He still owed me one for what he said. I’d collect later, though. For right now, I was…stuck waiting while other people tied up the loose ends. With school over for the year, I had plenty of time for extra work and for keeping my eye open for the next problem.

But I couldn’t do anything about the problems we already had. Except for the one leaning against the outside of a building and smirking.

“Thanks,” Tyz’vel said as I approached.

I kept my distance, but brought myself within conversational range. “For?”

“Dealing with the bombs.”

“Sorry, but the angels did that one.”

“Lending me your friend.”

“Sorry, but she’s not mine to lend.” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Also, she told me you suck in bed.”

“She just wasn’t up to appreciating my charms.” He did a little twirl of his hips.

“You’re just used to succubi, and they’re used to faking it.” Which might or might not be true. “Either way, she certainly didn’t give me a report that made me more inclined to go with you.”

I still wondered just who was protecting Monica. I liked her, but she wasn’t one of ours. Greek, maybe? Egyptian? I could ask Zaid on the latter, I supposed, with him being a priest and all. He could ask Ra about it. Or maybe she was and I just didn’t know or hadn’t been told.

There were other possibilities. And I did wonder that whoever did it was hiding from me.

“Who’s protecting her soul?”

I shrugged. “No clue. Not Asgardian as far as I can tell, so not really my business. Maybe she has a really good and very tolerant guardian angel.”

Tyz’vel snorted. “They don’t waste those on anyone who isn’t really special these days.”

“Maybe she is. Or maybe they lent her one.” Or maybe he was lying. In any case, I wanted to find out as much as he did. “You’re really curious, aren’t you.”

He nodded. “I’ve always been able to tell who. Until now.”

And I realized he thought there might be a new player on the scene. But how? How could there be a player that wasn’t connected to anyone or anything else?

Unless, of course, I was completely wrong about Monica. Unless she wasn’t human at all and had fooled both of us.

Who or what could do that? “Well, how about a truce on this one front. You find out, you tell me and vice versa?”

“I could agree to that.” A pause. “I’d rather have a truce,” he admitted.
“We could have one. All you have to do is give up and leave my friends alone.”

He hesitated, then shook his head, snapped his fingers, and vanished.