Chapter 15
15
SALEM, PRESENT DAY
Sephy led Lenny to Lucine’s room. She knew her sister didn’t want to go in and face Lucine alone, she could deal with anything except their elder sister dying. It broke her every time and was the reason she’d run off to train to be a doctor, swearing to give up the old ways that couldn’t stop Lucine from dying and instead focusing on learning as much about modern medicine as she could to see if there was a cure there. How devastated Lenny had been to find out that there wasn’t, there was no way they could stop what happened to Lucine every lifetime, just as they couldn’t stop Dora from growing more distant in hers and dying before the age of thirty-five. Unlike with Lucine, they never knew when it was Dora’s time; the curse of the English sisters was not the dying, it was the living through it again and again, being helpless to put an end to it.
There were only two things that might make a difference: if Dora truly embraced her power and they had the book that had been lost to them since that fateful night they had been arrested and Dora had run away.
The book had incantations written inside it that made it possible to call upon the true goddesses of witchcraft. It had been given to Lucine by a man she once loved. She told Sephy he was a circus performer, that he’d left her with child, stole her heart and never came back to return it.
They had never started out to be powerful witches, only healers, but things had taken a turn when Lucine had discovered her talent of talking to the animals and birds. Hades had been the one to bring the spells to Lucine, who had written them down, adding them to the book, all the time pining for the man who left her with child. In the beginning they had never understood why they might need it but she felt compelled to keep a record of them anyway. Hades, the wise and clever bird, had known that evil stalked the English sisters since the day they’d been born on this earth, and that was the reason he had been sent to watch over them. Sephy hadn’t yet figured out who had sent him, but was grateful that he had arrived in their lives to take care of them.
Their fate had a way of catching up with them over and over, no matter how far they ran. This time it had been Sephy’s decision to run no more, and she’d come back to Salem where it all began, where the High Sheriff George Corwin had ruled so cruelly. But if she wasn’t mistaken, he had found Dora, hunting her to her beautiful little flower shop in London, somewhere Lenny had never expected him to find. It didn’t seem to matter where in the world they hid, he would track them down eventually and, just like them, gravitate back to Salem to inflict as much misery on them as he could, just like he had back in 1692.
There had been some fierce battles over the years, but Sephy knew that if they could break the curse that wretched soul Giles Corey had inflicted upon Corwin and Salem town as he lay dying, his insides crushing slowly to death from the weight of the stones placed upon him, then just maybe they could put a stop to Corwin and his relentless chasing of their souls through all eternity. What Corey hadn’t realised was that by cursing Corwin he’d given him the same immortality that had been bestowed upon them, and Corwin was able to live forever, hunting the hunted.
The English motto was ‘Do no harm.’ They never used their magic for anything other than love spells, beauty spells to a certain degree, healing minor ailments and generally making the world a better place. Although even harmless spells could have negative results: beauty spells could lead to the beholder becoming self-centred and focused on their looks and not their loved ones. For each spell the English sisters gave out, they always issued a little caveat about the possible consequences. Not that anyone cared about anything other than getting what they wanted; in a way they were all selfish.
The book had never been used. But every lifetime, Sephy, Lenny and Lucine had wondered: was it destined for Dora? Should they have given it to her all those years ago?
And Corwin’s own will to destroy Lenny had connected them to his own fate.
That terrible day when Lenny, Sephy and Lucine had been dragged from the gaol into the blinding light and manhandled into that rickety old cart by none other than George Corwin with a smirk on his face had never faded even the tiniest bit from Sephy’s memories. The indignity and fear they shared was horrific and, as bad as it was that they were to hang for no good reason at all, they had all been relieved that at least Dora had been saved. Until they’d reached the makeshift gallows up on the ledge and saw Dora already there, hands and feet bound, staring defiantly at her guards. Sephy’s heart had truly broken in two at the sight of her beautiful, strong niece positioned with a noose around her neck. She could still hear Lucine’s silent screams as they tore through her mind. Before being dragged out of the filth and blackness, all of them had agreed that they would not make a sound and give Corwin the slightest satisfaction, but my God it had hurt their hearts so much to see Dora standing there defiantly.
‘Sephy, what’s the matter?’
She looked down to see that Lenny had hold of her arm and was gently shaking it.
‘Nothing dear, I was just thinking about the bad old days, all of this and how we could put a stop to it.’
‘Do you honestly, hand on your heart, think that we could? Our plan hasn’t worked – she’s more distant than ever.’
‘The more I think about it, the more I think it’s about that damn book. We need to find it.’
‘How do you suppose we could do that? We’ve tried, we’ve looked for it. Dora doesn’t remember where it is.’
Sephy shrugged. ‘Is this why you didn’t want to come back? Have you given up?’ Lenny was looking downcast. ‘A plan has been hanging around the edges of my mind, I need to draw the pieces in and slot them all together.’
‘She doesn’t even know a fraction of who she is. She’s come here and thinks she’s in some sugar-coated, candy-pink fairy tale, with talking flowers and animals. Just how much valerian root did you give her, Sephy?’
‘She’s brighter than you give her credit for. She knows that all fairy tales have a wicked witch in them, what she doesn’t know is that in ours we traded the wicked witch for a witch hunter. I only gave her enough to cure the sickness and let her sleep well while we discuss what needs to be done.’
Lenny let out a sigh, so long and deep it was tainted with centuries of pain-filled sadness.
‘How is she?’
‘I’ll let you judge for yourself, you’re the expert. Thank you for coming home, Lenny, I’ve missed you, we’ve all missed you terribly.’
Sephy opened her arms and Lenny fell into them, tears flowing freely down both their cheeks as they held each other close.
Lenny whispered, ‘Your plan, what does it entail so far?’
‘It has to do with him. With Ambrose. I can feel him. I think that maybe in keeping Dora away we’ve made a difference this time. Perhaps her reappearance will help jolt his memory of what they did with Lucine’s book too.’
‘God, I hope so.’
Sephy reached out, her slender fingers gripping the doorknob. She thought of the boy who had been so in love with Dora. He had been cursed too. Forced to relive his life and to lose Dora just before they fell in love. But maybe this time, when they finally met, he’d remember where the journal was.
‘Not a word to Lucine, no false hope or wishes made of stardust. She’s tired and ready to give in, she’s only hanging on for Dora. This time it seems to have been much quicker than the last and more aggressive too.’
Lenny nodded, brushed her tears away with the sleeve of her shirt and inhaled deeply. She twisted the brass knob then pushed the door open, gasping to see her sister, sitting up in bed, a huge smile on her face and her arms open wide. Lenny rushed to her and fell into them as gently as she could, and then she was on the bed, lying next to her and sinking into the soft mattress, cocooning her beautiful, frail sister in her warm arms.
Lucine whispered into her ear, ‘You came, and Dora?’
‘She’s fast asleep, in bed recovering from her bout of homesickness.’
A happy sigh escaped Lucine’s lips. ‘Thank you.’
Sephy clambered on the other side of the bed and all three of them lay there hugging each other. Finally, Lucine laughed. ‘I needed that more than you could ever know but now you’re squishing me.’
Both Lenny and Sephy loosened their grip of their sister who instead took hold of each of their hands. All three of them lay there on the bed, silver hair glinting in the sunlight that filtered through the branches of the huge oak tree and through the window, Lenny and Sephy dressed in mainly black while Lucine wore a long white cotton nightgown. She chuckled.
‘I always was a rose between two thorns.’ Then she let out the biggest sigh of all as she squeezed their fingers. All three of them stared up at the intricate Milky Way on the ceiling that Sephy had spent hours painting by hand so Lucine could always see the stars.
‘The English sisters back together, it makes me so happy. It’s fate, you know.’
‘What is?’ asked Lenny.
‘That we were always supposed to be like this, whole, a family unit. I’ve missed you, Lenny, and life seems to be getting shorter each time around.’
Tough, sassy, independent, confident Lenora English crumbled into one loud sob. Lucine reached out and stroked her forehead.
‘Don’t be sad, I know you have your life to live and that you take the best care of Dora I could ever wish for. I’m not complaining, I’m just saying that I think this is where we are at our best. Do you remember when we were at kindergarten and those boys were always terrified of us?’
Lenny laughed; she did remember. Every fresh school year, they told everyone they were triplets with magical powers and could turn them into frogs if they were mean. They did have magical powers, but they never got strong enough for major spell work until they reached their sixteenth birthdays.
‘Those little fools were terrified of us.’
‘They were, but they also were very mean, which upset me more than it ever did the pair of you.’ Sephy had a tear in her eye, but Lenny knew her sister wouldn’t waste it on those childhood memories.
‘Sephy, all little boys are mean to some degree. It’s a rare thing to come across one with a gentle soul.’
‘We do occasionally though. Look at Ambrose. He was meant to be with Dora from the very beginning. He always watched out for her, took care of her and saved her life that day when Corwin went after her and sent his men to the captain to take us to the meeting house to answer those ridiculous charges. Ambrose tried to get her to safety, he is pure goodness through and through.’
Both Lucine and Lenny nodded. Ambrose had indeed been a perfect, rare specimen of a boy, with the cutest curls and the biggest blue eyes. He had protected Dora when they had been unable to. He was the son of Jonathan Corwin, judge in Salem in those times, and the nephew of the witch hunter. His position in their household had allowed him to warn Dora of what was happening. Of Lucine, Lenny and Sephy’s fates. Not that it had stopped Dora rushing to their aid eventually, wanting to be with them no matter what the consequences of standing together meant.
They knew that Dora had hidden the spell book that night and had tried over the years to find it, but to no avail. It had simply vanished.
Lucine sighed, ‘I can’t wait to see Dora. How much does she know, has she remembered anything?’
Lenny shook her head. ‘It’s the worst she’s ever been. There are little bits and pieces that seem to be breaking through and of course she’s absolutely awestruck with Sephy and her pink obsession. Just as she will be when she sees you again. It’s funny how much you don’t realise that you needed the things you never knew about.’
Sephy screwed her face up. ‘Good God, Lenny, don’t write any poetry, will you, please spare us from that.’
‘Are you saying that I’m not poetic or that my words have no meaning, sister?’
Sephy laughed. ‘In a nutshell, yes. They’re all a bunch of gobbledygook.’
‘Gobbledygook. You still speak like that and have the nerve to criticise, really, Sephy, that’s mean.’
Lucine smiled. ‘You know what we need?’
Both Lenny and Sephy giggled, wide grins on their faces. ‘A little black magic.’
Sephy jumped off the bed. ‘I’ll be right back; I have some already baked and I’ll mix up the cocktails.’
She left them to it; Lenny sighed. It was good to be home, she had missed her sisters and this place was far more comforting than she remembered. Lucine rested her head on her shoulder and whispered: ‘Thank God you are here, I’ve been asking for some black magic for weeks and she keeps telling me it’s not good for me. I love her more than anything but I’m dying. Who cares what my sugar and alcohol intake consists of?’
Lenny laughed. ‘Seems like I came back just in time. You shall no longer be wishing for cake and cocktails. I’ll take care of your every need.’
Five minutes later the door burst open and in walked Sephy carrying a wooden tray with a large jug of the blackest-looking liquid that shimmered in the light and three huge slices of an equally black cake with frosting the colour of Hades’ wings. There were three martini glasses balanced precariously next to the jug and Lenny jumped off the bed to clear a space on the small bedside table. Sephy placed the tray down and lifted the jug to pour the swirling, shimmering mixture into the glasses. Lenny helped to make sure that Lucine was sitting up and as comfortable as she could be to hold a martini glass. Sephy handed Lenny a glass with a small straw in for Lucine and a glass without one for her. They sat back down on the bed and clinked their glasses together, a little of the cocktail sloshing onto the front of Lucine’s nightgown, which made them all giggle.
Lenny raised her glass. ‘To the English sisters, our magic and our lives. Here’s hoping there are many more to come and that one day we might actually figure this shit out.’
This set Lucine off into a fit of giggles and soon all three of them were laughing. When they contained themselves, they sipped at the cherry-flavoured vodka drink and sighed in unison.
Sephy smiled. ‘This always reminds me of the good times, we should drink it for breakfast every day.’
Lucine nodded. ‘Haven’t I been saying that for at least the last two lifetimes?’
Lenny downed hers then refilled the glass. ‘It’s been a hell of a day, but we’re home, we’re together, and I don’t think there is anything else I could ask for.’
Sephy nodded, then passed out plates of cake. ‘We shouldn’t drink on an empty stomach, eat some cake. I spent hours baking that yesterday, I wanted it to be just perfect. And you’re right except for maybe one thing.’
‘What’s that?’
‘Putting an end to this blasted curse. It’s gone on far too long. If we can stop that vile man from chasing us across all of our lifetimes, stop Dora dying before she’s had the chance to fall in love with Ambrose, well then it would be perfect.’
All three of them nodded, raised their glasses and chanted, ‘Here’s to stopping the curse and living one more life without fear. One more life where Dora gets to grow old with the man she loves.’