Witch's Bell Book One

Ebony feel good. In fact, it made her itch with frustration and deep dissatisfaction. She sighed. 'Please don't do it again,' she managed.
    Her mother dipped her head elegantly. 'As you wish. Though, as mother to daughter, let me offer you the following advice: while you're investigating the Grimshores, keep an eye out for Mr Nathan Wall. I think you'll find that would be,' she looked to the side and smiled, 'a rewarding search.'
    Ebony sucked at her teeth and shook her head. She got the innuendo, and didn't appreciate it much. They finally arrived at the front doors of the station. 'Well, here I am. I suppose you'll be picking me up tonight then?'
    Her mother nodded.
    'I feel like I'm in primary school,' Ebony sighed.
    'In which case, I will be sure to pack you a snack for the return journey. Chopped fruit and a muesli bar.'
    'Good bye, mother,' Ebony said sarcastically, but still offering a friendly wave as she finally walked up the steps and through the front doors.
    When she turned back, not surprisingly, her mother was gone.
    ––––––––
    W hen Ebony Bell finally marched up to her desk, she was ready to crack the lid open on this thing. She wasn't ready, however, for the sight of Detective Nate sitting in her chair, pouring over her files, and using her notebook and pen.
    He looked up, and smiled.
    Ebony found her nostrils flaring, for some odd reason. She opened her mouth, not completely clear about what she should say.
    'I've been here since five o'clock this morning,' he cracked his neck from side to side. 'Which is lucky, because there's a lot to go through here.'
    Ebony just mumbled a yes. He was the last thing she'd expected to see. She didn't know why, surely a walrus-circus sprawled out between the files would have been less likely. But still, Ebony hadn't thought he'd be here.
    He looked at her evenly. 'You're annoyed that I'm in your chair, aren't you?'
    She hiccuped with laughter. 'Yes,' she said squarely. 'That's my chair.'
    'Well,' he shrugged, not moving, 'I got here first. And I think you'll find that it is the department's chair,' he winked.
    'Well I suppose I'll sit on the floor then,' she looked around, trying to make a show of things, but managed to catch sight of Nate's gaze lingering on her new clothes.
    'Or you could get a chair, it's up to you. But once you've stopped worrying about furniture restrictions, there's some stuff you should know,' Nate it seemed, had snapped back to his in charge, in control, and in-the-moment attitude. Playtime had just been canceled. 'The Grimshores are an old family, right?'
    Ebony just nodded.
    'Well, according to this, they're not as old as you think,' he picked up one of the files. 'There's pretty extensive information here, but it only seems to go back to the 1920s.'
    Ebony made a face. 'Oh they're much older than that... I think,' she scratched at her head. It wasn't as if she'd learned it in school or anything, but she was fairly sure that the Grimshores were one of Vale's oldest established families. But now she was pressed, she wasn't sure exactly where she'd learned that fact.
    'Well those books I borrowed from you on the history Vale, say you're wrong. The Grimshores only arrived in the 20s. And by arrived, I mean popped up out of the blue.'
    Ebony made another face. Though she couldn't put her finger on the exact facts, she simply knew Nate must be wrong. 'No, that can't be right. Everyone knows that the Grimshores are a very established family. They own some of the nicest, oldest buildings in Vale, and they have their fingers in nearly every business-flavored pie you could imagine.'
    Nate just shrugged easily, shoulders tugging at the fabric of his neat shirt. 'Well, not according to these files, and not according to those books you gave me. Now, unless you are telling me that these files are wrong, and that those books you lent me were pure fiction, then the Grimshores only appeared in the 20s.'
    Ebony shook her head, her expression a muddle of confusion. 'No. The magical files couldn't be wrong; you can't doctor them or fake them like you could ordinary files. They're heavily protected by the Truth-'
    'The truth?' his eyebrows descended as his face was masked with confusion.
    'Oh, just one of the universal forces – kind of like Death, but less active.'
    'Right,' Nate said automatically.
    There was that word again. Ebony just ignored it. 'Anyhow, they can't be doctored. And those books you got from my store – it's kind of the