by H. T. Night
“Why?”
“Because another pair of eyes would be good.”
I thought about it. “Okay,” I answered. “You guys should go quickly. Take Wyatt and Hector; ravens are little more common.”
“Hey, Wyatt!” I yelled. Wyatt was asleep on the couch.
“Where’s Hector?”
“Stop yelling. Hector’s asleep in the bathtub!”
“Wake him up. You all need to go look for Tommy.”
Lena came out of the bedroom and we told her about Tommy and she volunteered to go look for him. I told her to be safe and the four of them left to find Tommy.
I was still extremely tired. My body was telling me it needed to sleep. I went back into the guest room and lay down, although I did not feel good about the situation.
My eyes grew heavy. I closed them.
Suddenly, I heard, “Why haven’t you left?”
I opened my eyes and once again I was outside the great white castle.
“Why haven’t you left?” It was the little blue gnome. He was standing over me as I was on my back.
“Should I have left?” I asked.
“You know the location. It’s now a matter of coming to see me.”
“Am I done with the wolf?”
“Have you tamed him?”
“I’m not sure. We connected, but...”
“But what?”
“I’m not sure if that was all there was.”
“What else could there be?” The gnome said, looking down at me.
“I thought if we were able to tame him, he might be able to control when he actually turns into a werewolf.”
“You don’t believe that anymore?” The gnome asked.
“Should I believe that?”
“Always trust your intuition.”
“I have been.”
“Then don’t stop now,” the gnome said. And with that, I woke up instantly.
I had been asleep a long time and it was dark outside. These vampire sleeps were eerie. Time went by a little too fast for my taste.
It was 8:30 p.m. and there was no sign of anyone. What the hell? They had been gone almost 15 hours. This was not good. What the hell was going on? I checked my phone and it was dead. Fuck, I forgot to charge it.
I stood up and went outside Yari’s front door. I stepped onto the front porch and looked up to the sky. I knew shit was about to go down. I could feel it in my... well, veins. This was the calm before the storm. Tommy had done something stupid, now I knew it for sure. He had gone back to visit his old clan. I felt it deep in my soul. I closed my eyes and for the first time, I began to see picture frames.
They looked like little short three-second films. I could see Tommy. He was at the ranch where I had fought Goliath. He was surrounded by many Carni men. Dammit, I lost the vision. Shit!
I concentrated harder. I could now see a row of trucks. They were filled with Carni; they were riding out to the ranch.
My visions seemed to be skipping time. I wasn’t sure if my second vision happened before or after the previous one. I closed my eyes again. I could now see Yari and Lena. They were trying to talk to Tommy and he wasn’t listening. Shit! Tommy! Listen to them! You fucker! I lost the vision again. Once again, I closed my eyes and concentrated with all I had. I could now see Lena. The Carni had Lena!
Chapter Twenty-four
I immediately transitioned into the white eagle and flew up into the sky.
My large wings flapped rapidly and headed south to Orange County. I wasn’t sure how fast I was flying, but looking down at the cars below on the freeway I could tell I was going about five times faster.
I made it to Anaheim Hills in mere minutes but I wasn’t sure what timeframe my visions were in. As I approached the ranch, I feared my last vision was taking place in the present. I looked down and could see an all-out war going on down at the ranch. What had Tommy done? He had put everyone in danger. Where was Lena? I circled the ranch. All my friends were isolated, the same way we did the werewolves the other night. I couldn’t see Lena!
Wyatt and Hector were fighting about six Carni each at the north end of the ranch. Yari had her hands full with a number of Carni women and from the looks of it, she seemed to be doing okay.
Where was Tommy? Where the fuck was Lena? I circled and scoped the ground.
I could see Tommy by the large trees fighting three of the bastards. Where the hell was Lena? I could see everyone except for Lena.
Then I spotted Goliath; he was between two trucks. He appeared to be wrestling someone much smaller than him—extremely smaller than him. IT HAD TO BE LENA!
She was fighting off the ogre. I didn’t think and just reacted. I lunged forward with a force so ferocious I felt like a heat-seeking missile crashing into a military target. As I bolted to the earth, I extended my wings for more acceleration. I was going to kill that overgrown piece of shit! I was about a hundred feet from piling into Goliath’s back with my sharpened beak when I heard Lena yelled out, “No, Josiah! It’s a setup!”
It was too late. Goliath turned around and was holding a ten-foot lead pipe in his hand. I tried to stop, but couldn’t. My momentum carried me forward like an out-of-control freight train. I was going too fast and was too out of control. There was no way to stop!
I tried to veer out of the way of Goliath, but there was no chance. As I came up on him, Goliath swung the lead pipe like Albert Pujols during batting practice and whacked me directly in my stomach. I ricocheted backward off the pipe.
I fell to the ground about fifteen feet away. I couldn’t move. He had hit my stomach with the full force of the pipe. My stomach felt like it exploded. The pipe had torn up my insides and I could feel my bones breaking inside of my body. I was on my back and automatically transitioned from eagle to Mani. I lay on the ground, spitting out blood.
I couldn’t see anything. I could hear bodies surrounding me. I took my hand and felt my rib cage. All my ribs were broken. My Mani blood poured out of my mouth. There was nothing I could do and I was fucking helpless. What the hell! This wasn’t the way this was supposed to end.
I didn’t know what to do; I was dying and knew it. The pain was excruciating. I couldn’t just lay there and have Goliath kill me. I did the only thing I could do—broken ribs and split innards and all—I stood up.
I opened my eyes and could now see. All my friends were being held by mobs of Carni. Ten to one was the only way they could handle any of us. Well, except for me. All it took was Goliath and a lead pipe.
Lena broke free from her mob and ran toward me and another Carni grabbed her before she was able to reach me. “Josiah!” Lena cried out to bring me down and use my friends for bait, my lover.
What the fuck, Tommy. You led all of us to a fucking slaughter. I couldn’t stand any longer, I was too weak. I was in too much pain and I fell to my knees.
I looked to my right and saw Goliath slowly walking toward me, savoring each moment with each step he took closer to me. His back apparently was still hurting as he winced when he walked. I looked to my left and saw Tommy doing all he could to try to break free from his own Carni mob holding him back. There were too many of them. There must have been over a hundred Carni out here. They loaded up and we were all going to pay for it. Goliath walked up to me. “What happened, eagle man? You don’t have any more magic?”
I was too weak to even concentrate. I couldn’t do anything. I was in too much pain. I looked up to the sky and called out into the night. I yelled out to whatever force—whatever had been giving me these visions to spare me. “Please,” I yelled out. “Not like this!”
Then I heard Tommy’s voice. “Josiah! I’m sorry!”
He can’t give up, I thought. Was Tommy giving up?
Goliath reached down with his giant hands and picked me up. He raised me over his head like a prized kill. With a triumphant warrior cry, he chucked my mangled body thirty yards in the air. I landed on the ground in a heap of misery. Every bit of me hurt. Every inch of me ached. This had to be he
ll.
Wyatt and Hector had transitioned into ravens, but they weren’t able to escape. They were being held down like wild animals. They were put in steel birdcages that seemed specially designed to catch Mani birds. There was nothing any of us could do and the Carni knew it. So they let Lena go and she ran over to where Goliath had tossed me. They let her go for sick sport. To watch her see me die...
Lena dove on the ground next to me and held my head as I lay on my back. “Josiah, try and do something, anything. There has got to be something you can do.”
I looked up and saw my angel. I shook my head. “Lena, please leave. They have let you go; you can transition and get out of here.”
“I won’t leave you,” she said, holding my head in her lap. “Just like the needlepoint picture in the cabin...”
‘Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.’ I tried to remember where that saying came from. It seemed like it came from another life of Josiah Reign, one that happened so long ago that I began to forget who I was, as who I am took point.
The entire Carni mob had now made a wall around us. They all seemed amused that Lena seemed to care for me so tenderly. They were all calling out for Goliath to kill me.
Lena covered me with her body. “No one touch him!” she yelled. But Goliath once again made his way to me.
“Lena, if you love me, please leave!” I yelled.
“I won’t,” she said. “I’ll die here with you tonight.”
“Oh, you will die, sweet Mani ass. All of you will.” Goliath laughed.
I tried to sit up one last time, but I couldn’t. Goliath grabbed Lena and tossed her to the side.
I looked up and for the first time, I saw Yari. Our eyes met. She was saying something to me. Her lips were moving but I couldn’t hear her.
Then Goliath’s giant body was all I could see. Four other Carni came over and pinned down my arms and legs. Goliath had a silver stake in his right hand. He was going to kill me. He raised the stake up in the air and I could see it sparkle in the moonlight.
“Get him to his knees. I want to see him beg. I want to see his eyes as he dies.” Goliath got right in my face. “See these eyes? I want them to be the last thing you see before you go ‘poof’ in the night.”
Then he spoke to his Carni cohorts. “Hold his head tight.” And then looked back at me again, his eyes filled with hatred and menace, bloodlust and rage. “I’m going to pound this deep through your pretty little neck.”
Goliath snapped his fingers and someone had tossed him a sledgehammer.
This was it. He was going to kill me and there was nothing I could do. I had already cried out to the Triat. There was no way I was going to beg for my life. I was too weak. I inhaled air and with my last breath, I yelled, “TOMMY! SAVE ME!” I turned my head to the crowd and could see Tommy’s eyes. He was still being held back, but I could see his eyes—his bright yellow eyes! TOMMY WAS TURNING!
Suddenly, Tommy howled at the top of his lungs. Everyone stopped and looked at him. Then it happened! The freaking miracle happened! Everything came together in one moment: my visions, training Tommy, the bonding, everything.
“I’m coming, Josiah!” I heard Tommy’s voice inside my head!
In an instant, Tommy transitioned from Carni to a giant gray werewolf. Goliath stopped in his tracks and turned to face Tommy. Tommy had lunged forward in his werewolf form and began biting and throwing Carni around with his enormous canine mouth.
The four Carni had let me go to save themselves from this crazed werewolf. I just fell to the ground because I had no more strength. Tommy bit, clawed, and tore into every Carni in his path.
All the Carni who were still alive ran. And all the ones who died, disappeared. All except Goliath; he stayed.
“What kind of bullshit is this? It’s not even a fucking full moon. What the fuck, Tommy? Did they make a Mani out of you?”
I watched as Tommy dove on top of Goliath. Goliath kicked Tommy off of him.
Tommy flew ten feet forward. Goliath charged into Tommy, still holding his silver stake. Holy shit! If anyone can kill a werewolf with just a stake in his hand, it was Goliath. Tommy bit Goliath’s hand and he cried out in pain as the bones in his hand was crushed and then... he dropped the stake.
I was losing consciousness. Lena and Yari both ran to me. I looked up and saw both women. Yari looked down at me and told me what she was trying to mouth to me earlier.
“What is it, Yari?” I asked, barely being heard.
“Heal yourself, Josiah.”
“Heal myself?”
“It’s been done before. It might work.”
I looked up at Lena. Tears marred her beautiful face.
“Please, Josiah. Try,” Lena whispered. “It’s your only chance.”
I closed my eyes and placed my hands over my stomach where most of the pain was coming from.
I felt my own body. I put my hands over my injuries. I imagined my body healing itself.
Nothing was happening. I could heal myself as much as I could walk on water. Walk on water? Was that it? Did I need to submit?
Then I yelled out loud, “Please heal me.” It was less of a command and more of a prayer. I was saying it to whoever was in control. I may have been The Chosen, but I wasn’t the one in charge.
Then I felt an amazing peace come over my body. A power far greater than anything I had ever known. I could feel my ribs tightening. I could feel my legs and arms growing stronger. I must have had twenty broken bones in my body. Each one straightened itself and hardened. Each one was being rebuilt.
I was still on my back, but not for long. Something supernatural was lifting me off the ground. I saw a bright light going through me. I was floating in midair about ten feet off the ground. Something had taken over my body—something far greater than myself—far greater than anything of this world.
Yari and Lena had stepped aside. I looked up in the sky and I knew I was being blessed not by only the Triat, but by a higher power. My entire body had been healed. Then, as fast as it happened, the light went away, and I landed on the ground.
I stood up and felt taller, stronger, and more muscular than ever before. I felt like I could eat steel. I looked over at Goliath and Tommy. Goliath was manhandling Tommy and had gotten a hold of the silver stake again. He didn’t waste any time. He tried to stab Tommy in his chest; luckily, he missed. He stabbed Tommy in his right shoulder. Tommy fell backward and Goliath removed the stake from Tommy’s shoulder and raised the stake over his head to pierce Tommy’s heart.
That was not going to happen. In a blink of an eye, I flew over and kicked Goliath’s hand and the stake went flying. I looked over at Tommy and he was seriously hurt.
“Get Tommy out of here!” I yelled to Yari and Lena. Wyatt and Hector were still trapped inside the birdcages.
I jumped on top of Goliath and grabbed him with all my might. I held him with my hands and flew him up into the air. He was a giant beast, but I felt stronger than ever. Goliath punched me in the face in midair. I drop-kicked him and he fell to the ground from twenty feet up. The bastard was so fucking huge; he landed on his two feet.
I flew down to the ground and once again ate shit when I hit the earth. Damn, I needed to learn how to land. Goliath ran up to me and kicked me in the chest. I flew back five feet.
“All right, Goliath. Just you and me, no flying, no lead pipes. It’ll just be an old-fashioned street fight.”
“Are you serious? You will have no chance.” Goliath came at me with a haymaker and clocked me in my chin. I once again fell back, but didn’t fall to the ground and that seemed to surprise the overgrown shithead.
I came back and kicked him in his chest. That was as high as my high kick would reach. He fell back a couple of steps.
“Screw it! Let’s box, motherfucker,” I said to Goliath and I stepped up and gave Goliath multiple five-punch combinations and landed nearly all of them. Goliath took each punch and seemed to love to take
a hit; he fed off it.
We then began trading punches. I would punch Goliath, and then his gigantic ass would punch me back. It was almost a test to see who could handle the better punch, who could withstand more pain. I was known for being able to take a punch, but this was ridiculous. His fists felt like lead pipes themselves.
We continued to battle. I hit his nose, he hit my right eye, I hit his mouth, he hit my chin. This went on for twenty minutes. Neither one of us would quit. This wasn’t going anywhere. This guy tried to kill me. He tried to kill Tommy. He hurt Lena. He deserved to die. I dug deep as I sensed Goliath finally tiring.
“Fuck the street fight!” Goliath said, tackling me with his enormous frame and I landed on my back, right next to the damn silver stake. Goliath jumped on top of me. I could see Wyatt and Hector charging him from about two hundred feet away. Goliath and I both grabbed for the silver stake at the same time. I grabbed it first and rammed it directly into his heart. I struck him with all the remaining strength I had. His entire body landed on top of me. I pushed him off of me and he fell beside me. I rolled over and looked him right in the eyes and said, “Surprise, motherfucker!” It was he who would see my eyes with his last breath. As he took his last breath, he vanished as the others had before him. Hector and Wyatt came up on me. Hector leaned over and helped me up.
I walked over to Tommy. He was still a werewolf and bleeding badly. I placed my hand on my injured friend’s shoulder and simply said, “Please, heal him, too.” Suddenly I felt a burst of heat leave my body and enter his. Tommy’s wound had been healed and he instantly transitioned back to his Carni form.
“I should be pissed at you, Tommy,” I said. “But I think everything that happened tonight was according to plan.”
“You’re not the only one with visions, Josiah,” Tommy said.
“That’s what I figured.” I hugged my best friend.
Chapter Twenty-five
I was about to board my plane. I was at LAX Airport in Los Angeles.
“You sure this is what you’re supposed to do?” Tommy asked.
“I’m certain,” I said.