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

by Unknown

  “What do you mean?” I asked. “Compromised by whom?”

  She turned to me, her soft blue eyes radiating compassion. “Someone undid the protection spell, my lovely. I think we now know who that was.” She turned on her heel and left.

  “I need to see Daniel.”

  Understatement of the year.

  Natalia didn’t try to stop me as I made my way back into the living room. Daniel was still on the sofa. His beautiful eyes were closed but he appeared to be breathing, albeit very shallow breaths. Megan and Beth both still had their hands on his chest, but I could still see the charred whole in his jumper beneath their fingers. Imogen was holding his head as tears streamed down her face.

  A sob escaped from my mouth and Megan turned to look at me.

  “Is he going to be ok?” I asked.

  “He’ll be fine, but he’s going to be unconscious for a while,” she replied, her eyes sad.

  “Is he married?” I blurted.

  Beth’s head turned sharply to look at me, her eyes wide and her face going white. “Felicity told you?” she asked.

  A sob tore through me, and try as I might, I couldn’t gather my senses. In that moment, the only thing I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and scream. But I refused to have a meltdown in front of so many people. I did the next best thing. I left.

  Transporting back to my own home was foolish, but I was beyond caring. I materialised in the kitchen and the first thing that came into my view was the dish, still full of the tuna fish that I’d left out for Cat. Cat who I had loved and who had turned out to be Daniel all along. I picked up the dish and hurled it against the wall, screaming, as tuna and porcelain rained down over my previously pristine kitchen. Then the bends hit and I collapsed in a heap, sick to my stomach.

  I pulled myself up to my knees and crawled out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the bathroom, just making it to the toilet in time to be violently sick. When there was nothing left to bring up, I laid my head on my arm over the bowl, tears still streaming down my face. Daniel was married and he hadn’t told me? It didn’t make sense. But it was obviously true and was probably part of the reason why Felicity hated me so much.

  The crying only got worse when I realised that I had allowed myself to fall in love with a man who had deceived me. I thought back over our short but eventful history. I remembered the first time I saw him, leaning up against the lamp post. I remembered him saving me at the party, stealing my coffee, and winding me up. The memory of him telling me he loved me floated to the surface and I quickly shut it off. Obviously, love couldn’t mean much to this man if he could be married and say that to another woman.

  I don’t know how long I sat there in the dark, feeling sorry for myself, but I eventually crawled into bed and curled up in a ball. I could still see the light of the full moon coming through the chink in the curtains. At some point, and still fully clothed, I fell into a fitful sleep.

  I woke up to Agnes pulling the duvet off me and shouting in my ear.

  “Wakey, wakey, sleepy head! Time to face the day!”

  Learning from my past mistakes, I didn’t fight her and she grinned triumphantly at me.

  “Agnes, why are you still here?” I said, half opening my eyes. “The spirits are all caught, surely that means the curse is over now.”

  A hurt expression passed across her face but she quickly reigned in her emotion. “You don’t get rid of me that easily, fuck-wit. Now get out of bed, have a shower and get downstairs before I take the broom to your arse. You’ve got a visitor.”

  I opened my eyes and sat up quickly, staring at her. “If it’s Daniel, then you can tell him to go now. I don’t want to see him.”

  “It’s Gerwyn, now move it,” she replied, turning from me.

  I dropped back down onto the pillow and groaned. Couldn’t they all just leave me alone to wallow in despair?

  I stormed out of bed and stomped along the hall like a petulant teenager, turning on the shower and grabbing up my toothbrush to clean my teeth whilst I waited for the water to heat.

  I took my own sweet time, and after washing my hair, I stomped back to the bedroom and dried it with the hairdryer, styling it as if I had nothing better to do. I was good and mad now. Fuck Daniel and the horse he rode in on. I applied my make-up then checked in my wardrobe for a decent hell’s angel outfit to match my mood. I had to make do with black trousers and a black sweater but at least the colour was right.

  When I felt I’d wasted enough of their time, I eventually made my way downstairs to the kitchen and was surprised to find that Natalia and Selina had also turned up.

  Selina jumped up and hugged me as I came in. “Are you feeling ok?” she asked.

  “Absolutely fine!” I said, refusing to let her compassion ruin my anger. I suspected it was the only thing keeping me going.

  Gerwyn looked over at me from her seat at the table. “I know you’re going through a difficult time, lovely, but we still have some decisions to make,” she said resolutely.

  I suddenly remembered her talking us through the options for releasing Matthew and sank heavily into the chair. I suddenly felt thoroughly ashamed of myself, at the time I’d wasted being petulant and stupid. I had to think of others now, not myself. I owed Agnes a lot and Matthew was, after all is said and done, my great grandfather. Albeit, sixteen times removed.

  I was tempted to ask after Daniel, but I wasn’t sure if I could do it without breaking down.

  “Right then” said Gerwyn, flexing her fingers. “You need to make a decision as to what happens with the vials.”

  “You said last time there was a way we might save Matthew?” I prompted.

  “If you leave the vials where they are, the curse ends, and Matthew stays in purgatory. Otherwise, you return the vials and negotiate for Matthew’s soul with the Devil.”

  “What I don’t understand, Agnes, is if there was a chance to keep the spirits trapped before, how come no one else ever did it?” said Natalia, interrupting.

  I looked at her, surprised. “Yes, that’s a good point!”

  “We’ve never trapped them before,” said Agnes. “We’ve always just used banishment spells to send them back to Hell. Daniel is the first to ever consider trapping them.”

  My eyes clouded over at the mention of his name but I refused to give in to my feelings.

  “So we could effectively banish them again now and be done with them or keep them locked away in a drawer?” said Selina.

  “Why loose the upper hand?” said Gerwyn, looking at her. “Besides, I’m not too sure that keeping them would be such a good idea. The Devil may well decide he wants his property back and send demons to retrieve them.”

  “Keeping them isn’t an option,” I said firmly, taking another drink of my coffee and looking over at Agnes. “We have to try and release Matthew, even if it’s only a one in one million chance.”

  Agnes looked at me, her eyes misting with tears. Four hundred years was long enough for her to be in pain. We needed to end this once and for all.

  The thought of negotiating with the Devil scared the living shit out of me, but I was determined.

  “So how do I do it?” I asked, looking back at Gerwyn.

  “What?” Agnes exploded and shot up from her chair. “You can’t do it! It’s too risky!”

  Gerwyn jumped up and touched Agnes’ arm. “Agnes, I have to tell you, Lauren has more power than you know. She’s a little underdeveloped, admittedly, but she’s strong.” She guided Agnes back to her seat.

  “She won’t be alone.” Natalia declared, pushing herself back in her seat and crossing one leg over her ankle.

  “No, I do this alone,” I said, alarmed. I didn’t want to take responsibility for anyone else getting hurt.

  Natalia’s eyes rested on mine, her face brooking no argument. “You are not going alone. I will not fail in my duty to you.”

  “I’m coming too,” said Selina.

  Cursing erupted from the drawer at the back of th
e kitchen, and I looked curiously at Selina who went a bright shade of red, stood up, and released Geordie from his prison.

  “Have ye lost ya fuckin mind?” Geordie shrieked, his face turning purple. “Ye di kna who ya dealin with, pen’t ye?” Selina just looked at him. “Red man? Horns? Loves nowt better than ti eat ya fuckin soul?”

  Natalia stood up and went to the cupboards, taking out a bottle of Jack Daniels and pouring a shot into a glass. Returning to the table with a straw, she popped it down in front of Geordie.

  “Eye, am in,” he said, his eyes lighting up.

  “Oh for fuck’s sake!” Agnes exclaimed, jumping up again. “Why don’t we all go, hell, let’s make it a party!”

  Gerwyn looked at her and smiled.

  “So how do we make the portal?” asked Selina.

  “There are some things I need to get hold of,” replied Gerwyn. “I can be back here tonight. We’ll do it then.”

  Gerwyn took her leave and disappeared in a shower of pink glitter. Natalia snorted in amusement. “That man is such a show off,” she said.

  “Woman,” correct Selina.

  “Confused” said Geordie who suddenly found himself sitting in a pink tutu and a pink, flowery top.

  “Speak for yourself” smiled Natalia. I wasn’t sure if it was her or Gerwyn but I smiled as Geordie ran for cover.

  Selina sat back in her chair and looked at me. “You know Daniel isn’t going to want you to do this,” she said.

  “Daniel is married and his sister tried to get me killed, almost killing her brother in the process. He doesn’t get a say,” I retorted.

  “Except he has the vials,” said Natalia. Another point well made.

  “No, he doesn’t.”

  Agnes put her hand in her cardigan pocket and pulled out the offending articles. She stood them up in a line on the table and we all looked at them, transfixed.

  I spent the rest of the day forcing myself to be strong. I wanted to go to Daniel and ask him to explain, but the more I thought about it, the less I could see a way through this. Even if his marriage was over, and I certainly hoped that it was, he hadn’t told me anything about it. A pretty important omission and in my book not telling someone something that important amounts to the same as lying. There was nothing left to say.

  Agnes insisted we rest up and not practice, saying we would need all of our energies when we went to Hell. Apparently, it wasn’t so easy to pick up positive energy down there. Go figure.

  As we waited for Gerwyn, we all sat in the living room. Natalia was surprisingly calm, but she’d dressed in her black leathers. Geordie snorted when she came into the room.

  “It’s gonna be hotter than… hot down there and ye wanna wear leather? Ya legs ill get chapped!” he laughed. She flicked him on the back of the head and he went sprawling across the table top. He picked himself up in a huff. “Am jist saying, man! If a wos six foot instead of six inches, a’d give ye what for, pickin on a little fella! Ye shud be ashamed of yasell, ye big bully!”

  Natalia had the decency to look ashamed, for all of three seconds.

  At that moment, Gerwyn materialised in a puff of blue glitter, having changed her outfit to a siren-red, button down dress with puffed up sleeves.

  “Well lovelies, are we ready to start?” she said. Agnes was openly gawping at her dress. “You like it Agnes? I thought I’d dress for the occasion,” she preened.

  “Ye luck like Lady fuckin Di!” said Geordie with a snort.

  “Why thank you, little man,” Gerwyn blushed. She pulled a black vial from her handbag and set it out on the table. “Where do you want to do this?”

  “Here’s as good a place as any,” Agnes replied.

  Selina picked Geordie off the coffee table and placed him carefully in her pocket. Then we moved the table out of the way to give us room to work. Gerwyn drew a circle with a dagger that I assumed was her athame. She muttered a chant under her breath, then picked up the black vial and slowly unscrewed the top, pouring the liquid into the centre. The liquid seemed to grow as it hit the floor, spreading until it filled the circle then started to smoke. Suddenly, a hole appeared where the liquid had been, so dark you couldn’t see into it, but you could feel the heat emanating from its depths.

  Selina stepped forward and peered over the edge. Geordie, hanging over the side of her pocket, screamed and buried himself deeper within its folds. She looked up at me, her eyes wide and her face pale.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” she asked.

  I thought about my life since this whole episode started. The people. The adventures. The dangers. The thrill. All things considered, I’d lived more in the last couple of weeks than I had my entire life before that. For better or worse, I had to see this through.

  “Absofucking-lutely.” I said, and with a grin, I stepped straight into Hell.

  13 - To hell and back

  The heat was the first thing to hit me as the air rushed past. I felt as though I was falling through space, and as I looked up above me, I saw the others had taken the plunge as well. I turned myself around, wanting to see where we were headed, and the wind took my breath away. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, I saw lights far below me. But strangely, I felt no fear. In fact the absolute absence of fear surprised me.

  It seemed as though we were falling for an eternity, and then suddenly, we just stopped. It took me a moment to adjust to my new state, floating in the air like a bank thief suspended from a cable connected to the ceiling. But we had no ceiling. I twisted and turned until I was the right way up, and was surprised to find my feet come to rest on solid… something. I hoped it was ground. Moments later, Agnes, Selina and Natalia joined me. Natalia looked suspiciously happy and surprised to be here. I didn’t have time to wonder why.

  There was a complete lack of light, but I could see all three women as though it were day. It was almost as if the laws of science were acting in reverse here. We looked around but there was nothing else to see.

  Selina turned to me. “So which way, boss?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Natalia replied. “All roads lead to the same place.” It defied logic and I looked at her surprised. I didn’t question her but I was determined to find out how she knew at another time.

  We walked for no more than a minute when a light in the distance started to grow up ahead. I squinted to try and make out what it was, and then wished I hadn’t. Before us was the most grotesque dog I had ever seen in my life. It appeared to have the disproportionately large head of a mastiff, and the body of a Rottweiler. Its eyes were blood red and its teeth looked too long for its mouth. Not to mention, they were razor sharp. We stopped about eight feet away, the stench too nauseating to allow us to get any closer. It smelled like sour milk and spoiled meat.

  “State your buziness or die,” it said, in a surprisingly French accent.

  Agnes stepped forward, then stepped back. The smell really was that bad. “Tell Beelzebub that we have the souls of those who escaped from Hell and we want to do a deal.”

  The hound tipped its head sideways and regarded us. “You dare to deal wiz ze devil?” he asked.

  “I dare,” I said, plugging my nose and stepping forward, staring at him until my eyes watered.

  “Zis should be very interesting,” he said, then turned, his big head wobbling as he trotted off.

  I looked at Agnes. “What happens now?”

  “We wait,” she replied.

  As the words left her mouth, the ground beneath our feet started to move forward and we had to struggle to stay on our feet. We were being pulled along, as though on an escalator except we weren’t travelling up or down. Then as abruptly as it started, it stopped. Agnes would have toppled over if Natalia hadn’t caught her by the cardigan and pulled her back up.

  With no further pretence or ceremony, the Devil materialised in front of us, sitting on a red throne.

  The first thing I noticed was the horns protruding from his head. The second thing was that he was absolu
tely gorgeous. And red. Cliché, I know, but true nonetheless. I looked from his beautiful eyes, to his powerful jawline above firm, juicy lips. Lips that grinned slightly, as though amused. My eyes wandered down to his bare chest and tapered waist. Thankfully, his personal bits and pieces were hidden behind what appeared to be a loin cloth, below which stretched muscular thighs. He looked like a super-fit candidate for the cover of Play Girl.

  My lady bits responded and I moved forward, wanting to touch him, belong to him. Natalia came running behind me and grabbed me by the arms, preventing me from getting any closer.

  “He’s luring you in Lauren, fight it,” she commanded.

  I shook my head and looked at that chiselled chest. I felt my feet move forward again, only to come to an abrupt stop before being yanked backwards by Natalia.

  “Think of Daniel,” she whispered in my ear, and I stopped. I closed my eyes. Brown eyes with flecks of gold swam before me. I chanted a protection spell. When I opened my eyes, I saw a handsome man but the magnetic pull had gone. I gasped in relief. I had almost gone to him and the very thought made my skin crawl.

  “Awe Lauren, you disappoint me!” he laughed and sat back in his chair then glared at Natalia.

  “Do you want to hear our proposal or not?” I said, full of false bravado.

  “I already know why you’re here,” he said, grinning handsomely. He jumped off the throne but stopped in front of it, leaning against one of the arm rests.

  “You want to trade for the soul of Matthew Bulmer.” His eyes never left my face.

  “We have the souls of Kincaid, Nicholson, and Shevels, and we’ll throw in a demon,” said Agnes, stepping forward. Selina reached out and pulled her back, afraid for her.

  The Devil’s eyes still didn’t leave my face and he cocked his head as though considering something.

  “I’ll trade for you, Lauren. Your soul for his.”