Shadow of Hope (5 page)

Chapter: Five

Zoe rolled over and opened her eyes. She looked around and her heart beat faster. She was…somewhere she didn’t recognize. She sat up and her head began throbbing. She smacked her lips and grimaced at the bitter taste in her mouth. Her mind foggy, she started to stand, but the room started to spin…again. She fell back onto the couch, grasping her head. She closed her eyes, but that only made things worse. She tried to find something to focus on; the room was bare except for a sword and plaque. She focused on the sword.

It appeared to be old, but with all the forgeries out there
, she couldn’t be sure. However, she suspected it was the real thing. The handle was made of steel, with a black leather grip. The hilt had Celtic crosses on either end. In the center was a raised red cross. Her stomach began to settle and the throbbing subsided. She laughed then jumped when the door slammed shut.

“What’s so funny?” Evan asked.

“Where am I and what did you do to me?”

He waved his finger back and forth. “I asked you a question first. It would be rude not to answer.” He handed her a brown bag and a bottle of water. “I brought you some breakfast.”

She set the bag to the side. “Rude? That’s funny coming from someone who obviously drugged me, but if you really want to know, I’ll tell you. You know what they say about men with big swords. They’re compensating for the little one.” She lowered her gaze to his groin. “It’s okay Evan, not all guys have big swords naturally.”

Evan shrugged. “Since I’m not inclined to care what you think, it doesn’t matter what you think about my sword.”

“Yeah sure
it doesn’t.” She opened the bag, and the aroma of cinnamon and butter assaulted her senses. Her stomach began to growl. The cinnamon roll looked delicious, but she closed it back up. There wasn’t any way she was going to eat anything he had to offer again.

“I figured you were hungry. You were out for a bit.”

Zoe glared daggers at him. “Good guess. Now you know why I won’t eat your food.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He flopped down on his chair, lifted the footrest and kicked back.

“Are you serious?”

His face remained blank.

“You know what. Thanks for the water and the couch to crash on. Nice meeting you, but I hope we never meet again.” She stood, grabbed her purse and went to the door. She turned the handle, but it didn’t move. Her stomach tightened, but not from nausea this time. Without turning
, she asked the question she wasn’t sure she wanted an answer to. “Why is the door locked?”

“Because I locked it.”

“Why would you do that?” She stalked toward him, stopping inches from the chair.

He turned and smiled. “Because you were being chased remember?”

“Ummm, you thought I was crazy yesterday. What’s changed?” She folded her arm and tapped her foot. When he didn’t answer, she kicked the chair. “Answer me!”

“Nothing has changed. I still think you’re crazy. I called someone to come and get you as soon as they arrive, you’re free to go.”

“You don’t know anyone I do.”

“I don’t?” He glanced down at her purse.

“You went into my purse?”

“It’s not like you could talk.” He closed his eyes.

“Because you drugged me!” She kicked the chair again. “I’m talking to you. Don’t close your eyes like I’m not here.”

“If only I were that lucky,” he muttered.

“You have me here against my will…open the door and you’re problems are solved.”

His eyes remained shut. “He’ll be here within the next few hours. Eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”

She threw the bag at him and he caught it, setting it to the side of the chair. Her stomach let out a rumble in protest. “Where’s the bathroom?”

He opened one eye. “Through that door.” He motioned to the left with his head. “And if you’re thinking about trying to get out…don’t. You’ll never fit through the window, and if you do manage to get part of the way out and get stuck, I’m going to leave you there until your ride comes.” A smile slid across his lips. “On the other hand it’ll be quiet in here, so go ahead and try.”

She stomped out of the room and slammed the bathroom door shut behind her. She glanced around.  A stand up shower stall, a sink and toilet. She looked up and saw the small window near the ceiling. She sucked in her gut and let it out with disgust. There was no way she was going to fit through it. She reached under her shirt and rubbed the mirror that hung from the chain. A nervous habit, but that one piece of jewelry always brought her comfort. She called out to her other source of
reassurance.

“Gran? Gran are you here?” she whispered.

A silhouette of a young woman appeared before her, just as it had every day since her grandmother passed away. “Merry meet my darling.”

“Merry meet G
ran.” Zoe watched as her grandmother’s spirit floated around the room. “Do you notice anything different?”

Gran’s spirit continued to roam the small space as if she were in a mansion. She turned and faced Zoe. “You remodeled your bathroom…it’s very nice dear.”

Zoe sighed. “I didn’t remodel. A man named Evan is keeping me here.”

“You have a man! That’s great news indeed.”

“He’s not my man.”

“Oh, well that’s too bad.” Her spirit floated up to the window. The morning light streamed through her nearly transparent form.

“I met him last night. Someone was chasing me and Evan grabbed me and pulled me inside.” Zoe paced the small area, still trying to sort out what happened. It was easier now that the fog from her brain had lifted.

Her grandmother’s spirit turned to Zoe
, her expression grave. “Someone was chasing you?”

“Yes.” She went on to tell her
grandmother what happened and how she became
Evan’s
guest.

“Where is he now?”

Zoe pointed to the door and her grandmother went through it. She returned a few minutes later.

“Listen to me Zoe. If there is one person in this world you can trust, it’s the man sitting on the other side of that door.”

“Did you not hear the part where he drugged me?” Zoe could not believe her grandmother wanted her to trust a man who would drug and kidnapped her. Maybe the afterlife was messing with her usual good instincts about people.

“I heard you, but did
you hear me
?”

Zoe leaned against the sink, crossing her arms. “Yeah, I heard you.”

Her grandmother’s spirit flew close enough to Zoe that if she were alive there would only be millimeters between them. “There are some things I need to tell you. I can’t explain right now, but I’ll come see you tomorrow, then we’ll talk. In the mean time I need you to promise me something.”

Zoe never saw her grandmother like this and it worried her. She nodded.

“Good.”

Her grandmother’s spirit brushed across Zoe’s forehead. It sent shivers
down her spine. A sensation of love and light filled her every part of her.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, her grandmother’s spirit was gone.

“Shoot! I forgot to ask her if she knew who was coming to get me.” She let out a loud sigh. “I guess I’ll find out soon enough.”

Unable to find another reason to avoid Evan, she opened the door. He lay asleep in the chair snoring softly. She looked around for a key, but didn’t see one anywhere. She decided to sit down and wait. She grabbed the bag with prejudice. She pulled the cinnamon roll out. “I’ll eat you, but I won’t like it one bit.”

She glanced over at Evan and thought she saw a smile, but when she looked again
, his face was void of expression once more.

She finished her breakfast and water
, then lay on the couch, thinking about what her grandmother told her.
Trust him? Yeah right.
She yawned and that was the last thing she heard until someone banged on the door.

“Zoe!” Evan called out to her.

She stretched before sitting up. “What?”

He pointed to the door. “I’m sure it’s for you.” He tossed her the keys.

She opened the door and stared hard at the face on the other side.  It was her father.

Chapter: Six

Zoe slammed the door shut and spun around. “You called my father?”

Evan shrugged. “It’s not like he caught you sneaking out to prom, you know. I figured he’d be one face you’d want to see after nearly getting attacked by a stranger tying his shoes in the parking lot.”

He folded his arms while he remained reclined in the chair.

“You’re about the biggest dick I’ve ever met.” Zoe leaned against the door banging her head on the wood.

“That’s not what you said earlier. I seem to recall you saying the opposite.” The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly. That was the closest she had come to see him smile. He almost looked human when he wasn’t wearing his usual stone face.

“You have no idea what you’ve done. Maybe you should mind your own business from now on.” She walked over to the couch and grabbed her purse, tempted to whack him in the head with it
again.

“I saved you remember?”

“Saved? Last I knew I was running from my over active imagination. You can’t save someone who’s running from no one.” She stomped past him and placed her hand on the door, she took a few deep breaths trying to find the courage to face the man who stood on the other side.

Evan got up and went over to Zoe.
“I thought I was helping you. If I had known-”

She turned and lifted her head. They were inches apart. If she wasn’t so pissed
, he might actually look handsome right now. The fire in her belly reignited at the sound of footsteps behind the door. “You didn’t ask. Instead, you drugged me. You don’t know anything about me, yet you’ve done everything in your power to make me feel inept. Job well done.” She turned and opened the door. “Have a nice life Evan.” She slammed it shut.

****

“I can see you’re not happy about this,” Zoe’s dad, Chris, said.

She kept her head down looking at the beige tiled floor, following the black skid marks that decorated the hallway floor. “Listen, dad, it’s been a rough night. Can you please take me to my car so I can go home?”

“Sure thing.”

They sat in the car in silence, until he pulled into the parking lot. Chris turned off the car and tapped the steering wheel. They sat there for a few moments before she opened the door.

“Wait. I’d like to know what happened. Don’t you think you owe me at least that?”

She shut the door a little harder than she intended and faced her dad. “I thought you would’ve done a thorough investigation by now.”

“So I check up on you from time to time. You’re my daughter and it’s not like you tell me what’s going on in your life.”

“Wow, that’s an interesting take on our relationship. I would tell you what’s happening with me, but it’s kind of hard to fit six months of my life in those twice a year five minute phone calls, you bestow upon me.”

He let out a sigh. “I know I’m not the best father, but I do love you.”

“Yeah that’s what all the dad’s say before they drop their kid off to live with a bunch of women they barely know. I know you don’t want me, hell you never wanted me, so don’t try and play concerned father now. Go back to your work and have your ‘guys’ give you their monthly report on me. I think it’s better for both of us.” She opened the door and got out.

“Zoe wait!”

She continued to her car searching her purse for the keys.

Chris exited the car and followed her; He closed the distance and put a hand on her shoulder. “Is that what you think? You think I didn’t want you?”

She held back the tears and nodded.

“Aw hell. Zoe I had my reasons for sending you there.” She pulled away from him. “Damn it! I thought I was doing what’s best for you. I was a single dad, I didn’t know how to raise a little girl, let alone teach you all the things your mom wanted you to learn. All I ever wanted was for you to be happy. I really thought I had given you that.”

“You thought I would be happy without you in my life?”

He sighed. “I didn’t think me not being there on a regular basis would hurt you so much. I thought-I thought you were better off without me.”

“Why would you ever think that?”

“There are things…things I face with my job… that I didn’t want to affect you. I wanted you to have a normal life. I couldn’t give you that. I wanted to, but I couldn’t.”

“So you sent me to live with a group of witches? Was that your idea of normal?”

He gave a lighthearted chuckle. “When you say it like that…”

He turned her around and pulled her into his arms. All those years of feeling unwanted, unloved by the only parent she had left. The dam finally broke, tears streamed down her cheeks.

He placed his chin on her head and squeezed her tighter. “After your mom died, I didn’t know how I was going to take care of myself let alone you. I thought that having your mother’s sister’s raise you were the best thing I could do for you. I’ve missed you every day.”

She glanced up and wiped her nose. “We could’ve taken care of each other. I lost mom too and then I lost you.”

“You didn’t like living with the coven?”

“They are my family and I love them, but you’re my dad. I was supposed to be with you.”

He pulled her closer. “I’m sorry sweetheart, I’m so sorry.”

She leaned into her dad and released the emotional baggage that weighed her down for the last sixteen years. Was it possible her father really did love her? That was a place she could not force her mind to go right now. She felt fragile as if she would break at any moment. This was a question she would save for another day. For now
, she would savor this moment, the moment she waited her whole life for.

****

Evan paced his tiny studio apartment. There wasn’t enough room, enough space in here. He felt like he was going to suffocate. He needed to do something, anything. The look on Zoe’s face was etched into his brain and he couldn’t shake it no matter how he tried. Betrayal, that’s what he saw on her face.

He knew this shouldn’t bother him, but it was. The look she gave him wasn’t that of a witch sentenced to death…it was of a human woman who had been crushed by an action committed. An action
he
himself instigated. He betrayed the person he was supposed to give his life to protect. It was a slight on his honor, as well as his humanity.

He grabbed the wraps and gloves, put them on and headed into the gym. Why should she feel betrayed by him? They were strangers he just met her. He grunted. That was a lie and he knew it.

He walked up to the bag and struck it. He felt a little better, but it was going to take a lot more before he felt like a decent human being again. He punched the bag over, first throwing just some simple jabs, followed by the intermittent crosses. He intensified his techniques, throwing complicated combos involving hooks and uppercuts. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he put his full weight into each punishing blow.

He watched Zoe since she was in her teens. His grandfather warned him not to get to
o close to her and keep his distance. His grandfather explained that a warrior who served to protect could not afford to become entangled with the person they were watching over. That led to compromise and compromise was the heart of failure.

He thought he had done exactly that, but if he had
, why did the look on her face haunt him? He served a greater purpose, he served the one true God, and he couldn’t allow himself to be swayed from his path, his mission. For the briefest of seconds, Evan lamented being bound to someone else’s obligation. He had not asked for this, nor did he have a choice. His father had already refused the honor and Evan was now the Last of the Templars. Curse one man for damning an entire lineage.
Damn you, Sir Rhodan!

He would fulfill his families promise. He would make sure she stayed safe, but he would keep his distance. As that thought entered his mind, so did the sight of her sleeping on the couch.
She had not appeared as a witch then. In fact, she appeared almost angelic. She appeared like a normal woman who Evan could have a normal life with.

Yeah right. Who am I kidding? There is no ‘normal’ for those who have chosen to serve the Sword. Back when I was young, it was
different, the tales, the heroes. But I see now that there is nothing left for my kind but to babysit and fulfill obligations we never chose to hold.
His past and present were at odds. What he was raised to believe and where his heart was leading him was not the same path.

He swung at the bag until exhaustion threatened to overtake him. He collapsed to the ground, both mentally and physically fatigued. He glanced up at the sky paying homage to the man who raised him.

“I will not succumb, grandfather. You trained me to overcome. These conflicting emotions which cloud the mind have no place in a warrior’s heart. Whether by my own choice or someone else’s I have been chosen to serve, as befits a Templar Knight.”

Evan wondered if his grandfather heard the hollow echo he heard as he said each word.