Finn thinks he’s hit the culinary jackpot after securing a post as chef for the paparazzi’s latest golden man, Cal. But he soon discovers the man is hiding a dark secret spanning millennia.
Finn’s heart is captivated by one of Cal’s permanent house guests, Dorian, and wants to release him from Cal’s imprisonment. An old mirror in the nearby lighthouse provides a gateway to the past and offers a way to stop Cal and free Dorian.
With the help of his best friend Henri, and support from family, Finn is ready to end Cal’s reign. But Cal isn’t the worst horror Finn must face if he’s to have a future with Dorian.
At Henri’s recommendation Finn waited for Cal to be away on business, taking Dorian and Basil with him, before investigating the lighthouse, Henri himself using the opportunity to contact his grandmother.
Not wanting to take any chances, Finn went surfing first, gradually edging closer to the abandoned edifice. When he finally approached it, there was a chain with a padlock barring the door, but on closer inspection, the chain wasn’t properly looped through the door. Turning the handle, Finn pushed the door open. Glad he’d brought a flashlight, Finn edged inside, closing the door behind him. Runic symbols had been sketched at the base of the staircase, but Finn stepped over them. His foot landed on the third stair, far away from them.
The top of the staircase opened into the home of the light itself. But the light was missing and in its place Finn saw part of an old picture frame, the painting itself covered by a black cover. He felt an irresistible pull to it. He crept forward on the balls of his feet, ready to run if necessary.
Reaching out with an unsteady hand, Finn pulled the covering away. A wordless sound escaped him as he stared at the portrait revealed. The painting looked centuries old, yet there was no mistaking the older man that seemed to gaze directly at him.
“Dorian,” he whispered.
Then he frowned, leaning in closer to gaze at the background. There was another figure on the left of the main subject. He moved a few steps closer, studying the portrait intensely.
Maybe it’s here because it was never completed. That second figure is just a sketch of a man. A good one, but out of place, and it looks very like Basil. Why would anyone paint a portrait of Dorian and Basil as old men. Especially looking so ... so pleading. There’s something on the right, too. It could be another figure, but it’s virtually a shadow. And why was Basil so keen for me to come here and see it?
He reached out, something about the impassioned gaze calling to him. But as his fingers were about to touch the canvas, Dorian’s hand shot out from the painting, grabbing Finn, and yanking him into the portrait.
He landed on his knees with a grunt, senses swimming, then was helped to his feet and into a chair.
“So very sorry. But it was the only way.” The voice was instantly familiar, and Finn gazed into Dorian’s eyes.
