Shadow of Hope (9 page)

His eyes narrowed. “Why?”

“I’m going to cast a circle. Once it’s cast you can’t enter it.”

It was Greek to him, but he assumed it meant he would mess up their…
practice
…if he disobeyed. Not a bad thought on the surface, but he did give Zoe his word to respect their…
faith
. “Okay.”

Zoe and Daisy each held two candles. Zoe placed a yellow candle to her left side. Daisy walked to the lower corner and lit a red candle. Zoe placed a blue one to her right and Daisy lit the last one, a green candle in front of Zoe’s line-of-sight. They sat back down as Crystal walked the perimeter of the candles, pointing her finger downwards and drawing out what looked like an imaginary circle. When Zoe mentioned ‘casting a circle’
, Evan had no idea it was a literal method.

She chanted:

I call to the spirits of the North,
I call to the spirits of the South,
I call to the spirits of the East
I call to the spirits of the West
Hear me,
I call to you spirits of the world
Earth, Wind, Water and Sun
Appear to me.

They waited a few moments. Crystal’s face then changed expressions. It was almost imperceptible, but Evan missed little when studying the features of potential enemies. What he wasn’t prepared for, however, was a sudden sensation as if someone else had literally just stepped into the room. He scanned the confines of the atrium around him, his adrenaline on overdrive.

There was nobody there. Anyone getting into the atrium could only have come in through the door behind him, or one of the three doors on each side of the atrium, which had been under his constant surveillance since the moment he first walked in. Any attempts to get in through the skylight would have drawn his attention already. There was…
nothing.

Goosebumps broke out on his flesh. He instinctively reached
towards his back for his sword, which was upstairs in his and Zoe’s bedroom. He needed some form of tangible reassurance to hold on to. He had heard many instances of spiritual warfare, but had never experienced the enemy so close at hand.

It is an enemy here, right? That which raises the hair on my neck can’t be a spirit from God, can it?
He reserved himself to maintaining his watch for
physical
threats. That was his biggest concern right now. Anything else could be dealt with later when the need arose. 

Crystal turned to Zoe
. “Is there anything you’d like to ask?”

“I’m assuming you already asked about Gran,”
Zoe queried. Her tone carried a weight to it, one of grief or longing. Evan couldn’t be sure which.

Crystal nodded, keeping her eyes closed. “Ask about the gateway.”

Crystal nodded again. A few moments later a bright flash filled the room and then it was dark, all of the candles had been extinguished. Evan jumped. This was not natural. This was not from God. Could it be a sign? What did it mean?

The women seemed unaffected by it. Had he been the only one to witness the event? Crystal mumbled a few words and stood.

“Something is going on, my spirit guide said spirits have gone missing.”

“Do you think they crossed over
?” Daisy asked.

“No, he said it was more like they were there one minute and gone the next. The spirits are becoming restless and are scared to stay in one p
lace too long for fear of being taken.”

“Gran said she couldn’t stay in one place too long
either. Is someone taking them? And if so, why?” Zoe asked.

“I don’t know, but when I asked about the gateway it’s like his spirit hit a different frequency and then he was…”
her voice cracked. She looked at Zoe with a hopeless expression in her eyes. “Gone.”

“Gone as in he couldn’t stay because he didn’t want to be caught by whatever it is?” Evan was surprised to hear the words come from his mouth. He had no interest in foreign spirits being kidnapped or sucked away by some supernatural event. At least, he thought he didn’t. But the words were his nonetheless.

A tear slid down Crystal’s cheek. “No, he no longer exists.”

Daisy and Zoe hugged her. “I’m so sorry Crystal,” Zoe said softly.
“I didn’t know it could harm him.”

Evan’s stomach tightened into a knot. He fought it down. This affair meant nothing to him. Their foul sorcery was irrelevant to him and any spirits lost would be for the better, in his opinion.

Zoe’s grandmother is one of those spirits,
a voice reminded him sternly. It was his grandfather’s voice.

“It’s okay Zoe. We’ll help you find out what’s going on.” Crystal turned to Evan. “Keep her safe, I think the events are related. Zoe’s Gran wouldn’t just leave her.”

“I’m going to get the Book of Shadows and see if there’s anything in there that can help us.” Daisy left and headed to her room.

Book of Shadows? Sounds ominous. Looks like they are hiding something dangerous up there.

Or perhaps it’s a complimentary tool to the Book of Light,
the voice, presumably his grandfather’s again, reminded him. Evan shook his head, trying to clear it. His grandfather would never talk like that, he tried to convince himself.

“Maybe you should go into your mom’s room and see if there is any information in there,” Crystal told Zoe.

Zoe lowered her head. It didn’t take a psychic to read her emotions. They were written all over her face. Her eyes glistened softly in the light streaming through the atrium.

“I’ll go.” She turned to Evan. “Alone.”

She went up the stairs. Evan and Crystal followed her. She opened the door and the musty smell assaulted her senses. She coughed and covered her nose.

“Why don’t you let us help you remove the sheets?”

Zoe nodded.

Crystal turned to Evan. “Please assist me with this.”

Evan nodded and moved towards the covered furniture.

They removed the coverings and opened the windows. Zoe walked over to the vanity and picked up the last
picture of them together, she held it against her chest. “Mom please help me.”

Chapter: Thirteen

Evan sat cross-legged on the wooden floor. His gaze shifted towards Zoe, asleep on the bed across the room. Her chest heaved with the regular, steady respirations of sleep. She was exhausted from the events of the past few days. Dark brown hair drifted lazily across her closed lids. She looked so…
beautiful.

Evan shook his head, clearing it. He had business to attend to and would not be swayed by the forces of darkness. These thoughts were not from God, of that he was sure. He picked up his sword out of the gym bag in which it rested and let its weight settle comfortably across his thighs. He wore only black sweatpants, and he hoped none of Zoe’s ‘sisters’ were prone to barging in unannounced. He would hate to give them the wrong impression before they even got the chance to know him better. They would see he wasn’t
a foul sinner like them.

The Edge of God was set to balance on his
legs; an exercise taught him by his grandfather to increase endurance, as Evan had to remain completely motionless to avoid disrupting the sword’s balance.

The warm reassurance that came from simply touching the sword again rested his mind and cleansed his soul. It was his only remaining direct connection to his grandfather
the one thing that wasn’t passed on down the ages, but crafted for Evan by his grandfather, specifically for him and him alone.

A pang of guilt interrupted Evan’s thoughts as he wondered if this was how it felt for Zoe when she held her mother’s locket. He had not enough time to ponder that since the locket was stolen, or wonder how it affected Zoe on an emotional level. The only connection to her mother was forcefully wretched from her very grasp by the
true
forces of evil.

Zoe is not your enemy,
the voice reminded him. He took a moment to think about that.

What then, is she? She is not my friend, that’s for sure.

Perhaps she is something more than a mere friend, grandson.

No, you are not my grandfather! He rests with his ancestors and cannot exist on this plane until the Judgment Day. Away from me, specter of evil!

There was a brief moment of silence and Evan sighed as he cleansed his mind of the foreign influence.
I wish I had been granted more time to teach you what you should know, than what you needed to know. The difference begins as milk and cream, but becomes as distinct as vinegar and wine with the passing of time. We are not much different from the heathens we pass judgment on in the eyes of the Almighty.

Evan gritted his teeth, trying to will the voice away.
The ox and the horse shall not be unequally yoked. My grandfather would know that. You are not him.

I taught you many things. Including that the heart sees what the mind rejects. Search your feelings. You know it to be true.
The voice was gentle, and persistent. Evan sat for almost twenty full minutes contemplating the truth of what the voice had told him. And like his grandfather had in real life, the voice gave him enough information to lead him down the right path, but left the choice of the end result to Evan himself.

Is there another way? A way beyond what you taught me when you were yet alive?

A heavy pause ensued, and Evan started to wonder if he offended the voice, or if it was just his imagination.
There are many roads, but only one path.

You speak in riddles. What does this mean?

But there was no more answer from the voice that claimed to be Evan’s grandfather. The silence and darkness consumed him once more. He sat like that for over an hour and a half.

Warm hands caressed his naked chest. Evan almost jumped as he felt supple, yet firm breasts resting against his back. Velvety locks brushed the side of his face. He felt hot breath on his lobes.
I’ve waited a lifetime for you, my knight in shining armor.

Evan
started. The voice was Zoe’s. He looked over at the bed where she had been sleeping. Nothing changed, she still lay there. The sensation was now wholly gone, and Evan sprung to his feet, sword in hand, looking all around the room. Just as it happened in the atrium, he saw nothing.

He ran to the window, looking out. It was open, letting the cool night breeze in. An explosion erupted from behind the house. The floor under him shook with its intensity. He grabbed Zoe, shaking her. “Zoe! Wake up!”

Her hand came up, smacking him in the jaw. He resisted the urge to hit her back, realizing she was reacting as she disengaged from the stupor of sleep. He lugged her forcibly from the bed, and saw her eyes widen as she took in the events going on. “Evan. What the hell is happening?”

“No idea, just that it’s not good. Follow me!”

He took her by the hand and they descended the steps two at a time. He was aware of approaching footfalls rising to meet them, just before they reached the junction where the steps changed from facing east to facing south. Evan shoved Zoe back behind him, assuming the best ready position he could manage in the stairwell, sword positioned defensively in front of him.

Crystal burst around the corner and Evan held his hand
out protectively to keep her from running into the blade’s edge. “Crystal, what happened,” he demanded with more bite than he intended.

Zoe shoved past him, ignoring his protests. “Crystal! Are the others alright? Where’s the coven? Weren’t
they-?”

Crystal held up a hand. “They’re fine, Zoe. All of them.”

Evan was completely astounded at Crystal’s ability to remain so unperturbed in a crisis like this. He admired that quiet strength, more than he would ever admit to Zoe outright. Crystal continued. “There was an explosion in the barn, it’s on fire.”

She looked at Evan. “We need your assistance, please. We’ll lose our home if we don’t.”

Evan nodded. “I’ll help.”

He turned to Zoe. “I doubt this fire was unintentional. You need to stay here. Find a room where there are no windows and lock any doors leading into it.”

Zoe started down the steps. “Like hell I’m just going to stay here and watch my home burn to the ground!”

Crystal placed a hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “He’s right. Zoe,” she said quietly.

Zoe turned to Crystal. She gritted her teeth, the frustration evident on her face. “If that’s true, you all are in danger, not just me. I won’t stand by while everyone else fights
my
battles.”

Crystal hugged Zoe. She whispered something in Zoe’s ear. Something Evan couldn’t make out. Zoe nodded her eyes moist. “All right.”

Zoe looked at Evan uncertainly. “Please. Please save my home.”

Evan nodded. “If it is in my power to do so, I will.”

He looked at Crystal. “I know you guys are short handed, but please, see she is safe before going back.”

Crystal nodded. “I will. So Mote it Be.”

Evan ran towards the blaze with all the speed he could muster.