Witch's Bell Book One (19 page)

Ebony took a painful gulp, her
throat raw and ticklish from pain and fright. She could certainly
see that things weren't going to end well here, but that wasn't the
point. The point was,
“seeing” involved more than the eyes, and it
involved more than light. Seeing wasn't simply detecting the
horizon, or sensing the shape of the present around you. It was
apprehension of the way the immediate looked, and that didn't need
light.

And so Ebony saw, without there being
a touch of light in the room, the contents of the enormous cavern.
It helped, of course, that she'd been here before, and as such, had
seen it all before.

From Ebony's landing spot, she
began to see nine dark figures walk towards her. They were dressed
in nothing, but could hardly be referred to as naked. If being nude
meant that you lacked something
– be it clothes, dignity, or warmth – then
you couldn't use that to describe these women. They lacked nothing
at all. Each and every one of them brimmed with enough magic to
consume a city. But it wasn't purposeless, directionless magic; it
was completely refined, completely determined. And that's why they
all seemed so complete, Ebony knew, because they were. With the
refined magic brimming through their forms, minds and souls – these
women had completed their Rites, and had written their full stories
of life. Each one was their own novel, their own epic narrative,
and each complete without another word to be written.

They were power written into forms,
contained in bodies. That was the best way to describe
them.

They were also the Coven.

“
You are before the Coven,” one
said, her head tilting imperiously to one side, “Ebony Elizabeth
Bell.”

Ebony dejectedly clutched a hand to
her bleeding arm, feeling the wet blood slick course through her
fingers quickly. She could also feel her heartbeat beneath,
rattling through her skin with a strong but flighty
shake.

She didn't reply. She
couldn't
–
she hadn't been asked a direct question.

“
You are here to answer to the
Coven,” another witch said, her long silver hair furling around her
like a cloak.

“
You have resisted your duty,”
another witch said. But this time Ebony knew the voice. It was her
mother, and the words she spoke had a pitch of emotion the rest of
the Coven didn't share. “And you have been careless.”

Ebony took another steadying breath,
this time simply incapable of controlling how it shook through her
chest. It came out in little nervous puffs, like someone was at
Ebony's throat, trying to find out what was inside by shaking it to
and fro.

“
You have breached a sacred
rule, you have revealed your identity to a mundane,” the witch with
long silver hair remained still, but her voice grew louder as if
she'd walked straight up to Ebony's ear.

Ebony's eyes widened. What, she
thought desperately. They were bringing her to charge for revealing
that she was a witch to mundane? Surely, there were mitigating
circumstances! She’d just saved that woman’s life.

“
There are mitigating
circumstances,” one of the witches conceded, “which we have already
taken into account.”

Ebony let out a sudden tortured sigh
that punctuated the air like a bullet in a library. She couldn't
believe this, she just couldn't believe it. She'd done everything
she could in that crypt, everything possible. How was Ebony to know
that the idiot would have attracted other creatures, that using
magic would have become dangerous? More to the point, how was she
to know that he'd kidnapped someone?

Yes, she may have broken the
rules. But she didn't do it based on a whim, she did it to
protect
–

“
But the fact remains,” a witch
with a much more crackly voice said, “that you unwittingly revealed
your true nature to a non-magical human.”

“
Such an event is unacceptable,”
her mother spoke again, her voice still a pitch above everyone
else's. If Ebony was any expert, and she was when it came to her
mother, then Avery Bell was viciously angry.

Why wouldn't she be, Ebony
thought glumly, her hand still pressed over her bleeding shoulder,
for whatever it was worth. Her mother's own daughter had been
brought up before the Coven for punishment
– one of the greatest insults a witch
could receive. And though the blame would rest squarely on Ebony's
shoulders, that wouldn't stop her mother from blaming herself. It
was the mother’s role, after all, to teach her little witch the
ways of magic.

Ebony closed her eyes, feeling
the power of her pain, shame, and fear well up like a balloon
inside her. It pressed out at her skin like prisoners trying to
escape a jail
– and she simply didn't know how much longer she could hold
onto the emotion before she broke down on her knees in wracking
sobs.

But she couldn't do that, not yet, not
here. The last thing her mother would want to see is Ebony crack
even further under the pressure.

“
You have flaunted a rule, and
must pay the price,” the gray-haired witch declared.

Ebony stopped herself from screaming
back that this wasn't fair. The rule was there to stop witches from
strutting down the street and blowing rubbish bins up in front of
old ladies. They were there to keep magic hidden. But when the
circumstances determined it, a witch could reveal her true nature,
if lives were at stake. And lives had been at stake. Ebony hadn't
done anything wrong, none of this was fair!

“
We have decided you are
punishable for this deed. And our decision will stand,” the
crackly-voiced witch seemed to grate through her words like
rusted-iron smashing together in a strong wind.

Ebony bit hard into her lips, half to
chase away the pain in her arm, and half to stop herself from
speaking. She knew the rules of the Coven, but that didn't stop her
from desperately desiring to defend herself.

None of this made any sense. Ebony
hadn't done anything wrong. Yes, technically she'd announced to the
man that she was a witch, but she'd then gone on to stop him from
completing his rite, and saved his hostage. If anything, Ebony
should be rewarded for exemplary behavior.

Ebony clutched at her bleeding arm
tighter, feeling her head become lighter with every beat of her
heart. Magic was forbidden in the presence of the Coven, so Ebony
would simply have to hold on to her wound until she was allowed to
leave. If she was allowed to leave, that was.

Ebony shuddered, sharp nausea starting
to blast through her. She tipped backwards slightly, but managed to
keep her balance.

If the other witches had noticed
Ebony's rapidly deteriorating state, they weren't letting on. They
weren't about to speed up this meeting for anything as mundane as
serious blood loss.

“
We have taken your situation
into account,” the gray-haired woman said, her voice simply
trailing off.

And, Ebony wanted to shout
loudly.

“
Your punishment will be
submitting to magical restrictions, for the period of one lunar
month.”

Oh no, Ebony almost let her hand fall
from her bleeding shoulder. What kind of restrictions, she
desperately wanted to ask.

“
All external performances of
magic will be restricted.”

Ebony put a hand up to her
lips.

“
For one lunar month, you will
live as the non-magical do: you will not be able to summon, cast,
curse, hex, or bless,” the crackly-voiced witch rattled off the
list quickly.

“
You will live as a normal, in
punishment for not being able to keep your magical side hidden,”
her mother said, voice now bottoming out from its once high pitch.
“It is hoped that such an experience will give you the
understanding to try harder next time.”

Ebony just rocked on her feet.
She couldn't believe this
... she just ....

“
You will find, I fancy,” the
gray-haired witch tipped her head to the side, “what are the
important things in life, when you realize you do not have your
magic to protect them.”

Ebony didn't respond, she
couldn't
...
she was beginning to feel numb anyway – her hands, her fingers, her
heart.

“
Once the period of a lunar
month is complete, your magic will return, and your lesson will be
complete.”

Ebony opened her mouth, her
lips somehow feeling as heavy as anvils. Even though the situation
was perilous, and she really shouldn't make it any worse by
speaking out of turn. She had to know one thing
–

But before she could push the
words out of her sore and tight throat, her mother cut in:
“Your work with the
police force will be unaffected. We will send a replacement. It
will be up to the police whether they allow you to retain your
position for this month, as a normal.”

The word normal rang in Ebony's ears
like, well, a bell. Louder and clearer than anything else that had
been said so far.

“
You will go now,” her mother
said, “to begin your punishment.”

The gray-haired witch suddenly stepped
forward, two golden bracelets and a choker appearing in her hands.
They were plain, but Ebony knew that the inside edges would be
engraved with very precise, very powerful symbols. The woman
clicked her fingers, and in an instant, the bracelets snapped
around Ebony's wrists, and the choker appeared about her
neck.

They weren't tight enough to cut off
Ebony's circulation, or feel uncomfortable at all. But Ebony knew
they would be impossible to get off, and would be ever present
reminders that even if she tried with all her might, she wouldn't
be able to do a single magical thing for the next twenty-eight
days.

“
We will inform the department
as to your punishment,” the crackly-voiced witch said with an easy
breath. “And furnish them with their replacement
immediately.”

“
You will go now,” her mother
said. And even though it was probably Ebony's imagination, she
still fancied her mother's eyes were hooded with something other
than shame and anger. “You will be sure to seek medical attention,”
she added forcefully.

Ebony had just enough humor
left somewhere in her to offer a bare snort at that. Even though
her mother had just sentenced Ebony to a month of being at the
whims of reality
– she was still a mother. And Avery Bell wasn't about to
let her only daughter bleed to death.

“
Go now,” said the gray-haired
witch with finality, “and experience a month of normal life.
Experience the fear, uncertainty and helplessness with which a life
can be rewritten – and overcome it. With this new appreciation, you
will better fulfil your sacred task as a witch of Vale.”

With that, the circle of light that
had signaled Ebony's landing barely fifteen minutes before opened
up again. In seconds the portal appeared above Ebony, and she had a
bare glance of her mother's face before Ebony began hurtling away.
With the nausea, fear, shame, and horrid realization of a month
without magic dawning on Ebony, she still took a brief moment to
analyze her mother's final expression. What was it? Fear?
Apprehension? Something else?

But with the earth zooming past her,
the thought soon waned, and in another second she could see the
final portal opening up before her. With a sound that reminded her
of someone plunging a drain, Ebony erupted back onto the floor of
the crypt. Her landing was soft, but sudden enough to send her head
reeling.

The crypt was now alight with
activity, bodies, and movement. The bodies were alive, thankfully,
and very much police.

Someone had set up a light, or
something, Ebony realized with fatigue-heavy blinks of her eyes. It
was all the better to see the shocked expressions on everyone's
faces as Ebony simply erupted from the ground, as if she was simply
too unpalatable for the earth to swallow.

“
Ebony!” Ben raced over to her.
“I just got the call from the Coven,” he had his phone in his
hands.

Two hands grabbed at Ebony's
shoulders, pulling her gently to her feet. But they weren't Ben's
hands, Ebony realized, her mind slowing down with every second. Ben
had a mobile in his hands and he was standing
... over there.

With her blinks getting slower,
and her mind almost grinding to a stop, Ebony realized who had
pulled her up. It was Nate. He wore an expression Ebony hadn't ever
seen. It was
... different. It reminded Ebony of the time her father had
gotten home to find Ebony's mother at the center of a rather messy
magical explosion. It was pressed, tight, wild, but ....

“
Ebony,” someone said. “Hey, get
a hold of yourself, you're bleeding everywhere. Use your magic to
heal yourself—”

Ebony replied by lurching forward and
throwing up, all over the flattened tie of a certain Detective
Nate.

But she didn't have the time to track
his expression, humorous though it would have been; she simply fell
forward and into the arms of unconsciousness.