Witch's Bell Book One (38 page)

So, what was it?

It had to be more general than a
simple cursed object. It had to be something that, presumably, all
the inhabitants of Vale came across. If everyone in Vale was
effected, then it had to be something that could affect all of Vale
at once. Something all of her citizens couldn't help but
share.

The water, the electricity, the
ground, the buildings?

As Ebony walked along the
corridor, fully intending to return upstairs, she somehow missed
the stairwell altogether
– too caught up in her thoughts. With her head
bowed, lips pressed, and a look of full concentration on her face,
she simply walked the length of the corridor.

What would her mother think, she
wondered. Would even Avery Bell, powerful witch of the Coven, be
unable to speak against the Grimshores? Ebony was one thing, just a
little witch in the scheme of things. But surely whatever this
magic was, it couldn't extend its influence over someone as
powerful as Avery Bell?

Ebony bit further into her lip, her
legs just walking along as if on full autopilot. Unless of course,
she thought to herself, her mother did know. Perhaps the witches of
the Coven knew what the Grimshores were up to, but simply kept the
secret.

Ebony suddenly found herself at the
end of the corridor, and was more than a little surprised to look
up and see the office door of the Police Chief himself. It was
closed, of course, but his little shiny brass-name-plate glinted
out at Ebony.

She gave a little laugh. What was she
doing down here? Silly goose, she admonished herself, as she
quickly turned on her heel. Too caught up in the mind, and not in
the body.

Ebony glanced to her left as she set
off to walk back to her office, for real this time.

She stopped, dead still. The door was
open to the Chief's second office, and Ebony was afforded a clear
view of his richly patterned Persian rug and leather chairs. It
wasn't the decor that surprised her though; it was what was sitting
on it. Or rather, who.

The man from the crypt. The
pasty, creepy, irritating, little man from the crypt. The one that
had set all of Ebony's troubles rolling in the first place. If he
hadn't decided to up and kidnap Cecilia Grimshore, then Ebony would
still have her magic
– her life.

He was in a suit of some sorts, even
though the tie that sat against his gaunt and pulled neck was still
emblazoned with embroidered golden runes. He was obviously trying
to look inconspicuous. It didn't matter though; Ebony would be able
to pick out that face from a mile away.

It did take her several moments,
however, to recognize the woman that sat next to him.

The hair, that nose, that long,
swan-like neck
....

Cecilia Grimshore.

Ebony just stood and stared, face
angling to the side, eyes open with worry, confusion, and something
else.

The gaunt man was the first to notice
Ebony, and he made eye contact slowly and carefully. Those large,
wet eyes just snapped onto her, seeming to glow with a freakish,
but barely perceptible yellow.

Then Cecilia looked up, her hands
clasped so primly in her lap, her smile so prim on her
face.

“
There's someone at the door for
you, Mr Bates,” Cecilia said steadily, her expression so calm and
even, it was clear she either did not recognize Ebony, or was the
best actress this side of Broadway.

The Police Chief walked to the
door, his brow furrowed. He was a tall, bull of a man, with a broad
chest, and mustache so bristly, he could have easily passed for a
strongman from a
‘50s fair. “Can I help you, Miss Bell? I am currently in a
meeting.”

It took a second for Ebony to
find her tongue. The confusion at seeing the madman from the crypt
sitting alongside his apparent victim, was all a little
unexpected.
“Ah, sorry ... Chief ... but what's going on
here?”

The Chief's mustache didn't
manage to hide the thin frown that seemed to cut his jaw in
half.
“Excuse me? You're out of line—”

“
Out of line?” Ebony's voice
raised up a pitch. She may technically be a witch, but she was
still under Chief Bates’ command. But that was the last thing that
was on her mind right now. “I'm sorry, but shouldn't that man be in
prison?” her voice trilled high, her throat tight from the
confrontation.

Now the Chief's face
practically boiled. It was as if his skin had been dipped into
cooking fat, it prickled red so quickly.
“What on Earth are you talking
about?” he pressed out each word like the puff of a bellows. “This
man and Miss Grimshore are guests of mine—”

“
Guests?” Ebony repeated, voice
trilling even higher. “Are you out of your mind? I put that man
behind bars several weeks ago,” she gestured towards the gaunt man.
“For attacking that woman,” she jabbed a finger towards Cecilia
Grimshore, who still hadn't moved a muscle. “And you ask me what on
Earth is going on?”

“
Put him behind bars?!” the
Chief's voice boomed out, ringing with anger and disbelief. “You
are out of line, Bell, now get out of here before I give you an
official reprimand.”

“
What?” Ebony's stomach gave a
kick, her palms starting to sweat profusely. What was going on
here? What was the Chief playing at? Why was the gaunt man out of
prison ...?

“
Don't you mind us,” Cecilia
Grimshore said, hands still clasped so primly, smile still as
bright as a daisy under full sun. “I'm sure your employee there is
just a little confused.”

“
It can happen,” the gaunt man
agreed, nodding affably and leaning forward in his chair.
“Sometimes people become very confused,” he repeated, eyes latching
onto Ebony.

“
Confused,” the Chief repeated
with a bluster, “she'll be more than confused if she doesn't
apologize this instant and get out of here.”

Ebony's mouth just lay open,
her skin tight with cold.
“This can't be happening,” she said out loud, more
to the situation than to any of the three people around
her.

“
Perhaps she is under stress,”
Cecilia cocked her head to the side slightly, eyes still as bright
as glittering diamonds. She looked, for all the world, like someone
examining a curious painting in a museum. “I do believe police work
is stressful,” she added with a cute shake of her head.

The gaunt man agreed.
“Very stressful.
What, with all those criminals, and such – isn't it any wonder that
she might become confused?”

“
Very forgivable,” Cecilia added
with a smile.

“
Indeed,” the gaunt man agreed,
leaning back in his chair.

“
You simply mustn't punish her
for this, dear Chief Bates,” Cecilia smiled curiously.

“
Indeed,” the gaunt man had the
hint of a sneer on his lips, but his face still beamed out with
general good cheer, “not on our behalf. We are both, very much, not
insulted by this. So we implore you to simply leave her
alone.”

“
Oh,” Cecilia put up a hand
delicately, “and maybe give her a cup of tea,” she added
brightly.

“
Excellent idea,” the gaunt man
agreed,” “tea.”

The Chief grumbled for a
moment, before finally taking a gruff breath.
“You are lucky, Bell. Now get
out of here. I don't want to see you again.”

With that, Chief Bates closed his door
with a bang, leaving Ebony standing there staring at nothing but
the grain of the wood.

What had just happened?

Cecilia, that man
...
what?

Ebony blinked wildly, eventually
reaching up a hand to rub her eyes. She couldn't believe this.
There was the Chief of Police carrying on a conversation with the
same man that she'd done for magical kidnapping and Death Summoning
only several weeks before!

And there was Cecilia Grimshore,
sitting alongside her supposed attacker as if they were simply the
most polite of friends.

Ebony rocked backwards and forwards on
her feet for several seconds, hearing nothing but the muffled
voices from within the office.

What should she do? Run down to the
front-desk and raise the alarm? Scream for help? Had the gaunt man
somehow escaped and cast spells over Cecilia and the
Chief?

Ebony rubbed at her face again.
No, that didn't make sense. With the amount of magical protection
on the station
– the gaunt man, even if he was an accomplished wizard –
wouldn't be able to hex the Chief.

The Chief would know, should
have known, that Ebony had arrested that very man for attacking
Cecilia Grimshore almost
... how many weeks ago was it now?

Ebony tried to remember, but somehow
the thought kept evading her grasp.

The crypt, the kidnapping in
the crypt
... it had been ....

Ebony pinched the bridge of her nose
and turned from the door, shaking her head as if to clear out the
cobwebs.

She took several steps down the
hallway. The crypt, she kept repeating herself, the crime at the
crypt.

As she walked unsteadily down the
corridor, her heels clicking against the clean marble, she simply
kept repeating those words to herself. The crypt, the crime at the
crypt. Even though she was having greater and greater difficulty
trying to remember what it was all about, some part of her knew
that if she kept holding onto those words, she'd
remember.

Ebony managed to make it to the
stairwell, her hand still pinching the bridge of her nose, before
she remembered anything more.

Yes, her mind almost screamed
at her, the crypt. That man
... that gaunt man ... he'd been at the crypt. And
Cecilia Grimshore, she'd been there too.

As if with a pop and a fountain of
sparks, all of Ebony's memories returned to her. She found herself
shaking her head. Had she really just forgotten all about that
crime, that same crime that had left her magic-less for a
month?

Ebony stood there in wonder for
a while. Then a sick, but very solid, feeling took her stomach. She
looked around for a moment. This memory
– this crime she'd apparently stopped
– it was real, wasn't it?

Ebony was suddenly seized with such an
odd sensation. No you silly goose, she told herself, you know the
crime is real. You remember it, remember?

She shook her head. But if that was
the case, then what was the Chief of Police doing?

She was torn, teetering at the edge of
a rather dark and lonely-looking cliff. Who was right, Ebony or the
Chief? Was it more rational to believe that Ebony had somehow made
up all of this junk, or that the Chief had been hexed in the
station?

This strange fog of a feeling
that hung around Ebony with a limp, cold grip, didn't help matters.
It was as if it was encouraging Ebony to doubt everything she'd
ever believed
....

No, she had to check. She headed for
Frank's office.

If everything was turning to smoke
before her eyes, then it was time to stoke up the fire and see what
else could burn. She had to find out what was real, whatever it
took.

When she walked up to Frank's
desk she could still feel the fog around her, sapping at her
identity like a leech at her wrist.
“Frank,” she said in a whisper.

He looked up, squinting at
her.
“You
again, Ebony Bell? And what do you want this time?”

“
I just um ... want you to check
something up on the ... ah, files.”

“
Not something frivolous, I
hope,” he typed something slowly into his keyboard, and then looked
up at her with a serious expression.

“
Oh,” Ebony laughed
uncomfortably, “I hope it's not that frivolous.”

“
What do you want to know? I do
have other work to do, you know.”

Ebony wiped her palms on her
skirt; they were getting so slick with sweat that she was worried
Frank would start to notice.
“Um. You know that incident that happened several
weeks ago. You know the one in the cemetery? The one with the
illegal Death Summoning and, ah, Cecilia Grimshore?”

Frank's face crumpled with
annoyance.
“More of your games, Ebony? Now listen here. Your father
was a great detective, and he would be more than a little ashamed
to watch your little games, young lady. That little incident in the
cemetery, if that's what you want to call it, was your own fault –
and I thought you would have realized that by now. You made a
terrible mistake. And I'm more than glad to see that your Coven has
punished you for it. Really,” he nodded quickly, “you shouldn't be
making such a mistake again.”

Ebony receded back from
him.
“What?
I hardly did anything—”

“
Ha,” Frank blurted, “if it
hadn't been for Chalcedony, why, we would never have gotten Miss
Grimshore out at all.”

“
What?! Chalcedony wasn't there.
She only started here after I, well, after they took my magic
away.”