by H. T. Night
Wow, I was picking up mixed signals from Lena. Was she happy or sad that I was now in charge?
“Okay,” I said. “If Krull is going to come after me, then that means he is coming after us. If this is too much for anyone and you want out—let it be known now.”
I looked at Hector.
“I’m in,” he said.
“Hey, I got Hector to talk again,” I joked. “This is an epic night.” Hector smiled. I looked over at Wyatt. “You in, Teethie?”
Wyatt laughed. “I told you that night that I didn’t know you weren’t one of those frat douchebags.”
“Did I at least taste good?”
“Oh, you taste good,” Yari responded. Yari had been my second bite when she sucked the snake venom out of me.
I looked at Yari. “You in?”
“I’ve been in for two years with you, Josiah.”
I nodded and looked at Lena. “What about you? You don’t have to be part of this.”
Lena shrugged. “You’re joking, right? Josiah, this thing that we all are part of—is the only thing that matters now.” I nodded at Lena. I was afraid for her. She was barely five feet tall and maybe 100 pounds. This wasn’t going to be easy.
Tommy, who had finished his shower, had changed into a pair of black basketball shorts and a black tank top. He entered the kitchen and went straight to the refrigerator.
I looked over at Tommy, who by now, was making himself a sandwich. “How about you, werewolf boy? You want to stand and fight with a bunch of vampires?”
Tommy looked around the group. “Well, considering none of you has tried to kill me yet, that’s what I plan on doing. I don’t have too many options, anyway.”
“All right,” I said. “I need to know two more things. First, what is our money situation? Do you guys have jobs? How do you pay for stuff?”
Everyone laughed.
“We don’t need jobs, Josiah,” Yari answered.
“What? Do you all steal?” I asked.
“None of us are thieves. We all have our own money for different reasons.”
“Do you have bank accounts?”
“Swiss bank accounts,” Wyatt laughed.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
Wyatt looked over to Hector and Hector gave him a nod as if to say it was okay to tell me.
“Hector used to be a prince.”
“Hector? A prince? You’re screwing with me, right?”
“Serious as a heart attack, Josiah.”
“Prince Hector?” I looked over at Hector and he grinned.
“Yeah, so he’s set,” Wyatt continued. “I’m set because of some great real estate ventures I made in the 90s when the market was good. And Yari—”
Yari interrupted Wyatt and said, “I had a few ‘friends’ along the way that have allowed me to live comfortably for quite some time.”
“So, you’re a gold digger?” I asked.
“Not a gold digger. I like pretty things and men seem to like to provide me with that.”
“This is why I never cared to ask about your money situations,” I said. “I was scared to know.”
“Josiah, there is a combined wealth among the three of us that approaches Donald Trump.”
I looked over at Lena. “Don’t look at me. I’ve been sponging off my parents and these guys for the last couple years.”
“Well,” I said. “I still have a lot of inheritance left, so I guess money is the least of our worries.” I knew that Tommy had some money from his MMA winnings. “So, my next question is what Mani gifts do each of you have?”
“Don’t look at me,” Tommy goofed. “I can only bite people once a month when the moon is full.” Tommy decided this was his cue to head upstairs to my bedroom. I knew my dear friend was uncomfortable in this situation and I was proud of his generosity. Tommy let us know there was enough room and he headed to bed.
I looked to the Hector and continued our conversation about our skillsets.
“What about you, Hector?”
“I can transition and sometimes see the future.”
“Wyatt?”
“The same,” Wyatt answered.
“Lena, what can you do?” I asked.
“I can erase thoughts and transition. I might have more. I don’t know.”
“Yari, what about you?”
Yari was quiet. “Yari?” I repeated.
“I can do everything, but fly in Mani form,” she said plainly.
“You serious?” I said, impressed.
“I’ve been around a long time. You pick up skills along the way.”
“Then you’re going to be as valuable as hell,” I said, pleased.
“I’m not sure how valuable I’m going to be to the cause,” Yari said. “Mind reading and memory erasing only work on the very weakest Mani and Carni. My skills will be limited against Krull’s crew.”
Then something dawned on me. Yari said she had every skill except flying. That means she could see into the future. She must have known that I was The Chosen. I didn’t want to say it in front of everyone. But it all made sense now. The reason she saved me, and why she let me know how to defeat Atticai. I thought she did all that because she was in love with me. Apparently, she was only doing the will of the Triat.
“Don’t sell yourself short, Yari. The reason why I’m alive is because of you.”
Yari seemed pleased that had I said that. “I can tell you this, Josiah. Krull will not come for you here. You are going to battle Krull at another time. It won’t be here, and it won’t be anytime soon.”
“You know that for sure?” I asked Yari.
“As far as Krull and his minions are concerned, we will be safe here.”
“What about you, Josiah?” Wyatt came out and asked. “What gifts do you have?
“I’m not exactly sure.”
“You said earlier that you could do some weird shit now,” Yari added.
“I’m not completely sure what I can do,” I said again.
“You must know something.” Yari persisted. “What things can you do differently? Are you faster? Are you stronger?”
“Well, I can change into the white eagle and—”
“Tell them, Josiah,” Lena said bluntly.
“Tell us what, Josiah?” Yari said. “What aren’t you telling us?”
I hesitated. Why didn’t I want to tell them the truth? Maybe I was scared that if they knew all I could do, they’d expect me to be some kind of Christ-like figure. I wasn’t ready to tell them. I looked across at Lena.
Lena said in a soft voice, “You need to tell them.”
I exhaled and said, “I can fly, too.”
“As a Mani?” Wyatt asked.
“Yes, I can fly even when I’m not the eagle. But I can’t control it very well. And I don’t know exactly how to start it.”
“Holy shit!” Hector spouted.
We all laughed.
“Anything else?” Wyatt asked.
“Yeah, there is one more thing. But I have less control with this than I do flying.”
“What is it?” Yari stared at me intently.
“Yari,” I said. “Do you see a Styrofoam cup somewhere?”
“Let me see.” Yari opened the cabinet directly behind where he was standing in the kitchen. He grabbed a bag that had Styrofoam cups inside. “Do you need just one?” he asked
“One will be fine; you can put it on the table.”
Lena placed the Styrofoam cup in the center of the table. “Everyone, step back and stand next to me and look at the cup.”
Everyone walked over and surrounded me. The table was about five feet away.
“All right, watch!” I stared at the cup. Once I felt a connection, and a bond with it, I closed my eyes, turned my head, and opened my eyes, staring at the left wall. And, with a sudden boost of energy, the cup shot off the table and hit the ceiling.
“What the hell?” Lena shouted. “You can move stuff with your mind?”
“Yes,” I said
.
“I have never heard of a Mani being able to do that,” Yari said.
“Me neither.” Wyatt continued. “That must be a specific gift given only to Josiah. How heavy of an object can you move?”
I looked at the group and said, “I moved a 400-pound boulder the other night. It lifted off the ground and flew about 40 yards.”
“Can you control it precisely?” Yari asked.
“Not even close,” I said. “Just right now I tried to make the cup hit the left wall and it hit the ceiling instead.”
“So, you tried to move it in one direction,” Lena asked, “and the cup went in another?”
“I can move it, but not control it.”
“Do you have any control over it, whatsoever?” Lena asked.
“I am able to connect with an object almost on a spiritual level; other than that, not really. Once I have the connection, the object moves whatever direction it wants.”
“Just like any skill, Josiah,” Yari said, “you’re going to have to master it.”
I was tired and once again had had an exhausting night. “All right, guys. I’m beat. I’m going to find a bedroom and get some rest.”
Chapter Ten
I found a room in the far west corner of the house that was some kind of guest room. It appeared to be a room that had been added onto the cabin after it was built. The room only had a couch and an old box TV.
I flopped on the couch and stared at the ceiling remembering my vision from the night before. ‘Tame the wolf,’ I thought. I didn’t have much experience, if any, with the species. Other than those Neanderthals at the bar, the only other wolf I knew was Tommy. Was Tommy the wolf that needed to be tamed? Was I to train him? Tommy was already a great fighter. If anyone needed training, it was me. I knew nothing about being a werewolf. How was I supposed to train him? I lay there pondering this and then it hit me! I jumped up and went to the hallway and ran up the cabins stairway. I knocked on Tommy’s door. God only knew what was going on in there.
“Who is it?” Tommy asked behind the door.
“Hey, Tommy, it’s Josiah. I have a couple questions for you.”
“Yeah?” Tommy answered, opening the door.
“Why exactly do you lock yourself in a cage when you become a werewolf? What are you afraid of?”
Tommy didn’t hesitate to answer my question. “I’m afraid of hurting someone,” he said, “or doing something that might cause someone to want to hurt or even kill me.”
“Do you have any recollection after you come out of your werewolf state?” I asked.
“I don’t have a stream of memory. I remember glimpses—or random moments.”
“Are there any specific details that you remember in those glimpses or random moments? Why do you suppose you remember those moments as opposed to others?”
Tommy thought for a second. “Maybe I remember the times when my senses are heightened.”
“Really?”
“Where are you going with this, Josiah?”
I looked at Tommy and said, “I had a vision last night. Or at least I think I did.”
“And...” Tommy pressed.
“I won’t go into the details of the dream, but I’ll tell you the message I was given. I was told ‘to tame the wolf’ and I would find myself.”
“And you believe that I am the wolf?” Tommy asked.
“Why wouldn’t you be? It’s the only thing that makes any sense.”
Then I proceeded to tell Tommy everything I was sensing from my dream. How it would be me to train him to be a cognitive werewolf. Tommy had a lot of concerns, but in the end, he agreed to see if this vision meant anything. He trusted me and that was a great place to start.
When I left the room, I saw Yari sitting on the top stair on the stairwell.
Yari nodded and followed me down the stairs. “What is it, Josiah?”
“You knew, didn’t you?” I said.
“Knew what?”
“You knew that it was me and not Atticai that was supposed to be in charge of all of this; that’s why you followed me for two years.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Yari seemed worried.
“Look, I won’t say anything to anyone else. But if you are able to see into the future, you must have known.”
Yari paused for what seemed to be a long time. She was struggling with telling me the truth. Then, softly, she said, “I knew.
“Wow.”
“Are you mad?” she asked.
I wasn’t sure what I felt, but I was definitely not mad. Because of all of this, I was able to find Lena. I could never be upset about that.
“I’m not mad, Yari. Not at all. In fact, I’m honored.” I looked over at her. She was still stunning and I cared for her deeply, although no longer in a romantic way but rather a protective way. I took her by the hand and pulled her close to me and hugged her tightly.
“You ready for what is to come?” Yari whispered in my ear.
“I hope so,” I said. “I sure hope so.”
Chapter Eleven
There wouldn’t be a full moon for another two weeks. That gave Tommy plenty of time to think about what I requested. It had also given me time to consider how I would try to tame and train the wolf.
On one of the evenings, Tommy and Yari went out and purchased items at the local clothing store. They bought clothes for everyone. They bought me some comfy plaid pajamas. I’m used to sleeping naked, so wearing any kind of nightwear made me uncomfortable and itchy.
It was a couple of days before the next full moon. We were all watching Survivor on the tube. Tommy made eye contact with me across the room and mouthed, “I’m in.” I nodded and felt pleased. I turned my head and watched another blindside at tribal council. Damn, I loved Survivor.
It was the day of the first full moon. I went into Tommy’s room and he was lying on his bed listening to his MP3 player.
“What you listening to?” I asked.
“Some old-school Bobby Brown.”
“Nice.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Tonight is the first night of the full moon.”
“I realize that, Josiah. This isn’t my first rodeo.”
Then Tommy and I went over the details of his turning. I found out it lasts three nights and that would be a challenge. I told Tommy I would speak to him the following day.
I went into the kitchen. Hector, Wyatt, Lena and Yari were all sitting at the table drinking from Styrofoam cups.
“Good evening, sunshine,” Lena said with a little flirtation in her voice. I smiled in her direction. Our eyes met and we took a moment to allow each other in. I hadn’t tried to get closer to her the past couple weeks. I knew I had feelings, she knew I wasn’t going anywhere. So, why rush into something?
“Do you ever have cravings, Josiah?” Wyatt asked.
“For blood? No, not yet. But I did enjoy Goliath’s blood the other night when I got a taste of it.”
“That didn’t send your cravings into orbit? That doesn’t make any sense,” Yari chimed in. “All Mani have intense cravings, almost from the get-go.”
Yari looked at me with skepticism.
“What? Don’t you think I’m a real Mani?” I said.
“The protruding incisors and that fact I now fry in the sun isn’t enough for you?”
“I just don’t like it that you can still eat like a teenage boy. It isn’t fair.”
“Seriously, Yari, has any of this been fair to any of us?”
“You have gotten the better end of the stick, you have to at least admit that, Josiah,” Lena added.
“Oh, don’t you start with me, little missy. Thanks to Yari, Wyatt, and Hector, I am who I am.”
“And thanks to Atticai, Yari, and you, I’m who I am, too,” Lena reputed.
“Touché,” I said.
“You two just need to have sex and get it over with,” Yari just came out and said.
“No one is having sex with anybody,” I said. “Unless that’s how you
and Hector roll?” I shot Wyatt a look and grinned playfully.
“Very funny,” Wyatt said. “I had enough tail in the 1920s to last any man a lifetime.”
“Hey, Josiah?” Hector spoke up. “Did your...” Hector awkwardly looked in the direction of my groin.
“Did my... what?” I asked.
“You know, did your... you know?” He eyed my package again.
“Did my what?” I said again. “Quit looking down at me, you perv.”
“I think what he’s trying to ask you is,” Yari said. “Did little Josiah get bigger when you became the Almighty Chosen?”
“I honestly don’t know,” I said.
“How’s that possible? Yari laughed.
“I haven’t had an erection since I became a Mani.” The whole room fell apart laughing.
“It made you impotent?” Wyatt marveled.
“No,” I said, insulted. “I haven’t exactly been in a romantic mood after having my life turned upside down.” I looked at Hector. “So, to answer your question, I don’t know. Why you need to know the details of my member is creepy. Anyway, I have always been a grower, not a show-er.”
Lena smiled at me. “Can we stop talking about Josiah’s package, if that’s okay with everyone?”
“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough, sweetie,” Yari stated to Lena. Lena ignored Yari’s comment. But she didn’t say she wouldn’t. Hey, every little bit helps.
“I concur,” I said. “So what are you drinking? Animal blood?”
“Not exactly,” Yari said.
“Human blood?” I asked, disgusted.
“No one that had to die for it, if that’s what you’re afraid of.” Lena laughed as she sipped her cup.
“That’s good,” I said. “Glad to see we still have our morals.”
“Don’t worry, I know the graveyard security guy at Running Springs Hospital. He hooked us up last night.”
“Did you and Tommy go pick it up?” I asked.
Yari looked at me with a little disdain. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It doesn’t mean anything. I was only asking.”
“Yeah, Tommy went with me. Is that a problem? Or do you need to keep tabs on me?”
“Oh, you would like that, wouldn’t you?” I responded. “Yari, I have zero problem with you and Tommy being friends. As a matter of fact, you can be more than friends. Go have tons of vampire and werewolf babies.”