Siren Awakened - C.R. Jane Page 0,58
of me like a white blur. But just as fast, she zipped back inside, leaving behind the words, “What did you do?” hanging in the air.
I flinched back, clutching the bell in my fist, my thumb inside it to stop it from ringing.
My head buzzed with what just happened, then I jerked my head toward the mouse. “Is this who I think it was?” I whispered, my heart thumping in my chest. “You took this from the warden?”
He squeaked, his little whiskers twitching, and I might not have spoken mouse, but I was one hundred percent certain he’d just said yes.
I wanted to scream with excitement and leapt to my feet, pacing in front of the bed. “Do you know what this means?”
He just looked at me, watching me going back and forth. “It means we can use it to exorcise myself. Oh. My. God. I could kiss you right now.”
He made a strange squeaking sound and seemed to physically pull away from me.
“Keep your furry pants on, I’m not going to actually kiss you.” Especially if he had fleas. “But you are a magician to have found this and know exactly what I needed. You really can understand me, hey?”
He just stared up at me.
I started pacing again, murmuring to myself. “So clearly, the trinket only works if I’m holding the bell, since nothing happened until I touched it. Good to know. But now, how do I use it? I rang the bell, and she came out of me. Then what?”
“Then what?” a deep male’s voice came from the doorway, startling me so much, I shuddered as I spun around, my hand with the bell loosening. Next thing, the bell fell.
My stomach dropped all the way to my feet.
Instinct had me throwing myself after the bell, my knees hitting the ground. I caught it in my palm, the ringing coming once again.
Like before, the ghost yo-yoed out of my body, vanishing inside me like a slingshot, leaving behind her screeching words, “You’re making a miisssttaakkkeeee.”
Gasping for air, I sat there, my finger inside the bell to stop making any sounds, and then I realized I never should have gone for it as it shouldn’t affect me if I wasn’t touching it. But I panicked. Crap.
“Are you okay?” I glanced up to Keon, who had me by my arms and lifted me to my feet. “What were you just doing?”
“Did you see her?” I blurted, flopping down on the bed. “The ghost just flung out of me and then back in.”
“I didn’t see anything.” He crouched in front of me, his hands on my knees and worry crammed behind his gorgeous eyes. “Did you fall asleep?”
“No, your mouse brought me the trinket from the warden’s room.” I showed him the bell in my grasp, ensuring it didn’t make a sound. “And when I ring it, she flings out of me for seconds.”
His eyes widened and swept from me to the bell to his mouse.
Keon beamed, and he scooped up his mouse. “Dude, you did this? You are amazing.” He kissed it on the head and the critter seemed to almost swoon in his hand.
“He has fleas, and now you are not kissing me with a mouse mouth.” Not to mention, the little thing recoiled when I mentioned kissing it. I shook that away. Being rejected by a mouse was not going to bother me.
Setting the mouse back on the bed, Keon turned to me. “Hand it over, so you don’t accidently ring the bell.”
I nodded, gingerly lifting my fist and placed the item in his palm on its side so as I lifted my finger from the clapper, it remained flush to the side.
Releasing it, I flung my hand back as if I’d just cut the wrong wire on a ticking time bomb.
He closed his fist around the bell and placed it into the pocket of his pants.
“So what now?” I asked.
“How do we use it to eliminate the ghost? What do we know about it so far? It comes out when you’re asleep and the trinket can draw her out of you anytime.” He glanced over to his mouse and winked. The little critter then scurried away and vanished into a hole in the wall.
“Well, it’s not just when I’m asleep actually. I never thought much of it until now, to be honest.”
“Selena,” he reprimanded me with that deep voice.
“She kinda appeared first in a bathroom I randomly found one day when I was exhausted…and she made a show