In-Between Work and Play (The Jocelyn Frost Series Book 1)
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Authors: Relina Skye
In-Between
Work and Play
Book 1 of the Jocelyn Frost Series
By
Relina Skye
In-Between
Work and Play
By
Relina Skye
Copyright
2014 by C. A. Mederos
Cover
Design:
Designs
By Rachelle
Editors:
Amber
Bungo
Teri
the Editing Fairy
All rights reserved, which also
includes the right to reproduce this novel or portions thereof in any form,
(paper, photocopy, electronic, mechanical, recording, etc.) without the prior
written permission of the copyright owner. Exceptions are granted if a quotation
is used in the publication of a review or blog.
The
following novel and glossary are
a collaboration of
names, terms, places, and incidents that are used fictitiously. Many are
also the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, locations, businesses, events, or terms is entirely
coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark
owners of various references and products in this fictitious work which have
been used without permission. The trademarks’ owners have not authorized,
sponsored, or are associated with the publication and/or use of these
trademarks.
Dedication:
To my sister, Jeannette
Thank you for always supporting me.
I truly appreciate everything that you have done for me, and
would be lost without you in my life.
Acknowledgements:
It
is nearly impossible to publish a novel without a fantastic support team.
The
most important members of my team are my parents. They supported me in more
ways than I could ever list.
Secondly,
my siblings and their families who are a constant source of inspiration.
Next,
my extended family for always being entertaining.
Then
there are the faceless folks who I’ve met along the way.
My
fabulous beta readers:
Amber
Bungo
Heather
Hill
Pam
Halligan – Sims
Kat
Jamie
My
awesome editors:
Amber
Bungo
Teri
the Editing Fairy
My
lovely cover design:
Rachelle
Gould-Harris
Table of Contents
Jocelyn
Ten minutes.
Perspiration slid down the side of my cheek. I chewed on my lip while
rereading my notes from last week’s Demigoddess Anonymous Session. When I
finished, I reached inside my desk to grab a hair clip before pulling my
chocolate tresses into a French twist. Otherwise, I’d show up at my meeting
looking like a sweaty mess. Once my core temperature regulated, I could
refocus on prepping for my meeting.
You see, not all
demigoddesses live the life of a supermodel. Sure, there are the daughters of
goddesses of love and beauty, which are indeed supermodels. They are the lucky
ones. Not only are they smart and beautiful, but they also get to have
mind-blowing sex every time they spread their legs. Those women are the
exceptions to the rule. As for the rest of us half-breeds, we are not so
lucky.
That is where I
come in. My sperm donor father was Baldur. I never met the Norse god of
light, but I did inherit his ability to radiate a sense of calm and tranquility
to those around me. It works wonders and helps facilitate my Demigoddesses
Anonymous group therapy sessions. Each half-breed carries her own set of
baggage that always makes each session interesting.
Five minutes. I
flipped open a thin manila folder entitled,
Crisis
Topics
. Each week, one of the ladies is allowed to bring up an
issue that really bothers her. That way, the entire group can discuss possible
solutions.
I skimmed
through the topics that were covered in the past year before doing the same
thing with the list of emergency topics. Yes, I had the list memorized, but
for whatever reason, I tended to forget even the most basic information when
under pressure.
“I expect to be
impressed during today’s group therapy session, Miss Frost,” a high-pitched,
feminine voice said, breaking my concentration.
Crap.
My heartbeat skyrocketed at hearing those soprano cords. I lifted my gaze.
Inez Cannas, my supervisor, pierced my concentration and composure with her
hypnotic, amber eyes. Her unexpected presence startled me. My desk chair slid
into the bookshelf behind me, causing several books to fall to the floor.
“You’re coming to today’s session?” The words left my mouth before I could
stop them.
The magnitude of
my stupid statement clearly registered on that bitchy, little fairy’s face. If
I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn she was the spawn of Hel. And
when I say Hel, I don’t mean the fire and brimstone version of the Christian
afterlife. No, Hel is the Norse ruler of Helheim, the realm of the dead. No
one wanted to get on her bad side.
Inez’s crimson
wings fluttered with annoyance.
For the love of
Odin, this was not good, not good at all. Normally, I was able to warn my
clients in advance if my supervisor intended to make an appearance. That way,
they could choose whether or not they wanted to show up. But for a drop-in
observation, I had no way of informing them. To make matters worse, it was
actually a violation of my contract with the Psychology Department if I even
attempted to send my clients a last minute text or e-mail.
“How long have
you been working here, Jocelyn?” Inez pursed her natural, cherry-red lips.
“Five years this upcoming Equinox?”
Several more
bullets of perspiration dripped down the side of my face. “Yes.”
“It’s a critical
year for you, isn’t it?” She flipped through a file. “You’ll be halfway
through your tenure of service to the Bureau of Converging Worlds. Along with a
pay raise and better amenities,” she gave me a patronizing smirk, “you will
even have the opportunity to move into better housing. Needless to say, you
have a lot riding on your annual review. I hope, for your sake, you can pull
this off. Otherwise, your services may no longer be required.”
Chills raced
down my spine. Despite it being nearly a hundred degrees in my office, I
suddenly longed for a sweater. “I understand,” I meekly answered. I hated how
much control she had over my life. The more anyone stood up to her, the more
misery she inflicted. It was a general consensus amongst the staff to submit
to Inez’s bipolar nature, or risk being ostracized by everyone else.
“Good, because I
would sincerely hate to send you to the Unemployment Department for
reassignment.” A calculated smile crossed her lips. “It would be a shame for
you to be assigned to donor duty. Or worse, they might send you across the
border into Erda. Who knows what occupation they might allocate to a pretty,
little, Earth-born thing like you?”
With that
threat, and yes, I took it as a threat, I mutely nodded. No one wanted to be
transferred to the clusterfuck dimension known as Erda.
Erda was
practically a mirror reflection of Earth, but ever since it was created, which
was during the last Ice Age, not much had geologically changed. You might have
even confused a physical map of Erda with an Ice Age map of Earth.
Now, you might
be wondering why Erda was still in an Ice Age, while Earth is not. I’m not a
scientist, so I can’t give you a detailed explanation, but I know it has a lot
to do with the various fae and mythos races that live there. The races that
thrive in the cold keep the glaciers from melting, while the races that prefer
the heat stick to the equator. Everyone else has managed to adapt to their
environments by using their magic, instead of burning wood and fossil fuels in
order to survive.
Between the two
dimensions is space. Guess what we call it? The In-between. City-like
fortresses dot the globe where the magically created ley lines converge. The
more points that converge, the larger the bubble-like pockets form between the
two dimensions, giving us enough room to work and exist. Magic users were
conscripted to prevent the ley lines from dissolving. If there isn’t enough magic
being pumped into that vast, web-like network that encircles the globe, the two
dimensions known as Erda and Earth would disastrously converge.
Besides
adjusting to the climate change in that dimension, I would also have
encountered cultural changes. Some of the various races evolved with
technology, while others did not. One day, you could be staying at a hotel
with high-definition televisions in each room, and the next, you might find
yourself at an inn that still used chamber pots, rather than indoor plumbing.
I grew up in New
Jersey, so yeah, I liked having a bathroom. Not to mention, humans were way
safer to live with than the fae. Many of the fae races are vampyric by nature,
and prefer human and human half-breeds’ blood to any other races.
Inez looked me
over once more before flipping her file closed. “By the way, I won’t be able to
stick around after the meeting. So, we will debrief on Thursday morning at
ten-thirty, sharp.” With that, she pivoted on her four-inch, leopard stilettos
and knocked several pictures off the wall with her wings. Without a word of
apology, she pranced out of the room.
