Miranda Kate's Blog, page 14

Review: Alone With Myself, by Kev Harrison

Alone With Myself by Kev Harrison
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A super short story, but a brilliant little read. The concept is that of grief taking a little bit of your soul - and then what happens when it comes back.

A dark, thought provoking tale and a great introduction to Kev's writing style, which is easy and succinct, flowing off the page. I really enjoy the stories he writes. I can't recommend him enough if you like things, dark and different.

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Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 262

This image was once up on Etsy as an item for sale but it is no longer available so I can't credit either the company of the person who took the picture. But it is rather wonderful. 

I tried to think a little out of the box, and my mood infected this one, and it's run over the word count, but I can't edit it anymore without ruining the story. Enjoy. 

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here. 

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.


Lifting Life
Felicity needed it today more than ever. It was yet another overcast day and her mood reflected it. She felt sad. In fact she often felt sad, although she was someone who kept it to herself. People saw her as sociable and outgoing – and she was, but she also felt deeply disconnected from everything around her. She lived alone and worked from home. She spent most days not seeing anyone or speaking to anyone. Only at weekends, when she arranged to meet others, and although they were great people, they were surface friends; no deep and meaningful conversations or relationships. It was taking a toll on her and she didn’t know how to change it.

She picked up the little bottle she’d bought at a shop that sold herbs and tinctures. ‘Sun Dust, sprinkle anytime to add a little light in your life.’ She wondered if it was just a sales gimmick. But the shop assistant had assured her it was very real and would bring her what she needed. The assistant had advised her to sprinkle just a few grains of it around her room to brighten up her life, so she took out the cork stopper and sprinkled a little over different areas of the house.

She waited. Nothing happened. Maybe it was a gimmick.

There was a bright flash at her window. Great, lightning, now there was going to be a storm to make the day darker.

Felicity went to the window to watch it but didn’t see any more and there was no rain. The clouds were grey but they didn’t look that heavy. Maybe it was just a random strike.

She went to the kitchen to make some breakfast. She was about to switch on the light when she saw the sun had broken through the clouds here at the back of the house. Yet while she was clearing the dishes out of the kitchen sink she glanced out and saw the clouds were still there, blanketing the sky. It must have been just a brief glimpse.

She looked down into the sink again and saw sun glinting off the chrome of the pans. She frowned. Where was it coming from?

She looked round the room and saw beams of light cutting across the counter. She opened the back door and stepped outside but it was still completely dull and chilly. She came back inside and saw the outline of the window frame cast across the kitchen table as though it was full sunshine outside.

Was it real? Could the Sun Dust be doing that? She couldn’t think what else it could be.

Felicity went out of the kitchen and checked all the rooms she’s sprinkled it in, even upstairs. Sure enough, they were all lit up with invisible sunshine. It was glorious.

She smiled. And when she left her bedroom she felt her feet lift more than usual. When she reached the stairs she floated down them rather than stepped. What was going on?

She kept her hand on the banister, worried she might not be able to stay grounded if she didn’t. But at the bottom she had to let go to get into the lounge, and glided across the floor, plopping down onto the sofa, although it didn’t feel like she was actually touching it.

She giggled at the idea, and then she couldn’t stop and lay there laughing for at least half an hour, not really sure what she was laughing at.  Her sides ached. What was happening? Had the bottle released some kind of laughing gas?

Felicity didn’t know, and no longer cared. She felt good. She hadn’t felt this good in years, in fact not since she last fell in love.

That was it; it felt like falling in love. Only there was just her. But that was okay. She liked that it was just her; she was enjoying herself on her own for the first time ever. She realised she could be happy all by herself. She didn’t need other people to have a good time. She could do things by herself that would make her happy.

The revelation made her want to go for a walk, It didn’t matter it was overcast; it didn’t stop nature being wonderful. She couldn’t wait to get out in it and breathe in the air.

Felicity stepped out of the front door with a big smile on her face. But by the time she reached the road her feet were no longer gliding, the weight of her body had returned. And when she reached the woods she began to wonder what she was doing there. She did, however, enjoy the trees and the smell of the foliage on a dank, cold day.

When she reached the lake in the middle, she saw the ducks and wished she’d brought something to feed them. And although when she returned home less light and happy than she had been, she felt at peace. She knew now what she needed to do.

The Sun Dust might have been the catalyst, but she understood that her sadness was because she kept herself cooped up and didn’t appreciate herself enough, or the outside world she lived in.

She smiled. She’d use the dust again, she knew that, but now she had a deeper understanding that to change her life for the better it started within.  

Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 261

This week's picture prompt was created by The Master Baron on Deviant Art. They call it the Dream Machine. They have a lot of interesting digital imagesm wirtg a browse. 

Took me a while to decide on this one, and it's short but I like it. 

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here. 

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

Star Struck

Am I dead?

I must be, right?

That truck just went right over me. It came out of nowhere. I was just looking at that squirrel by the side of the road as I stepped out and, wham!

Unless this is ‘seeing stars’ … but that doesn’t look like stars; that looks like cogs.

But cogs for what?

My brain?

Or are they bubbles?

Lights even?

I’ll just reach out my hand …

Okay, no hands.

No body, just me.

I’m dead.

Or am I dreaming?

Could be dreaming.

Or could this be what is on the ‘other side’ – is this the afterlife?

Well if it is, it’s pretty.

But where are the people? You know all those people who loved you in life and are already dead, like grandparents and such, who come back to meet you and take you through?

It’s all bollocks then, isn’t it? Thought so.

So instead of a bright white light you go through, there are some kind of cogs, or wheels … Or is this space?

Have I drifted up in an ethereal state into the universe? This could be a nebular of some kind. I might have floated into it.

But wow, isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t it wonderful? I feel so elated, so full, so happy?

Is this happiness? Is this what it feels like to feel complete and whole and ‘at peace’?

Am I at peace? I definitely feel it.

I can’t even remember ever feeling different. I can’t remember … well, anything.

I could just stay here and stare into these amazing rotating circles forever.

And I will.

I just want to be here with them. I want to be in them, I want them to be here with me.

I love them. And they love me, right? I can feel it. Like a tangible thing coming through their light.

They do.

I never want to be anywhere else ever again.

There is nowhere else.

Review: Elevation by Stephen King

Elevation by Stephen King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I delayed getting this book, because it's a novella which is being priced at the cost of a novel. This is the publisher's way of making money from the Stephen King Constant Reader and I don't like it - PLUS this book has been padded out with the first three chapters of his next release (The Institute) so I find this particularly scammy. Not a good look for Stephen King OR his publishers.

That said, I'm a lifelong fan of Stephen King's work. I own all his books - The Dark Tower in duplicate (hard and soft covers), so when I started reading this book, the opening was really familiar too me, like I'd read it somewhere before. It follows a similar storyline to Thinner, and the main character also talks in the opening about a doctor and him weighing himself. I wondered if this book was maybe a story Stephen King had written before Thinner and he'd pulled it out of his draw and decided to release it. I'm okay with that, but this one could have gone into a collection.

In terms of the story, it is classic Stephen King. It's been a while since he's brought one out that has this kind of storyline. Something unexplained but yet compelling, with a brilliant ending. His writing has been mixed these last few years, some has even be shockingly bad (Sleeping Beauties), with others going off the rails a bit (The Outsider). It's a light story with well developed characters, and he uses modern day themes like the changing attitude to same sex marriage, based on recent political agendas. It was refreshing, if brief.

I would recommend this one to those that enjoy his writing. But if you can find a second hand copy so you don't have to pay the extortionate price for something so short, I'd urge you to do so - or borrow it from a library.

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Review: Tender Morsels, by Jack Rollins

Tender Morsels by Jack Rollins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first time reading Jack Rollins' work, and I was not disappointed. This was only a short story, a taste of what's to come, which in itself is a pun on the story within these pages.

This story was drip fed and built tension while setting the scene and giving the reader a chance to get to know the characters. It was set in the Victorian times, in a poor district of London and the dialogue and writing style reflected that.

Knowing it was a dark, horror-filled story I was waiting for the reveal, and it came much subtly than I expected but with full impact right at the end. Just a few simple lines to expose the terrifying truth.

This is not a story for the faint-hearted, but those that like their horror dark and not put off by gory. I look forward to reading more.

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Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 260

This week's picture prompt was created by Barath Ganesh from Coimbatore, India. They have some incredible art, definitely worth having a look. They call this one Floating Boat. 

A return to a piece within the word count, AND another Tricky snippet. The last one was Week 257. 

If you like it then, you can always grab the first book in the series: Dead Lake The second one is due out in September. 

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here. 

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

Spy

‘What’s this? Why we in a boat?’

‘Safer.’

‘Safer for who? You know I don’t swim.’

‘Both of us. Now shush, this is important otherwise I wouldn’t have brought you here.’

Tricky adjusted her seat and the boat wobbled. Annie clutched the sides.

‘Watch what you’re doing or you’ll have us over!’

‘Annie, stop worrying, we’re safe. It’s not deep water; you could stand in it if you wanted. I just needed to be in another time where we couldn’t be over heard. No one can creep up on us here. What I have to tell you can ONLY be between us!’

‘So it’s not deep water?’ Annie peered over the sides. ‘Looks deep to me. And it’s so still. You can barely tell which way is up.’

Tricky beamed and looked around her. ‘I know, stunning, isn’t it? I love it. It’s amazing how some worlds look. There aren’t many places on the landmass that have areas of water this big, and none of them like this. And not with that sky!’

Tricky leaned back to admire it causing the boat to move. Annie let out a squeal.

‘Stop doing that! Just hurry up and tell me what you need to, so we can go back.’

‘This thing goes deeper that we thought. I think there’s a spy in Tumelo’s house.’

‘Do you know who?’

‘Nope. I’m not even ruling out his wife at this stage.’

‘That bad?’

‘Yep.’

‘What can I do?’

‘Use your guides. Try and find out anything you can, like who we can trust, how we can bring an end to this without chance of others knowing we are onto them.’

‘And you have no suspicions about who it could be?’

‘You know me, I’m suspicious of everyone. But Adric said something that could have ONLY been known by someone who had been in the same room as me and The Baron when I was telling him about his son. I’ve been trying to wrack my brains cuz we had more than one conversation about it, and I can’t remember exactly.’

‘Not his brother? He might have said something to him.’

‘No, Kiros was horrified when his father played that recording to him. There’s no way he would have given anything away to his brother. He knows how vital it is we keep Adric in the dark.’

‘What did Adric say?’

‘He came in all wafty like, pretending butter wouldn’t curdle in that lying mouth of his. He was all ingratiating himself with everyone, doing that silly shy, then flirtatious thing he does. Now I know what a slippery scheming turd he is, it’s like I can see straight through him.’

‘But he knows you know, right? I mean he must do after what happened?’

‘He’s pretending he doesn’t of course, because if there is a spy he must do – and I’m fairly certain there is. But I have to play along as though he doesn’t, just like he is doing. It’s a dance. He’s waiting for me to slip up – but he might just have done that himself. He said, “So tell me Tricky, you know about gemstones, what other qualities do they have? I heard someone say they could even be used to listen in, to record things?”

‘Oh! He definitely knows! Someone has told him!’

‘There’s a chance Dufray told him.’

Annie looked at Tricky, her eyes glazing over for a moment, then she refocused on her. ‘No, no he didn’t. He knows that for sure.’

‘Okay then, there is a spy.’

‘So what now?’

‘Search about, amongst your guides, amongst your feelings, in anything you receive. Help me work out who it is. We need to ‘cause otherwise it’s all for nothing.’

‘Have you shared this with Tumelo?’

‘I know, I need to, but what if … what if …’ Tricky couldn’t quite say it.

‘He’s in on it too? Yes, that would be tricky – even for you.’ 

Review: Six! by Mark Cassell

SIX! by Mark Cassell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyed this collection from Mark Cassell. He excels at keeping the reader enthralled, and compells them to turn the page with the dark, tense suspense, and these stories are no exception.

I really enjoyed In Loving Memory, and the idea of what a lightning strike can do. But I think On Set -with North was my favourite. True horror at its finest, but definitely not for the faint-hearted or the squeamish. If you like the dark gothic, Victorian writing style of the likes of Poe, then The Space Between Spaces, which I love for its otherworldly, dark intrigue.

There's much to enjoy here. This is also a good introduction to Mark Cassell's work, so if you haven't yet tried his dark delights, this is a good starting point before you tackle the Shadow Fabric novel and the myriad stories surrounding the mythos. I can't recommend Mark's writing enough. He has a defined clear style that I really enjoy reading.

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Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 259

This week's picture prompt was taken by Richard of Hollins over on twitter. Taken in January this year in Lancashire, England. 

I had an image for this one in my head, but it went much darker than expected and double the word count! But if I cut it off it wouldn't make sense. It needed its end, so it's a short story instead of just a piece of flash. And TW/CW: Sexual Assault/Rape suggested. But not graphic. 

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here. 

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

Suspicious
Trisha staggered and almost slipped on the ice. Fuck, this wasn’t good. She could barely see. She’d had a few but not that many. She could see the street lamp on the other side of the bridge, but it felt like everything was spinning; the snow on the ground moving round and round. She took a deep breath and tried opening her eyes wider, but it didn’t help.

She remembered Jamie buying her two beers in Henry’s, but when they’d moved to the Angel, she couldn’t remember how many she’d had. She’d kept pace with the girls so maybe three. At the peacock they’d only had one, because it was almost closing, but down the club she remembered someone bringing them shots. Had someone put something in one?

Trisha heard footsteps behind her. She tried to glance behind, but it unbalanced her and she thought she might fall off her heels. Then she heard voices and realised there was more than one. She tried to hurry up but it was hard walking on semi-hard snow in high heels.

‘You alright, love?’ A deep voice from behind her. She could feel panic rising from her stomach.

‘Yeah, I’m fine thanks.’ She tried to say it in her clearest voice, but knew it sounded slurred.

‘Your Nathan’s sister, aren’t you?’ A different voice. Did she know them?

She glanced back again, but her eyes couldn’t focus properly on their faces.

‘Yeah. He’s my little brother.’

‘I’m Dan. I work with him at Griggs.’

Trisha didn’t know whether this was a good thing or not. It wasn’t a name that rang a bell, but Griggs was a big factory and Nath knew a lot of people.

‘Oh right.’

‘Can we help you get home, love? You seem to be having trouble on this ice.’

‘Yeah, got the wrong shoes on for this stuff that’s for sure.’

The other guy came up on her left side and took her arm and Dan offered his arm on her right. Together they helped her get over the bridge.

She tried to relax and chat to them, but she was still on guard.

‘So who are you then?’ she said to the guy on her left.

‘I’m Craig. Just moved to the area. I work in the lasting room with Dan.’

‘Nath’s your supervisor then?’

‘Yeah, he runs our production line.’

‘So how come you know who I am then?’

‘He pointed you out to us earlier tonight, when you were in the Angel,’ Craig said.

‘Oh right. And he didn’t stay with you then?’

‘No, he said he wasn’t up to the club.’

‘No, Nath’s never been one for the nightclub. Not his scene.’ Trisha thought of how her little brother preferred goth music.

They eventually came out of the park. Trisha’s head was still spinning and she felt like she was losing moments of time, no longer being able to keep track of the conversation they’d been having, but fortunately she lived close by. They were only a few feet from her door when Craig said, ‘So you live by yourself then?’

Trisha didn’t want to answer because of where it might lead, so she lied. ‘Usually yeah, but Nath crashes on the weekends cuz I’m closer than mum and dads. I expect he’s snoring upstairs already.’

‘That’s good then. Not sure you should be left alone in your state,’ he grinned at her.

‘Oi, you cheeky bugger. I’m alright. I know what I’m doing.’

She left them on the road watching her as she walked up the path to her door and fumbled the key into the lock. She was still worried they might try and come in after her, so she opened it a tiny bit and squeezed through, trying to keep them in sight as she did it.

‘Bye then,’ she called.

They both put a hand up to wave goodbye and walked away. She closed the door behind her and put on the chain. Leaning against it, she tried to get her bearings and stop her head from spinning.

She heard movement in the lounge. Her breath caught in her throat. Who the fuck was that?

Then the hallway light was snapped on and her brother’s head appeared at the lounge doorway. He yawned and rubbed his hand in his hair.

‘You alright, Trish? Hope you don’t mind me crashing. I lost my wallet and didn’t have the money to get back home. I fell asleep on the couch.’

She let out a low breath. ‘You scared the shit out of me! Especially after that walk home with your work mates.’

‘Work mates?’

‘Yeah, Dan and Craig. They said they work in the lasting room with you.’

Nathan frowned. ‘Never heard of them. They’re not in my lasting room. You sure they work at Griggs?’

‘They said they were out with you tonight. You pointed me out to them.’

 ‘I was out with Mick. You saw me in the Angel with him.’

Trisha rubbed her head. She had a vague memory of it, but her head wasn’t very clear.

‘You alright, sis?’ Nath stepped towards her and put his hand on her shoulder.

‘I feel really out of it, but I haven’t had more than normal.’

‘You think someone spiked your drink? Maybe those blokes that claim to know me.’

Trish felt herself swoon and fall into her brother and then she blacked out.

When she woke up she was lying on the sofa and sun was coming through the window. She cracked an eye open and saw her brother standing at it, her dad standing next to him.

‘Nath? Dad? What you doing here?’

They both turned round. ‘What do you remember from last night, Trish?’ her dad asked as she approached her and sat down on the edge of the sofa next to her.

She tried to think but her head was fuzzy. ‘Not a lot. Just out with the girls. I felt rough coming home. Oh and some lads helped walked me home.’

‘And no one touched you inappropriately?’

‘What you on about dad?’

Her mum walked into the room with a cup of tea in her hand. ‘Oh good, you’re awake.’

‘Mum! What are you guys doing here?’

‘Nath called us. He was worried about you. Did something happen to you last night?’

‘Why do you all keep asking me that?’

Her mum looked down at her skirt; it was ripped and there was blood on her leg.

‘How did that happen?’

‘You sure we shouldn’t take you up to the hospital and get you checked out?’ Trisha’s dad asked.

She didn’t know. She realised she did feel sore underneath … but when and how? Tears sprang into her eyes. ‘I don’t know dad, maybe that’s a good idea.’

‘Oh Trish, darling.’ Her mum put her arm round her. ‘It’s gonna be alright.’

‘I’m just glad your brother was here,’ her dad said.

‘Me too. When I find out who those blokes are, I’m gonna batter them!’ Nathan said between clenched teeth.

‘Shh now Nath, let’s focus on Trish. Come on darling. Let’s get you up there now, then we can get back and you have a long bath. Maybe come back to ours for a few days.’

Trish had never been so grateful for the support of her family. She wasn’t sure what had happened, or when it had happened, but something had. 

Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 258

This week's picture prompt was take by horror writer Patrick McDonough over on twitter. He said: 

"I work at a wastewater treatment plant. It’s a weird job. Most areas I work in are perfect settings for Horror and Crime. Today, I walked in a room that demonstrates that perfectly."

Something a little bit different. I wasn't sure where this was going to go, but I think it worked out alright. 

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here. 

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.

Alone

Amanda put a hand on his leg and patted it. Yes, you’ll do nicely, she thought to herself as she started the car engine, happy to have someone along for the ride. It would give her neighbours an eye full too, which was her plan. Bunch of stickybeaks who loved putting their noses into everyone’s business; she hated them. She knew that sounded harsh, but it was true and the sooner she moved away from here the better.

She took a deep breath. That sort of talk didn’t help her, it only wound her up. But she wasn’t having any of it today, oh no, they could go stuff themselves. She had someone new here and they could stick it where the sun didn’t shine.

She waved to Gloria who was out in her garden pretending to tend to flowers, when really her life was so non-existent she would hover out there to see what everyone else was doing. It was the price you paid when you were on your own. It got lonely. But that was going to change for Amanda now. This was the first step; the next was getting out of this sad-sack neighbourhood.

She grinned at the surprised look on Gloria’s face when she registered Amanda’s companion riding along with her. Yes, that’s right, be jealous. She sniggered to herself. Sod you all!

Work would be more tricky; people there weren’t so easily convinced – or interested. Why would they? They all had lives. She’s seen their photos on their desks of their spouses and children. She’d heard them chatter about how busy they were with all their social engagements. They knew how to rub it in.

She’d taken pictures: a selfie with him behind her in the car, and one seen through the car window. She imagined herself saying, ‘Oh yeah, that’s my boyfriend’. And they’d all be smiles and wanting to know more. She might finally get to be in on some of the conversations in the lunch room. It could open up a whole new world.

When she got to work she had her photos ready. She pinned them up on her corkboard, and waited. Then an email came in from the boss and her stomach dropped.

She hadn’t thought any of them would notice. He’d been in a room that no one had been in for months. There’d been a thick layer of dust over everything in there. It had taken her ages to get him out, taking him home piece by piece over a long period of time. Nothing had been said, no notices had gone up. And now, just when she was ready with the next part of her plan, suddenly they wanted to run an employee’s first aid course, and wondered if anyone knew where the resuscitation dummy had gone. Damn! And worse yet she had the evidence here right in front of her.

She snatched the photos off the cork board and pretended she was off to the toilets, taking a quick divert down to her car in the underground company car park.

She hadn’t been stupid; she’d made sure he was out of sight in the boot of her car, but now she had to dump him. But where?

She scanned the area and saw a blue door across from her. She went over and tried it. It opened into a little cleaning room. Perfect! She chucked him in there, letting him fall to the floor in an undignified manner. Sorry, she thought to herself, you were nice and all but it wasn’t working out. If I lose this job, I’ll never get out of that shitty neighbourhood.

She scurried back out, keeping a watchful eye, but no one was about, and returned to her desk unseen. She sighed. She didn’t know what was worse, having no one in her life or losing the fake one.

  

Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 257

This week's picture prompt was taken by photographer, Steve Bougeno. Taken back in November 2015, he says it is a wind break at Shaw Nature Reserve in the Missouri Botanical Gardens. He has some wonderful nature photos, definitely worth checking out. And apparently, according to the person who posted this picture on twitter, it is a 'crinkle crankle wall' which means it resists horizontal forces, like wind, more than straight walls.

Another glimpse into Tricky's world for this week's piece. The last time was on Week 253. 

The General Guidelines can be found here.

How to create a clickable link in Blogger comments can be found on lasts week's post here. 

There is also a Facebook group for Mid-Week Flash, if you fancy getting the prompt there.


Getting Ahead
Tricky waited for the view to stop wobbling, then realised it was wobbly – the brick wall was not straight. Odd, she’d not seen one like that before. Was it meant to be like that, or had someone been drinking when they built it?

One of the first things to make a return after the shift was alcohol. It seemed humans didn’t want to live without it, although the methods and vegetables they now used had become creative. She wasn’t really interested in it. She preferred herbal tea. She didn’t need to get out of her mind to have fun; when you could open pockets of time and step into other worlds, it paled by comparison.

She climbed down off the wall she’d found herself on and walked along it. Nope, that wobble was definitely deliberate as it was perfectly constructed to flick-flack at certain intervals. Weird. She wondered what else was off kilter here.

The thing with opening rents in time was that really you had no idea where you were and when you were. And although everyone called it ‘time’, it wasn’t really; it was some kind of inter dimensional movement. Tricky wasn’t into all the complicated science of the how or why, it just was, and she accepted it, much as she would accept a mole on a man’s penis. It’s there, you take it or leave it – doesn’t make much difference to the doing or the outcome. Although maybe with dimensions the outcome could be affected depending what you were doing. She snickered to herself. Ha! She’d have to explore that one, one day. She wondered if Nathan was the experimental type … but she wasn’t here to ponder all that, she was here to get her arse moving and get ahead of Stanislav and his crony.

She didn’t have to travel far, but she did have to make sure she was opening at the right place. She rushed down the length of the wall, vaguely wondering what it was doing here, and then saw there was a wood at the end where the wall went left. Excellent, just what she needed.

Tricky climbed back on the wall, and at the corner gripped onto an overhanging oak. It’s deep green energy seeping into her arms as she clambered up and onto a branch, settling into a nook a few feet off the ground.

She pulled the mirror out of her pocket, the one Nathan had returned to her. It wasn’t just a mirror, it could see between dimensions. She didn’t know how her mother had discovered it, but it had been part of their family collection of tools for their craft. Tricky had assumed it had ended up in the hands of the network. She loved that Nathan had held onto it.

She placed it in her palm, her energy activating it, and held it up so the light caught it. It glinted. The image it reflected wasn’t of this place but of the Ferriston forest. She turned it slightly so the path came into view and she could see them walking along. Yes, she was ahead of them. Good.

She rummaged in her pocket for the chip of obsidian with her other hand, the germwort still wrapped around it, and ran a finger along the lining of the pocket, feeling for a few crumbs of creasy. She grasped a big one with the tips of her fingers and brought them out into the open. When she manoeuvred the crumb onto the stone, a loud crack in the air caused the tree to rustle in surprise and a small gap opened up. She hoped the crack hadn’t been as loud on the other side or they might have heard it.

She slid through the gap, climbing from one tree to the other – a nice pine who seemed pleased to greet her. She felt the excited bright green energy run up her arm. She took her thumb off the crumb of creasy, letting it fall to the ground, and nestled into the trunk of the tree, her eyes on her stalkers. She was keen to see where they were going.