H.T. Night's 8-Book Vampire Box Set (48 page)

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 toward 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’d 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 toward
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 back 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 and 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
sneaking 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. He needed practice.

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 knew 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 traditional
kind of 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.

Chapter Eleven

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 toward 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 up her figure.”

“Apparently so,” I said laughing.

“So, do you 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.

“Okay, 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.”

Uh-oh. “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 toward northern California. It was incredible! We
hit remarkable speeds as we missiled our way toward 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. The big blue. God how I missed it when I was
in Romania.