I felt that was in good hands. I also had a feeling Hargrove’s world was changing on him – but it wasn’t my fault.

Okay, it wasn’t entirely my fault. The temptation to nudge him – probably my father’s heritage – was too strong to entirely resist. But he was a good man and a good cop. I hadn’t liked him at first, but he’d kind of grown on me.

Perhaps I’d also grown on him. It wouldn’t surprise me. I slipped back out of the police station only to come face to face with a group of protestors.

“How does it feel to live with a murderer?”

I took a deep breath. “It wasn’t him. It was a different cop. Mistaken identity.”
“So you say.”

“Hey. I didn’t say it wasn’t an asshole cop. Just that you have the wrong cop.” There weren’t that many of them. They could, I thought, hear me clearly. “That’s why we have a system for these things. To make sure we get the right guy.”

“She was twelve years old!” came another voice.

I flinched. “I know. I know. This isn’t right. None of it’s remotely right. But it wasn’t Mike that did it. That’s all I’m saying.”

“Of course you’re going to protect him.” The woman pushed her way to the front. “He’s your family. Just think about ours.”

“I am. Believe me, I am.”

I was, too. I didn’t like the idea that a cop had shot a little girl. I wanted to see that cop in jail for it. I hoped some sincerity carried in my voice.
The one who had mentioned the girl’s age. “You’re white. You don’t have a clue…well, except you apparently like to corrupt black girls.”
Red rose in my vision. I forced it down and then laughed. “Believe me, it was mutual corruption.”

Being seen as a fetishist, though? That was too much. It was all I could do to keep control of myself.

But the woman spoke again. “If it wasn’t him, prove it.”

“Give me time and I will. I promise.” I meant it, too. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do it, but I was sure that between me and Hargrove and Father Will we could find the proof.

Hargrove slipped into the room a few minutes later. Then he locked the door. “Sorry, but my office doesn’t lock properly.”

“It also has a glass door.”

He smirked. “That too. I know why you’re here. I don’t know who actually did it. Yet. Mike’s a good cop.”

“And a good dad, or at least big brother figure.” I smiled slightly. “I figured you were looking into it. I figured we probably don’t want to be working at cross purposes.”

“You’re going to tell me magic’s involved again, aren’t you?”

“There’s a demon. He’s doing this to get to me.”

Hargrove sighed. “Demon. I wish I could refuse to believe you, but I can’t be Scully any more.”

I didn’t quite get his reference. “It’s a pretty powerful demon. I’ve already banished him once and he managed to come crawling back.”

“Alright.”
“So…be careful. I don’t want you getting hurt.” Could I extend some protection to him? Not unless he let me, and I didn’t think he would.

“I’ll try not to get my soul eaten or whatever.”

“Mind control’s more likely. I already know he’s using some kind of influence on the family’s lawyer and we’re checking the family.”

“…that I hadn’t thought of. Of course, I was assuming it was straight up mistaken identity.”

I shook my head. “It’s not. It’s possible all he did was nudge somebody to identify Mike.”

“Is there a way to check witnesses?”

“I can get you something you can use. It won’t give a lot of detail – that takes somebody really trained in this stuff – but it can give a simple yes/no on mental influence.”

“I’m surprised you aren’t checking me.”

I grinned. “Oh, I am.”

He fell silent for a moment, then nodded. “Thanks.”

“Thanks?”

“If I get mind controlled, can you fix it?”

“I can. You might also…are you religious at all?”

He shook his head. “I haven’t been. Maybe I should change that.”

“I’ll work on something, then. I need to talk to an expert. But…please…keep digging. CPS could show up at any time.”

“Which is presumably the demon’s goal.”
I nodded. “He wants to…” A pause. “Break me up with my girlfriend.”

“…I’d think…no…uh…” He started to look uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry about the why. Please just help Mike. Like you said. He’s a good cop.”

The victim was a twelve-year-old girl. I wondered who had really done it. Mike’s boss had told them he wasn’t there.

Whoever had done it had taken off his badge. Likely Mike’s boss knew who it was. I thought about the nice detective, then shook my head.

They were rooting for him. They were doing everything they could – except turn in the real killer.

But I changed my plans as soon as I saw her face. I called Kanesha. “Hey. Kanesha, would you…”

“Whatever you want.”

“Talk to Clara and get some kind of demon detector, then go talk to the kid’s family.”
Kanesha could do it openly. She could reach across the gap, maybe convince them Mike couldn’t be the cop who did it.
At least tell them we were going to find the real one. She could do this better than I could.

“Alright. We’re looking for…”

“Direct influence from Tyz’vel. If there isn’t any, then see what you can do to work on them. I’m going to try and find the real perp.”

“That’s going to be tough.”
“I suspect he’s somebody who actually does look a bit like Mike, but you’re right. It is.” I shook my head. “But I have to try.”

“Just don’t…”

“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt him. Even I know that would make things worse,” I quipped. “Heck, Thea knows that.”

She laughed. “Alright.”

I hung up, hoping that I wasn’t putting her at too much risk. But Tyz’vel, was avoiding attacking her directly.

I had a feeling I didn’t need to be there to protect her. I protected her just by existing and loving her.

Then, I headed for the cop station. I slipped inside.

“Hey,” the desk sergeant said. “You guys holding up?”

“At least until CPS shows up, yeah. But they won’t get me anyway.”

“Oh?”

“They try it. I’m filing for emancipation.”
The sergeant grinned. “You go, girl.”

The question was whether I could get it for Kanesha. “Can I talk to Detective Hargrove?”

“He’s actually…kind of expecting you.”

I felt my lips sort of curl inwards. “Of course he is. He knows me too well.”

“He’ll meet you in interview room three.”
Better privacy than his office, I supposed. But the bare room was not exactly conducive to feeling safe and protected. It was designed to make you feel intimidated and threatened. It worked.

Needless to say we ended up in the rectory with tea. “I know that one of my parishioners was saying her lawyer’s partner has been acting odd.”

“Fitz and Lawson.”

He nodded. “Small city, I suppose.”

“Fitz is under Tyz’vel’s influence. I can’t tell more than that. He kind of stinks of him.”

Father William nods. “Well. I’m trying to arrange to meet him, and I might be able to tell.”

I nodded. “I want to know if he can be saved. If not, then…” I tailed off. “I need to discredit him.”

Seb frowned.

“He’s got Mike on trumped up police brutality charges that are going to get him fired and me and Kanesha put back in group homes, Seb.” I sighed. “Have to stop it.”

“…oh.” He looked at me. “And with the current climate…”

“…people are looking for an example on that front. I know.”

I did know, but I was determined that said example wasn’t going to be Mike. There were plenty of actually racist cops out there.

William frowned. “Put Kanesha front and center?”

I shook my head. “Some people will still believe a guy’s racist if he’s married to a black woman.”

“Point,” the priest said. “It would appear like the ‘I have black friends’ defense, wouldn’t it.”

I nodded again. “It’s better to make the people making the charges look ridiculous.”

“They have to put some kind of name to it.”

“It’s supposedly the victim’s family.” My lips quirked. “Maybe that’s the next place I should pay a visit in disguise. Check them for possession.”

“More likely he promised them justice.”

I shook my head. “More likely he promised them vengeance.” A pause. “There’s something else we could do.” I looked at Seb. “We could try a seance.”

Seb considered that. “Wouldn’t get us anything we could use.”

“Would get us the face of the person who actually did it. Then we could look for proof.” I stood up. “For now. I’m going to visit the family.”

William smiled. “Good idea. I’ll keep working on getting close enough to Fitz for a good look at him.”
For now, I’d have to take that as what I could get.

The best expert on demonic possession I could think of was, of course, Father William. When I made it to his church, though, he was in the confession booth.
The person I did find there was Seb. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“I have a feeling we’re here for the same reason.” I slipped down onto the pew next to him. “What’s yours?”

“I’m out of holy water.”

“I just need to chat with him about ways to tell if somebody’s sold their soul.”

Seb flinched. “I…know there are ways, but it’s a spell I don’t know.”

I nodded. “Maybe Clara could learn it.” I let out a breath. “I’m trying to work out if somebody’s sold their soul or if they’re just being manipulated.”

“Not Tyz’vel again.”

“Tyz’vel again. I even tried setting some angels on him.”

Seb made a wry face. “Would take an archangel, I’d think.”

I nodded. “Probably. But I want rid of him for good. He’s messing with Mike.”

“Let me think about it.” Seb smiled a bit. “At the very least, carry holy water.”

“I will.” Which wouldn’t help much. It didn’t seem like much helped at all against the demon.

I would rather deal with Surtur at some levels. There was a…politeness…to the fire giant. At the same time, they’d both hurt Kanesha.

But they hadn’t actually gone after her directly. Tyz’vel had gone after Mike when he could easily have got Kanesha killed.

I remembered what Thruor had said about her belonging to me. Maybe they couldn’t touch her.

Eventually Father William’s victim emerged. She looked rather upset, and I wondered if it was the number of Hail Marys he’d assigned or, more likely, whatever it was that had kept her in there such a long time.

I studiously ignored her, head down, pretending to pray and waiting until the priest himself emerged.

“You go first,” I told Seb.

William, though, beckoned us both over to the vestry door. “Tyz’vel’s causing trouble again, isn’t he.”

“How did you know?”
“You aren’t the only person in the city I talk to,” he pointed out, actually grinning a bit.
“So…tell me what you know?”

“We’re having problems making it go away.”

I nodded. “Tyz’vel. I talked to an angel about it.”

Thruor arched an eyebrow. “An angel was actually something resembling helpful?”

“Yeah. I think they’ve decided that courting foreign goddesses is one thing, trying to coerce them is another. Probably why he was just trying to seduce me to start with.”

But he’d apparently decided I was worth any amount of trouble that might come his way from, well, angels or the like. Or something. I wasn’t sure what the or something was, but…I had a feeling there was one.

Maybe he was about to get squished anyway and I wouldn’t have to worry about him any more. “The angel also said I should talk to my dad.”

Thruor pursed her lips. “Even Loki doesn’t always have a good idea, and a prank war between him and Tyz’vel…might be entertaining to watch. From a distance. Like, a different realm distance.”

I laughed. “Yeah. Definitely from a distance. So…I suspect that Loki hasn’t done anything because he doesn’t want to get into it with him. Or…he thinks I can solve the problem myself.”

I paused, then. “Oh, and I did this.” I focused on the older redhead again.

“Oh, not bad at all. You definitely inherited some of the talent for illusions.”

I let it drop. “It really works? I thought it did, but I still looked like me in the mirror.”

“Yeah. I’m told that happens.”

It didn’t surprise me that Thruor didn’t have much in the way of a gift for illusions. It didn’t surprise me at all. It wasn’t her personality.

Was it mine? I didn’t even know right now. “It seemed to work, though. But Tyz’vel’s mind controlling the lawyer.”

“Controlling or possessing?”

I shook my head. “Controlling. I don’t know if he’s inked a contract on the man’s soul or if he’s manipulating him some other way.”

Thruor purses her lips. “We need to find out. If he’s signed in blood we can’t help him. If he’s just being manipulated…”

“…then maybe if we break the manipulation he’ll stop annoying us and start annoying Tyz’vel instead.” I grinned. “I thought you were the straightforward one.”

“I know how I react to being manipulated.” She grinned back at me.

I thought that a lawyer might react differently and see it as all part of the game, but it seemed worth a try.

Enemies, friends, whatever. The angel…it was the same one…stepped out from behind the altar despite not having been there before.

“I was hoping for some advice. Tyz’vel’s…trying to hurt my friends and destroy my family.” I let out a breath. “I need to resist the temptation to try to find a more powerful demon lord to sit on him.”

The angel laughed a dry laugh, then moved to sit on the front pew. I hesitated, then sat down as well.

“He won’t back down. Banishing him worked for a few days. I need some kind of leverage.”

“And being a demon, he won’t even respect your superiors.”

I shook my head. “Not really. I could talk to my father, but…”

“Your father probably thinks you can deal with your own romantic problems.”

My father, I thought, would have a one night stand and be done with it. “I probably should talk to him.”

I thought the reality was that Loki didn’t have any great ideas either and didn’t want to get into a prank war with Tyz’vel with me caught in the middle.

“In the meanwhile, I will talk to some people.” The angel actually smiled. It didn’t look like it belonged on his face.

“Thanks.”

“He is, at some levels, our responsibility and courting you is one thing…”

I nodded. “I could handle him being creepy stalkerish. Trying to set up my friends to go to jail? I won’t tolerate that.”

“Asgardian.” The angel smiled again, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Then, he vanished.

I watched the space where he had been for a moment and then stood and walked towards the door.

Outside, I felt the tension relax. I hoped they could help, but I had a feeling I couldn’t count on it. Or couldn’t count on the help to come in time.

Or maybe it would be more subtle. I headed home, hoping I still had a home. I decided I really should get a lawyer, talk about the emancipation stuff. Just in case. I wondered if that also meant I could legally change my name.

It didn’t matter.

Neither name was my real name anyway. But…getting rid of the stupid Doe moniker would be a lot of fun.

And I’d never be able to use my real name any more than Thruor could. I was pretty sure it was something unpronounceable.

Instead, I quickened my pace. He didn’t follow me. He didn’t say he’d make it go away if I agreed to the match.

He didn’t need to. I knew the score. Knew the score and was, bluntly, done with it. I wanted nothing more to do with Tyz’vel. I wanted him dead. No, I wanted him locked up in a cage.

I idly wondered if that could be arranged. Maybe, just maybe, I could find some other demon lord willing to ally with me to stomp him down. It might get me into trouble, but…

But it might work, too. Thruor was too honorable to do it, but…I was Loki’s daughter. That meant, well…

It meant that I could get away with stuff like this, I thought. Maybe. I glanced around but, sadly, saw no ravens.

Odin’s opinion on the matter would be valuable. Still, if nothing else would get him to back down?

I’d run the risk of being smited by Odin again to save Mike. That was probably a little bit of my mother speaking.

She, I thought, would understand. Loki would probably high five me.

The question was, how did I find a demon lord? Without unleashing another one on the world. It was a shame I couldn’t have somehow got him and Apep to fight each other.

No, I thought. My instincts told me that would have ended up with far too many deaths.

So, a demon lord. I realized what I needed was a really competent black magician. I shuddered.

No. I shouldn’t do this. I shouldn’t make any kind of deal with Hell. Was there somebody else, something else that could sit on Tyz’vel? The archangel Michael came to mind, given he was supposedly really good at beating on demons.

The angel I’d met had given me the shivers. The deep shivers, in fact. I certainly didn’t want to deal with a more powerful one.

But maybe it would work better. Rivals but not enemies. That was what Thruor tended to say on the matter.

I changed my course, heading for the nearest church. It wasn’t Will’s church. It was a square, classical type building labeled St. John’s.

I stepped inside and, as always, felt a little bit uncomfortable. I didn’t belong here.

Not enemies, no, but never friends.

His eyes fixed on mine and mine on his.

“Mr. Fitz…this lady’s looking to file a restraining order. Is Obadiah in?”

Lady, not young lady. That made me pretty sure it had worked. “He went to lunch.” He studied me for a moment.

I thought I could see myself reflected in his eyes. Along with flame. “Sarah Johnson,” I introduced. “I’m having problems with a rather annoying ex.”

“Ah. Some men won’t take no for an answer, will they.”

I shuddered inwardly, but I was sure of it now. This man wasn’t willingly doing Tyz’vel’s bidding. “So…”

“I do more personal injury cases. And police brutality. It’s Mr. Lawson you want…you could wait or come back later.”

Yeah. This was the man I wanted, alright. But I couldn’t just free him of Tyz’vel’s influence. Maybe Father William could?

More likely it was going to be harder than that. A complicated sequence of actions, and even then? I couldn’t be sure he hadn’t let him in willingly.

Like I said, they did say lawyers had no souls. Either way, he scurried out of the door.

“I’ll come back later. Maybe in a couple of hours.” Hopefully, she would remember me as somebody who lost her nerve, or got caught up in something, or decided to go somewhere else.

A block away from the building, I shed my uncertain disguise. So, I knew that Fitz was the one responsible and I knew Tyz’vel was standing behind him tugging on his strings.

I didn’t know if he had let the demon in intentionally. I didn’t know if he was actually my enemy.
And even if he was, I couldn’t kill him. Or even beat him up. Or even ask him to back down. I had to…first of all, I could hope that Mike’s boss would make this go away. If not?

Mike could find his own lawyer. I trusted him on that front. But he was going to need every bit of help he could get.

“So, now you know.” Tyz’vel’s voice. Well, Martin’s. He was using that form again.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. You really think anything will get me to come with you? I’d rather go with Surtur.”

“Not true. If you go with him, all the people you care about die.”

I quirked my lips. “Good point. But I almost had your tame lawyers help me file a restraining order against you.”

He shapeshifted into Kanesha. “Wouldn’t work,” he said in her voice.

I wanted to slap him. I didn’t.

I decided I was going to give the lawyers the benefit of the doubt. They might not actually be evil, just being bribed and manipulated by Tyz’vel.

But the fact was: They were still trying to destroy my family. With no finalized adoption, it was very likely that me and Kanesha would be taken away from Mike and put into separate group homes again. And again, I’d likely end up in a better one.

Well, no. I could emancipate. I was definitely making enough money to survive on my own. I could avoid being tossed back into the group home system.

She couldn’t. And Mike…no. Mike was a cop, and a good cop. And he’d always been a good cop. He always would be, as far as I was concerned. I wasn’t going to let anything else happen.

So, for my next trick – to talk to them and find out just how much they were being controlled. Unfortunately, they knew what I looked like. In theory I could fix that. I could already make myself nondescript and beneath notice – but that wouldn’t work if I was in their office and they had a picture of me.

What would work was Loki’s appearance changing trick, but I wasn’t sure exactly how to pull it off. I felt I had to try, though.

I wanted to be…at least ten years older, in a suit. Red hair, I decided. That would probably be enough. It wouldn’t fool Tyz’vel himself, but if he was actually there, he’d be expecting me.

It would fool the people who were in the office. If it worked. I reached for the mental state that let me pass without much notice and then tried to overlay the new appearance on it.

Then I walked into the office.

“Hello, Ms…” The receptionist was a tall black lady wearing way too much makeup. I wanted to tell her she wasn’t on camera.

“Johnson.” It was the first name that came into my head.

“Well, welcome to Fitz and Lawson. Do you need help?”

I nodded. “I need…I need advice on getting a restraining order. My ex is being quite scary.”

It was the first thing I could think of. In the mirror I still looked like myself.

“Oh. One of those. Let me guess, he doesn’t think he’s your ex?” she said, sympathetically.

I nodded. “Pretty much. A friend suggested I get one, but told me I’d need a decent lawyer, because he’ll probably fight it.”

“Obadiah Lawson’s the best for that.”

In the mean time I was feeling around for Tyz’vel’s influence. It seemed to be settled over the place, but I didn’t feel much of it around the receptionist specifically.

Which made sense – he didn’t really need her. He needed the lawyers.
Then the back door opened, and a thin man in a suit stepped out. It wasn’t Tyz’vel, but I could feel it…it would only take one tug to make this man a demon’s pawn.