double doors firmly closed behind us.
Malfaire glanced around at the furnishings. ‘How odd,’ he said. ‘Usually vampires have more of a sense of style.’ He turned to face me. ‘That’s all they are, of course, a triumph of style over substance. You seemed surprised that I could so easily subdue both your pet and the old one, but, as you will find out, vampires are pathetic creatures, really.’ He removed his jacket and hung it carefully over the back of a Louis XIV chair, stroking the folds so that it wouldn’t crease. ‘Yes,’ he went on. ‘With vampires it’s all blood and thrills, which is not a basis for a system of government. This world will be so much better when demons run it properly.’ He gave me a long-lashed look. ‘And by demons, of course, I mean you and me.’
This was good. This was the bad guy wanting to talk. And the longer he talked, the more chance there was of Liam being able to do what I’d asked. If I could keep him talking a while longer …
‘So.’ I perched on the edge of a ridiculously over-gilded chair. There seemed to be a lot of gilt around this house. I wondered if Zan was being metaphorical through the medium of furniture. ‘Where do we go from here?’
Malfaire leaned against the wall and stared down his nose at me. ‘You are very like your mother, Jessica,’ he said suddenly. ‘In appearance, I mean. She was an easily broken thing, ultimately, and I do hope that you have not inherited that tendency.’
I held my breath. Tried to keep my expression neutral. ‘I see.’
The demon fussed with the creases in his trousers, lining them perfectly down the front. ‘You should never have been born, of course,’ he continued. ‘Ghyst do not willingly breed unless threatened with extinction; we are not prone to giving birth to our own downfall. Although that now seems to have been little more than unsubstantiated rumour.’
