Page 57 of Citiali: Teach
My girl smiling at me has got to be the best part of this day so far. “You made it with less than twenty Brothers.”
I laugh, bending to kiss her. “I did. Aylen switched out for Justice. She’s the…” I stop with her eye roll.
“President of the Zion Club, a Knight and standing beside Walker.”
I laugh again. “Yeah, that. She wanted to meet you in person.”
She turns, forgetting me and talks to Aylen about the Indian meets. I shake my head and step back. At least her class is over.
Walker throws me chin. “It’s the way, Brother. She got the classes and Aylen likes knowing if they’re working.”
I nod and turn. “The kids aren’t here.”
“All kids are on their compounds and Bits are back to their base Clubs. Choppers did a round up last night. I didn’t ask but the pussies were dead.”
I smile but it’s forced. “Security protocol.”
He watches me. “Let’s walk.”
Looking back, I nod to him. Nothing is close and she can take care of herself. We walk toward the little lake.
“Is this a real lake?”
“Yeah, we’d call it a watering hole. There’s a spring under it.”
He nods and sits on the low wall on this side. I sit a few feet away. “What happened yesterday isn’t on you, Brother.”
My eyes close. Hundreds. “Who else? It’s not like a few dicks I rolled fire in.” I knew every one of them were bad, killers meant to kill more.
He doesn’t answer until I look at him. “A few months ago, White Wave was throwing energy to shield on an Op. She fell like you did. Michaels was ready to lose his mind but kept it together. It turns out that the ancestors overstepped and worked through her. No one is saying it now, but Aylen thinks they gave an ability they can’t carry out anymore. You’re the messenger of truths she said. If an ability like that can be given, it should go to someone like you, a messenger of truth.” His eyes and mind say he believes that. Aylen’s face and voice in a sentence with my grandfather’s words shows.
I think of Walker’s words, then my grandfather’s. “The stories of my brother and me are from the abilities?”
He shrugs. “I’m not Indian and don’t know about a culture I’ve never lived. Aylen believes that the stories are like prophecies. We heard one about the kids but they’re still young, Aylen sees them older. Those stories aren’t of right now and may not show until you’re fifty, but they’re out there for a reason.”
I nod. “We heard of Justice in the West before he moved. You think what happened was right?” I watch the water while he thinks about that.
“Justice said you shielded our people. It’s the words he used, our people. The news shows more than half were international. Why are they here beat the why are they dead questions everyone has. Those people were sent to hurt our people. You stopped that. I don’t know how and don’t need it. You shielded our people is enough for me, Brother. I almost lost Aylen to an Op, I’m not willing to lose her or anyone else to another. Thank you for being that shield and using it with the truth you carry.Our peoplewould all thank you if they knew.”
“They’ll never know.” I hope.
He nods and stands. “They don’t need to. Your story lives forever with the people who need it.”
He sounds like Yona. “Thank you.”
He throws chin.
We walk without much more to say. He’s a Brother that’s comfortable in the silence like me. “Do you know when the party is?”
He smiles and points to a field between Guardian and us a couple miles away. “They’ve been setting it up all day. We weren’t here earlier but saw the tents and food trucks when we flew over.”
All I see is white above the grass, I’d think it a lost sheet if he didn’t say tent. Badass crazy is running wild here. I’ve seen it in Virginia.
“At least it’s not on our compound.”
He laughs. “They have some kind of training pool from Alder over there and I saw zorbs in a corral.”
All I can do is smile. Anton must be close. “In Virginia it would be a three-day thing. I’m glad it’s not here.”
