I did look into it. And found a road block right away. For Kanesha. Her father had to agree for her to be emancipated. I took that back to her the next day.

She swore. “So, he has to agree. Which he never will.”

“He shouldn’t have a say. Especially as his parole officer told him to leave you alone.”

“Which is overruled if they give him custody. Which they will. Everyone knows how much the DC foster system sucks. And then he’ll take me away from here.”

“I wonder if somebody would help.” The temptation to remove Kanesha’s old man from the equation bubbled up in my mind. No. I would not even consider murder.

“Somebody meaning the trickster? Maybe. He could fake a signature, but…”

“He could tie your old man up somewhere and pretend to be him for long enough to get consent, but…” It wouldn’t work in the long term. “No. I will talk to your dad.”

“That won’t achieve anything. You’re not just a girl. You’re a white girl. That makes you scum in his eyes.”

How come black people were sometimes the most prejudiced? Probably that thing our history teacher said about reactions to oppression. “Maybe…”

“If you do, take your gun. Just in case. He might decide to get violent.”

“I hope he does. He tries to kill me, he goes back to jail.” And that, I knew, was the solution. Get the guy put back in jail. He clearly belonged there.

“And if he succeeds?”

“I know you learned martial arts to defend yourself from him, but trust me. I’ll deal with this one way or another. Without hurting him too much.”

Because he was her father and because I wouldn’t cross that line. Maybe I should…and I smiled a bit. “I won’t promise not to embarrass him, though.”

“Oh, that’s on the table. He’s embarrassed me enough times.”

“Where is he living?”

She told me. Great. Pretty much right in Southeast. Hopefully I could do that ‘don’t notice me’ thing again that I wasn’t sure I’d actually done in the first place. I went upstairs and grabbed a bag…which contained my gun and Tyr’s horn. About time that thing developed some utility.

Then I headed for the address. Which led me right into a part of town I knew I shouldn’t be in.

Southeast was the part of Washington that everyone wanted to build a big wall of no-see no-hear around. It wasn’t just that it was a black neighborhood. Washington was a black city.

Southeast was where the dregs of society rattled down to the bottom and hovered there between the gutter and the drain. No sane person went there. Especially if white.

It was where the desperate lived.

It was not safe.

Halloween was over. The house was full of candy which, by mutual agreement, we’d dumped into one huge bowl by the door. That way people could pick out what they liked. I snagged a piece of chocolate as I left. Loki had been true to his word. Or nobody had been allergic to the cayenne.

The problem was that everyone was blaming me. I was apparently the cayenne brownie person, and it was being appreciated by some and getting me glares and promises of dire vengeance from others.

Well. I could handle a prank war, but really, getting me blamed for his tricks? I supposed I’d asked for it.

Sometimes I thought I asked for it merely by existing. At least where he was concerned.

No cayenne in the chocolate. “Now I know what him liking you means,” Kanesha said blearily from behind me.

“At least you like cayenne brownies too.”

“I prefer to know when I’m biting into one. It was him, right?”

“Right. And leaving me to take the fall for it, and that costume was just awful. It’s like I have a particularly embarrassing uncle that I can’t even stay mad with because he’s actually kind of fun.”

Kanesha laughed. “I wonder if that’s how they all felt. Prior to Baldr, that is.”

“He almost seems to have done his time on that one.” I considered. “Or maybe they let him out in the hope that…”

“…that you could talk him out of starting Ragnarok.”

I laughed. “I can’t talk him out of doing pranks at a party. I…you’re serious, aren’t you.”

“Yes, I am. But I need help with a different problem.”

I nodded. “What is it?”

“My dad’s trying to get legal custody back. I’m talking about emancipation.”

” You have a job…”

“Not enough to afford even the worst place in DC. I…” She tailed off. “I hesitate to ask. You’ll probably think it’s too dangerous, but…”

“But?”

“I could manage with a roommate. We could both get out of here. I’d still get financial support for college and…”

It was…an interesting proposal. I turned it around in my head. “I have three gigs this month, one after school, two weekend. I’ll look into it, but if not…”

“I’ll have to find somebody else. I’ll manage. I just would rather have you.”

I hugged her. I couldn’t help it. Even if I wasn’t sure I wanted to be roommates with her…her concerns about danger and my personal concerns about who I should stay with?

She needed somebody and she’d asked me first. That meant a lot.

Of course, the party went…no, of course it didn’t go well, because not five minutes after Martin left, Loki showed up.

Not that anyone else would have recognized him. He’d taken the form of a green ogre. Kind of based off of Shrek. It looked like a really good costume.

I knew better. “Kanesha, alert.”

“Not another one.”

“It’s the trickster.” I didn’t use his name. “I’d better…”

“Go.”

I wove through the crowd and bumped into him by the food. Where he was helping himself to a plate that contained decidedly more dessert than real food. “Hey there.”

“Thought I’d drop by. Don’t worry. I don’t plan on doing anything harmful.”

“Well, we’ve already had drama tonight, so please keep the harmless pranks toned down.”

“Oh, would I do anything?” He turned to face me.

“Yes, you would, and do you have to dress as something from a kids’ movie?”

“Nobody will suspect me. Besides, I liked that movie.”

I laughed a bit. “Just…please. I’m trying to relax and enjoy an evening.”

“Whilst armed for bear.”

“It’s Halloween,” I pointed out, shifting the scabbard again. Him pointing it out made it feel heavier.

“Yes, yes it is. But the real dangers won’t be out tonight. It’ll be the little things. Stray ghosts, random fairies doing interesting things to the candy.”

“If you put cayenne in any of the desserts…”

“Would I?” He lifted his hands.

“Yes.”

“…which one.”

I glanced around, snagged a brownie bite and sniffed it. My instincts were good. “You know that doesn’t work on me,” I added, taking a bite out of it.

“You have taste.”

I hoped nobody in the room was allergic to it. “If anyone goes into anaphylactic shock, you’re fixing it.”

His lips quirked. “Well…”

“You said nothing harmful. I’m holding you to it.” Not that I could stop him, but there was the overall pressure of him liking me. It might achieve something.

Maybe.

It wasn’t his fault, actually. It wasn’t the demon’s fault. I’ll give him that. When he ran into the party, somebody was chasing him.

Or something. “Uh…somebody…lend me a mask?”

I wasn’t sure a mask would help. “That’s my stray plus one,” I murmured to Kanesha.

“Do we help him or…?”

“I’ll probably get in trouble with the Old Man if we help him unless what’s chasing him is even worse.” Which I had a feeling it was. I shifted position, so the sword hung in a better position for drawing. I might need it.
Somebody did indeed toss the guy a spare mask. He put it on, and seemed to change appearance a fair bit.
Some kind of spell that needed a focus, I supposed. Martin ducked into the group of people in masks.
Right as a really big guy with a club came pounding in after him. It wasn’t a fire giant. I saw what others saw and the reality overlaid. “Okay. Maybe that’s worse.”

“If he says fee fi fo fum…” Kanesha quipped.

“I don’t think Martin’s English.”

The big guy paused, then, “Okay. Nobody has to get hurt here. Where is that slimy little…?”

“What do you want with him?” I stepped forward, aware that he likely knew who I was.

“Oh, come on. I just want to toss him back where he came from. We don’t have a quarrel here.”

“You’re ruining the party,” I informed the giant. Not a fire giant. What was he? He was ugly as sin, was what he was, but at least he wasn’t a demon. He didn’t have that emptiness. Instead, I felt a sense of nature and darkness, of a predator.

“You’re hiding him.”

“No. They are. Let’s not involve random people in this.” I didn’t say mortals. I wasn’t sure what they’d hear or remember. From the way Kanesha was holding her scythe, my guess had been right. She’d set it up to be perfectly usable as a weapon.

“Oh, fine.” Martin slid out of the group. “I’ll go. I’ll go already. Just leave the mortals out of it.”

Great. He had to use the m word. But the giant turned and left with Martin following.

“I haven’t seen the last of him,” I asided to Kanesha.

“No, you haven’t. He’ll go back through one door and come in through a different one. Or he’d never have surrendered.”

I knew she was right, but I also hoped I wouldn’t have to see him and deal with the confusing feelings for a while.

The party was only just getting started when I got there. I stopped to help a tall boy hang one last set of fake cobwebs. Then I glanced around.

I felt more welcome than I had thought I would. The gathering crowd was a rainbow of hues – and one literal rainbow. I wondered at that costume. Was he very gay or was he trying to be Bifrost?

Amusement rippled through me at that thought and I laughed a bit, then looked around for Kanesha. I couldn’t see her, but she might well be one of the group wearing masks and not moving much. If she was, I’d recognize her the second she took a step. On the other hand, she would recognize…

…aha. There she was. She came in the door, dressed as Death and with a scythe over her shoulder that looked to have a pretty solid haft to it. She was thinking the same way I was, and I wandered over in a rather fly casual manner. “Hey, girl.”

“Hey there. Hopefully nobody will decide you need a prince.”

I laughed a bit. “It was cheap.” Hopefully nobody would realize the sword was too good. “So…I had to turn down a plus one.”

“Creeper?”

“Demon who wants to Romeo to my Juliet.” I kept my voice low. “He said he was going to have fun with some trick or treaters.”

“I hope he doesn’t scare any of them too much.”

“I’m more worried about the parents.” I raised my voice a little. “So, I’ll have to see who I can send your way,” I quipped.

She laughed. “I know, I know. Most original costume ever.”

“It’s not a sheet over your head.” I pointed to somebody wearing exactly that. With poorly-cut eyeholes.

“Be nice. I think that’s Joshua. No money and neither he nor his mother can sew to save their lives.” She looked down. “Yeah. I recognize the sneakers.”

I laughed again. “Well, maybe if somebody who actually can sew taught him.”

“Willa tried.”

“Which one is Willa?”

“The ginger wearing the bright purple witch outfit. She knows it looks terrible on her. That’s the point.”

I relaxed. I felt quite comfortable. Maybe, Halloween or no Halloween, I could forget that I was anyone but just another girl and enjoy the party.

Of course, that was probably the worst thing I could have said, or even thought.

It was Halloween when I bumped into him again. The veil thin? I felt something, but it wasn’t that. And, of course, it was this night only in some traditions.

Not including northern traditions, which placed the thinnest veil in May. So, maybe I shouldn’t worry.

Halloween, and I was too old to go trick or treating, but Kanesha had told me there was going to be a party at the community center and I was invited. Invited, but not sure I was truly welcome.

I certainly wouldn’t be welcome with a demonic plus one. I’d put together a costume for the night – a Barbarian princess complete with foam sword. It was a little bit revealing, but I was comfortable with that.

But I still wasn’t sure I’d be welcome. Halloween was a Friday and I got off school and changed into the costume right away. I bumped into him on the way.

“Going to a party?”

“You’re not invited,” I informed him. Now, if Loki showed up, him I might take as a plus one. He’d liven things up, that was for sure. But then, who knew what he would actually do?

Maybe, maybe not.

“Of course not. Never welcome anywhere.” He smiled at me. “It’s fine. I don’t want to interrupt mortal revelries. I have a plan.”

I smiled back. “Seeing how many trick or treaters you can scare?”

“Isn’t that half the point?” He headed off up the street as I turned towards the party. I hoped he wouldn’t scare too many parents.

If he was a demon, though, he didn’t seem nearly evil enough. Maybe he was just caught up in the politics somehow?

Thruor had said there weren’t any rivalries, but if there were, wouldn’t angels and demons be them? Only one god and all that.

Maybe the divine politics were quite different from what mortals perceived, and I was on the outside, seeing them through that glass.

Or veil. I did sense a supernatural heaviness that made me wish the sword wasn’t foam. I had the real one under my bed and was half tempted to go back and get it.

More than half. A moment of decision – this was the one night I could get away with it – and I ducked back inside, switching out the prop for live steel, the scabbard slung comfortably over my back. As every other time I’d handled it, it felt right.

The one night I could get away with it, and I bet nothing would actually happen that needed it.

But I felt much safer with the weight of it. Much safer indeed.

“Be careful,” Thea said. “He probably is some kind of demon or dark spirit.”

“Or a rival.”

She considered that. “Rivalry, yes, but it doesn’t tend to lead to people being beaten up. And it’s not as much as people think. If he was worried about physical violence. You saw his reflection, right?”

“Right. Does that mean he wasn’t a vampire?”

“No. It’s actually some kinds of demon that forget their reflections. It would have meant he wasn’t really there and lost that detail of the illusion.”

I laughed. “Got it. So, he was probably physically present and I could have beaten him up. I just didn’t want him to know I didn’t know what he was.” I felt myself blush a little.

“Smart. He’d have taken advantage of your ignorance, although it sounds like he wanted to take advantage of you.”

I felt myself blush a lot. “Uh…”

“And you wouldn’t have turned him down, either. Like I said, be careful.”

I looked at Thea…one of these days I’d work out in my head to think of her as Thruor. And it came out without thinking, “He’s not as hot as you.”

She laughed. “I’ll take that exactly the way it was meant.”

I was blushing and looking away at this point. “I…uh…”

“Look at me.”

I did, with an effort.

“I’m not going to take you up on it because I don’t have that kind of interest. But if you do, it’s not a problem. Trust me.”

I thought of Loki and horses and nodded. “Alright, except…look. I tried talking to the GSA about it. About how I feel. He told me I was just confused and needed to make up my mind whether I liked boys or girls.”

“Oh boy. One of those.” She reached out and put the back of her hand against my cheek. I shivered.

“You do not have to make up your mind. You have to be true to yourself and your own nature. And while it’s true that’s still in flux right now, this may be part of it. And if it is, then it’s very important.”

I pulled away a little from her hand. “Thruor….”

“Very important for everything you are and everything you have to do.”

I couldn’t see how it could be, but if I didn’t have to choose? I trusted her more, and it felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders.

I didn’t have to choose?

“Buy you a drink?”

I whirled. He was behind me.

“Hey, you followed me. Either I buy you a drink or I beat you up.”

“I’ll take the drink…” I hesitated, almost specifying soda, then decided against it. “Besides, how do you know I wouldn’t beat you up?”

He looked at me, his eyes running over me, then nodded. “Oh, you might win. Maybe. Might be a good contest.”

I laughed. “Then maybe we should find a quiet corner and try and beat each other up some time.”

“It’s a date.”

Oh dear. I hadn’t meant…and I knew it was being taken that way too. Fortunately it was dark enough that he couldn’t see me blushing. “Don’t be too hasty. We’ve only just met.”

“Okay, how about I start over with, what are you doing in a place like this? Other than following me.”

He wasn’t asking it as a line. “Causing trouble. You?”

“Causing trouble.” He studied me again. “Oh, crap…you are going to beat me up, aren’t you?”

“Only if you give me a reason.” I realized that I’d lose some kind of edge if I admitted I had no idea what he was. I’d have to watch and look for symptoms. He did reflect in the mirror behind the bar, so probably not a vampire.

“Given what I am and what you are, you already have a reason.”

I shook my head. “I stick to beating up people who have actually done something to deserve it. Recently.” Demon? He seemed too nice, but… Or maybe he was from one of the other pantheons and there was a lot of rivalry.

Heck. Maybe he was an angel.

“Wow. You actually think instead of just doing what your elders tell you all the time?”

“Depends.” I grinned at him. “You seem to be doing some thinking too.”

I hadn’t been initially attracted to him, but I was rather warming up. And I didn’t really care if he was somebody I’d be in trouble for hanging out with as long as, as I had said, he didn’t do anything to deserve being beaten up.

He bought two bottles of beer. I took one of them, noting that the barkeep didn’t seem to be noticing my age any more than the bouncer had.

Probably not luck. Heck, I might be doing something subconscious. Or he might.

“What’s your name?” he asked as I got the beer open.

“Just call me Jane.”

“Jane. Oh…that’s why you aren’t beating me up. You’re incognito.”

I nodded. Easier than explaining. “And you?”

“Martin.”

“Also incognito.” I grinned. “So, how about we have a truce, at least for a bit?” Whatever quarrel I should have with him seemed pretty pointless right now.

I was more worried about Kanesha’s father.

I shouldn’t, obviously, have said what I said about supernatural monsters, because something was hanging out outside the sub store when I left work. The agency had called me with another gig. It might be enough to finally quit that joint.

No. I needed all the cash I could get. But something was there. I saw it…no, him…through the corner of my eye. No doubt anyone not clued in would just have seen a teenager in a leather jacket, head to toe black, black hair.

Goth. Or vampire, I thought with wry amusement. If fairies were real, vampires probably were too, although I’d bet every writer had got them wrong.

He certainly wasn’t particularly sexy. Not bad, but not the kind of guy I’d go head over heels for. I sought his eyes for a moment, met them, nodded and then walked away. Whoever or whatever he was, I wanted him to know I had him made. It wasn’t a challenge, it was just meant to let him know somebody knew he was there.

He nodded back, but stayed where he was. So, he wasn’t targeting me. It was just a moment of ships passing in the night, of two people who’s worlds were overlapping.

If he was a vampire, though? I elected not to worry about it, but to keep the corner of an eye on him.

Then, hesitating, I doubled back around to where I could see him. Yup. Once I was out of view, he’d started to move, heading into a bar he looked too young to visit. Fake ID, no doubt. Or some sort of magical equivalent. I had no doubt, for example, that Loki could have produced me a convincing one if I cared that much. I didn’t, really. Thea had let me try some alcohol, and while I liked it well enough, I didn’t like the effect I saw it have on people if they had too much of it.

I definitely, I thought wryly, wasn’t Thor’s daughter. There were far, far too many stories of him getting drunk and doing stupid stuff, then doing it all again. Maybe he had a good sense of humor.

About pushing people into pools, anyway.

But right now, I wanted to know what this guy was. He didn’t feel human. He didn’t feel Asgardian. He felt…almost like a gap.

That was why, I realized, my mind had leapt to vampire. And it wasn’t like I hadn’t encountered a couple of vampire-like things before. I tugged out my cell phone and called Thea.

Which went to voice mail. Typical. She was probably somewhere loud where she couldn’t hear her phone. She, after all, emphatically was Thor’s daughter. She was probably drunk, too.

So, I had to handle this on my own. I headed over to the bar, just willing that I wouldn’t be carded on entrance. If I could get in, I would be fine. I wasn’t going to order a drink.

The bouncer seemed not to notice me and then I was inside. I hadn’t been in an adult club before. And this one was very adult…there was a woman pole dancing in the center wearing no more than she had to and less than most would have.

Finding the other shouldn’t be too hard, except he wasn’t the only supernatural in here. Surprisingly, the dancer was giving me vibes too. Some kind of fae.

Maybe that was why he was in here after all.

“Let us know if he troubles you again, miss. I’m going to talk to his parole officer.”

Kanesha nodded. “He wants me to drop out of school and be his bitch, basically.”

“Doesn’t he realize that if you went to college and got a good job you could make sure he…”

“I’m a girl.” Kanesha cut in with, wryly. “Who’s getting distinctly tired of men.”

“You need to hang out with Bruce. He’s a good antidote.” I knew how she felt, of course, but I also wanted to find more examples of good men. Loki?

Neither good nor, technically, a man, I thought, wryly. But on my side, from what I could tell. Even if I wasn’t on his.

“Maybe I do. But he’ll be back.”

“He won’t come back here. His parole officer will tell him he’s going back to jail if he does.” My lips quirked. “I think he needs to be there.”

Tempting the guy into doing something? That didn’t seem…right, to me. Not ethical, really. But watching him until he did? That, I was up for. “What happened to the supernatural monsters?” I added, quipping.

She sighed. “He’s not a monster. He was in jail for a few thefts and dealing dope. Mostly marijuana, even. He just thinks I belong to him.”

I nodded. “So, he’s just an overprotective, sexist father?”

“Right. He wants me to keep house for him because he can’t find my mother.” She paused. “I can’t find my mother. He cheated on her.”

“Maybe you have some half-siblings out there,” I teased.

She made a face. “Not with another woman.”

Oh. I left that hanging, although I’d heard stuff about black guys who experimented or whatever it was with other men, or thought it was a safer alternative to cheating with a woman or…whatever. I wasn’t sure about any of the motivations that lay behind it.

Maybe they didn’t want to have to choose either. But then, if you wanted a relationship, you had to choose that person. And keep choosing them day after day. How was that different?

“Don’t worry. I’ll beat him up if he tries anything with me.”

“You were doing a fine job this time.”

“I was trying to use reason first. Come on. Let’s find some ice cream.”

I probably needed it as badly as she did.