Burning Road

Legacy- Part III

They rented a van in Cali's name and drove into queens, Cali and Mimi in the van while he rode his bike.  He left them at the diner with instructions to wait there until he got back.  Then he drove to Uncle Moses and Aunt Maurine's place.  He called ahead so they were expecting him.  He pulled into their driveway, and by the time he reached the door Maurine was waiting with open arms.  He gave her a great big hug and a kiss on the cheek.

She looked better than she had the last time he'd seen her.  She welcomed him home, and guided him straight to the kitchen where she'd made a sandwich and ladled out a bit of potato salad.  There was something baking in the oven.  From the familiar smell it was sweet potato pie.  On the table was a shotgun she'd been cleaning when he arrived.  There'd been gun oil on her hands when she met him at the door.  For a moment it was as if he'd gone back in time, and it was truly good to be home.

He made to sit but she stopped him, gave him a beer from the fridge, and told him that his uncle was waiting in the basement.  He took the food, and went down to the old hunter's study.  Moses was listening to jazz on the radio and leafing through one of his books.  The old man gestured for the beer and tossed Khouri a detached thank you.  Prince moved a few books and sat down.  He enjoyed his lunch while his mentor finished his passage.  When they were both done, Moses used the edge of his desk to open his beer and took a long pull.

"Maurine said you might swing by," Moses mentioned.  Khouri winced, Moses clearly hadn't expected him to come.

"I brought something for you."

"You can visit just to visit, you know."  Khouri scowled, but held his tongue.  "Look, I don't want to fight, son.  What do you have?"

The young hunter placed a notepad on the old man's desk, and beside it he dropped the black leather book.  Moses adjusted his reading glasses, and meticulously went over the notes.  Khouri watched as curiosity turned to shock and then to excitement.  Moses opened the black book to a random page, and started to cross reference the pictograms with the scrawlings on the pad.  As he read, his lips moved like they did when he was excited.  Prince smiled, it'd been years since he'd seen Moses so animated.  The old hunter flipped to another section, and read using the notepad as a legend.  Finally he looked up from the text with a youthful twinkle in his eyes.

"How did you... where did you... son, this is amazing!"

"I know, sir," he acknowledged.  Khouri thought of Cali, and her uncanny knack with language.  "Quite, amazing."

"But how, boy?  No offense but you weren't the best scholar.  If I remember correctly, you failed French and Spanish."

"Failed more than once," Prince laughed.  "Truthfully, it wasn't me at all.  I've taken on a partner-"

"The mystery girl that everyone is talking about, the one that came out of thin air?  Don't make that face.  Just because you've left The Order does not mean The Order has left you.  Princes have been a part of the guild since its inception.  People watch you, and when The Legendary Loner took on an unknown prospect, people talked."

"Her name is Califia Morrison, Cali for short and... she's special."

"How long has she been studying the old text?  This work is extraordinary."

"A week, maybe two."

"Forget extraordinary, that's impossible," Moses declared, but staring into Khouri's eyes he read the truthfulness.  "Two weeks and she's already begun creating a lexicon.  Listen, you need to keep her close.  Train her, mentor her, cultivate her skills.  She is the kind of asset that we hunters need.  The guild masters have been focused too much on brute force and savagery.  If our way of life is to survive we need scholars and soldiers."