A Warrior's Journey

by Guy Stanton III

  The man backed up in a near panic, as Evette advanced on him with the knife blade up, where he could see it.

  “Dear, dear, Papa did the Baron exact a terrible retribution upon you? Where are the scars? Why do you still have your legs or even your life for that matter?” She said the last, as she flicked the blade up to touch her father’s chest causing a pin prick of blood to stain his white shirt.

  You better start talking fast buddy, I thought, as I viewed the scene as a spectator.

  Her father held his hands up in a placating gesture, “Evelyn I regret two things in my life above all others. How I let your mother down and after her death what I let become of you!”

  The point of the knife went deeper as Evette nearly screamed, “You regret! Oh I’m sure you have regrets Papa, but me and mama aren’t one of them! For instance I’m sure you regret the absence of the golden temple that was to have been built on this very spot, from where you were going to lead a great revival, as you preached forth with great eloquence to the masses that came teeming to bask in the glow of your righteous zeal! The absence of that I’m sure you regret! Tell me papa why wasn’t it built? Was it because you let your little girl that you let be used as a common whore, escape? Is that the terrible retribution that you faced?”

  Her father was fairly whimpering as he bleated out, “I’m sorry! I know what happened to you was unfair…”

  “Unfair!” Evette screamed white with fury.

  Her fury turned cold as she brought the knife up to her father’s throat, she intoned savagely, “You look afraid. Why would a supposed man of God be afraid to meet his maker? Maybe it’s because you think you’re destined for hell rather than heaven, at least I think so. I have one thing to set right with you before I let you find out. You said unfair. Unfair is what you did to my mother! She worshipped the ground you walked on and you threw her under your feet and walked all over her every chance that you got! You broke her heart! She deserved better than you! But that’s not what I’m going to kill you for!”

  Staring at him squarely in the eyes only inches apart she almost whispered her threat, “What I’m going to kill you for is when the fall after my mother died you began to drop me off after school at the Baron’s mansion and let me be played with by a monster, until I was lucky enough to escape on the eleventh time that I tried too! For three years you daily threw me into hell! I think it’s about time you tried it for yourself!”

  She was really going to kill him and if she didn’t I’d volunteer to do it for her.

  “Evette! Please stop darling!” Said Larc who had come closer unnoticed in the heavy drama taking place center stage.

  With great difficulty Evette managed to take her impassioned gaze off of her father’s panic strickened eyes and glanced at Larc and uttered a monosyllablic cry of, “Why?”

  She sounded more like an enraged little girl than the mature woman, who still held a knife to her father’s throat.

  “Honey I’m not trying to tell you that you’re wrong to feel as you do about your father. There’s no question about it he deserves everything he gets, but what I ask of you is let God fulfill the judgment that your father deserves and not you. Don’t put this on your conscience give it to God! Please listen to me on this, I know. There won’t be any satisfaction gained by you killing him yourself, let God deal with him and heal your heart at the same time.”

  Tears dripped steadily off of Evette’s face to the floor as she gazed at Larc. Slowly the hand that held the knife lowered until it was by her side. Her father moved to step away, but the knife was back threateningly in front of his nose.

  “I’m not done with you! These men,” she gestured to me and Larc, as she turned back to her father and wiped the tears from off her face with her free hand, “have come a long way for an item that our people have for the most part either forsaken or corrupted. That item is the Bible, God’s word and nothing but! Tell them where they can find one now!”

  “I wasn’t lying earlier! They came by surprise and took them all. They even wiped off all of my audio files and old sermons! They took everything!”

  Evette tapped the tip of the knife several times off of his nose, “Now papa I know when you’re lying to me. Growing up I came to view it as your natural state of being. They didn’t take everything did they?”

  The point of the knife pressed against his nose. He had been particularly vain about his nose she remembered, perhaps he still was. Evette deepened the pressure and the blade broke the skin.

  “They overlooked two books!” He jabbered out looking pained as he did so.

  “And what two books would those be?” Asked Evette.

  “There dictionaries one’s in Greek and the others in Hebrew.”

  Larc looked at Evette, “How does that help us?”

  “When the Bible was written it was done in two parts in two different languages other than the one you speak and read. The translations of the Bible into our language don’t always capture the full meaning of the native languages that the Bible was first written in. It would be very helpful for your people to have those books to help them understand the full meaning of the Bible.” Finished Evette.

  “Okay we’ll take them where are they?” Larc asked.

  “There in an old baptistery room that I had sealed off years ago under the stage area. Move the pulpit and you’ll see a trapdoor, it’s the only way to access the room.” Her father finished somewhat resignedly.

  Evette gestured towards the front pew with the knife, “Sit!” as Larc and I moved the pulpit to the side.

  It was quite heavy. Sure enough there was a door under it. Pulling the door open Larc looked down into the darkness.

  “There’s a switch that will turn on a light at the bottom of the ladder.” Her father added.

  Larc turned to me and said, “Zevin I want you to take the SUV and get it filled up while I find these books. When you’re done come back for me and Evette and then we’ll see what can be done about getting that last Bible away from the Baron.”

  Larc turned to Evette, “Are you okay up here Evette with him?” Larc asked indicating her father.

  She nodded and I left for the SUV.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Despair

  Evette watched as Larc climbed down the ladder and moments later she saw a light come on. She didn’t want to look at her father, who sat breathing heavy on the pew near her, so she went to a window and stared out at the little town that lay below the church.

  She had been raised in this church, but had never cared for it or the town. They had always seemed to be empty of substance to her. Her father and mother had come here after all of her father’s attempts to make it on the big television evangelist circuit had all failed.

  She wasn’t quite sure why all his attempts to make it big had failed. Hadn’t done enough believable miracles or hadn’t convinced enough people that all they had to do to be wealthy and blessed in life was to sponsor him in his sharing of the gospel. Maybe they had seen through his cultured veneer or faked sincerity and seen him for the shallow ego centrist that she had always known him to be.

  Much of what she had learned spiritually had come from her quiet study times with her mother. She had never gained anything from her father’s grandiose bigger than life sermon topics that were often built on personal opinion and a liberal interpretation of the scripture, when he hadn’t even bothered to quote from it. The only message that had come across to her most predominantly in her father’s sermons was, ‘I need your money and you should give it to me, because I’m better than you and more deserving because of the work I do for you all.’

  Having been a failure for the most part to gain a wider following and deeply in debt, from living a life well beyond his limited means, he had brought her mother to this hole in the wall to hide from his past mistakes and creditors. He had been in a self forced exile from the greater world, until he had come up with a big idea. One that he had thought would launch him back onto the big stag
es and packed auditoriums.

  He decided to start a revival and bring the people to him first before branching out and accepting the pleas to rejoin the big crowd. It had been going well for a while, but then the disaster had struck and everyone’s life had turned upside down.

  He lost his new following and his new found source of capitol along with it. Her mother had died in that time frame, not that he had cared much about the occurrence of it. Her mother’s death had rocked her world though.

  Her father still trying to make his dream come true, but without the money to make it happen, came up with the devil’s bargain that he had struck with the Baron. Her in exchange for the Baron’s funding of Papa’s ministry. Remembering the past made her want to vomit and slit her father’s throat all over again. She steered her thoughts elsewhere before she did both.

  How were they going to get the last Bible from the Baron? Movement outside the window caught her eye. Pickup trucks and cars converged on the church pulling up outside.

  Men armed with guns spilled out of the vehicles. Then it dawned on her how much she resembled her mother all grown up. She shouldn’t have washed her hair dye out!

  The cleaning lady must have recognized her and told the Baron in exchange for what money she could coax out of him. They would be here for the strangers too no doubt. She had to warn Larc!

  She was halfway to the trapdoor, when she stopped abruptly. What would Larc do?

  He’d go out there and try to defend her in order to give her time to get away. He’d be mowed down by gunfire within seconds and killed! She couldn’t let that happen!

  She had come to care for him to much to see him die, especially when there was another way. Going to the hole in the floor she got down on her stomach and peered into the room below. Larc was at the far end of the narrow subterranean room.

  “Larc!”

  He turned to look up at her and smiled, “Found them!” He said as he held up two big books.

  “Larc there are men outside with guns sent by the Baron! I’m sorry but I have to do this for your own good!”

  She finished with three words that she really didn’t say, but Larc was able to clearly read them from off her lips.

  “Evette don’t!” He yelled, even as he ran for the ladder, but Evette had already reared back, and slammed the door shut and locked it.

  The door shook violently from the force of Larc’s bodily blows against it. Briefly Evette stared at the bucking door in panic, as muffled shouts sounded out from below demanding for her to open the door.

  They’d hear him!

  She saw the pulpit and relaxed. Leaning down she kissed the frame of the door and whispered, “Please come for me!”

  She jumped up to her feet and pushed the heavy pulpit over the trapdoor. There was silence.

  Evette picked up the knife she had set down and walked over to her father brandishing the knife as she did so.

  Holding the knife up she said, “If you tell those men outside about Larc or the whereabouts of the others I swear I will find you even if I have to come back from the grave. I’ll skin you and roast you over a fire myself and that’s a promise! Do I make myself clear Papa?”

  The man, who was her father shrank back from the hellish promise he could seeing glowing from her eyes with savage intent for him, not doubting one word of which she had spoken would come true if he talked.

  He managed to shake his head, but it was hard to tell because of how badly he was shaking overall. Leaving him, Evette hurried up the main isle of the church toward the big double doors saying a prayer as she did so.

  She slipped the knife into a fold of one of the linen bandages that were beneath her shirt. Rebuttoning her shirt she paused before the big doors and mentally forced herself to put on a face of nonchalant coolness, which had been her trademark for years, to shield the outside world from being able to see the mixed up emotional child that she viewed herself to be inside.

  She hadn’t needed such a look while being with Larc, because he demanded authentic emotion and could handle what it was to be her. With her face in place she pushed the doors open and stepped outside. Over twenty guns were instantly trained on her, which she responded to only by a lifting of her hands to show that she was unarmed.

  The guns stayed on her though as she made her way down the stairs. The car door of a black shiny sedan opened and the Baron himself stepped out of it. He was a man of about sixty five, who had only recently begun to gray.

  He had the healthful vitality and appearance of a man twenty years his junior. Most people agreed that his most remarkable feature were his cobalt blue eyes. They could pierce straight through an individual and were capable of expressing volumes in a single glance.

  He was known to be utterly ruthless when he wanted something and a shrewd businessman overall. He had an iron grip over the town and was answerable to no one. He did as he pleased while making sure to drop enough crumbs to keep the people of the town dependant and loyal to him only. He was a confident man.

  His sharp features creased into a smile, that didn’t reach his cold eyes, as he saw her draw near. “I didn’t believe it was true, when I heard the news, but now I can see that they spoke the truth. You are even more radiant than your mother! I will very much enjoy discovering you all over again!”

  Evette’s heart threatened to break free of her chest. She wanted nothing more than to rip the knife free and slash into him, but she kept her face devoid of the savage emotions that ran amok within her or at least she hoped she did.

  His eyebrows rose and his eyes seemed to laugh at her, “My, my you have changed! You’ve learned to control that hellcat temper of yours! Impressive!”

  Evette continued to stare levelly at him showing no emotion. He was only trying to get a rise out of her so that he could show how he was in control of everything again.

  “One thing before we leave darling, your companions where are they?”

  “They’re gone.”

  “Why did they come here?”

  “They came for a Bible. They found two and now they’re gone.”

  “A Bible! What on Earth would they want one of those for anymore?”

  “Someday you’ll find out.” Evette said succinctly.

  The Baron laughed slightly, “Touché my dear.” and held open the car door for her.

  She got in and he got in behind her. Within minutes all the vehicles were gone from the church parking lot.

  I stepped around the corner of an outlying shed on the church grounds and made my way to the church quickly. They had taken Evette, but I hadn’t seen Larc taken.

  I bounded up the front stairs of the church two at a time in fear that I would find Larc dead inside or wounded and near death.

  I burst into the auditorium and ran up the aisle. Evette’s father was still where he had been only now he was blubbering unintelligibly to himself about something that sounded like, “This is all my fault!” ,over and over as he shook his head.

  I didn’t see Larc anywhere. Turning to him I fairly yelled unmindful of being heard by others, “Where’s Larc? Where is he?”

  He paused his blubbering to point at the pulpit. I jumped up onto the stage and shoved the pulpit to the side. The trapdoor fairly exploded apart before I could even unlock it.

  Two books were thrown up and out, which I deftly caught. An irate and panicked Larc exploded up out of the hole in the floor and looked around feverishly.

  “Where is she?” He asked turning to me in desperation.

  “There were a bunch of vessels pulled up outside with armed men. They took her with them.” I said and then added, “She saved your life by what she did.”

  The anger faded away from his face to reveal that it had only been a mask to hide the naked fear that I saw in his eyes now, “I’ve got to rescue her!” He said almost to himself, as he wiped the sweat off his brow with a hand that was bleeding all along the knuckles, from where he had been pounding away at the trapdoor.

  I correct
ed him, “We have to rescue her and while we’re at it we can grab the Bible too.”

  A breathless voice broke into our conversation, “And I know where they’ve taken her!”

  We both turned towards the voice heaving for breadth. Talaric stood panting heavy at the front doors of the church, as he leaned against one holding his left side.

  “The security looks tight. The place is a veritable castle. It’s going to be hard to find a way in.” Talaric finished still breathless sounding.

  Hard or not we had to rescue Evette before further abuse could be done to her by the Baron.

  “I know of a way that you can get into the mansion that will take you past all the security.” The voice had come from Evette’s father, who looked up at us his face stained and puffy from tears.

  We all turned to him and I asked, “How would you know of such a way? You don’t appear to be on the best of terms with the Baron.”

  He hung his head down and said almost too softly to be heard, “Because it was the way my wife went to the Baron’s mansion, when she was summoned by him.”

  Larc stalked up to Evette’s father and I thought for a moment that he would pick him up and shake him around, like a dog would a hated chew toy.

  Instead Larc squatted down in front of the man, who was already cringing backward in fear from him. Larc’s tone was one of barely restrained civility, “Just what haven’t you told us or your daughter about?”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Hope Reborn

  Evette sat on the bed in the finely furnished bedroom. She was alone at last, but she knew that was only a temporary condition. An armed guard stood outside the door.

  Her façade of cool indifference disappeared and was replaced by deep sobs that she tried to keep inside. Her body jerked hard with the effort to keep the sound of her emotional outburst to herself. She just couldn’t help it, as she melted off the bed to the floor.