H.T. Night's 8-Book Vampire Box Set (54 page)

“Did you tell everyone else?”

“Yeah, they have already transitioned and
left. Everyone decide that they were going to go live there
regardless of what you decided to do.”

“That’s good, “I laughed. “I’m not running a
cult here. I’m glad people are making their own decisions.”

“Why don’t you and Tommy gather your stuff
and drive out.”

“Drive?”

“Oh, I forgot you only fly now, Josiah.
Forgive me, oh great one.” Yari smirked at me and left the
room.

I shut the door and turned around and faced
Tommy. “Hey, Wolfboy, wake up!”

Tommy looked up at me half dead. “What the
hell are you yelling about?”

“Get up and gather your things, we’re
moving.”

“We’re moving? What the hell?”

“That’s what I said. Get up, sleepyhead,
rise and shine.”

“Where are we moving to?”

“Trust me, you’ll love it. It’s a freaking
palace.”

“Wow, a palace!” Tommy stretched his arms.
“That’s cool. This place was getting a little cramped. Where is it?
Beverly Hills?”

“Not quite,” I laughed. “Try a location that
is a lot dryer and hotter.”

“Where?”

“Victorville.”

“Victorville? You mean that desert town on
the way to Las Vegas?”

“That would be the one.”

“That place is a 100 degrees, 365 days a
year.”

“Well, thank God our house will have air
conditioning and a pool, so you won’t have to worry about it
getting too hot.”

“You know that for sure?”

“Yes, I’ve been there. Get up and quit
complaining. You’re going to have your own room, and that will be a
very good thing because I don’t want to look at your junk.”

“Hey, Josiah. My eyes are up here,” Tommy
said, jokingly pointing at his eyes.

“It’s kind of hard to miss when you wear
basketball shorts three sizes too small.”

“I thought we weren’t going to call
attention to our junk.”

“Sorry, it’s hard to miss.”

“That’s what I’ve been told.”

I shook my head and walked out of the room.
The house was empty except for Yari, everyone had gone up to
Victorville. I went over and sat on the easy chair. Yari came out
of her bedroom with a bag full of stuff. “Hey, will you and Tommy
take this bag with you?”

“Sure, no problem. It will probably be just
Tommy. I’m thinking about flying over. Otherwise I have to
transition and sit in the back seat as the eagle. I don’t think I
want to deal with how slow Tommy drives.”

“It’s nice having one of us grounded. It
makes it easier to figure who will drive our shit places. No need
to draw straws.”

I smiled in agreement and leaned back in the
chair and closed my eyes.

“What’s on your mind, Josiah?”

“You were right about everything, Yari. I
didn’t want to believe you, but you called it. I won’t ever doubt
you again.”

“I know it’s hard, but you need to turn the
page.”

“How have you done it all these years?
Aren’t you emotionally exhausted?” I looked over at Yari and she
came over and sat on my lap.

“Josiah, you are too nice. It’s not
exhausting if you don’t allow people to control how you feel.”

“I thought Lena and I had something special.
I thought it was more. Obviously I’m an idiot.”

“Josiah, you’re not an idiot. For God’s
sake, look at you! Your freaking gorgeous and you have a heart of
gold. If Lena can’t see that you’re head and shoulders above any
man, then it’s her loss.”

“You really think that?”

“Honestly, what is sexy as hell about you is
your confidence. You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and go
out there and do you.”

Yari was right. I needed to let it go. “I’ll
put your bag in the car.” I got up and picked up Yari’s bag.

“Josiah, I talked with Lena for about two
hours right before she left. She loves you. She loves you more than
you know. Give her time.”

“I don’t know why she had to leave the
group.”

“She really didn’t want to leave, Josiah.
But she didn’t want to come in between you and Tommy. She’s
confused about a lot of things. She feels guilty about the whole
thing. The last thing she said to me was that she loved you with
all her heart. She just needed to leave and figure some things
out.”

“She didn’t have to leave the group. I would
have given her space.”

“Josiah, she needed her own space. She needs
to listen to her heart. She wants to love Josiah the man—not Josiah
the Chosen Mani. She needs to figure out how she can separate the
two.”

“Did she say where she was going?”

“No, but she promised she’d be safe. I
texted her and told her that we were all moving to Victorville.
Don’t be surprised if one day she shows up.”

* * *

The house was even more spectacular in the
daylight. I showed up around 6:00 pm. I didn’t realize how
windowless the house was the last time I was here. There were
literally no windows in the entire house. But there were several
trap doors that opened to the outside where Mani could easily fly
in and out. It was as if the house was designed by a Mani.

Tommy showed up shortly after I did. He and
I took rooms upstairs. We all had our own rooms, and there would be
no more awkward sleeping arrangements. A part of me was saddened by
the idea that Lena wasn’t going to be a part of this. So Yari,
Hector, Wyatt, Cyrus, Tommy and I were now housemates in a
beautiful white mansion in the deep of Victorville. There wasn’t a
house or business within five miles of the property. I wasn’t sure
if that was a good or bad thing.

The next three weeks were an adjustment
period for everyone. It was like a bad episode of the Real World,
where the houseguests argued about hygiene and dishes in the
sink.

Cyrus and Yari seemed to have a connection.
They had been spending a lot of time together. I guess it was a
rite of passage to be in the group. All male members must go
through Yari. Yari was like a mongoose, she devoured her prey.
Tommy and I both gave Cyrus a head’s up about her, but he seemed
like a smart fellow. I don’t see him falling for our red-headed
vixen.

My birthday was coming up and it was going
to be on Saturday. Yari was planning the biggest Mani party of all
time. She claimed she threw one for Thomas Jefferson back in the
day. Thomas Jefferson a vampire? Who knew?

Yari mentioned there were going to be over a
hundred Mani and future Mani invited to the party. Future Mani, or
FM, is a term that is used for teens that weren’t fully developed
yet, but have committed themselves to being a Mani when they
reached 20 years of age. Most FM’s really didn’t have a choice, if
they didn’t choose to become a Mani, they would be killed because
they knew too much. It’s the Mani way; even I couldn’t change the
decree. I just know I won’t kill or order for someone to be killed
unless they intend to harm a Mani that is loyal to our cause.

Yari was going ballistic putting together
the party. I had one strong rule. No Tandra allowed at the party
unless they were FM’s. I made the rule not because I hate humans.
It was actually the opposite. I didn’t want any of them to be in
danger. A house full of feeding Mani was not a good place for any
human being. To be honest, I wasn’t fully comfortable with a FM’s
being there, but I could only throw my weight around so much.

Tommy and I have gotten really close again.
Lena was becoming a distant memory; ok, not really, but as far as
Tommy and I were concerned there was no mention of her or what had
happened.

It was the day before my party and Tommy and
I were having another epic Scrabble match on the dining room table.
Tommy and I were extremely competitive. It didn’t matter what we
we’re doing, we battled hard. He had my number, as of late, when it
came to Scrabble. Today was no exception. Tommy laid down the tiles
‘xi’ on the board to close out the win.

“That’s it Josiah. I win 342 to 321. You
were once again owned by yours truly.”

“You’re a stud at Scrabble, Tommy. What can
I say?” I was bothered by the loss but was trying my best to be a
good sport about it.

Tommy never makes that easy.

“You can say you are officially my ‘Scrabble
bitch’. What does that make now, five straight times I beat
you?”

Like I said, Tommy never makes it easy.

I tried to compose myself —but Dammit —he
was making this hard. “Easy, Wolfie,” I said. “Don’t make me go all
white eagle on your canine ass.”

“Is that a threat?” Tommy said, laughing
—almost daring me to do something.

“No threat here,” I said. “As a matter of
fact, I say we take it to the carpet.”

“Oh, Jo, you want none of me. Remember
you’re a striker, and if we wrestle on the carpet, it’s over. I
will take you to task.”

We both went into the main living room area.
There were three couches and a coffee table that were worth more
than most people’s cars in the center of the room. They were
definitely in the way. We both turned over the sofas and pushed
them aside. Tommy picked up the coffee table and put it on top of
the couches.

“What the hell is going on down here?” Yari
yelled from the stairway.

“I’m about to show Josiah that a grappler
always beats a striker.”

“Are you two fighting for real?” Yari
yelled.

“Not for real, we’re just having some fun,”
I yelled back to her.”

Tommy made his way to the middle of the room
and began stretching and hopping up and down as if he was about to
have a real MMA fight. He was wearing jeans and a black t-shirt.
Tommy took off his shirt and threw it Yari.

We’re not doing this nude, are we?” I asked,
knowing full well we weren’t.

“Not this time,” Tommy answered. “The last
time there was too much scrotum flying around.”

I was wearing black basketball shorts with
Kobe Bryant, Lakers jersey. “If you don’t mind, I prefer to keep
number 24 on.”

“Whatever floats your boat, Vampy.”

“Vampy? Oh it’s on, my little
Chihuahua.”

“This little Chihuahua is going to show you
how it’s done!”

“What’s going on down there?” Hector yelled
from one of the rooms. Hector never says anything so we must have
awakened him.

“I think we disturbed the Prince,” I said,
laughing.

“I forgot he knew how to talk,” Tommy
grinned.

“Tommy and Josiah are just flexing their
muscles at each other,” Yari said. “It’s nothing to be worried
about. They’re just seeing whose dick is bigger. I actually know
the answer, but we’ll let them work it out. For the right price,
I’ll tell anyone who wants to know.”

“It’s okay, Yari,” I said. “No one here
wants to pay to know that kind of information.”

“Spoken by the man who obviously has the
smaller wang!” Tommy laughed.

“Oh, it’s on, Chachi!” I circled Tommy. I
looked up at the stairwell and now the whole house was watching.
Hector, Wyatt and Cyrus had joined Yari on the stairwell. “I guess
we have an audience.”

“I don’t need an audience,” Tommy said. “As
I recall, the last time we did this, you saw stars.”

“Damn, those are fighting words,” I said
back to Tommy. “Don’t forget I was still a Tandra when we fought
that night. And remember, you were most definitely a Carni, so you
had a slight advantage.”

“Doesn’t erase the fact that I beat you in
front of the world on Pay-Per-View, does it?”

“It needs an asterisk.”

“The only asterisk is going to happen is me
kicking your asterisk-ass.”

“All talk and no bite. Oh wait you do bite…
and howl… and bark.”

“Cute Josiah, I see you can still talk some
shit. Any rules, Golden Boy?”

“Rules, hell when did we ever have
rules?”

“We don’t want to kill each other. Let’s say
no punching above the neck, we both look too pretty.”

I felt my chiseled jaw. “Agreed,” I
said.

“And you can’t use any of your wizard shit,”
Tommy added, staring me down.

“Wizard shit? Damn! Is that is what you
think of me?”

“God knows what you can do now. You could
probably say Hocus pocus and turn my penis into Chapstick.”

“I don’t have to say Hocus Pocus to do
that!” I said, with an exclamation point.

“That was too easy.”

“You’re the one lobbing me up softballs.
Don’t get mad when I hit them out of the park.”

Tommy nodded and we continued to circle each
other. “Anyway, no Mani bullshit,” Tommy stated, “Just straight
MMA, with no punching in the face.”

“I guess there’s only one thing to say,
Tommy boy. ‘Let’s get it on’!”

Tommy and I circled each other for about
another minute, sizing each other up, both of us waiting for just
the right opening.

“Please don’t break anything!” Yari
yelled.

As I circled, I looked Tommy in the eyes. I
began thinking about how bad he messed things up with Lena and I. I
felt a slow rage grow inside of me. I tried to shake it off, but I
couldn’t. It was building to the point that it was boiling over.
Eventually, I quit looking at Tommy as a friend I was having fun
wrestling with in the living room. I was looking at him as the guy
who gave me pain. He consciously put the moves on Lena, knowing
full well how I felt about her. It was time for him to pay.

I lowered my body level, and shot my body in
between Tommy’s legs and caught his right hamstring with both my
hands and picked him up. I did this at a speed that I had never
experienced while wrestling before. Within milliseconds, Tommy was
being lifted off the ground and I was carrying him in my arms
around the living room like a sack of potatoes. He was punching my
shoulders and chest trying to break free. But I wasn’t letting go
for anything. I jumped up and slammed Tommy to the carpet. I
knocked the wind out of him. I could hear him gasping for air.

I was holding Tommy down with my body, and
controlling him with my legs. Something had become quite apparent
since the last time Tommy and I had fought, I had now become a lot
stronger than him. A hell of a lot stronger and he knew it. He
could feel my grip around his body. I could sense the uncertainty
in the way he was breathing. I should have had empathy. I shouldn’t
have felt the way I did. I was thriving off his misery.