She clutched her hands protectively over her head, hunkering close to her knees. Then she stopped.

  She was the witch here. She’d taken on some of the darkest magical forces in the universe. So why was she hiding in the car while her unarmed boyfriend followed the clearly powerful magical creature into a dark alleyway?

  Ebony forced herself up, and though it was hard, she just pushed through the pain and fatigue.

  She had to.

  She’d made a promise to herself only that night that she wouldn’t lose him.

  The logical conclusion, therefore, was that she would have to do everything she could to fight for him. And fight for him she would.

  Ebony Bell let her magic swell as she yanked the handle open and kicked out with her legs, the door swinging violently on its hinges.

  If Nate had seen it, likely he would have snapped at her to have more respect for his car. Which would be a thoroughly moot point considering all the windows had just been shattered.

  She forced herself up and onto the pavement, trying hard to ignore how wobbly her legs were. They felt like jelly, and each step made her stumble to the side.

  Yet Ebony still ran forward.

  She would not be weak now. She simply would not allow it.

  With that powerful order ringing in her mind, she sprinted toward the alleyway down which Nate had chased the suspect. Not that Ebony had any idea whether the black fiend was a suspect in any crime; he’d simply hissed a little too loudly and broken the car windows. She’d been a consultant witch long enough to realize that if you ran, you probably had something to run from, though.

  Plus, she just had to get to Nate before he decided to tackle the fiend and wind up with some nasty magical burns.

  As Ebony ran, she refused to acknowledge how tired she felt. Because the more energy she devoted to noticing how lethargic and heavy her limbs were, the more lethargic and heavier they became.

  So she ran forward on nothing but will and grit and just a little magic.

  As Ebony powered down the darkened alley, she kept her eyes peeled for any hidden recesses or side-streets.

  Vale was oddly filled with alleyways and darkened, narrowed little laneways that were somehow so soundproof that no one would hear you scream in them.

  It was, no doubt, something to do with the magic that underpinned the city. That, or back during its founding, one of the town planners had been a secret fan of muggings and had designed the place to facilitate as many as he could.

  Pushing her mind out and keeping her senses sharp, Ebony realized she didn’t really know where they’d run to. Though she had not waited in the car long, they were still well out of her sight. She was hardly running quickly, after all.

  Thrusting more of her magic into the task, she soon felt them.

  Off to her left. Down some kind of dark passage.

  Though her eyes had half-closed as she’d sussed things out, she now opened them with a snap, her vision becoming sharp, despite the gloomy night.

  She stuck her foot into the ground, the simple sandshoes Nate had picked for her squeaking in protest, and she turned sharply, throwing herself to the side and through a barely visible break in the buildings.

  Her brain wanted to call it an alleyway, but it really wasn’t. It was just big enough for her to run down without her arms banging up against the sides. You certainly couldn’t fit a car down here, let alone a dumpster. And your average mugger would have to likely lose some bulk before he raced down to catch his unsuspecting victims.

  In short, this crack in the wall was just not meant to be.

  It was magic. A fact that impressed itself upon Ebony’s brain as she ran forward, her hair coming loose from her bun and bunching over her shoulders as she ran.

  In fact, she could feel the power ringing around this place like clear notes from a bell. It resounded through the very ground and up into her feet and legs as she powered forward.

  Nate better be fine. Because if he wasn’t, she’d kill him.

  Still ignoring her fatigue as it lapped and tugged at her limbs, Ebony narrowed her eyes and took a hearty sniff.

  There was a strong, dank smell in the air, but layered over it was a sharp, acerbic scent that didn’t belong. It smelled like firecrackers mixed with alcohol.

  Ebony shunted herself to the side just in time.

  She felt an opening, and she took it.

  As she moved, her foot caught the edge of something, and she stumbled forward.

  Right through a wall encased in dark shadow.

  Before she could scream – as she knew what she was doing, thank you very much – she flew through the wall and right into another street.

  Yes, another street.

  She didn’t slam into the dank and dark bricks and proceed to get a corker of a nosebleed.

  Instead, she stumbled to her hands and knees and looked up to see a wide street around her, well-lit, and alive and pumping with a vibrant nightlife.

  She’d followed her magic and her instinct to find this place… wherever it was, and the sudden strange sight took her off guard.

  Then she saw Nate.

  He was in a corner being accosted by a group of… well Ebony didn’t know what they were, but that wasn’t going to stop her from wading in.

  Puffing out her cheeks with a strong breath, she pushed herself to her feet, ignored her momentary hobble, and ran over to him. As she did, she pulled back her sleeves, and she let her magic unfurl.

  It had quite an effect on her. Or at least it did at first. As she let the precious power of possibility pump through her veins and enliven her mind, it lifted her like nothing else could.

  Yet all too soon, its effects diminished then plateaued to a level far below normal.

  It had to be the effects of that god-damned mirror spell.

  Yet that didn’t matter right now – getting to Nate did.

  “Stop,” she shouted, her voice booming loud like thunder as she made it to the group.

  The… things surrounding Nate snapped their heads around to watch her.

  She had no idea how to describe them. Though Ebony had seen more than her fair share of weird over the years, she couldn’t begin to describe these guys. They were a mess of shapes, a jumble of colors, and a nonsensical sea of sounds and smells.

  “Make another move, and I’ll send you to hell,” Ebony spat then quickly reassessed her threat, realizing the things in front of her might like the sound of that, “or heaven,” she added darkly.

  “Do not interfere,” one of them said. If you could call the sounds that came out of its mouth words. The pitch was all wrong, and there was an incessant hiss that shook through everything.

  “I’m afraid it’s my job,” she shot back quickly.

  “The light is forbidden from entering our home,” the thing continued.

  “Sorry if my reindeer sweater is dazzling you,” Ebony replied quickly.

  “Not you – him,” the thing hissed and pointed a jumbled extension you could assume was a finger right at Nate. “All dark creatures are welcome in the Lane Between Ends, but the light is forbidden from disturbing our peace.”

  Ebony frowned. Of course she did. The thing before her had just said a number of worrying things. Firstly, what on earth was the Lane Between Ends? And secondly – and very importantly – had it just implied Ebony was a dark creature?

  “Eb, I can handle this,” Nate tried, flicking her a worried glance as he kept most of his attention on the four things circling him.

  “Do not sully our home with your breath,” one thing hissed at him.

  “You have no right to come here,” another said.

  Ebony had to do something before the things got creative and did… something to Nate.

  She let her magic amass again.

  In fact, it actually crackled down her arms, igniting in her veins and making them glow like the brightest of snakes.

  That got their attention. They all inclined their disgusting, jumbled necks her way.

  “We have no quarrel with Legion’s Witch,” one said.

  “You have the right to be here,” another added.

  “He does not.” All four of them rounded on Nate.

  Ebony walked right past them and right up to Nate. Though she wobbled very slightly, she soon sucked in the most rattling of breaths to ensure she didn’t fall over.

  “Legion’s Witch, you do not have to interfere. We can chase away this creature,” a thing hissed.

  …. It wasn’t Ebony’s imagination; they were definitely treating her as if she was one of them.

  Well, she wasn’t.

  “I am not Legion’s Witch,” she said darkly.

  Extremely darkly. In fact, at that exact moment, an enormous shadow crossed over the well-lit street, making all the lights flicker out for just a second.

  The things all looked around warily.

  “Now where is the perpetrator Nate was chasing? We need to question him. We are from the police, and we enforce the sacred magical pact of Vale. We are here to keep the peace, and I’m going to make things very disturbing for you if you don’t cooperate.”

  “We have broken no rules, Legion’s Witch,” one thing said.

  “The Pact of Vale remains untainted. No crimes have been committed. Except for trespassing,” one of them hissed.

  “We have the right to enforce the law throughout all of Vale,” Nate finally piped up. “Which includes here… wherever here is,” he added quickly under his breath.

  “Here is the Lane Between Ends,” one of them said, “a place for the dark to feel at home. A place where we can be left alone. A place where the light is forbidden to follow.”

  “Well, it seems pretty well-lit,” Nate managed, voice tight as he stood there, still tensed and tall, no doubt waiting for an attack.

  “You do not understand what light is,” one of them hissed at Nate.

  Those few words caught Ebony’s attention. And they did something peculiar to it. They fixed it like nothing else could.

  It felt like they held a great secret.

  Before she could assess it, something happened.

  Something very, very unexpected.

  Her mother appeared.

  Yes, Avery Bell.

  It had been a few weeks since Ebony had gone around for dinner, but now was not the time for her mother to track her down and hustle her to the table.

  Avery was here on business.

  She walked forward in flowing blue robes. At first, the robes were nothing but fabric, but with every step, they became progressively more alive until they wafted around like billowing smoke.

  She was showing power. A lot of it. While her robes were becoming cloud-like, her skin was starting to glow blue as magical symbols formed over it in quick flashes.

  “Umm, mom?” Ebony managed as Avery drew near.

  “Child, you are seconds from breaking the magical pact of Vale,” Avery spoke gravely but quickly. “Roll down your sleeves and pull in your magic. There is nothing for you to do here.”

  “Ah, mom, I can handle this on my own,” Ebony tried.

  “I know you can. That is why I am here. You must both leave now.” Avery nodded her head back toward the spot Ebony had burst through.

  “We are after a suspect,” Nate began.

  “No crime has been committed. You are after a creature that has fled, Nathan Wall, and nothing more. But a crime will be committed if you both continue to trespass in the Lane Between Ends,” Avery said. “Cats may be justified in chasing anything that runs, but police are not. We must abide by the pact between the magical races. This space has been set aside for the… dark,” she raised an eyebrow in obvious distaste, “and without due reason, we cannot disturb it. The Coven has sent me to take you away before you do more damage than good.”

  “But,” Ebony began.

  Avery raised her hands in a clear move for Ebony to keep her silence.

  So she held her tongue.

  Nate, however, didn’t. He was the knight, after all.

  “Avery, I understand the Coven’s business,” Nate said as he locked his hands on his hips and stared Avery’s way. Which was a dangerous thing to do, even considering the fact that Ebony was now dating the man. Avery, for all of her apparent niceties, was still an extremely powerful Coven witch, and she demanded respect from everybody. Yet thankfully Ebony’s mother didn’t suddenly stream forward and lash out at Nate or turn him into a toad and watch him hop away while she cackled.

  “Look, mom,” Ebony said, almost wringing her hands as she did, “we’ve got this, we really do.”

  Avery Bell raised her arms in a stopping motion.

  “We must leave now, while we still have the chance.”

  Before Ebony could protest, her mother walked over to her and locked a hand over Ebony’s wrist. Yet just as she did, one of the things stepped in as Avery squeezed her fingers hard around Ebony’s flesh.

  “Witch, you cannot interfere here,” the thing said as it looked up into Avery Bell’s eyes. “You cannot harm or restrain one of the dark. Now leave,” it said, its voice trilling high, that ever-present hiss making it quick and sharp like a radio signal from a distant galaxy.

  “That is what I am trying to do,” Avery said carefully.

  Ebony could tell that her mother was keeping control of herself, her tone, and most importantly her magic. While Avery’s hand was locked over Ebony’s wrist, she was connected to her mother, and she could feel how much power was rushing through Avery’s form. Yet at the same time, Avery was also controlling herself. Perhaps it was a testament to what was really going on here. For Avery not to turn around and either smack the thing in the face or send fireballs flying out everywhere, meant that this really had to be official Coven business.

  Before today, Ebony had never heard of the Lane Between Ends, yet no doubt after today, she would have more than a few questions to ask. Where exactly did it exist, and how in the name of all that is holy did the Vale Police Department have some sort of agreement or pact with the dark?

  Right now was not the time to ponder those questions. It was time to get out of here.

  “As I said, we are trying to leave,” Avery noted again, her voice diplomatic.

  “You must take your hands off our kind,” the thing hissed.

  It took Ebony a moment. Then she realized what was happening here. The things were, yet again, implying she was one of them – a dark creature.

  Maybe Avery came to the same conclusion too; she shifted her eyes quickly over to Ebony, her gaze darting as she surveyed her daughter’s face.

  “She is not dark,” Avery said in a stilted but quiet tone.

  “She is Legion’s Witch,” the thing replied easily, its voice a mocking one, yet still sharp and pregnant with warning.

  “I will not debate this matter. But we will leave now.” As Avery spoke, she slowly withdrew her fingers from Ebony’s wrist and let her hand drop carefully to her side. There was nothing violent or powerful about the move. It was not quick. Instead, it was slow and obvious. No doubt so that the thing could see Avery was going to make no trouble.

  Well, Ebony felt like making trouble. For the love of god, she was not one of these things. She was not dark. And more to the point, she was not Legion’s Witch.

  Yet before she could say any of that, Avery motioned them toward the other side of the street, clearly intending to take them all home now.

  Though Ebony knew academically that Nate could have ignored Avery and that he could have turned around and continued his rather unsuccessful attempt to catch one of the things, at least he was obedient enough to follow now. Once they were back on a real street of Vale, he would likely have a few questions for Avery, though.

  As Ebony walked beside them, she tried desperately hard not to think of what all of this meant. She tried especially hard not to repeat two little words to herself: Legion’s Witch. Though she’d been through a lot in the last few months, she knew one thing for sure: she was certainly not Legion’s Witch. It had been her decision to accept the treaty, not his.

  If anybody was owned here, Legion belonged to her. Which was a rather uncomfortable thought. One that led to a rather uncomfortable question: if she owned a demon, what kind of a witch did that make her? Certainly not a good one. A fact that had been rather underlined by the unnerving interaction she’d had with the hissing things.

  Gulping to herself and trying hard not to let this little situation undermine her already fragile magic, she followed her mother dutifully until they reached the very spot Ebony had practically fallen through on her way into the Lane Between Ends. Without ceremony, Avery walked through, turned slightly, and looked over her shoulder to check that Nate was indeed in tow.

  Once Ebony had made the transition back through that portal and onto the familiar streets of Vale, she was immediately struck with one sensation: overwhelming fatigue. It almost sent her to her knees. Almost being the operative word. Her mother was around, and Ebony was starting to learn that when it came to Avery Bell, any sign of weakness would be enough to expunge your recent history, regardless of whether that recent history had seen you claim glorious victories over the most fantastic forces in the universe.

  Indeed, as Ebony made her way forward, placing her hands delicately on her hips as she tried to shore up her posture, she was careful to keep her expression a controlled one. If she let even the faintest glimmer of the lethargy sweeping through her be known, Avery Bell would jump on it without hesitation. She would likely shoo Ebony home, try to cook her some soup, and take it as an excuse to force Ebony to have a holiday.

  Yet perhaps right now Avery was the least of Ebony’s problems.

  With several resounding steps, Nate walked forward, planted his hands on his hips, then slowly turned. He faced Avery with what could only be described as a challenging expression. “So what exactly was that?” he asked, leveling a glare at the Coven witch that could get him hexed.

  While Nate was technically Ebony’s boyfriend, that wouldn’t matter much considering her mother was bloody Avery Bell. Nate was playing a very dangerous game here.

  One Ebony had to stop before it saw her boyfriend turned into a hamster.

  Gritting her teeth together and wincing slightly through her bone-weary fatigue, Ebony tried to pull herself straight, forcing her crumpled muscles to lengthen as she mustered the courage and power to draw her boyfriend and mother into line.

 

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