Though Selena had a lot of explaining to do, it was my uncle I wanted to speak to first. He had always been a rock for me, and I trusted him to give me the insight I needed. I was still not totally comfortable with what the Extra-Dimensional Intelligence Agency was asking of me. After bonding with Kyrine and experiencing what it was like to have the summoning power of a dungeon, I’d thought the job would be pretty cruisy. Sure, I’d wondered a bit about Kyrine's bloodthirstiness, but I hadn’t questioned it much. But now I was being asked to kill people. I knew government agencies used assassins, but it was the kind of thing you didn’t really believe. And now I’d been asked to become one.

I couldn’t tell Uncle Phil any specifics, but I was sure I could be vague enough to get some good advice from him all the same. I sat back on the bench and punched Uncle Phil’s number into the touch-screen keypad. He picked up after two rings.

“Jeremy! Good to hear from you.” Phil’s voice sounded distant over the cell, and I could hear the sound of music in the background. He’d be working in his garage, with the radio on in the background.

“Hey, unc,” I said.

“Sounds like you had a late night.” He sounded like he was smiling.

“Ha, yeah,” I said. “Bit of a crazy night, actually.”

“I bet. Your boss called my place this morning, looking for you. I told him I didn’t know where you were. I was wondering whether I should start to get worried.”

“Oh, shit. I completely forgot about work. I should have called Trevor to let him know I wouldn’t be in. Was he pissed?”

“Well, let’s just say I figure you lost your job.”

“I have a better one,” I said.

There was a short pause on the other end of the line, and I heard him snap the radio off. “Oh, really?” he said, sounding interested.

“Really. Picked it up last night. I wanted to ask you a few things about it, actually. I guess I signed a contract without reading the fine print.”

“This one of those red light kinda jobs?” Phil sounded suspicious.

I had to laugh. “No. It’s a government job. Pretty secret. I actually started last night.”

“What happened to the date with that beastkin girl? Did you make that up?”

“No, she’s real. She’s part of the group that offered me the job.”

“Didn’t that cat-girl you live with… what’s her name... Selena? Didn’t Selena hook you up with her?” Uncle Phil asked.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“I bet she’s involved, too. I never trusted her much. Had that look about her.”

“You just don’t like cats, unc,” I said.