The Bell Novels & Stories

Elizabeth knew something was wrong the moment the sound fell short. The bell was meant to toll three times for the dead—three slow, measured peals to mark the passing of a soul from flesh to judgment. One ring was an accident. Two meant violence. Three meant God had been acknowledged. One meant there was no strength left to finish. She stood in the narrow lane outside her cottage, basket hooked over her arm, and listened to the silence settle. It pressed against her ears, thick and heavy, as though the village itself were holding its breath. The sound of the bell seemed to linger anyway, vibrating faintly in her bones, a ghost o

I leaned my shoulder against the crumbling stone parapet, my teeth clicking together from a deep, internal shivering that no amount of wool could cure. The great bell was choked with thick jackets of green corrosion and decades of dried bird droppings, its heavy iron clapper bound tightly with rusted chain-links. Yet, the air inside the stone enclosure was vibrating so violently that the dust on the floor was dancing in perfect, concentric circles. "My ears are ringing with grease," I said, spitting a mouthful of thick, metallic saliva onto the stone tiles. Aurel struck the rim of the dead bell with a small iron tuning fork, producing nothing but a short, flat thud that died instantly. "The

It was a gold bell shaped like a persimmon. “Give it a shake. Something good will happen,” Leon said. Before going to bed, Angela picked up the bell with a little reverence. She even bowed to it sincerely. “Please… let everything go well.” Then she gave it a firm shake. Her fingertips trembled as she opened the app. And there it was—her traffic had exploded.

she presses a manicured finger into my chest “—need to pull up your pants and play the grieving husband who’s overjoyed to see the mother of his child return.” I exhale sharply, her words sinking in. She’s right. As much as I want to tear the whole fucking city apart to get to the truth, I need to be careful. I need to be smart. The Bell name is at stake. The Bell empire is at stake. I glance back at the screen, watching as Elizabeth moves through the station, speaking to the officers. The sight of her makes my stomach turn. I thought we were done. I thought the past was dead and buried.

Before we went for our college entrance exam, Flora Reid snuck a mini walkie-talkie into Theo Anderson’s bag. In the past, I had quickly rushed over to warn Theo about it. I reported it to the teachers too. Flora was banned from the examinations due to suspected cheating, and she was brought to the police station. Theo was very grateful toward me for saving him. Hence, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I thought the feeling had been mutual. On the day we filled out our college applications, he switched my Ivy League college to a regular community college. “You ruined Flora’s life, so I’m ruining your future. Do you really think you deserve to go to an Ivy League? “You should spe

Clyde Dante I asked Beverly to come early because I need to give her back the damn car and the phone. It really irritates me when that car and that phone sit there in my house. I sat in the working room and looked at the clock anxiously. Suddenly someone knocked on the door and I asked whoever that was to come in. I saw Beverly walking in and she looked at me with these unreadable blue green eyes. She sat right across me and I passed the car key and the new phone.

"We have to announce—" "Shouldn't we wait for Kai to make such a decision?" Zara asks. "We have rules," Sia replies, "ring them." *** The first bell tolls precisely at 4:15 PM. It's not a soft sound; Mystic Valley doesn't have gentle bells. This one is large and made of bronze, hanging in the tower at the heart of the compound. When it chimes, it does so three times in succession, pauses, then rings three times again—the pattern of death, an announcement of loss.

He's not kidding. I nod. "Dinner's ready." *** 4am. The cabin door rattles with three loud bangs, followed by another three, and then another. It makes me wonder who the hell would come here this early in the morning and why they’re being so demanding. I rush downstairs to find Oliver behind the door and when he opens it, two large men stand glaring at him. “The doorbell is just as effective, you know,” he says sarcastically. “We’re looking for a lady named Bella,” one of them says ignoring his tone, while the other peaks into the house over Oliver’s shoulder. My heart skips as his eyes land on me.

I dropped my hand into one of my pockets and brought out a smaller golden bell. "Here. This is for you," I said to her as I handed the bell to her. She took it from me, looking very confused about what she was supposed to do with a bell. "Just in case you need assistance, just ring the bell. I've instructed everyone in the house to attend to you once they hear the bell ringing," I explained to them. She didn't say anything to what I just told her. She only kept looking at the bell like it had horns. "Ring it. Let me see how effective it is," I instructed her. She di

AURORA That night, Damon made do with his threat. I had just laid my head on the pillow, my body begging for rest, when a sharp, jarring bell rang just outside the door. Clang! The sound tore through the stillness like a blade, harsh and unrelenting. My eyes flew open, my heart racing. It didn’t stop. The bell rang again the next night. And the next. And the next. Each time I drifted close to sleep, it would sound again; loud, metallic, merciless.