Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

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Next, the sensitivity readers. Not to diminish the work anyone else did onthis book, but the sensitivity readers were, perhaps, some of the mostimportant. Of the five central characters—Wallace, Hugo, Nelson, Mei, andApollo—three are characters of color. The sensitivity readers sifted throughvarious iterations with a fine-toothed comb and provided extremelybeneficial notes. I’d like to thank the sensitivity readers at Tessera Editorial,as well as moukies, who made the character of Hugo that much better.Saraciea Fennell and Anneliese Merz are my publicists and cheerleaders,and all around some of the best people an author could ask for on their team.I don’t know how they do what they do, but we’re all the better for them andthe tireless work they do.The higher up are Tor Publisher Devi Pillai, President of TDA Fritz Foy,VP and Director of Marketing Eileen Lawrence, Executive of Publicity SarahReidy, VP of Marketing and Publicity Lucille Rettino, and Chairman/Founderof TDA Tom Doherty. They believe in the power of queer storytelling, andI’m grateful they are letting me make the fantasy genre that much gayer.Becky Yeager is the marketing lead, meaning it’s her job to get the wordout about my books. One of the big reasons they’ve been read as widely asthey have is her work. Thanks, Becky.Rachel Taylor, the digital marketing coordinator, runs the Tor socialmediaaccounts and makes sure everyone sees my dumb tweets about mybooks. Thanks, Rachel.On the production side of things, you have production editor MelanieSanders, production manager Steven Bucsok, interior designer HeatherSaunders, and jacket designer Katie Klimowicz. They make everything lookas good as it does. In addition, I’d like to thank Michelle Foytek, seniormanager of publishing operations, who coordinates with production to get allthe exclusive materials into the right editions.And the jacket, man. The jacket. Go stare at it for just a moment. See howfreaking rad that is? That’s because of Red Nose Studios. Chris has theuncanny ability to somehow dig around in my brain and make my imaginationcome to life in the form of the amazing jacket art he’s made for me. I am inconstant awe of the work he does. Thanks, Chris.I’d also like to thank the Macmillan sales team for all their support andhard work in getting this book—and all my others—out to bookstoreseverywhere. They are the best cheerleaders an author could ask for.
Thanks to Lynn and Mia, my beta readers. They get to read the storiesbefore anyone else, and so far, they haven’t run screaming yet, so I count thatas a win.Thank you to Barnes & Noble for selecting Under the Whispering Dooras an exclusive edition (if you haven’t seen the little something extra in theB&N edition, you should definitely check that out). Also, to the indiebooksellers and librarians all over the world who’ve championed my booksto readers, thank you. I am forever in your debt and will do whatever you askof me, even if that means helping you hide a body.Last, to you, the reader. Because of you, I get to do this whole writingthing as my job. Thank you for letting me do what I love most. I can’t wait foryou to see what comes next.TJ KluneApril 11, 2021
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Begin ReadingTable of ContentsAbout
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For Eric.I hope you woke up in a st
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CHAPTER1Patricia was crying.Wallace
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“Kyle was laid off two months ago
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“Kyle won’t touch me,” she wh
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dollars, and that doesn’t even be
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He never got the chance.Instead, tw
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Mostly.She wasn’t crying. He was
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you died, you continued to wear the
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Persian rug he’d spent an exorbit
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to show some kind of emotion. He wo
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He burst out laughing. Yes, he coul
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She grinned. “Oh, man. Just you w
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made it feel like so much more. It
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He said, “I…” He didn’t kno
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She wiped her eyes, still chuckling
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“Oh. Yeah, no. I get it. Yes, thi
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He blinked slowly, becoming aware o
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They rounded a corner, and he could
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He stared at her. “We’re seeing
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CHAPTER4He expected the inside of t
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The second time you share tea, you
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was … calming? Or so close to it
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know I don’t have time for this.
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“And there’s … what?”Hugo d
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questions. I’ll do my best to ans
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“I’m dead,” Wallace said.Hugo
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learned from her mother, a heavyset
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“There aren’t.”“Which means
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Hugo looked at him. “You’re a g
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CHAPTER6The first obstacle was the
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At least he tried to.It didn’t wo
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terrible as the rest of him. All so
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“Saw one, did you?”He whirled a
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place you’ll ever be before you c
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CHAPTER7Apollo seemed to know where
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Hugo chuckled. “A little older th
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Hugo shook his head. “No, I’m n
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“Hush,” Hugo said. “Don’t l
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“But he’s here.”“He is,”
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“You don’t need to sleep.”Wal
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Wallace’s eyes bulged as he looke
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“No.”“But you’re sitting on
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Nelson nodded toward the sconces on
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Wallace hadn’t even heard him app
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“Do what?” Mei asked as she rea
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The hook—always there, and he was
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And strangely, he thought he could
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moved around from table to table, t
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him.” And then, under her breath,
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woke up. He went to work. He stayed
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CHAPTER9Charon’s Crossing stayed
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Mei gasped. “They do? Oh my god,
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“Obviously,” he said faintly.
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that’s taboo.” She looked away.
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“It’s like you, in a way,” sh
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“Nope.”Wallace groaned. “Then
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things. He had expensive clothes, a
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Nelson grinned. “Fair.” He rubb
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“It’s like that here,” Hugo s
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“It was fast,” Hugo said, stari
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Hugo seemed to let it go. “The Ma
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“You can’t ever go to them,”
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finding the truth within himself. W
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And now here they were in the fifth
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Her fault, he told himself as he sa
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They all fell into a schedule of so
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One of the other women said, “My
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“Because he doesn’t want to,”
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Wallace bit back a sharp retort whe
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stumbled around, making promises to
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Nelson laughed. “Refreshing. Frus
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Hugo, for his part, didn’t look a
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“I mean, there’s always a plea
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came here looking more alive than s
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Nothing.“All the time you—would
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Desdemona gasped, pulling her hands
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“A,” Desdemona said as the plan
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followers, and I command you to—
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CHAPTER12That night, Wallace follow
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“Then why didn’t you put a stop
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“It’s not always like this,”
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Wallace closed his eyes. Nancy was
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“A guardian of the doors,” Hugo
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“What does that mean?”“I can
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green door at the end. He walked th
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window looked out into a familiar k
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CHAPTER13At the beginning of his tw
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Hugo shrugged. It was infuriating.
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everything I’m saying right now?
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The tea shop was busy all day. Sinc
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“What will it take?” Wallace as
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Watch.”Wallace stood next to him
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some … some let it become all the
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“Obviously,” Nelson said. He re
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Wallace bit back a retort. They wer
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but my legs didn’t work. My arms
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“Yes,” Hugo said.“I was murde
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behind clouds. The tea plants looke
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people like him.” He swallowed th
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him and he waited, waited, waited f
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CHAPTER15Alan tried to leave.He did
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we’re all traveling on.”Alan sh
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we can do it after—”“Oh, hey,
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come. “Any specific reason?”“
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Wallace blinked. “Oh, uh. Practic
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“How did it go?”Hugo started to
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CHAPTER16“Are you sure about this
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down at his tea, muttering under hi
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“Yes,” Wallace said. “And whe
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The tables jumped again as Alan too
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He hated how much he focused on it,
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“He does,” Hugo said. He looked
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“Or I know my limits,” Wallace
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age. He was coldly handsome, though
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were here in February. Speaking of,
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him. He turned to see Alan stepping
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Alan rose slowly to his feet, point
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CHAPTER17It was bigger than any sta
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The boy nodded at Wallace before lo
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instead of solid. “In fact, an ar
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full well he wasn’t in his right
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dies. Death is cleansing. The pain
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Sure, the bureaucracy of it all can
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“He’s not gone,” Wallace said
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He didn’t know.He’d never felt
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“Then do it. I don’t know what
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Hugo shook his head. Muttering unde
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The sadness receded, though it didn
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On the third evening, Hugo switched
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Nancy did as asked, clutching her p
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Mei cocked her head as if confused,
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I KNOW. BUT I HOPE IN HEARING FROM
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For a moment, Wallace thought it’
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CHAPTER19Acceptance.It was easier t
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then another and then another. And
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didn’t know if anyone would answe
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“What’s that supposed to mean?
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“I’m not trying to,” Wallace
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He laughed wildly. “If not now, w
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Wallace felt the pull the moment th
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As the sun set, they stood side by
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He failed.His eyes rolled up in his
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They said, “Cameron, let’s go o
Page 291 and 292: grit his teeth together. Tears floo
Page 293 and 294: CHAPTER21The next day, Charon’s C
Page 295 and 296: He hung his head. “I’m scared,
Page 297 and 298: Nelson rose from his chair, tugging
Page 299 and 300: on forever. He wondered if there we
Page 301 and 302: Nelson standing in front of the tea
Page 303 and 304: Hugo lowered his hand back to the b
Page 305 and 306: “Hugo?”“Yeah?”“Don’t fo
Page 307 and 308: Wallace couldn’t. Everything was
Page 309 and 310: They drank tea as if it were any ot
Page 311 and 312: impressed.”“Frankly, I don’t
Page 313 and 314: “Don’t I?” the boy asked. He
Page 315 and 316: discriminate. It’s there for ever
Page 317 and 318: “You swear?” Wallace insisted.
Page 319 and 320: “Not afraid,” the Manager repea
Page 321 and 322: Someone crouched next to him. “Wa
Page 323 and 324: The Manager nodded. “The job will
Page 325 and 326: “I’m leaving now,” the Manage
Page 328 and 329: EPILOGUEOn an evening in the middle
Page 330 and 331: It wasn’t easy. Of course it wasn
Page 332 and 333: Desdemona Tripplethorne returned to
Page 334 and 335: Mei made them tea as the rest gathe
Page 336 and 337: But a river only moves in one direc
Page 338 and 339: Apollo licked his fingers.Hugo rose
Page 340 and 341: Mei began to recite the contents of
Page 344 and 345: READ ON FORMEI’SINTRODUCTION TORE
Page 346 and 347: INTRODUCTION TO REAPINGCongratulati
Page 348 and 349: For example, WHITE HUMAN WOMEN expe
Page 350 and 351: DD’s file before your arrival, yo
Page 352 and 353: We believe in you!The Managercc: Un
Page 356 and 357: ABOUT THE AUTHORTJ KLUNE is the New
Page 359 and 360: This is a work of fiction. All of t
Page 361: Chapter 22EpilogueAcknowledgmentsEx
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