Forever and Always (9 page)

“That was fun.” I said.

“You’re such a ham, Josiah. Was that the Heisman pose you did when we flew over the Grapevine?”

“You liked that, didn't you?” I said, smirking.

“I have missed you a lot. It’s not the same when you’re not around. ”

I looked over at Yari and smiled at my dear friend. “I have missed you too.”

Yari rested her head on my shoulder and snuggled up to me. “So, how was your first night back in the sack?”

“You mean with Lena?” I asked.

“No, I meant with Tommy,” Yari said, sarcastically. “Of course, I meant Lena.”

“Nothing happened other than some heavy cuddling.”

“Nothing?” Yari gasped. “Not even a little tug for good luck?”

“Nope. No tug boat action.”

“Wow, if you were my boyfriend, we wouldn’t have come out of that room for two weeks.”

“I wouldn't doubt that, Yari. You definitely know your way around.”

“No, Josiah, I know my way around
you.
Remember, I watched you for two years.”

“Yeah, so.”

Uh oh
. I was afraid of what she was about to say.

“I'll just put it this way. I learned to please you by watching the master work on his masterpiece every night.”

“You really watched me?”

“Sometimes, I transitioned to my Mani form and play with myself right outside your window.”

Wow, she’s a handful!
She knew how to push my buttons.

Yari looked down at my crotch. “I see you still desire me, too.” Yari reached down and felt my penis over my jeans. I was hard as a rock.

“Yari! Don't!” I said.

“I know, Josiah. Your Lena's man”

“That's right, I am,” I said, taking her hand off of me.

“You’re right. You are her man,” Yari winked at me.  “I mean, now that you’re back.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Yari was quiet.

“Look Yari, I'm not sure what you’re trying to do. This is really an unusual spot to try to seduce me. Really, on the side of the Golden Gate Bridge? There are a lot of reasons why this needs to stop.”

“Oh really, Josiah? A lot of reasons? Why don't you tell me one?”

I was confused why Yari seemed so indignant. “Well, the obvious one is Lena and I are together. But also, what about Tommy? Aren't you two having a thing or something?”

“Why don't you ask him? He's your best friend! Why don't you ask him what he's been doing the last month since you been gone! Better yet, why don't you ask your precious Lena what she's been up to?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re the fucking Houdini, Josiah. Why don't you tell me what your girlfriend and best friend have been doing while you were running around Dracula's Castle getting trained by some blue ewok!”

My head began to spin.

Could Yari be telling the truth? When I called they did seem real friendly to each other on the phone. What could they possibly have done in one month’s time?

I grabbed Yari”s face. “You’d better not fucking lie to me. What are you talking about?”

“Oh, now you’re interested. We put Lena on the table and now Josiah is all ears.”

“Yari! What the fuck are you talking about?” I was now screaming.

“I saw Tommy kiss Lena.”

I nearly fell off the bridge. “What?”

“I saw Tommy not only kiss Lena, but Lena allowed it.”

“Where?”

“At the beach.”

“What the hell were they doing at the beach?”

“Josiah, they have been doing everything together since you’ve been gone. They are like BFF's. I nearly barfed when I saw how they ignored each other last night. They went out of their way to not let on how close they have gotten.”

“And you’re sure they kissed?”

“I'm positive! I was twenty feet away from them when it happened. I was behind some rocks watching the whole thing.”

“And they were both into it?”

“Josiah, I know you don’t want to hear this, but Tommy has it bad for Lena.”

“There’s no way.”

“Why couldn’t there be a way?”

“Because Tommy my best friend and he wouldn’t do that. There are lines he wouldn’t cross.”

“Oh, he crossed them, Josiah. He’s been crossing them ever since you left.”

I looked at Yari and I knew she at least believed what she was saying. She might have been wrong about Tommy’s intentions, but she definitely believed it. “How did this happen, Yari?”

“You have been gone for a month. A lot can happen in four weeks.”

“You’re telling me that they have gotten real close? Tommy and Lena?”

“They have gotten more than close. I know that this is hard for you to hear. But you need to know the truth.  I thought about not saying anything to you and just letting you figure it out, but that wasn’t fair to you, especially because the reason why you left is to improve as a Mani to keep us all safe.”

I felt sick to my stomach. I didn't know what to do. If this was true, then this is the maximum betrayal by Tommy could commit. “So, did you confront them?”

“Josiah, I'm over 300 years old. I’ve given the president of the United States a blow job, I'm not about to get all hung up on some werewolf. It's his loss.”

“And you think they have gotten so close that Tommy might be in love with her?”

“When you have been around as long as I have, you know what the signs are when a person has fallen for someone. Last night it was eating Tommy up inside that you and Lena were so close.”

“I can't believe it! Tommy is like my brother. He would never do this to me.”

“Josiah, I followed you for two years. I switched my allegiance from Atticai to you. I’ve stood by your side through all of this.  I have seen too much bullshit to make something like this up.”

I got up and stood on the bridge. A part of me just wanted to jump off into the water. Not to kill myself, but to just feel the sensation of falling. To have some release from this knot in my stomach.

“What about Lena? How does she feel about Tommy?”

“That’s what I’m not sure about. Lena looks at him the way she looks at you. Something is going on, I’m just not sure exactly what.”

I looked back at Yari. “So, what was your plan tonight? To get me up here and try to seduce me to get back at Tommy?”

“I knew I couldn't seduce you. Again, I have no desire to get back at Tommy.  He was fun while it lasted, just like you were. Tonight, I thought we would have some fun before I told you what I really came here to tell you.”

I felt sick to my stomach.  This was the last thing I thought would happen. I believed Yari. She had no reason to lie to me. Even if she was still in love with me, there is no reason for her to go to this level of deceit. She's telling the truth. I didn't need any special Mani abilities to know that. Now the question was:
What am I going to do about it?

“Thanks, Yari,” I said.

“You know I care about you, Josiah.”

“I know… I care about you too.” I put my arms around Yari and she playfully reached down to grab my package again and I smacked her hand away.

“I just miss little Josiah,” she said, mischievously.

“You and I hooking up won't fix anything. It will only make things worse.”

“Only for you. I could go down on you and not think twice about it.”

I shook my head at Yari and looked out into the Pacific. “So,” I asked. “Which president?”

“Oh, it’s been more than one,” she said.

“Are you being serious?”

“All I'm going to say is there's a lot a man can do even if he's in a wheel chair.”

Yari and I sat on the bridge and took in the night for another hour.  I didn’t know what I was going to do or how to handle this.  We eventually got up, and transitioned and made our way back to So-Cal.

We both soared through the air at double speed. I was pissed and hurt. How could Tommy do this to me? He was engaged to my sister and he betrays me like this? I was only gone for a month. How could the two people I care most about in this world do this to me?

As we flew in over Hollywood, I circled Yari and transitioned into my Mani form mid air. We were at least a mile above the earth. I looked at the red hawk and said, “I need to be alone.” With that, I transitioned back to the eagle and flew towards the San Bernardino Mountains.

My head was spinning and my heart was aching. How was I going to deal with this? I needed to clear my head.  I needed a change of pace. I flew up into the mountains and made my way over to Flatlands. It had been a while since I’d been there. I saw the rocky parking lot from the sky and flew towards it. I knew this was Atticai's old stomping grounds and I might not be welcomed with open arms. Aside from my little group of friends, I had no idea what the average Mani thought of me, or if they were even aware I existed.

I decided to land up the street and walk down so I wouldn’t go on blast as a white eagle. I looked down at my cell and it read 3:11 a.m. I figured if there was a party going on, it must be winding down by now. But then again, these were freaking vampires and they lived by a whole separate set of rules.

I stepped onto the Flatlands rock area and saw three separate bonfires. There was speed metal playing in the distance and there were large groups of people sitting around each fire drinking and partying. I saw Rubidoux right away standing by the bonfire towards the back. How could I miss him with his bleached-blonde hair? It practically glowed in the dark.

No one seemed to notice, or care, that I was walking up to their group. I casually strolled over to the bonfire where Rubidoux was standing. I walked up to him and made eye contact. When he saw me, he nearly peed his pants.

“Fucking eh, it’s Josiah!” He came over to me. He then turned and faced the entire Flatlands and yelled, “Everyone! It’s Josiah Reign!”

Everybody at all three bonfires stopped what they were doing and made their way over to me. I wasn’t sure if they were happy to see me or they were getting ready to lynch me. I was surrounded by at least forty people. I wasn't sure if all of them were Mani. I scanned the crowd and tried to find any bad seeds by reading their minds quickly. I used all the tools in my arsenal taught to me by Goshi. There were a lot of Tandra and weak Mani because I could hear a smattering of voices.

I heard things like:

“It's him!”

“Can you freaking believe it?”

“I thought he'd be taller!”

“Damn, he’s fucking hot!”

I shut the voices down in my head, so I could hear clearly.

“What brings you up here, Josiah?” Rubidoux asked.

“There aren’t too many places you can go where you can be yourself,” I said.

“That's why we all come here,” he laughed.

I looked around the crowd. “How many Tandra are here?”

Rubidoux scanned the crowd also and said, “Five or six. Why? Do you want them to leave?” He was really giving me respect. Sure was different from the last time I saw him.

“No, as long as they are trusted, they can stay,” I said.

“Damn, Josiah!” Rubidoux said. “You have been MIA since you killed Atticai!”

“You heard about that?” I asked.

“We’re a small community, brother. Word travels fast around these parts. So is it true?”

“Is what true?” I looked at Rubidoux and then at everybody else.

“Are you the one?” Rubidoux pressed.

“The one?” I asked.

“Are you the one that has been prophesied?”

I looked at everyone, and they all were eagerly awaiting my answer. “Everyone here can be trusted?” I asked again.

“Of course,” Rubidoux answered.

I nodded my head. “Yes, I am him.”

“Holy shit!” Everyone cheered like I had just hit a grand slam in the World Series. All of them were looking at me with admiration, almost as if I was a religious figure. I saw hope and optimism in their eyes. It was like they had been waiting for me for a very long time.  I don't know why it took me this long to make my presence known to these people.

“Show us the white eagle!” one of them shouted.

Then others yelled out in agreement.

“Show us!”

“Let us see it!”

I calmly looked at the group and said, “No.”

“Why not?” One yelled out.

“It doesn’t work that way,” I stated to the crowd. “I’m not a puppet or some spectacle. I have a purpose given to me by the Triat.  My desire isn’t to show off in front of you people.”

A girl then stepped forward. She was young looking. She looked like she was fifteen years old.

“Why won't you show us?” She asked.

“What is your name?” I said to her.

“My name is Caroline.”

“Caroline, I came here for support, not to stick out my chest and say, ‘look at me’.”

The young girl reached out her hand and touched my face. “I have been a Mani woman for 500 years, young Josiah. I have waited a very long time for you, and if you are who you say you are, I would like for you to show me. I believe after surviving this world for 500 years, I have earned that right.”

I stared at the petite, young-looking woman. To think she was 500 years old was mind blowing to me. “You have been waiting for a long time?” I asked

“Yes, sir, I have.”

“Why? Why have you needed me to be revealed? What did you think I could do for you?”

“Sir, you need to know I love our people. When I was young, I was their daughter and now after all these years, I have become most of their mothers. I have given my life to preserve us as a people. I have waited for you, because it validated my love for all Mani. It was the hope that I held on to all these years. It gave me a reason to continue. So when you ask, ‘What can I do for you?’ The answer is ultimately, ‘nothing’. But what you can do is validate my faith. Show me that I am not crazy for believing for all of these years.”

I looked at this fragile woman and I said, “You understand that I am not a God. I am just like you. Except I have been given a gift.  I am no better than anyone here. My desire is to serve you, not the other way around.”

All eyes were on me.  They needed to know that I wasn’t bullet-proof, that I felt pain just like them.

The lady took my hand and said, “We all understand that you aren’t invincible. What we’re hoping for, correction; what I am hoping for, is that you can save us from becoming extinct. We are dying off faster than we are evolving. We kill our own for sport. As a people, we are in disarray. I am hoping you can bring all Mani together. I'm hoping that the mere idea of you gives each one of us hope.”