Free Vampire State of Mind by Jane Lovering

me.’
    â€˜I came to get your RSVP for the Run tomorrow night. The organisers need exact numbers, you see, and they were slightly concerned that after all your excitement yesterday, you might not want to attend.’ Malfaire removed his glasses, and marmalade-coloured eyes met mine. ‘Are you still planning to attend, Jessica?’ Although his words were business-like, he was scanning me up and down in a way that made me feel slightly uncomfortable; a tinge of magic ran along with his gaze and tickled my skin like a snake’s tongue.
    â€˜I’m not sure.’ I took my mug from Liam and tried to conceal the ‘a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle’ logo by cupping it in my hands. ‘Last night I …’
    â€˜I read the papers. Quite a triumph, by all accounts.’ There was a note of amusement in his voice again.
    â€˜Yeah. But Jessie is still a bit shaken.’ Liam wasn’t looking at Malfaire, he was watching me with concerned eyes. ‘There was a bit of a misunderstanding with a couple of Enforcement officers too, and we still haven’t got to the bottom of that. So maybe mixing with Otherworlders isn’t such a great idea right now.’
    He was completely ignored. ‘It is something of a triumph to be invited. Certainly for a human. In fact, I cannot recall
any
human being requested to attend the Dead Run. A great coup for your department, in fact.’ Hot damn. He certainly knew the buttons to press. York Council would be absolutely wetting its collective padded underwear at the prospect of scoring one over all the other districts that had hosted the Run to date. There would be so much triumphant crowing that the Town Hall would sound like a free-range chicken farm at dawn. ‘And I can promise there won’t be a single hell-hound.’
    I pretended to think, propping my chin in my hands and wrinkling my nose, whilst in reality giving our guest a once-over. He should have been good looking. Heart-shaped face, small mouth, just enough stubble and dark-blond floppy hair randomly scattered with lighter streaks, like he’d been on a surfing holiday. There was just this … oddness that stopped me from puddling at his feet, this slight sense of wrongness …
What the hell was he? Vampire, demon, or a lucky human?
His eyes gave nothing away, neither human nor Other, and trying to scan him was like running my mind over sheets of glass.
    If I went to the Dead Run, at least I’d have a chance to find out. ‘I suppose, if it’s safe …’ Plus, think of the kudos. We might even get a rise … hell, we might even start getting paid at post-decimal rates.
    Liam groaned. ‘Jessie, are you sure?’
    But Malfaire cut his words off again. ‘You will enjoy it. A spectacle, I think they say, something worth seeing. And the Run is being done a little differently this year, had you heard?’ Malfaire carried on conversationally, ignoring Liam’s narked expression. ‘In a simulcrum of the City of York. I think they felt it might add a little more drama to the proceedings.’ He sighed. ‘It’s all about “visual experience” these days, not a pure exhibition any more.’
    I almost asked if there would be an attendance fee; after all, I still needed to replace those sandals, and I was already on first-name terms with the girls in the shop where I bought my tights, but when he cocked his head inquisitively towards me, I realised I was supposed to come up with something slightly more intelligent.
    â€˜I … err … I don’t really know very much about it.’
    â€˜No? And yet you knew how to bind a hell-hound?’ His lips twitched when I shrugged. ‘But I suppose you would.’
    â€˜This is the first time the Run’s been held on our patch,’ Liam chipped in. ‘And, from what I gather, no-one else gets told much. The organisers are