Untitled *HF* Prologue
By Mufasa
Prologue
Office of Rachel Carver, Attorney at Law
2:00 A.M.
Normally, she did not make appointments at weird hours, but she made an exception for him. To the woman who is only known as Rachel Carver in the professional circles, Khalid was anything but the run-of-the-mill sleezeball. No, he’s not someone that she considers a friend, but he is someone she can meet with on her level… and vice versa. “Khalid, forgive me for asking, but is there any particular reason you’ve chosen me for your lawyer rather than Casey Jones?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact,” Khalid answered. He leaned back in the soft red cushioned chair across from Byron’s desk bringing his ankle to rest on his knee. Despite his calm demeanor, she could tell that he was upset about something. “It’s not that I don’t trust Casey, but there are some times I think it is best that no one in the White Court knows what I’m doing.”
“I see your point.” Byron’s eyes dashed down to glance over the paperwork he had set before her minutes ago. A thin strand of dark blonde hair slipped out of the clasp she had it in and hung in front of her face. “…especially given what you just brought me. Grover would probably not be pleased with this.”
“I’d probably tell Grover that it was none of his business.”
“Okay… As executor of your estate, this is what you want?”
“Yes…” Khalid answered. “Thirty percent of my liquid assets go to my parents. Ten percent each go to my siblings Philippe, Stefan, Dante, Dwayne, and Rhonda.”
“The other twenty percent?”
“Ten percent to Robert Cougar. Ten percent to be set aside in a trust fund operated by Gabriel Strong,” Khalid said, momentarily pausing. Byron noticed that his voice seemed to crack as he continued. “That account will then be turned over to Elijah Gabriel Ezekiel Hunter shortly after he reaches his twenty-first birthday in 2022.”
The pencil snapped in her hand.
“That’s what I want,” he continued before she could say anything. “Until then, Eli is to remain in the custody of Gabriel Strong… with full visitation rights by any members of the family. Lyonspaw Records will go to Gabriel Strong, with monthly dividends parsed out to all the accounts I mentioned before. My piano goes to my mother. The truck goes to Justin Mills. The house and the yard go to Patrick Walsh…”
“Khalid… He’s dead.”
“Yeah… sure he is. Like I said, he gets the house and the yard. Christian Simitis gets the recordings, the music books, the albums, the Grammys, and the silver tenor saxophone…”
“And Grover?” Byron asked.
“He’ll…” Khalid stopped. “Trust me… He’ll get his gift.”
Byron finished writing her notes and looked up at the stricken expression in his eyes. “Khalid, what is going on?”
“Byron, do me the favor of getting it notarized upstate. Twenty minutes from Prydesville is a small town called Denmark. There’s an old woman there by the name of Hope Dunsby. She’ll be glad to notarize it. You keep this will, its contents, and even its existence between you and me. I know the Hellfire Courts have a habit of peeking where they don’t belong all of the time, but this is something that does not need to get out.”
“I… had no idea you had a child… When was he born?” Byron said.
“November 13, 2001.”
“Khalid, that’s still several months aw…”
“Yes, I know.” Khalid answered. “Byron… Your word. Right now. You keep this quiet.”
“Hold on… If it is ser…”
“Your word.”
She did not have to telepathically scan him to know that he was serious. She tried a low-level mindprobe to see if she could get the faintest clue, but instead all she got was a flash of sensory overload when he activated his aura. Once she pulled out, he dropped it again.
“You have my word,” Byron answered.
-------------------------
“You were right all along…”
With a jerk, Ozymandias sat up in his easy chair. His eyes flashed as he scanned the room. Nothing. He stood up to actually look around, but could see nothing in the den of his apartment. Telepathy said nothing… senses said nothing, but…
“Boo.”
He stumbled around, finding that he was looking Khalid Hunter directly in the eye. “How’re ya doin’, Kano?” he said.
“Khalid,” he practically snarled, starting to build up a charge before he could, he realized that his power dropped down. That was when he realized why. “This is a vision…”
“Bingo, Kano… For real,” Khalid said, dropping down in Ozymandias’s easy chair. “Since when have you ever seen me act so goofy around you? You forget… we can’t stand each other?”
“No, I haven’t forgotten,” Ozymandias replied, though he was not really sure why. “What the hell is going on here?”
“It’s called a black hole… a break in the road… Point of divergence. Damn… How long have you been a god, anyway?”
“Good grief… You are such a prick.”
“No kidding,” Khalid answered. “This is your perception of me. If you want me to stop acting like this, you can just stop thinking about me in this way. Hmmmmm… though I suppose I’m also should be acting insane, too…”
“Insanity is relative. That’s something I’ve learned recently, but…” Oz completely cut off the train of thought. “I can’t see anything beyond the black hole.”
“Um… yeah… Why do you think it is called a black hole? God damn… You’re slow.”
“What the hell is going on, Khalid?” Oz barked. “What’s your game?”
“You tell me, Kano.” Khalid leapt to his feet. With a flash of his eyes, two curved blades – the likes of which Oz had never seen – appeared in Khalid’s hands. Each of them appeared to be glowing and made out of a metal not native to Earth. Once Khalid’s aura activated, he saw that the blades seemed to glow from within, as if they were resonating with his aura. “What IS my game?” Before Oz could stop him, Khalid snapped his arm up, ripping one of the blades across Oz’s eyes.
Instead of erupting in pain, Oz saw the environment fade around him, transforming into Hell on Earth. Death, fire, burning, horrid creations flying everywhere… a virtual wasteland. He stumbled backwards, unable to believe the twisted vision before him. He spun around expecting to see more, but instead saw everything going on as usual. Children playing jump rope… Cab drivers flipping people off… Vendors. “What the…” He spun backwards towards the other vision to see Khalid directly in front of him.
“Two lines, one line. Two seeds, one seed. Nourished and growing. My question to you… Which one do I leave behind?” This time when he stopped, he shoved both blades into Oz’s abdomen with a grunt. Khalid looked into Oz’s eyes, this time with a different sneer. “When is a lion the most dangerous, Kane?”
Ozymandias snapped awake in his easy chair, this time momentarily taking his hand across his stomach. He saw something. He saw something. Like the vision said, it was a black hole. A divergence. When is a lion the most dangerous?
End Prologue
Mufasa, the White Rook
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