Sunday Snippet: Believe

Happy holiday season to everyone! I'm ready for a busy week and a quiet Christmas. We're always pretty low-key and this year my oldest is in the middle of moving out for the first time. I'm thrilled for him but don't envy the chaos. Moving is challenging when it isn't the holiday. LOL

Didn't get much television watched this week. Have an ongoing project that's due by the beginning of January and I'm focused on getting it finished up.

I did listen to a lot of holiday tunes while working and I got sucked into a Scorpion binge marathon. Other than that, I watched the usual classic Perry Mason and The Saint.

Looking forward possibly getting to the movies I'd like to watch this week.

Tonight's post is from Believe, a novella that features a journey to trust the inner self and the one person that knows the most about that self.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Shaelyn Hardwick is a talented mage, but lacks control. When she inadvertently causes another's death, she flees under the cover of darkness. Innis Talmadge goes to the mat for Shaelyn and gets dismissed for his efforts. He tracks her down and a battle ensues. Shaelyn doesn't trust her ability, but she trusts Innis and he has to show her how to believe in herself again.

And a preview snippet…

I killed someone.

Shae got up and paced her floor. "I can't stay here." She couldn't face the mage council.

Even if they let her stay, she didn't trust herself anymore. She didn't believe she wouldn't hurt anyone else.

She gathered up one single suitcase and exited her room. "Innis is gonna be pissed when I don't show at eight." Her steps didn't slow.

She couldn't worry about him. Not right now. But her heart twisted a little.

He drove her mad most of the time but he also taught her so much. "And gives me advice I usually don't heed." She didn't want to tarnish him with her fuck-up.

Innis gave a damn about her and it would lead to his downfall. Or, hell, maybe his death. She didn't have the gift of prophecy, but her dream held vivid clarity. She had the power to end Innis and she couldn't deal with the idea at all.

Strolling out of the manor, she made her way to the grotto to teleport in relative obscurity. She didn't want anyone to know she'd left until she had a good bit of distance between her and the mage campus.

"I have to go somewhere…" Her main thought of escape didn't include a destination. "The fringe. I'll head there."

Dammit. But not right away. She needed to be smart about this. The fringe would be perfect to get lost for a while. The wild-wild-west vibe of the desert mining area would perfectly suit her mood and the need to lay low.

She stepped into the center of the grotto and focused her mind. "A place where no one knows or cares about me." But first, she'd hit the biggest city in the next state.

A zigzag approach. Take some time to earn funds to set up a buffer. She'd hop around instead of taking a direct route. A few paychecks would come in handy in case she didn't find work right away in the fringe.

And the roundabout travel would throw anyone off her trail … because her gut said Innis would try to follow her. And the more distance she kept between them the better.

I like how this story is coming together. Innis has Shae's number but he'll have to get past her call-forwarding. LOL

That's it for this week.

 

Cheers!

Skye