Forever and Always (8 page)
Read Forever and Always Online
Authors: H. T. Night
“Okay, point taken.” I was done talking about this. “Now what?”
“It's time for you to go home. It’s time to apply all that you have learned to your daily life. You need to become more than a fighter. You need to become a leader.”
I nodded my head at my little blue friend. “Okay,” I said.
“It's time to go back, Josiah.”
“Tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. Wow. So this is it? You and I are done?”
“We are done for now.”
“Thanks, Goshi.” I was never good at this kind of thing. “You are a great warrior, and an amazing teacher.”
Goshi nodded and looked at me proudly. “Go Josiah, I will see you soon.”
I walked over and shook his little blue hand. When I did, electricity shot through me. It was powerful and it nearly knocked us over.
“Damn!” What the hell was that?” I asked.
Goshi smiled, “Don't forget, I am also one badass motherfucker.”
I laughed and looked up at the stars. I nodded at Goshi and flew up and shot across the sky heading towards my hotel. It was finally time to go home.
Thank God.
It took some slick planning but I managed to get into LAX airport after a day and a half of flying during the night.
I got into LAX at 5:00 in the morning. It was still dark and I purposely didn't call Lena or anyone else to let them know I would be coming in. I wanted it to be a surprise.
I got off the plane without an item on me except my wallet. I thought there was a slim chance Helen would pop up again on the flight home, but apparently she was a one hit wonder. I had no idea what that whole situation was all about, and I just chalked it up to another bizarre experience in the life of Josiah Reign.
I made my way out of the LAX terminal and walked up the street that led into the airport. I wanted to make sure no Tandra would see me as I transitioned. When the coast was clear, I became the eagle and headed towards Yari's townhouse in West Hollywood. As I flew over the Los Angeles skyline, I felt a sense of pride, a sense of accomplishment. I went halfway across the world and came back in one piece. I had been taught by one of the greatest teachers in Mani history. Goshi said I needed to test my abilities in the real world, so here I was in the real world. That probably meant I'll be having more trouble coming my way. I was pretty used to that by now. I didn’t need to worry about that right now. All I wanted was to see my friends, especially Lena.
I looked down and glided my wings towards Yari's Townhouse. From the sky, her community looked incredibly tiny, but as I got closer it became more apparent how beautiful and enormous the property actually was.
This would be the first time I was to land on the ground in America, and I thought I'd do it in grand style. I glided down and transitioned into my Mani form seconds before landing, I decided to shift my body in a way that when I landed, I did so with a handstand. As I hit the earth, I backed flipped a couple of times off a handspring, and made a perfect dismount into the parking structure of the community. After gaining control of my body, I brushed myself off walked over to Yari's house.
I stopped just short of the door and took a giant deep breath. I could hear commotion on the inside and I could tell that everyone was up having a good time.
Here goes another chapter in my life.
I opened the door and the TV was on in the living room, however there was no one in there watching it.
Damn, that was anticlimactic!
I could hear voices in Yari's master bedroom. They were laughing and it sounded like they were drinking and listening to Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’.
I walked over and stood at the doorway. I looked in and Yari, Lena, Tommy, and Wyatt were all sitting around Yari's room talking and yes, drinking. Yari saw me first and screamed, “Josiah!” she jumped up and hugged me. Her body was warm and it was nice to have positive human contact.
Tommy got up from a chair and rushed over to me “Buddy! What's up?” He gave me a giant bear hug and lifted me off the ground. He smelled like Drakkar Noir, the punk had been snaking my cologne. I didn't care; I was thrilled to see him. He eventually put me down and said, “Holy Crap, Josiah! You look even better than the last time I saw you. Did they feed you steroids in Romania?”
“Not quite. I just worked my ass off.” I looked at Tommy and his stomach had a little more meat on it than I remembered. I pinched his stomach, “Looks like someone won't be able to go 175 pounds for a few months.”
Tommy patted his stomach and said, “I know, I've been eating real well since you left. None of these guys can eat, so I make sure I eat enough for the whole clan.”
“Clan? Is that what we’re calling this?” I asked, laughing.
“We could call it, ‘Josiah and his Merry Band of Misfits’ if you like?” Tommy joked.
“No, clan is good.” I hugged him again and looked across the room at Lena. Her eyes were glued on me, and were as wide and beautiful as I remembered. I stopped, and took her in. She walked over to me, and I grabbed her and held her tight. She smelled amazing, and I knew I was finally home. I exhaled and said, “I missed you.”
She leaned back, “I missed you, too.” She had tears in her eyes.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Of course I am, you shit. I'm just really glad to see you.”
I leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips.
“All right, you two,” Yari said, “remember you have an audience. You are more than welcome to hit the back room and do whatever it is you kids do.”
I smiled at Yari and said, “We'll have plenty of time for that. Right now, I want to hear about everything that’s happened since I’ve been gone.”
I looked over at Wyatt. He got up and shook my hand. “It's good to see you, Josiah.”
“You too, you big lug!” I hugged Wyatt and he returned my sentiments by giving me the most awkward hug I have ever received in return. I think it's probably been years since this guy had hugged someone.
We all made our way to the living room and found places to sit. I sat on the couch with Lena.
“All right,” I said. “So what's been happening?”
Yari looked at me with a look only she could give. It was a strange glance and I had no idea what it meant. I locked in on her thoughts and tried to read what she was thinking, but she was way too powerful. There was no getting into her head, not even a super power like myself could get in there uninvited. As a matter of fact, everyone in this room was probably too powerful for me to read their thoughts—everyone, except for Lena. I knew there were some lines I couldn't cross and reading her thoughts was probably one of them.
Finally Tommy said, “Not much has been happening here. We’ve all been waiting around for you to return. It's like all of our lives went on hold.”
Yari shot Tommy a look that implied ‘No they hadn’t’. Something was up between the two of them. They weren’t even looking at each other.
I decided to ask specific questions. “How is a werewolf getting along with a house full of Mani? Speaking of which, where is Hector?”
“Who knows?” Yari said. “He's been going off by himself lately and if we ask him where he’s going, he just shrugs us off.”
I looked at Wyatt. “You two are usually joined at the hip, do you know what his deal is?”
“Don't ask me,” Wyatt said. “That guy has some serious secrets. I think it’s better if we don't know.”
“Secrets? Like what?” I asked.
“If we knew, they wouldn’t be secrets,” Wyatt said.
“All right, fair enough.” I took a deep breath and enjoyed the room. “It’s good to be back,” I said.
“So, what about you, Josiah?” Tommy asked. “Did the blue gnome do unthinkable things to you?”
“Actually” I said. “The blue gnome is pretty awesome. I actually don’t think he is a gnome. I’m not exactly sure what he is. He just isn’t human. His name is Goshi and he is a Mani.”
“A Mani? Really?” Yari asked. “Are you sure?”
“That’s what he told me. Why? Have you never heard of other creatures being Mani?”
“Seriously, other than humans, I didn’t know other life forms existed. I thought he was only a figment of your imagination and when you actually got there it was going to be a typical Mani.”
“Well, he definitely wasn’t a typical Mani. That little fucker trained my ass off.”
“He was the one who trained you?” Tommy asked.
“Yup. He might be tiny but he is one of the toughest guys I ever sparred with.”
“I could take him,” Tommy said.
I looked at Tommy. “Maybe, after you drop ten pounds.”
“Okay that does it,” Tommy said. “I'm starting the Atkins diet in the morning! Josiah keeps implying I'm fat.”
“Who’s implying?” I said, jokingly.
“Oh, that does it.” Tommy got up and grabbed me playfully.”
“Sit down Tommy!” Yari said. Then she rolled her eyes at him and he gave her a weird look back. I might not be able to read their minds. But I damn well know there was tension between those two.
The five of us continued to catch up for the next couple of hours. I was getting real sleepy and decided to excuse myself. “Is that back room occupied?” I asked.
“Nope,” Yari answered. “We left it the way you like it, with the Phantom of the Opera poster still hanging on the ceiling. We know you like it when the Phantom watches over you while you’re sleeping.”
“Ha ha, very funny. I’m not the musical guy. That’s Tommy’s department.”
“I think Phantom has a great score,” Tommy said. “But it lacks in overall story. So if you want someone to look over you it should probably be Jean Valjean from Les Miserables.”
“You really are a drama queen, Tom,” I said, laughing and walking to the room. Lena had gotten up and followed me into the bedroom. We closed the door and got in the bed and cuddled until I fell asleep. Oddly enough, she never said one word to me.
I woke up from a deep sleep and nearly fell out of the bed. The bed that Lena was sleeping on really wasn't big enough for two people, especially because she was a major bed hog. I scooted out from underneath the covers and made sure not to wake her. I tiptoed to the door and quietly open it. I closed the door behind me and walked out towards the living room. Yari was awake and sitting alone on the couch. She looked up at me and smiled, “Good evening, sleepy head.”
“Good evening, to you,” I said. “Is everyone else asleep?”
“Yeah, Tommy is asleep in my bed, and Wyatt is asleep in the bathtub. He is so weird.”
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I was thinking about going out and maybe doing a feeding.”
“A feeding? Seriously?”
“Yeah. Why not? Want to come?”
“That’s not really my thing.” Just the thought of relying on other people’s blood for survival made me nauseous. To actually do it was a whole different story.
“Oh yeah, I forgot. You’re able to still eat things like tuna casserole.”
“Don’t be hater. Where are you planning on going?” I asked.
“There’s a strip club I like to go to where guys are up for pretty much anything.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, they come out of the club horny as hell. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.”
“What do you say to them?”
“I tell them if we go to their car that I'll make their night.”
“Yeah?” I had to admit Yari's little story was kind of turning me on. “So, do you have sex with them and then drink their blood?”
“Who said anything about having sex? I don't even let them kiss me. I tell them to put their seat back and close their eyes. Then I kiss their neck a little, and then I go in for a feeding.”
“What do they do?”
“They usually freak out at first, but I tell them it's a huge turn on for me, and I'll make it worth their pain.”
“Wow.”
“I can usually get two to three good feedings in on a good night.”
I couldn’t tell if I was grossed out or turned on, but I looked at Yari’s hot little body and said, “Well, it’s doing wonders for you.”
“A girl has to keep her figure up.”
“Apparently so,” I said laughing.
“So, do want to tag along?”
“No, Yari. I'll pass. I can still eat steak.”
“That is unfair. I can only suck the juice off, if it's extremely rare. The Triat hates me.”
“I'm pretty sure the Triat is very fond of you.”
“You think?”
“Think about it. You played a pivotal role in all of this.”
“I would like to think I did. But these days no one pays much attention to me.”
“What about Tommy?” I asked.
Yari started to say something, but stopped herself.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Ok, we don't have to go feed, but let's go for a fly.”
“As birds?”
“You can be whatever the hell you want. I can only fly as a bird. Like I said, the Triat hates me.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Monterrey.”
“Ha ha, very funny.” Yari was referring to the hot time we had in the city by the ocean.
“I'm serious, let's go up north. How about San Francisco?”
San Francisco? That did sound interesting.
“How fast can we get there?”
“In about an hour.”
It sounded like fun to just get up and go. “Let's do it,” I said.
“Really?” Yari was very excited.
“Sure, why not? You want to invite everyone else?”
“Let's just you and I go, plus Tommy is grounded.”
“Grounded?” I asked. “He’s in trouble?” I asked, laughing.
“No, silly. I meant he is not able to fly.”
“That’s funny; I thought you were saying—.”
“I know what you thought I was saying. Anyway, I think you and I need to have a heart to heart.”
“Okay, hold on.” I went back to the bedroom to tell Lena that Yari and were going for a fly, but she was sound asleep. I decided to not wake her up.
So, Yari and I both went outside and transitioned into our bird forms. Yari became Daphne, my red hawk friend, and once again, I became the great white eagle. We flew across the sky towards northern California. It was incredible! We hit remarkable speeds as we missiled our way towards the Bay area.
I decided to show off a few times for Yari. I transitioned from vampire to eagle in midflight, and each time I became a vampire, I struck a different pose. I could tell I was amusing the gorgeous hawk. In not much time at all, we landed on Golden Gate Bridge, the heart of San Francisco. The bridge was breathtaking. In the dark we couldn’t appreciate the reddish orange tone but in the lights it felt like we were on a postcard. Yari and I immediately transitioned into our Mani forms. The Pacific Ocean was on one side and the bay was on the other. We decided to sit on the west side of route 101 with our legs hanging off the side of the bridge. Cars were blazing by behind us as we stared out into the Pacific blue.
