“Useful!” I said, and she nodded non-comitally as she began to carefully blow dry her long, ice-blonde hair.

I watched her as she worked, finding her pretty sexy and cute as she concentrated on the task. I found myself wondering whether there was any chance we might actually go on a date.

It was the whole reason I’d come out here, after all.

Going on a date with Astrid had been my only intention for this whole evening. But now everything had changed. I still had a bunch of questions about my role as Keeper and what the agency might want from me. Belinda had said she’d fill me in when she returned, but I figured Astrid would also know the answers to my questions. A date with her would still be great, but some answers would be even better.

“Ready?” Astrid asked after she’d finished.

“Sure,” I said, “but there’s something I want to ask first.”

“Yeah?” She pursed her lips, fighting back a smile. The sparkle in her eyes made me suddenly tongue-tied.

“Go on, then,” she insisted.

I gave myself a mental shake and focused on what I wanted to say. “Belinda left earlier, as soon as she realized that the merging had happened successfully. She told me she was going to report back to your superior. She also said she’d tell me what was going on when she got back.”

“She’s speaking with Amanda?” Astrid asked.

“Amanda? Is that your boss, then?” I asked.

Astrid nodded. “I suppose you’re part of the team now, so I can tell you. The head of our team of agents is Amanda Fallon. That’s who Belinda will be going to communicate with. Fallon is a special agent in the agency’s head office in NYC.”

“New York? What kind of government agency has their head of operations there instead of in Washington?”

“The kind of agency that doesn’t exist. Officially.” She smiled conspiratorially at me. “My agency cultivates a certain anonymity. You probably haven't heard of us. The Extra-Dimensional Intelligence Agency?”

I repeated the name. “Should I have heard of it?” I asked. I wasn’t an expert on secret government agencies, but I knew a few things, and I’d never heard of the EDI.

“No, not if we’re doing our job right,” Astrid replied. “Like I said, the EDI doesn’t officially exist.”

“And now I’m, what, an agent or something?”

“Not officially, but yeah. I suppose you are. You’re certainly one of the team!” She grinned at me. “Now it’s my turn to ask you a question!”

“Hold on a minute…” I said, but she eagerly spoke on, her eyes sparkling.

“Now that you’re a bonded Keeper,” Astrid asked, “what can you do?”

I squared my shoulders with pride. I couldn’t resist answering the question. “I can summon minions.”