H.T. Night's 8-Book Vampire Box Set (32 page)

This was progress. This was damn good
progress. “TOMMY!” I yelled one more time, “SUBMIT!” This time
Tommy, the werewolf, lowered his eyes. He was well aware that I
could be the enemy. I was aware I was still dealing with a wild
animal.

“TOMMY! SIT!” I bellowed. Tommy took a step
to the left and then another to the right. He stared at me unsure.
He was listening. So, I calmly said, “Tommy. Sit.”

Then it happened. Tommy lowered his head and
sat on the floor. Holy shit, he fully submitted. I immediately
continued my commands. “Tommy,” I said with authority. “Look up at
me!”

Tommy looked up at me. He no longer had the
devil eyes ready to devour anything in its way. Instead he looked
at me the way a dog would look at its owner. They were still as
yellow as the night was dark.

“Stand!” I commanded him. Tommy immediately
stood up on all fours. This was amazing. How amazing? I did not
know. But this was definitely a breakthrough.

I proceeded to give the werewolf basic
commands such as speak, roll over, and walk on two legs. Tommy was
not only obeying, Tommy was having fun with it. I even saw his tail
wag at one point.

It was nearing daylight and Tommy would turn
back into his Carni form. I wanted to raise the stakes before that
happened. I began asking Tommy questions, and having him raise his
left paw for ‘yes’ and his right paw for ‘no.’

I stared at this amazing beast. “Tommy,” I
said. “Are you older than me in years? Tommy stared and then slowly
raised his left paw. That meant ‘yes.’ Tommy had answered it
correctly.

“Tommy,” I said. “Did I win when we fought
our only professional, mixed martial fight together?” Tommy looked
at me with a familiar look. For a second, I saw one of Tommy’s
expressions when he was being cocky. Tommy raised his right paw
proudly. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Tommy.” I said, “Are you a Carni?” Tommy
raised his left paw.

“Tommy,” I said, “Am I your best friend?”
Tommy stared at me and I saw his yellow eyes gleam. He raised his
left paw. This was fantastic! Tommy not only answered all my
questions correctly, he was connecting to them on an emotional
level.

I decided to once again raise the stakes.
“Tommy,” I said. “Is it okay to kill a helpless Tandra, Mani or
Carni?” Once again Tommy’s eyes looked up at me. This time he had a
noble stare. He raised his right paw. Which was ‘no.’

“Tommy, have you been rejected by your own
people?” Tommy didn’t like that question. Tommy barked and
growled.

“Easy, Tom,” I said, “I’m sorry. I’ll ask
you a different question.” But before I could ask another question,
this amazing werewolf, slowly raised his left’ paw. He didn’t want
to and I could see it in his body language. But he answered the
question anyway.

“One more question, Tommy,” I said. “Do you
trust me?”

Tommy calmly raised his left paw.

“That’s a good boy,” I said. Then it dawned
on me, he must had been starving. He hadn’t eaten all night. “I’ll
be right back.” I said. We had some leftover chicken breasts in the
fridge. I heated them up in the microwave.

I brought a plate full of chicken to Tommy.
One by one, I threw them in to him. He ate them up like they were
chicken nuggets. I grabbed a breast and ate one myself. I leaned
against the wall and stared down at my best friend. I had a smile
on my face bigger than the full moon itself.

Chapter Twelve

I’d had an exhausting night and I was
resting against the front wall. I closed my eyes and drifted off to
sleep. I was startled by a brush of wind hitting my face. I opened
my eyes and was no longer in the room with Tommy; I was back at the
castle. I was having my second vision.

Once again it was foggy. This time the fog
was thick and had a distinct smell: a combination of morning dew
and auto exhaust. The castle was about a hundred feet away. There
was a siren in the distance. I definitely did not care to know what
that siren meant; it was more annoying than a car alarm. I wondered
if the siren was real or just a ringing in my head.

I got to my feet and walked up the hill
toward the castle. The castle had layers to it and almost appeared
to resemble a mission. I hadn’t remembered this detail from the
last dream. At the front of the castle was distinct writing that
was chiseled into gate. I could barely make out the letters , ‘B’
and ‘R.’ The rest was blurry as if water and age had deteriorated
the remaining letters.

I worked my way up the steep hill and stood
at the front of this magnificent castle. I approached the great
castle and the doorway that the blue gnome had previously stood in
was now closed. The blue gnome was nowhere to be found. I opened
the unlocked door and walked inside the glorious castle. I was
surprised to see the door led me to a middle courtyard. It was
spectacular with a cathedral-like quality. At the other side of the
courtyard was another door that was open. I decided to enter the
door; I wasn’t sure what to expect upon entering such a glorious
castle. As I made my way through the corridor, I could barely see.
It was dark and I felt my way by touching the walls. The walls were
coarse and prickly. It was like touching coral at the bottom of the
ocean. I made my way to an open room in the back of the castle. I
could hear someone talking inside the room. I peeked in and there
he was—the blue gnome.

“Who are you talking to?” I asked.

“I was talking to you,” he replied.

“How did you know I was here?”

“How could I not. This is your dream.” The
Blue Gnome sighed and got up to greet me. I motioned for him to sit
back down.

“Have you tamed the wolf?” he inquired.

“Not yet, I’m working on it.”

“Very good. You must build a bond and then
the wolf will break free.”

I was pleased to know my instincts were
right and it was Tommy who was to be tamed. “What then?” I
asked.

“When you are done, you must come back and
see me. Then we will start your training.”

“Visit you? I asked. “In my dreams?”

“No, Josiah,” you’ll need to find me here. I
will be here… waiting.”

“Here? Where?”

“Josiah!” Someone screamed loudly. I woke up
instantly. It was Tommy. He had transformed back into a Carni and
was drenched in what appeared to be water or sweat. His long, brown
hair looked as if he had dipped his head in a pool.

“Are you going to let me out or what? I have
to piss!”

“Oh yeah, where’s the key?”

“It’s in my coat pocket. My coat is hanging
on the wall outside the door.”

“How did you get out of the cage the other
times?”

“I had a friend do it, someone I
trusted.”

“A Mani?” I asked.

“No, an everyday human: a Tandra.”

“It was my sister wasn’t it?”

Tommy looked at me with a desperate look,
“Yeah, it was, bro. Now please let me out or I’m going to piss
right here.”

“Why are you soaked?” I took the key out of
his coat pocket.

“It’s what happens when we turn back. It’s
sweat.”

“I think I’m going to throw up.” I unlocked
the cage door. I entered the cage and Tommy was still very much
chained up. One by one, I unlocked his wrists and ankles and then
his chest. When I got the last lock off, Tommy bolted past me and
ran to the bathroom. I heard him do one of the longest streams of
pee I have ever heard in my life. I swore it took three minutes. He
came back into the room with a look of relief on his face.

“Tommy, my sister died two years ago. Who
has helped you since then?”

Tommy paused and looked at me. “You don’t
know her,” he said. “It was someone I trusted and cared about.”

“You have a lot of secrets don’t you?”

“I need my secrets; especially now that I’m
flying solo.”

“You’ll never be solo, Tom.”

“We’ll see.” Tommy had a familiarity behind
his eyes I hadn’t noticed before. “So, how did it go?”

“Do you remember anything?”

Tommy just stared straight ahead. He didn’t
say anything.

“Tommy,” I said waving my hand in his face.
“Do you remember anything?”

“Josiah, I need to wrap my head around all
of this. Let me get some sleep and we’ll talk when I get up.”

“Okay,” I said. I would have liked an
immediate answer, but whatever floated his boat.

Tommy walked past me and went upstairs to
his bedroom. That was weird. Then again, why would I expect
anything less?

* * *

I went into the guest room where I had been
sleeping for the last two weeks. There were no windows in the room,
so there was zero chance for any kind of sunlight to get in.

I laid down and fell into a deep, peaceful
slumber. I opened my eyes and it was exactly five hours later. I
felt refreshed. I got up and decided to go to the kitchen and grab
a glass of water. I was pretty dehydrated after a very bizarre
night.

I noticed in the kitchen there was a
Styrofoam cup that had some dried blood still in it. I dipped my
finger in the cup and scraped out the remainder of the blood with
my fingernail. I raised my finger to my nose—smelt the dry
blood—then tasted it. I had to admit, the smell was intoxicating. I
licked my finger and it tasted okay. Probably a lot better warm. I
liked the taste of strawberry jelly better.

I decided to go take a shower. I peeled off
my clothes and walked to the bathroom naked. I felt alive and free
being naked. I wonder what it feels like to fly naked. That was
definitely something I needed to try.

For now, I was going to take the longest
shower known to man. The water was hot as it poured down my body. I
closed my eyes and thought about the night before. I was acting on
instinct. Or was I? About every five minutes, I made the shower
hotter and hotter. The hotter it got, the more soothed I felt. I
loved every minute I stood underneath the water; it was like having
a masseuse applying pressure on my body. When I was done, I put on
a pair of jeans and a black tank top.

I walked upstairs and into Tommy’s bedroom.
I knocked at the door. “Tom,” I called out.

“Yeah,” Tommy yelled from inside his
room.

“You up?”

“I am now!” He moaned like a teenager.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure, if you want to see me in all my
glory.”

“Put some boxers on, weirdo!”

“Come in, Josiah, I’m kidding.”

I opened the door slowly to see if he
actually was kidding. I wouldn’t put it past him to just be laying
there in his best Playgirl pose. He had his boxers on and was
sitting up.

“How are you feeling?” I asked.

“I’m a little amped up—and a little
exhausted. You know a little bit country—a little bit rock and
roll.”

I grinned and sat at the foot of his bed.
“So, tell me, do you remember anything?”

“I do remember some of it. I remember seeing
you. I remember hearing your voice. But I can’t remember
details.”

“Really?” I said disappointed.

“I usually never remember anything.”

“I was hoping you would remember our
questions.”

“You asked me questions?”

“Yes, and you answered them with feeling.
You were connected.”

“Was I connected from the get-go?”

“No, not at all. You howled and screamed at
me for ninety minutes. You finally wore out. That was when I
started to train you. You were no longer this ferocious wild
animal. You were almost kind.”

“You’re fucking with me, right? Kind?”

“Tommy, I’m not. For a good two hours you
submitted to me.”

“Really?” Tommy seemed shocked.

“Close your eyes and try to remember. It’s
in your memory bank. You and the wolf are one and the same.”

Tommy closed his eyes. “Okay, tell me
something we did.”

“I was asking you questions. I asked you to
raise your right paw for ‘no’, and your left paw for ‘yes.’”

Tommy appeared flustered.

“I asked you if I had beaten you in our
mixed martial match.”

Tommy strained his eyes. He was really
trying to remember. “I answered no?” Tommy was a bit uncertain.

“Yes, you did. Do you remember that?”

Tommy smiled. “Maybe.” Tommy paused and then
said, “You asked me about five or six questions?”

“Yes,” I said. “Tommy, that’s good. Okay,
there was one question really bothered you. Do you remember what I
asked you?”

Tommy closed his eyes. “I was calm.”

“Yes, you were.”

“I felt secure with you.”

“Okay. Keep going, Tom. Concentrate.”

Tommy suddenly opened his eyes. “You asked
me if I.... if we.....if you and I were best friends.”

“Yes, Tommy!”

“I answered yes!”

“Now, what was the question that bothered
you the most?”

“You asked me if I had been rejected by the
Carni and that angered me!”

“Yes, it did!”

“I remember, Josiah. I remember all of
it.”

Tommy and I both jumped up and down on his
bed like a couple of six year olds.

“It’s working, Tommy!” I said, as we stopped
jumping.

Tommy hopped off his bed and landed on the
wood floor, shaking the entire house. “This is amazing, Josiah, I
actually have specific memories about last night. That has never
happened before.” Tommy stopped and looked at himself in the mirror
over his dresser. He began flexing. He was really feeling it.
“What’s next?” he asked.

“We’re not having a pose off, if that’s what
you’re insinuating.”

“Be thankful, Josiah. You want none of
this.” Tommy looked down at his reasonably chiseled body. Tommy had
a lot more mass than me, but was solid as a rock.

“You’re exactly right, Tommy,” I laughed. “I
don’t want any of that,” referring to his body. I enjoyed the
camaraderie, but I needed to get serious. “Tonight, I am going in
the cage with you. I’m going to try touching.”