by H. T. Night
“I know, Cyrus,” I said. “That is what made Tommy different. He had cognitive thought.”
Cyrus nodded and continued his story, “I had gotten away from them; it was hard but I managed to fly away. My friends weren’t so lucky. The Mani senselessly ripped my friends to shreds, piercing their necks, and killing them both.”
I took a moment and allowed Cyrus to compose himself and I asked, “Have you dealt with that?”
“You mean therapy?” Cyrus laughed.
“I mean spiritually. You can’t let that shit eat you up. It has no part in our lives. The one thing I have discovered in all this madness is that there is a balance of good and evil. That was an evil thing that happened to you. You’re due for some good shit to start happening to you.”
I looked at the three guys and asked them, “Would you die for this cause?”
They all looked at each other, and then they looked at me and nodded.
“What about you, Josiah? Are you ready to die for this?” Wyatt asked.
“I’ve put myself on the line already a few times, but I have never faced anyone like Krull. If one person can beat me, it’s him. So, I guess the answer to that is yes.”
I looked at the guys and said, “I’m going to need the three of you by my side. I’m going to need you to lead, are you ready to do that?”
Again, all three nodded.
“Okay, now I need to figure out how this is going to go down. Cyrus, I’m going to see Atticai. I want you to come with me. You have fought beside Krull and know him intimately. And if I can get any kind of answers out of Atticai, I think it will be valuable for you to be there.”
Cyrus nodded. I looked over at Hector and Wyatt. “So that lets the two of you off the hook. I have a feeling Atticai isn’t too happy with either of you two for not going with him.”
“We appreciate that, “Wyatt said, “So, what now, Josiah?”
“I need more answers. I’ll keep you posted.” I got up and left the room.
Chapter Five
I decided that I needed to clear my head. I needed to put everything in the right perspective. This thing that I am sometimes gets a life of its own, and I can’t even breathe or think clearly.
Unfortunately, the person I needed to talk to the most was Atticai, but he hates me. I took the one thing in this world that he wanted the most. The sad part about it is I never asked for it or even knew what it was. I didn’t even want it. But now that it’s here, I have no choice but to accept it.
It was a little past midnight and I knew I needed to go for a fly. Not some reckless fly where I’m tearing through the sky at a rapid pace, but one that was on more of the calmer side, the equivalent to a nice Sunday drive.
I opened the trap door in my room that led to the outside, I dropped down and then took flight in my Mani form. The stars were out and they seemed to be lighting up the sky more than usual on this night. I now live where there’s little smog and stars are definitely clearer than in Orange County and most parts of the Inland Empire. I took in my surroundings as I made my way across the sky at a much slower rate than I was accustomed to. I’ve noticed that there are times when I soar across the sky, and it really doesn’t matter what speed I’m going, my senses are ignited and I see and feel things on a whole different level.
I was exhausted emotionally and worn out physically. I needed a spiritual tune-up and, truth be told, I missed my best friend and my family. This life that I was living in seemed to run on its own energy. I seemed to have very little say about what was happening to me. It was time to stop resisting it. I need to complete whatever task the Triat had for me. I needed to follow through on my calling. This ‘Chosen One’ title was getting old.
Atticai had followed this dream for years. He knew better than anyone the truth of its purpose. It was as simple as the night was dark; I needed to speak with him.
I decided to turn around and head back to the house after a few minutes of just enjoying the silence; the amazing sounds of nothing that the night air provides. I eventually made my way back to the house and picked up Cyrus and then we headed to Flatlands.
The last couple of times I had been to Flatlands, I had been greeted with open arms, but I wasn’t sure about tonight. This was Atticai’s old hangout and the likelihood of him being there was high. Even if he wasn’t, these were the vampires that believed so little in me that they would rather follow a guy I had already killed. So, I had reason to be nervous about my being welcome.
Cyrus and I circled the Flatlands parking lot, and there were a lot of people down in the rocky area. Was Atticai’s army getting bigger or were some of my people just hanging out with these guys? Were all of these people Mani?
I could see Rubidoux from the sky with his platinum blonde hair.
I couldn’t see Atticai. It’s kind of hard to miss a seven-foot vampire who looked like Russell Brand. I decided to transition into my Mani form and head down, with Cyrus following suit.
Rubidoux look up at me as I landed. “Josiah,” he said. “Have you come here to do some recruiting?”
“Why? You want back in?” I said, knowing perfectly well he didn’t.
“I’m a lover, not a fighter.”
“You know, it can be both,” I said, winking at him.
“Maybe, but I’m not into suicide missions.” Rubidoux was drunk so I knew he would be speaking freely and I wouldn’t hold it against him.
“Is that what you’re thinking? It’s a suicide mission?”
“It sure isn’t a fight that you’re favored to win.”
“Why is that?” I asked, sincerely wanting to know.
Rubidoux looked at me and was making sure I was cool about what he was saying. Once he trusted that I wasn’t here to kick his ass, he began to once again speak freely. “Josiah, Krull lives for this shit. I wouldn’t be surprised if right at this moment he has his crew running drills, like in those Middle Eastern terrorist camp videos they show on the news. You’re up against a disillusioned madman who doesn’t care about prophecies, or the Triat, and especially the good of his people.”
“I already fought him once,” I said.
“I heard you sucker-punched him real good and ran like a coward.”
“A coward!” I said, in a manner that Rubidoux could tell I was not too pleased with his statement.
“Did you run? Yes or no?” Rubidoux asked.
“We were outnumbered about 500 to 1.”
Rubidoux smiled at me. “And do you think that’s going to change?”
“I don’t know. I think we can get some good Mani to join our side.”
“He already has them all, Josiah, or at least the ones that want to lay their life down for a cause. His cause.” Rubidoux seemed to know a lot about this subject.
I looked at Cyrus, “Is this true?”
Cyrus nodded and said, “I’ve seen both of you fight at your peak forms. I think you can fight straight up, Josiah. He’s very seasoned, but there has never been anyone like you.”
“Look, if this was just a fight between Josiah and Krull, I’d say Josiah would have fifty-fifty odds, but it’s not. The fight isn’t going to come down with the two of them fighting in some Armageddon Christ-versus-Satan battle. This fight is going to have thousands of Mani laying down their lives. You want to talk about recruitment, Josiah? Krull has been recruiting the toughest Mani for hundreds of years. Do you really think that rag-tag group that stayed behind with you has any chance in hell of living through a battle with his evil minions?”
Rubidoux was definitely not making me feel comfortable, but I wasn’t discouraged. I looked Rubidoux and Cyrus both in the eyes and said, “One thing I know is a fighter’s heart. Every battle is won by soldiers. And if I could convince Mani to fight with the kind of heart that drives me then I think it’s possible for us to succeed.” Then I just looked at Cyrus and asked, “Does he have the toughest Mani on his side?”
“In some ways, yeah. It’s only because he’s recruited bitter mother
fuckers who live and stew in their own hate.”
“Well, I guess that’s why I’m here then,” I said. “I am recruiting. Are all of these guys like you?” I asked Rubidoux.
“Like me, how?” he asked.
“With Atticai?”
“I’m not with Atticai,” Rubidoux scoffed.
“Then what do you call it?”
“I’m like France, neutral. I don’t want you to kill me and I don’t want Krull to kill me. Most of these people feel the same way. We aren’t with Atticai, we just agree with his philosophy. Atticai isn’t trying to build an army to take over the world.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing? Trying to build an army to take over the world before Krull does?” I asked.
“You’re building an army, aren’t you?”
“Not to take over the world.”
“Well, then, good luck convincing any Mani to join you. Mani are fed up with Tandra and Carni! It’s very easy for Krull to recruit because most Mani are sick and tired of being second-class citizens.”
“Where’s Atticai?” Cyrus blurted out. Apparently, he was done listening to Rubidoux’s opinion. I actually liked that he did it. It was a side of Cyrus I hadn’t seen yet. Ballsy.
Rubidoux looked at Cyrus and smirked as if to say ‘whose this guy?’
“Where’s Atticai?” I calmly asked Rubidoux.
“He doesn’t come around here often.”
“What has he been doing?”
“Probably wreaking havoc around town. He needs to make up for lost time.”
“I don’t believe that,” I said, indignantly. “Atticai isn’t a savage. He’s refined. The guy plays the piano like Mozart.”
“True, but he does need to feed and no one feeds like Atticai.”
“He kills when he feeds?” I asked.
“Of course he does,” Rubidoux answered. “Not everyone has your moral compass, Josiah. Sometimes, some of us like to get down and get our grub on.”
I tried to ignore Rubidoux’s statement. For his sake, I hoped he was kidding. “So, is that where he is tonight? Getting his grub on?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t doubt it.”
I looked at Rubidoux and I needed to ask him one more thing. “I want to speak to him. Can you arrange that?”
“You want to meet with Atticai?” Rubidoux seemed amused.
“Why does that amuse you?”
“You should bring someone along and record it for YouTube.”
“I doubt it would get too many hits,” I said.
“You’d be surprised. Two egomaniacs trying to have a civil conversation would be entertaining, if you ask me.”
“I’m not an egomaniac,” I protested. I looked at Cyrus for assurance and didn’t get any. “What? You think I’m an egomaniac, too, Cyrus?”
“You’re pretty impressed with yourself,” Cyrus answered.
“Look, Josiah, I could probably arrange a meeting with you and Atticai. I need to know if I do this, what will you do for me?”
“What do you want?”
Rubidoux smiled. “A favor.”
“What kind of favor?”
“I’ll let you know when I need it. I just need to know it’s there.”
“All right,” I said. “Take down my number. Get hold of Atticai and let him know that I want to meet with him tomorrow at midnight.”
“Where?” Rubidoux asked.
“Wherever he wants. I just need to talk to him. Not fight. Talk.”
“Remember, this is Atticai we’re talking about. I can’t make any promises.” Rubidoux now seemed unsure if Atticai would see me.
“If you can get a meeting, Rubidoux, you can have your favor.”
I decided not to stick around. Cyrus and I transitioned and took off and made our way back home. Now, I just needed to wait. The ball was in Atticai’s court.
Chapter Six
The next day, I got a text from Rubidoux around 6 pm. All it said was ‘Mills Ranch, midnight.’ Mills Ranch? Where is Mills Ranch? Ten minutes later, I got another text from Rubidoux that read. ‘Be alone, he’ll be alone.’
Great, was he baiting me into an ambush? At this point, all I can say is ‘It is what it is.’ This was one of those times that I really needed Tommy to have my back. That was a pipe dream at this point.
I was glad I had spoken to Rubidoux the night before. Picking his brain turned out to be pretty helpful. Trying to get a grasp on what I’m supposed to do was becoming a pretty complicated thing. This thing that I’m part of had to be more than a good-versus-evil power play.
In life, nothing was broken down to be that simple. I didn’t subscribe to any theory that one side was always right and the other was always wrong, or that one side was necessarily good and another was evil. Life was about individuals and the choices they made.
Was I saying there is good in Krull? Yeah, I was. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t going to be your Luke Skywalker trying to find the good in Darth Vader crap. What it was, though, was me trying to get a grasp on what it all meant. For Krull and I to have an all-out war isn’t going to change the minds of all Mani. No matter what, one side would lose. There needed to be a way to bring everyone together. How? At this point I had no freaking idea.
Up to this point, my gut feeling had served me well and brought me this far and I still need to trust it. I believe that Atticai had some answers that I was looking for.
I showered up and put on a pair of black jeans with a black t-shirt. I looked very vampirey with my black attire. I liked wearing the color black even before I had become a Mani. Now that I had become one, it was a good enough excuse to drape my entire wardrobe in the color. Seriously, what other color could I possibly wear? Could you imagine ‘The Chosen One’ showing up at a meeting wearing a bright yellow tank top and purple surfer shorts?
I asked Wyatt before I left where Mills Ranch was and he showed me on the GPS on my phone where I was supposed to go. I left through the front door of the house to go see Atticai. I decided to not be so dramatic by flying out the trap door of my room. Sometimes, it was nice to do things normally, like when I was a Tandra. When I reached outside, the cold air felt good on my face. I didn’t walk outside too often. Flying had made me pretty lazy in that department.
I was really nervous about meeting with Atticai. It felt like I had a meeting with an underboss, in one of the five mob families. In many ways, this was exactly what it was. But Atticai didn’t pet a cat and speak like a guy with marbles in his mouth. But Atticai had the respect of the people. And respect went a long way with these folks. He was already legendary, and now, because of me, he had beat death. He beat a Mani’s death. I had no idea how rare that was. All I did know was that I respected him. Maybe, I did a little more because he was Goshi.
Mills Ranch was in Hesperia, the town right next to Victorville. I decided to take flight and head over there. Mills Ranch was very much like the house I lived in over in Victorville. It was the only house or place within ten miles of anything else. It wasn’t hard to miss. But unlike my house, this place looked like something out of the Addams Family. It was really creepy looking. I was expecting a severed hand to walk out at any moment.
I flew down and landed on the front lawn. I was in my Mani form and I could see someone on the front porch. There was a person sitting in a white rocking chair just slowly rocking back and forth. That person was Atticai. He was sipping from a coffee cup, which I assumed had blood in it. From fifty feet away, I could see the dark-red thick liquid coloring on his lips. I calmly walked up to him. He looked straight ahead, never once looking in my direction. I knew he was aware that I was there, but he was refusing to look up at me.
I stood about five feet in front of him. He continued to sip. He definitely had the presence of a mafia boss. He was on a power trip and I guess I had to deal with it if I wanted to speak with him.
“Are you going to speak?” he came out and asked. “Or are you just going to waste my time?”
I looked
at his piercing brown eyes behind the white cup and said, “I have some questions.”
“Questions? You’ve come to the wrong place if you’re seeking words of wisdom.”
“Maybe I did. But I need some answers. I think you’re the only one that could really help me.”
“Help you? Why would I ever want to do that?”
“Because you once believed in the cause, though you may have looked at it differently than I do. But, you understood that Krull couldn’t succeed in his need to tear down the Mani. You knew he couldn’t follow through on his plan.”
“His plan? What plan would that be?”
“I don’t know. You tell me,” I said, as delicately as I could, considering how difficult he was trying to be.
Atticai paused, and then did an unusual thing. He smiled and looked in my direction. “What is it you need to know?”
“I need to understand what Krull is trying to do. I need to come to terms with what exactly it is that I’m supposed to do to stop him.”
“And why would I tell you that information?” Atticai was resisting this conversation like a three year old at the dentist.
“Because we may not be on the same side, but we’re not on opposite teams. How does the saying go? ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’”
“What if the enemy of your enemy is also your enemy?” Atticai scoffed.
“Is that what you consider me? An enemy?”
“You’re damn close. You did kill me.”
“You were killing Lena…”
“Semantics.”
“Saying that we’re all three enemies puts us in some bizarre triangle like the way we were the other night.”
Atticai grinned. “That was a bit sad, wasn’t it? You managed to screw that one up pretty badly.”
If I gave this guy any opening, he threw a verbal jab every time. He was relentless and passive aggressive.
“It was probably a good thing,” I said, adamantly. “To lose her.”
“When is it ever a good thing to lose at anything or anyone?”
“Maybe when you have a calling that is bigger than yourself?”