‘She shot me,’ Olivia replied stubbornly, ‘you seem to forget that little fact.’
‘You said it yourself, at that distance she couldn’t have missed you, even if she’d been a lousy shot. She could have killed you, a shot to the heart or the head, but she didn’t. She shot you in the shoulder, a flesh wound.’
‘What exactly are you saying Theo?’ she snapped irritably.
‘That I believe your mother still loves you,’ he answered carefully. ‘You may not understand her, you may not like her, but she’s still your mother and sooner or later you are going to have to deal with that.’
She didn’t want to think about it. He was probably right, but she wasn’t ready to examine her relationship with her mother too closely, not yet. She was far more comfortable when everything was a very reassuring shade of black and white.
Her mother was a murderer and she wasn’t, it was simple. She certainly didn’t want to know her mother, she didn’t want her reasoning. She didn’t want to know about her mother’s past or her relationship with her grandmother, and she sure as hell didn’t want to feel pity for the woman.
She looked up at Theo as he opened his mouth to speak again, but they both turned when his name was called loudly from across the street. They glanced across to the Bailey’s store where Tommy stood unloading a delivery. Theo smiled, raising his hand in a wave.
‘It’s fine,’ Olivia told him, ‘go say hi to Tommy. I’ll meet you in the museum.’
‘Are you sure?’ he frowned. ‘Are you okay?’
‘I’m fine,’ she nodded.
‘Well if you’re sure.’
‘I am,’ she gave a small smile, ‘go.’
He dropped a kiss on her lips, ‘I won’t be long.’
She watched quietly as he crossed the street and headed toward Louisa’s husband. Turning back she started in the direction of the museum again, her head whirling with questions she wasn’t sure she wanted the answers to.
She finally stopped in front of the museum and was just reaching for the door handle when she felt a shadow fall over her. Looking up into the sky she paused, a frown creasing her brow. A huge, black bird she couldn’t identify glided across the blue sky. Even at a distance she could see it had a massive wingspan, one which had to span at least several feet.
She watched curiously as it circled, once, twice and then disappeared from view. It was a strange, slightly unsettling experience, although Olivia couldn’t have said why it should’ve bothered her. Just because she couldn’t identify it, she reasoned, it didn’t mean it wasn’t native to the East coast. After all, birds weren’t exactly her field of expertise. Shrugging off the feeling she once again reached for the handle, and pulling open the door she stepped through.
Although it now looked completely different to the museum from her childhood, which she had loved so obsessively, the essence of it remained the same. She let out a deep breath of contentment and glanced around, mentally cataloging everything that had changed in her absence.
The core of the building hadn’t changed much; Renata and Roni had done an incredible job. The expansion and total refurbishment of the museum had been Renata Gershon’s baby. The sweet old curator who’d escaped from Nazi Germany and settled in Mercy had dedicated her life to the museum and to tirelessly preserving the history of the town she said had saved her, in every way.
When Renata had unexpectedly passed away at her desk Roni had taken up her mantle. Even though she was relatively new to Mercy, having made the move from Boston when Renata had offered her the job, she’d loved the museum as obsessively as her predecessor. She’d taken Renata’s plans for the museum, expanding and refining them until the result was an incredible blending of the vision of two very different women, bound together by a deep and shared love of history.
Olivia took her time, wandering through the exhibits, pleased to see so many of her old favorites had been lovingly restored and displayed. But what really interested her were the new ones. She passed through an arch that held a shiny golden plaque which read, ‘The Renata Gershon Wing’ with a dedication to the dear old lady beneath it.
‘Such a lovely touch,’ Olivia murmured, feeling a familiar presence behind her.
‘I like to think so,’ Roni replied.
Olivia turned and embraced her friend fondly.
‘How did your appointment go?’
‘Good,’ Olivia nodded, shifting the strap of her purse on her shoulder, ‘I’m a little over twelve weeks.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes, that’s the first trimester done,’ she replied. ‘Do you want to see a picture?’
‘I’d love to,’ Roni smiled.
Olivia reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope which held her scan pictures. Picking out the clearest one she handed it to Roni.
‘Okay,’ her brow creased as she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. ‘No offense, but what exactly am I looking at?’
‘That’s baby one,’ she laughed in amusement and pointed to the picture, ‘and that… is baby two.’
‘Twins?’ Roni’s eyes widened. ‘TWINS?’
Olivia nodded, a small smile playing on her lips.
‘Can’t say I’m not a little nervous.’
‘You’re going to be a great Mom,’ Roni smiled widely and wrapped her arms around Olivia in a heartfelt hug that was filled with affection. ‘Congratulations!’
‘Thanks.’
‘How’s Theo taking it?’
‘You know Theo,’ Olivia chuckled, ‘he’s fascinated with the whole mechanics of pregnancy. He’s even more excited that there’s two.’
‘We should get together later and celebrate.’
‘Sounds good,’ she nodded. ‘We were going to see if you and Jake were free for dinner anyway.’
‘Perfect,’ Roni smiled, ‘Jake’s shift ends in an hour. Where’s Theo?’
‘He’s at the store with Tommy.’
‘I know Tommy’s closing up in…’ she glanced down at her watch, ‘an hour and a half. I’ll call Louisa. How about we all go down to the pub? That way we can see Jackson too. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to hear that Miller’s going to have another two playmates.’
‘That’s a good idea, at least then I don’t have to cook.’
‘I know Louisa will appreciate it. Since she’s heading toward the end of her pregnancy her tongue’s getting razor sharp,’ Roni laughed. ‘Every time we go out to dinner she ends up making the waitresses cry. Shelley is the only one who’s tough enough to deal with Louisa’s hormones.’
‘I can imagine,’ Olivia shook her head in amusement. ‘So, you want to show me the rest of what you’ve done with the museum?’
‘Sure,’ Roni slipped her arm through Olivia’s and led her through into the Renata wing.
Set against huge prints and backgrounds of war torn Europe was a huge display dedicated to the holocaust survivors who’d ended up in Mercy.
‘There are so many of them,’ Olivia frowned. ‘I had no idea we had such a large population of Jewish migrants.’
‘I know,’ Roni nodded somberly, ‘I didn’t either. It wasn’t something Renata liked to discuss. I thought it would be a nice tribute to her and to all the others who survived the horrors and made a new life for themselves here. It wasn’t until I began actively researching it I realized what a high concentration of survivors there were in Mercy and the surrounding areas.’
‘Renata once told me that she was drawn here, she could feel it in the earth the minute she stepped on Mercy soil. She said she felt safe.’
‘It was much the same for the others,’ Roni replied. ‘There aren’t a lot of them left, most are second or third generation now, but I did manage to interview a dozen or so and they all pretty much said the same thing. After the horror of Nazi Germany and occupied Europe, they had been drawn to Mercy. They felt safe, at peace, even after everything they’d experienced.’
‘I’m glad their story is being to
ld,’ Olivia murmured.
‘I think it’s important,’ Roni answered softly. ‘I know most of them didn’t want to remember, they didn’t want to look back, so I guess it’s up to us to remember for them.’
They continued on in silence through the rest of the Holocaust exhibit and into the section on Salem and the Witch trials. For the most part it was information she was very familiar with, having written several historical reference books on the subject herself. They were more or less exhibits that had been in the museum before, just re-vamped and expanded on slightly. She perused them casually, skimming over the ones she was most familiar with until she suddenly came to one that had her stopping dead and making Roni stumble slightly at her side.
‘What’s this one?’ Olivia whispered, ‘I’ve never seen this one before.’
‘Are you sure?’ Roni frowned. ‘This display has always been part of the museum’s core exhibits, we barely changed anything except getting new prints as backdrops.’
Olivia turned back to Roni slowly, her eyes widening.
‘I’ve never seen this one before,’ she told her bluntly. ‘This was never part of the official history of Salem.’
‘That can’t be,’ Roni shook her head looking back to the display. ‘The Great Fire of Salem, was one of the turning points in the town’s history.’
Olivia stared at the display in disbelief.
‘No,’ she whispered, almost to herself.
‘The Great Fire happened in 1695 in Salem town, only a few years after the end of the trials. It’s believed the fire started in the house of the unknown cleric, from there the fire spread quickly, devastating the town.’
‘The house of the unknown cleric?’ Olivia looked at her sharply.
Roni nodded.
‘The records state it was commissioned and built by a man of the church, but his name was omitted from the official record, so it became known over time as the house of the unknown cleric. He disappeared that night. It’s a widely held belief that he perished in the fire and he wasn’t the only one. As I said the fire spread quickly, many lives were lost that night as well as half the town itself. It took them years to re-build.’
‘Not unknown,’ Olivia murmured.
‘Sorry?’
‘The unknown cleric?’ Olivia replied, ‘he wasn’t unknown. It was Nathaniel; the first house that burned was Nathaniel’s.’
‘How do you know that?’ Roni frowned.
‘Because I was there,’ she whispered, ‘I was in his house that night. I started the fire.’
‘Olivia,’ Roni’s eyes widened in shock.
‘How many?’ Olivia swallowed painfully.
‘Olivia…’ Roni breathed heavily.
‘How many died that night?’
Roni’s lips thinned.
‘Roni?’
‘Over half the population of the town,’ she admitted slowly.
Olivia closed her eyes and her heart lay like lead in her chest. The pain was indescribable, knowing that she had not only changed history but she had inadvertently caused the deaths of over seven hundred people.
It seemed, she thought bitterly, that she finally had something in common with her mother.
They were both murderers.
3.
Olivia couldn’t say exactly what had woken her. Maybe it was the sickening, gut wrenching guilt she felt for the Salem Fire, or maybe the images of bodies burned beyond recognition, which had plagued her dreams from the moment she closed her eyes.
Careful not to disturb Theo she swung her legs over the side of the bed and rubbed her face tiredly. She ran her hands through her hair and pulled it from her damp neck. Grabbing a band from her nightstand she tied it up in a messy bun. She tried to reason with herself that it was the close summer heat which had her hair plastered to her neck, and her short cotton nightdress sticking to her skin, but the truth was it had been the icy, clammy grip of her fevered nightmares.
Standing slowly she headed for the open window, watching the sheer curtain billow in the slight breeze. She glanced up at the sky, noting the fiery streaks of orange and red as the sun rose beyond the lake.
She turned her head suddenly in the stillness of the room as she thought she’d heard a whisper. She tilted her head, listening intently. After a few seconds she’d almost convinced herself she’d imagined it until the harsh whisper suddenly came again, this time louder, as if it were closer somehow.
Her gaze darted around the room, but other than Theo sleeping peacefully in their bed and Beau curled up contentedly across his legs, there was no one else in the room.
The whisper came again, refusing to be ignored and she realized with a small jolt of surprise that she recognized it. It was the same strange whisper she’d heard before, back in Salem in James’ house. She cocked her head and listened as the sound came yet again, the strange sibilant hiss of a foreign tongue, a language so ancient it was barely recognizable. Except, she frowned, she recognized it. The whisper was too low to make out what was being said; she was only able to pick out one word.
‘Master.’
The word sent a cold shiver skittering down her clammy spine. She glanced around the room again, but nothing seemed out of place. There was no way to tell where the voice was coming from.
Her hands suddenly felt warm and tingly. She looked down and a low gasp rose unbidden to her lips as she raised her hands and studied them. Small flickers of flame appeared, dancing along her fingers and across her palms, but as quickly as they’d appeared, they disappeared once again. Olivia drew in a sharp breath, balling her fists as they fell to her sides, as if trying to keep the flames at bay. Fire didn’t scare her. It pulsed through her veins like blood, it was a part of her and she’d never feared it. Until now. These flames were pure emerald green.
Demon fire.
She closed her eyes and was immediately drawn back to Salem, to the moment in James’ loft when she’d stood over Sam and pulled the ancient and volatile fire from his damaged body. For those few seconds, she’d held the fire in her hands and it had almost consumed her. There was no way to master it; it was not like her other fire. No, this was a dragon, an ancient beast of flame and ash. It could not be contained, could not be controlled.
‘Anyone who has ever tried to master Demon fire has died…’
Sam’s words echoed in her mind. Even now she could still hear Tituba’s screams, telling her to let go of the fire, that it would destroy her. She’d tried to, but what she hadn’t realized at the time, was that she had not been able to purge it entirely from her body.
Even now she could feel the pulse of it beneath her skin, could feel the vast, inescapable, raw power of it. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. Even her Hell fire paled in comparison.
She wanted it. She could feel the little curls of lust in her belly, the desire to feel the power whip through her body, to wield such an ancient power. Even the thought of it was heady and seductive.
She shook her head and turned away from the window, her gaze falling on Theo tangled up in the sheets, sleeping peacefully. She thought about climbing back into bed with him, tempted to curl into his larger, warm body and have him hold onto her.
But she wouldn’t. Her mind was in a dark place and she didn’t want that spilling over onto what she had with Theo. He was like sunlight and she didn’t want that to change. She didn’t want him to see the darkness in her, which had already begun to take root.
No, there were some things she’d protect him from, no matter what. Suddenly feeling stifled and needing to get out, she grabbed her clothes and slipped quietly from the room. Beau sensing his mistress’s absence leapt down from the bed and scurried out of the room behind her.
When Theo finally woke sunlight was pouring in through the open window, setting the tiny little dust motes spinning madly in the beams of light and filling the room with the light, dusty fragrance of summer. Rolling over and stretching out, he lifted his head and
looked around. Olivia’s side of the bed was empty and the sheets cool, giving the impression she’d been gone for a while.
A sudden joyful bark echoed outside, filtering through the window. Theo climbed out of bed with a yawn and rubbed his eyes. Looking out of the window he saw Olivia at the edge of the lake tossing a ball to Beau who scrambled to catch it and bring it back, dropping it at her feet adoringly.
By the time Theo had showered and dressed, wandering down to the shore with a cup of coffee in his hand, Olivia was staring out at the water which sparkled in the bright sunlight like it had been scattered with Swarovski crystals. Beau, no longer interested in chasing the ball, had settled himself by her feet and was gnawing at a piece of smooth driftwood.
‘Hey,’ she felt his low, roughened voice against her ear as he wrapped his arms around her. ‘You’re up early.’
‘Couldn’t sleep,’ she turned in his arms, careful not to spill the coffee he was still holding onto.
‘You should have woken me, I’d have kept you company,’ he reached out and tucked an errant curl of hair behind her ear.
‘There was no point in us both losing out on sleep,’ she replied. ‘Besides there was something I needed to do and you couldn’t really help with that.’
‘Oh?’ he looked around curiously. He wasn’t exactly sure what she’d been doing, but the air was charged with static electricity. It made the hairs on his arms rise and begin to tingle.
‘I amped up the wards around the house.’
‘Yeah?’
She nodded as his fingers threaded through hers and they began to walk slowly along the shore of the lake, with Beau trailing clumsily behind them, attempting to drag a stick that was twice the size of him.
‘It needed changing,’ Olivia shook her head thoughtfully. ‘We’ve been back a few weeks now and it’s something I really should have done straight away but my head was so full of the wedding and the babies. But now…’
‘Now?’
‘I’m worried I guess,’ she blew out a breath. ‘Sooner or later my mom and Nathaniel are going to show up. When I first put the protective wards around the house last year, I was living here on my own. The original wards were to stop anyone or anything crossing the line which intended me harm. After that I added to it with Hell fire and then later Spirit fire to strengthen them.’
The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum Page 159