Witch's Bell Book One

you now.'
    Ebony carefully picked a red lollipop from the bowl by her side, and gestured towards Nate with it, as if it were some kind of wand. 'You are sarcastic, rookie, and that's all that can be said about your personality.' She unwrapped the lollipop, letting the wrapper fall to the counter.
    'Hmm, and you dance like a kitten on speed, which I think kind of sums you up too.'
    For a brief second Ebony was horrified at the realization this buffoon had seen her dancing upstairs. The little blighter had obviously been here for some time, and hadn't had the manners to announce himself. But Ebony quickly shooed away the embarrassment, choosing to smile mysteriously instead. 'First you come in here and insult my music, and now my dancing. Tell me Detective Nate, is that how we make friends?'
    'Who said I was trying to make friends? What I'm really here to do,' he placed the two books he was carrying neatly onto the counter, 'is return these books.'
    'Hmm, I see,' Ebony pulled them away from him, making a show of checking them over completely for any sign of damage or misuse, 'and did you actually manage to read them?'
    Nate flattened his tie. 'You'd be surprised, but literacy rates amongst homicide detectives are actually on the rise.'
    Ebony practically cooed. 'Oooh, you can talk and you can read. Next you'll be finding manners, then you'll be a real man,' Ebony placed the books behind the counter with a satisfied smile.
    Nate's grin stiffened. 'I think you might need to look up the definition of "man" in the dictionary, you might find it illuminating.'
    Ebony ground her front teeth together. Now, now, wasn't this detective sharp. She had to admit, she much preferred this man when he was frightened. He seemed to be a bit too much work to handle otherwise.
    'Hold on, you wouldn't actually have a dictionary around here, would you? You know an actual useful book?'
    Ebony straightened up a little, pulling the lollipop from her mouth with a pop. 'It depends if you like paper weights, Detective Nate. Are you telling me you didn't find those two books I lent you useful? Would you rather learn all about the witches, the Pact, the Portal, demons, and such – by being thrown into a graveyard at night during the witching hour with nothing but your blazing wit to save you? Because if you'd like, I can take you down to the Portal right now and introduce you to a mind-sucking demon-fly. But only if you'd like.'
    Detective Nate's expression was, as usual, quite unreadable. 'The books were fine,' he changed the track of the conversation instantly, reverting to his usual officious tone. 'In fact, I'd be interested in more, if you have any.'
    Ebony made a loop in the air with her lollipop. 'Are you asking if I have any more books? Look around, rookie; I have a whole store full.'
    Detective Nate was obviously done playing. 'Specifically, I was wondering if you had anything pertaining to that Portal of yours. Especially anything relating to the Portal Prophecies.'
    Ebony blinked, a little shocked. 'You actually read those books, didn't you? And it's not my Portal,' she corrected with a little laugh. 'You think I'd be working in a second-hand bookstore if I had my own tamed space-time anomaly?'
    'Correct me if I'm wrong,' Nate appeared to ignore her attempts at humor, 'but much of the relationship between the police and the Coven is due to the Portal, right?'
    'I guess you could say that,' Ebony said carefully, caught off-guard by the Detective's insightful questions. 'The Portal is incredibly powerful; it allows things to happen in Vale that couldn't happen elsewhere. As such, it can be dangerous, unless properly managed.' She suddenly sighed, not really knowing where to begin. There was just so much about magic and Vale that the Detective didn't know, let alone the Portal. And just how was she supposed to explain it all to a man that looked dumber than a cardboard cut-out?
    Nate just stared at her evenly, obviously waiting for his answer.
    'Okay, here's the low-down. Like I said before, the Portal is usually closed. Actually, it's always closed. It's been a really long time since anything tangible has come thought it. Just energy and the occasional thermic cloud-'
    'Hold on, are you saying that nothing can come through the Portal? Nothing but energy, that is?'
    Ebony rolled her eyes, not liking to be interrupted, especially by someone who seemed so darn keen. 'No. I mean, technically no. Things from our side,' she patted her chest,