All thirty-eight of the remaining candidates proved to be a washout. Once they realised the application was a tad more serious - and permanent - than film school, most of them turned it down. Decades of doctrine had done a number on the allure of power, with cited reasons ranging from fear for lives and souls to concern I was ushering in the inevitable next evolution of 419 scams. I’d have had more luck if I’d stuck to the theatre lie.

But there was no hiding powers, and I needed someone who wouldn’t sabotage the plan out of a misguided sense of heroics. The recruit had to be willing.

I nodded attentively as the latest candidate railed on about the dangers of Nigerian princes and expedited him mid-word to one of the nation’s palaces where he could deliver his grievances in person. It had been an hour or so of repeated failures, and I was wasting time.

Contrary to my expectations, Vince had not in fact suffered a heart attack but manifested the hagalaz rune in glowing blue strokes. One of the more destructive Futhark characters, it called down chaos and devastation where inscribed. After years of bombarding Lucy with assassination requests it didn’t surprise me the occultist had fallen into the position of Wrath, though he proceeded to undercut it by organising a celebratory dinner with his grandkids, who were apparently well aware of his religious choices and oddly supportive. Before it could get too out of hand, I had Tru send through a copy of the pact amendment and watched Vince sign it then and there.

It was too soon to say how his powers would manifest. I ran through the obvious candidates – combat damage, annihilation and the like – to no avail. All that happened was that he stared at the hat I’d placed in front of him on the table and imitated needing more prune juice in his diet.

“Well, what feels different?” I asked, attempting to move things along. “There must be something.”

“Oh, plenty,” Vince said gleefully, tapping his palm for the twentieth time that minute. The rune responded by glowing slightly brighter for the barest of instants, but did nothing else. “I have moths in my head, for one thing.”

“Moths?”

“Flitting about up there and moving around, like they do in the night. They probably just need a good bright lamp to bring them out of hiding, I’d say. Or a fire. But until then, all I can catch are glimpses.”

Hagalaz had never been the most reliable rune, much like its new bearer. It made a fitting kind of sense. In any case, it wouldn’t matter too much if Vince couldn’t figure it out in time for the main event. He’d be there to relay information between groups, with anything extra a convenient bonus. I left him to his moths, one demon lord short of where I wanted to be.

With four of the five lords’ worth of power torn out of me by spiritual pliers, I was starting to notice the difference; a hollowness where something had been lost. But also a lightness; subtle freedom from a burden I hadn’t realised I’d carried. I was ready to discard the rest of it.

Vince was already trying to shill his colleagues for the final spot, as if the roles weren’t already overrepresented by old men from Italy. That or my own list of would-be worshippers, although I hadn’t yet scaled the heights of desperation that would entail.

First I’d try asking Tez. Two of him in action would be freeing up the original’s time for planning, and chances were he’d already know the answer.

It had also been a while since I’d checked in as Odin.

I stepped back to the Bhutanese monastery only to find out the office had moved on, with only a few residual Hungarians to show it had ever been there. Fortunately they’d been sharing phone numbers, and a query to one bewildered camper informed me she’d received calls from her spouse in Rome.

I highly doubted the new location was a coincidence. Providence was setting up for the announcement.

More urgent calls were waiting for me, among them missives from Enki and Vishnu. I’d barely gotten three words in when a new rune butted up against my awareness in a bird’s talon of blazing orange, a vertical line with two shafts extending upwards diagonally from the upper third.

Am I doing this correctly? Regina asked.

Best first attempt so far, I told her. I assume you’re not bringing good news.

I’ve been talking to – I had the distinct sense of her shaking her head in disbelief, - Lucifer. Apparently you have a problem.

One moment, I said, and stilled myself against the monastery overhang. The next, I stepped out into Singapore, or more accurately, a faceful of spiky bush somewhere within its borders. If I hadn’t been incorporeal, it would have been a rude and painful shock.

It took me a few seconds of adjustment to figure it out: for whatever reason, Regina sat crouched, hiding, in the shadow of thick bushes, her back up against what seemed like a low rock wall. She’d broken off some of the larger branches from trees nearby and added to the leafy wall in front of her to patch any remaining gaps. She wore a knitted and very dirty glove over the rune hand, muting the shine, and her eyes were alert, demonic rejuvenation keeping her in working condition despite the obviously less-than-ideal situation.

And it had deteriorated. For one thing, the raised hairs on Regina’s arms told me it had gotten cold, and during daylight hours. Even not being physically present, I could see the leaves on the trees were dry, the island’s pervasive humidity absent, and probably that way for a few days. The rest I could gather from my retainer’s face.

“I’m not sure I’m the one with the problem,” I pointed out, crouching to join her. “Unless this is how you spend your typical weekend. I won’t judge.”

“There’s nowhere else I can go,” she said, patting a muddy backpack lying on the ground next to her. It had been designed for everyday use, not heavy duty, and didn’t look like it would stand up to much more of its current treatment. The pack bulged with lumps where objects exceeding its capacity had been crammed in and pushed against the edges, stretching the fabric as far as it would go without breaking. “After you left, things stayed quiet for half a day. Then, Siphon’s trap began proliferating. Only in a few locations to begin with, but then something must have happened. A few dots became a wave. I ditched my phone and grabbed what supplies I could from home. But I was already being hemmed in. I barely made it here in time, and now the reserve is completely encircled.”

I poked my head outside the branches and recognised the place. The Bukit Timah Reserve, a substantive rainforest in the middle of the city. One of the few areas not filled with blanket electronics. A few subdued cicada chirps hummed in the trees around us, lacking their usual energy. In the far distance I made out one of the reserve’s walking tracks winding through the trees, festooned with red lanterns in anticipation of the new lunar year. Tomorrow, in fact. I’d originally planned on spending it gatecrashing parties and provoking scandals. Now, trade was shut down, movements were curtailed, and the country would be lucky if it didn’t teeter into martial law. So much for festive.

“This is the best spot I’ve found so far,” Regina continued as I lowered myself back down. “Before, I had to keep moving every few minutes. People would keep walking by, and everyone’s devices have that expanded radius now. I can feel them all, now, across the whole city. I never used to be able to sense that far.” Her voice faltered. “Did I do this? Is this happening because of my greed?”

I backhanded her lightly over the head. “Don’t be stupid. You’re Pride, not Greed. And this is all on Siphon and Themis – although Themis is all that’s keeping the rest of the world from being overrun right now. The bad news is that they’ll never let the barrier down after this. Singapore is going to have to find a way to deal with the bubble on its own.”

“So I’m stuck here. It’s only a matter of time before I can’t outrun the fields anymore.”

“I didn’t say that,” I remarked. “I can pull you out if I need to. You should also know you’re carrying algiz. It’s the strongest protective rune there is. If any of them could stand up to these fields, it’s that.”

Regina clasped her arms together in front of her chest and shivered. “Then you’re welcome to test it. Although I wish you’d pull me out. These supplies won’t last much more than a week.”

Like most immortals, regular demons didn’t need food and water to survive – and the demon lords were historically another tier above that again. But my retainer wouldn’t have known that, and just because she didn’t need to eat didn’t mean she wouldn’t notice its absence. I’d been in enough relevant situations to know that with blinding certainty.

“I can deal with that. As well as most problems you’re likely to encounter. Though those fields are a problem. I can’t get close.” I stroked my chin. “I want you to stay put a little longer.”

The waitress – or ex-waitress, given the city would be rationing its food supplies like crazy – glared daggers at me. “How much longer? Sooner or later the government will get its act together and realise the only way they can produce enough food is to cultivate arable land. In other words, the parks. This place will be swarming with desperate people wanting to plant crops or scavenge. And I’m no good to you here. I’m trapped in a clearing getting smaller by the hour.”

“Interesting. I had you pegged as the defender type. Save the others who need saving. Or was I wrong?”

In truth, I wasn’t at all sure about her background. But where you found one immortal or otherwise supernatural entity, you often found more. Having powers and not using them was a bit like walking around with one hand tied behind your back; you could do it, but it just felt wrong. In a world where immortals were hunted and commodified, it was common for like to reach out to like and form a centralised hub of chronic depression.

Regina gave me a despairing glance, and her eyes flicked away. She curled into her knees on the shady ground. “What’s left to save? It’s already eaten its fill. Friends, my grandmother…”

“Siphon were targeting gods,” I stated. “I don’t think they put much thought into who else their plans would affect. That, or they didn’t care. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

“Are you?” It wasn’t an accusation so much as a rhetorical question. “I was close enough to feel it happen. I can see so much more, now. I’ve been such an idiot. This was a curse all along.”

“Regina.”

“Grandma always told me to stay away from gods. She said they brought only trouble, even the nice ones. Especially the nice ones. And she couldn’t run. She could barely get out of bed.”

“Spare me the pity party,” I groaned, trying to pick a rogue twig off her shoulder and watching my fingers pass straight through it. “You don’t think this is your fault, you think this is my fault. You’re grieving, so I’ll let it slide. But what’s happening right now is the result of a weapon devised by mortal hands. They don’t get a free pass in this either.”

“After the way you’ve neglected your duties as caretakers? Maybe they do. So maybe it’s time for me to follow in your example and abandon mine too. I’m cold, I’m homeless, and my city is dying. Just let me leave.”

I wanted to use Siphon. The virus getting out was another threat severe enough to lure out one of the remaining executives. I just wasn’t sure how to use it. Regina had a point; she was as vulnerable as I was, and keeping her here was a limitation rapidly earning resentment. But she was also my insider, my one weapon in a reserve the rest of the world lacked so much as eyes on. Whoever controlled Singapore controlled the bomb, and I was tantalisingly close to staking that claim.

And she had algiz, of all the runes. There was hope yet.

In the far off distance, something was bothering me. My vision hazed as my grasp on Regina wavered and Bhutan seeped in around the edges. It took me a moment to realise it was my phone as Odin, vibrating with another call. It reminded me why I was here in the first place.

“You said Lucy thinks I have a problem,” I raised, switching subjects. “What is it? I keep telling him my relationship with caffeine is consensual.”

It seemed to snap her out of her funk for a moment. “Contractors. You hired people to look into the software. Apparently they cracked it.”

“Good. That’s what we asked them to do.”

“Well, apparently they found too much.”

“And that means?”

She made a frustrated gesture. “Why are you both going through me instead of talking to each other? It’s like a bad divorce in a TV drama.”

“Still being tracked, one way or another. I need to get my phone back from Neetu. It’s also good practice for you.” I didn’t ask if she’d rather be alone under a bush while the world collected crazy pills. Lucy had always made a point of talking to people he did business with. The devil whispering in one’s ear was not just a saying.

“Could you even pick it up the way you are right now?” Regina asked. “Anyway –” She paused, listening to something I couldn’t hear, and recited it back to me. “They’ve been in touch.”

I lifted my eyebrows in genuine surprise. I’d assumed they’d been taken into custody along with Yun-Qi and whatever was left of Xiānfēng after the purge. Pakhet’s brief had been clear: anyone who’d interacted with any version of the software, and their immediate contacts. If Hera was to be believed, they’d be cut off in a disused corporate facility right about now, technically not even on Earth. And unlike Neetu, they didn’t have a company phone. “And how did they manage that?”

“That’s the problem,” she said. “Apparently. It came through on Lucifer’s task list. I thought you told me that was a good thing.”

It wasn’t out of the realms of possibility they could send a message that way – and frankly, quite clever. But the chances of it just happening to land in Lucy’s list were extremely improbable unless the deliverer had bought into Vince’s underwhelming attempts to convert them to Satanism. “Not if it’s a clandestine investigation we’re trying to retain dibs on,” I replied. “What did it say?”

“‘I know everything’.”

“I doubt it.”

“And only that. In all-caps for emphasis.”

It was one way to announce your success. I expelled a breath – not that I was really breathing the air here – and thought back to the fake task I’d seen earlier on Lofn’s computer. That had been Siphon’s work, not Xiānfēng’s, but both groups had been poking around Providence’s Helpdesk setup via backdoor access. The two analysts had laughed off Vince’s tales at the time, but I imagined that would have changed if they’d actually deciphered the code behind it and seen exactly who they were dealing with. Not to mention being whisked away to a pocket dimension during a time freeze. Thanks to Vince, it seemed they’d put two and two together about their latest client.

Lucy was right – this was a problem. He didn’t exactly have the best reputation. If they could send tasks to the devil, they could send them to anyone in the department. Either they were reaching out to Lucy for help – or this was a threat. They didn’t know about the pact, but they didn’t need to; any obstacle getting in the way of the master plan right now was one we couldn’t afford.

Fortunately, the authority in charge of the Helpdesk audit was now me. Really, this would just be me doing my job at this point.

And if it was help they were after – well, I could provide that. For a price.

“Stay here,” I repeated to Regina. I shifted form, mirroring her appearance, and passed her the kind of warm jacket she wouldn’t have thought to pack. “Keep talking to Neetu and keep an eye on the larger metaphysics. I need both of you to be my agents. But if the containment field gets too close, call me. I’ll pull you out.”

“I could always lie and tell you it was already here.”

I tapped a finger against the side of my nose. “But you won’t.”

The demon lord looked away.

“Use the time to work on your powers,” I advised, following her gaze to the forlorn lanterns hanging stagnant through the curtain of leaves. “You had a head start on the others; you’re bound to be strong.”

With one arm ensconced in a coat sleeve, Regina fumbled around for the other opening. “You should instruct me,” she stated, finding the hole. “Yes, I’ve had powers, not that they got me very far - but that’s exactly why I know I have no idea what I’m doing. This is new. You don’t just play around with these things. I could blow something up. Or someone. What I need is proper training.”

“Good for you,” I told her. “I have neither the interest, ability nor time.”

“I can’t believe you’re this irresponsible,” my retainer scowled back. “This is why we have problems. I could do a better job than you.”

I grinned. “Wonderful. Then you’ve surpassed your mentor and don’t need training.”

She opened her mouth and closed it again.

“Listen,” I continued. “It’s different for everyone. It’s no use telling you how to shapeshift if your ability is to make forcefields. It won’t work.”

Regina looked down and away again, not meeting my gaze.

“Oh, was I close? You have some idea, then. Abstract or literal?”

“I don’t know.”

“Find out. Here’s a fact for you: not all gods come into being as adults, you know. A lot of us were once squawking infants. I could tell you stories but I don’t know how recently you’ve eaten. However wild you think you are, you’re not going to be worse than a week-old baby with fire magic. We had whole dimensions we’d take them to until they learnt to keep that sort of thing under control.”

“Muspelheim?”

“Yep. Babies and arsonists. And it didn’t take long, either. Pain is almost as powerful a deterrent as your parental figures telling you they’re not mad, just disappointed. Intent is what matters.”

Regina let out a shaky breath. She folded her arms on top of each other. “Even then. It’s too much. I don’t even know what I can do yet, but I know it’s too much. No one should have this much power.”

“Or,” I pointed out, carefully, “everyone should. Is it really the power you’re scared of, or the power imbalance? Are you scared because you believe it’s out of your control, or you’ve been taught to believe it should be?”

“So, what – you’re going to leave me here under a bush after I just witnessed the death of friends and family members?”

“Technically not dead.”

“I don’t see how that matters!”

I edged around her, broad green leaves passing through my body so that they appeared to poke out of my neck and shoulders, and collapsed onto the ground beside her, poking at the earth with an experimental finger. It felt unlike dirt and more like a smooth, impenetrable barrier arresting further downwards motion. I could push the digit through, but it took effort. I wasn’t sure if the effect was a magical law of visitation or simply psychological, but going down that rabbit hole opened up far too many questions I didn’t have answers to.

When I’d met Regina, she’d lived her life at other people’s mercy, struggling and stressed.

“Truthfully, I’m not fully across how this works, yet,” I admitted, staring out at the wall of vegetation. It might have been my imagination, but some of the leaves seemed to look a little wilted around the edges. “The way Lucy phrased it, I got the impression this relationship involves some means of, let’s say, strong encouragement if needed.”

Regina snorted. “So I don’t get a choice. Fan-bloody-tastic.”

I shrugged. “I could threaten you if you want. It’s not like I need a rune to do that. Especially now that I’m off the books. But I’m not going to. You’re here because you happened to be in the right place at the right time. But you’re also here because I happen to like you. You think I’d let just anyone ping me whenever they felt like it?”

“You don’t know anything about me. You’re manipulating me.”

“Openly. It’s called ‘asking for a favour’. You know, that ludicrous thing friends do when they need to rely on someone.”

She stared at me skeptically. “The Loki. Relying on me. What do I get out of it?”

“The reassurance you’re needed and life has some kind of fleeting, arbitrary purpose?”

“The life you want me to risk.”

“Technically not risking, since it’s technically not dying. Besides, you might be in less danger than you think.” I nodded at her gloved hand.

Following my gaze, she glanced down at the fabric and back up at me. Before I really had time to register what was happening, a powerful wrenching sensation twisted my gut and shattered my perception into several pieces, plunging my awareness into darkness. A second later, it re-emerged back in the wintery snows of the Bhutanese monastery where a concerned Hungarian jumped back as I lurched into gasping reanimation.

The algiz rune, when I reached for it, was strangely inaccessible, slipping through my grasp like water in a sieve. “What the –”

“I don’t know, man,” said the Hungarian. She took a thermos flask out of her jacket and unscrewed the top, passing it to me. “You tell me one part of this day that makes sense. You okay?”

The rune was already flaring back to life, algiz rejoining its three companions in what would normally have been the back of my awareness and was now clamouring for attention in the front, orange tendrils leaking out similar to sunbeams through a sheet of cardboard someone had attacked with a fork.

I guess this means it worked, Regina's voice reached me a moment later. Alright, I’ll do as you ask. But only as long as you don’t betray me.

Despite myself, I broke out into a laugh. I took the flask from my Hungarian benefactor and downed a swig of the fresh water. “We’re good,” I said in both conversations simultaneously, handing it back. And speaking of distrust of power, you and I have some common interests. Talk to Lucy. He’ll have something for you to sign.

My official phone, now linked to my email, was brimming with messages from constipated executives and managers whose erratic typing suggested anything from stress headaches and hangovers to sheer unadulterated panic. From the gist of it, Security was quietly imploding as its new senior manager turned a blind eye to standard procedure.

Meanwhile, Djehuti had sent me a list of the computers monitored by Xiānfēng. I approved them for a date with the black hole over in HR’s Facilities department – to remove the evidence, if nothing else. As expected, the list read like a blow-by-blow of Saint Nick’s fossil fuel delivery service list: Divinity Edition, though they hadn't gotten everyone right. Allegiances had changed and priorities had shifted in the centuries since Providence had taken over. Tez was on the list, but Mayari was clean. Guesswork from old data and public wisdom.

It looked like Xiānfēng had been trying to monitor Siphon’s potential targets, probably with a high success rate. Which was interesting, since Yun-Qi had denied all knowledge of the splinter’s activities. Canciana, and perhaps a few others, had been keeping tabs on their rivals. I wondered if she’d learnt about the bomb. Perhaps that was what had prompted her to move countries and dive into the system unchecked.

Or I could just ask. Locating the specific message I’d been hunting for, I pounced on the coordinates within. A disused dimensional facility, just like Hera had promised. I’d need more information on the roots of the Helpdesk system if we were really going to pull off shutting it down.

And just as importantly, I knew where to find my fifth and final demon lord.