Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

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“Oh no,” Mei breathed. She set down her teacup and stared at Wallace.“That’s definitely not a good idea. Wallace, you can’t—”“Don’t tell me what I can’t do!” he shouted at her, and the light bulb in oneof the sconces sizzled and snapped before the glass shattered. Wallace jerkedhis head toward it.“Uh-oh,” Nelson whispered.Wallace turned and ran.
CHAPTER6The first obstacle was the door.He grabbed for the handle.His hand passed right through it.With a strangled yell, he jumped at the door. Through the door. He openedhis eyes, finding himself on the porch of the tea shop. He looked down. Allhis bits and bobs still seemed to be attached, though the hook and cable werestill there, the latter extending back into the tea shop. Something heavy movedthunderously toward the door, and he leapt from the porch, landing on thegravel. The stars stuttered in the sky above him, the trees more ominous thanthey’d been when he’d first arrived. They seemed to bend and sway as ifbeckoning him. He stumbled when he thought he saw movement off in thetrees to his left, a great beast watching him, a crown of antlers atop its head,but it had to be a trick of the shadows because when he blinked, all he sawwere branches.He took off down the road, heading back the way he’d come earlier withMei. If he got to the village, he could find someone to help him. He’d tellthem about the crazy people in the tea shop in the middle of the woods.The hook in his chest pulled sharply, the cable growing taut as it wrappedaround his side. He almost fell to his knees. He managed to stay upright, flipflopssnapping against the bottoms of his feet. How on earth had he everthought flip-flops were a good idea?He glanced back over his shoulder toward the tea shop in time to see Meiand Hugo burst out onto the porch, shouting after him. Mei said, “Of all thestupid things” just as Hugo said, “Wallace, Wallace, you can’t, you don’tknow what’s out there—” but Wallace doubled down, running as fast as hecould.
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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
Page 11 and 12: “Kyle won’t touch me,” she wh
Page 13 and 14: dollars, and that doesn’t even be
Page 15 and 16: He never got the chance.Instead, tw
Page 17 and 18: Mostly.She wasn’t crying. He was
Page 19 and 20: you died, you continued to wear the
Page 21 and 22: Persian rug he’d spent an exorbit
Page 23 and 24: to show some kind of emotion. He wo
Page 25 and 26: He burst out laughing. Yes, he coul
Page 27 and 28: She grinned. “Oh, man. Just you w
Page 29 and 30: made it feel like so much more. It
Page 31 and 32: He said, “I…” He didn’t kno
Page 33 and 34: She wiped her eyes, still chuckling
Page 35 and 36: “Oh. Yeah, no. I get it. Yes, thi
Page 37 and 38: He blinked slowly, becoming aware o
Page 39 and 40: They rounded a corner, and he could
Page 41 and 42: He stared at her. “We’re seeing
Page 43 and 44: CHAPTER4He expected the inside of t
Page 45 and 46: The second time you share tea, you
Page 47 and 48: was … calming? Or so close to it
Page 49 and 50: know I don’t have time for this.
Page 51 and 52: “And there’s … what?”Hugo d
Page 53 and 54: questions. I’ll do my best to ans
Page 55 and 56: “I’m dead,” Wallace said.Hugo
Page 57 and 58: learned from her mother, a heavyset
Page 59 and 60: “There aren’t.”“Which means
Page 61: Hugo looked at him. “You’re a g
Page 65 and 66: At least he tried to.It didn’t wo
Page 67 and 68: terrible as the rest of him. All so
Page 69 and 70: “Saw one, did you?”He whirled a
Page 71 and 72: place you’ll ever be before you c
Page 73 and 74: CHAPTER7Apollo seemed to know where
Page 75 and 76: Hugo chuckled. “A little older th
Page 77 and 78: Hugo shook his head. “No, I’m n
Page 79 and 80: “Hush,” Hugo said. “Don’t l
Page 81 and 82: “But he’s here.”“He is,”
Page 83 and 84: “You don’t need to sleep.”Wal
Page 85 and 86: Wallace’s eyes bulged as he looke
Page 87 and 88: “No.”“But you’re sitting on
Page 89 and 90: Nelson nodded toward the sconces on
Page 91 and 92: Wallace hadn’t even heard him app
Page 93 and 94: “Do what?” Mei asked as she rea
Page 95 and 96: The hook—always there, and he was
Page 97 and 98: And strangely, he thought he could
Page 99 and 100: moved around from table to table, t
Page 101 and 102: him.” And then, under her breath,
Page 103 and 104: woke up. He went to work. He stayed
Page 105 and 106: CHAPTER9Charon’s Crossing stayed
Page 107 and 108: Mei gasped. “They do? Oh my god,
Page 109 and 110: “Obviously,” he said faintly.
Page 111 and 112: 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
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grit his teeth together. Tears floo
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CHAPTER21The next day, Charon’s C
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He hung his head. “I’m scared,
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Nelson rose from his chair, tugging
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on forever. He wondered if there we
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Nelson standing in front of the tea
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Hugo lowered his hand back to the b
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“Hugo?”“Yeah?”“Don’t fo
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Wallace couldn’t. Everything was
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They drank tea as if it were any ot
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impressed.”“Frankly, I don’t
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“Don’t I?” the boy asked. He
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discriminate. It’s there for ever
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“You swear?” Wallace insisted.
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“Not afraid,” the Manager repea
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Someone crouched next to him. “Wa
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The Manager nodded. “The job will
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“I’m leaving now,” the Manage
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EPILOGUEOn an evening in the middle
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It wasn’t easy. Of course it wasn
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Desdemona Tripplethorne returned to
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Mei made them tea as the rest gathe
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But a river only moves in one direc
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Apollo licked his fingers.Hugo rose
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Mei began to recite the contents of
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Next, the sensitivity readers. Not
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READ ON FORMEI’SINTRODUCTION TORE
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INTRODUCTION TO REAPINGCongratulati
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For example, WHITE HUMAN WOMEN expe
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DD’s file before your arrival, yo
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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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