by H. T. Night
I looked at Josiah and thought, “Can I kill him now?”
“All right, you chose your destiny. Tommy, do what you like!” Josiah yelled back at me. I didn’t like anyone to spit in my face. Unfortunately for him, that was this guy’s death warrant. I bit down into the Mani’s neck and within seconds, he disappeared.
There were three of these idiots left.
“I’ve given you plenty of warning,” Josiah proclaimed like a king. “I have to do what I have to do.”
Two of the vampires went for Josiah and one came at me. This lack of respect was starting to piss me off. But, my guy was tough as shit and Josiah killed his guys rather fast.
“Hey, sheep!” Josiah yelled at my guy while we traded punches to each other’s faces. “Isn’t it time that you quit dying for a guy who could give a rat’s ass about you?” Josiah paused, then he said, “Follow me. You are a strong Mani man and we need you on our side. Fight alongside us and help me preserve our race. You don’t want to fight for a guy who left you here to die alone. Where is he?”
“Look, Josiah,” the man said. “I can’t follow a man who fights alongside Carni.”
“What is your name?” Josiah asked him. The man kept looking at me, so I remained crouched in my wolf form and ready to pounce.
“Tommy, stand down, transition, and walk over to me.”
I looked at Josiah and listened to him. My stubborn nature wanted to kick the kid’s ass for speaking to me that way, but I imagined this was how it was going to be as my friend continued to grow stronger.
“What is your name?” Josiah asked the vampire.
“I am Cyrus.”
“Look at Tommy,” Josiah said to Cyrus.
“No,” he answered like an arrogant prick.
“Look at him!” Josiah hissed and a bit of spittle flew out of his mouth. Josiah was now getting angry.
Cyrus turned and looked at me.
“What do you see?” Josiah asked Cyrus.
The prick paused and then said, “I see a man.”
“And?” Josiah continued.
“I see a man, much like myself,” he said.
“You two could be brothers. Your ethnicity is Scottish, correct?” Josiah asked.
“Scottish and Welsh,” he answered.
“Well, so is Tommy. Before you became a Mani and Tommy became a Carni, you were both Scotsmen. You guys were connected by heritage and tradition. You both bled Scottish blood. You have allowed this thing that all of us have become to dictate sides. Why does it have to? Who says we need to be on one side or the other?”
“Carni killed my brothers!” the prick yelled out.
“Tommy didn’t kill your brothers,” Josiah answered him. “As a matter of fact, if Tommy would have been there when that happened, he would have fought for what was right, even if it meant turning on his own. Don’t you see that this isn’t about Carni and Mani? This is about right and wrong.”
“What makes you the ones who are right?” he asked Josiah.
“I hope we are, Cyrus,” Josiah answered. “I think we’re right because we only react out of ‘love.’ We don’t seek revenge and we don’t randomly kill. We protect our own as well as other innocent people around us. If that isn’t right, then I guess I missed the point to all of this.”
“It’s hard to just let that go.” This asshole would not see reason.
“You’re going to have to. Vengeance has its time and place. It is wasted on those who don’t deserve it. Tommy has never wronged you. He is just a representation of what you hate. You need to free yourself from that, and seek hope.”
Finally, the prick nodded his head.
Josiah should have just killed him.
“Will you join me?” Josiah asked again.
“I can’t really go back now, can I?” he answered.
“Sure, you can. You can tell Krull you escaped my evil clutches. I want you to join us, but only if it’s in your heart.”
“You’re not what I expected,” Cyrus said to Josiah.
“Honestly, Cyrus, I am not even what I expected.” Now, the kid was making sense, even to me.
Then, to my surprise, the prick said, “I’ll follow you, Josiah.”
I looked at Josiah in complete astonishment. This kid was acting like he was starting a revolution. I nodded at my friend and he turned away. He was still upset with me. Hopefully, my unconditional love and loyalty would make its way into Josiah’s heart and he would someday understand what I did and why.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I took a taxi to Yari’s house, mainly because that was where I could speak to Josiah one on one. My little buddy was slowly turning into the godfather of these Mani vampires and frankly, I wasn’t having an easy time with it. At the end of the day, this was the kid who needed to be reminded by me to brush his teeth.
The cab driver dropped me off in front of Yari’s place before I knew it. My mind had been so wrapped up in thoughts of Josiah that I’d hardly noticed the drive to Yari’s. I tipped the taxi driver a couple bucks. The entire trip cost $25. Modern-day rip-offs. All they needed to do was sell a $5 movie soda and $10 amusement park churro in the back seat, so you could really feel like you were getting gouged.
When I arrived at the house, everyone was watching TV in the family room except for Josiah. He was alone in one of the back rooms, resting, I presumed. The door was a tad open. I decided to knock on it anyway.
“It’s Tommy,” I said in a deep voice.
After a moment, he opened the door. “Come in.”
“I feel a little out of place with all those vampires in the other room.” I sat on the corner of the bed.
“It’s not going to get any better in here.” Josiah winked at me. “Vampire, party of one.”
I laughed awkwardly and just blurted out, “Are we good?”
“Good?” Josiah repeated. “There is nothing good about this situation. I think we’re stuck together, for better or for worse.”
I sighed at my friend’s lack of compassion for me. “That’s it, we’re just stuck together?”
“What do you want me to say?” Josiah asked calmly. “That I think it’s cool what you did?”
“There are things we need to talk about,” I pressed.
“I know we need to talk. I’m just not sure if I’m ready to, that’s all. Tommy, you’re five years older than me. I have always looked up to you. This is a hard thing for me to get my head around. My dearest friend played the girl I love. That’s a hard pill to swallow.”
“I didn’t play her.” I shook my head at Josiah. I needed him to understand how I hadn’t planned on any of this happening.
“Oh, yeah, I forgot. You fell in love with her,” he said, mocking my feelings. Could I blame him?
“I’m sorry,” I said. “It was never supposed to be like this. In the end, Josiah, she’s just a girl.”
“Exactly, in the end, Tommy, but to me... she wasn’t just a girl. She was my validation in all of this. She lifted me up and made me want to become this God-forbidden thing that I am. She’s not ‘just a girl,’ and to think that’s all you see, just shows how awful it is that you made her fall for you.”
“She fell for me?” I was confused. What was Josiah trying to tell me here?
“Yeah, Tommy. She had feelings for you, too, and she felt it wasn’t fair for anyone. Tommy, you saw an opportunity and you took it, without any consideration for me. You know me. I don’t fall for girls every day. You didn’t care. You were only thinking about yourself.”
“I thought about you the whole time.” I stood up off the bed and paced around the room. “I hated myself. I still do hate myself.”
“And yet, you took her to the beach and told her that you were having feelings for her? And you didn’t stop there. You kissed her.”
Josiah needed the facts laid out for him so he could quit with this. He needed to see that at the end of the day, a kiss was only a kiss. “Lena’s not in love with me,” I said. “She told me so h
erself. She might feel something toward me, but it’s not the same as what she feels for you.”
“I don’t even care anymore,” Josiah said. “This whole thing is tainted. You put your stink all over the situation. Even if Lena and I were to work things out, we would both always know that my girlfriend has feelings for you. I don’t want to live in that world.”
“That is so selfish, Josiah!” He wasn’t thinking about Lena at all. She was in love with him and he needed to be brought back down to earth.
“You? Tommy? Are you telling me that I’m being selfish? Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Just hear me out, Josiah. You and I are cast from the same mold. The reason why we’re so close is because we’re so similar. Why wouldn’t the same girl see things in both of us that she’s attracted to?”
“Okay, Tommy. That is all fine and dandy. But, you’re in love with her.”
“I don’t know anymore.” After this, I didn’t think I would ever fall in love again.
“Bullshit!” Josiah raised his voice. “You sat there yesterday and spouted your undying love for my girlfriend. You can’t sit here and say it didn’t happen. Whatever you feel toward Lena is so strong that she feels it, too. Don’t tell me this isn’t important to you. I know it is. All I know is, she broke up with me over it. So, please don’t underplay it because that insults my intelligence.”
“She broke up with you?” I was shocked. Why would she do that? This was not the way things were supposed to go.
“Yeah, she did.” Josiah looked at me and I could see the deep pain in his eyes.
Damn, I am such an asshole.
“I’m so sorry, Josiah. Man, I fucked everything up.” I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach.
“What did you think would happen, Tommy? How did you think this would end?”
Josiah reached for the remote and I stood in front of the TV. “Josiah, I need to know if you forgive me.”
“Did you sleep with her?” Josiah asked plainly.
“Of course not.” I was shocked that he even needed to ask that question.
“Did you kiss her more than the one time at the beach?”
“No, it never happened again,” I assured him. “We just talked, mainly about you.” I looked deeply into my best friend’s eyes to show him how sincerely sorry I was. Some people may have called it manipulation, but I called it knowing my friend extremely well.
Josiah paused, then said, “I forgive you, Tom.”
“You do?” I was shocked. Relieved, but shocked.
“Yeah, I can forgive, but I can’t forget. Maybe over time, I’ll be able to, but for now, I’m going to have a hard time fully trusting you.”
“That’s fair and I hope someday that changes. Was there anything else?” I asked, wanting this conversation to just end.
“For now, I just wanted to make sure we were straight.”
“We’re good,” Josiah confirmed.
“You mind if I sleep in here?” I wasn’t comfortable around anyone other than Josiah in the condo.
Josiah agreed and before we knew it, the two of us had drifted off to sleep. At one point in the night, I could feel Yari putting a blanket on me. She topped it off with a kiss on my forehead.
Yari was as unpredictable as I was.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Josiah and I slept on the king-size bed. We were as close as brothers and comfort was always bigger than impression in our books. I was snoozing in a deep sleep when I was awakened by a slam of a door. It was the bedroom door and it was Josiah.
“Hey, Wolfie, wake up!”
“What the hell are you yelling about?” I said. My voice was hoarse and I felt grumpy at the intrusion. My words of the day usually fell under that description.
“Get up and gather your things, we’re moving,” Josiah ordered.
“We’re moving? What the hell?” I was completely confused, but pleased as shit to leave this cramped shit hole. “Where are we moving to?”
“Trust me, you’ll love it. It’s a freaking palace.”
“Wow, a palace!” Now, I was intrigued. “That’s cool. This place was getting a little cramped. Where is it? Beverly Hills?” I was hoping more for Inland Empire, but I was feeling snooty enough to throw the name Beverly Hills out there, as if I said that city’s name every day.
“Not quite,” Josiah answered. “Try a location that is a lot drier and hotter.”
“Where?” I asked.
“Victorville.”
“Victorville? You mean that desert town on the way to Las Vegas?” Talk about a shit hole. Palace? I didn’t think so. Not in that town.
“That would be the one.”
“That place is a hundred degrees, 365 days a year.” I knew Josiah didn’t want us living back at our house anymore. I imagined if Victorville was where the gang was headed, I would be sneaking over there as much as possible.
“Well, thank God our house will have air conditioning and a pool, so you won’t have to worry about it getting too hot,” Josiah said in a pissy tone. Apparently, he missed laying out by the pool. That was never my thing. I had a decent-enough body to show off, but I never trusted other people’s pools. They were a tad gross to me. And public pools? Forget about it.
“You know that for sure?” I said.
“Yes, I’ve been there. Get up and quit complaining.”
Josiah and traded banter back and forth until he walked out of the room.
One of the vampires reluctantly allowed me to drive his black truck for the move to Victorville. All the vampire birds packed the truck to capacity with their things, and then their werewolf houseboy drove it through the freeways for them.
I had the address to this place and frankly, Victorville was a hell of a long way to drive. I decided to stop by a dive bar near our home in San Bernardino. They needed to pave the parking lot. It was all dirt and potholes. I drove over one the size of a manhole cover and the jolt it threw through the truck nearly caused the chaotic bunch of furniture and boxes to hop out. I would have to be careful pulling out of here, because I couldn’t see out of the rearview mirror.
The Dirty Pie Hole had seen better days. The short stucco building had cracks and holes in it and I swore the whole thing was leaning, just a little, to the right. Inside, it wasn’t much better. It was dimly lit, which was probably for the best. It made it more difficult to see how dingy the floor, tables and chairs were. I always sat at the bar because it was cleaner than the rest of the place.
The bartender was a six-foot-tall kid who, I was certain, was human. He lacked the usual confidence that immortals had everywhere they went. Knowing it was nearly impossible to kill you could do that to someone. I’d witnessed the change in my own best friend’s behavior. As for myself, I thought I had always oozed confidence and becoming a werewolf only solidified how bad-ass I thought I was.
“I would like a double shot of vodka,” I said, sliding into the bar stool nearest the bartender.
“That’s it?” the bartender asked. “Any preference on the vodka?”
“Don’t give me the worst shit you have, but don’t go top shelf on me either.”
“Got it.” The bartender laughed.
I was glad he was laughing. I rubbed people the wrong way all the time. When I didn’t, it was a breath of fresh air.
I proceeded to pound double shot of vodka after double shot of vodka until I neared ten. I was drowning my sorrows and this was some fine medicine.
“Look, buddy. I’ve never met you and I can see your tolerance is through the roof, but I do have a twenty-shot limit, even on my most hardcore of customers.”
“Well, I’m no way near that number,” I said, drunk and slurring my speech.
“These are double shots. This is your tenth double shot, I’m cutting you off. I don’t want to find you dead in the parking lot from alcohol poisoning.”
I was pretty trashed and could see that this human was looking out for my best interests. “You’re a good man, bartend
er, sir,” I said, looking around the bar. “Do you have a bathroom?”
“Of course we do. It’s to the left of the entrance.”
I stood up and realized how drunk I was. The world began to spin a bit. I took a deep breath and tried to focus enough to stop the spinning. Once the floor stopped moving under my feet, I walked slowly toward the entrance and the bathroom beside it. I managed to make the trek without falling down, though a chair had gotten in my way and I’d kicked it to the side. When I reached the bathroom door with the sign showing a little man trapped in a circle, I pushed it open. To my relief, there was a urinal inside with my name on it.
When I left the bathroom, I decided I wanted a cigarette. Cigarettes were only pleasurable when I was this drunk. I had no clue why, but that had been the case ever since I’d started drinking back in the day.
I walked outside and saw that it was now night. There were a couple of dudes smoking at the corner of the bar. I walked over as coolly as I could and asked the shortest guy for a cigarette. He obliged and gave me a cigarette. He even lit it for me after I managed to slip it between my numb lips. When he’d finished helping me, he turned back to the other guy and continued the conversation they were having before I’d rudely interrupted.
Left to my own devices, I took a deep hit off of the cigarette. The cherry was a beacon of light in the darkness. It had a cooling sensation. Menthol. Not my usual choice, but I could understand how it could be a favorite. I felt the burn of nicotine and the cool of the menthol. It made for a nice combination. Good thing I was immortal and didn’t need to worry about the side effects.
I took my phone out of my pocket and debated calling Josiah. He was a different dude lately. The Josiah I once knew I could have just called and he would have laughed at this shit and come and picked me up. So, instead of calling my best friend, I called the one woman I knew would likely come out to see me. Or at least, my drunk mind was hoping so.
I pressed Yari’s name in my contacts. She answered on the fifth ring.
“Hi, there,” I said, slurring heavily.
“You’re going to have to do better than that. I know about a thousand people.” She seemed preoccupied and now, I was second-guessing having called her at midnight.