He recognized the man she’d called Sam. He was older now, but it was definitely the boy who’d been with them at the Crossroad. If Sabine was right and this man was indeed a Sentinel that could mean only one thing.
A slow deliberate smile curled the corners of his mouth. There was only one Sentinel unaccounted for, only one who could walk the earth without the others knowing. It wasn’t difficult to figure out Sam’s true identity and with that realization came a curl of satisfaction. He had the leverage he now needed. With this information in the right hands he could buy the help he needed to get Zachary out from under Hades’ watchful eye.
Pleased with this new found knowledge he stepped back into the shadows of the woods, disappearing in a swirl of green smoke.
14.
Olivia smoothed the soft rippling fabric of her dress, taking Theo’s hand as she crossed the flagstone entrance and into the old church. The air was cool and slightly musty as she looked up at the gorgeously vaulted ceiling which was a deep pleasing indigo, highlighted with delicate looking stars. The high stone crossbeams descended down into thick columns, a statue mounted on each. She didn’t recognize the various saints but then again it wasn’t her religion.
‘It’s so beautiful in here,’ she whispered, studying the stained glass windows with their intricate designs. She looked up at her husband only to find Theo staring down at her curiously.
‘What?’ she laughed, ‘did you expect me to burst into flames or something? Witches can go into churches you know.’
‘It’s not that exactly, well…’
She watched as he flushed slightly.
‘Careful sweetheart,’ she smiled, ‘your Puritan is showing again.’
‘It’s not that,’ he shook his head laughing lightly in embarrassment, ‘it isn’t that I thought witches could be actively prevented from entering a church. I guess I’m just surprised that you find it…’
‘Pleasing?’ she finished. ‘I may not share their beliefs, but I can appreciate gorgeous architecture when I see it, but its more than that. It’s the history and the age of it. I like the way it feels.’
‘You’re so complicated sometimes,’ he replied.
‘Me?’ she laughed, ‘I’m not that complicated at all. I just like old stuff, whether it’s books or buildings, you should know that by now.’
He smiled as he led her to one of the pews and they slid in next to the other guests. Shifting slightly on the hard, unforgiving wooden bench Olivia picked up the order of service scanning through it curiously.
‘I’ve never been to a Protestant service before,’ Olivia whispered to Theo. ‘In fact I’ve never been to a Christian service before.’
He smiled down at her, his fingers linking with hers.
Olivia glanced around the congregation. All the women seemed to be outdoing themselves in a bid to find the most outlandish hats. She’d never understood that, the need to wear fancy hats to weddings and baptisms. Likewise all the guys were in their best suits. It had always fascinated her, little rituals like these, so formal, so rigid in a way, but still who was she to judge? It was still a celebration, no matter which form it took.
Her eyes scanned the pews, noting all of her friends. Mac was there, as was Tammy looking extremely uncomfortable as she tried not to make eye contact with him. Roni and Jake were in the pew next to them, with Roni leaning over laughing quietly at something he’d whispered to her as she straightened his tie for him. Louisa and Tommy were across the aisle from them, sitting next to Fiona. Olivia almost laughed out loud when she saw her but managed to rein it in at the last moment.
Fiona was wearing a garish pinstriped green suit with a huge daisy pinned to the collar, a huge purple bag sat on her lap and on her head was a bright red hat in the shape of a ladybug. Trust Fiona, Olivia shook her head in amusement, watching as the crazy old medium snuck her trusty dented tartan flask out of her pocket and took a discreet swig before offering it to the person who sat next to her. He declined politely with a smile and a shake of his head. Olivia stretched further forward in her seat in interest; the man sitting next to her was a priest.
‘Isn’t that…’ she shook her head trying to remember his name, ‘Father…’
‘Father Hubert,’ Theo replied.
‘That’s right,’ Olivia breathed out slowly in recognition, ‘but…’ her brow crinkled in confusion, ‘isn’t he from All Saints church? He’s Catholic isn’t he?’
‘Yes, he is,’ Theo replied, ‘but after the haunting and exorcism at the pub, he and Jackson became good friends, despite the fact that Jackson’s Protestant. Although Miller’s birth mother Kaitlin was apparently Catholic, Jackson decided after much deliberation to raise him in his own faith. Father Hubert said he wasn’t going to miss Miller’s baptism, even if he was being baptized Protestant.’
‘How do you know all this?’ she asked curiously.
‘Tommy,’ Theo shrugged, ‘he gossips like an old woman. Maybe that’s why running the store suits him, he’s slowly replacing Mrs Bailey as the town busybody.’
Olivia laughed loudly in delight causing a few people to turn and stare in her direction.
‘Sorry,’ she mouthed contritely as they turned back to face the front.
Jackson looked over from where he stood next to the baptismal font, smiling at her fondly as he bounced Miller in his arms. Shelley stood beside him. The one-time waitress was now Jackson’s part time manager, allowing him more time to raise the gorgeous little, chubby, blond haired boy that was squirming in his arms. Miller rolled and fussed, reaching out until Jackson gave in and passed him to Shelley, who swept him easily into her arms and kissed him softly. Miller settled down on her shoulder, nestling into the crook of her neck and sucking his thumb.
If she’d been a stranger on the outside looking in, Olivia might have mistaken them for a family. Despite the fact that Miller’s birth mother had been a fiery redhead, Miller’s hair was blonde, almost the same shade as Shelley’s. Seeing him drifting off to sleep in her arms as she swayed gently was like watching a mother soothing her child. Something that was not lost on Shelley’s fiancé who sat in the first pew, watching both her and Jackson with an unreadable expression.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ the priest intoned loudly, ‘all rise please and let us begin with the first hymn, which can be found on page 365 of your hymn books. Mrs Turner if you don’t mind.’
The rather rotund middle aged woman at the organ smiled broadly and turning on her stool she began to play the opening bars.
Olivia stood respectfully with the other guests, but she didn’t sing, nor did she bother to pretend by mouthing the words either. She was there as a witness only, not to participate in a faith that was not hers. Instead she took a moment to glance around the church, taking in her surroundings. It really was a beautiful building.
A tiny flicker of movement on the periphery of her vision had her turning her head and peering into the shadows but she couldn’t see anything. After a moment she turned back to the service, shaking her head lightly, sure that it had just been her imagination.
She sat patiently, shifting uncomfortably every now and then on the hard unforgiving seat. The service was long and tedious, and she found her attention wandering on more than one occasion. She smiled when Shelley stepped up to be named Miller’s godmother, touched by the obvious love between the two. As the priest took hold of a squirming Miller, who began to wail as soon as he scooped the holy water to pour over his head, Olivia’s gaze was drawn over his shoulder to the woman standing behind them. Olivia blinked in surprise. Turning to glance at the rest of the congregation, she realized that no one else gave any indication that they could see her.
Diana stepped closer as the priest handed Miller back to Jackson. Patches of grass covered with tiny purple wildflowers sprang up under the Goddess’s feet as she crossed the flagstone floor, disappearing behind her as soon as her foot had left its previous spot. Miller suddenly stopped fussing,
his blue eyes following her as she approached. Olivia watched curiously as she leaned down and kissed the baby softly.
‘Blessed be little one…’ she whispered, her voice echoing in Olivia’s mind rather than in the grand space of the church.
Diana looked up at Olivia, winking once and then disappeared.
Olivia studied the little boy carefully, it seemed the Goddess had taken a particular interest in him. Maybe she shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, he wouldn’t have been there at all if it hadn’t been for Diana. He’d been premature and technically stillborn, born in the midst of a massive spiritually supernatural event, when she’d been busy trying to stop a psychotic poltergeist from attempting to kill them all.
He’d taken his first breath when the Goddess herself had breathed life into his tiny little, underdeveloped body. The Goddess had then handed him specifically to Jackson and told him to take care of him, that he was his responsibility now. Jackson had not known at the time how true that was, not until he was standing in the special baby care unit in the hospital. Miller’s birth mother had skipped town, not wanting to take on the responsibility of being a mother, leaving a note and written permission for Jackson to adopt him should he want to.
Jackson had been torn; he’d known Miller’s biological father before he’d been horrifically murdered by Olivia’s mother. If at first he’d considered taking on Miller out of respect for his father Adam, it had not taken Jackson longer than five seconds to fall madly in love with the sweet blue eyed boy. It had taken a while to get the paperwork in order but it was a blessedly straightforward case and so now Jackson was finally, officially Miller’s adoptive father.
But for the Goddess to appear in the house of worship of another God meant something, Olivia just wasn’t exactly sure what. One thing was for sure, she’d just witnessed an important event and although she didn’t understand what that was, she was pretty sure that Miller was somehow special. Maybe she’d keep a closer eye on him from now on, she mused silently.
The priest droned on, winding the ceremony to its conclusion. Just as Olivia breathed a sigh of relief that she’d soon be able to move from the hard wooden bench she felt the hairs on her arms rise and a strange prickling sensation at the back of her neck. She turned to see another priest leaning against one of the columns watching the proceedings vacantly. It was then that Olivia realized with a start that she could see straight through him...
She looked across the room and her eyes locked with Fiona. Fiona’s eyes flicked to the spirit briefly and then back to Olivia, giving the barest perceivable nod of her head, acknowledging what they had both witnessed.
With the service finally concluded Theo helped Olivia to her feet as she stood stiffly.
‘They’re not very comfortable are they?’ she frowned as she watched everyone begin to file out of the church.
‘You’re lucky,’ Theo replied, ‘when I was a child our sermons were much, much longer. The seats do make you a little stiff after a while.’
‘A little stiff?’ she murmured dryly, ‘I’m lucky they didn’t give me hemorrhoids.’
Theo smiled, shaking his head lightly as he tugged on her hand and they joined the end of the queue of people filing out of the door. They stepped out into the bright daylight and Olivia pulled her soft woolen wrap around her more tightly. The leaves had finally begun to turn a mad riot of gold, orange and red which tumbled and showered over the gravestones. It wasn’t exactly cold but there was enough of a bite in the air for Theo to draw her in closer to his body to keep her warm.
They wandered in companionable silence along the winding path through the graveyard, following the thinning crowd of people who were heading back toward town and more specifically to The Salted Bone, Jackson’s pub which was located on Main St, to celebrate not just Miller’s baptism but Jackson finalizing the adoption process.
Suddenly Olivia stopped, her eyes widening and her lips parting on a surprised exhale.
‘What?’ Theo asked in concern, ‘what is it?’
‘Can’t you see them?’ she whispered.
‘See who?’ he whispered in confusion, glancing around. Other than a few of the guests heading toward their cars, they were more or less alone.
Olivia stepped forward. Letting go of Theo she turned slowly, scanning the graveyard. It was full of spirits wandering aimlessly between tombstones, seemingly unaware of the living people passing them by.
‘You can see them can’t you?’ a familiar voice spoke up behind her.
She turned to see Fiona smoking a cigarette.
‘There’s so many of them,’ Olivia breathed turning back to the graveyard.
‘What’s going on?’ Theo asked.
‘Spirits,’ Olivia replied distractedly, ‘everywhere.’
‘What?’ he frowned.
‘Why are there so many of them?’ she turned to Fiona.
Fiona shrugged, dropping her cigarette butt to the ground and grinding it out under the heel of her bright red shoes.
‘I’m not entirely sure,’ Fiona wandered toward them her brow creased thoughtfully.
‘The gateway hasn’t been opened again has it?’ Theo asked.
‘No,’ Fiona shook her head, ‘I drove down to the lake just to be certain. Maybe they weren’t all dragged back through the gateway when it was closed. I’m not sure what’s going on yet, but one thing’s for certain, something drew them all here.’
‘Should we be worried?’ Theo looked around the graveyard, unable to see anything but tumbling leaves and tombstones.
‘Too early to say,’ Fiona pursed her lips speculatively.
‘Why can I see them?’ Olivia asked.
‘Have you ever seen spirit before?’ she queried, her eyes narrowing as she pondered Olivia’s question.
‘Only Charlotte, when she appeared in my house and was trying to tell me about the Ferryman.’
‘Yes,’ Fiona scratched her chin, ‘but she was your ancestor, she chose to show herself to you. Have you ever seen any spirit activity spontaneously?’
Olivia shook her head.
‘I see,’ Fiona muttered, her gaze dropping briefly to Olivia’s rounded belly.
‘What?’
‘I don’t know,’ she replied, ‘like I said too early to tell.’
She stared thoughtfully for a moment, then clapped her hands jovially.
‘Right, off to the pub then. I don’t know about you two but I could use a drink.’
‘Can we give you a ride?’ Theo asked politely.
‘Thank you Theodore,’ she smiled widely, ‘that would be splendid. I didn’t bring my car so that I could have a drink. I do so love a jolly good knees up.’
‘Um okay,’ he replied in confusion.
Fiona wrapped her arm through Theo’s and beamed up at him as Olivia took his other arm and the three of them strolled through the spirit infested graveyard.
By the time they arrived the pub was a hive of activity and festively decorated with blue and white balloons and bunting. Guests milled around with full glasses and plates of food, smiling and laughing, congratulating Jackson and fussing over Miller, who remained largely unimpressed with the attention he was receiving.
Olivia and Theo settled into one of the more comfortable booths with Fiona. Olivia relaxed into the plush, deeply cushioned seat with a sigh of satisfaction, smiling as Fiona handed her a tall glass of soda.
‘How’ve you been then Olivia? I haven’t seen much of you since the wedding,’ Fiona asked briskly as she took a swig of a complicated multicolored drink with an umbrella poking out the top.
‘I’ve been busy,’ Olivia answered easily, ‘lots of various research projects. I’ve barely left the house.’
‘So I hear,’ Fiona shivered and took a longer suck on the bright pink straw, draining half the liquid in her large glass. ‘Heard about that nastiness at the hospital.’
‘News travels fast I see.’
‘N
ews usually filters down to me sooner or later,’ Fiona shrugged hiccupping slightly. ‘Veronica or Louisa usually keep me in the loop, they’re good girls.’
‘I see,’ Olivia’s eyes narrowed as she watched the batty old woman drain her glass with a noisy slurp. Releasing the straw with a loud smack of her lips, she belched loudly.
‘What are you drinking?’ Olivia asked.
‘I don’t know,’ she blinked, ‘something fruity with rum I think.’
‘You might want to ease up there some,’ Theo smiled, ‘or we’ll end up with a repeat of the wedding.’
Fiona cackled loudly in delight.
‘By God that was a good evening, even if I did end up naked in the lake,’ Fiona slapped her knee uproariously. ‘Still, as it’s a baptism and there are minors present I suppose we should keep it rated G.’
‘Probably a good idea,’ Theo laughed under his breath.
‘What’s a good idea?’ Tommy slid into the booth next to him, with a beer in one hand.
‘Fiona not getting drunk and naked,’ Olivia replied, watching as Louisa slid awkwardly into the other side of the booth next to her.
Louisa laughed loudly.
‘One of the best things I’ve seen in a while.’ She leaned back, her hand pressed into the small of her back, her hugely pregnant belly pressing against the edge of the table.
‘Are you alright?’ Olivia frowned as Louisa let out a huge sigh.
‘No,’ she lifted Olivia’s glass and took a sip of her drink, ‘my back has been killing me all day and my feet feel so huge I’m afraid to look down in case I look like a hobbit.’
Olivia laughed warmly, wrapping her arm around Louisa’s shoulders and rubbing her arm comfortingly.
‘Don’t worry Lou,’ she told her softly, ‘not long to go now.’
‘You’re not kidding,’ Louisa lay her head on Olivia’s shoulder and took her hand placing it on her belly. ‘He won’t sit still for two seconds, I haven’t slept in days. I think he wants out as much as I do.’
Olivia smiled widely as she felt Louisa’s belly lurch and shift under her hand.
The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum Page 174
