Sample Sunday – The Portal Between.
This week's Sample is from my first novel, "The Portal Between", which was written on the back of a dare and wasn't planned or plotted at all, it just grew.
This extract is from Chapter 11 – A Portal in the bedroom, and contains one of my favourite descriptive passages from this book and was where Lily really began to come out as more than she first appeared, justifying the secrecy she'd been showing up til that point.
Just remember that Sam is only just home from hospital and is exhausted and twitchy after all that has happened to her so far….
I hope you enjoy it.
Beneath the light of a waning moon and with the room lit only by the natural flame of a handful of candles, Lily lifted the lid of the intricately carved wooden box and revealed the silk wrapped bundle inside. She pulled the beautifully illustrated cards from the deep green silk cloth and set them to one side. She then set more candles around the cloth and lit them in order. She laid one hand, palm down on the tarot deck and rested it there for a moment. She took several deep breaths and centred herself. This was no standard reading for a paying client, this was personal and much more serious. She cut the deck, rotating the top part so it was reversed, cut it again. She picked up the pile of cards and one fell out. She let it lay where it fell, and shuffled the remaining cards. Her mind was focused and she was calm and relaxed as she sat shuffling the cards. Nothing moved except her hands and the flickering flames from the candles. She let her eyes slide closed as she dealt a selection of cards into a recognisable pattern on the cloth. The rest of the pack she laid reverently back in the wooden box before opening her eyes to see the patterns the tarot had to show.
Lily sat and stared with astonished wide eyes at the spread for a long moment, hardly daring to breathe. The hair on the back of her neck stood up in shivering waves. Her breath came faster.
"SHIT!" The word was wrenched from her and she reached for the phone.
It was pitch dark. Dark clouds slid across the sky to hide the crescent of the waning moon and any stars that might have dared show themselves. The wooden floor was cold and felt damp under Sam's bare feet as she slipped out of the warm bed, careful to leave Kate sleeping. The door creaked as she slowly eased it open. The house was dark and still as she crept down the stairs.
Unable to sleep she'd decided a hot drink would help but now she was in the kitchen she couldn't decide what she wanted. She boiled the kettle from habit but left the mug cold and empty, with a tea bag sitting forlornly in the bottom. She poked up the fire a bit, added a couple of logs and sat musing for a while. Something was niggling at the back of her mind and she couldn't place it. She scowled deep into the fire, watching the pictures dancing in the flames.
The flicker of the fire struck sparks of light from the shining blade of the small hand axe that Kate kept for splitting small logs. The log pile would need to be filled tomorrow so there was a steady supply of dry wood for burning. The log store outside was brimming, they'd seen to that last weekend.
The kettle now cold and the mug untouched Sam rose and turned to go back to bed. She froze as she heard a soft rapping at the door. She reached down and took a firm hold of the axe. Holding it ready to strike she padded over to the door. She gripped it and flung it open, the axe dropping like a stone, the weight of the cold iron head carrying it forward.
Lily leapt back, narrowly avoiding the attack.
"I thought you might be awake." Lily said simply. Sam brought the axe back up in a smooth arc but kept a firm grip on it.
"What are you doing here?" She asked Lily suspiciously. "It's the middle of the night!"
"Not quite. It's close to midnight and it's Solstice. Where else should I be?" Lily was calm, very calm, too calm. She was dressed warmly in a pair of dark trousers, sturdy walking boots, a thick chunky burgundy sweater and a long coat. The coat billowed out round her like a cloak as she headed for the stairs.
If you liked this and want to read more then The Portal Between can be bought using the links below, or from the main site here.
The Portal Between – Paperback on Amazon
The Portal Between – Kindle edition
The Portal Between – Other ebook formats
