Page 69 of The Vanishing Bookstore
Dora wasn’t sure if anything was supposed to happen, she didn’t feel anything, and it seemed as if nothing had changed. They stood there, frozen in silence, holding their breaths. Then slowly out of the middle of the altar a black shadow began to form, swirling around and contorting into different shapes.
Dora watched, mystified and a little afraid of what they had just summoned. She stared at Sephy, eyes wide with fear, and hissed, ‘Is it a demon?’
Sephy shook her head then lifted a finger to her lips. Dora stopped speaking, doing as she was told, and watched as the figure began to stretch and bend first one leg, then two, three, until it was standing on four legs. A body began to extend up from the legs and soon there was a tail and a huge head with pointed ears. Dora realised she was looking at a dog and glanced at Sephy, who smiled at her. The shadow dog turned to look at Dora and she felt a wave of familiarity. She knew this dog, not from this lifetime but from another, and she felt hot tears fall down her cheeks as she whispered:
‘Caesar.’
The dog moved towards Dora, and she held out her hand to stroke him. Her fingers slipped through the smoky blackness, but he looked at her with such pure love and devotion she wanted to cry.
‘I’ve missed you, big guy, it’s been too long.’
Sephy clapped her hands in delight. ‘Thank you, Hecate, queen of the night. You sent Dora her protector and guide.’
The dog jumped down from the table and vanished from view, but they felt the ground vibrate as he landed on it.
‘Where is he?’
‘By your side, Dora. You don’t need to see him to know that he is there. He will take care of you, of us, I’m sure of it. Corwin was never fond of dogs, so when he sees Caesar, he will be scared, maybe enough to give you time to work the binding on him.’
Dora looked down at her legs. She couldn’t see the dog, but she could feel his heat and the panting of his hot breath, his tongue lolling from his mouth just the way it used to.
‘I can feel him, it’s amazing. But how on earth?’
Sephy smiled. ‘That’s because he’s never left your side. Even when a beloved pet passes, they are always with us in spirit. This makes me so happy, you two were inseparable. You brought him home one day in a battered cardboard box and told me you found him by the gate, and he was a Labrador puppy. After a non-starter of an argument with Lenny, we decided he could stay. He kept on growing, he was no Labrador, that’s for sure, but he was so faithful to you and we all loved him. He was so human-like, especially his big brown eyes. I’m convinced he was a human soul who had come back as a dog. He loved you like I’ve seen no other dog love a human, so it makes sense that Hecate would send him to help protect you. He’s probably been doing it for years, but you didn’t realise because you had no idea who youwere. How sweet. If this doesn’t prove to you that magic exists, Dora, I don’t know what will.’
As if to prove Sephy’s point, Dora felt a big wet nose push into her thigh and she giggled. Reaching down, she imagined how it used to feel running her fingers over Caesar’s huge, soft, furry black head, scratching behind his ears like he loved.
‘I believe more than you could ever know.’
‘Good. Keep that belief strong in your heart because you’re going to need it, Dora, we’re all going to need it. Now, let’s get to the shop.’
‘Can I phone Ambrose and tell him to meet us there in case he’s not home?’
Her aunt nodded. ‘Yes, that’s wise.’
Dora took out her phone and dialled his number.
‘Are you okay?’ Ambrose sounded anxious when he answered.
‘No, Lenny is missing.’
‘What?’
‘We don’t know for sure, but Sephy can feel it, that something bad has happened. She was on her way to the shop, could you meet us there in five minutes? We’re on our way.’
‘I’m on my way home, I’ll go there right now. Margo is just about to serve supper. Even if Corwin doesn’t get his hands on us first, she’s going to kill the pair of us, the number of times I’ve deserted her the last few days.’
He hung up and Dora looked at Sephy. ‘Let’s go.’
‘Hang on, I want you to have this.’
Sephy picked up the small silver disc and placed it in the palm of her hand.
‘This was your mom’s, it’s very old and it’s a protection amulet depicting Hecate. Lucine was very fond of this and treasured it. She would want you to wear it, Dora. Let me slip itaround your neck. Every bit of protection we can gather is a good thing, wouldn’t you agree?’
Dora nodded and turned so Sephy could fasten the leather cord around her neck. She tucked the silver disc inside the high neck of her dress to protect it. If her mum treasured it Dora didn’t want to risk losing it when the time came to do battle. She felt ready, she had Hades, her power, Caesar and her love for her aunts to get her through this. They just needed to find where the bastard had taken Lenny and set her free then send him to the light where he would be bound for the rest of eternity. It was easy, nothing to worry about at all.
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