The New Guard (Crossroads Book 1) (21 page)

It was
early into the third watch, and Deborah was pacing back and forth in the
kitchen of Way House while Eve sat playing solitaire. After nearly thirty minutes,
Eve tossed away her last card and stood. She crossed the kitchen and grabbed
Deborah's shoulders, bringing her to a standstill.

“What are
you upset about?” Eve asked, exasperation evident in her voice.

Deborah
shook herself out of her own thoughts and stared at Eve. “What? Who says I’m
upset?”

Eve
rolled her eyes. “You only pace that actively when you're working over some
argument in your mind. The boys may not notice, but I’ve shared a room with you
too long not to be able to pick up on that particular tell.”

Deborah
deflated and found a chair. She sighed heavily as Eve sat down beside her. “I
hate that I feel like this. I want to realize Dad was right. I don’t want to be
disappointed that he hasn’t been by to see any of us in three days. I suppose
he could be busy; however, he always found time before.”

“I take
it we are talking about Hogan?”

Deborah
looked over at Eve, a hint of embarrassment playing on her fair face. “Is it
that obvious?”

Eve
chuckled, “Please, Deb; he’s gorgeous, and I’ve seen the interest you show him.
You light him up as much as you light up when he talks to you alone. So did you
kiss him again?”

“Eve!”
Deborah gasped, as she blushed even more.

Eve
giggled and pointed at Deborah’s face. “You did!”

Deborah
shook her head and tried to control her blushing. After nearly a minute had
passed, she spoke up. “No, we did not kiss again.” After a pause she continued
softly, “We were interrupted.”

Deborah
blushed so deeply she almost glowed. Eve erupted in a fit of laughter, and
Deborah soon joined her. It took a few moments for the girls to regain control
of themselves.

Eve was
the first to speak. “Dad will go
crazy,
you have to
know that.”

The
peeved look from moments ago replaced any embarrassment or mirth on Deborah’s
faces as she responded. “He has nothing to worry about. Like I said, Hogan has
not been around for days. I don’t know if he ever will be again.”

Eve
rolled her eyes and gave Deborah a spiteful look. “Stop being Drama Deb! You
only just let him know his family was on the outs with God and we were going to
take over. He’ll be back after he has time to process. If not, you’ll know he
was a royal prig and not worth your time.”

“I really
hate it when you call me that.”

“Stop
being it then.”

“Ugh!”
Deborah stood and moved away. “You’re going to cut somebody with the sharpness
of your tongue one day.”

Eve stuck
out her tongue and sassed back, “They’ll probably deserve it.”

After a
few minutes of silence, Eve stood and embraced her sister from behind. “Give
him some time. He’s completely in love with you. You’ll see.”

“You
think so?” Deb whispered softly.

“Yeah,”
was all Eve replied. “Just wait; he’ll come back here and profess he was a
confused idiot and that the time he spent brooding only made his heart ache for
you. You’ll get your real kiss, and all will be well.”

Though
she tried hard to sound nonchalant while she spoke, Deborah heard some acerbic
venom leak out in Eve’s tone. She was about to let it go, but then realized Eve
hadn’t stopped hugging her tightly. She broke the embrace and turned to face
Eve. Eve tried to hide her face, but Deborah saw the small tears welling in the
corners of her eyes.

“Eve,”
she began, but faltered.

Eve
started to leave the kitchen, but Deborah gently grabbed her. Eve quickly wiped
her eyes and tried to pull away. Deborah tightened her grip and turned Eve
around.

“What?”
Eve said exasperatedly.

“You tell
me; it’s your turn. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,”
Eve started to lie, but caught the ‘not buying it’ look Deb was so good at.
“I’m happy for you. It’s great you’ll get all you want. Everything will work
out for you, as it always seems to.”

“That’s
not. . .” Deborah stopped herself. She knew if she took Eve’s bait they would
end up fighting about how different they were and how much Eve thought Deb was
perfect and always got everything. It was an old fight, and Eve was trying to
use it to derail opening up to her sister.

“Eve,
please tell me what’s wrong.”

Eve
sighed and shook her head, but before she could think of something mean to say
or some way to distract her sister she began talking earnestly. “I kissed
Jeremy Meyers. We were kind of going out.”

“No way!”
Deb couldn’t help responding, the shock of the statement overwhelmed her.
“Speaking of Dad flipping out! You aren’t even
suppose
to
be dating until you’re sixteen.”

“Like he
has anything to worry about! Like he’d be surprised I broke another rule.”

Deborah
pulled her sister closer, and Eve clung to her. Before Deborah could think of
something to say, Eve started to talk again. “Do you want to know how selfish I
am? My birthday is a few months away, and all I can think about is if Dad will
have a Promise Dinner with me like he did with you.”

“Eve,
you’re not being. . .”

Eve pushed
Deborah away violently. “Yes, I am! Here we are, cast into a strange twist on
reality. We’re hunted, probably marked for death; Mother is lost out there
somewhere; and all I can think about is Jeremy Meyers and some stupid promise
ring.”

“Eve,”
Deborah grappled for the right thing to say but floundered, unsure of how to
answer her sister’s self-abasing remarks. Before she could recover, a small
knock sounded at the back door. Both Deborah and Eve jumped. From a sheath
strapped to her lower back, Eve pulled out a slim but sizable knife. Deborah
looked at her sideways. She was trying to process the blade and the knock at
the same time. When a second knock came, she put a hand over Eve’s hand that
was holding the knife.

“I’m
pretty sure assassins don’t knock.”

Then
Hogan’s voice came from the other side of the door. “Deborah? It’s me, Hogan.
Yero told me you had late watch tonight. Can I speak with you?”

Deborah
moved to the door, giving her sister another sideways look. She opened the door
only a crack and confirmed that it was indeed Hogan. She then opened the door
further and he entered the room.

“Thank
you,” Hogan said. “My cousin has the castle locked down. I’ve only been able to
come and go in the line of duty.” Before continuing, he looked down sheepishly.
“Of course, it took me a day and Yero hitting me upside the head to realize I
should have tried to come sooner.”

Hogan
looked up at Deborah, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed Eve, who was
still clutching the knife. He blushed slightly, took a step back from Deborah,
and did his best to face both the young ladies.

“Um, Lady
Eve, it is a pleasure to see you tonight.”

Eve
rolled her eyes, and in one swift motion she sheathed her knife. “Lady,
please,” was her only response as she went back to the table and shuffled the
cards. Hogan looked awkwardly back at Deborah. She did not give him any grace.
Instead, she stood, arms crossed around her chest. Eve hid a smile at her
sister’s impatient look. When Hogan didn’t immediately get back to the subject
at hand, Eve spoke up in a mockingly formal tone.

“Master
Hogan, you were just telling my sister what an idiot you have been.”

Hogan
blushed even more deeply and turned his focus away from Eve. For her part, she
smirked and thought he and her sister were a pair of blushing ninnies. She
tried hard to ignore them further by looking at the cards in front of her. This
didn’t work at all as she became confronted with her own thoughts about how,
once again, things were working out for Deborah. As Hogan and Deborah became
absorbed with each other once more, she slid quietly out of the room.

Hogan
couldn’t bring himself to look directly at Deborah as he began speaking again.
“I don’t know that I would say I was an idiot, exactly. I admit I may have
acted or seemed insensitive to you when I found out about your family. Then
there’s my family. . .” He stopped, realizing that he was starting to ramble.
He took a deep breath before continuing.

“I was
shocked at the news that my family was no longer to be the ruling body of the
Crossroads. I’ve always been indifferent to them as rulers. They, that is, we
have ruled for many years. It took some time alone to realize the truth that
your
being here represents. My family has drifted from the
purpose of God. My cousin puts on the airs of church, yet I know several other
members of my family don’t even acknowledge God. Honestly, the last time I
consciously thought about or sought God outside of a church was before my
mother died.”

Here
Hogan paused and looked down at his hands. There was no sound in the room.
Deborah waited with bated breath for Hogan’s next words, sensing there was more
he wanted to say. Hogan himself was confounded. He was unsure how to proceed,
yet knew he had more to communicate. He had to make Deborah understand him and
the myriad of thoughts that had flowed through his head these last few days.

Hogan
looked up and found Deborah’s eyes. He saw her waiting, but no longer with any
haughtiness. Instead, he saw longing in her eyes. She wanted to hear his words;
she needed to understand him. She was focused on him and him alone. It was a
look that no one had given him in over a decade.

“I often
find myself at a loss for what to say, or I choose to be quiet in the presence
of people for fear of ridicule. I’m unsure of how to express myself, though I
find within your eyes the confidence to try.

“The last
time I felt the presence of God in my life was when my mother was still alive.
My father had taken my mother and me upon a diplomatic errand to the Mountain
Hall in the Tenth Kingdom. While there, we were invited to a banquet in the
king’s throne room. Shortly after dinner, while the others were talking and
reveling, I snuck out to the great balcony. The sun was setting, and the
mountains glowed with its heat and light. The sea lay far below, the balcony
and it was painted red by the setting sun. In the distance, out in the sea,
upon the rolling red waves of the sea, a pod of ornacon were leaping out of the
water and twisting about in the air. They were joined by a kettle of greater
sea hawks that were diving in and out of the ocean surf. There at the edge of
land and sky, of sky and sea, of sea and land, of day and night, danced two
creatures of sublime grace.

“Upon
turning back to the party, I heard music begin and saw the people beginning to
dance. First I found my parents, and the joy they shared radiated all about
them. Throughout the room there were other pairs dancing. The mixture of races
present didn’t matter; all were blending as one people united in celebration.

“All of
it combined, the dancing inside and out, was Him. I saw the hand of the
Creator, and know His presence. I fell asleep there upon the balcony at peace,
watching all of creation dancing in the sunset.”

Hogan
paused and still Deborah waited. Her eyes were full of longing. As Hogan
reached out and to take Deborah’s hands, her heart skipped a beat, as did his.
Then the blood within their veins flowed hot, and the world outside the space
around them dropped away. Hogan stepped forward and moved one hand behind
Deborah’s back. She rested her freed hand upon his chest. When Hogan spoke
again it was in a breathless, husky whisper.

“The joy
and peace that moment gave me has helped me through the darkest times in my
life. That moment died last night when I realized I had probably lost the
chance to know you better
and. .
.”

He
stopped talking and kissed her full upon the lips. She did not hesitate, and
kissed him back. Neither of them were aware of a new presence in the room. They
only had each other and thus didn’t notice the Beagle.

“Young
man,” the angel spoke firmly. The words found their way through the dome of
solace between the two young lovers. Hogan and Deborah broke their embrace
reluctantly, and breathlessly turned toward the Beagle.

“Perhaps,”
the Beagle said in a regal tone, “now that you have said your piece and the
Lady Deborah has accepted your words, you should leave and return at a more
appropriate hour. I would recommend a time when her father, the skilled bearer
of a powerful sword, would have time to talk with you about your intentions
toward his daughter and the predicaments of such a relationship.”

No one
moved. Half a minute ticked by. The Beagle spoke up once more. “If you prefer,
I can wake him now. He’s only been off watch for a little over an hour, so I’m
sure he would not mind having such a conversation with you right away.”

Hogan
took a step backward, keeping his eyes on the Beagle. Yero had told him of the
guardian angel that watched over the Koens, but seeing and hearing the dog talk
was a shock. The words took a moment to process. When Hogan could finally
speak, it was with a rare bit of confidence.