Siren Awakened - C.R. Jane Page 0,61

his authoritative tone alone. I could easily picture him leading his father’s kingdom if he ever cleared his name and got out of here. I intended to do everything in my power to assist him, even if that meant just being there for him. He was a force to be reckoned with. All the men outside with me were.

Electricity suddenly danced in my hair, cracking across my nape. Instantly, a yellow static line flickered outward from Seth, zipping over to Alaric, Laz, and then Keon, before closing up into a perfect circle back with Seth.

I stood in the middle, and no one grimaced or appeared to be in pain, so whatever that line was, the deterrent wasn’t for the living.

At once, Seth fell silent, and over the land came a stillness, a quiet so deafening that it took me a long pause to realize Seth stared at me, then his gaze lowered to the ground.

Right, the bell. Hell! Get it together, Selena.

Hastily, I crouched and picked up the bell, then started to ring it, figuring that was the intention. The jingling seemed to echo around us, sharp and peeling through the night.

I held my breath, waiting, expecting. I never stopped shaking the damn bell.

But nothing came.

Not a single beep.

Was it too much to believe the chanting alone got rid of the ghost?

I stared at Seth and shrugged. Did I forget to do something? I glanced around, and everyone looked just as confused. I lowered the bell, left with only silence.

“Why isn’t it working?” Alaric asked.

“Maybe you need a bigger bell?” Laz suggested.

“Nah, the chants need to be louder,” Keon added.

But I kept my gaze on Seth, searching his face, his eyes. He never so much as twitched but seemed to mumble something under his breath.

Even after a long pause, nothing.

“Why isn’t she showing?” I whispered.

He slowly shook his head. “It should have worked.”

“Selena, did you tell him the ghost comes out when you are super tired?” Keon said.

“No wonder it’s not working, she’s so tense, I can see the veins in her temple pulsing,” Alaric added.

He could? I couldn’t help but reach up to run my fingers over my temple, not feeling any popping veins.

“It’s just a figure of speech, babe,” he murmured.

“Quiet,” Seth bellowed.

My breathing grew more erratic, and suddenly, I felt like this was a waste of my time.

I sighed, then I noticed Seth had his eyes closed, his voice changing as he began chanting a less beautiful song, but one with rugged, harsh words. His demeanor changed, brow furrowed, shoulders stiff, lips curled back.

A heartbeat later, the ghost jolted out of me so fast, you’d think she touched an electrical wire.

Alaric’s eyes grew wide, and Keon made a gasping sound. They saw her…they finally saw her as well.

She floated, having no legs, her long dress fluttering as she frantically zipped within the circle. Back and forth. Upward. In every direction, she hit the barrier Seth had created.

Suddenly, I wasn’t feeling so safe being in here with her. My feet carried me.

“Don’t be afraid of her,” Laz said from behind me. “You hold the power, not her.”

And just as he said that, she swung toward me, her face contorting to look more like a demon than a woman. Black eyes, skin wrinkly, she hissed at me. “What have you done? You will pay for this.”

“Fuck you,” I threw back.

“Keep ringing the bell,” Seth called out.

I did as he instructed, loud and constant.

She started trembling, shaking hard and harder, like she’d explode any moment now. Before I could even react, she flung herself at me.

She came so fast, I didn’t have time to duck.

Claws slashed at my face, tearing skin across my cheek. I shoved against her, wincing from the stinging pain. But she kept lashing out like a psycho.

The men screamed things I couldn’t make out. So I did everything I could to survive. I dumped the bell and started punching her back. Apparently in this circle, she took corporal form, my hits not sinking through her, but colliding into her face, her chest, her stomach.

I gave everything I had, driving her back. In a whirlwind, she spun on the spot so violently, it took me off guard. And when she charged at me that way, she collided into my chest so hard, I was thrown off my feet and collided into the wall, right next to Alaric.

He roared with fury, his face red, but my ears were ringing, my heartbeat too loud.

And she was coming for me