Warrior of the Ages (Warriors of the Ages) (20 page)

“How do you know what I am?”

Honor smiled broadly.

“I’ve followed you to that Catholic Church enough the last weeks. You go on Wednesday nights too. And you believe in God don’t you?”

“Yes, but I don’t kill people.”

Honor tugged the earbud from his ear. “You believe in penance and justice, don’t you?”

“Thou shalt not kill. I believe in that.”

His blue eyes met hers. His were dark now. He looked agitated.

“You cannot claim moral high ground, not when you live a life built on the blood and sins of soldiers who kill for you. Besides, the commandment is Thou Shalt not Murder. There is a difference.”

The truth of those words cut through Beth like knives. After a couple quiet minutes, during which Honor Monroe continued to stare at her, she decided not to ask him any more questions. She didn’t want to know the answers. As a matter of fact, all she wanted was to get out of this place and never see this house, these men, or Willowyth ever again. Turning her back on him, she picked up a bottle of nail polish and started shaking it.

AS SOON AS Kahtar stepped foot back in the house on Pearl Street, Honor’s second voice gave report from another room.
“She stopped talking about it. I thought she’d ask questions, want to understand.”

“It doesn’t matter, Honor. She’ll know everything soon enough, she’s part of our clan now.”

“I’m glad. Call me selfish, but I’m glad.”

“You’re very selfish.”
But so am I. Mostly, he thought.

A pile of disabled laptops and cell phones sat on the counter in the main room, right where Kahtar had grabbed the muzzle of the gun and taken his first bullet of the night. Beth White’s contact with the outside world was now over. Scanning to sense her location, Kahtar moved down a hall. His regulation police shoes made a very faint sound on the hardwood floors. He found her in a smaller room, jammed with shelves of cooking implements. Honor stood at her side inexplicably helping stock shelves. Side by side the two were unpacking and arranging tiny sacks of spices. Honor’s shelf was covered in neatly arranged rows of tiny bags, color coded, blue orange yellow, blue orange yellow. Beth reached over and messed them up. Honor repaid by rubbing his hand over her neat silky hair, trying to rumple it. They looked like a happy couple. The touch of Beth’s heart romped playfully past, and Kahtar ached for it to notice him. What were they doing? And why waste time stocking store shelves? There would be no store. There would be no Beth. Not in this world, not anymore. The desire for her attention soured. This was his fault.

“I need you both to come with me. Beth, you’ll want to pack a suitcase.”

Turning towards Kahtar, she automatically took a step back, bumping right against Honor Monroe, who wrapped his arms around her and held tight. Beth’s eyes went almost automatically to Kahtar’s left hand and she opened and shut her newly restored right one.
This must be very strange for her
. Yet why did she snuggle against Honor? That warrior hugged her tightly as though reassuring her and it ticked Kahtar off. Honor healed and was healed the same as he did, Honor was as much oddity as any of them.

Not quite, you’re a much bigger oddity, and she senses it even if she doesn’t know why. And so does Monroe.

Unable to stand the sight of their embrace Kahtar turned away.

“Hurry up if you want to take any of your things with you. You won’t be coming back.”

IN THE END, they didn’t get Beth out of Sweet Earth as planned. That she might simply refuse to cooperate hadn’t occurred to the warriors of a clan where cooperation was paramount. Not until later in the day, when the nearby furniture shop closed, was Kahtar satisfied that they would be safe from the eyes of Seekers. Then he forced Beth out. He carried her bodily and put her into the back of his squad car while she shouted in protest. Shutting the door on her he tucked and adjusted his rumpled uniform, glaring at Honor.

“Thanks for the help, Partner.”

“I just can’t, Kahtar.”

“You’re the one who said you’re glad she’s part of the clan now. This is what it looks like when you force someone into a cult. Did you think she’d be glad?”

“There was no choice anyway. You said Berwick would have forced her into theirs.”

“Berwick would have killed her. Beth would have never cooperated with him.”

“So there was no choice! They just wanted her because they need a woman to build an Arc! You can’t force a woman to do that! We will give her a home, not force her to—”

“What are we doing, Honor? Wouldn’t you call this force?” Beth’s furious shouts were muffled from inside the police car.

They slid into their seats, and Beth put both her feet on the metal divider and kicked like a two-year old. She had good lower body strength. Kahtar hesitated to leave; concerned she’d attract attention on Main Street. With both warriors ignoring her, Beth screamed in frustration. Honor turned to apologize for what had to be the hundredth time that day.

“I’m sorry, Beth. We don’t have a choice.”

“Yes you do. There is always a choice!”

When they ignored her truthful comment she shouted. “At least let me bring my laptop! I have work to do!”

“Chief?” When Kahtar didn’t comment, Honor opened the car door and hurried back into the shop.

“This is kidnapping!” Spitting the words from behind him, Beth at least quit kicking.

“Yes.” Twisting in his seat to look at her, Kahtar wished he hadn’t. The angry look of betrayal and distaste flared clearly in those honest eyes. That welcoming heart now tucked down like a beaten puppy, like something sweet and gentle that should never have been harmed.

“I promised to tell you the truth, Beth. Is there anything you want to ask me?”

The knowing eyes glanced at his hand, but when she looked at him she only asked, “When can I have my life back?”

“Never.”

Tears slid down her cheeks, but she didn’t say anything.

“Will you answer a question for me then? Truthfully?”

One pert nod, but she looked out the window so he knew she was reluctant.

“When you moved here, and started setting up your shop without your permit—without hope of getting a permit…”

“I’d have gotten one.”

“No you wouldn’t have. Not ever. This entire village is run by my clan. When you came here, didn’t we make it clear we wanted you to leave?”

The clear eyes looked into his then, and she nodded.

“This is why we didn’t want you, Beth. You don’t belong, even though you’re one of us. Of course convolutedly that’s exactly why you wanted to be here, do you understand that? You wanted to be with your own people.”

“I’m not one of you.” Again that glance at his left hand, the scar visible as it dangled over the steering wheel. “I don’t even know what you are!”

“Same thing you are, a Covenant Keeper. We’re direct descendants of those who made a covenant after The Fall of Man, those who survived inside an Arc on Mount Ararat.”

“I must be insane. How can any of that be true?” She whispered the words.

“You’re not insane because you believe me. You know you aren’t, and you know you are one of us.”

“I know I’m being treated like a prisoner.” Those knowing blue eyes held his, accusing.

“You are now. You should have gone when you could.”

“Why can’t you let me go now?”

Studying her frightened face, Kahtar wished he’d burned her house down. She’d have left then. She’d have lost interest in the elusive draw she felt towards them. Some part of him had allowed this to happen, had wanted her to stay every bit as much as Honor Monroe had, as all his warriors surely had. Beth’s eyes darted back to his hand as he turned it back and forth. It had taken many warriors’ prayers for the bones to reform, for the muscle and tissue to reassemble usefully. It had taken a couple hours for the gunshot to his stomach to be repaired, the prayers of Warriors of ilu held great healing. Again he held his hand up in front of her.

“I can’t let you go now for several reasons, Beth. For one, you’ve seen too much.”

“Nothing I care to repeat, and who would believe me if I did?”

“There’s that, but that is the least of the reasons. You wouldn’t be able to stay away now, even if you tried.”

“Watch me.”

Kahtar smiled faintly at the determination in her voice, but more than anything it made him sad, because he wondered if maybe she could ignore the siren call to go with her own. Perhaps she could deny it, and he sighed. The sound escaped before he could stop it and she pressed the point.

“Please? Let me go. I’ll get in my car and leave right now. You can believe me, I don’t lie.”

“I can’t, Beth.”

“Why?”

“For the most important reason of all, it’s against our laws, and we do not—ever—make exceptions to our laws.”

The eyes went back to the window, and she went completely silent as Honor slid in, her laptop zipped neatly into its zebra print bag. The ride to the far side of town was silent.

TURNING ONTO HIS driveway, Kahtar hit the gas. The car shot through the foggy veil that hid his property from the eyes of the world. If Beth noticed the unusual buffeting crosswinds that rocked the car, she made no comment. Hunched in the back seat she didn’t even look out the window. After driving right to the front door, Kahtar immediately opened her door to let her out. Looking up at his enormous two-story cabin, she glanced at him.