It took a while to get to London, about thirty minutes. When they finally arrived the coach stopped just short of Hyde Street. They got out, and paid the drivers fare before turning and walking down the street. "Are you sure that there are no souls that need to be collected by us today?" asked Annabelle. "Yeah, I'm sure." replied Michael. "I went over the book at least twice and didn't see anything written under our names. Now stop talking about souls and that. We don't want the humans getting suspicious." They walked past a shop full of mirrors and antiques. Michael stopped in front of a mirror and grabbed hold of Annabelle's hand. He pulled her close to his side. "Hey look!" he exclaimed. "We look like a couple, don't you think?" Annabelle pulled away. "Oh shut up!" she giggled as she punched his arm. That smile soon disappeared as she saw herself in the mirror. "I look hideous!" she said as she pointed out her pale skin and unnaturally colored hair. "You look beautiful." said Michael as he took hold of her gloved hand once again and walked her down the street.

They walked past many shops, stopping casually to have a look in each one. They spent nearly the whole day out and it was getting late. "I think we should start heading back." said Michael. "We want to get back to the academy before it gets too late." He let go of Annabelle's hand and headed towards a nearby alleyway. "I'm sure that there is a portal around here somewhere." he mumbled. Annabelle started to follow reluctantly when she noticed a small shop at the end of the street. The sign that was attached to the roof was rusty and difficult to read but the porch light was still on. "Hey, wait!" she exclaimed. Michael stopped and walked towards her. "What?" he replied. "Do you remember seeing that shop there last year?" she asked. "Come to think of it, no." he noted. Annabelle ran up to the window of the shop and peeked in. It was difficult to make out what was inside but she could see what looked like an assortment of antique bird cages. "Let me guess, you want to look inside?" sighed Michael. "Oh yes please!" exclaimed Annabelle. She grabbed hold of Michael's shirt and pulled him inside the shop. As they stepped inside they were filled with awe.

The walls of the interior were brightly colored with blue and yellow striped wallpaper and a beautiful glass chandelier hung from the roof, casting a warm glow on everything near it. An assortment of exotic birds from parrots to finches were held in beautifully crafted cages. There were also a wide assortment of different animals from the common mouse to the venomous snake. Annabelle walked around the shop, her eyes darting from one animal to the next. "We're never going to leave this shop, are we?" sighed Michael as he tried to keep up with her. "Seriously Anna, we really should be going!" "Oh stop being a party pooper!" she exclaimed. Suddenly something in one of the large enclosures caught her eye. "Hey, what's that?" she asked Michael as she gripped his shirt. "You're really getting into the habit of pulling me around, aren't you?" he said as Annabelle tugged him towards the enclosure. They looked inside. There, looking up at them was a large white puppy with big red eyes and black tipped ears. It barked and wagged its tail as if trying to get their attention.

"What is it?" asked Michael as he inched closer to it. "Some sort of husky or something?" said Annabelle. "A very rare and special breed of dog, indeed one of a kind!" said a voice behind them. They both jumped and whizzed around. Standing there grinning from ear to ear was a strange looking young women, no older than mid-twenties, with white hair that flowed down to her hips. Her skin was pale white and she had a small purple heart painted on her left cheek. Her fringe made it nearly impossible to see her light purple eyes. On her head sat a black top hat with a purple bow tied around the base. She wore a frilly black, white and purple striped dress that had a large grey bow on the front. In the middle of the bow sat a miniature skull. She also wore buttoned knee-high boots and striped black and white stockings. Around her neck she wore a purple choker, also with a skull perched in the middle, and purple elbow-length gloves. "Her outfit kind of reminds me of The Mad Hatter from the story 'Alice in Wonderland'." thought Annabelle.

  "My name is Alice Skullbourne but you may call me Alice." she said with a grin. "Were you interested in buying a pet?" Annabelle and Michael looked at each other. "Well, not really." said Annabelle. "We just saw your shop and..."                                                                                                                                                     "My shop?!" interrupted Alice as the smile disappeared from her face and she slithered up to Annabelle. "Just because you met me in this so-called pet-shop doesn't mean that I myself own it!" She stamped her feet. "So you don't own it?" asked Michael. "Of course I own it!" she exclaimed as the smile returned to her face. "Who else would?" she laughed as she started to skip around the shop. "I'm the queen of the castle and you're the dirty rascals!" she sung as she did so. "This lady is bonkers!" whispered Michael to Annabelle. "She's not that bad." thought Annabelle. "Now how can I help you?" said Alice as she stopped between the two and wrapped her arms around their shoulders. Annabelle eyed the dog that was still staring at them. "Ah, I see." said Alice as she slid her arms off their shoulders and walked towards dog. "You want to buy this puppy?" Annabelle hesitated. "Um, well, not really." she mumbled. Alice bent down, opened the latch to the enclosure and picked up the puppy. She handed it to Annabelle. "Here you go! One large puppy dog. Now are you going to dine-in or take-away?" grinned Alice as she took out a notepad. "I have no idea what you mean." said Annabelle as she looked into the dog's red eyes.

"Very well, how much is it?" she sighed. Alice looked at Annabelle as if offended. "Oh it won't cost you a penny!" exclaimed Alice as she skipped up to the counter. She rummaged through the drawers and pulled out a large purple lead and collar. She skipped back to Annabelle and attached the lead and collar to the dog's neck. She wrapped the end of the lead around Annabelle's neck and turned her around so that she faced the door. She started to push the two out of the shop, stopping to open the door and shoving them outside. "Goodbye and have a nice day!" she exclaimed as she slammed the door shut.

Annabelle looked at Michael. "Well that was weird." said Michael as he turned to face Annabelle. They both looked at the dog. "Well what do we do with this thing?" asked Michael. "It's not a thing, it's a dog!" said Annabelle. "Maybe I should take it back to my house. I can keep it there."                              "But don't you have a cat?" asked Michael. "His name is Sebastian and he's only a stray that visits my house every few days." replied Annabelle. "Besides I'm sure he won't mind a new addition to the family!" "That's not what I'm worried about." mumbled Michael as he started to walk down the street. "I'm going back to the academy!" he yelled. "See you tomorrow!"                                                                  "Okay! Bye Mike!" yelled Annabelle. She held the puppy tight and started walking back to the portal that lead to her house. Behind her the door of the pet-shop creaked open and Alice stuck out her head. "And remember Annabelle, no refunds or replacements!" she said with a sly grin. Annabelle turned to face her. "Wait, how did you know..." Alice slammed the door and disappeared inside. "How did she know my name?" thought Annabelle as she continued to walk towards the portal at the end of the street.

Once again the portal dropped her right in front of her house. She walked up the steps that led to her house and opened the door. She peeked inside and sighed in relief. "Good. Sebastian isn't home." she said. She closed the door and walked up to her room where she placed the puppy on the floor and took off her shoes. She unwrapped the lead from around her neck and unclipped it from the puppy's collar. She placed it in the drawer in the dresser next to her bed. She turned and looked at the dog's large red eyes and smiled. "What makes you so special?" she asked it. She looked at the blank metal tag attached to its collar. "You don't even have a name. How unfortunate." she said. She held the puppy's large head between her hands and scratched its chin. It started licking her face and wagging its tail. Annabelle giggled and playfully pushed it away. "You know I've never said this before, but for a dog you're quite cute!" she laughed. She stroked its head. "Let's give you a name." she said. "How about Bruno?" The puppy barked in agreement. Suddenly the tag on its collar started to glow white. Annabelle held the tag in her hand and examined it as the glow got brighter. Annabelle looked away as the glow got too bright for her sensitive eyes. When she looked back however the tag had changed. The tag no longer glowed white but instead was now colored jet black and had something written in fancy purple writing on it. The writing said one thing only, Bruno.

Annabelle fiddled with the tag, confused and amazed. Once again she looked into the puppy's eyes. "You're just full of surprises aren't you?" she sighed. She stood up and looked at the clock. The time was six o'clock at night. She roll her shoulders and stretched her arms towards the roof. "Well I suppose I should get dressed for work." she sighed as she took off her gloves and bonnet and headed towards the bathroom. She took off her glasses, washed her face, untied her hair and brushed it. Then she walked towards her dresser, took out her brown vest, black pants, and a pair of socks and got changed. She put on her boots and glasses and walked towards her bed where her blue cloak and black gloves lay and slipped them on. She bent down and took her scythe out from under her bed and slipped it into the holder on the back of her coat. She strutted up to Bruno and struck a pose. "How do I look?" she asked him with a smile. Bruno yipped and made his way towards her. She bent down and kissed his nose. "Bruno I need you to do something for me." she said as she stood back up. "I need you to stay here while I go to work for a few hours. There is some meat hung in the pantry if you want something to eat." She made her way to the door. Bruno didn't seem to mind the fact that she was leaving but instead made his way to the pantry. Annabelle took one last look at the dog before shaking her head, closing the door and making her way to the portal.