Running with the Demon (37 page)

He moved up to Mel and Carol Riorden, Al Garcia, Penny Williamson, and Evelyn, smiling easily, comfortably to hide his concerns. They were still talking about the new grandbaby. Mel gave him a questioning look. He frowned and shook his head slowly. He could see the disappointment in his friend’s face.

Evelyn took him by the arm and pulled him away. “Come with me,” she directed, steering him through the crowd. “I have a little business of my own to take care of.”

He let himself be led back toward the horseshoe tournament, back toward Derry Howe. Old Bob glanced quickly at her, thinking, No, it can’t be about Derry, can it? Evelyn did not return the glance, her gaze directed forward, intense and immutable. He had seen that look before, and he knew that whatever she had set herself to do, she would not be dissuaded. He kept his mouth shut.

The crowd observing the horseshoe contest parted before them. Evelyn veered left, taking Old Bob with her, striding down the line of spectators toward the participants at the far end.

“Just stand next to me, Robert,” she said quietly. “You don’t have to say anything. I’ll do the talking.”

She released his arm and stepped in front of him, taking the lead. He caught sight of George Paulsen staring at them from among the competitors, but Evelyn seemed oblivious of him. She moved, instead, toward Enid Scott, who was standing with her youngest, Bennett, to one side.

Enid saw Evelyn coming and turned to face her, surprise reflecting in her pale, tired eyes. She was dressed in matching
shorts and halter top that had fit better when she was twenty pounds lighter. She brushed back a few loose strands of her lank, tousled hair and dragged out an uncertain smile.

“Hello, Mrs. Freemark,” she greeted, her voice breaking slightly as she caught the look in Evelyn’s dark eyes.

Evelyn came to a stop directly before her. “Enid, I’ll come right to the point,” she said softly. They were alone except for Bennett and Old Bob; no one else could hear what was being said. “I know you’ve had some rough times, and that raising five children all alone is no picnic. I think you’ve done better than a lot of women would have in your circumstances, and I admire you for it. You’ve kept your family together the best you could. You’ve got five children you can be proud of.”

“Thank you,” Enid stammered, surprised.

“I’m not finished. The flip side of this particular coin is that you’ve made a whole bunch of decisions in your life that testify to the distinct possibility that you have the common sense of a woodchuck. Sooner or later, some of those decisions are going to come back to haunt you. Your choice in men, for example, is abominable. You’ve got five fatherless children as proof of that, and I don’t see much improvement of late. Your frequent visits to the bars and nightspots of this community suggest that alcohol is becoming a problem for you. And it is no shame to be unemployed and on welfare, but it is a shame not to want to do anything about it!”

Robert blinked in disbelief, hearing the fire in his wife’s voice, seeing the stiff set of her back rigid within her flowered dress. Little Bennett was staring at Evelyn, her mouth open.

“Well, I don’t think you have the right to tell me …” Enid Scott began, flustered and angry now.

“Understand something, Enid. I’m not standing here as an example of how a woman ought to live her life.” Evelyn cut her short, brushing aside her attempt at defending herself. “Matter of fact, I’ve made some of the same mistakes you’re making, and I’ve made them worse. I’m closer to you than you realize. That gives me not only the right to talk to you this way, but the obligation as well. I can see where you’re headed, and I can’t let you walk off the end of the pier without shouting out
a warning of some sort. So this is that warning. You can make a lot of mistakes in this life and get away with it. We both know that. But there’s one mistake you can’t make—not ever, if you want to live with yourself afterward. And that’s not being there for your children when they need you. It’s happened several times already. Don’t say anything, Enid. Don’t say it isn’t so, because that would be a terrible lie, and you don’t want to add that to your catalogue of sins. Point is, nothing bad has happened yet. But sooner or later, it will. If it does, that will be the end of you.”

Evelyn held the other woman’s gaze, took a quick breath, and stepped forward. Enid Scott flinched, and Bennett jumped. But all Evelyn did was reach down and take Enid’s hand in her own, hold it, and then pat it gently.

“If you ever need anyone, you call me,” she said quietly. “Any time, for any reason. You call me. I’ll be there. That’s a promise.”

A few people were looking over now, sensing that something was going on, not sure exactly what it was. George Paulsen detached himself from the horseshoe competitors and sauntered over, mean eyes narrowing. “What’s going on here?” he snapped.

Evelyn ignored him. “Are you all right, Enid? I didn’t speak too harshly, did I?”

“Well,” whispered Enid Scott uncertainly.

“I did, I expect.” Evelyn continued to pat her hand, to hold it between her own, her voice soothing and calm. “I speak the way I do because I believe it is best to be direct. But I would like to be your friend, if you would let me. I know you have no family here, and I don’t want you to think that you are alone.”

“She ain’t alone, she’s got me!” George Paulsen declared, coming up to them.

Gran fixed him with a withering gaze. “Having you for company is not something I would think she would be anxious to brag on!” she snapped.

Paulsen flushed angrily. “Listen here, old woman …”

Old Bob started forward protectively, but Evelyn was too quick for him. She moved right up against George Paulsen,
the index fingers of both hands aimed at him like the barrels of guns.

“Don’t you mess with me, George,” she hissed. “Don’t you even think about it. You haven’t the iron. Now, you listen to me. You can stay with Enid or not—that’s between you and her. But if I hear one more story about you striking that woman or any of her children, if I see one bruise on any of them that I don’t like the looks of, if I so much as see you raise a threatening hand against them, you will think that God must have reached down out of heaven and squashed you like a bug. Do you understand me, sir?”

George Paulsen flinched as her fingers slowly extended to touch his chest.

“And don’t you believe for one minute that you can hide anything from me, George,” she continued softly. “Even if you think I won’t find out, I will. I’ll come after you, no matter how fast or how far you try to run from me.” She lifted her fingers away. “You remember that.”

For a moment Old Bob thought George Paulsen would strike Evelyn. But he must have seen something in her face or found something in his own heart that told him it would be a mistake. He tried to speak, failed, shot a venomous look at Enid, and stalked away.

There were a lot of people staring now. Evelyn ignored them, was oblivious of them. She turned back to Enid Scott and Bennett, gave Enid a reassuring nod and Bennett a smile. “You come by for ice cream, little one,” she invited. “Nest and I would love to have you any time. Bring your mother with you when you do.”

“Mrs. Freemark,” Enid Scott tried, but was unable to continue.

Evelyn met her gaze, her own steady and fixed. “My name is Evelyn. That’s what all my friends call me. You think on what I’ve said, Enid. I’ll be looking in on you.”

She walked back to Old Bob then, took his arm in hers, and turned him back toward the river. “Shame to waste a nice day like this standing about in the heat. Why don’t we go sit out by the river and wait for Nest.”

He stared at her. “You amaze me, Evelyn,” he told her, not bothering to hide the astonishment in his voice. “You really do.”

A faint smile played at the comers of her mouth, a hint of mischievousness that appeared and faded all at once. “Now and then, Robert,” she replied softly. “Now and then.”

T
hough he had not admitted it to Nest Freemark, John Ross had met O’olish Amaneh before. It was O’olish Amaneh who had given him his limp.

“Your old life is finished, my brave knight-errant,” the Lady had whispered that night in the Fairy Glen as she held him to her, accepting the pledge of his faith, taking the measure of his strength. All about them, the fairies darted in the blackness of the water and the cool of the shadows, rippling with the sound of her voice in his ear. “Now, for as long as I deem it necessary, you belong to me. You will care for and be faithful to no other. You will forsake your home. You will forsake your family and your friends. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” he had said.

“You will be asked to sacrifice, of your body and your soul, of your heart and your mind, in this world and the world to come. Your sacrifice will be great, but it will be necessary. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” he had said once more.

“I brought you to me, John Ross. Now I send you back again. Leave this country and return to your home. It is there that you are needed to do battle in my service. I am the light and the way, the road you must travel and the life you must lead. Go now, and be at peace.”

He did as he was told. He went from the Fairy Glen to his cottage in Betws-y-Coed, packed his bags, traveled east into England, and caught a standby flight to the States. He did so in the firm belief that his life had been changed in the way he had
always anticipated it one day would and with the hope that here, at last, was the purpose he had sought. He did not know yet what he was supposed to do. He had become a Knight of the Word, but he did not know what was expected of him. He carried inside him the blood of Owain Glyndwr, and he would be the Word’s champion and do battle with the Void as his ancestor had before him. He did not know what that meant. He was terrified and exhilarated and filled with passion. The visions of the future that the Lady had shown him were burned into his mind forever, and when he recalled them they brought tears to his eyes. He was just a man, just one man, but he knew that he must do whatever was asked of him—even if it meant giving up his life.

But it was not real to him yet. It was still a dream, and as he traveled farther away from the Fairy Glen and that night, it became steadily more so. He went home to his parents, who were still alive then, to let them know he was well, but would not be staying. He was purposefully vague, and he told them nothing of what had befallen him. He had not been forbidden to do so, but he knew that it would be foolish to speak of it. His parents, whether they believed him or not, would be needlessly worried. Better that they thought him a wanderer still when he left them. Better that they lived without knowing.

So he waited, frozen in time. He tried to envision what his life would be like in service to the Lady. He tried to resolve his doubts and his fears, to settle within himself the feelings of inadequacy that had begun to surface. What could he do, that would make a difference? What would be required of him, that he would be able to respond? Was he strong enough to do what was needed? Was he anything of what the Lady believed?

He waited for her to speak to him, to reveal her purpose for him. She did not. He visited with friends and acquaintances from his past, marking time against an uncertain future. Weeks went by. Still the Lady did not appear. Doubts set in. Had he dreamed it all? Had he imagined her? Or worse, had he mistaken her intent? What if the great purpose he had envisioned, the purpose for which he had searched so long, was a lie?
Doubts turned to mistrust. What if he had been deceived? He was beset by nightmares that woke him shaking and chilled on the hottest nights, sweating and fiery in the coldest of rooms. Something had gone wrong. Perhaps he was not the champion she had been looking for, and she had realized it and abandoned him. Perhaps she had forsaken him entirely.

Strong belief turned slowly to fragile hope, the Lady’s whispered promise echoing through the empty corridors of his mind.

Your way lies through me. I am the road that you must take
.

Then the Indian came to him. He was sitting on the bed in his room, alone in the house, his parents gone for the afternoon. He was staring at words on a paper before him, words that he had written in an effort to find reason in what had happened to him, when the door opened and the Indian was standing there.

“I am O’olish Amaneh,” he said quietly.

He was a big man, his skin copper-colored, his hair braided and black, his eyes intense and probing. He wore old army clothes and moccasins and carried a backpack and bedroll. In one massive hand, he gripped a long black staff.

He came into the room and shut the door behind him. “I have come to give you this,” he said, and held out the staff.

Ross stared, saw the sheen of the wood, the rune marks cut into the shiny surface, and the way the light played over both. He sat there on the bed, frozen in place.

“You are John Ross?” O’olish Amaneh asked him.

Ross nodded, unable to speak.

“You are a Knight of the Word?”

Ross blinked rapidly and swallowed against the dryness in his throat. “Do you come from her?” he managed.

The Indian did not answer.

“Are you in service to the Lady?” he pressed.

“The staff belongs to you,” O’olish Amaneh insisted quietly, ignoring him. “Take it.”

Ross could not do so. He knew with sudden, terrifying certainty that if he did, there would be no turning back. The clarity of his knowledge was appalling. It was the staff, something in the way it gleamed, in its blackness, in the intricacy of its carvings.
It was in the implacable way the Indian urged him to take hold of it. If he did so, he was finished. If he did so, it was the end of him. He was not ready for this after all, he saw. He no longer wanted to be a part of what had happened in the Fairy Glen, in Wales, in the realm of the Lady’s magic.

The Indian was a rock, standing before him unmoved. “Your faith must be stronger than this,” he advised in a whisper. “Your faith must sustain you. You swore to serve. You cannot recant. It is forbidden.”

“Forbidden?” Ross repeated in disbelief. He was nearly in tears, filled with contempt for himself, for his weakness, for his failing resolve. “Don’t you understand?” he breathed.