Click on image to enlarge.

	Regular				Club
You Pay:	$1.29				$1.10
Micropay Rebate:	50%				50%
Cost After Rebate:	$0.64				$0.55
You Save:	50.39%				57.36%

eBook Category: Dark Fantasy/Fantasy
eBook Description: Josh is living a fairytale life ... it just happens to be a dark fairytale full of forbidding doors. What is behind Door Number One?

eBook Publisher: Mystic Moon Press, Published: 2007
Fictionwise Release Date: February 2008

This eBook is part of the following series:

• Kate Smith's Wolf Hollow Series

7 Reader Ratings: Great Good OK Poor

Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) [206 KB], eReader (PDB) [35 KB], Palm Doc (PDB) [7 KB], Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [8 KB], Microsoft Reader (LIT) [106 KB] - PocketPC 1.0+ Compatible, Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [79 KB], hiebook (KML) [76 KB], Sony Reader (LRF) [69 KB], iSilo (PDB) [6 KB], Mobipocket (PRC) [8 KB], Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [69 KB], OEBFF Format (IMP) [15 KB]
Words: 1917
Reading time: 5-7 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Adobe Acrobat (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud DISABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

"It has to be done." Josh takes a deep breath. "There's no escape."

But still he stands there, middle of the hallway, frowning at the door. His arms are full, his jaw is tense. The muscles of his back are rigid under the soft cotton shirt one shade darker than his navy blue eyes. Which he shuts briefly, before lifting his lashes on a sigh.

"Can't toss stuff on the floor, yank the door shut, and run away. Not this time," he reminds himself. "The situation is critical. So."

Another deep breath and he rushes the door, kicking it open and then kicking his way through the stuff on the floor, not looking down, all his focus for the white machine on the far side of the spacious room. He reaches it finally, hooks a finger under the lid and sends it crashing back. He raises his arms over the void and separates them, letting the pile of his clothing tumble into the washing machine, stuffing a trailing sleeve back, catching underwear and throwing it in. Everything's dark colours, safe to wash together. Josh grabs the first box of soap powder he touches and scoops soap in. "Right, eco-friendly cycle. High water level, warm wash and cold rinse, spin duration..." He rakes a hand through his hair and jabs a button at random and finally, finally punches start.

Tension leaves him in a rush as the machine flashes and hisses into life. Until he turns around.

Like the rest of the house, the laundry room combines function and art. It's airy, full of light thanks to wide bands of floor-to-ceiling glass on two walls, with cunning storage designs built-in. A feature wall of deep violet brings out the crisp white appliances and paintwork. That's the plan anyway.

Naturally, reality operates on a wildly different wavelength.

Josh leans on the edge of the sink. "They own too many clothes."

And most of them are on the floor. Floods of fabric, tangling about the base of the bench meant for sorting and folding, with cubbyholes beneath for storage. All empty of course.

Josh snags the broom and uses it to drive a path through the jumble all the way to the outside door. He shoves it wide and staggers back at the punch of sunshine. It's so rich, almost intoxicating.

A snapping wind chases clouds up at where jets play tag with the angels. It's a good washing day. It takes most of the wash cycle to sort the heaps into loads. Eventually Josh straightens and rotates the kinks out of his shoulders and lower back. He uses the broom to switch a crystal pink cardigan with sparkly buttons from the colour heap to the who-the-hell-knows pile. That one's for the blood and suspicious stains. It's almost as big as the black and delicates pile.

"Washing line--I know it's around here somewhere."