by H. T. Night
“It wouldn’t be like that. We are a secret society. We have everyone paid off that would even remotely try to stop us, from police officers to law officials. Its win-win for everyone involved. I think you’d be very successful.”
“So, I have to have one of these fights before I can meet her?” I asked.
“No, not at all. I’ll bring you to see her right now if you want to. The way I see it, you’re an investment. I’ll bring you to the Deity and then later on, I’ll take you to see one of our fights tonight.”
I looked Romero over and my gut didn’t quite trust him. But I was a gambler when it came to stuff like this. “Okay,” I said, “Take me to the Deity.”
“I have my car parked out front.”
“You have your limousine out front?” I asked.
“No, I brought my red Ferrari. I like to be less presumptuous when I’m meeting someone for the first time,” Romero smiled. He was making a joke. It was actually pretty funny. “You know, Josiah, you and I could just go,” Romero continued. “We don’t even need to bother with your friend.”
“No, I’d better tell him what’s up and give him the option of going with us. Let me shower up, and I’ll meet you back down here in twenty minutes, with or without my friend.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Chapter Eleven
I took a hot shower and dried myself off, then went into our room and woke Wyatt up. I told him about Romero’s offer and he insisted on coming with me for my protection. I assured him that I was fairly confident that Romero was exactly who he said he was. But, nonetheless, Wyatt got ready and the two of us met Romero downstairs.
I introduced Romero to Wyatt in the lobby and then we went to the parking garage and found Romero’s red 2+2 Ferrari and took off. It was a little weird riding around in Tijuana in a red sports car. It was like eating a bowl of Cheerios with a golden spoon.
I looked up into the sky from the passenger side of the car. And I noticed the moon was out in full effect. It was the first night of the full moon, so Romero’s little paranormal fight club would be at full throttle on this night. As we pulled onto Avenida Revolucion, I asked Romero where he was taking us.
“Where else would a 4,000-year-old vampire woman want to spend her time?” he asked, as if we already knew the answer.
“If I knew the answer to that question, we wouldn’t have needed you to take us,” I said.
Romero looked over at me and smiled. “The Deity is a Mother Teresa in her own right. She runs an orphanage for abused and neglected children on the outskirts of town.”
That actually made a lot of sense. “Is it a cover?” I asked.
“A cover?” Romero laughed. “Why would she need a cover?
“I don’t know. She has been around a long time, she must have made some enemies along the way.”
“Trust me, the Deity is the most loved Mani on the planet, she has no enemies.”
“I figured she was pretty important,” I said. “I had no idea that it was like that.”
“You’ll see what I mean. Just being in her presence will renew your faith in humanity.”
“Is that what you’re about? Humanity?” I asked. “You run an underground death match league where you make a buck off the backs of others.”
Romero looked at me and was surprised I had come at him so hard for no reason. He obviously wasn’t used to anyone challenging his ethics. I shoot people between the eyes. I know he’s all about the cash. Every decision a man like this makes is only a means to an end, and that ‘means’ is a bundle of cash at the end of every rainbow. I knew that was all he was looking at this situation as. I really didn’t need to hear his bullshit about humanity.
“My fighters almost never die in the ring. Does it happen? Sometimes, but we don’t encourage it.”
“You don’t encourage it because you’re losing your product?” I said.
Romero smiled. “You think you have me all figured out. You think I’m the Don King fight promoter of the underworld.”
“I think you’re very good at what you do. What I can’t figure out is why you’re still a Tandra?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because a man like you must crave immortality.”
“Who says I don’t already have it?”
“You’re not a Mani or a Carni. So, unless you’re the devil, I’m pretty sure you’re waiting for the right time to change.”
Romero grinned. “I like you, Josiah.” He then made his way onto a dirt road. We had already passed the heart of the city and were in some pretty rough country. Up the road a ways, I could see a giant church that looked like a cathedral that was connected to what looked like an auditorium or gym.
As we got closer to the church, I leaned over to Romero and said, “I want to like you, but I don’t see that happening too soon.”
“Oh, you’re going to love me, Josiah. Like a father.”
I looked over at Wyatt who was extremely quiet. He gave me a look as if to say, ‘Watch yourself, this is a powerful guy.’
The way I see it power, money, and sex are the only things that this world values. I don’t want or need any of it—so a guy like Romero barely fazes me.
Romero got out of the car, as did Wyatt and I. Again, I looked up at the giant majestic moon. It seemed larger than normal. I felt drawn to it in a way I hadn’t quite felt before. Maybe I was just missing Tommy. God knows where he was on this evening. I hope he’s safe. Yes, I said it. I hope my best friend’s safe.
Romero led us to the back of the cathedral. In the dark, the church reminded me of a castle you would see in Romania or Turkey.
Romero walked up to a man who seemed to be protecting the property. He was part of some kind of security detail. He wore military fatigues, but I didn’t think he was a Federale. When the man saw that it was Romero, he immediately stood up straight as if Romero was some kind of general. They spoke in Spanish and I looked to Wyatt for a translation.
Wyatt leaned in and whispered to me. “He’s telling Romero that the Deity is in a bunker out back.”
“A bunker?” Like underground?” I whispered back.
“It makes sense. It’s a perfect place for a vampire.”
“I actually like the idea of a bunker,” I said. “We really need to look into getting one when we get back.”
Romero came back to us and told us to follow him. He led us to an open field that was about 500 yards away from the church.
“Why is the bunker so far away from the church?” I asked.
“You never know when a ‘crazy’ would want to bomb the church. My people built the bunker for the Deity a few years back. The church was getting death threats and we needed to make sure the Deity would be safe.”
“You really care for her, don’t you?”
Romero smiled. “Yes, she has been a mother and mentor to me over the years.” Romero turned around and faced the church. “She took me in about forty years ago. She’s a pretty remarkable woman.
“You were an orphan?” I asked.
“Sort of,” Romero answered.
“How so?”
“Both my parents were serving life sentences in prison. I was wandering the streets, doing some pretty awful things to a lot of good people.”
“Explain awful…” I wanted to know what kind of guy I was dealing with, even if it was forty years ago.
“To put it simply, I was a thief. I stole from everyone. And one day I stole from the wrong guy. He didn’t care how young I was. I tried to take his wallet and he caught me doing it. He dragged me into an alley and beat me up senseless. He left me there bleeding to death behind a Dumpster. I had no family, no one to help me or come to my aid. Then the most beautiful woman, or should I say girl, came to me. She washed me up and took care of me. She brought me back here and taught me how to read and write. After that day, I always knew I had a purpose, an angel had come for me and saved me right there on the streets of Tijuana.” Romero continued to reflect and then shoo
k his head. “That angel was ‘Her Holiness.’”
“Her Holiness?” I asked. “Is that how I should address her?”
“Ma’am would be just fine. She’s not into titles and ceremonial crap. She just gets straight to the point and fixes problems and answers peoples’ questions.” Romero unlocked a door that was flat on the ground. He opened it and, sure enough, it was a bunker.
As we walked down a staircase, I was shocked at how gigantic the inside of the bunker was. It was lit real bright and it almost felt like it was day inside this thing. The bunker was so large that it had separate rooms. Romero led us down a hallway into a back room. He stopped in front of the door. Romero put his hand on Wyatt’s chest.
“This is where you and I need to stop. She’s only expecting Josiah,” Romero said to Wyatt. “Your friend will be safe. You’ll need to wait outside with me.”
I nodded at Wyatt to assure him I was going to be okay. I exhaled with a little bit of nervous energy. I didn’t think I was going to feel this nervous, but the build-up to seeing her was pretty intense. I opened the door and went in.
The room was cool and was lit only by lanterns. Okay, this was a tad extreme, but I was going with it. In the middle of the floor, wearing a long red dress, was a beautiful, young-looking woman. She had a radiant beauty that was almost mesmerizing. It was what I would imagine meeting Mary, the mother of Jesus, would be like. Her ethnicity was Middle Eastern, maybe Egyptian or possibly even Iranian.
“Sit next to me, Josiah,” she said. Her voice was fluid and expressive.
Wow, I was nervous.
Her beautiful red dress spread across the floor in a perfect circle around her. I gathered she was around five feet tall and had a very tiny body frame. She appeared to be sitting cross- legged like a child, but I couldn’t tell being that her dress flowed over her body like the ocean.
I was overwhelmed by the moment, and I don’t know why, I had no reasoning for it, and I began tearing up. Tears dripped from my eyes. I felt like I was in the presence of God. I never liked to give anyone this kind of reverence. It was completely against my nature, but I was having a religious experience. I was caught up in the moment to say the least.
I made my way over to her and sat cross-legged next to her. She reached out her hand and took my left palm and brought it to her chest near her heart.
“Your heart is tender,” she said to me. “You are very kind and life has been very hard for you,” she said, in perfectly spoken English.
“Is it?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if she was asking me a question or making an observation.
“You don’t believe that you are a good man?”
“A good man? I’m not sure what is good or bad anymore,” I was being as humble and real as I could be.
“Sweet, Josiah. The Triat looks on you with so much favor.”
“They do?” I asked. I felt very emotional about the matter she was speaking to me about. Up to this point in my journey, I wasn’t sure if I had done anything right. It was like hearing your dad tell you he was proud of you.
“Yes, your humanity and kindness has led you to this moment, Josiah. You need to embrace it. Sit closer to me, my child.” She then scooted closer to me on the floor. As she did so, I noticed something I hadn’t before. I was now certain she was blind. Her eyes were huge and I couldn’t see her pupils.
“If you don’t mind me asking, ma’am, are you blind?”
She smiled at my boldness. “I have very little earthly vision. I don’t need to see with my eyes the things I can already see in my heart.” She then touched my face. She felt the tears on my cheeks, “You’ve been crying?” she asked.
“A little,” I said, embarrassed.
“There is no need for that; I am only a Mani woman.”
“You are more than that.”
“I am no better than anyone else. The least of us is greatest. If you follow that rule, Josiah, you will be able to move mountains.”
“Your Holiness, I have come for answers.” I knew Romero said I didn’t need to call her that, but I didn’t feel comfortable calling her anything else.
“What are some of these questions that you seek answers for, young Josiah?”
“Your Holiness, I’ve been told so many things by so many different entities. Up to now, I have trusted my gut and intuition, and I truly believe it has gotten me this far. But now, I feel lost.”
“How so?”
“I’m not certain of my specific task. I don’t know how exactly to save the Mani people.”
“You do understand, Josiah, that in many ways, you already have.”
“How so?”
“Faith.”
“That’s it? Just having hope?”
“To some, it is that simple. All they ever needed to know is that you weren’t merely fiction. To others, you will need to do much more. Josiah, you are a beacon of hope, but your true calling is something not even I can tell you.”
“Not even you can tell me?” I asked, completely perplexed and disappointed. “How is that possible that no one knows what my calling is? I can’t stand living with these cryptic codes.”
“Is that what you think, Josiah? That you have been running around trying to solve a riddle?”
“I just don’t know what to do. Who am I fighting? Krull? Carni? Other Mani? Atticai? Who?”
“There is no riddle, the answer is closer than you think.”
“Please, answer me this, who am I fighting?”
“Of the ones you mentioned, the answer is none of the above.”
“None?” Huh?” Now, I was extremely lost.
“When you come to terms of what is living inside you, all the answers that you’re seeking will be as transparent and vivid as the red dress that I am wearing.”
“Inside me?” I asked. “The answer is inside me?”
“You know what I’m referring to, Josiah.”
“My parents? Tommy? Lena? What?”
“All of it. Your visions are being blocked because you have vengeance and resentment in your heart toward the wrong people. Once the things that are holding you back get resolved in your heart, you will know exactly what to do. It will be as clear as anything you have ever known.”
“It’s that simple? The answer is inside me?”
“All the answers are out there. You will need to lead a revolution unlike any other in the history of our race. But exactly what needs to be done will only be revealed in your heart, once there is complete forgiveness.”
My heart was tight and wound up. “With all due respect, that isn’t good enough!” I blurted out.
“What isn’t good enough?”
“I can’t just come to terms with everything that has been going on. Inside me, there is a war going on and I don’t know how to turn it off. If I knew how to, I would have done it by now. I have killed Mani, Carni and Tandra, all in the name of this thing I have become. How will I ever be able find the kind of peace you are explaining?”
“You can, Josiah. And you will.” Her Holiness then smiled at me with a giant, beautiful smile. “In you, Josiah… is a man. Not a Mani, not a chosen entity. But a beautiful man, who wants joy and love. Go find it. Go get it. It’s yours for the taking.”
I sat back and replayed everything she had just said to me in my head. I allowed it to become a melody to my soul, my very own private love song. I allowed her words to make their way inside me and cultivate. After a few minutes of sitting next to the Deity in silence, I stood up and felt a peace come over me that I hadn’t felt since I was a little boy, sleeping between my parents when I used to be scared of the dark. She was incredible…
“Thank you,” I said.
“No... thank you, Josiah. You are more of a blessing to me than you could possibly imagine.”
I didn’t know how to dismiss myself from such a phenomenal woman. So, I leaned in and awkwardly hugged her.
“Oh, my,” she said. “You are a muscular boy.” She smiled at me and just simply nodded her
head to give me assurance.
I nodded back, knowing she didn’t see it, but she must have felt it. I turned around and left the room. I stepped outside the door and Romero gave me a look as if to say, ‘I told you, she’s pretty incredible.’
I nodded at Wyatt and Romero. “Hey guys,” I said. “Could you give me a minute? Is there a bathroom I could go to?”
“Sure,” Romero said. “It’s right up the hall to the left.”
“I’ll just need a moment.” Meeting the Deity had done something to me I hadn’t expected. It had touched my essence in a way I couldn’t imagine ever being possible. It made me extremely thoughtful about my world. I wasn’t ready to deal with such intense self-reflection. I went into the bathroom and shut the door and locked it. I just sat on top of the toilet seat. I sat there and just closed my eyes. The Deity had stirred up emotions in me that I would have rather not felt nor remembered. I can’t deny who I am. I have to accept that maybe the reason I was chosen for this task wasn’t because I was merely a tough human being, but I was also someone who recognizes and appreciates the finer things in people. I couldn’t deny the love I had for Lena. She told me she loved me before I left and I rejected it. I just didn’t know what to do about her. She was the most indecisive woman I had ever known. Flawed. When she finally did make a decision, it was usually the wrong one. She hadn’t betrayed me with any malicious intent. It was just that she thought that Tommy needed support at that moment, so she stood with him instead of me. He needed her more than I did, I remembered she had told me that. What Yari said was harsh and I acknowledged that Lena did not seem to have a big-picture thought in her head. It was all about her in the moment. But I couldn’t stop loving her. Then there was Tommy, he was my best friend in the entire world. I need him to be in my life again, but I couldn’t just forget about the poor decisions he has made toward me. Again, it became about friends who made decisions that upset me to the point where I pushed them out of my life. This was something I was going to have to work through in myself as well as with others. Apparently, I wouldn’t find the answers I needed to know about my future until I did. I had a flash of a fourth-grade report card and my teacher’s comment on it: ‘Sometimes, Josiah does not play well with others unless things go exactly the way he wants.’ I cringed, remembering.
