Chapter 2

Uncle Duke

He closed his eyes and concentrated. The stars were aligned once more and it was time.

The Sahara, Tundra, the Moors of England. All that which was wasteland flitted behind his eyes. The Congo...Everglades...Verdant and barren. Overgrown and empty. All were waste. The Savannah.no. The Amazon...The Canadian And Brazilian rain forests The Australian Outback. The Pacific Northwest. No. The Canadian prairie. Which led into the US prairiesNebraska cornfields. Greenland. Antartica. no. The Mojave. No....Wait!

He went back, scanned it carefully and then homed in. Yes! This was it! His amulet glowed and transported him to the place.

He was an African magician and he was eons old. He had travelled the world, learned all sorts of magic from all sorts of witches and wizards. Celtic magic from Britannia. Voodoo from the deepest, darkest jungles, other evil magic that had grossed even his dark soul out a little. But he had learned it anyway. Jewish magic from exiled and unclean witches in the Promised Land who desired revenge and to spread their evil magic across the globe. Asian magic from Japan, China, Korea, Sri Lanka, Laos, and many other Asian countries. All had their own spin on things. When he learned the spell he even travelled across realms and learned fairy tale magic from the wickedest witches.

He stored everything in his wand, his staff and his amulet until he was a powerful warlock, maybe the most powerful in all the world. And when he was done with them, he killed his tutors, adding their life force to his own.

He was eons old, having learned the spell of immortality long ago. For good measure, he'd even found the Fountain of Youth so he could be any age he wished. Currently he looked around 35.

And even though, his power was immense, he desired more. He was greedy. He couldn't stand it if there was an object or spell out there that was making someone else powerful or worse yet was using it to turn things to happiness.

He had been searching for such an object for lifetimes. An object of immense power and wealth that would make the owner invincible. The thought that someone else might possess such a power made him so jealous and enraged that he couldn't sit still and would often gnash his teeth over it.

The African Magician was teleported to the sands of the Mojave. In the distance was a dark smear that was the closest town.

The Magician levitated and searched out with his inner eye. He floated north for about a mile. No...too far. He flew back about 1/2 a mile. He turned once and landed. This was the place.

He began to dig. It was there, only a foot down. A round stone with an iron ring in it. Around the edge of the stone were carved in ancient runes. Every time it moved, the runes changed to something different, like a password.

The stone appeared only once every thousand years when a few certain stars aligned themselves into position. The stone appeared in a different desert every time and could be anywhere in any one of them. Only the Magician had the powers to seek it out now. He'd made sure of that.

Inside the stone was a cave. Inside the cave were treasures beyond imagination and at the end was THE treasure that made everything else in the cave seem as dust on a shelf. But he could never get into the cave.

The Magician looked the runes over and spoke them, strange and twisted words and so unspeakably evil that a price must be paid. A mile away in a cave a thousand bats cried out their sonic scream and dropped dead all at once.

The runes glowed and in the center of the circle of light a beautiful Fairy appeared dressed in gauzy blue. She had hair made of moonlight and her eyes were two righteous stars.

"Who disturbs my slumber and seeks to enter the Cave of Wonders?" Then she saw and said crestfallen, "Oh...it's just you again."

"Of course it's me again!" snapped the Magician. "I'm the only one that knows about you and the Cave of Wonders for 20 thousand years! It's always me! Who else?"

"I always hope there will be another. That's all I have now, Hope. You've taken everything else."

"I'll cry all night. OK, pleasantries are over. Just give up and let me in."

The Fairy conjured a blue force field around the stone. "No. How many lifetimes have you sought me out? How many times must I tell you you cannot enter here? Your heart is too black and your hands drip with blood."

"Many. Tell me who can this time."

The Fairy concentrated. "I see a young man with a smile like sun and hair of gold. He seeks to do evil and his heart is cold. But always his evil deeds are replaced with good. His hands are clean and in spite of himself he does what he should. His hand are clean , he has made no cuts. His heart and body are pure. A diamond in the rough. Seek out this treasure and of his own free will...I will let the Sun shine in."

A mystical viewing portal opened and the Magician beheld Justin holding an emaciated boy in his arms. Justin was feeding him something. The vision faded.

"I don't care about the Sun! I want you to let the boy pass through!"

The Fairy faded away and disappeared. "I will let the Sun Shine innnnnnnn....." she said again, her voice a whisper on the wind before fading away as well.

The sand shifted and collapsed over the stone again.

The African Magician gnashed his teeth in frustration and rage.

BJBJBJBJBJBJB

The next three weeks were very busy. Well, not so much busy as they were expensive. Well maybe one went withthe other. There were police to deal with. After that there was the hospital and the morgue to deal with . The morgue transferred Craig's corpse to a funeral home. The Taylors could afford nothing there so the cheapest but still heartstoppingly expensive thing was cremation. Craig was duly cremated and they took him home in a decorative wooden box. Even the urns were ridiculously expensive.

The ambulance service sent a bill. The morgue sent a bill The funeral home sent a bill. Large bills.

After they got home, Jennifer went back to cleaning the house to looking at photos of Molly to wishing Molly was there to deluding herself Molly was in fact coming home to sleeping to cleaning the house again. Wash rinse repeat. After the Q Mart, she had emerged from the catatonia but she was never really the same again. Lights were on but no one was home sort of thing if you catch my drift. And so, Justin took it upon himself to take care of the paperwork. He sold his father's car. He actually went into the store and threw a Going out of Business sale(Everything must Go) and put ads everywhere, in the paper up in Liberty Diner in Craig'sList. He put the store up for sale. If there was a line where he needed his mother's signature, he forged it. Unfortunately, this meant the clerk had to go. But Justin wrote him out a good letter of reference and forged his father's name on it. He'd learned how to do both his parents' names when he was twelve. He could see that he was pretty much on his own even at that early age and he was NOT going the way of Molly.

And even when all the sales were over and done, it still didn't really make a dent. He paid off the ambulance and made a payment to the funeral home but it was incomplete and there was the morgue and the mortgage and the store rent and the hospital bills from Craig's heart attacks. And now that Justin could throw himself into hustling and pole dancing and pool hustling and even if he met up with Twelve (spawn of Satan) twice a day every day, they'd still be in debt for the rest of their lives. For the first time in his life, Justin toyed with the thought of dealing drugs. He wondered how much he could get for taking it up the ass. He thought about it a lot. He thought about a lot of things. It was overwhelming. And when Justin got overwhelmed, he got hungry for cock. So he headed out.

He was reaching for the knob when there was a loud knock on the door. The effect was startling.

Now Justin was normally a good boy but he was in debt to a lot of people so his reaction was...less than polite.

He jumped back from the door and yelled: "The rent's not due till the end of the month!"

A deep and sexy voice he'd never heard from before said pleasantly, "This is not the landlord."

"If this is regarding the phone bill, the cheque is in the mail!"

"I'm not here about the phone. I'm not a bill collector nor am I selling anything. I'm a relative. Open the door, Justin and everything will be all right."

"Mister, unless you're Ed MacMahon with a cheque the size of the Pacific Trash Gyre Vortex, nothing is going to be all right again!" But he pulled the door open anyway.

It was not Ed MacMahon. It was a rugged, handsome, 30 something man that faintly reminded Justin of Indiana Jones. He was dressed similarly, had stubble, carried a walking stick and a coiled up whip over one shoulder. The African Magician had used a charm spell. People saw what they wanted to see. He smiled.

Justin did not smile. But his eyes did widen and he asked: "Who the devil are you?"

"Hello Justin. I'm your uncle. I came to..."

"Shit! Where's Molly? Is she with you?" Justin craned his neck but he could not see past his just pleasingly bulky uncle that was comfortable.

"I'm sure she's fine. I'm not that uncle. I'm your father's little brother."

"Huh? Craig didn't mention any brothers. MOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!" he screamed unexpectedly, as teens are wont to do.

This nearly shattered the Magician's eardrums. He gripped his walking stickstaff and nearly turned Justin to ash before he remembered. "Wow, those are some powerful lungs you got there Justin," he said and imagined Justin with a tight ball gag strapped on instead. This made him smile.

At this point Jennifer answered the summons. "Don't scream Justin," she said and then saw the man, "Who's this"

"He says he's my uncle. On Craig's side." Justin put forth.

"Strange. Craig didn't mention any relatives. And his mother and father are dead." Jennifer said.

"We weren't very close," admitted Craig's "brother" sadly, "Plus I travel all over. But in the event of his death I thought I'd come to pay my respects and see perhaps..."

"To come with your hand out!" finished Justin in disgust, "Well you're outta luck, Uncle Grandpa! My father was a lousy businessman and we're 12 feet deep in debt! So whatever the scam, it won't work!"

"To see perhaps...if his widow and son needed any help and support during this difficult time of grieving. I don't need anything from you. I'm an archeologist and have travelled all over the world and found enough treasures from my digs to become independently wealthy."

Both of them said nothing but the whiteness of their faces at "independently wealthy" spoke volumes.

"Ummmm...what I meant to say was...was...umm...Well, sorry, sir. I've been under a lot of stress lately and that causes a sharp tongue sometimes...I actually could use a bit....a lot of help right now. What's your name?" Justin suddenly felt the weight of the world on his shoulders...fuckin'feltit...and he knew if he didn't take this opportunity and if this man left, he'd lose his tenuous grip andslip and have the weight of the world crash in - fallon him and kill himcrushhim or drive him as insane as his mother and then where would they be? Blind leading the blind. Justin felt he's eat crow right down to the tailfeathers to stop that from happening.

"You can call me Uncle Duke. Duke Taylor. And that's OK, Justin. Circumstances have made you into a bit of a diamond in the rough. Let's see if we can get you polished up though." He put his arm around Justin's shoulder and guided the boy in through the door. He knew neither would resist. "So..what made you mention the Pacific Trash Vortex?"

Justin was suddenly shy. "Oh you know...saw it somewhere, like to read...Internet....."

The door slammed, cutting off his disintegrating explanation. And why not?

The Magician had kicked it shut.

BJBJBJBJBJBJB

The sad tale was told. Ironically, Justin knew this made them look like scammers even though they weren't. They were in legitimate trouble and deep debt.

Justin showed his uncle the books. His uncle dutifully clucked his tongue sympathetically over them. Then he said well they haven't been paid till now, a while more won't hurt, and they went into the living room to find out what was being done and what could be done in future.

In an astonishing display of lucidity, Jennifer began to cry and outline the situation pretty accurately and at the same time backstab Justin right between the shoulderblades. "My husband was a poor merchant of electronics(boohoo) We almost got out of debt when the QMart hit.(boohoo) Craig tried to teach Justin everything he knew but it was no use. Justin wouldn't have it and preferred to run the streets in idle play instead. He joined up with a gang and is a no-good street punk.(boohoohoo) As soon as Craig died, Justin had sold the store out from under her and taken to the streets entirely. I don't know what else to do and he's too old for me to stop him so I've resolved to change the locks when he turns 18 turn him out of doors to make his way in the world or the streets or hopefully let the Q-Mart have him.(oh-boohoohoohoohoo...)

Justin was unimpressed with her crocodile tears. "Wow! Ladieeezz and Gentlemen! I present....the Mother of the Year!"

"My goodness!" Uncle Duke said, "This is all very distressing. Justin, why didn't you just get a job? What about school?"

"I quit." Justin said shortly. "And I'm a minor. Any job I could get would involve the phrase...Would you like fries with that, take up all my time and pay me minimum wage. School pays even less. I needed something more than an "honest job", or what my father was doing to survive. And I was the only one left to do it. When the Q-Mart crushed us, Wonder Mom over there passed out; he jerked a thumb; and went catatonic for a week and dear old Dad had his first heart attack. Uncle Duke, I wish I could look up to my parents but when the going gets tough, all I can do is look down."

"Justin, you and your little friend be sure and clean up after you have your party," Jennifer said in an entirely different, good girl/goodmanners WASP-y type of voice, "I have to go make up Molly's room. She'll be coming home tomorrow, you know," she informed Uncle Duke brightly.

"SureMomsure," said Justin, "Nice talking to you. Wow, ten minutes, that's a record," he said looking at his smartphone stopwatch.

Uncle Duke blinked and watched Jennifer wander out of the room humming disjointedly. "Oh? Is your sister coming home?"

"Molly's not coming home," Justin replied disgustedly, "For her, it's always "tomorrow". Ever since the catatonia, the lights are on but everybody left the house, if you catch my meaning."

"I'm beginning to," said Uncle Duke.

"Good. You should also catch that I'm hardly idle. Yeah, I'm a street punk but I joined a gang so I'm protected. I know how to handle myself and nobody hassles me. If they do, they walk away, knowing not to again. I've never killed anyone nor do I intend to, something my gangmates cannot boast. I have a schedule and I work the streets. I bring home $5000 a week, 5 times as much as my father does...uhhh...did. I have to pay my gang leader 15%...20 now. I pay the mortgage here. I was helping out with the store's rent. When I'm done, there's nothing left over for the bills so the hole gets deeper. I sold the store to pay half the funeral home. We owe the hospital...well, you saw. I'm in a hole, a trap. I can't get out. In two years, I'll be kicked out. That was new. Soon after that, my mother will be homeless because she lives in a dream world where the rent gets magically paid and Molly is coming home "tomorrow"." He made vicious air quotes with his fingers. He opened to say more, realized there was nothing more and shut it again.

"Wow, that's a lot to take in."

"It was a lot to dish out. But there you are. Look, Uncle, if you are my uncle." Uncle Duke made to speak but Justin overrid him and said, "Look, at this point, I honestly don't care. But...if you are my uncle...if you want to be...if you are rich...if you do want to help and support me....then support me...help me...I'm only 16...I'd like nothing more to stop being in a gang...see the back of Fagin forever...I could get my GED....I am smart, you know..."

"I never thought otherwise."

"I'm smarter than you think. But when you're in the pinch, smarts don't pay. Hustling does. But I don't do drugs and no one goes in the back door."

"Good grief, you don't have anyone over with your mother in her condition, do you?"

Justin sighed long-sufferingly. "I mean I don't take it up the ass."

"Ahhhh."

"So...can you help me? Will you help me?"

"Well Justin, I can pay off some of your bills for you but not even I could pay off the hospital in its entirety. Doing so would wipe out even me. And even if I did help you with your debt that would be feeding you a fish for a day. I'd like to really help you, Justin...really help you, teach you to fish, set you up to make your own money, honest money and bring Molly home for real. Isn't there anything you like to do? Anything you'd like to sell....ok, not electronics but anything else, anything else people in this desert town need...and want."

"The only thing I'm actually good at is drawing...I'd love to paint. But that doesn't sell unless you're established. The Liberty Diner does OK. The Q-Mart's frozen yogurt place does pretty well. People in this town always need another watering hole. I wouldn't like to be in direct competition with Debbie or work my feet off all day so maybe not a full diner but maybe a coffeeshop with teas and lemonade and waters and frozen yogurts and ice cream. And Debbie's lemon bars and other desserts. And I could hang my art up there to sell and paint in the quiet times or even off hours. And never have to steal or pickpocket or hustle or meet Twelve EVER AGAIN, oh that would be a dream come true!" Justin opened his eyes from the daydream he was painting on the inside of his eyelids to see his uncle scribbling furiously on a small notepad.

"What are you doing?" Justin asked, startled.

"Making notes. This is good stuff," replied Uncle Duke.

BJBJBJBJBJBJB

Well, there was no time like the present, Uncle Duke said so he sat right down and paid off what he could right then. And just like that, the funeral home was gone and the morgue and the mortgage for 6 months. Justin was speechless with joy and misty eyed with gratitude. My goodness boy if this is what you are like over a few bills, I'd hate to see what you are going to be like when we go out. The Uncle chastised gently. So Justin dialed back from jumping for joy to rocking on his heels with glee.

"Uncle Duke" didn't really mind paying off a few of the kid's bills. He actually did it. He knew he needed to stay there a few days so he couldn't scam it through although he seriously considered it. But the thing was he actually was obscenely wealthy, he actually had liquidated a lot of found treasure and now it was invested and making money for him every second. Of course a lot of those treasures had been sacred artifacts and gemstones and the like that certain cultures considered holy but the Magician had killed the priests and taken them anyway.

Now he was so rich he could have paid off the heart attack bills 4 times over and still be pigshit filthy rich. But of course he couldn't let on to Justin about that. He still needed to hook the boy and every hook needed its bait.

After the cheques were written and sealed in envelopes, Uncle Duke pretended to look over Justin with a critical eye and decided he needed a new image, a image one could put forth as a man of business. So they quit the house that very minute and left Jennifer alone with her dreamy delusions. They dropped the envelopes in a mailbox (Justin felt a huge weight come off his shoulders) and took a cab across the tracks and into downtown. Uncle Duke conveyed him to several high end clothing shops, shoe shops and haberdashers. The result was he bought Justin several new Armani suits, several dress shoes to match. These were followed by hats and ties and a pinkie ring with a pale pink stone on it that Justin had never seen before. (Uncle Duke himself had on about 3 or 4 rings per finger) Then they packed everything up carefully and the cunning uncle conveyed him to a sporting goods store and bought him a more casual, roughneck outfit with a wide brimmed hat like his own and hiking boots the salesperson was convinced were rattlesnake proof due to the tough leather and height they reached up to on his leg. In the end Justin looked like a mini me of Uncle Duke.

Gone were the street clothes and ripped jeans and bandanna of the tough punk kid. Justin felt clean and polished and professional and a little confused.

"Is this what a man of business wears?" he asked since he looked like Indiana Jones had shrunk in the wash.

"Of course not. But there's no point in wearing the fine clothes home just to dirty them and then parade them past your neighbors and rubbing their nose in it. Besides, I have another opportunity for you that will require these outfits. But I'll tell you about that another day. For now we'll call it a day and tomorrow we'll go buy your shop." He said this like they were going to the grocery store to buy some Velveeta and Justin was astonished and more than a little intimidated.

The whole experience was like a whirlwind and Justin both loved it and was afraid of it. He loved it because it was rich and opulent and amazing but he hated it because he had been poor for so long he was forever checking the numbers and waiting for the price tag and more importantly some other larger, more horrible price tag that his Uncle would drop on him at any time. But no price tag came and Justin learned to relax. He felt lavish. He felt like a Cinderfella. He felt like Harry Potter. Who WAS a Cinderfella, Justin guessed.

The next day, Uncle Duke was as good as his word. They went out to a realtor and looked through a few books of shops that were for sale for one reason or another. They shortlisted 5 and went looking at them. Justin chose a small shop with a lot of light, pale blue walls and all the amenities. There were dozens of tables and chairs ready to go in a store room. Best of all, it was only a few blocks away from the Liberty Diner so Justin could feel as if he were always close to home. Plus the experience in his place would be so different that they would not be direct competition.

After Justin had given his seal of approval to the place, Uncle Duke signed a lease, signed a cheque and Justin was in legitimate business for the first time in his life. Well legitimate business that would sell. Duke cut one final AND HEFTY cheque for supplies and took Justin to the bank to open a business account. This was done and then Uncle Duke figured they were done for the day and the hassle of ordering and research and setting up could wait til tomorrow. As they were driving Duke decided that now was as good as any to drop the final carrot and hook.

"You know, Justin, this is a good business and will set you up in years to come and earn you the steady income you need for the day to day. But there's still the hefty debt from the hospital to take care of and I have another way for you to pay it off."

"Oh yeah? How?" Justin growled, instantly on guard. Here it came. The payout, the scam, the pricetag. He braced himself.

"The truth is...I'm not here just because of Craig. I'm on a dig, a hunt for something...big...whispered...and if you come along, I'm sure there will be enough to pay off the hospital...maybe more.

This was unexpected. Justin relaxed visibly. If this was a scam, this was a damn good one. "More?" he asked.

Duke smiled and nodded.

"Tell me more, dear uncle."

BJBJBJBJBJBJB

They set off the next morning in a rented dune buggy with 4 wheel drive and no roof. They wore their adventure gear and took extra everything, food, water, digging things, gas and a few spare tires.

Justin felt a bit trepidatious when Uncle Duke drove them far out enough into the desert so that the town was just a smudge on the horizon.

"So where we headed? Is it much farther?" Justin winced at his words as they basically boiled down to Are we there yet?

"Not much. Do you see that circle of stones?" He pointed to the stones he had set up before he had left this place. "The heat is making them seem closer but they are still a ways off. Maybe an hour or more. Say, wanna drive?"

"Really? But I'm underage."

The Magician looked around at the perfectly flat perfectly deserted landscape and smiled "Oh....I think you'll be all right," he said wryly. "Just keep heading for the stones and you'll be fine.

Justin was agreeable and they quickly switched places. After they had strapped in Justin put the pedal to the metal drove like a speed demon and the Magician put his hat over his face and went to sleep.

"Thata ought to shut the brat up," was his last thought for a while.

When his thoughts started up again, Justin was screeching the jeep to a halt and jumping out as if his ass was on fire. Uncle Duke grinned at the impetuousness of youth, put the jeep in Park and got out using the door.

He grabbed a couple of shovels out of the back and threw one to a confused Justin. "Where are we? Where's the dig?" he asked.

"This is it. Dig in the circle and you will reach a stone with a ring in it. If you can lift the stone you can reach the cave underneath. In the cave is such wondrous wealth that you will easily pay off your debt and moreover be set for the rest of your life. Open a gallery. Open a dozen of those tea shops or whatever they were. Just dig. Get yourself paint enough to drown in. Just dig. Just dig Justin....NOW!!!"

"Uncle? What's the matter? You sound strange."

"Ahem!! Yes. It's probably the heat...And the slight motion sickness. I'll be fine. Let's just get to work, OK? It's not very deep."

"You seem to know an awfully lot about this forlorn treasure."

"I've been tracking it for 20 years." This was a total lie as it was a thousand times that but as he predicted it was enough to sufficiently impress the boy. "It's also a great secret and you will see why soon. That is why it's just the two of us." The Magician had telepathically gleaned that this was a concern for Justin.

This seemed to be enough for Justin and he began to dig with gusto. The Magician made great sweeping motions with his shovel but barely did anything. Any effort he did would be pointless anyway. Justin had to dig, of his own free will and of his own free will enter the Cave.

TBC