Cristelle Comby - Alone Together

Before moving to my spot behind the counter, I spared one last look at the horizon, its hues of red and blue over the golden sand. I was happy in the knowledge that this Christmas was going to be sunny, warm and spent on a lush island filled to the brim with life and joy.

We’d chosen well , I congratulated myself, not for the first time. Not only was this place bathed by an ever-warm glowing sun from dusk till dawn. It was also an island where cold was but a foreign concept, snow something so exotic that you only saw it in pictures and movies.

“Tick tock, time to open up,” Killian sing-songed, powering on the plastic till seated next to the pile of bamboo cups we would need for the day.

I gave him a mock salute before flipping the “Closed” sign over so that it read “ Ouvert”, the French way of saying ‘Open’.

I was pretty sure we were the only bilingual juice-bar for miles that was served by a middle-aged Scotsman and a twenty-something Swiss girl. And that suited me just fine.

I took my place beside my friend and gave him the traditional Hawaiian seasonal greeting. “ Mele Kalikimaka .”

Bouillabaisse: a popular type of fish soup

Ouvert: open

Sel: salt

An donas dubh: by the devil

Mele Kalikimaka: Merry Christmas

Terra Firma: solid earth

Âlâ piè: come on

Bôrtâ tzouze: nasty thing

L’ê môrô: it’s not what you think

Vin avoui mè fira onna promenâde: come with me for a little walk

Tzantin Tzamozard: Song of Chamoson

Aye: yes/yeah

Chitter: shivering

Cludgie: toilets

Hullo: hello

Lass/Lassie: girl

Lavvy: toilets

Naw: no

Oi: eh

Yer heid’s full o’ mince: your head’s full of crap

The Patois Valaisan is a local dialect of the Franco-Provençal language.

Franco-Provençal emerged as a variety of Latin; the first traces of the language date back to the 5th century AD. It was spoken in a large area that surrounded the Leman Lake and included entire regions of France (east), Switzerland (west) and Italy (north). The Franco-Provençal language started dying in 1540 when French replaced Latin as the official language of the area. Nowadays very few people even know that it once existed, and it is even worse for the local dialects.

The Patois Valaisan is exclusively spoken in the French part of the Swiss canton of Valais (an area of about eighty by eighty square kilometres in the Rhone Valley). It is officially labelled a dying language, as only a few of the local elderly people are still capable of carrying out an entire conversation in the language, while younger generations only know a couple of words and/or the most popular expressions. Thankfully, there are historians and language enthusiasts whose aim is to keep it alive. While some local groups get together to speak it and teach it to those interested, several scholars have begun to document and archive the language in an effort to preserve it.

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THE NEVE & EGAN CASES SERIES.

Described by readers as ‘a refreshingly unique mystery series’.

• Russian Dolls #1

• Ruby Heart #2

• Danse Macabre #3

• Blind Chess #4

All the books are available in ebook and print. There’s also an ebook Box Set, with the complete series at a bargain price.

THE VALE INVESTIGATION SERIES.

Described by readers as ‘a good mix of classic noir detective story and urban fantasy’.

• Hostile Takeover #1

• Evil Embers #2

• Avenging Spirit #3

• Ghost Ship #4 (coming 2021)

• Seasons Bleedings (Christmas Special)

All the books are available in ebook and print.

Cristelle Comby was born and raised in the French-speaking area of Switzerland, on the shores of Lake Geneva, where she still resides.

She attributes to her origins her ever-peaceful nature and her undying love for chocolate. She has a passion for art, which also includes an interest in drawing and acting.

She is the author of the NEVE & EGAN CASES mystery series, which features an unlikely duo of private detectives in London: Ashford Egan, a blind History professor, and Alexandra Neve, one of his students.

Currently, she is hard at work on her Urban Fantasy series VALE INVESTIGATION which chronicles the exploits of Death’s only envoy on Earth, PI Bellamy Vale, in the fictitious town of Cold City, USA.

The first novel in the series, Hostile Takeover , won the 2019 Independent Press Award in the Urban Fantasy category.

You can sign up for Cristelle Comby’s newsletter, with giveaways and the latest releases. This will also allow you to download two exclusives stories you cannot get anywhere else: Redemption Road (VALE INVESTIGATION prequel novella) and Personal Favour (NEVE & EGAN CASES prequel novella).

RUSSIAN DOLLS

RUBY HEART

DANSE MACABRE

BLIND CHESS

HOSTILE TAKEOVER

EVIL EMBERS

AVENGING SPIRIT

GHOST SHIP

RED LIES

ALONE TOGETHER

PERSONAL FAVOUR ( Neve & Egan prequel)

REDEMPTION ROAD ( Vale Investigation prequel)

Copyright © 2021 by Cristelle Comby

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events or real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.

Edition: 1

ISBN: 979-8592362576

Cover artist: Dienel96