Witch's Bell Book Seven, page 1
part #7 of Witch's Bell Series
Witch’s Bell Book Seven
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 Seven
Copyright © 2014 Odette C. Bell
Cover art stock photos licensed from Depositphotos.
www.odettecbell.com
Witch’s Bell Book Seven
This is it. There’s no more fighting it.
Ebony Elizabeth Bell’s destiny has finally caught up to her, and try as she might, it will not let go. For all the victories she has claimed and the love and friendship she has won, nothing will prepare her for what she faces next. Why? It’s time to go through the Portal. The bridge between worlds. The harbinger of destruction. The end.
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Anna’s Hope – Sample Chapter
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More Fantasy Series by Odette C. Bell
Prologue
She stood on the torn, fissured ground. Vale crumbled around her. Time raced through the cracks in the pavement, through the gaps in the trees, through any hole or crevasse.
It erased all.
She teetered back on one foot, her face slack with fear.
Before her, Vale crumbled.
Inch by inch, second by second. A virus of time washed over it like a tidal wave, destroying everything in sight.
She screamed.
Her voice couldn’t carry.
She turned to search out her friends, her family, Nate.
They were all gone.
All dust at her feet.
She turned, tearing her eyes off the sight as she pushed into a frantic run.
Her bare feet snagged against the rubble that had once been buildings, tufts of dust escaping at her frantic footsteps. Dust that had once been people, now crumbled by the ravages of time.
She screamed again.
She flung herself forward, her feet snagging as she stumbled and fell.
Her shoulder slammed into the ground.
A wind picked up from behind. Roaring, it blew through the falling buildings, blowing a wall of dust her way.
She turned over her shoulder, her body so racked with fear she could no longer move.
Her wide, dry eyes bulged as she stared at the destruction.
Everything crumbled now. Trees, buildings, parks, houses, cars.
Seconds felt like eons, eating away at everything in time’s path.
She screamed.
Ebony Bell screamed and screamed and screamed.
Her throat a broken mess, her hands trembling as her sweaty fingers tracked across the dust. She tried to move.
She couldn’t.
She tried to flee.
There was nowhere to go.
She tried to beg for help.
There was no one left.
The dust reached out to her, almost touching her feet. She jerked them back desperately.
A light lifted up from the city beyond.
From somewhere near the vicinity of the park, a bright slice of light pierced through the clouds of billowing dust.
She stared at it just as the wall of dust reached her.
The Portal.
It was opening.
….
Ebony Bell jerked awake.
Her fingers wet with sweat, her whole body trembling, it took her too long to realize she was in bed and it had all been a dream.
Nate was by her side instantly, wrapping an arm around her as he pulled her in protectively.
“It was a dream, it was just a dream,” he whispered in her ear, pulling her even closer.
She listened to his words.
She couldn’t believe him.
It wasn’t just a dream; it was a portent.
Of what was to come….
1
By the time Ebony Bell sat down at the kitchen table that morning, she’d pushed the dream away.
It was hard, but she’d had practice; those same terrible dreams had been assaulting her since Harry’s disappearance.
She stared off into the middle distance. With her chin held in her hand, she sighed deeply.
She’d been doing that for weeks now. Just staring out the window or at the wall or at some inconspicuous section of dirt on the ground.
She missed him. Of course she did. Her whole body ached with the pain of loss, with the insecurity of loneliness. His loss was so powerful, in fact, it easily washed away the terror of her nightmares.
Though she still had her mother, Ben, the police station, Vale, and Nate, her sorrow at losing Harry – her truest friend – was incalculable.
As she sat there and considered the same view with a stilled, deadened edge to her gaze, she heard Nate making breakfast behind her. As silently as he could, he attended to her needs. For the past several weeks ever since Harry had bravely and stupidly gone through the Portal in her place, Nate had been Ebony’s rock. Without him, she would have had nothing. Nothing.
Nate was now her everything.
“It’s almost ready,” he said as she heard him pick up a bowl and place it gently on the countertop.
Though Ebony heard him, she didn’t respond. In fact, she only looked up when he came around, offered her a sad smile, and placed the bowl before her. Presiding over her attentively, she watched his lips draw into a worried frown. “You are going to eat that, right? Because Ebony, you need to eat something.”
Slowly she let her hand drop from her chin and placed it lightly beside the bowl. Considering the steaming contents, she pulled it toward herself. She didn’t want to eat it, though. Not because Nate’s cooking was disgusting. On the contrary, he was a brilliant and capable chef. Ordinarily Ebony would be happy to tuck into anything he made, from pastries to hearty stews to delicate salads.
She didn’t have an appetite today. She hadn’t had an appetite for the past several weeks.
Nate didn’t move back until he saw her grab up her spoon. In fact, he remained there, looming above her, his gaze watchful as she took a bite. “You need to eat,” he repeated.
It was a sentiment she could agree with, but something she couldn’t practice. Her stomach turned at the thought of food. She barely slept too, and at the prospect of work, she often found herself morosely giving up.
Since Harry’s departure, the life had been sucked right out of her.
Immediately after her brazen bookstore had sacrificed himself through the Portal, Ebony had been determined to find him, to bring him back no matter the cost. Now, however, she knew it would be impossible.
There was no way to get him back.
She must have read every single book about portals, canvassed every magical race, and talked the ear off anyone who would listen. But the conclusion was undeniable: Harry was on the Other Side, and he was there to stay.
As that thought arose in her mind, her expression immediately soured, her lips drawing in as tears filled her eyes.
Nate obviously saw it. Because he bent over, placing a hand on the table for support as he leaned in and brushed his warm palm over her shoulder.
The move was soft and alluringly gentle, and it, more than anything else, managed to grab hold of her attention. She looked up into his eyes, and despite her sorrow, smiled.
Whenever her pain at losing Harry would become too much to bear, or the terror of her nightmares would threaten to claim her, Nate would be there. He would step in and place a hand on her cheek, or stare meaningfully into her eyes, or kiss her softly on the head. He would break her obsession with what she’d lost and remind her of what she still had.
“It’s hard,” he said simply. He didn’t add anything else. He didn’t tell her it was hard but that she should get over it or try to move on. No, he simply let that warm palm of his press lightly into her shoulder as he acknowledged once more, “it’s hard.”
Several tears streamed down her cheeks as she nodded.
“But you take however much time you need, and you do what you have to. I’ll be here.”
Pressing her lips together hard, she tried to stem the flow of her tears as she nodded. “Thank you,” she managed in a shaking voice, “thank you,” she repeated as the emotion swelled within her. Pushing herself forward in a quick, almost frantic move, she flung herself at him.
Nate just stood there and took her weight, wrapping his arms around her waist as he supported her there.
Pushing her cheek hard into his chest as she let her tears flow freely now, Nate cradled her closer.
She wanted to stay locked in his arms forever. Yet she knew she couldn’t.
The end was nigh.
In the past several weeks, crime had increased. The weather had gone mad. The magic pouring out of the Portal had doubled and then tripled. Every imaginable woe was descending upon Vale with the quick march of a deadly army. And that wasn’t even to mention her dreams….
Eventually, she pulled herself away from him, though she let her hands still rest on his arms as she stared up into his caring eyes. She could have happily spent an eternity pondering the depth of his gaze.
She didn’t have one.
His phone rang.
It surprised them both, but while he merely blinked hard, Ebony jolted badly, her knee bashing into the chair behind her.
Nate rubbed at her arm and shot her a commiserating look as he answered his phone. “Detective Wall,” he said in a curt tone.
Then he drew into silence, his eyes narrowing as he listened to the person on the other end of the line.
Ebony tensed as she waited for the call to end. She was becoming closer and closer to Nate and could read his body language easily. Right now, she could see the tension gripping his jaw, transferring down his neck, and tightening his shoulders like a vice.
“Right, I’ll be there,” he said as he automatically glanced up at Ebony and held her gaze, “soon. Just give me an hour or so,” he said after a lengthy pause.
Nate, despite the fact he drove at the speed of a snail, wouldn’t need an hour to get anywhere in Vale. She knew what he was doing. And though it was sweet, she couldn’t let him.
She took a pointed step forward and shook her head. “You can go,” she mouthed.
Though he clearly saw her, he didn’t respond. “An hour or so,” he repeated, then he muttered a curt, “goodbye,” before turning the phone off.
“Nate, you can go. I’ll be fine on my own,” she said clearly as he returned his phone to his pocket.
He considered her before shaking his head. “Ebony Bell, I don’t tell you what your priorities should be, so don’t you tell me what mine ought to be,” he said in a playfully reproachful tone.
She wanted to argue, and maybe he could see that because he swiftly pulled her in and kissed her tenderly on the head.
“Nate,” she managed when he released her, “seriously. I don’t want you to stay here because of me.”
Rather than argue with her, Nate crossed his arms, fixed her with a purposeful look, and shook his head. The move had finality and all the righteous determination of a knight.
Sighing, she shook her head. “What’s it about anyway?”
Nate didn’t answer immediately.
“Nate, the phone call. It was about some case, right?” She hooked her loose hair over her ears. Though work was the furthest thing from her mind right now – considering Harry, her dreams, and the little fact a creature from beyond the Portal was trying to kidnap her – she couldn’t completely let it go. Despite her hardships, a part of Ebony was hardwired into looking out for Vale. The mere mention of a magical misdemeanor would see her ears prick and her skin prickle.
“Nothing important. Just a robbery,” he answered.
She could feel herself deflate. Considering the frankly awful crimes that had been committed of late, a simple robbery was almost welcome. Not, of course, that stealing was a good thing. It wasn’t a murder, though, nor kidnapping, nor some brutal fight.
Vale was going to the dogs, and not just ordinary dogs, the dogs of Hell.
“Anything important stolen?” She asked as she sat back down.
“Hard to tell.”
Nate had been on the phone for a few minutes. Either the officer who’d called in the robbery had talked about the weather and the latest sports results, or Nate was deliberately holding back the details.
“Nate, you can tell me,” she said with a deep sigh.
He simply stared at her with a level gaze. “Eb, it’s just a robbery, nothing to worry about,” he emphasized the word worry as he too sat back down, watching her expression carefully as he did.
She understood what was happening here.
Though Ebony had spent most of the past few weeks in a despondent mood over the loss of her best friend, she’d also been frightened and edgy, especially considering her dreams. They assailed her every night, always depicting the same harrowing sight: Vale crumbling as the creature beyond the Portal came for her.
So yeah, she was edgy.
She knew her dreams were a portent of what was to come.
There was a dark, deadly force out there, and it was after her.
That was not a fact to be readily and easily forgotten. It was one that weighed on her mind whenever her sorrow lifted for long enough.
It was also a fact that Nate would not have forgotten. Indeed, it was likely carved right into his heart.
Though Ebony never wanted to lose Nate, she was aware he couldn’t lose her either. The way he’d held onto her, stopping her from running through the Portal, was a testament to that. The way he sometimes wrapped an arm around her in his sleep proved it too. And, most importantly, the way he begged her to look after herself.
Nathan Wall didn’t want to give Ebony Bell up. And he would do anything to protect her. Which included, apparently, withholding information so she didn’t worry.
“It’s alright,” he repeated in a controlled, reassuring tone, “the police department will have it under control.”
She took a deep breath and rested her elbows on the table as she ran her fingers quickly through her hair. “Nate, you can tell me. I won’t freak out, I promise.” She tried to shoot him a smile, but it was weak, and she couldn’t hold it.
“Eb, you aren’t the only witch out there. And you’re not the only person responsible for Vale. From your mother to Ben to the rest of the department, there are strong, capable people you can rely on. So rely on them. You can’t shoulder every burden. And I’m not going to let you anymore,” he added in a croaky voice.
She looked up at him sharply. She could see the emotion crumpling his brow and lips.
“You keep having those horrible dreams, and we know something is after you,” he added as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “It almost got you last time,” he started playing with the cuffs of his shirt, “and I almost let it,” he said through a frustrated, truly sorrowful laugh. “But I won’t do that again. I won’t make the same mistakes.” he now looked up at her, his hands stilling as determination returned to him, washing away the frustration and shame.
Nate had many admirable qualities, but his ability to pull up his socks and keep going was one of the most attractive. Though she knew he was killing himself on the inside for almost losing her, he hardly ever let it show. Instead, he channeled his energy into doing something.
….
Which was what she should be doing right now.
Rather than wallowing in her grief, she should be doing something. People still needed her. She could either sit at the table obsessing over what she’d lost, or she could help the people she still had to ensure she didn’t lose them too. To ensure whatever horrible reality her dreams foretold never had a chance to pass.
At that thought, a bitter wave of emotion rolled over her, and she swallowed back a fresh downpour of tears.
Once again Nate could clearly see her emotion, and he shifted his jaw as he stared into her eyes. “You stay here,” he said determinedly, “and don’t worry,” he added as he reached forward and pushed her untouched food closer to her. “We’ve got this sorted. Trust in the rest of Vale, Eb. We know what we’re doing.”
What he was saying made sense. Or at least it should have. She knew, academically, that from the witches to the police, there were plenty of people Ebony could rely on. She wasn’t the only person who could protect Vale, right?
Wrong.
She wasn’t being arrogant, and nor was she overstating her power and influence, but Ebony knew she was key to this mess. The creature beyond the veil wanted her for some reason.
….
So why couldn’t she force herself to find out what that was? Why couldn’t she get dressed and head to work? Why couldn’t she control her emotions – just like Nate was doing – so she could protect the people she loved?
Ebony couldn’t answer her own questions. She didn’t know why she couldn’t suck it up and get on with things.
….
Or did she?
Maybe, just maybe, she’d given up.
What was the point in fighting considering what she was up against? If all of Vale was soon to fall to the magical fiend beyond the Portal, then what could she realistically do about it?
Her dreams reinforced the fact she could do nothing. No matter how far she ran, no matter what magic she relied on, Vale always fell.
Maybe they were telling her it was best to give up.
Though she was far stronger now than she’d ever been before, it wasn’t enough.
She knew that the creature beyond the veil was greater than her, wiser, stronger, and willing to do whatever it took to attain its goal.
She couldn’t stand in its way forever, so why try?
“Eb, I’ll hang around here until you’ve finished your breakfast,” Nate gestured to her now cold food, “then I’ll head out. But I’ll be home quickly. I promise.”
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