The Immortal Warriors Boxed Set: Books 1-11

by H. T. Night

  “Good luck, brother.” Tommy shook my hand. “You sure you don’t want me to go with you? What if the blue gnome turns out to be a weirdo?”

  “I have to do this alone.”

  Wyatt and Hector both came over to me and shook my hand.

  “Hey,” I said to Wyatt and Hector, “you two look after my three favorite people in this world.” Wyatt and Hector both looked at me sadly. “You two are definitely fourth and fifth,” I assured them and they both smiled. “Even though you both tried to kill me,” I laughed. “Kidding, I am just kidding.”

  I grabbed my bag and Yari came over to me. “Hurry back, Josiah.”

  “I will. I promise.” I gave Yari a giant hug. I looked behind her and saw Lena. She was looking at me with tears in her eyes. I dropped my bag and walked over to her. I smiled gently and said, “I’ll be back.” Lena looked up at me. I took my hand and wiped the tears from her eyes.

  “Be safe, Josiah.”

  I leaned over and kissed her on the lips. I held her tight in my arms. I didn’t want to let her go, but I knew I had to. At the same time, we both let go. I turned around and picked up my bag and began to board the plane.

  “Josiah,” Lena called out. I turned around.

  “I love you.”

  I stopped in my tracks and turned around to face her.

  “You’re my heart, Lena. Forever and always.”

  I turned and boarded the plane for Transylvania.

  The End

  To be continued in:

  Forever and Always

  Return to the Table of Contents

  FOREVER AND ALWAYS

  by

  H.T. Night

  Immortal Warriors #9

  Forever and Always

  Published by H.T. Night

  Copyright © 2011 by H.T. Night

  All rights reserved.

  Dedication

  I dedicate this to Pablo Lopez, a best friend for life.

  Forever and Always

  Chapter One

  I walked onto the airplane without a single bag in my hand.

  It was going to be an eleven-hour, nonstop flight to London. I would then need to catch a connecting flight to Romania from London’s Heathrow Airport. I had never been out of the country before, and a part of me was nervous about spending a lot of hours on an airplane. I had to use a fast passport service on the internet to make this trip happen.

  I wasn’t sure how I was going to deal with the whole sunlight predicament, as that my skin wasn’t exactly sunlight-friendly. I might have to spend a lot of time in the bathroom, pretending to be sick.

  As I walked down the aisle of the plane, I couldn’t help but notice that the plane was unusually empty—especially toward the back. The first eight rows were jam-packed with passengers but there wasn’t a single person in the last ten rows.

  That was weird... really weird.

  My seat was 13-F and it was near the back of the plane. So that would mean I was going to be sitting all alone in an enormous airplane for eleven hours. I wasn’t a huge social butterfly, but I still craved some kind of human interaction. It made me feel connected to my origins.

  As I walked past the crammed passengers at the front of the plane, it was apparent that all eyes were on me. Each face I looked at seemed to be asking, ‘Who is the guy going solo to the back’?

  The expression on my face must have read that I was equally as surprised they were to be the lone passenger in the back. As I went further down the aisle, I realized I wasn’t the only person with a seat in the back-forty. In fact, there was a woman in her mid-twenties in my row.

  Was I early? I could have sworn I was late boarding the plane.

  I stepped into the narrow seating area, and luckily, there was an empty seat separating us. I pulled in my legs so the young lady and I wouldn’t bump knees. I looked down at her face as I stepped in front of her to get to my seat. She never once looked up at me. Apparently, she wasn’t too happy that I was in her row.

  I guess that was just too bad for her.

  I sat in my seat and tried to get comfortable. It didn’t matter that I was only one of two people in the back of the plane; I was still having a horrible time trying to get comfy in the ridiculously narrow rows. I adjusted my seat and centered myself in a way that would give me the most leg room. Finally, I was in the perfect position for maximum comfort.

  “Excuse me, sir?” said a dark-haired flight attendant. “Would you like anything?”

  “Like what?” I asked, surprised.

  “Something to drink,” she said, giving me a pleasant frozen smile that had about as much sincere warmth as a prom queen accepting congratulations at a homecoming night crowning. Because it was expected to smile, not that she wanted to.

  “A drink, already?” I asked. “Don’t you wait an hour or so after we leave?”

  The stewardess stared blankly at me. Apparently, she didn’t like random questions.

  “Come back in an hour and I’ll let you know if I get thirsty.” I winked at the flight attendant, but she didn’t seem too interested in my banter. I looked over at the woman sitting next to me and I expected some kind of reaction out of her, but there was nothing. She seemed incredibly uninterested, almost ‘put off’ in her demeanor.

  The stewardess left. I looked around and noticed there was a movie screen on the back of the seat directly in front of me. It had headphones connected to it.

  Thank God. I could at least watch some movies and play possibly play a game of ‘In-Flight Trivia.’

  A male flight attendant stood in front of us and mumbled his spiel on ‘safety’ into a small microphone which he shoved up into the overhead ceiling when he was done.

  I decided to lay back and enjoy the night. I was covered up with a great deal of clothing, considering that I had no idea when the sun would be coming up and peeking through the jet’s windows. I was wearing jeans with Dr. Martens boots. I had a black T-shirt on underneath a black leather jacket. It was a lot of clothes for a summer evening, but there was nothing I could do about it. I licked the inside of my teeth and could feel my incisors pointed out with my tongue. I hadn’t yet had a need to feed on blood, but I knew that would only be a matter of time.

  Or was it?

  It had been incredibly unusual that I hadn’t had the same desires and need for a bloodlust survival as my Mani counterparts. I guess I should have been happy that it hadn’t happened yet, but there was a part of me that felt uneasy about what had happened.

  The flight attendant came by again and I stopped her with a polite index finger in the air. When she leaned in close and said, “A drink, now, sir?”

  I said, “Actually, I would like a small blanket if you have one,” trying my best to be polite.

  “A small one? We have large ones big enough for a boy as big as you,” she said, now trying to be cute.

  “Actually, I’ll take a child-sized blanket, if you have it?”

  She gave me a strange look and said, “I’ll see what I can find.”

  I wanted a small blanket so that I could put it over my head when the sun came out. The flight attendant didn’t know why I needed it.

  “It’s crazy, huh?”

  Did the woman next to me just speak to me or was she talking to herself?

  I looked at the woman beside me and our eyes met. She had blonde hair and amazing blue eyes, just the color of the sea at Marina del Rey on a sunny day. She was wearing a light blue blouse with white leggings. Her hair was shoulder length and extremely sleek and pampered. She definitely had the kind of face you see on the cover of women’s fashion magazines.

  “I’m sorry, did you say something?” I asked.

  She smiled pleasantly at me. “I said that it’s crazy we’re the only two back here.”

  “I know. What’s the deal with that?”

  “Apparently, some hotshot billionaire bought the seats for his entourage and he never showed up.”

  “Wow, that is crazy.”

  T
hank God she was talking to me.

  I couldn’t imagine eleven hours next to some silent princess with an attitude.

  “My name is Josiah.” I made a handshake gesture toward her. She shook my hand the way petite girls do, as more of a ‘limp hand wiggle’ than an actual handshake. I found it endearing with her.

  “My name is Helen.”

  “I wouldn’t peg you for a Helen,” I said.

  “Really? Why not?”

  I looked at her closely and said, “You look more like a Heather or a Nicole.”

  “No, I’m a Helen. I was named after my grandma and she was named after Helen of Troy.”

  “Ah, Helen of Troy. The legendary face that launched a thousand ships.”

  She smiled at me again, and this time she had the spark in her eyes that girls get when they’re now interested in you. “Josiah? That’s an unusual name.”

  “I had unusual parents,” I said, laughing.

  “Had?”

  “Yeah, they passed away a couple years back.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  I smiled. I didn’t need her to feel sorry for me. “I loved them but life goes on, you know?”

  She gave me an awkward smile and nodded her head.

  I paused and looked at her. She seemed genuine. For a brief moment, I forgot about Lena. Lena was the young woman who had turned my life upside down. Before her, I didn’t believe in vampires, werewolves, or anything supernatural. Now, not only did I believe in it, I was thrown in the middle of all of it. In fact, I was apparently the main event in the forces of un-nature.

  “Are you going to London?” I asked.

  “That’s what the ticket says,” she said, winking at me.

  “Are you connecting to another flight from London?” I clarified.

  “No, I’m doing some business in London.”

  “What business are you in?”

  “What are you? A cop?”

  I laughed. “No, I was just asking.”

  “I’m kidding, Jo-Jo. Lighten up. I’m in the music business. I’m a producer for a little label in L.A.”

  “Jo-Jo? I’m not sure you know me well enough to call me Jo-Jo,” I said, jokingly.

  “Do you prefer Josie?”

  “How about Josiah?”

  “So, we’re not at the cute nickname phase in our relationship yet?” she asked.

  “Is that what this is—a relationship?”

  “There is definitely potential.” She was now putting her flirting gear into overdrive.

  “Oh, is there?” I said, laughing. “For potential crimes and misdemeanors?”

  Who the hell was this woman? She was hilarious!

  She turned her body and got comfortable. Her head was looking in my direction. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a nap. But feel free to lift the arm between us and spoon with me if you like. I mean, we’re all alone back here, just the two of us. Fate, right?”

  I just looked at her with a big, goofy grin. She was something else. She leaned her chair back and put her earplugs in her ears and was suddenly out like a light.

  I, on the other hand, had just been smacked over the head by Flirt-Girl 2000. I decided to take her lead and close my eyes too. It was nice to finally relax. But no spooning. Lena was a fleeting thought and then there was the business at hand.

  I thought about what I was about to embark on. I was heading to Dracula’s castle in Transylvania to meet some mysterious blue gnome from some visions I’ve had. You know, your typical vacation getaway...

  I had been having a lot of visions of late. Visions were new to me and I wasn’t sure if I had been interpreting them correctly. For the most part, the visions had been pretty literal.

  The images and ideas in my first visions encouraged me to train my best friend, Tommy, to become a cognitive-thinking werewolf, rather than an instinctual reactionary to his current environment. He and I tapped into his human cognitive thinking, even when he was in his wolf form. I was exuberant that it had only taken one full-moon period. I was able to accomplish that feat rather quickly. As far as we know, he was the first werewolf to do so. I literally had the werewolf eating out of my hand and licking me, not tasting me, but giving me the respect and affection of a submissive to his master. When covered by fur, anyway. Other than the werewolf transformation and my taming and training of him, in human-ish form—okay, in his Carni form—Tommy was still and always my best friend and we were equals. It was new to me, to tame the beast in someone I cared about. Maybe being a werewolf whisperer could be a commercial calling. I laughed to myself. That was the old All-American human way of thinking. I was a vampire now, with powers yet unknown. And headed to Transylvania to see what my visions would manifest in my destiny.

  But visions weren’t the only things that were new to me. The last few months, I had been through the wringer. My life had been one of legends and nightmares. I know that sounds melodramatic, but I was actually playing it down. I had been given the keys to the Mani kingdom and I was still not sure exactly what to do with them. Mani are a vampire race that had been roaming the world for the last 10,000 years. From what I gathered, there were a lot of them, but they were extremely unorganized. They seem to be running wild and without a leader or any kind of vision. That’s where I come in. There has been ‘a prophecy’ since the beginning of the race, that a chosen vampire would come forward and unite the Mani and bring peace to all. As far as I knew—and with everything I had seen—I am that chosen vampire.

  I know, lucky me.

  I had the ability to transition into a great white eagle whenever my heart desires. As an eagle, I was able to fly all over—okay, not all the way to Transylvania, hence the airplane—but my powers didn’t stop there. I was also one of the rare Mani who could fly in my vampire form. My vampire form was what I called my human form. These days, it was hard to remember which I actually was. I had a lot of vampire characteristics, but I still have a lot of humanity, too. I often feel confused about my purpose. There wasn’t a Mani user’s manual or even a quick-start guide to this, and to be honest, I wish there were because I had to figure out situations on the fly.

  I was also able to move things with my mind. I hadn’t quite mastered that one. And to be honest, it was something I wasn’t exactly comfortable doing.

  I also had visions and premonitions in which I could see things: past, present and future. So, all in all, my life had undergone a few changes in the last couple months. I knew in my heart that I needed to figure everything out inside myself before I could implement it outside of my head. Once I could control all that I am, I would be able to lead whoever would follow me into whatever I needed to do. I was just hoping it became clearer. Anyway, so to say that I needed some rest on an eleven-hour plane ride was an understatement. Vampire or not, I was bushed.

  I had left my friends back in Los Angeles for this trip because I knew that I needed to do this adventure alone. I was on a quest for truth. Among those friends was the love of my life, Lena. I wasn’t quite sure exactly when I fell in love with her, all I knew is that I had. Because I stayed indoors during the day, my body clock was messed up now… well, make that my body calendar. Sometimes I had to look at my cell phone to even see what day it was, rather than the time.

  When I was around Lena, I felt ten feet tall. Saving a girl’s life a couple of times had the ability to make a guy feel that way. And in my case, I had a giant hero complex that seemed to surface almost weekly.

  I thought about my Lena and rested. I pictured her short black hair and brown eyes. I remembered our last intimate moment together in Yari’s guest room and soon I drifted off in my airline seat, trying not to spoon my flirty row-mate.

  Suddenly, I heard a slam! I opened my eyes and I was no longer on the airplane.

  I was having another vision.

  ***

  This time, I was no longer at Dracula’s castle. I was in some secluded dark alley, one that seemed to go on forever in both directions.

>   Where the hell was I?

  There was the stench of cigarettes and trash looming in the air with a touch of that tarry aroma of fresh-laid and pressure-rolled asphalt. I looked around, completely confused. The alley appeared to go on for miles on both sides. It was neither hot nor cold, almost as if I was indoors. But I wasn’t, I was clearly outside. I could see the dark sky above me. The stars were bright and something was somewhat odd about this vision, like, where was the North Star? The setting appeared to be a fantastical place, unlike my other dreams where the locations were indeed real.

  As I looked in the air, I saw a beautiful white hawk fly over me. It circled me, almost taunting me to chase it. Then I realized that this magnificent creature wasn’t trying to anger me, but was asking me to play with it. It appeared the hawk wanted me to transition.

  Could I transition in my dreams?

  I decided to give it a go, and sure enough, my eye level dropped and I instantly transformed into the great white eagle. The white hawk took off in the air above the long, endless alley. I hurried after it like a schoolboy chasing a girl at recess. There was a grace and beauty about this bird that I was after, a trait you only find in the most elegant of women.

  The hawk darted north and I continued to follow. At times, she glided across the sky. I was assuming by now that this was a female bird. I was careful not to get too close. I was gliding behind her, just observing, not sure what this vision meant or who the hawk was. I was just in the moment, enjoying my surroundings.

  This giant, beautiful creature was almost as big as I was. Her wingspan spread out in spectacular fashion. I was mesmerized and taken aback by her beauty and grace. She seemed to be flying with a purpose. I felt a tad apprehensive, but after all, this was a vision and no one could get hurt in a vision, right?

  As I looked to the air from about 500 feet high, I noticed that I didn’t recognize anything. I wasn’t sure if I was in an actual place or if this was a figment of my imagination. We continued toward what I perceived was north and I could see the sun coming up off in the distance.