H.T. Night's 8-Book Vampire Box Set (25 page)

A woman yelled. “Get him! He keeps using
magic.”

Goliath ripped the chain off his neck.

“No one fucking touches him, he’s mine,”
Goliath gasped. Goliath threw the chain fifty feet in the air like
a boomerang.

“So it’s going to be like that, you
bloodsucking turd.”

I had no idea how I was making things move
with my mind or how I floated in midair. This was definitely not in
the vampire handbook that Lena had explained to me.

“Look,” I called out. “I’m not trying to use
magic. I have no idea how I’m doing what I’m doing.”

“Shut up, you pale Mani,” Goliath screamed.
“You’re finished.”

Goliath charged me. I jumped up and again I
floated up 10 feet in the air. But, this time, I went faster and my
body was jerkier. I landed 20 feet away from him.

“What the hell are you?” Goliath seemed
angry and confused. “You’re only supposed to fly when you
transition. What kind of bullshit is this?”

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on.”

“You have broken every rule in the book. I
don’t care if you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. You’re
going to die tonight.” Goliath rushed me again. This time I stood
my ground. I high-kicked him the same way I had Brian, but with a
much different result. Goliath caught my foot. I fell backwards,
but did not hit the ground; instead, I spun around in the air.
Goliath had my foot and he was strong enough to hold me in midair
by my freaking foot. He spun me around like a lasso. I whizzed
through the air and had the sensation of flying as an eagle.
Without warning, that is exactly what happened, I transitioned into
the eagle. Goliath let go of me in shock.

“What the fuck is that thing?” he called
out.

At first, I hadn’t realized I had
transitioned, but as I flapped my arms it had been my long wing. I
was about two hundred feet in the air. I circled the werewolf party
and squawked as loud as I could. I had broken every rule tonight,
but had no idea how I was doing it. I couldn’t be criticized or
judged for that. The Triat had to know I didn’t do any of that on
purpose.

I needed to get out of here and that I did.
I flew out of the ranch. I went straight into the sky as high as I
could like a rocket. The wind got colder and colder the higher I
went. The air felt incredible; I felt incredible. I had never felt
so alive. I had never felt so much excitement. The euphoria was
exhilarating–too exhilarating.

I stopped thinking about Josiah the eagle
and I began reflecting on Josiah the man. That was another huge
mistake. Somehow, I had transitioned back into my Mani form. How
did I know this? I looked down and saw my human legs. I was a mile
high without wings. I was a mile high and had no idea how to fly in
my Mani form. I soon hit the apex of my ascendance and stood still
in midair. For that brief moment, as I switched from ascending to
the certain fall that awaited me, I had an amazing moment of
clarity. I felt as if everything in the world made sense. That must
be the feeling one gets right before he dies. It didn’t last long
because I fell. And fall, I did.

My emotions went from euphoria to absolute
terror. I was thousands of feet above earth. And now I was dropping
at a speed that I couldn’t even fathom. The night was completely
dark and I felt as if I was falling into a black hole. But I knew
better. I was falling to the earth—an earth that would crush and
destroy me on contact. What the hell was I to do?

I need to fly! I was going to make contact
with the ground soon. The fear was indescribable. I couldn’t think
clearly. I knew I needed to transition. Was this a faith issue? Was
this a test by the Triat? Was I falling to the earth because I was
allowing fear to beat me? The wind was choking me. I decided to
look up and get a giant gasp of air, as if I was going underwater.
I gulped as much air as I could and then I looked down. I
concentrated on becoming the eagle. Nothing was happening! Why
wasn’t I transitioning? I remained calm. I looked up and took in
another gulp of air. I spread my arms out and began flapping them,
praying they would turn into wings.

I looked down. It was no longer a black
hole. I could see a sea of lights below me. I was getting closer to
the earth. Dear God! This can’t be the way this ends! I
straightened my legs as if I was doing a jackknife into a pool. I
raised my arms straight up. Then something miraculous happened. I
felt my body slowing down, as if I was a racecar driver that had
taken my foot off the pedal.

As I slowed down, I could see shapes as well
as lights below me. I knew I was getting closer and closer to the
ground. With all that I had, and every bit of will, I stretched my
arms out as hard as I could. I had nothing to lose; if it didn’t
work, I was going to die anyway.

Then it happened. I could feel my body
taking control of my speed. I had control. I freaking had control!
I was no longer falling. I had somehow changed direction again. I
was now going up again. I needed to reel this in.

I couldn’t let myself rise out of control
again. I wasn’t going to let it happen. I had some bearing of
control this time. It was like trying to ride an out-of-control
horse. The problem was, I was the horse. I concentrated, breathed
and did all that I could to recall the feelings I had had as the
eagle, to try to control my flying. I had seen Superman and
Greatest American Hero. They made flying look easy. I needed to
relax. And relax I did.

The more relaxed I was, the easier it was to
control my body. I was now flying, I was finally in absolute
control. I was flying! Not as an eagle, but as me, Josiah Reign. I
felt power underneath my feet. My energy was allowing me fly. It
was the most amazing feeling I had ever experienced. This was more
exhilarating than flying as an eagle. I could see my own arms, my
own legs. It felt similar to swimming, but a lot more freeing.

As the eagle, I had felt light and delicate.
At times, I got the sense of power when I struck a person or an
object. But flying as a Mani felt like the dreams I used to have
when I was mortal. I felt powerful and alive. And yes, I felt like
Superman. I tilted my arms and leveled out my body so that I was
flying parallel to the earth, Superman-style. I allowed myself to
drop and then I would ascend. Flying felt like having ten orgasms
back to back. It was the biggest rush I have ever had. It was more
exciting than all my experiences combined. I felt like the most
powerful man in the world. That was the problem. I was no longer a
man, I was a vampire—and now I could fly. In my Mani body. I was
jubilant.

Chapter Five

I flew around for the next two hours in my
Mani form, arms and legs flapping in the wind. I noticed that I was
less anxious about flying when I was lower to the ground, but I was
risking being seen by the public. So, I was going to have to find a
happy medium with all this flying business. I needed to fly low
enough to feel comfortable and high enough to not be seen by the
naked eye.

The sun would be coming out soon. I decided
once again to go find Lena. I knew I had left her and everyone else
stranded a mile down from the ranch. I doubted she was still there.
I checked there anyway just to be sure. I scoped up and down from
the sky and saw no one within two miles of the ranch. I decided to
fly over to her trailer community. Hopefully, she had gone back
home. I got to the trailer park in minutes. I spotted her mobile
home from the air and noticed a car parked in the driveway. Her
parents must have come home.

I decided to land in the park across the
street. It seemed like it was the best spot because of the large
amount of soft grass. I circled the park as I had done earlier in
the night. It was different this time because I wasn’t circling the
park as an eagle, but as a man. I was getting better at landing as
‘the eagle.’ This was a completely different ball game, trying to
land with legs. As an eagle, I could pull back and delicately hit
the earth, my wings lifting me at the last moment of touchdown. I
had no idea at what speed I should hit the ground flying as a Mani.
I didn’t want to crush my legs on impact.

There was a barn at the far east end of the
park. It was some sort of petting zoo for kids in the area. As I
circled the barn, I could see some bales of hay to the left of the
barn. I decided to aim my landing in that direction. Hay on top of
grass was double the protection.

I continued to circle around the barn, each
time making the circle smaller and smaller. Each time I circled, I
inched my way closer and closer to the earth. I was about twenty
feet from the ground. I needed to land and I was becoming
apprehensive. I dipped my legs down a tad, as if I was jumping off
a roof of a house. That was not a good idea. I pulled back my
motion as I got closer and closer to the ground. Right next to the
barn was a scarecrow and I used it as my focal point. I pulled up
hard, but I knew my speed was still too fast. I hit the bales of
hay much harder than I intended to. I instinctively curled my body
up in a ball to protect my vital areas. All that did was make me
roll instantly when I hit the ground. And roll I did. I rolled out
of control and crashed directly into the barn. I had hoped the barn
would stop my momentum. No such luck. My body broke through the
wooden walls as if I was a tank. I wrapped my hands around my head
on contact to prevent further injury.

Finally I stopped and laid there flat on my
back. I looked up and saw a brown horse looking down at me. It
stared at me with a bewildered look as if to say, ‘Who the hell are
you?’

I got to my feet as quickly as I could. My
body ached all over. I had put my body through the wringer tonight.
Although I was in immense pain, my adrenaline was still off the
charts. I felt like I had just downed ten Red Bulls.

I wiped off the dirt and hay, cracked my
neck, and walked out of the barn. The cold morning air hit my face.
The sun would be up shortly. I walked across the grassy field and
headed to Lena’s trailer park.

I felt like a superhero as I exited the park
and went across the street. Cars passed me and for the first time,
I had the feeling of immortality. Ultimately, I felt that nothing
could hurt me. It felt insanely great. It was the high of highs.
The surge of power at beginning to realize my own potential as a
Mani.

I wasn’t even sure if Lena was home. Lena’s
parents were home and that changed everything. I went to the side
of the house and tapped the window to her bedroom. After just one
tap, the lights in her room came on. Lena pulled back the curtain
and I saw her face. She looked concerned and very beautiful.

She opened the window just enough to be
heard, “Josiah,” she whispered, “Are you okay?”

“I’m more than okay,” I said, louder than I
planned to.

“Shhhh, you’ll wake up creepazoid.” She
opened the window more.

“Screw him. Let’s get out of here!” I
whispered back.

Lena looked behind me. “Where’s your
car?”

“I’m not going to need that anymore.”

Lena looked at me puzzled.

“Get some clothes together,” I said, “Let’s
get out of here.”

Lena had a spark in her eye. “Really?”

“Of course, really. You don’t need to live
here anymore. I have plenty of room, you can stay with me.”

Lena’s face looked like a child’s on
Christmas morning. “Hold on!” She left for a moment and came back.
She already had a suitcase packed with clothes in her arms and
handed it to me through the window.

All of a sudden, I heard a deep voice, “Who
the hell are you talking to, little woman?” Lena quickly jumped out
the window and fell into my arms. We swiftly hid behind the
trailer. We could hear Lena’s stepdad in her room. He was walking
around. “That little whore snuck out again!” he said in a loud
voice. He turned off the light.

I looked at Lena and I couldn’t help but
have the biggest smile on my face.

She could see the excitement in my eyes.
“What the hell happened tonight? Did you fight?”

“Yes.” I must have had a lot of scrapes and
bruises.

“Did you win?”

“Yes and no,” I said.

“Well, you’re alive. That’s the only thing
that matters.” Lena looked at the back of my head. “Josiah your
head is cracked open. Do you feel alright?”

Goliath apparently had done a number to the
back of my head. “Let’s get out of here. We need to take care of
that.”

“Okay,” I said. “Put your arms around my
neck.”

“Why?” Lena looked at me curiously.

“Just do it,” I said. Lena wrapped her arms
around my neck. “Hold on tight,” I raised my arms as if I was a
superhero preparing to fly.

“What the heck are you doing?” Lena gasped.
I raised my arms again this time with some oomph. I had a small
problem. Nothing was happening. Lena looked at me as if I had lost
my mind.

“Uh… Josiah. What are you doing?”

“Hold on,” I said. “Watch!” I raised my arms
again, this time I made a fist as if that would help. Again,
nothing happened.

“What are you trying to do?” Lena asked
laughing.

“I’m trying to fly,” I stammered.

“Well,” Lena said sweetly. “You’ll need to
transition to do that.” Then we heard someone open the front door.
“Transition, Josiah!” Lena immediately transitioned into a red
hawk.

Dammit! I wanted to show her I could fly!
Why couldn’t I fly?

Lena flew away, leaving her suitcase behind.
I could hear Lena’s stepdad getting closer. I transitioned to ‘the
eagle.’ I grabbed the suitcase in my beak and flew out of the area
like a speeding bullet. Yeah, now I was the super hero.

Chapter Six

We both landed in my front yard and the sun
was peeking up over the horizon. It was a beautiful thing to see.
It would be something I couldn’t enjoy anymore. That was sad to me.
That the sun was a deep fryer for vampires who had the stupidity to
stand outside in it.