Page 30 of My Big Fat Vampire Wedding

“W ell, on the plus side,” Lucy said as the two of them hauled bags of coffee beans out of boxes, restocking them under the cabinets in the front of the shop for easy access when they ran out. “Now that all the meetings are over, there’s really no reason for Bellatrix to even run into Victor.”

Lucy was a lot more optimistic than Pandora about that.

“Except she could track him down at uni. On the Tube. Leaving here at night. At his flat.” There were a thousand ways her conniving cousin could find Victor alone, glamour him, and get all the answers she was seeking.

All the while, Victor had no idea what was being done to him or what he was saying.

“True,” Lucy said, sighing. “Isn’t there some ancient vampire talisman or magic or something that can prevent him from being glamoured?” she asked.

“I might know that,” Pandora said. “If I, you know, applied myself to my vampire history studies. Which, I didn’t. And neither did Dante, so I can’t ask him. Anyone else would get suspicious.”

“What about Lord Fangsworth? Wouldn’t he know?”

“Elias had a business trip to go on. Mum wasn’t happy about it. But I think now that he knows there’s no connection between us, he doesn’t see the need to be around all the time. I could wait until he gets back, but I just don’t want Bellatrix to get a chance to get to Victor.”

“Hmm,” Lucy said, glancing out the windows as the wind kicked up leaves in little cyclones for a moment, before they died down and fell back to the pavement.

“Hey, what about a magick shop?” she asked.

“Not like one of the ones for the general public, which sell gemstone rings and do basic tarot readings. But one of the more serious ones. Wouldn’t a witch know more about this sort of thing? ”

It was certainly worth a shot.

“I don’t know of any, though,” Pandora said.

“I think I passed one on a run one day.”

“What makes you think it’s one of the non-touristy ones?” Pandora asked.

“There wasn’t even any real signage telling you what they offered.

And when I looked in the window, the place was packed with ancient-looking artifacts, leather-bound books, and stuff like that.

Not shelves full of tarot decks or anything like that.

What was it called? Arcane something,” Lucy said, reaching for her mobile and trying to plug it in.

“What?” Pandora asked after helping a customer and finding Lucy still frowning at her phone.

“It’s not listed,” Lucy said. “But look.” She turned her mobile so Pandora could see the street view of the shop she was talking about. And it was there. It even had a small, wooden, handwritten sign above the door.

Arcane Emporium .

“Well, I guess maybe we can take that as a sign that it is one of those legit places, right?” Pandora asked.

“We should go. Tomorrow,” Lucy said. “We’re both off. You can sneak out by saying you are going to Victor’s place. Where is Victor’s flat?”

“I have no idea,” Pandora said. “But maybe that’s a good thing. If I don’t know, chances are no one else does either.”

“True. OK. So tomorrow, sunset.”

Sunset came in what felt like the blink of an eye, despite no fewer than a dozen run-ins with the many members of Pandora’s family staying at the house. Including her great-great-grandmother, who always seemed to be watching her a bit too closely.

Paranoid, Pandora watched Ambrosia back when she wasn’t looking, wanting to know if she was maybe in cahoots with Bellatrix, the two of them trying to figure her out.

But from what she could tell, Ambrosia seemed more interested in spending time with the older members of the family – Ravenna and Henrietta, along with Lucian – and didn’t seem to spare Bellatrix, Dante, or Jasper much mind.

“Whoa,” Pandora said, when Dante nearly plowed into her as she started to head out.

He looked awful.

Those smudges under his eyes seemed to be getting darker with each passing day, despite his spending most nights up in his room, presumably sleeping.

If she hadn’t been on her way out, she would have followed him, demanded some answers. But, for the moment, Victor was more at risk as far as she could tell, so she had to handle that first.

After that, though, she was going to figure out what her little brother was up to.

Dante barely even seemed to register her existence anyway as he lumbered inside, leaving Pandora watching after him.

Which was how one of Henrietta’s dogs slipped out the door into the night.

“Pepper! Pepper, get back here!” Pandora chased after the little fluff ball as he tore off into the front garden, excited for some freedom. “Pepper!” Her shouts became more frantic as she lost sight of him.

It was just then she heard a snarl that had the hairs on her arms raising. Not two seconds later, Pepper came running back, tail tucked, letting out little cries.

“What was that?” Pandora asked, scooping him up.

“Sorry, that was me,” Lucy said, stepping out of the shadows. “It was a little nastier than normal because his little fluffy butt was about to run into the street.”

“That’s … a handy skill,” Pandora said, scooting the dog back into the house and closing the door behind him.

“You ready?” Lucy asked, producing two insulated mugs in her gloved hand.

“Coffee for me. Circulation sippy for you,” she said, making Pandora let out a little laugh.

“I know it’s been hard for you to get to the shops to even get the blood, let alone any privacy to drink it. I passed by it on the way here.”

“You’re the best,” Pandora said, looking around, then taking a sip, feeling like she was coming alive again immediately.

Lucy, now completely fascinated with Pandora’s crazy family, asked for endless updates as they took the Tube across town, before setting out on foot toward the little back street that wasn’t well lit and, therefore, not much of a stop for tourists nor locals.

The Arcane Emporium was tucked into an unassuming corner storefront down the cobblestone street. It was painted a deep-forest-green color and its front window was half obscured by dried plants and flowers hanging down by their stems.

As they approached, the heavy wooden door began to shimmer, catching the light to reveal some sort of sigil that seemed to dance in and out of sight. Like it was recognizing them, or maybe revealing them to the proprietor within.

Lucy shared a look with Pandora before she reached for the brass door handle and pushed. It opened with a groan as the women stepped inside.

The air within was thick, heavy with scents of old parchment, herbs, metals, and incense.

Dim light flickered from the many wrought-iron wall sconces and candelabras, casting part of the shop in -shadows thanks to the labyrinth created by towering shelves that weaved through the interior.

Pandora had a fleeting thought that whispered that if she walked into one of those rows, that she might never emerge again.

There was almost something vaguely threatening about the aura in the building.

But, she reminded herself, that was likely simply wards created to keep wrongdoers out.

She was probably feeling it so strongly because she was, by nature, evil, so the wards were pressing on her a bit, even if they were allowing her to move inside.

Closer inspection revealed that many of the shelves were stuffed and bowing with heavy leather-bound tomes, j-ars of various substances – dried petals, glowing liquids, bones of different sizes and origins – and ancient-looking scrolls, complete with unbroken wax insignias.

On all other surfaces – shelves, tables, countertops – artifacts fought for space. Rune-etched stones and boxes, tarnished astrolabes, figurines, and heavy-looking wands.

The shop itself felt alive to Pandora, like it had its own pulse and soul, as if all the items gathered within hummed with their own latent energy.

Each creak of the floorboards as they walked echoed with whispers of forgotten rituals.

In a glass case toward the back of the shop, items were hidden behind locks that glowed and flickered, that seemed to whimper softly.

There was nothing about this shop that invited any novice to move inside, to play around with a craft they knew nothing about. The entire establishment seemed to actively try to scare you away from practicing the dark or forbidden magicks they offered supplies for.

Then, emerging seemingly out of nowhere, the shopkeeper stepped in front of their path.

She was a striking woman of indeterminate age whose presence commanded notice, but also oozed mysteries.

She was dressed in layers of deep, shadowy velvet in shades of black, midnight blue, and plum, reminding Pandora of sorceresses in many books she’d read.

Intricate embroidery of unknown symbols adorned the chest and cuffs of her gown.

The threads caught the light and shimmered, in much the same way as the sigil on the front door had, charged with some sort of magick.

The woman’s hair tumbled in waves of blonde and white over her shoulders, framing a face of sharp cheekbones and piercing eyes the colour of storm clouds, keen and forbidding.

Her hands, adorned with an array of rings, moved with a precision that suggested a lifetime of practice as she drew something in the air before the two women.

Another sigil, Pandora thought.

A chain hung around the woman’s neck, holding a vial of something that seemed suspiciously alive, undulating and shivering behind the glass containing it.

“I don’t believe I’ve ever had a vampire and werewolf in here at the same time,” she said, her voice low and deliberate, each word imbued with the weight of ancient knowledge.

While Pandora didn’t feel she was unfriendly, there was something guarded about her as she looked over them.

“Yeah, that vampire–werewolf rivalry is totally overblown,” Lucy said, waving a hand, trying to play off the discomfort that Pandora could feel emanating from her.