Kim Iverson Headlee's Blog: Book Musings from the Maze of Twisty Passages, page 35

Have a #SpringFling with Fairy Fun by @anitaphilmar #sexy #fantasy #romance

Spring Fling spotlight on Fairy Fun by Anita Philmar!
Anita shares why she likes spring:

Spring is in the air. The butterflies are fluttering along with the fairies from flower to flower.

This is why I love spring the possibilities to a new world are awaking, creating endless new ideas, a rebirth of life, and exciting stories.

Hope you enjoy Fairy Fun. A little fairy tale to get one’s blood a-pumping.

Synopsis:
Dedrick Forester, Prince of Endole, is fast approaching the end of his fairy cycle, which means losing his ability to fly, transforming into a wood gnome, and having to choose a mate. Until then he just wants to have fun...and lots of sex.

King Rosewood of Evermore is determined to see his daughter wed, but Chloe loves the freedom of fairy flight too much to settle down as a frumpy old wood gnome. She escapes and spreads her wings to reach new heights...like air sex with a stranger.

Combine her passion with Dedrick's and sparks light up the sky. Both discover pleasure beyond their wildest fantasies. But neither is prepared for the emotional connection. Now Dedrick must convince Chloe that losing her wings doesn't mean there aren't other ways to fly? 

Excerpt:

Mel laughed and wiped a rag over the bar. “What you need is a stiff chocolate drink. It’ll help ease the pain in your crotch. And as part of the royal family, every girl in the forest would love to be your bride. They just haven’t decided exactly how to catch you.” Mel glanced at the patrons scattered throughout the bar. “Once they make up their minds, you’ll be hard pressed to satisfy them all.”

“I wish,” Dedrick weighted the options of enjoying sex against the cost of a long-term commitment. If his lust turned to love, then he could satisfy his parent’s demands. He’d marry and have a wife to fuck regularly. “But I can’t let loose right now, because I don’t want to lose my ability to fly just yet.”

“Most fairies love flying, but there are advantages to having your feet on the ground.” Mel picked up a coco-shell cup and placed it under the spout before pulling back the lever. The rich aroma of chocolate filled the area.

Wow, just a whiff and the wicked scent calmed Dedrick’s racing hormones.

After filling the shell, Mel placed the drink in front of Dedrick. “You don’t have long before you’re past the age to fly any ways.”

“Have you ever done it while flying?” A soft female voice whispered near Dedrick’s right shoulder.

He turned.

A fairy with dark auburn hair stood a few steps away. Her sea green eyes held a teasing glint and a come-hither smile welcomed him closer. He dropped his gaze and scanned her lush body.

Purchase from:
The Wild Rose Press | All Romance |

Amazon | UK | CA | AU |  Kobo | B&N |


Find Anita Philmar everywhere:
Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter |

***

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Gull imparts wisdom to his son in RAGING SEA Ch5/Sc1B #amwriting #Arthurverse

Graphic overlay (c)2015 by Kim Headlee. While trying to compose something sage to introduce this week's excerpt of Raging Sea, my home-from-college daughter chose to watch a mini-marathon of South Park. And those annoying but funny voices are pretty hard to ignore!

Ah, the joys of parenting... at any age. :D

I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm not certain that Gull would describe parenting as a "joy" at this point in the story, but he's doing the best he can.

And now, while I make the mac & cheese with Andouille sausage, I leave you to chew on this week's installment...

Previous excerpts of Raging Sea  Chapter 1: Scene 1 | Scene 2 | Scene 3 | Scene 4 | Scene 5 |Chapter 2: Scene 1-A | Scene 1-B | Scene 2 |Chapter 3: Sc 1-A | Sc 1-B | Scene 2 | Sc 3-A | Sc 3-B |
Chapter 4: Sc 1-A | Sc 1-B | Sc 2-A | Sc 2-B | Sc 2-C |
Chapter 5: Sc 1-A |
Raging Sea Chapter 5, Scene 1-B©2015 by Kim HeadleeAll rights reserved.
Gull retrieved his sword, stood, and followed. He found his son just inside the door, facing the weapons rack. Angusel had stowed his sheathed sword and was holding the empty scabbard that housed Gull’s blade, tracing the lion design that ramped and roared across its bronze face. The bonding-day gift from Alayna was the only item of his past that he’d dared to keep all these years.

Sometimes the sentiments overpowered the risks.

He lowered his sword’s point to the floor and leaned against the door’s frame.

“What I expect is for you to master everything I teach you.” He held out his hand, palm up, and Angusel surrendered the scabbard. Gull slid the sword home but didn’t place it on the rack. “If you want me to go, I will. I’ve become quite adept at watching you from afar.”

That got Angusel’s attention. “Even when I lived at Arbroch earlier this year?”

“A Caledonach not of Clan Argyll caught living on Argyll lands? No bloody chance. I’d have been imprisoned or executed as a spy, given all the fears about Chieftainess Gyanhumara and her bairn. I stayed close to the border, avoided the occasional Móranach patrol, and kept my ears and eyes open.”

Angusel looked away, but not before Gull saw the grimace. “So . . . you know.”

“I know that you did your absolute utmost—”

“My utmost wasn’t good enough! It should have been. Now,” Angusel dropped his voice to a whisper, “I don’t know if it ever will be.”

“Nor can you, until you face another trial that taxes your skill and your strength and your soul as that one did. But if you hear nothing else from me, hear this, Angusel, and hear it well: your utmost is all anyone can ever ask of you. Forever blaming yourself for failing to thwart the consequences of other people’s evil choices is the fast track to madness.”

“Arthur the Pendragon said as much to me . . . after . . .” Angusel sucked in a breath, held it, and slowly blew it out.

“Wise man. Heed him, then, if you cannot find it within yourself to heed me.”

Hefting the sheathed sword, Gull turned to depart. A hand grasped his forearm, hard, and tugged. “Don’t go. Please, Father.” As Gull faced around, Angusel launched himself into Gull’s arms. “I can’t lose you again!” Momentum carried them out of the shed, and Gull dropped the sword to complete the embrace. “I—I just can’t.”

You never did.

Gull let Angusel vent the remnants of his anger against his shoulder. If Elian had asked which of them was holding on tighter, Gull would have been sore pressed to deliver an accurate answer. After his own churning emotions crested and ebbed to a manageable level, he whispered, “Son, I pray you never shall.”

Gull hoped with every shred of his being that it was a prayer the Old Ones would deign to answer.

***

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More reviews of #KASIWC and the Blog Tour winner! #MFRWOrg #BZBooks #ASMSG

“The well of our hitting was abysmally dry.”
(c)2015 by Tom Doneske
from Chapter XXII, "The Crocodiles" in
King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court.
Thank you for making the latest blog tour for King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court (#KASIWC) such a rousing success!

Please join me in congratulating Jennifer W. (already notified), winner of the $25.00 Amazon gift card.

I extend a warm welcome to all my new followers on Twitter and Pinterest, as well as the new subscribers to my monthly newsletter, The Dawnflier. Didn't win this time? Keep scrolling down to learn about another opportunity!

Latest reviews of #KASIWC:
Liza O'Connor - Author: 5* "Wow! Just Wow! There are so many things I loved about this book."Just Jeanae: "I found myself laughing hysterically as I braced myself for what [Queen Morgan] would get into next."Bonnie of LeahSay's Views: "Fun summer read!"Jemima Pett, Author: 4* "Vote Morgana!"Angie of Sher A Hart: 4* "I loved the resurrection of Mark Twain's writing." Vic's Media Room: 5* "Lots and lots of fun." Oh, and what does a knight trying to wrestle a baseball bat from a crocodile have to do with my sci-fi/fantasy futuristic time travel novel? There is an excellent reason, but I leave you to discover it for yourself. :)

BUY LINKSAmazon Kindle:US | UK | CA | AU | BR | DE | ES | FR | IN | IT | NL | JP | MX
EPUB format for:Nook | iPad/iPhone | Kobo | Smashwords
***

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The Business of Writing: ISBNs and Imprints #MFRWOrg indie publishing #IARTG #ASMSG

Today on The Maze:ISBNs and Imprints demystified!
Still-Life with Books
by an unknown Dutch Master, ca 1620
public domain via Wikimedia Commons. ISBN: The acronym for International Standard Book Number, a unique commercial book identifier that is now most commonly 13 digits. Buy them in bulk from Bowker -- why? Because each edition (e-book, paperback, hardcover, graphic novel, etc.) needs a separate ISBN, which will chew through them fast if you are creating several editions of the same title.

To clarify : You do not need to assign a separate ISBN to the same manuscript file you publish via different e-book platforms (e.g., KDP, Nook, iTunes, Kobo, GooglePlay, Smashwords, Draft2Digital). Even when the requirements differ for the inclusion of licensing notes, you can still assign the same ISBN because the edition of the story itself is identical across e-reader platforms.

Furthermore, if your plan is to distribute only via Amazon, then you do not need to buy an ISBN for your e-book because Amazon's internal ASIN suffices as a substitute, and you can obtain a free ISBN from Amazon if you release the print edition via Createspace. That said, there has been a recent change to European VAT law -- not yet adopted by all EU members -- that allows for the VAT to not be deducted from your royalty if your e-book has an ISBN.

Decisions, decisions!

If you can afford to lay out $600 (give or take) for a clutch of 100 ISBNs, that's the most economical route short of buying 1000 or more. Bowker's next lowest bulk tier is 10 ISBNs for $295 as of this writing. But unless you're going to print your books via your local print shop, do NOT bother to buy the barcode they try to sell you. (More on those reasons in a future article, when I give my US$0.02 about book covers.)

And if you really and truly do want to buy a barcode, please contact me first. :D

Imprints: An "Decide on a catchy name for your imprint (e.g., Pendragon Cove Press).Do your homework to make sure someone else hasn't already decided that it's a catchy name (e.g., Pendragon Cove Press is my imprint). "Homework" includes any or all of the following steps, depending on how big of a network reach you wish for your imprint to claim:Searching for the name on a book e-tailer site such as Amazon (these are the search results for Pendragon Cove Press). This step is a must.Performing a "Whois" lookup, if you're also interested in snagging the domain(s). For now, pendragoncovepress.com points to this blog; that's all you need to do too, if you don't have time to set up a separate web presence.Searching Gmail, Ymail, and so forth if you want to claim the imprint's name for one or more email accounts.Searching for your desired imprint's name on Twitter, Facebook, etc.Send an email to Bowker requesting that the name be added to their Imprints database. They include a "mailto:" link for this purpose on the page for defining sales & prices when you're setting up your book title's ISBN information. I don't know what their response time is today, but a Bowker representative got my Pendragon Cove Press imprint established within 24 hours last year.It's that easy!

Once your imprint is established, then it will display as an option for assigning in your book's "publisher" field on the product page, rather than your name, which blares the "I Am an Indie Author-Publisher" label to God and everybody.

If you don't set up an imprint but have elected to incorporate (see my article here), then your corporation's name will be recorded as the publisher. That choice doesn't blare quite so loudly, but establishing one or more imprints for your books will make you appear that much more professional and perhaps give you a leg up on your competition.

Oh, and if you have sent in a new-imprint request, please use a little common sense in your follow-up correspondence if you believe it's taking too long. I imagine that they don't perform those sorts of tasks on weekends and US holidays.

Happy imprinting! :)

***

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Spotlight on the Viking Flame by @AndreaRCooper for #medmonspring

The Maze spotlights
Viking Flameby Andrea R. Cooperfor Medieval Monday
Viking Flame is the prequel to Viking Fire by Andrea R. Cooper

Synopsis:
Bram has agreed to marry an Irish nobleman’s daughter in exchange for land and his services fighting with the Laird Liannon’s clan against rival Irishmen. However, Bram’s intended does not stir his heart. Not like the Laird’s daughter, Kaireen.

Somehow, he must not only convince the Laird to amend his marriage coExntract, but win the heart of the stubborn feisty Kaireen.

Excerpt:
Near the beach, the man quit rowing and yanked out a knife.

Bram didn’t move. “You go against your Captain’s orders t—”

“You made it to shore. That’s all we’s promised.” He spat at Bram’s boots. “No one said anything about you living afterwards.” When he dove forward, Bram ducked to the side and snatched the sailor’s arm, pinning it to his side. When the sailor slung with his free arm, Bram increased the pressure until the man was on his knees.

“Cease, or I will break your arm.” If it wasn’t for his pledge to Morga, he’d have snapped the man’s arm already. Once his contract was signed with the Laird, then he’d be free to fight in Ireland—or at least against other Vikings and rival Irishmen. The man continued to struggle. “Or perhaps a leg as well? What will your Captain say if you return without your weapon and injured? Will he be merciful and allow you to recover or throw you to the sharks?”

“Heathen scum!” He twisted his body to escape Bram’s grip.

As he did, Bram snapped the man’s wrist backward and the first mate let out a howl before the blade came closer to Bram’s chest.

“Now, hand me the knife.” When the man glared at him, he increased pressure on the bent wrist. “Or this heathen might do worse so that not even the sharks would want you.”

The first mate gulped and released his hold of the knife.

Bram broke his hold and snatched the blade out of the air before it hit the water. “Tell your Captain, I will not forget his hospitality nor will any of my eight brothers.”

The man paled. “What brings you to our island? To rape our women and pillage our churches?”

“No.” Bram rose and tucked the small blade into his boot. “To find my bride.”

Viking Flame is FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers!
***
Check out this YouTube video highlighting all the participating authors' works!



Last week: Knight of Rapture by Ruth A. Casie
Next week: His Captive Princess by Sandra Jones

***

All this month, you are invited to...
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Gull explains his choice to abandon his son in RAGING SEA Ch5/Sc1A #amwriting #Arthurverse

Falcon graphic overlay
(c)2015 by Kim HeadleeBeing a parent is never easy.

Parents of teenagers face a unique challenge in that their children have begun the nest-vacating process by viewing the parents in a hypercritical light, forcing a transition from the halcyon days of being the "super parents" to the less-than-enjoyable status of "super stupid parents." And having to explain a life-altering decision to that teen can be nigh unto impossible.

Through all the phases and transitions of parenthood, however, maintaining honesty in the relationship is key.

Angusel's father Gull relies on honesty to help him explain why he had faked his own death to abandon his wife and son ten years earlier.

Whether Angusel will accept the explanation is another matter altogether.

Previous excerpts of Raging Sea  Chapter 1: Scene 1 | Scene 2 | Scene 3 | Scene 4 | Scene 5 |Chapter 2: Scene 1-A | Scene 1-B | Scene 2 |Chapter 3: Sc 1-A | Sc 1-B | Scene 2 | Sc 3-A | Sc 3-B |
Chapter 4: Sc 1-A | Sc 1-B | Sc 2-A | Sc 2-B | Sc 2-C |
Raging Sea Chapter 5, Scene 1-A©2015 by Kim HeadleeAll rights reserved.
TEARS blurred Gull’s vision. He blinked hard and said, “Nae one noticed an extra priest that day.”

“Why?” Angusel’s pain-wracked outcry echoed through the draw, startling a flock of starlings from a nearby tree and making Stonn stamp at the corral rail. The knuckles of the fist gripping the sword had gone white. Anguish contorted his face.

With effort, Gull regarded Elian, who was braced against the cottage’s wall and appearing by turns worried and relieved. They shared a nod, and the centurion turned to thump into the cottage.

The Àrd-Ceoigin of Clan Alban—and it astounded him that, though officially dead, he had never lost the status—leaned forward to grip Angusel’s shoulder. He said in Caledonaiche, “Your mother was planning to replace me.”

Angusel’s eyes and mouth rounded. He jerked back, and Gull’s hand fell away. “What? Nay!”

“Oh, aye. She was already flirting with Ogryvan of Argyll at the gathering of the Confederacy before my last battle.”

“So Mother would have made you fight a black-blade challenge. You would have beaten him!”

“Mayhap. But that wasn’t a risk I was willing to accept.”

“You took the coward’s way out.”

Gull narrowed his eyes. “What I took, Angusel mac Alayna, was an opportunity to help my son fulfill his prophesied destiny without my having to kill a string of good men who were not my enemies to do so.”

Angusel blew his derision through pursed lips and stood. “That, for prophecies. And opportunities.” He hocked and spat. The bubbling glob landed in the dirt between Gull’s knees. “That, for dead men who return to life after ten years and expect to be treated as if nothing were amiss.” Hefting his sword, he stalked into the shed.

***

All this month, you are invited to...
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Until June 20th: enter to win #CirclesOfFate by #PamelaSThibodeaux @psthib!

Today on The Maze, my author-friend Pamela Thibodeaux is offering giveaways for her latest novel, Circles of Fate ! 
Reblogged from Pamela's web site: 
Two Chances 2 WIN & a Deal 4 U!*Contests run June 1st thru 20th*  
















For a chance to win one autographed copy of Circles of Fate enter the contest on GoodReads HERE!
 
For the other chances to win, and to learn about the sale pricing Pamela has established on all her titles, visit her web site and follow the instructions there to be entered into the drawing on June 21, 2015.

*US Residents only for Autographed Copy of Circles of Fate*

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Add Kim as a favorite author on Amazon.com
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The Business of Writing: lawyers and incorporating and accountants, oh my! #MFRWOrg indie publishing

Der Gemeindeschreiber ("The Community Writer")
by Gemälde von Albert Anker, 1874
public domain (Wikimedia Commons). Welcome to a new feature on The Maze, "The Business of Writing," wherein I discuss various aspects of the Independent Publishing process.

Back in 1994, I was working for a small computer consulting company, and I was shopped out to consult on a "Star Wars" project for a Very Big Client. After a year on the job, which was my minimum commitment to the consulting group, the client & I realized that it would be a win-win for us to cut out the middleman. I would get a much higher hourly rate—but still not charge as much as the middleman was charging to hire me out to them.

However, the client required that they be invoiced by a corporation, not an individual, so I found a corporate lawyer (no LegalZoom.com in those days) who practiced in the county where I was living at the time, and I sat down with him in person to discuss the various small-business corporate options. He is now an owning partner at his firm, and he relocated to the state capital years ago, but he has remained my corporate lawyer to this day. Even though I could save a couple hundred bucks a year now to do my own annual corporate filings, it has been worth it to keep him on tap for questions and for handling other, non-corporate issues that have come up.

To get precise definitions of Sole Proprietorship, S-Corporation, Limited Liability Corporation (LLC), and any other small-business options that I may have missed off the top of my head, I would suggest that you Google the terms; that sort of thing is way above my pay grade! And I do not wish to mislead anyone.

Per my lawyer’s recommendation, I established System Support Services, Inc. (S3I) as an S-Corporation because I wanted my husband to be an equal co-owner for survivorship purposes. The tax implications are that the net value of all corporate income and expenses are passed through to the owners’ individual 1040 form each year. The S-Corporation itself does not pay tax.

In the early days I had hired a freelance CPA to keep my corporate books and do my business tax filings (not having to pay tax does not mean it doesn't have to file!), but after a few years he ditched his freelance business to become a corporate CPA. By that time, aided by a basic accounting class I'd taken several years earlier, I was familiar enough with the process that I was comfortable with buying Quickbooks to keep my corporate records, and Turbotax Business (not Turbotax Home & Office, though that =might= do these days for a freelance writer) for my annual S-Corp tax filings.

That first day in 1995 when I met with the lawyer to decide which type of corporation S3I would become, I had not yet sold any manuscripts but knew I was getting close to landing a contract, so I asked whether I would be able to funnel non-consulting income & expenses through the corporation too. The answer is an emphatic YES.

For a writer, setting up a corporation is entirely optional, but for me the main attraction is that it avoids the whole “hobby” implication during years when sales are, shall we say, less than stellar but expenses remain astronomical.

Another attraction, as an indie publisher, is that KDP, Nook Press, Kobo, Createspace, IngramSpark, and all the other places where I publish my work have my corporate tax ID on file, not my Social Security Number. I am far less twitchy about the risk of data breaches in that case! And it causes those companies to generate 1099-Misc statements made out to the corporation’s name, which further supports the business’s viability in the eyes of the IRS.

You do not have to be incorporated in order to set up your own imprint, however! That will be the subject of next week's lesson… and the process is a lot easier than you might think.

***

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Howlings under a June moon (The Dawnflier, June 2015) #MFRWauthor #RLFblog

No, I haven't gone to the dogs... yet!(Though I do enjoy visiting with our Great Pyrenees "goat guards" in & around the barn every day. :)
The highlight of this month's news is my upcoming appearance to sign & sell my booksJune 6, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. at Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum
Bastian, VA
Since I had never visited this attraction, I made arrangements to see it the day I wrote this post, and I had a lovely chat with some of the staff & volunteers. I will be one of several vendors setting up for their annual Family Day event, which will include performances of Native American singing and dancing, and skill demonstrations such as salt making and primitive food preparation. I look forward to seeing you there!

About Wolf Creek Indian Village: "Based on the Brown-Johnston site from 1970, Wolf Creek Indian Village is a reconstructed Native American Village. The original site carbon dated somewhere between 1480-1520. Using the archaeology map, we have pole for pole and feature for feature recreated the village as to what we believe it may have looked like."

Other upcoming book events and personal appearances include:
I will be launching a new weekly feature on The Maze, spotlighting advice for independent authors based on personal experience. "The Business of Writing" will serve as the genesis of a workshop I will be presenting at a convention in October."The Color of Vengeance" blog tour & giveaway, June 24-26. This is a FREE short story excerpted from Morning's Journey and available via Amazon, iTunes, Kobo, and Smashwords. It is also available as a free audiobook download with a subscription to Audible.com. Download your copy today! Also, the blog tour still has openings, and its signup form is here.Review tour for Snow in July , Mondays only in July. This tour is still open, and you may sign up for it by leaving a comment on this blog page; thanks!Signing, selling, and performing a dramatic reading (in costume if it's not too hot!) from one of my books at the Patchwork Quilters' Jamboree, July 17-18, Bluefield, VA. Signing & selling my books at WyVaCon, all day and half the night of Saturday, July 25th.As always, thank you for your interest in and support of my work!

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Add Kim as a favorite author on Amazon.com
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...and each action this month is good for one chance to win an e-book copy of Morning's Journey . Please enter often, and good luck!

#MedievalMonday spotlight on Knight of Rapture by @RuthACasie #medmonspring

Medieval Monday Spring 2015 continues on The Maze with Knight of Rapture by Ruth A. Casie
Synopsis:

He crossed the centuries to find her…
For months Lord Arik has been trying to find the right combination of runes to create the precise spell to rescue his wife, Rebeka, but the druid knight will soon discover that reaching her four hundred years in the future is only the beginning of his quest. He arrives in the 21st century to find her memory of him erased, his legacy on the brink of destruction, and traces of dark magick at every turn.

A threat has followed…
Bran, the dark druid, is more determined than ever to get his revenge. His evil has spread across the centuries. Arik will lose all. Time is his weapon, and he’s made sure his plan leaves no one dear to Arik, in past or present, safe from the destruction.

But their enemy has overlooked the strongest magick of all…
Professor Rebeka Tyler is dealing with more than just a faulty memory. Ownership of Fayne Manor, her home, has been called into question. Convenient accidents begin happening putting those she cares for in the line of fire. And then there’s the unexpected arrival of a strange man dressed like he belonged in a medieval fair—a man who somehow is always around when needed, and always on her mind. She doesn’t know who to trust. But one thing is certain. Her family line and manor have survived for over eleven centuries. She won’t let them fall, not on her watch… in any century.

Excerpt:

She took another step and past the stone marker.

The air chilled and the sky turned an array of colors. Everything around her began to swirl. She realized her mistake too late. The portal, she was in the portal.

Arik. Close to him now, she reached for him but her hand passed through the form. She examined her hand turning it over then spotted the shadow of the man.

An illusion?

The shadow turned towards her. She watched as the wind washed over his face and it changed. “Bran,” she whispered in disbelief. Her head swiveled while she searched for something, anything to grab on to. The portal had one use and she had no intention of leaving.

Get out, her brain shouted.

His lips twisted into a cynical sneer. He tilted his head in jaunty satisfaction, snapped his fingers and vanished.

“No,” she yelled. “Arik,” she closed her eyes and screamed in her head trying to mind touch him while the wind tore at her.

“Beka,” he boomed.

Her eyes snapped open. She shielded them from the dust and debris and stared at Arik on the other side of the opening. He stood at the high plateau, miles away. His hands were braced on the opening’s edges, which were nothing more than solid streams of whirling wind. He struggled to keep the portal from closing.

“Come.” His voice didn’t allow for any argument.

The wind whipped at her, pushed her back. She tried again. “I can’t. The wind. Keeps. Pushing. Me. Away.” She shoved her staff in front of her and anchored it in the ground. Against the gusting wind, pulled herself towards him.

“A little more, Beka.” He gripped the edge of the portal with one hand and stretched the other out to her. She shoved her hand towards him as far as she could. The tips of their fingers brushed. In a burst of effort he caught the top of her hand, a precarious hold. With a tight grasp she wrapped her fingers around his thumb.

Safe, she wasn’t far now.

She concentrated on his face. The corners of his mouth turned up as he pulled her towards safety. The wind grew stronger buffeting around them then changed its path.

Before she could brace herself for the new direction, the gust blasted them. Without a firm grip, her hand began to slip. She pushed through the building panic. His smile slipped. The expression on his face turned to determination. Again her hand slipped until he held her by her fingertips.

He held them fast—crushing them but that didn’t matter. He had to hold on to her. Every muscle strained. Inch by inch he brought her closer to him. She tried to help him the best way she could. Anchored to the edge of the portal, Arik encouraged her on. But his alternatives were limited. The closer she got to him, the stronger the gale blew. Just a little closer, that’s all she needed for Arik to grab her and get her out of the portal.

The wind exploded from another direction.

The blasting gale pushed her staff away from the opening, across the dirt, cutting an ugly scar in the ground and dragging her away with her staff.

Away from Arik.

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Last week: Beloveds by Jenna Jaxon
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