by H. T. Night
Lena once again took control. She took my shirt from the bottom position. She tore off her own tank top. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Our upper bodies were bare pressing up against one another; our skin sticking to each other. She kissed my neck, my face, my chest, she licked my stomach. As she did I tightened up my six pack, and that seemed to excite her. She began kissing every inch of my upper body. I just laid back and allowed her to discover me—to discover every bit of me—on her terms.
Her hand dropped and she cupped my groin. I was at full attention, and just the slightest touch put my entire body into an exhilarating euphoria that I had never experienced before.
I whispered, “Only do what you want to do.”
“Oh, Josiah. I’ve wanted to do this since high school.”
Lena slowly unbuttoned my 501 jeans and slid them off. She buried her face up against my boxers. Her hand slowly reached inside the peep hole, and she got a hold of me. She proceeded to pleasure me with her hand. She was gentle and attentive. I didn’t know if this was her first time experiencing a man, so I let her find her way. It was as if my body was her very own private amusement park. I was thrilled to be the main attraction.
She stopped before I could climax, and I didn’t care. I reached down and lifted her up so she was lying completely on top of my body. We kissed and kissed—we held each other tight. We were here, we were in the moment—and we were alive.
* * *
We laid there in each other’s arms. Seconds became minutes, and minutes became hours. I didn’t want to leave and nobody was going to force me. I wanted to lie there forever, and so did she. If there was a way to do it, we would have.
I had so much to say to her, but I had no idea how to tell her. All I could do is show her how much I cared for her until I was ready to share it out loud. She would know by my actions how I felt about her.
“You think we should get up?” Lena whispered. It was weird hearing her voice. Neither one of us had spoken in hours.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Almost six in the morning.”
“Wow, we have been lying here for a long time.”
“I know.” Lena got up and put on her black tank top. I put on my white t-shirt. She turned on the light and it felt like someone flashed a spotlight on our faces.
“Come here,” I said softly to Lena. Lena walked over to me and I stood up and hugged her. She pulled back and looked at my neck.
“Sorry about your neck, you have some hickey.”
I felt my neck and it was a tad tender. I smiled at Lena and said, “Next time I’ll have another taste.”
“Oh, you will?”
I grinned. “I’m going to see what Tommy is doing.”
“Okay.”
“Josiah?” Lena murmured.
“Yeah.”
“Can we keep this between us?”
“Sure. No problem. But the hickey is a big giveaway.”
Lena nodded and a part of me felt like maybe she was marking her territory as far as Yari was concerned. I opened the door and headed to the living room. Yari was duct taping the curtains and the doorways.
“Where’s Tommy?” I asked
“Your guess is as good as mine. He’s not answering his phone, and he should have been here a long time ago.”
“He never came over?”
“Nope.”
“Why didn’t you get me up?”
“The two of you seemed like you needed your rest.” Yari raised her eyebrows at my neck. “Apparently, there wasn’t much resting.”
I ignored her and continued about Tommy. “This isn’t good,” I said.
“Do you think he did something stupid?” Yari now appeared to be worried.
Hell, I was worried. “I wouldn’t put it past him. This sucks! It’s almost daylight and someone needs to go find him.”
“You can’t go,” Yari said. “You need to limit how many times you transition up here. This is a highly populated area. It isn’t like the Inland Empire. There are people everywhere up here. You’re not exactly discreet when you transition.”
“What should we do then?”
“I should go,” Yari was adamant about it. But Tommy was my best friend and if something had happened, I wanted to be the one to be there.
“He might have just gotten lost.”
“Or, he decided to take matters in his own hands with his old Carni counterparts.” Which was very much like Tommy.
“Lena should go with me,” Yari said.
“Why?”
“Because another pair of eyes would be good.”
I thought about it. “Okay,” I answered. “You guys should go quickly. Take Wyatt and Hector, ravens are little more common.”
“Hey, Wyatt!” I yelled. Wyatt was asleep on the couch.
“Where’s Hector?”
“Stop yelling. Hector’s asleep in the bathtub!”
“Wake him up. You all need to go look for Tommy.”
Lena came out of the bedroom and we told her about Tommy and she volunteered to go look for him. I told her to be safe and the four of them left to find Tommy.
I was still very tired. My body was telling me it needed to sleep. I went back into the guest room and laid down. I did not feel good about the situation
My eyes grew heavy. I closed them.
Suddenly, I heard, “why haven’t you left?”
I opened my eyes and once again I was outside the great white castle.
“Why haven’t you left?” It was the little blue gnome. He was standing over me as I was on my back.
“Should I have left?” I asked.
“You know the location. It’s now a matter of coming to see me.”
“Am I done with the wolf?”
“Have you tamed him?”
“I’m not sure. We connected, but...”
“But what?”
“I’m not sure if that was all there was.”
“What else could there be?” The gnome said looking down at me.
“I thought if we were able to tame him, he might be able to control when he actually turns into a werewolf.”
“You don’t believe that anymore?” The gnome asked.
“Should I believe that?”
“Always trust your intuition.”
“I have been.”
“Then don’t stop now,” the gnome said. And with that, I woke up instantly.
I had been asleep a long time and it was dark outside. These vampire sleeps are eerie. Time goes by a little too fast for my taste.
It was 8:30 p.m. and there was no sign of anyone. What the hell? They had been gone almost 15 hours. This was not good. What the hell was going on? I checked my phone and it was dead. Fuck, I forgot to charge it.
I got up and went outside Yari’s front door. I stepped onto the front porch and looked up to the sky. I knew shit was about to go down. I could feel it in my… well, veins. This was the calm before the storm. Tommy had done something stupid, now I knew it for sure. He had gone back to visit his old clan. I felt it deep in my soul. I closed my eyes and for the first time, I began to see picture frames.
They looked like little short three-second films. I could see Tommy. He was at the ranch where I had fought Goliath. He was surrounded by many Carni men. Dammit, I lost the vision. Shit!
I concentrated harder. I could now see a row of trucks. They were filled with Carni; they were riding out to the ranch.
My visions seemed to be skipping time. I wasn’t sure if my second vision happened before or after the previous one. I closed my eyes again. I could now see Yari and Lena. They were trying to talk to Tommy and he wasn’t listening. Shit! Tommy! Listen to them! You fucker! I lost the vision again. Once again, I closed my eyes and concentrated with all I had. I could now see Lena. The Carni’s had Lena!
Chapter Nineteen
I immediately transitioned into the white eagle and flew up into the sky. My large wings flapped rapidly and headed south to Orange County. I wasn’t sure h
ow fast I was flying, but looking down at the cars below on the freeway I could tell I was going about five times faster.
I got to Anaheim Hills in mere minutes and wasn’t sure what time frame my visions were in. As I got closer to the ranch, I feared my last vision was the present. I looked down and could see an all-out war going on down at the ranch. What had Tommy done? He had put everyone in danger. Where was Lena? I circled the ranch. All my friends were isolated, the same way we did the werewolves the other night. I couldn’t see Lena!
Wyatt and Hector were fighting about six Carni each at the north end of the ranch. Yari had her hands full with a number of Carni women and from the looks of it, she seemed to be doing okay.
Where was Tommy? Where the fuck was Lena? I circled and scoped the ground.
I could see Tommy by the large trees fighting three of the bastards. Where the hell was Lena? I could see everyone except for Lena.
Then I spotted Goliath; he was between two trucks. He appeared to be wrestling someone much smaller than him—extremely smaller than him. IT HAD TO BE LENA!
She was fighting off the ogre. I didn’t think and just reacted. I lunged forward with a force so ferocious I felt like a heat-seeking missile crashing into a military target. As I bolted to the earth, I extended my wings for more acceleration. I was going to kill that overgrown piece of shit! I was about a hundred feet from piling into Goliath’s back with my sharpened beak when I heard Lena yelled out, “No, Josiah, it’s a set up!”
It was too late. Goliath turned around and was holding a ten-foot lead pipe in his hand. I tried to stop, but couldn’t. My momentum carried me forward like an out-of-control freight train. I was going too fast and was too out of control. There was no way to stop!
I tried to veer out of the way of Goliath, but there was no chance. As I came up on him, Goliath swung the lead pipe like Albert Pujols during batting practice and whacked me directly in my stomach. I ricocheted backwards off the pipe.
I fell to the ground about fifteen feet away. I couldn’t move. He had hit my stomach with the full force of the pipe. My stomach felt like it exploded. The pipe had torn up my insides and I could feel my bones breaking inside of my body. I was on my back and automatically transitioned from eagle to Mani. I laid on the ground, spitting out blood.
I couldn’t see anything. I could hear bodies surrounding me. I took my hand and felt my rib cage. All my ribs were broken. My Mani blood poured out of my mouth. There was nothing I could do and I was fucking helpless. What the hell! This wasn’t the way this was supposed to end.
I didn’t know what to do; I was dying and knew it. The pain was excruciating. I couldn’t just lay there and have Goliath kill me. I did the only thing I could do—broken ribs and split innards and all—I stood up.
I opened my eyes and could now see. All my friends were being held by mobs of Carni. Ten to one was the only way they could handle any of us. Well, except for me. All it took was Goliath and a lead pipe.
Lena broke free from her mob and ran toward me and another Carni grabbed her before she was able to reach me. “Josiah!” Lena cried out to bring me down and use my friends for bait, my lover.
What the fuck, Tommy. You led all of us to a fucking slaughter. I couldn’t stand any longer, I was too weak. I was in too much pain and I fell to my knees.
I looked to my right and saw Goliath slowly walking toward me, savoring each moment with each step he took closer to me. His back apparently was still hurting as he winced when he walked. I looked to my left and saw Tommy doing all he could to try to break free from his own Carni mob holding him back. There were too many of them. There must have been over a hundred Carni out here. They loaded up and we were all going to pay for it. Goliath walked up to me. “What happened, Eagle man? You don’t have any more magic?”
I was too weak to even concentrate. I couldn’t do anything. I was in too much pain. I looked up to the sky and called out into the night. I yelled out to whatever force—whatever had been giving me these visions to spare me. “Please,” I yelled out. “Not like this!”
Then I heard Tommy’s voice. “Josiah! I’m sorry!”
He can’t give up, I thought. Was Tommy giving up?
Goliath reached down with his giant hands and picked me up. He raised me over his head like a prized kill. With a giant warrior yell, he chucked my mangled body thirty yards in the air. I landed on the ground in a heap of misery. Every bit of me hurt. Every inch of me ached.
Wyatt and Hector had transitioned into ravens, but they weren’t able to get away. They were being held down like wild animals. They were put in steel birdcages that seemed specially designed to catch Mani birds. There was nothing any of us could do and the Carni knew it. So they let Lena go and she ran over to where Goliath had tossed me. They let her go for sick sport. To watch her see me die…
Lena dove on the ground next to me and held my head as I laid on my back. “Josiah, try and do something, anything. There has got to be something you can do.”
I looked up and saw my angel. I shook my head. “Lena, please leave. They have let you go; you can transition and get out of here.”
“I won’t leave you,” she said holding my head in her lap. “Just like the needlepoint picture in the cabin…”
Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. I tried to remember where that saying came from. It seemed like it came from another life of Josiah Reign, one that happened so long ago that I began to forget who I was, as who I am took point.
The entire Carni mob had now made a wall around us. They all seemed amused that Lena seemed to care for me so tenderly. They were all calling out for Goliath to kill me.
Lena covered me with her body. “No one touch him!” she yelled. But Goliath once again made his way to me.
“Lena, if you love me, please leave!” I yelled.
“I won’t.” she said. “I’ll die here with you tonight.”
“Oh, you will die, sweet Mani ass. All of you will.” Goliath laughed.
I tried to sit up one last time, but I couldn’t. Goliath grabbed Lena and tossed her to the side.
I looked up and for the first time, I saw Yari. Our eyes met. She was saying something to me. Her lips were moving but I couldn’t hear her.
Then Goliath’s giant body was all I could see. Four other Carni came over and pinned down my arms and legs. Goliath had a silver stake in his right hand. He was going to kill me. He raised the stake up in the air and I could see it sparkle in the moonlight.
“Get him to his knees. I want to see him beg. I want to see his eyes as he dies.” Goliath got right in my face. “See these eyes; I want them to be the last thing you see before you go ‘poof’ in the night.”
Then he spoke to his Carni cohorts. “Hold his head tight.” And then looked back at me again, his eyes filled with hatred and menace, bloodlust and rage. “I’m going to pound this deep through your pretty little neck.”
Goliath snapped his fingers and someone had tossed him a sledge hammer.
This was it. He was going to kill me and there was nothing I could do. I had already cried out to the Triat. There was no way I was going to beg for my life. I was too weak. I inhaled air and with my last breath I yelled, “TOMMY! SAVE ME!” I turned my head to the crowd and could see Tommy’s eyes. He was still being held back, but I could see his eyes—his bright yellow eyes! TOMMY WAS TURNING!
Suddenly, Tommy howled at the top of his lungs!! Everyone stopped and looked at him! Then it happened! The freaking miracle happened! Everything came together in one moment; my visions, training Tommy, the bonding, everything.
“I’m coming, Josiah!” I heard Tommy’s voice inside my head!
In an instant, Tommy transitioned from Carni to a giant gray werewolf. Goliath stopped in his tracks and turned to face Tommy. Tommy had lunged forward in his werewolf form and began biting and throwing Carni around with his enormous canine mouth.
The four Carni’s had let me go to save themselves from
this crazed werewolf. I just fell to the ground because I had no more strength. Tommy bit, clawed, and tore into every Carni in his path.
All the Carni who were still alive ran. And all the ones who died, disappeared. All except Goliath; he stayed.
“What kind of bullshit is this?” It’s not even a fucking full moon. What the fuck, Tommy? Did they make a Mani out of you?”
I watched as Tommy dove on top of Goliath. Goliath kicked Tommy off of him.
Tommy flew ten feet forward. Goliath charged into Tommy still holding his silver stake. Holy shit! If anyone can kill a werewolf with just a stake in his hand, it was Goliath. Tommy bit Goliath’s hand and he cried out in pain as the bones in his hand was crushed and then…he dropped the stake.
I was losing consciousness. Lena and Yari both ran to me. I looked up and saw both women. Yari looked down at me and told me what she was trying to mouth to me earlier.
“What is it, Yari?” I asked, barely being heard.
“Heal yourself, Josiah.”
“Heal myself?”
“It’s been done before. It might work.”
I looked up at Lena.
“Please Josiah, try.” Lena whispered. “It’s your only chance.”
I closed my eyes and placed my hands over my stomach where most of the pain was coming from.
I felt my own body. I put my hands over my injuries. I imagined my body healing itself.
Nothing was happening. I could heal myself as much as I could walk on water. Walk on water? Was that it? Did I need to submit?
Then I yelled out loud, “Please heal me.” It was less of a command and more of a prayer. I was saying it to whoever was in control. I may have been ‘The Chosen,’ but I wasn’t the one in control.
Then I felt an amazing peace come over my body. A power far greater than anything I had ever known. I could feel my ribs tightening. I could feel my legs and arms getting stronger. I must have had twenty broken bones in my body. Each one hardened, each one was being rebuilt.
I was still on my back, but not for long. Something supernatural was lifting me off the ground. I saw bright light going through me. I was floating in midair about ten feet off the ground. Something had taken over my body—something far greater than myself—far greater than anything of this world.
