The Veritas

by Wendy Saunders

  Olivia’s eyes widened.

  ‘You think this is my fault?’ she breathed in concern, ‘that I’m somehow turbocharging his visions?’

  ‘I’m saying, Olivia, that we just don’t know,’ Hades frowned. ‘We’re in uncharted territory here.’

  ‘How so?’

  ‘There has never been a Guardian before,’ Hades admitted.

  ‘What… ever?’ Olivia’s sat back in her chair in surprise.

  Hades scratched his chin thoughtfully.

  ‘Start at the beginning Hades,’ she scowled at him, ‘and you’d better not leave anything out. I want to know everything you do. This is my life, my husband’s and my children’s lives we’re talking about. No one said anything about fine print when I became Infernum’s Guardian.’

  ‘They rarely do,’ Hades grumbled.

  ‘Hades,’ Olivia warned.

  ‘You know there are five books of power?’ he sighed.

  She nodded.

  ‘The Hell Book, the Book of the Heavens, the Song of Purgatory and I believe the other two are the Otherworld and the Book of Earth.’

  ‘That’s right,’ he replied, ‘but we’re not sure entirely where they come from or what their original purpose was. They’re old… very very old. They predate even the Gods by thousands of lifetimes.’

  ‘But they must have come from somewhere,’ Olivia murmured. Something whispered at the edge of her mind, a fragment of a memory, but when she tried to reach for it, it tattered and fell apart like ash in the wind.

  ‘We call them the First Race,’ Hades leaned further forward, his voice dropping as if he were imparting a great secret, ‘a civilization which predates the dawn of time.’

  ‘But that’s not possible,’ Olivia shook her head.

  ‘Who are we to say what is possible or impossible?’ Hades answered. ‘To some I am impossible, I don’t exist beyond their sphere of understanding. There are some that would say the things you are able to do are impossible. There is so much more to existence than we, in our limited understanding, are privy to.’

  ‘Okay,’ Olivia blew out a heavy breath, ‘so these people, the ones you call the First Race, created the books?’

  ‘We believe so,’ he nodded. ‘It is all that remains of a once powerful civilization. Well, that and a few other artefacts which have survived intact.’

  ‘Artefacts?’

  ‘You wear one of them yourself,’ Hades nodded toward her chest.

  Her hand automatically sought out the warm metal laying against her skin beneath her nightshirt and robe.

  ‘The compass?’

  ‘The compass was also created by the First Race, along with something called the Sphere. It is a smooth stone about the size of a small apple. It’s deep blue and crystalline like a sapphire and is capable of great power, just as the compass is. I have heard rumors of another artefact known only as the Acorn, but I don’t know where it is or what it does.’

  Olivia’s eyes narrowed.

  ‘You gave me the compass the very first time we met,’ she said slowly. ‘You knew didn’t you, even back then, you knew I was meant to be the Guardian of Infernum?’

  ‘I had my suspicions,’ he admitted, ‘and it was only confirmed when you learned to use the power of the compass.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ she asked in confusion.

  ‘The compass and its power are tied to the books and to the First Race. Only a chosen one, one of the bloodline can use it. The same goes I imagine, for the Sphere and the Acorn.’

  ‘I can’t help feeling a little manipulated here,’ Olivia replied sulkily.

  ‘You really don’t understand how singularly unique you are, do you Olivia?’ Hades answered exasperatedly. ‘You are descended from the bloodline that was entrusted with the safekeeping of the book. You are able to speak and understand the ancient languages as no other mortal has before you; you are able to wield God fire. Olivia it had to be you because it could be no other.’

  ‘You say that like it’s a good thing,’ she murmured.

  ‘Olivia do you know how many mortals, creatures and gods would kill to have the kind of power you possess.’

  ‘And because of what I am, it’s hurting Theo. How am I supposed to live with that? What if it hurts my children? I was pregnant with them when I became a Guardian, how is that going to affect them?’

  ‘Only time will tell,’ Hades replied sympathetically. ‘I know you are worried about Theo and about your children, but I don’t have all the answers. We are all nothing more than pieces on a giant cosmic chessboard. We have no choice but to let our destinies unfold in the coming days.’

  Olivia looked up at him, her deep whiskey colored eyes unreadable.

  ‘You’ve felt it too, haven’t you?’ he asked softly.

  ‘The darkness,’ Olivia whispered as she nodded slowly. ‘I’ve felt it.’

  ‘Everything we think we know is about to change,’ Hades told her seriously. ‘You are aware of a group of mortals who call themselves the Veritas?’

  ‘How do you know about them?’ she asked in surprise.

  ‘Usually I do not concern myself with the human affairs, but this particular group has come to my attention.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘It would seem that after the demise of Nathaniel, Sabine and Saffire have moved on and are colluding with the Veritas.’

  ‘Colluding?’ she repeated slowly. ‘They’re working with the Veritas, but why? They hate humans.’

  ‘They have a common goal,’ Hades told her seriously. ‘They are trying to find Caelum.’

  ‘Caelum? The Book of the Heavens?’ Olivia replied.

  ‘You know it has awakened? Even now it calls out for its Guardian.’

  ‘I know,’ Olivia whispered, ‘I can hear it.’

  ‘You can?’ Hades eyes narrowed in interest as he studied her. ‘What does it sound like?’

  ‘Its… a whisper in the darkness…’ her voice dropped low and her eyes, suddenly distant, were no longer a deep golden color but pale, ageless, fixed upon something only she could see. ‘It’s alone, so alone in the darkness. It reaches out… its incomplete… it feels pain…’

  ‘What does it want?’ Hades asked softly.

  ‘It doesn’t want to be alone anymore, adrift in the darkness….’

  ‘Olivia,’ he grasped her arm suddenly as if to anchor her.

  She blinked and sat up straighter her eyes once again her own color.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she shook her head, ‘my mind wandered. Um, why do Sabine and Saffire want the book?’

  Hades sat back in his chair studying her quietly.

  ‘Because they chose to follow Nathaniel, as did a great many other demons, believing that he was a demon lord, when in reality…’

  ‘He was Castor,’ Olivia nodded, ‘the mortal half-brother of Pollux, who split his mortality with him making him a demi god?’

  ‘Close enough,’ Hades nodded. ‘The fact is Hell and Hades don’t mix.’

  ‘I’ve heard that,’ Olivia murmured as she stared at Hades.

  ‘Lucifer, even trapped in a cage in the deepest pit of Hell, has a very long reach. He is not at all pleased with Sabine and Saffire. They are on the run; they think to pacify him and win their way back into his favor by bringing him the book.’

  ‘But why would Lucifer want the Book of the Heavens?’

  ‘Give me strength,’ Hades muttered as he closed his eyes briefly. ‘You mortals seem to forget that despite being trapped in Hell surrounded by demons, Lucifer is still…’

  ‘An Archangel,’ Olivia finished for him.

  ‘Exactly,’ Hades nodded, ‘and if he gets his hands on Caelum, not only will he be able to break out of his prison but he will be able to leave the confines of Hell itself. If you are entertaining any thoughts about him being misunderstood or given a raw deal by his father, don’t. He may still be an Archangel but he’s vicious and dangerous, and out of control. Even after all these millennia he’s still angry eno
ugh with his father and his brethren to tear Hell to shreds, allowing it to spill over onto earth as he stalks his way through, destroying everything in his path. He’ll climb his way up to the gates of Paradise itself on the piled carcasses of dead mortals and he will lay waste to Heaven, killing everyone who crosses him.’

  ‘Shit,’ Olivia scowled.

  ‘Your knack for understatement never ceases to amaze me,’ Hades replied dryly.

  ‘So, we have to stop the Veritas, Sabine and Saffire, and by extension, Lucifer, from getting his hands on the book,’ she sighed and dropped her head tiredly into her hands, growling softly. ‘Urgh… I am never going to get that vacation.’

  ‘Look on the bright side, as you mortals are always so fond of saying… at least you get to save the world.’

  ‘Again?’ she huffed. ‘Last time it was to stop Nathaniel from getting his hands on the book and releasing his brother Seth from his prison in the Underworld and allowing Hell to spill over onto Earth. I mean, damn it, isn’t anyone in charge of the Hell dimensions?’

  ‘You are,’ Hades pointed out.

  ‘I really should’ve read the fine print,’ she muttered sourly.

  Hades chuckled lightly.

  ‘You know, I really am inordinately fond of you Olivia.’

  ‘It’s okay,’ she replied dryly as she nudged him with her elbow, ‘you can admit you love me.’

  He stared at her quietly, his dark eyes glittering with amusement as Olivia stood and removed the mugs from the table, leaning over and dropping a kiss on his forehead.

  ‘I love you too,’ she murmured quietly as she turned toward the sink, ‘even though you tend to uproot my life every time you stalk through here.’

  He watched her as she dropped the mugs into the sink, his eyes softening with affection as he stood slowly and moved to stand beside her.

  ‘Here,’ he pressed something into her hand, ‘take these.’

  Olivia looked down, noticing two identical tiny bracelets, inscribed with ancient symbols.

  ‘They are for your children,’ he told her with an embarrassed rumble, ‘they will keep them safe.’

  ‘Thank you,’ she whispered as she stared up into his eyes.

  ‘It may not always seem like it when I am the bearer of ill news so often, but you and your family are important to me, and I would be wroth if anything untoward was to befall you.’

  ‘I would be wroth if anything untoward was to befall you too,’ she smiled up at him impishly.

  ‘Mortals,’ he tilted his head back and let out a deep sigh of consternation. ‘It is a wonder I have any hair left.’

  ‘You have beautiful hair,’ she soothed the front of his suit with her palm. ‘Stop worrying.’

  He shook his head in amusement.

  ‘I shall leave the Gata here; with Sabine and Saffire on the loose I don’t want to take any chances. I doubt they could cross your protective wards, but I’d feel better with them patrolling the perimeter of your property.’

  ‘Lois and Clark are here?’ she smiled widely, thinking back to the two giant cats who’d saved her from the demon sisters on more than one occasion.

  ‘Olivia please,’ Hades winced in a pained voice, ‘refrain from using those ridiculous names you gave them, in my presence.’

  ‘You’re just sore because they like their names and won’t answer to anything else now.’

  ‘Be that as it may,’ he scowled, ‘there is something else I need to speak about with you.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘The woman, Scarlett.’

  ‘Who?’ Olivia replied in confusion.

  ‘The red-haired woman with Sam,’ he clarified.

  ‘Her name is Scarlett? Not Aurelia?’

  ‘Aurelia was her mother,’ Hades explained.

  ‘What about her?’ Olivia asked suspiciously.

  ‘I want you to be wary of her,’ he warned.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘It’s complicated, but your job right now is to stop the Veritas and to keep Sabine and Saffire from getting their hands on the book. Scarlett is tangled up in a whole mess of trouble of her own and trust me that is not the kind of trouble you want beating down your door.’

  ‘You mean because she’s an angel?’

  ‘You know about that?’ Hades stared at her contemplatively.

  Olivia nodded slowly.

  ‘Olivia,’ Hades warned her, ‘if you get tangled up with her, the angels will come after you. I cannot intervene; it is strictly forbidden. I told you before that Hell and Hades don’t mix, well that sentiment goes double for Heaven and all its domains. I am already walking a very thin line with my brother for my relationship with you. If I cross Heaven in defense of you, my brother will not let it stand. It will be all out war between us and if that happens, it’ll make the Holy wars look like a Sunday picnic.’

  ‘Zeus can’t just stand by on the sidelines while we run around putting out fires,’ Olivia scowled, ‘and he also can’t just wade in at the last moment and start laying down the law.’

  ‘I’m afraid he can,’ Hades frowned. ‘He has the might of Olympus behind him. There are too many players in this game as it is; we can’t afford for my kind to become involved. There is a line I can’t cross.’

  ‘It’s okay Hades,’ she stroked his arm soothingly, ‘I got this.’

  ‘Why does that not exactly fill me with confidence,’ he sighed heavily.

  She smiled impishly.

  ‘Trust me.’

  ‘Fine,’ he sighed again. ‘It seems I have no choice, but I mean it Olivia, stay away from Scarlett.’

  With that final warning ringing in the air, he disappeared leaving Olivia standing alone. Manny, who’d gotten bored and abandoned her halfway through her conversation with Hades, had curled up in the corner and was sleeping peacefully.

  Trying not to disturb him, Olivia crossed the kitchen and opened one of the drawers. From it she pulled a bloodstained tarot card. It was the one Theo had pulled from the rubble of the Las Vegas penthouse. She turned it over in her hands studying it carefully, but it appeared to be nothing more than it seemed, a bloodstained old tarot card.

  Laying it down on the counter she pulled an old newspaper from the drawer and unfolded it. Much as she had done that night in Las Vegas she found herself studying the aged photo of herself standing side by side with the woman called Scarlett.

  ‘Who are you?’ Olivia muttered into the stillness of the kitchen.

  5

  Aalia stared down at Sam as he slept fitfully, curled into his side and wrapped tightly in blankets as he shivered violently. She reached out to smooth his damp hair from his face, watching as he muttered something in his sleep.

  Reaching tiredly into a deep bowl of cool water she dipped a cloth in and squeezed it out, carefully washing the sweat from Sam’s face and neck.

  She was exhausted; she’d never had cause to give such prolonged and intense healing before. She’d thought, perhaps foolishly, that once she’d managed to purge the Oubli and the blue fire from his body that it would simply be a matter of healing the damage and allowing him to rest and regain his strength.

  She was wrong, it was like opening up a Pandora’s box. The deeper she dug, the more she found. There was something else going on with Sam, traces of something she didn’t recognize, and it was proving difficult to heal him.

  Damn it, she needed answers. They were blocking all her requests for access to the prisoner, but the woman was the only other person who might have some idea of what had happened to Sam in the time he was absent from Heaven.

  Sam suddenly gave a long groan and rolled over onto his back. The shivering had ceased but once again he was burning up. Pressing her palms against his slick, sweaty chest she allowed her power to flood his body. She felt his heart rate settle down into a more sedate pace and he relaxed, sleeping more calmly.

  She was drained; she’d not left his side since he’d been brought home. She’d managed to eat and had grabbed snatches of sleep wh
en she could, propped in the chair by his sleeping cot. She couldn’t continue like this for much longer or she’d burn out and without her Sam definitely wouldn’t stand a chance.

  There had to be someone, somewhere, who could tell her what had happened to Sam. There was so much damage to his body, she didn’t understand how he’d managed to survive for as long as he had. She’d never encountered anyone with a will that strong. She could only hope that his strength wouldn’t fail him now.

  Hours passed by, she continued to bathe him in cool water, she dozed when she could, woke when he became agitated and used her gift to soothe him. Finally, fatigued, she fell into a deep dreamless sleep only to wake some time later with a stiff pain in her neck. Sitting up and yawning tiredly she stretched her neck and as her gaze dropped to Sam, she jolted in surprise.

  His eyes were open, and he was staring at her. His body was drenched, like he’d just plunged into a pool, and he was shaking almost violently, but for the first time his gaze was clear. His fever had obviously broken sometime while she slept, and she found herself breathing out an unconscious sigh of relief. It was one more hurdle crossed. He wasn’t completely out of the woods yet, but it was a good sign.

  Sam opened his mouth to speak but his voice merely hissed out from between his dry lips as a hoarse whisper.

  ‘Don’t try to speak just yet,’ she rose and retrieved a glass of rose-colored liquid, then holding his head gently she raised the glass to his lips. ‘Sip slowly, this will help.’

  He did as he was told. It was a strange, light fruity, very sweet flavor, and although he drank slowly and carefully, he’d drained nearly three quarters of the glass by the time his head dropped back against the sweat stained pillow.

  ‘My name is Aalia,’ she told him quietly.

  ‘I know you,’ Sam croaked as he stared at her face. ‘The last time I saw you, you were a child.’

  ‘Much has changed in your absence Samuel,’ she replied.

  She watched as Sam’s eyes flitted around the room.

  ‘You are home,’ she answered his unspoken question, but instead of seeing relief his brow crumbled into a deep scowl.