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Sharon Karaa The Last Challenge (Northern Witches Series #1)

Page 20

by Unknown


  There was a loud crash from the kitchen and Agnes, who had been sitting quietly all this time, jumped up. “’Scuse me!” she said, a look of panic lighting her face as she ran from the room.

  “Ah cudpe fuckin suffocated man, pen’t blame me, a was fightin for me fuckin life!” I heard Geordie shouting. Daniel indicated he wanted to stand by tapping me on the leg and I lifted up to let him out.

  “I’ll not be a moment,” he said, squeezing my arm as he left the room. I sat back down.

  “Daniel tells us you’re a programmer,” Imogen said as she took a drink. “I must say, you look way too cool to be a nerd,” she laughed. I flushed at the compliment and smiled at her.

  “I hide it well,” I replied, grinning.

  “Her company recently won an Industry award,” said Selina, proudly. I groaned.

  “Oh?” said Felicity. “Who were you up against?” she asked, innocently.

  “There were a few of the bigger companies in the running, mostly based out of London, so it was nice it went to a northern company for a change,” I replied, prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt.

  “Ahh, so you snatched it up away from them then?” she asked, her eyes glinting.

  I looked at Felicity confused as Megan jumped up and addressed Selina. “Shall I help you get dessert?” she asked, busy tidying away the plates. “Felicity, make yourself useful and bring some dishes into the kitchen.”

  Something was going on but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, and as I looked across at Natalia and Selina, I knew I wasn’t the only one who had questions.

  It seemed there was a conspiracy going on with both Megan and Natalia determined on keeping Felicity away from me. That worked for me; I wasn’t particularly keen to spend any time with her either.

  Selina had made a delicious lemon cheesecake for desert. Unfortunately, we couldn’t serve it because Geordie had decided to pe headlong into it, and while the little outline of his body embedded in the top looked cute, it certainly didn’t make it look appetising. Instead, Agnes had produced a trifle that she’d apparently made earlier, and I eyed her curiously as she plopped it down on the table in a flourish.

  Daniel had returned from the kitchen with a satisfied grin on his face, and I stood to let him sit before sitting in his lap. “What have you done with Geordie?” I asked him.

  He had escaped his prison and smashed the flour bin, so I knew he wasn’t in there.

  “Oh, he’s hanging around somewhere,” he smirked. He kissed me softly on the head as I handed him a plate of trifle. As I turned, I caught Felicity’s eye and was shocked to see a look of pure hatred on her face.

  “So now, let’s get down to the nitty, gritty,” said Agnes, thumping the table. “Can you help us or not?” Straight to the point.

  It was Megan who answered. “We’ll be here. Won’t we?” she said, looking at her mother.

  Imogen looked at me resolutely. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  “Do you need us to bring anything?” asked Beth.

  “I’ll check with Gerwyn and let you know,” said Natalia, sitting back in her chair. “I think it’s all under control, though.” Natalia and I had had our differences in the past, but I breathed a sigh of relief that she was on my team. But for her, we’d still be on the defensive. At least this way, I felt we were taking control of the situation.

  “I want you all to know, I really appreciate your help,” I said, a lump forming in my throat. “If there’s ever anything I can do to repay you, you only have to ask.”

  Beth reached over and patted my hand. “It’s in all our interests to see that this is dealt with. Matthew did what he did to avenge our family as well. We owe it to him to help protect his kin.” she smiled kindly at me and Felicity jumped up in her seat.

  Before she had a chance to open her mouth, Daniel disappeared and so did she; I dropped into the chair with a thump. He’d obviously taken her somewhere to have a talk, and it made me more determined than ever to get to the bottom of it.

  By the time they left, I was exhausted. Daniel still hadn’t returned, so I decided to help Selina clean up before taking a nap. We carried the dishes into the kitchen, Natalia taking the lead. As Selina filled the sink, Natalia and I made another trip to collect the rest of them. I scraped the last of the leftovers into the bin then tied it up and took it outside to put it in the rubbish, still thinking about Felicity and her animosity towards me. As I walked out of the back kitchen door, I heard a squeaky little voice and strained to make out the words.

  “Oi, over here!”

  I looked out over garden but I couldn’t see anything so I continued towards the bin.

  “For fuck’s sake man!”

  I jumped. That was definitely Geordie, but where the hell was he?

  Something fluttered and caught my eye. As I squinted to try and make out what it was, I had to bite my lip to stop from laughing.

  Geordie was hanging on the clothes line by two pegs, his body and face still coated in lemon cheesecake.

  The next ten days flew by in a whirl of preparation, and as each day passed my skills went from strength to strength. I had learned to command the elements at will and use their energy, understanding quickly why Agnes was so keen for me to accomplish this when Daniel shot energy at me and I deflected it by calling on the wind. I had amazed everyone again when I started shooting flames out of my fingertips.

  The full moon was due to be at its peak at quarter past eight, but sunset wouldn’t happen until nine. All parties were due to arrive at seven, to give us time to prepare. By ten to the hour, I was hyper as hell. I wanted this over. After today, I would most likely have my life back. I would be able to go out unescorted and not worry that someone was waiting in the shadows to kill me.

  Or… my life would be ended tonight.

  “For the love of God Lauren, sit down and stop fidgeting! They’ll be here soon enough,” Natalia complained.

  “Eye man, ya de-in me heed in,” said Geordie as he sat on a thimble atop the living room table, knitting with two pins and a bobbin of thread.

  I paced up and down the room once more, not to be told what to do. Finally, Daniel lost his patience with me as well and dragged me onto his lap. We’d had the discussion about Felicity the day after his family had visited, due to his not getting home until I was already in bed. He’d told me nothing, effectively saying that she was just a little jealous over the amount of time he had devoted to me over the years. I sensed he was hiding something from me and continued to push him on it until he’d lost his temper. Things had been a little strained between us for the next few days, but had eventually gone back to normal. That being said, it remained as a little, niggling doubt at the back of my mind.

  Agnes got up and went to the kitchen, returning with a bottle of brandy and five glasses.

  “I thought we shouldn’t drink before we cast?” winked Selina, as she took the glass Agnes offered her.

  “It’s medicinal,” Agnes replied, sniffing.

  When Agnes had finished pouring, she filled the cap and sat it down next to Geordie who almost rolled off his thimble in surprise.

  “Wey that’s really nice of you, pet!” he said, dropping his knitting and grasping the cap in both hands. “Up ya bottom!” he saluted us and drank heavily, smacking his lips.

  Natalia shook her head in disgust.

  At that moment, the doorbell rang and my heart thudded in anticipation. It was time.

  12 - A wicked web

  Agnes, Selina and I all fought each other to be the one to answer the door. Gerwyn stood there, a smile on her face, wearing a hat full of multi-coloured feathers and looking quite the peacock in her purple dress.

  “Lovely to see you, my lovely!” she said, air kissing me. Behind her, stood four burly men, similarly dressed as women, and a young girl in jeans. “Let me introduce you,” said Gerwyn, pulling me forward. “This is Owen, Darren, Trystan, Barri, and that sprite over there is Anna, she’s Barri’s sister. She’s not
really a member of our coven, but she threatened to tell Barri’s wife about him wearing her new dress if we didn’t let her come.” The girl scowled at Gerwyn then blushed and looked down at her shoes. The ladies all smiled at me, their ruddy complexions adding a cheer to their faces. Well, I assumed it was ruddy complexions, it could equally have been an over-application of blush.

  “Everyone, this is Lauren, Selina and Agnes!” Gerwyn finished with a wave of her once again gloved hands. I so wanted to have a word with her about her fashion sense, but now probably wasn’t the time.

  We invited everyone into the garden where Daniel had set up lawn furniture to accommodate all of the guests. Daniel and Natalia joined us from the living room, and Geordie scarpered as soon as he saw Gerwyn. Possibly a wise move, I don’t think purple is his colour.

  “Now Lauren, we’re not taking any chances. Trystan here is going to cast a protection spell to keep you safe so you just sit there my pet, and she’ll be done in a jiffy,” Gerwyn said, as Trystan came forward.

  Trystan, dressed in a black sequined mini dress and fishnet tights, came forward and smiled at me broadly, then rested her hands on my head and started muttering in what sounded like gibberish. I wasn’t getting a good feeling about this and looked at Daniel, terror in my eyes. He smiled, reassuringly, and leaned against the wall with his arms and ankles crossed.

  As Tristan performed her ritual, Agnes took Gerwyn and Barri into the kitchen where she and Selina had been cooking something up in the cauldron.

  When she was finished, Tristan stood back and looked at me. “Oh yes, lovely, that’s worked a treat. Your aura is sparkling now!” she said flicking the air around me with her fingers. No gloves, I noticed, but the silver polish could do with a recoat.

  Daniel’s family arrived silently, materialising in the middle of the lawn with minimum fuss. Daniel pushed himself off the wall and met his mother halfway, kissing her on the cheek. He made the introductions, and as Agnes and the others came back from the kitchen, it was time to start.

  Selina took the broom Agnes handed her and started cleaning the space. Meanwhile, Beth and her daughters helped Agnes to bring all the things we would need out onto the lawn so that we wouldn’t have to break the circle once it had been created.

  When they were ready, Daniel produced his athame and we all formed a circle, chanting the words Agnes had been drumming into my head all week. As we worked, Daniel walked the boundaries, pointing the dagger at the ground. After we’d been chanting for about a minute, I saw a purple light begin to shine around us, delineating the edges of the circle. Finally, Daniel came to a stop on the opposite side of the circle to me. I was grateful I would have him to look at to take my mind off what was going on around me.

  Gerwyn took the centre, standing directly facing me, and accepted a black pouch from Owen. She chanted as she opened the pouch, sprinkling salt into another, smaller circle around herself. She then stepped outside of the circle and took a vial of liquid from Barri. At Gerwyn’s prompting, Trystan handed out black candles which were lit from a thin taper.

  Gerwyn started to mutter again in words I couldn’t understand. Beth led us in a separate protection spell as Gerwyn continued her calling spell, falling into a meditative trance as her eyes rolled theatrically back into her head. Suddenly, she took the top off the vial and spilled the contents into the inner circle. A cloud of black smoke rose instantly from the ground, but didn’t break through the inner circle. As it rose, it started to spin, looking almost like a mini tornado. I felt my palms go sweaty and panic rose in my throat as I realised I could no longer see Daniel through the smoke.

  As Gerwyn finished chanting the smoke started to dissipate, and standing before me was the ugliest man I had ever seen in my life. He looked to be over seven feet tall, the long black coat he was wearing hiding his thin frame. His lips were drawn back from his blackened teeth in a sneer, his eyes bright yellow with red veins running through them, pupils almost translucent. And they were staring straight at me. The chanting rose up a notch to the point where I couldn’t hear myself think.

  Daniel stepped forward with a red vial in hand. In order to get the spirit into the vial, he had to breach the inner circle, and as I realised what he was about to do, the breath caught in my throat. He started the chant and raised his hand. As he chanted, Kincaid roared and pushed at the wall of the inner circle. Suddenly, the circle exploded and a shower of bright sparks rained down on us. Natalia stepped forward and raised her hands but Agnes screamed at her to stop. We were too close and the danger of hitting someone else was too great.

  Still making eye contact, Kincaid laughed darkly as he stepped towards me. Daniel came in between us and continued chanting. Keeping his eyes on me, Kincaid raised his hand and swept Daniel to one side. As Daniel flew through the air, Beth raised her hand and he stopped just short of the boundary of the outer circle, landing in a heap on the ground. Getting to his feet, and miraculously still chanting, he came forward again. Kincaid stood before me and suddenly his hands were around my throat. I placed both hands on his chest and drew energy into me, panic raising my heart rate to an almost impossible level. I released an energy burst into his chest and he dropped to the ground, but his hands were still around my neck, squeezing painfully. With a gasp, I fell to my knees before him.

  Natalia came up behind him and placed her hands on his back, bright white light shooting between her fingers as she continued to discharge energy. Still, he didn’t stop. I renewed my efforts and sent another burst of energy into his chest. He screamed silently as Daniel came forward. I could see his mouth moving, but could hear nothing above the chanting of the coven. Daniel raised his arms with the vial in hand, but I could now feel myself slipping into unconsciousness. My hands slipped from Kincaid’s chest and landed on the ground. He released one hand from my neck and discharged a bolt of energy directly into Daniel who crumbled to the ground. Then he freed me momentarily to turn on Natalia, sending me sprawling onto the grass and her flying backwards. This time, it was Imogen who prevented her from breaching the circle.

  I felt the anger and fear well inside me as I turned my head and saw Daniel, unmoving on the grass in front of me. No one went to his aid as they couldn’t break the circle of protection. Kincaid turned back to me and lifted me to my feet, closing his hands once again around my throat. But I raised both hands, ready to fry his arse.

  Natalia jumped up behind him again, and dodging him, put her hands on my shoulders and her energy discharged into my core, adding to the energy I’d already amassed. That, combined with the power of my anger, welled up inside me until I felt like I would explode. I struggled to keep my arms outstretched, and as Kincaid stepped towards me, I reached for his chest and discharged until I could no longer see my fingers for the white light surging from them.

  In an instant, Kincaid’s hand around my neck fell away and his eyes looked at me in shock. Natalia picked up the vile and finished the chant Daniel had started, throwing it at the spirit as he vanished into a funnel of black smoke, disappearing inside the vile as it descended, finally coming to rest on the ground at my feet.

  I gasped for air, collapsing to my knees. Natalia rushed to my side as Beth and Megan rushed to Daniel, laying hands on him. Impatient, Gerwyn pushed into the middle of them. Her face grew serious as she muttered, then snapped her fingers. I watched, praying for Daniel to move, each second feeling like a lifetime, until he finally sucked in a lungful of air, and I collapsed in a heap, allowing the tears to run freely down my face.

  Gerwyn, Owen, and Tristan carried an unconscious Daniel into the living room and lay him down on the sofa as Agnes, Beth, and his sisters fussed around him. I couldn’t get near him and I didn’t have the strength to fight my way through. Natalia practically carried me into the kitchen, forcing me into a chair and laid her hands on my throat, performing the healing that Daniel usually took command of.

  “He’ll be fine,” she said, as she looked in my eyes. I was still having trouble breath
ing, but as each second passed, the heat from Natalia’s fingers was taking away the swelling and the pain.

  Felicity came into the kitchen, her eyes blazing. “This is all your fault,” she screamed at me. “He gave up everything for you! And look where it got him!” Tears coursed down her face.

  “Felicity, he’s going to be ok!” I croaked, pushing Natalia’s hands away. Agnes and Selina came running in behind her.

  “No, he isn’t! Nothing is ok and it never will be again! We lost our home, our father, and now it looks like we’re losing our brother! I hate you!” she said, stepping towards me.

  Natalia stood in front of her.

  “Felicity, I’m sorry you’ve had such a hard time, but none of this is Lauren’s doing. You need to leave the room and calm down,” she said, barring her view.

  “He has a wife back home, did you know that? And she is twice the woman she is!” she spat, before running from the room and out of the door.

  I looked at Natalia in shock. “He’s… married?”

  She looked as confused as I was. “I don’t know,” she said, sighing heavily and leaning against the bench.

  Gerwyn came in at that moment with the vial in hand. “Daniel’s going to be fine; he’s unconscious, but he’s breathing and responding to the healing well.”

  Silently, he handed the vial to Natalia who took it from him. She slid her hand beneath the kitchen table and I heard a faint click. A secret compartment released where Daniel had stashed the other three vials. She put Kincaid in with the others and closed the drawer.

  “You know the circle was compromised, don’t you?” Gerwyn asked, looking directly into Natalia’s eyes. She didn’t look shocked in the least. “This would never have happened but for that.”

 

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