Chapter 20
TWENTY
When Dora and Sephy turned onto beautiful, historical Chestnut Street, Sephy stopped walking. Her face scrunched up, her hands on her hips she looked around.
‘It’s too quiet, have you noticed that?’
A bell dinged behind them signalling the arrival of the Salem Trolley, turning into the street.
It was full of tourists being shown the historical places of importance around the city.
Dora waved at them and they all waved back, some of them snapping pictures with their phones, making her feel as if she’d just been snapped by the paparazzi.
‘Where is he?’
Dora turned to Sephy. ‘Where is who?’ A sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach made her want to throw up. Surely, she didn’t mean Corwin?
‘Hades, that bird is up to no good. He keeps going missing without a trace. No clue where to, it’s all very strange. Especially when he’s so excited to have you home.’
‘Can you ask him where he’s been?’
‘I can and I will, but I feel as if something is amiss. I’m not sure what. I can’t put my finger on it exactly.’
‘Should we be worried?’
Sephy put an arm around Dora’s shoulder. ‘No, dear, I’m sure he’s fine, we’re fine. It’s just a little unsettling so soon after Lucine.’
Dora hooked her arm through her aunt’s and led her to the candy pink and white gingerbread trim house.
It literally was the house out of all the fairytales she’d read as a kid.
Standing on the doorstep, one hand on her hip, the other clutching the note summoning them to the council of witches meeting, was Lenny and she waved it at Sephy.
‘You went without me. Didn’t you tell Clara I was busy and she should rearrange?’
‘Welcome back, Lenny, I’m glad you’re here.’
Lenny arched an eyebrow at her. ‘Clara?’
‘I told Clara politely to go sit on her broomstick and fly. I can handle her. I didn’t know you were coming back so soon. If you’d see fit occasionally to keep me informed of your travel plans, we could actually get our act together.’
Dora hugged Lenny, who patted her back as if she was a stray dog before gently pushing her away.
‘It’s been a couple of days, not a lifetime, Dora.
’ Lenny’s cheeks tinged pink. ‘I’m sorry, Dora, that was mean.
I’m tired and coming home to find out that old witch had summoned us to a council meeting just boiled my blood more than I care to admit. ’
‘Should we continue this inside?’
Sephy strode past her sister and into her house.
Lenny shrugged at Dora and followed her in.
Dora looked around. Thankfully there were no neighbours looking out of their windows or on the doorsteps.
She closed Sephy’s door gently, but not before looking around to see if she could see Hades.
She hadn’t noticed him not being around because she’d been so busy grieving for Lucine and trying to come to terms with her new life.
She didn’t know his habits like her aunt Sephy did.
Sephy had the pleasure of having the bird to keep her company while she and Lenny had been in London.
Dora sighed, how her life had changed the last few weeks.
It was unlike anything she could ever have imagined, but she loved it.
Even though she was devastated about losing her mom days after meeting her, she knew that Lucine was there inside of her heart and hadn’t she been there that night in Howard Street Cemetery when she’d fought her arch nemesis, George Corwin, that she also hadn’t known hated her so much.
Then finding out about Ambrose, the man who had loved her every single lifetime.
She locked the door behind her and followed her aunts’ voices down to the kitchen. Lenny was already pouring herself a large glass of wine. Sephy took another glass from the cupboard and pointed it at Lenny.
‘If we are to discuss Clara, I need a little something to take away the pain.’
Lenny filled the glass almost to the brim. ‘Dora?’ She waved the bottle at her.
‘No, thanks. I’m good.’
They sat around the weathered pine table. ‘What did that old witch want?’
‘She said we upset the equilibrium, and we should have consulted with the council before having a public fight in the cemetery and summoning Hecate.’
Lenny swallowed the huge mouthful of Chardonay. ‘Did she now? You know she’s only jealous because she couldn’t summon her dead mother, don’t you, never mind Hecate.’
Sephy choked on the wine she’d sipped, and Dora laughed out loud.
‘Lenny, that is not very nice,’ Sephy said once she’d regained her composure.
‘Neither is Clara, I mean what does she care? If she knew something was going down that night where was she? Where was her solidarity towards her fellow witches? Shouldn’t she have come out to help?
I mean I almost died for Christ’s sake and she’s sitting around on her throne trying to make us feel like crap for saving ourselves.
It’s bullshit, Sephy, I’ve a good mind to go and tell her that right now. ’
‘I wouldn’t waste my breath, dear. She doesn’t listen, in fact she looked positively furious that we had gone against council rules.
Just let her sit and ferment on the fact that once again we have proven ourselves a match for anyone who dares to cross the English women and for the good of all too.
Who knows how many women and men Corwin would have gone after once he’d finished with us?
We did our very best and she does not appreciate that one little bit. ’
‘Can we talk about Brandon and Arnie?’ asked Dora.
‘What about them?’
‘Why are they on the council of witches? Are they witches?’
‘It’s complicated, Dora. They are not witches, but they are there to guide and protect the town. There are a lot of magical beings that reside within Salem, so they are the gatekeepers of the city.’
‘What kind of magical beings? Is it not just all witches and wannabe witches?’
Lenny laughed. ‘To believe in the power of witches you are acknowledging that magic exists, are you not?’
Dora nodded. ‘I know magic exists. I have used it under duress and haven’t used it much since.’
‘No, we need to work on it, dear, you are very rusty but it’s there. You have the power to do great things when you need to harness it.’ Sephy was sipping her wine and smiled at her over the top of the glass.
‘Yes, I’d like that a lot. I’d like to be prepared for any eventuality should the need arise.’
Lenny looked at Sephy and nodded. ‘We are going to help you now that things are settling down.’
‘Good, thank you. You still haven’t answered my question about magical beings and what they are.’
‘A magical being is someone who can carry out magic if they desire and also doesn’t necessarily take the human form naturally. They may cloak themselves, so they appear as normal as you and I.’
Lenny snorted. ‘Who said you and I were normal, Sephy?’
‘Shush, Lenora, must you always be so trite? You know what I mean.’
Lenny stood up to refill her now empty glass.
‘Arnie, is he magical because he knew about me before I did?’
‘Arnie is… I don’t know how best to describe him.’
Lenny turned to Dora. ‘Think of him as Shrek.’
‘Lenny, that is not a nice thing to say.’
‘What, he’s an ogre underneath, always has been, always will be. There is no way to sugar coat that. His mask is a good one, he cloaks himself very well.’
Dora laughed. ‘Now I think you’re both being mean to me and being a little too sarcastic.’
Sephy shook her head. ‘No, he is an ogre but the image you see of ogres on the TV screen is not what they really are. They have had a raw deal over the years with their portrayal and yes, some of them are as mean as a hornet’s nest but those kinds keep to themselves, live solitary lives in the woods or mountains and avoid human contact.
Arnie is a sweetheart, very kind natured and a happy ogre, thanks to his mom who was just the same. ’
Dora was dumbfounded by this revelation and could not tear her gaze away from Sephy’s. ‘Brandon, is he an ogre too?’
‘Definitely not an ogre, he is a shapeshifter although much more intellectually evolved than a lot of them. I mean some of them are out there wandering around on all fours and can’t decide between looking like a cross between a werewolf and a human.
They are not as advanced as Brandon. He is very astute and an exemplary specimen if ever there was one. ’
‘A shapeshifter and an ogre.’ Dora’s voice was incredulous at these revelations. ‘Big foot?’
‘As real as you and I, dear, they avoid human contact too.’
‘Can’t say that I blame them, I mean the human race leave a lot to be desired.’ Lenny winked at her and she smiled back.
‘Wow, that’s a lot.’
‘Just think of it as having the blinkers removed from your eyes. Mortals are fed so much bullshit, always getting told that they imagined things, that these things don’t exist and anyone who dares to speak out often get labelled as weird, crazy, a little bit out there.’
Tapping on the window made Sephy turn around.
She opened the window and crossed her arms. ‘Just where do you think you’ve been, Hades? It’s getting late and I was worried about you and what is that smell?’ She leaned towards him sniffing. ‘How did you burn those feathers?’
Hades hopped over to the sink, and Sephy ran the tap until it was lukewarm. He hopped under the spray and began to clean himself.
‘Urgh, that’s disgusting, bird. Are you not supposed to be doing that outside?’ Lenny was glaring at him.
‘I don’t know what is going on with you, Hades. I hope you’re not in any kind of trouble.’
Sephy was watching him. He turned to her and gave a shake of his head, spraying droplets of water everywhere.
‘You’re not huh? I don’t know if I believe you. How did you burn yourself?’
Hades hopped out from under the water and shook himself once more, then began to preen his feathers, completely ignoring them.