‘Well then,’ he cleared his throat. ‘If you will just come with me, there are a couple of forms to sign. Mr Beckett here can get changed while we sort out the particulars.’
‘Ah,’ Olivia frowned, ‘I didn’t bring any clothes with me. I’ve just got back from out of town. As soon as I found out what had happened I headed here to straighten everything out.’
‘Oh well,’ he once again hiked up his glasses, ‘never mind. Maybe we can find him something.’
‘Not to worry,’ she threw him her most winning smile, ‘we don’t live too far from here. He can just shower and change when he gets home.’
‘Well, if you’re sure.’
‘I am,’ she took his arm companionably. ‘Why don’t we go and get those forms signed.’
‘May I keep the book?’ Theo asked quietly, indicating the sketch book in front of him.
‘Of course,’ he nodded as he glanced down at Theo’s work. ‘You are extremely talented.’
‘Thank you,’ he closed the book and stood.
Within a short time they were both stepping out of the main entrance. The late afternoon sun was dipping low on the horizon and a cold early evening breeze tugged at Olivia’s jacket. Pulling it closer she turned and regarded Theo with a frown.
‘I should have brought you a coat,’ she murmured thoughtfully.
‘It’s not that cold.’
‘I suppose you’re used to hard winters,’ she replied in amusement. ‘No central heating.’
‘What is central heating?’
‘Never mind,’ she shook her head.
She descended the few steps onto the main concourse and headed past the gardens at a brisk pace. Theo followed alongside her, still in his pajamas and slippers, his art book tucked under one arm.
‘Where are we going?’ he asked curiously.
‘To a friend’s,’ she glanced back at him. ‘You’ll be safe there and we’ll have time to figure this all out.’
Theo suddenly stopped and glanced around him. watching the traffic as a bus and several cars passed them by.
‘This must be really strange for you,’ Olivia watched him thoughtfully.
‘What are they?’
‘Cars,’ she replied. ‘It's the most widely used mode of transport, most people have their own.’
‘Cars,’ he repeated. ‘How do they move with no horses to pull them?’
‘Come on,’ she smiled, ‘it’s too cold out here for a lesson on the internal combustion engine.’
‘The what?’ he frowned in confusion.
‘Exactly,’ she laughed.
He watched, mesmerized. Her laugh was one of the most beautiful sounds he’d ever heard. She tugged his arm and they both started walking again.
‘You’re going to be busy for a while,’ she told him with a hint of seriousness. ‘You have over three hundred years’ worth of history to catch up on, but lucky for you I’m a historian so I’ll try to make it as painless as possible.’
‘A historian?’
‘Someone who makes a living from studying the past.’
‘A profession?’
‘Yes,’ she nodded.
‘I don’t understand,’ he frowned, ‘you don’t have a father or a brother to care for you?’
‘Oh boy,’ she sighed. ‘I don’t have any brothers or sisters for that matter and as for my father, that’s one thing I’m not prepared to discuss. I specialize in the history of the New England colonies, particularly during the seventeenth century, so I am well aware of the role women played in your society. But you have to understand there have been three centuries of progression. Women no longer need their men to support them. In my society women have more or less the same social and economic rights as the men. We can inherit, we can vote, we can own property, we have the right to the same education and we hold positions of authority in many professions. Most of us work for a living and we support ourselves.’
‘It sounds lonely,’ he replied as they entered a parking lot.
‘Sometimes,’ she shrugged, ‘sometimes not. It’s all about having the right to choose your own path.’
‘I can understand that,’ he murmured.
She stopped beside her car and turned to study him.
‘I suppose in your society you wouldn’t have had much choice either.’
‘I had a choice,’ he replied after a moment, ‘I just made the wrong one.’
‘Well lucky you,’ she answered quietly as she unlocked the car. ‘You’ve got something a lot of people would kill for.’
‘What’s that?’
‘A second chance.’
She slipped into the driver’s seat and leaned over to pop the lock on his side, watching as he climbed in and closed the door, looking around at the interior of the car.
‘Sorry, it’s a bit of a mess,’ she apologized, ‘put your seat belt on.’
‘My what?’
‘Here,’ she smiled. Leaning over him and grasping the belt she clipped it in place.
She smelled so good, was all he could think. Her glossy dark hair brushed against his face when she leaned over him. He couldn’t quite place the fragrance but it held a hint of familiarity, something about it tugged at him. It was something dark and earthy, with a smoky undertone and when she glanced up at him from under thick, dark lashes it made him think of fire and flame and ash.
Breaking his gaze she glanced across the parking lot and tensed.
‘Damn it,’ she muttered under her breath.
Theo followed her gaze and saw a man propped against a fence, watching her intently.
‘Who is he?’ Theo frowned.
‘The Chief of Police,’ Olivia leaned back into her seat, her gaze hardening.
‘I don’t like the way he’s looking at you,’ Theo’s voice was low and disapproving.
‘That makes two of us,’ Olivia replied, as she fired the engine and backed out of the parking space.
‘Is he in charge of the watch?’ Theo asked, as they pulled out into the light evening traffic.
‘We don’t have a watch anymore,’ Olivia tried to find an easy way to explain it.
During Theo’s time, the policing system had been based on the English structure brought over by the original colonists. It incorporated a ‘watch’ made up of around six watchmen and several volunteers, who would patrol at night, led by a constable or a sheriff. But as the towns, ports and cities began to grow, society increasingly needed a more complex and wider reaching law enforcement body.
‘Shortly after your time,’ Olivia began, ‘mostly by the eighteenth century, a lot of people had settled into the towns and opened shops and businesses. This in turn meant more work for the sea ports. Taverns were built to serve cheap ale and entertain sailors. The problem was it then caused public drunkenness, brawls and prostitution. It became harder for the watch to maintain order.’
Olivia took her eyes off the road to look at Theo who was watching her carefully, the corner of his mouth curved in amusement.
‘Am I boring you yet?’
‘No,’ he smiled; he enjoyed the prim tone of her voice when she lectured him.
‘Okay then,’ she continued, ‘by the mid 1700’s wardens began to appear. These officials had the authority to hire watchmen, but the law enforcement system still required change. During the industrial revolution, we’ll cover that later by the way; the number of buildings, factories and the population surged and thanks to this boom in industrial growth the overcrowding brought more crime, riots and general disorder.
The solution was a new system first implemented by England in the early 1800’s. This new system was a more centralized police force designed to prevent crime instead of simply reacting to it. Philadelphia was the first to organize an independent twenty four hour police force, later Boston followed with a day police and night watch working independently. New York followed sometime afterwards, well back in your time it was called New Amsterdam.
Anyway, these new police departments were headed by police chiefs appointed by political leaders. This system still closely resembles today’s police force.’
Theo wasn’t sure he understood everything she had said but he managed to get most of it and he certainly enjoyed listening to her smooth cultured voice. The car slowed down and Olivia pulled up and parked.
‘Come on, we’re here.’
As they got out of the car Theo watched her check her surroundings as if she expected to be followed, then she popped the trunk and lifted out a stack of books.
Her face had lost some of the carefree laughter and now held a wariness that set off alarm bells. She may not need saving, as she’d insisted earlier at Riverside, but something was definitely wrong and he was determined to find out what it was.
They crossed the sidewalk and a small communal garden, entering a small apartment complex. As they approached one of the larger ground floor units the door swung open and a tall well built guy with dark blonde hair stood in the doorway. His eyes held the same wariness as Olivia’s and his mouth was set in a thin guarded line.
Jake’s hawk like gaze flicked over Olivia before settling on the tall dark haired guy beside her, still in his pajamas and clutching his sketchbook like he was afraid someone was going to steal it.
He scrutinized him thoroughly, his eyes narrowed with suspicion, before he finally stepped aside and allowed them to pass through the door. His eyes gave one final scan of the outside before he shut the door behind him and turned to face them both.
‘Jake, this is Theo, Theo, Jake,’ she introduced them both.
The two men nodded, each one sizing up the other with mutual suspicion. After a moment of silence, Jake opened up an interior door and motioned for Theo to enter.
‘The living room is through there.’
Theo glanced back at Olivia who nodded in encouragement. He turned and moved into the room but as Olivia went to follow Jake caught her by the elbow and held her back.
‘A word if you don’t mind Olive,’ he frowned.
‘Jake, are you mad with me?’ she tilted her head slightly as she studied him.
‘No, I told you over the phone earlier I’d help you, but are you absolutely sure the guy is who he says he is?’
She nodded.
‘Yes I am.’
‘Shit’, he swore ‘that’s a hell of a head fuck. How is he dealing with it?’
‘Disturbingly well.’
‘Olive,’ he scowled, ‘I’m really not sure this is a good idea with everything else that’s going on. You should’ve left him at Riverside, at least until we know more about him.’
‘I know what I’m doing Jake,’ she insisted.
‘I don’t think you do,’ he shook his head. ‘He’s a Witchfinder. Have you considered what’s going to happen when he finds out what you are?’
‘I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,’ she frowned. ‘Look, I’m sorry I dragged you into this but there isn’t anyone else I can trust.’
‘Fine,’ he conceded reluctantly, ‘at least you had the sense to bring him here rather than your place. At least here I can keep an eye on him.’
‘Thank you.’
‘There are some other things you should know though.’
‘What?’
‘The Chief is keeping me out of the loop as much as possible, but from what I’ve been able to find out he has you under surveillance.’
‘I figured as much,’ she sighed. ‘There’s not much I can do about that except wait for them to get bored.’
‘It’s more than that though, he’s having the woods by your house searched.’
‘Have they found Brody yet?’
‘No,’ Jake shook his head, ‘and given how long he’s been missing it doesn’t look good. After what happened to Adam they are concentrating on the area where his body was found.’
Olivia fell silent, her eyes troubled.
‘What?’ Jake asked suspiciously, ‘what is it Olive? What are you not telling me?’
She hesitated.
‘Olive?’
‘I think there’s something in the woods,’ she whispered.
‘What do you mean…something?’
‘I’m not sure,’ she shook her head, ‘but I’ve felt it a couple of times now. Jake, I’ve never been afraid of the woods before, I played there countless times as a kid.’
‘I know, we all did.’
‘It’s different now,’ she breathed out slowly.
‘Different how?’
‘I can’t explain it, I can feel a presence, an awareness and…’ her voice trailed off.
‘And what?’ he whispered in concern.
When she turned to look at him her eyes were deep liquid pools of amber, her voice was low and carried with it a hint of warning.
‘and it’s waking up.’
11.
Olivia woke with a start, breathing heavily, her heart racing. As the dream began to fall away, she couldn’t quite remember what she had been dreaming about, but a restless unease slithered across her skin like a serpent, making the tiny hairs on her arms stand on end.
Untangling her limbs from the twisted sheets she swung her legs over the side of the bed, wincing as her bare feet hit the cold wooden floor. She pulled her heavy hair back from her neck and a clammy bead of sweat rolled lazily down her spine.
Dragging in a shaky breath she reached out toward her nightstand, her trembling fingers grasping for the glass of water, but as she brought it to her parched lips she realized the glass was empty. Her throat was rough and dry and her tongue felt as if it were stuck to the roof of her mouth. Whatever she’d been dreaming about it had obviously shaken her up pretty bad.
Shivering as the cold sweat on her body began to dry, she grasped her robe and pulled it on over her nightdress. Glancing across at the blinking red numbers on the clock by her bed she groaned. 2 a.m. and she wasn’t likely to get back to sleep anytime soon.
Grabbing the empty glass she headed out of the room and downstairs to the kitchen. As long as she was up she may as well make herself a cup of tea. Setting the kettle on the stove to boil she absently tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she dropped the teabag into her favorite mug.
She hated waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to get back to sleep, it messed with her concentration all the next day. She really needed to get the finishing touches to her project and get it sent over to her publisher. She was already coming up on her deadline and with everything that had happened recently she was running behind, which just burned her ass. She had always prided herself on her professionalism and her ability to keep to tight deadlines, but now she just felt drained and frustrated. She’d already decided she was going to take a break after this project was wrapped up. Deep in thought she crossed the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
She was just reaching for the milk when she heard a noise outside. Letting the refrigerator door swing shut behind her she headed out of the kitchen and down the hallway towards the door. Glancing out of the peephole revealed nothing. Taking a deep breath she slowly unlocked the door.
Somewhere inside her a little voice was telling her it was a dumb idea. After all there was a killer on the loose, not to mention something dark and unknown lurking in the woods. But she couldn’t help herself, she knew she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep if she didn’t check. Besides she had powerful protective wards encircling the house, even now she could feel them pulsing with her power. Nothing was getting over that line, of that she was sure.
Stepping out into the freezing night air and onto the wooden porch she cursed lightly, wishing she’d put some shoes on. Casting her eyes around she couldn’t see anything out of place, but she could still hear something. Her breath caught in her throat, her heart hammering wildly in her chest as she heard the creak and groan of the wood again. This time she could have sworn she heard a shallow scratching sound. Creeping sile
ntly forward she edged past the porch swing as it moved and creaked lightly in the breeze, then headed towards the end of the veranda.
A shadow moved in the corner and she leaned in closer, her eyes narrowing in the darkness. Suddenly a small furry creature shot out from under the bush which had grown through the wooden railing.
Olivia fell back against the side of the house and laughed breathlessly. Her heart had leapt into her throat and was pounding in her ears.
Damn squirrel, she chuckled nervously. Pushing herself back to her feet she leaned against the rail, as she slowed her breathing and tried to calm her erratic pulse. The cold wind wrapped itself around her body like a lover, tugging at her nightdress and robe, blowing her long hair back over her shoulder.
Wrapping her arm around the post she glanced out towards the woods. She felt like she’d lost something. Her head fell tiredly against the post and she sighed. The woods had always been hers; she’d run wild there as a child, always closely followed by Louisa and Jake. It had been a place of magic and wonder and no matter how deep they went she’d always felt safe. That feeling was gone now, as she reached out to the woods she could feel the oppressive weight of darkness nudging at the edges of her consciousness. She wouldn’t venture out into the woods on her own now, it wasn’t safe.
She shivered against the cold air and breathed deeply. Turning back toward her front door, she caught a flicker at the corner of her eye. Staring hard into the woods she frowned. For a moment she could have sworn she’d seen a light through the tree line. A prickle of unease skittered down her spine causing her to shiver once again. Turning back toward the door she passed by the porch swing which still swayed slightly in the breeze. But as her gaze fell upon the seat she froze.
A small rag doll sat innocently propped upright in the seat, its button eyes lifeless and unseeing as it rocked innocuously back and forth with the rhythm of the swing.
Adrenalin surged through her veins like jagged shards of ice, her breathing shallow and erratic as she reached out with trembling hands. Her fingers closed around the soft body of the doll and she lifted it up into the light spilling from her front door.
The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum Page 18
