Sharon Karaa - A Familiar Problem (Northern Witches #2)

by Unknown

  'Remember, no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings! Love Clarence’.

  George smiled as he read and reread the words.

  "What's that?" His wife asked, touching his arm gently.

  "That's a present from a very dear friend of mine," George replied, still smiling down at the book as a tear formed in his eye.

  A bell rang on the Christmas tree and Zuzu turned in his arms. "Look daddy! My teacher says that every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings!" She pointed and laughed as the bell continued to tinkle delicately.

  George turned to look at his beautiful baby girl. "That's right! That's right!"

  He looked up at the ceiling. "Attaboy, Clarence!"

  I bawled my eyes out as the credits rolled to the final chorus of Auld Lang Zine.

  Agnes stood up and hobbled over to the television, flicking the switch and muttering to herself. "Pile of sentimental old tosh!" She said, trying desperately to hide the tears in her own eyes. Selina rubbed my back and Geordie grabbed a tissue by one corner, hoisted his leg up against the side of the box and pulled for all he was worth until the hanky came free from the box and he went arse over tit across the table. He quickly stood up and rushed across, thrusting the tissue at me as I wailed like a banshee.

  "Wipe ya nose, ye daft mare!" he said in disgust as Selina continued to hug me to her in comfort.

  "It gets easier, I promise," Selina said, her eyes brimming with tears.

  Lauren looked on, amazed. "So it's true, you really are changing," she said in astonishment.

  I'd had four sessions with that bastard Dr Fraud now and I was no longer happy to call him Sigmund or even Freud given that the little fucker had sucked me in, lulled me in to a false sense of security then whammed me with more emotion than I was equipped to handle. Having spent my entire existence without crying a single tear, I was amazed at the fact that I now seemed to have no control and could cry at the drop of a hat. Selina had wanted to test the theory and so had forced me to watch ‘It's a Wonderful Life’. I would think up an imaginative revenge as soon as I managed to see clearly.

  I nodded at Lauren as a fresh bout of tears came over me.

  "It's brain washin, that's what it is," snorted Geordie in disgust as he lowered himself back into his chair. “Turning a demon into a soppy female; what’s the world coming to.”

  "So how many sessions do you need to have?" Lauren asked, ignoring his tirade.

  "I don't know but he's putting me in to group therapy next." I wailed louder and Lauren got up and ran out to the kitchen, returning with a glass full to the brim of brandy.

  "Here, get your chops around that, that'll sort you out," she said, handing it to me. I downed it in one as Geordie looked on jealously.

  “I’m feelin pretty emotional meself, like, any chance of a drop of that for me?” Selina looked at him in disgust and stormed off to the kitchen.

  "Come on," said Lauren, "you need to sleep it off.” She pulled me by the arm and dragged me up, pushing me through the door and up the stairs. I was still crying when she started trying to strip me off. I pushed her away and imagined myself into a cosy pair of cotton pyjamas then curled up on my side as she pulled the blanket over me.

  “I hate seeing you like this,” she said, softly, rubbing my head, and then quietly left the room.

  I lay there, snivelling until eventually the tears stopped. My head was spinning with the combination of the crying and the brandy. I lay there, wondering whether it would all be worth it. How did humans carry so much emotional pain? And where did it actually come from?

  "Don't go too far the other way," Abaddon interrupted my thoughts.

  "What do you mean?" I asked, perplexed, my voice rough.

  "There is a balance, Nats. Each person finds their own but make no mistake about it, there are those that choose the dark side. Not everyone is a George Bailey."

  I turned over on to my side and looked about the room. Abaddon was sitting on the floor, legs splayed out in front of him, watching me.

  "Why have you hung around, Abaddon? Why, when I freed you, didn't you just leave?" I asked.

  He sighed and looked at his hands, clasped together in front of him. "Do you want me to go?" It didn’t go unnoticed that he once again avoided the question.

  I looked at him and thought about what a pain in the neck he'd been since he'd come in to my life. I wondered for a second what it would be like, not having him in my head or popping in to my life whenever he felt like it. A strange knot formed in my stomach.

  "No" I said, finally admitting it to myself as well as him. "I guess I'm getting used to having you around.”

  He grinned and I'm sure, if I'd been able to see his face more clearly, I would have seen him wink.

  "What are you doing here now?" I asked, my eyelids getting heavy and I yawned. “Is there any news?”

  "No. No news. You can stop worrying. I’m just making sure you're safe, my love," he whispered. A warm feeling settled over me as sleep finally took me away.

  I woke to the sounds of banging and shouting from the kitchen, my head throbbing from the brandy. I lay there for a moment, wondering what the hell was going on downstairs and wondering whether or not I should leave my lovely cosy cocoon and go find out. Warmth had settled itself around my heart and I wondered briefly what it was then I remembered back to the previous evening. Had Abaddon been here or had I dreamed him? My eyelids flew open. Had he called me his love? I snorted at the thought. Big, bad Abaddon, the demon of my childhood dreams. He wouldn't be in love with a fucked up demon like me. I must have dreamt it. But what if he did? The warm feeling came back stronger and I lay there, trying to decide if I liked the feeling or not. As I focused on it, it seemed to fade away. I thought about Abaddon again, his sexy eyes, his muscular chest, his wicked grin. My lady bits tingled. Lust. That I could understand. I imagined him calling me his love again and the warmth shot around my heart once more. Strange.

  I heard a gentle chuckle in my head and groaned. Abaddon was listening in, the nosey bastard.

  "Cut the daydreaming, you're needed down here. It's like a fucking circus and I need reinforcements," he said.

  A loud bang resounded off the walls then I heard Agnes scream. "Geordie!"

  I pulled back the covers and threw my legs over the side of the bed. It was time to go see what all the commotion was about.

  I walked in to the kitchen to see Geordie levitating off the table and Agnes standing like a seasoned ball player with the frying pan over her shoulder and ready to take a swipe at him.

  "What the fuck is going on?" I demanded. Abaddon raised his hand and Geordie was sucked into it, struggling for all he was worth.

  "The little shit's been trying to look up my skirt!" said Agnes, panting.

  "It was a fuckin accident, man! A fell asleep under the table and ye jist happened to be standing there when a woke up!" Geordie screamed, purple in the face.

  "Where's Selina and Lauren?" I asked.

  Agnes slammed the pan down on top of the cooker and glared at Geordie, not buying his excuse for a second. I didn't either.

  "They've gone shopping for food, we've run out.” She had the grace to blush and I realised Agnes must have had herself a little midnight feast. The appetite was well and truly back.

  I looked at her shocked. "And you let her go alone?"

  She tutted at me and glared like I was stupid. "Daniel is with them, you moron. What do you take me for?"

  Abaddon set Geordie down on the table and then bent down so that they were eye to eye.

  "I'm only going to say this once, so you'd better listen carefully. Unless you want to spend the rest of your days as a Eunuch, no more disrespecting the women, you hear me?" I saw his eyes flash red and Geordie blanched, crossing his legs. "You got it, a hear ye loud an clear big guy.”

  I plopped down into a chair and sighed. It was one drama after another in this family.

  Geordie didn't know when to quit though and the next wo
rds out of his mouth almost permanently sealed his fate.

  "Nice G string there mind, Agnes" he smirked.

  Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Agnes whipped around and grabbed the frying pan by the handle as Abaddon turned to ward her off. Geordie's eyes grew to the size of saucers as he realised what he'd done, the frying pan descending towards him. I zapped an energy bolt at Geordie, taking him out of harm's way a micro-second before the pan landed with a resounding crack on the table. Agnes looked at Abaddon, anger quickly giving way to shock and her face went deathly pale. Well, deathly paler.

  She raised the pan fully expecting to see a squashed little man on the table then looked closer when she realised he wasn’t there.

  "Where'd he go?" she asked, confusion and relief fighting for dominance in her features. I looked up to the ceiling in the corner of the room and Agnes' gaze followed mine. Geordie, suspended securely from a spider's web, wrapped in a tight little cocoon, his arms and legs sticking out and his eyeballs, still the size of saucers, the only parts of him that were visible. A giant, hairy female spider stood sentry at one end of the web. And she was twitching. I felt her pain.

  I stood up and walked across the room until I was directly below him.

  "You could easily get out of there, Geordie, if you changed back into a spider but let me explain to you what will happen if you do. You see that pretty little female to your left? She's really, really horny. She wants you in a bad way, little man, a very bad way." Geordie's eyes glazed over at the thought and a suspicious little bulge appeared in the front of the cocoon.

  "But you do know, don't you, that females eat the males once they've copulated?"

  The bulge disappeared instantly to be replaced by a suspicious looking little damp patch. I folded my arms and smiled, satisfied with the result.

  "You sit there, like a good little boy, and I might consider letting you out later on." I marched back across and sat back down at my seat.

  Abaddon touched my face gently with the back of his hand and looked into my eyes, grinning. "Good save!"

  The tingly feeling hit my lady bits and my heart at the same time but before I could ponder on it, the front door opened and Selina, Lauren and Daniel came through, laughing and carrying bags and bags of food. Enough to see Agnes through at least the next twenty four hours.

  Selina took one look at the dent in the kitchen table then another look at Agnes who was still red in the face and holding on to the frying pan.

  "Where's Geordie?" She asked, fearfully, her face ashen.

  Agnes harrumphed and squeezed her ample bosom with her arms as she crossed them defensively in front of her. "He's safe, for now!" She warned then grabbed the bag from Selina, her eyes lighting up as she dumped the contents on to the table in front of her.

  Daniel looked up at the web and grinned. "Nice one, wonder why I never thought of that!"

  “Because you don’t have a twisted and warped imagination” Agnes tutted, swatting me with the t-towel as her lips twitched.

  We spent the next twenty minutes, working as a team, putting away food, tidying up and cooking breakfast. It may have been just my imagination but Abaddon seemed to find lots of imaginative ways of bumping in to me or touching me, causing the tingling and the warmth to accelerate my heart and breath to catch in my throat. Finally, we all sat down to breakfast as Lauren and Selina dished up scrambled eggs with beans and fresh toast. With only four chairs, Daniel pulled Lauren on to his lap and Abaddon, taking his cue from that, pulled me down on to his. I struggled for a second and his arm tightened around me. I could easily have broken free but a big and surprising part of me was enjoying the feel of his arms around my waist and the musky aroma of his scent. Selina grinned at me and winked. I rolled my eyes at her as I reached for a slice of toast.

  We were almost finished eating when Zerachiel appeared, wearing nothing but his loin cloth and I felt Abaddon's arm tighten possessively around me.

  "Good morning, all" he said, his eyes scanning the room. He smiled briefly at Selina then turned to the table and noticed Abaddon, sitting beneath me, for the first time.

  Zerachiel's eyes met mine and narrowed slightly.

  Agnes jumped up to fetch him a coffee. "Morning Zerachiel, you want something to eat?" She asked.

  "I'm good, thanks," he replied, leaning against the bench and folding his arms, his eyes never leaving my face. I settled back in to Abaddon's arms and looked at him. Between the two of them, I was slowly going to go nuts.

  "Time for therapy?" I asked.

  "Take your time, finish your...breakfast," he said, glaring at me. An uncomfortable silence descended and the only sounds were of forks hitting plates.

  I picked up my fork and loaded it with egg. My stomach turned at the thought of putting it in my mouth but I looked at Zerachiel defiantly and shovelled it in. Abaddon downed his fork, his hand dropping beneath the table and capturing my knee. His thumb made slow circles on the top of my thigh and I swear I saw stars. I fought to stop a groan escaping as I chewed the food and swallowed. When I couldn't take it anymore, I jumped up and changed into my leathers in a flash.

  "Come on, let’s get this over with," I said to Zerachiel as I walked across to him. He pulled me into him so that my back was up against his chest, his arm around me and his hand coming to rest just beneath my breast. His other hand captured my hip and then slid seductively down my side as his thumb came up and grazed my nipple. The last thing I saw before we transported was the flash of red in Abaddon's eyes as he rose from the table. A growl erupted in my head but was abruptly cut off as we left.

  We landed none too gently outside of the doctor's office and Zerachiel released me.

  "What the fuck was all that about?" I stormed, wrenching myself out of his arms and turning on him.

  He had the grace to blush. "Sorry, I couldn't help myself."

  "How come Abaddon can't enter my head when we transport?" I asked. His eyes narrowed.

  "He's a demon. He can't remain with you in this realm," he replied, his lips in a firm line and his eyes guarded.

  I glared at him, cross. "I'm a demon, or have you forgotten that?" I snapped, moving towards the door.

  "You're here by invitation, Natalia. Unless of course you've had a change of heart and decided not to go through with this?"

  I spun around and looked at him. "Despite what you think, Zerachiel, I am doing this for me." I poked him in the chest. "Not you and not Abaddon. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

  "Absofuckinglutely" he said, a glint in his eye. I looked at him, shocked. Some fucking angel he was turning out to be.

  "What the fuck is going on with you two?" I raged. "You're brothers for fuck's sake! It doesn't matter than you're on different sides, blood is blood!" Wow, another pearl of wisdom I hadn’t known I possessed. I surprised myself.

  “And what’s with the sudden fondling, after weeks of keeping your hands to yourself! What, is it a competition now to see who can bed the demon first?” I railed at him.

  He had the grace to look ashamed. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in the middle of anything.”

  I stamped my feet and growled, still massively angry at him. When I looked at him again, the rage simmered as I took in his shamed expression. It didn’t last long.

  Zerachiel sighed, a conflict going on in his head of which I knew absolutely nothing about. Finally, he seemed to reach some sort of internal decision and he looked at me angrily, his blue eyes glinting with sudden rage. I didn’t know if he was angry at me or himself. He grabbed me by the arm and pulled me in to his chest, taking off in to the skies.

  "Where the fuck are we going now? We're supposed to be going to the doctor's," I snapped, struggling in his arms.

  "Unless you want to plummet to the ground, I would stop struggling," he growled, pulling me tighter to him. I was about to inflict pain on him when I looked down and thought better of it.

  We flew over hilltops and trees until we reached a clear
ing and Zerachiel descended to the ground. As soon as we hit terra firma, I pulled myself free and turned on him.

  "What are you doing? Why are we here?" I snapped.

  "We have to talk, Natalia. You need to know some things," he said, taking a seat on the grass. “Things I haven’t told you…about me and about Abaddon.” Shame filled his face. I looked up at the blue skies and sighed then took a seat beside him. This was becoming the story of my life. When were this lot going to run out of secrets? Was that all being good was? Hiding the bad shit?

  "What's going on Saccharine?" I asked, reverting to his nickname.

  Zerachiel pulled at the grass, refusing to meet my eyes.

  "I told you Abaddon was once an angel but I didn't tell you how he ended up as a demon." He spoke slowly, his eyes still on the grass. I sighed again and thought for a moment. Did I want to know?

  "Ok, you've got my attention. What happened?" I asked. One thing I was sure of is he would tell me the truth.

  "He was in love with a woman. Her name was Emma and she was truly beautiful, inside and out."

  A funny feeling gripped my stomach and I quashed it down. I must be hungry. Maybe I was getting Agnes’ eating disorder.

  "What did she look like?" Hey, I was a woman. We wanted to know these things.

  He looked at me and smiled sadly. "Blonde, big blue eyes, innocent nature. Nothing like you."

  I punched him in the arm and he grinned again. At least he was smiling.

  "Sorry, that was mean."

  "So get on with it already, what happened?" I asked.

  "He'd been in love with her almost from the first time he saw her. He pursued her for centuries but she wasn't interested in anything other than friendship."

  "Why? He wasn't handsome enough for her?" I asked, piqued.

  "No, it was nothing like that. She was already in love with someone else." He looked up at me again, a pained expression in his blue eyes. The penny dropped and it suddenly all made sense. Two brothers who now couldn't stand to be in the same room together?

  "You?" I asked.