Witch's Bell Book One

my rite; a new future will be generated.'
    'You don't get it; you have to stop this now. Something is eating at your magic, you total fool, can't you feel it? Breaking through both of your protection spells was easier than blowing my nose. Something has got hold of your magic, and it's weakening it as we speak.'
    But the man ignored her warning and simply laughed. 'I am here to rewrite the universe,' he announced grandly. 'To solidify in the minds of all a great a new future-'
    'Stop it,' Ebony pleaded, 'let the woman go, and just get out of here! While you can!'
    The man grabbed at his book, closing it to reveal an emblem emblazoned on the back. It looked like a family seal of some description. It had two lions and single sword. 'My employers will have the future they seek,' he said through pressed-teeth. 'And my power will finally be realized. For I am the greatest of all wizards,' he said grandly.
    'You aren't a wizard,' she snapped back, 'you're an idiot. Now I don't know where you learned magic, and right now, it doesn't matter. You have to listen to me; don't go through with this rite. There are things waiting to-'
    'I am something greater than a wizard, you are right. But you are also wrong, for I will finish this spell. And you, witch, will finally witness true magic!'
    Ebony, panic rising, tried to think of what to do. She couldn't solve this situation by magic, it was way past that. If she added any more magic to this situation, she'd only fan the flames of the fire. Whatever forces the man had attracted, whatever creatures he'd brought to him through his purposeless use of magic – Ebony could feel them pressing in. If she cracked open a fireball now, she'd only invite their attention her way. No, she had to end this, but she had to do it without magic. She couldn't even rely on her gun – the bullets were imbued with powerful runes, after all.
    Ebony flicked her eyes to the woman in the corner, then back to the man.
    Could she call for backup, she wondered? Could she turn around, run back up the stairs, and ask for a non-magical gun, or at least a really big stick? If she'd guessed this man would have been idiotic enough to call such powerful creatures his way, and to have a hostage, she'd never have swapped bullets in the first place. But now, here she was, without a weapon, and without a hope.
    The man smiled, then took a sharp laugh. Perhaps he guessed Ebony's desperate situation, or perhaps he was just mad. He opened his book, and then began to chant.
    'No!' Ebony shrieked. Then she did the only thing she could think of, and ran for him.
    Just as the man dipped a hand down to touch the tomb, to awaken the Death within the stillness, Ebony lunged.
    She whirled at him with the back of her pistol, aiming for his temple.
    But the man, despite his sickly looking state, snapped to the side with incredible speed. He brought up a sacred knife, and took a swipe Ebony's way.
    She ducked back, trying to keep herself firmly between the man and his hostage. She couldn't let the man finish the Rite, and she also couldn’t let him take out his frustrations on the poor woman. That was a lot Ebony couldn't let happen, and a lot to keep her on her toes.
    'Do not interfere!' he screeched. 'The spell is almost complete. All it needs is blood,' the word rattled out of his throat like a coin down a copper tube.
    Blood would seal the spell; give it life. The man had probably intended to open the tomb and use the flesh of the body – regardless of how incredibly disgusting it sounded. But in place of that, blood would do. The blood would bind with the spell, help it to live, help it to happen. But the man wouldn't be foolish enough to use his own blood. He couldn't be that dumb. Because the blood would transfer the life from one thing into another. It would move the life force from the living, to the spell intended to live. It would absorb the story of the giver into the given.
    The man began to slash towards Ebony, moves vicious and quick. But Ebony was more than agile enough to keep out of his range.
    He slashed for her arm, but she managed to duck down and roll out of his way.
    But then he turned his gaze on the woman. His yellow hands tightened around the blade and his eyes narrowed to slits. 'Time to finish this,' he hissed.
    Ebony, still on the ground, kicked out at his legs. Her foot connected with the back of one of his knees, and brought him down to the ground with a thud.
    He screamed at her, twisting her way,