Tommy and Jake both looked across to see a stunning looking woman leap into the pack of Hell hounds. Her long dark hair was bound in a thick braid which hung down her back. Despite the cold she wore only a knee length tunic of forest green, cinched at the waist by a wide brown leather belt. She also wore some sort of boots which were tied to her legs with leather thongs.
She drew her bow and fired a rapid succession of arrows from the seemingly inexhaustible supply she drew from the quiver strapped across her back. A white stag followed her, leaping into the carnage and ripping his way through the ranks of the hounds with his great silvery antlers.
‘Who the hell is that?’ Tommy breathed.
‘Pretty sure that’s the Goddess Diana and the God Herne,’ Jake checked his weapon and raised his sword. ‘I think we should go help them, don’t you?’
Tommy grinned and ran toward them, jumping straight in with a war like cry, followed closely by Jake.
Sam landed in the middle of the woods, cursing again. He’d translocated back and forth across the woods and there was still no sign of Olivia. He reached out with his mind but he couldn’t sense her. Usually it was enough to lock onto her but he couldn’t, she was being shielded somehow and that did not bode well. Olivia didn’t know how to shield herself from him which meant someone or something else was doing it.
He was about to disappear again when he suddenly found himself pitching forward to the ground. He tried to breathe in but the pain was sudden and shocking. His hands were splayed out either side of him and pinned to the ground with small metal stakes. Those alone should not have held him; he should’ve been able to translocate out but he had no strength, he couldn’t even lift his head. He could only stare at the metal pins protruding from the back of his hands. Strange blue veins spread out from the pins, fanning out like cracked glass. He could feel whatever poison they contained pumping through his body, burning as it went.
‘Samuel,’ a voice spoke from behind him, slowly and deliberately. ‘Samuel, you have no idea how happy I am to find you alive.’
His eyes darted to the side as someone crouched down beside him.
‘Ash,’ he croaked.
‘So, you do remember me,’ Ash smiled coldly. ‘Good. Cyrus if you don’t mind.’
Cyrus leaned forward attaching a pair of metal cuffs to Sam’s wrists. He gritted his teeth against the fresh wave of pain. Although the metal of the cuffs were smooth and polished on the outside, marred only by the etchings of several ancient looking symbols, the interior of each cuff was covered with tiny metal spikes, like a tiny iron maiden, each doused with the same poison that was already running through his hands.
‘Now Sam, I may call you Sam, yes?’ his brow rose questioningly as Cyrus pulled the pins from Sam’s hand and pulled him roughly to his feet, ‘I’d like to extend my hospitality by inviting you to stay with me for a while and I’m afraid I will have to insist,’ he smiled slowly. ‘You see I have very definite plans for you.’
The sky lit up and pulsed. Night had fallen but the stars were obscured by the streaks of lightning across the sky which showed no sign of abating. The air crackled with electricity.
Hades stepped onto ground that was littered with leaves and bodies. The stench of death and decay hung in the air, laced with the rusty tang of fresh blood…a lot of it. He picked his way over body parts and corpses, mostly creatures of the Hell dimensions. He had to give it to the humans; they were extraordinary resourceful and strong willed when it came to protecting what they loved.
A sudden bolt of lightning suddenly slammed down into the tree in front of him. It burst into flames, crackling loudly in the stillness of the woods.
‘Okay Zeus, now you have my attention,’ Hades murmured.
The ground suddenly shook and the sky lit up so brightly, for a second it was as bright as day. Hades slowly turned to calmly regard the man standing behind him. Dressed just as impeccably as Hades, he wore a signet ring with a huge ice cold diamond surrounded by heavy layers of gold. His blonde hair hung to his shoulders and his dark eyes burned furiously.
‘Hello Brother,’ Hades smiled coolly.
28.
‘Hades,’ he replied coolly, ‘you go too far this time.’
‘To what are you referring?’ Hades smiled pleasantly. ‘I’ve crossed so many lines lately; it’s so hard to keep it all straight in my head.’
‘You think this is amusing?’ he growled, ‘to defy me?’
‘Be careful little brother,’ Hades warned in a low voice, ‘be very careful... I have tolerated your childish outbursts and your arbitrary rules because it suited my purpose to do so, but do not make the mistake of thinking you have any control over me.’
‘You were told not to interfere on Earth,’ Zeus’ eyes flashed dangerously.
‘Things change.’
‘We agreed,’ Zeus hissed.
‘I agreed to nothing,’ Hades replied blandly. ‘I had no interest in Earth or its inhabitants at the time. That is no longer the case.’
‘You have no right to interfere with the mortals,’ he snapped bitterly. ‘They chose to no longer believe in the old ways; they chose to turn their backs on us, so now they are on their own.’
‘Really?’ Hades replied incredulously. ‘You’d abandon them simply because they no longer fawn at your feet? You know, you’re starting to sound an awful lot like Narcissus.’
‘They made their choice and I have made mine,’ he answered coldly. ‘Pull the Gata back to the Underworld and any other creatures you have wandering around here. You are to break off all contact with the mortals.’
‘No,’ Hades replied simply.
‘No?’ Zeus blinked. ‘NO?’
‘Not used to hearing the word are you brother?’ Hades replied in amusement. ‘Mother always was too soft on you, you’re spoiled.’
‘Spoiled?’ Zeus repeated as if he couldn’t quite understand what he was hearing. ‘You’ve never behaved like this before.’
Hades stared at his brother as if seeing him for the first time, or maybe he was finally seeing things through the mortals’ eyes and he had Olivia to thank for that. Was that really how he and his kind appeared to the mortals; haughty, self-obsessed and selfish? It was no wonder the mortals stopped worshiping them. They probably tired of serving Gods that were so fickle and demanding…just like children. Suddenly he laughed out loud; he really was starting to sound just like Olivia.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ Zeus’s eyes narrowed suspiciously, ‘have you been at Hephaestus’ wine?’
‘No brother,’ Hades shook his head, ‘I’m simply seeing clearly for the first time and now it’s time for you to do the same.’
‘And what exactly is that supposed to mean?’
‘The mortals are not so very different from us,’ he shook his head. ‘Perhaps if we had understood them a little better they would not have turned from us.’
‘Simpering ungrateful creatures,’ Zeus mocked, ‘they should be down on bended knee thanking us for everything we’ve done for them. Instead they turned from us, tore down our temples, and worshipped false Gods.’
‘Brother,’ he replied softly, ‘the humans have changed and now we must too if we are going to survive.’
Zeus scoffed.
‘We were here long before they began to crawl over the face of this world and we will be here long after they are all dust.’
‘Not so brother,’ he told him seriously, ‘they search for the books of power.’
‘A myth,’ he shrugged, ‘they are not the first and I am certain they will not be the last. But as it always does, it will come to naught. The books are gone; only their legends remain.’
‘You are wrong, the books of power have awoken,’ he replied, ‘even now they call out for their guardians. If the books resurface and fall into the wrong hands everything we know will be plunged into chaos.’
‘It’s not possible.’
‘It is possible
; you know what happened to the Many,’ he scowled. ‘Are you really ready to stand by and watch history repeat itself?’
‘It’s not possible,’ Zeus repeated harshly, ‘the books were destroyed, and all that remains of that doomed race is the Time’dhal, the Sphere and the Acorn.’
‘Brother,’ Hades held his hands up, ‘you have spent so long in your city in the clouds you have forgotten how it feels to walk the Earth. You can hear it; it’s crying out. Would you just listen?’
‘You’re wrong.’
‘ZEUS! Will you just listen!’ he snapped.
Zeus let out an inconvenienced breath and closed his eyes. He listened intently, his perfectly sculpted brow curving into a frown. Suddenly his eyes snapped open and locked on Hades accusingly.
‘Infernum? It’s Infernum? The most dangerous of all of them?’ he hissed. ‘If that one succeeds in finding its Guardian all the others will wake too.’
‘I know,’ Hades replied, ‘I told you, everything has changed. The world is not the one we once knew.’
‘The girl?’ his eyes flashed furiously, ‘the one you’ve been protecting, it’s her isn’t it? The book is calling out to her.’
‘Zeus,’ he warned.
‘You should’ve killed her when you had the chance,’ he growled, ‘and now I’m going to have to clean up your mess.’
‘Like I cleaned up yours?’ he fired back.
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Castor and Pollux,’ Hades spoke slowly.
‘I told you never to mention those names to me again,’ he replied dangerously.
‘Castor is the one who is trying to gain possession of the book,’ Hades continued, ‘this is all because of you. Because you couldn’t see past your own selfish desires and just had to fuck Leda.’
‘Be careful Hades.’
‘No,’ he shook his head, ‘not anymore. I’m done.’
‘Yes you are,’ he threatened, ‘I’ll deal with you later but right now I have a mortal to kill before she gets her hands on the book.’
‘No, you’re not,’ he moved to block his brother’s way.
‘What?’
‘You are not going to touch Olivia.’
‘How sweet,’ he mocked, ‘you even know its name.’
‘You are not going to interfere Zeus, not this time.’
‘You are going to stand against me, against your own brother? After you’ve just finished warning me what would happen if the books awake?’
‘I said, if they fall into the wrong hands,’ Hades shook his head. ‘It’s time to let the humans forge their own destiny. We can no longer conceal the ancient powers; who’s to say this is not the humans next stage of evolution?’
‘That is not for you to decide.’
‘Nor you brother,’ Hades answered quietly. ‘This time we’re going to let the humans walk their own path and we are going to deal with Castor, as we should have two thousand years ago.’
‘I will deal with Castor,’ Zeus growled, ‘as soon as I’ve dealt with your little pet witch.’
‘No,’ Hades once again stepped in front of his brother, blocking his path. ‘I will not allow you to harm her.’
‘You’re planning to stop me?’ he laughed humorlessly.
‘If I must,’ Hades replied in resignation.
‘Then go ahead,’ Zeus placed his hands on his brother’s chest to shove him back, and as his hands made contact an electric shock sparked from his palms, throwing Hades back several feet.
Hades hit the thick trunk of a tree with such an impact it cracked and broke in half, falling to the ground with an almighty crash. He pulled himself to his feet brushing off his suit.
‘Is that the best you can do brother?’ he replied coolly, ‘you’re getting old.’
He threw his hand out and a ball of bright blue hellfire hit Zeus dead center of his chest throwing him back into another tree, ripping it out of the ground by its roots and tilting it at an awkward angle.
Zeus bared his teeth, closing his fist around a lightning bolt and hurling it with the accuracy of a champion javelin thrower toward Hades, who flicked it aside with his own bolt of hellfire. Neither of them noticed nor cared when the lightning bolt hit a tree, causing it to burst into flames. Nor did they notice when the flames jumped to the next tree and the next, then like a beast, roared, consuming everything in its path.
Olivia’s heart began to thump as a gap in the trees came into view. Boothe’s Hollow. She could feel the edges of the clearing stamped with ancient and potent blood magic, a warning to keep others away. She could feel it even now, pushing at her, trying to repel her, to get her to turn back. She wanted to, everything in her wanted to turn and run from this place. She hadn’t been back, not since the night the devil’s trap was opened and Nathaniel had crawled out of the earth; the night her mom shot her. She could see flashes, a rickety old film reel playing distorted images in her mind. Thomas Walcott screaming as his chest was ripped open, the sooty orange glow of the pentagram surrounding the tree, the stain of blood on the pristine white snow, her blood…
Would it be her blood spilled this time or would it be Temperance?
There was no turning back now, she had to go on. She turned and looked at the big black cat next to her.
‘I’m scared,’ she admitted quietly.
He rubbed his head against her cheek reassuringly as she ran her hand over his soft furry coat.
‘Don’t let them see you,’ she spoke softly to them both, watching as they shimmered and disappeared before her eyes.
‘You’ll stay close, won’t you?’ she whispered in a trembling voice and once again a huge furry head nudged the side of her face.
Sucking in a deep breath and straightening her spine Olivia headed for the clearing, feeling the shimmer of magic as she crossed the boundary and stepped into the circle of Boothe’s Hollow. Despite feeling the heat and strength of the invisible Gata flanking her she shivered.
Moving further into the Hollow all eyes turned to her. Nathaniel stood by the ruins of the dead tree, the blackened pieces of it peeling outward like a discarded banana skin. Curled into the base of the tree was a huddled bloody figure which could only be Temperance. Olivia cast a quick glance over her to make sure she was more or less alive and in one piece, then she turned her attention back to Nathaniel, who was watching her with an oily smirk. Either side of him stood the sisters Saffire and Sabine and the demon Zachary, looking far less pretty than the last time she’d seen him.
‘Where is Theodore?’ Nathaniel’s cold voice carried across the Hollow.
‘Not here as you can see,’ Olivia shrugged, affecting a nonchalant confidence she didn’t feel.
‘You came alone?’ He smiled slowly as his eyes snagged on the item she held in her arms, ‘that was very foolish Olivia.’
‘Maybe,’ she replied, ‘but he’s not far.’
‘Zachary,’ Nathaniel called slowly, his gaze never leaving Olivia’s, ‘go and find Theodore and when you do, kill him.’
Zachary smirked at Olivia and disappeared from the circle into the tree line.
‘I hope you don’t expect to see your friend again,’ Olivia replied blandly. ‘My husband is really, really pissed at him for killing his brother; I don’t like Zachary’s chances when Theo catches up with him.’
‘Oh my God,’ Sabine laughed merrily, ‘she actually believes her pathetic human mate is a match for Zachary?’
‘You don’t know my husband,’ Olivia replied. ‘I wouldn’t underestimate him if I were you. He doesn’t lose it often but when he does he has a filthy temper, one that puts even me to shame.’
‘Enough,’ Sabine hissed, ‘let me kill her, please Nathaniel?’
‘Muzzle your little bitch Nathaniel,’ Olivia smirked as insultingly as possible. ‘She whines like a little lapdog, does she piss on the rug too?’
‘You…’ Sabine spat, surging toward Olivia only to be brought
up short when her sister grabbed her arm and restrained her.
Olivia blew her a little kiss and winked at her. This only enraged her further; she growled and kicked and struggled against her sister who seemed to be the more rational of the two.
‘You’re playing with fire Olivia,’ Nathaniel warned.
Olivia’s gaze flicked up to her two dragonflies which hovered above her shoulder.
‘I thought we’d already discovered that I love to play with fire,’ she replied coolly.
Nathaniel looked up at her dragonflies, a flicker of uncertainty crossed his features for a second and then it was gone.
‘Enough,’ he snapped, ‘you shouldn’t have come alone Olivia.’
‘Who says I did?’
She shrugged elegantly.
‘Clark…Lois…’ she called slowly.
The air either side of her shimmered, revealing the two huge cats as they snarled dangerously. Sabine suddenly stopped struggling against her sister and her eyes widened.
Olivia smiled coldly… ‘Get them.’
The Gata leapt forward heading straight for Sabine and Saffire, who disappeared into the trees pursued by the great cats.
‘There,’ Olivia replied slowly, ‘now it’s just you and me Nathaniel, or should I call you Castor?’
Nathaniel’s lips peeled back in a hiss of anger.
‘So, now you know the truth.’
Olivia held up the book, which was still concealed inside the scarf.
‘I know you think you can use Infernum to raise your brother Pollux from his prison,’ she replied, her eyes flickering to Tammy who was curled into the roots of the tree looking up at her with dark eyes, her face swollen and bruised. ‘Well here it is. You want the book, I want Theo’s sister. I’ll trade you.’
‘You expect me to believe you’re willing to hand over the most powerful book in existence in return for a human?’
‘Maybe I’m banking on it refusing to submit to you,’ Olivia’s eyes narrowed. ‘You were never meant to have the book Castor; when are you going to realize it? Why do you think it has slipped through your fingers time and time again?’
The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum Page 195
