Witch's Bell Book One

clods of dirt up into the sky.
    Ebony could see things at the edges too, both at the corners of the crypts, and at the corners of her senses. Various beings, attracted by the loose magic and the powerful storm – skulking at the edge of reality, waiting for the right moment to-
    Nate slammed into her side, knocking her to the ground and firing off several rounds as he went. Ebony landed on the grass with a thud, her breath escaping her lips with a gasp. Off to the side, she finally caught sight of what Nate was shooting at. A squat stone gargoyle. It was perched on top of a crypt gutter, staring down at them with its hideous head tilted to one side.
    Then it swooped again, coming in much lower this time, its claws stretched out with the intention to rip, shred, grab, or all three.
    Nate looped an arm around Ebony and pulled her up, pushing her to the side again, just as the gargoyle made its second dash. He managed to squeeze off another round. The rest of the team all took up position as well, shooting with perfect accuracy at the demonic stone-creature. The bullets dashed into its wings, its face, and the side of its outstretched legs. Though they ate away at the stone with each impact, they didn't stop it immediately in its place.
    'Switch rounds!' Ebony screeched as she ducked to the side, barely missing another swoop. 'Use the magic-sucking bullets!'
    Without another word, Andrews and the two guys from the SWAT team, seamlessly switched ammo, bringing up their guns quicker than a sapling recovering from a push. They emptied their rounds into the creature, letting the bullets eat into the sides of its earthy flesh – sucking the magic right out of it. Though the bullets weren't enough to kill it, they were enough to ground it. Its flight began to slow, its height deteriorating, until it landed, claws outstretched, onto the grass.
    That's it, Ebony thought to herself, moving forward quickly, down we go. Ebony tossed the gun to the side for a moment, letting it fall softly against the grass. Then, when she was sufficiently close to the creature to see its lifeless eyes, but far enough away, so as not to have her own pulled out by its sharp talons – she simply fell to a knee.
    With some of the magic sucked out of the creature, it wouldn't have its usual defenses. Leaving it open to attack not just from Ebony, but from other creatures too. She didn't have time right now to take this creature down herself - gargoyles were strong, lapidary creatures, after all. They were lapidary in the sense that they were layered like the very rock they were cut from – they had layers and layers of defenses. that had to be whittled down over time.
    Time, Ebony repeated to herself, right now, was a blessing to be used wisely.
    With her hands pressed together in front of her, and one knee pressed down into the wet grass below, Ebony closed her eyes. Though while nearly anyone sane would think closing your eyes so close to a viscous creature was as dumb as wearing a dress made of money at a meeting of poor and desperate criminals – Ebony had a plan.
    With a breath that rattled through her body, she let out a quick prayer. It wasn't something a witch usually did; after all, praying was something for Believers. But just because Ebony followed the creed, art, and religion of the witches, didn't mean she couldn't appreciate the realities that existed for others. So she said a quick but powerful prayer to the assembled angles, gods, saints, and whatever other beings looked over this cemetery. If the Valians buried underneath the grass were Believes – and their families had buried them under the auspices of their gods, religions and hopes – then those very same gods had a duty to protect.
    There was a chance it wouldn't work, of course, a chance that whatever passing angel would hear Ebony's prayer and simply ignore it. They had every right to; they didn't owe anything to Ebony, after all. But there was still a chance they would come to the call of their dead.
    Ebony snapped her eyes open, just as the gargoyle made a viscous swipe towards her, its claws actually catching at her vest. She backed off just in time though, Nate firing a timely round right into the creature's eyes.
    With the tingles of barely avoided death pumping through her, Ebony scrambled to get back.
    'Are you mad?' she heard Nate spit. 'What the hell were you thinking?'
    He used the word, Ebony noted, even though she'd told him not to! But there was still a