Read Witch's Bell Book One for Free Online

the other room, and we do jack.'
    'You see, there are two sides to magical crime,' Ben clapped a hand on Nate's shoulders, giving them a shake as if to loosen them up. 'There's our side, and there's the witches' side. We get involved when ordinary humans commit crimes, and Eb here is our consultant when it comes to all the magical stuff. She even helps us track down the bad guys. But when a crime is just between witches or whatever, then that isn't our problem. The Coven or the Wizards deal with that.'
    'We're the police,' Nate said stalwartly, 'isn't all crime our problem?'
    'Not in Vale,' Ben said with a broad smile. 'Which is a damn good thing. Less work, see? Plus, let me tell you, you don't want to get involved in witch crime – can be nasty. We hand it over to the Coven, and they deal with it a treat. It's all part of the Pact.'
    'I see,' Nate said blandly, shaking his head, 'actually, I don't see. How do we trust this Coven enough to deal with these crimes impartially? Aren't they likely to be lenient against their own kind?'
    Ebony snorted. 'The Coven is a counsel of the oldest, most powerful witches. It is their sworn purpose to uphold magical law. If magical law forbids the use of certain spells, then if a witch breaks it, it's up to the Coven to punish her. And if you think they're lenient, you have another thing coming. You break their rules and they'll send the first squadron of Hell after you.' She finally flashed Detective Nate a smile. 'And that's why this is no longer our problem. The Coven can deal with this one, I can go back to the store and clean up, Ben can try and teach your handful of brain cells all the things you'll need to know about policing in this town, and you, Detective Nathan Wall, can study those books I gave you.'
    He really did need to study those books, Ebony thought to herself quietly. The Detective didn't stand a chance in this city if he didn't know about its magical flavor. Vale was an odd place at the best of times, and at the worst it was frankly terrifying. And, much to Ebony's discomfort, these days things seemed to only be getting worse. While it was true that every generation always thinks that the battles they fight are far worse than those that have come before, you could be forgiven for putting more faith in the fact in Vale. Ever since Ebony had moved to this city as a child, Vale had only become wilder, more dangerous, and more ferociously magical.
    Nate eventually just shook his head lightly. 'This has been an... unusual morning. I bet it's going to be a hell of an afternoon, to boot.'
    Ebony hissed through clenched teeth. 'Don't ever make statements like that, rookie. You never know what you'll invite if you go around provoking the universe.'
    'Provoking the universe? Or provoking you?' the Detective almost smiled.
    Ebony laughed, tipping her head back and letting her tassels play against her shoulders. 'Oh too late, you've already provoked me, rookie.'
    'Alright Eb, when you're done eating the rookie alive, I'll drop you back home,' Ben sidled up to her. 'As much fun as it's been, I've got a tonne of ordinary, everyday, boring crimes to get to.'
    'And I have to clean up after this morning. And you,' she poked a red fingernail at Detective Nate, 'better read those books and return them to me sharpish.'
    The look on Detective Nate's face summed up the morning perfectly: his eyebrows peaked with defiance, his jaw jutted with attitude, and his eyes glinted with an insufferable knowing.
    By the time Ebony had made it back to the store, it was well into the afternoon. It would take her the rest of the day to clean up the mess, and probably most of tomorrow too. She had bookshelves to coax back into place, magazines to sort, and boxes to fill again.
    But despite the epic workload, Ebony found herself smiling. It was one of those smiles that curled your lips up until your cheeks pressed into your eyes.
    Strange day, she admitted to herself, very strange.
    A tsunami of books in