H.T. Night's 8-Book Vampire Box Set (51 page)

“I don’t know how. We just started hanging
out and getting along.”

“Getting along? I didn’t realize that
getting along with someone constitute romantic feelings.”

“You make it sound like I was being
malicious.”

“What happened to ‘forever and always’? What
happened to ‘I love you’?”

“I haven’t stopped loving you. In many ways,
I love you more.”

“You love me more? You developed feelings
for my best friend and that caused you to love me more? How is that
possible?”

“Because now I know what I need to do.”

“Which is?”

Lena sat up on the bed. She seemed really
uncomfortable.

“What do you need to do, Lena?”

“I think I… or we, need time apart.”

“Oh, we do? Just like that. I don’t see you
for a month and the second I come back we need time apart?”

“I need to figure things out.”

“Do you love him?”

“Not in the same way I love you.”

“So, you do love him?”

“I don’t know what it is. Tommy took care of
me. He comforted me when you weren’t there.”

“I think I’m going to throw up.”

“Josiah, the love I have for you sometimes
doesn’t even feel real, it’s like a fairytale where the weird Goth
girl gets the cute popular boy in school.”

“Wow, I can’t believe how you just reduced
us to some cheesy teen movie. I think what has gone on between us
is a lot more than that.”

“Is it?”

“What are you talking about? You don’t think
so? Has everyone gone crazy?”

“Josiah, when I think about you, I don’t
really see you for you. I see you as this guy who is super
human.”

“That is so unfair to me!”

“How can I not see you for that? You do
things and behave in a way that is beyond my comprehension.”

“I didn’t ask for this! I didn’t ask for any
of it. But I can’t change it now that it’s here. You were the one
thing that kept me grounded. You are the one thing that has made
all of this worth it. This isn’t fair.”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because I see you for who you are. I see
you for all that I believe you’ll become. I love that about you,
and I can’t believe all you have felt for me these past few months
is superficial bullshit.”

Lena stood up and walked over to me. “It’s
more than that, Josiah, because I do see you, too. I see this thing
that you have become. You’re not mine to have. The reason why you
are the ‘Chosen One’ is not so you can love me. The reason why you
have been handpicked to do great things is because of what’s inside
of you. And I don’t want to interfere with that.”

What the hell? Did Goshi talk to her?

Then it dawned on me what was happening. She
was breaking up with me. I felt all the air come out of me. I sat
on the bed. “So what are you saying, Lena?”

“I’m saying that I love you. I love you so
much, that I know I can’t keep you for myself.”

I felt like I was going to hyperventilate. I
pleaded with her. “Please, don’t do it, Lena. I don’t care. I don’t
want any of this if I can’t have you!”

“Josiah, we need to slow this down. This
thing that’s between us needs to come to a halt. We need to
re-evaluate what we’re doing.”

And that is where my brain stopped. That is
where my fight of fight went into overdrive. There was no fucking
way I was going to hear any more of this.

I choose flight.

I got up off the bed and went to the living
room. I paced around the house and I felt as if my heart was going
to come out of my chest. FUCKING TOMMY! You took the one thing in
this world that meant the most to me!

I opened the door and it was sunnier than
hell. I didn’t care, I was going to find myself a werewolf, and he
was going to have to pay for his transgressions. I transitioned
into the great white eagle and flew into the Southern California
sky.

Chapter Fourteen

I flew as high as I could. I don’t care
anymore; this entire thing is so fucked up. How did this happen?
The only reason I left was to be able to help all of us. Not to be
betrayed and deceived by people I loved the most. I flew high in
the sky, almost to the point where I was having a hard time
breathing in the atmosphere, but I didn’t care. I kept going higher
and higher. I just didn’t care anymore. I wanted to go far away
from here and forget about all of this. I was so angry at Tommy,
and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted him to pay. I
didn’t like feeling this way. I didn’t like wanting vengeance, but
that was what I was left with. He crossed the line!

But trying to find a werewolf roaming the
earth in a place as populated as Southern California would be like
finding a needle in a haystack. One thing I did know for sure; he
wasn’t this high up in the sky. I decided I was done flying to the
moon and I’d better return to earth.

I was going to find Tommy. I wasn’t sure
what I wanted to do with him. I wanted to shake and smack him
around and ask him why he would do this to me. I would have never
crossed that line, no matter what I had felt. That was all there
was to it.

If Tommy was currently transitioned into the
werewolf, he could hear my voice if I spoke to him. So, that was
exactly what I tried to do. “Tommy, where are you?” I said in my
mind.

I listened in my head and heard nothing
back. I began flying to the earth and gliding across the Pacific
Ocean. “Tommy,” I thought again, “Are you there? Can you hear
me?”

“I can hear you.”

I heard a voice! “Tommy, where are you?”

“I’m over here. Keep going straight.”

“Where are you?”

“Over here, Josiah.” Now the voice didn’t
sound like Tommy. A matter of fact it, didn’t sound like a man’s
voice at all.

“Lead me to you?” I replied.

“Come and find me.”

That time, the voice was clear as day, and
it wasn’t Tommy’s voice. It was definitely a woman’s voice. Now, I
was completely confused. “Where are you?” I asked.

“Keep coming up the coast toward the land,”
the voice said.

“Can you see me?” I asked.

“Yes, and you’re beautiful.”

“Who are you?”

“Come and find me.”

“How can I? All I see is ocean.”

“Keep going north! You’re going to run into
the Long Beach pier. I’ll meet you on the pier at Seventh
Street.”

Who was this?

I recognized the voice. I couldn’t think who
it could be. I looked ahead and now I could see land ahead of me. I
was approaching the Long Beach pier. “Where are you?” I asked
again.

“I’m over here on the pier. Can’t you see
me?”

I was looking for a woman and there wasn’t
one anywhere. “No, I can’t see you.”

“Look to the north of the pier, Josiah.”

Whoever it was, knew my name. I looked to
the north end of the pier and there she was. I was looking for the
wrong species. There at the end of the pier was the most gorgeous
white hawk I had ever laid my eyes on. She was the one from my
vision and was absolutely spectacular.

“There you are!” I said flying toward
her.

“Yes, and there you are, Jo-Jo.”

Jo-Jo? Only one person had ever called me
Jo-Jo and that was Helen from the plane.

“Helen?” I asked.

“Who else would it be?” she laughed.

“I should have known.”

“Follow me.” Helen flew up in the air.

“Follow you? How can I trust you? The last
time I trusted you I had to fight for my life.”

“I promise to play nice this time. Follow
me, Josiah, unless you’re scared of little old me.” She darted
across the sky and flew along the coast.

I guess I better follow her. If it was a
trap I know I can handle myself. I flew close behind and we passed
Parkers’ Lighthouse and other Long Beach hot spots and made our way
to the Long Beach Aquarium. The Long Beach Aquarium was a giant
blue building that was Long beach’s sad attempt at a nautical
Disneyland. I had gone there when I was a kid and all I remembered
was looking at a ton of fish.

She circled the aquarium as I caught up to
her.

“I know of a back entrance where we can
enter safely,” she said. “Once inside, we can transition. There are
hallways inside the aquariums where no outside light can get
in.”

Helen led me to the back of the Aquarium.
There was an open window right above the south exit. It was quite
large and Helen flew through it. She seemed to be okay, so I
followed.

As I entered the window, I immediately
transition into my vampire form so I wouldn’t crash into the wall
and crack a wing. Helen had the same idea. She had transitioned
into her beautiful, blonde Mani form.

“Hurry,” she said. “Let’s get out of the
light!” She took my hand and led me to an inside area where all
four walls were covered in aquariums filled with the most amazing,
beautiful fish.

She let go of my hand and we stood in front
of an aquarium that was filled with Pearlscale goldfish. They
looked like mini 50/50 bars with their white and orange scales.
Helen stood in front of the fish tank and smiled at me. She looked
incredible. She was wearing a white summer dress and her legs
looked phenomenal. But, I didn’t need to not worry about her
appearance. That wasn’t important at the present moment. I needed
to know who she was. Our last meeting wasn’t exactly copasetic.

“What’s this all about?” I asked.

“Hello to you, too,” she said.

“I’m sorry if I’m not on my best behavior.
The last time I saw you, you weren’t exactly forthcoming. In fact,
you lied through your teeth.”

“I know. I am very sorry about that,” she
said, with as much sincerity as a mercenary.

“Yeah, it sounds like it’s been keeping you
up at night.”

“You have it all wrong, Josiah. I’m one of
the good guys.”

I laughed out loud. “That’s why you went
completely out of your way to set me up?”

“I didn’t set you up in the way you think. I
never intended to hurt you.”

“You never intended to hurt me? You weren’t
exactly there during the fight. Oh, wait… yes, you were. You held
back and watched from a distance and took off once I kicked the
crap out of your friends.”

“You did a wonderful job, Josiah. You are
exactly as advertised. As a matter of fact, you’re a lot cuter than
I thought you’d be.”

“Sorry that I’m not flattered that you paid
me a compliment.”

She reached her hand out and took mine.
“I’ve missed you, Josiah. You came in and out of my life like a
feather in the wind.”

“I wonder why. You didn’t exactly stick
around.”

“That wasn’t my fault; I did have a party to
get to.”

“There really was a party?” I asked.

“What? Did you think I lied about
everything?”

“Yes I did. That’s exactly what I thought. I
thought that you lied about everything! You’re lucky that I don’t
know anything about current events and I couldn’t pick the Duchess
of Windsor out of a lineup to save my life.”

“You’re so cute, Jo-Jo,” she then pinched my
cheeks. “We did our homework on you.”

“We? Who is ‘we’?” I asked.

“I didn’t lie about Mario Moses.”

“Gross, really? That guy is more than 30
years older than you.”

“Well, it’s not that gross because I didn’t
exactly date him. He is my father.”

“Seriously? You’re his daughter? Why didn’t
you tell me who you really were?”

“Because what if my guys had killed you? It
would have been messy.”

“And you didn’t care about throwing the
Duchess of Windsor under the bus?”

“Remember, she did date my dad. And she is,
to put it mildly… a bitch.”

“What’s your real name?”

“Sonia.”

“Sonia? That’s why a couple of those
paparazzi guy’s yelled Sonia at the airport?”

“I know, those idiots almost blew my
cover.”

“Why did you do all of this? Why did you sic
Mani on me like a pack of dogs?”

“They weren’t going to hurt you too
bad.”

“You were okay if they killed me. You said
so yourself.”

“But they didn’t even leave a scratch on
you. You’re a pretty tough customer. They were my best guys and you
disposed of them like they were infants.”

“No offense, but I’m not in the business of
impressing billionaire’s daughters.” I turned around and made sure
no one was listening. “Who the hell are you, and why have you come
for me?”

“Wow, you’re not the sweet Josiah I met on
the airplane.”

“Spare me, Sonia. I’ve had a real bad
day.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Please, just get to the point. Who are you?
What are you? Are you Mani?

“Of course I am,” Sonia smiled at me.
“Josiah, I am you.”

“Huh?”

“I am the female equivalent of you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Josiah, my path has been very similar to
yours. Except that I have been in this form for ten years waiting
for you. I heard through the grapevine that the supposed prophetic
vampire had evolved. So with the help of my connections, I’ve been
tracking you for the past few months.”

“If you had been scouting me then you would
know that I had taken care of anyone and anything in my path. There
would be no reason to waste your best guys on me.”

“Up until that night, it had only been
reports. I needed to see it for myself. I wanted to see if you were
the real deal.”

“Okay, you saw it and then you left. You
didn’t even stick around to explain yourself. You just did a lie
and run on me.”

“What was I supposed to say to you? I knew
you needed time, so you wouldn’t hate me. I was told it was a good
time to come and find you.”

“How would you know that?”

“Again, money talks.”

Someone I know must be reporting to her. I
didn’t bother asking her who it was because I knew she wouldn’t
tell me. “So, you came to rescue me from myself? How very noble of
you.”