The man dressed in a long trench coat watched the couple kiss from a balcony opposite the one they sat on. Though bathed in the same garish club lights as the couple, he remained invisible to them, a shadow that only cast darkness. The only link that someone might have been there was the scent of old cologne, lingering in the air.

From one pocket emerged a cigarette, from another a lighter. The flame caught the tobacco with uncanny precision.

“The night found him, and he gave himself to it, freely,” he murmured into the void. “She’s feeding her master rope by the yard… and she’s found a mortal who will hang them both with it.”

He pulled smoke deep, twice more, before flicking the cigarette to the ground. The ember died beneath his heel, but he didn’t move away.

“My kind of people.” He laughed, quietly.

Eliza’s phone buzzed. She took it out of her pocket and checked the notification.

“I’m going to have to go,” she said, sadly. She made a motion to get up from her chair, but stopped, feeling a tug at her hand.

“Why don’t you ignore it, just for tonight?” AJ asked. She shook her head.

“Ain’t that easy,” she brushed her lips against his, a farewell barely more substantial than a sigh. Standing up, she extended her palm to AJ.

“Why?”

“It’s hardly a paid job I do, it’s more like… duty,” AJ stood up and grasped her hand, interlocking fingers. Hand in hand, they descended the club's inner staircase and wove through the pulsing crowd. When they reached the exit, Gio inclined his head in that same ambiguous gesture, somewhere between deference and recognition, as they passed into the night.

The damp night air assaulted his skin, seeping into his pores, leaving a slight slickness on his exposed arms and face. The River Aire slid past beneath them, while the city's reflection trembled on its surface. She turned toward him, her cool fingers finding his jaw, and drew his mouth down to hers. After a heartbeat, their lips parted.

“Don’t stay out too late!” she called cheerfully, walking away.

AJ leaned on the rail, grinning to himself.

“She kissed me,” he murmured, still half-dazed. “Vampire or not, that’s a hell of a win.” Some moments passed, before the daydream was interrupted. Something metallic clicked behind him. Not loud, more the sound of a lighter cap snapping shut.

“Careful who hears you use that word,” a voice said. Low, gravelly, touched with smoke. “They’re particular about definitions in this city.” As the figure moved closer, the scent of old cologne followed, drifting around AJ’s nose.

He turned. A man stood beneath the overhand, coat collar high, hair neatly combed. The cigarette between his fingers burned a steady orange. He looked as if he’d stepped out of a black-and-white photograph; sharp angles, no colour left.

“Christ, mate, you nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“I doubt I could manage that,” the man said, “you’ve already got new blood in your veins.”

AJ blinked. “What?”

The man tilted his head, studying him as if he were a specimen in a jar. “It hums in you. Feels different, doesn’t it? The world’s edges are a little too sharp, the colours turned up past comfortable.”

AJ’s hand went unconsciously to his neck. “Do I… know you?”

“Not yet. Most call me Mr. Grey.”

“Right. Mysterious stranger outside the club; sure, why not. Look, if you’re selling drugs or recruitment pitches, I’m good.”

Mr. Grey smiled faintly. “You’ve already been recruited. You just haven’t read the terms and conditions.”

He flicked ash into a puddle. The ember hissed.

“You were seen,” he continued. “What she gave you, that wasn’t affection. It was a link. A thread straight into places you shouldn’t want to exist. Most men would burn from the inside for less.”

AJ swallowed. “You were… watching?”

“Observation’s my trade,” Grey’s tone stayed conversational, almost kind. He exhaled smoke and studied the river as though the two men were simply passing the time. “For what it’s worth, what you did won’t kill you. Not directly anyway. What they do with their own blood is up to them.”

“Nice to know.” AJ muttered.

Grey’s eyes flicked toward the skyline, where the orange glow of the lights of Leeds blurred into low clouds. “You feel it, don’t you? The air’s too still. The lights haven’t flickered all night. Means the city’s holding its breath.”

AJ frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Patterns,” Mr. Grey said softly. “They’re repeating. Same hum, same beat. When that happens, something burns.”

“Something burns?” AJ repeated out loud.

Mr. Grey nodded toward the river. “Last time it started like this. Small anomalies. The Vesperate noticed that they might not be in charge, their web working too perfectly. Then the veil stuttered and a whole district disappeared before dawn.”

“What are you saying?” AJ asked.

“I’m saying,” Mr. Grey replied, “the cameras already blink; 3.03; when the street lights start, that’s where the trouble will be.”

AJ searched his face for a hint of irony. There was none, only a tired certainty, like a man reading from a script he’d seen too many times before. Mr. Grey dropped his cigarette into the river. It hissed once, then disappeared downstream.

“Tell your friend to keep her head down, I doubt her elders are going to reward her in the same way you did, for giving blood,” he chuckled to himself, a low raspy sound. “And if you start hearing a hum, pray it isn’t coming from under your feet.”

Before AJ could reply, Grey stepped backward, his body melting into a fog, leaving only the ripple of his last words carried over the water.

I should ask Eliza… he retrieved his phone from the folds of his chinos and started typing.

“Do you know a ‘man’ called Mr. Grey?” he typed. The three dots took a moment to appear, but to AJ’s relief they did.

“Not personally. I know of him. Why?”

“He just approached me. Told me some shit.”

“Fuck.” The one word reply from Eliza sent ice through AJ's veins.

“He’s a good omen then.”

“It depends. I’ve heard my boss talk about him. Don’t repeat his words on here, best done in person.”

“Agreed. When?” AJ responded. Her next message took a little longer to come about.

“Are you working tomorrow?”

“Nope, it's Saturday.”

“OK. Sun sets tomorrow at 5.34pm so it’ll have to be then.” Eliza typed.

“Cool. Your place or mine?”

“Mine. I’ll send you the pin tomorrow. I gotta run xx.”

“Catch ya then xx”

He turned his phone screen off and put it away. His fingers brushed the UV flare that Sofia had given him. He held it in his pocket for a moment.

Good to know I have some security. He started walking towards his flat. The lack of sleep over the past few nights was catching up with him, as he stifled a yawn. Flicking his watch to a more comfortable position, he checked the time.

1.54 in the morning. I doubt I’ll be able to stay up until 3.03 at this rate. It’s probably a better move to sleep…

He made it back to his flat with little issue, climbing up the stairs and through the door. He peeled off his clothes down to his boxers, then fell onto the mattress. Consciousness fled before his head even settled into the pillow.

Dreams pulled him under like the River Aire's current, dark and insistent, but this one didn't start with terror. No crumbling faces or skeletal grins. Instead, warmth bloomed in his chest, spreading slow and heavy through his limbs, making his skin tingle as if he'd stepped into a too-hot shower.

Eliza appeared before him, not in the club's chaotic glow, but in a dimly lit room that felt like his flat yet wasn't; walls hazy, bed sheets rumpled and inviting. She stood at the foot of the bed, her auburn hair loose and wild, catching some unseen light that made it shimmer like polished copper. Her green eyes locked onto his, pulling him in like gravity he couldn't fight. God, those eyes; luminous, almost glowing in the low light, making his pulse kick up a notch just from looking at her.

She didn't say anything, just smiled that knowing smile, the one that always seemed to hide secrets. Her lips parted slightly, and he caught the faint metallic tang in the air, like the blood she'd shared earlier, but sweeter now, mixed with something floral from her skin. He wanted to taste it again, to close the distance and press his mouth to hers, feel that cool rush against his warmth.

Eliza stepped closer, her fingers trailing lightly over his chest, right over where his heart hammered like it wanted to break free. Her touch was cool, like she'd just stepped out of the fridge, but it sent heat racing through him anyway, pooling low in his gut. He sucked in a breath, the air thick with her perfume clinging to her skin, mixed with something sharper, metallic, that made his mouth water. God, she smelled incredible, like secrets and midnight walks by the river.

He reached for her, his hands finding her waist, fingers digging into the soft fabric of whatever she was wearing; some slinky thing that slid under his palms like silk. She leaned in, her breath ghosting over his ear, cool and minty from whatever she'd been drinking, sending a shiver straight down his spine that made his toes curl against the sheets. He pulled her closer, his hands sliding up her back, feeling the smooth curve of her spine through the thin fabric, every inch of her pressing against him like she was made to fit there. Her hair brushed his cheek, soft waves tickling his skin, carrying that same floral scent mixed with something deeper, almost earthy, that made his head spin.

She shifted, straddling his lap, her weight settling over him in a way that had his breath catching, heat building low in his belly like a slow-burning fire he couldn't ignore. He groaned softly, his hands sliding up her thighs, feeling the smooth skin there, cool under his palms, like she'd been walking in the night air too long. The sequins of her outfit scratched lightly against his fingers as he gripped her hips, pulling her down harder against him, that heat in his belly flaring brighter, making his pulse thunder in his ears, drowning out everything else.

I thought she was wearing silk, where did the sequins come from…

An abrupt vibration and shrill klaxon jolted him awake, the air still thick with dreams. It took him a moment to realise where he was, and that morning had arrived without warning.

Fuck I left my alarm on. Day ruined…

He sat up and reached for his phone. Turning the alarm off he swiped away other notifications. One, however, caught his eye.