The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum

by Wendy Saunders

Theo’s head snapped up at the strange word that had echoed in his mind for as long as he could remember.

  ‘You’re sure you don’t know what it was?’ he asked urgently.

  The small child looked at him directly and he found he couldn’t look away. Her clear gaze held his and suddenly her whiskey colored eyes darkened. She slowly reached out towards him, her hands still bound with rope. She carefully placed two tiny fingers upon his forehead, her brow wrinkling.

  ‘You’ve seen her, haven’t you?’ she whispered. ‘The woman with the gold eyes.’

  ‘How can you possibly know that?’ he gasped.

  ‘Because I’ve seen her too.’

  Theo tore himself away, stumbling as he backed away, breathing hard. He tripped out of the door, slamming it closed behind him as he fell heavily against the roughened wood of the barn and dragged the cold night air into his lungs, which suddenly felt constricted.

  Theo took a deep breath and raked his hand shakily through his dark hair. He didn’t understand what the hell was going on. Who were those two girls and what did Nathaniel Boothe want from them? How did his brother come to be involved? One thing was for certain, no matter what the answers were, something was very wrong and he felt it right down to his core.

  An idea started to form in his mind. He tried to shake it off, but it was stubborn and persistent. His jaw clenched and his dark eyes deepened. Suddenly he knew what he needed to do. Taking a quick look back toward the barn he turned and headed up to the main farmhouse, praying he had enough time.

  ‘Hess, what did you go and say that to him for?’ Bridey scolded her sister. ‘If he didn’t think we were witches before, he will now.’

  ‘I don’t think he will,’ Hess frowned at her sister. ‘There is something about him. He’s different from the others.’

  ‘You can’t know that, Ma told us not to trust anyone.’

  ‘I know that, I’m not a fool’

  ‘Well you are certainly acting like one. What did you have to go and mention Infernum for. Ma said we were never to talk about it.’

  ‘I know,’ she sighed. ‘I know this is going to sound strange, but I think I was meant to say something to him.’

  ‘What?’ Bridey frowned.

  ‘I can see his threads,’ Hess replied quietly.

  Bridey gasped. ‘You can see the threads, like Grandmama could?’.

  Hess nodded.

  ‘For how long?’

  ‘A while now,’ Hess confessed. ‘At first I wasn’t sure what I was seeing and it doesn’t happen with everyone, but Ma seemed to know before I did. She said my gifts would get stronger as I grow.’

  Bridey chewed her chapped lip thoughtfully, as she regarded her sister. Threading was a gift, whilst not common among true witches, that seemed to run in her family. Each witch with that particular trait was able to see the fine threads of life woven between every living thing. Her Grandmama had once told her it was like looking at the world through a yarn basket. Everything was overlaid with finely colored threads of varying hues, each thread having a different purpose.

  ‘What did you see when you looked at him?’

  ‘He’s not like the others, the ones I’ve seen. Their colors are dull and attached to others like one giant spider’s web. But Theo, he is surrounded by bright golden threads and they are not attached to anything. I don’t understand why. It’s almost as if he’s adrift. He doesn’t match everyone else, it’s like he doesn’t belong here,’ Hess finished with a frown.

  ‘But what does this have to do with Infernum?’

  ‘It surrounds him, a whispering echo, like a plucked string vibrating through the threads of his life. It is a part of him and yet not. I don’t know, I wish Ma was here. She would know what to do.’

  Bridey took her sister in her arms and cradled her gently.

  ‘I know Hess, I wish Ma were here too. But we’ve got each other and that’s what is important.’

  They both looked up sharply as the door banged open and Theo stepped purposefully in, carrying a large bundle in his arms. Bridey's eyes once again held a wariness, while Hess looked at him as if he were a puzzle she was trying to figure out.

  ‘Come,’ he urged as he dropped to his knees beside them on the straw littered floor. ‘There is not much time before my brother is expected.’

  Bridey flinched as Theo pulled a knife free from his clothing.

  ‘Do not fear me,’ he told her softly as he reached for her hands. ‘I will not harm you.’

  She watched closely, her brow folding suspiciously as he cut the binding at her wrists. She winced lightly as the blood flowed back into her hands and she rubbed at the tender and broken skin of her wrist, while Theo cut her sister’s bonds.

  ‘Why are you doing this?’ she whispered. ‘We are accused; do you know what they will do to you if you let us escape?’

  ‘I know, but I will not have the blood of children on my hands,’ his gaze was clear and determined. ‘Here, put these on.’

  He tossed the bundle of cloth at them both and as she and Hess unravelled it they found a pair of boots and a pair of softer leather slippers, two dresses, a thicken woollen shawl and a stout dark cloak in a heavy practical material.

  She turned to gaze at Theo, who was now pulling a bridle down from its hook.

  ‘Where did you get these?’ Bridey asked.

  He paused without looking directly at her.

  ‘They belonged to my sister.’ He shook his head as he retrieved a worn saddle. ‘They may not be a perfect fit, but they will keep you warm.’

  Bridey kept her mouth shut as she began to pull a thick dress over her sister’s torn smock. As she worked silently to clothe them both, Theo led a chestnut mare from her stall and began to saddle her, quickly and efficiently.

  Once they were dressed they approached Theo apprehensively.

  ‘This is Lucky, she has an even temperament and is easy to ride.’ He looked down at the two young girls, ‘have you ridden before?’

  They both nodded.

  ‘Good,’ he bent down and lifted Hess into the saddle first. ‘Do you have any family, anyone you could go to?’

  ‘No,’ Hess shook her head, ‘it's just us now.’

  Theo pursed his lips thoughtfully as he lifted Bridey into the saddle, tucking her in behind her sister. Then he picked up the cloak and wrapped it around Bridey’s shoulders.

  ‘I’m sorry there’s only one cloak but it’s big enough to fit around both of you, it should keep out the worst of the cold.’

  Bridey nodded as she wrapped her arms around her sister’s waist and he handed her the reins. Tucking the heavy cloak carefully around Hess, she turned to regard Theo with puzzled eyes.

  ‘You know what they will do to you when they realize you helped us escape?’ she repeated her earlier question.

  ‘Yes,’ he breathed softly.

  ‘Then why?’ she frowned in confusion. ‘We are nothing to you, why risk your life?’

  ‘I am not a good man,’ Theo replied quietly. ‘It can in no way make up for the things I have done, but maybe saving you will go toward helping me to redeem myself. Besides, I wouldn’t hand a stray dog over to Nathaniel Boothe. If he has taken an interest in you then it can only come to no good.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Bridey reached out tentatively and touched his hand.

  He attached a stout sack and a water skin to the saddle. ‘There is food in here, use it sparingly for I do not know when you will be able to get more. Head south and get as far away from Salem as you can, I will try and mislead them, if I can to cover your tracks.’

  ‘How?’ Hess asked.

  ‘After a while I will allow them to extract a confession from me. I will tell them that you travel east towards relatives.’

  ‘What do you mean, extract a confession from you?’ Hess asked worriedly.

  ‘It means they will torture a confession from him,’ Bridey replied flatly.

  ‘N
o,’ Hess breathed in horror.

  ‘I fear it will be unavoidable, once they realize what I have done,’ he answered.

  ‘Come with us,’ Hess pleaded.

  ‘I can’t,’ he shook his head, removing a small purse from his pocket. ‘Take this, there is not much coin I’m afraid, but it is all I have.’

  ‘You don’t have to do this,’ Hess replied softly, as her eyes filled with tears.

  ‘Don’t waste your tears on me little one,’ Theo tucked her matted hair behind her equally dirty ear. ‘I am not worthy of them.’

  He turned away from them and picked up his journal. Slipping the picture he had drawn earlier from its pages, he folded it and tucked it in his pocket, before turning towards the girls and handing the journal to the younger one. When the others arrived it would not do for them to read his private thoughts, recorded within the pages of his journal, knowing that his doubt in their cause, his lack of faith and overwhelming feelings of guilt, would only condemn him further in their eyes.

  ‘Take this for me and keep it safe.’

  ‘Perhaps we will meet again one day,’ Hess rubbed her tear stained face and merely succeeded in smearing more dirt across her cheeks.

  ‘Perhaps,’ Theo smiled gently. ‘Be safe and may God go with you.’

  Bridey nodded her head, as he led the horse to the door and pulled it open.

  Theo froze, and the mare behind him shied in surprise, as he found himself staring into the furious eyes of his brother.

  ‘What are you doing Theodore?’

  ‘The right thing for once,’ Theo replied, his face a stone mask of cold determination. ‘Step aside brother.’

  ‘They are accused.’ He spat the word as if it were something filthy; ‘Nathaniel himself will question them.’

  ‘No,’ Theo stood firm, ‘I will not allow it.’

  ‘Who are you to say what is allowed and not?’ Logan hissed. ‘We swore an oath to the court. We swore to rid the world of the plague of witchcraft.’

  ‘Logan, listen to yourself,’ Theo breathed, allowing his frustration to show. ‘This is not what Temperance would have wanted. What started out with the best intentions, has degenerated into utter madness. Look at them Logan, really look at them. They are children, barely any older then Temperance was. Is this what God truly wants, for us to become the murderers of children? We were supposed to protect the innocents, not strike them down in God’s name.’

  ‘Heresy!’ Logan bellowed. ‘You have allowed yourself to become corrupted by these creatures.’

  ‘It is you who have become corrupted brother, this is not the path. It can lead only into darkness.’ Theo held out his hand towards his brother. ‘Please Logan, I implore you, do not force my hand. I have no wish to harm you.’

  ‘You are no brother of mine,’ Logan’s eyes flattened to a cold glittering black. Waves of rage emanated from him, as flecks of spittle appeared at the corner of his mouth. ‘You have been possessed by the devil.’

  ‘Brother,’ Theo warned, ‘I beg you, do not do this,’

  ‘Witch!,’ he shrieked. ‘You have been corrupted by these spawn of the devil’s whore.’

  Theo looked at him with sad eyes. So this was it. This was where the line had finally been drawn. His brother was as lost to him as his sister. His rage and thirst for revenge had pushed him over the edge into madness. All traces of the man he had once known and loved were gone. Theo straightened his shoulders and looked his brother in the eye.

  ‘Stand aside brother,’ his voice was hard and full of purpose, ‘or I will make you stand aside.’

  ‘You are not my brother,’ Logan pulled a knife from his clothes. ‘You are a demon who wears his face and I’ll see you burn in Hell where you belong.’

  He lunged forward and Theo grabbed his wrist with one hand and his throat with the other. Spinning him around, he slammed him into a thick wooden post.

  ‘Go now!’ he yelled as he fought to keep his brother pinned.

  ‘May your God be with you Sir,’ Bridey murmured as she dug her heels into the mare, forcing her forward and out of the barn doors. As soon as they were free of the building she urged the horse into a gallop and didn’t look back.

  ‘I will find them,’ Logan hissed. ‘And when I do I will make them suffer for your betrayal.’

  ‘You will have to get past me first,’ Theo breathed heavily, as he pitted his strength against that of his brother.

  Logan shoved him backward, breaking Theo’s grip, and planted his fist in his face. Theo stumbled back blocking the entrance, his eyes wary, his only thought to keep his brother from the open doorway. He knew he had to give them as much of a head start as he could, before the others arrived with Nathaniel Boothe and they managed to overpower him.

  Logan hissed as he rushed him, his blade held high. Theo moved to meet him, raising his arm to block the downward stroke. A searing pain speared up his arm as the knife passed clean through his forearm, protruding from the other side. Before Logan had a chance to pull the blade clear, Theo twisted his arm with a determined cry.

  As he had hoped the hilt snapped off, leaving the blade embedded in his arm and denying his brother a weapon. Balling his good hand into a fist he drove it into his stomach. The air whooshed from Logan’s lungs, forcing him to buckle forward, giving Theo the opportunity to bring his fist up under his chin. Logan's head snapped back and he stumbled backward, trying to pull in a deep breath.

  Theo grasped the detached blade tightly and pulled it through his arm, ignoring the stinging pain as it bit into the palm of his hand. The useless piece of metal slipped from his wet bloodied hands and hit the floor with a clanging sound.

  Logan glanced up at his brother, his blind madness met Theo’s cold fury. His teeth peeled back in a snarl as he launched himself forwards, tackling Theo mid-chest and slamming him against the wall. From that point on there was only hate and madness between the two brothers. They grappled and rolled into the wall, across the floor, slamming each other into any hard surface they could find, landing a punch wherever they could. It was a dirty fight and neither was willing to give any quarter.

  They were barely aware when they slammed into the bale where the lamp sat. They certainly didn’t notice when it teetered precariously on the edge, nor did they care when it toppled to the ground with a resounding crash. Fire caught the straw littered floor immediately, a great claw of flame devouring everything in its path. The fire let out a great roar and the beast grew. Flames licked up the wooden supports towards the beamed roof. A huge sheet of red, gold and orange broke and rippled like a gigantic wave.

  Smoke choked the air as the two brothers continued to wrestle across the floor. Suddenly there was a loud cracking and Logan looked up from where he had Theo pinned to the ground, his hands around his neck. The beam gave way and crashed to the ground as Logan rolled clear. Theo coughed through the dust and ash that was thrown into the smoky air. His lower body was pinned to the ground. He struggled to pull himself free, but it was no use.

  ‘God has his own way of punishing, Theodore,’ Logan shouted above the roar of the fire. ‘Your soul is going to burn along with the devil you sold it to.’

  ‘Then I’ll see you in Hell,’ Theo ground between his teeth, as he watched Logan edge out of the doorway.

  ‘You first brother,’ Logan smiled, as the roof gave way sealing the doorway.

  Theo dropped his head back against the floor and roared in frustration. He tried once again to pull himself free, but it was no use. So this was how it was all going to end. He prayed to God the children got safely away. If he had done nothing else good with his life, at least he hoped they would get to live theirs away from Salem and free from persecution.

  He coughed again as the thick oily smoke invaded his lungs. It was like inhaling burning hot brands from the fire. He looked up as he heard another huge groan of timber and an alarming, splintering sound. He drew in a painful breath and the whole world seemed to
slow. He watched, with the quiet acceptance of a man who awaited his fate, as the roof broke apart and plunged directly down toward him. He closed his eyes and waited to die.

  Suddenly, he felt a strange pressure on his upper arms as if someone had grabbed him. The next thing he knew everything around him lurched and he found himself upright and standing on a strange hard surface, in the freezing night air. He stumbled as he tried to regain his balance. Leaning forward with his hands on his knees, he coughed up thick black spittle and dragged the crisp clean air into his lungs.

  Slowly, as his breathing evened out and he regained his balance, he straightened and took in his surroundings. He didn’t recognize where he was. He almost certainly was no longer on his family’s land. The burning barn was nowhere in sight. The air smelled and tasted clear, with the cold bite of autumn. He could hear the rustle of huge trees in the night breeze, although he could not make them out in the darkness. The clouds moving across the sky suddenly cleared, illuminating his path with silvery moonlight.

  He started as a figure was revealed by the pale light. The man standing in front of him was as tall as him and broad. His dark hair seemed to curl slightly at the ends, his skin was pale and although Theo couldn’t make out the color of his eyes, they watched him calmly and patiently as if waiting for him to adjust to his new surroundings.

  ‘Who are you?’ Theo croaked, his voice sounded foreign to his own ears. He cleared his throat and tried again. ‘Who are you?’

  The man in front of him smiled warmly in amusement.

  ‘A friend,’ he replied.

  ‘Where am I? How did I get here?’

  ‘A better question would be when are you?’ the man replied casually.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Theo shook his head to try and clear his thoughts.

  ‘Theodore Beckett,’ the man began.

  ‘How do you know my name?’ Theo’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.

  ‘I know more than you can possibly imagine Theo,’ he replied calmly. ‘But now is not the time. I can only tell you that you are no longer in Salem and the year is no longer 1695.’

  ‘I don't…’he shook his head, ‘I don’t understand.’