I tried to gather my wits. I don’t have any shirts, I only wear t-shirts.

The words were out before I managed to think twice about them. I groaned inwardly. That was it? Really? The wittiest reply I could come up was that I didn’t having fucking buttons? I tried to dissemble further. This is a completely inappropriate conversation, my Lord.

I’ve told you not to call me that. But I tell you what, act as if I really am your Lord and do what I say. Go back home so I can make sure that you are properly protected.

Oh, sneaky. Well, it wasn’t going to work even if all my thoughts and emotions were all in a sudden muddle. I drew myself up and slammed my hand against a nearby lamppost, gaining a shocked look from a nervous passerby. I have told you, I don’t need your protection.

I heard him sigh in my head. You have got a posse of vampires after your blood, Mack. You need to put your ego aside and stop acting like a suicidal maniac.

I gave up. It’s not a posse, Corrigan, it’s just one, okay? One fucking vampire.

You let one vampire get the better of you? His Voice dripped with disbelief.

The shame. Let’s just say that I wasn’t feeling very well, alright? And he won’t be a problem any more.

Is he dead?

Not exactly.

He roared in my head, a sudden psychotic shifter turnabout. Then for fuck’s sake stop thinking that you’re invincible.

I winced at the explosion. I don’t think that. He really is not going to bother me again.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned round. Human Aubrey was standing there with a weak grin on his face. Bloody hell. I have to go now, Corrigan.

Mackenzie…

You should get someone to check out the exterior of the keep. If I can climb down the outside, someone else can sure as hell climb up. It’s a weak point in your defences.

He snarled in my head. You fucking climbed down the keep? From the fifteenth floor?

Bye Corrigan. I broke off the connection then fixed my attention on Aubrey.

“What do you want?”

“I don’t have anywhere else to go,” he whined.

“And that’s my problem how?” I twisted away from him and walked down the steps to the train station.

He trotted beside me. “Please. Let me come with you. I won’t be any bother. But I can’t stay in London in case the others find out that I’m not a vampire anymore.” He clutched at my arm. “They’ll rip me apart and feast on my innards if they find out I’m suddenly a human. And I mean that literally. I know what I said before about humans was stupid. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Maybe you can teach me how to be a better person. Now that I’m human I need someone’s help. I don’t know how to act or what to do. I might do something stupid and someone innocent will end up getting hurt.” There was a puppy dog note of hope in his voice. What a crock of shit.

“God, you’re pathetic,” I muttered.

“So can I come?”

“Of course, “ I said sarcastically, “stay by my side and never leave it again. I’m not sure I could cope with the desperate knowledge that you are suffering.”

I wrenched my arm away and began to walk the last few steps to the station. He ran after me. Ignoring the few people around me, I took a swing at him, connecting with the side of his head. He fell down, grabbing my ankle as he landed heavily onto the pavement.

“Let go,” I hissed in anger.

His hand released me. I half-turned to leave him behind and he got up onto his knees and clasped his hands together.

“No,” he bawled loudly, “you have to let me come with you.” He started crying again.

I felt eyes on me from across the street and glanced over to see a uniformed policeman watching us closely. Great. He probably thought I was abusing the idiot. The last thing I needed right now would be for him to get involved.

I turned my head to Aubrey and gave him my death stare. “It’s a free country - do whatever you want. Just don’t get in my fucking way.”

A tiny smile crept across his face. “Really? I can’t believe it. You’re amazing, just amazing.” He leaned forward, still on his knees and hugged my legs.

I bent down. “Get the fuck up. Stop crying. If you’re going to come then you need to stop drawing attention to yourself.”

“Yes, yes,” he nodded vigorously. “Whatever you say. Are we catching a train? Can we stop at the kiosk first? I need to get some aspirin, I really am in a lot of pain here.”

“Don’t push your luck.”

“Okay, okay.” He nodded again as I rolled my eyes. I was definitely going to regret this.

I completely ignored Aubrey, going so far as to buy myself just one return ticket to Shrewsbury when we arrived at the main terminal at Piccadilly, and leaving him to sort one out for himself on his own. I’d spent so much time dealing first with getting out of the keep, then with Aubrey and Corrigan, that there was only one more train left to catch that day if I wanted to get there before the next morning. Even that still meant having to change at Birmingham. There was barely enough time to grab my change from the ticket machine and run to the platform before the train pulled away. Somehow or other though, Aubrey managed to keep up because when I sank down into the seat on the half empty carriage, he was still right beside me. I wasn’t completely sure why I was bothering to let him continue to hang around, but at least he gave me something else to mull over other than Corrigan’s very disturbing words. I decided firmly that I had too much to do to spend time thinking about what he’d said. That’s why it was so annoying that it kept popping back into my head. Especially with the images along to match.

Eventually, I couldn’t stand the clamour of my own thoughts any longer and I glanced over at the ex-vampire. He was staring down at his fingernails in fascination. Weirdo.

“Do you have a phone?”

“Huh?” he looked up stupidly, still half lost in reverie.

“I said, do you have a phone?”

He looked momentarily taken aback, and then bobbed his head and dug into his coat pocket, handing over a sleek black mobile.

“Thanks,” I muttered, and began to jab at the keys. “Aubrey, you do realise that you have fourteen missed calls?”

He grunted. “It’s the others. I was supposed to be at a meeting this morning to see what we could do to further undermine the Ministry.”

I looked up and stared at him. “You do know that I’m friends with the mages, right?”

He grunted again and went back to examining his fingernails. “They used to be blood red.”

I was confused. “The mages?”

“My nails. Not surface blood red, but the shade of deep arterial gorgeousness.” There was a wistful edge to his voice that made my stomach turn.

Disgusted, I turned back to the phone and punched in Alex’s number. We’d been in touch off and on since the terrible events at the academy back in February, but our chats had retained an awkward quality to them. Nonetheless, I felt that he owed me and could help with my Balud situation. Unsurprisingly, his ringtone was the Beach Boys, although he picked before they were barely into the chorus.

“Hey,” he answered lazily. “I don’t know who you are, dude. How’d you get this number?”

“It’s me, Alex, I’m using someone else’s phone.”

“Mack Attack! How’s it hanging?”

“Given that my anatomy doesn’t work that way, I guess not great. Are you free to talk right now?”

“Sure, yeah. What’s the problem?” The muffled background noise faded as he clearly moved away to somewhere more private.

“I need you to do me a favour. It’s nothing dangerous,” I said, hastily, before he could begin his usual feeble protestations, “I just need you to keep an eye out on a shop for me.”

I filled him in on the info that Balud had provided about his competitor.

“Sheesh, dude. I dunno. What if the Batibat thing sees me?”

“Then act like you’re nervous about going into her shop and buying something. All you need to do is to keep track of who goes in and out of the shop so I can work out who is really behind the whole operation. It’ll be boring, but not hard, or dangerous.”

“So that you can pay him for the weapons that you’ve already managed to lose?”

“I’ve only lost one. I know perfectly well where the other one is.”

“And how is Lord Shifty keeping these days?”

I squirmed and prevaricated. “He’s fine. Can you do it, Alex?”

“’Course, Mack Attack. Shall I call you on this number?”

“Nah, that might not work. The phone’s owner may not be with me for long.” Aubrey shot me a baleful look as I said that. I scowled at him, and stood up, squeezing past his knees to get away from him and move into the next carriage. “Listen, Alex, there’s something else too. Apparently the vamps were meeting this morning to see what they could do to weaken the mages. I don’t know what they were planning or why, although I can try to find out. I thought maybe you should know though. So you can tell the Arch-Mage.”

“Yeah, except he’s kind of been ignoring me lately. I don’t think he’s happy about the way things turned out, you know, before. I did hear that you were attacked by a group of vampires though. Is that what this is about?”

“Uh, not really. Do you think you can get in touch with him anyway?”

“I’ll try. It’s not much to go on though.”

“I know. I will see what else I can wheedle out.”

“Are you okay? I didn’t ask before because I figured that you’re the Mack Attack, you know, that you’re good no matter what a bunch of bloodsuckers do to you. But you’re not under any compulsion or anything now are you?”

“That stuff doesn’t work on me.”

His answering question was filled with doubt. “So how did you let the vampires beat you then? Why didn’t you just shift?”