Divine Blood (Vampire Love Story #6) (12 page)

Jason did not like Brock,
but would not speak about his reasons. To my perspective, Brock
seemed to turn the bad economic situation on Attica Island upside
down in just a matter of weeks. That was pretty remarkable to me.
Maybe there was a part of me that thought it was a little too
quick, a little too easy, a little too suspicious, but I pursued my
suspicions no further at that point. I allowed the residents of
Attica Island to flourish without interference from my quarter,
mostly because Brock was doing a stunning job at bringing everyone
on his island to prosperity.

I think Brock appreciated
that admiration from me because I received a private Mani-to-Mani
invitation for a meeting from him. No kids, no significant others,
just us. That was his specification and I had no problem with
it.

Brock had me meet him in
the back study of his house, next to the big library in his castle.
The meeting was to be just the two of us. That was a high form of
respect given to someone you trusted, to allow them into your
office where all of your work took place and where it was spread
out on conference tables in orderly piles and with checklists.
Nothing was hidden from me. I was taken aback at the trusting
gesture and wondered what it all meant, that I was now privy to the
inner life of my friendly, but potential rival governor. He wanted
to show me that he was an open book, and yet something prickled at
the back of my neck that I was missing something critical about
Brock Houston.

I made my way to the back
of the study, shown in by a staff member in a suit, but had a seat
offered to me by Brock Houston himself.

I was a pretty established
Mani, comfortable in my own skin after years of adjusting to being
an immortal and a mortal, but Brock Houston had the inconceivable
ability to almost intimidate me, not physically, but in the way
that he carried himself. His bearing was a high-energy but
honorable way in which he went about life. Above all others, regal
even, as if he thought of himself as a king. Perhaps I was being
naive that there was only goodness in Brock Land.

He just stood in his
office like he was the Alpha male. In my line of work, there was
only one Alpha male and he was me. So, I had a conflict building,
and felt a bit of a power struggle within my core. As a line began
to be drawn between my respect for what he had accomplished on the
island of Attica in such a short time, and my annoyance that he was
pretty damn puffed up by his accomplishments, I began to dislike
the guy for no particular reason, except that he held himself in
such high regard.

He was like one of those
boxers who paraded before the media as a prelude to the big
prizefight in order to show the opponent who was top dog. Well,
Brock wasn’t top dog. I was.

I was in his home, so I
let him have the spotlight and I was polite and listening sharply
to his every word. I gave him the nod that said, “Hey, if there’s
something I can help you with?”

“
Please come sit down,
Josiah. Relax. Will you have a brandy with me?”

“
Thank you. That would be
fine.”

Brock was a large man,
about six feet, four inches and likely weighed at least 270, but
looked like he could take care of himself at a moment’s
notice.

“
What can I do for you?” I
finally asked out loud, wondering what the heck spurred the
invitation to this peacock strutting himself for no reason that I
could discern.

“
I need a favor, Josiah. I
know I might be crossing a line here by assuming that I could even
ask such a favor of someone who has done so much already for the
Mani people. But this favor I need is beyond my own means. I come
to you, completely humble and just with a glimmer of hope. I’m
asking you a favor. A personal favor.”

This was big, scary big.
So, I needed to quickly find out what he needed. “Please tell me,
Brock, what can I do for you?”

He took a heavy breath.
“You know my son, Pierce. I know he seems healthy but don’t let his
appearance fool you. He’s dying slowly and he needs a
miracle.”

“
Dying?” I
echoed.

“
Yes, dying. I’ve heard in
the most secret of ways that not only you, but your son, Jason
possess this certain gift: the gift of healing.”

My back stiffened. Who was
spreading this around in wider circles than beyond the few people
who knew, plus the ones Jason had healed?

“
Healing?” I echoed again.
I wanted to know what he knew and the only way I could do that was
to let him talk.

“
Yes. I heard you’re in
the business of performance of miracles.”

“
It’s not a business and I
don’t call them miracles.” Not out loud.

“
Maybe it should be. If
it’s money you need, you name your price and I’ll make sure you get
it.” Brock said.

“
We don’t do it for the
money. We have never asked for a dime. We do it because it feels
right. And I’m a man of instincts.”

“
What do your instincts
tell you now?”

“
To be honest, I’m not
sure and that’s unusual for me.”

A long minute went by
while we looked at each other over the snifters of
brandy.

I finally spoke. “What you
need to understand, Brock, is that my healing powers are one
hundred percent in the hands of the Triat. The Triat calls the
shots. I do not choose who to heal, or how to heal.”

“
And what about your son?”
Brock asked. “Does the Triat control him, too? And is that Him with
a capital H?”

Alarm bells went off in my
head. How the hell did he know that my son was to be the savior of
the Mani? I was even more quiet as Brock treaded in dangerous
waters. Disconcerted, I didn’t want to put my son’s abilities on
blast to the Mani, nor to the media, if there was a leak from our
community.

“
Brock, what you ask is
very dangerous. First of all, to acknowledge that my son even has a
gift like that, if he truly did, would put him in extreme jeopardy.
He lives his life like a normal boy. He is educated, plays sports,
and has a deeply happy family life.”

“
You don’t wish to let me
know, Josiah?” Brock asked.

“
That’s not it, not at
all. We are talking about my family. Our discretion about my son’s
gift is paramount. If my son can even help, this matter needs to be
handled with the utmost of care. There can be no strong persuasion
from anyone to do this, and there can be no intimidation, nor any
threat of backlash if he is unable to heal him.”

“
I promise there will be
none. That is absurd to me that any threat is even
suggested,”

“
I have to say it. We are
talking about my son. His life.”

“
And we’re talking about
my son’s life.” Brock was getting angry. His cheeks were getting
red and his nostrils flared.

“
If you’d like my son to
try to use his gift and heal your boy, then you need to come to me
as a humble servant of the Mani people, not as a tyrant, ready to
squash someone if your demands are not met.”

“
What do you
mean?”

“
My son is not a magician.
He does not put on a big tent show for all comers. He has no
religious conversion spiels. He also has the gift of discernment
and that is still developing. Do you understand where I am coming
from? He is a youth with special abilities and
compassion.”

Brock nodded his head and
smiled in a grin that did not quite reach his eyes. I shivered
inwardly. Something was definitely off about the guy.

“
How did you find out
about my son’s gift?”

Brock said, “There are
many ways to get information, in the Mani world, as in the Tandra.
Most motivation to share secrets in both societies comes from
prosperity, or rather, a lack of it.”

“
You paid someone for this
information?”

“
I ask you with a father’s
heart if you would do any less for one of your own
sons.”

I let out a sigh. “Point
taken.”

“
So, I take it you’re both
going to give it a try? Healing my son?”

I also smiled in a manner
that did not quite reach my eyes. My guard was up because my son’s
secret was out. Outside the family and friends’ circle, now there
were at least two people who knew that Jason could heal others. I
did not like the leak of this crucial information about
Jason.

“
I will speak to Jason
about the matter. My sincere wishes for the health restoration of
your child.”

“
I thank you from the
bottom of my heart.”

I did not finish my huge
snifter of brandy.

“
I’ll go speak to him
right now.” I paused. “I want to make it very clear that
information about my son is not to be shared with anyone, not for
any price.”

“
Your concern is
understood. A son is precious and irreplaceable.”

“
Indeed.” I took my leave
and went home the way I had come, in Great White Eagle flight. I
got home and went straight to bed and Lena was awake, waiting for
me.

“
You were gone for a long
time. What happened?” she asked.

I looked at Lena and
wasn’t sure if I wanted to discuss the details at this very moment.
I was tired, but I knew she would press for details because that
was Lena. She knew me as well as I knew her and she knew something
was up just by my demeanor.

“
What happened tonight,
Josiah?” Lena asked again. “Brock Houston just doesn’t invite the
Chosen One over for dinner, hermano a hermano, unless something big
was brought up that spurred this big face to face.”

“
It’s not grand in the way
you think and it’s a lot more personal than you can
imagine.”

Lena was smart and quickly
connected the dots. “Why does he want Jason? What would he need him
for?”

“
Pierce has been sick for
some time.”

“
I heard he was getting
better.”

“
I think that was
something they were saying to just to boost their economy where
everything is looking up. Not only is he not doing well, he is
dying.”

“
How old is
he?”

“
I think he’s five now,” I
said.

“
That is so
heartbreaking,” Lena continued.

“
I agree. He’s heard about
Jason’s healing skills and has asked me if Jason can heal
him.”

“
Oh my. What did you say
to him?”

“
I heard him out
first.”

“
What did you say,
Josiah?” Lena’s voice was on the verge of becoming shrill from
stress.

“
I said he would
try.”

“
And you didn’t think
about consulting his mother before you made such a giant
decision?”

“
No offense, Lena. I make
giant decisions all the time and never consult you.”

“
I know you do and it
demeans me as a parent and a partner that you repeatedly do that.
This isn’t about leaving the cap off the toothpaste. It is about
something, no someone, worth fighting about.”

“
Is this an argument? If
so, you won’t win, Lena. As the head of the family, I have a pretty
good record in not screwing things up.”

“
Oh, and I do? I have
never screwed up anything in this household. But this is about our
son and in anything in this shared journey that we are on, we are
on it as husband and wife. If anything is both of ours,
fifty-fifty, it is our sons. You should have consulted me.
Immediately.”

“
Maybe I should have. I
probably would have just talked you into seeing it my
way.”

“
You are one arrogant
asshole, Josiah Reign.”

That argument had happened three days
ago. Nothing had changed. She didn’t want us to do it for whatever
reason, but I was a man of my word, a promise I gave to Brock, and
I was sticking to what I’d said.

Chapter
Seventeen

That promise to Brock was why I’d been
up all night. That and Lena had turned her back to me in bed,
instead of sleeping in my arms like she usually did. I didn’t know
what I felt about my son trying to heal Brock’s son and pulling
back from it. It should have been a no-brainer, but for some
reason, the thought haunted me and I didn’t know why. It made
perfect sense to heal the poor guy’s sick son. He was just a
little, innocent boy, as my boys had been at that age.

After I laid in bed for a while, apart
from her, I finally just got up and cooked like the apocalypse was
imminent.

After cooking up a storm, I finally
got some sleep around noon, by myself. I was getting tired and put
all the food out with a note that said: “Up all night. Dig in,
everyone.” So I finally went to bed and a got decent amount of
sleep.

I woke up at my usual Mani time in the
evening, 5:00 p.m., next to my beautiful wife, Lena. She had come
back to bed and cuddled me—that warmed my heart. I needed that
cuddle. In that embrace was her forgiveness for our argument, or
maybe just her acceptance and compromise. I knew she loved me, and
she definitely knew I loved her.