They stayed on the floor through another two dances, content to just hold onto each other. Olivia’s eyes roamed the gathering. Louisa was sitting with her shoes discarded next to her chair and her swollen feet propped up in her husband’s lap, as Tommy was laughing at something Sachiv had said.
Her eyes scanned the floor again and she found Jackson happily bouncing a seven-month old Miller in his lap, watching Shelley, his friend and part time bar manager talking to a man Olivia didn’t recognize, but judging by the way he leaned in and kissed her and the way Jackson’s expression darkened she assumed it was Shelley’s fiancé.
Mrs Bailey was sitting grilling her father extensively over a cup of fruit punch, probably trying to ascertain who he was exactly. Bless her heart, once a busybody always a busybody. Roni and Tammy were sitting chatting with Harriet and John Gilbert, Jake and Louisa’s parents, and as she’d discovered earlier in the evening Harriet knew Tammy extremely well, as she had been the nurse on duty the night Sam had turned up in 1981 with her dying of pneumonia.
Her young and beautiful aunt Danae was on the dance floor pointedly ignoring her brother Davis, who was frowning as he watched her dancing and laughing with Mac.
Suddenly her gaze fell on a heart stopping familiar person. He was leaning casually against the makeshift bar, his dimples deepening as he smiled and raised his glass to her.
‘Theo,’ she murmured nodding in his direction, ‘look.’
Theo’s eyes fell on Sam and he turned back to Olivia.
‘Give me a moment?’
‘Sure,’ she smiled as he dropped a kiss on her upturned lips.
Letting her go he crossed the dance floor and stopped next to Sam, accepting the drink he offered. This was the Sam he remembered, the older Sam who’d pulled him from the burning barn, not the younger one who’d almost died after being poisoned by Demon fire.
‘Sam,’ he took a sip of his champagne.
‘Theo,’ he smiled, ‘congratulations.’
‘Thank you,’ he nodded, ‘and thank you,’ he added pointedly.
‘For?’
‘My sister.’
‘Ahh…well,’ he replied, ‘she and I have grown extremely fond of each other.’
‘What you did for her,’ he shook his head, ‘you didn’t just save her, you took care of her when I couldn’t.’
‘Would you believe me if I told you it was my pleasure?’
Theo stared at him.
‘Your sister has an exceptional mind and an extremely wicked sense of humor. She has been one of the highlights in my life,’ he sipped his own drink. ‘You should try to take some time and get to know the woman she has become.’
‘I intend to’ he nodded, as his eyes fell on Olivia and he smiled.
She was holding Miller, bouncing him in her arms as she chatted with Jackson. She threw her head back and laughed as Miller reached out with pudgy little fists and grabbed her face, leaning in and banging a sloppy kiss to her mouth. Theo felt his face melting into a smile as he watched her with Jackson’s son. Soon that would be their baby she was holding and kissing.
‘She looks happy,’ Sam looked in Olivia’s direction.
‘She is,’ he turned back to Sam. ‘I can’t seem to thank you enough times. If you hadn’t brought me here I wouldn’t have all this. I owe you more than I can ever repay. I wish there was something I could do for you.’
‘Oh trust me,’ Sam sighed heavily as he stared into his empty glass, ‘be careful what you wish for Theo.’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ he frowned.
‘You’re going to get the chance to repay the favor and sooner than you think.’
‘What?’
‘Just treasure moments like this Theo,’ he told him quietly, ‘it’ll keep you going through the hard times ahead.’
‘What do you mean?’ he turned to Sam but found himself talking to thin air.
Olivia smiled as she juggled the wriggling baby in her arms.
‘Oomph, he’s a strong one isn’t he?’ she laughed as Jackson reached out and took him back into his arms.
‘Aye that he is,’ he tossed the baby up and then caught him as Miller squealed in delight. ‘A champion wrestler I’ll bet.’
She stroked his silky blonde hair sweetly.
‘I’d have thought he’d have red hair like his mother,’ she murmured, while wondering what her own child was going to look like.
‘Aye he did for a while, but it lightened to a blonde,’ he grinned. ‘A heart breaker this one is already, the ladies love him.’
‘I’ll bet,’ she laughed.
‘Excuse me?’ A cool authoritative voice spoke, drawing their attention.
Olivia turned, her eyes widening in surprise as her gaze fell on the inky blue black hair, pale skin and the impeccably attired tux of the man standing before her. His eyes glittered as he held out a hand adorned with an elegant signet ring embedded with a deep blue stone.
‘May I steal the bride away for a moment,’ he asked.
‘Of course,’ Jackson smiled stepping back.
Olivia allowed herself to be lead back out onto the dance floor and twirled around before settling into his arms.
‘Hello Hades,’ Olivia greeted him casually, eying his perfectly tailored tux. ‘Nice outfit.’
‘Is this not customary attire for a mortal bonding ceremony?’ he asked innocently.
‘For the bridal party yes, not usually for the guest unless it’s a black tie event,’ she chuckled. ‘We’re not quite that formal.’
‘Oh,’ Hades replied blandly, ‘Aeacus will be displeased.’
‘Aeacus?’ Olivia repeated thinking back to the most ill-tempered of all three of the Judges of the Underworld. ‘Why would he be bothered?’
She followed his eye line and gasped in surprise. Across the room sitting at a table arguing with Mrs Bailey was Aeacus. Minos, one of the other Judges sat next to him uncomfortably adjusting his collar and tugging at the bow tie he had obviously never worn before in his entire existence. Her gaze tracked over further and she saw Rhadamanthus the third and final Judge, who seemed quite comfortable sitting back in one of the tulle draped chairs as he lifted a glass of champagne in her direction, smiling at her before taking a sip.
‘Hades?’ she asked quietly, ‘why are the Judges of the Underworld at my wedding?’
‘They all wanted to come and visit you,’ he shrugged, ‘and I didn’t have the heart to say no. After all they haven’t been topside in several thousand years.’
‘Um what do you mean… all?’ she frowned.
Her gaze swept the dance floor and the surrounding tables and she surprised herself by laughing out loud. Eris was sitting next to Jackson, wearing a violent red dress with matching lips, a dynamic contrast to her pale blonde hair. She sipped from her cup slowly and every time she smiled at Jackson he looked slightly dazed.
Eris looked up at Olivia and toasted her with her cup.
‘NO APPLES!’ she mouthed firmly at Eris who simply shrugged and turned her attention back to Jackson.
Hecate sat in a corner by herself wearing a slinky black dress and sipping dark red wine from an elegant glass, her expression polite but tinged with sadness.
‘Is Hecate okay?’ Olivia asked in concern.
‘She still feels the loss of the Crossroads deeply,’ he sighed. ‘I fear it is a pain she will always carry now.’
‘What is she drinking?’ Olivia frowned.
‘Dionysus sends his best wishes and his best wine,’ Hades told her. ‘He’s over there by the mechanical musician.’
She turned to look at the tall good looking man propped up against the vintage jukebox Louisa had hired for them.
‘Ah, who’s that next to him?’
‘That? Oh that’s just Hephaestus, you’d get on well with him actually, he likes fire too.’
‘Likes fire?’ her eyes widened, ‘Hades he’s the God of fire.’
<
br /> ‘Yes’ Hades nodded, ‘I do believe he is.’
Shaking her head, she glanced across at three small identical women who were scavenging for food at the buffet table.
‘Hades’ Olivia sighed, ‘please tell me you didn’t bring the furies to my wedding?’
‘What?’ he shrugged. ‘They’ll be on their best behavior you have my word.’
‘Hades’ she replied dryly, ‘they’re eating the centerpieces.’
‘Better that than the guests,’ he pointed out.
‘What?’
But Hades wasn’t listening. His attention was fixed over her shoulder on the shore of the lake. Olivia turned to look and saw a dark haired woman dressed in a long green gown. Her long dark hair was loose instead of in her customary braid and a coronet of holly sat on her head. Beside her stood a tall pure white stag with silver antlers. Olivia watched curiously as Hades inclined his head respectfully. Diana returned the gesture and with a small smile for Olivia both she and the God Herne disappeared.
‘Hades,’ Olivia spoke softly as they continued to sway to the music, ‘why did you crash my wedding?’
‘You know Olivia I am inordinately fond of you.’
‘Thanks,’ she replied dryly.
‘The truth is Olivia’ he sighed, ‘I came to warn you.’
‘Is that concern I hear Hades?’ she smiled in amusement.
‘Olivia’ he frowned, ‘I am concerned for you. Your mother and Nathaniel now believe that you have the location of the book.’
‘I don’t.’
‘But they think you do’ he answered, ‘they believe Hester told you and they are not the only ones. You are a target now Olivia, Isabel and Nathaniel are not the only ones coming for you or the book.’
‘I know’ she sighed.
‘You know?’ he replied slowly.
‘I’ve known for some time’ she whispered.
‘It seems I never give you enough credit Olivia,’ he mused as he gazed down at her. ‘Are you ready for them?’
‘No’ she shook her head, ‘but I guess I’ll have to be.’
Her gaze swept over to Theo who was laughing with Tommy.
‘He doesn’t know yet,’ Olivia told him quietly. ‘I didn’t want to worry him.’
‘You need to tell him Olivia,’ Hades told her seriously. ‘He will not be happy that his woman or his child are in danger, he deserves to know the truth.’
‘I know,’ she nodded and with a deep sigh she laid her head on Hades’ chest.
His eyes widened momentarily in surprise before he relaxed and laid his head affectionately against hers, while they swayed to the music.
‘Hey Theo,’ Jake wandered over to him, ‘who’s that guy dancing with Olivia?’
Theo’s eyes drifted over to his wife on the dance floor.
‘Hades,’ he shrugged.
‘What?’ Jake scoffed.
‘Yeah,’ he replied.
‘THE Hades?’ his eyes widened in shock.
‘Why does everyone keep saying that?’ Theo murmured. ‘Yes, THE Hades.’
‘Seriously? the God of the Underworld?’
‘Didn’t I just say so?’
‘What does he want?’ he asked worriedly.
‘I don’t know,’ Theo replied easily.
‘Shouldn’t you go and find out?’
‘They’ll let me know if they want me,’ he shrugged.
Jake stared at him with huge eyes.
‘Come on’ Theo laughed, slinging his arm around Jake’s neck, ‘let’s go get you a drink. Don’t worry the shock will wear off after a while.’
The moon rose bright and full of light, shining high above and deep in the dappled shade of the woods dozens of pairs of curious eyes watched the celebration from afar. All of them looked eerily similar, with pale white blonde hair and dressed in dark expertly tailored suits.
‘You are sure she is the one Rhys?’ one of them asked.
‘Yes’ he replied, ‘she was able to use the Timedhal without instruction or help.’
‘It responded to her?’
Rhys nodded, ‘she is the one.’
‘Then it has begun.’
‘It has,’ he answered carefully, ‘the book is awake now. It’s calling out and there are many that will heed that call.’
‘It cannot fall into the wrong hands,’ the first man spoke quietly.
‘It is beyond us now,’ Rhys replied. ‘We are witnesses only.’
‘I cannot believe the fate of everything rests in the hands of a human.’
‘She is an exceptional human.’
‘Maybe,’ he mused, ‘we’ll just see.’
‘See?’
‘See if she is up to the task.’
And slowly one by one each of them disappeared into the darkness.
END OF BOOK FOUR
Infernum
1.
Olivia climbed out of her car and smiled. God she’d missed Dolly. She looked down at her trusty little, banged up old Camaro and she could’ve sworn it was smiling back at her. Okay, well maybe not, but after spending an uncomfortable amount of time on the back of a horse or in a rickety wooden cart she was sure as hell glad to be back in her car again. She watched from the sidewalk as Theo unfolded himself from the driver’s side and walked around to join her.
‘I still don’t like your car,’ he frowned.
‘Shush, she’ll hear you,’ Olivia smiled.
Theo had never got on well with her cramped car. Not only was he a tall guy, but he’d been spoiled by learning to drive in Tommy’s beast of a four wheel drive. He’d only driven into town instead of Olivia, as she’d insisted he needed the practice. After all, it had been a while since he’d been behind the wheel of a car.
‘Maybe we should get something new.’
‘We’ll probably have to when the baby comes,’ Olivia sighed, looking forlornly at her beloved Dolly. ‘I’m not getting rid of her though. We’ll have to build a garage or something to store her in.’
‘Whatever you want love,’ he leaned down and kissed her lips softly.
‘You’re just trying to soften me up because you want a shiny new truck like Jake’s,’ her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
‘No,’ he grinned taking her hand, their matching wedding bands glinting in the bright sunlight as he slipped his sunglasses on, ‘but they are very reliable and roomy.’
‘Roomy?’ her brow rose questioningly. ‘Since when do you use the word roomy?’
He shrugged, smiling as they began to walk down the street.
‘You’ve already been looking at trucks with Jake haven’t you?’ she shook her head. ‘I’m going to kill him.’
‘No you’re not,’ Theo laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, ‘you love him too much. Besides he does have a point, we need something more practical than Dolly. If you don’t want a truck, we’ll look at something else.’
‘Hmm,’ Olivia huffed, slightly mollified.
‘What time’s your appointment?’ he asked.
‘Four thirty,’ she replied as his face lit up hopefully.
‘Yes, we’ve got time to go to the coffee shop first,’ she rolled her eyes in amusement. ‘Honestly, I don’t know how you managed without coffee while we were away.’
‘I had a lot of headaches,’ he admitted.
‘I’ll bet.’
‘Morning Olivia, Theo!’ Shelley called from across the road. ‘Hell of a wedding!’
‘Thanks,’ she called back as they waved and continued on down the street.
‘So we’re seeing a…’
‘OB/GYN,’ Olivia filled in for him.
‘And he…she?’
‘She.’
‘She,’ Theo continued, ‘can tell us how many weeks pregnant you are?’
‘Yes,’ Olivia nodded, ‘seeing as I haven’t got a clue.’
‘Because you don’t know when your last period was?’ h
e frowned.
‘Yes, but also you have to remember when we were in the Otherworld time ran differently, which has confused everything.’
‘I see,’ Theo nodded thoughtfully.
‘Morning Theo! Olivia!’ Fiona yelled at them from outside the grocery store. ‘Brilliant wedding!’
‘Thanks Fiona!’ Olivia waved.
‘Stop by for a spot of tea when you have a moment!’
‘Will do,’ she nodded as they carried on down the street.
‘It really is incredible though,’ Theo said excitedly, ‘that we will actually be able to see our baby inside your womb and hear its heartbeat.’
Ever since he’d found out she was pregnant he’d been pouring over books on pregnancy and childbirth, trying to learn every detail of what was going to happen to both Olivia and their child.
‘I know,’ Olivia smiled, ‘but just so you know, when the time comes you’re going to be there in the delivery room with me.’
‘You want me in the room when our baby is born?’ he asked in surprise.
‘Duh,’ she replied flippantly. ‘Look, I know the guys from your time just stand around outside listening to the women scream, but not in the 21st century buddy. You are going to be in that room with me, experiencing every second of pain, even if I have to get you in a neck lock or break every bone in your hand…and that’s meant with all the love in the world.’
‘Livy,’ he stopped abruptly, and took her in his arms, ‘there is nothing I want more than to be with you, watching our child being born.’
‘You might not be saying that afterwards,’ she smiled. ‘You know, when you’re traumatized for life.’
‘Not going to happen,’ he smiled as they started walking again.
‘Hey Olivia, Theo!’ Harriet, Jake’s mother, waved to them from inside the shop window they were passing by. ‘Fantastic wedding!’ she mouthed through the glass and gave them two very enthusiastic thumbs up.
‘Thanks,’ Olivia smiled and waved as they wandered past.
‘You know, I’m starting to get the impression our wedding is going down in the history books as the most uncivilized wedding ever,’ Olivia sighed.
The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum Page 157