Page 74 of The Vanishing Bookstore
‘I end this fight and free all witches back into the night.’ Dora yelled the words in Corwin’s direction.
Corwin let out a strangled scream as the birds attacked him, pecking at his face, his eyes, his fingers. She watched in horror and awe as the holes in his skin left by the birds began to leak a black, fetid substance that filled the night air with its vile smell. He fell to his knees, screaming and writhing in pain.
Dora’s voice was no longer hers, it belonged to a thousand women who had been persecuted and tortured by Corwin.
‘Get them off me,’ he howled.
She shook her head. ‘For what is a witch without her familiars?’
She realised she was no longer standing on the ground but hovering above it. The tall woman turned to Dora and removed the cloak from her head. She was beautiful, there was a crescent moon drawn on her forehead and she had the bluest eyes. She smiled at Dora and nodded her head, then stepped forwards and took hold of the cowering Corwin. She lifted her hand and a brilliant white light, the same colour as the moon above them, wrapped itself around him. It was a rope made of moonbeams and it circled him so tight that he couldn’t move. He screamed in Dora’s direction and the light filled his mouth. There was an explosion of darkness that was sucked into the light and then he was gone. There was nothing left, not even the lingering stench that emanated from him.
At that moment in the intensive care unit in St Thomas’ Hospital back in London, Katie’s eyes flew wide open and she sat up in her bed.
‘Lenny,’ Dora screamed and ran towards her, terrified that she was too late and her aunt was already dead. She pointed her finger at the chunk of marble and the heavy slab, careful not to hit the shiny part, and sent a burst of power towards it. The stone and marble shattered into a thousand tiny pieces, leaving her bruised and bloodied aunt’s body lying on the cold, hard ground. Dora fell to her knees and scooped Lenny up into her arms. She turned to see if Hecate would help her, but she was gone, along with her beloved Caesar. Ambrose and Sephy came running towards the pair of them on the ground.
Dora kissed Lenny’s forehead. ‘Open your eyes, please don’t be dead.’
‘If you kiss me again, you’ll be dead.’
Lenny was staring at her through one bloodshot open eye.
‘Oh my God, you’re alive,’ Dora breathed.
‘Only just. What took you so long?’
Sephy looked down at her sister and her niece. ‘Same old salty Lenora, thank God for that.’
Dora looked at Lenny then Sephy. ‘Lucine was here, so was Hecate?’
Lenny squinted her one eye. ‘Did you get knocked on the head, kid?’
Sephy smiled. ‘No, she did not. She is quite right, Lucine was here as I knew she would be and we asked Hecate for her guidance. I didn’t realise she would actually put in an appearance.’
Lenny sighed. ‘Where’s Corwin?’
It was Dora who answered. ‘He’s gone. I think we did it, we ended the curse and we’re free.’
Sephy was smiling. They stood for a moment, wondering if the curse really was broken. It must be. Sephy sighed with relief. For once maybe they could get to live out their happy ever after.
‘Dora, be a dear and go and close your circle. All you have to do is stand there and turn anti-clockwise. We don’t want to leave it open in a cemetery of all places, we have no idea who might come through and we’ve had quite enough excitement for this lifetime.’
Dora grinned and walked back to her salt circle. Pointing her finger, she turned anti-clockwise.
Ambrose was standing there watching her. ‘Dora, your hair.’
‘What about my hair? I know it’s a mess, it got a bit singed, but it’s nothing a quick trim with some scissors can’t fix.’
She walked towards him, and he shook his head. He reached out his fingers and touched it.
‘It’s silver, like your aunts’.’
Dora patted her head. The messy bun she’d fastened it in this morning was much diminished, there were more strands of hair out of it than in it.
‘What do you mean?’
‘It’s beautiful, it really suits you.’
She turned to Sephy, who had helped Lenny to her feet. The pair of them were watching her.
