Witch's Bell Book Six, page 1
part #6 of Witch's Bell Series
Witch’s Bell Book Six
Odette C. Bell
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Witch’s Bell
Book Six
Copyright © 2014 Odette C. Bell
Cover art stock photos licensed from Depositphotos.
www.odettecbell.com
Witch’s Bell Book Six
Sometimes you look in the mirror, and you don’t like what you see.
After a few blessed months with Nate, the unthinkable happens. The door to the other realm – the Portal – begins to crack open. Into Vale, seeps mystery and mayhem, the likes of which Ebony has never encountered. Amongst the chaos, a spell is cast. Dividing her in two, Ebony must fight desperately to protect those she loves before all creation is washed away.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Witch’s Bell Series Information
www.odettecbell.com
More Fantasy Series by Odette C. Bell
1
Ebony Bell was lying in bed, her face squished up hard against her pillow, one eye blinking languidly as she stared at the small table beside her.
The little electric clock on it read 6:59 AM. Which meant she had one whole minute before she had to get up.
The room around her was silent and dark, save for the light filtering in through a crack in the curtains.
She had a lot to do today. When was Ebony’s life not filled with magic, mayhem, and madness, after all?
In the past few months, there’d been a worrying trend in Vale. Violence, crime, and a general sense that things were going to the dogs.
It was enough to send a witch consultant mad. And it would have if Ebony hadn’t been suitably distracted.
Knowing she was out of time, she savored a languid blink before the clock flicked to 7:00 AM and the alarm rang out with an insistent beep.
Ebony wasn’t quick enough to grab it up and turn it off; someone else got there first. That someone was Nathan Wall, detective of the Vale Police Department and Knight of the Roundtable.
He leaned right over her, hit the top of the alarm to silence it, then flopped down beside her, sharing her pillow as he took a deep breath.
“Sounds like someone doesn’t want to go to work today,” Ebony said as she indulged in a light chuckle, enjoying the feel of Nate’s warm arm resting heavily over her side.
“I’m a Knight of the Roundtable, and Vale’s number one detective; I’m always ready for work,” Nate mumbled, his breath warm on her neck.
She laughed at him. Now they’d finally, finally gotten together, she’d quickly learned there was a lot more to the guy than a perpetually neat tie and a finely chiseled jaw.
He could actually be funny when he wanted to. And yes, even he had his mornings where he’d rather stay in bed.
“Don’t you have some important paperwork to do today?” she pried, turning around and facing him, her red curls brushing over his face.
He winked an eye open slowly. “Have you been keeping tabs on my workflow?”
She twisted her lips up to the side in a wry smile. “Oh, yes, because I’m after your job.”
“I knew it.” He blinked his eye closed again, his smile half concealed by the bulk of her pillow.
“Because you are Vale’s smartest, bravest knight.” She leaned in and kissed him lightly on his brow.
He now blinked open both eyes. “I’m Vale’s only knight,” he pointed out drolly.
“Take a compliment when a compliment is given,” she chided as she finally convinced herself she should get up. Yet when she went to move, Nate just weighed his arm into her, locking her in place.
“Are you trying to make me late for work?” She laughed at him, her hair messing over the pillow as he tried to brush it from his face with his free hand.
“You just told me you were after my job,” Nate pointed out, grinning through his words.
“So your plan is to keep me locked in your arms always?” she purred, chuckling lightly as he cleared his throat properly.
“No,” he now opened his eyes fully and stared at her, his attention fixed, “my plan is to enjoy what I have while I have it.”
Ebony stopped. She didn’t laugh anymore, she didn’t tease him, and she didn’t pretend she had designs on his job.
She simply looked on at Nate. Reaching up, she brushed her own hair free of his face.
He was still looking at her intently.
It hadn’t escaped anyone’s attention – magical or mundane – that something was happening to Vale. Something dangerous. Something that was building with every passing day.
In the past month or two, Ebony had been rushed off her feet. She hadn’t had a day to herself. She felt practically chained to the police station.
The crimes were flowing in. Every hour another heinous magical felony was committed. Each morning when she sat down at her desk, it was to a mountain of new cases to investigate.
It was wearing on everyone’s nerves, but perhaps some more than others. Nate worked late every night, brought case files home with him, and never stopped.
As a Knight of the Roundtable, he knew better than most what this crime spree meant.
The Portal.
It was yet another sign that things were shifting gear as the creature beyond the Portal grew stronger by the second.
Yet amongst all that stress, Ebony felt she was still a very lucky girl.
She had Nate.
She now watched him, and she used all her attention. She noted the lines on his brow, the look in his eyes, the angle of his lips, the warmth of his cheeks.
She drew over every detail with her eyes, tracing them into her imagination so she could see them forever in her mind’s eye.
“Nate,” she finally broke the silence with a tender whisper, “you’re not going to lose me.” She kissed his brow again.
When he didn’t look convinced, she settled for kissing him on the lips instead.
When they drew apart, he reached up to shift her hair from her eyes, brushing it gently over her shoulder.
He still looked distracted, still looked like at any moment someone could fly in and claim Ebony and steal her away forever.
To be fair, his fears were not unfounded. Ebony had made powerful enemies. In fact, some would say she’d been doing nothing but making enemies for the past several years.
From No Name to powerful cults, Ebony was adept at stepping on all the wrong toes.
But she’d already died once – kind of – and she had no intention of doing it again.
“I suppose we should get up,” Nate finally conceded.
Now Ebony reached forward and locked him in place.
She needed him to hear her. To believe her.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to me or to you,” she added seriously. “And hell, I have Legion on my side, the Coven of Vale, Ben, a possessed bookstore, and Vale’s best knight to back me up. Nate, everything will be just fine. And if it isn’t, we’ll make it fine. One witch,” she plucked up his hand and laced her fingers through his, “and one knight. I’m pretty sure that means we can take on the world and the rest of the universe too. Nothing’s going to stand in our way.”
Nate slowly indulged in a chuckle. Then he kissed her once more and finally rolled out of bed.
Ebony watched him head over to the window to throw back the curtains.
Though he was only wearing a pair of black shorts, the ladies down on the street didn’t suddenly shriek in shock and promptly swoon. Neither did the bin men shake their fists at him and tell him to put some pants on. This was Harry’s bookstore, and he was always sure to control what the outside could see when they peered in.
She watched Nate as he finally stepped back, took a heavy sigh that shook through his broad shoulders, then headed over to the closet.
He looked relaxed, and if not fully relaxed, then measurably less tense than he’d been. Her words had obviously registered with him.
Still lying in bed and thinking about how lucky she was that Nate had finally succumbed to his feelings, she didn’t notice as he leaned out from the closet door and threw something at her.
That something was an enormous wooly sweater that smacked into her face and instantly made her sneeze.
“Hey,” she grumbled, tugging it off in time to see him chuck a skirt her way. She deftly dodged it, then peered out quickly to see if he was mad enough to throw a pair of high heels at her.
When he didn’t, she finally jumped out of bed.
“You’re going to make us late, Ebony Bell.” He chuckled to himself, apparently enjoying his prank immensely as he pulled on his pants and fastened the belt with quick, practiced moves.
She pouted at him, then sashayed past to pick her outfit for the day.
“Hey, I’ve already given you some clothes,” he pointed out as he leaned in and grabbed the skirt she was considering, holding it in place.
“Yes , I can see that. You, using your unfailing fashion sense, picked an enormous wooly sweater with reindeer on it, and a mini skirt with blue sequins,” she emphasized the last bit. “Not exactly what your average police officer wears to work.”
“You are nowhere near your average police officer,” he shot back, still chuckling as he shrugged into a shirt and slowly did up the buttons.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She hooked her unruly hair behind her ears as she pulled out a powder-blue well-fitted dress with a nice black, tailored jacket.
“Don’t. It’s a simple fact. Ebony Bell, there’s no one in Vale quite like you,” Nate finished, grabbing his tie and looping it around his neck quickly.
Before she could come up with a fittingly sassy remark, she glanced over to see his eyes sparkling.
Sometimes – usually when he didn’t realize she was watching him – Detective Nathan Wall would look like he’d just won the lottery. With schoolboy giddiness brightening his cheeks, he would stare at her with unmistakable adoration.
And she would often stare back with exactly the same emotion, albeit with a little more witchly dignity.
“Anyway, hurry up.” Nate flicked an eyebrow up as he grabbed his jacket, hooked it over his shoulder and walked out into the rest of her room, no doubt to dutifully make her bed. Because Nate was like that. Before he’d moved in, Ebony had only made her bed rarely, or when Harry had done it for her – embodying the sheets and cushions and walking them across the room in a display of supreme linen control.
Now Nate was here, changes were taking place. Everything was neat, clean, and functional. The second he got in the door after work was the second he started dinner. And while dinner was cooking, he arranged his case-notes on the table and set about plowing through as much paperwork as he could before tea was ready to be served.
Then he would automatically do the dishes, then straighten the cushions on the couch, then watch all of about five minutes of TV before turning in for the night.
There was no doubt Detective Nathan Wall lived by rules for every single second of his life.
Ebony Bell didn’t.
She would sometimes pull him onto the bed just after he’d made it, simply to mess it up again. And more often than not, she would forcibly stop him from doing paperwork by sitting on his lap and swatting the files from his hands.
In many ways, they were perfect for each other. Chaos and order all wrapped up in the same relationship.
Just as Nate finished puffing up their pillows, he frowned.
At first, there was no reason, but several seconds later, his phone rang.
The phone wasn’t in the room – Ebony wouldn’t let him bring it in. Bedrooms were not for phones and laptops and TVs and distractions. They were for beds; it was in the name, after all.
The sound of the phone ringing filtered easily in under the door, and Nate quickly dropped what he was doing to hurry out into the kitchen and answer it.
She’d seen his little frown seconds before it had rung though, and she understood exactly what it meant. She was a witch, after all.
She could appreciate magic when she saw it. And whether Nate liked to admit it or not, he was brimming with the stuff. Yes, technically it wasn’t as sparkling and direct as her own, but Nathan Wall had powers.
Just then she’d seen him display a little precognition.
Which wasn’t a good sign. It would no doubt mean the phone call would be important. One didn’t waste their clairvoyant skills on telemarketers and wrong numbers.
Dressing quickly and scrambling into a pair of stockings, Ebony picked up some heels, threw her black, tailored jacket over her shoulders, and quickly followed him out.
When she reached the kitchen, she leaned against the doorframe as one by one she pulled on her heels, watching Nate as she did.
He was standing with his back to her, the phone pressed against his ear as he stared out at the windows behind the TV.
He wasn’t saying anything.
Before Ebony could walk over to him and try to pick up what the person on the other end was saying, Harry appeared.
Quite literally. The air before her went from being simple air to being the apparition of a dead wizard, complete with suspenders and an unfriendly smile.
“Harry.” Ebony breathed through her surprise, getting over it quickly; Harry had a thing for creeping up on you.
“Trying to listen in to Nate’s conversations, again?” He raised an eyebrow in a clearly challenging move.
She sucked in her lips and made a show of moving them around slowly. “Excuse me? Since when do you care about spying? You spend your whole day cataloging the exact movements of everyone on this street. You even semi-possess the books you sell so you can follow people home and look inside their houses. I don’t need a lecture on the morals of checking up on people, thank you.”
Harry still fixed her with that challenging look, but thankfully didn’t follow it up by forcing the fridge to chase her down the hall.
Allowing a little of her magical power to well within her, she walked past him.
As she did, she couldn’t deny Harry flicked her a smile.
By the time she made it past him, Nate had already finished.
Harry had managed to successfully distract her, and now he lifted into the air, floating backward with his hands locked behind his head. “Nate, Ebony’s been spying on you again. Tell her, as a man, you need your privacy. You don’t want her hanging over your shoulder every time you have a secret phone call with the Roundtable.”
Nate made a sharp noise.
“Oh sorry, I shouldn’t have revealed it was with the Roundtable.” Harry brought one hand down and made a show of clicking his fingers in a classic move of gosh-darn-it.
Harry had clearly heard Nate’s whole conversation; he did possess the entire building. From the floorboards, to the couch, to the windows, to any unfortunate cockroaches bold enough to rifle through the bin. Harry was everything. He was even the very air and the dust sailing softly through it.
“Are you really snapping at Ebony when you clearly overheard my entire conversation?” Nate crossed his arms slowly, shifting forward and placing his phone on the table.
“Hey,” Harry put up his hands quickly, “I’m defending your privacy, man.”
“Hold on, the Roundtable?” Ebony finally walked in and right past Harry, not caring that he had to drift on out of the way to let her past. “Is it serious?” she asked in a small voice.
Nate didn’t answer immediately. Though he was sharing a lot with her now they were officially together, there were some things the-ever-secretive knight still kept close to his chest.
Yet eventually that irritated look on his face passed when he glanced up at Ebony and no doubt noticed the worry etched deep in her brow.
“It’s fine,” he tried.
It wasn’t very convincing.
She chose not to push any further, though. She had to accept the logical and necessary boundaries between the various magical races. She was a witch; he was a knight. While that didn’t mean they couldn’t be together, it did mean they had to give each other space to practice their own forms of magic.
Knights were, by nature, secretive. She had to accept and honor that.
That didn’t stop her from walking past him and resting a hand lightly on his shoulder as she leaned over and grabbed her scarf from the back of the couch.
“Don’t trust her, Nate,” Harry suddenly warned, “she’s only trying to look supportive, when secretly she wants to control every aspect of your life.” Harry sniffed importantly.
Ebony turned slowly and raised an eyebrow. It was a pointed and challenging move. “And who exactly spat in your breakfast this morning, Harry? Why are you being so rude to me?”
Harry turned a circle in the air, now floating upside down as he still had his hands neatly tucked behind his back and his feet crossed. “I’m just saying it like it is. I’ve been living with you for a long time, Ebony Bell, and god knows I’ve been browbeaten by your unreasonable rules. Like ‘Harry, don’t eat the pigeons,’ and ‘Harry, stop sending your possessed cockroaches out to clean up the neighbor’s stinking bins,’ and ‘Harry, you can’t scare customers away by claiming there’s a dead man buried in the store’s foundations,’ even though there totally is.” as Harry spoke, he pretended to be Ebony, making his voice pitch stupidly high as he imitated flicking long hair over his shoulders.
Before Ebony could do something drastic like heading downstairs to shred a box of his old, yellowed, and very out-of-date gardening magazines, Nate shifted forward and grabbed her shoulder lightly. “I think Harry is lonely. Perhaps you should try to take the day off.”
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