A Clear Morning's Cold Dawning... ('Mummer's Masque' snippet)

Chapter One
Seattle, WA

The second week of October brought an unexpected arctic front down from Canada and with it the first frost of the season. Leaves and pine needles scattered before it, bowing and swirling like courtiers in the wake of a courtesan. The residents of Washington State hunkered in front of their fireplaces and woodstoves and waited it out, knowing that the cold couldn’t last. Even with the onset of global climate shifts, their state still had only two seasons: rainy and not; the cold snap was an aberration.

The breeze shredded the column of steam rising from AJ MacLeod’s coffee mug as he stepped out of the Mercedes. The bitter wind cut to the bone, reminding him of winters he had endured during college on the East Coast. He stemmed the memories by focusing on the cup in his hand. The warmth radiating into his palm balanced out the cold seeping into his knuckles from the outside. The sensation centered him, allowed him to shake off the dark memories that clamored at the gates…