crying….
I feel a hand on my shoulder. Theo. It occurs to me that this is probably the first time I’ve ever had physical contact with the faith less.
“Your god is gone,” says Theo. “It won’t be back. Not in the next decade, at least.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve got my ways.”
“What about the twins’ parents? What about Father Nerve? And all the other faith full who came here?”
Theo shrugs. It’s clearly not a shrug that means I don’t know but a shrug that means I don’t care . I still don’t see how Theo fits into this. I’ve heard people talk about guardian angels, but I get the feeling that the twins—and in particular, me—are largely incidental to Theo’s plans.
“I’ve got to go,” he says. “You work out what you need to with the twins. You’re all minors with a minimal understanding of the world outside your cult and no mode of transport, so I’d suggest you throw yourself on the mercy of the authorities as soon as possible. It doesn’t matter what you tell them about what happened here, no one will believe it.”
He hands me a slim roll of money.
“I’ll see you, Ennaline Whitehall. And that’s a promise.”
He walks back to his car, without pausing to say good-bye to the twins.
I watch him go. I know I should be upset about everything, or at least more upset than I am. By rights, I should really be hysterical. It’s strange. I’m not in shock, and I understand what I’ve lost: my teacher, my community, my religion, and possibly a little bit of my sanity. But it’s the twins who really matter to me. It’s the twins who’ve always mattered. My coldness doesn’t mean I can’t love them as my family.
I pocket the money and go to them, and they welcome me with open arms.
About the Author
RJ A STRUC lives in Wellington, New Zealand: the “Middle of Middle Earth.” Unlike most New Zealanders, she has never been an extra in any hobbit-related movies—she’s neither short enough to be a hobbit nor tall enough to be an orc. She is addicted to English detective novels and wants to be Miss Marple when she grows up. She’s been nominated for several fiction awards but has won absolutely none of them.
Website: http://www.rachelastruc.com
By RJ A STRUC
Banned Books
Binary Boy
Cold Ennaline
Tabloid Lies
Published by H ARMONY I NK P RESS
http://www.harmonyinkpress.com
At St. Peter’s, an exclusive British boarding school for boys, a teacher’s word is law—and Anthony Parker is leading a rebellion. When he is found reading a book containing “questionable content,” he receives a reprimand from the headmaster. Parker responds by secretly lending questionable materials to other students, aided by his best friend and long-time crush, Rafe.
The situation escalates when their draconic literature teacher discovers their subterfuge and compiles a banned books list. Parker and Rafe fall in with Peter Fritz, a broody outcast who’s turning the ban in his favor by buying and lending banned books to students—for a price. As the banned books library grows and hidden feelings threaten the boys’ burgeoning partnership, they discover that the challenges of growing up might outweigh the rewards of bucking the system.
http://www.harmonyinkpress.com
Copyright
Published by
H ARMONY I NK P RESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
[email protected] • http://harmonyinkpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cold Ennaline
© 2015 RJ Astruc.
Cover Art
© 2015 Shobana Appavu.
[email protected]
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser
I feel a hand on my shoulder. Theo. It occurs to me that this is probably the first time I’ve ever had physical contact with the faith less.
“Your god is gone,” says Theo. “It won’t be back. Not in the next decade, at least.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ve got my ways.”
“What about the twins’ parents? What about Father Nerve? And all the other faith full who came here?”
Theo shrugs. It’s clearly not a shrug that means I don’t know but a shrug that means I don’t care . I still don’t see how Theo fits into this. I’ve heard people talk about guardian angels, but I get the feeling that the twins—and in particular, me—are largely incidental to Theo’s plans.
“I’ve got to go,” he says. “You work out what you need to with the twins. You’re all minors with a minimal understanding of the world outside your cult and no mode of transport, so I’d suggest you throw yourself on the mercy of the authorities as soon as possible. It doesn’t matter what you tell them about what happened here, no one will believe it.”
He hands me a slim roll of money.
“I’ll see you, Ennaline Whitehall. And that’s a promise.”
He walks back to his car, without pausing to say good-bye to the twins.
I watch him go. I know I should be upset about everything, or at least more upset than I am. By rights, I should really be hysterical. It’s strange. I’m not in shock, and I understand what I’ve lost: my teacher, my community, my religion, and possibly a little bit of my sanity. But it’s the twins who really matter to me. It’s the twins who’ve always mattered. My coldness doesn’t mean I can’t love them as my family.
I pocket the money and go to them, and they welcome me with open arms.
About the Author
RJ A STRUC lives in Wellington, New Zealand: the “Middle of Middle Earth.” Unlike most New Zealanders, she has never been an extra in any hobbit-related movies—she’s neither short enough to be a hobbit nor tall enough to be an orc. She is addicted to English detective novels and wants to be Miss Marple when she grows up. She’s been nominated for several fiction awards but has won absolutely none of them.
Website: http://www.rachelastruc.com
By RJ A STRUC
Banned Books
Binary Boy
Cold Ennaline
Tabloid Lies
Published by H ARMONY I NK P RESS
http://www.harmonyinkpress.com
At St. Peter’s, an exclusive British boarding school for boys, a teacher’s word is law—and Anthony Parker is leading a rebellion. When he is found reading a book containing “questionable content,” he receives a reprimand from the headmaster. Parker responds by secretly lending questionable materials to other students, aided by his best friend and long-time crush, Rafe.
The situation escalates when their draconic literature teacher discovers their subterfuge and compiles a banned books list. Parker and Rafe fall in with Peter Fritz, a broody outcast who’s turning the ban in his favor by buying and lending banned books to students—for a price. As the banned books library grows and hidden feelings threaten the boys’ burgeoning partnership, they discover that the challenges of growing up might outweigh the rewards of bucking the system.
http://www.harmonyinkpress.com
Copyright
Published by
H ARMONY I NK P RESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
[email protected] • http://harmonyinkpress.com
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cold Ennaline
© 2015 RJ Astruc.
Cover Art
© 2015 Shobana Appavu.
[email protected]
Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser
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