Crossroads by Wendy Saunders Page A

something therapeutic about a good cry every once in a while.’
    ‘If you say’ Olivia sniffed, ‘I bet my face is a splotchy mess right now and it feels like my eyes are full of grit.’
    ‘It will pass’ Evie laughed, ‘but you needed to get that out of the way so we could talk properly.’
    ‘I suppose’ she sighed, ‘I’ve been behaving like a bit of a brat lately haven’t I?’
    Evie watched her quietly, a small smile twitching at the corner of her mouth.
    ‘I’ll take your silence as a firm yes,’ Olivia raked her hair back from her face, ‘I guess I’ve been on my own for so long, so used to going my own way that…’
    ‘That as soon as someone comes along and tells you that you have a destiny you fight it for all its worth,’ Evie finished for her.
    ‘Yeah,’ she admitted quietly, ‘I never have liked being told what to do.’
    ‘You were like that even as a child, even before your mother betrayed us all.’
    ‘It’s too much’ Olivia whispered, ‘I can’t…I can’t do it. I can’t have everyone relying on me. I mean, killing a demon, finding and protecting one of the most, if not THE most powerful object in history. I’m not ready, I’m not enough.’
    ‘You’re more than you think you are Olivia,’ Evie shook her head. ‘I’m sorry this has fallen to you, but we rarely get to choose when destiny comes knocking. Your mother won’t stop until she has the book and Nathaniel won’t stop until he takes the book from her. If a demon lord as old and dangerous as Nathaniel gets his hands on the Book of Hell it will mean the end of days, Armageddon, the Apocalypse, whatever you want to call it. He will unleash Hell on earth and he will use Mercy as the gateway. Everyone you love will burn in fire and ash and flame. So destiny came knocking on your door instead of someone else's. She’s just asked you to save the world; are you really going to tell her no?’
    ‘I guess not,’ Olivia blew out a breath, ‘I have so many questions.’
    ‘I imagine you do and I’ll answer as much as I can, but I’m kind of on a Cinderella deal here. I had to pull some serious strings to get in here and I only have so long before my carriage turns into a pumpkin and I have to return.’
    ‘Okay.’
    ‘But there is one thing we need to clear up before anything else’ Evie told her seriously, ‘and that is to tell you I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Olivia. I was wrong.’
    ‘About what?’
    ‘I thought by keeping you away from Mercy, by refusing custody of you, I was keeping you safe. I can see now that I made a huge mistake, what you needed was your family, or what was left of it. I should have taken you and loved you for as long as my broken body was able to. I should have taught you everything I knew about our history and our magic to prepare you for what is to come. But I was selfish, I wanted you safe and happy, I wanted you to have a normal life, not bear the curse of our family. I thought I was doing what was best for you but instead I only made things harder.’
    ‘It’s alright Aunt Evie,’ Olivia whispered after a moment and she found much to her surprise it really was, the hard ball of resentment she had always carried deep in her gut was gone. Evie had loved her, and that was what made it alright. ‘You made the best decision you could at the time and what’s done is done, it can’t be changed.’
    ‘I know, but unfortunately you are coming into the middle of this mess with no proper training in magic and no real understanding of our history. You need to listen to Bridget, she really is here to help you and if you give her the chance you may find she understands what you are going through better than anyone.’
    ‘I suppose I owe her an apology; I was pretty rude to her earlier.’
    ‘Yes you were, and although it was understandable there’s really no excuse for bad manners.’
    ‘Alright, I’ll go and find her later. I just want to find Theo; I can’t focus on anything else