Vampire State of Mind by Jane Lovering

can’t stop it, the Committee won’t allow it, but you can’t run.’
    I could feel his grasp as though he held more than my arm. I’m immune to the whole vamp glamour thing, although I’ve seen it at work on several people and can testify to its efficiency – they’d burble around the streets like people who’d gone shopping and forgotten what they came out for, bearing at least one double-pinprick and a look of blissed-out stupidity. But here something else seemed to be at work. Something harder, something deeper. ‘Sil?’
    â€˜What?’ He pushed his hair away again as though it irritated him.
    â€˜I’m not that pathetic, you know. I’ve got a bit of a game plan. All right, I know I’m never going to win but I can at least keep my end up; not disgrace my entire species.’
    â€˜Like that time you ran the London Marathon?’
    â€˜Er, yeah, I suppose. Only with less breaks for cappuccinos and Kit Kats.’
    Sil gave me a look. His eyes were flipping between two colours, the metallic grey and a softer, bluer shade. Apart from that he looked almost human. ‘Well. If you’re sure.’
    â€˜I’m sure. Besides,’ I lowered my voice so that the general hubbub around us covered my words, ‘if something is going on, the best way to find out what it is, is to go along with it. Don’t you think?’
    â€˜Jessie …’ But he didn’t follow this up with anything, just shrugged.
    â€˜Zan, will you take Rachel home, please?’ I turned to the tall, skinny vampire. ‘There’s a lot of things here for the Run and I’m not sure I trust Enforcement at the moment.’
    Zan hesitated, then looked to Sil. ‘Hey, go ahead,’ Sil said. ‘I only run the city. Jessica is clearly pulling rank on me tonight.’
    I glared at him, but he turned away.
    â€˜Miss Marwood?’ Zan held out his arm, still hesitantly. I half-expected him to request a HazMat suit. ‘I shall escort you to your door.’
    â€˜Oh!’ Rach looked at him and at the proffered arm. ‘Gosh. I mean … so polite!’
    â€˜Yes, well we don’t all behave like something out of an Anne Rice novel,’ Zan said, dryly.
    I stood, buffeted by the crowd for a moment. Zan and Rachel left, joining the humans outside in the street, enjoying their evening, wandering around between the pubs and clubs of central York. Sil smiled at me and there was a complicity in it that left my heart thumping uncomfortably. Being so close to him again was raising ghosts I thought I’d laid a long time ago.
    â€˜Ah, there you are.’ The crowd seemed to part, everyone else fell into black-and-white as Malfaire moved smoothly across the floor towards me.
    â€˜Oh, there’s … have you met Sil, Malfaire?’ To annoy the vampire I leaned a little closer in to Malfaire until our hips jostled, and the grey eyes went nearly black.
    â€˜We were introduced,’ Malfaire said shortly.
    â€˜Yeah.’ Sil was nearly as dismissive. ‘You’re about to go through, Jessie.’ To my shock, he came over and put his arms around me. ‘Good luck,’ he said, over the top of my head as he forced Malfaire to either step away or risk being involved in a group hug situation.
    â€˜What are you doing?’ God he smelled fabulous, and even the touch of his hair as it brushed my cheek made me shake. Too close, he was too close … but,
damn
, it felt good …
    â€˜Checking that you are armed.’ Sil lowered his head to speak directly into my ear. As he did so, his hands ran along the sides of my body with a familiarity that I’d only ever before encountered in dreams. ‘Ah, I see you are still breaking the rules.’ His voice was even lower now as his hands brushed the giveaway hardness of the tranq tubes in my pocket. ‘Good.’ Then, with a grin, ‘Are you enjoying