6. In Which We Find the Hero and His Band of Merry Men
Chapter 6
In Which We Find the Hero and His Band of Merry Men
Modern-day Troyland, Texas
S pilling light into the darkness, the house gave off a soft, welcoming glow. Cheerful even. The porch lights fell on a swing looking as inviting as it was charming. Evander had patrolled for a week, and this spot from the tree line was one of his favorites. He found her to be gentle and cheerful, much like her home silhouetted against the setting Texas sun. Her friend had arrived last night, ready to house-sit. Evander moved swiftly, keeping to the shadows in the backyard. Tonight, Ellie and her friend sat on the back patio. Music played softly as the women laughed, enjoying tacos and one too many drinks.
“What’s tonight’s selection?” Liam came along beside him, and he shrugged.
“Oh”—tilting his head to the side, Liam scrunched his nose, making a face—“sounds like Earth, Wind, and Fire ? Is she listening to September ? At least it’s better than the country she was singing last night.”
Evander chuckled low. The woman had strange taste in music. She swayed from classical to rap and everything in between. The sight of her dancing in her kitchen window while singing about gin and juice had a faint smile crossing Evander’s lips. One evening, she read a book as she quietly hummed to Bing Crosby and Dean Martin. At a patrol around midnight, he caught her swinging those hips seductively, dancing in her living room. Tonight, with her friend in town, the selection was a lively mix of 1970s and 80s music softly playing on the back patio.
“Don’t let her sing.” Liam put his hands over his ears.
Evander found it charming to watch her so relaxed and happy in her home. She was giving and generous, hospitable and kind. How any man would let a woman like her slip away was beyond him.
Creeping around her home left him uneasy. He hated feeling like a stalker at worst and a voyeur at best. On the other hand, he didn’t mind. Ellie was delightfully charming. Something about her drew him in, called to him like no other woman could. She had a gentle way of living, like the last bit of sunshine on a perfect day. In all his centuries, he hadn’t known anyone who enjoyed themselves as she did.
They had searched the house several times while Ellie was at work and came up empty. Tonight, the last night before they boarded the cruise, would be his last chance to locate Pandora’s book. Evander was about to suggest they both search when Liam laughed out loud and then covered his mouth quickly. He hadn’t been listening to the women while deep in thought. Angling his head to the side, he shot Liam a bewildered gaze.
“I’m just saying this would be a good trip for you. Relax, layout, meet someone, enjoy some great vacation sex.” It was her friend, which caused Evander to turn. Desperately trying to hide his snickering behind his hand, Liam’s eyes widened.
“Reese!”
“What?” she said, laughing. “I mean, you will be on vacation. Girl, it has been six long years. Get some dick. Get European dick. Enjoy yourself, go crazy, and let loose. You never let loose.”
“Yeah,” Ellie said slowly, “and you are a bit too, um, loose if you ask me.” She held up her glass and slyly looked to the side as a smirk slid over her lips. “That reminds me, I need to stop for batteries. Gotta make sure my toys are ready to go. Not sleeping with Penn doesn’t mean I haven’t been having fun alone.”
Both women erupted into a loud fit of laughter. Liam choked, pounding his chest with his fist. Absentmindedly, Evander patted him on the back. The men exchanged glances as they tried desperately not to relinquish their position just yards from the patio.
“So, what is this trip for, really?” her friend was saying as she swirled her margarita, taking a sip from an oversized straw.
Ellie shrugged dismissively. “I’m not sure.”
“Dick? It’s dick, isn’t it?” A colorful cloth napkin sailed past her head, as Reese laughed. She ducked dramatically.
“God, Reese.” Ellie said with a chuckled sigh. “My life is entirely too predictable.”
“Isn’t predictable what every girl in their forties wants?”
Ellie shrugged again and licked salt from the rim of her glass. “Maybe. Divorce aside, my life is boring. I’m not unhappy—I’m restless, like I’m made for something important. I take the same roads to work every day, the same roads home. I want something different. An adventure. Just once, I want to be spontaneous.”
“You sound like a fairytale princess right before she leaves the confines of whatever prison she’s in and falls in Stockholm-syndrome-love with the first burly weirdo beast she sees.” Reese tapped her lips. “I bet monster sex is hot.”
Ellie rolled her eyes. “I’m about twenty years too late. Besides, that’s not it. I think I’m excited to get to Greece and explore.”
“So, dicks.”
“God, Reese, you have a one-track mind.” Ellie smirked, which turned into a full-on grin. “I mean, sure, having a relationship—”
“A fling. A three-week trip doesn’t give you enough time to have a full-on relationship,” Reese cut in.
“Fine, a fling,” Ellie conceded with a sharp cut of her hand in the air. “Having a fling would be fun, but I want more. I want to, I dunno, buy a falafel from a street vendor. I’d like to purchase a book in Greek and have it read to me in the afternoon sunlight. I’m in the mood to dance, laugh with a stranger. With Penn, I just did whatever he planned. He was always in charge. He once told me to stay in the hotel room, because I was only interested in reading, and he wanted to have fun.”
“God, how you stayed married to him for as long as you did is beyond me. He’s such a prick.” Reese took a big swig of her margarita.
“I know. I don’t think I realized the impact—”
“Abuse,” she cut in, eyeing Ellie. “Call it what it was: abuse. Name it, like the therapist said. That man was awful to you, Ellie.”
Ellie stretched across the table, grabbing for Reese’s open hand. She smiled weakly.
“You deserve so much better, babe,” Reese said and squeezed her hand.
“Just once I don’t want to know what’s next. I want to find me on this trip. I miss that girl. She was a helluva lotta fun. She was wild and curious and hopeful. I lost her for the last eighteen years, but I’m ready to discover her again. I’m ready to get off in Athens in two weeks and explore the city alone.”
Reese nodded along as Ellie looked wistfully up into the night sky.
“Maybe meet Hypatia.” Her voice low, more like a prayer.
“Hypatia? The ancient professor you did a dissertation about in college? You’ve been obsessed with her for forever. Isn’t she dead?” Reese raised an eyebrow.
“Well, yes, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could travel back in time to meet her? I mean, think about it. A woman scholar in ancient times.” She sighed dreamily. “Aunt Diana always encouraged my love of her. It’s impossible, but I’d love to pick her brain. I was thinking about her as I booked the second leg to Ithaca. I was thinking of flying to Alexandria just to walk where she walked.”
Reese took another long sip from her drink and said, “Changing the subject. How was your meeting with the book guy today?”
Sitting upright, Ellie cleared her throat and played with her glass before draining it in one large swig.
“The book guy?”
“Was he as good looking as he was at the gala?” Reese made a slurping sound as her drink neared its end.
“He was”—Ellie paused—“tall and well dressed.” A pretty blush colored her cheeks as her friend squealed.
“Well dressed? Ellie Whitemore, that’s code for you thought he was hot.” She slapped the arm of Ellie’s chair as she teased.
“Fine, he was hot.”
“How hot? Should I try for it?” Wiggling her shoulders from side to side, Reese winked. Ellie laughed at her ridiculous antics.
“So hot,” Ellie admitted. “I had no idea they made men like that. Seriously, I thought he was a supermodel.”
“He’s a curator? Right? Where? I am so going to that museum.” Reese slapped the chair arm again.
“That’s the weird thing. I think he gave me a phony card, to be honest. After all the emails practically begging for the book, he left without one last plea. He claimed to have read my research on the Library of Alexandria, but all of that is online, if you know where to look. It’s a little creepy to think he looked up information about me and then tried to use it on me. It’s borderline stalkerish. But the book Moreno gave me belongs to Ithaca. They’ve already emailed saying how happy they are to get it back. So, I’ll be a pack animal for Moreno, even though it’s weird as hell.” She shrugged and started to say something else, but Reese cut her off.
“It’s your meet cute, Ellie!” she said excitedly. “Maybe this guy has had a crush on you and found out you were getting divorced.” Grabbing Ellie’s arm, she gave it a little shake.
“Uh, no. Hell no.” Ellie made a face. “That’s creepy. What, he cyber-stalked me?”
Reese laughed.
Hidden behind trees, Evander shared a glance with Liam. That’s precisely what Maximus had done. He had kept tabs on Ellie and her fascination with the library. Just like he had any human who might be a threat to Olympus. He was well-versed in her research. For some unknown reason, the thought of Ellie not being affected by Max’s charms made the corner of his lips curl.
“On that note.” Reese was still laughing as she stood, stretching her arms up towards the clear night sky. Reese was a beautiful woman, fit and petite, with light brown hair. Liam had made a comment about her that afternoon while she had laid in the sun by the pool.
But it was Ellie Evander couldn’t stop staring at. She was womanly and soft, her body more curves than muscle. Ellie was confident and sure of herself. Tonight, they sat outside in pajamas. While Reese wore a tank top and shorts, Ellie wore a nightgown. Evander thought how angelic she looked against the backdrop of the setting sun. The women retreated inside with the dirty dishes. They were visible through the kitchen window overlooking the backyard, chatting and laughing—such a peaceful scene. Evander missed the comradery and ease of family. He thought of his sisters and how they had always teased each other.
Breaking into his happy memories with his Irish brogue, Liam pointed with his chin. “You take the early shift tonight, deartháir . I’ll need to take the latter in case the women start singing,” he said and shivered dramatically.
Evander snorted a laugh. Liam had called him deartháir from the moment they met, and it had taken a year before Evander realized it was an affectionate term that meant brother in Gaelic. Clapping him on the shoulder, he strolled off with a nod. Once alone, Evander set off on his rounds. A warrior possessed many abilities that allowed them to be precise and deadly. While many saw it as an honor to be among the ones chosen to be a warrior, Evander always viewed it as a curse. On his worst night as a human, he had chosen this life out of guilt. His actions had caused the death of three people, and he vowed never to make the same mistake twice. Once he became one of Athena’s epsilon warriors, her every whim became his orders. Epsilon warriors were rare, only five at any given time. Almost two hundred years later, he had never wavered in his vow to Athena. Every instruction followed. Until now. He hated the idea of harming another human, but his loyalty was to the goddess and Olympus.
Rounding the corner of Ellie’s home, steps from the patio filled with so much joy moments before, Evander stood among the cool shadows. The wall of windows at the back of the house revealed Ellie in a big armchair, her legs dangling off the arm, her head cradled in her hand. Her long curls flowed over the opposite side like a waterfall on fire. Spellbound, he watched as the sides of her mouth curved upwards, her eyes dancing across the page. Ellie looked delicate curled in the oversized armchair reading a book while twirling a curl between her fingers.
Lost in the vision before him, he almost didn’t sense the shift.
“So, this is where Maximus has tucked away his most prized possession,” the voice hissed, clicking its tongue. “I’m surprised he only left one on patrol tonight. Where is your partner, Evan? You all by yourself? Pity.”
“Valerius,” Evander snapped.
Emerging from the darkness with flair, he was shorter than Evander by a few inches, wearing a black leather jacket, a dark t-shirt, leather pants, and biker boots. His hair was black and long, flowing down below his shoulders, tied back with a piece of leather string. In the moonless night, his eyes glowed with an eerie blue tinge.
“What are you doing here?” Evander moved to position himself between the threat and the house. His eyes searched the woods just beyond Valerius’ shoulder. The man never showed up anywhere alone.
“I thought I’d take a little stroll around the neighborhood, take in some lovely property, maybe attack a certain valuable woman, you know, the usual,” he jeered.
“Where are your lackeys? Doesn’t your kind travel in groups?” With a stealthy calm, Evander widened his stance and crossed his arms over his chest, preparing to grab his weapons should he need them.
“You’ve patrolled in pairs the last week, but here you are, alone.” Valerius reached up and rubbed his chin like a cartoon villain.
“Your point?”
He took a big breath and stretched out his arms dramatically. “Just an observation, Evan.” His eyes darted to the house.
“Don’t even think about it, Valerius,” said Evander dryly.
“Oh, is that a challenge, Evan? Is it the book you protect? Or the woman? One will be in my hands soon enough.” he purred and grinned in the sliver of moonlight. Evander growled low, showing his fangs. “So tense. Maybe you need a bit of a tension release, Evan dear.” He made a crude gesture with his hand.
“Fuck off,” Evander ground out between clenched teeth.
“Maybe later.” He arched an eyebrow. “Relax, I have no plans of doing anything tonight, but maybe I should do a little role-playing with our fair maiden. That’d be fun, don’t you think? How about I’m a lost man looking to call a tow truck?” He pouted his lips, the pout turning into a sneer. “Maybe I’m just waiting until she comes outside to sit on the veranda.” Valerius shrugged. “Who knows what I’ll do to her.”
Evander’s blood ran cold. “Try something, I dare you.” He opened his leather trench coat and grabbed the hilts of his swords.
Valerius raised his hands in defense. “Evan, please, we were just having a friendly conversation; no need to bring out your big swords. I’ll go. At least I know what to do with mine. You’ve not used yours in centuries.” He laughed at his lewd joke, backing away with his arms still raised. Evander stepped to follow him into the darkness but paused. Leaving Ellie could put her in greater danger. He glanced in her direction.
Valerius’ voice came from the darkness. “Besides, I might wait until she is alone on that big ship in the middle of the ocean with no escape.” He laughed, and the sound of it filled Evander’s head.
Moving swiftly towards the darkness with Valerius in mind, Evander had two passing thoughts. First, if Valerius knew it was Ellie who had the Book of Pandora, he would have attacked her already. Second, what did Valerius want with Ellie? That thought stopped him in his tracks. Valerius rarely came to the human world; when he did, it was only to wreak havoc. If this was about Pandora’s grimoire, then Aerelia must be involved as well. And if Aerelia was calling the shots, Ellie was in far more danger than he realized.
Evander turned back towards the house, and as he did, he saw her framed against the window, an afghan around her shoulders as she peered out into the darkness. Her hair was wild and unruly, some curls escaping a hair tie she used to tame them. Her feet were bare, and her arms wrapped around herself. The book lay abandoned on the seat behind her. Ellie stood there, staring into the dark Texas night, unaware that staring back at her with blue-green eyes was a warrior. One tasked to kill her as she journeyed to Greece with an ancient book of spells that might just destroy his world.