The next part - Myka muses on the meaning of family, and Christina's campaign of terror continues. Not long to go now, only a few chapters. Ish.
Myka walked back home, her mind turning the problem of Warren Bering's death over and over in her mind. When she got back to her house, things were relatively quiet. Pete was at the Sheriff's office, so it was just Tracy, Amanda and David. And Sameen, of course.
"Hey guys," she said, and got a few lazy waves in return.
"Walk of shame much?" Amanda said, as she walked past Myka to grab her some coffee from the kitchen. Myka couldn't help but blush. She wondered how obvious her condition was.
"So, what's it like, with a vampire?" Sameen asked a few minutes later, when Myka sat down.
"Sameen!" Myka gasped, indicating David with wide eyes.
"It's okay, Aunt Myka," David said, a long-suffering look on his face. "I have my shields up, so I'll just put my fingers in my ears."
"It's okay, David. Sameen and I can talk about it another time, when you're asleep or something. And when I'm very drunk, preferably," she muttered, under her breath. Sameen snickered, and Myka shot her a filthy look. She finished her coffee and went to call the station, to find out how Pete was faring and what was happening.
"Hey, Mykes," Pete said, when he answered. "How's that walk of shame coming along?" he asked, and she took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose between her thumb and finger.
"Hi, Pete," she said, and her tone told him to keep his observations to himself. "What's going on at the station?"
"Well, boss. It was quiet last night. It's not cleaned up totally yet. New carpets and furniture coming today, and everything should be back to normal by the night shift."
"Okay," Myka said. "I'll come in a little later, then, just to check on things. Tell Leena to call me if she needs me."
"Yes Ma'am," he said, automatically, and she sighed.
"See you later, Pete," she said, and hung up. She knew she should have headed off that 'Ma'am' business a lot earlier.
Myka had a short discussion with Tracy, and they both decided that it was a good idea to postpone David's appointment that night with Artie. Leaving the house after dark was not advisable, given Christina's actions this week. She left a message with Deb and asked Artie to get in touch when he had time to see them.
They took David to a local park and went out for ice cream, the afternoon passing quickly. Myka dropped in to the station to check on the progress of the cleanup, and found a crew in the process of changing the carpets, since the stains that she and others had worked so hard on had refused to come out.
Helena turned up at sundown, and they all spent the evening together, watching some football game that Sameen was into. Helena didn't understand the game, and neither did Myka, so Pete, Sameen and Amanda spent their time explaining the rules. Despite her excellent memory, it still made no sense to her.
Not long after Tracy went upstairs to put David to bed, Myka's cell rang. It was Deb Stanley, calling from Artie's office.
"Sheriff, Artie has been attacked," she said without preamble, and Myka gasped.
"Was it Christina?" she asked.
"I don't know, ma'am – I can tell you that whoever it was, they bit him badly. He's still alive, and Dr Calder is on her way. I've just put some pressure on the wounds – there's nothing else I can do."
Myka nodded. Deb had a good head on her shoulders.
"Why didn't she hurt you?" she asked, and Deb sighed.
"I wasn't here. I was heading home. Artie was just doing some paperwork before he closed up. I came back because I left my cell on my desk," Deb said. "Maybe I could have helped, if I was here," she said, and Myka shook her head, forgetting that Deb couldn't see her.
"All you could have done was died," Myka said, "unless you have some special power I know nothing about."
"No, ma'am," Deb said, and Myka wondered for a moment if that were really true. She hadn't detected anything different about Deb, but that didn't necessarily mean anything, especially not in this town.
"Do you want me to come over?" Myka asked. "I don't know if there's anything I can do, other than take a report. But I can come if you need me to."
"No, it's fine," Deb said. "I just thought you should know. Chances are it's the vampire kid, from what Artie has told me, and that means she was after you or your nephew. I wanted to warn you."
"Okay, Deb. Call me if there's anything I can do," Myka said, and hung up.
"What happened?" Helena asked, from behind her, and Myka turned to speak to her, seeing that everyone else was waiting to hear her news, too. She returned to the living room and sat down before passing on the news.
"Demons are very strong. He will be fine," Helena said confidently.
"I hope so," Myka said, shrugging. "But it means that Christina or MacPherson found out that we were planning to go to Artie's tonight, and that they were planning to attack us. We need to be extra vigilant," Myka said, meeting Sameen's eyes and then Pete's. They both nodded, checking their holsters reflexively. Their claws might prove to be the more successful weapons, but the firearms would do to start with. It was better to attack vampires from a distance, at least at first.
"She will take a child soon, if she can," Helena muttered, rubbing her temples. "She will be frustrated that she hasn't been able to hurt you as you've hurt her."
"I know," Myka said. "Do you have any ideas as to how we can prevent her hurting anyone else?"
"All you can do is patrol, carefully, with your were officers. They will at least have a chance against her."
"Okay. And what about you?" Myka asked, noting that Helena was putting her coat on.
"I'm going to search for her and James. If I can't find them, they might at least be deterred by my presence," Helena said.
"Okay," Myka said, leaning over slightly to kiss the vampire's pale cheek. "Be careful. Call me if you run into her, and I'll be right there."
"Likewise," Helena said, nodding.
"You guys okay to take shifts patrolling tonight?" Myka asked, and Sameen and Pete agreed.
"I'll come too," Amanda said, and Myka shook her head.
"No, Amanda. We need someone here who can defend David if Christina tries to attack the house. She might not be able to get in, but that doesn't mean she can't do anything."
Amanda nodded, and they left to patrol as planned.
Myka's words about Christina attacking the house would come back to her in the coming days, when it was too late to make any difference. Just because a vampire couldn't get in to the house didn't mean that they weren't able to hurt anyone.
Their patrolling that night was either effective or pointless – they really had no way of knowing which. Christina didn't show, nor did James. Myka made her way to Helena's house at 4 in the morning, leaving Pete and Sameen patrolling for the remainder of the night-time hours. Helena was waiting for her, a pair of glasses perched on the end of her nose and a laptop in her lap, oddly. She didn't generally use new technology, or so it had appeared to Myka so far.
"What are you doing?" Myka asked, as Helena looked up at her, a half-smile on her face. Myka herself was feeling the full force of the blood bond at that moment, and had almost been knocked over by the strength of her happiness at seeing Helena again, despite them having been apart for only a few hours.
"I am writing," Helena said simply.
Myka changed into pyjamas, slipping into bed beside Helena, who kissed her gently.
"What kind of writing?" Myka asked.
"I write fiction," Helena said. Myka stared at her.
"What do you mean, you write fiction? Like, you're a published writer?" Myka asked.
"Well. Yes," Helena said, and indicated a small bookshelf in the corner. "My books – some of them, at least – are on the shelf."
Myka went to the shelf and gasped as she found a series of books by an author she loved – whose name was not Helena Wells. Emily Rivers wrote fiction about a vampire who had decided, when she and her kind came out of the coffin, to become an astronaut. It took some convincing, but NASA had seen the benefits eventually. Vampires could survive in a vacuum, had no need for oxygen, and could live forever, potentially, given a steady food source. The saga was long and involved, and in the most recent book, the vampire protagonist had gone to Mars with a handpicked crew, colonising the planet with vampires who worked to ready the planet for human habitation. It was fascinating, full of convincing detail, well-written… and it had been written by Helena. Her Helena.
"My God, Helena. I can't believe… these are your books?" Myka asked, in a gasp.
"Yes. I have nothing but time, Myka, and writing has allowed me to live in so many different worlds," Helena said, stiffly. Myka thought that if she could have, however, she would have blushed.
"I… I can't believe you wrote this," Myka said, and Helena looked up at her, eyes slightly narrowed.
"Why? Am I such an evil being that you believe me incapable of insight, of understanding?" Helena asked, and Myka shook her head.
"Helena, I don't…" Myka sat on the edge of the bed, right next to Helena, and sighed. "I don't think you're evil. I don't think you're bad. I just think – you shouldn't have done what you did. And now things are so confused that I don't know what to think. I have no choice but to be happy when I'm around you, and that makes me confused about how I really feel about you. My friends, my sister, my nephew – no-one seems to care that you killed my father. And that makes me even more confused. I don't think you're evil, okay? I know you're smart and beautiful and I know you care about me. But Helena, you scared me. Not because I'm afraid you'll hurt me," she said, holding up her hand as Helena began to protest. "But because I'm afraid that I'll say something that makes you think you should hurt or kill someone else for me. And I don't want that responsibility, Helena."
Helena stilled for a long moment, clearly considering Myka's words.
"I believe I understand more fully, now, what I have done wrong. I will consider this, Myka, I promise you. But all I can do is swear to you that I will never hurt or kill anyone again in your name. Your father's death is not your responsibility; it is mine. I took the decision to kill him, and yes, it was because of my feelings for you. But the action was mine. I decided to do this, not you. And I promise that I will never burden you with that sort of responsibility again. I will only ever hurt someone if they are actively trying to hurt or kill you. And if it is possible, I will try to leave them alive to be brought to justice, rather than kill them. This promise I make you, Myka, in the hopes that with it, you will find your faith in me once again."
Helena's eyes on hers were sincere, and her heart, already full to bursting with her usual feelings for Helena, with the happiness caused by the blood bond – overflowed with emotion. This woman, this vampire, was the most exceptional person she had ever known. And no-one had ever treated Myka this way, as if she were worth every sacrifice they could make for her and more.
"I… Jesus, Helena, I love you," she said, and she threw herself forward, almost destroying the startled vampire's laptop in her enthusiasm. She kissed Helena with all of the suppressed desire and love and… everything she'd been feeling since they broke up. They were soon crying out together, their bodies entwined intimately, and when they came, it was together, Helena staring into Myka's eyes with the beginnings of tears at the corner of her own black eyes.
"I love you, Myka," she murmured, her strong arms holding Myka above her effortlessly. "I love you, so much," she said, again, and pulled Myka to her, their bodies against each other, skin to skin, and they slept until Helena absolutely had to leave, a few minutes before the dawn. Myka roused briefly when Helena moved from underneath her, something inside her crying out at the loss, but she soon slept again, more peacefully than she had in days.
She made her way to the station early that morning, managing to avoid rousing anyone at home when she went to shower and change into her uniform. She was at the station by 8 and was greeted, as usual, by a hot cup of coffee and a sandwich, oddly, that appeared to have bacon and eggs and were those hash browns in there?
"Leena, you don't have to do this," she protested, as the station manager put the food and coffee in front of her a few seconds after she sat down at her new desk.
"I don't have to. I want to," Leena said, with a luminous smile. She was gone before Myka could utter another protest, so Myka just shrugged and ate, finding the sandwich incredibly delicious and just perfect for her current condition, which was overtired and a little confused, if she were honest. The night before – or rather earlier that morning, with Helena, had been amazing and cathartic and beautiful, and she was feeling a lot happier about her continuing need to be near the vampire. She was still confused, however, about how she felt about Warren Bering's death. And she had a feeling that she'd overlooked something related to this whole Christina situation. She sent a quick message off to Dr Calder, firstly, asking about Artie's condition, and received a brief reply stating that the demon was recovering well. She then wrote some notes down about David's telepathy. Its strength was pretty scary, even to her, who was used to the idea of hearing others' thoughts. She then decided to take a quick look around the station before sitting down to review the evidence they'd found at each crime scene, to see if there was anything at all they might have missed.
By noon she was virtually cross-eyed, having read through each of the reports exhaustively, and she had found nothing. Or rather, she'd found everything – trace amounts of virtually anything and everything that could be found in the area – trees, dirt, water, even bits of fur and bone from animals. Clearly Christina had been supplementing her diet with animals – something that was unlikely to improve her sanity, from what Helena had said about vampires who drank animal blood.
She decided to take a break and went to see Artie, who was resting at the home he shared with Dr Calder. She called to check it was okay, of course – she didn't get the impression that Dr Calder would be the type of person to enjoy entertaining uninvited guests.
"Myka, hi," Dr Calder said, stepping aside to encourage Myka to come inside. The house was large and airy and beautiful; in short, it was nothing like the kind of place Myka would have expected Artie to live in.
"How's he doing?" she asked, taking off her hat and trying to smooth her sweat-drenched hair back into some semblance of order.
"He's fine. Grumpy, as always. She didn't do much damage, really. Just took him by surprise. He's an old man, now," Dr Calder said, and as she did so, she led Myka into a room where Artie was sleeping – or at least pretending to, because she was pretty sure she saw his eye twitch open when Dr Calder called him an old man.
"Let me get you some iced tea," Dr Calder said, heading off towards the kitchen, and Myka sat down opposite Artie awkwardly, her hat in her hand. She wasn't sure why she was here, other than that she felt guilty for Artie's involvement in this mess.
"You don't need to feel guilty, Sheriff," Artie mumbled, reaching out to grab his glasses from the table next to him and placing them on his face, slightly askew. He was on a voluminous couch that looked like it had been built for giants. That thought gave Myka pause. Did giants exist, too?
"Don't be ridiculous, Sheriff," Artie barked. "How would giants manage to hide themselves in this age of cellphones and digital photography and drones?"
Myka dropped her head, looking at her shoes. She felt like she was being chastised by the school principal.
"You needn't feel guilty, as I said, Sheriff. I chose to help you, and your nephew, with full knowledge of what might happen. Mrs Frederic does have a psychic on staff, you know, and she has had brief flashes of future possibilities. This was one of those possibilities. I am injured, but not gravely. And I know now that Christina is obsessed with your nephew, with killing him to take him away from you and from Helena, the way she feels Helena took herself away from Christina. That is her newest obsession. You and your deputies have hurt her, shot her, burned her with silver. She is even more deranged than when this all began. I'm afraid the consequences will be… grave, for some," Artie said, meeting her eyes sadly.
"What did she see?" Myka asked, worried about David, about her sister, about her friends.
"There are too many possibilities for it to be of any use," Artie said, waving a hand dismissively and pulling himself up into a sitting position. Dr Calder returned at that point and told him off for moving without assistance.
"I was bitten by a vampire, Vanessa. On my neck. I can move perfectly well," he grumped, and Dr Calder merely smiled. Myka smiled, too. These two, for all their differences, made a cute couple. Artie glared at her, and she grinned. A smile tickled at the edges of his mouth, and he turned away, the bandage on the side of his neck clearly visible under his pyjamas.
"Did she hurt him badly?" Myka asked, and Dr Calder nodded.
"He would have died if he was human. She couldn't drink his blood, however, so she just beat him and left him to die," Dr Calder said darkly.
"I'm so sorry," Myka said. This really was all her fault.
"It's not your fault, Myka. This vampire has to be dealt with, and we have a unique set of circumstances and people around here who might actually be able to do that. Have faith in yourself. You might be able to pull this off, if you watch over each other," Artie said gravely.
Myka nodded. There didn't seem to be anymore for her to do or say, here, so she said her goodbyes and headed back to her house, finding Tracy and Sameen cuddled together watching David play with his Lego Star Wars figures. They looked really cute, all three of them, and Myka leaned on the doorjamb as she took it in. These people, strange though they all undoubtedly were, they were her family. Sameen was new to that, sure, but then so was Myka. She was still at a loss as to how to deal with Warren Bering's untimely death, and that would take its own time to figure out, but she felt lucky to be standing here with even two people she could call her own blood, her own family.
"Hey boss. Watcha doin'?" Pete asked, from behind her. He was stuffing his face, as usual, with some sort of cooked meat and pickle sandwich creation.
"Nothing. Just taking a good look," Myka said quietly, and he came to stand next to her.
"I get that, Ma'am. Miss my own family, I have to admit. It's been a while," he said, looking thoughtful.
"Why don't you go see them?" she asked, wondering why she'd never heard him talk about his family before.
"It was tough when I realised I was a shifter. Must have come from my dad, and he died when I was little. So my Mom didn't really know what to do when she walked in on me changing into a bird. That was before I decided to stick with the dog form. I was trying out new things, and she was coming in to check I was asleep and there I was, naked then changing into a falcon and flying off. She didn't really believe it at first, thought it was a dream, I guess? But then… when she realised, she didn't know how to handle it, and then I left to go to the army, and we never really talked much, after."
"Maybe it's time to try," Myka suggested. "Family – it can be nice. I never really thought it could, but it can."
"Maybe," he said, and then Amanda came down from upstairs, and they all went into the back yard to play a thrown together attempt at softball that ended up in complete chaos due to the supernatural strength of most of the players. And the fact that at least one of them didn't know how to play softball.
Dinner was quiet but Myka felt a deep sense of contentment as she looked around the table at her makeshift family, at Sameen and her silence, always watching, rarely smiling, at Pete and his surreptitious hand-holding with Amanda, at Tracy and her watchful eye, always on David. It was something she cherished, now, this sense of belonging, and she wanted to keep it safe, to make sure that nothing came between them, that nothing hurt them.
She washed the dishes while Tracy dried, and Tracy asked her why she was so quiet.
"I keep getting these warnings, that something's gonna happen soon, with Christina. I'm worried. You need to keep an extra close eye on David, okay? Don't let him out of the house after dark, and make sure he has something silver with him all the time, just in case," Myka said. Tracy nodded.
"If anyone gets to David, they're going to have to go through me first," she said, with a hint of a growl in her voice. Myka just nodded. They weren't going to hurt her nephew without a fight.
When the sun set, Helena came to the back yard, and Myka felt something inside of her shift, subtly. It was just like the first night, except that this time Myka wasn't falling-down drunk. But there was that same sense of possibility, of change on the horizon, as she looked at the black-clad figure of the vampire she loved.
"Good evening, my love," Helena said, and her voice was a quiet whisper against Myka's skin.
"Hey," Myka said, smiling crookedly as she remembered the night before. Helena was by her side and kissing her, then, in between blinks, and she could distinctly feel fangs against her lips as they kissed.
"Someone's feeling frisky tonight," Myka said in a murmur.
"Only when I'm with you, my love," Helena said, with a smile. It was a strange look, still, on her face, but Myka loved it. She took a deep breath, however, and told Helena what Artie had said earlier.
"I believe we should patrol again, my love. Be on the lookout for Christina and James, to keep the town's children safe. Do you agree?" Helena asked.
"I think that's the best thing we can do in the circumstances," Myka said. They went inside and Pete and Sameen agreed to drive around the south side of town while Myka and Helena patrolled the north side. Tracy and Amanda stayed at the house to keep watch on David.
It was quiet for an hour or so after they all went on patrol, until Leena's voice came over the radio.
"Sheriff. We've just had a call. There's a fire – I think your house is on fire."