Chapter 37
37
Dora waited downstairs while Lenny and Sephy washed Lucine and changed her into a pair of soft, cosy PJs that she’d requested to be cremated in. There was a knock at the door and she answered it to see a tall man all dressed in black with a beard wearing an AC/DC T-shirt underneath his suit jacket. He held out his hand to Dora.
‘I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m Richard Thorne, funeral director.’
She nodded. ‘Thank you, I, erm… they’re upstairs. My aunts, I mean, and Lucine. Should I show you?’
He shook his head. ‘I’m quite familiar with this house, thank you. I was good friends with Lucine. Such a terrible loss, she was such a wonderful woman.’
Dora smiled at him. He seemed genuinely upset, which was nice considering he must be used to dealing with death every single day. She stepped to one side to let him in, and he made his way upstairs to where Sephy was waiting for him.
She opened her arms. ‘Richard, thank you for coming so soon.’
He stepped forwards and hugged her, pulling her close. ‘I’m sorry, Sephy, I know how hard this must be for you all.’
They stood that way, holding on to each other for a few moments. It was Sephy who let go first and it was then that Dora realised Richard was more than just a funeral director, he must have known Lucine on a personal level which must have made this so hard for him. Sephy pointed to the open doorway, and he walked in. Dora could hear hushed voices as he talked to Lenny, then he came back down, his eyes red and swollen. He went outside and beckoned the younger man sitting in the passenger seat of the minivan with blacked-out windows. The guy got out and walked towards the house, his earbuds in, his head nodding to whatever he was listening to. Richard glared at him, and he tugged the earphones out, tucking them into his trouser pocket.
‘Where’s the gurney?’
‘Sorry, dude, I’ll go get it.’
Richard looked at Dora, an expression of exasperation etched across his already grief-stricken face.
‘You just can’t get the staff; he drives me insane at times.’
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?’
‘We teach Dora everything she needs to know.’
Lenny shrugged. ‘Of course, we’re grieving and always will be, but we have no time to lose. I’m ready to do this, are you, sister?’ She held out her hand and Sephy took hold of it, clenching it firmly.
Sephy nodded. ‘Let’s do it.’
Then she stood and rushed into the small conservatory attached to the side of the kitchen where there was a huge pine dresser filled with plants, herbs, bottles and candles. Opening the bottom drawer, she pulled out the huge black book Dora had brought back. She slammed it onto the pine kitchen table and looked up at Lenny. The book was striking to look at and Dora felt a quiet determination building inside her. They were giving her strength, and she would take everything they could give her.
‘The old ways always were the best,’ Sephy said. ‘We’ve tried all the modern stuff, and yes it works to some degree, but we need strength, we need to reignite our power that we buried long ago and bring it all back into force.’
‘Lucine’s book… your father’s book.’ Lenny looked at it with trepidation.
Dora watched her aunts. ‘I thought that Sephy was the most powerful out of you all, she has the shop, she gives out the spells, makes the tea and potions?’
Sephy smiled at her. ‘I’m good, but I was never as good as your mother.’
Dora’s mouth was agape.
‘But I thought you’d all been hanged for being witches when you weren’t in the first place?’
Sephy sat back down at the table. ‘We were healers, Dora, at one with nature and good-hearted enough that we would not watch another soul suffer when we could help them. We can turn on the lights without touching a switch, stir our coffee without touching a spoon, we can shut doors, open them, cloak ourselves so people don’t see us, anything not too strenuous. But when it comes to the real stuff out of fairy tales… we never used proper magic. Your father gave your mother this book of real magic.’
‘Then why didn’t she put a stop to Corwin herself?’
‘We think it was always meant for you.’
Dora let all of this new information settle in.
‘You need to strip him of his powers and bind him to this earthly plane where he will no longer be able to travel through time and space to hunt women like us. We’ve always had an inkling that there are lots of us dotted around the world. In every country there are immortal women and some men like Ambrose. But that’s a story for a different time.’
Dora opened the heavy book. Despite their age, the pages felt like the softest velvet against her fingertips, and she marvelled at the words, the spells to bring back a loved one, the soul of someone dearly departed, eternal youth. There was a small note tucked into the spine that she pulled loose.
I love you dearly, Lucine, I promise we will be together again. Never lose faith and keep this book safe for inside these pages is the key to my heart.
Tears pricked at Dora’s eyes. To think her father had written this centuries ago, declaring his love for her mother, was beautiful.
She nodded. ‘I’m ready.’ A loud squawk from outside the kitchen window made all three of them jump, and they turned to see Hades watching them from the windowsill. Dora stood up and opened the window to let him in.
‘You came back, darling, thank you for taking care of Lucine.’ She stroked his feathers, and Hades bowed his head.
‘Lucine is home, Dora is home.’
Sephy let out a sob and Lenny also bowed her head. Dora held out her arm for Hades to jump onto.
‘Yes, thank you. I’m home and so are you; we have work to do, are you ready?’
He jumped up and down.
‘I’ll take that as a yes. Will you help me, Hades?’
The bird puffed out his chest and stared at Dora with his small, sparkling black eyes.
‘Hades is here.’
‘Good, then we have everything we need – or almost everything. Do either of you know where my grey linen dress is, the one Sephy made for my sixteenth birthday?’
Sephy stood up. ‘I do, but we can’t get it back, dear. It’s in the conservation department of the Peabody Essex Museum.’
‘Why is it there?’
‘We left it behind a couple of lifetimes ago and they found it, it’s on display.’
‘I want it back. It’s my dress and I think that when I last wore it, I felt powerful and I want to feel that way again. I think it will tie me to my past lives and give me more strength, which is a good thing, right?’
Lenny looked at Sephy. ‘I told you we should have sorted that out when we first realised they had it.’
‘How was I supposed to know she would want the dress, Lenny?’
Lenny rolled her eyes. ‘Are you forgetting how stubborn Dora is?’
‘I wish you wouldn’t talk about me as if I’m not here, it’s rude.’
Sephy nodded. ‘Sorry, dear, but you know it’s been a while since you’ve even thought about that dress. I could make you another.’
Dora shook her head. ‘I want that one, it’s mine.’
Lenny answered her. ‘Well then, we’re going to have to steal it back. Unless Ambrose can speak to the girls in the department and charm them into giving it back.’
‘Do you think they’re going to give out an authentic linen dress from the sixteen hundreds that was worn by the daughter of an English woman before they were hanged at Proctor’s Ledge? It’s steeped in more history than that spell book and if we tell them it’s our property, which technically it is, it will blow their minds and it won’t be long before Corwin hears about it. We can’t afford to give him the slightest advantage.’
‘But they don’t know about the spell book, do they, or that we’re still alive. We can only try.’
Lenny pursed her lips. ‘Dora, do you positively need that dress?’
Dora thought about it for a few moments then nodded. ‘Yes, I’m sorry but I think it’s the key to unlocking everything. I can remember how much I loved it, how I felt when I wore it. I’ve never felt that way about anything else I’ve ever owned.’
‘Then we’re going to have to steal it back, it’s the only way.’ Lenny stood up. ‘Sephy, get the spells and stuff ready for when we get back.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘To get Dora the damn dress back. Come on, Dora, we might need to enlist Ambrose’s help. He’s always maintained a good relationship with the people down at the museum, he can distract them while we take it.’
Dora felt bad; Sephy was breathing so fast she looked as if she was having a panic attack.
‘I’ll take the blame if we get caught, don’t worry, Sephy. Hades, you better stay here, I don’t want you to get in any trouble.’
Hades was busy drinking water from the tap and didn’t pay Dora the slightest bit of attention. Lenny pulled on her coat, and Dora did the same then followed her outside.
‘I can do this myself; you don’t need to come.’
‘No, you can’t. We’re going to have to cause a distraction and you can’t do both. Ambrose will go and chat to the staff while I pretend to pass out or something. When they come to help me, you grab the dress and walk out of there. I’ll use my power to shield you the best that I can so they don’t notice you.’
They headed to find Ambrose, and Dora wondered what she was getting them all into. But she needed that dress. All she could see when she closed her eyes was her younger self wearing it and feeling as if she could conquer the world. She needed to harvest all the energy she could and if a simple dress was the key to understanding everything then she had to have it back.