Burning Road

Prophecies, Curses, and Forgotten History- Part II

Inside was dark, cloth was thrown over the windows to keep the sun's light from burning the eyes.  It was far more comfortable than being outside.  Mimi had ached to feel more like herself,her true self, but she'd gotten used to her human form.  The lights were painful.  Ghoul gems provided just enough light for her hypersensitive eyes to navigate The Under unbothered.

She wasn't prepared for the kind of lighting humans needed to see.  As Aunt Maurine closed and bolted the door behind them, Mimi found the darkest corner and observed.  DotPrince said his family was full of hunters which didn't bode well.  Every hunter she'd met had tried to kill them. Hunters seemed to always mean bad news, Cali and Khouri being the only exceptions.

"Thank you, Aunt Maurine, I-"

"What happened to Charlie?  They say it was your gun, what happened?"

"It was Littlehawk.  He's working for The Knights and trying to make the guilds tear each other apart."

"Littlehawk, your guild master, working with The Knights of Tamin?  That's hard to believe... are you sure?"

"He's not just working for them, he's sworn their oath, and I'm sure.  I was there when he pulled the trigger."  The words had barely left his lips before she slapped him hard across the face.

Startled, Mimi readied her blade and searched of exits.  She had the stone, somewhere, and she told herself there was no more time to waste on human troubles.  DotPrince rubbed his cheek.  His eyes were downcast.

"You left her? You left Chi Chi?"

"I had to," he whispered.  "We needed to escape... I couldn't carry her and fight... I..."  DotPrince broke into tears and slumped against the kitchen counter.  "I don't think I could have fought my way out while carrying her, but I should have tried."

Mimi felt a small twinge of guilt.  DotPrince wouldn't have left if she hadn't urged him.  It was the right choice but it felt wrong.  Watching him struggle with the decision she couldn't help but empathize.  Ragdhyl and Vhalova might have been dead before the stone wrenched her from her world, but she would have chosen to stay behind if there was a chance she could have done something.  Deep down she feared the worst.  It was hope that ate at her heart.

Aunt Maurine and Khouri cried for a time meanwhile Cali and Miminda pretended not to be intruding on their private moment.

"I don't understand what is happening, help me understand," Aunt Maurine begged.

"They were holder Charlie hostage to force me to give them my secrets," he said.  "I think they intended to kill us anyway, we knew too much."

"You knew Littlehawk was an agent for The Knights, he would've had to silence you to keep his secret.  That sonofabitch."

"Sweetheart, is everything okay in here," said an older man.

In the doorway leading deeper into the house was an old man with skin as dark as DotPrince's, and a long cannon in his hands.  Mimi crouched and pressed her back harder against the wall.  The man was quiet, even to her newly returned goblin hearing.  He was larger than Khouri but gray and slightly bent.

Her trained eye could see him scanning the room with practiced ease.  He held his weapon comfortably, pointed at the floor.  There was a tension about him, like a tunnel cat ready to pounce at a moment's notice.  When Aunt Maurine stepped aside he caught sight of DotPrince and lowered his gun with a sigh of relief.  He walked into the room and gave Khouri a great hug.

"You took a big risk coming here, boy," he said as he put the younger man at arm's length and examined him.  "You're hurt."  He looked at Cali and pointed to the hall.  "There's a first aid kit under the sink, get it.  Maurine, I want you and the goblin-"

"Goblin!?" Maurine cried in surprise.  Mimi didn't appreciate her tone.

"Yes goblin.  You and the goblin, Minerva if I remember correctly, check the doors and the windows.  Make sure this place is locked up tight.  You, my boy, need to take off that jacket and those bloody clothes."

Aunt Maurine gave Mimi a wide berth but gestured for her to follow.  The older human led Miminda down the hall past images of their family through the years.  One picture of three young humans caught her attention.  The boy in the middle was unfamiliar to her but on either side of him were people she knew.  One was Khouri, small and scrawny with a happy smile but lonely eyes.  The other was his Charlie, shorter than him but full of life even in a frozen image.  They were both glancing at each other.

Mimi liked DotPrince, and secretly wanted to finish sharing their yumsies before she went home, but it had become abundantly clear that his heart belonged to someone else.  Now she didn't mind having to compete for his affections, that could have been fun. But there was no way to compete with a dead girl.

The two did a quick circuit of both the top and bottom floors, closing every window and locking every door.  Eventually they were both in a dimly lit room of couches just outside of the kitchen.  Mimi could hear the old man and Cali fussing over Khouri's wounds.  Aunt Maurine poured herself a glass of water and used it to chase a pill down her throat.  She wiped back tears that never seemed to stop for long, and then regarded Mimi with hard but not unfriendly eyes.  Mimi slowly pulled back her hood, not trying to scare the woman.

"Well I'll be damned, you are a goblin... sort of."  She reached for Mimi's face and the goblin leaned back.  "I'm not going to hurt you.  Can I?"  When she reached again Mimi stood her ground.  First she ran her fingers along the edge of Miminda's ears, then through her hair.  "Aren't you strange and adorable?"

"Yeah, I am," Mimi said.

Aunt Maurine was astounded.

"So you understand and speak our language?"

"Cali taught me."

"Unbelievable."

"Not my problem, buddy."

"It is your problem, if you're the reason that man killed Charlie and why their after my Koala Bear.  If you have something to do with this you can't pretend to be apart from it because you're not."  Aunt Maurine took a deep breath and finished her water.  "Are you thirsty, Minerva?"

"A little, and my name is Miminda."

"Miminda.  Hard to forget a name like that," Aunt Maurine said.  "Let's get you something to drink and you can explain to me what's going on.  Try not to take anything while I'm away."

Aunt Maurine was gone for a couple of minutes, plenty of time for Mimi to snatch anything she wanted, but that was against the code.  They weren't Blow The Under Flows but she was the creepiest of creepers and lived by a code.  Miminda would never steal from the home of a friend.  Cross was an exception, he was a bastard and openly insulted the ways of The Under.  His stuff was fair game and even though Aunt Maurine clearly didn't trust her, Mimi wasn't going to burgle DotPrince's family.

Aunt Maurine returned with a cold bottle of Dr. Pepper which proved to be the most delicious thing Mimi had ever swallowed, an honor which had recently been won by Mountain Dew after a valiant fight with Black Honey Swine Beer.  Mimi guzzled the brown liquid in euphoric joy, and released a hearty belch to show the owners of the house that their generosity was appreciated.  The bubbles in her mouth made her eyes water.

When they cleared she saw that Aunt Maurine sat on a couch quietly crying.  Miminda relinquished her wooden chair to sit beside the old woman and placed her little hand on Aunt Maurine's wrinkled one.  The human grabbed her fingers and squeezed gently.  Mimi provided comfort while her grief ran its course.