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

by Unknown

  Lauren, Selina and Agnes were sitting at the table, a big smile on their faces and another piece of plaster in Agnes’ hair.

  I glowered at them angrily and Lauren looked at me, confused. Obviously not the look of a well sated female, then.

  I looked around the room. “Where’s Geordie?” I asked, angrily.

  A little whistle sounded behind Abaddon and the little man himself came sauntering into the room, his hands in his pockets and a wide grin on his face. That little shit had been spying on us, I just knew it!

  “Where’ve you been, you little pervert?” I demanded, taking a step toward him. I was going to squash him like the bug he was. I raised my foot as Selina shouted and Abaddon’s arms came around my waste. He swung me away, laughing. “Cool it, there tiger,” he said, kissing my neck.

  “Am sure a diven’t knaa what’s wrong wi ye like, I wud have thought given the seein to ye’ve jist had ye’d be feelin a lot happier. What’s the matter, the big man couldn’t get it up?” he smirked.

  Selina gasped, sensing the danger, as Abaddon turned as quick as a flash and grabbed Geordie round his portly middle, pulling him up to eye level.

  “You want to find out first hand if I can get it up or not?” he demanded. Geordie went white as a sheet.

  “I’m sure I wouldn’t say no!” said Gerwyn, laughing behind me. Lauren burst out in to fits of giggles as I turned around and grinned at Gerwyn, standing in her finery.

  “Joke!” she whispered at me, grinning widely. I high-fived her as she winked at Abaddon, who had now gone as white as Geordie. Laughing, she turned and clapped her hands together, her eyes sweeping the group.

  “We need to get a wiggle on and get to Daniel’s” she said. “Everything’s ready and the others are waiting.” I looked at the window, surprised to see it was already dark outside. We’d been upstairs longer than I’d realised.

  13 - Fighting the Demon

  Beth and the girls were cleansing an area of the lawn when we materialised. Zerachiel was standing off to one side, talking to Felicity who was twirling her hair around her fingers as we spoke. Good luck to her, I thought. Then it occurred to me. I didn’t have the burning feeling in my stomach when females approached Zerachiel. That only happened with Abaddon. A slow suspicion started to form and I pushed it away. Rubbish. I laughed at myself as I picked up a broom to assist in the cleansing.

  Daniel came across with his athame and started to chant as he formed the outer circle and we all took this as the sign to get in formation. Agnes handed out the lit candles and we took up position, our backs to the back of the circle and facing in over. As Daniel finished the chant, Gerwyn took up where he’d left off, creating the inner circle in which we would entrap the spirit of Sarah. Abaddon took up position at my left, his fingers reaching down for mine. He looked into my eyes and winked at me and lust flared up again. I groaned. This was quickly becoming painful.

  As Gerwyn finished the chant, Agnes handed him a vial of blue liquid. He reverently took the cork out of the vial and poured the liquid into the inner circle as we watched with bated breath.

  Something was wrong. I sensed it before I saw it. The wind picked up and blew storm clouds above us, blocking out the light of the new moon and whipping my hair into a frenzy. Abaddon’s fingers tightened around mine. He could sense it too. I glanced across at him, holding my hair out of my face and saw the worried expression in his eyes.

  I looked back at Gerwyn who had raised his arms and started chanting but I couldn’t catch his words. A sudden gust of wind and every single candle was extinguished, despite our best efforts to protect the flames. A loud rumbling noise resounded around the garden, the ground pulsing and heaving beneath our feet. The area the size of the entire outer circle started sinking and Abaddon picked me up by the waist and ran to the patio, setting me down on the ground. The ground was still rising and falling, although at least here it didn’t appear to be sinking.

  Gerwyn grabbed Beth and Morgan by the hands and pulled them outside of the circle. He quickly cast a protection spell around all three and watched on in horror. I take it this wasn’t the expected result.

  Imogen tried to run across the garden to reach us and I watched in horror as the ground sank beneath her feet. She fell forward on to her knees and hands and scrambled desperately to get back up. Zerachiel unfolded his wings and flew to her, catching her around the waist and lifting her out to safety as Abaddon sprinted across the garden, grabbing hold of Agnes and carrying her to me.

  I looked over at the garden just as Selina, holding tightly on to Geordie, started to slip into a freshly opened crevice in the soil. Lauren reached across and grabbed hold of Selina by the hand, trying desperately to balance and retain her hold. The ground lurched again and all three sank into the ground to their knees. I took up position and arched an energy bolt towards them, trying frantically to levitate them out.

  Daniel dived towards the hole, grabbing Lauren by the wrist and pulling with all his might as they slipped a little further, finally coming to a stop. The ground opened up to total blackness below them and as the ground lurched again, Daniel slipped a little further towards the hole. I renewed my efforts. My energy wasn’t strong enough to hold all three but I fought with everything I had to protect them.

  Felicity’s thin frame streaked across the garden, dancing from one mound of earth to another, until she was as close as she could get to Lauren and Selina without falling into the hole. She raised her hands and sent an energy arc to join with mine and between us, we managed to pull Daniel and Lauren back up a few feet, Lauren still holding tightly on to Selina’s hand.

  A second later, the ground opened up below Felicity’s feet and she disappeared into the blackness, her energy disappearing with her. Beth screamed and tried to get out of the protection bubble but Gerwyn and Morgan grabbed her by the arms and held her down.

  I felt the pressure build and knew I was running out of energy. Selina looked up at me, fear and resolve on her face. She knew I couldn’t hold it for much longer. She threw Geordie as far as she could into the air and Zerachiel swooped across and picked him up just as his trajectory started to go southwards. He flew back and dropped him on the patio beside us. Zerachiel turned and as he started to fly back to get Selina, she let go of Lauren’s hand. In a second, she was gone. Zerachiel swooped and dived into the blackness behind her as Abaddon picked his way between the craters, trying to reach Daniel.

  Daniel heaved Lauren out of the crevice and she landed on top of him. As they struggled to get to their feet, I watched in horror as the ground beneath them disappeared and they too fell into the blackness.

  I looked at Abaddon and, without a word, we both sprinted after them and dived in.

  We plummeted downwards and it quickly became apparent that what we’d opened was a giant portal to Hell. Either we’d done it or someone or something else had. The question was, who? The next question was why? I looked over at Abaddon as we fell and he managed to manoeuvre himself over to me, clasping tightly to my hand then pulling me in to him and wrapping his arms around my body. Clumps of soil fell around us and I kept my eyes downward so as not to get a face full of dirt. I tried desperately to see if I could spot any of the others below us but there was nothing but pitch black.

  Within minutes, light started to appear below us, coming slowly into focus. It looked like we were having a little party down below. At least it looked as though everyone was together and as we got closer, I started counting heads. Everyone was there. And some. Surrounding the group of humans and one angel were hundreds of demon spawn. And they were armed.

  We came to land directly beside Lauren and Daniel and I turned to make sure she was ok. Her face was streaked with dirt but she appeared to be unharmed. I looked across at Selina, held safely in Zerachiel’s arm, his other wrapped around Felicity.

  “At last, the guest of honour has arrived!”

  I turned to see Lilith, wearing an almost sheer red silk dress and sitting on Satan’s
throne. How presumptuous.

  “What’s going on, Lilith?” Abaddon demanded, stepping forward. Three minor demons stepped towards him, angling their pitchforks at him in a warning not to get any closer. Lilith’s spawn. What was going on?

  Lilith smiled and raised her chin, glaring evilly at Abaddon as she stepped off the throne and took a step towards him. Her breasts got there a second before she did.

  “You couldn’t just leave well enough alone, could you?” she smiled. “I’d seen to it you were safely out of the way, Abaddon. I could just as easily have had you killed. And this is how you repay me?” She stepped towards him and tapped him lightly on the forearm with a painted talon.

  “What do you have to do with Sarah Bulmer?” he asked, confused.

  Lilith threw her head back and laughed then looked at him again as her face and body morphed into that of a middle-aged house wife.

  “She served her purpose and kept me out of it!” she said as she morphed back, her humongous breasts appearing before the rest of her.

  “You know, you could easily have been my chosen mate, ruled alongside me?” she raised her eyes to his and my demon growled. She flicked her eyes to me.

  “I see you brought your plaything,” she said, then turned back to Abaddon.

  “You could still be my mate, all you need to do is say the word,” she ran her fingers down his chest and I couldn’t help myself, I stepped forward and pushed her away, putting myself between them. Lauren gasped. I seriously doubted my own sanity at this point. Lilith was the most powerful succubus in Hell. She was Satan’s girlfriend. She would be seriously pissed at me but I’d face the consequences. She wasn’t getting her hands on my demon.

  To my surprise, Lilith laughed. “Silly girl!” she said. “You can’t possibly hope you have a chance at controlling the most powerful demon in hell?” Anger welled inside me and along with it, doubt. She was right. Abaddon was a demon lord. I was a nobody. I shrugged it off. I wasn’t a nobody. I was Natalia Stokes and I would kick her arse from here to heaven and back if she laid one talon on Abaddon or any of my friends, if I had to die to do it.

  Abaddon’s arm came around me and me pulled me back to him, his arm staying around my shoulders.

  “You’re trying to take over Hell?” Abaddon asked, calm as a cucumber but I could see the tell-tale pulse of a vein, pumping in the side of his head.

  Lilith threw her head back and laughed. “Trying? It’s done! As soon as your pathetic little ruler returns from visiting his father, he will find there’s a new age dawning! His most trusted demons are now mine!” She turned and walked back to the throne, retaking her seat.

  “Now it’s decision time,” she said, rubbing her hands along the arms of the throne and smiling seductively. “I have you and all of your earthly friends. The question is what is to become of you all?” She tapped her chin with a bright red nail and looked directly at Abaddon.

  Zerachiel stepped forward. A radiant shimmer of white light surrounded him. “You cannot harm an angel of the Lord, Lilith. And I extend my protection to everyone here.”

  She laughed at him. Her eyes blazed and for a second, her shape shifted and her demon form showed in her face. Boy she was an ugly fucker. She quickly regained control.

  “You have no protection here, angel! Your protection stemmed from an agreement between Satan and his father. As of now, that agreement is void! There is no more protection for you and your kind!”

  She turned her gaze back to Abaddon and smiled. Did she have the hots for him, or what? My demon roared again but I held her in check. This wasn’t the time to get into a girly fight, I had the others to consider. My brain started to rack up possible scenarios but in not a single one could I see getting everyone back out to safety. That didn’t mean there wasn’t a way, I just had to think harder.

  “You declare yourself loyal to me and I will let you choose the fate of your friends here,” Lilith said to Abaddon. “If not, I will have you all taken to the abyss and end you all, it’s of no consequence,” she said inspecting her nails.

  Felicity started to sob and Zerachiel pulled her in to his arms.

  I looked at Abaddon. His eyes were burning red. We were two demons, an angel and four witches against the might of Lilith’s army. He looked around us. Her demon spawn numbered thousands and we were well and truly surrounded. He turned to Zerachiel and a look passed between them. Zerachiel’s head inclined in a small nod. So small, if you blinked you would have missed it. What did it mean? Would we fight? I took up a fighting stance in preparation, thinking on my feet. If I blasted Lauren and Daniel, I could send them back out. That left Selina and Felicity. Could Zerachiel save them?

  Abaddon turned to me, his eyes now back to normal.

  “I love you, I will always love you.” he said through the bond and I saw it in his eyes.

  He was going to submit to Lilith.

  A searing pain tore through me. “No! We can do this! We can get the humans out at least!” I shouted at him.

  “And what then? You know she will come for them and without us to protect them, they won’t stand a chance. I need to do this and you need to trust me,” he said, his eyes imploring me.

  He turned and marched forward, going down on one knee before the delighted she-devil.

  “I submit to your will, Mistress.”

  My heart shattered into a million pieces and a sob escaped my lips as Lilith dropped from the throne before him, lifting his face and forcing him to stand. He towered over her as she smiled up at him.

  Her eyes flicked across at me and then back to Abaddon. “Now kiss me,” she said.

  I didn’t think, I’m pretty sure I didn’t command my own body, but it took off the ground and I flew towards her, hands out and ready to do her some serious damage as rage coursed through my veins like molten lava.

  Abaddon didn’t look back he just raised his hand behind him and in the blink of an eye we were all transported out of there.

  I landed hard on the kitchen floor, sliding sideways until my back slammed into the units. Scrambling to my feet, I looked about, checking to see if everyone had transported safely. They were all there. Lauren came rushing towards me, helping me to my feet and wrapping her arms around me.

  “Oh Natalia, I am so sorry!” she cried. I stepped out of her arms, squeezing her hand in understanding, but I couldn’t accept compassion at this point. I was not going to end up a snivelling wreck. There were things that needed to be done, plans that needed to be made, but I was getting him out of there, if it was the last thing I did.

  I turned to Zerachiel, his arms wrapped protectively around the girls as they both sobbed. Daniel walked over to them and took Felicity into his arms, rocking her as she cried. A bridge had been mended, at least.

  Just then, Agnes and Gerwyn came rushing in to the kitchen, a look of surprise on their faces.

  “You’re back!” Agnes shouted. “Oh thank God!” she rushed across to hug Lauren but in her heightened state of anxiety her arms just passed right through.

  Gerwyn stood before me. As composed as my little Welsh friend was, she was shaking. “What the fuck happened?” she asked, losing all decorum.

  “It wasn’t Sarah Bulmer, it was Lilith all along. She’s trying to take over Hell” I said. “I need you to send me back, now!”

  “No!” Lauren shouted as Zerachiel extricated himself from Selina and came towards me.

  “Lauren, you’re not going back. I need to go report in but you have to promise me, you’ll do nothing until I get back.”

  “Sorry Zerachiel, but I’m not sitting here with my thumb up my arse, waiting for some kind of divine intervention. I need to find a way to get Abaddon out of there before Satan returns. He will kill all demons that stand against him.”

  I turned to Gerwyn again who was standing there with his mouth open in shock.

  “Can you send me back? Can you send me to another level?” I looked him in the eye.

  “Not without Abaddon’s blood
, I can’t, no!” he replied.

  Zerachiel grabbed me by the arms and pulled me in front of him. “Natalia, be sensible. What can you do against Lilith and her army? Wait, I’ll bring reinforcements and we’ll all go together, I promise you. Abaddon is my brother; we will get him out of this.” I looked at the determination in his eyes and sagged. He was right. What could I do?

  “Go then, now!” I shouted.

  He disappeared.

  The house was a mess. One wall in the living room had cracked right down the middle; furniture was strewn all over the place and floor boards were torn up from the joists, probably because of the turbulence in the ground. We’d spent the last few hours trying to put everything right, even using magic where we had to but the scars were still very evident.

  I walked out into the garden, wondering if the portal was still there. I’d given my word to Zerachiel but I was itching to get back to Hell. It was no good, the hole in the ground had disappeared although the garden still looked a mess of earth and uprooted trees. I knelt down and touched the soil as a silent tear slid down my face.

  Agnes appeared behind me. “We’ll get him out, Natalia. He isn’t destined to end his days in the abyss he commanded,” she said softly.

  I turned to look at her, her glasses perched on her nose at an odd angle and her hair sticking up all over the place. This loving old witch who’d tried so hard to teach me that there was more to life than Hell.

  “How can you be so sure?” I asked her, pain filling me to the brim.

  She looked at me as though I had a screw loose and put her hands on her hips. “Abaddon is the most resourceful demon in Hell. Satan himself couldn’t keep him out! Do you think that slag Lilith is going to keep him in? When he loves you as much as he does?”