Sunday Snippet: Not Enough Hope

April 27, 2014

Greetings,

Whew. Wild week in TV. Arrow, of course, amped up the tension and drama with a total shocker at the end of the episode. Okay, maybe not a total surprise, but wow, I'm dying to see what happens next. S.H.I.E.L.D went to great places and planted some new seeds for a future season (I hope!) and Orphan Black delivered another taut hour of viewing pleasure. I have several things I want to see happen with Rachel, but I'll save those for a fandom blog post. LOL I'm honestly not sure about the whole Helena/religious cult dealio, but I'll keep watching to see what happens.

Writing wise, the week ended up being way more productive than expected, in a truly odd way. I've been updating my Works in Progress page and the exercise is shaking off some cobwebs and getting the creative juices flowing again. I love it when that happens. J

Tonight's post is from Not Enough Hope, a novella where my main characters have to find their way back to each other… if they can.

Here's the tagline:

Early Gibbons walks away from her position in the fae court—and Salem Powell—to forge her own path in the human realm. When she discovers a vengeance hound on her trail, she returns to the land of fae to find out who unleashed the beast, which may be tricky since Salem is the leader and she can't discount him as the culprit.

And a preview snippet…

Early spoke quietly. "It's hard to let go of someone you loved."

Salem agreed. "It is, yes." But he hadn't loved Glenda enough. He'd used her. And she him. But they were good for each other… for a while. He'd thought maybe… no, he hadn't really. And she knew it. She wanted one last decent thing before giving it up. And maybe she'd hoped they could find their way back… but he wouldn't lie. Not this time. And Glenda realized it… he hadn't meant to take away her hope, but he had.

And she'd given up. Because of him. And Early.

Salem sighed. "Why are you here?"

Early shrugged. "It was time to come home."

Salem slid his gaze sideways. "This isn't your home anymore. Did you forget that?"

Only he could grant her access back into the fold… and right now… he didn't feel inclined. She could interact and visit family and friends—if she still had any. But unless he welcomed her, she wouldn't be embraced by the fae. Not quite a full on shunning where she'd be turned to ash if she crossed the threshold, but uncomfortable nonetheless. She'd have to resort to accepting whatever hospitality she could find and wouldn't be able to put down roots or stay past her welcome.

Early replied succinctly. "I haven't forgotten anything." She turned towards him. "You don't plan to make this easy, do you?"

Salem worked the ashes, scooping them toward the center of the pyre. "Apparently you have forgotten." He glanced up. "Nothing's ever easy with you."

Early lifted a brow. "Oh, it gets worse. I've got a vengeance hound on my ass." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Know anything about that, Salem?"

A sucker punch to the face would've shocked him less, but he wouldn't show his surprise. Not here, or now.

He held her gaze for several long moments. "There's a long list to go through to narrow down the possibilities, Early." His flicked a glance toward the fire. "And I'm a little busy at the moment."

~:~

Early's gut twisted. She deserved his scorn. Hell, she hadn't expected anything less. But Mage's blood, her timing couldn't suck worse. Arriving on the day he performed final rites on Glenda. The universe might be trying to tell her something. Too bad she didn't plan on listening.

She never did.

She'd walked away with no intention of ever coming back, but too many close calls forced her return. The only reason she could come up with for a hound chasing her had everything to do with home. Someone had cursed her and she had to find out who and why. Sadly, she couldn't rule out Salem. She wanted to, but he had some rage issues… not that she blamed him. She hated to think he might stoop to using a hound, but ten years had passed, so ruling it out… not yet.

She pushed for an answer. "Is your name at the top of the list, Salem?" Her eyes slid shut and she braced for his reply.

He didn't disappoint.

He made a low growling sound. "We're not doing this right now." He took the large ornamental spade and walked the perimeter of the pyre. "I'm laying Glenda to rest." He paused, pain marring his features. "You're intruding, which is what you do, but just once, you're going to respect the boundaries and leave." His head snapped up and he pinned her with his gaze. "Now."

Early dragged her lower lip between her teeth, biting back an urge to hurl a scathing comeback. She didn't want to encroach on his ceremony. She had no choice.

She blew out a long, cleansing breath. "I have nowhere to go, Salem."

He snorted. "Because you burned every bridge you could find on your way out." His shoulders slumped. "The Brackin house is empty. You can stay there tonight." He closed his eyes, effectively shutting her out.

Early took a moment, studying Salem, noting the changes a decade had wrought. Not many, but his face had filled out, softening the angular planes and valleys. Grief showed prominently through the tired lines around his eyes.

Early walked toward him, carefully staying clear of the burning flames.

Stopping next to him, she laid a palm on his forearm. "I'm sorry about Glenda." She squeezed lightly and moved forward, leaving him to mourn in solitude.

Salem is stuck between a rock and a hard place—my favorite spot for characters. :D

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye