by Night, H. T.
Krull was far too skilled a fighter and the fact that Atticai lasted as long as he did was a testament to his skill set.
In my own arrogance, ego, and pride, I held the erroneous belief that I had become the most powerful Mani of all time. I was wrong. I was fighting a man that had a thousand years of fighting experience. He knew every blow I was going to throw. He understood every kick I made and how to counter it.
He and I both knew I was the weaker of the two. I might have been the weaker, but I was also the smarter.
All rules of fair fights were out the window, the second that Krull had put me in his metal crucifixion machine.
I decided to break free, and I yelled out, “Atticai! Tommy! Join me!”
I needed the same three men who squared off for Lena’s love to now team together to defeat the baddest Mani to ever walk the earth. Krull looked at me, confused.
Both Atticai and Tommy made their way over to me. “You guys ready?” I said.
“Do you need to ask?” Tommy said.
“Just remember what I asked,” Atticai said. He had caught his wind and was ready for round two. I turned to see if any of Krull’s men joined him and none had.
I turned to a stupefied Krull and said, “I may not be able to defeat you one on one, Krull. I’m okay with that. But as you can see, the brotherhood that was put together by you has stopped fighting for your cause. My brotherhood, which consists of a werewolf and a man who had been my enemy, has now teamed up against you.”
Tommy and Atticai both made their way to us.
Atticai looked me in the eye and nodded. Tommy had a classic smirk on his face. What did I have? I had the look of a man who was about to bring home the championship trophy.
The three of us surrounded Krull. In typical Tommy fashion, he attacked him first. He wanted to see how tough this man was. I let him get in there for a few licks. Then just like a tag-team MMA match, we took turns fighting Krull and wore him down. At the perfect moment, the three of us moved in instinctively for the kill. It took a matter of minutes, but not even Krull could take three: Atticai, Tommy, and myself.
Tommy dove in and in his werewolf form, got a hold of one of Krull’s legs, and I flew up and kicked Krull with my black Doc Marten boot and knocked him off his feet. Then with a mighty slick blow, Atticai leaped on top of Krull and said, “This is for my Tandra family. He stuck his sword right through Krull’s neck. Krull gasped and looked me in the eye. And as I watch him prepare to vanish from this earth and go to his Mani Hell, I simply said, “At any point, you could have killed me anytime. I’m mortal.”
And in a matter of seconds, the great and mighty Krull vanished from this earth, forever.
Chapter Thirty-six
I would like to say everything was perfect after that day, but nothing in this life is that simple. We freed Krull’s men and made sure they were scattered over the Earth, in order to disorganize any further uprisings by disbursing them in random fashion. We also gave them a choice to join us, which some of them did.
We then settled onto the two islands that were purchased in my name by Helen. The main island I renamed Helena, in her honor. The other island I gave to Donya and Atticai. They hadn’t named it yet.
We spread the word that any Mani who wished to live apart from the world could come join us on our islands. We planned on, here on out, to live united in love and harmony with one another.
Luckily, for my Mani men, most of the remaining Mani women that were in the 1,800 that didn’t fight, took us up on our offer. The war had been completely devoid of female companionship for them, and now they could seek their personal happiness, in a peaceful paradise.
We had over a thousand Mani come to live on the two islands.
My two sons were returned to Lena and I. We had our very own sixteenth-century castle to live in.
But, there was one last bit of business that needed to get done. Atticai and I both owed each other many favors by this point. We agreed we’d do one last one for each other.
Tommy and were outside the cathedral on our island. We were waiting for my cue. It was midnight, and we were about to have a dual wedding.
“Hey, Josiah, you’re not having second thoughts, are you?” Tommy laughed.
“I’m not having second thoughts, but I think I’m not sure if I’m going to allow Donya to marry Atticai.”
“I know you’re a control freak, but not even you can stop that.”
“Trust me, I don’t want to. I’ve never seen the bean pole so happy.”
It was time for us to get the first wedding out of the way. I had to admit, I was partial to the second wedding.
I conducted Atticai and Donya’s ceremony. As Donya was still a human, it didn’t fall in the guidelines of a Mani wedding. I actually had to go online and get a Tandra license to marry someone from the International Unitarian church.
Atticai and Donya had a beautiful wedding. Atticai wanted it done rather quickly, and I obliged him.
Once Atticai kissed the bride, I pronounced them Mani and wife. I couldn’t resist the pun. At least Donya smiled at my joke.
Then Atticai and I traded places. This was my moment. Everything that I had been through was now making perfect sense to me. I was finally going to marry the love of my life.
This was now my time to take in my surroundings on this June night. The cathedral was beautiful. The stained glass made this as gothic a wedding as a man in my position could have asked for.
I looked out into the crowd at the Mani and Carni that came to celebrate with me on this blessed day. I saw old friends and new ones. Besides Helen, one person who I wished was here that wasn’t, was The Deity. She was once again hidden away in some mystery location, saving those who needed it most.
This moment was not lost on me. I looked at Linda, the nanny. She had both my little guys, who were now almost six months old, on her lap. I smiled at my healthy sons and gave them that dorky dad wave that we do to let our kids know that we love them.
I also looked out at Hector, who, without his finances and his giving nature, none of this would have happened, to save us as a people. I caught his eye and waved thank you to him and he smiled back.
I looked at Wyatt, who, as usual, was sitting right next to Hector. Wyatt was my first bite, and the man I trusted most with my family. I caught his eye and nodded to him.
Next to him was Sion, my resident boy genius who would always be dear to me. I surely believed he was a gift that was delivered to me on a silver platter.
On the other side of the crowd was Yari, the most amazing woman I had ever known, in regard to what she’s been through and the inner strength that had carried her so far. She was my first glimpse into this world. She had accepted me before I accepted myself. I whispered to her, “I love you.” And she mouthed the same words back to me.
Up on the altar were two men who I held in the highest respect. Atticai, who came in my life like a whirlwind and returned as Goshi. This complex, newly married individual would always have my respect and now, my loyalty.
Last, but never least, was the man standing right next to me. My best man, in more ways than this one, was Tommy. I leaned in and whispered to Tommy, “When is it your turn?” I looked at Yomaida, who was seated next to Linda and I whispered, “Thank you.” She smiled at me and gave the thumbs’ up sign.
“My turn?” Tommy whispered. “You can’t keep this dog down.”
“Don’t I know it, Tommy,” I said “You’re my brother.”
Tommy winked at me in a typical Tommy fashion and just simply said, “Always.”
Then an acoustic guitar began to play a beautiful melody as my one true love made her way out to me from the back of the church.
Nobody would be giving her away today, except for the Triat themselves. As the music played, I watched Lena slowly make her way up to me. I knew this was the moment I had waited for, all my life. From the very first time, seeing Tommy in the street, to being there that night for Lena at the infamous fr
at party, this was the moment that I knew in my heart would someday happen.
As she took each step towards me, my eyes began to water and the floodgates opened. Lena stopped right in front of me wearing her beautiful white dress that had a long train that would have made Princess Diana jealous. I looked deeply in Lena’s eyes.
Atticai looked to the people and said, “Lena and Josiah simply want to just tell one another what they feel.”
I could feel the entire room leaned forward so they could hear what he had to say to one another. I went first. “None of this has been perfect,” Lena smiled and nodded. “But one thing has been perfect through all of this. Our love. Our love always has been the glue that made sense. I never quite understood why we kept coming back to one another, but now I know. You are my one true love. No one has touched me as deeply as you do. No one can minister to my soul as you have.” I tried not to get choked up, but it was hard. “Lena, you’re the world I always wanted to take refuge in. You are simply, the love of my life.”
Lena looked me in the eyes, “Josiah, in you, I am whole. In you, I am complete. You give me reason to breathe. You give me a reason to love. Our children will always be our gifts to one another, but your love has penetrated through all obstacles. Your love saw me for who I am, and what I am capable of being. I love more today than ever before. You are my life.”
We both looked at Atticai and he said, “Sounds good to me. I now pronounce you man and wife! You may kiss the bride.”
I turned to Lena and planted a big kiss on her lips. Then I looked at Atticai and said, “Why don’t you find yours and get seconds.”
“Not a bad idea.” Atticai went to Donya and grabbed her hand and kissed her lips. From here on out, Atticai and I did our best to coexist. We governed our respected islands and planned on giving all Mani a place to come and live in harmony, in peace, and in acceptance of what we are.
Lena and I planned to raise our boys with as much love and peace as we could. But, I’m Josiah Reign. We all know that is never the case...
To be continued in:
DIVINE BLOOD
Vampire Love Story #6
Available now!
~~~~~
Also available:
THE FOURTH SUNRISE
An epic romance novel
by H.T. Night
(Look for it in What the Night Brings: Three Novels)
~~~~~
Now available:
ROMEO AND JULIET:
A Vampire and Werewolf Love Story
by H.T. Night
(read on for a sample)
Chapter One
I looked over the Lady’s sleeve and drank in my beautiful city. The stunning fireworks had finished, and once again, I was left overwhelmed at the majestic magnitude of the city. The party boats had left the harbor with their floodlights, raucous cheers, and commotion that commemorated the first anniversary of the renaming of the city. What was once named Manhattan had been replaced by the name Verona.
I stood by the silent, virtuous Lady, just on her left shoulder. Balancing my feet on such a great statue was always tricky. I could taste her overwhelming wet, coppery scent in my nose and mouth. The aroma was reminiscent of fresh blood, not altogether unpleasant.
I looked up into the dark cold night. It was unusual to see stars over our city, but the night was crisp with them, twinkling sparks on a black velvet nightscape, such a clear night that diamond rays from starlight illuminated the night sky like Jacob’s ladders extending from deep sky to tall buildings. It was a radiant night.
We were fortunate to have most of our land bought out for re-gentrification by a billion-dollar Prince. Prince Escalus. His very surname as a visionary developer was a legend in his own time. Not only was he rich, he was powerful, and masterful at rejuvenating entire cities. His approach into developing cities and remaking them was that his philosophy was simple: Keep the peace.
There was no place that needed peace more in this time than New York City. More specifically…Manhattan.
As I looked out from my 300-foot-high perch in the night shadow of the bosom of the lady, I marveled at the beauty of my Verona. My city was like a beautiful woman to me and my city had two competing lovers and a divided heart. I was reminded of which immortal species ruled these parts. Vampires and werewolves were as legendary and infamous in these parts as celebrities. In fact, we even had our own media network.
Verona was run, in part, by the two immortal families: the Capulets and the Montagues. They couldn’t have been more different in their culture and in their immortal forms. Montagues were from the wrong side of the tracks: a ruthless, cutthroat band of scorned misfits who succeeded anyway, with all the odds against them. They were crass and abrupt, and they always needed a shave, a bath, and a good haircut. But that came with the territory. The Montagues were cursed by a comedy of errors but brazenly got to their feet, every time.
Now the Capulets, they were cultured and liked the finer things in life: big houses, expensive cars, and especially, flaunting it to the Montagues.
As different as the two sides were in culture, they stood even further apart in their unlike immortality. The Capulets had chosen to live their remaining years here in Verona—it could be a million years, as they were long-lived as vampires. It fit their smug elitist attitudes to be so long in the tooth and aggravated the Montagues that there was no way to get rid of them.
The Montagues lived their days as werewolves: meat-eating, ass-kicking, moon-howling werewolves who lived day by day, close to the earth, as close to raw passion as creatures could ever get. Montagues were warm-blooded and therefore, had passion soaring through their veins. The Capulets had to take their blood from others, like the leeches on society that they were, by virtue of their curse. Most of them, save her, were passionless, elitist, and cold. Only she was different. I swore inside of me that I had never laid eyes on a wonder of the world more captivating than she.
The problem was twofold. Immortality, dominance, and bloodlines separated Verona into two sides, nearly split right down the middle at Times Square. There were two immortal families in my city, bloodthirsty rivals who gave each other no quarter, and none was asked. They mostly kept to their own turf, and to their own kind. The two families were split along Times Square.
To the north of Times Square in the Upper East Side, the Capulets had bought out mansions that were turned into apartment buildings…that were now turned back into mansions. The family owned just about every building and had turned the section of the city into a place that turned up their noses at the Hamptons.
To the south of Times Square, and all the way down to the Financial District, was where the werewolves roamed. They were definitely not as rich as the Capulets, but they lived better than most folks. If werewolves were roaming, then one would likely see a Montague in their midst. Nearly all Montague men had chosen to live their days as werewolves. Montague families were spread out pretty evenly among Chelsea, and the East and West Villages. One could even find families in SoHo and Chinatown.
Until now, there had only been small skirmishes between the two dissonant factions, but my extraordinary senses of premonition and danger detected that all hell was about to break loose in a populous that was deep in celebration about the rebirth of art, culture, education, and creativity. A resurgence of passion for the city swept like a fiery new religion into the corners of every borough. It was as if people were crying out for a deeper purpose. I knew I was.
Things in this part of the world had been quite different for some time. In reality, the entire world was different. A hundred years ago, there had been a technology revolution that spurred the inevitable. We’d touched the moon and the planets with our humanity and our machines shot into outer space, and could go no further without bankrupting every country. A realization set in that we now needed to get in touch with our mortality, our inner space.
It was time for the world to turn on its fulcrum. I felt it. Time for the immortals to take their rig
htful place as the world’s muscle and minds. Religion and politics tried to prevent it from happening, but eventually, immortality reigned over mortality. Now, just two immortal factions stood at the helm of society, glaring at each other from opposite corners of the city.
In the madness, I had been given a gift from the gods. I had been given visions of a wondrous place. A place of peace, of hope and love. I had only seen it in my dreams, but on this night, I felt that my special place was near, as if I could almost touch it with my hands. Of late, something had come over me and it was only intensifying. I looked up at the stars and the full moon that pierced my mind’s eye with a pull that I knew well. I howled into the night sky. I howled from my deep place, where I had only seemed to been able to howl from as of late. I had been told that my howl was unique in that it had both the sounds of music playing and the reverence of a man crying out in prayer. It was a howl that had reduced some to tears when they heard it, such was its unique vibration, timbre, tone, and range. It was a yodel from across the Alps, a chorus of angels with one harmonized chord. My howl is my prayer and my song of all that I was, all that I am, and all that I shall be. Inside of me roiled a yearning for something more, hungering for something more. I howled in agony and ecstasy until tears dripped from my face and wet my body like scorching rain.
