Witch's Bell Book One

cup of tea with her.'
    'Now Eb, don't you be that way. You know the rules of the Coven, good enough. Your mother did what she had to-'
    'Had to? I didn't get a chance to defend myself, dad, there wasn't any due process. They'd convicted me well before they'd dragged me underneath the earth,' Ebony turned away to stare concertedly at a passing building, as if it offered far more interest for her than the current conversation.
    'Look, I ain't saying you shouldn't be angry. But be smart and angry. Your mother did what she had to - I know you know that. But I also think you know that there is no point shutting her out. She's your mother, that doesn't change just because you have some more jewelery. to wear for the next month.'
    'More jewelery.?' her voice was high. 'These are powerful charms that prevent me from summoning any magic. And she didn't even try and hear my side of things,' the emotion started to crack through Ebony like heat over ice. 'There was something up with that woman in the crypt, dad, something really weird.'
    'Okay Eb, and that's a place to start from. And I always taught my daughter to go by her instincts. You think there was something up – then you find out just what that is, and when the time comes, you tell your story-'
    Ebony flung up her good hand. 'I was ready to tell them, but they wouldn't listen.'
    'Because you didn't have any evidence,' her father said flatly. 'It's all about evidence, Ebony. You think I haven't been dragged up before the commissioner, or before a judge, and been raked over the coals for a mistake I knew I didn't make?'
    Ebony just flicked her hair over a shoulder, pulling it out from behind her to play with it sullenly.
    'Because I have. And now you have. But there's only one way to go from here. You get your evidence, and then you make your case again. You think there's something up with this woman, Eb, you think you've been unfairly punished? Alright then, you prove it. Now Ben's already called me, and I know you'll be working down at the department for the month-'
    Ebony rolled her eyes, even though she didn't mean it.
    'Okay,' her father just kept on going, 'you've got an opportunity. You have a month to find out what really happened. You stay late if you have to, but you do it. Now,' he turned to her as he drew up at a set of lights, 'you do not, under any circumstances, go looking for trouble.'
    Ebony huffed, but still kept quiet.
    'But you use the opportunities that present themselves to you, and you find your case.'
    'How am I going to do that if I'm locked up inside that department all day long?'
    'During the day, you use what's at your disposal. Start with Frank, start with the files - and then move on. Most police don't realize this, but most crime repeats itself. In those files, somewhere, will be what you need, trust me. Then there's the phone, Eb, and it's a great invention.'
    'Hardy ha,' she intoned dryly, 'but surely I can only get so much done by sitting around and staring at paper.'
    'Well, you knock off at five-thirty. What you do after that is up to you.'
    Ebony suddenly turned to face her father, surprised at what he'd just said. 'You aren't suggesting I go and investigate this woman at night-'
    'No, I am not suggesting you break any police rules, any Coven rules, or in any way put yourself in danger. What I'm suggesting is that you use your imagination to find another way. There's always another way. You just have to find your way.'
    Ebony took a breath, finally turning back to the window. With a sudden shock, she realized her father had just turned down the street that would take Ebony to her childhood home – and right to her waiting mother. 'Dad!' she protested loudly.' I told you not to take me home!'
    'You've got to find your way – but right now, we're going my way.'

Chapter Ten
    E bony awoke suddenly, with the distinct impression that there was something she had forgotten to do. She lay there for several minutes, surrounded by her many plush, painted-silk cushions, her hair in a muddle as she tried to sift through her memories.
    It was Monday, wasn't it? Or was it only Sunday?
    She clutched at her wounded shoulder, muttering to herself a quick, but entirely ineffectual curse at the man who'd done it. It was taking quite some time, and quite some effort, to adjust to not having magic. While Ebony hadn't always been a powerful witch, and there had been ample times growing up when her magic simply hadn't been up to the task, never in recent