Page 22 of The Book of Unwritten Stories

‘Apologies accepted.’ Arnie smiled at them. ‘Now, what I want to know is where did you find the lost book of spells, Dora? Is it the same one that you’ve all been hunting for hundreds of years?’

‘Yes, it is. I finally remembered where we—’ She paused not sure she should be dragging Ambrose into this. ‘I remembered where I hid it in 1692. It was in a wooden shack in the forest that we called the bookstore during our first lifetime.’

Clara was leaning forward, her elbows on the table in front of her. ‘A hidden bookstore? Well, I never. How did you find it?’

Dora glanced at Sephy who smiled at her encouragingly. ‘I asked the trees and flowers to show me the way.’

‘And they did? Interesting, I wonder why this time and not any other?’ Clara’s silvery eyes were piercing right through into the depths of Dora’s green eyes.

‘I don’t know, but I’m glad they did. I was able to find it and the spell book. I used it to summon Hecate and to cast the binding spell.’

‘Where is this bookstore now? Is it still in the forest?’

‘I don’t know, I suppose, yes, it is, technically it should be.’

‘I still don’t understand how it was hidden for all this time.’

‘I prayed so hard for it to vanish from sight the night Corwin and his men came to find me, I think I unintentionally cast a spell over it and managed to hide it so well for a very long time. I wasn’t aware of the powers I held back then, just like I wasn’t aware of them in this lifetime until I came home with Lenny.’

Clara nodded again. ‘So, you used magic that you weren’t aware you had to conceal it for hundreds of years. Then you used the magic to find it again. Tell me, what did you do with it when you left? Did you leave it open for all of Salem to find or did you vanish it away again? Because I’d be very interested to visit this bookstore for myself.’

Dora had to swallow the bile that had risen up her throat. She felt the back of her neck go cold and clammy. She had been so busy after the fight in the cemetery, coping with losing her mom and then finalising her affairs in London, that she hadn’t even given the bookstore a passing thought.

‘I don’t know.’

‘You don’t know what?’ Clara had clasped her long, slender fingers, and the pointed orange nails looked more like claws than fingers.

Dora could see the horror on Sephy’s face as she was coming to the same conclusion. Anyone could get into the bookstore, and although as far as Dora knew there was only Lucine’s spell book in there, what if Corwin or someone else had found it after her? What if he had left a spell book of his own for someone else to find? Someone who might use the magic to bring him back. She couldn’t say this out loud, she might be panicking over nothing, but the thought had popped into her head as if it had every right to be there and she wasn’t sure what to do about it.

It was Sephy who answered. ‘There was a lot going on, Clara. Lucine died, we were grieving and as far as we knew the bookstore had no other magical books inside except for Lucine’s. We will see if we can find it tomorrow and make sure it’s cloaked and hidden again.’

‘What if it isn’t there?’ Clara had a sly smile on her face, and Dora thought that it would be a blessing if it wasn’t. It would mean she was panicking over nothing.

‘Then there is no issue, is there? And if it is, I will let your good selves know immediately. I can’t say or do anything fairer than that.’

Arnie and Brandon both nodded again at the same time. Clara finally tore her gaze away from them and began to write in a huge, leatherbound book. ‘You are dismissed; I will note down that you were under great duress, but mark my words the both of you, no more fighting with anyone unless you have cleared it with the council.’

Brandon rolled his eyes in Clara’s direction, and Dora lowered her head; they had been well and truly put in their place.

‘Thank you, it won’t happen again unless we have no choice, Clara, and then you can stick that broomstick you use to look down on the rest of us up your ass. My family will always come first,’ said Sephy who then turned and ushered Dora out of the room and into the corridor.

* * *

Sephy mimed lifting a glass to her lips and Dora, who was so shocked at her usually gentle aunt’s parting words, couldn’t agree more.

The polished gold doors of the elevator slid open as if it had been waiting for them and they went back down to The Tavern, where Sephy took the table in the furthest corner away from any other guests. It was so cosy inside. Dora rolled her head and felt the tension drain from the back of neck and shoulders for the first time in hours. She opened her mouth to speak but Sephy lifted a finger to her lips as the bartender came over to take their order.

‘Double vodka on the rocks. What would you like, Dora?’

‘The same, please.’

When they had been given their drinks and left alone, Sephy threw back her head and took a long gulp. ‘You know Clara’s family has always been jealous of us English women, but she’d never admit it. None of them ever would. She loves any chance to reprimand us because she knows fine well our powers combined are enough to send fifty Corwins to the light now that we’ve figured out how to finally do it, and it scares her.’

Dora took a large glug of the clear liquid that burned all the way down her throat making her cough. When she’d composed herself, she smiled at Sephy. ‘Lenny would have eaten her alive, but you did a pretty good job too of putting her in her place.’

This made Sephy laugh a little too loud. ‘Yes, dear, she certainly would. Perhaps it’s just as well that your aunt Lenny missed this little interrogation. Hopefully, we were contrite just enough to keep her off our backs for the time being. I should not have parted with those words, but she irked my soul. The last thing I want is Clara turning up at the house or the shop unannounced; my nerves couldn’t take that, dear.’

‘Sephy, I’m scared I’ve messed up big time.’