The Hollow Bell 3

By IOAKIM IOAKIM

The first snow fell heavy on Ashwick, blanketing the forest in silence, but the hum tolled-a rhythm that shook the earth, a debt born of blood and desperation. Five families-Avery, Voss, Tanner, Reed, Wells-stood around the first well, its stone fresh, their hands trembling as they offered their bargain. Ellen Avery slashed her palm, her blood dripping onto the rim, her voice a whisper. "For Ashwick's survival." The Voss elder followed, his knife steady, his blood mixing with hers, the hum tolling louder. The Tanner matriarch, the Reed patriarch, and the Wells uncle joined, their blood sealing the pact, the well's spiral glowing blue, binding their lines to the debt. They thought they'd saved their town-floods, famine, collapse held at bay-but the hum whispered a promise: The cycle will wake. The families scattered, their names etched in blood, their descendants marked, the debt sleeping beneath the well, its echo waiting for the keepers who would one day rise to fight it.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0F9MGPSB2
• ISBN13: 9798231499250
• Release Date: May 2025
• Publisher: Ioakim Ioakim
• Length: 94 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 6.0" x 9.0"