So, here we start. Co-Author/ beta reader is lastminutegenius. Thanks to her.
"Oh, Artie, you must be kidding me!" Myka Bering groaned as she stretched herself in the armchair and looked at her boss with dying remnants of hope.
"A vampire? In our team? You know what that means?" she asked and mentally began to formulate arguments to talk Artie out of this idea. She didn't want to make it seem like she had any personal vendetta with the vampires, though this was definitely the case. Everybody, even those brain-dead teenagers who fed on poor literature, knew of the cardinal rule that you did not invite a vampire and werewolf to the same party!
Vampires. Myka shuddered. Those perfect creatures with their effortless elegance and razor-sharp intelligence, seductive beauty and not to forget that perfectly textured hair! Myka unconsciously patted down her unruly curls. Something about a vampire's presence itself made Myka feel insecure. And then to top it all off, there was their unbearable smell… Myka scrunched her nose, as she thought about it.
But no, this wasn't simply about her. This was about the team! Not only was the situation bad enough that there would be a vampire in the team, but Artie had already hinted that this particular vampire would also be joining them on the field. This is what had Myka worried the most…she would have to work with that smell trailing her around, and always be in the presence of some earth-shattering beauty…no, there was absolutely no way Myka could concentrate on her work like that.
"A Nightwalker in the investigation team Artie, that means, on the field with us" Myka, in all her lazy glory, leaned forward to swipe her coffee mug off the table. "No way Artie! It makes no sense at all" she gulped down the rest of the liquid in the mug in one large gulp.
Artie rubbed the bridge of his nose and explained as patiently as possible "Okay Myka, enough. You maybe, just need to calm down and back off a little." Then he looked at her and narrowed his eyes "Cause I'm not entertaining any discussions that are racist!" Myka pouted, but before she could defend herself she was interrupted.
"Yeah Myka, not cool. I thought you were fine with people like me on the team. I didn't know you had such concerns" Claudia Donovan looked righteously indignant as she sat down across from her teammate.
"Aargh, I was only being practical" Myka growled. Why didn't they understand her concerns? Nightwalkers were demons that could only move in the shadows, they couldn't tolerate sunlight. Vampires and Mares were the best examples of Nightwalkers who could move so fast that to an untrained eye it seemed like they were flying, but come daytime and they couldn't even step out or the sun would burn their skin. Myka appreciated their beauty and skill, but according to her, it also meant that they were of no use to them on the field during daytime and this was a serious concern. Just as serious as the fact that she held a general grudge against vampires. You don't ask why. It just was.
Myka was a demon who worked in a special government unit that apprehended other demons that committed crimes. And by "committed crimes" she meant those that acted against the laws of their secret society and not human laws. If the human laws prohibited it to kill humans, demon laws were a bit more complex- "Of course you have to kill humans if it is necessary to feed on them, but please do it without them recognising us and appease traditions and uphold the tentative peace." Demons that did not obey these rules were hunted down by Artie and his team of demons. Myka was a werewolf while her partner Pete Lattimer was a strong, broad-shouldered Nephilim. Claudia Donovan was an actual mare, a nightwalker, but she worked on the technical investigation part of the cases for the team, that meant: indoors and on a computer, so she rarely had to step out. Her best friend Steve Jinks was a shy incubus. No one on the team could imagine how that worked, but they also weren't interested in what Steve did with his male victims at home. The last one in the team was Leena, a landwaettir and a daywalker, demons that actually hated the darkness. Some daywalkers were unable to move without sunlight. Some just didn't like the shadows. Leena was a nature demon that needed sun light to grow. Daywalkers worked and hunted their prey at day, and slept at night,exact opposites to nightwalkers who slept at day and hunted at night. Except for Claudia Donovan that is. Everyone wondered when she slept, they knew she fed on human's dreams in the night, but she also worked both day and night, because they could always call her during their investigations.
Myka, Pete and Steve were midwalkers. They didn't care about the light and the shadows. As people, who could go outside whenever they wanted, they were, Myka rightly believes, qualified for real investigation work outdoors. And here was Artie, a beelzebub, a slight demon with a treasure trove of knowledge, that fed on human fear; calling them for a meeting and announcing his decision to bring in a vampire, a nightwalker, who could be as good as them on the field. Myka scoffed internally at the idea. No she wasn't being racist, she simply hated them and she had practical evidence to support her claim that they would be no good on the field.
"Practical?" Leena asked. "You just discriminated against a person based on their ability to work in light or in shadow. That's not nice!"
"Yeah, Mykes. You've never said something like this before." Pete said, in between stuffing his mouth with frosted donuts. Myka knew exactly where the Nephilim got their broad body structure from.
"Come on!" The werewolf finally broke in "You all know that I'm not a racist. I just wanted to remind you that we're only midwalkers out there in the field and that nightwalkers and daywalkers- of course are as good at midwalkers" she tried to smile and appease Claudia here, "but that it's really impractical. Claudia couldn't possibly interview witnesses at day, and you Leena," she looked over at the woman with a soft smile "couldn't possibly examine a crime scene at night. This is why Claudia helps our investigations over the computer, while Leena uses her psychoanalytic skills to interrogate our suspects. Inside! I love you both but you have to admit that your trait of being subordinate to light and shadow somehow handicaps you a little bit." She had an almost genuinely rueful look on her face. And I hate vampires. She added to herself.
"She might have a point." Steve suddenly said, no one had heard him join them.
"Jinks? Are you alright?" Claudia asked almost spitting out her coffee and destroying her keyboard. "Since when did you join the RMAADAW?"
"The what?" Pete asked with a facial expression that mirrored Myka's confusion.
"The Racist Midwalker Alliance Against Daywalkers And Nightwalkers." The mare explained seriously.
"I did never join such a thing." Steve held up his hands. "I just thought that… maybe it's not a very profitable idea to have a vampire on the field team. Because how useful is a creature on duty that has to be invited inside other people's apartments?"
"That's exactly what I was talking about!" The werewolf pointed her finger at him, excited at having finally found an ally. "And they have no reflection! And the garlic! How useful is a garlic allergy on duty?"
"Myka." Artie said, his voice strict. "You didn't just seriously try to argue the qualification of a demon working on our team by mentioning their little weaknesses like being allergic to garlic or having no mirror reflection? You, my child, are off duty three nights a month because you transform into a big aggressive creature that can't investigate at all but rampages its environment."
Myka swallowed. She knew she was being petty when she had mentioned that, but she hadn't really expected him to mention her insecurities.
"He's right, Mykes. And you shed." Pete added with a serious nod as he trashed another donut into his open, waiting mouth. "And by 'shed' I don't just mean you losing your wolf hair everywhere but your," He looked at her head. "Human hair. I can live with this, but if you want to start a discussion about garlic allergies, I could probably drop that information somewhere."
Myka was now seeing red. "Well, you eat enough to feed a whole family of elepha-" She started growling but was interrupted by Artie.
"There shall be no more discussion. Ms Wells is already on a Red-Eye flight from London and she will be joining our team. And she will do her job well."
"Why does she come from London?" Claudia asked, her staccato typing beating rhythm in the background.
"Well, she lives there." Artie answered.
"She's a Brit?" Pete asked, amused, his donut-held-hand hovering mid-air.
"Yes. Is that a problem now?" Artie was getting tired of all these discussions, which according to him, should not have arisen at all.
The group shared looks and everybody pressed their lips together to stifle their laughter.
"Did I miss a really good joke?" Artie was on the verge of losing his cool.
"She is a British vampire?" Myka asked again, amusement evident in her voice.
"Yes. She is a British vampire. Born in England in 1866, lives in London, moved to America. What the hell is so funny?" The beelzebub yelled.
"Do you think she uses the term 'bloody' for cursing?" Claudia started laughing.
"Did you just say 'what the hell', Artie?" Pete giggled like a little girl.
Artie shook his head as Leena too joined in the group laughter. "People! Some of you are several hundred years old and you still laugh at demon jokes?" Artie was just a little more than appalled.