The pinging of my phone woke me once again. I sighed and stretched, sore from the prior day. I grabbed the phone and turned it on.

“Hello?” I groaned.

“Hey… Dad. I was, uh, you know, just… wondering if you were up yet,” Tammy said nervously. “Sounds like I woke you!”

“Nah. I was waking up anyway. Why?”

“Um, I just was… getting breakfast, and wanted to know if you wanted anything.”

“You stayed out last night.”

A pause, then she said, “Yes.”

“Do I have to deal with another situation-?”

“No, no, no! Nothing like that!” she assured me. “I just, you know, fell asleep at a friend’s house.”

I grunted affirmation, familiar with the excuse.

“Bring home breakfast,” I told her, “and I’ll pretend you never left the house last night, okay?”

“Actually… Uh, one of my friends wants to talk to you.”

I groaned again. “Please don’t.”

“He’s nice, Daddy! And he wants to help you out.”

“I don’t need help.”

“Besides, he’s my ride home. Might as well give him a few minutes,” she insisted.

“Tammy, don’t give him the key code.”

“We’ll be back soon!”

“Tammy-.”

She hung up. I sighed and flopped back into my blankets, wincing in pain. A thin arm snaked around my chest. I grabbed the attached hand as a chin nestled against my shoulder.

“What was that about?” Luna asked.

“That was Tammy,” I told her. “Tamera Lynn Hisuke.”

She hummed into my neck. “That’s a nice name.”

I chuckled. She picked it. I had been adamant against it. Tammy Lynn. A backwater name. But Luna thought it was-

“Cute,” she said.

“I know. She has her mother’s frame and my color palette,” I said. “It looks good on her. You’ll see.”

She laughed this time. “I’ve never had a client introduce family to me.”

“Well, Soragi said you get to stay as long as I like,” I explained. “So you may as well meet my daughter. And my ward, once he’s released.”

“A ward?”

She crossed her arms over my chest and laid her head across them. Again, that confused, curious flicker sparked in her stormy eyes. I twisted my fingers gently into her platinum hair.

“It’s complicated,” I said, “but, in short, I grew up in a… rough place. They found another kid who was in a similar situation, so they asked if I could help him adjust. Which I have no idea how to do.”

“How did you… ‘adjust?’”

“Slowly, and with a lot of help.”

“Ah. Should I help, too?” Luna asked with a smirk.

I grinned back. “I can think of a few things you could help with.”

Tammy poked her head into the living room before coming inside. She held a box of pastries in one hand and coffee in the other. Behind her, a leather-clad boy slung two helmets over his shoulder and sipped from a third cup.

“Hey, Daddy! So, this is Russel,” Tammy explained. “He-.”

“Sorry,” I said, holding a hand up to silence her. “Did you get here on a bike?”

“We wore helmets…”

“I’m very careful about my bike, man,” her friend said. “I actually drive under the speed limit on it. Have you ever seen a bike wreck? I’d rather not be roadkill.”

I took the boy in. Ragged, in a word. Long, sloppy brown hair streaked with green framed his face. Not greasy, just messy. His face was a little lopsided, like he’d broken his nose at some point in the past. Lean, but not skinny or sculpted under his old, leather overcoat. A band tee from some group I didn’t know and ripped, too-large jeans. Then there were those eyes.

Sunken deep in his head, bright amber eyes met my own violet gaze. His exterior screamed apathy, but his eyes screamed for… something. Help? Approval? Companionship? Hell, maybe he was just that desperate.

I nodded to the couch. “Have a seat.”

Tammy offered me a donut before sitting down with one of her own. Russel sat next to her, trying hard to maintain his unaffected demeanor. I paused for a quick bite of pastry.

“So,” I said after a moment, “your name is Russel…”

“Oh. Sanderson.”

“Sanderson, okay. What makes you want to work with… well, me?”

He shrugged. “I live with my buddy Scott, he’s getting married soon, and I don’t wanna be a third wheel.”

Tammy shot a quick glance at him, then returned her focus to sucking jam from her donut.

“How did you end up there?” I asked.

“Look, I don’t have a job,” he said in exasperation, “and I need a new place to live. I am desperate for work, especially in the investigation sector.”

“What about your parents? Can’t they help you?”

His jaw clenched. “That’s… complicated. I don’t know my dad. At all. I couldn’t even tell you his name. And Mom just… I’m not sure where she is.”

“Caravan?”

“No,” he said firmly. “She was careful, way too careful for them. And it was daytime. I came home from school, she wasn’t there, I waited for a while, then I called Scott. Never saw her again. Cops won’t do shit.”

“They don’t have incentive,” I said, picking up my coffee.

“I need you to teach me to find her.”

I set the coffee back down.

“I don’t have incentive, either,” I said.

“Actually, you do. I know this town from the highest tower to the underbelly,” he said. “I could walk these streets blindfolded without getting mugged. I can be your inside guy.”

“‘Inside guy,’ huh?” I chuckled. “I’d love to test that one.”

“Then do it.”

I glanced over him again. The life in his eyes burned, fists clenched as he leaned forward, eager to prove himself. It was a start.

“What are your credentials?” I asked.

“Uuuh, I don’t have those.”

“You just said you knew this city,” I said, annoyed. “What’s your specialty?”

“Oh! Talking. I’m a good talker. Once I figure someone out, I mean.”

“Decent at reading people?” I asked.

“Sometimes, but I prefer to convince them to talk about themselves. People love talking about themselves.”

“Too true. I’m sure Tammy kept you up all night talking.”

“She got distracted by someone else, actually. I only got to hear the highlights,” he said with a grin.

“Good,” I muttered. “So far, I like you. I’d hate to eviscerate you.”

“What?”

“Daddy.”

“What were the highlights, then?” I asked. “What did you learn?”

“Last night or as long as I’ve known her?” He smirked again and said, “Tammy’s a good person. She just needs people to be patient with her and respect her independence. She can be blunt, even harsh, but that’s how you raised her. She’s sensitive but not shy, sweet but not stupid. She’s a strong girl.”

“Thank you, Russ.”

“The only problem is her temper.”

Tammy’s head whipped towards him with a glare. I laughed.

“That’s not funny, Dad.”

“Of course not,” said Russell. “It’s how you assert yourself, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

I nodded. “You seem to have a good bead on her. What about me?”

He leaned forward. Drew his knees to his chest.

“You’re Gekkou Hisuke, son of Grace, raised by the Red Hand of Fire,” he breathed. “You escaped them when you were sixteen, but some people say it was more of a release to let you hunt. They call you the Reluctant Widow in some places, because of what you said in court. After that, you kind of disappeared. Not that I blame you. I’d want to get away from the press, too.”

“Anyone could hear that,” I said, unamused. “What can you read?”

“You don’t emote much. But that was part of how you were raised, wasn’t it? If you showed emotion, you were punished. They needed you cold. Hard. Calculated. It’s just part of who you are now,” he said flatly. “You have moments, I’m sure, where you let someone in. It’s not easy, though, but it’s fine. You can fake it, in a pinch. If you need to.”

I stared at him. Nodded.

“I’ll keep you in mind,” I said, “but I’m not interested in an assistant right now.”

Tammy coughed and sipped her drink. Russell glanced her way, then sighed.

“I have connections,” he said softly. “I have friends all over the city. If you hire me, I- I can put you in contact with them.”

I tilted my head. “What kind of connections?”

“The ER nurse on call the night your boy was found.”

“Alright. I have one more test for you, then. Pass it, and I’ll let you tag along tomorrow,” I said.

He leaned forward in his seat again. Expectant. Eager. Desperate.

“I’m sure you can arrange a meeting with this nurse. But you said you knew the underbelly, too.”

“Yeah, I have a guy.”

“What’s the current rate for… ten grams of nova?”

Tammy made a face of confusion, but Russell seemed unaffected.

“You buying?” he asked.

“Are you selling?”

“No. My friend might, but I don’t middle-man that shit,” he said firmly. “If you’re buying, I can get you in touch. Otherwise, I’ve promised to keep him a secret.”

I nodded again. “Just curious.”

“I can’t, then,” he sighed. “I need this, but…”

“That’s fine. I’m sure Tammy has your number?” She nodded, and I said, “Well, then. I have a lot to do tonight. You can leave now.”

I stood up, ignoring the sad look the teens exchanged, and turned to the dining room. I arranged my paperwork. Started filling it in. Ignoring the whispers from the room over. After a while, Tammy sat down next to me.

“You’re not going to hire him, are you?”

“I’m not sure. But I do need to talk to his ER friend. Let him know I want to set something up,” I told her. “What do you know about him, Tammy?”

“Well, I did know about his mom. He was fourteen. He thinks she’s still alive but can’t convince the authorities to look for her. I… I know that’s ‘normal’ around here, but I don’t understand why.”

I groaned inwardly.

“So. We worship Soragi, right?” I said. “God of wind, curiosity, adventure, chaos, so on and so on. Well, there’s this… cult. The Red Hand of Fire. They, of course, worship Hegyo, goddess of fire. The dual goddess.”

“Right, right,” she muttered. “Because flames can give and take life. She can be love or hate, the beginning or the end.”

I nodded. “Her cult tends to focus on indulgence and passion more than comfort and caution, though. They distort her into a symbol of hedonism, you could even say sadism. Part of their celebrations is to… steal the warmth of others.”

Tammy cringed. “They… kill? For what?”

“For whatever. It’s how they pray,” I said. “Need a favor? Thankful for good fortune? Solstice? Blood is the fire of life. It’s only fitting to offer it whenever it’s available. And the caravans make sure it’s always available.”

“You think she was, what? Taken?”

“It’s possible. They usually hunt at night, though, when they won’t offend the goddess with any, well, uncouth behavior, for lack of a better term.”

“What’s ‘uncouth’ to people like that?” Tammy asked, disgusted.

“Lying.”

Tammy raised a brow. “Lying?”

I set down my pen and laced my fingers together.

“I told you this story, didn’t I?” I asked. “Why Hegyo doesn’t interact so much with the other gods?”

“No.”

“Okay. Well,” I explained, “it started with the creation of Jiasu and the people who inhabit it. Tezurei, the god of innovation, made the first people. However, his brothers and sisters, the other gods, learned how to make others. Tezurei wanted to keep an edge, so he promised his people fire. When Hegyo wouldn’t give it to him, he stole it.

“Of course, Hegyo lost her temper when she found out. It was… apocalyptic. And the other five learned what she knew all along: that she was better off away from Jiasu, away from them. Just too little too late. It took them ages to bind her power enough that their people had a fighting chance.” I sighed and said, “Anyway, they had to trick her. Now it’s the one thing she can’t tolerate. Liars. Deceivers. She’s a strange one, but she’s honest. Which is why I was so special to them. I wasn’t beholden to her. I could lie. And I was very, very good at it.”

Tammy frowned and eyed the envelope.

“You’re not worried about him? That he’ll be like you?” she asked.

“He’s too broken. I’m more worried about his companion.”

“Companion?”

I hummed and picked up my pen again. “If he’s anything to the Red Hand, it’s bait. A lure to bring me back into a vulnerable place.”

Tammy sighed and leaned across the table.

“Seems to have worked, then.”

I sighed, too. Couldn’t argue with that.