Page 68 of The Vanishing Bookstore
Dora didn’t need to ask who. Corwin. ‘How?’
She stood up and took hold of her aunt’s elbow, guiding her to a chair and gently sitting her down.
‘Are you sure?’
Sephy nodded. ‘Quite sure. We have this bond. I suppose it’s a bit like a psychic bond, but we always know when the other is happy, sad, in trouble or in danger, and she’s in danger. He’s hurt her, I’m sure of it.’
She stared at Dora. ‘I sent her away and she walked right into a trap. Oh my, this is all my fault.’
Dora’s heart was beating too fast, it was pounding against her ribcage so hard it hurt her chest. She thought of the damageCorwin had done to poor Katie. Lenny was much older than her friend, she might not be able to withstand a beating of that kind.
‘What can we do? We have to find her, now.’
Sephy stood up and grabbed her cape off the hook. ‘Weare doing nothing; you wait here until I come back.’
Dora shook her head. ‘Absolutely not, I’m not letting you go out looking for her on your own. It’s madness and he’ll hurt you too. Can’t we phone the police and report her missing? Actually, we don’t know for sure if she is yet. Let’s go to your shop and see if she’s there. If she isn’t then we’ll call the police.’
‘And tell them what, Dora, tell the cops a witch hunter has taken my sister who is a reincarnated witch? This is Salem and the cops are open-minded, but they won’t believe that, and I’ll get put in lockdown on a psych ward for at least forty-eight hours. You can’t remember the lifetime when it happened to you, but it wasn’t good.’
‘We can check the shop, that’s where she was going. If she’s not there then I do whatever rituals I have to do, to gather everything I need, and I’ll go looking for him.’
Sephy’s bottom lip quivered as her eyes filled with tears. ‘We’re just not ready, if only we had a little more time.’
‘There is never enough time to do the things you want if you don’t even try. I’m willing to give it a shot. We can’t ignore it. What about Ambrose, can he help in any way?’
‘Maybe. We need to at least make the offering to the goddess Hecate if we’re to seek her power and protection to make this work. I hate being rushed but we have no option but to do it now. Thank God you found Lucine’s book, Dora, it has the most powerful incantation there is to draw her nearby. The moon is almost full, we have that to guide us. Dora, please go into the garden and find an apple, choose whichever flowers you are called to and bring them inside.’
Sephy began to clear the table, crying silent tears. Dora went outside and closed the door softly, leaving her aunt to prepare the altar. Dora had no need for a torch, the garden was illuminated with a silver light, so bright it looked as if someone had turned on a spotlight.
She stared up at the night sky, filled with so many glittering stars and the fullest moon she had ever seen. It was so near to the earth Dora wondered if she could touch it. There was a loud rustling in the oak tree and her heart began to race as she watched the leaves sway, and then she saw Hades take flight. He soared into the air and down to where she was standing. Without hesitation she held out her arm for him and he landed softly on it.
‘Lenny’s in trouble, we need your help. I’m sorry for hurting you.’
Hades looked up at her, his small eyes staring into hers. ‘Bring Lenny home.’
She nodded. ‘Yes, we have to bring her home. Do you think you can find her?’
He hopped from one foot to the other and gave her a curt nod. Then he pecked at her hair and took off again. ‘Find Lenny,’ he cried as he soared into the night and Dora felt a crushing love for the bird she’d never known could exist. He was as human as she was and even cleverer.
‘Be safe, Hades, and find Lenny,’ she called into the sky. ‘Then come tell me where she is, okay?’
He let out a soft caw and carried on his journey. There was a thunderous flapping of wings and Dora watched in amazement as hundreds of crows took flight from the branches of the old oak tree where they’d been resting. There were so many of them they filled the night sky like a fluid black cloud as they passed across the moon on their quest to find her aunt. Corwin may be all-powerful, but he didn’t have an army of crows at his disposal or the love of the English women.
She looked around in the garden and spied the row of apple trees. She scoured the branches for an apple that would be perfect and saw a crisp red one on a branch she could just about reach on her tiptoes. Dora plucked it from the tree and pushed it into the pocket of her dress, then she looked for some flowers. The kitchen was already full of dried herbs, so she passed by the herb garden, searching for something else. There was a small yew tree bordering the edge of it. Dora reached up and carefully pulled off a sprig of leaves. Underneath the yew were some delicate lilies of the valley. It had been their scent that had drawn her towards the yew tree.
She stared in wonder at the delicate, lacy white flowers. They only usually flowered for three weeks in May back home, but who was she to question the magic and beauty of Sephy’s garden? She tenderly picked some, apologising to the plants, then turned around and spied another flower, one she knew of but had never seen before.
Belladonna or deadly nightshade with its shiny black berries that reminded her of Hades’ glittering eyes. Dora knew she should get a pair of gloves to touch the leaves of the deadly plant, but she didn’t have the time. Bending down, she picked a few stems and then rushed back inside with her offerings. There were two black candles lit on the table, along with a large, pearly-white moonstone crystal, a set of rusted old keys and a small engraved silver disc on a leather chain. Dora placed the apple and plants next to them. Sephy looked at them and nodded appreciatively.
‘They are perfect choices for the queen of all witches, she will love those.’
‘Hades has gone to search for Lenny with his friends.’
Sephy smiled. ‘Of course, I was panicking so much I forgot about his ability to seek out us English women far and wide. I’m sure he will find her, dear, he’s always been as good at finding as he is at watching. Now repeat these words with me.’
Sephy quickly looked down at the open pages of the book and nodded, then poured out a little black salt and mixed it with a couple of drops of rosemary oil before dipping her thumb in the concoction and making a mark on Dora’s third eye. She held out her hands to Dora and she clasped hold of them. They were so soft, such kind hands. Dora didn’t want to let them go. Sephy inhaled deeply and exhaled, then standing straight she spoke out loud.
‘Hecate, goddess of the night, come to us now and hear our plight, please send your vengeance to help our fight, in binding Corwin to the light.’
