The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum

by Wendy Saunders

  ‘What?’ she asked softly after a moment.

  ‘I see you, you know.’

  ‘Do you?’ Isabel replied in amusement, ‘and what exactly do you see Hester?’

  ‘I see you, I see your daughter, I see blood of my blood.’

  ‘And do you know what that means?’ Isabel replied slowly. Despite the incredible power she felt emanating from Hester she was still just a child and she knew she had to tread cautiously.

  ‘You come from me, from my family.’

  ‘Yes that’s right,’ she smiled. ‘I am a West too,’ she whispered, ‘but we probably shouldn’t tell the others just yet.’

  ‘Why?’ Hester frowned.

  ‘Because there are people looking for me and I don’t want to put your mother and sister in danger.’

  ‘But I know.’

  ‘Yes,’ Isabel nodded, ‘but you are very special Hester. I think you know that, don’t you?’

  ‘I’m not like Mama and Bridey,’ she replied quietly. ‘I see things, things they wouldn’t understand.’

  ‘Like what?’ Isabel leaned in closer ‘What do you see Hester?’

  ‘A crossroad…’ she whispered her whiskey colored eyes darkening, ‘and an old woman…’

  Isabel’s eyes widened in surprise.

  ‘I know what you gave up,’ Hester continued. ‘You think you won’t miss it but you’re wrong. Its absence will change you. It already has, you just don’t know it yet.’

  ‘You’re wrong,’ Isabel replied warily.

  Hester sighed and climbed to her feet so she was directly in Isabel's eye line.

  ‘You’re chasing something that will never be yours,’ she told her softly, ‘and it will cost you the most important thing in your life.’

  ‘Really?’ Isabel scoffed, ‘and what is that?’

  ‘Family,’ Hester replied easily, ‘family is all that matters.’

  Throwing one last look at Isabel she turned towards the door as her mother and sister re-entered the cabin laughing and carrying a bucketful of water between them. She wandered over to her family throwing them a warm smile.

  ‘Can I help?’ she offered.

  ‘Bridget can wash, you can dry,’ she handed her a cloth, ‘and I’ll put the dishes away.’

  Isabel watched the three of them with a troubled expression. It was clear they were an unassailable unit, bound together not just by magic and legacy but by love.

  She’d had that once, although it seemed like a lifetime ago now. She wasn’t the same woman anymore. That woman was long gone, she’d made her choice and she wouldn’t allow herself to question it now. Especially not because some child had touched a nerve she didn’t even realize was still tender.

  She was so close she could taste it. She had more power than she’d ever dreamed and soon she would have the book too. It was her legacy, her birthright and no one was going to get in her way. Not a demon, not her daughter, not a child who knew far too much for her own good and certainly not her own conscience.

  A slow familiar presence suddenly made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Her spine stiffened warily as she cast a glance towards the window. It was already dark outside and she couldn’t see beyond the light in the room. Hester looked up from the plate she was drying and also looked around curiously, as if she too sensed something.

  ‘I’m just going to fetch some more firewood’ Isabel told them smoothing down her dress, ‘it’s going to be cold tonight.’

  ‘Do you need some help?’ Abigail offered.

  ‘No, it’s fine,’ Isabel wrapped a thick woolen shawl around her shoulders. ‘I’ll be right back.’

  She slipped from the room closing the front door behind her and hearing the latch click into place. Pulling her shawl tighter against the bite in the air she stepped down from the porch and ignoring the pile of loose sticks stacked neatly against the side of the house she disappeared into the trees. The canopy of trees above her head was patchy, like an old man who was partially bald. Several bare branches twisted and reached upwards like spindly arms and the discarded leaves littered the ground around her, tumbling restlessly on the wind as if they could sense her unease. The moon split the dark sky like a great silver disc and tiny pinpricks of light shone around it in a halo of starlight but she paid it no mind. She hurried deeper into the concealment of the trees, as far from the tiny ramshackle cabin as she could.

  She could almost feel him breathing down her neck, feel the way her skin cringed at his repellent proximity. Her mouth set in a hard unforgiving line and her eyes flattened angrily. She came to a small clearing far enough from the cabin Isabel hoped, for Hester not to sense his presence. She stood, silently watching as he ambled from the underbrush and stopped in front of her lifting his head into the pale moonlight.

  Isabel’s eyes flashed furiously. The light was dim and he still wore a heavily hooded cloak which was pulled far over his head to conceal most of his face but she could still tell that the magical stitches she’d used to seal his mouth shut were no longer in place.

  ‘What have you done?’ she demanded. ‘How did you remove the stitches?’

  He looked up at her. Although his milky eyes were now so lost to decay they were unable to convey any emotion she could’ve sworn she saw them dance in amusement.

  ‘Did you forget who you were dealing with Isabel?’ he answered dangerously. ‘You may have double-crossed me back at the Crossroad and you may temporarily have more power than you have ever had in your life, but you are still only a second rate witch. Whereas I was here in the very beginning and I will be here long after you and this world of yours are nothing but dust and memories.’

  ‘Be very careful Nathaniel,’ her eyes narrowed, ‘I may be only a second rate witch but I hold all the cards right now and you would do well to remember that…’

  She held up her hands and he felt the tightness in his mouth once again, as the stitches began to form.

  ‘Don’t you want to hear about Olivia?’ he replied quickly, before his mouth was sealed shut once more.

  Isabel closed her fist and the pressure in his mouth dissipated.

  ‘What about my daughter?’ she asked warily.

  ‘She’s on her way here…’

  ‘What?’ Isabel scowled angrily, ‘I told you to keep her away from here.’

  Nathaniel shrugged, a strange gesture with his misshapen shape. He had no intention of telling Isabel about his old house in Salem, nor what the other version of him had done to her daughter. After all Isabel could be quite unpredictable when it came to Olivia, still she didn’t need to know for the moment. She would find out soon enough when Olivia and Theodore caught up with them.

  He knew she was with Theodore now. After he’d fled her Witch fire he’d hidden close by, watching and waiting. He’d expected the other Nathaniel to emerge from the burning wreckage but he hadn’t. Instead Theodore and his brother Logan had emerged with the injured girl. He’d followed them to a building across the street into which they’d disappeared, only to emerge a short time later. It was obvious they’d dressed and tended Olivia and then the three of them had saddled up and headed out. He knew they were heading in this direction and that they couldn’t be far behind. The only reason he’d beaten them was because he knew exactly where he was going and he had flogged his horse almost to death to get it to a constant flat out run. It had finally collapsed in the underbrush not far from the clearing to die. Humans were so tender hearted with their mounts. He could guarantee that the others wouldn’t make such a sacrifice with their beasts, therefore giving him the window he needed. He just had to make sure he pushed the right buttons with Isabel. He needed her to lure the West girls out into the open. Once she did, and Olivia and the Beckett boys showed up, he would find a way to subtly lead them to Isabel. While they were busy distracting her, he could grab one of the sisters. At this point he didn’t care which, all he wanted was to get out of the disgusting body he was festering in
. Once he was able to break free he would once again be in his true form and then Isabel would see if she truly had the talent to take on a demon.

  ‘Nathaniel?’ Isabel hissed breaking him from his thoughts, ‘I told you to keep her away.’

  ‘She’s not alone.’

  ‘Let me guess?’ she replied, ‘she has Theodore Beckett with her?’

  ‘And his brother Logan.’

  ‘His brother?’ her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. ‘Wasn’t he one of your playthings?’

  ‘He served as a Witchfinder during the trials.’

  ‘And Abigail would know that,’ Isabel murmured to herself.

  ‘Enough,’ he brushed aside her thoughts, ‘have they told you where the book is?’

  ‘Of course not you imbecile,’ she snapped angrily, ‘I need more time. The book is the one secret they’ve had passed down to them through generations. They’re not ready to trust me yet, not with that. Besides, the youngest Hester…’

  ‘Yes?’ Nathaniel prompted.

  ‘I’m not sure yet,’ she mused, ‘she knows things…’

  ‘What things?’ he asked carefully. ‘Does she know the location of the book?’

  Isabel’s gaze snapped up and her mouth suddenly tightened.

  ‘You need to leave Nathaniel,’ she told him bluntly. ‘I can’t be sure she won’t sense your presence, she’s more powerful than the other two. Get away from here and stall Olivia and the two boys for as long as you can. I need more time with them.’

  ‘You should get them to move,’ he suggested.

  ‘Tell them the Witchfinders are coming for them?’ Isabel considered. ‘Abigail would know who the Becketts are. She told me she kept up with what was happening in Salem in case they came for her and the girls. If I tell her they’re coming for them and get her to leave with me…’

  ‘It would go a long way to making her trust you,’ Nathaniel coaxed.

  ‘Maybe,’ her eyes locked on him warily, ‘you just stop the others and stay out of my way.’

  ‘As you wish,’ his ruined mouth curved into a wry smile.

  Nathaniel melted into the darkness as Isabel turned and hurried back towards the cabin.

  ‘Theo!’ Olivia gasped, ‘Stop!’

  He reined the horse in as she struggled to climb down.

  ‘Olivia wait!’ he tried to hold onto her but she slid from the saddle, painfully crashing to the ground. He swung down from the horse as she crawled a few feet away and started heaving.

  ‘Is she alright?’ Logan reined in and swung down himself, catching hold of the reins of Theo’s horse.

  Theo threw a worried glance at his brother but it was lost in the darkness of the dimly moonlit sky.

  ‘Olivia?’ he pulled her hair away from her face and soothed her.

  She heaved again. There was nothing for her to expel from her stomach but every involuntary movement wrenched her damaged body and sent an agonizing pain shooting through her shoulder.

  ‘Livy,’ he breathed in worry, ‘you are not well enough to face your mother and Nathaniel.’

  ‘That’s why I brought you two along with me,’ she laughed weakly. ‘You’re my henchmen.’

  ‘Livy I’m serious.’

  ‘So am I Theo,’ she looked up.

  Unable to focus on his face in the darkness she snapped the fingers of her good hand and three of her dragonflies burst into flame. Slightly larger than usual and comprised entirely of red and gold flames, they bathed the three of them with warmth and light.

  ‘Sweet Mother Mary’ Logan gasped, his eyes widening in shock.

  Olivia glanced across at Logan’s expression and smiled thinly. She wasn’t surprised at his reaction, after all this was probably the first time he’d experienced true magic first hand.

  ‘They won’t hurt you,’ Theo spoke to his brother but kept his eyes firmly locked on Olivia, ‘Livy…’

  ‘Don’t,’ she shook her head. ‘We’ve come too far now; we have to finish this.’

  His eyes betrayed his turmoil, torn between what he knew they needed to do and wanting to protect her.

  ‘I want to go home Theo,’ her eyes filled with tears. ‘I’m tired and I’m in so much pain but the only way we are going to get home is to deal with my mother and Nathaniel. If we don’t stop them and make sure Hester is safe we might not have a home to go back to. We don’t have a choice; we have to go on.’

  ‘You don’t have the strength for this,’ he took her face gently in his hands.

  ‘My body is failing’ she admitted, ‘but I still have my magic. Get me close enough and I will deal with my mother. I’m the only one who can,’ she dragged her gaze away from Theo and looked up at his brother who was hovering close by in concern. ‘Logan…’

  He tore his gaze from the blazing dragonflies and looked down at the broken woman sitting in the mud.

  ‘Your job is to get the girls away from Nathaniel no matter what,’ she told him seriously. ‘No matter what happens,’ she repeated firmly as his gaze was drawn back to the dragonflies, ‘you have to get them and their mother somewhere safe. Can you promise me that?’

  Logan studied her carefully before finally dropping to his knees next to her and taking her good hand in his.

  ‘I promise’ he nodded, ‘I will protect them with my life.’

  ‘It still leaves the problem of Nathaniel,’ Theo frowned.

  ‘Well you are right about one thing,’ Olivia replied.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I don’t have the strength to go up against Nathaniel and win. I’m gambling that my mother doesn’t want me dead. The best I can hope for at the moment is to distract her long enough for Logan to get Hester and the others away from her and Nathaniel, especially Nathaniel. After all mom won’t risk any harm to Hester because she’s also directly of her bloodline. If anything happens to that little girl not only will I never be born, she won’t either. But Nathaniel doesn’t feel any such restriction, he needs the blood of a West and he’s going to do whatever he can to see that he gets it.’

  ‘I won’t let that happen,’ Theo told her.

  ‘I know,’ she sighed painfully. ‘I don’t want to but I need you to take on Nathaniel, to keep him away from me while I deal with mom but also to keep him away from Logan and the girls.’

  ‘Trust me, it will be my pleasure to deal with Nathaniel,’ he said darkly as his eyes flicked over her wounds. ‘He and I have a debt to settle.’

  ‘Theo I don’t want you to put yourself in unnecessary danger, don’t let your anger at what he has done blind you.’

  ‘I’ll be fine,’ he replied tightly.

  ‘No you won’t, not at the moment, but I have something to give you. Something I think will help.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘When you rescued me from Nathaniel’s house, do you remember seeing the purple fire?’

  Theo nodded.

  ‘I know what it is now’ she told him softly. ‘It’s Witch fire.’

  ‘Witch fire?’

  ‘Yes’ she answered, ‘and it will hurt him. Back at the house I caused him real pain and while he was in his true form. Now it may not kill him but it will, at the very least, slow him down.’

  ‘You want to give me the fire?’ he realized slowly, ‘like you did back in Mercy when you gave me the Spirit fire.’

  She nodded slowly.

  ‘Only…’ she hesitated, ‘I know it will cause you pain. I can give you the fire and it will become part of your blade just like the Hell fire and the Spirit fire did but it will hurt like hell.’

  ‘Do it,’ he told her firmly.

  ‘Are you sure?’

  ‘Livy,’ he brushed his lips gently against hers trying not to disturb her split lip, ‘I know you don’t want to hurt me but I need a weapon I can use against him. I need to be able to protect you.’

  ‘What is happening?’ Logan asked in confusion, ‘what do you mean you are going to gi
ve him your fire?’

  ‘It’s a bit hard to explain,’ Theo told him. ‘I need you to trust me and not interfere, no matter what you see, alright?’

  Logan frowned but wisely chose not to argue. He knew they just didn’t have the time.

  ‘Are you ready?’ Olivia asked.

  He pulled back his sleeve revealing the winding veins of blue, black and silver which wound and coiled up his arm and nodded.

  Taking a deep breath, she held up her undamaged hand. Once again she reached for her magic and felt the violet colored fire deep within her, felt the voices of all her sisters, of all the witches who had come before her. She felt the rush and adrenalin surge through her body and run along her arm. Her fingers curved like talons and her hand erupted in vivid lavender colored fire. When her eyes opened and fixed on Theo her eyes blazed the same deep amethyst.

  ‘Take my hand.’

  Unable to resist her softly spoken command he reached out and locked his fingers with hers. There was a sharp jolt and a searing pain. The breath caught in his throat as his back arched in agony, and he could barely breathe as the fire raged unchecked through his veins. A high pitched buzzing filled his ears and bright vivid flames of deep purple mixed with the palest lilac blinded him. His body felt like it was burning, being consumed from within as he experienced the vast inescapable ancient power and with it came the sense of thousands upon thousands of voices. Not just any voices, witches…only they weren’t anything like he’d expected. Nothing like he’d been raised to believe. He’d always known Olivia was different but a part of him had believed that she was the exception rather than the rule. But experiencing that one moment, hearing all those women’s voices crying out as one, feeling every moment, every heartbeat, every experience of every life he finally understood.

  Thin vines of violent purple snaked up his arm alongside the blue and black coils left seared into his flesh from Olivia’s Hell fire. Looping around the silver vines, the violet colored swirls intertwined with the other lines and embedded itself deep into his skin, permanently etching itself into his arm.