I suspect the smell of cayenne brownies brought him. He was limping slightly, but otherwise seemed fine.

“I hear you got beaten up by fire giants defending my honor.”

“My own fault for letting them lure me into Muspelheim.” He claimed a brownie and munched on it.

“I can defend my own honor, you know. Although, if you have time to prank an FBI agent…”

“Oh?”

“Morrow. Sadly, his initials aren’t T.O.” Which would have been cruelty, I thought, on the part of his parents. “He’s determined to find out who I really am.”

“Oh. He shouldn’t be too much of a problem.” Loki flopped onto Mike’s couch, red hair loose and seeming longer than usual.

“I hope not. But we might need to put some wild geese in his way.” I snagged a brownie myself and perched on the other end of the couch. “Your brother was here. He told me to be careful.”

“He plays with your head, you know.”

“Says the Trickster.”

Loki shrugged eloquently, munching on his brownie. “I don’t pretend to be anything but.”

“I’m used to having my head played with. He was warning me about something but expecting me to know what it was.”

“Or watching to see if you could work it out. He doesn’t give direct answers.”

“Again, says the Trickster.”
Thruor was more direct than either of them, I thought with amusement. But there was definitely something going on.

Then there was a knock on the door. I got up to answer it, glanced at the couch. Loki had abruptly de-aged to about seventeen.

It was Agent Morrow. “Pardon the visit, but…” Then he peered at Loki.

“Just a friend. Luke…sorry about this.”

Loki maneuvered into a sitting position, and then standing. Then he offered Morrow a brownie. Without, of course, warning him.

I wasn’t in the mood to either, and tried not to smile as the agent took it, took a bite, and sputtered. “What…what’s in that thing?”

“Cayenne and cinnamon,” I told him. “It’s…an acquired taste.”

“Or you just keep them around to prank unsuspecting visitors,” Morrow accused, flatly.

I shrugged, took a big bite out of mine to demonstrate that I really did like the taste, then set it down. “If you’re looking for Mike, he’s out.”

“I was looking for Kanesha, actually. Is she out as well?”

I nodded. “She went to the library.”

“Quite the young scholar.” His tone implied that he didn’t entirely approve. Of something. Or maybe his lips were still burning from the brownie. “Tell her I need to talk to her.”

“I will.” And then Morrow turned and left.

Loki was watching him go. “Don’t trust that man.”

“He’s just a detective who likes to apply the law literally.”

“No. He’s more dangerous than that.”