Just one more week until Halloween! I thought I'd take a look back at my first Halloween-set story, Visions Before Midnight. This is the seventh book in the Oberon series--which is currently out of print. I will be bringing it back (hopefully soon) and, in the meantime, I do have a short story taken from its pages, Hungry Heart, which is available for a limited time as part of the Revenge is Sweet anthology. I'll post the details below.
Oberon, Book 7.0
Chay Johnson is a traditional man; and the educator, flute maker, apprentice shaman has a lot of traditions to uphold, especially when it comes to choosing a life mate.
Erin Allridge is a modern woman, with modern ideas about relationships and a painful personal history she has no intention of repeating.
When terror and tragedy strike the small town of Oberon, the pair are forced to re-think their visions for the future.
In this world of form and spirit it can be hard to find balance and harmony, but sometimes, particularly when the veil between the worlds is at its thinnest, love can find a way to bridge the gap.
EXCERPT:
The Halloween fair was not much fun on your own, Kate decided, after an hour spent walking around by herself, nibbling at a caramel apple, throwing darts at balloons, and generally being bored out of her gourd. The parking lot looked surprisingly spooky in the twilight, and it smelled of cider and straw and kettle corn. If it wasn’t just all girls and their families, if she had someone to hang with, it might even be kind of fun.
But it wasn’t fun like this, and she would have gone home hours ago, but for one, important detail.
Mandy had really been looking forward to the fair and, unless she’d made some new friends since this morning, she had to be around here somewhere, and every bit as bored as Kate. Unless she was hanging with Cara and her crowd, that is. But despite her behavior at lunch, Kate didn’t really believe Mandy would go that far––not even to make a stupid point.
She completed another circuit and looked at her watch, debating whether she should give up and call for a ride now, or give Mandy another half hour to stop being such a jerk. She couldn’t believe the way her cousin was acting; they hadn’t spoken since lunch. And, given that Mandy was absolutely the stubbornest person on the planet, they might not talk again until Christmas. Which would not be fun, either.
“Kate! Good, just the person I was looking for.”
Kate almost turned tail and ran when she recognized Olivia Kline bearing down on her, an insanely bright smile on her face.
“What did you want me for, Mrs. Kline?” she asked politely, standing her ground, even as all the safety lessons her father had tried so hard to drum into her head came back in a flash–
“If a situation feels wrong, it probably is,” her father had always insisted. “You want to go with your instincts about ninety percent of the time.”
“
What about the other ten percent?” she’d asked.
Her father shrugged. “Sometimes, what you think is instinct is just wishful thinking. You tell yourself things are okay, because that’s how you want it to be. It’s easy to fool yourself into believing everything’s all right when it’s not. So, you gotta learn to think on your feet. Pay attention to your feelings. And always err on the side of caution.”
“Is that what you do, Nick?” Scout asked, smiling at her husband from the doorway.
It was the first time Kate ever saw her father not return one of Scout’s smiles. “This is a classic case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’,” he told her. “I get paid to take risks, Scout. You don’t. And, neither does Kate.”
“If someone is making you uncomfortable, get clear of them,” Nick said, returning his attention to his daughter. “And then stay clear. Don’t get in a car with them. Don’t do them any favors. If you’re in a crowded place, stay where you are; don’t try and go off on your own. Or, worse yet, with them. And, I don’t care who it is, either. Parent, teacher, friend, priest, whatever. It doesn’t matter. They’re all human. They could all turn bad. I’m never gonna get mad at you for being too careful. So, if someone––anyone––wants you to do something you don’t feel comfortable with, just tell them no, and get out of there. Run, if you have to. In fact, don’t even bother saying no. Talking takes too much time. Just go.”
“Unless it’s the cops,” Scout said, not exactly smiling this time. “You don’t want to run from them, right?”
“Not really envisioning any scenarios that would involve Kate running from the cops,” Nick snapped, frowning at his wife. But, the ironic lift of her brows made him shrug, reluctantly. “But, okay, fine. Since you brought it up, yes, cops do go bad, too, sometimes. But, we’ve got guns, which is another important rule. You can’t outrun a gun, so don’t even try. Not unless you’re absolutely certain your life depends on it. If, God forbid, someone ever pulls a gun on you, you’ll have to look for another way out. But, hopefully, that’ll never happen to you.”
“Hopefully, none of it will happen,” Scout said softly. “Not to any of us. And we’ll all live happily ever after.”
Her father’s face turned wistful as he nodded, and smiled, somewhat wryly. “That would be nice.”
This was probably one of those situations her father had been talking about, Kate thought now. But, all the same, she wasn’t going to run. Not yet.
“I need someone to come with me down to the store rooms,” Olivia Kline said, persuasively. She reached for Kate’s arm.
Kate took a step back, and kept a wary eye on the teacher, but she still didn’t run. Mandy would never believe her without proof of some sort. She’d just accuse her of making stuff up, again, and Kate had weeks of that, already. She was tired of it.
Olivia frowned. “The drama department has some props stored down there,” she said, stepping closer. “We need to get them. We need to take them to the haunted house, right away.”
“Why didn’t they do it earlier?” Kate asked, backing up another step, her mind busily working. And why do it now? The fair was almost over—if they got along without it this long, how badly could they need it?
Okay, this is bullshit, she decided, trying desperately to block out the fear that was making her sick. And, going to the basement is a bad, bad idea. On the other hand, if I can find out what she’s really after...
“Because they forgot,” Olivia snapped. “That’s all. People forget things, sometimes, don’t they?”
Not everyone. Kate could just imagine what her father would have to say about that. He didn’t think he ever forgot anything. But she nodded, as if in agreement.
“People make mistakes and then other people have to fix them. And, sometimes, like now, you don’t have time to stop and argue about it. You just have to go and do it. Do you understand me?”
“Sure, Mrs. Kline,” Kate answered, nodding dutifully. “I understand.” I understand that you’re a big, fucking whacko. But I’m gonna find out what you’re up to, then I’m gonna come back here and find Mandy and rub her face in it.
If it’s the last thing I ever do...
***
HUNGRY HEARTAn Oberon Halloween Story
Cara Matthews is trouble--with a capital T. That's one thing that pretty much everyone in Oberon can agree on--parents, teachers, other students, her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Seth Cavanaugh.
Well, if you give a dog a bad name he--or she--will probably live up to it, right?
This Halloween, after one insult too many, Cara's hellbent on wreaking revenge--no matter who gets hurt in the process.
Now available as part of the Revenge Is Sweet Collection
A Collection of Halloween Tales
It's the most wonderful time of the year...for revenge.
Halloween is a time for tricks, mayhem and murder. This collection of Halloween tales follows the wronged as they seek retribution for the crimes against them. By whatever means necessary.
Read the deliciously dark stories from S. K. Gregory, Ashley Brion, R Jaye, N. D. Testa, DJ Shaw, P. G. Forte and Kat Gracey.
Grab this limited collection today!
