Witch's Bell Book One

to give you meaning, you give life meaning.
    Nate walked up to her, placed a hand gently on her shoulder. 'What's going on?'
    'Oh, nothing really. I'm just ascending here. Just realizing the true nature of reality. I'll be done in a bit, honest.'
    Nate just shook his head, his expression mystified, but a smile still on his lips.
    Slowly Ebony settled. She took a breath. 'Okay, let’s go.'

Chapter Twenty-Three
    T here was an old witch saying. In fact, it was a saying germane to all magical races. Find a way to give back to the universe, and the universe will find a way to give you double.
    Spiraling reciprocal exchange. That's what Ebony's mother called it. You gave to the universe, it gave you more, then you gave it more in exchange, then it doubled the offer – and so on.
    It was how reality evolved. It was how it created more out of itself. And it was the truth behind magic.
    It had only taken Ebony her whole life to figure it out, but now it was a lesson well learned.
    'Nate,' she turned to him, the shine of her realization starting to wear off, but not truly departing her. 'We have to end this.'
    'You keep saying that, but how?'
    Ebony looked to the side for a moment, thinking. 'Find the man from the crypt, find Cecilia. Question them till they squeal?' Ebony shrugged. 'We could give it a go. Threaten them with an eternity in damnation until they tell us who has been helping them.'
    Nate crossed his arms. 'That's a terrible plan. You think if it was that easy, I wouldn't have dragged them both down to the station already? I'm immune to their charms, Ebony, I can see through their spell. But I'm not stupid enough to think I can just walk up to them and ask them to tell who they have working for them.'
    'Then we find another wa-' Ebony began.
    But then the door opened. And not with a gentle creak, but with a bang.
    Nate piled into Ebony, knocking her to the ground just as the door handle came whizzing by her ear.
    Several figures walked in, footsteps heavy.
    Nate grabbed at Ebony, pulling her to her feet. Then he stood before her, sword outstretched. His back was stiff, his posture strong, and he held his sword with such determination that a titan wouldn't be able to wrestle it from his grip.
    In short, he looked like a knight.
    Three figures stood in the doorway. The man from the crypt, Cecilia Grimshore and....
    'A dragon?' Nate hissed. 'Are you serious? You have a dragon working for you?'
    The man... no, the thing, standing in front of Cecilia was incredible. It had the form of a large human male, but that was it. It was even crammed into clothes, but that wouldn't fool anyone into thinking it was a person. Its skin crackled and erupted with fire, as if it were the surface of some planet being swallowed by the sun. It's eyes were two dents in its flesh, two holes that stared out with dead, black stones.
    And its mouth, its mouth was enormous. Far beyond anything human, far beyond anything natural. It was grotesque, its jaw jutting out a good half-a-meter, its lips blackened skin. A bright white fire burnt from deep within its throat, the light seeming to burst through its skin like blood seeping from a wound.
    Ebony swallowed. She'd never seen a dragon, but she'd thought they'd be more, well, lizard-like
    Nate readied his sword.
    Cecilia laughed. 'Oh, that's won't do, Detective, that simply won't do.' She cocked her head, her hair touching at her long neck. 'I would put that sword down and save yourself the trouble,' she finished with a smile.
    Ebony kept her eyes on the man from the crypt. 'Who are you?' she asked, jaw clenched. 'I mean, I still don't even know you name!'
    Cecilia laughed easily, and the man joined in after a moment. 'At a time like this, you worry that you have been properly introduced?' Cecilia pressed her lips together. 'Aren't you a strange one, Ebony Bell. How delicious that you'll be the one to complete our spell. How is it working, by the way? Are you beginning to feel lighter yet? Is the weight of your life simply lifting from your shoulders?' she clasped her hands together, taking a sudden breath. 'Are you giving over to Death? Are you letting your impotent little life be rewritten for the purposes of something grander, something far greater?'
    'Wow,' Ebony tucked her wrists behind her back, 'you are just as mad as your friend. I mean, I guess you would be, considering you were dumb enough to get played.'
    'Get played?' the gaunt man said carefully. 'You are foolish, witch. We are