Theo climbed to his feet and followed her from the room. It was getting late and was already dark outside. He watched as she peered through the peep hole and sighed.
‘Jake,’ she greeted him warily as she opened the door, ‘you don’t look happy. Why do I get the feeling you’re about to give me more bad news?’
‘Olive,’ he nodded as he stepped through the door, closing it behind him. ‘Theo.’
‘What’s going on Jake?’ Olivia frowned.
He removed his hat and adjusted his gun belt uncomfortably, clasping a manila folder in one hand.
‘There’s been another disappearance,’ he replied. ‘Just a kid this time, not long turned nineteen.’
‘How long has he been missing?’
‘Three days.’
‘Three days?’ Olivia repeated. ‘Why are we only hearing about this now?’
‘Because he was supposed to go visit a friend in Salem. He never made it there, but his parents thought he was in Salem and his friend figured he changed his mind when he was a no show. It was simply a case of miscommunication. It was only when he was due back earlier today and never showed that the parents called the friend and realized he was missing.’
‘Damn it,’ Olivia whispered. ‘When the hell is the Chief going to figure out it’s not me and actually start looking for the killer? How many more people have to get hurt first?’
‘There’s more,’ Jake told her reluctantly.
‘Of course there is,’ she sighed. ‘Well lay it on me, short of getting abducted myself I don’t think my day can get much worse.’
‘Do you use the Gas’n’Go about a mile from here?’
‘Yes,’ she nodded, ‘I’ve used it a couple of times since I got here. It’s the one nearest my house, why?’
‘The kid that went missing is Lucas Campbell, he works there.’
Her eyes went distant as she thought back to the last time she was there.
‘Tall kid, kinda lanky, dark hair?’
‘That’s him,’ Jake confirmed.
‘Well that’s just great,’ her heart sank, ‘that’ll just give Chief Walcott more ammunition.’
‘He was last seen three days ago when he finished out his shift. He was supposed to head out to the friends straight from work. The Chief wouldn’t let me anywhere near Brody’s crime scene so I was the one who took the call about Lucas when it came in. I headed out to the Gas’n’Go as it was the last place he was seen, and pulled the surveillance tapes. I printed this from the camera, the footage was from the beginning of Lucas’s shift.’
He handed Olivia the folder and watched silently as she flipped it open. Her mouth tightened. She looked down at the grainy surveillance photo and recognized the pale haired man loitering in one of the aisles, staring at the cashier.
‘Who is he?’ Theo asked, leaning over Olivia’s shoulder and studying the picture.
‘We don’t know yet,’ Jake replied as she handed him back the folder.
‘He was at the pub the night Adam disappeared, and then I saw him again in town. He was watching me and then Chief Walcott showed me pictures of him with my father outside Morley Ridge Psychiatric facility. We think he’s the one who helped my father escape.’
‘Do you think he is responsible for the murders?’ Theo asked.
‘I think it’s entirely too close for comfort. The Gas’n’Go is only a mile and a half from where Brody’s body was found and half a mile from Olivia’s house. Not only that, he seems to have taken an unhealthy interest in Olivia personally, and we know he is working with her father.’
‘You think my father is involved in the murders don’t you?’ Olivia asked quietly.
‘It’s a strong possibility,’ Jake admitted reluctantly. ‘I wish I could get my hands on the original files from the ‘94 murders.’
‘To see if my dad is involved in those murders too?’ she snapped.
‘Olive,’ Jake replied softly, ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘I’m not upset,’ she replied coolly, ‘but I am tired. You can give Theo a ride back to your place as you’re here.’
‘Olive you can’t stay here by yourself,’ Jake replied.
‘The hell I can’t.’
‘Don’t be stupid Olivia. There have now been two murders near to your property and, God forbid, possibly a third, and the main suspect is stalking you.’
‘I don’t care, I’m not leaving.’
She knew she was being irrational and rude, but she couldn’t seem to help the words tumbling from her mouth. The stress of the last weeks were finally catching up with her and she’d had enough.
She couldn’t make them understand why she couldn’t leave the house, when she couldn’t even explain it herself. All she knew was she was bound to the house, to the land. She could almost feel the threads winding around her ankles, sinking into her bones, and plunging down into the earth like the roots of a tree. She had to stay and she was sick to death of arguing about it.
It was like everything was closing in on her. She didn’t want to discuss the murders, or her father, or any of it. She wanted everyone to go away and leave her alone so she could catch her breath. She could feel the panic mixed with the anger and hurt inside her, turning into a writhing churning mass, like a new born world spinning into existence from primordial chaos, made of heat and light. She knew if she let go it would consume her. She had to keep a tight leash on it, but her grip was already slipping.
‘Olivia,’ Theo spoke up, ‘Jake may have a point, you are too vulnerable here by yourself.’
‘You think I can’t take care of myself?’ her eyes blazed pure gold, her hair whipping back from her face as if caught by an unseen wind. Her skin began to glow and her hands trembled and twitched, sparks flying from her fingertips to singe the rug.
‘If they want to hurt me let them try.’
She fought to control the wave of heat and anger inside her, but it was like trying to ride a dragon’s tail. The power whipped through her, white hot and furious. The flames suddenly erupted from her fingers, making it appear as if she were holding two blazing spheres in her hands.
‘Olive,’ Jake stepped towards her only to be met with a wall of heat.
‘Get out!’ she hissed.
‘Wait outside Jake,’ Theo replied calmly, his eyes locked on hers.
Jake threw a startled look at Theo, who appeared neither surprised nor fazed.
‘Theo,’ he warned.
‘It’s alright Jake,’ he repeated calmly, his gaze never leaving Olivia. ‘Wait outside.’
Torn, he glanced at them both one last time before reluctantly opening the door and stepping out into the cold night air.
Theo heard the door click quietly behind him and then he focused on Olivia.
She could feel her control slipping, as her hurt and anger bubbled closer to the surface. She was drowning in heat and flame. Flickers of scattered thoughts licked at the edges of her consciousness. She tried to stop it, to rein the fire back in, but it was too much.
‘Olivia,’ Theo’s calm voice broke through her panic.
‘Don’t,’ she gasped as the flames from her hands began to coil up her arms like flaming vines.
‘Olivia, look at me,’ his voice came again soft and reassuring.
‘I can’t,’ she tried to look at him but it was like seeing him through a thin film of red and gold. ‘I can’t control it.’
‘Yes you can.’ He took a step towards her and her heart hammered painfully in her chest.
She could feel the fire coiling madly through her body, consuming her. If she let go she would become a creature of flame and ash. She wanted it, she wanted to let go and become the fire, its call seductive and welcoming.
‘Olivia,’ this time there was a note of calm command in Theo’s voice, almost as if he could sense her slipping away. ‘Look at me.’
He took another step.
‘Don’t,’ her voice so
unded deeper, unlike her own, ‘I don’t want to hurt you.’
‘You won’t,’ he stepped closer.
Fear now gripped her by the throat, cold and icy in direct contrast to the fire burning through her veins. If he touched her he would burn, consumed by her magic.
She couldn’t see it herself but she was magnificent, Theo thought, a creature of pure gold and light and heat. Her fear held her back, but he could see her as she truly was. He couldn’t say how he knew her magic wouldn’t harm him, he only knew it, right down to his very bones. She was his, she’d always been his.
As Olivia felt him close the distance between them her heart threatened to burst from her chest. She felt his arms pull her against his body and his mouth crashed down on hers. Her mouth fell open and she gasped, allowing him the opportunity to taste her and with deep strokes of his tongue he feasted on the addictive flavor of her.
The heat of her blew straight through him, his hands slid down her spine and grasped her, picking her up easily. Her legs wound tightly around his waist and he slammed against the wall, knocking a picture loose. It hit the ground with a resounding crack and pieces of glass skittered across the polished floor. Neither of them noticed, or even cared. Olivia was barely aware that the inferno consuming her had begun to retreat, to smoulder under the far more dangerous and seductive heat that now consumed them both.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands sliding into his silky dark hair, and gripping almost painfully, she bit down on his bottom lip. He growled and thrust his tongue back into her mouth, an indication of what he wanted to do to the rest of her body. It was basic and raw, a connection on the most primal level. She moaned helplessly as he ground the hard length of him between her thighs, lancing through her in painful need and shooting straight to her core.
She tasted smoky and delicious and all his. He was so hard it was painful and right then he wanted nothing more than to tear away the layers of clothing that separated them and plunge into the deep wet heat of her, riding her hard until they both shattered. He wanted it more than his next breath.
It was physically painful tearing his mouth away from her. With his forehead pressed against her they both breathed heavily. No matter how badly he wanted to claim her, to mark her as his, he couldn’t, not like this. Not up against the wall in her hallway, while she was emotionally churned up and Jake was on the other side of the door.
He gradually released his grip on her and her legs dropped to the floor. He traced her jaw lightly with his fingers, grazing her lips with his thumb as she stared up at him, her eyes still swirling with gold.
‘Damn, you’re beautiful,’ he murmured.
‘Theo,’ she breathed, unsure what to say. What could she say?
‘I have to go before Jake comes back in here and sets you off again,’ he smiled against her mouth before sighing in resignation. ‘I don’t like the thought of leaving you here on your own, I can’t help it.’
‘I know,’ she replied softly.
‘I’ll be here when you need me,’ he took a deep breath and stepped back, ‘whenever you need me.’
She nodded silently.
Although it went against every instinct in his body to leave her there alone, he stepped out of the door and closed it behind him. knowing he had to give her this if she was ever going to trust him.
Olivia fell back against the wall, her heart pounding and her breathing ragged as the last vestiges of adrenaline flooded her veins. Feeling her legs finally give out on her she slid down the wall, sitting on the floor surrounded by fragments of broken glass.
She’d never lost control like that before, not of her magic, and not of herself. But Theo, he grounded her in a way she didn’t understand, but at the same time he made her feel more alive than she’d ever felt. He pulled at her in every way imaginable, as he had done since the first moment she’d set eyes on him.
She closed her eyes, reliving the frantic pace of his heart slamming against her own as he pinned her to the wall. She could still taste him, her body still throbbed and ached. There in the stillness of the hallway, surrounded by the chaos they’d created, she finally admitted to herself how badly she needed him, and that frightened her more than the thought of a murderer loose in her woods.
13.
It was cold, that was the first thing Olivia noticed impassively. The ground squelched unpleasantly wet and gooey beneath her bare feet, but she paid it no mind. She didn’t even feel the cold as it seeped into her skin, raising tiny little bumps along the exposed flesh of her arms and legs. The icy wind tugged viciously at her thin nightgown, and danced down her spine with sly spindly fingers. Yet she continued on underneath the shivering canopy of trees and starlight.
She couldn’t say how long she walked for; it didn’t seem important she thought dreamily. She seemed to be a long way from her house. Something about that should have concerned her, and her brow momentarily creased into a frown, but the thought disappeared like a skittish animal as quickly as it had come. Was she looking for something? She couldn’t quite remember, but again it slipped from her mind before it could cause her any distress.
Wandering further into the woods, she thought she saw something up ahead, a person in a dark cloak, a hood drawn up over their face. She wondered if that should concern her but the idea slipped away as thin and insubstantial as a wisp of smoke through her fingers.
A mist closed in around her, grasping at her ankles with ghostly hands. She stared down absently at the transparent fingers winding around her legs. It seemed wrong somehow, but she couldn’t quite place why. It was as if her mind was wrapped in a blanket. She couldn’t concentrate; every time she had a conscious thought it tattered and fell apart before she had the chance to grab onto it.
Looking up, away from the warped ghostly mist gripping at her ankles, she continued to follow the random path winding deeper into the woods. The part of her mind that still retained some form of consciousness gradually began to realize she was no longer following one of the well-worn trails.
She was now much deeper into the heart of the wood, ambling aimlessly through gnarled ancient tree trunks. The thin oily mist had now thickened into a greasy fog that had a strange hue to it. Not the usual pale white fog of a ground level cloud but instead it held a sickly phosphorescent glow. The unnatural fog seemed to surround her, undulating and following in whichever direction she chose to move.
It should have scared her, but her emotions seemed to have been switched off. She tried to focus, and her thoughts became slightly clearer, although with that clarity came a curious sense of numbness.
Something caught her vision to her left, and as she looked she caught a glimpse of a tattered yellow ribbon flapping ponderously in the breeze. Crime scene tape she mused absently as it disappeared into the thick curtain of fog.
For a second she caught sight of the cloaked figure again and then it flickered out of sight under a fresh roll of fog. Was she following the figure? Or was the figure following her? She couldn’t quite tell.
She adjusted her direction again.
Her mind slowly began to stir and thoughts came a little easier now. It seemed to her she should feel some alarm, but she couldn’t hold on to it. She paused and tilted her head. Had she heard something, a whisper on the air calling her name? It came again, louder this time and more insistent.
Adjusting her direction once again she followed the whispering voice. It was a sibilant hiss that lulled, cajoled, and ultimately tempted her. It was a siren’s call and she was unable to resist.
She quickened her pace, heedless of the sharp twigs underfoot, which scratched and tore at the soft exposed flesh of her feet. Suddenly her foot caught in a shallow hole in the ground, and she stumbled. Throwing her hands out to save herself she dropped to her knees, grazing her palms on the stark ground and tearing her nightgown.
She looked up slowly, the tree line had opened up and she was in a circular clearing. The clouds above her had bu
rned away, and the sky was blazing with stars. The waxing moon burned pure white, filtering down through to the clearing. The fog had settled along the ground, bobbing and churning like the surface of a stream, broken only by one dark twisted solitary tree.
No longer a living breathing tree like the others in the woods, this one was different. It was little more than a shell, a hollow. Dead for centuries, it writhed and speared up painfully from the ground as if it were trying to escape something deeper and darker below.
A flicker of dread began to coil in her gut as part of her consciousness stirred. She knew this place. Something inside her was telling her she wasn’t supposed to be there. She climbed painfully to her feet, the newly forming bruises on her knees throbbing as she wiped her blood smeared palms against her white nightgown. She wavered, tried to take a step back, but something had hold of her. It pulled at her, tugging her forward. The whisper came again and she found herself unconsciously stepping forward. Her torn hands stretched out as she moved closer to the corpse-like hollow. The whisper was a roar in her ears, building higher with each step. The whole clearing was speaking to her now, reaching a vast roaring crescendo. Her hand touched the crumbling diseased looking bark and then…
Silence…
The whispering, the wind, the thousand tiny little voices, and sounds of the wood were suddenly gone. The silence was deafening. It was like the calm before the storm; she was standing on a precipice caught in that one moment in time. She knew she was about to step off a ledge, and it was the long deep breath before the inevitable plunge.
For a moment everything was still, before roaring back with deafening clarity.
She was thrown backward with such a force it knocked the air from her lungs. Something sharp sliced the back of her shoulder as she hit the ground. For one terrifying moment before she was hurled through the air she could have sworn she’d seen a face in the bark of the tree, its mouth hung open in a silent timeless scream. Then reality flooded back.
Whatever sleepy dreamlike trance had been woven around her was gone. Everything crashed in on her sharply and painfully. Her heart hammered in her chest as she tried to drag a lungful of air into her chest. Her feet and hands stung from dozens of cuts and grazes. She was freezing and her arms and legs felt slow and sluggish from the biting cold.
The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum Page 22