Chapter 41
41
The jug of black magic was empty except for a few drops in the bottom. All three women sat around Sephy’s ancient pine table with flushed cheeks and a sparkle in their eyes. Hades was watching them from the kitchen window and each time Dora looked at him she could swear he was smiling. Did birds smile, could they smile? She had no idea, but he was looking at them with such love she wondered at how little the world knew about birds. She held out her arm and he flew towards it, landing on it with grace. She pressed her head against his small chest and he let her.
‘Did you know that crows have the largest brain-to-body ratio of any bird? Seven times bigger than a human and they are also one of only four species able to make their own tools, as well as being pranksters and very cheeky.’
Dora lifted her head to look at Lenny. ‘I didn’t know that. I don’t know anything about birds full stop.’
‘Except how to love them. Of all living animals you always did love the birds more than anything.’ Sephy’s voice was light and dreamy. ‘Maybe you could call on the birds to help when it comes to end that brute for good.’
‘I think I shall, I will take all the help I can get and if a flock of crows?—’
‘Murder.’
‘What?’
Lenny smiled. ‘A group of crows is called a murder, not a flock.’
Sephy laughed. ‘Your Aunt Lenny is great for useless facts on just about everything.’
Dora stroked Hades’ feathers along his back and he made some small cawing noises that were obviously pure delight. ‘You’re such a clever boy, aren’t you. I love you, Hades, and I’m sorry I didn’t remember you this time around. Can you ever forgive me?’
He began to peck at her hair and Sephy clapped. ‘You’re forgiven, he’s preening you to make you look a little more presentable.’
Lenny stood up, pointed to the huge black book on the table, then slammed the palms of her hands onto it.
‘It’s time to get to work, witches.’
Dora began to laugh, and Lenny grinned at her. ‘See what I did there? Witches are far more powerful than bitches.’
Sephy leaned forwards and took hold of Lenny and Dora’s hands in each of hers.
‘Just look at us, back together, the power of three. It’s time to work our magic.’
Lenny laughed. ‘Oh Lord, she’s off. Would you look at her, she’s the opposite of Winifred Sanderson, aren’t you, dear. Before you know it there will be pink smoke rising from the chimney and all the children of Salem will be drawn here to eat cake and candy.’
Dora asked Sephy, ‘You know Hocus Pocus ?’
Sephy laughed. ‘Of course I do, dear, the whole town thrives off that movie. To be honest, I think Bette Midler modelled herself on Lenny, whereas I’m more a Practical Magic fan. I would quite happily drink midnight margaritas every time the clock strikes twelve, but my own black magic is a happy substitute.’
Dora smiled. ‘It’s my favourite film.’
‘Well then, how lucky are you that you’ve just been blessed with a life far more magical than either of those movies. Although George Corwin is an ugly thorn in our side and would fit in quite well with the Sanderson Sisters and their soul-sucking.’
‘Is that what he does?’
Lenny nodded. ‘Yes, I believe so. Somehow, when the victims of the witch trials were being executed, he came to understand that ingesting a soul at the time of death would give him power and immortality. It took us a long time to figure this out.’
‘But he’s never done that to us?’
‘No. He kills us, of course. But he’s never got to taste our souls because Hades is always there to guide them before he can get his grubby hands on them, aren’t you, Hades?’ The crow looked at Lenny and nodded his head just the once, a quick, sharp nod of agreement. ‘God help us if that happened. We wouldn’t be reborn, but we’d also live in pain eternally, along with all those poor victims he’s done that to.’
‘But how, how did Hades come to find you?’
‘Does it completely blow your mind?’
Dora nodded.
Sephy looked at her. ‘We find it easier not to think of the schematics behind it all, too much to get our pretty little heads around. It happened and that’s the way it is, or at least it is for us. We accept that we are blessed with the most magical, wonderful lives but for every good thing there is also a bad and Corwin is ours. Which is why we are going to put a stop to him forever this time. Now, enough of the questions, we have work to do. I think we should start with a simple spell to warm up your magic and take it from there.’
Sephy flicked the pages of Lucine’s book until it rested open on one with a heading that said:
To Harness Your Power
Ingredients
White or purple candle
Crushed dried nettles
Dried lavender
Dried juniper
Anoint the candle with the herbs and a little oil then light it and chant three times
I call my power to return to me
Find its way and let me be
Power my life through day and night
To help me fight another’s plight
She turned to Dora. ‘This is relatively simple; we need to work on making all your power work for you.’ She went to the dresser and ran her finger along the rows of small glass jars filled with everything. Then she took hold of one and opened a drawer, pulling out a small, purple, beeswax candle and placing it in an old brass candle holder before giving it to Dora along with the jars.
‘You need to anoint the candle. There is little point in me doing it, I am quite aware of my power. There is some rosemary oil which will help to clear your mind and strengthen it.’
Dora picked up the bottle Sephy was pointing to. She nodded her head.
‘Now, tip out some of the herbs.’ She passed her a wooden cutting board. ‘It won’t sting. Pour a little of the oil onto your finger and rub it from the top to the middle downwards all around. Then from the bottom up to the middle upwards and roll it in the herbs.’
Dora did as she was instructed, the smell of lavender and rosemary soothing her soul. They were such familiar fragrances and instantly conjured memories of happy times throughout her lives. When she had finished, she placed it into the candle holder and Lenny interrupted.
‘While you’re at it, try and light it with your finger. Simple candle magic is a good way to start.’
‘What, how?’
Lenny turned to one of the huge pillar candles on the dresser and flicked her finger towards it. A small flame appeared and Dora clapped.
‘You are such a dark horse. Brazen one-night stands with younger men and a closet witch, I couldn’t love it any more.’
Dora closed her eyes and pointed in the direction of the candle. Nothing happened.
Sephy tapped her on the arm. ‘It really would be best if you looked at it, dear, you might set your Aunt Lenny alight or the cat.’
Dora giggled and shook her head; this time she kept her eyes open and aimed her finger at the candle. Still nothing happened. She tried again and again.
‘Where is all that electricity that was shooting out of them before?’
She didn’t miss the look Lenny gave to Sephy, who put her arm around her.
‘It’s complicated at times; it doesn’t always go to plan. Magic can be a little unruly until you learn to use it the correct way.’
Dora stared at her. ‘Unruly? How the hell am I going to use it to fight Corwin if it only turns up when it feels like it and not when I need it?’
Lenny tossed her a box of matches. ‘It takes time, unfortunately time is something we don’t have a lot of. Don’t be disheartened, it worked when you needed it to find the book and at the museum. You don’t learn to ride a bike the first time you take the stabilisers off. You wobble, you fall off, you get up and keep trying. It’s kind of like that sometimes, but the biggest thing you need is self-belief. You have to believe that you can work your magic, you must feel it deep inside of you, feel all the wonders of the universe like a billion stars inside your soul, lighting the way. Take a deep breath and count to four, tell yourself you are made of magic, release it and aim for the candle.’
Dora did as she was told and whispered, ‘I am made of magic,’ then pointed at the candle. There was the slightest crackle of blue light that erupted from her index finger, but it fizzled out before it could reach the wick.
Sephy began to clap and jump up and down. ‘See, you can do it. You need to practise, that’s all, you’re just a little rusty. Use the matches for now and incant the spell.’
Dora flicked a match against the rough sandpaper of the small box and watched with fascination as the tiny flame appeared. She held it to the wick and it began to flicker.
She inhaled and then said out loud. ‘I call my power to return to me, find its way and let me be, power my life through day and night, to help me fight another’s plight. I call my power to return to me, find its way and let me be, power my life through day and night, to help me fight another’s plight. I call my power to return to me, find its way and let me be, power my life through day and night, to help me fight another’s plight.’
As she spoke the words the candle flame began to dance, growing taller and glowing almost pure white. She watched it, fascinated; both her aunts were watching too with smiles on their faces. Dora felt the fizzing in her stomach, the ball of energy growing inside her, and she imagined it was a brilliant white light, even brighter than the candle flame. She could feel it running through her veins as if her whole body was charged with static electricity. She looked to find another candle and spied one on the windowsill not too far away from where Hades was watching the three of them with growing interest.
Dora lifted her finger and aimed it at the candle. A stream of blue and gold light hit the candle and the flame burst to life then it hit the windowpane and shot off in Hades’ direction. The bird, who had already been keeping a wary eye on them, exploded in a puff of feathers and loud squawks as he took off out the window, the smell of singed feathers hanging heavily in the air.
‘Oh my God, I’m sorry, Hades. Are you okay?’
Dora yelled after him as she raced to the back door and threw it open; she ran outside and frantically searched the old oak tree that grew in Sephy’s garden to see if he was there. She saw him perched on the highest branch, a look of shock in his glittering black eyes.
‘Sorry, Hades. I didn’t mean that, please tell me you’re okay?’
He ignored her and began to preen his singed feathers. Lenny walked out of the door, tears rolling down her cheeks and laughter so loud coming out of her mouth Dora thought she would deafen her. She stared up at the tree.
‘You okay up there, bird? You still have enough feathers to fly then?’
Sephy rushed out. ‘Lenny, stop that. You’ll upset him. Dear me, Dora, we need to work on that a little. This is my fault, I should have warned you about reflective surfaces.’
‘What about them?’
‘Well, for a start, they’re reflective. They can send your energy straight back to you, which can be dangerous.’
Lenny was still laughing. ‘Not as dangerous as it was for the bird.’
Both Dora and Sephy turned to her and said in unison, ‘Shut up.’
Hades took off in the air, circled around them once, then disappeared.
Lenny waved her hand. ‘He’s okay, you gave him a shock, that’s all. He’ll be back when he’s finished sulking.’
She turned and went back inside the kitchen, they followed her. Dora stopped to pick up the trail of feathers that had fallen off Hades’ tail. She tucked them into her pocket and Lenny winked at her. ‘Once a witch, always a witch. Before you know it, you’ll have a cupboard full of empty glass jars and a crystal collection bigger than you could ever imagine.’
‘Are you going to be of any use to us, Lenny, because if not I would like you to go and open the shop for an hour for me.’
Lenny stared at Sephy with a look of confusion. ‘Why?’
‘I have a very important customer calling and I can’t not be there, Margo and Ambrose will have finished for the day, I forgot to ask if one of them could stay a little later. Everything she needs is out the back packaged up. All you must do is give it to her, it’s already paid for. I can’t leave Dora like this.’
Lenny shrugged. ‘Why do I get all the best jobs? You know how much I dislike the people who come into the shop.’
‘Stop being a grouch, you do not. You just don’t like seeing people relying on our magic to improve their lives or the tourists. But she needs me, and the herbs in that package. Just because we’re focusing on the curse doesn’t mean I’m going to abandon my other witchy duties.’
Sephy took the key from her pocket and tossed it in Lenny’s direction. She caught it deftly and nodded. ‘Only if we can have take-out for dinner.’
‘We can have whatever you want if you go fetch it.’
Lenny left them to it and Sephy smiled at Dora.
‘That was a very good attempt, I think the power incantation worked. Maybe we could try something a little less dangerous though. I have a basket of peas that need shelling. Should we see if you can use it to do that?’
Dora smiled at her aunt, feeling so much love for the woman standing in front of her.
‘How is that going to help me fight Corwin. Am I going to distract him with my pea shelling?’
It was Sephy’s turn to laugh. ‘Don’t be silly, dear, we just want you to be able to focus on using your power and aiming it in the right direction. I’m afraid we’re going to need a lot more than a basket of peas to stop him, but I suppose we’ve never tried that particular one before so never say never. Once you’ve mastered that we’ll move on to the next thing, we don’t have much time so I’m going to keep at you until I’m happy you know what you’re doing and have some semblance of control over your magic.’
She went into the pantry and came back with a seagrass basket full of freshly picked peas, placing it onto the table in front of Dora, who looked up at her and smiled. She didn’t ask if Sephy wanted to use them for supper because she had a feeling, by the time she’d finished, they would be nothing but a charcoaled mess.