Just wanted to let you guys know that FALLING THROUGH GLASS is now on
sale at Liquid Silver Books. The story features Japanese American
college student Emmi Maeda who falls back to 1864 Kyoto and gets on the
wrong side of Hijikata in her quest to find her way back home. The
scene below does't feature Hijikata-san but it does feature Yamanami and
everybody's favorite miburo Saitou. Enjoy.
Excerpt:
"But, I'm afraid," Emmi said as the harsh truth sunk it. She
was a prisoner.
"It's only for tonight," Kaemon said. "I'll come
back for you tomorrow."
Emmi sniffled and nodded. He almost seemed to care."What about my
mirror?"
"Yamanami-san will see that it's secure."
She nodded again and lowered her gaze, determined not to cry in front of
this guy.
She looked up when he spoke again, his tone much softer than it had been
all night.
"Yamanami-san, could you assign a guard to her for the night?"
"Of course."
"Could you choose someone totally trustworthy? Someone who would
never think to
take advantage of the situation."
Yamanami placed his hand on Kaemon's shoulder. "I've been
having difficulty
sleeping lately. Let me lock her mirror away, and then I'll go stay
with her."
Kaemon bowed deeply. "I am in your debt, Yamanami-san."
When the older man left, Kaemon looked at Emmi a long time, and she
tried to
figure out what was going on behind those piercing, dark eyes of his.
For the first time,
she took a long look at her "rescuer." He was young; she doubted
he was much older than
she was.
In fact, he was awfully good looking.
Yamanami returned from his room, and Kaemon left without saying another
word or
even looking back.
"I won't lie to you, Maeda-dono," Yamanami said as they
walked towards a small Lshaped
building at the far end of the compound. "The men we have detained
are typical
dogs, and even though we rearranged them to place empty cells adjacent
to yours, they'll
still be able to glimpse you coming in, so don't be surprised if
they say things you might
not be used to hearing said to a lady."
Unnerved at the thought of being stuck in an actual jail with violent
criminals, Emmi
stumbled.
Yamanami placed a steadying hand on her arm. "It will be all right.
I'll see to it that
you're not alone in there."
"Thank you."
As predicted, the prisoners began calling out when she stepped inside
the jail. Emmi
was glad they spoke so quickly; she couldn't process it all, but even
the gist of their
words made her want to throw up.
"Silence!" Yamanami yelled in a voice infinitely more commanding
than his
measured speaking tone.
Emmi kept her eyes focused on her feet. She followed the vice-commander
to the
middle of the three small cells that formed the shorter portion of the
L. Blankets had been
hung on the sides as makeshift walls. Yamanami picked up the clean
chamber pot from
the floor outside and placed it in the right corner behind a small
bamboo screen.
"It isn't the privacy you're used to, but I think you'll
be comfortable enough."
"Thank you," Emmi said stepping inside. Though she wanted to
scream when
Yamanami shut the door and placed a large iron lock through the wooden
bars, she kept
silent.
"I'm going to check on that food tray, and then I'll be
back."
"All right."
When he left, Emmi unrolled the thin futon mat and curled up in the
center. She
prayed that this was all a nightmare, that she'd wake up and find it
had all been a bad
dream. That wish fell apart quickly once the male prisoners began
calling out to her a few
minutes later.
"They bring you to entertain us?"
"You smell sweet."
"I get the first taste."
Emmi covered her ears and hoped Yamanami would return soon. When the
outer
door to the jail slid open, she crawled to the front bars and looked
out.
She could make out Yamanami in the dim lantern light. He was carrying a
dinner
tray. Behind him was another man who veered off towards the
prisoners' cells.
Emmi gasped when she heard scuffling and what could only be the sound of
men
being beaten. A man's voice issued threats and orders of silence.
"Pay it no mind, child," Yamanami said, as he set the tray down
then unlocked the
door.
"But—"
"They savaged and murdered a woman who was gathering information for
the
Shogunate. They don't deserve your mercy."
He slipped the open lock through one of the door crossbars, then picked
up the tray,
and set it on the floor beside the futon. Emmi's empty stomach
rumbled at the smell of
the soup, steaming tea, and flat bread. She noticed that there was
enough for two.
"If you don't mind, I thought I'd sit here with you."
"WellÂ…"
Yamanami smiled a rather sad smile. "It's quite safe, I promise
you."
"Yamanami-san," a man said.
Emmi looked up at the man who had accompanied the vice-commander inside.
He
was dressed in a dark kimono, his black hair pulled back into a high
ponytail.
"Forgive the interruption. I don't think you'll have any
further trouble tonight from
that scum."
Yamanami sighed, and Emmi had the distinct impression that he didn't
have much of
a stomach for this part of the job.
"Thank you, Saitou-san." He turned back to me. "Maeda-dono,
this is Saitou Hajime,
Captain of the third unit."
Emmi managed to stop herself from saying "I know." Saitou had
been portrayed
quite often in anime and manga. The drawn versions didn't come close
to grabbing the
intensity of the real man.
Saitou bowed to her then addressed his commander once more. "I will
be making
rounds through the compound tonight if you need anything."
"Thank you."
The fierce samurai headed to the door, pausing long enough to order the
prisoners to
cease their groaning and sniveling else he'd "make them
stop".
"I think he's more frightening than Hijikata."
"You might be right." Yamanami removed the cover from the food
dishes. "We'd
better eat this before it gets cold."
* * * * *
Falling Through Glass on sale now at Liquid Silver Books :
http://tinyurl.com/ydktugj
~ Barbara Sheridan
BarbaraSheridan.com <
http://www.barbarasheridan.com/>
Falling Through Glass the video trailer <
http://tinyurl.com/nnve7t>
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