Burning Road

Prophecies, Curses, and Forgotten History- Part I

They drove past The American Diner this time. They were being hunted by hunters, demons, and the police... plus they had a corpse in the back. There was no time for pit stops. Cali was behind the wheel again. She and DotPrince had switched places when they stopped in Coney Island for gas. He needed a break, but being the alpha male that he was, he hadn't said anything. He didn't need to. They were Team DotCaliber and she could tell. While he pumped the gas she jumped in the driver's seat and pulled out his grandfather's journal. She thirsted for its contents like an ice cold Mountain Dew.

"I had an interesting conversation last night with a hunter named Krill Braithwaite. Goes by the name Fish. We were on the hunt, tracking a creature that had been feeding on dock workers along the coast. He has an uncanny knack for sensing unnatural things. It's impressive. I said as much while we waited for our dinner in a dive that's name eludes me. Said it was a family trait, passed down to their first born. I laughed and he assured me he was serious. I asked how far back the gift went, understandably matters of lineage are of great interest to me. Fish explained that his father had charts that went back to the 5th century. They could only validate its accuracy from the First World War, he said The Great War claimed much of his family's records. Charts, records. What would it be like to know who we are and where we come from? We Princes, a name we borrowed from a man not of our line, suffer the dogged malice of an unknown origin. The family curse. To have records, to know from whence our misfortune comes, to know who we truly are..."

When he tapped on the glass she gestured for him to go around, and after a moment's hesitation he got in the back and laid down. Mimi watched them from the confines of her hood but hadn't said much since Jersey. Khouri had taken a nap after a brief discussion about where they were headed, leaving Cali to entertain herself. It was a skill she'd cultivated for years. She thought about her little minions and wondered how they fared without her. There was plenty of food and as long as Agents One and Two popped in every couple of days they'd be fine, but she made a mental note to stop home. She'd use her surveillance equipment and spy on them remotely, get a good look at what they did when they thought she wasn't watching.

Cali took her eyes off the road for a moment to study Mimi. The goblin was a marvel, not only was she a creature from another world, a discovery that any scientist would give her arm to be a part of, but she possessed a natural cunning and wit that was breathtaking. She was a wealth of knowledge and genuinely fun to be around. Then there was the matter of the stone. At the time Cali believed that knocking the stone out of Mimi's hand was the best way to save her.

It wasn't until they were on the road that she could hear Asa's grumblings in the back of her mind. He'd wanted the stone with a dangerous lust, and he'd managed to trick her into reaching for it. He managed to hide his intentions from her for the moment. Cali feared what would happen if Mimi's stone made another appearance. Unfortunately that wasn't the worst part. She'd tried to broach the subject with the others twice, and both times her thoughts became muddled and the words escaped her. Asa Bladewyrm had placed her under a gag order.

She hummed the jingle for Reese's Puffs and followed DotPrince's directions to a rural side street with little traffic and few cars. They found a space in front of an old house with an overgrown yard and a driveway in dire need of repaving. Cali put the car in park and marveled at how ominous the place looked. She decided to watch Nightmare on Elm Street the next time she went home. She checked her phone. Ten missed calls, nine from Agent Two and one from Ms. Isis. Cali tucked the device into her top pocket and felt little Chi Chi stir. She rubbed the bunny's head and patted her pocket gently.

"Is this the place, Dot-"

"Why did you stop me!" Mimi snapped, it might have been the most she'd said since sunup. "The stone was going to take me back, and you wouldn't let it... why?"

"How can you be sure it was going to take you back?"

"I don't, but I have to try."

"I was trying to protect you," Cali's lips moved but it was Asa talking. For him it was a lie, but she meant every word. She pushed him aside and said, "We have to find out more about the stone before we risk sending you somewhere else. Don't you trust us?" The last was said in Under Common.

"I do, but I don't have much time. A fortnight is all I have, likely all Ragdhyl and Vhal have, and I'm going to make that deadline," Mimi declared. With Asa in her head, Mimi's Under Common seemed like an archaic dialect of a language she once knew. It was strange and intriguing.

"I'm sticking to my promise. I'm going to help you," Cali said in her native tongue.

"That's why we're here. If there's anyone left I can trust that can help us figure out the stone, it's my uncle," DotPrince said. He reached for the goblin girl's shoulder but stopped just shy of touching it. "Let's get going."

DotPrince got out of the van, bringing his duffel bag with him and making sure that the dead body at the back of the van was covered. If the cops stopped them and searched the vehicle, they'd find enough to throw them under the jail. So far they were lucky enough to avoid that sort of attention. Mimi jumped out and instinctively moved under the shadow of a nearby tree.

Cali suspected that Mimi's larger eyes were more sensitive to light, she'd have to test her theory once they were someplace safe. In the meantime she grabbed her own bag, locked the van, and joined the others. It was nice to stretch her legs. Khouri looked around, then gestured for them to follow him up the battered driveway.

"Your uncle lives here?" Cali asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.

"No."

They reached the backyard and somehow it managed to be in worse shape than the front. No one had been behind the house in years, she found it hard to believe anyone lived on the property. DotPrince brought them to a halt at a five foot high picket fence reinforced by a chain link fence a foot shorter. He threw his bag over and gestured for the girls to do the same. Mimi nodded and took to the fence like a spider. She was up and over in a few seconds. Cali needed a boost and spilled unceremoniously to the ground on the other side. She rolled to the side to avoid adding injury to insult by having DotPrince land on her, being extra careful not to hurt the ball of fluff in her pockets.

The opposite side of the fence had three cherry trees that create a blind spot to anyone watching the yard. They'd have been beautiful while in season. He stayed low and led them through yet another backyard. The low canopy stopped about six feet from a back porch. On the bottom most stair was the insignia of The Order of Ceaseless Vigilance.

DotPrince told them to wait while he climbed the stairs and knocked at the back door. Mimi shifted in the shadows and drew out her golden blade, the gold plated letter opener she'd stolen and used to kill the possessed woman the night before. She was nervous, and Cali couldn't blame her. They had no idea how the demons kept finding her.

"Khouri?" said a woman's voice. "What are you doing here? It isn't safe, everyone is looking for you."

"I know, Aunt Maurine, but I need to speak with Uncle Moses, and we have nowhere else to go."

"We?"

"Yeah, my partner and a friend," he replied.

Cali's heart swelled. He called her his partner, without hesitation. She smiled like a fool and had to suppress the urge to do her victory pose. The self control was proof of her personal growth. She would save the victory posing for later.

"Come inside before someone sees you," she said as she ushered him through the door. "All of you."