Guardian's Hope

by Jacqueline Rhoades

  “We know Smith is connected and now we know that he’s scared. Why? What if he wasn’t leaving for the night, but permanently? What if the fight the other night between the Guardians and those demons frightened them all? What if they’re all running away? What will happen to Faith? Will they take her with them or will they…?” Her voice broke. “Oh Grace. I shouldn’t be here. When I’m with Nico, I can’t think of anyone but him. When he went away, I couldn’t think of anyone but him. I’m happy here and my sister’s out there living with a monster. What kind of sister am I? Sometimes I forget about her, Grace. Sometimes for hours at a time. What kind of person could do that?”

  “A normal one. Look, sweetie, your life didn’t stop the day she ran away. Your life didn’t stop the day she got caught up with that monster. You didn’t make her run away. You didn’t choose her life. You didn’t hook her up with a demon.”

  “She didn’t deserve this, no matter what she chose,” Hope snapped back defensively.

  “Of course not. No one does. My point is that this isn’t your fault. You’re doing everything you can, but in between, it’s okay to be happy.”

  Hope hung her head and quietly confessed, “Sometimes I get angry with her, Grace, like she’s doing this on purpose even though I know it’s not true. What kind of person must I be to feel like that? She had a good life. She had friends, a father who loved her, no cares, no responsibilities and she ran away from it.”

  “And left you holding the bag. I’d be pissed, too. Now you’ve fallen in love and it should be the happiest and most carefree time of your life, but it isn’t, because her troubles are getting in the way. I’d be angry, too. So if you’re a bad person, so am I and so are a lot of other people out there who would feel the same way. It doesn’t mean you don’t love her, Hope, and it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.”

  Just hearing someone say it, made her feel better. “Your kindness is most welcome.”

  Their kindness was most welcome, but it wasn’t enough. The feeling that time was running out wouldn’t leave her. Later, while sitting alone in the parlor, staring into the fire and waiting for Nico, it came to her. She went over and over every clue they had, every dead end and suddenly, she saw the solution. It had been there all along.

  *****

  “I want her found!” Tyn threw his mug across the room where it crashed against the wall, the contents running in dark brown rivulets to the floor. He’d been ranting for an hour, his fury building with each gulping breath.

  Smith was beginning to sweat. This guy was crazy. How in hell was he supposed to find the bitch alone when he hadn’t been able to find her with a pack of help? Okay, so maybe they hadn’t been looking that hard. The money was good and Tyn paid on time, so who wouldn’t milk it for a while? But what he was asking now couldn’t be done.

  He’d always considered himself a good judge of bad people. He’d always been able to figure out how to get the most out of any deal. That’s how he got half ownership in the bar for chrissake. He knew Damon was a mean motherfucker, but he never saw this coming. Who really cared about one stupid bitch when there were plenty of them just waiting to be picked up on the street. The guy was nuts.

  “Are you listening to me?” Tyn screeched the question and didn’t wait for an answer, “Get rid of them. Get rid of all of them. I’m not paying for people who give me nothing. You got that? And no more money for you. You bring me what I’m paying for or you don’t get paid. And you can stay away from my fucking minionettes, too.”

  “But sir,” Smith thought it was a nice touch, calling him sir, “If you’re going to take away my help, I’m going to need a little more time.” More time to get my shit together and get out of Dodge. “I have other pressing matters that I need to address.” Like selling his share of the bar back to the original owner and renting a van.

  “If you don’t find me that woman, the only thing you’ll need to address is the box they’ll be shipping your body home in.”

  “But sir,” Smith protested. He mentally calculated how long he would need to get his shit together and get out.

  “No! No more patience. No more money. No more time!”

  Tyn charged around the desk and pointed his finger in Smith’s face. Smith pulled back. For a second there, he thought it was a giant claw coming at his face, but it was only the finger of a lunatic.

  “And don’t think you’re going to run out on this. We had a deal and you’re going to keep it.” He tore open the office door and screamed, “Gor! Get up here!” and turned back to Smith. “You’re taking one of my men with you and he’s going to stay with you for every minute of every day until your time is up. And don’t think you can get rid of him. It won’t be that easy. You mess with him; he’ll chew you up and spit you out.” Literally.

  This guy wasn’t just crazy. He was a fucking mind reader. He’d have to find a way to get rid of the tail just before he made his break. Smith looked up at the hulking mass that filled the doorway. His first thought was that he’d have to revise his plans. His second was “I’m fucked.”

  *****

  Nardo threw the pen down on the desk. It skidded a few feet and rolled to a stop against a stack of papers. “Goddammit!” He picked it up and threw it again.

  Dov was eating a banana while playing a game on the computer in the corner. “Something the matter?”

  Nardo was back staring at his screen. “Don’t these people ever back check anything?”

  “I dunno. What people are we talking about?” He spun in his chair to face Nardo.

  “The people at the DMV.”

  “Why? Whatcha got?” he asked around a mouthful of banana.

  “What do I have? I have a make, a model and a fucking license plate.”

  “No address, huh?”

  “Oh, I have an address all right. It’s a vacant lot over on Fourteenth Street. So I ask again, don’t these people ever back check anything?”

  “You know,” Dov pointed with the uneaten half of the banana for emphasis. “It’s probably a good thing they don’t. Wouldn’t we be up shit’s creek if they did? I mean, this whole place is run out of a bogus corporation. Canaan says as long as you pay your gas and electric and taxes, nobody bothers to take a look.” He laughed. “And I guess if they came lookin’, he’d just thump ‘em a good one and make ‘em forget.” He took another bite of banana and went back to his game. “Hey! You just made me lose twenty points of life force,” he complained when Nardo spun his chair around, grabbed both sides of his face and kissed him on the forehead.

  “You’re a genius, Dov! A genius.”

  “Yeah, well, this genius is gonna beat your ass, you ever kiss me again.”

  Nardo kissed him again. “Taxes! Gas and electric! Phone! Sometime, somewhere, he has paid at least one of those three. He uses that driver’s license as ID and he has to be somewhere in the system. Look, I have to go get cleaned up. I’m standing watch for Broadbent tonight. You make sure you tell Canaan I’ll be on it as soon as I get back. First thing in the morning, I’m going to be an employee of the local tax office or maybe City Gas and Electric or maybe both at the same time. Thanks, Dov.”

  Dov waved his hand over his head. He was back in his starfighter shooting alien invaders.

  Chapter 35

  Grace and Manon tugged, patted and smoothed the white linen scapular over and over, front and back until it met with both of their critical eyes. Manon had hemmed the loose fitting white pants to the perfect length and Grace had ironed them and the brilliant white shirt until she was sure not a hint of wrinkle could be found. They stood back to admire their handiwork.

  The scapular was just the right length, falling halfway between his hips and knees. The shield, embroidered on the front of the scapular, fell exactly in the middle of his chest.

  Broadbent stood straight and stoic as he allowed them their attentions. He would adjust everything to his own standards of perfection once he was at the church.

  “You are truly ma
gnificent,” Manon beamed.

  “Isn’t he just.” Grace fanned her face to keep from getting teary eyed. “I feel just like a mom, sending her boy off to the prom.”

  “I beg your pardon?” Broadbent looked down his nose at the two of them. “Might I point out that I am fifty-one years old.” He sniffed in indignation. “Nardo told me you compared him to a white tiger and now you compare me to some pimply faced human boy in a powder blue tux?”

  Grace laughed. “I said I felt like a mom. I didn’t say you looked like you were going to prom. You’re gorgeous, a manly hunk of virility, a sight to behold, a knight awaiting his shining armor. Shall I go on?”

  “Please do,” he laughed and struck a pose. “I shall gird my loins with your shining words, fair lady, and carry them with me as I march to meet my destiny.”

  “You rehearsed that, didn’t you?”

  “Why yes, and I think it’s rather good. Don’t you?”

  Grace answered him in a haughty voice, “I thought your words very pretty, sire,” and changed back to normal, “But I wouldn’t repeat them to Canaan. I don’t think he’d like the idea of your loins being connected to anything of mine.”

  “Quite so.”

  “Professor, are you sure you don’t want me to whip up a little celebratory dinner? I’d love to do it.”

  “No, my lady. The parental units will be here towards the end of the week and then you can dress your table to the nines. There’s too much happening and frankly, I’d rather you held Hope’s hand. I believe she needs it. We’ll share a toast with that marvelous Amontillado and a dinner of sandwiches will suffice."

  Grace kissed his cheek. “You’re a good man, Broadbent ad Sebastian.”

  “You could offer me no higher compliment.”

  He bowed to Manon and offered his arm. “My carriage awaits, madam. Would you be so kind as to escort me thither?”

  “It would be my delight, monsieur.”

  *****

  “It’s the only way, Nico. Don’t you see? If the Guardians go in first, what’s to stop the demon from killing Faith and if this Smith is as bad as everyone seems to think, he’s not going to leave a witness. And what if he runs? Nora said he’s scared. If he runs now, we lose everything.

  “I’ll do just what I did before, only this time you’ll be nearby. You’ll be with me the whole time.” She tapped his forehead. “I can do this, Nico. We can do this together.”

  He held her close to his chest. “I don’t like it. You’ll be putting yourself in danger and while I might be with you…,” He touched his forehead to hers, “I won’t be physically there to protect you and like it or not, you aren’t physically capable of defending yourself.”

  She pointed her finger at Nico’s shoe lying on the floor by the chair. A flick of her finger and the shoe rose and a sweep of her hand sent the shoe slamming against the far wall.

  “Anything can be a weapon,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve heard you say that when you’re working with the twins and I’ve been practicing.”

  Nico didn’t laugh with her. “Can you kill a man, Hope?”

  “A demon, not a man.”

  “A demon who will look like a man, a human. And don’t forget Smith. Could you walk up to another human being and kill them?”

  “Once, not so very long ago, I almost killed you. If I’d do it to protect Dov, who I just met, I’d certainly do it for my sister.”

  “No. You didn’t almost kill me. There is no almost. You were willing to defend Dov and I admire your bravery, but killing is a different matter. That night, if you’d been intent on killing me, you wouldn’t have hesitated in the doorway. You wouldn’t have given me the chance to turn and face you and perhaps overpower you. If you were determined to kill me, you would have driven that knife into my back and you would never have looked me in the eye.”

  “How can you be so sure?” she asked, a little defensively.

  “Because I have killed, Hope. You know this and yet you really can’t comprehend it and I don’t ever want you to.” He smoothed the hair from her face and, with his finger, traced the outline of her eyes.

  “Life is in the eyes, my love. Demon, human, Paenitentia, it doesn’t matter. Life is life. And when you see it in the eyes, something inside you cries out against the taking of it. That hesitation can be fatal. You learn to look at the face and watch the eyes. They sometimes telegraph what your opponent is about to do, but you never, ever look into their depths. The eyes hold too much life.”

  “Nico, I’m not going in there to kill anyone. I’m going to protect my sister until you can get us out. But make no mistake, I’ll do what I have to do.”

  “I don’t doubt your will or your bravery, precious. I don’t want you in a position where you have to make that choice.”

  She saw it then, across the bridge, though he was trying very hard to keep it from crossing. She saw fear. Not only for her physical safety, though that was first and foremost. He was afraid of what such a terrible act would do to who she was.

  “You think I’m an innocent. Isn’t that the word you Guardians use to describe a human victim? It means they’re unaware of the horror they’ve walked into. I’m not a victim, Nico. I used to be an innocent when I lived in my father’s house and thought his abuse was normal. I was unaware, but not anymore.

  “I’m going into this with my eyes open. I’m aware of the horror out there. It doesn’t change who I am. My father couldn’t beat it out of me. Neither can this.”

  “You don’t know that.” His eyes were pleading with her.

  “I do know it,” she said with such conviction and vehemence that Nico took a step back. “I know it because of you. All that you’ve done, all that has been done to you hasn’t changed Magda’s boy. You tried to bury him instead of the boy who was hurt, but it couldn’t be done. You tried to build a wall around him, but he kept breaking out. That’s why you hated yourself for the fighting and killing on the docks. Magda’s boy kept shouting that it was wrong. That’s why you searched for Boris’ and Kurt’s families. Magda’s boy told you it was right.

  “I am my mother’s child. No matter what happens, I’ll cling to that. I’ll cling to you.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. The pulse in his neck throbbed under her lips. She whispered softly, “You can’t protect me from the world and its pain. You can only lend me your strength so I can bear it.” She kissed his neck, his chin, his lips. “Lend me your strength, my love, and tell me you believe I can do this.”

  “I believe you can do this, precious, but I want you to give Nardo a little more time.”

  There it was again. Time. And it was running out.

  Nardo called from the bottom of the stairs. Broadbent was ready and it was time for Nico to go.

  *****

  The two Guardians stood to either side of the church door. At intervals throughout the night, they walked the perimeter of the church, one at a time, never leaving the church door unguarded. Between rounds, they stood guard and stared off into the darkness in silence until Nardo couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Sure is a nice night.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “I remember the night I took my vows, it was cold.”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “Do you remember what the night was like when you took your vows?”

  “Yes, I do.” And then he heard her voice. It wasn’t the bridge. There was too much distance between them. But it was still her voice, as clear as the night sky, telling him to be nice. Telling him that Nardo wanted to be a friend and a little sharing wouldn’t kill him.

  “It was cold and rainy,” he began. “I didn’t have anyone to stand for me. I didn’t even know I was a Paenitentia.”

  Nico didn’t tell him everything. He doubted he’d ever tell anyone except Hope the whole of it. He only told the part about becoming a Guardian. Nardo actually laughed when Nico told him about thinking God had struck him dead.


  “Hey, I hear you man. Scared the shit out of me and I knew what was happening. And you were just a kid.”

  “I was,” Nico nodded in acknowledgement. He’d always thought of himself as a man in a boy’s body, but now he saw the truth. “I was just a kid. It was a blessing when the priest found me and sent for Boris and Kurt.”

  Chapter 36

  The twins were patrolling the area known as the Dead Zone; no bars, no all-night diners, no corner bodegas to break up the monotony of patrol. It was all warehouses and small industrial shops with names like ‘Ralph’s Glass Works’ and ‘Monahan’s Best Body Shop’.

  “Does Monahan have a worst body shop?” Dov always asked every time they were assigned this section and Col never failed to laugh.

  The night was so soundless and they were so bored that they both jumped when Col’s phone rang.

  “You’re supposed to keep that thing on vibrate. You scared the shit out of the rats.” Dov laughed as Col shushed him and put the phone to his ear.

  “Hey, Nora. Whatcha got?”

  “He’s here,” she whispered. “But he’s not staying. He’s got someone with him. Oh shit, gotta go.”

  “We’re on our way.” The line went dead. He wasn’t sure she’d heard.

  They were running for their Harley’s before Col had the phone back in his pocket.

  “We ought to call somebody,” Dov yelled as the motorcycle roared to life.

  “Yeah? Who?” Col called back “‘Sides, there’s no time.”

  Three of the Guardians were at the church and Canaan was patrolling what they referred to as Death Valley, an area of the city where phone service was sporadic at best.

  Traffic was light enough at this hour of the night to make the trip in only minutes. Still, when they got to Bloodsucker’s, the place was empty except for Nora waiting at the back door.

  “They couldn’t have gone far,” she said, “I was afraid to follow him.” Her teeth chattered as she spoke. “He came in while I was alone, cashing out the drawer. Just pushed me out of the way and took all the cash, even the change. Didn’t leave me anything to open with tomorrow. All he said was, ‘You’re in charge. Don’t screw up’. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. The big, ugly guy didn’t say anything, just watched. He scared me more than Smith.”