Crossroads

by Wendy Saunders

  ‘I have to admit you West women are a lot smarter than people give you credit for,’ Marguerite replied.

  ‘Damn it,’ Olivia turned to Theo, ‘they could be anywhere.’

  ‘I can tell you where they’ve gone.’

  Olivia turned back to her suspiciously, ‘in return for…?’

  She clapped her hands together in delight at the prospect of another deal and stepped closer to Olivia.

  ‘I have to admit,’ she pursed her wrinkled old lips, ‘you’re not my usual class of customer.’

  ‘What’s your usual class?’

  ‘Desperate and very selfish,’ she replied, ‘but you,’ she shook a finger at her thoughtfully, ‘you’re something different. You are human there’s no doubting that, but there’s something else.’ She leaned in close and inhaled deeply, sniffing at her. ‘Godfire,’ she smiled widely, ‘you hold the secret of Godfire.’

  ‘What?’ Olivia frowned in confusion.

  Marguerite stroked her chin thoughtfully, tugging at that stray nasty hair as if she were seeing Olivia for the first time.

  ‘I have a deal for you,’ she told Olivia after a moment. ‘I’ll tell you where they went and in return…’

  ‘In return…’ she prompted her to finish.

  ‘You must return to the Crossroad and free me.’

  ‘I’m sorry, what?’ she replied frowning as if she’d misheard her. ‘I think you’re a bit confused, I don’t have that kind of power.’

  ‘Not yet,’ she answered vaguely as if she knew something Olivia had not yet figured out. ‘When you come into your gift fully you must return and free me from the Crossroad.’

  She looked up at Olivia, giving her best sad eyes and stooping a little lower.

  ‘I’m so old now’ she told her weakly. ‘I’m so tired, all I want is to be at peace.’

  Olivia rolled her eyes, ‘you do know you’re not fooling anyone with that little old lady act. You could probably throw us off the Crossroad and halfway across the Universe without even breaking a sweat, so let’s cut the shit here. No deal.’

  She straightened up pouting and sighing.

  ‘No deal?’ she repeated. ‘Now who’s fooling who? There’s no way you’re leaving here without your mother’s location.’

  ‘I didn’t say I was,’ Olivia shrugged, ‘but let’s be realistic here. A location, in return for freeing you from an eternity of servitude on the only remaining Crossroad? Hardly seems like an even trade, you need to sweeten the pot.’

  She blew out a breath. ‘Fine, what do you want, more power?’

  ‘No thanks,’ Olivia replied casually. ‘I’m quite happy the way I am.’

  ‘What about your friend over there?’ she nodded in Sam’s direction. ‘That patch job Hades gave him isn’t going to last long. I could send him out of the Underworld where he’d be safe.’

  ‘No thanks,’ Sam answered, ‘wherever these two go, I go.’

  She turned to Theo and her eyes narrowed as she studied him.

  ‘What about you?’ she asked.

  ‘What about me?’

  ‘I could give you back your sister.’

  ‘What?’ he whispered.

  ‘Sweet little Temperance. Wouldn’t you give anything to have the little one back again, to have a second chance to give her the life she deserved?’

  For a second Theo’s heart thudded painfully, before finally shaking his head.

  ‘No.’

  ‘Theo’ Olivia whispered, ‘this is your one chance, you could have her back.’

  ‘It’s not right Olivia,’ he told her quietly, ‘everything has a natural order. She died a long time ago, even if it feels like only yesterday to me. It wouldn’t be a kindness to pull her back from wherever she has moved on to. If being here with you has taught me anything, it’s that anything is possible. I can only hope she’s in a good place, that she’s with our mother and that she is happy and free from pain.’

  Olivia smiled softly, stepping close to him as she grazed his cheek with her fingers and brushed his lips tenderly with hers. ‘You’re a good man Theo.’

  He looked up at Marguerite, ‘No deal.’

  She growled softly in frustration, ‘there must be something you want?’

  ‘Sorry Marguerite, if you want out of the Crossroad you’re going to have to up your game.’

  ‘Alright,’ she answered after a moment, ‘not only will I tell you where your mother and Nathaniel are, I’ll send you after them.’

  ‘Now you’re talking’ Olivia replied, ‘we have a deal.’

  Marguerite held out her hand. Olivia looked at her dirty cracked nails and filthy skin and took her hand, reluctantly shaking it and trying not to cringe.

  ‘The deal is done,’ she let go of Olivia. ‘Your mother and Nathaniel have gone after your ancestor, Hester West.’

  ‘Well she’s nothing if not consistent,’ Olivia muttered.

  ‘When have they gone back to?’

  ‘They are going back to when she is still a child, still vulnerable. She said something about the night the demon killed the child’s mother.’

  ‘Damn it,’ Theo swore, ‘he’s going back to the night the girls were brought to my family’s farm, the night Sam pulled me out of the fire and brought me to Mercy.’

  ‘If they interfere in that event’ Olivia shook her head in fear, ‘not only will you have never been brought forward to Mercy, but the girls won’t escape. And if Hester doesn’t survive, I’ll never be born.’

  ‘Shit’ Sam swore, ‘we have to go back to 1695 then.’

  Theo nodded.

  Olivia looked up at Marguerite, ‘send us back then.’

  ‘Remember our agreement,’ she warned.

  ‘I will come back for you, I promise.’

  Marguerite nodded and suddenly the air shimmered next to them, the same strange purple color as before.

  ‘Well I guess we’re going back to the 17th century then’ Sam frowned, sighing in disgust. ‘I didn’t even like it the first time around.’

  Olivia and Theo looked up at him in surprise.

  ‘What?’ he frowned, ‘I told you I was older than I looked.’

  Theo took Olivia’s hand and they turned towards the strange rippling portal.

  ‘And this will take us back to that night?’

  ‘Yes,’ she replied.

  Suddenly the floor shook and Olivia took a step back in surprise.

  ‘What was that?’

  At the very center of the Crossroad a bright green light exploded, rippling outwards. Ropey vines of green flame crackled and wrapped around Olivia’s waist and torso, grabbing her tightly and tugging hard.

  ‘Theo!’ she yelled in panic.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Sam yelled at Marguerite.

  ‘It’s not me’ she shouted, ‘someone is trying to pull her from the Underworld.’

  ‘Stop them!’ Theo growled, as he grabbed onto Olivia’s arms to stop her from sliding backwards.

  ‘I can’t’ she stepped back shaking her head, ‘it’s not part of the deal. My powers are bound by the Crossroad, unless it’s part of a deal I can’t do anything.’

  ‘Sam!’ Theo shouted, the green flames licked up his arm, burning as they went, but leaving no marks.

  He gritted his teeth against the pain as she began to slide back once again.

  ‘You have to go now!’ Marguerite shouted, ‘I cannot hold the portal open any longer.’

  Sam took a deep breath and with a war like cry of defiance he charged into Olivia, knocking her into Theo and throwing all three of them through the portal. They disappeared and a gigantic explosion of green fire exploded outwards violently. When the dust settled the Crossroad was gone and so was Marguerite.

  Hades stepped over the bodies littered across the ground and walked through the smoke, glancing around. The Crossroad was nowhere to be seen, nor was Olivia, her mother and Nathaniel. He knew once the Cros
sroad had disappeared they would not be able to find it again. His lips peeled back in an angry snarl as one of the shades approached and dropped a broken bloodied body at his feet.

  Zachary looked up at Hades, one of his eyes swollen shut and his face covered in blood.

  ‘Where were they going?’ he asked.

  ‘I’ll not tell you anything,’ he spat blood at Hades’ feet.

  ‘You’ll feel differently soon,’ Hades replied coldly. ‘You’ll find I can be very persuasive.’

  The shade grabbed him by his collar and dragged him face first across the hard sand covered stone, taking layers of skin off.

  Hades looked up at the strange green glow hovering in the smoky air and let out a deep frustrated breath.

  ‘Wherever you are Olivia’ he muttered, ‘I hope you make it out alive…’

  Glossary of Terms in Greek Mythology

  Hades: - used to denote both the God of the Underworld and the Underworld itself

  Hades the God: He drew lots with his brothers Zeus and Poseidon, when they were dividing up the World after they had overthrown the Titans. Zeus gained the earth, Poseidon the sea and Hades the Underworld

  Persephone: daughter of Demeter, the Goddess of the harvest. Seduced by Hades and taken as his wife

  Hades the Underworld: In front of the entrance to the Underworld live Grief, Anxiety, Diseases and Old Age. Fear, Hunger, Death, Agony, and Sleep also live in front of the entrance, together with Guilty Joys.

  On the opposite threshold is War, the Erinyes, and Eris. Close to the doors are many beasts, including Centaurs, Gorgons, the Lernaean Hydra, the Chimera, and Harpies. In the midst of all this, an Elm can be seen where false dreams cling under every leaf.

  Erebus: Meaning deep, darkness. A place of darkness between Earth and Hades. This was the region of the Underworld where the dead pass immediately after dying

  Cerberus: The 3 headed dog who guarded Hades the Underworld to keep the souls in. He was generally viewed as a pet of Hades the God.

  The Erinyes (also known as the Furies): These were the three Goddesses associated with the souls of the dead and they avenged crimes against the natural order of the world. They consist of Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone. They were particularly concerned with crimes done by children against their parents such as matricide, patricide, and un-filial conduct. They would inflict madness upon the living murderer, or if a nation was harboring such a criminal, the Erinyes would cause starvation and disease to the nation.

  Eris: She was the Goddess of Chaos, Strife and discord

  Charon: He is the ferryman who carried the souls of the dead down the River Styx, to the gates of Hades where they were to be judged. It was customary for the souls to pay a coin to the ferryman for his trouble. To this end the relatives of the deceased would place a coin in the mouth of the dead.

  Minos, Rhadamanthus and Aeacus: These are the three judges of the Underworld. Aeacus held the keys to Hades and Rhadamanthus and Aeacus judged the souls between them but Minos had the final decision.

  Eurynomos: a daimon (or spirit) of the Underworld who eats off all the flesh of the corpses and leaves only the bones

  The Fields of Punishment: the place in the Underworld where people are punished for evil deeds, using a variety of methods of torture

  Hecate: A goddess whom Zeus honored highly. She is most often shown holding two torches or a key. She was variously associated with crossroads, entrance-ways, dogs, light, the moon, magic, witchcraft, knowledge of herbs and poisonous plants, ghosts, necromancy, and sorcery. Through the honors bestowed upon her by Zeus she had influence in all parts of the universe but preferred to reside in the Underworld where she became a handmaiden to Persephone

  Dionysus: The God of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, ritual madness, ecstasy and fertility.

  Prometheus: He was one of the Titans. He stole fire from Zeus to give to the humans. As a punishment he was chained to a rock by Zeus and sentenced to have his liver eaten each day by an eagle. At night it would re-grow so that he would suffer the same torment again. Finally, he was cast down into Tartarus

  Cronus: He was the youngest leader of the Titans and the father of Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. He ruled during the so called Golden Age until he was overthrown by Zeus and imprisoned in Tartarus

  Tartarus: The deep abyss that was used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans

  The five rivers of the Underworld:

  The Styx – the river of hatred which circles the Underworld seven times

  The Acheron – the river of pain

  The Lethe – the river of forgetfulness

  The Phlegethon – the river of fire which leads to Tartarus

  The Cocytus – the river of wailing

  Other Titans:

  Lapetus: – Father of Prometheus

  Clymene: Daughter of Oceanus, therefore an Oceanid. She was also the mother of Prometheus

  Atlas: The God of astronomy and navigation. He was brother to Prometheus, and son of Lapetus and Clymene

  Oceanus: The God of the sea, and father to Clymene

  Coming soon

  The Guardians Series 1

  Book 4

  Witchfinder

  If there is one rule you don’t break, it’s don’t mess with Time.

  All of a sudden Olivia and Theo find themselves thrown back in time to 17th century Salem. Isabel and Nathaniel are hell bent on finding Olivia’s ancestor, Hester West, who was the last of the West women known to have had possession of Infernum. It is the most powerful book ever to have existed and Hester is the one person who knows its current location.

  The problem is if Isabel and Nathaniel find Hester they will change the events of the past. Theo will never have been pulled through time to present day Mercy and will never meet Olivia. Even worse, if Hester is harmed in any way Olivia will never be born in the first place.

  The stakes have never been higher. Trapped in the past at the height of the Witch Trials, Theo must not only try and keep Olivia safe from the religious fanatics who have never seen a real witch in their lives, but he must face his brother Logan and the past he left behind. And this time, if he fails, Olivia will be the one hanging from the tree on Gallows Hill.

  Chapter 1.

  Olivia groaned and rolled over, pressing her face into the grass and inhaling deeply. Her fingers flexed and dug into the earth. Lifting her head suddenly she inhaled again. She could actually smell the grass. Looking up into the sky she could see endless blue and fluffy white clouds. Gone was the strange bruised light of the Otherworld or the oppressive darkness of the Underworld, this was pure sunlight. She lifted her hand slightly and her skin glowed, she could feel the warmth tingling on her skin. Pushing herself up she listened and found she could hear the birds in the nearby trees. She closed her eyes and pulled in a deep breath, she was back in the real world. She cocked her head slightly and listened harder as a new sound began to intrude upon her awareness, something unfamiliar, a strange kind of pounding noise.

  Hands suddenly grasped her and hauled her to her feet, dragging her across the grass. She kicked back and spun around but looking up she realized it was Theo and she relaxed.

  ‘Theo,’ she breathed.

  ‘Shush,’ he warned, his eyes anxiously darting around as he pulled her behind the thick trunk of a tree and pushed her down so they were both out of sight.

  As the pounding sound got louder and louder, she resisted the urge to poke her head around the tree to see what was going on.

  ‘Theo,’ she whispered.

  Suddenly he clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled her in as close as he could. Her eyes widened as two horses thundered by. She caught a brief glimpse of their retreating forms as they passed by. Each horse bore a rider dressed in some sort of dark clothing, although she couldn’t quite make it out from this distance.

  Theo finally let out a breath and some of the tension d
rained out of his body. He looked down at Olivia cupping her face gently in his hands.

  ‘Are you okay?’ he asked softly in concern.

  ‘I’m fine,’ she placed her hand over his.

  ‘I thought we’d lost you there for a moment’ he frowned. ‘What the hell happened back at the Crossroad? What was that green fire?’

  ‘I have no idea’ Olivia shook her head. ‘It came out of nowhere and wrapped around me. I could feel it pulling at me.’

  ‘Did it harm you?’

  She shook her head, ‘did it hurt you?’

  ‘I felt it,’ he replied, ‘when I grabbed you. It felt like it was burning but it left no mark.’

  ‘Well, we’re here now,’ she stood slowly, ‘where’s Sam?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Theo answered worriedly, ‘but he can’t be far. We have to find him before anyone does.’

  ‘Who were those riders?’

  ‘I have no idea.’

  ‘Then why did we hide?’

  ‘Olivia, this is the 17th Century and you’re wearing jeans and a backpack.’

  ‘Oh,’ she looked around but all she could see were trees and grasslands, ‘are you sure we’re in the right place? The right time even?’

  Theo looked around quietly, his eyes shadowed.

  ‘Theo?’ she looked at him in concern, noting his strained expression.

  ‘We’re not far from Salem Village, my family's farm is a couple of miles west of here. We need to get someplace safe and out of sight until I can steal us some clothes. Once we blend in we can look around but we need to be careful until we can establish the date. People around here know me, the other me,’ he shook his head in irritation. ‘The past me, must be around here somewhere. I can’t risk anyone seeing me in two places at once.’

  ‘Olivia nodded, ‘we’d better find Sam.’

  Theo took Olivia’s hand and led her through the trees, all the while glancing around warily.

  ‘I know where we are,’ he replied suddenly, ‘it’s the apple orchard belonging to my neighbor James Wilkin.’