Sixteen Candles

Patrick’s POV

The music room was decked out, floor to ceiling, with everything you could ever need to record anything from a demo to a full length album.

The walls were insulated and the entire room seemed to be soundproof. The computer Jordan had been on earlier was set up to record music. There was everything needed to adjust the music.

Joe walked around, testing the guitars until he found a Fender he liked (I hoped it wasn’t the one Brendon used). Andy was setting up the drum sets, choosing one from this set, another from the other. I sat down and messed with the computer. There was a set of bass guitars I knew Pete would enjoy once he woke up.

Jordan stayed upstairs, coming downstairs only to put up with the cake Vi had set him in charge of finishing.

After about an hour, I ran downstairs to get water and found Jordan in the kitchen icing the cake.

He didn’t even look up as I entered.

Pulling a water from the fridge, I turned around and leaned on the counter.

“Jordan, right?” I asked.

He seemed to pause for a moment before nodding.

“You’ve known Vi for a while, right?”

He help his eyes down as he worked on the last side of the cake. “Yeah.”

“What’s her deal? I mean, who is she?”
He hesitated before setting the spatula in the tub of icing. Crossing his arms, he leaned against the counter behind him. “Why?”
I shrugged. “I have know clue who she really is. So far I know she’s an immortal, half vampire, who can control vampires and apparently only has you for a human friend.”

“I’m not human.” He shook his head. “You know the facts.”

“Exactly. I want to know more than that.”

He sighed. “I have know Vi for over forty years. She is complex, confusing, dangerous, scary, cold, dark, and unfeeling.”

I must have looked shocked because he chuckled and carried on.

“She’s also a confused, scared, worried, stressed, endangered, child. There are hundreds of people who want her dead and all she wants it to be able to walk outside at night without attracting danger. She wasn’t always like that. I’ve heard people talk about her like she were not any of those things.”
“That doesn’t help me.”

“I figured it wouldn’t. But anyone you ask will say the same thing. There’s no way to sum her personality up in words. She isn’t that type of person. She--” Before he could finish, he hit the ground, holding the back of his head like he wanted to pull the skin off of his head.

“What the?” I rushed over to help him when he held up his hand for me to stop.

He got to his feet as if nothing had happened and practically flew out the back door into the yard.

I stood there for a second before climbing the stairs and into the room with Joe and Andy.

“Guys, I think something’s up.” I said.

“Something like?”

“I don’t know. Jordan just flew out the door after hitting the ground practically on all fours.”

“That guy kind seems kind of weird to me.” Andy said.

“I’m sure he thinks the same thing about all of us.” I noted.

“Who?” Pete called from the doorway, running a hand through his serious bed head.

“Jordan.”

He nodded. “He smells weird. Inhuman.”

“Yeah, he admitted to that. He also mentioned that he’s know Vi for more than forty years, making him around his early sixties.”

“Yeah. He smells like an immortal.”

“Man, its creepy when you describe how people smell.” Joe snapped.

“It’s creepy to smell all of these things.” He turned his head towards the stairwell, listening.

I don’t know why, but as I inhaled, I smelled something unusual. Like when you blow out a match. Before we could move to check it out, the hallway behind Pete erupted in white flames, straight through the center.

We were on the end with closest to the third floor and looking out the door it was obvious why.

At the head of the stairs, were these . . . Creatures. They seemed partially human. Some of them looked more like movie werewolves than humans and vice versa for the rest of them.

All of our weaponry was downstairs in the car and even then, the one creature who seemed to be in charge, looked more interested in the third floor than us.

We wandered into the hall, trying to get a better look at the creatures, as well as avoiding getting cornered.

One of the things at Pete and hissed out “Where is she?”

Before he could say anything, the flames in front of us twisted, turned and formed what was obviously the vague shape of a girl. With a movement of her hands, more flames rose at the foot of the stairs that were being occupied. Then up the banisters, nearly burning a few of them.

The one who spoke originally looked at the figure. “You cannot maintain this indefinitely. We will get through.”

“Not whilst I am still standing.” Replied the figurine in Violet’s voice.

“The longer you remain, the lower you stand.”

No response.

It chuckled. “How do you expect to keep us long enough to return?”

The flames rose higher. “You must shift to leave. By then, the flames will catch. I don’t need you alive.”

Jordan’s words from earlier came rushing back to me: Cold, dark and unfeeling.

I noticed movement in the flames as I though this but they quickly returned to normal. The lead Thing was looking at me with a questioning, almost curious look. He moved his hand and one of the others behind him, one of the more wolfish looking ones, dove at us. He was caught in the wall of flames and we listened and watched as he burned, squealing and screaming as he writhed in pain.

The others moved farther from the wall and closer together.

“Since when do you care about humans?” The thing asked.

“Since you care so much about you’re little bitch.”

“I only hope you care in a different way.”

“Humans are much to fragile.”

“Hence why you prefer that Ryan creature.”

There was again no response.

A grin. “Maybe I should have him targeted. Or William.”

“I was under the assumption that you and Beckett had an agreement.”

“We do. It does not protect those in alliance with you.”

“Alliance?!”

“Yes. There is no way to tell whether or not he may know your secrets.”

“Enough of this.” The creature snapped and the fires around the stairs rose to the ceiling, reaching out and catching the hair of these creatures.

They all went down as the first had. Squealing and screaming.

After the first few, I had to look away. I focused on the flame figure. I recognised the tattoo on her neck as the exact one Violet has.

The master of the creatures was the last to get harmed, and even then he did not make noise as the others had. He simply took the fire, and the flame, and the pain without a sound. He hit his knees, defiance in his eyes. The fire, all of it, crawled across the floor as if over gasoline on the stones.

As it all centered, the figure moved closer to the man and seemed to grow brighter, stronger. After a moment, the figure solidified to the point of recognition and Violet lost her balance, holding her weight up with the banister. The mark on her neck was black and cold looking. Violet waved her hand and all of the bodies turned to dust.

The master of the creatures was still alive when he began turning to dust, his eyes remained defiant until he was nothing more than a pile of dust along with the other dozen of his kind.

After a moment or two, I looked a Vi. “What the hell was that?”

She didn’t look up. “That, was how my world works. Werewolves live by, kill or be killed.”

“So you killed them all even though the couldn’t even reach you?”

“You don’t understand.” She looked up, her eyelashes glittered with tears though her eyes were cold, hard, and dangerous. “No human can ever understand why things like this happen. It is you’re kinds ultimate fault. It is why so many of you die.” With that, she disappeared, the door to her study slamming closed.

“Why do I get the feeling that was about more than just this?” Andy asked.

“Because it was.” Pete noted, looking at me.

I ignored all of them and walked downstairs, not really going anywhere, just wandering about the house.