Shadow of Hope (8 page)

Chapter: Eleven

Zoe slammed the door shut after putting her bags in the trunk. She was going to find her dad and get some answers. She crossed her arms and stared out the window. If she thought too hard about the last two days events, she would probably have a meltdown and she didn’t have time for that right now. Best to think about something else, she glanced at Evan and then turned away.

She wondered if he knew more than he was saying. He probably did. She thought about what her dad could have helped
him with. She knew Chris did some super secret undercover stuff, but she didn’t really know what it entailed. Then her thoughts turned to Evan watching her most of her life.

What had he seen? Did he see her sitting alone at school? Had he seen her getting picked on? Did he see her when she
sat under the great Oak tree on the farm?
What had he seen?
She wanted to ask, but what if he saw her as pathetic and why did she care?

She took a deep breath
. She needed to know. “Umm, when you said you’ve been watching me, what did you mean?”

He glanced at her for a moment and then continued watching the road. He started tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. “What do you really want to know?”

She sighed. “I want to know what you saw.”

He pulled off the side of the road and put the car in park. “I only watched to make sure you weren’t in danger. I wasn’t watching your every move if that’s what you’re wondering. I had
-
have
a life too you know.”

“No I don’t know. You’re a stranger to me, but evidently I’m not to you. Knowing someone has watched
me grow up is freaking me out a little. I’m sorry if I’m ruining your life. Believe me that wasn’t my intention.”

He threw the car in drive and took off. “It’s always about you, isn’t?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“If you’d stop feeling sorry for yourself long enough and think about the bigger picture
…forget it!”

“Would you stop talking in circles and answer a question directly?”

“My life was chosen for me, because of a pact my ancestor made. Did you think about that?”

She looked at him. He was right. She was being ridiculous right now. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking about that.”

“Of course you weren’t. And did you ever wonder what the Gateway goes to? Is humanity in danger now because the one item we were both destined to protect is now in someone else’s hands?”

“It’s been a rough couple of days,
alright? I said I was sorry.”

They pulled into the Angels of Mercy homeless shelter. “What are we doing here?”

He parked and got out of the car. She remained inside. He walked around the car and opened her door. “Come on.”

“You still haven’t told me what we’re doing here.”

“I need to do a few things before we go to the farm. I’m assuming you were going to call your dad, right?”

She nodded.

“He’s on his way, now get out.”

She stepped out and shut the door. “You know if you would have said that in the first place…”

They walked into the building and were met by a big tattooed black man. He wrapped his arms around Evan. She could’ve sworn she saw him wince. He was pretty banged up, but there wasn’t anything wrong with his tongue or attitude. Evidently, the beating he took didn’t affect either.

Evan turned toward her. “Zoe this is ‘Mean’ Clyde. Clyde this is Zoe.”

Clyde extended his hand and Zoe grasped it. “Nice to meet you Clyde.”

He turned to Evan. “Why haven’t you brought this beautiful young lady around sooner?”

Evan sighed. “You’ll see soon enough.”

Clyde laughed. “I doubt that.”

Zoe wanted to stick her tongue out at Evan. She knew that would be childish, but he brought out the worst in her. “Thank you, Clyde.”

“Listen man, I need to leave for a little bit
. Her father is on the way, would you mind keeping an eye on her?”

“I don’t need anyone to babysit me.”

He turned to her. “The past few days say otherwise.” He moved so his back was to her and lowered his voice as he moved closer to Clyde. “No one and I mean
no one
, can leave with her. Maybe take her back to the kitchen and have her help do something. I’m sorry to put you in this position, but I need her to stay safe and you’re the only one I know can do that.”

Clyde waited for Zoe by the doorway.

“I heard you,” she said crossing her arms.

“Good then you know you’ll be safe. They’re always short on volunteers so I know they could use the help.”

“Alright.”

Evan walked out the door and she grabbed the elbow waiting for her. “I’m sorry for my outburst. He brings out the worst in me.”

Clyde laughed. “I can see that. It looks like you rile each other up.”

“He’s been an ass ever since I met him.”

He chuckled. “He’s a good man, but I can see you two have some chemistry.” He wiggled his brows.

“Chemistry? It’s more like fire and ice. Of course I’m the fire,” She giggled.

“Of course.”

They walked into the kitchen. “Would you like to help me peel potatoes?”

“Absolutely.” She picked up a peeler and they started working on the largest pile of potatoes she had ever seen. “Have you known Evan for very long?”

He grinned. “I thought it would’ve taken you a little longer to ask about him, but I’m glad you don’t beat around the bush.” He set the potato down and waved his hand across the room. “See this kitchen?”

She nodded.

“Most of the appliances were paid for with the money Evan’s donated.”

“Wow, these are all stainless steel commercial appliances. That must have cost quite a bit.”

He nodded. “He donates all the money he wins from his fights to this shelter.”

“Really. May I ask why? Not that this isn’t a great place, but why here?”

“I met him a few years ago and I was having a really hard time
. He stepped in and helped me get my life back on track. At that time the church was running the shelter, but with cutbacks and a decrease in church offerings, they were looking at closing it. He stepped in and I had a job…a purpose. If it wasn’t for Evan, this place wouldn’t be here and I don’t know where I’d be.”

She lowered her head taking in all the information.
This
Evan was not the same man she knew.
This
Evan was an amazing human being. She wondered if she would ever get to know that man. A familiar voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Zoe?”

“I’m in here dad.”

Chris walked into the kitchen. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Evan told me to meet you here.” He looked around the room. “Where is he?”

“He had something to do, but he’ll be back soon.”

“I’m going to kick his ass. He wasn’t supposed to leave you, for
any
reason.”

Zoe placed her hand on his arm. “
It’s okay dad, he left me in good hands.” She smiled at Clyde. “Dad this is Clyde, Clyde this is my dad, Chris.”

“No offense Clyde, but
Evan
was assigned to look after my daughter.”

“None taken, but she’s in good hands.” He went over to the sink.

Zoe could feel him watching her. A smile slid across her lips, he would take care of her and keep her safe like he promised Evan he would. “Listen, I need to ask you something and I need you to tell me the truth…all of it.”

He nodded, placing his hands in his pockets.

“What do you know about my necklace?
All of it
dad.”

He pulled out a paper and handed it to Zoe. “Your mom gave me this, before she died.”

Zoe opened the paper and it said:
Protect the gateway at all costs. Gran will tell Zoe everything she needs to know when the time is right. Her Templar will keep her safe, in the event we cannot.

She folded it back up. “That’s it?”

He nodded. “I’ve tried to find out more, but even with my connections I haven’t been able to uncover anything else.”

“I’m going to talk to Gran this evening and hopefully she’ll be able to tell me more.”

Chris wrapped his arms around her. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, okay?” He kissed the top of her head.

Evan entered the room and cleared his throat. “Are you ready?”

“I’ll call you later. I love you dad.”

“I love you too
, sweetie.”

She walked over to Clyde and hugged him. “Thank you. I hope I see you again.”

He pointed to the table. “There are always potatoes to peel.”

She laughed and waited for Evan at the doorway. He hugged Clyde and whispered something in his ear. They clasped shoulders, he nodded at her dad
, and they left.

Zoe got in the car and saw the black bag in the back seat,
with the handle to the sword that adorned Evan’s wall sticking out. “Why do you have that?” she asked him as he closed the door.

“The sword?”

“Yes. I saw it at your house and thought it was a huge decoration.”

He shook his head. “Decoration, huh? It figures that you would think that.”

“What else was I supposed to think? It was a sword on your wall.”

“You 
ramrodded me because I didn’t understand why you were all tore up about a bowl being broken… yet you don’t even know what that sword means do you?”

“No I don’t.”

“It’s not just a weapon. It’s an extension of who I am. This sword represents all the members of my family who’ve dedicated their life to protect the women in your family.”

“I didn’t know.”

“And that’s the problem. I’m supposed to know everything there is to know about you and you get to remain clueless and live your life like I don’t exist. I’m certain your family got the better end of this deal.”

“Evan I
-”

“Stop talking Zoe. 
Just sit there and be quiet until we get to the farm.”

She nodded. This was going to be a long ride.

Chapter: Twelve

Evan the drove car d
own the winding, dirt driveway. He knew this road like the back of his hand, though he wasn’t about to inform Zoe of that. When he was fourteen, he first picked up the Sword. He always wondered about the girl he was protecting; she was pretty enough, but the question for Evan was always
what else is she?
When he was younger, he wondered if maybe she was some form of princess or angel. After all, why else would his grandfather and the other Templars take up swords to defend them?

Yeah,
he thought acerbically.
Why else?

The old
farmhouse came into view, exactly like he remembered it. A white Queen Anne house trimmed in cream, turret on the right, and a front porch on the left, that wrapped around two sides. He could sense Zoe’s tension easing, her shoulders noticeably relaxing their taut composition.

Two women sat on white rocking chairs. They stood as the car approached the end of the drive. He scanned the area around him, but didn’t see anyone else within the immediate vicinity. He looked around with some anxiousness.
And that is a lot of ‘vicinity’ to cover.

Zoe opened the door as the car stopped and jumped out, running to the two women. Evan could see her fulfillment, and wondered for a moment if these women served as a substitute for her mother and grandmother. Much as Chris has served as a substitute for
his
own father.

One of the women bore a tall, slim frame. Her blond hair streaked with gray hung loose to her waist, and her grace was not lost on Evan. Long arms wrapped around Zoe as she bounded up the porch. Evan could almost
see Zoe making her home here; such was her comfort with these women and the environment in which they now found themselves. The second woman, much shorter than the first, came behind Zoe and wrapped her shorter, rounded arms around her. She turned her head to the side and placed a kiss on Zoe’s forehead. She smiled.

Evan approached the porch with his bags, quiet as a stalking panther. He may not have liked Zoe much, or appreciated her lifestyle, but he would never take such a meaningful moment from her in all of his life. He kept his ears open, however. He was courteous, not stupid.

“I’m so glad to be home,” Zoe murmured into the women. “Where’s everyone else?”

“They’re at a council meeting. We’re so glad you’re home,” the tall woman said in a soft melodic voice.

“You’re shakin’ darlin’, what’s wrong,” the shorter one asked with a southern accent.

Zoe squeezed them tighter. “A lot has happened, I’ll explain, but I need to talk to Gran first.”

“Who’s that?” The shorter woman’s eyes caught Evan’s. Quiet or not, he knew he wouldn’t be standing there long before one of the women took notice.
Well, it appears they are not so stupid either. That’s a plus.

Evan stared at Zoe pointedly. It was rude not introduce your guests. Of course, seeing what he had seen of Zoe lately he assumed courtesies regarding the one person she had come to view as a thorn in her side was
not
one of her top priorities. “That’s Evan. He’s going to be staying here. I hope that’s okay.”

“This is your home Zoe. All of your friends are welcome to stay here.”

Zoe gave a halfhearted laugh. “Yeah, friend, that’s what he, is.” She let out a deep breath. “Evan can you come over here, please?”

Evan considered the tall woman’s words.
Just like that? She doesn’t even know who I am and all of a sudden I’m welcome here as a guest? And I’m supposed to entrust these careless women with Zoe’s safety? God help me, because it seems everyone else is trying to hinder me here.

However, he would not forget his courtesies like some heathen savage. He wiped his hands on his jeans and headed toward them. Zoe waved towards the women respectively. “Evan this is Crystal and Daisy. Crystal, Daisy, this is Evan.”

Crystal walked up to him and embraced him. Evan went rigid. He was not comfortable hugging complete strangers. Crystal smiled. “Merry meet Evan.”

“Um, yeah. Hello?”

Zoe laughed. “Pretty much. It’s a greeting among Wiccans. You can just say hello, without the questioning tone, if you’re not comfortable using our customary greeting.”

Evan bristled. He knew Zoe was enjoying his discomfort tremendously, despite making a pretense otherwise. Normally he would prefer not to answer the greeting at all, but his grandfather taught him strong ethics of courtesy, maintaining you couldn’t touch someone’s heart if you were too stuck-up to say ‘hello’, no matter what language or custom it came from.

Daisy waited behind Crystal and repeated the greeting. Evan’s response was almost identical. He glanced up at Zoe, uncertain still. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

“Um, thanks. Where should I put my things
?” he asked.

Zoe picked up
her belongings and walked past Evan. “Follow me, I’ll show you to your room.”

“As long as it’s the same room as yours.”

She dropped her bags as she turned. Now it was Evan who smiled to himself, taking great pleasure in
her
reaction. “What?”

“I’m not letting you out of my sight. Where you go, I go.”

“We’re out here in the middle of nowhere, I’m perfectly safe here.” She grabbed her stuff and headed into the house. Evan heard her muttering under her breath, “He’s
not
sleeping in my room. I don’t care what he says.”

Evan was on her heels in no time and whispered
, “Yes I am.”

She turned and glared at him. “Fine, but you’ll sleep on the floor.”

“I didn’t plan on anything else. I have duties I
actually
take pleasure in. I doubt your delicately veiled insinuation would be one of them.”

She stomped up the stairs and opened the door. She looked back at her coven sisters who both appeared pretty pleased with themselves, Evan thought. What was this? The Wiccan version of the
Love Connection?
 

Zoe shook her head and went to her room. Evan followed. She opened the closet
, went to the dresser and opened two drawers. “You can put your things away here.”

He set his bag on the floor. “I’ll just keep them in here.”

“Whatever. They’re there if you want to use them.”

She reached under the double bed and pulled out a smaller trundle bed. The room was large, and she pushed the trundle to the opposite side of the wall. Evan resisted the urge to chuckle. She was doing him a favor, how sweet. She reached in the closet
, pulled out the linen and made the bed.

“You can sleep here.” She pointed to the door. “The bathroom is through there.” She walked out of the room. Evan followed her. “Upstairs is where my coven sisters sleep. Please don’t go up there without their permission.”

“Why, what are they hiding up there,” he asked, half jokingly.

She turned. “You’re a piece of work you know that? You expect everyone around you to respect your ideals and…
faith
,” she said, nearly spitting out the word. “-and you don’t have the decency to respect the privacy of those who are housing you in good faith that you’re a decent person and not some psychotic, ravaging lunatic!”

Ouch.
He rubbed the back of his head. “I wasn’t serious. I do have standards of conduct ingrained in me as well, you know. I’m not going to just bust into someone’s room and tear it apart-”

“-
unless
you think they’re hiding something,” she snapped.

He raised his eyebrows. “Unless they give me a
reason
to think they’re hiding something.”

“Fine, whatever. This is my family. Any reasons you have will be imaginary at best. Don’t cross me on this, Evan.”

I won’t. As long as they’re not hiding anything,
he stubbornly maintained mentally. However, given Zoe’s current mood, he chose not to voice his reasoning aloud.

“Now follow me and I’ll show you around. Then I need to make a private call.”

“As long as by private you mean I can be there too.”

“Alright you can be there too, but if you say one thing that offends me or anyone in my home, I’m going to kick you out. I’m not kidding. It’s one thing for you to think I’m a devil worshipping freak, but I will not allow you to make
them
feel like that. Do you understand me?”

He nodded
, mostly to placate her.

They walked into a large room filled with furniture from many different eras, with a fireplace on the exterior wall. “This is the sitting room.” She walked through a large arched doorway and pointed to the right. “Through there is the kitchen and the door in the kitchen takes you to the back yard.” She pointed to the left. “We’re going in there next. I know you
don’t understand and I don’t have the time to explain it, but know this room is sacred to us. So don’t be disrespectful.”

He gave a slight nod. He was worried what he would find on the other side. Freakish religions like Wicca had all sorts of tricks to sway the unwary. He braced himself for the inevitable spiritual onslaught he was sure he would face.

She opened the door, leading him in. Evan couldn’t stifle his gasp as they entered the atrium filled with plants of all varieties, and at the far end was a table, covered with all sorts of trinkets and candles. Evan had never seen anything so beautiful in his life. Zoe knelt down.

“Gran, Gran are you here
?” Zoe asked.

Evan’s brows quirked. Her grandmother was dead. This was no séance. How in God’s name could she figure to contact her deceased relative? Even heathens had rules for their…their unsavory
practices.

She stood and walked around the room. She toyed with a variety of specific plants. Evan noted them all. She caressed the lilac leaves tenderly. She fiddled with rosemary herbs, careful not to break the thin stems.
Was she gathering elements for a spell?

She appeared to be waiting for something specific to happen, but to Evan’s senses, nothing noticeable occurred. She called out for her grandmother over and over again. Nothing happened, as far as Evan could tell. It was almost heartbreaking to watch.

“Crystal! Daisy!” The two women came rushing in.

“What’s wrong?” Crystal asked.

“Gran, she’s not here, she’s not answering.”

“Maybe she’s mentoring a new spirit,” Daisy said.

“No, something’s going on. The last time I talked to her, I knew something wasn’t right. She said to come here and she couldn’t stay in one place too long. She wanted to tell me something.” Zoe paced around the room. “Gran! Gran please answer me.”

Evan watched Zoe call her grandmother repeatedly over the course of an hour. Nothing was happening, and that was just fine with him. It kept her central to his line-of-vision and with
in arm’s reach, should any harm come her way. 

Zoe turned to the taller of the two witches. “Crystal, have you ever heard of the gateway?”

Evan’s eyes widened.
What in God’s name was she thinking?

She shook her head. “Not that I can recall.”

“What about you Daisy?”

“No, what is it?”

Evan strode over, grabbed Zoe by the arm and took her to the side. “What are you doing?” he whispered through clenched teeth.

Zoe glared at him. “Getting some answers. Or
trying
to.”

“You just can’t go telling strangers about the Gateway! You don’t even know what it is! If that information gets into the wrong hands-”

She pushed him aside or at least tried to, but he didn’t move. “They are my family, they would never hurt me. You’re acting like an ass, now move!”

Evan held his hands up in mock surrender. He could see there was no arguing with her when she had her mind set on the matter. “Alright. I’m warning you though, it’s
your
funeral.”

Zoe moved towards the women. Evan stayed close to her.

“What is this gateway you’re talking about sweetheart?” Crystal asked.

“I don’t really know. I just know I was guarding it and now it’s gone.” She went on to tell them all the events that happened over the past few days. Another element which made Evan uncomfortable.

“Zoe, why don’t you let me try and call her?” Crystal sat on the ground, placing a candle in front of her.

“Okay.” Zoe and Daisy sat on either side of her, while Evan stood in front of them, watching from a distance
. Far enough to let them work but close enough to help Zoe at a moment’s notice.

Crystal lit the candle and whispered a prayer to the some foreign deity, Evan imagined, crossing his arms over his chest. She held a crystal pendant over the floor and started asking questions. A sharp chill ran down his spine as the crystal moved of its own accord, the movements evidently in accordance with answers to the questions being asked by the…
witches.
Zoe looked up at him. “Evan, I need you to stay there, okay?”