Searchlight: By My Light, Book Four

  Searchlight

  By My Light, Book 4

  Mac Flynn

  Copyright (c) 2018 by Mac Flynn All rights reserved.

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  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Continue the adventure

  Other series by Mac Flynn

  1

  Sunset. It was the time for the moon and me to shine. This night, though, something new would bring a light into my life.

  Only I didn't know that yet. I slipped into one of my four pairs of clothes and sat side-saddle on the sill of one of my wide windows. The night was as clear as day, minus the sun.

  I looked out past the castle grounds and was glad to see the city hadn't been reduced to ruins by some fantastical creature while I slept. You'll have to pardon my paranoia. It was only a week after the night where my friends and I had gone up against Fox's homicidal witch sister.

  I leaned my back against the stone window frame sill and lay my gloved hands lay in my lap as I studied the partially-filled moon. "I hope you're doing okay, Lance," I whispered.

  A cloud passed over the moon and made the light flicker as though in reply. I smiled and slipped off my perch. It was breakfast time.

  I stepped out into the hall and walked down the stairs. That's where I met Emery dressed in his impeccable clothes and with his ever-present tablet in one hand.

  He bowed his head to me. "Good evening."

  "Hey. What's up?" I asked him.

  "Mr. Fox has requested we resume your training," he told me.

  My face fell and my shoulders sagged. My stomach chimed in with a growl of hunger. "Right now?"

  Emery smiled. "After breakfast."

  I followed him downstairs to the kitchen. On the island counter was a covered plate. Emery removed the lid to reveal a plate of fresh scrambled eggs and bacon. I took a seat on the stool in front of the plate and grabbed the fork, but I paused with my tongs hovered over the food. I glanced at Emery who stood just to my right.

  "Aren't you going to have some?" I asked him.

  "I had my meal earlier," he assured me.

  I looked down at my plate and dug at the food. "You guys really make a girl feel welcome. . ."

  "We do try our best," he replied.

  I paused in my torment of the food and my eyes flickered up to him. "Then you might start by telling me your schedules just in case I need to reach you. I don't exactly have a cell phone on me."

  He pulled out his phone tablet and scrolled through a couple of screens. "Mr. Fox has an appointment with the board at seven, a meeting with his Asia partners at eight, a final meeting with the museum curators at ten, a-"

  I held up my hand and finished my eating. "All right, I get your point. You don't need to bore me to death." I pushed my plate away and leaned back to frown at him. "You're both too busy to have a foolish young woman interrupting your fun."

  Emery pocketed his device and glanced at my empty plate. "Something of the sort, but if you're finished we will resume your training."

  I hopped off the stool and followed him into the hall. "More gym stuff?" I guessed.

  "Not quite. Mr. Fox felt the gym was too confining for your unique abilities, and suggested we try some exercises near the pond," he told me.

  "Oh goody. . ." I murmured as we walked to the front door.

  Emery led me outside and to the pond. I hadn't been there since my helicopter escape to join Morgan. We stopped at the white-sand edge fifty feet from the bridge and Emery turned so we faced each other. The moon cast its soft reflection along the calm surface of the dark waters and created a glassy reflection of us.

  Emery drew out the familiar hated bracelets and held them out to me. "If you would place these on your wrists we shall begin."

  I took a step back and narrowed my eyes. "What happened to Fox willing to take some risks?" I questioned him.

  "They are not electrocution bracelets. They are merely to assess your physical abilities," he assured me.

  I crossed my arms and frowned. "And I can take them off whenever I want?"

  "Whenever you wish once the training is over for the night," he returned.

  I pursed my lips, but held out my hand. "All right, hand 'em over." Emery passed the bracelets and I slipped them on and shut them with an ominous click. I gave my wrists a shake to settle the damn things and returned my attention to my companion. "Now what?"

  He gestured to the pond. "Now we will test your strength in water."

  "Come again?"

  "I would like you to swim to the other side and back," he rephrased.

  I snorted. "There's one problem with your request. I can't swim."

  "There's no time like the present to learn," a voice spoke up behind us.

  I turned to see Fox walking toward us. He was dressed in his impeccable suit with polished shoes. Fox couldn't have been more out of place if he was attending a picnic social.

  "The present is a little chilly, and my wardrobe isn't exactly huge," I pointed out.

  "The point of the training is to test your limits, and I personally know you are amply provided with clothing," he reminded me.

  "I don't think that should include how long I can hold my breath," I quipped.

  "You never know until you try. Unless, of course, you would like for Emery to activate those bracelets," Fox suggested.

  I held up one of my wrists, and my narrowed eyes flickered between the bracelet and Emery. "You said these weren't electrified."

  "Not at the present," the servant confirmed.

  "Traitor. . ." I muttered.

  "Come, come, Miss Rogers. Surely a little water doesn't scare you," Fox teased.

  I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. "No, but drowning does."

  "Would it do any good to say you have my assurance that nothing will happen to you?" he asked me.

  "Nope."

  Fox's eyes flickered down to the bracelets. "Then you leave me little choice but to activate your bracelets."

  I rolled my eyes. "It's not like I'm going to go on a rampage and bite you guys."

  Fox nodded at the bright moon above us. "Can you guarantee that you have the power to control the beast during the full moon."

  I opened my mouth before I paused. I'd been through only one full moon since my change, and things hadn't exactly gone according to my nature.

  Fox sighed. "If you refuse to abide by your end of the deal and control your abilities, then I can't keep my promise not to activate those bracelets."

  I shut my mouth with a clack and pursed my lips before I turned to the pond. "No wonder foxes and wolves don't get along. . ." I muttered as I removed my shoes and socks.

  I rolled up my pant legs and dipped a few toes into the water. The autumn hadn't improved the temperature, so that it was somewhere between frigid and do-not-want.

  I took a deep breath and waded to just below the cuffs of my pants about mid-calf. A shiver ran through me and I folded my arms against my chest. "I wonder what normal people are doing right now. .
."

  "You must go deeper, Miss Rogers," Emery called out to me.

  I turned and glared at him. "How deep?"

  "Mid-chest should do it," Fox spoke up.

  I frowned, but looked ahead and began the long, cold march. "Normal people are probably shopping and having fun. . ." I muttered to myself as I walked deeper into the pond.

  I took a long step and my foot found a hole. The water rushed up to my chest and my foot floated off the clean, sandy bottom. I gasped and pushed off the ground and kicked my legs beneath me while my hands flailed around me. I must have looked like a drowning victim, but somehow I kept myself above water.

  Unfortunately, I couldn't keep myself from floating further into the pond. The water lapped around me and my feet ceased to reach the bottom. My luck ran out as I began to sink and my head dipped low in the water. My hands slapped the surface and my legs kicked uselessly beneath me. They had strength, but no discipline.

  In my panic my survival, and werewolf, instincts arose. My long claws tore through the ends of my gloves to try to catch a grip in the water. Fur broke out over my body. The hair soaked up the water like a sponge and I found myself sinking faster beneath the surface.

  "Help!" I cried out.

  Any further cries were silenced when my mouth filled with water. My head dipped beneath the surface and my vision was one of deep blackness and murky depths. I tried to kick, but something caught one of my ankles and pulled me away from the surface toward the deep, fathomless bottom of the pond. My lungs pleaded for air as my hands clawed uselessly at the water.

  In a few moments I would be dead.

  2

  A shadow appeared on the horizon from the direction of the shore and dipped down into the water toward me. My eyes widened when I saw it was Fox. His hair billowed around him and he was without his suit jacket. His white blouse shirt clung to his body as he pumped his arms on either side of him.

  The pressure around my ankle disappeared and I could kick both my legs, but without air my energy was sapped. Fox swam towards me like a fish and sidled up to me. He wrapped his arm around my waist and kicked upward. I followed his example as best I could and we propelled ourselves towards the surface. We broke through a few seconds later and both of us gasped for air.

  Fox pulled me the twenty yards to shore where Emery waited with two towels. My savior set me on shore and knelt beside me as Emery wrapped one around my shoulders. My treacherous, water-logged fur slipped back into my body, leaving me colder than if it had stayed out.

  Fox ignored the towel offered by his servant as he unclasped my bracelets and set them aside. He returned his attention to me and looked me over. "Are you okay?" he asked me.

  A cool breeze swept over us and I shivered in my wet clothes. "I-I think so."

  He pursed his lips and rubbed my arms. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you in that position."

  I ground my chattering teeth together and glared up at him. "I-I told you I-I can't s-swim," I reminded him.

  "It's merely a matter of ordering your arms and legs to move in unison. Like a dance," he assured me.

  "I-I don't d-dance, either," I retorted. I looked at the ground and huddled into myself to slow my quivering body. "Now I'd be glad if you'd just shut up about the whole damn thing and let me catch my death of cold."

  A smile teased the corners of Fox's lips as he dropped his hands to his sides and stood. "It is rather cold out here, isn't it?"

  I opened my mouth to make another quip, but all that was forgotten when I watched Fox remove his dripping shirt. He had a well-sculpted, pale chest like a Grecian statue. His wet skin glistened in the weak light of the clear sky. Emery handed him his towel, and Fox ran the cloth through his short hair. His dark eyes flickered over to me. I quickly averted my gaze from him.

  "I think that will be all for today. Emery will take you back to your room," Fox told me. He glanced at his servant. "See that the temperature is turned up in Miss Rogers' room and that she gets some rest." Emery bowed his head.

  Fox's shadow passed over me and I looked up to see his retreating back. Emery stepped between us and knelt in front of me where he gently grasped my upper arms.

  "Can you walk?" he asked me.

  I shrugged off his hands and stood on my shaking legs. "I almost drowned, not got hit by a car," I quipped.

  He bowed his head. "My apologies. If you would follow me."

  Emery walked me back to my room and opened the door for me. I shuffled inside, a mess of cramped, shivering muscles and dripping clothes. He closed the door behind me and strode over to the dresser where he took out a new set of clothes.

  "I-I can d-do that," I chattered as I took my ruined gloves off my shivering blue furry fingers.

  He smiled and gestured to the foot of the bed. "If you would remove your clothes I will take them to be cleaned."

  I froze halfway to the bed and glared at him. "I'm not taking anything off with you in here."

  "I assure you I-"

  "-am not helping me with my clothes," I insisted as I shuffled faster to the bed. I snatched the clean clothes from his hands and pointed a shaking finger at the door. "Out in the hall."

  He bowed his head. "As you wish."

  I waited for the door to click shut behind him before I dropped my soaked clothes off my body and quickly changed. My fumbling fingers couldn't manage the top button on my blouse.

  "Damn stupid button. . ." I muttered.

  A knock at the door made me jump. "Are you in need of assistance?"

  I growled and dropped my hands. "Just get in here!"

  Emery slipped inside. I plopped myself down on the foot of the bed and glared at the wall opposite me. He walked over to me and gestured with one hand at the button. "May I?"

  I turned my face away and frowned. "Fine."

  Emery stooped in front of me and in a thrice he had the button done up. His eyes caught mine and he smiled. "I don't believe I have seen Mr. Fox swim as quickly as he did to save you."

  I snorted. "That's probably because he didn't want to get pulled under, too."

  Emery arched an eyebrow. "Pulled under?"

  I nodded. "Yeah, by the moss or whatever grabbed my ankle."

  "Which ankle?"

  My heart quickened at the tone of his voice, but I pointed at my right foot. "That one, why?"

  He picked up my leg and pulled the pants leg up far enough to study the ankle. The skin was unblemished. His eyes flickered back up to mine. "And you say it tried to pull you down?"

  My eyebrows crashed down. "Yeah, why?"

  He set my foot on the floor and gathered my wet clothes in his arms before he stood. "I am sure it is nothing."

  I grabbed his arm to keep him close and looked him in the eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"

  He pursed his lips and removed my hand from his sleeve. "Please, Miss Rogers, try to get some rest."

  I studied him for a moment before I swept my eyes over the dreary room. "There isn't exactly anything else to do around here except have near-death experiences."

  "You may go wherever you wish so long as you be mindful not to intrude on Mr. Fox's work. However, I need not remind you that the mark or bite of the werewolf is dangerous to humans, so I would suggest you remain on the grounds," Emery advised me before he checked his watch. "If you will excuse me, I have some chores to attend to." He bowed his head and left the room.

  I fell backward onto the bed and scooted up to stretch myself out. My muscles were stiff from the cold and my ankle was a little sore. I sat up and bent my leg so I could study my ankle. There wasn't even a scratch, but it felt colder than the rest of my body.

  I gave it a rub and looked around at the room. "Well, Gwen, what do you do-ouch!" I drew my hand away and squinted at my ankle. A speck of something white and sharp stuck out of my flesh.

  I leaned forward and pinched the head of the object. A quick pluck and a wince, and I held a small sliver between my fingers. I lifted it up to my face and turned it over. The
smooth white surface shimmered in the light.

  "Ivory?" I whispered.

  I tucked the object into my pants pocket and rubbed my ankle. The cold touch was gone.

  I shrugged and swung my legs over the side of the bed. "Why not? It's not like I'm going to almost drown twice, right?"

  The empty room didn't reply as I slipped into my second pair of shoes and slipped out into the hall. The house was as quiet as the grave as I walked downstairs and out onto the grounds. My footsteps took me straight to the pond with its calm waters.

  I stopped at the edge and drew the strange white object from my pocket. The moon glistened on its surface as I stooped and compared it against the sands. None of the stones on the beach matched its size nor texture. I picked up a stone of similar size and compared the two side-by-side. The surface was all wrong, no shimmer to it at all.

  "Dang it. . ." I mumbled as I tossed the rock out into the depths of the pond.

  I plucked another rock for more comparison, but jerked back after a moment. "Ouch!" I clutched my forehead where something sharp had struck me. My eyes wandered down and there, lying between my feet, lay the stone I had throne into the pond. Its surface was now wet, but the shape was unmistakable.

  I picked it up and turned it over in my palm before I glanced across the surface of the pond. My eyes widened as I beheld dark eyes staring back at me. I scrambled backwards and slipped on the smooth sands so that I landed on my behind.

  My heart thumped in my chest as the eyes rose farther above the surface and revealed a smooth oval face with skin as pale as the sands beneath my quivering hands. Long green hair framed the bony chins and draped over bare shoulders.

  The woman, for she resembled a young human woman, gazed at me with eyes as dark as the bottom of the pond. She smiled and swam toward me. A wide flipper rose out of the water and splashed down, propelling her forward. The flipper was connected to her via a long, scaly tail that reached up to her waist. The rest of her body was human.

  "Mermaid. . ." I whispered.

  3

  My fellow mythical creature beached herself a few yards from me and set her elbows in the sand before she cupped her cheeks in her hands. "Hello again," she spoke up. Her voice was like a cool splash of water on a hot day.