Chapter 12

They pulled up to a large gate in the middle of the countryside. There was no house in sight. 'Are you sure this is where dad lives?' Dani asked.

'This was the address he gave me.' Katherine said as she looked around for a bell or communication system. 'And I know he sold our house after we all moved out so he had some money.'

'Looks really creepy if you ask me.' Dani said from the back seat. She and Lauren had gathered up all the supplies they could fit in the trunk and Christina had the amulet in her bag, locked in a small box. Lauren had stuck her head out of the window and saw a camera hooked to the gate.

'Up there, he can see us.' She started waving. 'Hi dad.' The gate began to creek open and they were met with a long dirt pathway.

'I guess we follow the dirt road.' Lisa said as Katherine began to drive slowly towards what they hoped was a house. A few minutes later they did stumble upon a structure. It was a large house, painted white with black window frames, and the porch stretched all the way around it. The steps leading up to the porch suggested a basement and the window on the very top floor suggested an attic.

'How much did he sell our old house for?' Amy wondered as Katherine stopped the car. They all started to get out as their father appeared at the top of the steps.

'You're here!' He called, jogging down to help them. 'It's so good to see you.' He said, hugging Katherine and Lauren before turning to Christina.

'Christina.' He said, nodding.

'Robert.' She replied, getting an eye roll from Katherine.

'How are you all? Everyone good?' He asked the group. 'Well obviously you're not, you're here.' He laughed awkwardly.

'Dad, you're rambling.' Dani said. 'Take a bag.' She handed him a small suitcase.

'Right.' He said. 'Follow me.' He led them all into the house. They stepped into a large entrance hall, sparsely decorated, with more rooms in every direction. 'So the kitchen is right through the back, living room is this way. Upstairs you each have a room.' He motioned for them to head up the large staircase in the middle of the property. 'There's only two bathrooms but I know you're used to sharing.'

'It's great dad.' Katherine smiled. 'And thank you, for having us.'

'Oh please, it's my pleasure. I miss you girls.' He said. 'Right, so dinner will be at six, I've made roast chicken.'

'Since when do you cook?' Christina asked bluntly.

'What Chris means is thanks dad, we're looking forward to it.' Lisa interjected.

'Well, I'll leave you too it. Shout if you need anything.'

'We will, thanks dad.' Amy said. They were standing in the middle of the second floor bedrooms, their father leaving down the stairs.

'You need to be nice.' Lauren said to Christina.

'I was just asking a question.' Christina said.

'No you weren't.' Katherine backed Lauren up. 'Come on.'

'Fine.' Christina raised her hands. 'But I won't be saying much to him then.' She said, before heading into one of the bedrooms.

'Oh, this is going to be fun.' Lisa said. They all picked a room and prepared themselves for what was sure to be an entertaining evening.

xxxxxx

They were all sitting around the dining room table, the only noise was the scraping of knives and forks on plates. Christina was more pushing her food around, but the others were all enjoying their meals. 'So.' Katherine started. 'How did you find this place dad?' She asked.

'I was actually looking for a smaller place, right after Dani and Lauren moved out, just for me. But the agent said she had a great property, just on the market in my price range and this was it.'

'What was your price range?' Lisa asked. 'This place is huge!'

'It's also falling apart.' Robert pointed out. 'The previous owner sadly passed away, and he didn't have any next of kin so the bank put the house up for sale. I should be able to afford to do all of the repairs in a few years.' He smiled.

'So, Dani, Lauren, how's school?' He asked.

'It's not too bad, pretty boring but I'm sure it'll be worth it when we graduate.' Lauren said.

'It will definitely be worth it.' Robert agreed. 'Any other exciting news? Stories to tell your old man?'

'Not really.' Amy said. 'Apart from demon stuff but you don't want to hear about that.'

'No, that's not true. I'd love to hear anything you girls want to tell me.' He assured them.

'Well, you know we defeated Belial.' Amy started. Robert looked at Christina who was still staring at her plate.

'Yes, Kath told me that.' Robert confirmed.

'Well Chris used the amulet mum told us to find, but now a new demon has locked on to it and wants to take it.'

'Where is this amulet?' Robert asked.

'It's safe.' Christina said without looking up.

'Good, that's good.' He said. 'So is that why you need to stay here? Katherine was pretty vague on the phone.'

'Kind of.' Dani said. 'A demon attacked the house earlier so they know where we live.'

'Is everyone alright?' Robert asked.

'Yes, now we are.' Katherine said.

'Speaking of, Chris you need to eat.' Lisa told her. 'You lost a lot of blood earlier.'

'I'm fine.' Christina tried to convince them.

'You still need to eat.' Katherine agreed.

'How much blood did you loose?' Robert asked, sounding genuinely worried.

'It doesn't matter because I'm fine.' Christina said, sighing.

'Half of it was over me.' Lisa said. 'We still don't know what kind of demon it was.' Robert looked around the table, confused.

'Or the demon who attacked me and Dani.' Lauren said.

'You were attacked?' Robert asked.

'Yeah, coming out of school. Dani was thrown into a car.' Lauren told him. He turned to Dani who raised her hands.

'I am also fine.' She confirmed.

'Then there was The Trinity who tried to bury us under a building.' Katherine added.

'What?' Robert said, exasperated.

'If Chris wasn't there we would have been crushed.' Amy said.

'But we are all fine.' Lisa said once more to convince their father. He wasn't sure what to do so he looked at Christina.

'Christina, please stop playing with your food.' He said. 'Eat it.'

'I'm not hungry dad.' She said, putting her fork down.

'You must be if you've survived all of these attacks. How do you even stop a building falling?' He asked.

'I put up a shield and just let everything hit it until it stopped. You saw mum do it once.' She explained.

'You're so nonchalant about things Christina.' He said. She looked up at him.

'What the hell is that supposed mean?' She said slightly venomously.

'How about I take everyone's plates?' Katherine said, trying to defuse the situation.

'No, dad has something to say.' Christina said. 'What is it dad?'

'Don't you think you need to be more careful? With these situations you get yourself into?'

'It's not like I have much of a choice dad.' Christina told him.

'Well you need to start making better choices Christina.' He said angrily. Lauren and Dani looked at each other, never having seen this side of their father. 'Because one day you won't be so lucky.'

'You think it's luck that's gotten me this far? What would you rather I do, run away like you did?' Christina said.

'I just think you need to be very careful about what you're doing, especially when your sisters are involved.'

'Everything I do, is to protect them. That's something I can say for sure.' Christina said, trying to keep her emotions in check.

'You think Dani getting thrown into a car is protecting her?' Robert asked.

'Woah, dad, Chris wasn't there. No one could have know that was going to happen.' Dani defended.

'It's okay Dan.' Christina smiled. 'Dad thinks I should be in ten places at once, always has. You know what dad also thinks? That it was my fault mum died that night.'

'Christina.' Robert said. 'This isn't the time for that conversation.'

'When is the time then?' Christina asked. 'You left us and I took care of this family, not you. I know you regret leaving us, I know you would stay if you could rewind time, but you can't and here we are.'

'Chris.' Katherine put a hand on her arm.

'All I wanted was for you to come back.' Christina said, looking at him. 'That was the hardest morning of my life, waking up and you telling me mum was dead. And what's even worse, I know what happened the night before now and you didn't even tell me. You blamed me for letting her leave that night, all these years you blamed me and I didn't even know it.'

'I promised your mother I wouldn't tell you, any of you.'

'Was it really because you promised mum, or because you didn't want to admit that you're a coward.'

'Chris.' Lisa said.

'You were there too dad and you just stood there.' Christina said.

'I didn't know what to do, and I wouldn't have stood a chance.' Robert said.

'But you still could have tried.' Christina said. 'I hate myself for that night, now that I know what happened. I could have done something, used my powers, anything, but I didn't. I know I wouldn't have won either dad but I still feel horrible about not trying. Do you even care?'

'Of course I care. How can you ask me that?'

'It's a pretty easy question. I mean you left your six children all alone so I don't really know what you care about.'

'I care about you girls.'

'Jesus christ dad, Dani was 8 years old!' Christina sobbed. 'They were kids, I was barely an adult.'

'Chris…..' Robert started.

'I don't want to hear it.' Christina said, sounding exhausted.

'You need to hear it Christina.' Robert said getting angrier. 'I left because I needed a break from the magic, the demons.'

'Well you picked a great time to have your break.' Christina said sarcastically. Robert slammed his palm down. Christina's head jerked up and Amy flinched from her position beside their father.

'Christina, listen to me. I just needed a break.'

'Some of us didn't get a break. Still haven't had a break and now our home is being attacked by demons I don't know how to stop.'

'Why did you come here?' Robert asked her.

'I was outvoted.' She said bluntly.

'You are so much like your mother Christina.' Robert said, shaking his head. 'She was always coming home with new cuts and bruises from some demon she was fighting.'

'She was doing just her job dad.' Lisa reminded him. 'It wasn't something she had any control over, just like we have a duty to protect people.'

'So how does it feel having your sisters blood all over you Lisa?' Robert asked her.

'Hey.' Christina shouted. 'It was a fight, dad, people get hurt sometimes.'

'Michelle would say the same thing, it's just a flesh wound, could have been worse.' Robert said. 'And I was tired of it.'

'We don't have a choice, we were given these powers for a reason.' Christina said as Robert shook his head.

'You're stubborn just like your mother, and it will get you killed, almost has if I recall correctly. Just like it got her killed.' Robert said, but seemed to regret it as soon as he did.

'Fine.' Christina said, standing from the table and heading out of the door. In the hallway she saw a picture of her mother so she took it from the frame on the wall and headed out of the back door.