Sunday Snippet: Fistful of Sorry

December 8, 2013

Hello!

Okay, getting the TV stuff out of the way first, as always, but did you watch the Arrow mid-season finally? If you didn't, why not!! Seriously, the show keeps getting better and better, and it was already pretty damned great. :D

Sons of Anarchy finale this week and whoa. I seriously have no idea how anything will play out. Sutter never quite goes where I think he will and that's part of what I love about the show.

Walking Dead gave me a very satisfactory finale even if it killed off one of my favorite characters. Can't ask for more than that, right?

I'm hoping to start Almost Human in the near future and catch up so I can watch in real time. I've heard very good things about the show.

Tonight's post is from Fistful of Sorry, a novella with magic and mayhem and two characters whose bond is tested.

Here's the tagline:

Orly Manx and Cal Luminity always approach situations from opposite angles, but usually end up on the same side. When Orly pushes a cadet too far during training, she apologizes to Cal for not following his advice. But Cal isn't interested in listening or quick to forgive, which drives a wedge between them and Orly realizes how much she needs Cal to play yin to her yang.

And the preview snippet…

Orly picked up her pace and caught up with Cal. "What the hell is your problem?"

He whirled around and glared. Anger and emotion rolled off him in waves and Orly had a stark, terrifying moment of fear roil in her gut.

"Did Benson—" She couldn't finish the question, afraid the answer would make her heave.

Cal huffed out an irritated breath. "Oh, don't worry, he's still breathing." He waited a beat. "And should pull through without any permanent damage." He started forward again.

Orly grabbed his arm. "That's good news, but again, I gotta ask. What is your damn problem." She let go of him when he jerked away.

Cal eyes went wide and he made a strangled choking sound. "If I have to explain it, you're hopeless, Orly. Utterly, completely hopeless." He took a step then turned back. "You know what? It's not hopeless. You're reckless, rash, and irresponsible."

He moved towards her and she instinctively kept distance between them. Cal rarely lost his temper, but when he did, even she knew to give him space. When her shoulders hit the wall, she braced for impact, because Cal didn't look close to being finished.

He stood toe to toe with Orly. "I told you, no warned you, Benson needed a light touch and what did you do?" He leaned in, getting up close and personal. "You went after him, beating him back, breaking him down, and pushing him past his limits. Why?" He stopped, clenching his jaw.

Orly flinched, but didn't look away. "Because we're mage superiors. It's what we do." She kept her tone low and calm even though she wanted to yell and shout.

Cal snorted. "No it's not, Orly. It's what you do. And for what?" He stepped back, shaking his head. "Not a damn thing. You damned near cost a promising cadet his life today. The only thing you gained is a potential black mark on your record after his grandfather hears about Benson's suicide attempt." Cal grimaced. "Not that you have a shortage of those." He made a disgusted sound and walked away, his shoulders rigid with unreleased tension.

Orly blew out a short breath and dragged another one in. She didn't like the mirror Cal held up or what reflected back at her. She had taken a hard line with Benson, and maybe dealt with him a little more harshly than she should. A little? The guy tried to overdose, dumb ass. Blinking, Orly finally owned her part. She'd shoved her responsibility into a dark corner of her mind, but Cal had the uncanny ability to shine a big ass spot light into those deep, hidden crevices. She didn't like it, mainly because he usually called her mistakes for the fuck-ups they were.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

She didn't care about going on report. She'd deal with whatever backlash came her way. But she didn't want Cal to write her off. His actions and tone had a note of finality that gnawed away at her psyche. And why wouldn't he walk away? He had warned her. No, first, he'd asked her to consider trying a different tactic with Benson. Then he offered the know-it-all advice. Dammit. Chin deep in muck and her closest ally pretty much couldn't stand her at the moment.

Orly pushed away from the wall. She'd give Cal a little time to cool down and then see if they could hash things out. She'd rather not have his anger bleed over into their job.

Because the level of suckitude that equaled didn't bear thinking about.

Orly has some serious amends to make and Cal definitely won't make it easy. Where's the fun in that, right?

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye