Garlic Is For Vampires (#Wattys2016)

Chapter 15: Howard Skylark is our Yoda

We walked up a flight of stairs above the dance floor before reaching an office door made from red leather with diamonds embedded into it. The man who led us to the door opened it and stepped to the side. It was dark inside the room but Brendon stepped forward and led me through with his hand in mine.

We stepped into the room lit in dark blue light. In the center was a man sitting at a desk with files opened in front of him. There were two red seats in front of his wooden desk. Whatever light was coming in from the outside was enough to see the man's face. But I knew who he was even if I hadn't known before that he had dark eyes.

His name was Howard Skylark.

"Brendon," he said coolly. "Bree." The door closed behind us and he stood up, walking around his desk to come standing in front of us. "What a pleasure to finally meet other humans who aren't vampire hunters."

"Pleasure to meet the man who acts like a vampire hunter," I said. "Why'd you call us here? Is this your club?"

He turned to me. He was handsome, yes, but there were scars running across his cheekbones like scratch marks. They didn't make him ugly-they made him frightening.

"I'd like to say I'm taking care of the White Falcon for a vampire friend," he admitted. "But I'd be lying, and I'm not a good liar." He returned to his seat and gestured to the ones in front of the desk. "Please, relax so we can talk comfortably. Vampire conversations are boring."

Brendon and I sat down, cautious of Howard at first. He seemed at ease dressed in jeans and a T-shirt but the brooding look on his face didn't convince me. Something about him made him a bit...intimidating. Maybe it was his eyes or the way he stared at Brendon, a detective, or maybe it was the knife sitting on his table. It had a crooked wooden handle with stains on the hilt, and the blade itself was longer than my forearm. A sword, maybe?

"Please don't worry, Bree," Howard said. "I don't plan on gutting you on this table as a sacrifice to the gods."

I gulped.

"So why'd you leave your birth year and your initials in the letter?" Brendon asked. He was going to start interrogating again.

"I wanted to be found so we could talk."

"So you wanted to get arrested? Because if we hadn't believed you I would've tracked you down anyways and arrested you for suspicion," Brendon said coolly.

"I know," Howard replied smoothly. He cocked a brow and looked Brendon in the eye. "But you wouldn't be able to hold me in handcuffs for long. I can escape them by breaking my wrists."

"You'd give up a lot," I added. Both turned their heads to look at me. Howard smirked, and it reminded me of Natalie Dormer's smirk, but she was born with a lopsided mouth, and it looked good on her. This smirk was not so...Natalie Dormer.

"Exactly, that's why I took a risk to inform you that I knew about your situation with Dylan Shaw. He's a complicated vampire, but I know for sure he wants you. Otherwise he wouldn't waste his time on a human and you'd be dead by now."

"I was almost dead," I muttered, and a chill traveled up my spine, forming goose bumps on my arms. I released a shallow breath.

"So that's why I called you hear. I can rarely leave since everyone thinks I own the place and they plan so many parties. I'm sorry for making you act. But if any of these people suspected you were human...I'd be mopping up blood, organs, and body pieces for days. More people would come for a taste of human party-goers. I can't accept that for your sakes."

"So what now?" Brendon asked. Howard rubbed his chin.

"I'll keep sending letters. At least twice a week, sometimes to Bree's apartment or your's, Brendon. We'll have meeting places and I'll send someone to collect you when we have things to discus. And I'd also like to train you two."

"Train? I've already been trained. Bree here needs to handle a kitchen knife better," Brendon said, jerking his thumb in my direction.

"I was making out with the guy," I hissed. "I didn't suspect anything until he nearly bit me. I wasn't exactly ready for that shocker."

"Anyways," Howard cut in. "I have a meeting in three minutes. We will train together. We'll use weapons used on vampires, and we'll use martial arts. Now you can go, but not before receiving the magic touch."

"What magic touch?" I asked, frowning. He smiled at me.

"Bree, I'd like to tell you something." He leaned forward on his desk. I kind of did too, looking at him expectantly. Then he leaned in all the way and whispered in my ear, "Keep Brendon safe." And then he tossed vampire crystals in my face.

I cough and fell back against my chair, sneezing and groaning. The silver powder was in my nose and eyes. I couldn't see anything or breathe. It smelled like sulfur and blood, a disturbing combination that made me gag and cough even more. Brendon swore and crouched down beside me as the doors opened again. I blinked and tried looking up at him but there was silver powder in my eyelashes. Brendon's face flickered and he turned red, then purple. Now he was a sickening shade of yellow.

"Why the hell did you do that to her?" Brendon growled at Howard.

"Nobody leaves an office meeting without getting vampire crystals," he said. "Well-no human escort does. We'll talk soon."

Brendon pulled me up and dragged me out of the office with me hanging on his arms. Vampires turned to look at us, and their blurry faces turned into gargoyle faces-twisted in horrific expressions. I leaned away from them and bumped into Brendon. I froze and he noticed. We were in the middle of the dance floor and as I looked up at him I heard a pulse in his neck. I reached up for it and placed my arms around his neck. Then I buried my face into his neck. He wrapped his arms around me.

"Bree?"

I leaned up and pulled his head down to me so our lips nearly touched. He gasped and then my eyes rolled up in the back of my head.

                                ***
I woke up in my room but still fully clothed. I groaned and sat up, rubbing my eyes that stung. I saw dots through the corner of my eyes and wondered if I was hallucinating. But then gentle hands touched my shoulders and Brendon was sitting in front of me.

"Hey, Bree-lee," he said softly. I blinked carefully and looked at him. He smelled like guy shampoo, as if he'd just finished getting out of the shower. The color was back in his face and...I remembered nearly kissing him in the club. It must've been the vampire crystals. I prayed it was because of the vampire crystals. What did he think of me now that I nearly kissed him?

"I'm sorry," I said. "For earlier." We'd been friends for such a long time. When we were kids he taught me how to ride a skateboard and even helped me walk home as I limped because I twisted my ankle. And the time when he got hurt jumping over a fence and I stayed with him in the park until his father came. And when I argued with my parents and he distracted me by buying me ice-cream and letting me stay at his house for the night until my parents cooled down. We'd been there for each other when our friends were far away. So when Howard told me to take care of Brendon I remembered all those times when we looked after each other.

He smiled. "It's fine. You weren't in your right mind after Howard threw the vampire crystals at you. Don't worry about that anymore. It didn't mean anything."

It didn't mean anything. He was right. I'd believe that. He gave my hand a squeeze and then leaned forward to kiss my forehead.

"Get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow."

Goodnight, Brendon.

A/N: Hello hello helloooo, people. I finally got to update on this peaceful Monday-MLK people-and I hope you all enjoy. Like, comment, vote, show your support. It'd mean motivation to me. Thanks!

                                           -Redbird