Well … the
beginning of my birthday week is off to a chilly start. The good news is the
temps are supposed to warm up this week, which is kind of nice. I could use a
little mild weather to improve my mood. The other good news is our new roof did
indeed fix the leak situation. We had several days of icy rain and no drips!
Busy week on the work
front again. I like having multiple projects but a particularly brutal edit
made for a long seven days. I'm looking forward to the new week.
Light viewing
schedule for television. I needed to focus on work in a big way. I finished up
the premiere episode of Strike Back and,
okay, Coltrane's attitude improved. Hmm. Maybe not improved, but at least I get
why he's kind of off the rails. A terrific episode overall.
Watched two more
episodes of Gargoyles and I think I
missed both in the original run. I enjoyed viewing the new-to-me ones.
Caught another
episode of Arrow and thoroughly enjoyed
the somewhat insane mix of past and present in the aptly titled "Present
Tense" episode. I'm looking forward to a return to Russia in the next one.
Watched an episode
of Murdoch Mysteries and quite liked
revisiting an old nemesis of William's, especially since he's been somewhat
converted into an ally. I also loved the intrigue of having Brackenreid's
daughter meet his wife.
Started an episode
of Riverdale and got sidetracked with
work. I'm hoping to finish up soon and maybe see the end of the farmies once
and for all. Fingers crossed.
Other than the
above, I caught an airing of Grease 2,
which is actually one of my all-time favorite movies. I even like it better
than the original. I also did a marathon of mystery movies on Hallmark Movies
and Mysteries.
That's pretty much
it for television. Tonight's post is from Six
Degrees of Separation, book two in the Academy of Light series.
Here's the
mini-blurb:
Melick Traynor and
Ramona Peartry, two Academy of Light magicians, have a single passionate
encounter after Ramona nearly loses her life to a dragon. But when they
navigate their new relationship status, Melick has to step down as Ramona's
precept, but neglects to tell her why.
And a preview snippet…
Sawitch saved the day. Melick
continued to mull over possibilities to get Ramona engaged in a project a week
later. She remained immobile, doing the barest of bare minimum therapy. Melick
dropped by daily, but Ramona acted bored and disinterested. Frustrated and
frazzled, he'd leave within half an hour.
Master Sawitch stopped him after
a particularly brutal silent treatment from Ramona. He had the request for
precept change in hand.
"Why should I sign
this?" His voice had the growly quality it got when Sawitch didn't like
something.
Melick sighed. The guy always
made things more difficult than necessary. Melick considered making an excuse,
but opted for the truth instead.
"Because I have feelings for
Ramona and need to be free to pursue them."
The old man narrowed his eyes.
"She feel the same?" He frowned his displeasure.
An image of her face in the
throes of passion flashed in his mind. "I don't know. But I can't find out
while I'm still bound." He didn't volunteer additional details.
Sawitch pondered for a moment.
"You can't find out while she's still in the healing chambers
either." The chastising tone grated on Melick.
But the man had a point.
"Look. I've tried everything I can think of … short of casting a spell to
light a fire under her ass. She won't budge."
Sawitch grew thoughtful.
"You know, that dragon is giving the technos a bunch of trouble."
Melick blinked and shook his
head. "And why the hell would I care about th—" It hit him.
"It's biomechanical." Not his field of expertise, but…
The master's lips twitched.
"Your Ramona has an interest, yes?" He quirked a brow.
Melick nodded, chagrined he
hadn't thought to check the progress with the dragon. "She certainly
does." Finally … a simple solution, one he could make work.
Sawitch lifted the clipboard and
signed the transfer request. "I'll start interviewing candidates
tomorrow." He started down the corridor.
Melick called him back.
"Master Sawitch." The older man stopped. "Why the help? You
don't like either one of us."
Sawitch shook his head.
"Ramona can be a pain in the ass, but she felled the beast. That took
balls." His eyes got a crafty look in them. "And smarts. Always
thought she had it in her to be more than flash and flair." Pride crept
into his gaze. "She finally proved it."
Melick inclined his head,
acknowledging Sawitch's change of heart. "And me?" He almost couldn't
wait to hear what altered the master's perception of him.
Sawitch gave Melick a long
considering look. "The Mage Superior asked me to think about something the
other day."
Melick lifted a brow. "And
it involved me?"
Sawitch shook his head. "Not
directly, no. It concerned the future of the Academy of Light." He waited
a moment, and then continued. "He wondered who I thought would serve it
best … once he's gone."
Melick frowned. "I don't
understand. He's not going anywhere. Is he?" He couldn't. Not anytime
soon.
Sawitch got it. "Not yet.
But he will one day and I don't like to admit that fact." He sighed.
"The thing is, it made me face the possibility … whether I wanted to or
not."
Melick had to give him credit for
the admission. "And?"
Sawitch sighed. "I don't
like change. But Afton thinks you're the best man for the job." His nose
wrinkled, but he didn't dispel the old man's belief. "He also said you'll
need someone like Ramona by your side. To keep you in check and to give you a
shove when necessary." Sawitch shrugged. "The old man isn't
wrong."
Closest thing to admitting Afton
had it right and Melick wouldn't get anything better than that. Sawitch, for
all intent and purpose, had just given Melick his seal of approval, something
he figured he'd have to fight tooth and nail to receive.
Stunned, Melick went with his
gut. "I'm not sure how to respond." Once given, Sawitch made sure his
support didn't waver. The man held loyalty at the top of his list.
Sawitch snorted. "Yeah, well
… don't let it go to your head. You've got a long wait to wear the sage's robes."
Melick didn't argue. He didn't
say anything, still shocked by Sawitch's actions.
The master gave him a nudge.
"You've also got a prickly female to get motivated. What're you waiting
for?"
Melick blinked. "Right.
Right. On my way." He turned, resisting the urge to look back, pretty
certain the exchange hadn't been an optical illusion.
He wondered if his luck would
hold when he visited Ramona.
I'm excited about
the Academy of Light series of books I have planned. There will be several
others featuring different types of characters and possibly different schools
within the academy.
That's it for this
week.
Cheers!
Skye
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