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

by Wendy Saunders

  Theo’s gaze cut across to his father and he sighed.

  ‘Theo she’s his daughter, he deserves to know the truth.’ Olivia reached out and grasped his arm gently.

  He stared down into her eyes trying to decide whether or not telling James was the right thing to do. Either way the man was going to lose his daughter, but maybe knowing she was alive and well but living in a different time, would bring him a small measure of comfort.

  ‘You’d better sit down,’ he replied after a moment.

  James glanced at Olivia, his expression a mix of curiosity laced with worry. She nodded once in reassurance and watched as he took a seat at the table.

  ‘Before we tell you anything’ Theo warned, ‘we must have your word you will not tell another living soul.’

  ‘You have my word,’ he agreed.

  Another silent look passed between Olivia and Theo as they tried to decide how much to reveal.

  ‘You may as well tell him all of it,’ Sam reached for a piece of thick dark bread, slathering it in butter.

  ‘But you said…’

  ‘That was the other me,’ Sam took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. ‘Regardless, I think we’re going to have to start taking a few risks. We’ll try and keep the timeline as intact as possible but I think Olivia is right. It doesn’t necessarily apply to James as he already had foreknowledge of the future thanks to your mother Theo. I think we’ll be safe enough as long as he doesn’t act on any information we give him or share it with anyone else.’

  ‘Who am I going to tell?’ James interrupted angrily. ‘I just want to know what is happening with my daughter.’

  ‘Go ahead Theo’ Olivia breathed, ‘tell him all of it.’

  Theo dropped back down onto the bench opposite James, trying to organize his thoughts.

  ‘About ten years from now I die,’ Theo began, ‘or at least that’s what everyone will believe. There was a fight between my brother Logan and myself in the barn back home. In the struggle a lamp was knocked over and the barn caught fire. Logan made it out but I didn’t. To everyone who witnessed the fire I died that night. As my body was never recovered they just assumed there was nothing left of me. In reality Sam here, or rather an older version of Sam, pulled me out of the barn at the last moment and took me forward in time. Three hundred years forward.’

  ‘Three hundred years?’ James’ mouth fell open in shock.

  ‘Yes,’ Theo nodded, ‘that’s where I met Olivia.’

  James turned, his wide dark eyes on Olivia. ‘You…you were born…’

  ‘I was born in the year 1986’ she told him gently, ‘in a town not far from Salem that doesn’t exist yet and won’t do for at least another twenty years.’

  ‘Anyway’ Theo continued, ‘I settled into Olivia’s time believing I would never again return to Salem, to my time.’

  ‘What changed?’ James asked with a frown of confusion as he tried to process the fantastical tale.

  ‘A lot of things I won’t explain to you and you will have to accept that’ Theo replied, for as much as James was willing to at least accept the possibility of time travel, Theo didn’t think he was ready to hear about the Underworld, lost Crossroads and Greek Gods.

  ‘So what does this have to do with Temperance?’ James asked.

  ‘She died,’ Theo breathed out painfully, ‘or so I always believed. I was away at market with Logan when we were delayed by a storm. This storm. We took shelter at an inn and waited it out but it lasted for days. When we finally returned home it was to be informed by my father,’ Theo stopped suddenly shaking his head, ‘told by Matthias Beckett’ he corrected himself, ‘that Temperance had succumbed to a fever and died. My wife Mary, in her madness, had apparently burned Temperance’s body, so there was no way to confirm their story and no reason to believe they’d lied.’

  ‘But they did lie?’ James asked in confusion.

  ‘No’ Olivia disagreed, ‘they honestly would have believed what they were saying was the truth, but now I know differently.’

  ‘I’m not sure I understand,’ James frowned.

  ‘Temperance is alive and living in the town where I was born, during my time. Which means she was pulled through time the same way Theo was. Again the fire would have covered up the lack of a body.’

  ‘If what you are saying is true,’ James answered in confusion, ‘that would mean that…’

  ‘We’re running out of time’ Olivia confirmed. ‘We must save her before this storm blows itself out and the younger version of Theo and his brother Logan return.’

  ‘But how? How will you save her?’ James asked looking across to Sam. ‘Forgive me Sam but you don’t look as if you have the strength to stand for a long period of time right now, let alone jump through time.’

  ‘You’re not entirely wrong’ Sam frowned, washing down the bread with a mouthful of cider, ‘besides I’ve never even tried it before.’

  ‘Perhaps you are wrong Olivia’ James replied, ‘and it is not Temperance living in this town of yours but a distant ancestor who merely looks similar.’

  ‘I’m not wrong,’ Olivia shook her head, ‘not about this.’

  ‘But Sam said it himself’ he argued, ‘he has no idea how to travel through time.’

  ‘Actually I didn’t say I had no idea’ Sam intervened, ‘I just said I’d never tried it.’

  ‘What?’ Theo turned to Sam, ‘you think you know how to do it?’

  ‘I have a theory,’ Sam mused thoughtfully. ‘You remember the conversation we had Olivia, about time in your world being like a river?’

  She nodded, trying to cast her mind back. ‘You said it only flows in one direction because it’s linear in our world.’

  ‘That’s right’ he replied, pleased that she’d remembered. ‘I also theorized that there were fixed points in time, events of such importance they cannot be changed and that time might butt up against those point. As they can’t be moved or changed those events would redirect the flow.’

  ‘Rippling out and causing thousands of alternate timelines,’ Olivia finished for him. ‘Yes I do remember, you wondered if you could ride those timelines like a wave.’

  ‘It’s a little more complicated than that,’ Sam tapped his fingers against the table, ‘but I did spend a great deal of time thinking about it. In fact, I’ve been thinking about it ever since you told me the older version of me is able to navigate through time and I think I know how I did it. However, I haven’t had time to test my theory.’

  ‘Can’t you test it now?’ Theo asked.

  ‘No,’ Sam shook his head. ‘James is right about one thing, I’m weakened right now and I still haven’t fully regained my strength. If I’m even going to try to attempt what you’re suggesting and pull your sister through time into the future, I need to conserve every ounce of strength I have.’

  ‘So you’re just going to what, grab Tempy and hope for the best?’ Theo growled.

  ‘It’s the best I can do right now Theo, I’m sorry,’ Sam replied. ‘I’ll try, that’s all I can promise. Like I said it’s a theory, I’ve got no way of knowing if it’ll work until it does.’

  ‘Or doesn’t,’ James frowned. ‘Look I understand all of you are trying to help but if Temperance really is sick we should call the doctor and see if he can help her.’

  ‘He won’t be able to James,’ Olivia replied softly. ‘I know it’s a lot for you to take in all at once and a lot to ask you to take on faith, but this really is her only shot. If Sam fails, she will die.’

  ‘No pressure then,’ Sam murmured sarcastically.

  ‘Sam I know you can do it,’ Olivia turned to him, ‘I have faith in you. Now you have to have faith in me and I’m telling you Temperance is alive and living in Mercy.’

  ‘Very well’ he shook his head, ‘you know I’ll do what I can but there is something else you’re missing.’

  ‘What’s that?’ Theo asked.

  ‘Just say you’re
right and this works. Say I manage to jump Temperance three hundred years into the future, the chances are it’s going to use up whatever strength I have left. I won’t be able to come back for you. You will be stuck here in 1685 while your mother and the other Nathaniel are causing God knows what kind of trouble ten years ahead of you in 1695.’

  Olivia turned to look at Theo and a silent agreement passed between them.

  ‘Then we’ll take the long way around,’ Olivia told him.

  ‘You’ll stay in Salem for the next ten years? Just waiting for your mother and Nathaniel to show up?’

  ‘If we have to’ Theo agreed, ‘it’s a small price to pay to save my sister.’

  ‘It’s too risky,’ Sam told them. ‘If you change even the slightest thing the consequences…’

  ‘We know,’ Olivia replied, ‘trust me you’ve told me often enough. But if I am right and Temperance Beckett is Tammy Burnett then by not saving her you’ll be changing the future.’

  ‘Time travel gives me a headache,’ Sam growled. ‘I don’t do well under the weight of this kind of responsibility, that’s why I left my…’

  ‘Your what?’ Olivia asked curiously as his voice trailed off.

  ‘Nothing,’ he stiffened in his seat, ‘never mind.’

  ‘Look Sam’ Olivia replied, ‘we’ve all got to grow up some time. You need to make a decision. Will you save Temperance or attempt to jump us ten years into the future to stop my mother and Nathaniel?’

  ‘Sometimes I wish I’d never met you,’ he grumbled.

  ‘I’m sure you do,’ she replied, a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. ‘Now put on your big boy pants and make a choice.’

  ‘Fine’ he breathed, ‘I’ll do what I can for Temperance but try and stay out of trouble for the next decade. I don’t need to remind you that there is another younger version of Theo walking around. Theo is essentially going to have to hide from everyone for ten years and you Olivia, I don’t think I need to remind you what is going to happen in the next few years. If they find out what you are you’ll be the one hanging from the tree on Gallows Hill.’

  ‘They won’t find out,’ Olivia assured him.

  Staying in the past at the height of the Salem witch trials wasn’t her first choice but at this point it couldn’t be helped. If they had to stay, maybe they could relocate to Boston or New Hampshire, anywhere that Theo wouldn’t be recognized. Then they could return after the trials but before her mother and Nathaniel arrived from the Underworld. It wasn’t a flawless plan but it was the best she could come up with, unless of course she figured out a way to make the compass work. There was always the possibility that she could use the strange compass Hades had given her to jump herself and Theo through time. Of course she didn’t want to bring that up just yet, in case it didn’t work. Right now they needed to deal with the situation regarding Temperance and time was running out.

  ‘So are we all agreed?’ Olivia asked, ‘we try to save Temperance?’

  She looked at each of them in turn as they nodded in agreement.

  ‘Okay then’ she replied, ‘Theo tell me exactly what you remember Mary and Matthias saying about the night Temperance was supposed to have died.’

  ‘There’s not much,’ Theo shook his head trying to cast his mind back. ‘He was drunk and she was mad, neither of them were making much sense. All I know is that at some point during the storm, Mary saw a man appear and disappear. Matthias didn’t see anything so my guess is that he was passed out drunk.’

  ‘What about the fire?’ Olivia asked. ‘Mary said Temperance’s body burned but where? In the house? The barn? Outside?’

  ‘In the house,’ Theo frowned thinking back. ‘Actually I remember thinking how strange that was. The fire was inside the house, it burned the whole of the section where Tempy’s room was. There was literally nothing left of the room or the hallway leading to it, but the fire didn’t spread beyond that. It burned hot enough to destroy everything in that room but it didn’t move beyond the confines of the hallway. Most of the house was left intact and we later rebuilt that section. Logan at the time thought that it hadn’t spread because of the heavy rain.’

  ‘That’s not right’ James interjected, ‘Matthias’ house is timber. Surely if it had caught alight the fire would have spread too quickly. Even if the rain did douse the flames it would have destroyed more than just one room.’

  ‘Not if it was my fire,’ Olivia mused.

  ‘What?’

  ‘What if I was the one who started the fire to cover up Temperance’s disappearance? I could have controlled the flames, kept it to a small area and stopped it from burning out of control, knowing that the heavy downpour could have explained away the small amount of damage incurred.’

  Theo glanced at her his eyes widening. An impossible hope began to bloom in his chest and he allowed himself to truly hope that Olivia was right. If she was, it meant his sister was alive and well and if they ever managed to return to Mercy she would be there waiting for him.

  A sudden rumble of thunder roared across the sky, so close the windows rattled.

  ‘If we’re going to do this,’ Theo glanced up at the roof as the rain continued to pound down upon the house, ‘we do it tonight.’

  Olivia nodded in agreement, ‘I think you’re right. There’s no way to tell if we’ve timed it exactly right but we already know Temperance is sick. If her condition has worsened, we can’t afford to wait any longer. Sam do you think you can handle it tonight?’

  ‘I can’t see how putting it off another night would make much of a difference. It’s either going to work or it’s not. I say we take our chances.’

  ‘Okay then,’ Theo stood glancing out of the window, ‘we wait until it’s fully dark. It will lessen the chances of anyone seeing us or recognizing me, although the chances of anyone being out in this storm are slim.’

  They all nodded in agreement. They knew they didn’t have long before darkness would descend and so they made the most of the time they had. Theo made Sam something to eat while Olivia gathered up Emmaline’s journal and Hester's Grimoire, not wanting to leave them out in the house where anyone could find them. As they had already caught Nathaniel snooping around the house she debated on taking them with her to the Beckett farm, but the rain was hammering down in a torrential downpour and she didn’t want to risk either of the precious manuscripts being damaged. So she reluctantly relinquished them to James who hid them in the small space under the floor where they’d hidden their original clothes and the backpack containing the flashlight.

  Ducking back into the bedroom she quickly braided her loose hair back from her face and pulled on a dark grey cloak, before wandering back out into the main room to find Theo and Sam both wearing cloaks and wide brimmed hats.

  ‘Where’s James?’ Olivia asked.

  ‘Saddling the horses,’ Theo replied.

  ‘Theo,’ Olivia frowned, ‘I didn’t want to say anything earlier but I don’t think it’s a good idea James comes with us.’

  ‘What? Why?’ Theo replied, ‘if we didn’t want him involved why did we tell him everything.’

  ‘Because he needed to understand what we were doing and why,’ Olivia answered. ‘At the end of the day that’s his daughter and he deserved to know the truth. Besides he’d overheard too much, he was going to demand answers no matter what we did.’

  ‘So why don’t you want him to come with us?’ Theo shook his head. ‘Like you said it’s his daughter, you can’t think he’s just going to sit by and do nothing.’

  ‘Olivia’s right,’ Sam joined in, ‘that’s exactly what he has to do.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘For his own protection,’ Olivia told Theo. ‘He has to remain above suspicion no matter what happens. We don’t know what we’re walking into tonight, but I do know one thing. If Mary or Matthias accidentally see me it won’t matter because neither of them know who I am, likewise with Sam. Neither of them are l
ucid enough to realize that you are not their Theo but they do know James. All it takes is for one of them to mention him being there and it will make people see him differently and we can’t afford to have anyone looking at him with any kind of suspicion, especially not this close to the outbreak of the witch trials.’

  Theo sighed, he could see the sense in what they were saying but he knew James was not likely to accept their opinion. Especially if it meant he would not be able to help Temperance and Theo couldn’t blame him. If he had a child and he knew they were in danger, nothing would stop him from rushing in to protect them. He knew James would feel the same way.

  ‘He’s not going to like it,’ Theo told them seriously.

  ‘I know,’ Olivia replied quietly, ‘but it’s for his own good. We can’t risk exposing him, especially not with Nathaniel on the loose. We don’t want him tying James to your family in any way.’

  Their heads turned as the door rattled and swung open, banging in the violent draught James brought in with him.

  ‘I have the horses tethered to the tree out front,’ he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. ‘Are you ready?’

  ‘Not quite James,’ Olivia straightened as she faced him calmly. ‘I’m really very sorry but you can’t come with us.’

  ‘You can’t mean that?’ he scowled.

  ‘I’m sorry James’ she repeated, her voice softening in sympathy. ‘I wish there was another way but we can’t risk you being exposed. It’s for your own safety.’

  ‘Damn my safety,’ he stepped closer to Olivia angrily, ‘that’s my child. I’m not going to just sit by.’

  ‘James that’s exactly what you are going to do, we really don’t have time to argue about this.’

  ‘I’m not arguing, I’m going and that’s all there is to it.’

  ‘No you’re not,’ Olivia replied firmly.