‘You don’t want to name her after someone in your family?’ he asked.
Olivia shook her head.
‘Like I said before,’ she sighed, ‘I don’t want to drag my family’s past and their mistakes through our lives with us. It’s a chance for a fresh start for us and our children.’
‘I know what her name is,’ a new and familiar voice intruded.
Olivia looked across the room, her face breaking into a wide smile.
‘Hades!’
‘Hello Olivia,’ he answered softly, his eyes filled with affection. ‘Theo,’ he nodded to her husband.
‘Hades,’ Theo nodded back.
‘What do you mean you know her name?’ Olivia’s eyes narrowed as her mind caught on to what he’d said, ‘we haven’t chosen it yet.’
‘Do you know how much power is in a name?’ Hades asked as he stepped closer to the bed. ‘Do you really think such a thing is left to chance? I heard her name echoing through the Underworld from the moment she was born.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Olivia frowned, ‘what do you mean?’
‘Olivia,’ Hades chuckled delightedly, ‘you must have known your children would be special; they were conceived in the Otherworld and born to an extremely powerful seer,’ his gaze flicked to Theo, ‘and a Guardian. Not just any Guardian, but the Guardian of the most powerful of all of the ancient books. While they were nestled in your womb they were exposed to all the ancient powers and secrets of the Hell dimensions. You cannot believe that it did not affect them.’
‘Affected in what way?’ Theo frowned.
‘That has yet to be fully determined,’ Hades shook his head and sighed, ‘I do not have all the answers,’ he sat down elegantly on the bed next to them. ‘May I?’ he held his hands out to Olivia.
Awkwardly she passed her daughter to him as she cradled her son.
‘There she is,’ Hades smiled. There was almost something wistful in his expression and Olivia found herself wondering why Hades and Persephone had never had children of their own. She knew the Gods were able to reproduce given the sheer number of offspring Zeus had sired, with Goddesses and humans alike.
‘Tell me this Olivia,’ Hades asked, his voice soft so as not to startle the tiny infant he rocked gently in his arms, ‘during your pregnancy did you notice anything strange? Perhaps an ability you did not have before?’
Olivia frowned as she thought back.
‘The spirits,’ she murmured, as she thought back to the graveyard at the church the day Miller had been christened. ‘I could see spirits.’
‘Exactly, and did you figure out why?’
Olivia shook her head.
‘You could see them because she could see them,’ he replied, glancing down at the little girl child who was staring up unashamedly at the imposing God of the Underworld with serious eyes. ‘She has her great, great aunt’s gift; like Charlotte she can see into all the spirit realms. What else she is capable of we shall have to see, only time will tell as her destiny unfolds.’
‘You said you know what her name is?’ Theo asked curiously.
Hades smiled.
‘Theia,’ he replied softly and was rewarded with a soft mewling sound from the baby in his arms, almost as if she recognized her name and was trying to answer him.
‘Theia?’ Olivia repeated.
‘My aunt was named Theia,’ Hades answered, his dark eyes unreadable. ‘She was one of the Titans, born the daughter of Ouranos and Gaia; she was sister to my father Kronos and wife to Hyperion. Her name came from the Greek words Thea meaning ‘sight’ and Theiazo meaning ‘prophecy’.’
‘Theia,’ Theo smiled and leaned forward, taking his daughter as Hades passed her back, ‘I like it. It suits her.’
‘Of course it also comes from your name too,’ Hades added.
‘What?’ Theo looked up.
‘Theia means ‘Goddess’ and is a variation of Thea which is the female version of Theo. Your name is also Greek and means ‘God’s gift’.’
‘God’s gift eh?’ Theo glanced across at Olivia with an amused smile.
Olivia rolled her eyes and chuckled.
‘I’m never going to hear the end of that, am I?’
‘No,’ Theo grinned, ‘so we’re agreed then?’ he rocked his daughter gently in his arms. ‘Theia?’
‘Theia,’ she smiled, ‘I have to admit it kind of suits her.’
‘What about Logan?’ Theo asked.
‘What about him?’ Hades replied.
‘You said they were both gifted,’ his eyes drifted to his son. ‘If Theia can see into the Otherworld and the spirit realms, will Logan have the same ability?’
Hades shook his head.
‘Your son’s path leads in another direction,’ he answered, looking down to the boy in Olivia’s arms, ‘but I suspect Olivia already knows this.’
‘What is he talking about, Livy?’
Olivia turned to look at her husband before folding back the soft powder-blue blanket, revealing a small dark birthmark on their son’s shoulder, which was shaped like a pentagram.
‘It’s the mark of the Witch,’ she told Theo seriously.
‘Our son is a witch?’
She nodded.
‘I can feel his gift bubbling below the surface, it’s extremely powerful. I can feel his strength and the magic which flows through his veins,’ she handed him over to Hades when he held out his hands for the boy, sighing in resignation and stroking his head lovingly as Hades cradled him gently to his chest. ‘It seems he could not escape the magic of the Wests any more than I could.’
‘What about Theia?’
‘Wherever her gifts lie, it is not the path of the witch that she is destined to walk,’ Hades answered for them.
They all looked up as the door suddenly opened and Louisa strode through.
‘Oh, hello Hades,’ she shrugged, barely sparing him a glance.
‘Do none of you mortals know how to treat a God with deference?’ he asked in exasperation. ‘Can you not at least pretend to cower in awe and fear?’
‘It’s a bit hard when you’re sitting there tenderly cradling a cute baby,’ Louisa winked at him.
‘Insolent mortal,’ Hades huffed and glanced back down at the baby in his arms, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
‘Did you know your whole house is covered with weird gifts?’ Louisa turned back to Olivia and Theo.
‘What?’
‘Yeah, there’s all these weird plants and flowers, they just appeared downstairs. There are also statues, golden urns, there are golden platters of fruit, jugs of wine, I think there’s actually a sheep's fleece in there as well as jewels and um…there’s also a…’
The air was suddenly punctuated by the loud call of some kind of animal.
‘Uh…what the hell is that?’
‘A donkey,’ Louisa replied.
‘A donkey?’ Olivia blinked slowly as she turned to Hades. ‘Hades, why is there a donkey in my house?’
‘I believe it is a gift,’ he shrugged.
‘A gift…’ she repeated.
‘It’s probably from Hephaestus. He always did have a strange sense of humor,’ Hades replied thoughtfully. ‘You should be grateful it wasn’t Apollo, he would have sent you a dolphin.’
‘A dolphin?’ Olivia frowned in confusion, ‘Hades, what the hell is going on?’
‘They’re gifts,’ Hades replied, as if it should be obvious, ‘to congratulate you both on the birth of your children.’
‘What?’
‘Really Olivia, it’s not such a complicated concept,’ he sighed, ‘my brothers and sisters are honoring you; strangely enough they seem to be extremely fond of you. I know that Rhadamanthus sent you an ink and quill set which belonged to Aristotle himself.’
‘Aristotle?’ she repeated slowly.
‘I don’t know why he’s such a big deal amongst you humans,’ Hades scoffed, �
�I always found him to be a bit of a bore myself. Whenever he went into a treatise on metaphysics I swear my eyes began to glaze over.’
‘Oh,’ Olivia replied, at a loss as to what to say.
‘Olivia,’ Hades told her gently, ‘like it or not, there is a great deal of interest in you, your husband and your children. You in particular, the human woman who can conjure God fire and who is the Guardian of one of the most ancient powers in creation. There are many who will fear you. You can expect a great many more gifts from those trying to appease you or ingratiate themselves with you. You must be wary and always on your guard.’
‘What about you?’ Olivia asked with a small smile.
‘What about me?’
‘Where’s your gift?’ she asked in amusement.
‘We’ll get to that in due course,’ he scowled, ‘but you should know that I’m still very put out with you.’
‘Why?’
‘The Gata?’ he replied pointedly.
‘What about them?’ she shrugged.
‘Did you or did you not give them those ridiculous names?’ he answered testily.
‘Oh,’ Olivia laughed, ‘I’d forgotten about that.’
Hades winced inwardly.
‘What’s wrong, Hades?’ Olivia answered, ‘I can’t imagine it mattered much what I called them.’
‘What matters,’ he frowned in annoyance, ‘is that now they won’t answer to anything else.’
Olivia threw her head back and laughed so loudly that Logan jumped in Hades’ arms at the sudden noise. He blinked up at Hades and then promptly decided to go back to sleep.
‘Can you imagine the embarrassment of having to call one of the fiercest warriors in the Underworld ‘Clark’?’
‘Oh come on, Hades,’ she chuckled, ‘I don’t suppose anyone is bothered by it.’
‘It’s a matter of style,’ he replied in a pained voice. ‘I do have a reputation to maintain you know, one that you are rapidly destroying.’
‘Hey Lou!’ Tommy’s voice bellowed up the stairs, ‘I’m just going to have one of these apples. Olivia won’t mind, will she?’
Olivia’s eyes widened.
‘Those apples aren’t from Eris, are they?’ she asked Hades worriedly.
He shrugged non-committedly.
Olivia’s gaze darted to Louisa but she was already running from the room.
‘There is something else you and I need to discuss, Olivia.’
Hades’ voice suddenly sounded so authoritative, like a parent about to chide a child, that she blinked in surprise.
‘Oh?’ she replied innocently, ‘and what would that be?’
‘Marguerite.’
‘Ah,’ Olivia grimaced sheepishly.
‘Ah indeed,’ his brow rose.
‘Um, sorry about that,’ she conceded. ‘I didn’t think that one through when I promised to free her from the Crossroad.’
‘You mortals really do have a gift for understatement,’ Hades exhaled.
‘I’m sure she won’t be a problem,’ Olivia replied carefully, ‘I mean, how much trouble can she cause…really?’
‘Once again I believe you fail to understand the severity of the situation,’ Hades sighed. ‘You set a Crossroad Keeper loose with no restrictions. Her power is limitless, not only can she rip mountains out by their roots or drain the oceans dry, she stole the Crossroad itself.’
‘I’m sorry, what?’ Olivia asked in confusion, ‘how can she steal a Crossroad?’
‘She draws her power from the Crossroad. She may not be trapped within its confines any longer but she is still bound to it; without it she reverts back to nothing more than a powerless human soul. By concealing the Crossroad from me she has denied me the only chance to revoke her power and compel her soul to move on.’
‘Ah,’ Olivia grimaced, ‘sorry.’
‘I don’t want sorry, Olivia, I want to find the Crossroad. It is now the only one left in existence and it must be protected or need I remind you of the other four that were destroyed?’
‘That wasn’t my fault,’ she replied flatly.
‘I’m not looking to cast blame, Olivia,’ Hades replied, ‘I just want to find the Crossroad and deal with Marguerite before she can cause too much damage.’
‘What is it you want me to do?’
‘Just…if she shows up,’ he frowned, ‘which she’s bound to do because everyone seems to be drawn to you sooner or later, I want you to bring her to me.’
‘How the hell am I supposed to do that?’
‘Olivia, you still don’t get it, do you?’ he sighed in exasperation, ‘you are a Guardian. You have even more power than she does.’
Olivia blew out a breath and rolled her eyes.
‘Fine, if and when we cross paths I’ll deal with her.’
Hades’ nose suddenly wrinkled and he handed Logan back to Olivia.
‘Uh, I believe this one has soiled himself.’
Olivia smiled in amusement and settled her son back into her arms, cooing to him softly.
‘Hades,’ Theo spoke up, his voice quiet and reflective, ‘I was wondering if you could help me.’
‘With what?’ he asked curiously.
‘Our friend Sam is missing, he’s been missing since that night in the woods and we’re worried.’
Hades’ mouth tightened slightly.
‘What?’ Theo asked, ‘What is it you know?’
‘It’s complicated,’ he answered after a moment. ‘How much do you know about Sam really…about what he is? About who he is?’
‘Not much,’ Theo admitted, ‘we know he’s not human, but beyond that…’ he shook his head.
Hades swore softly.
‘Hades, if you know something you have to tell me,’ Theo scowled. ‘I don’t really care who or what he is, all I know is that he’s my friend and if he’s in trouble we need to help him.’
‘This is one mess you can’t get in the middle of, Theo,’ Hades shook his head. ‘Not even I can get involved, the balance is too delicate.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Look, I can’t give you the answers you’re looking for. The truth is, I don’t know where Sam is. Wherever he is it’s beyond my sight,’ he shook his head, ‘but what I do know is that his people are on the verge of war and his father is very powerful and has many enemies. There are a lot of people who would wish your friend harm for a great many reasons.’
‘I can’t just sit by and do nothing,’ Theo snapped.
‘I’m afraid, my friend, that is exactly what you must do,’ Hades replied with some sympathy. ‘I know that you are incredibly loyal Theo, and it is a credit to you. Believe me loyalty is something I value very highly. But trust me, what Sam is involved with is something you do not want to bring to your door, especially as it will endanger Olivia and your children.’
‘Are you absolutely sure?’ Theo replied.
It killed him, knowing that his friend, the man he owed so much to was in danger and there was nothing he could do about it.
‘I am truly sorry my friend,’ Hades stood slowly, ‘I wish I could be the bearer of better news.’
Theo nodded in acknowledgment as Hades disappeared, leaving him and Olivia once again alone with their children.
‘Theo,’ Olivia touched his arm gently.
‘Wherever he is, we can’t leave him there Livy,’ he replied quietly.
‘And we won’t,’ she answered resolutely. ‘We will find him, Theo, I promise you.’
5.
Olivia sat in an old rocking chair, humming softly to herself as she nursed her infant son. Her gaze tracked idly across the intricate murals painted on the walls of the nursery, highlighted by the pale moonlight spilling through the window. While Logan fed contentedly, she found herself studying the designs Theo himself had painted. Across one wall, Wendy flew hand in hand with Peter Pan, followed by her two younger brothers as they swept across the midnight sky high above
the London skyline, chasing “the second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning”.
Spilling across to the next wall was the Mermaid Lagoon, surrounded by little Indians and Lost Boys as they chased a band of pirates. The next wall saw Dorothy happily skipping down the Yellow Brick Road arm in arm with the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man, heading toward the Emerald City. The last wall showed Alice tumbling head over heels down the rabbit hole, surrounded by playing cards, bottles labeled “drink me” and cookies labeled “eat me”.
Olivia smiled to herself; she could see his love for their children in every single brush stroke. As her pregnancy had progressed and they’d found out they were expecting a boy and a girl, Theo had read his way through every children’s classic he could get his hands on, familiarizing himself with as much children’s literature as he could and reading them to her belly in his rumbling baritone so they would recognize his voice. Now they’d been born he would read to them every night, as he cradled them carefully in his arms.
Finally satisfied, Logan let go of her nipple, snoring lightly. The corner of her mouth twitched in amusement as she shifted him over her shoulder gently and tapped his back until he gave a sleepy burp. Cracking open one eye, he stretched and promptly fell asleep again. Kissing his soft skin and breathing him in, she glanced across at the crib as his sister began to fuss. Rising slowly, she tucked him into the crib and lifted out her daughter.
She was grateful for nights like this, when they seemed content to take turns in feeding. All too often they were both screaming simultaneously, and she found she didn’t have enough hands to feed them both at the same time. In the beginning she’d felt like a frazzled mess, running on no sleep and feeling as if she was doing everything wrong. However, over the weeks, both she, Theo and their twins had become accustomed to each other, and once she’d figured out that she could express milk so Theo could feed one baby while she fed the other, things had slowly begun to improve. Settling back into the chair with her daughter, she switched to the other breast and watched as Theia began to feed, her tiny little fist softly kneading Olivia’s flesh.
‘You look content,’ a heavily-laced French accent spoke softly, breaking the silence of the room. ‘Motherhood suits you.’
A Little Town Called Mercy Page 3
