by Amanda Fleet
We were marched down to the room I’d been locked in on my arrival. Neither of us was cuffed. I sat next to him on the hard, narrow bed, and he draped an arm around me, storms raging across his face.
“Being furious doesn’t help,” I said. “Does your father know that the key to the vault is missing? And does he know about the guards in the State Rooms?”
“The Captain of the Guard will have given him his report.”
“Good. What evidence is there against you?”
“I followed you Outside.”
“Making you disobedient. Not sure there’s much wriggle-room there. What’s the penalty for disobedience?”
He stared at his boots. “Flogging. Perhaps hard labour.”
“But not death,” I said briskly, trying to rally him. “What about the treason charge? What evidence is there against you for that?”
He breathed deeply. “I should have defended The Realm.”
“You did. Admirably.”
His jaw bulged, and I rested my hand on his leg, drawing circles on the inside of his knee.
“Question for you,” I said, making him turn his head and look at me, finally. “If I’d been Outside when Aegyir attacked The Realm, would Lord Sondan have been able to successfully make the triad?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“Then there’s your defence. You needed to know whether the top three Guardians were still alive, so you went to find out.”
He eyed me, his face softening a fraction.
“That doesn’t help you very much,” he said.
I didn’t want to think about that too deeply. I had no extenuating circumstances. Well, not that anyone would listen to.
“True. Maybe I’ll get banished again. Would you still come with me if I was?”
He smiled, nodding.
“I’d quite like to be able to show you Outside properly,” I said. “We could make a living out there. It wouldn’t be a disaster. I could introduce you to coffee and curry and going to the cinema.”
“Tell me about these things.”
He shifted, leaning his back against the wall, his long legs stretched out along the bed. I moved to sit between his thighs. His arms cuddled me against his chest, and I threaded my fingers with his, telling him more about Outside and what life was like there. Just as I was declaring that he could eat honey whenever he wanted Outside, he sat up straight, banging my head with his shoulder. I squirmed around to look at him. All the blood had drained from his face.
“Wrong jar,” he said, breathing hard, staring wildly at me.
“What?”
“It was the wrong jar in the safe. Aegyir is free.”
— The End —
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War
Guardians of The Realm: Book 3
Thirteen demons were trapped in The Realm. So was Aegyir, their ring-leader.
All of them wanted to live forever, by stealing the life-force out of people, killing them. The only people who can stop them are the Guardians.
Now, all of them are free, with only one thing on their minds: kill all the Guardians.
Can Aeron and Faran find a way to destroy the demons forever? Or will The Realm fall, and with it, Earth?
In the thrilling conclusion to the Guardians of The Realm trilogy, Aeron and Faran must fight for their honour, their lives, and the future of The Realm. But the odds are stacked against them.
Lies That Poison – a tense psychological thriller
Whose side are you on? Alys’s or Hannah’s?
When Tom Bowman moves to Yorkshire to start a new life, he meets two women who will change his life.
Alys is a young woman with a troubled past. Her ‘rules’ have kept her safe for the last few years, but as a relationship develops between her and Tom, is she prepared to break them?
Hannah is an elderly woman who is frequently confused, muddling the past and the present. She hates Alys and warns Tom that he’s in grave danger from the woman he’s falling in love with.
Tom has to choose who’s lying to him.
Believing the wrong person might make the difference between life and death.
Praise for Lies That Poison:
***** “Wow, wow, wow loved this book! One of the best books I've read this year! Couldn't put it down. Had me guessing all the time - is Alys a liar and a poisoner or is the old lady senile? The book very cleverly takes you back and forth giving you little clues drip by drip. Is Tom in trouble or not? Who does he believe - the woman he loves or the old lady he is fond of?
The storyline is thrilling and believable. The characters are well written and believable. A very enjoyable read.
If you like a well written psychological thriller go for this- you won't be disappointed!”—Kindle Customer—Amazon
***** “A gripping tale which kept me engrossed from beginning to end. I couldn’t put the book down.”—Barb Dee—Amazon
***** “A brilliant story that I didn’t want to put down. I don’t give 5* very easily and this one deserves it in spades. Stunning.”—Misfits Farm—Amazon
***** “I fell in love with Tom straight away and wanted to protect Hannah. This is a great story that you must read. I couldn’t put it down.”—Shamiela Ahmed—Amazon
The Wrong Kind of Clouds
Patrick Forrester is in trouble. Deep trouble. Someone wants him dead. In fact, lots of people want him dead, but one of them has taken him hostage. As he’s being bundled away, he manages to call his ex-lover, Summer Morris, and begs her for help.
Summer Morris, an award-winning photographer with synaesthesia, hasn’t spoken to Patrick for months. With good reason. But, he begged her for help, so she’s trying to help. Along with an off-duty police officer, Detective Sergeant LB Stewart, she gets swept into Patrick’s world of lies and deceit, in a desperate race against time to find him alive. Trying to unpick the knot of Patrick’s life takes them from an affair that could help bring down a government, to the dust and heat of Malawi, and a whole heap of trouble in between. If only they knew who wanted him dead, they might find him alive.
The trouble is, almost everyone wants Patrick dead.
Praise for The Wrong Kind of Clouds:
'Love your book! Lovely twists and turns and red herrings that kept me guessing right to the last. I do hope there are others in the pipeline. A series perhaps? Summer and LB are such good characters I would love to see them again.' —Alex Gray * author of the Detective William Lorimer series *
'A great read. I really enjoyed this book. Plenty of twists and turns and storyline threads that have you wondering right to the end, An interesting storyline set between Scotland and Malawi, a brilliant 1st novel and leaves you hoping for a sequel.' —Lisa Davies - Amazon review
About the Author
Amanda Fleet is a physiologist by training and a writer at heart. She spent 18 years teaching science and medicine undergraduates at St Andrews University, but now uses her knowledge to work out how to kill people (in her books). During her time at St Andrews, she was involved with two Scottish Government funded projects, working with the College of Medicine in Blantyre, Malawi. While in Malawi, she learned about the plight of the many street children there and helped to set up a Community Based Organisation that works with homeless Malawian children to support them through education and training—Chimwemwe Children’s Centre.
Amanda lives in Scotland with her husband, where she can be found writing, walking and running.
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Acknowledgements
The Guardians of The Realm Trilogy has been a labour of love since 2014, one way or another. There are a lot of people who helped me cope with all the blood, sweat and tears along the way and I apologise profusely to anyone I miss out here. First and foremost, I need to thank my amazing editor, Fiona McLaren for all her advice, encouragement and work on all three of the books. Thank you. For telling me when things needed work (and how to fix it!), but also for telling me all the bits you loved. I also need to thank the fantastic circle of writing friends I have, who have held me together and supported me when things have been difficult, and who have been there to celebrate the successes. There are too many of you to list individually, but I do need to thank Jackie McLean and Tana Collins in particular. I also need to thank my writing buddy, Stuart Lennon, for all his advice and help (and for keeping me supplied with notebooks!). My wonderful beta-readers, Lisa Davies, Gerard McCabe, Jackie McLean, and Stuart Lennon helped both with early and late drafts. My thanks also to MiblArt, who did such a great job with the covers. And last, but most certainly not least, my love and thanks to my husband, Colin, without whom none of these books would have happened.