Witch's Bell Book One

just for a moment Ebony felt vindicated. Then whatever had fallen over upstairs started to thump and bump with great enthusiasm.
    Ebony shook her head, heading for the stairs. Then she took a sudden sniff, and ran up them with all the speed she could muster. 'Harry, are they in?' she shouted. 'Is that the wizards?
    She mounted the top of the stairs carefully, staring around her with the quick, edgy movements of a meerkat. There wasn't anyone up here, save for a large brown traveling case that was currently dancing around on the floor as if it were filled with hungry cats.
    'Harry?' she approached it warily, still not sure it wasn't some curious trap from the wizards outside. Maybe she'd get close enough and then a burly, hairy wizard would spring out and wrestle her into a headlock.
    'Ha!' the traveling-case suddenly said, its buckle moving like a mouth. 'I told you I owned a traveling case!' he gave another little dance. 'I have now packed myself inside and am now ready to travel.'
    'But,' she walked up to him now, staring down at the curious case bumping around like a pinball in an arcade machine, 'you can't trave-'
    'Ebony Bell,' the buckle formed a frown of sorts, 'there are many things on this Earth, and in this universe, that you do not understand. But if you stop to ask questions of every curiosity you meet, you'll never get very far. Now pick me up, girl, and lets go and do some blasting together,' the case gave a good wiggle on the word "blasting", showing just how enjoyable that concept was to Harry.
    Ebony bent down and, after giving the case a thorough looking-over, picked it up. It didn't weigh a thing. 'Oh...kay... but-'
    'No buts! We go up the stairs, onto the roof, and on with our plan.
    'But the store – and the Wizard's Gold? I mean, shouldn't we take them with us?'
    The case suddenly opened to show the Gold inside. 'Tastes like gold, funnily enough, and powerful magic – spicy stuff. Probably give me indigestion.'
    'And it's a good idea to take it with us, do you think?' Ebony found herself suddenly filled with indecision. Okay, so she had a plan – but Harry tucking himself into a traveling case had been a shock.
    'Oh yes. Valuable stuff, can't be leaving it simply sitting around on the counter, can we? Plus, never know when you need the Midas touch. Turning lead into gold is quite a useful little ability.'
    Ebony took a very deep breath. 'Okay. But what about the store?'
    'Don't you worry about the store, girl, there's still some of me left here. Plus, I've put more hexes and blessings on this place than you've got clothes in your wardrobe. I used to try out any new spell I'd learn on my travels, or in my books, and pool them all around this store in one epic-security-system of booby-traps. I tell you, I really wouldn't want to break in,' the case bustled with laughter. 'But it ought to be fun watching someone else try.'
    'Okay,' Ebony steadied herself, 'then we can go.' She walked over to the second stairwell that led up to the roof and then stopped. 'Hold on, we don't even know where he lives!' she realized with a sudden pang.
    'Oh, don't we? Did you forget you so blithely loaned him my books? My precious little history books on the criminal history of Vale? I've been to his house, Ebony. Blast it – I've seen him eat! He'd sit at his ruddy table, with a plate of toast and sardines, and pick up my books with his oily little hands. Monster. Smelly monster,' Harry added with a sniff.
    Ebony shook with laughter at that. 'I never realized that you could transfer your consciousness to your books,' she bit at her lip, not liking the idea that every single book she'd ever sold had a packet of Harry's consciousness attached – so he could leer at people as they snacked and read, or, heaven forbid, read on the toilet.
    'And yet, there is more you do not know about me. Not those silly little novels you get in for your customers, Ebony. I'd rather burn myself down than extended my Awareness to those. No, but the books of this store - my books – well, they're part of me, aren't they?'
    'So, you've been to his house, and you know how to get there?'
    'Oh yes,' the bag gave a little kick, 'and I'm going to most enjoy going through that place like a cyclone.'
    'If we're meant to be detectives, Harry, then you ought to know they aren't known for their cyclonic action. We have to be discrete.'
    'Discrete? Bah Humbug. Ebony, I didn't see much of his house, he only kept me in the kitchen, the rotter. But I