Guardian's Hope

by Jacqueline Rhoades

  “I don’t think he recognized me,” Hope whispered in amazement. “I was sure he’d chastise me publicly, denounce me to these strangers as a child of the devil, my mother’s child, a witch. I was certain he’d name me for a thief and a harlot.”

  “You’re none of those things.”

  “In his eyes I’m all of those things.” She lifted her wine glass in a silent toast to another of her recently acquired vices. “I am my mother’s child, a Daughter of Man, a witch. I stole money each week from the sale of our eggs until I thought I had enough to run away.” She winked at Nico to show she had no regrets. “I gave myself to a man who isn’t my husband. Oh yes, Nico, in the eyes of the Reverend Samuel Parris Parsons, I’m all of those things.”

  “You said the hens and eggs were yours. That isn’t stealing.”

  “The hens were mine to care for, not to own. Nothing was mine, Nico. All of it belongs to my father. I never had a dime to call my own. I had to ask his permission before I purchased anything for myself; clothing, shoes, personal items. I can recite his lecture on the virtues of thrift by heart.”

  “What about your salary as a teacher?”

  “I wasn’t paid. I didn’t need it. My father provided for me. The woman who taught the older children was a widow and sole support of her aging mother and the teacher I replaced needed money for her dowry to set up housekeeping. I told you she got married.”

  “Who administered the school’s funds?” Nico asked slowly. His voice was quiet yet there was an edge to it that made Hope cringe.

  “My father and a school committee.”

  Nico’s lip curled. “You didn’t steal from him, Hope. He stole from you and I’d like to have a word with that committee. Did they know what he was doing? Were they a party to it?”

  “It wasn’t like that.”

  “It was,” he whispered fiercely. “You taught all week for nothing. You kept his house, kept his garden, kept his fucking chickens and he gave you nothing? That’s how you treat a slave, Hope, not a daughter.” He looked over at the table where her father held court and his eyes flickered gold. “I’ll kill him.” She saw the image in his mind.

  “Nico. Stop it. He lives by what he believes and like you said, he has no power over me unless I give it to him. And I won’t. I promise I won’t.” She tried to lighten Nico’s mood. “Besides, he’s a human. Isn’t there some rule about killing them?”

  “I’ve broken the rules before,” he muttered and more clearly, “Tell me how he’s different from the creatures I hunt, because the only difference I see is the speed with which they suck the life blood from their victims.”

  “Nico, please. I almost let this ruin our night. Don’t you pick up where I left off. Let’s ignore him. Tell me more about your life. How did you come to be in Burgas?”

  But the mood was broken. Her father’s too hearty laugh or his booming voice rang through the room each time they began to talk. Hope cringed each time she heard his voice and Nico’s knuckles whitened as he fisted his hands in anger.

  “Maybe we should just go home,” she sighed after the fourth interruption. Other diners seemed to be cutting their evenings short as well.

  “Do you want to go back to the city?” Nico asked. He signaled the waiter for the check.

  “No, not really. Everything is so new.” Her color rose. “Between us I mean. I was hoping for a few days to adjust before we had to face the House.”

  “Is it such a terrible adjustment?” he asked quietly.

  “Of course not,” she laughed. “It’s anything but terrible, only it’s new and it’s ours and I don’t want to share it with anyone just yet.” The smile dimmed and she shook her head. “I’m being selfish. This trip isn’t about me, is it? We’ve done what we came to do and you’re probably on the schedule for patrol. We ought to get back.”

  “You’re not being selfish. I’m not on the schedule and if we get back early, Grace will be disappointed.”

  “I doubt it. She’s been impatient for my powers to bloom. She wants to see what I can do.”

  “She knows what you can do. She’s anxious for you to see it. She wants you to have this time, Hope. She booked the room through the weekend.”

  Their waiter brought the tab in a discreet leather folder and Nico motioned him to wait while he removed a number of bills from his wallet.

  “No change necessary,” Nico said as he handed back the folder. When the waiter was gone, he arose from the table and offered his hand to Hope. After assisting in the arrangement of her shawl, he placed his hand at the small of her back and directed her toward the exit.

  “We can find another place to stay,” he said casually.

  They had to pass her father’s table and Hope was grateful for the calm hand at her back. She opened her mind to Nico and saw his need to support her and his fierce desire to protect. He hadn’t liked the subservient slump of her shoulders or bow of her head. She thought she heard him speak in her mind and her eyes widened.

  “You are your mother’s daughter. Be proud of it.”

  “You’re right.” She sent the thought across the line that held her to Nico’s mind. The gentle pressure of the guiding hand at her back increased telling her that Nico received the message. “I am a Daughter of Man and no longer beholding to my father.” She straightened her shoulders and held her head high.

  Sam Tolbert, Chief of Police, nodded in recognition as they passed.

  “I see you took my advice,” he said pleasantly. “Did you enjoy your meal?”

  For one fleeting moment she froze and then she answered his smile with one of her own. “Yes, thank you. The roast beef was delicious and the wine superb.”

  Her mind was still open and she caught flashes of thought from around the table. Sam Tolbert wanted to be anywhere but here with this pompous ass. The woman to his right – his wife? - was wishing for something stronger than wine. Another man wanted to know who she was and another wondered why she looked familiar. Her father wanted the table’s attention back on him where it belonged.

  A minute ago, she wanted to slink by this table unnoticed. Now, perversely, she wanted to continue the conversation. She stepped to the side and brought Nico to the fore.

  “Nico, this is the Police Chief, Sam Tolbert, who was so helpful to me this morning.”

  The two men shook hands.

  “We’re grateful for your assistance,” Nico said and turned to Hope, “We’d better be going,” and back to Sam, “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

  “Of course.” She smiled at Nico and offered her hand to Sam. “Once again, your kindness was most welcome.”

  At her words, her father’s head snapped up and he stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. Hope stopped smiling. She’d lived in his house for twenty-seven years and for most of that time she’d been nothing more than a ghost trained to do his bidding. He never saw her as a human being, never mind as a daughter. He only recognized her now because she used his familiar words of thanks.

  “Do you two know each other?” Sam asked.

  “Oh, I’m quite familiar with the Reverend Samuel Parish Parsons, but he never knew me at all.” She took Nico’s hand in hers and exited the dining room with as much dignity and grace as she could muster.

  The preacher’s face had turned as white as his hair.

  “Who is she?” one of the men asked.

  Parsons waited until the door closed behind the departing pair. “She is everything I preach against,” he said through gritted teeth. “A fallen woman, a harlot who flaunts her body to tempt weak men into sin, a shameless woman who practices the ways of the devil, a witch, gentlemen, whose soul is doomed to perdition. She has turned her back on the ways of righteousness and she will find her reward in the fires of Hell.”

  Chapter 24

  Darkness enveloped them as they drove back down the winding road from the lodge. The top was up and the little car formed a comfortable cocoon around them. They traveled in companionable silence unti
l they were halfway down the mountain when Hope voiced her thoughts.

  “He’s been doing this for years.”

  “Who’s been doing what for years,” Nico asked though he thought he knew the answer.

  “My father. It’s another thing that was right under my nose and I never saw it. He used to travel on what he called church business or leave for a few days on a spiritual retreat. It started out as once or twice a year, just overnight. As I got older, he’d leave me in charge of my sister and be gone for days at a time. Most of the time he’d be back in time for services on Sunday morning, but more recently, he’d assign a lay preacher for morning service and return in time for evening service. He never spoke of it in my hearing except to say he’d be gone and no one in the Community ever said anything to me about it. Surely someone had to know where he was going. Why didn’t I? How could I have been such a blind fool?”

  “You’re no fool, Hope. I doubt you ever were. Blind? Perhaps a little, but what choice did you have? You were raised to serve, not to question. Your neighbors might have assumed you knew what he was doing or maybe he lied to them as well.”

  “I liked it when he went away, you know. I had to school myself to take the news without smiling. If he knew something gave me pleasure, he’d take it away. He always said it was for my benefit, that the sacrifice would make me stronger in spirit.” Hope’s laugh was bitter. “My spirit should be like iron.”

  “When Faith was still at home, we’d bake cookies. My father didn’t like cookies so we never had them when he was there. Faith, who was always more daring than me, used to go into his office and turn the radio up loud. She’d dance around the parlor, through the dining room and into the kitchen. Her antics always made me laugh. She’d beg me to dance with her, but my daring never stretched that far. I always wondered where she learned to dance like that. Another thing I should have asked. After she left, I still played the radio and sometimes I’d make cookies, but it wasn’t the same with no one to share it. Still, I enjoyed my freedom.”

  Nico took the turn onto the highway. “Maybe that’s why you didn’t ask. You were afraid he’d take your freedom away.” The motel’s neon no vacancy sign blinked up ahead. “Are we staying or should I check out? It’s up to you.”

  “Stay,” she said firmly. “I won’t say my father can’t hurt me, because he can and if he gets the chance, I imagine he will, but he doesn’t rule my life anymore. Being here with you, Nico, has been pure pleasure for me and I’m not going to let that man take it away. My spirit is strong enough.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” He pulled into the space in front of the office. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”

  Hope watched him through the office window, charming the older woman manning the desk. She patted his hand affectionately and disappeared through a door in the back only to return a moment later dragging several bags behind her. Nico ran to her aid. She waved her hand, clearly signaling that she could handle it. Nico insisted. She acquiesced and he brought the bags around to his side of the counter. He offered her several bills from his wallet. She fluttered her hands, but he shook his head and motioned that she should keep the money. He took her hand in his, clicked his heels and kissed her well-worn knuckles. She colored and her free hand went to her heart. Nico stuffed what he could in the ‘vette’s small trunk and came around to Hope’s door holding a shopping bag.

  “There’s no room in the trunk. You’ll have to hold this on your lap. No peeking.”

  “What is all this?” Hope asked when they reached their room and she was allowed to empty the bag. She pulled out two pair of jeans, a hooded sweatshirt for her and a red and black plaid wool shirt for Nico. A package of socks and two pairs of sneakers lay in the bottom of the bag.

  Nico tore open the package of socks and tossed a pair on the bed. “Those are for you and…,” he checked the labels on the jeans and draped a pair over his shoulder, “…these are for me.” He grabbed the plaid shirt on his way to the bathroom.

  She had just removed her stockings when he returned fully re-clothed. She looked up in surprise.

  “You look good!”

  “Did you think I wouldn’t?” The corner of his mouth twitched.

  “I’ve never seen you in anything but black and you never wear jeans.”

  “Ah, well, beggars can’t be choosers.” He adjusted the shirt over his black turtle neck. “I’ll let you in on a little secret if you promise not to tell Dov and Col. As much as it pains me to admit it, they and I have something in common. They buy their jeans and white shirts by the dozen so they don’t have to think about what to wear. I do the same with black and grey only I have better taste.”

  Hope laughed. “And here I thought you dressed that way to emphasize your dark and brooding menace.”

  “An added bonus and generally it works.”

  “The lady in the office didn’t look too intimidated. She was practically drooling.”

  “Do I detect a note of jealousy?” Nico spun her around and unzipped her dress. As he slid it from her shoulders, he nuzzled her neck. She tilted her head to give him better access. “Fear not. As it happens, the lovely Delores is still madly in love with her husband, Otis, the curmudgeonly owner we met the other night. The other morning, while you were out and about, Delores came by to change the sheets. I told her what I was looking for and it turns out Delores has a romantic streak a mile wide. She even gave me directions to the secluded spot where she and Otis used to –how did she put it? – oh, yes, make sweet nookie when they were young.”

  “Are we going to make sweet nookie?” Hope asked a little breathlessly. Nico’s hands had found their way to her breasts.

  “We’ll be making it right here if you don’t hurry up and get dressed. Hmm, you won’t be needing this.” He unclasped her bra and removed it and quickly drew the sweatshirt over her head. He ripped the tags from her jeans and held them out for her to step into.

  “Come along, precious. The night awaits.”

  They took the road back toward the lodge, but turned off onto a dirt drive about half way there. About a hundred yards into the trees, Nico stopped.

  “It’s on foot from here. Canaan was right. We should have taken the Escalade.” He opened her door and moved to the trunk.

  “It wouldn’t be nearly as much fun,” she said as she joined him. “Here, give me some of that. You don’t need to carry it all.” The sleeping bags came with a convenient strap to sling over the shoulder. Hope carried one and Nico the other along with a small tote not much larger than a grocery bag.

  It was a short hike up the track and they walked without hurry. Nico’s eyesight was perfect in the dark and Hope stayed close beside him. The trail ended at a wide ledge of rock that looked out over the valley below. They dropped their bags and moved closer to the edge.

  “Oh Nico, it’s beautiful.”

  The light reflected from the full moon spread a silvery blanket across the treetops. Looking down from their rocky perch, the trees appeared as rolling, snow covered hills. From a nearby pine, an owl called and from down the slope and off to their right another answered. The hooting continued, each echoing the other until the big bird in the pine gave in to the call and leapt from its branch to soar in the direction of its mate. Backlit by moonlight, the massive body and wingspan formed a picture perfect silhouette against the night sky. An occasional streak of bright light broke the monotony of solid black along the shimmering ribbon of river below; the headlights of travelers on their way back to town. Peepers, those tiny tree frogs, kept up a constant chorus in the background accented by the intermittent high pitched baby-rattle trill of a cicada.

  Hope tightened the arm she had wrapped around Nico’s waist, pulling herself as close to him as she could. Tucked under his arm like this, his shoulder made the perfect headrest and the sigh she offered up to the sky was one of peace.

  “The night sky is what I miss most about living in the country. You can’t see these bright stars or that glowing moo
n in the city. You can hear so many things at night you’d otherwise miss in the busyness and noise of the day. Hayden Park will be lovely one day, but it’ll never compare to this.”

  “I thought you might miss it. It’s why I brought you here. It’s part of my gift to you.”

  “My bedroom window overlooked our backyard and the fields and trees beyond. I used to say my prayers at that window and then I’d wait and watch. Sometimes deer would come through the meadow, sometimes I’d see a fox. I saw rabbits and owls and wild turkeys and once when I was about twelve, I saw a weasel sniffing around the hen house. I pinged him with my slingshot. It wasn’t hard enough to kill, but he never came back.”

  “So you’re trained in weaponry,” Nico teased.

  “Oh yes,” she laughed, “So you’d better mind your p’s and q’s. If I ever get my hands on a forked branch and a strip of inner tube, you could be in big trouble.”

  “I was in trouble the moment I met you.”

  “That’s your punishment for picking up drunken women on the street. No good deed and all of that. What were you doing in that awful place? Besides rescuing me, I mean.”

  “Looking for Dov and Col. I drew the short straw.” He took her hand and drew her away from the edge. Grabbing the bags, he headed for a narrow path through the trees. “This way. Delores said Otis left us a surprise.”

  A short walk brought them to a small clearing not twenty feet across. Tiny yellow and pink flowers showed clearly in the moonlight. In the middle of the clearing someone had formed a fire pit of stones. A substantial stack of wood stood nearby.

  “Thank you Otis and Delores.” Nico began to arrange the wood in the circle.

  Hope walked a short distance away and sat cross-legged in a dense patch of yellow and pink. She stared at the flowers for a moment then smiled and raised her hand. Pointing with her index finger, she began to weave a pattern in the air and the tiny flowers began to move.

  “Look, Mama,” she whispered, “I can finally make them dance.” She felt Nico’s hand on her shoulder as he squatted on his haunches beside her.