Sunday Snippet: Mendacium

Ugh. Another week of crazy back and forth weather. We went from sixty-two degrees on Thursday to twenty-five on Friday. Every time I took the dog out starting on Thursday evening, I added a layer of clothes. And… I now have a raging upper respiratory ick thing. LOL Never fails.

Not a bad week for television. I caught the premiere of Strike Back and loved it. One of my favorite actors is starring this season and I'm very excited to see what he does on the show. I'm also kind of caught between the old style with Stonebridge and Scott and the new style with Wyatt, Mac, and Gracie. The former cast had more time to build the relationship between the leads and I liked how that spread over the four seasons they helmed the series. The new cast feels like they had to skip a lot of the nuance and I kind of miss that. And none of this is to say they don't gel together, because they do.

Also caught an episode of Chicago Fire and ended up being an ugly-crying mess by the end. Benny's sendoff didn't disappoint. I tend to get very emotional over signing off a fallen firefighter. With a retired fire chief dad who's still active with a volunteer department, those things hit home for me.

I'm almost finished with Luke Cage's second and final season. I'm pretty sure I'll be satisfied if Mariah goes down hard. I'd like Luke to have a resolution with his anger issues too and I think he's come a long way. Misty is just awesome no matter what so there's that.

Also caught Classic Roswell on a different app where I can watch single episodes. I'm looking forward to comparing the new reboot with the classic series.

Caught a few episodes of Classic Who this week and the Daleks are back, creating trouble as usual. I love how long this Whovian villain has been around.

Watched Murdoch Mysteries and Midsomer Murders. I love both of these series and how long they've been running.

Penny Dreadful had an interesting episode with Vanessa meeting the cut wife. The icky witch woman annoys me in ways I can't begin to describe. I do love Ethan and Vanessa's interactions so watching the creepy woman be evil is a small price to pay I guess.

Finally finishing up season four of Killjoys and, man, the "It Takes a Pillage" episode rocked on so many levels. Great character development and growth, a family reunion, betrayal, and Zeph being awesome. Can't ask for more than that.

Worked in another episode of Painkiller Jane, one I don't remember watching during the original run of the series. The show makes me nostalgic for La Femme Nikita and Mutant X. I miss the crazy creative style of that era of television.

Also started another episode of Underbelly: Razor. I'm about halfway through the series and continue to enjoy watching life in Australia during the twenties and thirties.

That's it for television this week. Tonight's post is from Mendacium, a novella that started with a writing community prompt of write a story that involves a lie.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Kelby Svet and Reave Systevich work for Mendacium, a covert organization that monitors magical ability among the human population. When powers go out of control or get abused, Kelby and Reave deal with the fallout—until a betrayal puts them on different sides.

And a preview snippet…

Reave heaved a sigh. "You know what? I was so pissed when I woke up and you were gone. Then I found out you hooked up with Adkins and being pissed turned to silent rage." He got up, crossed the room, and sat next to her.

Kelby didn't hold out much hope. After learning the how much and for how long Pope betrayed her, she didn't really deserve anything from Reave. Gah! If only she'd stuck around that night.

Reave nudged her shoulder. "Stop it. Nobody had a clue Pope was working both sides and profiting from the jobs he sent his teams out on." His arm wrapped around her, hauling her close to his side.

She burrowed in, basking in the comfort of him. "He was a goddamn puppet master." Anger filled her again. "I can't believe how brilliantly he manipulated me." All the blood on her hands belonged to Pope.

She finally had a chance for normal now.

Her head angled upward and she met Reave's gaze. "I've learned a lot since I left you that morning. About myself and what I really need to survive." She needed him even if the idea still made her uneasy.

But why wouldn't it? For so long she'd lived on the edge of everything. Reason, sanity, disaster… no wonder anything resembling quiet and calm freaked her out.

Reave grasped her hand, lacing their fingers together. "I wasn't honest that night when I talked about making a plan to get out." His thumb made circles on her skin.

She looked up again. "Meaning you didn't want to leave?" Surprise warred with disbelief.

He'd been pretty set on getting out while they still had a chance to make a life.

Reave shook his head. "No, I wanted to start planning something, but I didn't want to do it alone. The part I wasn't honest about was how much I needed you. You were the catalyst that made me want a future." His lips curved in a half-smile. "But, I don't know, the gut-punch of actually owning the feeling of wanting a life with you kept my mouth shut." His gaze met hers. "Maybe if I admitted how much and how long I needed you, you wouldn't have left, but I couldn't… okay, more like wouldn't…" His voice trailed off and he glanced away.

She sat up. "Wait, why not?" Her gut screamed he hadn't told her everything that night, especially when his brain wouldn't shut down.

Reave lifted a shoulder. "Kelb, you carry guilt around like a mantle. Eventually you would've resented me saddling you with something you weren't ready for yet." His eyebrow arched, almost daring her to deny his words.

She couldn't. Obviously. One little conversation about the future weighed on her conscience and she'd all but jumped at the chance to take a tumble with Adkins along with bringing in a group of rogue mages.

Would she have been swayed if Reave shared the depth of his feelings? She searched deep, yeah, maybe. And, yeah, she'd have let the guilt eat her alive. After Enri. Before discovering Pope's role in Enri's death… yeah, she wouldn't have been ready for anything bright and shiny with Reave no matter how much she wanted it.

She brought his hand to her lips, brushing them over his knuckles. "You're not wrong. I'm sorry for it, especially for cutting out the way I did." The sting of leaving him still pricked her sometimes.

Reave flashed a smile. "It worked out for the best. With hindsight, I recognize I didn't say anything because I wanted you on better terms. Not because I painted a pretty picture of the future and not because we suffered a big loss and needed to grieve." He angled her toward him and cupped her face. "You weren't ready, and honestly, I wasn't either. I needed perspective to really see we faced a bigger threat than out of control mages or asshats that abuse their magic." He leaned in and pressed a kiss against her forehead.

Her eyes closed and she all but purred with satisfaction. Tilting her chin up, she meshed her lips with his, pouring everything—love, passion, hope—into the embrace. Her fingers tugged at the hem of his t-shirt, dragging the material up his torso.

Sex. Him. Forever.

She needed all of it.

Now.

This story is finally taking shape. I need to outline and brainstorm some additional ideas but I like where it's going.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye