Epilogue

The day after her potentially prophetic dream, Myka helped Tracy with the dishes after dinner while Helena and Pete played with David in the living room. After they'd finished with the dishes, Myka went to take out the trash, and she felt, rather than heard, something stirring in the bushes at the edge of the garden.

"You might as well come out," she said, in a normal tone of voice. Anything whose thoughts she couldn't hear would certainly be able to hear her from a long way away. She took a deep breath as a tall, thin man who appeared to be in his sixties stepped out of the brush. He was wearing white from head to toe, his hair glistening bright white, almost blinding in the dark of the garden. The man from her dream. Instead of being worried or intimidated, Myka felt soothed by his presence.

"Myka Bering," he said, by way of greeting, inclining his head gently. She nodded.

"And you are?" she asked, softly. This man didn't give her any sense that he was dangerous. Only that he was someone to be almost revered.

"My name is Niall. I am your great-grandfather," he said, and Myka gasped, a little hiccupping sort of noise that she didn't think she'd ever made before.

"My great-grandfather? How is that even…" she trailed off, almost laughing at herself as she realised that she'd almost just said the word 'possible' in relation to her own crazy life. Niall smiled.

"My son had a dalliance with a lady some years ago, and that lady was your grandmother. She didn't remember, afterwards. We can do that; confuse humans. A little like vampires and their glamour," he said, stepping forward gingerly. Myka noticed then that he was leaning heavily on a cane.

"My mom's mother?" she asked. She couldn't picture her father's mother sleeping with anyone. It was a miracle that her father had been born at all, in her opinion.

"Yes," the old man said, nodding. "My son, Fintan, seduced her. He believed himself in love. It was not the only time he did so," he said, with a sigh, and Myka deduced that this was a conversation the man had had more than once. "In any case, your mother was the result of their coupling. All issue from your mother's line have the potential to be more than human."

"Okay," Myka said, slowly. "So why are you here now, sir? Given that I found out a long while ago that I had fairy blood; to what do I owe the honour of this visit?"

He regarded her silently for a moment.

"Your nephew is tremendously powerful, and I have heard rumblings that the King of Mississippi might be interested in him. Not only that, but I believe he is interested in you, the half-fairy who is now become half-vampire. I am here to offer you my assistance, and to leave my daughter with you. She will be a guardian of a sort, for you and for David," he said, as if the matter was decided. Myka frowned.

"Why would you think that we need your help, sir?" she began, but he cut her off, holding up one hand.

"Please, my dear. Call me Niall. And this is Giselle, one of my daughters. She will be your guardian; yours and your nephew's, that is," Niall said, indicating a tall, willowy young woman with dark hair and eyes and pointed ears. Myka stared a little at that. Niall's might very well be pointed too, but they were hidden underneath his white hair.

"Myka, darling, are you all right?" came a voice from behind them. Giselle visibly tensed and Niall sighed.

"My dear, your vampire paramour must stay away from Giselle. Giselle's scent will be irresistible to her. It is not her fault, but if they are left alone I doubt your vampire will be able to resist killing her. Do you understand?" Niall asked, suddenly standing right in front of Myka, his eyes boring into hers. She nodded, shaken, and he looked at her for a moment longer before turning.

"Giselle, go," he said, and the fairy disappeared, between heartbeats. Myka stared again, but she was wondering when, exactly, she was going to realise that nothing was too outlandish to be real, even fairies with ears like a Vulcan who could disapparate.

"What about you?" she asked, looking at Niall in concern.

"I can mask my essence. My children don't have that ability, or at least not yet," he said.

"Okay," she said, nodding as if she understood. At that moment, Helena blurred across the back yard and stood in front of Myka, teeth bared.

"Who are you?" she growled at Niall, and Myka touched her arm gently.

"It's okay, honey. I think. This is my great-grandfather, apparently," Myka said, still trying to absorb the information herself. Helena turned to look at her, stepping back a little.

"You are a fairy?" she asked, looking at him curiously.

"I am," he said proudly, and she sniffed, following her nose to the spot where Giselle had stood moments earlier. Helena's eyes were huge and her expression dreamy.

"Why can I not detect your scent?" she asked, and Niall smiled.

"I am old, vampire, and can mask my essence. What you can sense is my daughter. She is here to watch over my great-granddaughter and her nephew. She will avoid you, for obvious reasons," he said, and Helena nodded. Her eyes were returning to normal, and her expression was a little wary.

"Why do you come now, rather than before? You could have assisted with catching my daughter," Helena demanded.

"There is war in my lands. Giselle is all I can spare, and in the circumstances, she would have served only to make matters worse with two vampires on the rampage," he said levelly, his eyes unwavering on Helena's. She nodded eventually.

"I must go now, but if you need her, Giselle will be here, Myka Bering," Niall said, and he bowed before disappearing. Myka took a deep breath.

"I don't know why I'm even surprised by anything anymore," she muttered, under her breath, and Helena smiled at her.

"If we can't be surprised, what joy is there in life?" she asked, lightly, and the smile on her face lifted Myka's mood.

"I love you, vampire," Myka said, fondly. Helena kissed her gently.

"I know."

After that infuriating answer, she blurred back into the house, leaving Myka with her hands full of garbage and a mind filled with questions.

The End