“Okay,” I began. “Assuming I’m not hallucinating or haven’t gone insane, you’re . . .” I barked out a crazy laugh. “No, sorry, I can’t even say it. Not yet.” How could I not?
“Vampires,” Michael finished for me.
“Right. So . . .” I had so many questions—How were you made? How old are you? Are you going to kill me?—so it was hard to choose only a couple. I decided on, “What I don’t understand is what you needmefor. You said your clients need companions—ordecoys, though I’m still not clear what that means. Why would any vampire want to hang out with a human, if not to eat them?”
“That’s a valid question,” Marlena said smoothly. “As you can imagine, vampires wish to remain a secret. However, with the advent of social media and intrusive technology, it’s increasingly difficult for us to stay hidden.”
“Wait, how many of you are there?”
“In the world?” Marlena shrugged. “I honestly don’t know, exactly. Tens of thousands, perhaps.”
“Probably more like hundreds of thousands.” With a chuckle, Michael added, “We don’t have a Census Bureau.”
“I don’t believe it,” I blurted.
Michael smiled. “We’re everywhere, but a lot of humans never come across vamps on account of us only coming out after sunset. Most nights, I don’t even get up until after midnight.”
My mouth fell open. “That whole thing about you guys going up in flames in sunlight is true?”
“Afraid so,” they answered.
“There are other decoy services like Dignitary operating throughout the world,” Marlena said, keeping us on topic. “But we’re the only one located in San Francisco. As far aswhywe want you to work for us, it’s simple; we need humans to help us blend in with mainstream society. Younger humans—twenty-somethings like you—are more inclined to keep an open mind, we’ve found. Plus, you’re willing to take more risks and have flexible schedules because you’ve got less tying you down: husbands, wives, children, long-term careers, etcetera.”
“So, the job has risks?” If Marlena thought I was going to miss that detail because of how briefly she’d touched on it, she was wrong.
Michael and Marlena exchanged a look. “Well, it might have been risky for you to enter the home of two strangers at night, but you came anyway, no?” she said rhetorically.
Hey, I brought pepper spray,I wanted to say. Though a lot of good it would have done me against vampires. I noticed that she hadn’t really answered my question.
Swiftly moving on, Michael said, “We also want our decoys to be more than a pretty face. They must be smart, too, and personable. When we’d started chatting at the bar last night, and then you told me you’d gone to Dewhurst, I suspected you might fit the bill. After meeting with you again, I can see I was right.”
I blushed, muttering an awkward thanks.
Marlena continued, “As we touched on previously, our clients are mostly billionaires. Honestly, Olivia, you’d be amazed by how many wholesome household brands are owned by vampire CEOs. Naturally, wealth comes with obligations. Dignitary clients have functions like benefit dinners, galas, and so on that they must attend. Humans are involved in a lot of these events, as it’s virtually impossible for a vampire to run a business these days without involving at least a few.”
“So, having a decoy at their side helps allows them to blend in better. Most vampires can easily pass for humans, but there are also some who . . . well, not so much.” Michael chuckled. “Whatever the case, when we have a living, breathing mortal at our side, we stand out less.”
“This is where the decoy part comes in,” Marlena said.
I mulled it over. “I guess that makes sense. Do other humans—ones not employed by agencies like Dignitary—know of your existence?”
“A few do, yes,” she answered. “But it’s at a vampire’s discretion. This is another reason why we have a need for decoys. Some mortals who know about us feel uncomfortable when they’re alone with a vampire, particularly when business matters are being discussed. Decoys act as buffers, alleviating the stress of vampire-human proceedings like contract signings.”
“Basically, humans who do business with vampires feel more relaxed when there’s another human in the room,” I simplified.
Marlena nodded. “Exactly.”
Michael interjected, “We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention that decoys don’t only go to places where other humans are present. If you work for us, they’ll be times when you’ll go to vampire-only venues where you’re the only living, breathing person in the room. As strange as it sounds, having a mortal on your arm is a status symbol in the vampire world.”
“Really? Why is that?”
“To vampires, it’s humans who are exotic,” he said. “We encounter them every night, of course, but do we get to interact with them socially? Not really. We were once mortal ourselves, which I’m sure you know—there are some things movies get right—but there are those who were turned so long ago that they’ve forgotten what mortality is like. Vampires want to live vicariously through humans, absorb their modern customs. We envy your kind in so many ways—how you can eat food and drink wine, feel the sun on your skin. I can be lonely and monotonous, only associating with other vampires.”
Everything made sense when explained that way. Vampires sounded like such a sad species. I felt a pang of pity for immortals—Michael, at least. Marlena seemed as if she’d be fine on her own for the rest of eternity. I wished I hadn’t freaked out about Stephano the way I had.
Marlena added, “Our clients can be themselves around decoys, who know exactly what they are. You have no idea how exhausting it is for us to constantly invent excuses about why we aren’t eating, why we’re so pale, why we can only have meetings at night. Humans can be so nosey—no offense. With a decoy around, we have a scapegoat. We can attribute our inability to meet earlier than sundown onyourwork schedule, justify our lack of appetite by claiming that we have already dined withyou. And you, of course, will be right at the vampire’s side to corroborate.”
“A decoy in the most literal sense.”
