Preview excerpt from ‘SNOW BEHIND THE DOOR’ – the prequel to ‘the Bede Series’
[Before Kit and Ani broke into the decaying ruins of Bede Hall, they marveled at the icebound blue door encased in a thick blanket of frost. Once situated on the third floor, years of accumulated snow gave it the impression of resting on the ground – the Hall’s only entrance. Its doorknob of clear glass looked like a cut diamond the size of a snowball and shone like a lantern with a blue light inside it. The eerie light revealed a scowling face within the encrusted snow that Kit knew only too well.
Father and daughter set down their bundles and baskets, and brushed snow from the door’s escutcheon plate, revealing the face of a man with leaves for hair. “That’s the Green Man,” Kit said. “You can say hello. He won’t bite. In fact, he’s a guardian. He looks gloomy because he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.”
The door coughed and started to breath. “I’d be interested to know what you call frostbite,” it said, sounding put out.
“There’s no need to frighten my daughter, Jack. Ani this is Jack Frost, an old friend.”
The frozen door held fast when Kit gave it a shove, but lumps of snow crumbled away.
For a moment, the keyhole smiled but it may have been a trick of the light. The face and Ani remained strangers.
“Ani needs to understand the truth about Winter to survive,” Jack said. “Given time, she will save us all.”
“But he’s blue,” Ani said. “Why isn’t he called the blue man?”
Kit stamped the snow from his feet. “The Winter Room is special,” he said. “It changes the color of things to suit its mood.”
“How can a room be sad?” Ani asked.
“Good luck explaining that,” the keyhole wheezed.
Kit took a deep breath and heaved his weight against the door with his shoulder.
“It doesn’t sulk if that’s what you mean,” he replied. “The Winter Room is the heart of Bede Hall even though it was, is, and will remain on the topmost floor. It was situated under the roof for a reason.”
Jack closed his eyes, released a cascade of shattered icicles, and winked at Ani.
“I expect it was so we could get in,” Ani said simply.]
‘SNOW BEHIND THE DOOR’, the prequel to the ‘Bede Trilogy’ is well underway. With a literary tailwind it should be available in May of 2021 here: https://www.amazon.com/V-Knox/e/B0094K0Q7Y
Veronica Knox 