To Tell a Tale (Season One)

Airianna studied her new painting as Nash stood behind her, doing the same. There was something she was missing here, but what? She hadn’t found a clue yet, which was driving her insane.

“What is that?” Nash asked, pointing to something on the ground beside the woman.

Airianna didn’t hear him and jumped when he moved closer to the painting.

“Did you see something?” she asked, watching him.

He turned to her and smiled. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he’d just realized she hadn’t heard him.

“I asked what that is.” He pointed to something in her painting she hadn’t noticed before.

Airianna got closer to her painting to look at what Nash was pointing at. She sucked in a breath and jumped back from the painting. She landed against his chest and squeaked when he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered into her ear.

Her hearing aid caught his words, and she shook her head.

“That’s an ice pick,” she said, pointing to the long-pointed object on the ground beside the victim.

Nash squinted his eyes as he studied the painting. “Well, I’ll be damned.” He shook his head.

She caught his words and chuckled.

“It’s not a vampire, after all,” Nash said, looking down at the beautiful seer in his arms. “Looks like we have a case to solve.”

She turned her head and grinned up at him. “Looks that way.”

“Did you hear me?” he asked, studying her face.

She nodded. “My hearing aids sometimes pick up your words when you’re this close.”

He grinned and turned her in his arms, wrapping his arms around her once again. “Is that so?” he asked, studying her face.

She grinned. “I read your lips that time.”

He chuckled and leaned forward to kiss her soft lips. It was amazing how she could hear him sometimes. He knows it was only him she heard because she squinted at everyone else when they talked to her, whether they were close or not. Sometimes he wondered if it was the hearing aids picking up his voice or something beyond their control.

“We should tell your captain about the case,” she said, breathing heavily when he lifted his head from the kiss.

He grinned down at her. “That can wait until tomorrow. Let’s see if we can find more clues, see if there’s more to this painting than we can see.”

She nodded and turned her head to look at her painting. He didn’t want to study the painting; he wanted to study her. But he knew he couldn’t rush things with her. She was as delicate as the petal of a flower.

~🔮~

“What are you trying to say?”

Nash watched his captain. He knew it would be hard to explain this new dream to everyone. Nash and Airianna had stayed up most of the night studying her painting. She’d fallen asleep on the small cot in her art room while he continued to study the painting in depth. They didn’t find any more clues, but he was sure that what the painting displayed and what the clues conveyed—they had a vampire coven somewhere who was going around killing people and drinking their blood.

Yes, it sounds crazy, but there was no other explanation. Other than the fact that they’re not actually vampires, but humans. God, the thought made him sick.

“There is a Vampire coven somewhere in town, and they are killing people by sucking them dry,” Nash repeated.

“What drugs did you take this morning?” the captain asked, studying Nash.

Nash shook his head and handed his captain the picture he had taken of Airianna’s painting.

“You expect me to believe there are vampires out there? You’ve been watching too much Supernatural, or whatever fantasy show is popular these days,” Captain Dish said as he studied the picture.

Nash snorted. “No, you’re thinking of Smitty. I expect you to believe that humans are portraying vampires and drinking their victim’s blood. If you look closely there, beside the body, you will see an icepick. They use it to puncture the neck or other arteries and drink the blood through the holes.

“The holes are punctured in just the right spots to make it look like vampire teeth. Whether they have actual vampire teeth, I don’t know. But I have seen them before, and so have you, sir.”

Captain Dish looked up at Nash, and Nash nodded. They had come across vampire wannabes before. They’d even gone as far as getting their teeth sharpened. The things crazy people do.

“Okay.” The captain nodded. “You have my go-ahead to search for the vampires.”

Nash grinned. “Thank you, sir. Airianna was worried you would think she’d lost it.”

Captain Dish grinned. “Never,” he assured him, then motioned for him to leave the office.

Nash left the captain’s office and spotted his partner across the room talking to a new recruit. She was cute and well endowed. He knew Smitty was going to hit that before the week was through. He never was one for sticking to the rules when it came to women.

“Smitt!” Nash called out to his partner.

Smitty looked up from the female officer, nodded, then said something to her and headed toward Nash.

“What’s up, partner?”

“We have a case,” Nash informed Smitty.

Smitty smiled. “Your girl have another dream?”

Nash grunted and led his partner from the station. “Don’t tease her about this one; she is really sensitive at the moment.”

Smitty frowned. “What did you do this time?”

Nash stopped and turned to his partner. “Why do you always assume it’s my fault?”

Smitty grinned. “Because your brain is full of hormones, and you can’t think straight.”

Nash snorted. “Just come on. I will let Airianna show you our new case, but if you make her cry, I swear I will pummel you into pudding.”

“Mmmm, that sounds good. Can we stop at the store to get some?”

Nash shook his head. “Get in the car before I leave you behind.”

Smitty laughed as he opened the door to their cruiser. Nash had a feeling his partner wouldn’t mind being left behind. It would give him a chance to get to know the recruit a bit better.

~🔮~

“What the fuck is this?” Smitty asked, staring at the newest painting. “Vampires?”

“That’s what it looks like.” Nash grinned.

Smitty turned to them and stared at Airianna. “Did you fall asleep watching The Vampire Diaries?”

Airianna’s mouth opened and closed several times. “You watch that too?”

Smitty snorted. “Of course I do. Well?”

She shook her head. “No. I didn’t fall asleep watching anything.”

Smitty shook his head and turned back to the painting.

Nash chuckled. At least he wasn’t making fun of Airianna or calling her a nutcase. He moved closer to the painting and his partner and started pointing out the clues and explaining to Smitty what they were dealing with.

“Oh, thank God,” Smitty sighed. “I thought she was trying to tell us that vampires are real. I mean, I love to watch shows about them, and I admit I love a good book on vampires, but I never wanted them to be real.”

Nash chuckled. Neither did he.

“What did he say?” Airianna asked, tugging on Nash’s arm.

Nash smiled and turned to her, repeating his partner’s words.

Airianna nodded. “Me either. When I saw the painting, I freaked out. Thought I was going insane. Papa took the painting to my grandmother, who said there was no such thing as vampires. But fate wants me and my detectives to solve this before it gets out of hand.”

“Did you hear that? I’m one of her detectives,” Smitty said with a wicked grin.

Nash snorted, and Airianna chuckled.

“Where do we start looking for the vampires?” Smitty asked.

“Not sure yet.” Airianna frowned at the painting.

Nash pulled her to him and held her. There weren’t other clues other than the ice pick, showing them that they’re humans and not real bloodsuckers come to life. There wasn’t even a building or trees to recognize in the painting. Just the woman on the ground and the man standing above her—blood dripping to the ground.

“Hey, do you think this is something that has already happened or something that is going to happen?” Smitty asked.

“Good question.” Nash studied the painting even harder.

“There is nothing that shows if it’s a new or old case,” Airianna whispered.

“The captain is looking into it,” Nash said, looking down at Airianna so she could read his lips.

She nodded and cuddled in closer to him. This painting has really done her in.

“Can I help this time?” she asked hopefully.

Nash smiled. He had a feeling that question was coming.

“I don’t know….”

“Pleeeeeease?” she begged.

Nash groaned. “We will see.” That was the best he could give her at the moment. They weren’t even sure where this one was going to lead them.

“You know, you forget that I saved your asses in that warehouse.” Airianna looked up at Nash.

Nash grinned down at her. “Yes, you did. But I didn’t know you then, and you came without asking….”

“She does have fast feet.” Smitty chuckled.

Airianna turned to him, and Nash grunted.

“What?” she asked, staring at Smitty.

“I said—you have fast feet,” Smitty said, smirking at her.

She shook her head. “What are you talking about?”

“We called you the blurry lady in white,” Smitty informed her.

Nash grunted. Why would his partner bring that up? Now she’s going to use her superpowers to convince them…

“Blurry lady? What are you talking about?” Airianna asked, confused.

“You know. You moved so fast from room to room that you were nothing but a white blur.” Smitty looked her up and down.

Nash looked at Airianna, too. They have been wondering why she hasn’t used her speed for anything else. Not even when the security guards tackled her to the floor. She could have easily gotten away…

“I don’t have any superpowers other than my dreams.” Airianna looked from one to the other.

Nash looked at his partner, then back at Airianna. “But you moved so fast.”

“But I moved my normal speed. I even hurt my foot, kicking in the door that wouldn’t open. But I wasn’t fast; otherwise, I would have stopped that man from stepping under that thing… it’s my fault he’s dead.”

Nash’s face turned to ash as he pulled Airianna into his arms. He’d had no clue she’d been blaming herself for that asshole’s death.

“Arie, sweetheart. It wasn’t your fault. If it wasn’t that man, it would have been me and Smitty. You know that from your paintings.”

“But I could have warned him too….”

“No,” Nash said, holding her tighter. “He would have killed you or held you there with him, and you would have died too.”

She hiccupped and shook her head. “No…”

“How the fuck does she know what you’re saying with her face in your chest?” Smitty asked, staring at the couple, confused.

Nash looked up at his partner. “Sometimes, she can hear my voice.”

Smitty snorted. “Fate-be-damned.”

Nash shook his head and pulled his attention back to his seer.

“Airianna.” He moved her back so he could look down into her tear-filled eyes. “You are not responsible for that man’s death. He is the one who set all that up to capture and kill me and Smitty. He does not deserve your sympathy. Do you understand me?”

She didn’t answer, and he shook her gently.

“Do you understand me?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Good,” Nash said, then kissed her.

Nash heard Smitty chuckle as the man turned back to the painting to avoid watching them.

Nash lifted his head and smiled down at her. “Now, how did you get around that room so fast? Why did we only see a blur of white?”

She sniffled and looked over at Smitty. “The vibrations of the noise must have messed with your vision. Because I swear, I do not have any special powers beyond my dreams.”

Nash nodded. That made sense. The noise had been so loud in the building that he could have seen Superman rescue them. He chuckled. Yeah, like Superman would take time to rescue them.

“Hallucination from a sound box?” Smitty asked.

“Kind of.” Airianna shrugged.

“Airianna, time for dinner,” Mr. Williams said as he entered the room. He looked between his daughter and the two detectives and nodded to Nash. “Plenty for the two of you to join,” he said, then left the room.

Smitty chuckled as he followed Mr. Williams.

Airianna looked up at Nash, a confused look on her face.

Nash smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. “Dinner,” he said as he pulled away.

She nodded, and they headed to the kitchen where her father waited, dinner on the table.