Chapter 7

Katherine was flipping through the book in the living room, sitting opposite the couch where Christina was still lying unconscious. Amy had made them all tea and the rest of the girls had settled down waiting for their oldest sister to awake. 'I don't like this.' Lauren admitted, cradling her mug.

'She'll wake up soon Laur, I promise.' Lisa said.

'How do you know that?' Lauren asked.

'I don't really, but I haven't seen her ghost yet so that's a good sign.' Lisa grinned. Dani threw a cushion at her.

'Don't even joke about that.' Dani said, a slight grin on her own face.

'Any luck in the book Kath?' Amy asked, noticing that Katherine had been reading the same page for a while.

'Yeah I found him, he was a low level spell cracker.' Katherine said. 'He gets hired to break other people's spells.'

'So this Belial guy knows who he wants, and that we have magical protection he needs to get through.' Lauren said. 'Great.'

'What else are you reading?' Amy asked.

'There's a letter to us from mum in here.' Katherine said.

'No there's not. We must have read every page in that book already.' Dani said.

'It's right here, between athames and crystals.' Katherine showed them the page of small, neat handwriting. It was their mothers.

'What does it say?' Lisa asked. Katherine started to read.

'My dear girls, if you're reading this then I'm sorry. I'm sorry because I'm not there to help you. If you're reading this, it means he's returned and you must be careful. Belial was the most ruthless leader of the underworld and you cannot let him take back the thrown. I managed to stall him. I didn't give him what he wanted and gave other witches the chance to banish him but it would seem a temporary fix. Christina...' Katherine stopped and looked up to her sleeping sister before continuing. 'Christina, you know what happened that night, you know what I told you. Trust me when I say you can find the answers you need in your memory but I had to hide them from you. It was for your own safety. My sweet girls. I love you, and I'm never too far away.' Katherine wiped away a tear and closed the book. A few of the others were crying. Lisa was looking over her shoulders just in case.

'So, something that happened on the night she died will tell us how to defeat Belial.' Amy repeated.

'And only Christina knows, but she can't remember what it is.' Lauren added.

'I guess Christina and I are going down memory lane then.' Katherine said. 'Shit.'

An hour later they were all still in the living room. Dani had fallen asleep and Lauren was flicking through the television, watching nothing in particular. Suddenly, they heard a small groan coming from Christina's couch. Amy nudged Dani awake. 'Chris.' Lisa said, kneeling in front of her. Christina's eyes weren't open but she moved her hand to cover them.

'What happened?' She said weakly.

'You exploded a demon then passed out for five hours.' Dani told her.

'Great.' Christina said. She opened her eyes and started to push herself up.

'Woah, slowly.' Amy said, helping her into a sitting position.

'It worked though? The demon is gone?' Christina asked.

'Oh it worked all right.' Lauren said. 'Your eyes changed colour apparently.'

'Seriously? What colour?' Christina asked.

'Bright blue, like your energy.' Katherine confirmed. 'And that's not all. We found a letter from mum, in the book.'

'How is that possible?' Christina asked.

'No idea, it's like it appeared all on it's own.' Katherine said, handing the book to Christina. They watched her read and studied her expressions.

'But I...' She looked up.

'We know.' Amy said. 'Don't worry. Kath can go back in and find them with you.' Christina turned to look at Katherine.

'You really want to go back to the night mum died?' She asked.

'No, but it's the only way we're going to get to the bottom of this.' Katherine said.

'Fine, let's get it over with then.' Christina said, crossing her legs on the sofa.

'Chris, you literally just woke up from a mini coma, don't you want to wait a bit?' Dani asked.

'It wasn't a coma and, like Kath said, we need to get to the bottom of this.' She sighed. 'Just do it before I change my mind.'

'Alright.' Kathrine said, sitting opposite Christina on the sofa. 'Relax your brea...'

'Yeah I know.' Christina said, taking a deep breath as Katherine took her hands.

It was dark and quiet when they saw the hallway of their old home. The large clock on the wall told them it was almost midnight. Suddenly, voices were coming from the kitchen, growing louder as two people came into view. It was their father and their mother, Michelle.

'Kath...' Christina whispered.

'I know.' Katherine said. 'It's mum.' Dani and Lauren shared a look.

'What did she look like then?' Dani asked.

'Exactly like Christina actually.' Katherine said. Lisa smiled. They had very few pictures of their mother.

'You need to slow down Michelle, this isn't helping anyone.' Robert said angrily.

'You don't know what you're talking about. The only reason I'm doing this is to help everyone I love.' Michelle said. She was walking towards the door when Robert stopped her.

'So what happens when the girls wake up in the morning? What do I tell them?' Robert asked.

'I don't care Robert, make something up, tell them I left, whatever you want to tell them. But I have to do this.'

'Mum, Dad?' Said a voice from the stairs. They both looked around and saw Christina coming down the stairs towards them.

'No, that's not possible' Christina said, her eyes moving quickly under their lids.

'Chris you need to calm down.' Katherine said, holding her hands tighter.

'Sorry, I can't...' She said, grimacing.

'It's okay, sometimes repressed memories come back this way. You're okay.' Katherine assured her. 'Can someone put a hand on her shoulder? To help ground her.' Katherine asked. Dani stepped up and put her hand comfortingly on Christina's shoulder. She relaxed a little. 'Good, that's it. Just breathe.'

'Chris, what are you doing up?' Michelle asked.

'I heard you guys yelling. What's going on?' She asked as she reached them.

'Nothing sweetie, go back to sleep.' Robert told her. All of a sudden the front doors were thrown open, a blast of energy sending them all flying backwards. Christina crashed into the wall and...

... tensed as it happened. Katherine felt her hands tighten and her legs jerk. 'It's just a memory Chris, it can't hurt you here.'

'Speak for yourself.' Christina said, grimacing again.

'What's happening guys?' Amy asked.

'A demon just crashed through the house.' Katherine told them. 'Chris was with mum when it happened.'

'This must be what mum wiped from her memory.' Dani said.

'Witch...' Belial hissed. 'Are you going to make this difficult?'

'No.' Michelle regained her footing and faced him. 'If you leave my family alone, I will do whatever you want.'

'Deal.' He said, smiling. Michelle was just about to walk out with him when she heard Christina.

'Mum, what are you doing?' She stood and walked towards her.

'Chris, stay away.' Michelle ordered.

'You can't go with him.' Christina said, staring into his face. Her mother walked back towards her and put her hands on her shoulders.

'Christina look at me.' Michelle pleaded. 'Me, Christina.' She turned them around so Christina's back was to the demon. 'This is very important. I'm about to tell you something really important, but you need to forget it.'

'Mum, what does that even mean?' Christina asked, becoming more hysterical.

'Mum, don't.' Christina whispered. Her face was screwed up in pain as Katherine focused on her breathing.

'It's a memory Chris. Don't let it take you over.' 'Sorry.' She said, trying to breathe more steadily.

'His name is Belial. He wants something from me but I'm not going to let him get it and neither will you.'

'What does he want?' 'Power. Mine and yours. But he doesn't know you have your powers yet and that's how it's going to stay.' She whispered.

'Mum, please.' Christina cried.

'I'm so sorry my sweet girl.' Michelle lent in and kissed her forehead. 'Find the amulet.' She pulled away and looked at Robert. 'Take care of our girls. I love you.' She said as she turned and walked away with Belial.

'Mum!' Christina yelled but Robert held her back. There was a flash of light and another wave of energy sending everyone crashing back down to the floor.

Katherine and Christina jumped backwards as their hands parted. They were both breathing heavily and Christina was crying. They stared at each other for a few moments. 'You okay?' Katherine asked.

'No.' Christina admitted. 'You?'

'No, not really.' She said.

'What happened.' Lauren asked. Christina turned and looked at Lauren.

'The amulet you dreamt about.'

'What about it?' Lauren asked.

'Do you think you can find it?' Christina asked.