He glanced down at the writing below the illustration.
Signaculum hoc notat duo habentes dæmonia, fratres colligatum in aeternum
‘I can’t read this,’ he frowned.
‘It’s Latin,’ Olivia told him as she took the book back and read aloud ‘ this seal marks two demon brothers bound together for eternity,’
‘Demon brothers?’
‘It looks like it,’ she replied thoughtfully as she scanned through the rest of the text, ‘it basically says that each serpent depicted on the seal represents one of the two demons. One is named Seth and the other…oh’
‘What?’ Theo asked curiously.
‘The other one is named Nathaniel,’ she frowned, ‘that’s a weird coincidence.’
‘What would a cleric be doing with a demon seal?’ Theo shook his head in confusion. ‘He was a man of God; he denounced evil and the devil. What if he been in league with the demons all along.’
Theo face paled as he raked his paint stained hand through his hair shakily.
‘We all listened to him, we believed him.’
‘Theo, this isn’t your fault,’ she reached out and grasped his hand drawing him down to the couch next to her, ‘you were all raised to trust the clergy. You had no reason not to believe him.’
‘How many though, Olivia,’ His voice was low, ‘how many of the woman we sentenced were innocent. He denounced and tortured those women when the sin was his all along.’
‘You can’t think of that,’ she replied sympathetically, ‘what’s done is done and you can’t change that now. All we can do is try and figure this out so no one else gets killed.’
‘Do you think the killer took up where Nathaniel Boothe left off and is in league with these demons?’
‘I don’t know,’ Olivia shrugged, ‘this is a little out of my sphere of expertise.’
‘How so?’
‘In witchcraft there is no devil, there are no demons.’ Her brow creased as she tried to organise her thoughts, ‘we believe that if an evil act is committed it is the person who made that choice rather that an outside force of evil which influenced them.’
‘Really?’ he seemed quite surprised by that.
‘I know it’s not the version of witchcraft you were warned against.’
‘No, it seems nothing is as I thought it was.’
‘This is just nuts,’ Olivia blew out a breath, ‘there is no such thing as demons. It’s impossible.’
‘Are we really going to have a discussion on what’s possible and impossible again,’ a familiar voice startled both Olivia and Theo causing them to glance across the room to the sturdy old desk.
Sam stood there, casually propped against the desk with an amused smile curving the corner of his mouth.
Theo stood abruptly at the sight of the man who had pulled him from a burning barn to drop him in the middle of the road.
‘You,’ his voice held a note of accusation.
‘Hello Theo,’ Sam replied
‘Why are you here Sam?’ Olivia asked suspiciously, ‘last time I saw you, you said you couldn’t help, that I needed to figure things out on my own.’
‘And that is still true but it doesn’t mean I can’t give you a little nudge in the right direction.’ He grinned and his dimples winked to life, ‘starting with this issue of demons. I will state for the record that demons are real, not only are they very real they are very dangerous particularly if some idiot lets one loose on earth with no control.’
‘I don’t understand,’ Olivia shook her head.
‘If a demon is raised in its natural form and it walks the earth it has no restraint.’
‘So if someone wished to raise a demon they would have to find a way to control it.’ Theo surmised.
‘Exactly,’ Sam nodded.
‘So how would they do that?’ Olivia asked,
‘That’s one of things you’re going to have to figure out and quickly.’ Sam’s face was serious, ‘I can tell you that you’re running out of time.’
‘Great,’ Olivia muttered, ‘I hate running behind when I haven’t seen the schedule.’
‘Is there anything else you can tell us?’ Theo asked.
He watched them contemplatively.
‘I am going to get in so much trouble for this…’ Sam sighed as he turned to Olivia, ‘the night you were lured out into the woods, where were you when you woke up?’
‘In the clearing at….oh,’ her mouth formed the word slowly as the realisation set in, ‘Boothe’s Hollow…Nathaniel Boothe.’
‘So what you need to ask yourself,’ Sam told them both, ‘is how did the Hollow get its name.’
Sam suddenly tilted his head, his eyes distant as if listening to something they couldn’t hear.
‘I have to go,’ he pushed away from the desk and stepped closer to the pair of them, ‘there is one more thing though.’
His gaze turned to Olivia.
‘I just want you to know,’ his eyes were filled with sympathy, ‘Olivia, if I could spare you the pain that was coming I would…’
She blinked and he was gone.
‘Well that just fills me with confidence,’ she muttered crossly.
‘I suppose we should find out what we can about Boothe’s hollow then,’ Theo replied thoughtfully.
‘There’s only one person to go to if you want to know anything about the town’s history.’
‘Your friend at the museum,’
‘That’s right,’ Olivia nodded glancing down at her watch and pulling her phone from her pocket. Punching in the now familiar number she waited patiently as it rang.
‘Hello,’ the older woman’s voice answered efficiently on the third ring.
‘Renata?’ she replied, ‘it’s Olivia.’
‘Oh hello, Olivia dear, did you find anymore on that cleric’s family you were researching the other day.’
‘No,’ Olivia replied carefully, ‘no, I haven’t but I wanted to ask you something else if you have a moment.’
‘Of course, what did you want to know?’
‘It’s about Boothe’s Hollow; do you know how it got its name?’
‘I do as a matter of fact, and it goes back to your ancestor Hester West.’
‘It does?’
‘Yes,’ Renata began, ‘according to local legend, when Hester and her sister Bridget fled Salem they settled by the lake. After a while other survivors of the witch trials drifted in one by one and in pairs, not just from Salem but from all over. It was like they were drawn to Mercy, they knew it was a safe haven for their kind.’
‘Yes I know that,’ Olivia answered.
‘Anyway, from what I understand the legend says a demon disguised in human form followed the sisters here. Hester lured him into the woods and caught him in a devils trap sealing it with her own blood. Boothe’s hollow is supposed to be the location of the devil’s trap and so it was named after the demon.’
‘I see,’ Olivia replied thoughtfully.
‘Do you think it is in some way connected to the Nathaniel Boothe you were researching the other day?’
‘Who knows?’ Olivia answered lightly; damn, the old woman was sharp as a tack.
‘Oh well, if you discover anything new, do let me know.’
‘I will,’ she nodded, ‘thanks Renata.’
Hanging up the phone she turned back to Theo, and explained what she had just learnt.
‘You don’t actually think the demon was Nathaniel Boothe?’ Theo frowned, ‘the Nathaniel Boothe I knew was just a man.’
‘Maybe that’s what he wanted you to think,’ Olivia shrugged. ‘Look I’m no expert I couldn’t even tell you what a demon in its natural form looks like, but if they are as powerful as Sam seems to think I guess it could make itself look like whatever it wants.’
‘It’s possible I suppose,’ he sighed and cast his eyes to the ceiling as he thought back to his dream, ‘it would explain a lot.’
>
‘Like what?’
He turned his gaze back on her, his dark eyes serious.
‘I’ve been having the same dream for a while now,’ he began. ‘It’s in the woods, in a clearing much like you described except it was covered in snow. There is a man staked to the ground in the circle and his chest is torn open, his heart has been removed. The tree in the centre of the clearing is surrounded by a burning star.’
‘A star?’ Olivia frowned, ‘you mean a pentagram?’
She flicked through the book she was still holding and held up an illustration of one.
‘Yes that’s it,’ he nodded. ‘The tree splits open and a man claws his way out of the ground and when he looks up its Nathaniel, the Nathaniel I knew. It never made any sense until now.’
‘God,’ Olivia blew out a breath, ‘this is so far above my pay grade.’
‘What?’
‘Never mind,’ she muttered, ‘I’ve just never had to deal with the concept of real live demons before and now I find one is intimately tied to my family and not just my family but yours too. This can’t be a coincidence.’
‘You know what we need to do don’t you?’
‘Yeah,’ Olivia replied reluctantly, ‘we need to go into the woods and get a good look at the hollow.’
‘I don’t think you should go,’ Theo told her bluntly, ‘whatever is out there in the woods it’s already tried luring you out. I can call Jake and we could…’
‘Don’t even finish that sentence,’ she warned, her eyes flashing dangerously, ‘I may not want to go out into the woods but I damn well will. Apparently this is my family’s mess to clean up.’
‘Not just yours,’ Theo returned just as resolutely.
‘Fine then.’
‘Get your boots on;’ Theo replied tightly, ‘I’ll be right back.
When Theo finally reappeared Olivia was already wearing her winter boots and coat, and was pulling a warm hat over her ponytail.
‘Where did you get that?’ she asked in shock when she saw he was carrying a gun.
‘Jake,’ Theo answered pulling his own coat on.
‘Do you even know how to use it?’
‘He showed me this morning,’ he tucked the weapon into his pocket.
‘Oh,’ she studied him carefully before finally shrugging, ‘okay.’
‘Okay?’ he repeated suspiciously, ‘what does okay mean?’
‘It means okay,’ she smiled, ‘just try not to shoot anything important, you know, fingers, toes…me.’
‘Like that would happen,’ he rolled his eyes as he followed her out of the door shutting it behind them.
‘God, it’s getting cold,’ Olivia unconsciously pulled her coat tighter, ‘we’ll have snow before long.’
They looked at each other in silence, her remark reminding them about Theo’s dream.
Folding her hand in his, they trotted down the porch steps and across the grass.
‘Are you ready?’ Theo asked as they paused at the edge of the woods glancing up at the huge ancient trees.
She nodded, squeezing his hand in assurance before they both disappeared under the huge canopy of half bare trees. The floor of the woods was now littered with a carpet of colourful leaves, which crunched underfoot with every step. For Olivia it was like stepping straight back into her childhood. Apart from the night she had stumbled drunkenly across Adam Miller’s body and the night she had wandered out in a dream like trance, she hadn’t set foot inside the woods since she’d returned home.
The rusty, slightly damp smell made her smile. Seeing it in the daylight with a clear mind enabled her to see it objectively. She’d allowed the murders and the fear to change her love for this place into something darker, but the truth was these were her woods and that would never change.
They moved deeper into the woods warily but nothing seemed amiss. The stillness was punctuated every now and then by the ripple of the leaves falling or the rustle of small creatures burrowing into the undergrowth. A bird cry echoed high above them but they didn’t pause or slow down, knowing that soon they would lose the light and they definitely didn’t want to be caught in the woods after darkness fell.
The closer they got to the clearing the quieter the woods became; even Theo could feel the hairs at the nape of his neck rise.
Suddenly the tree line opened up and Theo got his first look at the clearing. The Hollow speared up from the centre twisted and cruel looking, the ground itself was nothing but hardened mud. Olivia was right nothing grew here, not even a stray weed.
‘Look at this,’ Olivia called to him.
She was standing in front of one of the trees circling the clearing. Pulling away some of the moss covering the thick trunk she traced her fingers along the markings carved deep into the bark.
‘These are wards,’ she moved to the next tree and found another one, ‘and they’re old, very old.’
‘Are they here to protect the circle?’
‘No,’ she decided ‘more like the other way around, they are designed to keep anything in the circle from getting out.’
She stroked the bark of the tree and closed her eyes. She could feel the low thrum of power surrounding the clearing. It was weak but still there.
‘You said that Hester sealed the devil’s trap with her own blood?’
Olivia nodded.
‘Blood Magic, it’s very old and very powerful,’ she replied, ‘even I don’t have the skill necessary for something like that.’
‘Do you think Hester placed these wards on the trees?’ Theo asked.
‘I would imagine so.’
Olivia glanced into the centre of the clearing, her gaze locked on the dead tree.
‘Is there really a demon locked in there?’ she murmured.
‘Let’s take a closer look.’
‘Theo, NO!’ she reached for him but it was too late, he had stepped across the line.
‘What?’ he turned back to look at her.
She opened her mouth but a sudden growl had her eyes widening in alarm.
Both of them turned, their eyes scanning the surroundings but they couldn’t see anything. The growl came again, closer and more chilling. Theo grabbed Olivia’s hand and yanked her close to his side.
‘RUN!’
Holding tightly to Theo’s hand they darted into the woods. Olivia tried to steer them through the trees back towards the house and the safety of her protective wards but every time they turned in the right direction the growling would be in front of them. It didn’t take long for them to realise they were being herded further and further from the safety of the house.
They finally broke through the tree line and came to a grinding halt. Far from home they were standing at the edge of a sheer drop down into the icy waters of the lake. The shoreline had obviously eroded over time, causing earth and rock to tumble into the water leaving no easy way down. Sharp jagged rocks just below the water’s surface also meant they couldn’t jump. Turning back they watched as a shape emerged from the woods. It rippled in the dying light, like a mirage displacing the air. The growl was deep and menacing and the churning mass coalesced into a solid form.
Theo’s eyes widened and he pulled Olivia behind him, drawing his weapon and releasing the safety.
‘Another Hell Hound,’ Olivia muttered.
It took a slow step towards them, like it was toying with them. Theo raised the gun and aimed.
Olivia’s heart was pounding wildly in her chest, the adrenalin surging through her veins like fire. There was a strange tinny ringing in her ears and a kind of detachment. She felt as if she’d stepped outside her body and once again left her emotions behind. Now able to view the perilous situation with a clinical indifference she became aware of someone standing behind her.
‘Metal and gunpowder will not harm it,’ the familiar voice murmured in her ear. ‘It is a creature of the Hell dimensions, and only a weapon of the Hell dimensions can stop it.’
‘How?’ Olivia thought.
‘The fire daughter, you called it forth before, it will heed your call.’ the answer echoed in Olivia’s mind.
‘I’m afraid,’ her brow creased.
‘Then face the fear,’ Diana’s thoughts communicating directly with her own..
Turning back towards the scene before her, she was dimly aware of the hound snapping and snarling as it rushed at Theo. He fired at it, almost emptying his clip but it didn’t slow down.
Even as Theo tried in vain to shield her with his own body Olivia stepped out from behind him with a curious calmness.
‘You know what to do daughter.’
She felt the Goddess place a hand on her shoulder but she didn’t look back. Raising her own hands in front of her she pulled her fists apart and as she did a bow of pure fire appeared in her palms. The flames burned deep sapphire blue edged in black. Unlike the previous time when she had conjured this fire, now she felt the vast inescapable power and this time she owned it. It was hers; no longer overwhelmed she welcomed the whip and thrill of it, as it surged through her body amping up her heartbeat. A jet black arrow appeared between her clenched fists as she took aim.
The Hell Hound leapt straight for her, snarling and growling.
She let the arrow loose and for that one brief second time slowed. She looked around curiously the falling leaves, caught on the early evening breeze, hung suspended in the dim light. The Hell Hound hung in mid air as it leapt. Theo paused even as he lunged forwards to protect her and the arrow brightly blazing with a searing blue flame made its way through the air twisting at an infinitesimal rate.
She didn’t see the satisfied smile curving at the corner of Diana’s mouth, but she did hear the whisper deep within her mind as the arrow struck true, penetrating the hound’s chest and spearing its dead lifeless heart.
‘Now you are the master of Hell fire.’
Something deep inside her pulsed with recognition at her words even as everything roared back into focus with painful acuity. The hound exploded, showering the ground in tiny pieces of black ash. A shock wave of blue lightening like an electrical current burst outwards, shaking the trees and knocking both Olivia and Theo to the cold hard ground. The earth shook beneath them like the aftershock of an earthquake.
Mercy (The Guardians Series 1) Page 32