Inception: Chapter I

The Hastings Race

Inception: Beneath the Storm

Prelude

"White goes first," mumbled a deep, hoarse voice. One rough hand, undoubtedly belonging to the owner of the low voice, was all that could be observed in the dimly lit room, but if his hand's appearance was in anyway akin to how he looked, the man was hairy, dark-skinned and scarred. The two folded hands on the opposite side of the table were much thinner, almost wiry, and certainly seemed exaggeratedly so in such proximity to the large hands that flanked the other side of the table. Extending its frail index finger toward an artfully crafted piece of woodwork, painted white as marble, the pale-skinned hand pushed the piece forward about an inch.

"Your turn," came a mellow, calm voice from behind the hand.

Chapter 1

Sneezing violently, a young maid struggled to dust a bookshelf clearly abandoned and forevermore dismissed years ago. The decades of neglect left the torn books susceptible to wear, and the slow hands of the ages had carefully begun to unbind the lonely books. Anita Ross was glad she had finished dusting, and though instructed to do such a worthless task, was hesitant to remove the books and dust what lay behind them. Many questions arose in Anita's mind as to the purpose of this task. How could there be dust behind books that are never used? Why must it be cleaned if no one can see it? She pondered these things as she stacked up the books. The oddest part was that today was her third day of employment, and she was not asked to waste her time in this manner on the previous days. She suspected something was going on, and though she felt an impulse to inquire about number eighteen on her list of chores, she acquiesced to her less confident idea of simply dusting the back of the bookcase. She was disturbed by this the entire time. She glanced at the pile of books and was intrigued by the title. 

"When Black Goes First," she thought to herself.

A photograph of a pawn burned an image into her eyes as she opened the page, only to have the cover nearly smash her finger as she instinctively removed it from the target area.

"What are you doing?" asked Victoria, another maid, "If Lady--be quiet!"

"What is going on?" resounded an austere voice, "Victoria! Return to drawing the curtains. Anita! Put the books back where they go! Pauline!" she continued, barking commands at the entourage of workers that did her will. 

When she left work to return to her quarters, Anita's guilt burned in her stomach as she opened her stolen book and pored over the pages. Her immediate response to reading page forty-nine was to call her friend in America, Christi.

The Hastings Race Introduction

My new series, the Hastings Race, is about a large party of acquaintances brought together by a mysteriously will and brought out to compete with other people for the ultimate treasure. Risking everything, they leave their homes and join the Hastings Race. The first book, Inception: Beneath the Storm, will come out soon on this blog in chapters.