“We can’t always help them.”

I didn’t even jump at the voice. “Maybe Eir can.”

“It depends. You had a good insight…” Loki shrugs. “Sometimes if we fix one thing it breaks something else.”

“It’s not fair, though. She deserves a good long life.”

“Does she?” Loki shrugs. “Who deserves to stick around on Earth that long?”

“It’s not that messed up.” I let out a breath, not wanting that discussion again. “And I don’t want to make that decision for her. But I suppose it’s not mine.”

“It’s not.” His lips quirk. “Odin has something in mind for her.”

“I’m still trying to work out why. I like her…”

“She’s tougher than you know.”

It hit me that I didn’t know anything about Monica’s background, about her family. Maybe she’d modeled her way out of poverty? Maybe her parents were split up, or her dad in jail, or…any number of things. “I don’t know much about her, really. Other than she’s fun to hang out with and trustworthy.”

“Doesn’t need much more than that, does it.”

I grinned. “To make a friendship, no.” And I reminded myself that I knew, knew for all surety, that death wasn’t the end even for mortals. A slight shiver went through me. I realized it wasn’t just that I didn’t want her to die. I didn’t want her to go through what I’d seen in the cancer fundraiser ads.

“Sometimes it doesn’t even need much more than that to make something stronger than a friendship. But…”

“I’m not asking her. If she doesn’t want to tell me stuff, she…look out!”

Loki lifted his hand and caught the ball that had been about to hit him in the back of the head. “Oh, somebody’s about to get pranked.”

I grinned. “Don’t be too hard on the kid.”

He snorted and stalked off. I had a feeling he probably now looked just like that kid’s most feared teacher. Or their dad. Or somebody else scary.

I kept walking, letting him handle it. Couldn’t save her. Couldn’t help her. Had to try, had to do something.

Not omnipotent. And I didn’t want to be. The world would be…she was right. If the gods were truly omnipotent that had to mean we were evil. Eir could do something, though.

The question was whether she would.