Witch's Bell Book One Read Free

stalked up to him. She grabbed his arm and yanked him towards her, out of the way of the teetering bookcase and out of the line of danger. 'If I had a dollar for every time an arrogant idiot like you got yourself into trouble around magic,' she paused as she pushed him to the side as one of the light-fittings fell from the lamp above, 'I'd buy you all life insurance and finally cash out. Really, is it so hard to believe in magic?'
    With the now thoroughly surprised detective still in hand, Ebony whipped an arm around her head in a small circle. At her feet a soft blue glow appeared, spiraling outward until it encompassed bother her and Nathan Wall with ease.
    Finally the detective looked surprised. No, that wasn't quite right. He looked bone-shaken, with pallid skin and a sharp, breathless look on his face.
    'Now,' Ebony said, voice genuinely soft, 'for some reason this store has taken a spectacular disliking to you. He's never usually quite this rude. But unfortunately for you, you are the one who started it.' Ebony was standing close enough to the detective that she could feel the heat of his breath. 'Like it or not, you're going to have to finish it as well. Now, all you have to do is say only one little word.' Her sharp gray-blue eyes twinkled out at him. 'Just one little word.'
    Detective Nate just stood there and stared at her, bottom lip jutting slightly forward. 'What on Earth is going-'
    Ebony mouthed "sorry" expressively.
    And finally the dolt did what he was told. With a quick little cough, and a startled but sheepish look on his face, he announced “sorry” in a loud voice.
    'Ah,' Ebony clapped her hands together, 'finally'.
    The books stopped falling, the magazines stopped fluttering, the bookcases no longer tipped themselves all over the ground, and somehow the open sign had reverted to its usual place above the door.
    Ebony patted at her hair. 'Now, that's certainly a strange way to start the morning.' She clicked her fingers, the blue circle of protection disappearing from her feet. She put her hands on her hips and surveyed the mess, 'oh dear'.
    Ben crawled out from underneath the banana lounge; his round face drooped like a flower. 'Damn it Ebony, you trying to kill us?'
    'It wasn't me,' she waved him off with a flick of her hand. 'Apparently Harry is in a mood this morning.' Ebony knelt down and started piling books on top of each other, trying to clear a path from the door to the stairs.
    'What's going on, who's Harry,' came the gruff voice of Detective Nate behind her, 'and what just happened?'
    Ebony rolled her eyes, sighed, and stood up. Ebony Bell was tall, slender, had long red hair, and sparkling blue eyes. She was hardly a super model though. Ebony Bell wore her face and body like a trophy wife wears a jacket: one for every occasion. Not to say that Ebony literally pulled off her face and slotted a new one in place. It was her expressions, her stance, her body language. At times Ebony would smile, her hair glinting in the sun, her eyes sparkling and warm – and she would look like the most beautiful creature ever born. At other times she would stalk to and fro, her lips pulled, eyes narrow, fists rolled up – and look like a deadly menace, akin to the most terrifying of hardened criminals. And yet at other times Ebony would be engaged in the most mundane of tasks, and look for all the world like a mundane, ordinary woman.
    It was a simple but careful rule with Ebony: whatever she was doing, she became.
    Why?
    Because Ebony Bell was a Summoner Witch. And the first hallowed rule of summoning is becoming.
    'Listen Detective Nathan Wall, I'm sure you are a little surprised by all of this. So let me start at the beginning. My name is Ebony Elizabeth Bell. I am a witch. I own a magical second-hand bookstore. Harry is the name of the spirit who inhabits the store.' Ebony cast around her feet, as if looking for more thoughts. 'Now let me see, is that it?'
    Detective Nate looked at her askance. 'A magical