Guardian's Faith

by Jacqueline Rhoades

  "Stop her!" Álvaro yelled as he tossed his body over the table in pursuit.

  "Adam!" Lalo shouted, "Save her." He made a lunge for Álvaro.

  Adam dropped the pot, lowered his shoulder and hit Álvaro hard enough to lift him off the floor. When the Vigilante landed, he stumbled back and Lalo grabbed his shoulders, bringing him to the ground.

  "Leave her alone, you bastard," Lalo screamed.

  He felt his muscles expand until the neck of his tee felt like it would choke him.

  "She's been hurt enough. I won't let you hurt her anymore."

  His voice sounded deeper and raspier and he vaguely wondered why until his tongue touched the fangs that had descended from his upper gums. He was in full Battle Rage and it scared the shit out of him. He threw his hands up and backed away from the man on the floor.

  Adam shot him a grin and a two-finger gun salute.

  "Stand down!" Lucien roared. He, too, was in full Battle Rage.

  Both trainees straightened to attention and put their fists to their chests, but only Adam answered the command. Lalo was shaking too badly to speak.

  "I serve at my Liege Lord's command."

  Lucien allowed his Rage to dissipate and nodded wearily. It was obvious his peaceful life was at an end and he was wondering if this whole thing was a mistake. Demons were easier to deal with. Track them, kill them, and take their hearts.

  It looked like young Lalo's heart was already taken and Lucien wasn't sure how he felt about that. There was something appealing about the little waif. He'd felt it himself, but that was neither here nor there. Álvaro's concerns should be addressed. The Vigilante's approach was all wrong. He should have discussed everything with Lucien first, but his instincts were good and couldn't be ignored.

  "Adam, help Vasco get the Vigilante to the kitchen. Agdta can clean him up. I'll deal with you later," Lucien ordered.

  "I don't need anyone's help." Álvaro sat up and rubbed his jaw. "What hit me?"

  "Uh, that would be me, sir," Lalo admitted. His rage had dissipated as quickly as it had come.

  "Hmph. Make sure you bring that to the gym." Álvaro started to rise and sat back down.

  Adam leapt forward to offer him his hand. "I was the one who blocked your exit," he said.

  Álvaro nodded. "I know and you'll pay for it later. Don't kiss my ass. Just help me get it off the floor."

  "Sir?" Lalo interrupted, concerned. "Do you know you're speaking English?"

  "He speaks it as well as I do," Lucien said, "So do Agdta and Vasco and everyone else around here if they have to."

  "Then wh…?"

  "Don't ask," Adam warned.

  "Good advice," Lucien concurred and then pointed at Lalo. "You and I, young man, are going to have a talk. Now."

  Lalo swallowed hard and said what he knew he probably shouldn't. "What about Faith, my Lord?"

  "Faith will be fine," Lucien told him and hoped he was right. "Once she settles down, she'll come back." He smiled wryly. He used to run away when he was a boy, but usually got no farther than the barn. "We're in the middle of nowhere. How far can she go?"

  They heard the crunch of tires over gravel.

  "I dunno, sir," Lalo answered, "How much gas you got in that truck?"

  The grinding of gears followed as someone tried to shift and made a poor job it.

  "Maybe she'll drop the transmission first," Adam added.

  Lucien didn't hear either one of them. He was already running out the door.

  Chapter 10

  Faith scooted up in the seat until she was sitting right on the edge, a torn strip of vinyl digging uncomfortably into her left cheek. She'd tried to move the seat forward to accommodate her height, but it was rusted into a position only suitable for giants. Her grip on the steering wheel was the only thing that kept her from sliding to the floor. Still, she could barely reach the pedals and every time she shifted; the horrible thing made a grinding noise she was sure could be heard for miles.

  Though the truck was old and the shift was on the column, it wasn't as ancient as the one Tommy Barrett taught her to drive when she was thirteen. In the Community, personal use vehicles were frowned upon, but sixteen year old Tommy was allowed to drive the truck when hauling in produce from the field. Hope knew how to drive a tractor, so Faith had to go one better.

  It was the first time she used her feminine wiles on a young man, having practiced only the more childlike version on her father to lighten his black moods.

  Along with two short practice sessions, that was the entirety of her driver's education before someone tattled to her father. Hope got a beating for not keeping better track of her sister and Faith got a scolding with a promise not to do it again. That was always the extent of her punishment; a scolding. Her rebellions got greater, but the punishments didn't.

  Faith was too tiny, too pretty, too dainty to pay the price. Hope paid it for her and what was worse was that her sister still loved her and suffered the beatings willingly if not gladly. Her sister should have hated her for it and extracted her revenge when their father wasn't around. She never did.

  Only once had her father raised his hand to her and she welcomed the pain of the strap on her bare back because it was what she deserved, but what followed…

  The truck hit a pothole and Faith lost her precarious perch. Her feet slid from the pedals as she slid to the floor. The truck stalled, but not before it fishtailed to the side and off the road because of her pull on the wheel. It tipped dangerously to the right and then fell with a bone jarring clang back onto all four wheels. Hauling herself back up, she pressed down on the clutch and turned the key. The engine whined and sputtered, but wouldn't turn over. She tried again and again and again. She slapped the wheel in frustration and mouthed the words she'd heard from Dov so many times before.

  "Shit, fuck and be damned."

  "You've flooded the engine. Give it a minute before you try it again."

  Lucien stood next to her open window, breathing heavily. White light was a useful gift, but it sapped a lot of energy and a four mile run was still four miles and his legs felt it.

  "I need to start running with the boys. I'm out of shape," he said conversationally to Faith's open mouth. He opened her door and held out his hand.

  Faith drew back from the offer. She didn't know why she was afraid to touch him. He'd kept his promise that he'd allow no one to harm her and he'd shown nothing but courtesy and kindness since he discovered her presence.

  He laughed, dropping his hand to his side. "Oh, come now, you think I don't know your secret? Your friend Lalo spilled the beans, remember." He shook his head in mock exasperation. "Are you afraid of beguiling me with your touch? Because I have to tell you, it would take a lot more than that to beguile a Guardian of the Race." He held out his hand to her again. "Come, how else will we be able to understand each other?"

  For a moment, Faith stared at the hand, so big and warm and brown. How else will we be able to understand each other, he'd asked and she knew as soon as he asked the question why it was that she was afraid to touch him.

  He might understand her and if Lucien ad Toussaint understood who she was and what she had done, he would hate her. Manon said he was a man of duty and honor and integrity. A man like that would not want someone like her under his roof.

  This time, Lucien refused to drop his hand and patiently waited for her to take it. Like the wild horses he'd tamed so many years ago, the first thing this little filly needed to learn was trust. She needed to learn that his word was his bond. He would do her no harm.

  When she finally laid her tiny palm in his, he was surprised by the wave of tenderness he felt. He could feel her heartbeat rapidly pounding in her chest; hear her tiny breaths puffing in and out between her parted lips.

  "Hummingbird," he said when her feet were on the ground. When she looked at him strangely, he smiled. "A little hummingbird, that's you," he told her and led her to the back of the truck where he released the tail gate. "My mother
used to attract them with her flowers. In the courtyard of the house, every urn and basket would be filled with red flowers for the hummingbirds. You're like those birds, tiny and delicate looking and filled with nervous energy." He paused. "And ready to fly off at the first loud noise."

  She took the hint and looked a little embarrassed, but then she moved her hands. "Hummingbirds are beautiful, aren't they?"

  It was amazing! He understood every gesture as her words formed in his mind.

  "Very beautiful," he answered and watched her head drop and her fingers trace the scars that ran along her cheek.

  "I'm no hummingbird," she stated flatly.

  Lucien decided to ignore the comment. Instead, he lifted her onto the tailgate and took a seat beside her.

  "When I was a very spoiled little boy, I used to be jealous of those little birds. I thought all my mother's time should be devoted to me. I already admired my father's size and strength and power and wanted to be just like him. I didn't know then what I know now. Hummingbirds aren't what they seem.

  "They're very strong and powerful little creatures. They migrate hundreds of miles over open water, braving storms and larger birds and even starvation to get to their homes. Don't let those delicate bodies fool you. They're fierce fighters and very protective of what is theirs."

  Underneath the starvation-taut skin and dark-circled eyes, he could see what a beautiful woman she would one day be. He wanted to tell her so, but she wasn't ready to believe that. He would save that for later when Agdta's good cooking began to work its wonders. Trust couldn't be built on things she wouldn't believe.

  The little hummingbird sitting next to him looked up at his face with those big blue eyes and Lucien felt something stir inside him and it made him uncomfortable. Those eyes expressed her every emotion and thought and were mesmerizing in their clarity. They were bright oceans of blue and a man could drown in their depths. If she ever turned those eyes to seduction, her victim would be doomed.

  Lucien glanced away. He didn't like where those eyes were taking him. She was a child for God's sake. At least he wasn't alone in his attraction.

  Agdta had broken the House rules, something she'd never done before, to take the girl in. Vasco was already smitten and Lalo may have lost his heart, though it would be several years before Lucien allowed anyone to court her and God help anyone who broke his little hummingbird's heart. He sighed.

  Álvaro might be right. Faith had beguiled them all, but it had nothing to do with magic. It had everything to do with the little waif sitting beside him looking lost and alone and frightened, though she bravely tried not to show it. She needed a champion.

  His mother had raised her son on stories of King Arthur and his Knights, of brave historical figures from the Middle Ages who fought for what was right and died for the causes they believed in. Some of them were his own kind; Guardians of the Race.

  His father was the manifestation of the lessons his mother put forth in her stories. He was a man of duty and honor and integrity and instilled these ideals in his son.

  Lucien knew what others said about him. He was hard and cold and unyielding. He didn't deny it. They called him the Feudal Lord behind his back. This he was not. The covenant he held with The People was one of trust. He paid his workers very well and took no taxes or tribute. Their village was run as a pure democracy and he had no vote.

  He believed in the stories of those warriors long ago and still thought them relevant today. If the little hummingbird was in need of a Champion, she had found one in him. He was The Patron, the Liege Lord of his House, and it was his duty, honor and privilege to be so.

  Faith watched the Liege Lord and wondered where this conversation was going next. He sounded like Broadbent, telling his allegorical tale instead of plunging straight ahead. She liked that he thought she was intelligent enough to understand what he meant and where he was going with it.

  The women had all told her much the same thing, but they loved her, so their words were suspect. Somehow, she had a feeling Lucien ad Toussaint wasn't the type to lie, not even to save you hurt feelings. She'd bet some people didn't thank him for it. Faith, however, needed someone just like him; someone whose moral compass couldn't be swayed by love or pity… or lust.

  "What will you do about the truck?" she asked, signing in front of his face.

  Lucien sat up from where he had been leaning back on his elbows, staring up at the night sky.

  "Drive you back to the hacienda in it, I suppose," he said, "Though it would serve you right if I made you walk. Theft is not something I wish to encourage."

  "Why don't you, then? Make me walk, I mean."

  "Because I would have to walk with you. I've already run the distance once. I'm an old man, hummingbird. You'd have to carry me half the way."

  Faith didn't smile at his joke and went back to staring at her swinging her feet.

  "I'm not a bruja," she signed, which wasn't what she'd intended to say. "At least not the kind Álvaro thinks I am. I'm not evil." For some reason, it was important that Lord Lucien believe her.

  Lucien put his hand across her knees to stop her legs from swinging. "Then don't hang your head like you're ashamed. Look at me." He waited until she complied. "You're like the other women in Canaan's House, aren't you?"

  Faith nodded. "A Daughter of Man." Her fingers began to fly. "I saw how you looked at them, how disgusted you were. Then, when Álvaro said I was a bruja, I thought you'd think the same of me as you thought of them."

  She heard him give a little huff of exasperation. "And you thought stealing my truck would make me feel better? You had a half tank of gas, no money, and I assume no license. Where did you think you were going to go?"

  She hadn't thought that far. She'd only thought of Hope and JJ and the others. They would comfort her and would understand how terrified she was. It was only one day and already she was tired of pretending to be brave.

  "I was going back to Canaan's," she answered.

  "Why would you want to go back there?"

  Because she wanted somewhere safe, somewhere she'd be taken care of. She had no money, no transportation and no way to earn a living. Even the clothes on her back were bought and paid for by someone else.

  She'd stolen the money to run away from her father and used it to pay for a cheap boarding house room and clothes from a thrift store. She learned that lonely old men in bars were willing to buy pretty girls drinks and supper for a few hours of company and she'd quickly learned to spot the ones that would ask for nothing more. For six months, she enjoyed her freedom. There was no one to tell her when to get up or when to go to bed or what she could do for fun. How lucky she thought she was. Her money and luck were beginning to run out and then she met Tyn.

  She was twenty-two and living a child's dream with no idea of what it meant to be an adult. Now, she was a grown woman of twenty-five and yet she was still a child with no idea how to make her way in the world.

  "Because I have nowhere else to go," she answered truthfully.

  "Then why not stay here."

  "Because they hate me."

  "They? I don't hate you. Adam and Lalo certainly don't." He chuckled. "They took down Álvaro in your defense."

  Faith's head snapped up and she stared at him.

  "Did they hurt him?"

  "Ah, now, don't look so upset," Lucien told her. He patted her shoulder consolingly. "The only thing damaged was his pride."

  This was getting worse and worse. Álvaro would never forgive her if she were the cause of his humiliation.

  "Agdta? Vasco?" she signed without thinking. They were Álvaro's sister and father. It was natural they would side with him. Lucien's sharp laugh startled her.

  "Agdta and Álvaro are like oil and water. If he says no, she'll say yes. They love each other, but you'd never know it the way they bicker. After raising four sons, Agdta will be delighted to have a girl in her kitchen. Vasco, on the other hand, still believes you are an angel sent from God to save him fro
m death."

  "I'm no angel."

  "Of that I have no doubt. An angel wouldn't be likely to break the Eighth Commandment, would she?"

  "Thou shalt not steal." Faith frowned.

  "Ah, you know it then?"

  Faith nodded and sighed. She knew it well and she'd broken it on numerous occasions. Her father was a preacher and punishment was severe for infractions of that Top Ten list. Unfortunately, it was always Hope who suffered the punishment for allowing her younger sister to stray.

  Lucien slid from his seat on the tailgate and offered his hand. "Shall we head back?"

  The truck started with the first turn of the key, but its lopsided gait when pulled back onto the road showed more than a flooded engine to be the problem. Lucien calmly and quietly closed the door and made sure she was secure in the cab with the windows rolled up before letting fly with a string of curses.

  "We will walk," he announced when he finally opened her door. "It appears the tire is flat and there is no spare."

  For someone who claimed to be old and out of shape, he certainly covered the ground quickly. Faith had to trot the first half mile to keep up. After that, it was easier. When she finally stopped and sat in the middle of the road and insisted on waiting until she caught her breath, Lucien picked her up and carried her, muttering the whole way about little girls and boys who'd disrupted his peaceful life.

  Faith ignored his mutterings and shut out his words, preferring the sound of the deep rumble in his chest and the beating of his heart. It was a good sound, a safe sound, and for the first time in months she felt completely relaxed.

  The cat met them halfway and had no trouble trotting along beside them, purring loudly, sharing Faith's feeling of contentment.

  Chapter 11

  For the next several days, Faith didn't see much of Lord Lucien, except at mealtimes where he would nod and smile at her and then ignore her as he conversed with Álvaro about the goings on in the village or the ranch. They talked easily together, sometimes stopping short of completing a thought because it wasn't necessary. They knew each other so well.