Witch's Bell Book One

own hands?'
    Ebony shook her head. 'I didn't have time; the Coven got me just as everything settled down. And then,' she raised her wrists and tapped at the her bracelets, 'these.'
    Harry was silent for a moment. 'Who retrieved the book?' he asked with a snap, indicating just how important he thought it was.
    Ebony gulped, suddenly feeling very cold indeed. 'No one. When I asked Nate, he claimed he didn't know what I was talking about.'
    'What?' Harry spat, the floor shaking beneath Ebony's feet. 'You left it there?!'
    'Not me, Harry,' she protested. 'I woke up in a hospital bed the next day, and people told me it had been sorted. Ben assured me that the Coven had solved everything, that the case was done and dusted. And I just....'
    'Forgot about it?'
    'I had other things to deal with,' she croaked through a laugh. 'I didn't imagine that the book hadn't been retrieved, that the spell hadn't been repealed.'
    Harry grumbled, several bookcases giving a wobble. 'I think we have our answer, Ebony.'
    Ebony resisted the urge to sink the floor and bury her head in her arms. 'You don't think...'
    'That your blood got on the book and consummated the spell? That's precisely what I think. It would account for what is happening to you now. Your life, your story, is being rewritten – deleted, destroyed. And in its place, the Grimshores grow stronger.'
    Ebony didn't breathe for a long while, then suddenly sucked in a gasp. 'But, but, Harry, those files in the police station suggested that the Grimshores have been untouchable for years, for almost a century! No matter what's happening to me now, I can't account for that.'
    'It just means they've done it before, Ebony, and that they've probably had help. You wouldn't be the first unfortunate soul that has given over their life so that the Grimshores can write themselves a wonderful future. And unless we can stop this, you won't be the last. I've seen it before, you know, spells like this. Families that maintain their grip on power through various illegal, inhumane, and thoroughly dark magical-rites. And this is Vale, Ebony. If it was going to happen anywhere, it would happen here.'
    'But, Harry, isn't this huge? I mean, the Grimshores own most of Vale, and if those files are anything to go by, they've had this strangle-hold for years. With magic like this backing them up, wouldn't the witches and wizards have gotten wind of it?'
    Harry was silent for just a second. 'You put too much faith in them, you know. Just because the Coven and the Council of Wizards purport to regulate magic, it doesn't mean much. Power and position do not eliminate corruption, Ebony, only Truth does. Now, can you tell me with total confidence that you know the truth of your Coven? Do you know their ways, their plans, their desires?'
    Ebony shook her head. Her mother's face came to mind. The crackling power, the wild hair, the dazzling skin.
    'All you know is they have the power, and they'll do anything to keep it. And this, Ebony, can be said about all ruling-bodies – the wizards and magicians too. You mark my words. It is absolutely not impossible that a powerful witch or wizard knows of the Grimshore spell, and even aids them as we speak.'
    Ebony's heart sank. 'Oh no... Harry, what do we do then? What happens now? I mean, if it's true, and my story is being taken over by the Grimshores, then how do I get away? Won't it simply continue taking away my life?'
    'There are ways and means, dear, there always are. Nothing is over until the book closes.'
    'But Harry, I don't get it... why is everyone turning against me? I understand that the spell is taking over my life,' Ebony paused, a sharp memory of Nate grabbing her wrist and snapping at her to get out coming to mind. 'But why is it working like this?' she gestured towards the front of the store. 'Why have everyone attack me, why have everyone hate me?'
    'The spell is directed towards the Grimshores, and away from you, dear. It is a funnel connecting your life, your history, your soul to them. It also protects itself from any attempt to be destroyed. Tell me, when did you know for sure that this spell was taking effect?'
    'When... when I realized I couldn't talk against the Grimshores.'
    'Are you sure? What about the mugging last night?' one of the upstairs blinds gave a rattle.
    Ebony sucked air through her teeth. 'Just before I left work last night, I found a box about the Grimshores. It made me remember about the case,' she shook her head. 'It was