Julie Harford, Author

I'm always writing something.  Even at work I try to scratch down a few lines during my breaks.  I write young adult, mainstream fiction, and even fantasy.  One of these days I should really buckle down and finish them all...

Read on for the excerpts and keep in mind they are only working titles for unfinished projects.

"The Entity and the Shadow"

The Duke was on his way to the dungeon. He was a man that thoroughly enjoyed his work. He was very tall, nearly seven feet, and had mid-back length jet black hair. His eyes were grey and often lacked any expression whatsoever.

He always wore a red tunic with a black cloak the same color of his hair. He liked how it gave the appearance of a never-ending flow of tresses down to the floor. It helped with the intimidation factor he had worked for years to get right.

He was older than he looked. He was nearly sixty, and although he could have asked Ebony to come up with a spell to keep him young, but he had never needed it. One of the books in his private library said that the best way to keep young was to enjoy life and do what makes you happy. That was his secret. Not even one silver hair had ever dared crop up, nor had a crease in his still taut skin.

Five armed guards walked behind him, all of which were completely unnecessary. He had never feared a prisoner. Even unchained, he would have felt perfectly safe. He actually would have loved the challenge of the chase, but he had never met the man, or woman for that matter, who would have been worth the effort. So until that day came, he would keep to tradition and take the guards.

“Be careful with him, Duke,” the Protector warned. The Duke suddenly remembered he was with him and forced himself to listen. Even if his personal opinion of the man was less than high, he had no choice. His position demanded respect. Especially now.

“You’ve been forbidden to kill him,” the Protector went on. He reminded the Duke of a child with a new toy, or at least one who had just gotten a special job from his parents. “Make him talk. Find out how he got here, and where he came from.”

The Duke nodded in all of the appropriate places, wishing the Protector would just stop talking. The Duke knew his job, and even knew the Protector’s job, probably better than the Protector did. He could have had the other man’s job, actually. But he didn’t want the added headaches from being someone’s lapdog. Besides that, he would have missed his library and his dungeon.

“We need to know why Sansvol is here,” the Protector finished. The Duke thought a silent cheer.

“I understand, my lord Protector. Am I to use any special techniques?” The Duke knew he was pushing his limits. If the Protector caught on to the sarcasm, the duke might just end up next to his prisoners. He decided he would start to play the Protector differently. After all, who knew how long things would be as they were? He had learned a long time ago to do whatever it took to take care of his own best interest.

“Use whatever is necessary,” the Protector responded, obviously missing the Duke’s inflections. “It is imperative Sansvol disappear.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Silence reigned for a few seconds. The Duke used that time to think about what he could do to break Sansvol, something he never dreamed of. He might have been a good prisoner to unchain and chase back down. Only time would tell.

Ebony suddenly seemed to appear from a side corridor with a girl behind her. The girl looked vaguely familiar, but the Duke didn’t bother to try to place her. If she was important, he’d remember.

Everyone stopped and the Duke could tell the Protector would want to talk to Ebony. The girl knelt, head down, showing the proper respect to the Protector. She had been trained well.

“My lord Protector,” Ebony said easily, by way of greeting. She obviously hadn’t heard. “Duke. Where are the two of you off to in such a rush?”

The Duke couldn’t help but smile. He noticed the girl glance upward at him and jerk her head back down. He made a mental note of the disrespect but did nothing to draw attention to it.

“Noon is almost here, lady Ebony,” he said grandly. “Rebolt will be dead within the hour.”

Ebony returned the smile. She was the only person he had ever met, except for maybe her mother who had died in her prime before she ever had the chance to blossom the way her daughter had, who seemed to enjoy the pain of others almost as much as he did. One day, with the proper training, she might even learn how to inflict it properly.

“That is good news. Are you going to observe, my lord Protector?” Ebony asked.

The Protector seemed to draw himself up with importance. “No. I have a meeting with our lord Supreme Ruler.”

Ebony gaped at him openly. The girl even looked up in shock. She knew what a breach of protocol this was.

“But my lord Protector,” Ebony began, “with all due respect, why have you been granted an audience? I would have thought that our Lord of the...”

“Jay Sansvol is in the dungeon,” the Protector said sharply.

All color drained out of Ebony’s face, leaving her pale and chalk-like, and her hand flew to her mouth. The girl watched her, obviously confused. The Protector only nodded, looking solemn and grim.

“Now, my dear lady Ebony, you understand,” the Protector told her.

Ebony regained her composure. She nodded, saying, “Indeed.”

The Duke noticed a spot on the wall and focused on it. He did his best thinking this way. He knew that Ebony was one of the privileged few who had ever even heard of Jay Sansvol. He also knew it would take an incredible amount of strength and power to break him, if history was any indicator.

"The chimney stone"

The Buccaneer was packed.  I found a parking spot towards the end of the lot and walked to the door, thankful I’d picked up the jacket to keep out the chill.  I saw Maggie sitting on a bench, her curly red hair standing out easily from the crowd.  She was talking to a guy wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt and I could only assume he was the friend with the extra room.  I swallowed hard and went over to them, rubbing the small rock again for luck and reassurance.

She looked up and smiled broadly.  “Hannah!  Hi!”

“Hi, Maggie.”

“This is Hunter Alexander.”

They stood and I was immediately amazed at how tall he was.  He stood well over a foot higher than me, putting him up around six-six.  He stared at me doubtfully and I really couldn’t blame him.  “Hi,” I said, extending my hand.  “I’m Hannah Hughes.”

He shook it and smiled quickly.  “Hi.”

“Come on,” Maggie said, getting to her feet.  “I had them hold us a table but it won’t last.”

We went inside and were seated at a small booth.  We ordered drinks and the appetizer plate and sat there in silence.  Maggie cleared her throat and elbowed Hunter in the ribs.

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I don’t know, Maggie.  Maybe she doesn’t even want to move in.”

I swallowed my annoyance at being talked about like I wasn’t sitting directly across from them.  It was, after all, just as awkward for him as it was for me.  Possibly even more so since I had no idea what Maggie had told him.  I decided to set the record straight just so there would be no misunderstandings later on.

“Hunter,” I began, “you’re right.  I don’t know if I want to move in with a perfect stranger.  But until I get the final settlement check from the insurance company, my options are pretty limited.”

I took a deep breath, upset and even a little ashamed that my house had been reduced to an unknown number printed on a piece of paper.  He watched me intently, waiting patiently for me to continue.

“I realize we don’t know each other, and normally I’d never even consider doing something like this, but at this point I don’t have much choice.  I can give you three hundred fifty a month and pay for my own food.  I’m very neat and won’t get in your way.”

He grinned a little, making his blue eyes sparkle.  “I’d say that sounds more than fair.  How about we try it for a week, though?  Just to make sure it’s gonna work?”

“I can get the money out of the bank on Monday.  A hundred should be good for the week, then?”

“Yes, of course.”

Maggie was practically beaming.  “I knew this would work!”

“Calm down, Mags,” he said, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers behind his head.  “Hannah might take one look at the apartment and run away screaming.”

She rolled her eyes.  “Please.  Hunter, you’re one of the cleanest people I’ve ever met.”

“Can I look at the apartment tomorrow?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said.  “Around ten?”

“That’s fine.”

The waitress brought our order and the three of us settled into a comfortable conversation about new movie releases and various celebrity gossip.  I decided that no matter what that old man had said, Maggie was decent person and they were both fun to be with.  And what was best, they didn’t press for any details of my personal life.

Eventually, it was time for all of us to go.  Hunter offered to meet me in front of the Laundromat so I wouldn’t have to find a place to park on the street.  Apparently, their building did have a parking lot, but it was only for residents.  If I moved in, I’d get a sticker to put on my car window so I didn’t get a ticket.

“Well, see you tomorrow then,” Hunter said once we were back outside.

“Yeah,” I said.  “Bye.”

“I’ll talk to you soon, too,” Maggie added.  “I have to work in the morning, but if you move in, I’m sure we’ll see each other all the time.”

“Right,” I said, smiling.  It was getting late and I was tired, but I was feeling better than I would have imagined possible.  I was still homeless with no job, but at least I had prospects.

They went their way and I went mine, back to the hotel.  The bed had been made and housekeeping had taken away what little trash and dirty towels I’d left behind.  I hung up my jacket and changed into a t-shirt and panties.  I put the rock from the chimney on the bedside table where I’d be able to see it in the morning.  It had become my talisman, and as stupid as it probably was, gave me some degree of comfort.

"Gina"

“This is your room, for as long as you’re here,” Mrs. Grady said, “so feel free to decorate it however you’d like. Joseph or I would be happy to get you some nails or tacks. Just try not to go too crazy on us, okay? That is, unless you want to paint it when you’re all done.” She was smiling, so I wasn’t sure whether or not to take that as a threat.

I decided it didn’t matter. I’d be home soon.

“Tommy, he’s seventeen, by the way, and Stephanie will be home around three-thirty. Brian is only in preschool, so he’ll be home before lunch. We eat at noon, and I know he’s just dying to meet you. But I promise, I’ll keep him out of your hair.”

“Uh-huh,” I said again, glancing at the clock. I had an hour and a half before lunch. I had no idea what to do with myself. Even if I unpacked absolutely everything in my bags, it couldn’t take more than twenty minutes.

“If you like,” Mrs. Grady said, “I’d love to give you a full tour of the house. I’ll be down in the living room if you decide to take me up on it.”

With that, she left, shutting the door behind her. I sighed and opened my bags. I pulled the drawers of the dresser open and put my clothes away. I put my one and only dress in the closet and set the picture of Karen, Clayton, Vera and me next to the lamp. It was two years old, but it was all I had. Vera took off when she was sixteen, and I never heard from her again. She’d finally left about a month after the picture was taken, after Clayton pulled Russell off of her to stop him from choking her. He was accusing her of being a hooker and a drug addict. She was gone the next morning. She didn’t even leave a note.

I would have brought some of my own books and my journal, but Mom didn’t let me. Since she paid for everything, it was all hers. She decided what to pack.  I went over to the bookshelf and knelt down in front of it, looking for something decent to read.

I decided not to bother and put the suitcases in the closet. I went into the bathroom and saw a toilet, sink, hamper, and shower. It was small, but it was clean. And there were none of Russell’s boxers on the floor, which was a huge plus.

I stared at the door to Stephanie’s room and debated whether or not to open it. I knew I shouldn’t invade her space and I also knew I’d kill anyone who went sneaking around in my stuff, but in the end I just couldn’t help myself. I decided to just peek. I didn’t have to go rummaging through anything or even go inside.

I pushed the door open and stared. This room did not belong in this house. The walls and carpet were dark purple and the ceiling was covered up with an enormous black and purple tapestry with Chinese dragons all over it. There were all kind of pewter statues all around the room; gargoyles, fairies, dragons, you name it. She had put clear Christmas lights all over the walls, around the many posters and paintings, so it looked like a never-ending frame. Candles were sitting on top of her dresser surrounded by stuffed animals and various pieces of jewelry.

From the looks of her clothes heaped in a pile in front of her closet, she wore a lot of black, complete with chains and spikes. There was a pile of makeup and hair supplies on her nightstand. I could see gel, hairspray, black nail polish, dark red hair dye, and tubes of lipstick I could only assume were either black or dark red.

Stephanie Grady was a total Goth. I was floored. I couldn’t believe anyone would dare dress like that and still live in this house. We’d always lived in apartment buildings in the run-down part of town and Mom still wouldn’t let me wear anything remotely freaky.

I went back to my room and sat down on the bed. I laid back and closed my eyes. Stephanie’s family had all of this great stuff. I was just trash and I’d never fit in. I was some charity case they put up in their spare bedroom, probably just to make themselves look good

I hated them.