by Night, H. T.
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 has been roaming the world for the last 10,000 years. From what I gathered, there were a lot of them, but they are very 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 am. I had 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 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, destiny, and I think I needed to regroup about her. 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 have a giant hero complex that seems 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-lain 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 very 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 school boy 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 can 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 to what I perceived was north and I could see the sun coming up, off in the distance.
We were headed toward a beautiful rocky mountain that seemed to be something Rocky Balboa would have run up in one of his ‘training montages’. At the peak of the mountain was a plateau and it seemed like a safe enough spot to land on level ground.
The hawk glided down and landed in poetic fashion. I watched from above and was unsure what I should do. The hawk squawked as if to say, ‘Join me.’
I wisped down and landed about ten feet away from her. Was this hawk a Mani woman? I waited for her to transition, but she didn’t. She waddled her way over to me and gently pressed her head against my breast. It was a gentle move, almost tender. I nuzzled back, and we just stood there on top of this beautiful rocky mountain, cuddling in a way only two birds of our magnitude could do. I felt safe and peaceful.
This was a very strange vision.
Suddenly, the hawk rose up, squawked, and flew away at the speed of light. Her speed indicated that she did not want me to follow.
Instantly, I awoke on the plane to find myself in the middle of the worst turbulence I had ever experienced in my life. Helen reached out her hand to me and I held it. “What the hell is going on?” I said.
“Your guess is as good as mine. This is pretty bad turbulence.” Helen didn’t seem as concerned as I was.
I didn’t fly that much, especially across the world. Hopefully it would settle down, and sure enough, it did. When all was calm, Helen let go of my hand. “My hero,” she said.
I knew she was teasing or even mocking me. I smiled at her with a sense of relief.
You have no idea what kind of hero I actually am.
Chapter Two
I looked around the plane and noticed all of the window panels were closed. That was odd, considering that before I napped, they were all open.
“Excuse me!” I called to the flight attendant.
She got up from her molded employee’s seat near the bathroom and walked over to me. “Yes, would you like that drink now?” she asked.
“Actually, yes. Could I have a vodka and Coke?”
“No, problem, sir.”
“One more thing,” I asked. “Is it still dark outside?”
“No, it’s not. We are about six hours in and the morning sun is out now. We apologize, there seems to be a problem with the windows. They have all locked down, so if you were planning on looking outside, you’re not going to be able to.”
“No sunlight can get in here?” I asked, almost giddy.
“I guess you can say that.”
“And the windows are definitely stuck?” I pressed.
“That’s what I said,” she said, almost condescending.
What a break!
&
nbsp; I wondered if the Triat had something to do with it. I sat back in my seat and smiled.
“This has been a very odd flight,” Helen said, leaning over to me.
“Oh, you have no idea!” I said, laughing. I looked over at Helen and noticed she was wearing a completely different outfit than she had on earlier. She was now wearing a colorful blue and orange sundress with her legs nicely on display. She had very nice stems, very shapely and a little bit of golden tan that showed she was careful to use sunscreen. Either that, or she loved her a salon spray-on tan. She must have changed in the bathroom while I was sleeping. Speaking of which, it is about that time for me also.
“Excuse me,” I said to Helen and unbuckled my seatbelt and got up out of my seat. I made my way around Helen and noticed a strange scratch on the back of her neck. I thought it was odd. “Wow, that’s some scratch!” I said.
Helen felt the back of her neck and smiled, “I have a pretty frisky kitty.”
“I bet you do,” I said, not sure if she meant anything sexual by her statement.
I went to the bathroom area of the plane.
Damn, it was cramped.
I took care of business and then checked my hair in the mirror. It was pretty messy. My hair was in serious need of a good haircut.
I decided to turn on the water faucet and put my entire head in the tiny sink by rotating it back and forth. It’s a quick trick I do to get my hair in order fast. I took off my leather jacket and dumped my head into the tiny sink. I used paper towels to dry off my hair. I slicked back my hair using my fingers.
Why was I doing this? Was I trying to impress Helen?
She definitely seemed interested in me, but that was the last thing I needed to worry about. I had enough on my plate, just trying to get to Romania in one piece. Not to mention the whole I’m-in-love-with-Lena part.
Lena wasn’t officially my girlfriend or anything, but she did tell me she loved me. I was pretty damn sure I loved her. But, there was something very intriguing and sexy about Helen. But that was as far as I was going to take it.
So, there I was, primping in the mirror trying to look good for a woman for whom I knew nothing was going to come of our brief acquaintance, just two random people, in random seats on a plane to Heathrow. It could have been anyone next to me, but I was glad it was her.
My blonde hair curled over with a little Superman twist that would have make Christopher Reeve jealous. My eyes were looking especially blue. It must have been the lighting. My face was remarkably mark-free, which was a miracle, considering how many life-altering fights I’d been in, over the last few months. My black shirt was wrinkled from sleeping in the seat. I did my best to straighten it over my blue jeans.
I am a sexy beast, I thought.
I stepped out of the restroom holding my leather jacket and walked back to my seat. The flight attendant caught my attention and asked, “Would you like your meal now? You were asleep when I passed them out.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“You have a choice between meatloaf and chicken.”
“And what if I’m a vegan?”
“Then we can double up your sides.”
“Lucky for me, I’m not a vegan. I’ll take the chicken.” The waitress shook her head and was not amused with my antics.
I stepped inside my row and in front of Helen. She was listening to her MP3 player and just scooted aside as I walked in front of her.
I sat back in my seat and flipped down the movie thingamajig in front of me. Bridget Jones’s Diary 1 and 2? Are you kidding me? I am not a chick-flick dude; Tommy was into movies like Fried Green Tomatoes and Prince of Tides. I swore I saw him crying during both films.
I flipped through the movie list. I ticked them off in my head as I searched in vain for Never back Down, Rocky, Bruce Lee, Jet Li, even a Jackie Chan. Nada.
Weren’t there any action flicks? Hell, I was an action movie all by myself. Someone should write my story and put it on the big screen. Maybe someday, I would.
I flipped through each movie. All they had were Adam Sandler flicks and British titles that I didn’t even recognize. I sat back and sighed. All I wanted was a good gangster movie or at least Daniel Craig film. No 007? I was going to England for crying out loud. Not even the Welshman, Sean Connery.
“Nothing good?” Helen said to me.
“Nope! You have the right idea by listening to music.”
Helen took her earplugs out of her ears and looked over at me. “We should be in London in a couple of hours.”
“It appears to be that way.” I smiled at her.
“So, Josiah, what is a young man like yourself going to a country like Romania for?”
I looked at Helen and I give her credit; she did seem real interested in me. I have always liked that trait in a woman. “You could say I’m going there on business.”
“What business is that?”
I grinned. “I’m in the business of kicking ass.”
Helen expected me to laugh or say I was kidding. She sat and waited for me to make another statement. “Oh, you’re being serious. What the hell do you do?”
So, this is the part where I now needed to lie to people. I haven’t had to do this yet, so I wasn’t even sure if it was going to sound good. “I’m a fighter,” I said. “I’m going there for training. I’m meeting up with a world-class trainer.”
Okay, so far that is the total truth.
“A fighter? Like a boxer?” she asked.
“Yes, I box. I also do other things.”
“What kind of other things.”
“I kick.”
“You’re a kick boxer?”
“No, I’m a mixed martial arts fighter.” I still wasn’t lying. I was technically still in the Commission. I wasn’t sure what they think happened to me since I hadn’t shown up for training for a while, let alone a fight.
“Oh, okay,” she said, nodding her head. “That is very interesting.”
“That’s me,” I said. “I’m Mr. Interesting.”
Mr. Interesting? Are you kidding me? Why was I being such a tool?
Then I smiled like a total dork does after he knows he said something completely moronic. To her credit, she held in a giggle. I could see it.
“Do you have a girlfriend, Josiah?”
I looked at Helen and wasn’t sure how to answer the question. So, I said, “That’s the billion-dollar question!”
“A billion dollars?” Helen asked. “Not a million? Damn, it must be complicated.”
“Not so much… complicated,” I said. “There has just been a lot of drama really fast.”
“Do you like the drama?”
“Not exactly. No one could be prepared for the kind of drama I’ve seen.” That was about as honest of a statement as I had ever delivered.
“Why don’t you get out of the relationship?” Helen asked.
Helen had it completely wrong.
“The drama isn’t about her. She’s not the one creating it.”
“Then who is creating it?”
Here is where I wanted to say, the Triat, werewolves, vampires, something like that. But, I didn’t want her to think I should be in a mental institution, so I thought I would better say, “An ex-boyfriend.”
“Does she still love him?”
I paused. “That I don’t know for sure. I suppose she does. But he isn’t exactly with us any longer.”
“He died?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh, I get it.” Helen had the look people do when finally something makes sense. “And she still cares about him?”
“I don’t think that kind of thing just goes away. The whole thing smacks of hero worship, something he didn’t deserve.”
“Well, that isn’t good.” Helen seemed to be really pouncing on the fact Lena might still have feelings for Atticai. She didn’t know that Atticai was psychopathic vampire who tried to drain her blood for some weird purpose that only he seemed to understand.
“There’s a
lot about the entire situation that I can’t really explain.”
“Try me.” Helen turned her entire body toward me and looked me in the eye.
I was hesitant to tell Helen exactly how I felt about Lena. I guess this was the test of my loyalty to her. “Something is constantly drawing me to her. Sometimes, I feel like it’s beyond this world.”
“Something supernatural?” she asked.
“Actually, that’s exactly what I think it is.”
“Wow! You’re a romantic!”
I couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing with her. “I’m not a romantic,” I said. “Trust me! I’m the farthest thing from that, but when something keeps staring you in the face, you eventually give in to it and consider it might be a higher power that has brought you together.”
“Look, Josiah. You might not want to think you’re a romantic, but I have a good read on people and that is exactly what you are. Unless, the reason you feel that way is because you’re a religious fanatic.”
“I’m not a religious fanatic in the slightest. I will say this though, anyone who is a humanist and thinks this world is the beginning, middle, and end is greatly mistaken.”
“And how does Josiah know that it’s not?” she asked.
I looked at Helen and smirked. I liked it that she talked about me, to me, in the third person. It was sort of classy.
She looked at me expectantly.
I really wasn’t planning on getting into such a deep conversation with her. I was actually surprised that we were having such philosophical dialogue so quickly. I don’t know why, but I think I trusted her. Maybe, it was because when we talked, she constantly made eye contact with me. Or maybe it was the fact that she was even interested at all, a woman who didn’t think that the earth revolved around her. What I do know is that I can’t reveal too much to a random record producer who I just met on an airplane. So, I decided to change the subject. I gave a little shrug, by way of apology for my nondisclosure.