H.T. Night's 8-Book Vampire Box Set (63 page)

“About me?” I asked.

“Well, about ‘The Chosen.’ In each of my
visions, ‘The Chosen’ had always been faceless.”

“So, that’s why you had no idea if it was
Atticai or not.”

“Yep. Not a clue. I was just trusting things
that he was telling us. He seemed to have his shit together. He had
seen it all, and had lived through things that would have made most
people lose their minds.”

“When he was Goshi, he told me he had lost
his family.”

“Josiah, Atticai used to be a good man. He
used to have high ethics and values and lived in a manner that most
Mani men could never emulate. In poker terms, he was dealt an awful
hand by the Triat. The Triat either tricked him, or he was too
arrogant to realize that he was only a pawn in their giant chess
game. Maybe on some level, he knew he was always going to be used
and he tried to beat it by working the angles as much as he could.
When we all met up in the late 90s and formed the Children of the
Night, Atticai was about the most amazing entity I had ever come
across.”

“You don’t think that anymore?” I asked. “He
beat death.”

“He didn’t beat death. He’s alive because of
the good in you. He didn’t beat death, whatsoever, you allowed him,
unknowingly, to scurry around it.”

“Is that what you think, Wyatt? You think
it’s all on me?”

“Before I met you, I thought Atticai was a
god. Compared to you, he is a child.”

“I’m not a god, Wyatt. You understand that,
right?” That comment made me really uncomfortable, almost
nauseous.

“You might as well be,” Hector chimed
in.

“I don’t want that responsibility, to be a
god to the people,” I said, to the three men in front of me. “A
leader, yes. Like a president or something, but not elevated to god
status.”

“You might not want it,” Wyatt responded
with vigor. “But you need to accept the fact that the only way
people are going to follow you is because they believe that you are
greater than they are. Why else would they follow or believe in
you? You don’t have to be divine, but you do need to lead by
example, like you have been.”

“Whatever happens from this day forward, you
need to know I am not a god,” I said, plainly.

Wyatt smiled and said, “You need to
understand that most Mani have been through a lot of shit in their
lives. They have been persecuted and ostracized by the people they
loved. You give them hope, Josiah. You give them a reason to stand
together as one. Because of you, we all know that there is a place
for all of us to live in peace away from the entire creed and away
from all the fighting. We do understand however, the only way we
will get to that place is through bloodshed. We don’t like it, but
in our hearts we know that it’s what needs to be done. It is our
nature to want to follow a great Mani into battle, but only if we
believe that we are connected to a greater purpose. The greater
purpose is harmony. It’s not looking over your back every two
seconds to see if your own kind is trying to kill you.”

I looked at all three of the men. “Do all
three of you believe that?”

“I do,” Hector said. “Damn, you have my
credit card, Josiah. I must think you’re somebody. I don’t give my
credit card to just anyone.”

I smiled at Hector. “Do you believe we’re
fighting to have a time of peace?”

“I do, Josiah,” Hector answered.

“And do you think that I’m some kind of
god?”

“Shit, Josiah. I think on some level we’re
all gods. We’re freaking immortal. Maybe we don’t have a world
where people pray to us, but we definitely have some serious
game.”

“Game?” I asked.

“You know Jo, swagger!” Hector laughed.

“Jo? What the hell has gotten into you,
Hector? You’re actually being funny.”

“Getting laid does that to people,” Cyrus
said.

“Wait, have I missed something?” I
asked.

“Hector has this hot new girlfriend, that’s
why he’s never around,” Cyrus continued.

“When did that happen?” I said, shocked.

“About two weeks after you left.” Hector
grinned, proudly.

“I thought you were gay,” I said,
laughing.

“Why does everyone think that?” Hector
groaned.

“What’s her name?” I asked.

Hector smiled and said, “Harriet.”

“Hector and Harriet,” I said. “Damn, you
couldn’t have written it any better.” I was really surprised. I
composed myself and said to Hector, “What is your story?”

“What do you want to know?” he asked.

“When and where were you royalty?”

“In 1933, I was born in Yemen.”

“Wow, Yemen?” I had heard of that country,
but I had no idea people lived there. Was Hector the name you were
born with?”

“No, my birth name is Abdul Mhum
Azeera.”

“That’s a mouthful.”

“That’s why the name Hector is easier. When
I become a Mani in 1955, I decided to take the name Hector from the
Odyssey.”

“In a weird way, it fits you perfectly,” I
said. “So how do you still have access to so much money?”

“Swiss bank accounts.”

“I thought Swiss bank accounts were an urban
legend,” I said.

“No, they are very real.”

“So, tell me how you became a Mani?” I asked
Hector.

“It’s a pretty gruesome story.”

“I have a strong stomach. Go for it.”

So, Hector told me a pretty awful story of
how he was attacked by Mani men who were after his father’s throne.
He was right, his story was pretty brutal and I guess any Mani who
had become one not by choice would have a pretty horrific tale to
tell. He finished his story by saying, “I was considered dead the
night I was attacked. I had been bitten several times from several
different Mani. Somehow, I survived. I had wanted a way out of
Yemen for years. I figured this was my best chance. Everyone
thought I was dead and I had access to a lot of the money since I
had made deposits in Switzerland, prior the attack. I wasn’t sure
when I was going to split out of Yemen, but I had planned on
bailing on that god-forsaken country for quite some time. Even
though they never found my body, I was declared dead. After I made
sure my accounts were still active, I took on an alias.”

“This is all pretty surreal, Hector,” I
said. “I have never heard you speak so much at one given time. Is
there a reason for that?”

“I made it a habit a long time ago that I
would only speak when spoken to. Right now, you’re asking
questions. So it’s only fair that I answer them.”

I grinned at Hector’s honesty. “So,” I said,
“is your girl cute?”

Hector smiled. “Yes, she is. She’s
gorgeous.”

“Good man.” I turned and looked at Cyrus.
“You, my friend, I could have sworn you would have left with
Atticai.”

“Why? I didn’t even know him!” Cyrus
protested.

“That’s true,” I said. “I just know how you
feel about werewolves.”

“That’s the part about all of this that is
hard, Josiah. I liked Tommy. We all did. He put all of us in a
weird position last night. You did the right thing.”

“Did I?” I asked.

“You question it?” Cyrus seemed surprised to
hear me ask that.

“What you all need to understand is that
Tommy and I have a history like no other. He means more to me than
probably a brother would at this point. He’s a part of me and I’m a
part of him. I’ll never understand the choices he makes, but I
can’t worry about that right now. I need to remain focused. Can I
ask you a question, Cyrus?”

“Go for it.”

“Why are you here?” I asked, as plainly as I
could. “Why do you feel the need to fight for this cause?”

“Why wouldn’t I, Josiah? Krull is damaging
the Mani name and if he has his way he’ll destroy any positive
outcome there is for our race. When I was following Krull, I never
felt right about what he was trying to do. He’s an incredible
motivator, but so was Adolph Hitler. The more I listened to him,
the more I realized he was clueless and was possibly leading all of
us into a pit of destruction.”

“Do you trust me?” I asked Cyrus.

“I do.” Cyrus looked me right in the eyes.
“I have ever since the first moment I saw you. You’re a good man,
Josiah. You can’t fake that.”

“How old are you?” I asked. “In real
years?”

“I was born in 1989.”

“So was I,” I said, a little too excited for
the kind of conversation we were all having. “You look around my
age, so you must have turned around the same time I did.”

“It was 8 months ago. It happened Christmas
Eve.”

“How did it happen?”

“I had a few drinks at a buddy’s house and I
drove my car off the road. I was badly injured and there was no one
for miles. I was shitfaced drunk and had passed out. I woke up in
the hospital. I was told the paramedics had gotten there four hours
after I had the accident.”

I looked at Cyrus, confused.

“I know, until this day I still don’t have a
clue what happened. When I was in the hospital, the sunlight
started to burn my skin in a way that was unspeakable. I complained
so much that they eventually moved me to a windowless room.”

I looked at Cyrus and realized that this
poor bastard must have had to figure out everything on his own.
“How did you eventually figure out what happened to you?”

“I have never figured out what happened to
me. It could have been a number of things, like some Mani saw my
body on the side of the road and they all fed and then took off,
thinking I was dead. Another one of my theories is some Mani came
to my rescue and saved me right before I was about to die.”

“I think I like that one better,” I said.
“How did you get involved with Krull?”

“Well, I started thinking I had died in the
car accident that night and was living in some alternative reality
with how bizarre I was feeling. It took me about four months to
figure out everything I needed to know. Eventually, I found others
like me. Unfortunately, I ran with some bad guys in the beginning
and they led me to Krull. At first, I liked what Krull had to say.
Things he said made a lot of sense, and since I was new to
everything I took to him like a sponge. It wasn’t until it was time
to fight that I realized what a fucked-up individual Krull was. He
was merciless in his killings. I knew there was something terribly
wrong about his particular cause. It wasn’t until the night I met
you that I felt I had seen truth.”

“What is it that I did or said?” I
asked.

“It was your aura. You had a confidence and
easiness that attracted me. Then my visions started and I knew I
had made the right decision.”

“You have visions?” I asked.

“Yes, Josiah. Almost every night.”

“Holy shit, really? When were you planning
on telling me?”

“I was waiting for you to ask.”

“Well, what are they?”

“They are always the same thing. I’m being
led by you into what appears to be heaven.”

“Are you screwing with me?” I asked,
surprised as hell to hear this for the first time.

“Why would I be messing with you? Josiah,
this vision is very common.”

I looked at the others and they both nodded.
“You have had the same visions?” I asked Wyatt and Hector.

They both nodded.

“Why do you think we stayed with you?” Wyatt
asked.

“You said ‘The Chosen’ was faceless,” I said
to Wyatt.

“It was faceless until you became a Mani.
Since then, I have the same recurring vision.”

“So do I,” Hector agreed.

“Were you guys ever planning on telling me
this?” I asked the group.

“Like Cyrus said, Josiah. You never asked,”
Wyatt said.

“Wow.” I was pretty taken back. It validated
things on a whole new level with me. I decided to continue to ask
Cyrus questions, but I was really happy about this news. “You
mentioned, Cyrus, when I first met you that werewolves had killed
your family. How did that happen?”

“They were my Mani brothers. They were two
of the most amazing vampires I had ever met. They were both in
agreement with me that Krull was leading us astray. And if they
were still alive, I’m positive they would be here with you, too.”
Cyrus paused. I could tell this was hard for him to speak about but
he continued talking. “One night, we were at the wrong place at the
wrong time during a full moon and we were incredibly outnumbered by
enough werewolves to kill a thousand Mani.” Again Cyrus stopped
talking. Tears burned his eyes.

“It’s okay, man. I get the point. You don’t
have to keep telling me the story,” I said.

“No, I want to. You see, Josiah, werewolves
aren’t even an ounce human. They’re wild animals that kill without
even blinking an eye for no good reason. Not out of revenge or even
hate. They do it because they don’t know any better.”

“I know, Cyrus,” I said. “That is what made
Tommy different. He had cognitive thought.”

Cyrus nodded and continued his story, “I had
gotten away from them; it was hard but I managed to fly away. My
friends weren’t so lucky. The Mani senselessly ripped my friends to
shreds, piercing their necks, and killing them both.”

I took a moment and allowed Cyrus to compose
himself and I asked, “Have you dealt with that?”

“You mean therapy?” Cyrus laughed.

“I mean spiritually. You can’t let that shit
eat you up. It has no part in our lives. The one thing I have
discovered in all this madness is that there is a balance of good
and evil. That was an evil thing that happened to you. You’re due
for some good shit to start happening to you.”

I looked at the three guys and asked them,
“Would you die for this cause?”

They all looked at each other, and then they
looked at me and nodded.

“What about you, Josiah? Are you ready to
die for this?” Wyatt asked.

“I’ve put myself on the line already a few
times, but I have never faced anyone like Krull. If one person can
beat me, it’s him. So, I guess the answer to that is yes.”