Chapter 52
FIFTY-TWO
Shadows moved and swayed against the walls in the glow of the flickering candles that Sephy had lit. ‘I want you both to sit down and I’m going to try my best to explain to you how it was, and what came to be.’
Morana glanced nervously at Dora who gave a soft smile of encouragement, and they both sat down.
‘I really appreciate you all helping me, but can you tell me more about my mom and dad, how they got together, how we’re related?’ Morana was looking in Dora’s direction. ‘I don’t know anything about my family history.’
Dora smiled at Morana who grinned back.
‘Do you want to begin, Lenny?’ Sephy asked, but Lenny shook her head. ‘You started this, it’s your tale to tell.’
Sephy looked annoyed but she nodded. ‘Well then, girls. Dora, before your father met your mom, he already had a wife and child that he eventually told Lucine about.’
‘So, he was a good for nothing, lowlife cheat?’ Morana’s voice was laced with sarcasm.
‘Not at all, granted he had left you with his sister because he feared he could not give you the love you deserved, but in his own way he was doing what he thought was the best thing for you, Morana.’
‘How? If my dreams are real, he left me crying, running after his horse and he never returned. I have recurring nightmares of being abandoned and now I know why.’
Lenny held up a hand. ‘I fear we should explain more before you hold such judgement against him.’
Sephy nodded. ‘This is a short version, and I wish there was a long one but there isn’t.
Your dad, John Hadden, was a travelling showman of sorts.
He told Lucine his wife died in childbirth; back then it was unheard of for a man to bring up a child let alone a baby all alone without having a woman to help ease the burden.
They would marry quickly or if they could afford to, they would hire someone to be a nursemaid.
John made the brave decision to leave you with his sister who had no children of her own to bring you up while he…
’ Sephy paused, her voice softening. ‘While he tried to fight the grief and guilt he felt, I suppose is the best way to explain it. He happened upon Salem village. He was lost and found us, Lucine, Sephy and I, just as we were about to go into the meeting house, and Lucine said later that he stole her heart that very first time they met.’
‘When was this?’
‘The year was 1676.’
‘Wow, I don’t know how to absorb this without feeling as if I’m losing my mind.’
Sephy reached out and gently clasped Morana’s hand.
‘We know, dear, this is why you and Dora are so alike and the more time you spend together the more I see the resemblance. He was a good man, lost in a world of grief that was lifted by meeting Lucine. You were a baby when he went out travelling again and left you to live your life. Back then it was different, things were much harder.’
‘Where did he go to if he left me, then left Lucine, and where is he now?’
‘We don’t know, dear, I wish that we did. It broke Lucine’s heart and she never got over it.’
Dora squeezed Morana’s other hand. ‘I guess we really are sisters.’
Sephy continued. ‘He told Lucine all about you, there were never any secrets between them, and he loved her dearly, as she loved him. When he left her that day, she was devastated beyond belief, she cried for months, years over him. In fact, she was never the same. We think that the book you have full of black magic was stolen when we were killed in our second lifetime, by an evil witch hunter called George Corwin who Dora managed to defeat for the first time ever this time around. When Dora finally found the bookstore again, we believe Corwin had been following her and hidden it away in the bookstore only a few weeks ago. I believe he meant for someone to find it and use it to set him free if he ever lost a fight with us. I don’t know why Lucine wrote your name inside of it, Morana.
Maybe she wanted you to be the keeper of that book and Dora the keeper of the other spell book in the hope that one day you would find each other, the light and the dark merging together as one, as you should have been since the days you were born.
Now we are in an unholy mess that we need to resolve.
There is nothing for it.’ Sephy was still pacing around the kitchen.
‘Nothing for what?’ enquired Lenny.
‘We should get The Book of Black Magic back from Clara. I don’t trust her one little bit. What if she sets Corwin free? And it rightfully belongs to Morana.’
‘I don’t know if I want it, that scary woman can keep it.’
‘That’s beside the point, whether you want it or not you are bound to it and it is bound to you.
You’re just going to have to learn to live with it and deal with it.
I’m not saying you must use it to do bad stuff, but only you have the power to control it and it is far better in your possession than Clara’s,’ Lenny said.
‘But it was controlling me, I don’t understand.’
‘Only because you had no idea what was happening, my dear. With our help and guidance, you can keep it safe. It’s a dangerous book in the wrong hands.’ Sephy was imploring Morana.
‘It’s a dangerous book in anyone’s hands; I killed my best friend with one bad thought that I didn’t even mean.’ She let out a sob, so loud it tainted the air with her sadness.
‘Yes, that was very unfortunate. I am sorry I did not see it coming. I shall regret that the rest of my life. Your friend was a very lovely girl who did not deserve to die that way.’
Suddenly Morana felt exhausted, and she didn’t want to argue with these kind women.
‘You’re right, I’ll do whatever needs to be done.’
‘You will?’ asked Dora.
‘Yes, I don’t want to see anyone else hurt.’
‘Good, that’s good. We can work with that, can’t we, Lenny?’
‘Now, who is going to see that old witch Clara and get it back?’
‘I will.’ Morana stood up. ‘I gave it to her; it should be me who gets it back.’
‘I’ll go with her,’ Dora said.
Lenny looked at Sephy, who looked as if she was going to faint.
‘Look, if we go, she will definitely say no, Sephy, as she dislikes the pair of us with great passion, and I think that we should see if these two can handle it. They may not be as useless as we think.’
‘Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Lenny.’ Dora’s voice was laced with sarcasm.
‘Sorry, kid, but it’s true. At some point you’re going to have to start figuring stuff out and it would be a good bonding opportunity for you both.’
‘Lenny.’ Sephy was horrified.
Lenny shrugged. ‘Let them at least try. If the book is as full of energy as we fear then Morana should be able to take it back. Clara can’t keep hold of something that doesn’t belong to her and she should know that.’
‘We’re good, Sephy, we can do this and if we can’t then we’ll come back and ask for your help.’ Dora stood up and hugged her aunt.
‘I know you are, Dora. It’s just such a worry that old witch has taken the book. She must have a reason for wanting it so badly that she went after it herself. Usually, she would get Arnie or Brandon to do her dirty work.’ She took a deep breath to steady herself. ‘I don’t like this.’
‘I’ll convince her to give it back. I’ll tell her how sorry I am for the mistakes and that I know what I’m doing now.’ Morana was smiling at Sephy.
‘You’re not helping, dear, that’s a terrible smile,’ whispered Sephy.
‘It is?’ Morana was shocked.
‘Yes, it’s full of crap,’ said Lenny.
Morana laughed. ‘Well, it’s all that I have. I’m offering to do my best. You want us to sort this mess out that I made and I’ll go do it. I don’t need Dora’s help, I can manage on my own. It might be for the best.’ She turned and walked out of the door.
‘Go after her, Dora, she doesn’t know where Clara lives. She isn’t going to get very far.’ Lenny sighed.
‘I don’t know where Clara lives.’
‘Yes, you do. The brick house opposite the Witch House, not far from the apothecary. Second floor, zap your way in if you have to. Phone us if you need us, but I think we will only escalate things that you may be able to control because Clara doesn’t realise just how strong your magic can be when you put your mind to it. ’
‘Thanks again, Lenny.’
* * *
Dora jogged out of the house after Morana, who was walking in the completely opposite direction to where they needed to go.
‘Hey, it’s this way.’
Morana stopped dead, then turned to face Dora.
‘What the hell have I got myself into?’
‘I wish I knew. It’s a lot, isn’t it? None of us signed up for this, but here we are.’
‘A lot? I feel as if my brain is about to explode from my ears, it’s wild is what it is.’
Dora reached out an arm, wrapping it around Morana’s shoulders, unsure if she would accept that level of human contact, but she didn’t shrug her off which Dora took as a good sign.
‘We’re sisters, we should help each other, stick together.’
‘Technically we are half-sisters, and I don’t know how I feel about it.’
‘You know, with your level of tact I could swear you’re related to Lenny and not me.’
Morana laughed. ‘She’s a piece of work your aunt Lenny, isn’t she?’
‘She’s tough, she had to be to do what she’s done all of these lifetimes to keep me safe.’
‘You’re lucky.’
Dora didn’t think she was lucky at all. She stared at Morana. ‘How do you figure that one out?’
‘You have a family that cares about you deeply. I’ve never had that my entire life.’
‘Well, now you have. You have me and my aunts. They are strange and extremely quirky, but they are the most wonderful, loving, kind, fun women that I know and they will love you more than you ever thought was possible. If you let them, if you let all of us.’
Morana blinked away the tears that were pooling in the corners of her eyes.
All she had ever wanted was not to be lonely.
For someone to love her for who she was with all her flaws.
Just as she thought she had nothing to live for, she had found herself a whole family.
They were weird and wonderful women, but they had been waiting to welcome her.
It made her want to fall to the floor and sob with happiness.
Maybe she could have her happy ever after.