Myka spent a quiet Sunday on her own, reading and tending to the small garden at the back of the house. She made a call to the station to check in with Steve, who confirmed that all was well but that Marcus hadn't turned up for his shift. She grumbled at that, doing her best to sound annoyed but unconcerned, and told him to try to find out where the man was, knowing perfectly well that this was the beginning of the process that would lead to her filling in a missing persons report that she knew to be false. By sunset she was dressed in grey pants and a blue shirt, hoping that it would be an appropriate outfit for whatever destination Helena had planned – if Helena turned up at all.

At sunset she felt that odd tension again as she waited. She would know soon enough whether the vampire was coming back or not. But it was pulling at her insides, the thought that she might not come, might not want to be here as much as Myka wanted her to be here. Needed her, really. It was unusual for Myka to admit, even to herself, that she needed someone. She felt oddly vulnerable, and wrapped her arms around herself as she waited.

It wasn't a long wait. The vampire, oddly, knocked at the front door. The soothing sense of her presence washed over Myka as soon as she opened the door. Helena was in a long brown trench coat over knee-high boots, dark pants and a blue shirt. Myka breathed a silent sigh of relief that she had chosen the correct outfit for the occasion.

"Good evening, Myka," Helena said, sweeping herself forward in an elaborate bow and making Myka smile broadly.

"Good evening, Helena."

Myka locked her front door and followed Helena to a small sports car. Myka didn't know much about cars, but it looked sleek and expensive. It was a gunmetal grey colour and was low to the ground. Helena opened the door for her with a wry smile, and Myka settled herself in the thankfully roomy interior. It was all leather, naturally. It also had air conditioning, for which Myka was grateful. Leather interiors did not mix well with the oppressive heat of a Mississippi summer.

"So, where are we going?" Myka asked.

"I thought I would take you out to dinner at a place I know, and there is something – a place that I wanted to show you. If that's all right. The drive will take a while, however."

"That's okay," Myka said. She was just pleased to be in Helena's company, and Helena clearly knew that. She smiled at Myka happily and the sight of her happiness was devastatingly beautiful. Something in Myka's chest turned liquid and golden at the sight.

The drive was long, and Myka nodded off more than once. Helena didn't speak much except to remark on the places they were passing. When Myka fell asleep for the last time, she woke to find Helena's hand resting on her leg, near her knee. It was cool and pleasant and as she looked up, Helena smiled softly. They arrived eventually at what looked like an old manor house. It was clearly an antebellum home for a family of means, and it had valet parking and a vampire maître d' who was actually French. He clearly knew Helena, bowing respectfully to her as they entered the building.

The restaurant was set up to cater to both human and vampire guests. There were separate menus, and Myka was intrigued by Helena's selection. Her first course was a small concoction of synthetic blood and vodka and something else that Helena said she couldn't quite place. Vampires weren't really able to ingest solid food, but mixing food flavours with blood was becoming a popular practice among the vampire community. There were several vampire chefs who were now well-known for their creations. The human food in the restaurant was wonderful; some of the best Myka had ever tasted. She dreaded to think how much it cost, but Helena seemed unconcerned, consuming her main course, which was some sort of soup creation similar to a lobster bisque, with relish. She grinned at Myka often, her fangs exposed because of the presence of blood in her food. For some reason, the sight was incredibly sexy. They barely spoke during dinner, but it was a comfortable silence.

Helena declined dessert, but Myka had a craving for sugar so she ordered a chocolate torte with cream. She was eating it unselfconsciously, trying not to moan at the taste, when she looked up to find Helena watching her avidly with a dangerous look in her eye.

"Everything okay there?" Myka asked mischievously, smiling.

Helena growled a little in response, and the sound made Myka's hair stand on end. She shivered and smiled, closing her eyes for a moment. She didn't quite understand how Helena could have such an effect on her without even touching her.

"Shall we depart, darling? We still have a way to go," Helena said, bringing her out of her reverie.

"Sure," Myka said, smiling.

They drove on to Helena's mysterious destination, and Helena once again put her hand gently on Myka's leg as she drove, sometimes stroking a little. Myka slept again for a while as they drove. It was after midnight, and she was generally an early riser.

They arrived at a nondescript area of woodland in an anonymous town in the middle of nowhere. Myka looked at Helena for clarification.

"This…this is Wells, Mississippi. This is where my daughter was born. This is where I died."

Myka stared at her for a long moment.

"Come," Helena said, moving in a blur to open Myka's car door. She offered her hand to Myka and led her through a dark wooded area to the bank of a river.

"This is Black Creek. I used to walk here every day with my daughter, accompanied by William or by Charles, my brother. Christina loved it here. She used to splash around just there," she pointed to a shallow area of the creek, "and she would catch tadpoles and have water fights with the local children and she could swim like a fish, the little blighter."

She paused, not out of a need to breathe, but just to gather her thoughts, it appeared. She walked along, taking Myka's hand in hers almost absently as she did so.

She pointed at a nearby building, a small, simple wooden house.

"That was my parent's home. They built it themselves. They moved in later life, I believe, to somewhere grander. But whenever I think of home, I think of here."

Myka walked alongside the vampire in silence, wondering why they were here. Helena's skin glowed slightly in the darkness of the woods. She had asked Pete in the diner the previous day whether he could see the glow; apparently he could not. It must be something to do with her own gift, she thought. And she wondered when she had begun thinking of it as a gift, rather than a shameful secret. Something to discuss with Dr Cho tomorrow, perhaps.

"You wanted to know about me, about what makes vampires different. You are not frightened of me, and you will not take my warnings to heart. I want you to understand, to truly understand the difference between humans and vampires."

Myka met her eyes, nodding slightly. She would listen. But she knew what she wanted.

Helena stopped under a large tree with wide, spreading branches. An oak, Myka thought.

"This is where I died. James MacPherson met me on the path here, and smiled and chatted to me, and when I turned to return to my home, he struck. He drained my blood, and at the last moment, before my death, he gave me some of his. I last felt my heart beat here, underneath the limbs of this tree."

Helena sat down under the oak, inviting Myka to join her. Myka did so awkwardly, not having the vampire's night vision or grace in the darkness of these woods.

"I died here, and I woke here. James buried my body where we sit. Two nights later, I awoke. I remembered my human life, but as if it was someone else's story, someone else's memory. All I could think of was the gnawing hunger that was pulling at me. He at least had the decency to release me from my grave, so that I didn't have to dig myself out. I imagine that I would have been even more feral, had he left me to fend for myself. As it was, I killed two humans that night. One old man, who James had brought here for me, and a young man who was walking home from his sweetheart's house."

Myka winced slightly. Helena gave her a sidelong look before continuing.

"James took me to his den before the sun rose, which was an underground cave nearby. I discovered then that I had another appetite that was almost as voracious as the hunger for blood. Not only is our sexual appetite intense, but there is something of a compulsion to be close to one's Maker, at least for the first few decades." She paused for a moment to allow Myka to take in the implications of that statement.

"I spent much of the next twenty years or so in this area. James and I were lucky in that the Civil War began the year after he made me a vampire. Prey, as you can imagine, was plentiful."

Myka shuddered at that. The thought of the Civil War was disturbing enough, but to know that Helena was there, had preyed on the soldiers? It was an uncomfortable feeling. Helena raised an eyebrow, as if to say "I told you so," but she continued with her tale.

"A few years after I was changed, I went to check on my daughter, something I did often. For some reason, my love for her was the only thing that remained of the human I once was. I was nearby, unfortunately, when some starving soldiers decided to break into my former home and ransack it for food and whatever valuables they could find. William was killed, and Christina was shot in the heart. It was accidental, or so they said before I killed them. In any case, I got there just as she bled to death. My little girl was just a few months away from her 9th birthday. James, for some reason, arrived just then – perhaps sensing my distress. There is a link of a kind between a Maker and his progeny. I didn't know what to do for my daughter. I could have given her my blood to heal her, had I been early enough. But I was too late. There was only a tiny spark of life left in her. At James' urging, I brought her over. I made my daughter a vampire, to save her life."

She paused for a moment and wiped her eyes. Myka was startled to see that her tears were red.

"We cry blood. I don't know why," Helena said, shortly, noticing Myka's look.

Suddenly, the import of what Helena was saying hit Myka.

"You – your daughter – she is the killer?"

Helena nodded, without looking up, biting her bottom lip so hard that she drew blood.

"So when you said you did her a great evil, you meant by bringing her over – by making her a vampire?" Myka said, tonelessly.

"Yes."

This child – Helena's child, literally and in the vampire sense of the word – had murdered four children already that Myka knew of. She was not killing them to eat, she was killing them for fun. She was killing them to hurt her mother.

"Go on," Myka said, all emotion drained from her.

"James, for some reason, was delighted at this new addition to our little group. He has always delighted in cruelty. He could easily have taught me the skill, the control, not to kill my prey. But he enjoyed death, enjoyed the power. And so we three lived in our underground dwelling, killing and causing mayhem in the entire county. Christina – or rather, the thing that had once been Christina – was an animal, cruel, evil – out of control. James let her do what she wished. I tried to rein her in, working on my own control at the same time, trying to drink only enough to sustain my life without killing my victims."

She looked down at her hands, bright white in the darkness.

"After a time, it became too much for me. James allowed Christina to kill indiscriminately and she killed for pleasure more than for food. I could no longer tolerate it. I asked him – I begged him – to help me control her, but he laughed at me. He said that we are the master race on this planet, and that it was time the humans learned their place. I do not make any claim to love the human race, Myka. The horror I have witnessed within my own lifespan gives me no great fondness for either humans or vampires. But I could not live with the ceaseless violence. I did not glory in it as they did. I left them after spending twenty years as a pack. I learned to live on my own. I found other vampires. I have lived what feels like a hundred lifetimes since then. And I have never been able to kill her. I know that she must die. She is not my daughter. But she wears my daughter's face. I have had three opportunities to kill her, and I have been unable to do so. I only hope that this time will be different."

She paused for a long moment. Myka tried to absorb what she had said. This mayhem – it was because Helena had brought her daughter over. She had made her own daughter into a vampire – into a monster. That thought made her pause and look at the woman next to her. She didn't think of Helena as a monster. Helena's decision to bring her daughter over was to save her life, not to create a killer. That it had gone so wrong – was that really her fault?

"Did you know what would happen to her when you did it? Did you know about child vampires, about how they're always insane?"

Helena cringed.

"I had heard tales, but in that moment, Myka…all I could think of was my daughter, gone forever. Dead as if she had never been, simply because of the greed of a couple of soldiers. I was sad, in a distant sort of way, about William's death, but I was insane with grief when I realised that Christina was gone. James was the one who suggested changing her. It never occurred to me that it wouldn't be Christina that emerged from the earth 48 hours later."

She bowed her head, grief and shame written in every line of her face.

"I heard that she had left James, a couple of decades later, which is why it never occurred to me that someone would be helping her. She has been living, so far as I can determine, much as a feral animal will. I have been following her trail now for a decade. She has been killing people – children, mostly – in states all across the South. If you cross-check your law-enforcement databases, you will find reports of similar murders for many years. I tried to kill her. I tried. But I couldn't."

Myka grabbed Helena's hand tightly, squeezing it and trying to think of something – anything – to say. The pain in the woman's voice was terrible.

"I…I'm so sorry, Helena. I can't say I'm particularly happy about what you did, given that people are being murdered as a direct result. Children, in my town, are being murdered. But I also can't say that I don't understand what you did. I know you say that you're not human, that you're terrible and evil, but Helena – saving Christina was an act of compassion, of love. The consequences have been awful, but I know that's not what you intended. Would you do the same thing, now? Knowing what she is, knowing what she would become?"

Helena looked at her, bloody tears staining her skin.

"No."

The word sounded as if it was being ripped out of her, and the tears rolled down her face, rivulets of red against the stark white.

"You are not evil, Helena. You have actively tried not to kill, except where you lost control or where you were defending someone. As someone who directly benefited from that defence, I can't complain. It's time to let this go, this guilt. Help me to find her. Help me to finish this, and let your daughter rest."

Helena turned to her blindly, and Myka wrapped the vampire in her arms, heedless of the stains her tears were leaving on Myka's shirt. She held her and kissed her hair and told her she was a good person, she loved her daughter.

Sometime later, they were still under the tree, Helena in Myka's arms, when Myka became aware that she had a very human need. Helena had stopped crying, and her body was flush against Myka's, and it was hard not to think about the way the woman felt against her. But she knew that her increased heart rate and respiration was betraying her, as Helena's head lifted.

"Myka, I…if we do this now, I will hurt you. I cannot control myself, I am too emotional. Please."

Myka kissed Helena's forehead and let her go before walking away to the bank of the creek, until she got her own body under control. She still felt Helena near her, a soothing presence in her mind. Silent.

She took deep breaths and thought about how they could find Christina. There must be a way to track her. And MacPherson. She needed to be sure that all of her deputies were armed with silver bullets – or wooden bullets, perhaps? The old stories about staking vampires were apparently true. And perhaps they could use some sort of silver mesh over their bulletproof vests? She let her mind wander over the different possibilities as she gave Helena time to collect herself. After a time, she heard the vampire's footsteps.

"Are you ready, Myka? You must be tired."

Myka turned and nodded. It was, by now, almost 2 in the morning. She had to be at the station by 9, and it would take hours for them to get back to town. Helena took her hand and led her back to the road in silence. Before they got into the car, Helena spoke quietly.

"Thank you, Myka."

Myka nodded gravely before getting into the car. She was asleep before they'd travelled a mile. She didn't wake when Helena lifted her out of the car and carried her to her house. She slept through Helena taking off her shoes and putting her to bed. When she woke she had another note by her bedside.

Myka

I cannot tell you what your words tonight have meant to me. I will assist you in any way I can. I will come back tomorrow, with your permission. I hope you slept well.

Yours

Helena

Myka readied herself for work, feeling as if she was girding her loins for battle. She asked Leena to send Pete in to see her as soon as he arrived. Steve had been on duty for most of the weekend, so she let him sleep for now. Pete was the better choice anyway, since he was more aware of supernatural matters and was probably the only one of her deputies (so far as she knew, anyway) who had any chance of withstanding an attack from the child vampire.

Before Pete arrived, however, Claudia popped her head in to the office.

"You got a minute, Sheriff?"

Myka nodded.

"What is it, Claudia? Is everything okay?"

Claudia looked uncomfortable.

"Well, I was just checking you were okay. Marcus didn't show up yesterday, Steve says, and it looks like neither Walter nor Marcus has showed up today. AWOL. Marcus has never been off before, and Walter has been out sick, but he's always called, before. It just seems a little weird to me, you know, given what we were talking about on Friday."

Myka spread her hands and shrugged.

"Who knows what those two have been up to? Marcus never particularly struck me as the steady type. If it had been my choice, I would never have hired him. Or Walter. His attitude towards women stinks, never mind his arrogance. I don't know how my predecessor thought either of them were a good idea. No offence."

Claudia shrugged.

"None taken, Ma'am. Joshua was only standing in for the old Sheriff, and he took whatever he could get in terms of deputies. He's left law enforcement entirely now; says he doesn't have the stomach for it. He went back to science; got a research job in Switzerland. He seems happy. I don't think he would mind being criticised about a job he hated."

Joshua was Claudia's older brother. Myka didn't know the family history in full, but Claudia's remaining family had passed away in some sort of accident and Joshua had been left to bring up his sister. After the death of the old Sheriff, Mrs Frederic had hired Joshua to stand in until a replacement could be found.

"That's great, I'm glad he's happy. Does that mean you live on your own, Claud?" she said, with concern.

"No, actually Leena moved into Josh's room. She was looking for somewhere anyway, so it worked out pretty well."

"Great," Myka said. "If you hear anything else about Walter or Marcus, you let me know, okay? If nothing else, their going AWOL might make it easier for me to fire them. I don't like the idea of any of the ladies being left with either of them, given what Pete overheard."

"Sure thing, Sheriff," Claudia said with a mock salute. "Hey, did you do something to your hair?" When Myka shook her head, she added, "Huh – it looks lighter. Oh yeah, before I forget, I have been doing some side work in computers – you knew about that, right?"

Myka nodded.

"I am doing some serious research for a client into a James MacPherson. She said I could tell you that I was working for her. It's nothing illegal, just trawling databases looking for names and things. She says you know her - pale chick?"

Myka smiled. Trust Helena to choose Claudia Donovan to do her research for her.

"That's fine, Claudia. If you are concerned about anything you find out, or you think I should know anything, ask her to tell me. She's been pretty co-operative so far."

"Okay, boss. Thanks."

"Oh, and Claudia? Can you do some research for me? If it comes down to it, and it might, we will need to find a way to defend ourselves against vampires. Can you find out what the police forces in New Orleans use? Silver bullets, maybe, or wooden? And who supplies them? And anything they use for defence. I would like everyone to be as safe as possible."

"You really think it will come to that?" Claudia asked seriously.

Myka sighed.

"I think it's more than possible. From what that 'pale chick' says, this vampire is totally insane. If we catch it, we might end up having to kill it."

"Okay, Sheriff. I'm on it. Is there enough money in the budget for this stuff?"

Myka shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure I can make a good case for this. Considering that 4 kids have died in the last few weeks alone."

Claudia nodded, her face darkening. A lot of those kids were the younger sisters and brothers of her own peers. She grew up in the town, and after her family passed, the community had rallied round for her and Joshua. She wanted to do what she could in return, and that was the reason she'd joined the police force in the first place.

At that moment, Pete arrived, and Claudia left them to it.

"Morning, boss," he said, looking a lot more relaxed than he ever had in this office.

"Morning, Pete. You can call me Myka at work, unless we're around anyone else. If you're comfortable with that," she said.

His face broke into a huge smile. She couldn't help but smile back.

"So, what can I do for you this morning, Myka?" he asked with a smile.

"Well, I got some more information from Helena at the weekend. About this child vampire."

"Okay?"

"It's her daughter, Pete."

He whistled, his eyes wide.

"How the hell did that happen?"

Myka sighed.

"Long story short? Helena was made into a vampire against her will. She was married at the time, with a daughter. Her daughter was murdered during the Civil War, Helena got there just as she died, and her maker encouraged her to make the kid a vampire. Helena did it, not really thinking about the consequences, I don't think. She was just trying to save the kid. Helena's maker encouraged the kid to kill whoever she wanted, and Helena eventually left them because they were killing people indiscriminately."

"Shit. That's…damn. She must be going out of her mind. Trying to bring her kid back and the girl comes back cray-cray? Is she okay?"

Myka shook her head.

"No. She was really upset when she told me. I don't know how she's lived with it all these years. She tried to kill the girl a couple of times but she couldn't go through with it."

Pete winced.

"Shit. I guess it makes sense that she would be how she is."

Myka tilted her head quizzically.

"What do you mean?"

He looked at her for a moment curiously.

"You ever met any other vampires, Myka?"

"No."

"Well, they're mostly either trying to be sexy all over you so you'll give them blood, or they're ignoring you. A lot of them refer to humans as cattle. Helena – the way she is with you, anyway – she's closer to human than any other vampire I've ever met. She's cold – I mean, she could probably kill someone without thinking about it – but she's still got more human in her than most vamps."

Myka glared at him as the overtone of his next thought came through the buzzing in her head.

"You were going to say something about her having a little more human in her if I have my way, weren't you?"

He held up his hands in alarm and surrender.

"I'm really going to have to watch my thoughts around you, Myka. Sorry. It's just the way the Petester's brain works."

He gave her such a big grin that she couldn't help but smile back, shaking her head.

"Ass."

He just kept on grinning.

"Okay, so I have Claudia researching ways for us to defend ourselves if we do manage to find the kid. Bullets that will hurt vampires, and defences we might be able to use."

He nodded in agreement.

"And I think we need to find some replacements for Walter and Marcus – this is the second shift Marcus has missed, and the first of Walter's. We can't afford to be short-handed now. Do you know of anyone?"

He nodded again.

"There's a few guys who might be looking for work – from my old Marine unit. I'll make some calls."

"Okay. If I don't get a chance later, can you brief Steve? I have an appointment so I might miss him. We need to make sure everyone is aware that we're looking for a little girl now. Her name is Christina, by the way."

"Okay Mykes. Will do."

She raised an eyebrow at the nickname, but let it pass. He was annoying but in a really sweet kind of way. She smiled.

"Okay Lattimer, back to work."