Wednesday, May 2, 2018

THE DARK THRESHOLD, Excerpt #3

A new excerpt. Thank you all for your patience. Enjoy!

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“Amanda?” It was Juan, calling from the parlor entrance. “Amanda? Are you all right?”

Amanda did not turn at the sound of her name, but she involuntarily stiffened. “Define ‘all right,’” she whispered to the glass.

Juan cleared his throat. “Are you all right here with Helena? Can I get you anything?”

Amanda picked at the windowsill where a scrap of paint had chipped away, leaving a crescent of bare wood. She sniffed out a bitter chuckle. “Why would you want to do anything for me, Juan?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m the reason you’re all fucked up right now.”

Juan made a noise deep in his throat, somewhere between a choked laugh and a grunt. “Maelstrom is the reason I’m like this. I should have known just how far he’d penetrated us, before I put all of you in harm’s way.”

Amanda’s eye widened. “Are you blaming yourself for me being a traitor?” she asked as she leaned a fist against the cold glass, wondering suddenly how much force it would take to punch through. “That’s too kind, even for you.”

“I never stopped being your friend, Amanda,” Juan replied softly.

“Then if you’re my friend, you’ll do one thing for me. Just one thing, Juan. And I won’t be refused.”

“If I can,” Juan replied, surprised. “Tell me.”

Amanda turned on her heel to face him. “I can only assume you’re leaving soon to help Norris. Tell me I’m right.”

Juan nodded. “You’re right. Why?”

“Because I want to come with you.”

The leader of Verite regarded her evenly, his face a mask. “Why?” he asked. “You’re under no obligation to go.”

Amanda studied the man, aware for the first time this evening how pale he looked. The drugs and maltreatment inflicted on him by Maelstrom had certainly taken their toll. Any doctor in her right mind would have told him one thing: go back to bed. Yet he would not go back to bed, she was sure. Juan had to be at the front of things, always on the cutting edge. Even if he was cut by that same edge. “Obligation?” she retorted. “None of us is under any obligation. Especially you in your condition.”

Juan detached himself from Helena and rubbed his face with his hands. “Fair enough,” he conceded. “I apologize.”

“I’m the best doctor you have,” Amanda continued, approaching Juan as she spoke. “Your soldiers are going to war for you. They are going to get shot up. Also, if you’re not going to get proper bedrest after what you’ve been through, then you ought to be monitored. And last but not least, if Daniel ever finds Anna, she’s going to be having a baby soon. Hell, I’m surprised that her stress hasn’t gotten that baby out by now.” Her eyes flashed. “Put me to work, Juan. Give me something to do so I don’t have to think about the past few days. I’m so tired of thinking. I want to do.”

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