Sunday Snippet: Not Enough Hope

If anyone is headedinto a major heat wave this week like I am, stay hydrated! And try to stay cool,especially if your location is as humid as mine is. Humidity is a nightmare.

Had a busy andproductive week. Making good progress on two of my projects and sliding in somerandom finishing bits on a few others.

Started a huge cleanupjob in the kitchen. My poor countertops need to be reorganized and cleared of clutter.I got the largest one scrubbed down and mostly organized. Still need to find a newhome for a few items.

Also have somemundane tasks to plow through this week. Not sure I'll make it but I can't putit off any longer. My procrastination skills are top notch!

Had a decentviewing week. I ended up making it through my usual slate of shows, whichrather makes me happy.

Started with MissFisher's Murder Mysteries and enjoyed the episode again. The characters inPhyrne's past are always fun.

Caught anotherepisode of Art Detectives and, I have to say, I thoroughly enjoy this show.Looking forward to the next episode.

Watched the seasonthirteen holiday special of Death in Paradise and enjoyed meetingNeville's mom. Should be fun to watch the last season of Inspector Parker'stenure.

Enjoyed anotherepisode of Poirot. Kind of fun to see him on holiday and solving amurder. I'll admit the resolution came together a little oddly for me but aninteresting episode nonetheless.

Caught another episodeof Elementary and quite enjoyed Sherlock's revelations about friendship.So fun to watch Marcus chill with Sherlock at the end.

Watched another episodeof Batman Beyond. Having the Royal Flush gang back proved fun. Also likeTerry making a solid choice at the end to stick with Dana.

Enjoyed an episodeof Classic Rugrats. The holiday themed episode is one I remember and Ireally need to add it to my holiday watch list if I do one this year.

That's pretty muchit for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Not Enough Hope,a novella that reunites a couple after almost a decade apart.

Here's theminiblurb:

Early Gibbons walks away from her position in the faecourt—and Salem Powell—to forge her own path in the human realm. When shediscovers a vengeance hound on her trail, she returns to the land of fae tofind out who unleashed the beast, which may be tricky since Salem is the leader,and she can't discount him as the culprit.

And a preview snippet…

Early let her head fall backagainst the cushions of the couch. "Thanks for letting me stay here lastnight, but this place is too nice for me to stay any longer…" She angledher head toward the chair. "Not that you'd let me." At least she'dhad a few hours to plan her next move.Salem narrowed his gaze. "Look… as much as I'm reluctant to get involved with this, I can't ignore yoursituation." He exhaled slowly. "It's my literal job to sort thisout." He lifted the mug to his mouth and took a deep gulp of the coffee.Early shook her head. "It'sreally not. I haven't been a member of the group for nearly a decade. You don'towe me anything." Salem set his cup on the table."Maybe not. But I do owe the people who trust me to lead them." Heleaned forward and laced his fingers together. "Vengeance hounds tend tostay their course until they're either recalled by whoever summoned them orthey achieve the goal they were sent to do." Meeting her gaze, heshrugged. "You'll have to stay in the realm until we figure out the whoand why." He leaned back again. "If you don't want to stay here, andI get why you don't, you'll need to find a place where you can be safe."Early tilted her head to one side."You almost sound like it matters." Did she want him to care whathappened to her?Oddly … she did.Salem frowned. "Considering Ididn't give anyone permission to summon a hound it damn well does matter."His brows arched. "As you pointed out, a hound on the loose is dangerousto humans. And now to the fae." His eyes took on a hard edge. "Italso tells me something is lurking below the surface. And I have to find outwhat."Okay, she couldn't really ask formore, like having her life being in danger topping the list. Especially aftershe'd walked away. She'd be grateful he would let her stay until the hound nolonger posed a threat.She inclined her chin. "Ofcourse. And it goes without saying that I'll be available for whatever youneed." Rising, she gathered her mug and carried it to the kitchen. "I'llclean up and bind the house and yard, so the hound doesn't disturb theproperty." She poured the coffee out and rinsed the cup.Salem followed her. "Anythoughts on where you'd like to go?" He set the half-full mug on thecounter.Early gave a nod. "The catacombs.I think they'll be the safest place in the realm." She could possiblycontain the hound in the depths, and she'd have plenty of supplies for spellsand alchemy.Salem's head jerked backward."You're sure? Not many creature comforts there."Her lips curved. "Not yetanyway." She gave him a sideways glance. "Unless you object to havingme make a few changes…" Using her skill set for interior design could befun.Salem shook his head. "No. Noobjections." He propped a hip against the counter. "Let me know whenyou get settled, and I'll drop by with some of the texts. We can research andcompare notes and hopefully find out who sent the hound after you."She dried her hands. "Okay.Give me until lunchtime. The hound usually lays low during the daylight hoursand comes out at night. I bought myself about twenty-four hours, but it won'ttake it long to find me." She'd bet it already had but wouldn't show itsface until darkness fell again.Salem straightened. "Allright. I'll stop in after lunch." He headed for the front entrance."See you then." Letting himself out, he quietly closed the doorbehind him.Early finished cleaning up andrepacked her bag. After warding the house and adding a binding spell to theyard, she hefted the strap over her shoulder and started down the lane towardthe catacombs.She had a feeling the memorieswould assault her before she even arrived at the huge stone caves.After all, she'd spent many, manyhours in the complex with Salem … back when they loved each other more thananything.But she didn't hold out much hopeSalem would have the same onslaught.

Salem and Earlywant to get through the hard stuff and be reunited, but neither will admit itto the other.

 

That's it for thisweek.

Cheers!

Skye