Shadows of New York Read online

  Back Cover

  Middle Grade Fantasy by Heather Fraser Brainerd & David Fraser

  What do you do when your view of the world gets turned on its head? Eleven-year-old Josh Cooper is surprised when his new nanny ends up being a dude, but that pales in comparison to how he feels when he learns the nanny, Aiden, is also a werewolf. Aiden teaches Josh about the Imaginary World, even introducing him to his friends Larry Fancypants (a suave-yet-goofy vampire) and Steve Lickerman (a tall-yet-meek leprechaun). This fascinating world seems harmless, until Josh learns of the shadowy wraith that’s stalking New York, attacking creatures and stealing their powers. As werewolves are ideally suited for fighting wraiths, Aiden is called upon to help capture the elusive Mr. Midnight, unintentionally drawing Josh even deeper into the strange and mysterious.

  Shadows of New York © 2014 by Heather Fraser Brainerd & David Fraser

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, or events, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  MuseItUp Publishing

  14878 James, Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada, H9H 1P5

  Cover Art © 2014 by Celairen

  Edited by Gloria Oren

  Copy edited by Greta Gunselman

  Layout and Book Production by Lea Schizas

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-77127-568-2

  First eBook Edition *September 2014

  To Pinto Colvig

  And to Nifadaka, Russian Princess

  SHADOWS OF NEW YORK

  The Manny Series

  HEATHER FRASER BRAINERD & DAVID FRASER

  MuseItYoung, division of

  MuseItUp Publishing

  www.museituppublishing.com

  Chapter One

  The New Nanny’s a Dude

  It’s not every day that you get your new third parent, but Josh Cooper wasn’t too excited about it. Instead of an actual parent, it was just the new nanny. Josh thought of nannies as third parents since he saw them more than his mom and dad. His real parents were around on weekends, but they worked every weekday from noon until super late. That’s what happened when your parents produced a top-rated late night talk show, Talkie Talk with Carlie Diane.

  Plus, this would be the sixth nanny in the last five years. This wasn’t Josh’s fault. It wasn’t even Rosemary’s or Jackson’s, his little sister and brother. They didn’t terrorize their caregivers like in lots of movies. Their parents, perfectionists in every way, made many demands of their nannies. Well, to be honest, it was Josh’s mom, not his laid-back dad, who had all the picky requirements. His dad was just smart enough to back her up. The pressure was too much for the girls who took the job, and most quit before long.

  After the last one left, the same old routine kicked in. Josh’s parents sorted through all the applications sent over by the employment service, spent a few mornings interviewing nannies, and asked for their favorite one to come over and meet the kids. Josh knew his mom wanted to watch the nanny/kid interaction before giving her seal of approval. Josh’s dad wanted to be there, too, but he had to be at the television studio. Carlie Diane was having some sort of diva meltdown or something.

  So here they were, less than two weeks before the end of the school year and meeting another new nanny. The timing kind of stunk since Josh was already worried about the end-of-year exams and didn’t need any more stress now. He thought it was totally not fair that fifth graders in public schools didn’t have year-end exams. Sometimes he wondered why he had to go to a stupid private school.

  “Joshua, tuck your shirt in. Rosemary, don’t slouch. Posture is important. Jackson,” said Josh’s mother, as she looked over the children, lined up inside the apartment’s door, “you need to stop drooling.” She leaned over Jackson’s stroller to wipe his chin and then focused on the mirror near the door, making sure she looked perfect. She gave her reflection a nod of approval, happy that she looked good for forty-two. It was probably from all of the yoga that she did and yogurt that she ate.

  The two older children did as they were told. Fifteen-month-old Jackson, in a shameless act of rebellion, spit up something green and smelly.

  “Ew,” said Josh and Rosemary together. Their mother turned to find the source of their disgust and sighed when she saw Jackson’s smelly green shirt.

  “Come on, mister,” she said while scooping Jackson from his stroller, “let’s get you cleaned up.”

  As she left the foyer, holding Jackson at arm’s length, she said, “You two stay here and stay clean, please. I’ll be right back.”

  Changing Jackson took too long; the doorbell rang less than a minute later. Josh and Rosemary looked at each other. Josh wasn’t sure if they should violate one of his mother’s rules and open it or wait for her to return. It wasn’t like there was any danger in opening the door since the doorman wouldn’t let anyone into the building unless they were on the approved list. Plus, they were standing there waiting for a certain person, and it was probably them. Josh only hesitated because his mom had made it clear that she wanted to be there when the kids first met their new nanny. She liked things to go according to plan, and Josh knew better than to mess with that.

  Rosemary, on the other hand, appeared to debate the issue for all of two seconds before she shrugged and opened the door. Unlike Josh, who was somewhat shy, Rosemary was what their parents called a “free spirit.” Josh thought a better term was an “annoying six-year-old.”

  “Hi,” said Rosemary as the door swung inward. “I’d like to—” Her voice stopped short. “Sorry, I thought you were someone else.”

  From where he stood, Josh couldn’t see the man in the hallway, but he could hear his voice. It had an almost-Southern sound to it, like a watered down version of one of those country singers Josh’s dad listened to. “Not a problem, miss. Is your dad or mom home?”

  “Yes. If you would be so kind as to wait there, I’ll go get her.” Rosemary used her formal voice, the one that had a hint of an English accent. “May I tell her your name?”

  “Yeah, sure. Aiden Lynch. I’m the new nanny.” The last word was mumbled.

  “Oh, come in, come in,” said an excited Rosemary. Moments later, she dragged the new nanny in by his arm, slamming the door closed with her foot. “Josh, look, our new nanny’s a guy!”

  Josh waved his quiet greeting. Aiden returned the wave, just as mellow.

  “Wait a second,” Rosemary said, looking pensive. “Is that why mom was talking on the phone about hiring a ‘manny’? Like a—”

  “A male nanny, yup,” Aiden muttered, looking somewhat embarrassed. “It’s kinda, um, the ‘in’ thing to do these days.”

  “Oh, that’s cool!” Rosemary turned and disappeared down the hall, leaving behind Josh, Aiden, and an uncomfortable silence. Through a few furtive glances, Josh saw a tall guy with brown hair that hung down just past his chin. He looked to be around twenty years old and wore jeans and a brown button-down shirt with narrow blue stripes.

  “So, uh,” said Aiden after thirty seconds or so, “How about you show me around?”

  “Yeah, okay.” From the foyer, you could go left into the great room, straight down the hallway to get to the bedrooms, or turn right down a smaller hallway to get to Mrs. Franklin-Garret’s quarters. Mrs. F-G had been the housekeeper/cook since before Josh was born. She was super nice, but she liked her privacy. Josh pointed in that direction. “Down that little hall is Mrs. Franklin-Garret’s room,” he told Aid
en. “Don’t go that way.”

  “Okay,” Aiden said.

  Josh walked down the main hallway, pointing to a room on the right. “That’s the study. It’s where guests stay, too.”

  “Cool.”

  Stopping at the next door on the right, Josh said, “This is your room.”

  Aiden peeked into the cozy room, complete with its own en suite bath. “Sweet.”

  Pointing across the hall, Josh said, “That’s my room. My sister’s is next to mine. My brother’s is next to yours. My parents’ room is at the end of the hall.”

  “Big place.” Josh nodded and walked back the way they’d come, leading Aiden to the gleaming kitchen. Light streaming in from the balcony’s French doors bounced off every surface, from the white cabinets to the marble countertops to the stainless steel appliances. “Cool balcony,” Aiden noted, looking across the room.

  “There’s one off of Rosemary’s room, too. We never get to open them, though. Mom thinks it’s too dangerous.”

  Aiden walked over and inspected the locked French doors. “She’s right, especially with a little guy like Jackson in the house.”

  “I guess. We get to go out on the terrace, though, at least with a grown-up. Wanna see it?”

  “You betcha.”

  With Josh still in the lead, they walked out of the kitchen, through the large dining room, and into the great room. A mixture of comfortable leather couches, antique chairs, chunky modern tables, and many bookshelves occupied the huge room, leaving plenty of open floor space littered with toddler toys and fashion dolls. Across the room, another set of French doors led to the terrace. Josh led Aiden over there, and they looked out over the city. “Great view!” Aiden remarked.

  “Yeah,” Josh agreed, though the view was so familiar to him that he barely noticed it anymore. “Do you want to sit down?” He pointed to one of the large leather sofas then perched at the far end of it.

  “So, you’re Josh, right?” asked Aiden as he settled into the couch.

  “Yes. Josh. Joshua.”

  “So which is it?”

  After thinking it over for a few seconds, he said, “Josh.” He had always been told to introduce himself to strangers with the more formal name. The thing is, he was tired of his caregivers being strangers. Something made him want to start on friendlier terms with this one.

  “Oh, gosh, there you are,” said Josh’s mom as she rushed in from the foyer, clutching the now clean and flowery-smelling Jackson. Peeking through the archway behind her, with just a corner of her head visible, was Rosemary.

  Aiden got to his feet and stuck out a hand. “Not a problem, Mrs. Cooper. It’s nice to see you again. Josh here was just giving me the lay of the land.”

  “That’s our helpful little Joshua.” She gave Josh a meaningful glance with the last word, and then shifted Jackson around to free her right hand and shake with Aiden.

  “Yeah, that’s what I meant. Joshua,” Aiden said.

  “And there’s no need to be so decorous,” she said as she set down Jackson, who started pushing a monster truck across the rug. “Please, Aiden, call me Jennifer. We’re all one big, happy family, after all.”

  “Okay, Jennifer,” Aiden said, sounding a little uncomfortable.

  “Well, I was planning to give you the grand tour, but since that’s done, let me show you how to mix up Jackson’s bottles. He’s on a special non-dairy, non-soy formula.” She headed for the kitchen, tilting her head for Aiden to follow. “Joshua, keep an eye on Jackson for a minute, would you?”

  “Sure, Mom.”

  After the grown-ups had passed through the dining room and into the kitchen, Rosemary entered the great room and threw herself on the couch. Josh noticed that she had added a fluffy pink tutu to her rainbow-striped leggings and glittery T-shirt.

  “So,” she said, “what’s he like?”

  Josh shrugged. “I don’t know. We haven’t talked much yet. I just showed him around, and then mom showed up.”

  Rosemary looked disappointed. “You are so bad at gathering intelligence.”

  Rather than having his usual evening squabble with Rosemary, Josh decided to blow stuff up. He grabbed his video game controller and a few short minutes later was a space commando defending human life against the alien onslaught.

  “Oh, no, mister, not on a school night,” said his mother as she came back into the great room, Aiden trailing a step behind. She clicked off the television. “Besides, we should spend some time getting to know Aiden, shouldn’t we?”

  “Oh, yes!” Rosemary agreed with a huge smile. She turned to Aiden, who had taken a chair by the large windows. “So, tell me all about yourself.”

  He smiled, amused by Rosemary's easy banter. “Well, there’s not really much to tell. I’m just…a regular guy.”

  “That’s a little broad.” Rosemary scowled. “Can you be more specific?”

  “Yeah, okay. I like football and music.”

  “Country, I’m guessing?”

  “All kinds.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m as likely to listen to rap as I am to country.”

  “Favorite food?”

  “Sausage and gravy on biscuits. But I’m a vegetarian.”

  “That doesn’t make much sense.”

  “Sure it does. Sausage and gravy is my favorite, but I don’t eat meat anymore.”

  “Health reasons?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Do you miss it?”

  “Oh, yeah. A lot.”

  Josh and his mom watched the rapid-fire back-and-forth between Rosemary and Aiden. This wasn’t unusual. Rosemary had a natural talent for chitchat. It made Josh a little jealous to watch her in action. He was the exact opposite.

  “Josh,” interjected his mother, “Do you have any questions for Aiden?”

  He didn’t. At least, he didn’t have any prepared, so he came up with one on the spot. “Um, what’s your favorite TV show?”

  “Don’t have one. I don’t watch much TV. I mostly read.”

  From the corner of his eye, Josh saw his mother smile. That was probably the answer that got Aiden the job. It always struck Josh as a little funny that his mother was so anti-television while working in the industry.

  * * * *

  The rest of the visit with the kids went well. Afterward, Mrs. Cooper—Jennifer—called Aiden’s cell phone and asked him to start as soon as possible. He moved his stuff in over the weekend and could now call the Upper West Side home.

  The first full day of Aiden’s new job happened to fall on a teacher conference day, so all of the kids were home. Aiden hoped this was a good thing; maybe the older two could help him learn the little guy’s normal routine. Either that, or all three would be bored with him by the end of the day. It was Aiden’s first full-time nanny gig, and he was a bit intimidated, especially in a fancy place like this, but hopeful that things would go okay.

  A few minutes before noon, Aiden left his new bedroom suite and went out into the great room. The kids sat on the couch watching the movie Cars. Jackson made constant raspberries with his lips, pausing every few seconds to take a breath. Rosemary sat watching the movie upside down. Josh just looked bored.

  “That’s his car noise.” Rosemary waved a hand in Jackson’s direction.

  “Awesome car noise, dude!” Aiden said to Jackson, who rewarded him with a loud fake laugh.

  “That’s his fake laugh,” Josh explained. “He thinks he’s funny.”

  “He is funny!” Aiden smiled at the baby goggling up at him with a big grin on his chubby little face.

  Jennifer breezed into the room on her high-heeled designer pumps, rolling her eyes at the sight of the upside-down Rosemary. “Time for Mommy to go to work, darlings. Line up for smoochies!”

  Josh and Rosemary hopped to their feet and stood side by side. Jackson was still a little too young to grasp the concept on his own, so Rosemary helped him get into place. When the ritual goodbye was done (hugs, kisses,
and high fives), Mrs. Cooper left the kids alone with their new nanny.

  “So, what are we going to do this afternoon?” Rosemary asked.

  “Well, what would you guys like to do?”

  “Play dress-up,” Rosemary said at the same moment that Josh said, “play video games,” and Jackson blew another raspberry.

  “How about if we have some lunch first?” Aiden suggested, making a mental note to keep the open-ended questions to a minimum.

  “Mrs. Effigy is already making lunch,” Rosemary informed him.

  “Mrs. Who?” Aiden asked, sounding alarmed.

  “Mrs. F-G,” Josh explained. “Rosemary pronounces it ‘effigy.’”

  “Oh, right. Mrs. Franklin-Garret. I haven't met her yet.”

  “You’re going to love her!” Rosemary exclaimed.

  “Yeah, she’s pretty awesome,” Josh agreed.

  “Brbrbrbrbrbrbr,” Jackson contributed.

  Rosemary led the way to the kitchen, calling, “You ready for us, Mrs. Effigy?”

  “Almost,” replied a voice with no apparent source.

  Aiden looked around the kitchen for Mrs. F-G, including a glance at the ceiling. The housekeeper appeared moments later, standing up on the other side of the island. She was short, a bit on the plump side, and had bright orange hair (“red” didn’t do it justice) pinned up in a fluffy bun. She smiled warmly at them all, tossing a “Pleased to meet you, dear” in Aiden’s direction while bustling around the island carrying four plates at once.

  “Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Franklin-Garret,” Aiden returned the greeting.

  “Oh, do call me Ann.”

  The two older kids made a beeline for the island, climbing onto tall stools. Aiden helped Jackson into his high chair. “You’ll want to put a bib on him,” Mrs. F-G advised, pointing to a nearby drawer. Aiden nodded and grabbed one. Handing out the lunches, Mrs. F-G announced what each meal was.

  “Bologna and cheese,” she said as a plate slid in front of Josh.