I didn’t have time to do much over the weekend, with shoots both days and a party Saturday evening put on by one of the other models.

A nice little interlude of some kind of normalcy. Of course, I couldn’t get away with drinking at the party. I could get away with taking Kanesha. The hostess, Diana, was very gracious, and she hired good caterers.

“So, the new guy…”

“…is apparently part efreet.”

“I hope that doesn’t mean he’ll hit on Clara.”

“Seb would punch him.”

Kanesha grinned. “No. Clara would hex him.”

“Point. Seb knows she can look after herself.” I leaned back in the chair I was sitting in, relaxed, half-watching the party.

“More than, half the time she’s the one looking after him.”

I still wished I could do something about her scar, but Kanesha was right. Clara was quite dangerous when she wanted to be. She wasn’t going to get any more like that in a hurry. “Good point. Anyway…he’s in good hands with Zaid.”

“Confused, I’d imagine.”

“I think Zaid got across to him that he’s not a demon, not a monster, and doesn’t have to abandon his faith. So he should be good.”

I hoped. And I was still wondering about that fire escape. “I talked to the other guy,” I added. “Dreadlocks guy. Hunter from New Orleans. Came to check on rumors of me.”

“That’s gonna start happening, isn’t it.” She smiled. “Let’s stop talking business.” She stood, offering me her hand. “Let’s dance.”

I took it, and let her lead – for everything superior about me, she led better than I did. Smarter, a better dancer…I grinned inwardly as I started to list her good qualities. It was a habit, but a good one as far as I was concerned.

If you didn’t know all the ways the person you loved was better than you, then you loved the wrong person. So, we danced, and everything went smoothly.

I was waiting for the other shoe to drop, in terms of the next thing being a ranking demon coming after Derek.

But it didn’t that night, or the next day. No, it actually waited until Monday, and then it came in the form of a phone call.

“I know you don’t know me, but my name is Marlena.”

“Okay.”

“Derek’s mother. Can we talk?”

I knew instantly that Derek had gone to her to take up the matter of his heritage, and she’d been hiding it from him, and was mad…but why call me, not Zaid?

Unless she’d already yelled at Zaid about it and was now working down the list. “Alright.”

Or maybe she was mad about something else, like him hunting, which she hadn’t known before and was blaming on me.

She named a cafe not far from Dupont Circle. Not really in the full-blown alternative zone, but close.

I put on a nice blouse to meet her. Maybe she thought Derek had a thing for me.

But I knew she wasn’t happy and I wanted to fix that, wanted not to be the cause of conflict between a mother and her son.

Zaid did not give me Samson’s number – that would have been rude. He gave me the address of his haunt. Then he headed off with Derek.

Whom I was determined not to leave alone until we found him a decent weapon and got him some real training. It was hard to believe this was the same guy, though. We’d at least got him thinking straight.

Assuming he was. So, I went hunting Samson, but warily. Those two demons might decide to try me on for size now I was alone. And, of course, the address?

The community center I’d once hung out with with Kanesha. Heck, maybe I’d even seen the guy back then and not noticed him. As it had been, I was one of only two or three white faces.

“Jane!” somebody called.

“Yeah, sorry, I took up modeling, got high class, stole Kanesha and disappeared.” I grinned – it was Pansy, whom I remembered from before.

“Modeling.  That’s either fun or boring.”

“Both at different times,” I informed her. “But I’m looking for Samson.”

“What do you want with him?” She stuck her tongue out at me.

“What, is he boring too?”

She shook her head. “No, he’s kind of cool, but also more than kind of weird.”

“So am I,” I pointed out.

“He’s…oh wait, I think he’s in the garden.”

I headed back there and found him checking on the herbs. I’d almost never gone back into the little garden. It was supposed to let people practice their green thumbs.

As most of the kids lacked that facility, it was usually half dead. “Samson?”

“Oh…oh, it’s you.”

“He’s with Zaid.”

“And still alive? I’m surprised.”

“Did you…”

“I did not throw him off the fire escape. He fell off the fire escape all on his own.”

I sensed a ring of truth there. “So, what did you work out about him?”

“Mixed breed. Efreet, at a guess.”
“Zaid confirmed that. And he’s a loose cannon. We did convince him not all supernaturals are demons.”

“Fall probably knocked some sense into the kid.” He stood up. “What do you want from me?”
“I’m just curious. How…”

“I’m new in town is how you haven’t met me before.” He grinned a bit, then offered a hand. “Samson, but you know that.”

I paused, then. “Siglaugr. But Jane is…”

“Far easier to pronounce for those who don’t speak Old Norse.” A pause. “You’re the one all the rumors are about. Random half-trained Norse goddess.”

“I am…” Then I laughed. “…very random.”

He laughed too. “And I…” He shrugged. “Just a hunter. Been in New Orleans.”

“You came here to find me.” Not a question.

“I was curious.”

I hoped it was nothing more than that. I had a feeling he would end up needing or wanting something from me.

And I wasn’t sure I believed him about the fire escape, except he knew Zaid. Zaid would have warned me if he was evil.

“So, they just came out of nowhere?” We’d found a cafe. Fortunately, almost all of the blood on Derek wasn’t, well, his, and demon blood doesn’t stick around once you’ve got rid of the demon.

“Yup.”

“We need to know why Hell wants you so badly.”

Zaid was studying Derek with his eyes slightly wide. I didn’t push them for an immediate answer.

“Could be you have natural talent.”

“Next to…”

“Don’t compare yourself to us. Zaid’s been doing this for years and I’m a goddess. You’ve got a solid fighting style, you move well…”

“…that’s not it.” Zaid blinked, and their gaze returned to normal. “That’s emphatically not it.”

“So, what is it?” Derek asked, frowning.

“How well do you heal?”

Oh no.

I didn’t think Derek could take being told he was supernatural. Worse, what if he belonged to a God other than the one he had chosen?

“Pretty…” He tailed off. “Am I human?”

I wasn’t about to answer that. I could tell Derek had a soul, but whatever scrying Zaid had done wasn’t something I could duplicate with a glance. With time, sure. I knew he wasn’t anything to do with Asgard.

“Derek…” A pause. Then I glanced at Zaid. “Tell him.” Because it was already too late to hide this and it was too late to have him be left in some kind of limbo.

“Not entirely. Recent efreet blood, I’d say.”

“I’m not a demon!” He started to rise to his feet, then slowly sat down.

Good. He had himself under control.

“Oh, not remotely a demon. Efreet have souls, have free will, are very much like men. Just stronger.”

“We need to track that one down who fancied Clara, even if he did have a taste for…”

Zaid shook their head. “I can find one who isn’t halfway to being a pedophile. Leave it with me. It might take a bit.”

“And the demons…”

“Mixed breeds are rare. Derek’s soul is…a bit of a prize. Heaven and Hell will both want him.”

I looked at Derek.

“Well…I’ll try and stay on the Heaven side of the line.” He narrowed his eyes. “Do you…”

I shook my head. “No, and besides, Thruor’s the one who harvests souls, not me.” I’d seen her do it. I almost thought I knew how.

You will never be my sister.

“Am I safe from her?”

“As long as you want to be.”

Mike. I mourned inwardly for a moment, then shook my head. “That guy in the dreadlocks. I need to find him.”

“Why?” Zaid asked. Not which guy in dreadlocks.

“I think he knew what Derek is. Which makes me wonder what else he knew.”

“Dreadlocks his most defining feature…I wonder if you bumped into Samson.”

“Is that his real name or does he keep his strength in his hair?”

Zaid laughed. “You know? I don’t entirely know for sure.

I’d made sure Derek had my number and Thruor’s. I wasn’t surprised to get a call that just had an open line. While at lunch. I glanced at Zaid. “Got to go. Want to come?”

They grinned. “Let’s go.”

I broke into a run, knowing Zaid would have some means of following me. They were a good enough magic user that I knew I didn’t have to wait for them.

And I had my sword. It was funny how people never noticed it until I wanted them to. Even easier than it had been with the one Thruor had loaned me.

But, well. I ran. I wasn’t sure where he was without listening, but I got clues from that. Crap. He was by an airport, and I also thought I heard the river. Which meant he was on the far side of the river.

I was never going to get there on time. He was going to be killed or abducted and I was…

…but I wasn’t the magic user. I sensed Zaid’s presence go from behind me to way ahead. They hadn’t suggested they take me, which probably meant whatever teleportation spell they were using was limited in weight. Or that who and what I was would cause problems.

Either way, he had a better chance of getting there than I did, but that didn’t mean I was slowing down. The river. The bridge.

I still wondered if I could somehow get hold of a valkyrie’s steed, even though I wasn’t one. Or maybe, like the sword, mine was waiting for the right moment for me.

Forged for me before I was born.

Of course, the valkyrie steeds were all foals of Sleipnir. Awkward. Okay. Pulling my thought back from that, I realized I was on the bridge.

Then I saw a flare. Magic flare. Zaid. Making sure I had the right location, I was sure. I ran faster, if possible.

They were holding off half a dozen war demons, but hadn’t managed to damage them. Derek had managed to get or steal a baseball bat from somewhere and was using it to defend himself reasonably well.

I drew my sword and charged. Not the most original approach, but they were still looking at Zaid’s flare.

The first one I hit went down to my blade with one blow. A second turned, and Derek cracked him over the back of the head with his bat.
Zaid had changed tactics, or changed back, and was throwing ice at the others. They didn’t go down, but it seemed to slow them.

Probably what they had been doing until they sensed I was close enough to benefit from a signal. I spun to plunge my blade into the one staggering from Derek’s blow.

“I need one of those!”

“Sorry, they’re not that easy to come by.” A little bit of flame flickered along the blade. Fire beings or not, the demons didn’t seem to like that very much.

I could, though, probably find him some kind of sword. It looked like he was going to need one. Or maybe a good axe, the way he was fighting with the bat.

Looked like that might fit his natural style better, and I dropped another demon. There were two left standing.

They fled.

One was on the ground, but dissipated into fire and brimstone slowly. The other three were already gone.

“You need to stop making a habit of being beaten up,” I told Derek.

“I didn’t start it this time!”

I believed him.

Derek promised to be careful. I thought of Mike, and hoped he could even be careful enough.

When the best of us…

But he had also chosen this.

Or been maneuvered into it. That thought came nastily to mind. What better way to get somebody out of the picture than to push them into fighting alone, without proper training or gear, against all comers.

He’d been encouraged to hunt by the being he’d thought was his guardian angel, but as soon as Will had got his hands on him, he’d not even recognized that being straight away.

Which…meant he’d been befuddled. Demons couldn’t…but no, they couldn’t touch his soul, they could certainly mess with his head. Likely they’d managed to taint his soul too, but not likely enough that he wouldn’t recover.

If I could keep him alive.

No. If Will and Seb could. I wasn’t the one to train him, and I had enough on my plate. Will, Seb, and Zaid. I pulled out my phone and called the last named.

“Been a while,” they answered. “I’m assuming not a social call.”

“Got a kid who could use some pointers. Can I send him your way? Christian, mind.”

A laugh. “Sure. Now, could I maybe also have a social call?”

I laughed in return. “Sure, we can do…lunch tomorrow?”

“Works for me.”

I thought a moment longer. “The taco place on P street.”

“Very much works.”

Zaid liked spicy food as much as any middle eastern stereotype said he should. Almost as much as I did.

Which made me wonder idly if fire giant cuisine matched, well, their nature. Our nature. Would explain a lot.

The next day was also hot. Very hot. Too hot for most people, and Angrboda had gone back to Jotunheim threatening not to return until water was actually liquid again as opposed to just hanging in the atmosphere.

That was a rather picturesque description of DC’s famous humidity, but entirely on the nose. This was definitely one of those days when you thought you were breathing water. Which meant I walked right past the outdoor seating area and found Zaid inside.

“Even we’re hiding from it?” they quipped.

“Nobody’s sitting outside in this. I don’t want to stand out.”

A grin came from the androgynous form. “I can see that. So, tell me about this find of yours?”

“Tricked into hunting alone, with no gear, and with no discretion, by a demon.”
Zaid whistled. “I’ve seen that before a few times. They usually end up dead.”

“I think I can keep this one alive. I hope so, anyway.”

I had to try.

As he turned to leave, though, I thought I spotted something. “Careful.”

“Careful what?”

“On that bench.”

“What…oh, I think…”

He had enough of the Sight to spot it, as I’d suspected. “Let’s just walk casual.”

“And not start anything…”

“Too many people.” De-loose-cannoning Derek was going to be a tough job.

“…alright. But…”

I didn’t like the idea of letting a minor demon go either, but…it wasn’t doing anything right this second, so there was no sense starting a risky fight.

Until it got up and followed us.

“Now…”

I shook my head. “Wait. We’ll lead him somewhere and find out what he’s up to before sending him home.”

The hard way. He wasn’t significant enough, I could sense that. I probably wasn’t his target. I turned down a side street.

The demon followed. Derek was starting to relax. He wanted a fight. A nice, straightforward fight.

He was going to be disappointed – this wasn’t that type of demon. Once we were off the street I stopped, turned, “Did you think I wasn’t going to notice you?”

“This isn’t any of your business, Asgardian.”

My lips quirked. “I’m here.”

“You’re losing your way, Derek.”

Derek looked at me. Looked at the demon. “You just admitted she’s not one of you.”

“But she’s not an angel either.”
This was the little voice that had told Derek to hate everyone. This was something that had influenced him.

“No, she isn’t, and I don’t entirely trust her, but I know what you are now.”

I grinned. “Derek, was he pretending to be your guardian angel?”

“Yes. He told me it’s…”

“Very difficult for a novice to tell the difference. Which it is.” I grinned back at the demon. “Time to give up.”

“Don’t know why I put in so much effort on a worthless kid anyway.”

“Hey!”

I put my hand on Derek’s arm. “He’s trying to rile you now you’ve seen through him. They do that.”

The demon shrugged. “Alright. I’m going home. But the next one to show up won’t be nearly as nice to the kid.”

And he vanished in a poof of brimstone.

“That was too easy,” Derek complained.

“He was trying to get you killed and in trouble. He might just have decided I’m likely to do that job for him.”

He looked at me, then he managed a short, harsh laugh. “Maybe. I’ll probably do it myself.”

At least he acknowledged that he was in danger. But it had been too easy. We hadn’t seen the last of that one.

Or, as he’d promised, worse.

The next time I saw Derek, he was cleaned up, but still limping.

“I hope you got…”

“I got checked out properly. Nothing broken. Not sure how.”

“Maybe your guardian angel caught you.”

He seemed to consider that. “Okay, look. I don’t get it. If all the different deities are real, how come you aren’t warring over souls all of the time?”

“Because that isn’t really how it works.” I let out a breath. “We can’t touch anyone’s soul unless they agree. We don’t war, we…”

“Recruit.”

“And I’m not wanting to recruit you. Not when you’re happy where you are.”

He considered that. “Let me guess, it’s easier to go after agnostics?”

I nodded. “Much easier. Besides, this way we don’t end up fighting each other much, and you really don’t want that.”

“But there’s still…”

“Evil, yeah. But few entities are really absolutely evil. Genuine demons. Some giants. Not all. Some are just trying to live their lives.”

“I suppose…”

“You can not be evil and do evil stuff. Or you can do stuff that looks like it’s evil until you get some distance from it and it starts making sense.”

He hesitated. “Like doing something to teach somebody patience?”

I nodded. “Right. Or…dwarves consider stealing and counter-stealing perfectly acceptable forms of negotiation.”

“So…I need to learn to tell the difference.”

“And be careful of fairies. They’re not good or evil, they don’t really have morality at all. Most of the time whatever they do is funny to people other than them, but not always.”

He nodded slowly. “So…”

“The one who made the dragon illusion needed to be asked to stop, because people were panicking. But it didn’t warrant a physical attack.”

“What if they don’t stop?”

“Sit on them. Oh, and never accept anything from a fairy without being sure of the price. You don’t want to end up owing one a favor or accidentally trading five years of your life or something.”

“Is that a worry for you?”

“They’d try to get a favor out of me.” I was pretty sure of that, anyway. If I was a fairy, it would be what I’d go for. “Now, occasionally they’ll make friends, and friendship trumps, but it’s rare.”

“So, that’s why you don’t eat or drink in Faerie.”

“Exactly. It’s not the food or drink itself. It’s the obligation and what they might demand in return.” At least we were having a civil discussion and he seemed to have been convinced that I wasn’t evil.

“So, just fairy culture. I think I can get behind that. What about them taking kids?”

“That’s a myth, but they have been known to take and keep adults…or children old enough to fall for their tricks.”

“No sleeping with them either, I’d guess.”

“I suppose that would depend on whether they thought it was an even trade.”

He blushed, then nodded. “That’s kind of sinful anyway.”

“Better to find a nice person and stick to them anyway.” Thruor would disagree, but Thruor wasn’t there.

I was wrong. It wasn’t Seb who showed up – it was Father Will.

“I hear you have somebody who needs…”

“Derek here could use some explanations of the way the world worked.”

She’d made the right call. Derek, who had finally introduced himself, relaxed immediately when he saw Will’s collar.

“I’ll take him in hand. What beat him up?”

“Not sure. He’s lucky he got away with bruises, though. I thought of setting Zaid on him but Thruor’s right, you’re better.”

Will laughed. “Zaid would either scare him out of the business or…”

“Who’s Zaid?”

“Egyptian priest. Or priestess. Either way.”

Derek blinked, then it dawned. “Oh. One of those weird non-binary types.”

“And very talented.”

I did wonder if Derek was just lucky, though. That had been a nasty fall for a mortal.

Maybe his guardian angel had slowed him on the way down. I might ask Sarael. Or not. Will was the right person to deal with him right now.

“You’ll have to meet them at some point, but for now, I think…I’m going to take you out of the depths of weird for a bit.”

I grinned at Will. “Is that what I am to you now?”

“You,” he said. “Will always be my favorite bit of weird.”

I grinned, then watched priest and (limping) hunter leave. “Good call, Thruor.”

“Zaid would be a good one too. They’re an excellent teacher and not as far away in beliefs as we are.”

I thought about that and then nodded. “But maybe he needs to work up to Zaid.”

I wondered who the guy with the locks was. Another potential ally, possibly.

It was good to at least know who the players were. Especially if…

If some kind of war started. We’d already had a small one. I shuddered at the way the thought came into my mind randomly. When things like that happened, it usually meant that whatever I’d just thought about was something likely to have a kernel of truth.

Or maybe I was just afraid that Ragnarok was moving closer while I wasn’t looking. I often had that thought.

I had to remember it wasn’t all my responsibility, prophecy or no prophecy.

Then my phone rang. It was Kanesha. “Hey, where are you?” she asked.

“Thruor’s place.”

“Shall I come over?”

I glanced at the others…including the surprisingly quiet frost giant. “Sure. But be aware Angrboda’s here.”

“Alright.”

Thruor, having heard that, and seeing that we no longer had loose cannons around, was heading into the kitchen.

A nice relaxing evening with friends.

Well, friends and sort of friends. I mean, where does your dad’s ex fall? I still wasn’t entirely sure.

But Thruor was getting the mead, and that usually turned people into friends quickly enough.

“You guys are…”

“Too nice for demons?” I grinned. “She’s a frost giant. And the other one is a valkyrie.”

He looked at Thruor dubiously. “I don’t want to end up in Valhalla.”

She laughed. “Not to your taste, eh, all the drinking and fighting?” She grinned at me.

He looked down. “Uh…”

“You aren’t going the right way about going to Heaven if that’s your goal.”

Thruor wrinkled her nose. “Boring.”

Angrboda elbowed her before I could, then we both laughed.

“Well…”

“I wonder if Sarael’s around. He might be able to convince the kid that he’s not being the smartest here.”

“Who’s Sarael?” he finally asked.

“An angel I know,” I told him, bluntly. “An unusual one. He has a sense of humor.”

“…they generally don’t?”

“Angels,” Thruor explained. “Tend to take themselves very seriously. The thing is, kid, every myth is real, every story is true. Not literal, mind, but true.”

He frowned. “But…”

“That doesn’t mean any of us want or need you to worship us as well as the God you’ve chosen. But we’re real, and not all of us are evil. And if you don’t start getting your mind around that, you’ll be dead.”

“And?” he said, defiant for a moment.

“And you might find he’s not as happy with you as you think. If nothing else, no God is happy with a follower who gets himself stupidly killed.”

That seemed to get through to him. I headed to find Thruor’s medical stuff – the kid was going to need multiple ice packs, at the very least. Maybe we could recruit him once we had his head on straight. I came back with those and a couple of painkillers. “Aspirin or tylenol?”

“Aspirin.”

I offered him the bottle and a glass of water. He took two. “So…what are you?” He looked right at me.

“I’m Loki’s daughter.”

He almost choked on the pill. “And you’re trying to tell me you’re not…”

“I’ve met demons. My father is quite different, although you probably don’t want to get on his bad side.”

“He might throw mistletoe at me or whatever.”

“Nah, he’s more likely to find some way to sneak hot pepper in your lunch.”

From the look on his face that was a worse fate. Maybe I should get him some cayenne brownies. Just to be evil.

Or at least to be the trickster’s daughter.

“Okay. I…” He sighed. “How do I tell?”

“Usually evil entities are actually doing evil things. And I know somebody who can help you identify demons.”

“You can’t help?” He was still eyeing me warily.

“I can’t teach you the way I do it. It’s innate.”

“Oh, right.”

Thruor was already on the phone. I knew exactly who she was calling.

I figured it was time to head home.

Of course, we were in southeast, so I should have known something else would happen.

Actually, the something else that happened was a body landing at my feet with a thud. From the fact that it was still squirming, I divined that it probably hadn’t been intended to be a fatal fall.

“Is this one one of yours?” came a voice from a fire escape.

Angrboda whirled to face it. I inspected the body. It was our favorite loose cannon hunter. “No, but I’ll gladly take him out of here.”

I wasn’t sure who he’d decided to mess with this time.

“Tie him up until he learns the difference between demons and, well, anything.”

I laughed. “I think I’m going to try and set Zaid on him.”

“You know that guy?”

I could now see the figure on the fire escape…a young man with rather spectacular dreadlocks.

“Yeah, I know Zaid.”

“Good a plan as any.” He then looked at Angrboda. Then at me. “Okay, remind me to stay on your good side.”

I picked the guy up in a princess carry. “Don’t worry, it’s not hard.” And then I decided I was going to just carry him all the way to Thruor’s place.

Not Zaid’s, which was just a bit too far even for me.

He woke up after a bit. “Ugh.”

“You pissed off another hunter. This time I’m not turning you loose.”

“Ugh.”

“You’re either going to stop doing this or learn to do it right. Those are your choices. Or I’ll give you worse than bruises. Personally.”

“Demon,” he accused.

“No,” Angrboda said cheerfully, “That’s me.”

I laughed. “You aren’t a demon. Don’t confuse him further.”

“I’m a frost giant. Not much difference there.”

“This kid thinks we’re all demons.”

I put him down. “Don’t try to run.”

He didn’t. I took him all the way to Thruor’s place, which was bigger than mine.

She wasn’t even surprised to see me, a frost giant, and a beat up mortal on her doorstep. Probably because it had already happened too many times.

I wouldn’t have been surprised either.