Autumn Calling (16 page)

Summer could tell Hunter didn’t like what
she said by the look on his face, but he didn’t argue with the
logic and that was enough to satisfy Summer.

“Aunt Myrtle, I’m not blaming you for
anything. It’s not your fault the subjects I want to know about
bring on these episodes for you. You are just a victim in all this,
and I do appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Looking after me
from afar, giving me a home and a family I never had. I love you
for that. But Morti, on the other hand, could have been more
accessible to me at filling in the blanks where you could not. He’s
never once spoken to me as an uncle might to a niece. He is the one
I blame for this miscommunication.”

“She’s right, Morti. You could be a smidgen
more personable.”

“I—you—how did I become the bad guy
here?”

“Maybe it has something to do with your
attitude, Mortimer,” Aunt Myrtle chastised.

“Well, I’ll be a—” Morti started.

“A crabby, fat cat? Or a cantankerous old
codger?” Aunt Myrtle interrupted.

“You’re no spring chicken yourself,
Myrtle.”

Hunter and Summer took this bickering as a
sign to leave and headed outside.

“You’re right, you know. One can never know
what they’ll do or say in a given situation. I’m sorry if I made
you feel bad.”

“It’s fine. It was just she was asking about
a million questions while I was trying to find a way out, and well,
it just didn’t seem like a big deal at the time.”

“I’d rather they not know we know, but they
probably would have figured it out sooner or later. It doesn’t
really change anything. We just don’t have the element of surprise
we thought we had. I know things have been hard for you with
Jackson and Tori, not to mention being thrown into this
Midnight-Macabre thing. I hadn’t realized just how much had been
piled on you.”

“I appreciate your understanding.”

“As for our mission, I think we should keep
on target. Our best leverage at winning this is finding that egg.
Any chance you could try scrying for it?”

“I really suck at gypsy magic, but I suppose
I could try. I wish Tori were here. She’s much better at it.”

“Any chance she’d be willing?”

“I doubt it, but even if she could I don’t
know if it would be wise to drag her back into this.”

There was a long pause. Summer felt sure
Hunter was disappointed by her comment. “Do you ever think that
maybe there’s a way to avoid all this…war stuff?”

“I don’t see how. So much hatred lives
within both sides.”

“Are you sure we are on the right side?”

“What?” he said, disturbed by her
question.

“I mean, do you ever wonder? What if there’s
more to the picture than we know? I know all involved have been
hurt and seen loved ones die, but sometimes misunderstandings can
become bigger than they should be.”

“There’s no misunderstanding, Summer. The
Macabres want the powers the Midnights have, and they’re willing to
kill everyone to get it.”

“But how do you know that?”

“I’ve seen it for myself in all the deaths,”
he said. “I didn’t realize you were so unsure about what side you
were on.”

“I’m not. I mean…”

“Your little chat with your sister seems to
have you questioning a lot about our cause.”

“I was unsure before I talked to her. Maybe
it’s because I didn’t live within the family, it’s given me a
different perspective of things; a view as an outsider. I sometimes
puzzle over the notion that there’s someone fueling this fight for
their own purposes.”

“That would be the Macabres.”

“You’re probably right, but what if not all
the Macabres have the same agenda?”

“Your logic is confusing me. The Macabres
have a plan, and it is to kill you, Myrtle, Morti, and any other
Midnight they can find to acquire their magic.”

“Right,” Summer said disappointedly. Maybe
he was right. Either way, Hunter’s mind was made up: Macabres, bad,
Midnights, good. Summer just wished she had his conviction, and
could see it in black and white as he did, instead of the massive
gray area she saw.

The following morning Summer felt brave and
voracious, and picked up the phone to call Nick. She knew he’d be
at the Mausoleum, since they had signs posted all over town about a
zombie party they were holding the following night. She figured he
had a lot to do to get ready for it.

“Nick?” she said.

“Yeah. What do you want?”

“How’s Tori?”

“Nice of you to ask. She’s good.”

“It’s not like you’ve allowed me an easy
avenue to inquire, but I’m glad she’s doing well. How’s her foot?
Will she be off the crutches in time for her grand opening?”

“It looks that way, but that’s up to the
doctor when he takes the cast off. She might have to have physical
therapy for a while.”

“I wondered if she would. And you? How is
business?”

“Is this a social call?”

“No. I’m just being polite.”

“Don’t bother. What is it you want? I’ve got
a million things to get done today.”

Summer was put off by his attitude, but she
tried to keep the conversation pleasant.

“Okay,” she said, taking a deep breath.
“Your answer will probably be no, but I thought I would ask. I was
wondering if I could contact Tori about scrying something for
me.”

“No! You’re not dragging her into your crazy
world again.”

“It could be totally secret. No one would
ever know we met.”

“I would.”

“You do realize when Tori finds out you had
a hand in all this she will be pissed, right? And not just at me,
but at you too.”

“How do you figure?”

“You know her pretty well.”

“Very well.”

“Fine, very well. Number one, she doesn’t
like feeling she’s been manipulated. And number two, she really
doesn’t like people making decisions for her, both of which we’ve
done in orchestrating this charade.”

“What charade?”

“Don’t be that way. You know what I’m
talking about.”

“Whatever comes, comes. I’ve kept her safe
and I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

“Doesn’t hurt you have her all to yourself
now, with me out of the picture.”

“Nope, not a bit.”

“What exactly is your problem with me, Nick?
I’ve never done anything to you or spoken ill of you in any way,
except to start the argument to push her away.”

“My problem is that you go on with your life
oblivious to how your actions affect others.”

“Excuse me? Like what?”

“Like Tori’s involvement with magic. It’s
because of you she started learning all this stuff. She wanted to
support you in this crap you got her involved in with your family
feud. Not to mention you leading Jackson on with your on-again,
off-again attitude.”

“Hold on a minute, Nick. I didn’t force Tori
into anything. Maybe she wanted to support me, but she also was
enjoying herself and it gave her insight into her ancestry. She
seems to have embraced that in opening this shop, which I think is
great even though I miss the hell out of her not being at the
office.” But Jackson? You think you’re blameless in this when it
comes to Jackson?”

“Damn straight. All I’ve ever done is look
out for him.”

“So you don’t think that your constant
‘looking out for him’ is the reason he stayed in Japan?”

“No. Definitely not.”

“You might want to rethink that theory.
Don’t you think Jackson can take care of himself? Don’t you think
it might be a tiny bit demeaning that his best friend feels he has
to constantly ‘look out’ for him? He’s had a tough life and it’s
sweet that you care about him so much, but it could be he needed to
distance himself for his own ego. Do something he loves without
you
watching every move he makes.”

“He’s been hurt a lot in his lifetime by his
family, by you—”

“And by
you
hasn’t he?”

“What are you talking about?”

“What about the time you took off after
school, when you made all these plans with him, and then dropped
him like a hot potato to move to the south and ‘find
yourself.’”

“What? I…He…”

“Yeah, he told me all about it. You’re not
the innocent best friend you make yourself out to be. You’ve made
mistakes too.”

“And I’ve made it up to him. I’ve been there
every time he needed me since then.”

“You have. But maybe in your ‘making things
up’ you smothered him.”

“You’re out of your mind. That’s a bunch of
bullshit.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“Are we done here?” Nicks said angrily.

“Not quite yet. Look, you’ve been a great
friend to Jackson. I’ll never say otherwise. But you might be
hovering too much. I accept that Jackson may have stayed in Japan
to stay away from me. I’ve moved on, and I’m sure he has too.”

“He has.”

“Fine. I’m happy for him. But don’t make the
same mistakes with Tori. Despite your nastiness towards me, I think
you’re wonderful for Tori, and that’s all that matters to me. If
she’s happy, I’m happy. It’s always been that way. She doesn’t
attach herself to just anyone. They have to be worthy of it, and
she’s a very good judge of character. I had my worries when she met
a vampire. I had more worries when she told me she was in love with
a vampire, but you and she both put my worries to rest, and I think
you’re good for one another. Don’t foolishly mess that up by
deciding things for her, because it will come back to bite
you.”

“Are you done now?”

“Yes. I love her, Nick. You do know that,
right?”

“In your own way. Yes. I do.”

“Keep her safe.”

“That’s all I want,” he said.

Click
went the receiver, and then the
dial tone sounded. “That was a waste of time,” she said to
herself.

“Maybe not,” Daniel said, standing in the
doorway of the bedroom and leaning against the door jamb, looking
absolutely divine.

“You heard that?”

“Yes,” he answered, making his way to her
and sitting on the bed.

“I don’t think it went very well.”

“Why? Because he didn’t agree to let you see
Tori?”

“No. I figured that much.”

“Then why?”

“Because he was so hostile.”

“Hostile only means you hit a sore
point.”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“Yes, you did, and it’s okay. He needed to
hear what you said; for your sake and Jackson’s.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, I do. You did the right thing AND you
got your anger towards him off your chest.”

“I did. Didn’t I?”

“You did.” Then he leaned in and kissed her
so passionately that her toes curled, and she felt quite certain
her heart stopped for those few precious moments. A bit out of
breath when they pulled away, she said, “Wow. What did I do to
deserve a kiss like that?”

“You were just being you. I love you. That’s
all.”

She smiled at his answer. Threw her arms
around his neck and kissed him back, whispering in his ear, “I love
you, too, Daniel.”

* * *

With a smile on her face from Daniel’s visit
and sexy kiss, Summer made her way to the main house for lessons
with Aunt Myrtle. She was disappointed that Tori wouldn’t be able
to help, but she really hadn’t expected Nick to agree anyway.

“Good morning, dear.”

“Good morning, Aunt Myrtle. How are you
doing today?”

“As well as an old gal can expect. Were you
able to acquire Victoria’s assistance?”

“No. Sorry. Nick would allow it.”

“Oh, dear. I guess on the lighter side, he
does look after her well–being, and that’s something to be grateful
for, right?”

“Very much so.”

“I suppose you and I will just have to
suffice. Before we attempt it though, we need to acquire a few
things.”

“Like what?”

“It’s our guess that the egg is somewhere in
the house.”

“That’s Hunter’s theory, yes.”

“Then a map of the house layout will be
needed.”

“Where am I going to get such a thing?”

“I would think Mortimer might be of some
help here, since he frequented the house when he was a young man
and wooing Yvonne Macabre.”

“Ew, really?”

“Well, that was before he knew what a
ghastly backstabber she is. He was madly in love with her. She
ultimately lost Mortimer his magical powers when she turned him in
to the BROOM.

“But if Mortimer won’t help you with a
drawing, then you can probably get the blueprints of the house from
the city planner. They’re public records after all.”

“Okay. What else?”

“It would aid our endeavor if we had
something from the dragon, but I know that would be hard.”

“Like what?”

“A dragon scale would be perfect but I
believe no one can or should probably get near her in her
state.”

“Right. Hmmm.”

“Maybe something from the surroundings that
may have touched the dragon?”

“When I was trapped in the cave, the soil
had been purified from her nesting ritual. Could a bit of that dirt
help?”

“Excellent. I believe it might.”

“There must be some in the pockets of my
jeans from the fall. I haven’t done my laundry yet, so I’ll check
my clothes for any remnants.”

“Very good. That should do it. They say for
best results you should perform the undertaking at night, so if we
can get all the supplies we could attempt it tonight.”

“Sounds good. I’ll get right on it.”

“But before you go, dear, you should find
Mortimer. I think he has something to say to you.”

Summer grimaced at the thought. “Really? Do
I have to?”

“Now, now. I know it’s very hard to believe,
but there really is a good, kind-hearted man under all that
curmudgeoness.”

“I’m not seeing that.”

“I know, dear, but trust me. He’s feeling a
bit less cocky after our get-together last night. It was good of
you to tell him your fears and thoughts. He needs to hear every
once in a while that not all things revolve around him and most
people don’t think like him. This is an issue he and I have had
many an argument about over the years.”