Maybe it actually was time to leave. I’d pulled too many people in, hurt too many people. I walked out into the street.

It was dark. There was a raven on the streetlight.

“What should I do?” I called up to him.

“Caw.”

Yeah, a useful response, as ever, but then the bird dropped to land on my shoulder, a weight…his claws digging in through my shirt.

“Is it time for me to leave?”

“No. You need to be here.”

“Can you help Mike?”

“Not without changing the world forever.”

I nodded. “And possibly triggering Ragnarok. I get it. But can we at least keep him out of jail?”

No response.

“You don’t know yet. Got it.” Fate was still tangled. Too many possibilities. I understood that instinctively. “What about beating up Tyz’vel?”

“Not yet.”

I nodded. “Well, I tried to set some angels on him.”

Not yet? What more did he need to do? Then I realized he was reading it as me beating up Tyz’vel and saying I couldn’t take him. Yet.

“Good move. Don’t trust them, but…”

“I don’t. They give me the creeps.”

“Their leash is very tight.”

I kept walking. “Okay.”

“I have more free will than they are allowed to exercise. They seem to respond to that by being self righteous.”

I laughed. “Good one…whichever one you are.”

“Hunin.”

“Sorry. I…haven’t worked out how to tell you apart yet.”

“We are from the same nest.”

Good point. They were both big black birds that gave off a similar magical feel. Of course they were brothers. “I’ll get it.”

“No. You’ll remember it.”

“When?”
“Soon.” the raven promised, then dug in his claws once more as he lifted off into the sky. I watched him go.

So, he figured I’d eventually get powerful enough to deal with Tyz’vel myself. But I wasn’t sure how. Demons liked fire, after all.

Or maybe he wouldn’t like my fire so much…