Page 57 of The Vanishing Bookstore
The guy unloaded the gurney with a clean body bag on top from the back of the van and wheeled it down the path towards the front porch. He jammed the wheels into one of the uneven paving slabs, throwing the body bag onto the ground. Richard groaned and the guy looked up at him, an expression of horror on his face.
‘Sorry, Uncle Richard.’
‘Guy, just get inside without breaking everything in sight, will you.’
Dora smiled; the guy was actually called Guy, who’d have guessed that one. As he came up the steps, he looked at Dora and grinned.
‘I’m Guy and you are?’ He held out his hand towards her.
She didn’t take it. ‘The deceased’s daughter.’
‘Oh, jeez. I’m sorry, it’s just you’re hot, you know. I like a woman with tattoos and piercings.’
Richard’s face had turned from a whiter shade of pale to tomato red.
‘Guy, I swear to God if you open your mouth once more, I’m going to sack you right now in front of these good people.’
Guy held up his hands. ‘Chill, dude, compliments where a compliment is due. I’m truly sorry for your loss.’
Dora didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She opted for nodding and heading down to the kitchen, the heart of Sephy’s home, where she began to tidy around the many jars that were lined up on the side. She didn’t want to see Lucine being wheeled out of her home in a body bag, she also didn’t want Guy to get himself into any more trouble than he already was. He seemed like a nice enough person, maybe a little too chilled for an undertaker – or maybe that was a good thing in that profession.
Hades had been gone a couple of hours now and she wondered how far he had taken Lucine on her next journey. Dora was sad, but she felt better knowing that there was something more than the finality of death and how privileged she was to have witnessed the beauty of it. After a lot of hushed talking and some clanging around, Dora breathed a sigh of relief to hear the van doors slam shut and the engine start. The front door closed softly, and she didn’t need any magical powers to know that both Sephy and Lenny were standing at the kitchen door watching her. She turned around to look at their grief-stricken faces. Lenny looked tired and for the first time in her life Dora felt worried about her formidable aunt; no matter their lineage and bloodline, they were still mortal beings. It was their souls that were immortal, and she didn’t know how to feel about that.
‘I’m so sorry.’
Sephy shook her head. ‘No, we are the ones who are sorry. We should have brought you home sooner, you barely got to see her before…’ She stopped and pulled out a chair, sitting down.
Lenny joined her. ‘Are you okay, Dora? You’ve never had to deal with death this time around.’
Dora took a seat opposite her aunts. ‘I’m sad beyond belief, but I also feel better knowing that Hades is taking care of her.’
‘Hades is a good bird; he’s always been there to keep our souls safe and he’s been around as long as we have. He will take good care of Lucine, he always does, then he will come home and take care of you, Dora, if you let him. If you don’t, he will go his own way for a little while, but he always comes back. Try not to chase him away, he’s like our little good luck talisman and I couldn’t bear to lose them both in one day.’
‘I would never chase him away, I love him.’
Lenny nodded. ‘Good, that’s good. I’m glad you’re over that fear of birds you had in London.’
‘I never knew birds could be so beautiful or clever. Those pigeons scared me, all they did was swoop at your head for food. So, what’s next?’
‘What do you mean, dear?’ Sephy asked.
‘What’s the plan, how am I going to fight Corwin, is he human like us, can he be killed?’
‘It seems to me that he will know that Lucine has died soon enough and know that we are all at our most vulnerable. If he is the monster that I think he is, he won’t wait around, he will come for us when we’re least expecting him and unfortunately not, Dora, he is what we call an in between, both worlds part human, part immortal.’
Lenny nodded. ‘She’s right. He’s here in Boston, which is why I couldn’t leave for London, I had to come home. We need to focus on what we can teach Dora to make this work.’
‘But Lucine?’ Sephy said.
‘She would tell us to get to work and not mope around. What would you want us to do if it was you?’
‘Weep forever, throw yourselves on top of my grave and never stop loving me.’
‘Sephy, darling. I love you more than life itself and yes, I would weep forever, but I would not throw myself on top of your grave for love nor money. What would you really want us to do?’
‘Beat that brute at his own game, end this madness forever.’
‘And how exactly do we do this?’
