Sunday Snippet: Hell is in the Details

June 30, 2013

Howdy!

And holy crap! It's the last day of June…meaning half the year is gone. How in the world did that happen? LOL Can't really complain…I've got green stuff growing in my garden and will hopefully have more planted soon. J

Tonight's post is from a short story that might end up going into novella length. Hell is in the Details features a main female character who can't quite find her way back to her clan after she has a terrible experience. She also has a real problem asking for help. J

Here's the tagline:

Macyn has a one night stand with an immortal creature and suffers the consequences when he traps her in a maze of deception. Once free, she withdraws from her clan and it's up to Vin to bring her back from the brink of madness.

And the preview snippet…

Vin tracked Macyn down the sidewalk and around the stone archway. The catacombs. Every damn night for the past week she'd slipped out of the estate house and stealthily made her way to the abbey—the only place she could gain unfettered access to the hidden series of crypts and tunnels under the sprawling campus. He should have known she'd go there—the forbidden never called louder to anyone but Macyn.

He sighed. "Dammit, Mace. This won't end well if the clan finds out." Shaking off a flash of anger, he waited to follow, giving her time to get inside and through the barrier leading to her destination.

He didn't have the right to shadow her, but couldn't stop himself. Their history meant something, at least to him. Macyn severed ties and walked away, from the whole clan, but Vin had to figure out what had her so tied up in knots.

Ignoring the inner warning his brain screamed, Vin entered the abbey and silently made his way to the barrier. Sure enough, signs of Macyn's crossing littered the area. Never patient, she sometimes got sloppy when the risk of discovery proved small. He took the path she had and after several twists and turns, came to an abrupt halt and all but collided with her when she stepped out from the shadows.

Arms crossed over her chest, she huffed out an angry breath. "What the hell are you doing, Vin?" Her lips twisted with a nasty smirk. "I'm not gonna be your new pet project, so go back the way you came and leave me alone." Flinging her arms out, she spun around. "I've got peace and quiet here. No one, except you, to bother me. No one telling me how to act, think, or feel—"

Vin broke into her tirade. "No one to remind you the catacombs are forbidden."

She snorted. "That alone makes it worth being here." She stalked to an ancient looking chair and plopped down.

Vin had a moment of fear the wooden frame wouldn't hold her weight. "They're off limits for a reason, Mace." He walked forward, stopping in front of her. "The stuff down here? Beyond old. And damned dangerous." His head jerked toward an old wardrobe. "That thing? Hidden guillotine activated if the door is opened with the wrong latch."

Macyn whistled under her breath then shrugged. "Doesn't change anything. You don't have the right to stalk me!" Her voice rose with each word, ending on a shrill crescendo.

Vin nodded. "Yeah, okay. I would apologize—except I'm not sorry!" His finished on a shout. "Something is off with you"—he paced back and forth—"and you won't talk to anyone." Including him.

Macyn made a garbled choking sound. "I tried! And it blew up in my face, as usual." She rose and strode across the chamber, reaching behind the weaponized cupboard to pull out a hidden rucksack.

Vin snarled. "Maybe if you didn't go out of your way to burn every damned bridge you cross, it wouldn't be a common occurrence."

Her lips twisted in a rueful smile. "Yeah, that's right, isn't it, Vin. The hell is in the details." She shook her head. "No one knows. No one. What happened to me." She reached inside the bag and pulled a bottle of absinthe out.

Vin tried to keep the frustration out of his voice. "You're not exactly forthcoming with the details, Macyn."

She shot him a sideways glance before opening the bottle. "Because I don't want therapy! If one more elder suggests I 'see' someone about my problem, I'll do bodily harm." Taking a long swig, she made her way back to his side. "I want answers. And no one is willing to do jack about finding them." She held the bottle out, offering him a drink.

Vin sighed, but took the proffered alcohol. After taking a deep gulp, he recapped the bottle.

Setting it off to the side, he responded. "But someone, namely me, is trying to figure it out, Mace."

She rolled her eyes. "Right. By skulking around monitoring my movements. Talk about flying without a net, right?" Spinning around, she paced again. "Does the wife know where you spend your nights?"

He didn't have a wife. And no longer had a girlfriend. But Vin wouldn't volunteer that information. Macyn wouldn't be ready to hear it.

"Changing the subject won't get me out of here any sooner." He grabbed her arm when she went to reach for the absinthe. "And guzzling a gallon of that stuff won't help either."

Macyn threw her hands in the air. "Gah! I hate you. I hate everything." She stomped away, all but climbing the walls in her anger. "Six times. Six times I killed that fucking monster." Warming up, she spewed words out. "And every damn time he came back. Whole, healthy, and utterly content." She shuddered, her eyes going dark with the memory. "A god damned, immortal whatever the fuck he is." Her feet moved again, back and forth. "And each time, each and every time, I lost a piece of myself." She stopped and met his gaze. "Well, I'm done giving. It's time for me to take, use, and just do. Whatever the hell I want." She planted her hands on her hips and all but dared Vin to stop her.

Finally getting somewhere, he gave it his best shot. "Don't forget abuse, Mace. You and everyone around you." He crossed the space between them, stopping just shy of being toe to toe. "And I get it. The universe fucked you over, so watch out, Mace is on the warpath." He softened his tone. "But it's gotta stop."

Her head shook back and forth. "Oh, no. It doesn't. And you, nor anyone else, can order me around. I'm not done yet."

Vin pushed back. "And when will you be? When I'm standing over your grave? Because at the rate your burning through everything, I give you a month. Tops."

Macyn opened her mouth, and then shut it again. He'd struck pay dirt with that reference. And he'd accomplished his main goal of getting her to blow through the anger, hate, and thirst for vengeance. Well, maybe not the thirst for revenge, but at least the part where it consumed her night and day.

Her voice solemn, she said,"Thank you." Macyn slumped, the bile and venom gone.

Vin gave her a curt nod. "Any time." He launched the next phase of getting her back on track. "Now what do you want to do? I mean what's the goal for being down here."

~:~

Macyn considered giving him a false reason. But he'd know. He always did. The guy read her like a book.

She answered truthfully. "Research. I want the damned bastard dead. Permanently." Her gaze lifted and met his.

She waited, expecting Vin to volunteer. He didn't. She inclined her head, respecting his reason for not doing so. He wanted her to make the choice and commitment to ask for help.

She kept her line of sight steady. "Please tell me there's a way." There had to be…

Vin bobbed his head. "There's a way."

Son of a bitch. Her relief hit so hard she almost crumpled, but he stepped forward and angled her toward a chair.

Sinking down, she fought past the lump in her throat. "Show me how. Teach me, please." The word sounded so foreign coming from her, but not as hard to say as she'd imagined.

Macyn's journey is interesting for me to follow. She's not what I started writing and her evolution kind of amazes me. J

That's it for this week!

Cheers!

Skye