August 15 | Day

The sweltering heat had to be clouding my judgment. At first, Legend Liang reminded me of half the field agents—suave, cocky OASIS boys—that I avoided like the plague. But unlike them, he stood there, smiling too much and making me sweat, looking as tempting as bad decisions after a night of tequila. Until his parents put on a spectacle.

"Mr. and Mrs. Liang." I walked over to them. "Let's not say anything that we'll regret later. I understand how important your standing in the community is, so I assure you that this situation will be handled with the utmost care and discretion, regardless of whether or not your son was involved."

I had seen Legend transform from a self-assured bad boy to a wounded child. It was a brief glimpse, but I knew his father's words had had a profound impact on him, and I didn't want to see him belittled any further.

What none of them knew was that I had intel on each of the Liangs. The family business was floundering. The eldest son was just breaking even with his auto sales. The real estate agent was being hit hard by the housing bubble, and the daughter's marriage was on the rocks with a baby on the way. I also knew that Legend's successes were a mishmash of outright lies and wishful thinking. The street gang and dropping out of school weren't the half of it.

The family put a high value on appearances, but their image was a façade. It was no wonder Legend was more concerned with maintaining illusions than living up to his full potential. However, his ability to make people see what he wanted them to see was precisely why Director Van der Woodsen considered him a potential fit for OASIS, with some refinement. If he did well on this trial, he could have the job permanently.

"Where will he go?" Susan's voice wavered on a sob.

I needed her to believe her son would be in an Overlay City jail while we completed our mission. "He'll be in good hands, Mrs. Liang," I avoided answering her question directly.

Van der Woodsen had given us mere months to get the job done. The threat of The Book of Tides falling into the wrong hands was simply too great to hold onto it for much longer. I expected the majority of that time to be spent locating the damn thing. After that, we'd tackle finding the route to the City of Immortals.

"Also, Mr. Liang," I went on, "in my line of work, I've found that a scare like this usually straightens out the wayward ones before they go too far off the path. If Legend is innocent—"

"Don," his mother corrected me.

"I apologize. If Don is innocent, it will be as if this never happened. If he is found guilty, the Council of Overlay Affairs has ways of making news coverage disappear. He will quietly serve his sentence, and you need never worry about it affecting your public standing."

On the human side, the details were already being deleted. By the time the news aired again, there would be a segment about a DeepFake hack that had been mistakenly reported as real.

"Innocent or not, I'm done with the boy," Justin Liang harrumphed.

I pulled back in objection. "I...understand. Have a nice day, sir."

I motioned for Legend to follow me to the white sedan parked on the other side of the Overlay officials' van. As we crossed the parking lot, he stared at the country club where his mother remained outside, distraught. His father had already gone back inside.

The wind rustled the dragon shifter's messy top knot. His silky black hair was short on the sides, long at the crown. His angular face and smooth, toasted skin were indicative of his good genes, although his slender build would have been no match for the muscles I had brought along to menace him into compliance.

Buff or not, I found my body responding to Legend in ways that it hadn't responded to men in years. Given the situation, however, I ignored the rash of butterflies low in my stomach. I pretended like the graze of my hand against his as I led him to my car didn't elicit a tightening in my pelvis. It wasn't just the fact that Legend Liang was eye candy. The wolf within me liked the smell and feel of him. Plus, I had seen the way that Legend looked at me.

Subtle energies swirled between us, an electromagnetism that I refused to acknowledge. I felt for the dragon shifter, knowing how he must have felt after being disowned by his family, but any attraction to the accused was out of the question. I kept my emotions in check and focused on the task at hand. After all, getting involved would only lead to trouble, and at twenty-seven years old, I liked my life simple and uncomplicated.

Hidden by the larger vehicle, I undid his cuffs, and Legend immediately got into the driver's seat. I keyed my address into the GPS. Then we drove away from the genteel hills of Highland toward my cottage in Sherwood Forest where I would explain everything else about his conditional release to him. He would be staying with me.

"You know, family matters have a tendency to work themselves out," I said after a few miles. Legend didn't respond. Instead, he reached over to mess with my stereo, and I playfully slapped his hand away. He finally looked at me.

"Driver controls the radio," he argued.

"My car, my rules."

I put it on a pop station that played a mix of genres as a compromise. Club music came on, and he relaxed into the drive. I filed his tastes away for future references. It would help with compliance. The blazing sun hung lower in the city sky, glinting off the downtown steel and glass highrises and turning everything creamsicle orange. As I started to relax, too, I felt the vibration of my phone in my pocket.

"This is Dr. Dex Rodriguez," I answered with a sigh.

"You'll never believe who showed up at city hall," said Director Van der Woodsen excitedly. "Get to New Orleans. Pronto."

***

There was a whiff of destiny in the air. If I hadn't known better, I would have called the timing of Nixie Fontenot's arrival miraculous. But I knew better. It was simply a coincidence. I stared at her through the two-way mirror in the interrogation room. She was sitting at the table, her hands folded in front of her.

Her soft brown face was framed by voluminous colorful locs, and her oversized eyes were slick with tears. Her blunt nose sniffled, and her plush lips quivered. This was her? This young woman was the guardian of The Book of Tides? She was breathtaking, but she couldn't be older than her early twenties. She hugged her willowy arms, which were handcuffed, to her waifish frame, and her long, slender legs were crossed, as if she wanted to shrink into herself.

I glanced at Legend and saw that she had the same arresting effect on him. He stared, captivated.

Nixie suddenly frantically jerked at the Ziptie encircling her wrists. When it did no good, she smacked both hands on the table with a frustrated sob. "I don't know who you people are, but you have no right to detain me without formal charges! Let me out of here!" she demanded.

Director Van der Woodsen, who was seated at the head of the interrogation table, appeared calm. I pointed him out to Legend and explained that he was the one in charge. A recording device that an Overlay Reserve officer had set up to collect evidence was placed on the table between the director and the detainee, along with a book.

"Why are they holding her? What did she do?" Legend asked from the corner of his mouth.

"Apparently, she wandered in off the street, asking about her type. The Book of Tides, there?" I pointed and whispered. "That's what we're here for, but we'll have to take this young lady, Nixie Fontenot, along with us, since she's in charge of keeping the book safe until we can hand it off."

"Maybe you better fill me in on what we're doing exactly," he said.

"You've been recruited to drive me to transport a dangerous weapon from one dimension to another. She's being recruited to help. I will explain more later." I had intended to show him the Oracle's video when we made it to my place, but Nixie's sudden arrival had ruined those plans. Things were moving too quickly. I shushed him and gestured towards Director Van der Woodsen.

"You are only being held for your protection, Ms. Fontenot," the director said. "Because of who your family was and their importance to our government, your sudden reappearance may attract characters who intend to harm you or who desire to take your book for their own nefarious purposes."

"Does this look like protection to you?" Nixie held up her bound wrists.

The director slipped out a razor and cut her restraints. Instantly, the young woman lurched toward the locked door, but the director looked exasperated and ushered her back to her chair.

"Sit down, Ms. Fontenot," he sighed.

"This is unbelievable! You're telling me I can't go anywhere, and I can't contact anyone. But I have a friend who will be looking for me. How do you even know that I am who you think I am? You haven't done a DNA test or, or anything!" Her voice went shrill with desperation.

"You bear the mark," said Director Van der Woodsen.

"Like Harry Potter? Pfft! This is a far cry from Hogwarts," she quipped in outrage. I smiled as she drew her knees up to her chest, but the moment of levity quickly turned to one of fragility. Her obvious fear instilled in me a strange desire to look after her.

I muzzled the nurturing instinct, however. I didn't need an untried girl on my team. I needed co-agents with the grit and determination to pull through rough patches and perilous encounters. The Oracle's quest from the City of Immortals was sure to test even the most skilled OASIS players. At least with Legend I knew I had someone with daring. What would I do with a Nixie Fontenot?

Van der Woodsen crooked a finger in our direction. "I'm sure this must be overwhelming for you, Ms. Fontenot. It's late, and you must be tired and hungry. I've called in some of my best agents to oversee your care while we bring you up to speed on why we need you."

I gave Legend a nudge and hurried into the interrogation room. "Stick close and don't say anything," I whispered. Legend nodded. As we entered the room, Nixie grabbed the heavy green book and hugged it to her chest.

The director laid a hand on her arm. "Yes, keep it near at all times, but these two aren't a threat to you."

"Well, then, who do I need protecting from?" Nixie asked astutely.

Van der Woodsen's lips parted, but he didn't answer. He looked at us. I stepped forward with my badge. "I'm Dr. Dex Rodriguez, and this is my associate, Agent Legend Liang. Would you please collect your affects and come with us?"

"Do I have a choice?" she asked with a bite in her tone.

I cocked my head apologetically. "Afraid not, Ms. Fontenot. I'm gonna need you to adhere to my requests without push-back." I reached out for Director Van der Woodsen's dossier on her and quickly scanned through it. Someone had hastily transcribed her interviews with the Reserve officer into the file. Van der Woodsen had also managed to find information about her adoptive mother and birth family.

Nixie hesitated a moment too long, and I nodded at Legend, who clasped her elbow, bringing her to her feet. The expression on her face when the director came at her with another Ziptie was one of betrayal.

"For safety's sake," Van der Woodsen assured her.

"This is false imprisonment, and it's illegal."

"This is official government business," I corrected her.

Legend interjected, "I can make sure she doesn't escape. There's no need to restrain her."

I gave him a sharp look because I had told him not to say anything, but I allowed it. Nixie stared at him with relief etched on her face. He followed her closely to make sure she didn't try to get away, one of the perks of having a petty criminal as a partner. He thought like someone who had a reason to run.

"Where are you taking me? Why won't you let me make a phone call? This doesn't seem right. My friend will call the police when I don't show up, and you'll be in big trouble if this isn't legit." She complained as we walked through the empty city hall after hours.

"I can't believe Detective Ravani sent me to this place," she grumbled as she walked through the parking lot. "There's no way he could have known what goes on here."

I chuckled and gently tucked her head in as Legend placed her in the backseat. "Let's try to have a peaceful ride, m'kay, princess?" I asked. "I'm taking you to a safehouse. You should probably get some rest until we get there. I need to familiarize myself with your case. Then I can tell you everything you need to know."

As nightfall approached, I cursed my luck that the book had been found on such a busy day. I leaned back in my seat and let Legend control the radio this time. He wisely chose jazz, and the smooth music flowed into the car, soothing our nerves. I heard faint sniffles from the back, but I ignored them until I could deal with Nixie. I opened the folder to review her history in more detail.

My eyes widened as I went deeper into the file. By the time we arrived at my neighborhood in Baton Rouge, forty minutes outside of New Orleans, I put the folder away with a bracing deep sigh. We had a lot to cover, and none of it would be easily accepted by a woman who had been raised in the unimaginative human world.

Not bothering with hospitality, I hustled Legend and Nixie into my cottage, away from the curious eyes of my neighbors. "I need to show you two something in the backyard," I said. Legend looked at me in askance, and I realized I hadn't told him a damn thing about the case. The situation was about to get interesting. I wondered what he would think when he found out just who and what we were in the presence of.