Witch's Bell Book One

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.
    And 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 licked her lips, and 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.'
    Frank just shook his head, his skin pasty with shock. 'Now I don't know what's gotten into you today, and maybe I don't want to know. There is little wonder, considering your current behavior, that you've been replaced as our witch consultant. Really, what would your father think?'
    'Replaced?' Ebony shook her head. 'What are you talking about?'
    'Ebony Bell, stop playing this game. I have work to do, and you'd best go and do yours, lest you find yourself without a job, and without a foot to stand on.' Frank turned concertedly back to his work, obviously deciding to ignore her from now on.
    Ebony turned from him, face hot, and walked away.
    What, in all that was holy, was going on here? Had the station's defenses. been overcome? One moment Frank was fine, the next he was treating Ebony like the scum you scrape off city drains.
    Ebony's hands started to shake as she climbed the stairs. It was all she could think of doing, receding and heading back to her office, her home amongst all those files. Magical files, after all, could not lie.
    As she walked up the steps, she tried tremendously not to cry. Her skin was hot and itchy, her body limp and weak. None of this was right, nothing at all. Frank, the Police Chief, Cecilia, the gaunt man. What was