Bound By Blood (Book 7)

Chapter 16

"Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action; rather it is "timing" it waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way." ― Fulton J. Sheen

--xxxxxx--

When they emerged from the basement Aunt Stephanie was nowhere to be seen. Dani found a note on the hall table and walked into the kitchen with it. 'Steph has gone back to her apartment.' Dani told them, sitting on a stool next to Lauren. The ring had cooled down enough and Christina was playing with it in her hands. Amy noticed the concentrated look on Christina's face.

'What's on your mind Chris?' Amy asked.

'Something's bugging me.' Christina stood up and started pacing.

'What is it?' Lauren asked.

'Why is Aunt Steph so intent on us destroying this thing?' Christina said.

'We could just vanquish the demon and keep the ring in case we need it.' Katherine said. 'It's not like it's hurting anyone.'

'Maybe she thinks that once the powers are released, she'll get one.' Lisa said. They looked at her strangely. 'Think about it. When they all come flooding out, where are they going to go?'

'I assumed they would just float off into the air.' Dani admitted.

'I think you're right Lise.' Christina agreed. 'She's lost her power and she's found a way to get another one. We kill the demon for her and we give her a power.'

'Two for one.' Amy said.

'She'll never admit it though.' Amy said. 'She's spent most of her time lying to us.'

'She doesn't have to admit it.' Christina said. 'We're going to find the demon and destroy this thing without her. She won't be around when it happens to get a power.'

'Chris, I can't control my beam enough to destroy it.' Lisa said.

'I know.' Christina smiled. 'And it's okay. I'm going to try and do it on my own.'

'Is that a good idea?' Katherine asked. 'Even mum couldn't do it.'

'But Steph was right about one thing. I do have some amulet power still. So I can at least try.'

'When do you want to do it?' Lauren asked.

'When I've recharged again. It's too soon now.' Christina admitted. She slipped the ring back on to her finger and looked at it.

xxxxxx

The next few hours were spent researching alternate methods of vanquishing Seth. They had found a potion to destroy him but it required a chunk of his flesh which was going to be difficult to get. 'Could we try scrying for him? Sneak up on him, slice some flesh off and run away?' Dani asked.

'That's a pleasant thought Dan.' Amy looked at her in a little bit of disgust.

'Well if it's what we need.' Dani sat back in her chair.

'I want to know where he's been this whole time.' Katherine said. 'He came after Aunt Steph twice before the ring was revealed. He's probably sensed it by now so where is he?'

'I don't care as long as he stays away from us.' Lisa admitted.

'Chris, can I hold the ring for a while?' Katherine asked.

'Are you going to try for a vision?' Christina asked, walking over and handing the ring to her sister. Katherine took it and nodded.

'Yeah, maybe it'll help us figure out what's going on.' Katherine studied it in her hands. 'It really is hideous.' Christina laughed and began pacing the room. There was a knock on the door a moment later. Christina was already up and she went to answer it. Before she could get there, the door was blown inwards. She managed to dive out of the way as Seth stepped through the threshold. His eyes were glowing and he looked angry. Katherine quickly hid the ring in her pocket as they all stood to face him. He looked at them before turning back to Christina, shooting an energy ball at her as she was getting to her feet. There was a strange substance coming from the energy, a pale green mist they'd never seen before. It struck Christina's side and she was sent crashing into the dining room.

'Go get Chris.' Dani said to Amy and Lauren. 'We'll keep him busy.' They nodded and hurried around the side of the room. Seth walked towards them.

'Where is the ring? I know you have it.' He growled.

'Yeah, and it's staying with us.' Katherine said.

'Not for long it's not.' He said, shooting out another ball of energy. Katherine raised her shield and the energy was sent back at him. He moved out of the way swiftly. Amy and Lauren had made it round to Christina, who was unconscious. Amy was trying to heal the burn on her side but nothing was happening.

'Why isn't it working?' Lauren asked nervously.

'I don't know.' Amy said. She stopped and lifted one of Christina's eyelids. There was a glaze over her eyes, the same green as the energy ball. 'It's like some sort of poison.' Amy thought.

'Why can't you fix it!?' Lauren started to become slightly hysterical.

'I don't know Laur.' Amy replied. She tried her healing power again but it was still having no effect. Meanwhile, Dani flung her arm out and tried to send Seth off balance but he replied with his own telekinesis. A wave of his power sent Dani, Katherine and Lisa all crashing back into the wall. Dani hit her back hard and went down, the wind knocked out of her. She rolled over and coughed, looking to Katherine who had hit the mirror, sending shards of glass down over them. Lisa was just about to get back to her feet when he struck again. A blast of power hit her and she was flung backwards into the kitchen. They couldn't see what she hit but there was an almighty crash. Lauren and Amy were watching in horror.

'Lauren, I have to try and heal them.' Amy said.

'What about Chris?' Lauren panicked, her hands gripping Christina tightly.

'It's not working. She's still alive right now and we'll have to figure the rest out later.' Amy got up and hurried over to her sisters. Seth was watching her, and was about to attack, when Lauren shouted.

'Hey! Over here!' She yelled. 'You want the ring? I have it.' Seth turned to her and began to walk over. He smiled at her. 'Shit.' she whispered to herself, not thinking through her plan. It did give Amy enough time to reach Lisa. Lauren looked down to Christina and then back to the demon. Something was building up inside of her, she could feel it. She looked at her hands. Blue light was shining out of her palm. She took her hands away from Christina and looked at them. When she looked back to the demon her eyes were blue. She stood and the look on his face changed. Katherine and Dani were alert enough to watch what was happening, and Amy and Lisa came in from the kitchen just in time to see Lauren shoot Christina's power out of her hands. She hit the demon in the chest and held the power there. After a moment he managed to walk backwards and out of the door, getting away from the energy. He was hurt but not defeated. Katherine looked out of the window and saw him scampering away down the street. They all made their way over to Lauren, just in time to see her slump to the floor and the colour fade from her eyes.

'What the hell was that?' She asked, looking up to them a little breathlessly.

'No idea.' They all admitted.