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    Summerfield 2: Autumn Winds
    Summerfield 2: Autumn Winds
    Summerfield 2: Autumn Winds
    Ebook291 pages3 hours

    Summerfield 2: Autumn Winds

    By Lazette Gifford

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    About this ebook

    Updated April 2021

    Summerfield's life is complicated enough while he deals with two groups of exiled fae, a juvenile dragon who tends to eat cell phones, and his new fellow reporter at Woo Woo news, the shapeshifting Cat Clan totem.

    However, with Halloween nearing, matters are taking a turn of the decidedly odd . . . and dangerous.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherA Conspiracy of Authors
    Release dateJul 22, 2014
    ISBN9781936507504
    Summerfield 2: Autumn Winds
    Author

    Lazette Gifford

    Lazette is an avid writer as well as the owner of Forward Motion for Writers and the owner/editor of Vision: A Resource for Writers.It's possible she spends too much time with writers.And cats.

    Read more from Lazette Gifford

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      Book preview

      Summerfield 2 - Lazette Gifford

      Autumn Winds

      Summerfield 2

      By

      Lazette Gifford

      Copyright 2014 Lazette Gifford

      An ACOA Publication

      www.aconspiracyofauthors.com

      ISBN: 978-1-936507-50-4

      Smashwords Edition

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Copyright 2014, Lazette Gifford, All Rights Reserved

      Cover Art copyright 2014, Lazette Gifford, All Rights Reserved

      Cover art created with Carrara and Adobe Photoshop

      Published by A Conspiracy of Authors www.aconspiracyofauthors.com

      Table of Contents

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Chapter 17

      Chapter 18

      Chapter 19

      Chapter 20

      Chapter 21

      Chapter 22

      Chapter 23

      Chapter 24

      Chapter 25

      Chapter 26

      About the Author

      Chapter 1

      The email alert pinged, and I glanced at the inbox with a mixture of dread and disgust, seeing another note from a local. I sighed before I clicked open the message. Then I sighed again.

      Problems, Summerfield? Tessa asked from the desk where he scribbled away on paper. Tessa and computers did not get along very well, which left me to deal with all the crazies who frequented the Weird World Web.

      Annoying stuff, I grumbled as I opened the note and read the first few lines. More vampires spotted down in La Vista. I don't know why people think this is funny. I'd like to know who is behind this email campaign. I have enough real work to do.

      I heard Tessa shift in his chair, and I glanced his way see him staring blankly at me. I knew that look: He had connected with something that wasn't part of the world as I knew it. Being fae, and the shape-shifting totem of the exiled Cat Clan, gave him certain powers I would never understand. However, I did appreciate them. I watched for a moment, waiting for what he had to say.

      He shook his head and focused on me. Things are weird out there.

      It's four days until Halloween. It always gets weird this time of year and I don't need you to tell me about it.

      You humans have strange customs.

      I won't argue with that one. Glynis and I are going to a costume party on Halloween. That should be fun, I said with obvious misgivings.

      Tessa grinned and went back to his work. I glanced at the note about vampires. I couldn't just wave it off. I wrote a polite thank you and then turned my attention to the report of a lizard man living somewhere along the Amazon River. Oh yes, far more believable than vampires on Omaha's south side.

      I'm going to go upstairs for a while, Julia said from the doorway. Let me know if anything interesting happens.

      I have another vampire report. You want to go check this one out?

      Ha. If the weather didn't look so bad, I might be tempted. There's something in the air-- She stopped and frowned.

      I nodded and glanced at Tessa who frowned again. I had the feeling there might really be something in the air. Well, maybe it meant things would get interesting --

      Hell.

      I tried to take that thought back. Never -- NEVER -- tempt fate and karma with a line like that one. I knew better! Now it was just a matter of before my unwise thought came and bit me in the ass. I even began to work a little faster at getting my article done so when trouble did hit, I'd be ready.

      It's not that I think the universe pays an inordinate amount of attention to me. I'm just paranoid. However, because of my recent connection with the fae, I am also too well aware that things did happen around me. I had become a sort of godfather to a young dragon, having stood the square that kept him safe while he hatched. My friend and co-worker is the Cat Clan totem. We attracted oddness.

      Karma didn't make me wait long today. I had just saved and started editing the Lizard Man article when the power flickered. In the next breath, magic surged through the building, the power so strong I felt it and got to my feet in a rush of panic. There should never have been that much magic in this world.

      I had been tied to the Dragon Clan Key too long before I gave it back to them. The contact left me with a legacy to feel things most humans couldn't. Oddly, I'm glad; I don't mind knowing what's going on.

      Tessa hadn't stood. He sat stone still, his eyes staring at the wall and his face pale. Trouble, Tessa whispered. He looked at me and blinked several times. I didn't know if he really saw me or not, though.

      What's going on? I finally asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

      Nothing good. He stood, but I could see he looked shaken. Something is going on out there. It's disrupted magic everywhere. I can't find any of the others in this mess. I'm going to go out and look.

      He hurried out of the room, moving so quickly that I feared he would change to his cat form before he even got to the door. I heard him say something to Pam Jacobs on his way past her little office and a moment later the door to the outside opened.

      This couldn't be good. I wanted to be with Tessa and find out what had happened -- and part of me felt really annoyed that he'd run off and left me like this.

      Childish. And stupid. I knew from Tessa's reaction this meant a hell of a lot of trouble, and something a powerless human should avoid. Maybe this time the problem would stay fully in the hands of the fae and not involve me --

      The power flickered and went out. A heartbeat later, I heard the wind. I headed out to the front of the office as Julia came rushing downstairs. The storm had hit fast and strong: Wind blew rain almost horizontally up the street with a chaos of debris mixed in.

      They said we might have rain, but I didn't expect anything like this! Julia exclaimed in shocked dismay. Pam joined us at the door, and we watched in silent awe until the front passed and the wind died back.

      The temperature has dropped. I put my hand to the glass of the door and felt the sting of cold and a frosty pattern formed around my fingers. I pulled away in haste. A lot. I think the rain is going to turn to ice before long. This could be bad.

      You two need to go home, Julia said. Lucky the printing crew isn't here today. It would be a waste with the power out anyway. Tessa --

      He went out a couple minutes ago, I said. He'll be fine.

      Julia nodded. She never worried over Tessa. Without even knowing his secrets, she seemed to realize he could take care of himself.

      I'm going to wait and see if the weather clears a little. Pam stared out at the storm with worry, and I thought about her little rundown Toyota, parked in the lot beside my much-coveted (and hard to get since they went out of business) Hummer. I remembered feeling rather sorry for her car when I had pulled in this morning, as though the car could have feelings.

      Maybe my thoughts had just been misplaced and it was Pam I felt sorry for, though I knew she did far better now than she had before she started the divorce against her husband, and my former fellow reporter, Ted Jacobs.

      I looked at her worried face and smiled. I'll drive you home, Pam. No, don't argue. The Hummer can take on this weather without a problem.

      Oh no. It's not necessary --

      It will make me feel better, I said and with enough sincerity that she looked startled. Let me take you. You'll want to get to the day care in case the power is out there, too.

      Yes, that's true, she said and looked worried again. I don't want to be a bother -- but thank you. Let me get my coat.

      Julia patted me on the arm after Pam had left. Maybe I was reversing some of that bad Karma I had accidently pulled up earlier. I hoped so. As I looked out at the storm, I had the feeling I was going to need it.

      You're a good person, Summerfield, Julia said softly. Thank you for taking care of Pam. She's been really worried lately. Jacobs is giving her grief over the divorce and the children. It's not right that he can cause her such trouble. She needs less stress over the things we can fix for her.

      I nodded, but my attention turned back to the storm as the winds kicked up once more. This wasn't natural. Tessa had already known something was going wrong. While Julia looked out at the street, I peered up through the buildings to watch the sky. I thought I saw things moving there that had nothing to do with weather.

      This was going to be a rough night.

      Chapter 2

      There isn't much to Pam and I worried the wind might pick her up and drag her away before we got inside the car. I also feared I could feel ice in the air already. Best to get her where she needed to be as quickly as possible.

      She climbed in and sat stiff backed, as though she feared to touch anything. I took my place and started the engine. The Hummer was a little more ostentatious than I usually like to drive, but I had bought it so Tessa felt better about being in the car this coming winter. The vehicle felt safe to him. I appreciated that now.

      Belt in, I said with a smile. And relax. This car can get us just about anywhere.

      She pulled the belt into place and sat back but hadn't relaxed. She looked over the dashboard with the built in GPS and then at the skylight, and then finally at me. This is quite a car.

      Expensive is what her words really meant.

      It's a well-made car, I said as I pulled out of the lot. The wind hit and we hardly even bounced. I saw her relax a little for the first time. The safety is worth the price at a time like this.

      Rainwater ran down the curb edges and I saw a few people running for cover. No sign of Tessa, which could have meant any number of things, like he was heading in a different direction or flying . . . or prowling in the shadows in a form he had best not be seen in on these streets.

      Pam lived down in Ralston. I headed in the right direction and hoped for the best with the weather. The rain turned to a steady downpour, which proved better than the wind and ice I had expected. Even I began to relax a bit.

      You really are rich, aren't you? Pam finally asked. The question sounded as though something she'd been contemplating for a long time.

      Yes, I said and shrugged. It doesn't mean anything to me. I didn't have to work for it. It's all family money. I've invested well, so I'm doing better than a lot of my cousins. But that's all.

      Must be nice not to have to worry about bills or how to get clothes for the kids for winter. Those sounded like words too long bottled up, and I only nodded, for fear I would say something trite. Julia overpays me, but I'm grateful for it.

      She doesn't overpay you, I replied with sincerity. She needs you. You've taken up some of the work that was dragging all the joy out of her. She can concentrate on the sorts of things she likes to do again, and that's important after so many years in a job like this. You really have to love the work to keep at it.

      I like working at Woo Woo News! She sounded more enthusiastic than I had expected from someone who kept the books. I trained for this for years, and then I married Ted and I had to quit and take care of him and the kids. It's fun to have a good, steady job and know I'll have a check next week and money for the things we need. I don't think you can really understand that part.

      I glanced her way as I waited at a light. You're right. I grew up oddly, though. My parents traveled to third world countries. I didn't even know we were rich until I came back to the US to go to college. So money never mattered to me.

      Ted didn't know you were rich. Not until a little before Julia fired him. Then he despised you for it. He's tried to claim it's your fault he was fired and he's going to sue you -- but it's only because he knows you have money.

      Oh, don't worry. He won't get past my lawyers. They'd really enjoy a case like that, in fact.

      She suddenly laughed. I liked the sound.

      Why do you work at Woo Woo News? she asked, apparently more at ease with me now.

      I work there because it's fun. My parents asked me to help Julia out when she first got started. They knew I had a knack for this kind of stuff. So, I gave it a try and I stayed.

      It just seems odd. You went to college?

      "I go to college all the time. I like learning things. I have a degree in cultural anthropology and another in nuclear physics."

      She laughed. Then she stopped and looked at me, her eyes gone wide. You are serious.

      Very much so.

      You don't have to work at Woo Woo News. You don't need the money at all, do you?

      I finally convinced Julia to stop paying me a couple months ago. I don't need the money, Pam. I'd rather she used it to do other work --

      Like pay me, she said, looking a little startled. Would she have been able to pay me if she paid you as well?

      Maybe not as well as she pays you, I admitted. She would have figured it out. You do the books. Didn't you wonder why there was no entry for me?

      I thought maybe you got a lump sum or something. I didn't think it meant you got nothing at all. Your writing is what keeps the paper alive, you know. You are good at it.

      It's because I'm sincere, I said as we started up on the Interstate.

      Ted -- why did she keep Ted there so long?

      Julia could get Ted to do some of the basic stuff. He did enough work to keep her happy for a while. But I'm not sorry to see him gone.

      Me either, she said with a nervous little laugh. God, I made a stupid mistake to marrying him. Six years wasted . . . though not. I do love the girls. But Ted -- Ted wasted half his money before he ever got home. The kids had started to be afraid of him and his temper. I think they caught that from me.

      I thought about all the things that could happen to Ted Jacobs if I found out he had hurt her. It was an odd feeling. I had powerful friends who would never be caught. Oh, I wouldn't want him dead, but his karma might take a really, really bad turn.

      Ted is a bastard, I said. I'm glad to have him out of the office and you are there instead. It was a good switch.

      He was a bad drunk. Lucky for all of us, he was also a stupid one. Most of the time, he couldn't even find his way home. She shrugged this time. I know I'm better off without him, but it is scary being the only caregiver for two small children. I could have driven home in this weather, but what if something happened to me? What would happen to them? Ted's family is as bad as he is and I have no family at all now.

      I'm pretty stupid, you know. It never occurred to me that people don't have lots of family out there. I have five sisters. The Unholy Five, as they're so well known in the family.

      They're bad?

      No, but they are far too powerful. Lucky for all of us that they use it for good. Except that they do enjoy tormenting me.

      Why would they do that? she said, startled.

      I laughed. Because I work for Woo Woo News and I like to go to school more than I like to make money.

      Wind hit, sending rain almost sideways against us. The car had no trouble.

      Was this the weather we were supposed to have today? Pam asked, peering ahead. Did I miss the report?

      If so, I missed it, too, I said and glanced up at the sky. Partly cloudy with a chance of flying trolls? I thought I could see them, and that wasn't good. We've had far too much strange weather this year.

      That's true. Take the next exit.

      Where is your day care? I asked.

      It's right next door to where I live. That's why I moved there. I didn't want to have to take the kids far in the snow this winter, not in my car. I think this is going to be a hot chocolate and movie night for us.

      Sounds nice, I said. I had never thought about how normal children grew up.

      Turn right at the bottom of the exit, she said. It's that building that looks like a castle. Isn't that cute? The girls say they're princesses, going to their castle every morning."

      I smiled and pulled up out front.

      She unhooked the belt and pulled her coat tighter, and then looked back at me and smiled. Thank you. This was kind of you. I know it seems a little thing to do, but it helps me remember that not every man out there is a bastard like Ted.

      Thank you. I'll pick you up about nine tomorrow morning -- no, don't argue with me. You don't have a car, and there's no reason at all for you to take a taxi in. I'll come by. It's not a big deal. Or at least I'll be here if the weather isn't too bad. If it goes worse, Julia won't want any of us to come in.

      She's very kind. You all are. Tessa -- he's a bit odd, but I like him.

      He is odd, but some of that comes from working at Woo Woo news. Pretty soon, you'll be a bit odd too.

      It will do me good. She slipped out of the car and into the rain. I considered staying to make sure she and the girls would be okay, but I knew I could get excessive about such things. So I pulled away and headed a couple blocks away into a parking lot of at local store. I pulled out my cell phone and called my sister.

      Hi. This is Rose's brother. Can I speak to her? Thanks.

      I knew this wouldn't take long. Rose sounded almost breathless when she answered.

      Sunflower? Is that you?

      What, you have another brother? Maybe with an odd name like Bob or Dave or something? She made a sound of frustration. Don't panic. I'm fine. I need you to do me a favor. Something lawyer-ish. I want you to set up a good-sized trust fund for a co-worker and her two young daughters. I'll get you all the details about her as soon as I can.

      A trust fund? From your money? Do you know this person at all --?

      Rose, I want to make certain she doesn't have to worry about her little girls. She's getting a divorce from a bastard of a man -- who you may be dealing with as well, if he gets some lawyer stupid enough to think that I had anything to do with why she left him.

      Why would he think -- oh. It's just the money, isn't it?

      Right. Don't lecture me on this, Rose. Just start figuring out what I need to do. They'll need money if anything happens to their mother, and they'll need a good college fund no matter what.

      Yeah. She sounded calmer now. Yes, that's good. Sometimes it is important to do something for others, just because we can. I'll get to it. What's the mother's name?

      Pam -- probably Pamela -- Jacobs. Her-soon-to-be ex-husband is Ted Jacobs. She has two pre-school daughters. I might add in some others later. I gave Pam a ride home tonight --

      You're out in this weather?

      In the Hummer. It was a nice, safe ride.

      No car is completely safe, she said and sounded worried still. You shouldn't be out --

      I wasn't going to let her drive home in twenty-year-old Toyota that looks like a bad thought could give it irreparable damage, I replied.

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