Just as Elias looked up a small ugly, monkey like creature screeched and leapt at him, sharp claw like fingers extended and needle like teeth bared, but before it landed on him, something hit it forcefully, with a dull thud, sending it flying back to hit the wall and slide down limply.
Elias looked across the room to see Ada. At her waist, attached to her belt, was a leather roll, which once unwound revealed a dozen sharp throwing knives. He watched in astonishment as she picked out another knife and threw it smoothly and instinctively, pinning another two creatures to each other and the wall.
Elias turned quickly to Eve who was scratching and tearing at the rope binding her jaw and thrust the cane in his hand toward her. The ropes loosened and fell away. As they did, she opened her mouth and let out a shrill screech.
Just like it had the night outside the palace it sent out a shockwave which reverberated throughout the entire room, sending all the tiny creatures skittering from her.
Seeing her chance, Scarlett, unaffected by Eve’s warning cry, darted across the room and grabbed the Hourglass wrapping her fingers tightly around it.
Eve shrieked again and all the creatures began scuttling up the walls to escape her and the agonizing sound which tormented them.
Olivia gathered her power as her dragon flew over her and bathed Faraday in flames, before landing on her shoulder. Olivia stepped back breathing heavily, her dragon watching the flames burning before him with dark obsidian eyes.
Lucien had shrugged back into his human form and was panting, sweat dripping from his brow. Scarlett, Luthor and Ada all stood watching the form of Faraday burn, but slowly the flames died down and when they did, Olivia sucked in a sharp breath as Faraday emerged, completely unscathed.
Eve caught sight of him, and her eyes widened in sudden and violent recognition. Her fingers curled like claws and she opened her mouth. The sound that came out was like nothing they’d ever heard before. This was no warning cry; it was pure and utter rage and hatred.
The force of her voice threw him back, sending his boots skidding along the floor, but it didn’t stop him. She continued to scream, the shockwave and onslaught of her voice battering against him. Slowly he took one step forward and then another. Inch by inch he edged forward toward them, his eyes blazing furiously, his lips pulled back in a snarl.
Knowing they weren't going to stop him, not like this, Olivia gathered her power and closed her eyes. The room filled with a deep rich lavender colored smoke and suddenly the room swirled around them and disappeared.
26
Olivia fell back against the cold, wet, snow-covered ground with a thud. She lay there for a second, gathering her breath before slowly pushing herself up into a seated position. She snapped her fingers and four of her dragonflies burst into life, bathing them all with a bright warm glowing light.
She looked around and saw Luthor and Ada climbing to their feet. Ada looked no worse for wear, but Luthor had chunks of material torn away from his coat, revealing smooth unharmed skin but bloodstained clothes. Likewise, the scratches and bites which had peppered his face back in the underground room had healed and disappeared.
Lucien climbed to his feet. Although physically unharmed, his eyes were filled with frustration and pain that he had not had a chance to wrest his brother’s location from Faraday.
Scarlett brushed off her skirt as she held both her staff and the Hourglass in her other hand. Well, at least they’d managed to retrieve the Hourglass Olivia thought to herself.
Lastly, she looked across to find Elias sitting on the wet snow, with Eve in his lap. His arms were gently wrapped around her, Bower’s cane still clutched in his fist. Eve’s face was buried in the crook of his neck and it was obvious from the look on his face and the way he rocked her tenderly that she was crying.
Olivia crossed the distance between them and sank down next to them, not caring that her heavy skirt was now soaking wet.
‘Eve,’ she reached out and stroked Eve’s back soothingly. ‘Sweetheart, what is it?’
Eve lifted her tear stained face and moved her hands.
‘The man you call Faraday,’ she gestured, ‘he’s the one.’
‘The one?’ Olivia frowned. ‘What do you mean?’
‘He’s the one who killed my mother,’ she signed as the tears rolled down her face.
‘Are you certain?’ Olivia’s eyes widened.
‘He slit my mother’s throat and watched her die,’ Eve moved her hands again, every gesture abrupt and filled with bitterness. ‘I’ll never forget his face as long as I live.’
‘Shit,’ Olivia rubbed her face tiredly as she pushed herself to her feet. ‘That man has a lot to answer for.’
She stepped back and watched thoughtfully as Elias climbed to his feet and helped Eve to stand. But, Olivia noticed, he didn’t let go of her and she seemed more than content to stand in his comforting embrace.
Deciding to give them a moment, she turned to Lucien.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she told him genuinely as her eyes filled with regret. ‘I’m sorry we didn’t find out where your brother is being held. I made you a promise and I didn’t keep it.’
Lucien shook his head slowly.
‘It is not your fault Qua’talla,’ he rumbled, his voice deep and low. ‘It was an honor to serve you.’
But she still felt bad.
‘Lucien,’ Elias told him quietly, ‘I will help you find him, as soon as your other brother Cole arrives back in England. I swear we won’t stop until we find Dante.’
Lucien nodded.
Olivia crossed the space to Luthor and Ada, who’d just finished hugging Scarlett. One by one she wrapped her arms around them, embracing them fondly.
‘Thank you,’ Olivia whispered to each of them in turn. ‘We couldn’t have done it without you.’
‘We take care of our own,’ Luthor nodded.
‘You ready?’ Scarlett asked.
Olivia turned to Eve and Elias.
‘Eve,’ she said softly, ‘it’s time.’
Eve glanced up at Elias, as he softly stroked her cheek, wiping away her tears with the pad of his thumb.
‘Stay,’ he whispered. ‘Stay here with me.’
Eve’s eyes widened and her lips parted.
‘Elias,’ Olivia warned.
‘I’ll take care of her,’ he turned to Olivia. ‘You have my word; I will protect her.’
Olivia sighed as she turned back to Eve.
‘Eve,’ she called softly, ‘what do you want?’
Eve stared first at Elias and then turned to Olivia.
‘Olivia,’ she gestured, ‘I’m so grateful to you, for your care and for your friendship. It has meant more to me than you can imagine, but I don’t belong in your time. I belong here.’
She glanced back up at Elias.
‘I want to stay here,’ she signed, ‘with Elias.’
‘Are you absolutely sure?’ Olivia asked.
Eve nodded as Olivia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly.
‘I’m going to miss you Eve,’ she whispered as her eyes filled with tears. ‘Be safe.’
Eve nodded again as Olivia turned and wrapped her arms around her brother in law.
‘Take care of her Elias,’ she told him firmly.
‘I will,’ he smiled.
Scarlett crossed the distance and hugged them both too.
‘I love you both,’ Eve signed to Olivia and Scarlett as they stepped back.
‘We love you too,’ Olivia smiled as Scarlett flipped the bottom section of the Hourglass open and set the correct date and time on the tiny dials.
‘Ready?’ Scarlett held out her hand.
‘Ready,’ Olivia nodded as they grasped hands firmly.
Scarlett lifted the Hourglass and with a deep breath turned it over.
Nothing happened.
Scarlett frowned in confusion, looking down at it. The sand was stuck in the bottom bulb like it was glued. No matter what way she tu
rned it the sand refused to pour.
‘It’s broken,’ she growled, shaking it roughly. ‘Arghhh, why do these things never come with an instruction manual?’
‘Here,’ Olivia reached out, still firmly holding onto Scarlett with her other hand ‘Let me see.’
The minute she touched the Hourglass it warmed and pulsed, the star shape on top began to glow and curiously the sand began to flow upward against gravity into the top bulb.
The park around them swirled and disappeared, and they held onto each other tightly as everything spun and spun wildly. It was like being a child again, holding their arms out and closing their eyes and spinning until they were dizzy.
Suddenly it all stopped, and they once again found themselves thrown to the ground. They lay there, breathing heavily, until their heads stopped spinning and the dizziness passed.
Slowly they sat up and glanced around. They were still in the middle of a wide-open space, with the moon and stars glittering high above them, but something was different. The snow beneath them was gone, the grassy ground dry and hard. The air, no longer cold and bitter was filled with warmth and the hazy scent of summer.
Olivia pulled herself to her feet and reached down to help Scarlett who was still clutching the now still Hourglass.
‘Do you think it worked?’ Scarlett wondered aloud.
There was a loud snap of fingers and a bright light appeared above them, bathing them in its radiance. Olivia looked across to find Elias standing in front of her, his mouth curving slightly.
For one heart stopping moment, her irrational brain thought she was still back in the 19th century but as the rest of her brain caught up, she realized that he looked different...better, more healthy, expertly groomed and was wearing an expensively tailored suit which was more GQ than Victoriana.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tube of toothpaste as his face broke into a wide grin. Olivia let out a whoop of sheer joy and launched herself at him. Laughing he caught her and hugged her hard.
‘Welcome home Olivia,’ he laughed as he set her back on her feet. ‘I’ve brought you a present.’
He stepped aside and it took a second for her eyes to focus on the man standing behind him.
‘Theo?’ she whispered as her eyes filled with tears. ‘THEO!’
She grabbed up her skirts and ran, jumping into his arms as he held her tightly. Their mouths crashed together desperately and not a single word was spoken as they lost themselves in each other.
Elias chuckled as he turned back to Scarlett. He opened his arms as she laughed lightly and hugged him.
‘Welcome back Scarlett,’ he pulled back and looked down at her fondly.
‘Thanks,’ she handed him the Hourglass.
He laughed again and shook his head as he took the Hourglass and wrapped an arm companionably around her shoulders.
‘Let’s get out of here,’ he suggested as they began to walk.
‘Get a room you two!’ he called out to Olivia and Theo as they passed by, making Scarlett laugh again.
Theo released Olivia and she slid back down to the ground. Taking her hand as they grinned at each other, they turned to follow Elias and Scarlett across Hyde Park.
Given the sheer amount of skirts and petticoats Olivia and Scarlett were still wearing, they climbed with some difficulty into the back of Elias’s waiting car and headed to the airport. Within a short amount of time, they were boarding Elias’s plane. Not a chartered plane, a private one… that he owned and once again Olivia found herself wondering just how much money her brother in law had, as the plane climbed to thirty-six thousand feet and headed for the States.
It was pure luxury, the kind of luxury you only ever envied on TV. The seats were a soft buttery cream colored leather, wide and reclining, that literally spun to face any direction. The tables were glossy and high spec, there was almost a full kitchen in the galley and staff to cater to their every whim, a full screen TV with WIFI and the deepest lushest couch they’d ever seen. In the back there was more than one bedroom with a shower, and it was there, Olivia and Theo headed for some privacy as soon as the seatbelt sign turned off.
Theo helped her strip out of the complicated gown, petticoats and corset. She unwound her hair from its complex braiding and climbed into the shower with a deep groan of relief as the hot water beat down on her face and hair. Clutching her toothpaste and toothbrush in one hand she listened to Theo’s soothing voice.
Theo sat down on the edge of the bed, watching her in the shower as he began to speak. He started at the beginning; from the moment he woke up in the captivity of the Veritas. He told her about Faraday, about Nate, he told her about Six and how she’d been held by the Veritas for years and how they’d become friends.
He went on to talk about the prophecy, the strange language he’d been seeing for months before his kidnapping and most of all the vivid and disturbing dreams and hallucinations. Finally, he told her about the moment in his dream where he’d confronted the memory of Matthias Beckett and in a way had set himself free.
Olivia stood and listened without saying a word, grateful she was inside the shower and he couldn’t see her tears as they were washed away by the pounding water. It hurt her deeply to know how much he’d suffered at the hands of the Veritas and more importantly Faraday. When Theo finally fell silent and she was more than clean, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a thick fluffy white towel, crossing the small room to stand between Theo’s legs as he sat at the edge of the bed.
Her warm hands cupped his face as he wrapped his arms around her waist, drawing her in close.
‘Theo,’ she whispered painfully as she studied his face. It had been dark in the park when she’d first been reunited with him, as it had been in the car, but now looking at him in the bright light of the room, she could see his pale skin and the deep, dark circles under his eyes.
She took a small step back as he stood slowly, unfolding himself from the bed until he towered over her, forcing her to tilt her head back slightly to look into his eyes. Her fingertips trailed up his sides, grasping his t-shirt and drawing it up over his torso and over his head. She tossed it negligently across the room as her eyes scanned his body. His tanned skin was now pale, with layers of old and new bruising in strips across his torso, obviously from where he’d been repeatedly restrained during the medical procedures. His inner arms and wrists were covered in puncture marks. His arm which bore the fascinating twisting tattoos of molten metal, now had three distinct wounds, at his bicep, his elbow and his wrist, the skin was raw and shiny, split in places and scabbed over. She could only assume it had come from prolonged use of the demon cuffs and her blood began to boil.
‘Don’t Livy love,’ he cupped her chin and drew her face up, so her devasted gaze clashed with his. ‘It’s over now, I’ll heal.’
‘I hate him,’ she whispered violently. ‘Faraday… as a witch first and foremost my most sacred belief was to do no harm.’
‘I know,’ he replied in understanding.
‘I want him dead,’ she hissed angrily as tears gathered in her eyes. ‘I want to hurt him for everything he’s done to us. Everything he continues to do to us…. I want him to pay.’
‘He will,’ Theo soothed her, as he cupped her neck and pressed his forehead to hers with a sigh. ‘He will get everything that’s coming to him, but don’t think about him now. Now, it’s just you... just me. The whole time I was there, I would dream about you, it was the only thing that kept me going... kept me alive.’
‘I missed you so much,’ her voice cracked as the tears slid down her cheeks. ‘All I wanted was to get back to you.’
‘You’re here now,’ he stroked her cheek with his thumb, wiping away her tears. ‘No matter what they do, they’ll never keep us apart.’
‘I love you,’ she whispered as his lips brushed against hers.
‘And I love you,’ he breathed against her mouth. ‘Always, no matter what Livy,’ his fingers tightened gently on th
e back of her neck, ‘we will always find each other.’
His hand slid down from her jaw, trailing across her collar bone to the dip between her breasts, his dark eyes fixed on her as he hooked his finger in her towel and tugged gently, watching as it slid down her damp body and pooled on the floor. His gaze trailed over her body as if re-familiarizing himself with every curve, every dip, his fingers trailing over her smooth, warm skin.
‘We shouldn’t,’ she whispered against his lips as he kissed her softly, ‘you should be resting.’
‘I can rest later,’ he smiled against her mouth as she reached for the waistband of his jeans and popped the buttons open. She pushed them and his boxers past his hips to pool on the floor, until he was as naked as she was.
She pressed closer, feeling his flushed skin against hers as she opened her mouth and he tasted her. Turning slowly, he lowered her to the bed, settling himself between her thighs, the scent of her skin wrapping around him and soothing as much as it aroused.
‘I missed you,’ he breathed her in, trailing kisses down her neck as she arched into him, the need for him sharp and devastating.
‘Theo,’ she whispered as she held his face, kissing him desperately as her fingers slid up into his dark wavy hair, gripping tightly as he slid inside her.
He swallowed her gasp and gritted his teeth at the intense feeling of her tightening around him. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest, feeling alive for the first time in weeks. His fingers skimmed her arms lifting them above her head as their fingers entwined. He rolled his hips against her, sinking in deeper. She wrapped her legs around him as he thrust slowly. The whole world around them ceased to exist and all that remained was the two of them.
Scarlett stepped out of the small room and closed the door behind her, making her way into the main body of the plane. She’d taken a shower and been able to let her hair down once again, gloriously freeing after the tightly pinned hairstyles of the 19th century. Her wild cherry colored hair spilled down her back once again, in a riot of loose curls.
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