Page 6 of A Light in the Dark
“You have sufficient shapeshifter genetics to be eligible for residency in Moonriver.”
The relief on Gabriella’s face told me everything I needed to know. “Truly?”
I lifted the phone back to my ear. “Can someone in Moonriver retrieve her?”
“We absolutely can. What is the current flood situation?”
“It’s bad. The stairs are out, but I have a courtyard. Perhaps a helicopter could lower a rig into it?”
“I will need your precise location and a method for the pilot to locate you. We will send a helicopter.” The operator made a soft sound rather like a growl. “We will need to investigate the situation with the floods and refugees. This could be problematic.”
I understood; Moonriver was on good terms with Stonecreek, and any accusation of killing off refugees using the floods would destroy that. However, the same commercials I’d been listening to for months came to our rescue. “The floods are the worst time for emergency services, and by the end of them, it’s a mess for first responders. I already had an owl shifter here. And I remembered the commercial, and it does say help with any major problem. The risk of internal injuries counts, right?”
The woman chuckled. “Absolutely. And this sort of thing is why this hotline exists. But I am concerned, because if it happened to one person, it could happen to many. Itispossible it was a poorly trained guide, but we must investigate. And as you’re using a landline, they’ll be able to identify that you made the call.”
“I’m just sparing local emergency services from having to try to figure out how to get a woman to a hospital in our worst weather,” I replied, making sure to keep my tone light.
“That you are. All right, give me all the information you can about your location, the space in your yard, and anything that might help us help you. Also, how are your supplies?”
“If you could bring a spare tank or two of propane, I wouldn’t say no to that. Power went out across the street, and it’s only a matter of time before it goes out here, too.”
“We’ll bring some emergency supplies for you, so don’t worry about that. How many are in your household?”
“Right now, it’s just me and a luna moth shifter, and he’s a stranger. I suspect he does not shift with his clothes, so if you could bring some fresh fruit for him, that would be wonderful.”
“We’ll make sure your shifter guest is properly supplied,” the woman promised.
I thanked her before giving her every scrap of information I could on my home, right down to the property’s lot number, the precise number of intersections up from the entrance, and the rather unique building on the end of my row belonging to Joel. Once the woman was confident the helicopter could reach us, she promised someone would call once they got close and that they would smooth over any feathers with Stonecreek.
The city-state would appreciate making a problem disappear—at least for the moment.
THREE
I’m willing to be tested.
Were allthe men of Moonriver hunks? The first one to descend into my yard from the helicopter defined what it meant to be handsome. The wedding ring on his finger declared him to be off limits, but that didn’t stop me from admiring the scenery. Gabriella’s eyes remained wide, especially when the man introduced himself as a doctor and asked for permission to do a basic examination.
The second man to come out of the helicopter descended in a litter loaded with supplies, including twenty gallons of fresh water, two extra propane tanks, enough food for three weeks, several bags of fresh fruits for my luna moth guest, and a medical kit. Once the litter was on the ground and unhooked, the helicopter zipped away. He unloaded everything into the kitchen, and then he dug into one of the bags and pulled out an opened cell phone box. “After we have a chance to talk to you, the helicopter will be back. It’s safer for everyone this way. Normally, we wouldn’t give newphones away like this, but considering the circumstances, we—the Hunters, that is—want you to keep this charged and with you. There are several contacts with a description of what they handle inside. The passcode is on a note in the box. Use the phone for personal use as well; that’s the least we can do to thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. If you hear or see anything that indicates this wasn’t just one bad guide, give us a call. The phone is registered in Moonriver, so it’ll be difficult for anyone in Stonecreek to get the data from it.”
I would need to hide my decrepit cell, destroy it, or otherwise make certain it disappeared without a trace, a simple enough job all things considered. I took the phone’s box, the implications of his words sinking in. “Thank you. I’ll keep a look out. What about the potential bodies?”
“We have a few aquatic shifters who will be braving the waters to look for and retrieve any dead we can find. We actually dropped three of them off on our way here. I’ve been asked to issue you an invitation to come to Moonriver if you are concerned for your safety.” According to the armband he wore, he belonged to the Hunters of Moonriver. I hadn’t seen one of the badges before in person; the Hunters only wore them when outside of their city-state. He regarded me through narrowed eyes. “You didn’t enter the water, did you?”
I shook my head and gestured for him to follow me, and I showed him my rig. Then I displayed my bruised wrist and arm for him to see. “I expected these sorts of injuries when I set this up. It’s a small price to pay for the life of another.”
He examined my arm, and he nodded. “Do you know if you have shifter genetics?”
The luna moth flew into my entry, settled on my living room lamp, and fluttered his wings.
I shrugged. “I’ve no idea. I grew up in the city-state, but I didn’t move into Stonecreek itself until a few years back. I didn’t want to be in a rental situation with the floods being like they are. The old owners of this house got tired of rebuilding their steps every year, so they sold for a pittance. DNA testing is outside of my budget.”
“It’s not outside of ours. If you’ll consent to the test being done, we’ll take your vitals, draw a vial of blood, and get back to you with your results. It’s good to know if you have the genetics. There’s nothing quite like someone being surprised with a shift, and you’ve had exposure to shifters.”
I eyed my winged guest. “To be fair, this is the first time I’ve had shifters in my home, although I’ve had two of them today, yourselves excluded.”
“Stonecreek doesn’t have as many shifters as Moonriver, but Stonecreek has more than a few,” he informed me. “If you notice any behavioral changes, make use of the phone. We’ve found the helpful types tend to pick up genetics with a little more ease than others.”
Great. Another problem I needed to worry about. “I don’t mind having some blood drawn. Can you get confirmation of my vaccination status? I had the shots from the pandemic, but I haven’t had any vaccinations since I was little outside of that.”
