Excerpt from chapter 20 of Resounding Echo:
–
The sound rose slightly and she could now hear it clearly.
It sounded like someone was singing. It was a sad, melancholic song without words.
Against her will, Selissa felt herself rise from the ground. She felt the song draw her in, and she slowly started moving towards the place it was coming from.
She had only moved a few steps, when someone grabbed her arm and caused her to stop dead in her tracks.
“Don’t.” She turned her head to see Alassane’s eyes burning into hers. The warning look in them broke her from her trance-like state.
“What is that?” She spoke quietly. The song continued, beautiful and eerie at the same time.
“Trouble.” Alassane said, just a quietly. Whoever was singing, it was clear that he didn’t want them to hear them.
He stood completely still, his hand still gripping Selissa’s arm. Every muscle in his body was tense and he was staring into the air, in the direction of the sound.
Selissa watched him silently, barely daring to breathe. She was surprised to see that except from a few rips in his clothes, he appeared completely unharmed from the blast he had taken earlier.
Suddenly the singing stopped. With it, every other sound of the forest seemed to stop. Complete silence fell over them.
The hand that was holding her arm tightened its grip almost painfully. “We have to get away from here… Now.” Alassane said. Selissa felt a lump forming in her throat at his urgent tone. No matter what it was, it was bad. Very bad for Alassane to be reacting this way.
Despite her aversion to fleeing she didn’t hesitate to follow when Alassane set into a sprint.
The only sound was the sound of their footsteps, muted by the grass, echoing through the silence as they ran. Nothing made it seem like they were being followed, but Selissa wasn’t fooled. Through she could neither hear them nor see them, she could feel the aura of dread surrounding her. The exact same feeling as when she had first met Ardeth.
Adrenaline, and something she only faintly recognized, surged through her body.
She heard something move to her left and almost stopped to see what it was. Alassane, however, was not slowing down and Selissa forced herself to keep going.
More movements… She tensed up as she realized it was coming from both sides. There was more than one…
‘Behind you.’ She didn’t hesitate. She swirled around, just as the first attacker hurled themselves at her. The kick she sent towards them hit the stranger in the stomach and sent them sailing through the air.
She heard Alassane stop a few yards behind her. Her breathing was heavy, but somehow she didn’t feel tired.
Energy was coursing through her. The same energy that she had felt just before she sent Alassane flying through the air. But instead of rejecting it, she embraced it.
Two shapes slowly began to close in on them, like wolves on their prey.
“My my, it seems Ardeth was right…” A low voice said. Selissa couldn’t determine if it was male or female. “She is a feisty one.”
“Should be more fun then.” Answered another, definitely female voice. The one who had been singing…
She stepped out of the shadows. The moonlight fell on her face, illuminating her features.
It was a young woman, probably still in her late teens. She was not that tall and slender built, giving her the appearance of being even younger than she was. Short, blonde hair hung into her eyes, but did nothing to disguise the cold look in them.
The black tattoo under her left eye confirmed that Selissa already knew. She was a Demios. And so was her partner probably.
As if on cue, the other stepped forward and revealed his face. As his partner, he was not tall, but he had a strong build. His brown hair was shaggy and had reddish tint to it. There was a smile on his face, but there was no warmth in it.
Unlike Ardeth, there was no amusement emitting from those two, only cold ruthlessness. Somehow, Selissa didn’t know what was worse.
–
Resounding Echo is available as:
Amazon Kindle: Here
Paperback: Here
–
Read first chapter here