The Werewolf Whisperer Read online

  I looked at the woman. She was at least fifty and about 50 pounds overweight. I smiled bemusedly at her. “Listen, ma’am. Do yourself a favor and don’t come anywhere near me.”

  “Ma’am? The woman said. “This little twig just called me ma’am.”

  Little Twig? I decided to take off my shirt so everyone could see I was definitely not a twig.

  “What?” the bartender said. “You think because you spent some time in the gym that it matters out here on the ranch. You’re going to need to do more than just flex, pretty boy.”

  I stared at the grizzly mob. They looked like something out of a bad seventies movie starring Billy Jack.

  “Kick his disgusting Mani ass!” The fifty-year-old woman yelled out.

  “Let’s get this going,” A man from the mob yelled out.

  “Kick his ass, Brian!” Another echoed in.

  “Brian?” I yelled out. “Your name is Brian?”

  “Why the hell do you care?”

  “When I write my memoirs, I want to be able to call you by name.” I turned to the mob and said, “So, if one of you can grab a piece of paper and pass it around. Could everyone sign it with your first and last names? I promise, you will all become infamous after tonight.”

  “Kill him,” A man from the back yelled out. I looked over. It was Goliath.

  Kill him? Damn this was real. This wasn’t a stupid college fight. This was as real as the night I became a Mani. At least then, I had Yari on my side. Tonight, by choice, I was alone.

  I slapped my body all over to get my blood flowing, doing it the same way I would before a mixed martial arts fight. I didn’t know if I had blood anymore, but slapping myself was doing the trick. I was ready to go.

  Here we go! I circled Brian. I had him come out to me by nodding my head and motioning from home to come and get me. This was a safety measure. It is common to circle each other in a fight. So being that I was outnumbered 30 to 1, it was in my best interest to move the fight away from his friends. You never want to turn your back to a group that wants to rip off your head. These guys not only wanted to rip it off, they wanted to display it at their bar.

  “It’s show time, you Mani piece of shit.” Brian charged at me. I focused my eyes on my opponent, and this is the part where everything goes in slow motion. All my life—whenever I fight—it would seem as if time would almost stand still. My brain goes into what I call Good-Will-Hunting mode. I am able to dissect and break down my opponents weaknesses in milliseconds. This would allow me to do the most damage by delivering the least amount of energy.

  Brian, my werewolf friend, had charged me like a bull. So I knew very little force would knock him down. As he came up on me. I bent down and swept my left leg, and tripped him. I hit his leg with an extreme amount of force. He did a face plant into the grassy dirt field.

  Brian pushed himself out of the mud and got to his knees. He hollered out, “You better not use any of your Mani Wizardry. The second you do all bets are off.”

  I didn’t know how to do anything other than transition to an eagle. Even that was a challenge for me. “You’re lucky, bar-back-boy,” I said as I circled around him on the ground. “I don’t know any magic tricks; I’m just one tough motherfucker.”

  “We’ll see about that.” He got to his feet and came at me again. This time instead of charging me like a bull, he ran up to me and held firm like a horse being pulled in by a lasso. I just stayed there and did not waste a drop of energy. He was bobbing and weaving like Cassius Clay on speed. He was show boating for his Carni audience. He began peek-a-booing with me. That’s when a fighter puts his hands to his face and then drops them so he is vulnerable to simulate a game of peek-a-boo with a child.

  All I was doing was timing each peek-a-boo. Each one was two seconds faster. The last one he did was ten seconds, so this one should be eight seconds. I counted to seven in my head and I knew it would take only a second to high kick him like Tommy had told me to do. I raised my leg and high kicked him right in his smug face and just laid him out. I had completely knocked him out.

  The Carni ran over to their fallen friend and surrounded him like they were protecting a piece of meat from an opposing animal.

  “Get him,” one guy yelled out. “He used Mani magic.”

  “No I didn’t! I did a standard high kick made famous by the Nintendo video game Shaq Fu.”

  “Someone take him to the hospital” A large, toothless man yelled out.

  “Wait a second. Your boy is done. I used no magic. As a matter of fact, I barely used human fighting. Isn’t this the part where you kick his ass some more and leave him for dead like you did Tommy?”

  “He knows Kyro!” the same toothless man yelled out.

  “Nobody touches Brian,” Goliath yelled out from the back. I’ll take care of him after I kick this pip squeak’s ass.” Goliath stretched his arms and walked towards me.

  “Goliath is it?” I asked in a cocky, but polite tone.

  “You heard of me,” Goliath smiled from the corner of his mouth.

  “Not until tonight. You’re kind of hard to miss.”

  This guy was over seven feet tall and over 450 pounds. He was the largest man or thing I had ever seen. He was wearing cut off jeans with a Harley Davidson T-shirt that was two sizes too small. I looked at his feet, of course he had 2 inch thick Doc Martens, so he could pound a guy even harder. Unfortunately, I was going to be that guy. I wasn’t looking forward to feeling his size 18 shoe crushed against my skull. His face was scarred in the way only a street fighter would appreciate.

  “I guarantee one of your Bruce Lee kicks won’t even faze me, little man. He then pulled out a chain that was apparently in his back pocket.

  I looked up at the moon to make sure it was still a half moon. I couldn’t be too cautious.

  I would hate to fight this guy when he was a werewolf. “That’s okay.” I said. “I didn’t even break a sweat.” My adrenalin was amped. I just floored a guy with two kicks. I didn’t care that this guy was twice my size.

  “All right,” I said. “Round two.”

  Goliath stood there like a rhinoceros. His hands were up and his feet were shoulder width apart.

  It was obvious that he wanted me to strike first. A guy like this would wait for his prey to make a mistake and then pretty much sit on him and beat the crap out of him. He had one giant problem. I wasn’t going to make any mistakes. I knew if I made just one, it would be the end of me.

  “Come and get me!” he shouted.

  “Nah, big boy. If you want a piece of this; you’re going to have to come and get it.” I mirrored his fighting stance, and stood like a statue.

  “Let’s go, Josiah Reign, Mr. MMA fighter. You had 4-1 record and got your ass beat by Kyro himself.

  This overgrown gorilla did know me. “Oh,” I said. “You know me. I feel honored.”

  “Oh I know you all right. I know that Tommy kicked your ass.”

  “That he did, Sasquatch. But, I’ve ironed out a couple of flaws in my technique since then.”

  “The lying flat on your ass technique wasn’t working for you?” All of Goliath’s Carni folk burst out laughing. “Just to let you know, I was the one who beat Tommy to death. And if a bitch-ass like Tommy could handle a fluff like you, then this should make for a short fight.”

  “I guess that doesn’t say much for your bartender friend does it?”

  Goliath didn’t like that comment. He broke his stance and came at me. I leaped forward with a roundhouse kick. I missed because Goliath moved out of the way. Goliath was agile. I was shocked. When my kick missed, I fell to the ground.

  Goliath jumped on top of me. This guy was the strongest opponent I had ever felt. He picked me up right up off the ground by my neck. He held me up in the air with my legs dangling. I gasped for air; he walked me by my neck to an old Eucalyptus tree that was near the flowerbed. With one slick motion, he threw me like a Frisbee against the tree. I hit the tree head first about six feet up, an
d then dropped to the ground.

  I heard screams of excitement from the crowd. They were laughing at my expense. Damn, I hated to hear laughing and cheering at my expense. I was filled with anger, I turned around and opened my mouth, and I felt my incisors protrude out to razor sharp blades. I had never felt that sensation before. It felt like I was flexing my teeth.

  “He’s vampiring up!” A man yelled from the crowd.

  “Let’ him!” Goliath bellowed. “That will give us reason to rip him to shreds.”

  I lunged at Goliath. I grabbed both of his ears with my hands and head-butted him right in his nose. Blood sprayed everywhere. Some got on my tongue. Wow, it tasted delicious and I felt an erection in my pants. Just the smell seemed to quench my every desire. Werewolf’s bled?

  Goliath rolled backward and landed on his feet. “You taste good.” I said.

  I grabbed my groin. “Now I’m ready to play.”

  Goliath dove at me. I jumped ten feet in the air and hit the peak of my height. It felt as if I floated in midair for a second. I came down hard and fell to my feet.

  “What the hell was that?” someone yelled.

  “He just flew, that mother fucker just flew,” another hollered out.

  When I landed, I collapsed on the ground. I had no idea what had just happened. My body just defied gravity. I almost couldn’t tell because I had been flying all night as an eagle. I had most definitely floated. No one told me that could happen in human form. I didn’t have the time to analyze what had happened. There was a four hundred and fifty pound man ready to take my head off. Goliath jumped on top of me. It felt like I was on the bottom of a ten-person dog pile. He was hitting the back of my head with elbows mix martial arts style. I felt a sea of elbows hitting my neck, head, and shoulder blades.

  I heard the strangest crushing and tearing sound come from the back of my head, he had cracked the back of my head open. I was disoriented. There was a large boulder to the left of me. As I continued to get the crap beat out of me, I stared at the large boulder. I felt helpless. Goliath was heavy and strong. I wished that boulder would just fly up and knock the fat motherfucker off me. I stared at the boulder as if I felt my will breaking. I continued to stare at that rock. In my mind, I was pleading for help. I zeroed in on the boulder. I then zeroed in on the crowd that was cheering for my demise. Something miraculous was about to happen. The boulder lifted off the ground and into the air, and then it shot 40 feet in the air and crashed into the crowd knocking Carni over like bowling pins. I don’t know how I did it.

  “He’s using magic,” a bearded man yelled.

  Goliath grabbed me by both arms and stood me straight up. My head was killing me.

  “Why the hell would you do that?” he yelled at me.

  “Do what?” I yelled back at him.

  “Use your bullshit Mani magic. Now we have every right to kill you.” Goliath held me tight in his grasp. I struggled, but it was no use. He had me in the worst bear hug known to man. I looked over his shoulder and tried to resist his squeeze. I could see the chain that he originally had at the beginning of the fight about fifteen feet behind him, he must have dropped it.

  As he held me, I focused my attention on the chain. I imagine the chain flying in the air. I strained my eyes. Nothing happened. How did I make the boulder move? I looked at the chain, and then quickly looked at Goliath. The chains whipped off the dirt, flew up in whipping motion, and wrapped around Goliath’s neck. It wrapped tight. Real fucking tight.

  A woman yelled. “Get him! He keeps using magic.”

  Goliath ripped the chain off his neck.

  “No one fucking touches him, he’s mine,” Goliath gasped. Goliath threw the chain fifty feet in the air like a boomerang. “So it’s going to be like that, you bloodsucking turd.”

  I had no idea how I was making things move with my mind or how I floated in midair. This was definitely not in the vampire handbook that Lena had explained to me.

  “Look,” I called out. “I’m not trying to use magic. I have no idea how I’m doing what I’m doing.”

  “Shut up Whitey,” Goliath screamed. “You’re finished.”

  Goliath charged me. I jumped up and again I floated up 10 feet in the air. But, this time I went faster and my body was jerkier. I landed 20 feet away from him.

  “What the hell are you?” Goliath seemed angry and confused. “You’re only supposed to fly when you transition. What kind of bullshit is this?

  “Look, I don’t know what’s going on.”

  “You have broken every rule in the book. I don’t care if you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. You’re going to die tonight.” Goliath rushed me again. This time I stood my ground. I high kicked him the same way I did Brian, but with a much different result. Goliath caught my foot. I fell backwards, but did not hit the ground; instead, I spun around in the air. Goliath had my foot and he was strong enough to hold me in midair by my freaking foot. He spun me around like a lasso. I whizzed through the air and had the sensation of flying as an eagle. Without warning, that is exactly what happened, I transitioned into the eagle. Goliath let go of me in shock.

  “What the fuck is that thing?” he called out.

  At first, I hadn’t realized I had transitioned, but as I flapped my arms it had been my long wing. I was about two hundred feet in the air. I circled the werewolf party and squawked as loud as I could. I had broken every rule tonight, but had no idea how I was doing it. I couldn’t be criticized or judged for that. The Triat had to know I didn’t do any of that on purpose.

  I needed to get out of here and that I did. I flew out of the ranch. I went straight into the sky as high as I could like a rocket. The wind got colder and colder the higher I went. The air felt incredible; I felt incredible. I had never felt so alive. I had never felt so much excitement. The euphoria was exhilarating –too exhilarating.

  I stopped thinking about Josiah the eagle and I began reflecting on Josiah the man. That was another huge mistake. Somehow, I had transitioned back into my Mani form. How did I know this? I looked down and saw my human legs. I was a mile high without wings. I was a mile high and had no idea how to fly in my Mani form. I soon hit the apex of my ascendance and stood still in midair. For that brief moment, as I switched from ascending to the certain fall that had awaited me, I had an amazing moment of clarity. I felt as if everything in the world made sense. That must be the feeling one gets right before he dies. It didn’t last long because I fell. And fall I did.

  My emotions went from euphoria too absolute terror. I was thousands of feet above earth. And now I was dropping at a rate I couldn’t even fathom. The night was completely dark and I felt as if I was falling into a black hole. But I knew better. I was falling to the earth—an earth that would crush and destroy me on contact. What the hell was I to do?

  I need to fly! I was to make contact with the ground soon. The fear was indescribable. I couldn’t think clearly. I knew I needed to transition. Was this a faith issue? Was this a test by the Triat? Was I falling to the earth because I was allowing fear to beat me? The wind was choking me. I decided to look up and get a giant gasp of air as if I was going underwater. I gulped as much air as I could and then I looked down. I concentrated on becoming the eagle. Nothing was happening! Why wasn’t I transitioning? I remained calm. I looked up and took in another gulp of air. I spread my arms out and began flapping them, praying they would turn into wings.

  I looked down. It was no longer a black hole. I could see a sea of lights below me. I was getting closer to the earth. Dear God! This can’t be the way this ends! I straightened my legs as if I was doing a jackknife into a pool. I raised my arms straight up. Then something miraculous happened. I felt my body slowing down, as if I was a racecar that had taken my foot off the pedal.

  As I slowed down, I could see shapes as well as lights below me. I knew I was getting closer and closer to the ground. With all that I had, and every bit of will, I stretched my arms out as hard as I could. I had nothing to l
ose; if it didn’t work I was going to die anyway.

  Then it happened. I could feel my body taking control of my speed. I had control. I freaking had control! I was no longer falling. I had somehow changed direction again. I was now going up again. I needed to reel this in.

  I couldn’t let myself rise out of control again. I wasn’t going to let it happen. I had some bearing of control this time. It was like trying to ride an out of control horse. The problem was, I was the horse. I concentrated, breathed and did all I could to recall the feelings I have had as the eagle to try to control my flying. I had seen superman and Greatest American Hero. They made flying look easy. I needed to relax. And relax I did.

  The more relaxed I was, the easier it was to control my body. I was now flying, I was finally in absolute control. I was flying! Not as an eagle, but as me, Josiah Reign. I felt power underneath my feet. My energy was allowing me fly. It was the most amazing feeling I had ever felt. This was more exhilarating than flying as an eagle. I could see my own arms, my own legs. It felt similar to swimming, but a lot more freeing.

  When I am the eagle, I feel light and delicate. At times, I get the sense of power when I strike into a person or object. But flying as a Mani felt like the dreams I used to have when I was mortal. I felt powerful and alive. And yes, I felt like Superman. I tilted my arms and leveled out my body so I was flying parallel to the earth. I allowed myself to drop and then I would ascend. Flying felt like having ten orgasms back to back. It was the biggest rush I have ever had. It was more exciting than all my experiences combined. I felt like the most powerful man in the world. That was the problem. I was no longer a man, I was a vampire—and now I could fly.

  Chapter Five

  I flew around for the next two hours in my Mani form, arms and legs flapping in the wind. I noticed I was less anxious about flying when I was lower to the ground, but I was risking being seen by the public. So, I was going to have to find a happy medium with all this flying business. I needed to fly low enough to feel comfortable and high enough to not be seen by the naked eye.