Witch's Bell Book One

into.
    'It was strong,' she said, skin itching from the very thought of it, 'really strong,' she continued.
    He crossed his arms. 'I've called for backup. They'll be here soon.'
    She nodded. That magic had been proper summoning magic. No wonder Ebony hadn't been able to slow the man down with even her best, trained efforts. But Nate... he'd managed to hold his own. How? Sheer determination, sheer will? Or something else?
    'You sure you'll be safe here?' Nate took a brief look around the store.
    She nodded. 'Harry was a very powerful wizard in his day. He's possessed the whole store too – every light-fitting, ever floorboard, every book. He's been here for years, and the longer he stays, the more entrenched he gets. Taking him on would be like taking on a squadron of wizards. No matter where you stood, or where you turned, he'd be all around you, underneath you, and over you.'
    'So you're safe?' Nate simply repeated the question, obviously waiting for only a single answer.
    'Yes.'
    Nate sighed very heavily. 'Wow, what a day.'
    Ebony tried to smile, but her expression seemed to be set into a worried frown. None of this made any sense. Why would she have been attacked by another magical creature? And why was it after her bag?
    Magical muggings were rare, very rare. Occasionally a wizard might throw a stocking over his face and stalk a lesser magical creature to snatch its Book of Spells, or some such. But it was always a risk. Witches and wizards were regulated by their own governing bodies. If a witch deliberately, and violently, tried to steal something from another witch, the Coven would intervene. The same with the wizards. So who, or what, had attacked Ebony? And why run the risk of being caught and punished?
    Ebony was still a witch, technically, so this constituted a crime of magical creature against a magical creature.
    'Don't think about it too hard, ' Nate walked over to her, picking up her arm and apparently looking at a deep scratch along the skin. 'This stuff never makes sense to begin with.'
    She blinked quickly, his touch distracting, but more comforting than a room full of cushions and blankets.
    'You got a first-aid kit in this place? Because I've got one in the car-'
    'No,' she snapped, voice about as strong as it had ever been, magic or not. 'You're not going back out there.'
    His expression was almost amused.
    'I have some healing herbs, and some bandages upstairs.'
    'Okay then. Do you have painkillers?' he asked, hand flexing his jaw from side to side, his eyes crinkling with the pain, 'and ice?'
    'I'll see what I can do,' she turned from him to go upstairs, but once again, he followed right behind her. He was like a loyal dog, or a bodyguard.
    But would Harry see it that way?
    'Maybe you should stay down here,' she turned to him at the base of the stairs, as she unhooked the chain from one of the banisters – leaving the path clear.
    'Nope, today's been too strange. Plus, knowing your luck this week, you'll probably drop a jar all over your feet and faint from the blood loss.'
    She just sighed, rolling her eyes visibly. But she wasn't annoyed by his words, even though they were cheeky. She was strangely thankful for the warmth it brought the situation.
    But just as Nate put his foot on the first step, probably intending to follow right behind Ebony every step of the way, Harry put his foot down, so to speak.
    A book shot off the top of the banister above, even though Ebony would never leave one in such a dangerous position. It headed straight towards Nate. Ebony saw it before Nate did, twisted on her step, and tried to reach for it. She did manage to catch it with a gruff 'oooppph'. but over balanced in the process, careening towards Nate like a felled tree heading for the ground.
    He caught her, balance perfect. He didn't teeter backwards. The force of another human knocking into him didn't seem to bother him at all. He just opened his arms like a sail opening to the wind, and caught Ebony before she could slam into the stairs.
    He arrested her. Though the notion was peculiarly ironic considering he was a Detective, it was the only way Ebony's suddenly still mind could describe it. Her anxieties, worries, and fears all seemed to stop at once. The sudden shock of catching the book and falling off balance, stopped as well. Her problems with adjusting to a month without magic, stopped. Her musings about what kind of magic was after her, and who was the perpetrator, stopped.
    Everything stopped as