To Tell a Tale (Season One)

“They’re on the move,” Smitty whispered, moving closer to the table so no one else heard him.

Nash looked over at the group and watched as they headed outside. “Are you sure they’re not just going out to find a new bar?”

Airianna felt her body tremble and pulled out her notepad and pen.

Nash watched Airianna pull out her notepad and start to draw. Crap, she’s having a dream.

The group watched as Airianna’s pen scratched across the pad of paper. She scribbled an alley across the pad of paper, then a wall, and a woman pressed against the wall, her mouth open in a scream. Then several backs were drawn, all facing the woman. They could tell the group was the ones they had just seen leaving the bar.

Airianna blinked and looked at her drawing. “Oh no,” she whimpered.

“Well, that answered that for me.” Smitty got to his feet. “I was about to say I saw a girl leave, and the group followed her out.”

“Is that her?” Nash asked, pointing to Airianna’s drawing.

“Yep,” Smitty said as he moved away from the table.

“Stay.” Nash took hold of Airianna’s chin and made sure she looked at him. “We will be back for you.”

Airianna nodded. “Be safe.”

Nash grinned, kissed her, then turned and left the bar with his partner. He pulled out his phone and called in for backup.

~🔮~

There was no time for Nash and Smitty to wait for backup. They heard the girl scream and ran down the sidewalk. They found the group of vampire wannabes and the girl pressed against the wall, just like Airianna’s drawing.

“Police, don’t move!” Smitty shouted as he pulled out his pistol.

Nash pulled out his gun and pointed it at the group of monsters. Even if they’re human, they’re still monsters.

The group turned to them; their teeth bared as if that would scare them away. So they have sharp teeth. That wasn’t going to scare them away. Nash was more afraid of his seer than this group of morons.

“Please, help me,” the woman cried from the wall.

“We’re here to help you, ma’am. Please stay calm,” Smitty said, pointing his gun at the vampire closest to the woman.

“Do you think you can defeat all of us?” the vampire closest to Nash asked, a wicked grin on his face.

Nash snorted. “I think we’ll take enough of you out.”

The group of vampires laughed.

“We are immortals,” the one who seemed to be their leader said, baring his teeth. “You will never take us down.”

~🔮~

“Are you okay?” Maribelle asked of Airianna when the girl’s eyes opened wide.

“Another dream,” Airianna hissed as she flipped the page in her notepad.

Maribelle and Daemen watched as Airianna once again scrawled out her dream.

“Oh no,” Maribelle whispered.

Airianna whimpered when she saw her sketch.

“Fuck,” Daemen growled as he jumped to his feet.

“Be careful!” Maribelle called out to her husband as he headed for the door.

“I’m going, too,” Airianna said as she got to her feet.

“You can’t.” Maribelle jumped to her feet and took hold of Airianna’s arm.

Airianna looked at her new friend and smiled. “I am meant to be at his side, always.”

Maribelle nodded. “I know. But if something happens to you, he will never forgive me.”

Airianna pulled a pistol from her purse. Maribelle’s eyes opened wide.

“Where did you get that?”

Airianna grinned. “I’ve always had it.” She pulled her arm free from Maribelle’s hold and headed for the door.

Maribelle shook her head and chased after her friend. Daemen is going to kill her, but she can’t let the girl do this alone.

~🔮~

Nash and Smitty knew they should wait for backup, but it would be too late for them and the woman. They need to save the woman and get her away from the vampires, then hold the wannabes until backup comes.

“I’ll go for the woman; you take care of this lot.” Smitty nodded his head to the woman and then the vampires.

Nash nodded. He didn’t know how to react to vampires—even fake ones. They kept hissing and showing their teeth. It was like watching a group of wild cats.

“I’ll distract them,” Nash whispered.

Smitty nodded and moved behind Nash.

“Haven’t you watched enough supernatural crap?” Nash asked, getting the attention of the vampires on him. The group growled for calling their world crap. “Even immortals can die.”

“Not by your hands.” The leader snarled at Nash, making the others hiss—again.

“Oh?” Nash asked, pointing his pistol at the man snarling at him. “Then this bullet wouldn’t hurt you?”

“Not even a little.” The wannabe gave Nash one of those grins you only saw in nightmares.

Great, so the asshole has perfected his “evil grin.”

Nash saw Smitty through the corner of his eye as his partner reached the woman at the wall.

“Enough time has elapsed and no backup.” The leader smirked. “Get them!”

Nash was startled by the fact that they knew they’d called in for backup, and it hadn’t arrived yet. What was taking so long? A wannabe attacked Nash from behind. He tossed the thing over his shoulder; the vampire landed on his back and cried out in pain. The others attacked, making Nash take a step back. A loud snarl came from his side, and he turned just in time to watch Daemen swing a bat at the nearest vampire wannabe, hitting him in the head. He went down with a thud.

“What are you doing here?” Nash asked.

Daemen snorted. “Saving your ass.” He swung the bat again and hit another wannabe.

“How did you know we would need you?” Nash asked, ducking a wannabe before the beast could hit him in the face.

“Your seer.” Daemen smashed his bat into another wannabe’s face.

Nash looked at the leader, who was moving back away from him and Daemen as his followers attacked. Nash snorted and ducked another body. He looked for his partner and sighed when he saw him off to the side, the woman beside him. Safe.

“NO!” a scream vibrated across the alley, and the firing of a gun made everyone stop and turn.

The vampires snarled and hissed.

Nash stared at Airianna. She and Maribelle stood at the end of the alley, a pistol held tightly in Airianna’s hands. He could tell she’d just fired it. He turned to look where she was looking and found his partner sitting on the ground, the woman beside him—dead.

“Shit.” Nash rushed to his partner, ignoring the vampire wannabes who were staring at the dead woman in disbelief.

“She bit me,” Smitty said, looking up at Nash.

Nash skidded to a stop when he saw the blood dripping from Smitty’s neck.

“Fuck!” Nash cried out as he continued to his partner’s side.

“Don’t move, or I’ll shoot you, too!” Airianna screamed.

The vampires looked at her.

“But how?” the leader asked, staring at Airianna.

Airianna smirked. She has seen enough vampire movies and shows and knows the correct answer.

“Wolfsbane bullets.”

“But wolfsbane can’t kill us,” one of the vampires said, looking from Airianna to the dead vampire beside Nash and Smitty.

Airianna grunted. She knew that, but these idiots aren’t real vampires!

“I blended it with dead man’s blood. Together, they’re lethal against any supernatural creature!” Damn, she watches too much TV.

“Don’t shoot; we’ll leave quietly.” The leader raised his hands as he eyed Airianna.

Airianna turned her gun on the man. “You’re not going anywhere,” she growled.

“You don’t have enough bullets to kill all of us.” the man smirked.

“Don’t count on it.” Daemen pulled his gun from his back. “Didn’t you know hunters travel in pairs?”

The vampires hissed at them.

“This is creepy,” Maribelle whispered.

Airianna didn’t hear what Daemen or Maribelle said but smiled anyway. These creeps didn’t need to know she was deaf. Luckily it was light enough in the alley she could read these idiot’s lips. Otherwise, she’d have been screwed.

The sound of sirens had the vampire wannabes looking behind Airianna and Maribelle. Maribelle turned and sighed with relief when she saw Captain Dish get out of one of the cars.

The captain looked at the scene before him and frowned.

“Sorry, would have been here sooner, but an accident blocked our passage. We had to take the long way.”

“They set it up.” Daemen pointed his gun at the vampires. “That’s how they knew you guys were running behind.”

“How did they know?” Nash asked from his position beside his partner.

“I think they saw us the other day and knew you two were cops when you arrested that rapist.” Daemen shook his head.

“Fuck,” Nash growled.

“What’s going on?” Airianna whispered to Maribelle.

Maribelle smiled and told her they’d explain everything later.

“You can’t take us all on,” the vampire leader snarled.

“Oh, did I forget to tell you that we shared our special bullets with the local cops?” Daemen asked with a smile, pointing his gun at the leader. “Just test us.”

“You won’t keep us for long!” the leader shouted.

“Take them,” Captain Dish said to the cops behind him.

The vampire wannabes hissed and bared their teeth. The cops pulled out their guns and pointed them at their heads.

“Airianna moved around the wackadoodles and headed to Nash and Smitty.

“Is he okay?” she asked.

Nash looked up at her, an odd look on his face.

“Why the fuck did you come out here?! I told you to wait for us in the bar.” He stood and hovered over her.

Airianna sighed, pulled out her notepad, and handed it to him.

Nash looked at the drawing of him and Smitty being overtaken by the vampire wannabes. Nash was being beaten by the large group while the woman they thought they were saving, who turned out to be one of them, drank Smitty dry.

“Fuck,” he whispered.

“I will never let that happen if I can stop it,” Airianna said, tapping the picture.

Nash looked up at her and shook his head. “I’m supposed to protect you, not the other way around.”

Airianna grinned. “I can’t help it. You’re my muse.”

~🔮~

They arrested the group of vampires and found the clan—or nest—as vampires preferred. Among the nest was the man who created them. If you can call hypnotizing them into believing they were real vampires—creating them.

The man was a scientist who had a taste of blood one night and believed he could create his own form of vampire. Nash’s theory panned out. The more they drank, the more addicted they were to the blood, and believed they needed it to survive.

It wasn’t hard to put the nest behind bars, especially when they found ten dead bodies. As well as three women and two men tied to chairs—missing half their blood.

Smitty didn’t lose much blood, thanks to Airianna’s straight shooting.

After losing her hearing, Airianna wanted to learn to shoot and handle a gun, so her father asked his Navy buddy to teach her.

They found six of the women the bartender raped and offered them help if they testified. The man got a five-year sentence for each rape. The bartender offered them, other rapists for time off his sentence; they agreed to two years off for every man they convicted of rape.

The other bartender wasn’t as innocent as they initially thought.

~🔮~

“Sir, you wanted to see us?” Nash asked as he and Airianna entered his office.

Captain Dish looked up at them and motioned for them to enter.

“It has been a week since you captured the bloodsuckers.” Captain Dish pointed to the chairs in front of his desk.

Nash and Airianna sat in the seats.

“Can I have my pistol back?” Airianna asked.

Captain Dish shook his head and handed her a piece of paper.

Airianna looked at the paper, a confused look on her face.

“Fill that out,” the captain said. “Once you have filled that out, we will give you your gun back.”

Airianna looked over the papers and frowned. “But I already have a gun permit. I even have one that says I can carry a concealed weapon.”

Captain Dish smiled. “Yes. That is why you were not arrested. But this will give you a permit through us that says you can use your gun when you are helping my detectives.”

Airianna blinked. “What does that mean?”

“It means you will officially become our consultant once you sign those papers.”

Airianna looked at the papers. She felt joy and fear tremor through her body. Joy won out, and she signed the papers.

Nash touched her shoulder, and she turned to him.

“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked.

Airianna nodded and handed the papers over to the captain.

Nash sighed as he watched the captain pull her pistol and an ID badge out of the top drawer of his desk.

“From now on, you won’t have to look for one of us to get you through yellow tape. Just show them that ID, and you will be let through. Just don’t use it to get out of a ticket.”

Airianna chuckled. She could tell by the light in the captain’s eyes that the last part was a joke.

“Thank you, sir.”

“No, Miss Williams. Thank you.”

~🔮~

Nash took Airianna home and walked her to the front door. They entered together and looked around the living room.

“Papa?!” Airianna called when her father didn’t greet them at the door.

There was no answer, and Airianna started to panic.

“Get behind me.” Nash pushed her behind him.

“Daddy,” Airianna whimpered.

They moved silently through the house. When they got to her father’s office, Nash pushed the door open and lifted his gun when he heard a noise.

“Mr. Williams,” Nash said with relief as he lowered his gun.

“Daddy!” Airianna cried and ran to her father.

Mr. Williams hugged his daughter as she threw herself at him.

“What happened, sir?” Nash asked when he saw the worried lines on the older man’s face.

“Berry Stone is missing.” Mr. Williams held his daughter closer.

Airianna looked up at her father. She hadn’t heard him. “What’s wrong, Papa?”

Her father sighed and repeated his words.

“Oh no, not Uncle Berry,” Airianna whimpered.

Her father nodded, and she felt a tear slide down her cheek. She looked over at Nash, who was watching them.

“Who’s Berry Stone?” Nash asked.

“My father’s best friend from college.”

Nash nodded and looked at her father. “How long has he been missing?”

Airianna looked up at her father for his response to Nash’s question.

“Twenty-four hours.”

“Good, that’s enough time to report him missing and hopefully find him alive.” Nash pulled his phone from his pocket.

“His wife has already reported him missing.”

Nash nodded. “Then there is already a report.”

Airianna held her father closer. Berry Stone is the reason she exists; he introduced her parents. She hoped they’ll find him before something happened to him.

Maybe she’ll dream of him before it’s too late.