surprised me. They were driving me mad and I just needed a friend. Any other night, I would have called and asked you to come out with us.”
Will relaxed slightly.
“ So you and the leech?”
“ Nope, never.”
“ So can I ask what the draw is? Why do you spend time with something that can kill you?”
“ First of all, anyone could potentially kill me, even you. Second, I have an agreement with the vampires and Dante is my contact to them, so I have to see him. Third, they don't leave psychic impressions like humans do, so I can touch them without being bombarded by all their memories.”
“ But he's dead!”
“ Actually that's a common misconception. Vampires aren't dead. They're cooler than normal, their heartbeat is very slow and they heal super fast, but they're not dead. As long as they get blood, their bodies function much like ours; their hair and finger nails still grow and while they are a lot faster than us, even they get tired if they run far enough and fast enough.”
“ Are they allergic to crosses and garlic?”
“ No.” Frankie considered telling him that silver burned them, but vampires hated their weaknesses being known. On the other hand it might make Will feel happier. “Sunlight and silver,” she said quickly, not giving herself time to consider the ramifications. “They are their only two weaknesses. That's why I called Dante earlier, because of the silver in the rain we were seeding.”
“ That's good to know.”
Frankie shrugged. The information wasn't really useful, since vampires were more than fast enough to disarm a human before they could pose any threat, silver weapons or not.
“ Maybe you could speak to Dante,” Frankie suggested. “I know he's a vampire now but he was human once. Discovering vampires must have come as a shock to him too.”
“ I am not going to sit down and have tea with Dracula.” Will looked incredulous.
“ Okay, it was just a suggestion,” she backed down.
“ Did he do that to your neck?” Will asked.
“ The bruising? No, that was a poltergeist.” She pulled the neck of her shirt down. “His bite is long gone, see?”
Will looked at the area but didn't look happy.
“ If you're covering for him-”
“ Will, I'm not covering for anyone. A ghost really did try to strangle me.”
Will sighed and shook his head.
“ So what do I do now?” he asked.
“ I don't know; get on with life? Nothing has actually changed, Will, the world is exactly the same as it was before, you're just seeing the whole picture now.”
“ I can't even tell anyone because they'll think I'm crazy.”
“ Now that I can relate to,” Frankie said with feeling. “But at least you have me and Dante, if you want to talk.”
“ You can keep Dante, thank you.”
“ Nothing has actually changed, and supernatural incidents are extremely rare.”
“ Says the woman who took me siren-busting earlier today.”
“ Look, there are about seventeen thousand police officers in Scotland, Will, but there are exactly two MI5 P.a.S.T. agents. I know it feels like a big deal but it isn't. The only reason the supernatural is still secret is because it isn't common. In a city of half a million people, we estimate there are less than a hundred witches. And I'd say there were less than 25 supernatural creatures.”
“ You estimate?”
“ Yeah. MI5 doesn't exactly know about vampires.”
“ Why not?”
“ The same reason that you're unable to tell anyone. There are a few older references to them, but if an agent has encountered vampires in the last 40 years, that memory was erased. That option is still open to you, by the way. You can forget that all this ever happened.”
“ No. No, I want to remember.” He sighed. “I don't suppose you've got one of those cigarettes I'm always telling you to quit?”
Frankie smiled and rummaged in her bag. She found the packet and offered him one, before taking another for herself. She lit his then her own, and looked in her
Will relaxed slightly.
“ So you and the leech?”
“ Nope, never.”
“ So can I ask what the draw is? Why do you spend time with something that can kill you?”
“ First of all, anyone could potentially kill me, even you. Second, I have an agreement with the vampires and Dante is my contact to them, so I have to see him. Third, they don't leave psychic impressions like humans do, so I can touch them without being bombarded by all their memories.”
“ But he's dead!”
“ Actually that's a common misconception. Vampires aren't dead. They're cooler than normal, their heartbeat is very slow and they heal super fast, but they're not dead. As long as they get blood, their bodies function much like ours; their hair and finger nails still grow and while they are a lot faster than us, even they get tired if they run far enough and fast enough.”
“ Are they allergic to crosses and garlic?”
“ No.” Frankie considered telling him that silver burned them, but vampires hated their weaknesses being known. On the other hand it might make Will feel happier. “Sunlight and silver,” she said quickly, not giving herself time to consider the ramifications. “They are their only two weaknesses. That's why I called Dante earlier, because of the silver in the rain we were seeding.”
“ That's good to know.”
Frankie shrugged. The information wasn't really useful, since vampires were more than fast enough to disarm a human before they could pose any threat, silver weapons or not.
“ Maybe you could speak to Dante,” Frankie suggested. “I know he's a vampire now but he was human once. Discovering vampires must have come as a shock to him too.”
“ I am not going to sit down and have tea with Dracula.” Will looked incredulous.
“ Okay, it was just a suggestion,” she backed down.
“ Did he do that to your neck?” Will asked.
“ The bruising? No, that was a poltergeist.” She pulled the neck of her shirt down. “His bite is long gone, see?”
Will looked at the area but didn't look happy.
“ If you're covering for him-”
“ Will, I'm not covering for anyone. A ghost really did try to strangle me.”
Will sighed and shook his head.
“ So what do I do now?” he asked.
“ I don't know; get on with life? Nothing has actually changed, Will, the world is exactly the same as it was before, you're just seeing the whole picture now.”
“ I can't even tell anyone because they'll think I'm crazy.”
“ Now that I can relate to,” Frankie said with feeling. “But at least you have me and Dante, if you want to talk.”
“ You can keep Dante, thank you.”
“ Nothing has actually changed, and supernatural incidents are extremely rare.”
“ Says the woman who took me siren-busting earlier today.”
“ Look, there are about seventeen thousand police officers in Scotland, Will, but there are exactly two MI5 P.a.S.T. agents. I know it feels like a big deal but it isn't. The only reason the supernatural is still secret is because it isn't common. In a city of half a million people, we estimate there are less than a hundred witches. And I'd say there were less than 25 supernatural creatures.”
“ You estimate?”
“ Yeah. MI5 doesn't exactly know about vampires.”
“ Why not?”
“ The same reason that you're unable to tell anyone. There are a few older references to them, but if an agent has encountered vampires in the last 40 years, that memory was erased. That option is still open to you, by the way. You can forget that all this ever happened.”
“ No. No, I want to remember.” He sighed. “I don't suppose you've got one of those cigarettes I'm always telling you to quit?”
Frankie smiled and rummaged in her bag. She found the packet and offered him one, before taking another for herself. She lit his then her own, and looked in her
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