Chapter 16

They were once again sitting in the living room together. Katherine was looking out of the window thinking of a way to help defend the house against demonic attacks. Christina was sitting on the couch biting her nails, Lisa next to her. Lisa bumped her shoulder. 'Don't bite your nails.'

'Sorry.' Christina stopped and looked up to Katherine. 'Any ideas Kath?'

'I can set up a magical alarm system.' She said, turning to the room. 'We would get a warning if any demons crossed the threshold of the property.

'Would be nice to have a heads up.' Dani said.

'Okay, if you can do that Kath.' Christina said.

'I'll help.' Lauren volunteered as she and Katherine left the room to get started.

'What can we do?' Amy asked from the opposite side of the room where she was sitting with their father.

'Can you see if there are any teleportation spells, or portal spells in the book. In case we need to make a quick getaway.' Christina asked.

'Sure.' Amy said, leaving the room to get the book. Dani, Lisa and Christina sat in silence again whilst their father looked between them.

'So is this a typical day for you guys?' He asked, trying to make small talk.

'Sometimes.' Lisa told him. 'Depends on who we're fighting.'

'It's not always this intense.' Dani added.

'Right, well is there anything I can do?' He asked.

'No.' Christina said bluntly. 'There's nothing you can do. Just try not to get in the way and try not to get killed.'

'Alright.' Robert said quietly as Amy came back into the room with the book.

'Dani can you help me look?' She asked, putting the book on the coffee table as Dani came over to join her. They were flipping through the book when a small circle of light appeared in the middle of the room. They all stopped and stared at it as it hovered. After a moment it began expanding, spreading throughout the room before shooting out of the house and through everyone on the way.

'What the hell was that?' Dani asked.

'Katherine?' Christina called. 'Was that you?'

Yeah.' Katherine yelled back. 'We just set up the alarm system.' She finished speaking as she and Lauren entered the living room again.

'We'll be alerted if or when a demon crosses the barrier.' Lauren told them, sitting on the other side of Amy.

'We still need a plan of attack for The Trinity.' Dani said.

'I'm working on the spell.' Lisa held up her notepad. 'But it's tricky because of the amount of powers I have to counteract.'

'Maybe destroying one of them will be enough.' Christina suggested.

'How do you mean?' Lauren wondered.

'Well, if they aren't a trio they can't combine their powers.' She said. 'They're just regular upper level demons.'

'Upper level demon doesn't sound good to me.' Robert said.

'All it means is they're slightly more powerful than your every day demon.' Katherine clarified for him.

'Right, so we could destroy one on his own.' Christina said.

'Which one?' Lisa asked. 'And not to mention that we'd have to get them alone. I don't think I've seen them apart since this thing started.' Christina sat and thought for a moment.

'I have an idea.' She said. 'But you're not going to like it.'

'What is it?' Katherine asked nervously.

'I'm pretty sure I could convince Jonah to meet me, alone.' She said, looking at her sister.

'No way.' About four of them said in unison.

'You can't do that Chris.' Dani said.

'It's our best option. Rex doesn't have the balls to defy Abaddon, and I don't fancy taking on the old guy. Jonah is all ego and power. If I can convince him I want to give the amulet to him, not the others, he will come.'

'Who is Jonah?' Robert asked.

'He's one of The Trinity.' Amy told him.

'He's dream walked Christina before and scared the crap out of her.' Lis said, reminding her oldest sister.

'You can't meet him alone Chris.' Katherine said firmly. 'I wont allow it.' Christina raised an eyebrow and smiled.

'I wont really meet him alone. You guys will be there the whole time. He'll just think I'm alone.' Christina explained.

'Then we can vanquish him.' Lauren finished.

'It's a good plan.' Katherine said. 'I mean, it's a horrible plan, but it's a good plan.'

'I know it sucks.' Christina said. 'But we need to be proactive. We can't just hide here and wait for them to attack.'

'How are you going to contact him?' Robert asked.

'He's been in my brain so maybe if I just try to sleep and think of him he'll hear me? Kath?' Christina asked for clarification.

'It's worth a try.' She agreed. 'Sometimes dream walkers leave connections in the brain just in case they need to get back in. Katherine added.

'Great.' Christina said, turning to her father. 'Dad, are there any abandoned buildings around here?'

'There's a barn a few miles down the road.' He said.

'Perfect.' She smiled.

'For the record, I really don't like this idea.' He said.

'Duly noted.' Christina replied as she laid down on the couch.

'We'll bring you back if we see you get in any trouble.' Dani said, sitting cross legged on the floor in front of the sofa.

'I know.' Christina smiled before closing her eyes.

xxxxxx

Christina was walking through the cave again, the first time she'd been back willingly, and thinking about Jonah. 'Come on, where are you?' She whispered.

'How long do you think we should leave her in there?' Lisa asked.

'Chris would say for as long as it takes.' Dani aid.

'We only pull her out if she feels off.' Amy said. 'At the moment she's fine. A little scared but generally she's okay.'

'Does she know she's talking out loud?' Robert asked.

'Yes, it's to keep us in the loop.' Lauren explained. Katherine was pacing behind nervously behind them watching.

'Come on Jonah, I need to talk to you.' Christina said into the air, just as his sinister voice sounded from behind her.

'I knew you couldn't stay away.' He smiled, walking over to her. She turned to face him as Amy felt her heart rate spike.

'He's in there with her.' Amy told the group.

'Jonah.' Christina said. 'You scared me.'

'I have that effect on people.' He said. 'What can I do for you Christina?'

'I'm tired of this. Hiding from you, waiting to die.' She said.

'I agree it's slightly tedious. You have a proposition for me?'

'I want to give you the amulet. Just you.' Christina said.

'Why me?' He asked suspiciously.

'Because I know what Abaddon wants it for and I can't let that happen. If I give you the amulet you can destroy him and keep the power.' She said.

'What about if I use it to kill you after I destroy him?' Jonah said, moving towards her until she could feel his breath on her face.

'That's part of the deal. You leave me and my sisters alone, forever, and we'll leave you alone.' She said, her breath becoming shallow.

'Guys, she's starting to panic.' Amy said. Jonah reached out a hand and cupped Christina's cheek. His hand was cold and Christina went to step away from him but his other hand caught her forearm, stopping her. She flinched in the real world and they all saw it.

'You better not be lying to me Christina.' He hissed.

'I'm not.' She said firmly. 'I just want this to be over.'

'Where?' He asked.

'There's an old barn a few miles from where we are now. Meet me there in an hour.'

'It's a deal.' He grinned, releasing her as she snapped awake, breathing heavily.

'Holy shit.' Dani said, jumping back as Christina sat up fast.

'Are you okay?' Amy said, putting a hand on her back.

'Yeah.' Christina said, running a hand through her hair. Lisa noticed something under her sleeve.

'Chris, what's that on your arm?' She asked. Christina looked down and pulled up her sleeve. There was a fresh bruise.

'It looks like a hand print.' Lauren commented.

'Yeah, must have been from when he grabbed me.' Christina told them.

'Chris, I don't like this one bit.' Robert said. 'This guy has already hurt you.'

'He's also agreed to meet me at the barn in an hour. Can't back out now.' She said getting up and leaving the room.

'We've got her back dad, she isn't doing this alone.' Katherine reminded him.

'I know. I guess I've just never really seen what you really do.' He sighed. 'I wasn't expecting it to be like this.'