Manifestation of a Monster (Warm-Blooded Vampires) Book 2

The Dinner Interrogation - Salvete De Saltu (8-03-2018)

As planned, Milo and Grendel met Justin and Amy at the agreed-upon eatery. As soon as they went inside, they were hit with a flood of enticing floral aromas. The walls and ceilings were covered in ivy and flowers. Grendel took a good hard look around and concluded two things. He had lost interest in staying there, for starters. Second, that the Netopuri was the owner of this establishment.

This was a common practice of the Netopuri. Their buildings often had a lot of flowers or smoke to overpower the smell of their rotten flesh. With only one or two around, it was difficult to tell. But the more of them there were, the more difficult it was to hide the odour. And the heat and sweat from working in a fast pasted restaurant made this even more notable. Someone like Amy may not have noticed. Humans rarely did. But this was different for him or Milo, Those odours couldn't be concealed in any way.

With a nod toward a seat made from what appeared to be a large piece of wood that had been sawed in half, the hostess reassured the gathering that they would only have to wait a few minutes longer. Amy looked at Milo and Grendle as they joined them. With a grin on her face and said, "You look a lot better. How are you doing?" Her attention switched from Milo to the cane he held, her grin faltering slightly. "That's new."

"Good day, Miss Jonson, I do feel well. Thank you for the inquiry."He flipped his hand from the cane's crown to its midpoint with a single motion of his wrist. "But one can't be to careful when it comes to matters of pride." She nodded as if in agreement.

Grendel squeezed through Milo and Justin to land close to Amy, beaming broadly. "Hey hottie, how have you been? long time?" He dear not look up, but he felt Justin's intense scrutiny. He could hear Milo's voice in his head. Behave Grendel. But he couldn't resist the temptation to have some fun by tormenting the youngster. Amy, unsurprising to him, sent him a quizzical glance while maintaining her cheerful demeanour.

"I hope you guys enjoy this place," Amy said, turning to face Milo and Justin. "I've heard great things about."

Grendel had no idea why he said what he did next. However, it seemed to be the appropriate thing to do. "I heard vampires run it." He extended his hands out as if clawing at the air as he talked.

Amy's smile had vanished as she turned around. "Seriously? How can you tell?"

In that instant, Grendel understood she was serious and that he had made a mistake. He let out a really loud, ominous laugh. A resounding "Yeah, because vampires are real." He cautiously glanced at Milo, who was pinching his brow. "What else is real? The mouth man, big feet?" He tried to play it off as a joke but Amy was having no part in it.

Before anything else could be said Justin began to blubber. "I didn't tell her." Almost pleading with Milo who hadn't bothered removing his hand from his face. "I swear. I didn't tell her anything. She just knew." Pure panic began to form on Justin's face.

Grendel, for some unknown reason, relished seeing him wriggle. If Milo had ordered Justin not to say anything. Justin wouldn't have been able to. The syer bond between the two would have stopped him. And Milo let Justin go believing he thought it was possible for him to do so. It was one thing for Grendel to dislike him. But it seemed as if Milo had just as little regard for Justin as well.

Grendel refocused his attention on Amy and said, "Well you're one intelligent girl. What gave him away?" After looking at Milo, he looked back at her. "Wanna see something cool?" Before she could respond He opened his mouth. With practice, he had mastered total command of them. Two canines grew in size and then separated. Milo looked around the room, unconcerned about what he was doing. As Justin looked on with hatred.

Amy stared in disbelief at first. "Oh wow. How exactly does that work? "Is it painful?"

"Not me?" He replied with a wink.

She recoiled involuntarily. She felt a flutter of terror, but her gaze never left the gleaming whites of the razor fangs. Grendel made a single, dramatic, over-the-top move toward his chest. "You don't really think I'm capable of hurting a person, do you?"

The thought crossed his mind that perhaps she wouldn't believe him. In a short glance towards Justin, which she missed, revealed that he had also not shared that information with her. He said with a teasing grin, "You have nothing to fear from me."

"Are they serrated?" Grendel paused for a moment, not knowing what she meant until she got closer. Again, she was inquiring about his teeth. She no longer seemed to be experiencing her previous levels of anxiety. She apparently thought he was harmless and she shouldn't fear him. This wasn't quite out of the ordinary, after all. Many individuals felt at ease in his presence. Although the general public was unaware of his true nature. Vampires, or what people believed to be vampires, struck fear in the hearts of most.

"May I look?" She inquired as if she wanted to pet someone's dog. She leaned in closer when Grendel opened his mouth again. "May I?" She raised her finger. She stroked her finger on his tooth as he nodded.

It seemed strange to him. He was now off-kilter due to her influence. From the outside, he appeared to be completely at ease. But he experienced a knot in his stomach. Something that common parlance may refer to as butterflies, yet he recognized that wasn't what this was.

When he got close to her, he could smell something incredibly alluring. Something about it triggered an emotion he couldn't quite identify. He held his hand back from reaching out to touch her. Feeling an invasive urge to hug her and hold her close. A passionate attempt at kissing her. He kept lecturing himself. Don't touch her, don't even think about it. But the intrusive thought slammed against his skull relentlessly.

There was no way he could have prevented himself if he had waited any longer. Right then, all he wanted to do was embrace her.

"Your table is ready," the hostess said, her remarks helping him regain his composure. Although he managed to keep his overly exaggerated smile on, he was in fact completely unnerved at that very moment.

As everyone got to their feet to follow the hostess, Milo stayed behind with Grendel. After a quick glance over, Milo spoke without words. Are you alright?

He wasn't. But he couldn't understand what it had been. He would need time to think about it. But now wasn't the time. He would just have to. Pretend to be ok. Something that wasn't new to him. It was the smell, not Amy. But what was it? He had known it. But it hid behind a veil of brain fog that he couldn't quite see past. "I'll be fine." Speaking the words out loud Milo paused for a moment to watch him, before moving on.

He wasn't. But he couldn't figure out what it was. He'd need some time to think about it. But it wasn't the right time. He'd just have to Pretend everything is OK. This was nothing new to him. It wasn't Amy, but the fragrance. But what exactly was it? He was well aware of it. But it was hidden behind a veil of brain fog he couldn't quite see through. "I'm going to be alright." Milo paused for a while to observe Grendel after he spoke the words aloud.