“It’s a nice place to live,” I agreed, feeling happy with my town and my people—all the people—here.
“The other reason has more to do with my day job.”
“Bartending?”
“Godding.” She rubbed at the wet beer label, rolling off a bit of the foil. “There are some events outside of Ordinary that I don’t care to be a part of. Gods who are making a bid for…well, let’s just say there are gods out in the universe who are pushing for changes. And supernaturals who want other outcomes. I don’t care to take sides.”
A cold shiver pulled goosebumps down the back of my neck. “Are you talking about a war of some kind?”
“I don’t know what it will or won’t be.” She smiled. “But there is a certain amount of…jockeying between forces and powers out in the world right now.”
“So you came here to hide?” I gave her a grin.
“I’m not hiding. I’m here to wait and see. Besides, Ordinary is one of my favorite places no matter what’s happening on the outside.”
The football-tennis-racket game was in full force, and a couple people—humans—had pulled up coolers as judging seats.
There seemed to be a constant argument as to what counted as a point. Also, some of the players insisted the rules allowed tackling their own teammates.
“Is Ordinary going to be affected by the jockeying between forces?”
She looked away from the game and reached over to squeeze my shoulder. “I didn’t mean to make you worry, Myra. You already do enough of that.”
“How bad is it going to be?”
She shook her head. “Your father wouldn’t have pushed.”
“I’m not him.”
“No,” she said, not unkindly, “you’re not. I don’t think Ordinary will be involved at all. But if it is, well, there are more than enough of us who will do our part to keep it safe.”
I nodded, accepting that truth. The gods, the supernaturals, and the humans had all risen again and again in the town’s time of need, whether it was devastating winter storms, petty territory battles, or murdered gods.
One of the werewolves dashed under the hastily constructed line strung between two sticks drilled into the wet sand, and body checked the vamp on the other side.
The two of them went down in a tangle, and someone passed them the ball. It didn’t make any sense, but everyone was hooting and cheering and enjoying themselves.
I was impressed at the wolves and fangers carefully not revealing their supernatural strength or speed. That added a layer of challenge to the game the humans wouldn’t pick up on, but the rest of us saw.
“So, Delaney’s soul has been in the possession of a demon for over a year,” I said.
She hummed.
“Some of the old texts say that when a person’s soul has been in a demon’s hands for over a year, it…fails.”
She took a drink of beer, waiting for me to ask her what I really wanted to know.
“Do you think Delaney’s soul has been damaged?”
“Yes.” Quick. Without hesitation.
“Permanently?”
“I don’t know. Reeds aren’t exactly like other humans when it comes to power and powerful things. Your bloodline is bendy. But that doesn’t make you invulnerable.”
“She’s the bridge for god power to cross into Ordinary and be stowed away.” I chewed on my bottom lip. “Will a damaged soul change that?”
“Will it change her ability to do her job?” she asked.
