It’s been a minute since my last sneak peek at my upcoming release! But here’s a look at Elodie as she’s introduced to the reader in the first chapter. You get a tiny glimpse of what develops into her character arc. Can you guess what it’ll be? If so, feel free to leave a comment. I’m curious about your ideas.
“There’s something here,” I said, patting the flat, invisible surface. I glanced at the shelving unit next to me and the one I saw just beyond the clear wall. They held different items, so they weren’t mirror images.
Talis joined me and tentatively placed the palm of his hand on the see-through surface. “Do you think maybe the wall isn’t meant to hide something, but to keep people out?”
I shrugged. “Or something in.”
I nudged my boot against the clear wall.
“That’s not at all suspicious.” He stroked his chin and winked.
“Nope, not at all. Nothing here. Nothing suspicious.”
“One would think villains might not be too obvious in their shenanigans.”
“One would agree.” I ran my hand over the smooth, blank surface.
“Think you and Harry can handle it?” Talis flicked the wall.
I tightened my grip on the book’s spine and ignited my power. “Oh, we can handle it. But don’t you think we should report this first?”
“And lose the opportunity? No.” He shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. He’d never chosen a special hero costume despite the creative outfits the elves made him. Instead, he opted for street wear.
“Talis! Snow doesn’t like it when we go rogue. She was very clear that this is a surveillance mission. We shouldn’t have even entered the building.”
“Yeah, like sitting in my car all night would have revealed something.”
I exhaled and blew a strand of my mahogany brown hair out of my face. It had wiggled free of my ponytail. He was right. We’d sat outside buildings before and gained nothing valuable. The only way to learn something was to go in. I swallowed against the tightness in my throat.
“I hope Snow’s in a forgiving mood,” I muttered, flattening my palm on the wall.
“She always is. And when we free the dogs, she’ll reward us.”
Yeah. No. Snow wouldn’t reward us for going beyond surveillance. Being partnered with Talis was probably why I’d never been given the opportunity to lead an operation like Chase or Pavel. Yet, I supported Talis, so it wasn’t all on him. Saving the dogs would soften Snow’s anger if we screwed up. Ugh.
I blocked out the rest of my thoughts, trying to convince myself that this was a good idea, and focused on the wall. I considered my words. I didn’t want the wall to explode or crumble. Also, this wall might be keeping something contained on the other side. What we needed was an opening or a door.
“Create a door we can see,” I said. The familiar warmth of my magic streamed from my hand in a mist that expanded into a rectangle. A moment later, a doorknob materialized. It was sticking out in the middle of empty space. I gripped it and was about to turn when the door suddenly thrust inward, yanking me along with it.
“What the…” My voice trailed off as I stumbled into the space beyond the door.
My eyes shot up into the faces of two men with thick arms, stocky builds, and pushed-in faces. They resembled bulldogs. The one on the right lifted his lip and snarled. The one on the left ground his meaty fist into the well-padded palm of his right hand.
Meaty-Fist twisted his fist deeper into his palm.
“Be careful, that fist might come out the other side.”
Meaty-Fist blinked and stared at me. I smiled and pointed at his hand. He glanced down, looking a little confused.
I was leaning awkwardly against the door to support my sudden stumble into the room when the door was yanked open. I righted myself. “Uh, hi. I think I’m lost.”
Snarl lowered his unibrow and squinted his eyes.
“Okay, can’t help me then?” I spoke quickly, wondering if a slower speed might help these two understand. “I guess I’ll just go then.”
I started to back out, but my heel pressed into the toe of Talis’s shoe. He hissed and gave me a little shove.
“Come on, El. We can take them.” Talis’s voice was low.
Snarl and Meaty-Fist must have understood, as they both took a step back in synch with each other.
I rolled my eyes. Okay then, we were really doing this. I gripped Harry Potter, but Snarl lunged and swung at me with a heavy fist. Thankfully, his bulk made him a little slow, so I had enough time to duck and speak, “Shield.”
Thanks for reaching! So what do you think of book 2 so far? If you’re interested, it’s already available for pre-order on Amazon.