Title: So Darkness I Became
Author: phoenix-cry / applesandcherries
Rating: M
Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me.
Summary: Myka is keeping a secret. Vampire!AU
A/N: I noticed that many people wanted to read more Bering and Wells vampire fic, so I decided to give it a shot. I hope it doesn't disappoint too much. :) A big thanks to starserendipity for her beta-work on this!
And in the dark,
I can hear your heartbeat, I try to find the sound,
But then it stopped,
And I was in the darkness,
So darkness I became
- Florence and the Machine
Chapter 1
"Myka!" Pete hissed, as he watched his partner's curly head vanish into the wall of darkness in front of him. He winced, as the sound of his own voice seemed much too loud in the darkness, despite his attempt to be as quiet as possible. "Myka, I swear, if you don't come back here right now, I'll hide every pack of twizzlers in the house! Or I'll just eat them myself."
Silence greeted him, and Pete scuffed his feet against the dirty concrete floor, debating whether to go after his partner or get backup. Steve and Claudia should still be outside the abandoned warehouse, if they did as they were told, for once.
A noise jolted him out of his thoughts, just as he had made the decision to creep into the darkness after his partner. His stomach lurched, and goosebumps broke out on his arms and down his back, the feeling making him swallow hard. He could feel eyes watching him, the gaze so intense and so chilly, as if he had been standing in front of an open freezer. He suppressed the shiver that wanted to work its way down his body.
Bracing the arm holding the tesla with his other hand, Pete carefully adjusted his stance and tensed himself for whatever it was that was lurking in the shadows. He prayed to whomever might be listening that Myka had not crossed paths with whatever it was, yet.
"Pete!"
The agent in question had to try very hard not to squeak in an unmanly fashion – he would never hear the end of it from Myka – when his partner seemed to materialize out of the darkness directly in front of him, after what seemed like ages, frowning at the tesla which was now aimed at her face. Pete blanched at the glare she sent him and hastily lowered his gun.
"Mykes! Don't do that!" he complained.
"Do what?"
"That! Vanishing into thin air and then proceeding to scare the crap out of me!"
"I didn't vanish!" she argued, quite loudly, which made him wince. "I was barely ten feet from you."
"Well, I couldn't see you. In case you hadn't noticed, it's pitch-black back there! And you didn't answer." He knew he sounded like a petulant child that had lost sight of his mother in a supermarket for five seconds, but he didn't care.
Myka apparently thought the same, if the look on her face was any indication. Shaking her head, she let out a long-suffering sigh. "How old are you, anyways?"
"Hey!"
Pete continued to pout, as they made their way back outside, which was not helping his case any, he knew.
"Did you find something, then?" he asked at long last and received a shake of the head.
"Nothing related to what we were looking for. Doesn't look like the artifact has been here at all."
All of a sudden, the warning bells in the pit of his stomach were sounding again full force. He staggered slightly, getting a concerned glance from Myka. He forestalled any questions, when he just waved his hand vaguely in her direction. "Tripped over my own feet. You know how I get, when I haven't had any cookies in more than a couple of hours," he joked and hurried on, back out into the fading sunlight, back towards Claudia and Jinks, back towards the safety of the car.
The bad feeling still lingered, no matter how much distance he put between himself and that warehouse.
Myka, meanwhile, fell back slightly, needing the time to compose herself before joining the company of the others. She knew that Pete had felt a third presence, and he was not the only one, although he most likely did not know yet what to make of it. She had felt it the moment she had stepped into the abandoned building; felt the chill settle over her body like a cool and welcome breeze on a hot summer's day. The agent had to restrain herself not to hurry in the direction she knew the presence to be hiding at, but to follow protocol instead, making sure the room was clear.
She had welcomed the easy way they had fallen back into their bantering when it was quite clear how agitated Pete had become in her short absence. It saved her the trouble of having to come up with an elaborate lie.
Myka hated having to deceive her partner. It was true, she had not lied to him – there really was nothing relevant to their current artifact chase hiding back there in the shadows.
What she didn't tell him, however, was that she knew exactly what had been hiding in the shadows.
Stuffing her hands into her jacket pocket, she let the fingers of her right hand curl around the small piece of paper resting there. Her thumb traced the words she knew to be written down on it, in elaborate, flowing script, her skin warming the paper.
It crinkled slightly at her touch.
She smiled.
Myka Bering definitely wasn't ready to share her secret just yet.
Once they got back to the hotel they'd been staying at for the last two nights for this particular mission, and after a too long car ride back to the B&B, (during which she tried very hard to ignore Pete's semi-constant glances in her direction), Myka gladly retired to her room. She thought it save to leave it to the rest of the team to update Artie, the longing for some quiet time to herself overriding her sense of duty for once. Kicking off her boots and throwing her leather jacket over the back of the room's solitary chair, she collapsed onto the bed with a sigh.
Moving her hand absentmindedly, she registered the presence of the piece of paper, which she seemingly had been holding onto all this time. Closing her eyes tiredly, she moved her hand to rest over her heart, the steady beat soothing her slightly frazzled nerves – she wasn't ready to admit to any other unconscious message her mind was trying to send her through the gesture yet – and tried to sort events of the recon in her head.
As soon as she had stepped deeper into the cover of darkness, she felt a cool hand cover her mouth and a second hand creeping along her stomach to wrap around her waist. Then she was pulled backwards, backwards, back until her eyes couldn't make out anything but blackness, and her body felt nothing but the steel covered in softness at her back, and the cool breath of the presence behind her gently flitting across the side of her neck. Then the hand over her mouth moved to trail a ghost of a touch over her cheek and down the other side of her neck, until it tangled with the other hand now resting comfortably on her stomach, essentially enveloping her in a hug.
"Hello, Helena," Myka breathed, her voice nothing more than a barely-there disturbance of the air around them. She knew she was heard, no matter how quietly she spoke.
"Hello, my darling," the cultured, accented lilt, the smoky quality to it, sent goosebumps down Myka's back, just as it always did, especially if she hadn't heard that voice in a while, and her brain was starved for the stimulation. She felt the arms around her loosening their hold, allowing her to turn around in the embrace. Despite the darkness, Myka was able to make out Helena's pale face without trouble. Feasting her eyes at the sight in front of her, the curly haired woman studied the vision in front of her. Locking her eyes with those black ones that had ensnared her in their depth from the moment she had first caught a glimpse of them almost three months ago, she searched for the red glimmer that seemed to be a constant presence, and which had always fascinated her so. Helena's eyebrow quirked slightly, and a smirk tugged at the corners of her sensual lips. Then, her eyes flicked down to Myka's own mouth and there it was, the spark that seemed to light every fiber in her pupils on fire. Myka gasped softly, never not astounded by the display.
"You know, I am not sure if you are looking forward to seeing
me, or just my eyes, dear." Helena drawled, the teasing note in her voice involuntarily putting a smile onto Myka's lips.
"Can't it be both?" she whispered, "Because I certainly can't do this with your eyes."
Closing the small gap between them, Myka pressed her mouth to the other woman's, the contrast between her own warm lips and Helena's perpetually cool ones eliciting a gasp from her. She hoped she would never get used to that first exhilarating contact between them. And then she just stopped thinking, instead enjoying the way Helena's lips nipped at her bottom lip, and the way her tongue lazily swiped over it afterward, before delving deeply into Myka's welcoming mouth. The other woman eagerly reciprocated, tangling her tongue with Helena's in a sensual dance that left her breathless. Her hands found their way into dark, long, and silky hair, relishing the way the strands glided through her fingers. Eventually, the need for air became too much to ignore and Myka reluctantly broke away from their kiss, trying to catch her breath. Helena, of course, had no such troubles, but calmly waited for the agent to regain her composure, and took the opportunity to brush a few curls of hair out of her face. Myka smiled at the gentle gesture, a soft tingling in her stomach letting her know how much she appreciated it. And the woman standing before her.
Suddenly, Helena's eyes swiveled to her right, her brow furrowing slightly. "I believe it is time for you to go, darling. Your obnoxious partner is about to have a heart attack."
Myka sighed. "He's not so bad, really. You just need to get to know him, before you start to like him."
"If you say so, dear." Helena said and then pulled out a small piece of paper from her expensive looking trench coat. "This will make it easier for you to reach me." She then proceeded to press another soft kiss against Myka's lips, before gently pushing her back in the direction of her partner.
Before Myka could protest, or say goodbye, she had already vanished back into the darkness.
Emerging back out of her thoughts, Myka softly trailed her fingers over her mouth, the sensation of Helena's lips caressing her own nothing more but the ghost of a memory, yet still enough to send a blush to her cheeks.
She hadn't asked how Helena had known where to find her; she had given up that venture long ago. She just knew that the other woman had the uncanny ability to show up where Myka was, sometimes just to lend her silent support with her mere presence, sometimes even stepping into the line of fire. Myka remembered those two occasions where Helena had arrived in just the nick of time to prevent her from getting hurt, possibly even killed.
With a soft chuckle, she then remembered the first time they had met.
Myka and Pete had been on another artifact hunt, in Boston, where a football had been causing trouble. After a successful snag, bag and tag, Pete had decided to spend his night off watching a game live, with tickets she didn't want to know how he had gotten his hands onto, claiming it was the perfect way to end this particular mission. Myka had just rolled her eyes and shooed him out the door, looking forward to spend the night curled up in bed, with a good book instead. Deciding that she needed a pack of twizzlers to make the evening even more perfect, Myka grabbed some money, and her gun and headed out the door to a twenty-four hour store around the corner of the hotel. She quickly made her purchase, already looking forward to taking her first bite, and left the story with a cheery good bye for the clerk.
Halfway back to the hotel, she paused when she heard a noise in the alley to her right. Her hand instinctively going to her hip to grip her gun, she inched forward. "Hello?" she called, hoping for a reply, but knowing she wouldn't get one. The only response was the drip of water onto the damp ground. Despite the absence of a response, Myka could feel eyes watching her every move. Drawing her gun, she carefully made her way into the alley. She could feel her breath coming in quick puffs, and her heart beating in an accelerated tempo in her chest. After about five steps, she suddenly came face to face with a woman, who had seemingly materialized out of thin air. Myka barely suppressed the urge to jump in shock.
"Now, now. There is really no need for this. I have no intention of hurting you." Raising her eyebrow in a move that should not be as graceful as it was, she waited for the agent to lower her gun. When Myka didn't move, she stepped closer and arched her eyebrow a bit further still. "Really, darling, I would appreciate it very much if you could take that gun out of my face now."
Myka, pulled out of her trance by the soft command, blinked and did as she was told, for some reason not being able to resist the accented voice and the mysterious eyes (was there really red in there?).
Swallowing hard, she finally seemed to find her voice again. "I'm sorry. I just heard a noise and came to investigate. I didn't mean to be rude."
"It's quite alright. No harm done. I must say, it is, however, quite brave of you to dare enter a dark alleyway in the middle of the night in order to investigate a noise. Most women would not dare do so, not even with the aid of a firearm."
"Well, that's kinda my job. And you don't seem to be uncomfortable at all, lurking in said alleyways."
The woman's lilting laugh did things to Myka's insides which she couldn't explain. Or did not want to explain.
The mysterious woman chuckled, and Myka wanted to pout at how attractive that sound was, coming from her throat. "That's quite a bit different, darling. I don't believe there is anything I have to be scared of, here in the dark."
Myka swallowed. "And why's that?"
Her mouth curled into a sly smile. "Now, what secret would it be, if I would just tell you?" Her eyes took in the agent's face (there was definitely red in those eyes somewhere, Myka thought), before traveling over the rest of her body. Usually, Myka would have taken offense in being so openly and thoroughly checked out, but for some reason, the woman's gaze lit a pleasant tingling in her limbs instead. "You will have to work a little bit harder for that, dear."
Myka gulped and the sly smile on her opposite's face deepened. "Why don't you tell me your name? I think that would be a good start, don't you?"
Before she knew it, Myka nodded and blurted out her name.
"Well, Myka Bering. It is a pleasure to meet you." She reached out to shake Myka's hand, and as soon as their skin touched, Myka knew she was lost.
"You may call me Helena."
She also knew she didn't want to be found.
Helena had later teased her that apparently, they had been destined to meet at gunpoint, to which Myka had just rolled her eyes and proceeded to shut her up by slanting her mouth over the other woman's smiling lips. She then had pushed her back onto the soft mattress – another city, another hotel, but right now, Myka wasn't complaining – and there had been no more talking for a long good while.
Of course, it was difficult to keep their relationship a secret, especially with Pete always accompanying her on missions, but so far, they had managed. It wasn't that Myka was afraid he would find out that she was seeing another woman. It was more a matter of what that woman actually was. Myka doubted Pete would understand.
Deciding to make use of her alone time, she carefully unfolded the scrap of paper still clutched in her hand and rolled over to grab her cell phone off the nightstand. Punching in the number, she hit send and then pressed the phone to her ear. She smiled at the 'Until next time, darling' Helena had added beneath the phone number, while she waited for the line to be picked up.
She didn't have to wait long. After the second ring, the Brit's voice floated down the line.
"Hello, there, Myka. What a pleasant surprise to hear from you."
"I know, it's weird, isn't it? You see, I found this mysterious number in my coat pocket and thought I should investigate who that could belong too. Imagine my surprise, hearing your voice just now!"
"Yes, the universe doth seem to work in mysterious ways."
"Sure does. In this case, I'm pretty happy about it, though."
There was a sensual hum at the other end of the line, and Myka took that as agreement.
They were silent for a moment; just enjoying knowing the other was there, before Helena broke the comfortable silence.
"So tell me, darling, what exactly is it that you are looking for in Fredericksburg, Virginia, of all places?"
"One of the bandages used by Clara Barton and Walt Whitman during the Battle of Fredericksburg makes you think you are able to heal anything, any sickness and plight, after you've touched it. So far, three people almost died in accidents because their rescuers didn't think it necessary to call an ambulance and took it upon themselves to help."
"Sounds like you have been keeping busy then. Any good leads?"
"Not yet. It looked like the whammied, or one of the whammied, we're still not sure how many afflicted there are exactly, had made their way towards that old warehouse you found me in today, but obviously, that lead was a bust," she explained, and then added before her brain could catch up with her mouth, "Well, not exactly, since I got to see you."
The laugh her statement drew from Helena was worth the burn in her cheeks.
"I am certainly glad I could distract you from the disappointment of a failed hunt, then."
"You'd know about that better than I. The hunting part, I mean."
"I would very much hope so." Her voice had dropped a little, adding a husky note to it that sent a thrill down Myka's spine.
She pushed a wayward curl back behind her ear and scrambled for a suitable reply. Before she could come up with one, however, there was a knock on the door, soon followed by Pete's voice.
"Yo, Mykes, you still up?"
"Yes, just a minute, Pete!" she called back, grumbling inwardly at his timing.
"It seems your attention is wanted elsewhere." Helena's voice sounded, before Myka could explain the interruption. Of course her ears would have picked up everything, Myka thought.
"Yes, sorry about that. I had hoped it would take them a bit longer to come find me."
"Don't apologize, darling. I enjoy every conversation with you, no matter how long."
"Me, too. Good night, Helena."
"Good night, darling."
The line went dead before Myka had to bring herself to press the end button. Sighing, she rolled off the bed and then hid the number under her pillow hurriedly.
Then she went to see what it was that could not have waited for a few more minutes.
She had barley opened the door, before Pete, Claudia and Steve marched into her room, carrying popcorn, ice cream and sodas.
"What took you so long?" Pete complained as he dumped his load onto the bed.
Myka ignored his question and asked one of her own instead. "What is all of this supposed to be?"
"Movie night!" Claudia squealed, in a tone that suggested what a dumb question that was.
"We'll order a movie, eat junk food and enjoy good company. A reward for a job well done!"
"Pete, we don't even have a clue who we are looking for, so we are so far from done, we can't even begin to guess where the finish line is!"
"Shh, don't ruin my story with your logic!"
Myka just rolled her eyes and flung her hands into the air. It seemed that her quiet evening had already ended.
Pete surreptitiously tried to keep an eye on Myka throughout the evening, looking for clues that could help him figure out this niggling feeling he had been getting for the past couple of months. Something was going on with her, but he couldn't for the life of him tell what it was. He had shared his suspicions with Claudia and subsequently with Jinks and they had agreed to help him solve this mystery. Now they were all hauled up in Myka's hotel room, watching a silly movie and trying not to tip her off that anything was going on.
He watched as Myka got up to use the bathroom and sighed in relief as the door closed behind her. Man, trying to keep anything from Myka was exhausting, he thought.
Trying to get more comfortable where he was resting with his back against the headboard, he frowned when he head a soft crinkling sound. Wriggling his butt again, he heard it again and went digging for whatever it was that was hiding under the pillow.
It didn't take him long to locate it. Unfolding the small paper scrap, his frown deepened when he read the short note.
It seemed he had just found a puzzle piece for their mystery.
Quickly grabbing Claudia's phone off the nightstand beside him, he snapped a picture of the note and then stuffed it back under the pillow where he had found it.
He would ask Claudia later to figure out where that phone number lead to.
Then he continued watching the movie as if nothing had happened, all the while trying to make sense of what he had found.
That handwriting was definitely female; elegant, high-class. He could have sworn it had been written with one of those really expensive and fancy fountain pens. It almost felt as if it was a message from a past century, and Pete nearly laughed at his own silliness.
Of course they didn't have cell phones a hundred years ago.
The next day, at exactly 5:56 pm, Helena snapped out of her meditative state as her phone started to ring. Moving through her darkened apartment with a jaguar-like grace, she picked the small device off the table and answered with a smile.
"I must admit, I hadn't expected you to call again so soon. Did you miss me already?" she teased, in that tone of voice she knew Myka liked.
Silence greeted her and her smile quickly evaporated. "Myka? Darling, are you alright?"
Someone was definitely at the other end of the line. She could hear them breathing. Concentrating, she could also tell that is was not Myka. Her breathing pattern was different from this one. Helena's whole body tensed, readying for an attack, even if there was no physical form for her to fight.
"Listen very carefully," she growled into the receiver. "You better hope for your own sake that you have not hurt the owner of that phone you are holding, or I will hunt you down and I will find you, and I promise you, you will not like what I will do to you."
She heard a gulp and then the line went dead.
Freezing where she stood, Helena did not move a muscle while she waited for the sun to sink behind the horizon. When the last of the sun's rays vanished, the vampire started moving, quickly and efficiently.
It was time to go on the hunt.
~tbc
Thanks for reading! More to come soon. Don't forget to tell me what you thought of this, before you leave ;)