by H. T. Night
“Done how?”
“With the money I earned from the bounties, I invested in the market once it started to improve. I made a lot of money investing. And for about 50 years, I just decided to live in the biggest cities in the world. When I was in New Delhi, I met Hector. He was a new Mani and needed guidance. We hooked up as old-timer mentor and newbie Manis and we connected for, well, forever, I think.”
Hector smiled and gave a slight nod.
“What year was that?” I asked Wyatt.
“1988. I remember because George Bush Sr. had won the presidential election, and I saw the economic collapse a mile away. In my case, half the world away.
“That was about the time I started having the vision about you.”
“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 extremely 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 reach 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 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. Is 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 by 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 actual 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 been turned around the same time I did.”
“It was eight 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 arrived four hours after I had the accident.”
I looked at Cyrus, confused.
“I know. To 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 become 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 the 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 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.”
I looked at the guys and said, “I’m going to need the three of you by my side. I’m going to need you to lead. Are you ready to do that?”
Again, all three nodded.
“Okay, now I need to figure out how this is going to go down. Cyrus, I’m going to see Atticai. I want you to come with me. You have fought beside Krull and know him intimately. And if I can get any kind of answers out of Atticai, I think it will be valuable for you to be there.”
Cyrus nodded. I looked over at Hector and Wyatt. “So that lets the two of you off the hook. I have a feeling Atticai isn’t too happy with either of you two for not going with him.”
“We appreciate that,” Wyatt said. “So, what now, Josiah?”
“I need more answers. I’ll keep you posted.” I stood up and left the room.
Chapter Five
I decided that I needed to clear my head. I needed to put everything in the right perspective. This thing that I am sometimes took on a life of its own, and I couldn’t even breathe or think clearly.
Unfortunately, the person I needed to talk to the most was Atticai, but he hated me. I took the one thing in this world that he wante
d the most. The sad part about it is I never asked for it or even knew what it was. I didn’t even want it. But now that it’s here, I have no choice but to accept it.
It was a little past midnight and I knew I needed to go for a fly. Not some reckless fly where I’m tearing through the sky at a rapid pace, but one that was on more of the calmer side, the equivalent to a nice Sunday drive.
I opened the trap door in my room that led to the outside. I dropped down and then took flight in my Mani form. The stars were out and they seemed to be lighting up the sky more than usual on this night. I now live where there’s little smog and stars are definitely clearer than in Orange County and most parts of the Inland Empire. I took in my surroundings as I made my way across the sky at a much slower rate than I was accustomed to. I’ve noticed that there are times when I soar across the sky, and it doesn’t matter what speed I’m going, my senses are ignited and I see and feel things on a whole different level.
I was exhausted emotionally and worn out physically. I needed a spiritual tune-up and, truth be told, I missed my best friend and my family. This life that I was living seemed to run on its own energy. I seemed to have little say about what was happening to me. It was time to stop resisting it. I need to complete whatever task the Triat had for me. I needed to follow through on my calling. This ‘Chosen One’ title was getting old.
Atticai had followed this dream for years. He knew better than anyone the truth of its purpose. It was as simple as the night was dark; I needed to speak with him.
I decided to turn around and head back to the house after a few minutes of just enjoying the silence; the amazing sounds of nothing that the night air provides. I eventually made my way back to the house and picked up Cyrus and then we headed to Flatlands.
The last couple of times I had been to Flatlands, I had been greeted with open arms, but I wasn’t sure about tonight. This was Atticai’s old hangout and the likelihood of him being there was high. Even if he wasn’t, these were the vampires that believed so little in me that they would rather follow a guy I had already killed. So, I had reason to be nervous about my being welcome.
