Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune
CHARON’S CROSSINGTEA AND TREATS“Char-ron?” he said. He’d never heard such a word before.“Kay-ron,” Mei said, enunciating slowly. “It’s a bit of a joke. Hugo’sfunny like that.”“I don’t get it.”Mei sighed. “Of course you don’t. Don’t worry about it. As soon as weget to the tea shop, it’ll—”“Tea shop,” Wallace repeated, eyeing the sign with disdain.Mei paused. “Wow. You’ve got something against tea, man? That’s notgonna go over well.”“I don’t have anything against—I thought we were going to meet God.Why would he—”Mei burst out laughing. “What?”“Hugo,” he said, flustered. “Or whoever.”“Oh man, I cannot wait to tell him you said that. Holy crap. That’s gonnago right to his head.” She frowned. “Maybe I won’t tell him.”“I don’t see what’s so funny.”“I know,” she said. “That’s what’s so funny about it. Hugo’s not God,Wallace. He’s a ferryman. I told you that. God is … the idea of God is ahuman one. It’s a little more complicated than that.”“What?” Wallace said faintly. He wondered if it was possible to have asecond heart attack, even though he was already dead. And then heremembered he couldn’t actually feel his heart beating anymore, and thedesire to curl up into a little ball once again started to take over. Agnostic ornot, he hadn’t expected to hear something so enormous said so easily.“Oh, no,” Mei said, grabbing onto his hand to make sure he stayed on hisfeet. “We’re not going to lie down here. It’s only a little bit farther. It’ll bemore comfortable inside.”He let himself be pulled down the road. The trees were thicker, old pinesthat reached toward the starry sky like fingers from the earth. He couldn’tremember the last time he’d been in a forest, much less at night. He preferredsteel and honking horns, the sounds of a city that never went to sleep. Noisemeant he wasn’t alone, no matter where he was. Here, the silence was allconsuming,suffocating.
They rounded a corner, and he could see warm lights through the trees likea beacon calling, calling, calling him. He barely felt his feet on the ground.He thought he might be floating but couldn’t bring himself to look down tosee.The closer they got, the more the hook tugged at his chest. It wasn’t quiteirritating, but he couldn’t ignore it. The cable continued on down the road.He was about to ask Mei about it when something moved on the roadahead of them. He flinched, mind constructing a terrible creature crawlingfrom the shadowy woods with sharp fangs and glowing eyes. Instead, awoman appeared, hurrying down the road. The closer she got, the moredetails filled in. She looked middle-aged, her mouth set in a thin line as shepulled her coat tighter around her. She had bags under her eyes, dark circlesthat looked as if they’d been tattooed on her face. Wallace didn’t know whyhe was expecting some kind of acknowledgment, but she passed by themwithout so much as a glance in their direction, blond hair trailing behind heras she moved quickly down the road.Mei had a pinched look on her face, but she shook her head and it wasgone. “Come on. Don’t want to keep him waiting any more than we alreadyhave.”He didn’t know what he was expecting after reading the sign. He’d neverreally been inside something that could be called a tea shop before. He’dgotten his morning coffee from the cart in front of the office building. Hewasn’t a hipster. He didn’t have a man bun or an ironic sense of fashion, hiscurrent outfit be damned. The glasses he usually wore while reading were,while expensive, utilitarian. He didn’t belong in something that could bedescribed as a tea shop. What a preposterous idea.Which was why he was surprised when they came to the shop itself to seethat it looked like a house. Granted, it was unlike any house he’d ever seenbefore, but a house all the same. A wooden porch wrapped around the front,large windows on either side of a bright green door, light flickering fromwithin like candles had been lit. A brick chimney sat on the roof with a littlecurl of smoke coming out the top.
- Page 3 and 4: Begin ReadingTable of ContentsAbout
- Page 5 and 6: For Eric.I hope you woke up in a st
- Page 7 and 8: CHAPTER1Patricia was crying.Wallace
- Page 9 and 10: “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: He blinked slowly, becoming aware o
- 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 and 62: Hugo looked at him. “You’re a g
- Page 63 and 64: CHAPTER6The first obstacle was the
- 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
They rounded a corner, and he could see warm lights through the trees like
a beacon calling, calling, calling him. He barely felt his feet on the ground.
He thought he might be floating but couldn’t bring himself to look down to
see.
The closer they got, the more the hook tugged at his chest. It wasn’t quite
irritating, but he couldn’t ignore it. The cable continued on down the road.
He was about to ask Mei about it when something moved on the road
ahead of them. He flinched, mind constructing a terrible creature crawling
from the shadowy woods with sharp fangs and glowing eyes. Instead, a
woman appeared, hurrying down the road. The closer she got, the more
details filled in. She looked middle-aged, her mouth set in a thin line as she
pulled her coat tighter around her. She had bags under her eyes, dark circles
that looked as if they’d been tattooed on her face. Wallace didn’t know why
he was expecting some kind of acknowledgment, but she passed by them
without so much as a glance in their direction, blond hair trailing behind her
as she moved quickly down the road.
Mei had a pinched look on her face, but she shook her head and it was
gone. “Come on. Don’t want to keep him waiting any more than we already
have.”
He didn’t know what he was expecting after reading the sign. He’d never
really been inside something that could be called a tea shop before. He’d
gotten his morning coffee from the cart in front of the office building. He
wasn’t a hipster. He didn’t have a man bun or an ironic sense of fashion, his
current outfit be damned. The glasses he usually wore while reading were,
while expensive, utilitarian. He didn’t belong in something that could be
described as a tea shop. What a preposterous idea.
Which was why he was surprised when they came to the shop itself to see
that it looked like a house. Granted, it was unlike any house he’d ever seen
before, but a house all the same. A wooden porch wrapped around the front,
large windows on either side of a bright green door, light flickering from
within like candles had been lit. A brick chimney sat on the roof with a little
curl of smoke coming out the top.
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