The Ferryman (The Guardians Series 1 Book 2)

by Wendy Saunders

  ‘He is the catalyst; it all begins with him and snowballs from there. You have to find him.’

  ‘I know,’ Theo replied, ‘but we don’t know where to start and I’m guessing that’s one of the things you can’t help us with.’

  Sam simply smiled at him.

  ‘I will give you one hint,’ Sam answered carefully after a moment. ‘Everything is connected, just think of everything that is going on at the moment in your lives as threads of a much larger tapestry. Once they are all woven together they will form a larger picture.’

  ‘That doesn’t really help,’ Theo frowned.

  ‘It’s the best I can do,’ he smiled apologetically, ‘and she is one of the threads you need to deal with.’

  ‘Who?’

  Sam indicated the easel behind him and as Theo turned he swore silently. The canvas he had just taken so much care to remove and store away in the leather tube was now once more firmly attached to the frame and staring back at him.

  ‘She’s not going to be ignored,’ Sam told him, ‘so tell Olivia about her.’

  ‘If I do will Mary stop plaguing me?’

  ‘That I honestly don’t know,’ he shook his head. ‘If she escaped through the doorway with the other spirits it’s possible she has her own agenda regarding you but it will affect Olivia too. She needs to know that Charlotte is not the only spirit loose in her home.’

  ‘That’s easier said than done,’ Theo replied.

  ‘Now’s your chance,’ Sam grinned and disappeared as Theo heard the front door open.

  Theo took the painting down from the easel and tucked it back against the wall behind several other canvases, just as Olivia wandered into the room with a bag of groceries.

  ‘Hey,’ she smiled.

  ‘Hey,’ he turned back towards her.

  ‘Did you check on Sam?’

  ‘Yes,’ Theo smiled, ‘he’s fine. He’s doing a lot better than I expected considering it’s only been a few days.’

  ‘I know’ she nodded, ‘it’s incredible the rate at which he’s healing. Louisa said she’d drop by later and remove his stitches and the splints on his fingers.’

  ‘Is Tommy coming over with her?’

  Olivia shook her head slowly.

  ‘I’m sorry Theo,’ she felt really bad for him. He and Tommy had started to cultivate a really good friendship and she felt almost as if she had come between them. ‘I think he’s struggling to believe the things we told him.’

  ‘I’m guessing you haven’t heard from Veronica either? Theo asked.

  ‘No,’ she sighed, dropping the heavy bag down on the table. ‘There’s really not much more I can do but leave her alone. She knows where to find me if she wants to talk.’

  Theo turned to look thoughtfully out of the window. She could see something was troubling him but again he seemed disinclined to share it with her. There were just too many secrets between them, too much left unsaid and she hadn’t helped matters by avoiding things she should have discussed with him months ago.

  ‘Theo,’ she sighed, ‘are you happy here with me?’

  He turned back to her with a puzzled expression.

  ‘Of course I am.’

  ‘It’s just that, we were kind of thrown together into a really intense situation and naturally a relationship developed between us but I want you to know you have a choice. You don’t have to stay here with me because you feel as though you should or because I am familiar. You can choose any life you want; it doesn't necessarily have to be with me.’

  ‘You still don’t believe that I love you, do you?’

  ‘It’s not that,’ she frowned shaking her head. ‘I do know that you care about me but when all is said and done we really don’t know each other that well.’

  ‘You tell everyone your favorite colour is blue,’ he said softly, ‘but it’s really pink, you just don’t want people to know because you don’t want them to see you as girly and vulnerable. You love spaghetti and you only ever drink half a cup of tea. You like to read romance novels when you think no one is looking. You cry at the happy parts in movies. You love the ocean but don’t like being on boats. On blustery nights you like to stand outside in the dark and close your eyes so that you can listen to the wind in the trees. You love San Giorgio at Dusk by Monet and Starry Night by Van Gogh. You’re stubborn but kind.’ He stepped closer to her, his voice low and hypnotic, ‘you love me but you won’t admit it to yourself because you are afraid that I’ll betray you…’ he reached out to her and pulled her closer with gentle hands. ‘You want me to stay but you’ll push me away because you’re expecting me to leave.’

  ‘Theo…’ the words caught in her throat as she looked up into his dark eyes.

  ‘I love you Olivia,’ he traced her jaw lightly with his fingertips, ‘I want to stay here with you for the rest of my life proving it to you. I know you and I know exactly what I want, the question is…what is it that you want?’

  She drew in a shaky breath, her body felt soft and fragile as if he held her bare soul in his hands. He saw her the way no one else ever had or ever could.

  ‘I want you to stay with me,’ she whispered.

  ‘Always,’ he breathed as his lips closed over hers, and cradling her face gently in his hands he took her under, deep into a place where only she existed. That was her magic; the spell she wove over him and his heart without even realising she was doing it and he was helpless to resist.

  ‘Livy,’ he broke away breathing hard with the need for her, his gaze flicking across the room to the stack of canvases against the wall, ‘there is something I need to tell you…’

  The silence of the room was suddenly broken by the blare of her ring tone.

  Pulling back she slid her phone from her pocket, frowning when she saw the caller ID.

  ‘Jackson?’ she answered with a puzzled expression, ‘are you okay?’

  She listened to him for a moment and then cursed lightly under her breath.

  ‘What?’ Theo mouthed.

  She held up her hand as she tried to listen to Jackson.

  ‘Okay we’ll be right there.’

  She hung up the phone and turned to Theo.

  ‘We have a problem,’ she frowned. ‘It seems the exorcism didn’t work, the spirit is back and apparently angrier than before.’

  ‘Damn it,’ Theo swore, ‘I’ll go finish getting dressed.’

  She nodded as he darted out of the room. She dropped the grocery bag in the kitchen without even bothering to unpack it and headed into the library. First she scooped a small silver framed mirror off the mantelpiece and stuffed it into her bag, then turning to the desk she rifled through the drawers until she came up with a length of white ribbon which she also thrust into her bag.

  ‘What’s that?’ Theo asked as he hurried back into the library, already in jeans and boots and pulling a sweater over his t-shirt.

  ‘Supplies,’ she headed past him into the hallway and handed him his coat. ‘Given the level of the spirit problem we have in Mercy I’ve spent some time looking up ways to keep them under control. We can’t call a priest every time a bad one starts playing up and apparently that didn’t work anyway.’

  ‘Do you know what you’re doing?’

  ‘No,’ she smiled, ‘we’re going to do what we do best.’

  ‘And that is?’

  ‘Wing it,’ she sighed, ‘and hope for the best.’

  ‘I’m not exactly sure what you mean by that,’ Theo frowned, ‘but it doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.’

  He followed her out of the door moving quickly down the steps to the car.

  ‘Here.’

  He looked up at her just in time to see her toss something in his direction. He reached up and caught the small object easily and when he opened his palm his face creased into a puzzled frown as he recognised her car keys.

  ‘You drive,’ she smiled.

  ‘Really?’ he looked up at her as
she opened the passenger door.

  ‘Yeah, just be gentle with her,’ she replied, ‘my car is a little old lady compared to Tommy’s beast of a four wheel drive.’

  Theo grinned as he jogged around to the driver’s side and slid into the seat folding in his long legs so they were almost under his chin.

  ‘You adjust the seat here,’ she showed him the little lever and waited for him to adjust his mirrors. ‘We’re probably going to have to get you your own car,’ she mused thoughtfully.

  Theo turned to her and smiled joyfully, like a little boy with a new toy. She shook her head and smiled as they slowly pulled out and headed down the driveway but by the time they pulled up in the parking lot outside The Salted Bone, Theo was frowning.

  ‘I don’t like your car.’

  ‘That’s because you’ve been spoiled learning to drive in a brand new truck,’ she laughed as she climbed out. ‘Don’t be such a snob or Dolly will get offended.’

  ‘Dolly?’

  ‘My car.’

  ‘You named your car Dolly?’

  Before she could answer Jackson opened the back door, hovering anxiously.

  ‘Are you alright Jackson?’ Theo asked as they headed in.

  ‘No, I’m pretty damn far from alright,’ he scowled as he headed towards the main bar area with both of them following in his wake.

  As the corridor opened up into the main space, they could see the repairs were well underway. The bar had been sanded down, repaired and re-varnished. The mirrors and lighting behind the bar had all been replaced along with all the glass shelving. The walls all had new drywall which was just waiting for a coat of paint and all the dark wood panelling had been replaced and was once again glossy and unblemished. In the centre of the room brand new wooden tables, chairs and bar stool were stacked neatly, all covered in plastic.

  ‘The repair work seems to be going well,’ Olivia noted.

  ‘Aye,’ Jackson sighed, ‘problem is the insurance wouldn’t pay out as I couldn’t adequately explain how the damage had occurred in the first place.’

  ‘You’ve had to pay for all this yourself?’ Olivia turned to him in surprise.

  ‘That’s right,’ he frowned. ‘I’ve got damn near every cent I own sunk into this place. If that bloody bastard tears it apart again I can’t afford to fix it. I’ll have to close the pub, I’ll lose everything.’

  ‘That won’t happen Jackson,’ Olivia told him gently.

  ‘Why don’t you tell us what happened?’ Theo asked.

  ‘I came in about ten minutes before I called you,’ he shook his head. ‘I knew something was off the second I walked through the door, there was that same unpleasant smell and the air felt heavy and cold. As I walked into the kitchen area there was a rattling and a knife flew straight at me; I barely ducked in time.’

  Olivia looked up and noticed the thin knick at the edge of his jaw.

  ‘I ran outside and called you. I figured it would cause less damage if I wasn’t in here for it to take pot-shots at.’

  ‘And there is definitely no one else in here except us?’ Olivia frowned as she turned and scanned the room.

  ‘No, none of the staff are due in this afternoon and I cancelled the contractors who were supposed to be working later, why?’

  ‘I just thought I heard something,’ she murmured continuing to look around the room.

  The silence was suddenly split by a scream.

  ‘I thought you said there was no one else here?’ she spun back towards Jackson.

  ‘No one is meant to be,’ he turned towards the bar area.

  The scream came again.

  ‘Where is it coming from?’ Theo asked urgently.

  ‘The beer cellar.’

  Jackson took off, pulling up the hinged section of the bar that led to the area behind. He ran to the far end and wrenched open a heavy wooden door, moving quickly down the steep stone steps into the cold alcohol scented air. Huddled in the corner was Jackson’s red-haired waitress Kaitlin.

  ‘Katy love,’ Jackson breathed heavily, ‘what on earth are you doing here?’

  ‘I was taking inventory,’ she panted.

  ‘But that was supposed to be yesterday.’

  ‘I had an appointment yesterday afternoon, I figured it would be okay if I came in early this morning to do it instead.’

  ‘You’ve been here all this time on your own?’

  Olivia focused on Kaitlin’s pale face. Despite the cold air of the cellar her face was coated in a thin sheen of perspiration and her breathing was laboured, but not in fear Olivia realised. The scream they had heard had not been one of fear but one of pain. Olivia’s gaze slid down Kaitlin’s swollen belly to the leggings she wore underneath her smock style dress. Although the leggings were dark she noticed an even darker wet stain down the inner thighs. She dropped down to her knees as Kaitlin’s wide green eyes focused on her.

  ‘Kaitlin,’ Olivia said softly, ‘how far apart are your contractions?’

  ‘What?’ Jackson asked in panic.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Kaitlin shook her head, they’re too close I keep losing count.’

  She grasped her belly and cried out again as Olivia took her hand and allowed her to squeeze hard.

  ‘It’s okay,’ she soothed her calmly, ‘just breath through it Kaitlin, just concentrate on the sound of my voice and breathe.’

  As the vicious contraction passed she let out a deep hiss of breath.

  ‘They started so suddenly,’ she breathed heavily, looking at Olivia, ‘I felt my waters break and it came on so quickly. I couldn’t get back up the stairs to call for help and my phone is in my purse in the bar.’

  ‘It’s alright,’ Olivia soothed her, ‘you’re not alone anymore.’

  ‘It’s too early,’ she shook her head her eyes wide with fear. ‘It’s too early the baby isn’t due for another eight weeks.’

  ‘You’re thirty two weeks?’

  Kaitlin nodded.

  ‘It’ll be alright,’ Olivia assured her, ‘it is a little early but your baby still has a chance of survival if we can get you straight to the hospital, okay?’

  ‘Okay,’ she gasped as another contraction gripped her womb ruthlessly.

  ‘Theo, I doubt we’ll get a signal down here, can you go up to the bar and call for an ambulance?’

  He nodded and headed up the steps.

  ‘I’m so sorry Katy love,’ Jackson dropped down next to her and took her hand. ‘If I’d known you were down here I’d never have left you on your own.’

  ‘I know that Jackson,’ she growled through the pain, ‘it’s not your fault.’

  As Theo made it to the top of the steps the door slammed shut violently. Olivia and Jackson turned to look as Theo braced his shoulder against the wood and shoved it hard. After a few moments he headed back down the steps.

  ‘It won’t open,’ he shook his head.

  Olivia opened her mouth to speak but paused as her breath was expelled as a phantom-like mist. The hair on the back of her neck started to prickle and her nostrils were suddenly filled with the pungent stench of ozone.

  ‘Dammit, not now,’ she breathed as Kaitlin let loose another cry of pain.

  She stood and turned to Theo who was looking anxiously around the small room.

  ‘Livy, there’s no way we can get her out,’ he whispered, ‘it’s trapped us in here.’

  Olivia looked up into Theo’s eyes. ‘You and Jackson need to take care of Kaitlin.’

  ‘And what about you?’ he gripped her arm as she turned away.

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ she replied, ‘I’ll keep him away from you for as long as possible but you need to help her. That baby is about to be born whether we like it or not.’

  ‘I don’t know anything about child-birthing.’

  ‘And you think I do?’ She breathed heavily, ‘look we just have to do the best we can. Childbirth is the most natural thing in the world, just let it h
appen. All you need to do is keep her calm and make her feel safe okay?’

  ‘What are you going to do?’ he asked.

  She stepped back from him and smiled as her hands burst into silver flames.

  ‘I’m about to see if my Spirit fire will work.’

  Jackson’s eyes widened in awe as he caught sight of Olivia. Her skin rippled with power as her magic flooded the small cellar, and he angled his body in front of Kaitlin so she couldn’t see what Olivia was doing.

  Theo stood watching silently as she let her fire loose. It fanned out and spun around them until it blurred into a thin silvery shield encasing them protectively.

  ‘What’s that light?’ Kaitlin gasped through the pain.

  ‘Nothing Katy love,’ Jackson soothed her.

  Theo turned back to them both and dropped to his knees in front of Kaitlin.

  ‘Oh God,’ she cried out, ‘I feel like I want to push.’

  ‘Okay just hold on Katy love, we’ve got you,’ Jackson smoothed her sweaty hair back from her face.

  ‘Kaitlin?’

  Her green eyes locked on Theo’s as she let out another deep groan.

  ‘This baby is not going to wait,’ he told her gently. ‘I’m going to remove your leggings and we’re going to make you more comfortable okay?’

  She nodded as her breath came out in short pants.

  ‘Jackson, are those towels behind you?’

  Jackson looked behind and noticed the three big plastic wrapped bales of brand new bar towels.

  ‘They are, but they’re a bit small.’

  ‘It’s all we’ve got, tuck one of them behind her like a pillow and open up one of the others, we’ll spread them out on the floor.’

  Jackson nodded and set to work as Theo carefully removed Kaitlin's boots and leggings.

  Kaitlin let out another cry as Theo laid his hand on her stomach and felt it tightening viciously.

  ‘Okay just breathe through the pain.’

  ‘I need to push,’ she panted.

  ‘Okay,’ he nodded, ‘with the next contraction I want you to push okay?’

  She nodded and pushed herself up onto her elbows as Jackson wrapped his arm around her to hold her up.

  ‘Have you done this before?’ Jackson whispered.