Crossroads (18 page)

He smiled against her hair. ‘Forever is a long time my love, you’d be bored after the first decade.’

‘That’s true’ she chuckled, ‘fine, I’ll amend that statement to, I wish we could disappear somewhere where no one could find us.’

‘This is about Hades isn’t it?’

‘Not just about him,’ she frowned, entwining her fingers with his and studying their joined hands absently, ‘I gave my word, which means I have to face Nathaniel and…’

‘Your mother,’ he guessed.

He felt her nod silently.

‘You don’t have to do this alone Livy,’ he untangled his hand from hers and grasped her chin, titling her head so she could see him. ‘It’s going to be alright.’

‘Is it?’

‘We are going to deal with Nathaniel and Isabel.’

‘And then?’

‘And then we’re going to live happily ever after.’

She laughed lightly. ‘There’s no such thing as happily ever after.’

‘Alright then,’ he smiled, ‘would you settle for growing old together?’

She turned more fully in his arms so she could look into his eyes.

‘Yes,’ she murmured reaching out to stroke his face, ‘I’d settle for that.’

He brushed her lips gently with a soft kiss filled with promise. Before such a sweet gesture would have sent her running but now she held onto it like a lifeline.

‘So,’ Theo smoothed her rumpled hair back from her face, ‘now we need to figure out what our next move is.’

‘Well we need to figure out where the gateway to the Underworld is, but more importantly we need to figure out how to find Nathaniel and my mother when we get there.’

‘No only that,’ Theo frowned, ‘we need to figure out a way to stop them if we manage to reach them in time. When we went up against them at the Boatman, your Hell fire had no effect on Nathaniel and neither did the Fireblade.’

‘Fireblade?’

‘I needed something to call it and it suits well enough,’ he shrugged referring to the supernatural blade he could call forth from the metallic markings embedded deeply within the flesh of his arm.

‘Well, you’re right we do need to figure out what we’re going to do with them if we get there,’ she rubbed her face tiredly. ‘God if we ever manage to pull this off it will be a damn miracle.’

‘Is there any way we can summon Diana?’ he asked, ‘she’s helped you a few times now. She seems to have taken a certain interest in your wellbeing, perhaps she would be inclined to help us?’

‘Even if she was I don’t know how to call her. Every time she has appeared it’s been to further her own agenda, not at my instigation.’

‘Perhaps we should speak with Bridget then?’ he suggested.

‘That’s probably the best option at the moment,’ she agreed.

A sudden rumble beneath them had them pulling apart abruptly.

‘What was that?’ Theo frowned.

The ground trembled again.

‘Damn it,’ Olivia hissed, ‘last time this happened Nathaniel destroyed a Crossroad.’

‘You think he has destroyed another one?’ Theo grabbed his jeans and jerked them back on, standing up as he pulled his shirt over his head.

Olivia shook her head. ‘The tremors aren’t strong enough, trust me you’ll know it when he destroys another one.’ She grabbed her own jeans and lifted her hips off the blanket as she slid them on and grabbed her bra and shirt. ‘It could mean that he’s getting close to one. Either way we need to move soon, there are only four more Crossroads and with the destruction of each the more damage the Veil between world will sustain.’

Theo leaned down and yanked his boots on.

‘We should probably head to Bridget’s house then and see what she knows.’

Olivia nodded as she pulled her own boots on, grasping Theo’s hands as he reached out to help her up. She swayed dizzily on her feet as soon as she was standing and stumbled against him.

‘Are you alright?’ he asked holding onto her tightly.

Olivia drew in a shaky breath as the spinning feeling began to subside.

‘I’m fine,’ she breathed against his chest, ‘just a little dizzy.’

He pulled back and tilted her head so he could look into her eyes, concern etched on his face.

‘Are you sure?’

‘I’m okay.’

‘When was the last time you slept?’

‘I have no idea,’ she sighed, ‘I don’t even know how long we’ve been here. Honestly Theo I’m fine, I’m sure it’s just the stress of everything catching up with me.’

Frowning he bent down to scoop up the blankets and Olivia’s backpack before wrapping his arms around her tightly.

‘Hold on,’ he told her softly.

‘What?’

He closed his eyes the way Olivia had shown him and thought about the place he wanted to be. Their surroundings blurred and shifted and suddenly they found themselves back in their bedroom at Olivia’s house.

‘What?’ she looked around in confusion, ‘why have you brought me here?’

‘Because,’ he dropped the blankets and backpack down on the chair by the fireplace and scooped her up into his arms. Pulling down the bedding he laid her down and pulled off her boots. Kicking off his own he climbed up onto the bed next to her and wrapped her up in his arms.

‘Theo,’ she struggled to sit up, ‘we don’t have time for this, we have to find Bridget.’

‘We can do that tomorrow.’

‘We might not have tomorrow.’

‘I doubt Nathaniel will manage to find and destroy four Crossroads in the space of a few hours. You’re exhausted physically, emotionally and mentally,’ he pulled her back down and wrapped his arms around her once again. ‘You can save the world tomorrow but for now you need some sleep.’

‘You’re so bossy,’ she yawned against him.

He smiled as he felt her slowly relaxing into his arms.

‘Yes I am,’ he murmured, ‘sleep now love, tomorrow will come soon enough.’

He could tell by her lax body and rhythmic breathing that she was already deeply asleep. However, sleep would not come so easily for him. He’d spent God knows how long trapped in a dreamlike state while she had searched for him and worried for him. She’d faced down a God and learned that she had a terrifying destiny in the same breath. A destiny that could cost her not only her own life, but those of the ones she loved most dearly and yet here she was, exhausted and drained but still ready to fight, to do what was right.

He looked down at her, stroking the soft dark satin of her hair and tracing the soft curve of her lip. He marveled at her, not quite believing she was really his. She was fierce, a warrior even if she didn’t know it. She may have thought she was chosen because of her ability to control Hell fire but the truth was it was her strength and love and loyalty which made her so special, even if she couldn’t see it.

Satisfied she was deeply asleep he slipped from the bed and padded over to the window, staring out at the lake glistening in the moonlight. The ground trembled softly again under his feet causing the pictures on the wall to rattle quietly. He was worried about what she had told him and he knew they had barely glanced the surface yet. None of them knew for sure what Nathaniel’s end game was. They had been so certain it was Isabel using the demon but it was becoming quite obvious it was the other way around. Nathaniel was allowing Isabel to believe she held the upper hand but he was manipulating her, and the more unstable she became the more danger she was to her daughter. He turned back and looked at Olivia’s sleeping form, the darkness was coming. He could feel the oppressive weight of it in the air. Whatever Nathaniel’s plan was he was going to do whatever was necessary to achieve it, even if it meant destroying this world and theirs and every one in between. Drawing in a shaky breath he turned back to the window leaning heavily against the frame with one arm.

Nathaniel was going to come after Olivia sooner or later. He had to, she was the only one standing between him and the book. He knew it and so did Nathaniel. Hell, even Hades and Diana knew it. They’d all put her in the line of fire, not caring that it might cost her life. His fist involuntarily tightened in frustration, this time it was going to be different. He was going to learn everything he could about the demon Nathaniel and the next time they faced him he would make damn sure he killed the bastard, because one thing was for sure, if Nathaniel wanted Olivia he was going to have to go through him first.

Olivia stepped down from her front porch and looked up at the sky. It was back to the strange bruised daylight but there was something else, something different about it. She glanced across the sky and a dark ominous shadow caught her attention. She squinted slightly, shading her eyes with her hand as she tried to make out what it was. It was too dark to be a cloud; it was almost pitch black and stretched out far back over the choppy waters of the lake.

She heard Theo close the door and jog down the steps after her. He picked up her backpack from the ground by her feet and slung it over one shoulder.

‘There’s no food in the house but I did refill your water bottle, you should drink something.’

‘I’m fine she murmured absently, ‘look at that, what do you think that is?’

Theo looked up to where she was pointing.

‘It’s a…’ he frowned, his eyes narrowing as he looked closer. ‘I don’t know…what is that?’

It almost seemed to be rippling like a wave lapping at the shore. A sudden gust of wind pulled and tugged at Olivia’s hair throwing it forwards into her face. That was also strange, ever since she’d arrived in the Otherworld there had been no deviation in the weather at all. The temperature had stayed the same, there was no bright sunshine, no rain, not so much as an errant breeze. Now all of a sudden a wind swept in from nowhere and tugged at her clothes, buffeting her body slightly in the air flow.

Olivia glanced across at the small cabin nestled amongst the tree line and saw the door open.

‘We should go,’ she tugged lightly at Theo’s sleeve, ‘looks like Bridget is expecting us.’

Theo turned and looked across the small expanse of grass to the small wooden cabin. It gave him a start to see such a familiar looking place, the Salem of his childhood had been filled with such dwellings. He saw a familiar looking woman step into the doorway, wearing a long dark dress and drying her hands on an apron before she leaned casually against the door frame waiting for them.

He felt Olivia’s small warm hand slip into his and give a little tug to get his feet moving. They walked slowly across the grass, hands linked comfortably, as the wind tugged and pulled at them. As they neared the doorway the sight of Bridget gave him a jolt. She was almost the spitting image of Olivia; it seems the West line bred true, with a strong familial likeness passed to each generation.

‘I see you found him then?’ Bridget spoke softly as they stepped onto the covered porch.

‘Bridget,’ Olivia greeted her quietly, ‘I owe you an apology, last time I saw you I was pretty rude. I was frustrated and I took it out on you and it wasn’t fair and for that I apologize.’

Bridget nodded slowly after a moment.

‘Unfortunately that temper and stubbornness runs true in our family,’ she looked past Olivia to Theo and smiled. ‘Hello Theo, it’s been a long time.’

‘Yes it has,’ he murmured, studying her closely. The last time he had seen her was the night he had saved Bridget and her sister Hester, when they had been just children.

‘Well come in, come in you two.’

She stepped back to allow them to enter but as her gaze once again fell on Olivia she paused. Her eyes ran down the length of Olivia and then back up again, her gazed narrowed before once again meeting Olivia’s eyes.

‘What?’ Olivia frowned.

‘Nothing,’ Bridget murmured but as she stepped back once again a small smile curved the corner of her mouth.

Theo pulled Olivia into the small welcoming cabin out of the wind, which had now reached a howling pitch. Bridget turned to close the door, casting an ominous glance up at the blackness in the sky before joining them. A fire burned merrily in the hearth and a small pot bubbled on a large hook suspended over the flames.

‘Sit down,’ she pointed them towards the freshly scrubbed table and reached up for two bowls.

Doing as they were told, they watched as she retrieved the pot from the fire and ladled out two deep bowlfuls of porridge to which she added a generous dollop of honey and a pinch of cinnamon.

Olivia’s stomach rumbled in appreciation as she picked up her spoon, even though she’d never particularly liked porridge. The stuff her Aunt Evie used to make when she was a kid had resembled a thick grey glue, but the glorious scent wafting from the bowl made her stomach clench and her mouth water.

‘So good,’ she sighed after spooning some into her mouth.

Bridget took a seat at the table next to them and smiled as they ate.

‘Where’d you learn to cook like this?’

‘My mother,’ Bridget smiled. ‘As the older sister it was always my job to care for Hester and even if I was older by only a few minutes I always felt like she was my responsibility especially after mother was killed.’

‘What was she like?’ Olivia asked, ‘Hester I mean.’

‘She was sweet hearted and kind but so serious, maybe that came from being able to see what was yet to come. She understood the great burden on our family.’

‘You said the book was a curse on our family.’

‘Aye, that it is. Are you finally ready to listen?’

Olivia glanced across at Theo who squeezed her hand under the table gently. She turned back to Bridget and nodded slowly.

‘Tell me everything.’

She leaned in and folded her hands neatly on the table.

‘Our history is a long one,’ she began quietly, ‘and to fully understand everything that came after, you must first understand the why and for that we must go back to the very beginning, to Ancient Greece to the year 128 AD and to a woman named Althethea. She was married to a Roman by the name of Gaius, who had been appointed by the Senate as Governor of Eboracum and so they journeyed to their new home in Albion.’

‘Albion?’ Theo frowned.

‘It was what England was called before the Romans arrived and Eboracum, unless I’m mistaken, would be York,’ Olivia replied quietly.