Silver Is For Werewolves-BOOK 2 IN THE Garlic Is For Vampires Series-

Chapter 1: A Damsel in Leather

Howard flung me across the room.

In the same second he landed on me in a straddling position. I raised my arms and swung my bar across his face, but he intercepted the blow with his sword. I wedged my knee between the two of us and pressed into his body, forcing him off me. He flew backwards, and I rolled out from underneath him. I twisted just as he brought his sword down. I pushed against him and got onto one foot, my other knee still braced against the ground.

Finally, I threw him off again and stood up. We circled each other like animals in a cage. He took a step forward and on natural instinct, I flinched and swung my arm lightly, my bar raised. He locked his hand around the end of it and pulled. I resisted, tightening my gloves around the bar. But Howard was stronger and the bar slipped from my fingers.

He tossed it to the side and thrust his sword. I dodged to the side, the tip of the blade narrowly missing my side. It was still close enough to nick the fabric of my tank top. I took a deep breath to focus. What has he taught me to do if I was weaponless?

Fight with your fists or get your enemy's weapon. Vampires didn't use weapons I could easily take away. Their fangs did all the work, and the whole point in learning how to defend myself was to avoid getting anywhere near those things. They hurt, and I knew from experience that vampire bites were a bitch.

Think fast. I took too long thinking of something and that gave Skylark the opportunity to strike at me with his sword. This time the hilt hit me and I clutched my middle, dramatizing the impact from the blow. I hunched over and Skylark came closer to me. I suddenly launched-striking him in the abdomen and elbowing his forearm, forcing him to surrender the sword. I jumped back and lifted the sword, pointing it at him.

He pushed past me and I raised my arm to cut him with the sword. He literally did a backflip right over my shoulder, narrowly avoiding the tip of the sword. He did a little roll and grabbed my bar before spinning around on his knees and facing me. We were both breathing hard. He suddenly scrambled to his feet and rushed me. I barely had time to defend myself before he was attacking me with the stupid pole. I raised my sword, pushing him back to stall him so I could run, but then he started circling me. I followed his movement. And he started running one way and then running the other. I couldn't catch up until finally, he struck me across the shoulder, sending a bolt of pain right through me, and he sent me flying with a kick to the chest.

My heart stopped and for a moment I was suspended in air before I made painful contact with the floor. The sword clattered to the ground since my hands released it and flew up to my throat as I gasped for air. I coughed and wheezed for the next minute before I closed my eyes and breathed in through my nose, out through my mouth. Damn, that hurt. I raised my good gloved hand and rubbed my shoulder. When I poked the area where my collarbone ended, it throbbed with a painful pulse. Ouch-it'd form into a bruise on the next few hours.

My chest heaved and I let out a sigh, my breathing was back to normal for the most part. I opened my eyes and sat up. Howard was leaning against the metal railing, staring at me with a closed expression. This was the second time he knocked me down-which was a record, because when we started the physical training I was as clumsy as a baby first learning to walk. I was sore and bruised for days before I started getting my act together and put in an effort to beat a skilled vampire hunter.

Howard wiped the sweat from his face with his sweatshirt and tapped the ground three times with the bar. "Let's go."

I got to my feet, picked up his sword, and then climbed over the metal railing. It was like a boxing ring, circling us like a pentagon, and spacious enough for me to be thrown across every inch of every corner. I wasn't exaggerating-Howard had done just that for the past few weeks.