A Shade of Halloween Read online

A Shade of

  Halloween

  The Complete Series:

  This Box Set contains all four books in the series plus a bonus novel

  Robin Todd

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2016 Robin Todd.

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  ISBN-13: 978-1539703686 

  ISBN-10: 1539703681

  Contents

  Contentsiii

  Book One: A Shade of Halloweenviii

  Chapter Oneix

  Chapter Twoxvii

  Chapter Threexxx

  Chapter Fourxlvii

  Chapter Fivelviii

  Chapter Sixlxiv

  Chapter Sevenlxxx

  Chapter Eightciv

  Chapter Ninecx

  Chapter Tencxvi

  Chapter Elevencxxii

  Chapter Twelvecxl

  Chapter Thirteenclii

  Chapter Fourteenclxii

  Chapter Fifteenclxix

  Chapter Sixteenclxxxi

  Chapter Seventeenclxxxviii

  Chapter Eighteencciv

  Chapter Nineteenccxix

  Chapter Twentyccxxxiv

  Chapter Twenty-Oneccxliv

  Chapter Twenty-Twoccliv

  Chapter Twenty-Threecclxv

  Chapter Twenty-Fourcclxix

  A Shade of Halloween 2: Shadowscclxxx

  Chapter Onecclxxxi

  Chapter Twoccxci

  Chapter Threecccviii

  Chapter Fourcccxxvi

  Chapter Fivecccxliii

  Chapter Sixccclxiii

  Chapter Sevenccclxxx

  Chapter Eightcccxcvii

  Chapter Ninecdxvii

  Chapter Tencdxlii

  Chapter Elevencdlxxiii

  Chapter Twelvecdxc

  Chapter Thirteendxxviii

  Chapter Fourteendliv

  Chapter Fifteendlxxiv

  Chapter Sixteendxcv

  Chapter Seventeendcxviii

  Chapter Eighteendcxli

  Chapter Nineteendclix

  A Shade of Halloween 3: Sorceressdclxxii

  Chapter Onedclxxiii

  Chapter Twodclxxxix

  Chapter Threedccii

  Chapter Fourdccxix

  Chapter Fivedccxxxvii

  Chapter Sixdcclviii

  Chapter Sevendcclxxvii

  Chapter Eightdcccii

  Chapter Ninedcccxxiv

  Chapter Tendcccxxxvi

  Chapter Elevendccclvi

  Chapter Twelvedccclxxiv

  Chapter Thirteendcccxcvi

  Chapter Fourteencmxiii

  Chapter Fifteencmxxx

  Chapter Sixteencmxliv

  Chapter Seventeencmlviii

  Chapter Eighteencmlxxvii

  Chapter Nineteencmxci

  Chapter Twentymxxiv

  Chapter Twenty-Onemxlii

  Chapter Twenty-Twomliv

  Chapter Twenty-Threemlxxii

  Chapter Twenty-Fourmci

  Chapter Twenty-Fivemcxvi

  A Shade of Halloween 4: Reunionmcliii

  Chapter Onemcliv

  Chapter Twomclxvi

  Chapter Threemclxxix

  Chapter Fourmcxcii

  Chapter Fivemccv

  Chapter Sixmccxxii

  Chapter Sevenmccxxxviii

  Chapter Eightmccliii

  Chapter Ninemcclxxvi

  Chapter Tenmccxci

  Chapter Elevenmcccxxi

  Chapter Twelvemcccxxxiii

  Chapter Thirteenmccclv

  Chapter Fourteenmccclxxvi

  Chapter Fifteenmcdiii

  Chapter Sixteenmcdxxi

  Chapter Seventeenmcdxxxvii

  Chapter Eighteenmcdlv

  Chapter Nineteenmcdxci

  Chapter Twentymdv

  Chapter Twenty-Onemdxxiii

  Chapter Twenty-Twomdxxxv

  Chapter Twenty-Threemdlii

  Chapter Twenty-Fourmdlxi

  Chapter Twenty-Fivemdlxxvii

  Bonus Novel: Vampire Brothel (Part One)mdcv

  Roberta Hawkins – Client 146mdcvii

  Chapter Onemdcviii

  Bella Thomas – Client 316mdcliv

  Chapter Twomdclv

  Aaron Regent – Client 031mdclxxxiii

  Chapter Threemdclxxxv

  Alexa Baron – Client 006mdccxii

  Chapter Fourmdccxiii

  Eric Romanoff – Client 026mdcclviii

  Chapter Fivemdcclix

  Thank You!mdcccxxv

  Book One: A Shade of Halloween

  Chapter One

  “Halloween’s day: The day you die!”

  I stared at the note in front of me with a raised eyebrow and smiled. It was only the 24th of June and my roommate, Alex was already preparing for Halloween. I wondered when he snuck up beside me and dropped the note. He was usually a clumsy one, unable to stay quiet even if the survival of the planet depended on it. I could tell he had gone out of his way for this ultra-secret Halloween mission and could visualize him snickering quietly to himself while slipping the note beside my pillow.

  “Nice try, Alex but you forgot a few details.” I smiled to myself.

  It was way too obvious that Alex dropped the note. Who else had access to my room in the middle of the night? I was sure the note wasn’t there at the time I went to sleep. If it were, I would have seen it. The fact that I didn’t see it before going to bed ruled out the possibility of anyone else sneaking into our dorm room to drop it. Besides, Alex was the only person I knew who had no life. When other people go out to have a great time, or stay indoors to take a beauty nap of awesomeness – like me, only people with no life A.K.A. Alex, sneak up on them and place creepy Halloween notes beside their pillows.

  “It’s not even October yet, for Pete’s sake!”

  I decided to make things a little interesting, just to show him I was capable of creeping him out as well. The best way to do that was to give him a dose of his own medicine and that was exactly what I did.

  I got off my bed and walked to the reading desk where I kept my box of pens. I picked a red one up, and scribbled “A single slash of the throat” on the piece of paper, right under Alex’s writing. Satisfied, I placed the paper back on Alex’s pillow and smiled.

  “That should tell him I’m on to his silly prank.”

  I took a nice warm shower, brushed my teeth and stood in front of my mirror for the best part of the day - Makeup. I loved fashion in general but makeup was my favorite bit. Over the top shades of blue, red and black always made my day pop. I applied a double layer of eyeliner for the dramatic eye effect I loved, and was just applying my black waterproof mascara when I caught movement in the room behind me from the side of my eye. There was no reflection in the mirror but I was pretty sure I saw something or someone move.

  I turned around sharply and surveyed the room. My eyes darted quickly from one corner to the next, taking in the entire space within the room.

  It was empty.

  I shook my head and sighed. There was no one in the room with me, so I brushed it off. I must have imagined what I thought I saw.

  I finished my makeup and smiled at my reflection in the mirror. Looking good always did wonders for my confidence. Since I looked great today, I was sure I was
going to have a great day. After one final glance in the mirror, I picked my backpack up from the side of my bed and hung it over my shoulder. I needed to head out because my first class was at eight and the last thing I wanted was to be late. I heard my History tutor had zero tolerance for late coming and I didn’t want to be the first one to try his patience.

  Chapter Two

  “Good morning, class.”

  “Good morning, Mr. Ross.” The class chorused.

  Obviously, everyone knew the tutor’s name except me. I had missed the first class of the semester because I had to stay back and console Alex, after his heart wrenching breakup from Liz Donald. Their relationship had lasted a total of fourteen hours and twenty-six seconds when Liz pulled the plug. She probably woke up from her drunken slumber and realized she had agreed to date the school’s biggest nerd. Poor her. My roommate, Alex had a very hard time accepting the fact that he had lost his first ever girlfriend before he even got the chance to kiss her. The result? Alex wallowed in a puddle of tears on our dorm room floor, and the compassionate, sympathetic and awesome me, missed my first History class to console him… and I intend to major in History. Sometimes I surprise myself at how selfless I can be.

  “Welcome to the US History since 1877 course. Textbooks and notepads on the table, please. Cellphones should either be off or placed on silent. No vibrations, silent!” Mr. Ross’s rendition of the riot act AKA rules brought me back from my thoughts.

  Students ransacked their backpacks for the required texts, noisily placing them on the tables in front of them. I decided to send a quick text to Alex since I hadn’t heard from him all morning.

  Where the hell are you? Text me!

  I put my cellphone on silent mode and straightened up on my chair. I needed to know when Alex replied my text, so I placed my cellphone on the table as well.

  “For those of you who missed the introductory class, my name is Richard Ross. And NO, you can’t call me R.R or any other abbreviations you students come up with. I don’t accept late papers, irrespective of your excuse. The door to my class is always open so I can throw you out whenever you break the rules. I don’t accept late coming either. If you’re late and decide to walk in through the open door, I’ll send you out of my next five classes. Now that you’re all familiar with the rules, turn your textbooks to page 10.” Mr. Ross ended with a cold smile.

  “Talk about unpleasant... and creepy!” I thought.

  Mr. Ross went on with the class while I stared at the screen of my cellphone, waiting for Alex’s reply. It never came. Knowing Alex, he most likely had his cellphone in his bag while his head was buried in a mountain of textbooks somewhere. The library was like his second home so it wasn’t unusual for him to go incommunicado for long periods of time.

  “Miss. Messy Brown Hair, can you please tell the class the major reason behind the ill feelings that developed between the United States and Latin American countries in the early twentieth century?”

  I lifted my gaze from my cellphone to meet the stares of the forty-five other students in my class. I was so embarrassed that I felt like shriveling into dust and floating away through the windows. For starters, I didn’t have ‘messy brown hair’. My hair was brown alright, but despite the fact that I didn’t use a flat iron that morning, I wouldn’t classify it as messy. It was straight, just not celebrity straight.

  “Um…” I started, but couldn’t find the words to continue.

  Latin American countries had ill feelings towards the US? How was I supposed to know that? Besides, there were a thousand possible reasons for any country to have ill feelings towards another country. How was I supposed to make a reasonable guess?

  I heard suppressed snickering from my classmates and felt the heat rising in my cheeks. The only thing worse than a dumb idiot in History class was an angry, red faced, dumb idiot in History class. Since I knew my options were minimal to none, I decided to take the honorable fall.

  “I have no idea.” I replied.

  “Consider this your first warning. When I’m in class, I expect a hundred percent concentration.” Mr. Ross snapped.

  I thought I saw his eyes flash bright red for a split second but I wasn’t so sure. I buried my head in shame, waiting for the class to end. Mr. Ross turned back around and scribbled some sentences on the board.

  “Everyone, your research assignment for this class is on the board. I expect a five paged summary by the next class.” He stated.

  He gathered his teaching materials into his briefcase and walked out of class.

  I zoomed in with my cellphone camera and took a picture of the board. The research assignment was on the belief shaping myths of the early twentieth century. I had to turn in something good – to hopefully redeem my currently nonexistent image. I knew the library had a lot of material on the early twentieth century and made a mental note to go there in the evening.

  Since the class was over, I called Alex’s cellphone again. This time, it rang out. I didn’t want to appear like a stalker or a person with no life by calling and texting him multiple times, so I decided to give it a rest. I knew I was going to see him back at the dorm at the end of the day anyway so there really was no need to call relentlessly when he was obviously not close to his phone.

  Chapter Three

  I got into the library and went straight to the History section. Early twentieth century belief materials were arranged at the far back, behind a cream colored wall that almost completely obscured it from the rest of the library.

  “Whose genius idea is it to keep spooky stuff in a concealed area?” I wondered.

  I noticed the librarian at the History section had been changed. A geeky looking brunette with circular rimmed glasses sat behind the desk at the entrance where Rose used to sit.

  “Rose has probably moved on with her career.” I thought.

  I glanced at the screen of my cellphone one last time before putting the device in my backpack. Alex still hadn’t returned my calls or replied my text. I guessed he was really engrossed in whatever it was that was keeping him preoccupied.

  “Wait a minute. Has he found himself another girlfriend? No way!”

  The thought made me smile to myself. If that was the case, I wanted to hear all the juicy details ASAP.

  I walked over to the huge bookshelves that lined the section’s walls. A quick scan through the navigation sheet pasted beside the first bookshelf informed me of the right directions to get to the subjects I was interested in – Spiritual beliefs, Eugenics and African-American culture. My goal was to pick two texts from each belief area to study. That should give me a fair idea of the occurrences under each area at the time. I stuck with the plan until I arrived at the spiritual beliefs section. There were tons of books with pretty interesting titles that caught my interest. I made an exception for that belief area and selected four books instead of two.

  I was making my way to a desk where I could read, when a book title in one of the shelves caught my eye.

  Selena Ryder (1871 – Unknown).

  The first two words of the title was what caught my attention really. It was puzzling to see a book in that section with my full name as its title.

  “What are the odds?”

  I picked the book off the bookshelf before I noticed the rest of the title. The words “1871 – Unknown” immediately heightened my already building curiosity.

  “Did that Selena Ryder disappear or something?”

  I hurried to a desk and set the books down. I had to make a decision. Save Selena Ryder for later when I’m finished with the others or dive in immediately? Every rational cell in my brain said to keep Selena Ryder for later, so I went with that option. As I researched and took notes from the other texts, my eyes glanced at the dark brown book cover with my name on it. I noticed its color was eerily similar to the color of my hair. With every new similarity I noticed, keeping my curiosity on a leash became increasingly more difficult but I knew I had to do it. Whatever was salvageable of my repu
tation in class depended on it. I needed to put in a good research paper submission and I was going to do just that.

  “Just a little sneak peek won’t hurt anyone.”

  I was desperately trying to win the war between my curiosity and my rationality. Tough as it was, I wrote word after word until my paper was complete. With a satisfied grin on my face, I pushed the other texts aside and turned the cover of Selena Ryder.

  There was a drawing of the supposed Selena Ryder from 1871 on the first page. Her hair was parted in the middle and fell past her shoulders just like mine. The drawing was a pencil sketch in black and white and there was no way of telling what color her hair was. The first thought that came to my mind was why this Selena’s hair was parted just like mine. I dismissed it almost immediately because more than a half of the female population of the United States parted their hair in the middle – at least sometimes.

  I looked at her features but nothing else stood out to me. I couldn’t tell the color of her eyes or her skin tone from the picture. I felt her other features like her cheek bones and the curve of her lips were similar to mine, but I dismissed the feeling as well. My mind was probably playing creepy tricks on me. I turned the page over and began reading the text. It turned out to be relevant to my research assignment. The early twentieth century experienced a great belief in the supernatural, with Vampires, Werewolves, Witches and Warlocks taking center stage. I scribbled a few more paragraphs in my research paper, detailing the new pieces of information this book revealed. The more pages I read, the more intrigued I was. There was something about this Selena girl that tugged at my curious side. One part of the text stood out to me more than the others I had read.

  “Selena returned from her secret visit to the scholar at Markland. Unknown to her, the Serafino clan had attacked her home. Her best friend, Alexander Orwell had paid the price in her absence. A single slash to his throat had been the defining blow. She knew it was only a cover. The Serafino clan of bloodsuckers had drained every ounce of blood he once had…”

  It was the creepiest piece of text I had ever read. I wondered why the Selena in the book had a best friend with a similar name to Alex, but dismissed it as well. It was most likely just a coincidence. I lifted my head and my eyes caught sight of the window. I was surprised at how dark it had gotten outside. I must have been so engrossed in the Selena Ryder book that I didn’t realize how long I had spent in the library.