Where The Numinous Awaits

Ch. 15: Dex's Potions

August 22 | Day

Playing with fire had never been a hobby of mine, but Nixie Fontenot was a different kind of thrill. She wasn't a flame; she was a tidal wave. As I tucked a hand to her ear to whisper the getaway plan, the scent of her perfume–sliced papaya and water lilies–rolled into my nostrils, and my eyelids fluttered in appreciation. God, her beauty is flawless. She glanced at me in profile and smiled with a subtle nod.

Five minutes later, I stared after the sway of her hips as she strutted out of the museum. From her high-heeled sandals to her colorful locs pinned in a stylish twist, she carried herself with a regal bearing, and it puzzled me that she couldn't seem to see herself the way others saw her. Her lithe figure filled out a cerulean romper. Men did double-takes in her wake. Women stared after her with envy and approval.

The princess was fast-becoming my weakness, but I forced myself to avert my gaze, chided myself to listen to the alarm bells resounding in my head. For a week, I had taught Nixie assertiveness as she had practiced her siren call, and it had done nothing but distract me. Now someone had gotten close enough to shadow us. I couldn't afford to forget my objective.

Scanning the room, I spotted the woman in the red dress as she pretended to be consumed by a work of art.

There was Legend standing near the chariot. His graceful body commanded attention, and his handsome face drew second glances. Curse Van der Woodsen for sticking me with two people who can't blend in to save their lives. I sighed. Legend would do as he had been instructed. He didn't need me.

Satisfied Fitz had gotten Nixie out without being followed, I marched from the building and hailed a rideshare. As I paced outside in the hot sun, my inner critic went on full blast. "You're acting like a foolish coed, Dex," I groused.

I was taken aback by my own feelings. Sexual attraction had never interfered with my work before. Sure, I hadn't put a lot of effort into finding the Rainbow Bridge because the amulet had bought us some time. But that wasn't the only reason. I told myself that Nixie needed the training I was giving her. She needed to be toughened up for the journey ahead and prepared to ascend to the Fontenot throne after the book was delivered.

The issue wasn't her request for training, but my behavior. Why, oh, why was it so difficult to remain detached and keep my hands off? Because she didn't want me to. Neither did Legend. He wanted the seduction, the playfulness, and the reassurance that it was okay if his family didn't want him, that he was still desirable.

My ride arrived, and I headed to a bar on Bourbon Street where Nixie and Fitz were already waiting at a table in the back. Settling in the chair next to the princess, I ordered a mocktail and tried not to show how disconcerted I was by the revelations about myself. Less than twenty minutes later, Legend showed up, and I covertly studied him and the princess with a feeling that I was in over my head. After years of being content with my predictable, professorial life, I feared that the part of me that had longed for excitement was now taking whatever it could get, even if it was against my better judgment.

Grabbing ahold of my priorities, I turned to Fitz. "You mind going to the bar and ordering us another round of drinks?" We Supernaturals had work to do.

"But the server's com—oh, I get it. Important FBI business," he sighed.

I smiled, glad he knew the routine. "So, what did you two think of the chariot?" I asked once Fitz was beyond earshot.

"I can't wait to give it a try," Legend said. "It's a bit cramped with the window right there, but I'm sure my dragon and I can get it airborne in the space we have."

"That thing has to be hundreds, if not thousands, of years old. How do we know it'll move at all?" Nixie asked.

"It's not just any cart and horses. Haven't you ever heard the story of Apollo and his demigod son, Phaeton?" I asked. Fitz returned to the table and I nodded for him to rejoin us. "According to myth, one day Phaeton got tired of people teasing him and saying he couldn't be the son of a god. So, he went up to the heavens and asked Apollo for a favor."