Gatewright Read Online Free PDF Page A

a matter of politeness, and a matter of safety for the Exile in
question.
    “I
think he expects me to be drugged, murdered, then brainwashed, possibly in that
order, but he’s not freaking out… too much.”  No one laughed, and I rolled
my eyes.  “Come on guys, do you seriously think the fey would take out
their first official guests?”
    Darren
spoke quietly.  “You know, if you don’t come back, that might really set
him off.”
    I
hadn’t seen Jack angry.  I’d seen him sad, amused, frustrated, and three
sheets to the wind, but never angry.  Considering how he’d been trying to
pick up as much spare magic as possible hanging around the Circles, I didn’t
favor the idea.  Hell, I didn’t even know what element he favored.  I was coming back. “Darren, no amount of beautiful elven castles will stop
me from coming back to spend my days in this exemplar of human ingenuity and
creativity,” I teased him.
    He
took it in good humor.  When employees that could pass a security check
and speak Anowir were as few and as far between as they were, keeping them
happy was high on his priority list.  He kept trying to get the Home
Office to pay us more because we had such a specialized skill.  They
refused on the basis that bilingualism didn’t pay more at any other store, and
it would be discrimination.  We wished together their internet would cut
out in the middle of their next Call of Duty campaign.
    “So
they’ve never done this… trip thing before?”  Shawn asked.
    “They’ve
invited important people into the Inner Circle, but never through the
gate.  Exiles have been calling them out on their excuses.” Not that what
the Exiles said mattered one iota to the fey.  Politics mattered. 
The fey must want an alliance.  Was Oradim, the land to their north, causing
them trouble?  Oradim didn’t have a gate, but that could always
change.  A couple new gates popped up every year around the world. 
We knew the fey made them intentionally, just not how.  Or why.
     
    A
few hours later, business still dragged.  The door dinged, and I hastily
put back the strategy guide I’d been absorbed in before Darren noticed,
although he was preoccupied getting Shawn’s employment paperwork squared
away.  A customer?
    Nope,
definitely nope.  A primly dressed woman in a black skirt and blue
button-up entered the store, followed by a burly man delicately maneuvering a
full-size camera and tripod.  “Channel 9 News” was emblazoned across his
chest in a rainbow of colors.
    “What
the hell?”  I murmured, exchanging glances with Shawn and Darren.  Darren
gestured me forward, and Shawn disappeared into a shelf of Assassin’s Creed
figurines.  Abandoned by my friends, I did my version of charging forward
into the fray. “Can I help you, ma’am?” I asked while helping the cameraman get
through the door.  He muttered his thanks shyly.
    “Yes,
Shaundra Meyers, Channel 9 News.”  Her voice was beautiful and
melodic.  “Are you Jan Leeman?”
    Oh
shit.
     

Chapter Four
     
    I
should have worn makeup today.  “I am, if you have Photoshop in that
camera.”
    Her
laugh was genuine, despite my terrible joke.  “I’m so glad we caught up
with you.  Do you have a minute to speak with us about your upcoming
adventure?”
    “As
long as it’s ok with my boss.”  I turned to Darren and he nodded
happily.  He probably thought the publicity would be good for our
paychecks.  “Sure.” I shrugged, pretending nonchalance.
    Shaundra
thanked me and steered me around the room to find the best lighting and
background, conferring with her cameraman about angles while I anxiously tried
to flatten my brown hair, ending up tying it back into a ponytail.  She
gently shuffled me into the right place, murmuring comforting words about “just
a few questions” and “you’ll be great at this” and “don’t be nervous”.  I
stole a glance at Shawn, silently pleading for an escape route.  He
grinned and