Page 52 of The Book of Unwritten Stories

She opened the door, and Dora’s eyes began to water as she stepped inside, it was so potent. ‘Look, you really don’t need to die of smoke inhalation while you’re cleansing your space, less is more.’

Dora began to waft the front door to let some of the smoke escape, then she went to the cast-iron cauldron on the coffee table and dropped the lid sitting next to it on it.

‘Hey, you shouldn’t interfere. This is my space.’

‘Your eyes are bloodshot, and you look as if you’re about to pass out.’

‘They are? I do?’

Dora nodded. ‘I know you were a bit reluctant to talk to me earlier, but Hades is worried about you and therefore that means I am worried about you. What’s going on?’

Morana was staring at herself in the gilt mirror on the wall, lifting her eyelids down to look at how bloodshot they were. She turned to Dora.

‘A lot, a lot is going on, and you wouldn’t understand. I appreciate you checking on me, especially because your pet bird is worried about me, but I got myself into this mess. I’m good, I really don’t need you. I need to sort this out myself.’

Dora slumped onto the sofa. ‘Sorry, that sounds good and all that, but I hate to tell you I think that you do.’

‘And who are you exactly? Dora what?’

‘Dora English.’ She let that hang in the air.

Morana shrugged. ‘Am I supposed to know you, are you a local celebrity or something?’

Dora snorted with laughter. ‘God no. Although, my aunts own the oldest apothecary in Salem; it’s literally been there for hundreds of years. We are all bloodline witches and Hades is our familiar.’

Morana sat down. ‘Then why did he start hanging around me?’

‘Are you a witch?’

‘I used to dabble a little, but I wasn’t until a woman gave me a book with my name written inside and demanded five hundred bucks for it. That book has ruined my entire life in forty-eight hours.’

Dora looked around. ‘Where is the book and what’s it about?’

‘I can’t believe I’m telling this to a stranger. A book of black magic.’

Dora gasped. Her aunts were right, this was the book, but how did Morana end up with it, this made no sense to her. ‘Did you use it?’

‘Geez, what is it with you Salem witches today, you’re so touchy when it comes to the subject of magic. Yes, I used it not knowing that it worked, I mean I didn’t expect it to. It was more wishful thinking than anything and then when it did, I tried to get rid of it. I even threw it in the trash and the next thing it was back on my coffee table.’ She pointed to the table, which was devoid of any books, just the cauldron sitting on it.

‘What happened when you used it?’

‘I managed to badly hurt my awful neighbour, my best friend got hit by a bus and died a couple of hours ago and I found a lot of cash after doing a money spell. I ruined my life and at least two others because of it. I am done with magic.’

She sucked in a breath, trying not to cry and Dora felt bad for her. There was tapping at the window and she saw Hades. She stood up and pushed the window up a little further so he could hop inside.

‘Great, not only do I have the most judgemental crow in my apartment, but I also have another Salem witch here to tell me off.’

‘I’m not here to tell you off, Morana. What other Salem witch has been in here today?’

‘Some scary woman called Clara who had eyes the colour of Pennywise just before he bites the arm off Georgie Denborough.’

‘What did Clara want?’ Dora was shocked that Clara had found Morana and been here.

‘Same as you, the book. You’re too late, I already gave it to her. She was so mean. I was glad to get rid of it though, so I wasn’t going to argue with her. She took it with her and said she would put it somewhere safe.’

Dora felt every inch of her skin crawl, but at least the book was in safe hands now. She took out her phone to ring Sephy, who didn’t answer, so she tried Lenny.

‘What?’