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

by Wendy Saunders

  Picking it up she turned it over in her fingers as the candlelight reflected from its shiny surface. It had belonged to the demon Seth and now Nathaniel knew she had it in her possession. Her brow furrowed thoughtfully, it wasn’t safe for her to keep it. She’d already lost the Grimoire, there was no way she wanted to explain to Hades how she managed to let the compass pass into the hands of Nathaniel.

  ‘What are you thinking about?’

  ‘The compass’ she mused, ‘did you know it belonged to Nathaniel’s brother Seth?’

  ‘What?’ Theo replied in surprise, ‘are you sure?’

  She nodded slowly, ‘he recognized it and wanted to know how I came to have it.’

  She pulled the chain over her head and sat up, displacing the water as she did. Quietly she slipped the chain over Theo’s head so it lay nestled in the open collar of his linen shirt.

  ‘What are you doing Olivia?’ he frowned. ‘Hades gave the compass to you.’

  ‘I know’ she replied, ‘but Nathaniel knows I have it now, it’s not safe for me to wear it and there is no one I trust more than you.’

  ‘Olivia,’ he whispered.

  ‘I know it’s a lot to ask…’

  ‘I’ll take care of it,’ he told her softly as he stroked her face.

  ‘You know,’ she trailed her fingers along the stubble at his jaw, ‘you’re pretty dirty yourself. You should probably get in here with me.’

  His mouth curved into an amused smile as he looked down at the tub.

  ‘We’d never both fit in there.’

  ‘Never say never,’ she smiled as she grabbed him and yanked him into the tub.

  Caught off balance he toppled into the tub on top of her, splashing water all over the floor and soaking his clothes. Laughing in delight she hooked her legs over the side of the tub so he could kneel in the water without crushing her legs. Bracing his weight on his arms as he gripped the edge of the tub either side of her, he looked down into her amber eyes.

  ‘We should get you out of these wet clothes,’ she whispered against his mouth as she slid her hands under his shirt and grazed her fingers up his torso.

  He pulled back and yanked his shirt over his head letting it drop to the floor with a wet splat. Taking his weight once again with one hand gripping the edge of the tub, his other slid around her ribs and underneath her, pulling her body close to his as he took her mouth. Olivia felt his kiss right down to her toes. It was always like this with him, he consumed her until all she could do was breath him in.

  ‘You know,’ he pulled back slightly, ‘this is not acceptable Christian behavior.’

  ‘Good job I’m not a Christian then,’ she smiled against his mouth.

  ‘And... most husbands and wives don’t share baths either.’

  ‘Well you haven’t married me yet,’ she nipped his bottom lip.

  He growled and took her mouth again. Her breath came in short ragged bursts as his hand left the small of her back and plunged between her legs stroking her maddeningly. Her back arched and she left out an involuntarily gasp as he quickly drove her up to the very edge and over. Her breast pressed against his damp chest, the light dusting of hair scraping against her sensitive nipples. Her hands fumbled at the ties of his breeches, loosening them as he continued to taste her mouth. She shoved them down, barely managing to get them past his hips before he thrust deeply into her body and let loose a growl of satisfaction. She practically climbed up his body wrapping her legs tightly around his waist, whilst he set an urgent and punishing pace for both of them, proving that despite the small tub he was very creative when it came to small spaces.

  Her fingers tangled in the dark curls of his hair, gripping tightly as he rode her hard. The pressure deep in her core began to mount, the tantalizing and desperately sharp edge of passion so close, almost within reach. Neither of them were going to last long, they were too desperate, too lost in each other. All the danger and stress and uncertainty of their situation drove their lovemaking to an urgent and frantic pace, desperate to experience the closeness and completion that they could only find in each other.

  Olivia threw her head back as her body tightened, clamping down on him in her release as he pressed his face into her exposed throat and followed her down, breathing heavily. His heart was pounding in his chest as he lowered her and she slid bonelessly back into the water.

  ‘Wow’ she panted, looking at him through heavily lidded eyes, ‘and you said we couldn’t both fit in the tub.’

  He snorted lightly with laughter, dropping a kiss on her lips. He somehow managed to yank his breeches the rest of the way off and haul them over the side onto the floor with a wet plop to join his shirt. Olivia once again hooked her legs over the side as he turned around putting his back to her. Unfolding his long legs from under him he hooked them over the end of the bath so his feet were almost touching the floor and leaned into her so his back was pressed against her breasts. Sighing in contentment he smiled as Olivia retrieved the cloth and wrapped her arms and legs around him, smoothing his hair back from his face and washing him gently.

  ‘You know,’ he said after a moment, ‘as soon as we get back to Mercy I’m going to have you in front of a preacher quicker than you can say I do.’

  ‘Are you now?’ she smiled in amusement.

  ‘I’m serious,’ he twisted his head and glanced up at her. ‘I’d marry you now but we’d have to have the banns read and I can’t really call any attention to us. After all Samuel Parris is still the Reverend in Salem and he knows you as James’ married niece, not to mention the fact that he knows the other me.’

  ‘It’s fine Theo’ she chuckled, ‘I can wait until we get home.’

  ‘How exactly will it work?’ he asked after a moment, his brow furrowing in thought.

  ‘Well,’ Olivia stroked the cloth soothingly across his chest, ‘we get all our family and friends together, we get a ring and you say I do and I say…’

  ‘Very funny’ he replied dryly, ‘I meant you’re not a Christian. We can’t marry in a church can we? I mean, how does a witch get married exactly?’

  ‘It depends,’ she shrugged.

  ‘What do you mean?’ he asked curiously.

  ‘Well I was thinking…’ she stopped as he turned more fully towards her grinning. ‘What?’

  ‘You’ve been thinking about our wedding?’

  ‘I may have given it a passing thought,’ she replied innocently.

  ‘So tell me what your thoughts are.’

  ‘Well I figured we could get married on the plot of land down by the lake and um…well your sister is the mayor of Mercy. I thought she’d probably have the authority to perform the ceremony. If not I’m sure we could get her ordained online or something, I mean there’s probably a way around it. I just thought it would be nice if she officiated.’

  He sat silently staring at her.

  ‘What do you think? I mean I guess if you really need a church or a preacher I could…’

  ‘I think it’s perfect’ he interrupted, his voice slightly rough. ‘I would love for Temperance to be a part of it.’

  She smiled softly and bent her head to kiss his lips.

  ‘I love you,’ she murmured.

  ‘And I love you,’ he smiled back.

  They both looked up as they heard the door open in the other room, followed by the sound of footsteps across the floor.

  ‘I think James is back,’ Theo sighed and reluctantly pulled himself from Olivia’s embrace. Climbing out of the tub he dried himself off and dressed in the clean breeches and shirt he’d borrowed from James earlier. Looking up and catching sight of Olivia, his mouth fell open and his mouth suddenly ran dry once more.

  She stood, slowly rising out of the water like Botticelli’s Venus, smoothing her long dark hair back and wringing it out. He watched her climb out of the bath and dry herself off.

  ‘What I wouldn’t give for some moisturizer,’ she muttered reaching i
nto the chest in the small room, looking for the spare shift she’d left last time. Finding the garment she was looking for, she pulled it over her head and retrieved the comb from the chest. Glancing at the contents she smiled softly as she realized that James must have kept everything of hers despite not knowing if they were ever going to return. That man, she shook her head, was such a sweetheart. It was easy to see where Theo got his temperament from.

  Scooping the dirty muddy clothes from the floor she shoved them in the corner of the room, knowing that she’d have to wash them and hang them out to dry in the morning. Climbing up onto the bed, she began to comb the snarls out of her hair, watching as Theo opened the window and picked up the bucket. He began to scoop the dirty water from the bath tub and dump it outside. By the time Theo had emptied the majority of the water out she’d not only combed her hair out but used her magic to dry it.

  She yawned tiredly and shivered, climbing under the covers.

  ‘You should get some sleep love,’ Theo closed the window and dropped the latch.

  ‘I’m so damn tired all the time,’ she yawned again. ‘You know, by tomorrow I might have worked my way up to feeling bad we’ve kicked James out of his bed again.’

  ‘I’m sure he doesn’t mind,’ Theo smiled as he pulled the bedding over her and dropped a kiss on her upturned lips. ‘Rest, I’m going to go and speak with James.’

  ‘Mmmm,’ she mumbled settling down into the bed.

  Her eyelids felt like they were lined with lead, so heavy she could barely keep them open. She was vaguely aware of Theo dragging the empty bath tub out of the room and shutting the door behind him, before she slid into a deep dreamless sleep.

  She couldn’t have said how long she’d slept when she was awakened by a deep shudder. Opening her eyes, she sat up squinting slightly as her gaze adjusted to the darkness in the room. The door was still closed and Theo’s side of the bed still empty. Judging from the low murmur of voices in the other room she guessed he was still talking with his father.

  Sitting up further she glanced around the room trying to identify what had woken her. She shivered again and realized with a frown that the window was wide open. A freezing cold draught whistled into the room.

  Strange she thought to herself, she could’ve sworn Theo had closed and latched the window.

  Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed she winced as her bare feet landed on the freezing cold floor. Hurrying across the room to the window to close it she suddenly stopped. There was a strange ugly undulating fog obscuring the ground outside the window, a greasy unpleasant smog. With a sudden start she realized she’d seen something similar once before, in the woods outside her house when she’d been lured from her bed in her sleep.

  A sense of dread filled her and her heart began to thud loudly in her chest as a sudden surge of adrenalin fueled fear flooded her veins.

  She wasn’t alone.

  She turned abruptly towards the door but before she could even move everything suddenly went black. Before she could even let out a scream she was falling into darkness.

  Chapter 17.

  ‘Do you feel that?’ Theo frowned, placing his cup of cider down on the table and turning around on the bench.

  ‘What?’ James queried.

  ‘It’s cold, like a draught.’

  The cool gust of air once again washed over Theo, dancing gleefully down his neck with spindly fingers, causing the hairs to stand on end. Pushing back from the table he stood and headed towards the back room where Olivia was sleeping. His heart jumped in his chest and his eyes widened in alarm as a thin greasy roll of smog wafted through the crack beneath the doorway.

  He threw open the door. The entire floor of the room was covered in the eerie undulating fog and a quick panicked glance at the empty rumpled bed confirmed his worst fears. Olivia was nowhere to be seen. His eyes shot across to the window which he’d closed earlier in the evening and now stood wide open to the chilly night air. Rushing across the room, ignoring the smog which seemed to snap at his ankles, he grasped the window frame looking out into the darkness. The dirty fog was even thicker outside, carpeting the ground and stretching all the way back into the orchard itself. The sharp tang of ozone ominously scented the air and the fog seemed to glow with an eerie phosphorescence.

  ‘OLIVIA!’ he shouted desperately out into the dark night.

  He vaguely registered James rushing into the room behind him but Theo had already climbed out of the window and disappeared into the orchard, swallowed by the fog as he screamed her name.

  Olivia blinked slowly, her head bobbing limply on her neck. She blinked again and the room spun making her feel nauseous. Her whole body throbbed and ached as if she were recovering from some sort of virulent strain of flu. She shivered violently and once again tried to lift her head. Whatever she’d been knocked out with, sure as hell packed a punch. She swallowed painfully past the dryness in her throat, forcing her eyes open. Slowly the room stopped spinning and the splashes of muted color began to sharpen back into focus.

  She could feel the hard wooden chair beneath her. Still clothed in only her shift her body trembled, not because the room lacked warmth but more from the trauma her body had sustained from being knocked unconscious, although how she was knocked out was a mystery. She tried to shift her legs to a more comfortable position only to discover she couldn’t move them not even an inch, due to the tight bindings restraining her ankles and knees and fixing them to the legs of the chair. She tugged at her arms only to find they were similarly restrained.

  ‘I see you’re finally awake,’ a cold familiar voice spoke from the doorway.

  Olivia turned towards the voice, ruthlessly steeling herself against the wild pounding in her chest. She twisted her arms trying to get free but the bindings were too tight. Glancing down she could see that her wrists were bound to the arms of the chair with strange thin reeds that had been braided together to form a thicker rope. Tightly interwoven in the rope was a sweet smelling vine of small white flowers. Her wrists burned and chafed, already red raw and oozing small trickles of blood, even though she had not struggled against her bonds. In fact, the rope itself seemed to be reacting to her skin.

  She reached for her magic intending to burn not only the rope but the whole damn house if she had to, but realized with a start that she couldn’t. She could feel her magic bubbling just below the surface of her skin, writhing like a trapped animal howling to be free, but she couldn’t access it.

  ‘I wouldn’t bother trying to use your power,’ he smirked. ‘That rope is something a little special I prepared just for you. It is designed specifically to bind not just a witch’s body but her magic too.’

  Her gaze hardened and unwilling to show any fear she raised her chin. She’d defied the God of the Underworld, she faced the Titans, pissed off the Judges of the Underworld and dunked a drunk Goddess. There was no way she was going to cower before a demon.

  ‘Nathaniel’ she replied coldly.

  ‘So you know who I am then?’ his mouth curved in amusement.

  He stepped smoothly into the room, a velvet covered item tucked under his arm. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was. She watched him warily as he set it down on his desk, leaning against the heavy piece of furniture.

  ‘I must admit,’ he replied curiously, ‘you have me at a disadvantage Olivia.’

  Her eyes narrowed.

  ‘Yes I know your name,’ he leaned closer and she cringed at the sharp unpleasant scent of him, ‘but that’s all I know for the moment. But don’t worry, before we are done here you will tell me everything.’

  ‘I doubt it,’ she replied.

  ‘Oh I think you will’ he smiled, ‘you’ll find I can be very persuasive.’

  ‘I’m sure you are,’ Olivia threw his smile back at him, ‘but I don’t plan on being here that long.’

  ‘No one knows you’re here Olivia. Just who do you think is coming to save you, Theodore Bec
kett?’

  ‘Trust me, it won’t take him long to figure out where I am,’ she sneered. ‘If you start running now, you might be able to find a slimy pit to crawl into and hide from him, but I seriously doubt it.’

  He barked out a laugh, a cruel sound devoid of any warmth or humor.

  ‘And what exactly is he going to do to me? Scratch me with his little knife again?’ he held up the hand Theo had severed previously and wiggled his fingers. ‘It didn’t do him much good last time, as you can see.’

  ‘Oh I wouldn’t worry about that,’ she replied coolly. ‘This time I’ll have him cut you into so many pieces there’ll be nothing left to grow back.’

  Nathaniel’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

  ‘Maybe we should deal with Mr Beckett,’ he mused thoughtfully. He reached across the desk and retrieved a small silver bell before shaking it lightly, the merry tickling sound at odds with the tension filled air.

  A few moments later a man Olivia did not recognize came stomping through the doorway. His hair was a dark strawberry blond, his eyes small obsidian orbs which glared balefully, first at her then at Nathaniel.

  ‘A bell?’ he growled. ‘Do I look like a servant?’

  ‘Zachary,’ Nathaniel sighed.

  ‘Zachary?’ Olivia’s gaze snapped to him in surprise. ‘You’re Zachary?’

  Her mouth pursed thoughtfully as she studied the man with renewed interest. It had to be an earlier version of him she surmised, not the one who had been helping the later Nathaniel to destroy the Crossroads.

  ‘So you know Zachary too?’ Nathaniel raised one dark brow slowly. ‘Now you are making me curious.’

  ‘I know of him’ she shrugged, her gaze running up and down Zachary’s form before allowing herself a slow smile. ‘Last I heard he was about to take an extended vacation as Hades’ guest…I can’t imagine he would have enjoyed it as much as Hades did.’

  ‘Hades?’ Zachary queried sharply.

  ‘You two,’ she shook her head contemptuously, ‘you really have no idea who you’re dealing with do you?’