Witch's Bell Book One

as he drew up alongside Chalcedony. His expression was still as readable as a lost, ancient language.
    What he was thinking, Ebony had no idea. And what he thought of Ebony, well....
    'Oh nothing, darling,' Chalcedony turned and flashed him a smile.
    Ebony's brow clunked down a full notch. Darling? Had Chalcedony just drawled out a little pet name for the Detective? Or was that tone of familiarity-
    Chalcedony turned and patted Nate affectionately on the chest. 'I've got this; you can go back to work.'
    Ebony found herself blinking like she was back in that wind-tunnel full of sand. This time it was different, though. It was now as if Ebony was staring at a world that was quickly disintegrating – leaving chunks and bits of the universe that once was, flying around and hitting her in the arms, face, and eyes, like a relentless blizzard.
    Nate didn't say anything, he didn't move, and his expression stayed the same. In fact, Nate looked exactly like Nate. He didn't have that same tinge of confusion that littered the faces of Ebony's co-workers, or former co-workers, if the stories were to be believed.
    Nate looked like the first time she'd met him. His feet were planted as if he were trying to grow roots, his jaw jutted forward with an angle that could cut the wind in two, and his eyes shone with a determination that seemed like it could burn forever.
    Was this the same man she'd kissed only this morning?
    Ebony felt sick, giddy, wild, mad, stressed, pathetic, done for, and just totally overwhelmed. But she somehow still stood there. If she just kept her feet in the same place, and her balance intact, she could weather this storm by simply being.
    'Well, are you just going to stand there, Ebony?' Chalcedony turned on her, arms locked together again. 'Because I really will throw you out.'
    'I... am sure you will,' Ebony managed. She could feel the desperation rising in her like a king-tide. But she couldn't let it win, she told herself. No, no, no. She couldn't become desperate too. Desperate people in desperate situations were, well, Desperate with a capital D. She needed to find some other way, something to latch onto for support.
    But what did she have left? No magic, no friends, and only a vague belief that her memories were worth fighting for.
    What was she without her magic, her friends, and her memories? She was just the name itself – Ebony Bell, empty and an unfurnished.
    So she'd fight for Ebony Bell, then, whatever that meant. Two little words. Currently devoid of magic, love, and their usual charm. But the only things Ebony could still say, with confidence, were still certainly hers.
    'But you won't,' Ebony sniffed in a deep breath. 'Because I haven't done anything wrong,' Ebony said the words with force, pushing herself to believe in them as she pushed them out of her mouth.
    'Haven't done anything wrong?' Chalcedony said with a guffaw of laughter. 'Are you out of your mind?'
    Ebony nodded. 'The jury is still out on that. But here's a question for you,' Ebony swallowed. She was fighting for her name, she told herself. And it was now up to her to prove that Ebony Bell was something worth living for. 'Tell me Chalcedony, what actually happened at the crypt? What time did you arrive? Who was down there? When did we get the call? What was the weather like? Who was the culprit? What was he summoning? How long had you been working for the police station before hand? What exactly did I do?' the words gushed out of Ebony like lava boiling from a break in the Earth. As soon as she opened up the flood gates, every question she'd been longing to ask the universe, gushed out of her, all laced with an aching, fierce emotion.
    She was fighting for herself now, Ebony repeated to herself; she was fighting for Ebony Bell – whoever that was.
    Chalcedony's expression began with a fat-cheeked laugh, which slowly shifted down until she wore a look of confusion akin to the detectives around her. 'I started working for the police department...' she trailed off.
    'After I was unfairly punished for a crime I did not commit,' Ebony said, voice stronger.
    'You did,' Chalcedony suddenly spat back, voice like a whip. 'You fool, you endangered all of your friends and co-workers, Cecilia, even the citizens of Vale-'
    'Oh, really?!' the passion was now arcing through Ebony like electricity through a live wire. 'It's now gone up to include the citizens of Vale, has it? What's it going to be next? The world, the Universe? Everything