Paper Children (Phoebe Harkness Book 3)

by James Fahy

  “I’m aware.”

  “I think with the Duke upping sticks and disappearing off the map, the entire vampire community was feeling a little lost and uneasy. And rumours had started spreading amongst the Helsings too. Dove’s idea to bring everyone together with the festival is inspired.”

  “Are you sure you’re not just so happy about it because it gives you a reason to come down here and officially show your support, Rapunzel?” I teased, smiling.

  Oscar grinned wickedly. “Are you kidding me? I mean, you’ve seen Dove, right? I wouldn’t mind giving that all the support it needed.”

  “Barf,” I replied, but I liked that Oscar, as silly as he was, could always manage to make me grin.

  He wiggled a shrimp-based canape at me alarmingly. “Oh come on, Pheebs. You have eyes, the guy is like something sculpted from marble and dipped in honey. And that hair? And the sparkly piercings? Line me up for a slice of that cake please.” He looked speculative. “I wonder if he’s got any other piercings anywhere?”

  “Double barf,” I sniggered. Oscar was such a Helsing, it was impossible to remain uncomfortable around him, even for me, and I’ve had a lifetimes experience of being uncomfortable around pretty much everyone. “Has there ever been a vampire, male, female, animal, vegetable or mineral that you have not instantly fallen in love with, Oscar Scott?”

  “Dove’s different,” Oscar sniffed. “He’s so calming and magnetic.”

  I considered this, peering around at the partygoers and watching the vampire serving staff glide like sparkling, sequinned ghosts through the crowd. “Well, I have to admit one thing, he’s been on my mind a lot.” Whether I wanted it or not, I added to myself. “Just can’t get the guy out of my head.”

  “Can’t get who out of your head, Doctor Harkness?” a smooth and happy voice said right behind me, making me jump. I recognised the voice. Dove himself had appeared. A silent spectre drifting elegantly by the nibbles. Oscar must have seen him coming, he was facing in that direction. I shot the billionaire brat my dirtiest look, which he returned with a happy smirk, before turning to face the vampire.

  “Speak of the devil,” I said brightly. “Hello again, Dove. Lovely party.”

  Dove was wearing white again, a loose unbuttoned shirt of some kind of ridiculously talented gauze that managed to cling and float at the same time. In the strange light of Sanctum, it almost glowed. His hair was in a loose, thick Viking braid down his back, exposing his long neck. His eyes and the twinkling inset jewel between his brows seemed to be vying to see which could sparkle most.

  He was breathtakingly beautiful, much more so that I remembered from our last meeting. It actually took me aback for a moment. Everything about him, from his ice-white skin, to his pale hair screamed at being touched with ice.

  I was immediately suspicious.

  “Cut it out,” I said. I coughed politely, clearing my throat. “At least dial it down a notch,” I added politely.

  Dove sighed, rolling his eyes a little and looking resigned, and in the course of a second or two, he stopped being irresistibly godlike and divinely beautiful, and became once more simply a very good-looking pale guy with high cheekbones. It was an odd and subtle transformation, like someone turning down a gas flame from blazing to glowing.

  “Apologies.” He bowed slightly, causing his braid to fall forward over his shoulder. “Terrible force of habit.”

  “I told you last time, you can’t roll me under your mind,” I said. “No mind-roofies, no psychic vampire glamours making yourself look irresistible, or I’m out of this party of yours, no matter how it looks to the press.”

  He actually looked a little crestfallen. “I genuinely meant no offence, Doctor,” he insisted. “Perhaps there’s just something about you that makes our kind want to look our best.”

  I felt a little awkward. I never thought I’d be in a position where I’d hurt a vampire’s feelings, but he sounded dreadfully earnest.

  “Well… you look fine without the supernatural special effects, trust me.” I actually gave him a socially-awkward little double thumbs-up, my inner Phoebe cringing at me inside my own head.

  “Damn fine,” Oscar insisted from behind me. He thrust out his hand over my shoulder. “Oscar Scott. So delighted to meet you. I’m a big admirer of your… everything.”

  Dove smiled politely and shook Oscar’s hand as I ducked out from between them. “Yes, I know who you are, Mr Scott. You’re a wonderful patron of our city and a great supporter of my kind. It’s very admirable of you to take the time to come and show support for my little venture. We appreciate your support for what we’re all trying to achieve here.”

  I saw a chance to slip away. “Maybe I should just let you two chat and-”

  “But we’ve barely had time to catch up, Doctor.” Dove’s free hand flew to my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. Damn.

  “Weren’t you only now saying you couldn’t stop thinking about me? Perhaps you’ve reconsidered my invitation to one of our after-parties?” He smiled winningly at me. “No mind-tricks, scout’s honour.”

  “After-party?” Oscar’s ears pricked up like a hopeful puppy.

  I doubted Dove had ever been in the scouts. For all his cherubic zen.

  “No, I literally mean you won’t stay out of my head,” I replied, gently and politely removing his hand from my shoulder. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

  Dove looked genuinely befuddled.

  “You and Allesandro?” I clarified, slightly bemused by his expression. “You both keep showing up, talking nonsense at me. Twice now.”

  The vampire was frowning at me, clearly clueless. I faltered a little.

  “Once in my bedroom… remember? And then at Blue Lab? Waking dreams, telepathic visions. I know full well your kind can communicate that way. Project yourselves into another’s mind. Allesandro did it a while back, appeared in front of me and saved me from a car-bomb. Don’t act innocent about it.”

  “In your bedroom?” Dove had folded his arms, looking interested.

  “Stop playing games,” I told him. “I don’t appreciate my consciousness being invaded like that and-”

  “Pheebs, have you taken Dove’s blood?” Oscar interjected. I peered at him.

  “No, of course not,” I replied, glancing at him. “Why would I? What’s that got to do with-”

  “Well, then he couldn’t dreamspeak with you,” Oscar insisted. “That’s only possible when there’s been a blood bond formed. Every Helsing knows that.”

  I’d never even heard the term dreamspeak before. I suddenly felt clueless, looking from Oscar to Dove and floundering a little.

  The vampire nodded in agreement. “It’s true my kind have many abilities, Doctor,” he explained. “We can use what you call the whisper, the act of speaking into your ear from across a room, as long as we are in the same vicinity. That’s a fairly basic trick, low level telepathy. We can roll lesser minds than our own under our own will, as you already know.” He unfolded his arms and slipped his hands into the pockets of his white trousers, which I noticed seemed to be made of some kind of bleached calfskin. God save us all from vampire fashion.

  “But to dreamspeak,” he continued. “To physically manifest in the mind of another, corporeal apparition with lucid communication?” He shook his head. “That’s no easy task. A vampire would need to have exceptional mental abilities to begin with, and even then, you would need to have tasted their blood.” He raised his eyebrows. “I take it the rumours are true then, you have drunk from Allesandro? You say he appeared before you in the past.”

  I was aware I was sticking my chin out slightly. “There were extenuating circumstances, both times,” I said. “It’s not like I just had that ole’ Mountain Dew cravin’.”

  “Twice?” Oscar butted in salaciously. I wanted to hit him with the canape tray. He was enjoying himself altogether too much for my liking.

  “My Duke is exceptional at creating extenuating circumstances,” Dove r
eplied with admiration.

  “But my point is, Doctor, there’s clearly no way I could have invaded your mind. Besides, you say you’ve had visions of both myself and the Duke?” He looked a little concerned. “Two vampires trying to dreamspeak to one human would be very confusing indeed. Like trying to tune into two radio stations at the same time. Have you ever heard two pieces of music playing at once, Doctor? It makes them both sound like so much cacophony.”

  “Well, neither of you made much sense, that’s for sure,” I muttered. This was worrying information. If this was true, was I really just hallucinating? A side effect of the Pale virus, of my own Epsilon serum? I’d never considered the fact that I might actually be losing my mind, not seriously.

  “You were both just babbling away. Nonsense about chasing things through forests, and castles and encryptions. I couldn’t make sense of it.”

  “What Dove says is true,” Oscar told me. “Two vamps at once is not a good thing.” He considered this. “Mentally at least. Vampires work on a strictly alpha-beta-gamma hierarchy. You’d only be able to get messages from the strongest vampire at all.”

  “Our powers can be weakened of course,” Dove clarified. “If we ourselves are weakened. We can become almost as helpless as humans, in the right circumstances. No offence meant.”

  “None taken,” Oscar and I replied in tandem.

  “But weakened how?” I prompted.

  “Starved,” Dove said. A little of the usual twinkle seeming to fade from his eyes. “I should know that better than anyone.”

  We both looked at him questioningly. The light and easy charm he held seemed to have faltered a moment, and he looked distant. A pale ghost in the blue light.

  He noticed our inquisitive and unbreaking stares. Oscar crunched a shrimp noisily.

  He sighed. “Long time ago,” Dove told us. “Shortly after the war, when your human world fell, and the event known as the emergence occurred. Before the Bonewalkers helped form the walled cities and some level of order and civilisation were restored.” He fidgeted with his long cuffs a little. “Let’s just say not all vampires fared well.” He grinned disarmingly, looking a little sheepish. “Even though our kind was out in the open then, back in the early days, we were not everywhere readily accepted by your kind. I was captured by a group of humans. I was weak, they took me by surprise, and soon enough they figured out how to keep me weak enough to control.”

  I’d heard of these times, when the world went feral. After the end of civilisation but before the rise of Cabal. A bleak, lawless time. Rogue bands of post-apocalyptic humans roaming the decimated country, trying to avoid the ravenous hordes of the Pale, trying to keep themselves alive. By anyone’s account, it had all gotten more than a little Mad Max out there for a while.

  “You were taken prisoner by humans?” Oscar asked.

  Dove nodded. “A pet, perhaps… more of a blood bank.” He shrugged. “They were not kind people. Hard core survivalists. End-of-the-world preppers who had finally gotten what they’d wanted all their lives, an actual apocalypse. But they were not stupid either. They learned early enough that feeding on vampire blood has great benefits to humans. Nutrition, health, vitality.” He gestured at the table before us, laden with party food. “There wasn’t a lot of food out there. People would fight to the death in the streets over a stale loaf of bread. Everyone was starving. The group who captured me? Well, I was basically their lifeline, and they made sure to keep me weak enough… drained enough… to subdue me.” He looked a little embarrassed at our appalled stares. “You wouldn’t think would you? To look at me now? That I’d lived years in a cage. Years. Starving to death but never quite dying.” He smiled a little grimly. “Funny how things turned out. My point is, a vampire kept weak can’t use their power.”

  “How did you escape them?” I asked.

  His eyes met mine. “The Duke,” he said simply, his voice full of admiration. “Allesandro found me. He was roaming the country too. He had heard of the Bonewalkers, of the new order rising out of the chaos, and the walled cities being constructed. He was seeking such a city and stumbled quite by chance one night on the farmstead where my charmless band of captors had made their fortified home. He found and freed me. Restored me back to health with his own blood. He brought me back from the brink of death. If you’ve never seen a starving vampire, let me tell you, we’re not a pretty sight.”

  “You must have wanted revenge on those assholes,” Oscar said with feeling, as appalled with the vampire’s story as I was.

  Dove smiled again, slightly bashful. He shrugged. “It was all a very long time ago. And I never got the chance, whether I wanted it or not.”

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “Because Allesandro killed them,” he replied simply. His tone was flat. His eyes never leaving mine. “He killed every single one of them that night for their crime, for what they’d done to me, to one of his kind. He was like an avenging angel. No mercy, no discussions. Those humans who feasted on me for so long learned the difference between a starved, caged vampire and a vital… and furious one.”

  My throat was a little tight. I tried not to picture Allesandro tearing through a dark farmhouse in the night, spattered with blood in the shadows, slaughtering humans in righteous fury. But the image was already in my mind. It reminded me how very little I knew of the Duke of Sanctum, really. He was far more than flirty smiles and manipulation.

  Oscar must have noticed my expression.

  “Hey, Pheebs, they were bad people, right? I mean… those were crazy times. It was the end of the world. I bet a lot more crazy shit went down.”

  I was conflicted. I knew I should be horrified on behalf of humanity at the thought of a vampire tearing apart a gang of desperate survivors trying to make it through the apocalypse, however they were doing it, but in truth, I was siding with the vampires in my mind. Allesandro had saved Dove from a terrible, cruel fate. Instead of feeling mortified, I felt horribly… proud of him. And a bit sick that I did.

  “You must hate humans,” I said to Dove. “After everything they put you through.”

  Dove actually laughed. “If I hated humans, would I be putting together this festival, Doctor?” He seemed to have regained himself, to have come back from the shadows of his memory to the present day, and the lavish party all around him, where he was the strong and healthy leader of his people. “No. The entire purpose of Fangfest is to narrow the gap between your people and mine. To show the world that we are not the monsters they think we are. Allesandro may be absent, but… I owe him so much. It’s my duty to show humans who we really are. As for those who wronged me in the past.” He shrugged. “What goes around, comes around, right?”

  “That’s very admirable of you,” I allowed. “And hey, I’m sorry for accusing you of… you know… invading my headspace.”

  “Maybe you should get a medical?” Oscar suggested. “It could just be stress, being run down, you know, making you have crazy dreams?”

  But both times I hadn’t been asleep, I thought to myself. And the last thing I needed was a medical. If Cabal found out I was carrying the Pale virus, I’d be locked away faster than you could say ‘painful medical dissection.’ The Board of Senior Directors would have me blacklisted in the blink of an eye, and I’d never see daylight again.

  “I really should go and… you know… mingle.” I made a vague hand gesture to the crowd. Some way off, I could see Cloves laughing convincingly at a joke in a group of glamorously-dressed socialites. “This is a lovely party, it really is. But I have a lot on my mind with work.” I gave Dove a meaningful look. “Seraph, the rumour your people have heard, you asked me to look into it… There’s something in it alright. I don’t know much, but I’d rather be out there chasing devils than in here drinking bolly. There are… kids involved.”

  Dove nodded in understanding.

  “Devils?” Oscar followed me as I walked off, still trying to make sense of all this.

  “Never mind, Oscar,” I t
old him. “You don’t want to get involved, trust me. Every time you get mixed up in my job it just makes trouble for both of us, remember? We have bad karma.”

  He caught me by the wrist, making me stop in my tracks.

  “But devils and kids? That’s what you just said, right?” he asked, his voice low as though sharing an illicit piece of choice gossip. “I thought that was just an urban legend going around. You know how things get superstitious over in the slums. All those little ones. So there’s something in it?”

  I frowned in puzzlement, turning to face him as he released my wrist. “What urban legend? And what do you mean ‘all those little ones? I’m talking about two kids. Portmeadow bluebloods both. It’s pretty top-secret so don’t pry, or Cloves over there will probably knock you out with a blackjack and you’ll wake up on the outside of the wall, powerful playboy or not.”

  Oscar pouted. “It’s just something I’ve heard on the grapevine, that’s all. Something about a child-stealing shadow that’s been haunting the Slade for months. Kids have been disappearing. Homeless, orphans, street-kids, you know.” He looked uncomfortable. “You know how it is over there. There are always rumours and most of them are nonsense. The government is poisoning the water, aliens are making crop circles just outside the wall. Just pish. Of course the police don’t bother with the Slade much. And it’s not like anything that happens in that part of town even reaches the actual news. It might as well be another country.”

  “Child stealing shadow?” I repeated back to him. Despite the heat of the party in this closed space, my skin had grown cold.

  Oscar shrugged it off. “I just figured it was another silly bogeyman story,” he said, offhand. “Like silver-hook Jack or the swamp monster living under Folly Bridge.”

  There were only two missing children involved in this case. Neither of them from the Slade, the large slums of New Oxford far across the river. Both were from well-heeled families. And both recently. What was Oscar talking about? Months?

  I looked him dead in the eye. “How many children?” I asked.