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.