Chapter 42
42
Lenny strode the short distance to the shop with an anxious smile on her face and the aroma of caramel apples, popcorn and hot dogs surrounding her. There was a street market in full swing going on along Essex Street and the tourists were everywhere. It wasn’t that she hated them, it was more a case of disliking the crowds, the sheer volume of them and the noise. It sounded too much like execution day when the crowds of villagers had been jostling and baying for blood, caught up in the frenzy and not really thinking about the absurd behaviour the afflicted girls had displayed, or listening to the accused as they pled their innocence. It made her blood run cold just thinking about it and the fact that Corwin was probably onto them, which meant their time was short, they needed Dora to pull it together before he figured out where they were and came looking for them.
She passed the Witch House and frowned; it hadn’t looked anything like that when that pig Corwin lived there. Now it looked all dark and spooky and had people forever taking photographs outside. She understood the need to own the town’s history, it kind of also made her glad that the house no longer represented Corwin, but it had become a beacon for all witches, who flocked to see it. I hope you are turning in your grave, Jonathan Corwin, it’s the only kind of immortality you deserve .
Oh, how it tickled her. She would have loved to see his face at the irony of it all. It made her sad that they would never be able to tell of how it really was. They’d tried over their lifetimes to get the history books right, but they would never be able to tell the world the true story of the English women. Unless they wrote it as a fiction story, that was always a possibility. If she didn’t go back to London and her career as a surgeon she could retire here and live with Sephy, write their stories and watch Dora flourish.
A wave of grief washed over her; they had only bid goodbye to Lucine a few hours ago yet it felt like years. Would Dora want to stay here? Anyway, Lenny was getting away with herself, they had one major problem to contend with before any of them could live happily ever after. Corwin, he had to be stopped this time for good. Neither she nor Sephy had told Dora that they’d tried and failed so many times in the past. Maybe this time it would be different, though. Dora had finally found the lost spell book and discovered the vanished bookstore.
Standing outside Sephy’s shop, Lenny took the key out of her pocket. As she leaned against the door it clicked open and she stared at the lock. She hadn’t even inserted the key, had Margo forgot to lock up last time she left? That was always a possibility, Sephy had mentioned the woman could be quite the forgetful one at times, very much like Sephy too. Lucine used to say that she had a head full of cotton candy some days, which was a pretty good description of Sephy’s mind, Lenny didn’t know Margo but if she was anything like her sister it was possible.
Lenny stepped inside the shop; the stench of decay filled her nostrils along with a sense of pure dread. Corwin was here or had been recently. Most people couldn’t smell it, he disguised it with expensive aftershave, but Lenny knew that he was like a piece of rotting meat underneath the sharp suits and good looks. Her brain screamed at her to turn around and leave, get out of there and warn her sisters. Yet there was this tiny part of her that wondered if she would need to take this chance to slow him down. Dora wasn’t ready to fight him yet.
Lenny flicked on the light switch by the door and the shop burst into life. All the black shadows dispersed and there was no obvious sign Corwin was here apart from the foul smell. Maybe she’d got lucky, and they’d narrowly missed each other by minutes. If that was the case, she needed to warn Sephy. The phone was out the back of the shop, which was hidden behind the curtain. Lenny cast around for something to defend herself with and spied nothing of any use except for a large chunk of jet-black obsidian. She looked around for something to put it in and her eyes fell on a small cotton bag. She slipped the stone inside the bag and pushed it as far as it would go into her coat pocket. She began to hum ‘Eye of the Tiger’ to herself; she’d loved watching Rocky III and the final fight with Clubber Lang, she could have done with some of Rocky Balboa’s spirit. She walked towards the curtain as if she had no idea there could be an evil witch hunter waiting behind there for her and drew it back. The small room that served as a kitchen, storeroom and consulting room was empty, and she stopped in her tracks. So far so good, she thought to herself as she looked towards the small cubicle and its closed door.
‘Why are you hiding? I could smell you as I walked through the door. You’d think after all these years you’d be able to do something about that rotting stench of death that follows you around.’
The door creaked open, and the blackness was almost all-consuming. Then Corwin stepped out. He looked devilishly handsome, but he always had. He was a good foot taller than Lenny and his hands were twice the size of hers.
‘I wanted to surprise you. Turns out I’m the one surprised. Where is your sister?’
‘Go screw yourself and while you’re at it get the fuck out of this shop before I call the cops. You’re trespassing, asshole.’
He threw back his head and laughed, a deep, throaty sound that vibrated his vocal cords, and it went right through Lenny. Then he stared straight at her.
‘It never had to be this way. Why wouldn’t you just take my offer to be my wife? The pair of us could have been such a powerful force to reckon with. The things we could have done, we would have been unstoppable.’
Lenny’s instincts had been spot on when she’d spurned his advances. He’d still been a mortal back then, before he’d turned into this and become an eater of souls.
‘I’ve never liked you, and I never will. Don’t you think it’s time you gave up all of this, are you not tired of the hunt? It’s not as if you get a different result with each chase, is it? You find us, stalk us, hunt us, then kill us. It’s kind of getting real boring, George. Wouldn’t you rather be retired and enjoying fishing out on the lake with a six-pack of Bud or playing golf?’
‘Fishing, what fun is that when I can hunt women for pleasure? I’m sorry, Lenny, but this lifestyle is way more exciting than fishing. Why would I drink cheap beer when I can savour souls that taste infinitely divine? I haven’t tasted yours yet, but I like to think it will be like the finest wine, the sweetest chocolate and the creamiest desert all mixed together into one sweet ingredient.’
Lenny panicked. He didn’t just want to kill them this time. He wanted to steal their souls and the thought made her feel faint. She slipped her right hand into her pocket; her fingers gripped the heavy stone inside the bag. She knew it wouldn’t be enough, but it might buy her a little time. What was the binding spell Sephy had said they could use? She needed to summon Hecate and ask for her help but how was she supposed to do that when he was standing in front of her? When Dora took the fight to him, she would have already used the incantation that had been hidden for centuries in Lucine’s spell book and called upon the dark goddess of all witches bringing the moon goddess powers to life. If Lenny could stall him long enough for Dora and Sephy to get their act together it might work.
‘Okay, what if we came to a compromise?’
‘A what?’
‘What if I told you I’d be with you, so we could rule the world, that kind of thing?’
He stared at her, his dark eyes probing into the depths of her green ones so hard that she could feel tiny needles of pain as they reached inside.
‘You’re being serious?’
‘I’m tired of running away, tired of all the fear. Why don’t we give it a go, call a truce? Who knows, I might enjoy it.’
‘What about Isadora and Seraphina? What about Lucine? Are they going to let you do this without a fight?’
‘Lucine passed this morning, Sephy and Dora are grieving. I want your assurance that you’ll leave them alone if I agree to go with you.’
He nodded. ‘I only ever wanted you. I’m sorry about Lucine. She was a good woman.’
‘We’re all good women, all of the—’ Lenny stopped herself, not wanting to argue with him and let him know she was still full of fight.
‘That you were and I’m sorry for how it all turned out. I do have some regrets about what happened back then.’
She tried not to glare at him. Sorry didn’t cut the pain and fear he’d caused them for centuries. He was lying, he couldn’t be trusted, but she’d play this game for as long as she could to buy Dora the time she needed.
George walked towards her and held out his hand. ‘Shake on it.’
Lenny swallowed hard; she didn’t want to touch him. The thought of her skilled surgeon’s fingers touching his repulsive dead ones made her cringe inside. Pushing her hand forwards, she gripped his as tight as she could, his fingers slick with perspiration, making it hard to keep hold of it. His other hand shot out and grabbed the back of her neck. His fingers squeezed so tight she felt her shoulders rise to her ears to try and protect herself. He pushed her forwards and she fell into the corner of the desk, hitting her head on one of the shelves containing Sephy’s jars. She felt her skin split and saw stars in her eyes as the blood began to flow down the side of her face.
Anger pulsated underneath her fingers, and she rolled to face him. Pointing towards him, she sent a beam of electricity at his heart. It jolted him backwards and he looked shocked. Taking the stone out of her pocket before he could do anything else, she got to her feet and charged towards him. Taking a swing at his head, she heard the sound of her fist whooshing through the air, but it missed. Somehow it didn’t land where it was supposed to and then she saw the jar of salt he’d thrown at her sprinkled all over the floor. She let out a scream of anger.
‘You dirty bastard. I told you I’d come with you.’ The salt showered her, and she fell to her knees as it covered her, taking away all of her strength. He stood and watched her fall then nodded his head. Taking some cable ties from his pocket he bent down and tugged her hands together; she couldn’t fight him. The salt Sephy had made was too powerful. They’d never anticipated it being used against them and now she watched as he tightened the plastic straps around her wrists with a huge grin on his face, then straightened up.
‘Come now, Lenora, don’t be so angry with me. After all these years and all of our battles, did you really expect me to believe you would come with me so willingly? I am sorry if you truly meant it this time and I would work on making it up to you if you did but I can’t trust an English woman and you shouldn’t expect me to.’
Lenny’s anger was so great she could feel it radiating from her in waves towards him. She bowed her head, unable to speak, realising that she had just walked straight into George Corwin’s wicked plot and her own death sentence. Her only hope was that it would buy the others some much-needed time to prepare for the final battle. He bent down and scooped her into his arms, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her out of the back door to a waiting limousine with blacked-out windows. He opened the door and tossed her into the back, climbing in after her.