“I made her human,” he said. “She was a demon and I gave her human form- frak!” Every shadowed place lit up. “I gave her flesh and I gave her a name! I gave her my name!”

War smiled, took his hand off Simon’s shoulder and smoothed Simon’s shirt. “And true names are words of power,” he said, “and blood magic is powerful magic.”

“But she’s the one who killed the god, right? I knew when the god died.”

“You felt it in your blood ‘cause it’s in hers,” War said.

“So I’m a god, too?”

“I said you felt it. Don’t get cute.”

“She killed the god by… you know…?”

“Prob’ly.”

“So we’re frakked,” Simon said despondently.

War laughed at him.

“If we were ‘frakked,’ why would my bros and I be fighting her while I sat here by myself, not getting any action, on the off-chance you might show up?”

The clever part of Simon’s mind told the other part to shut up: he was pretty sure War knew exactly what he’d said and there wasn’t a bit of contradiction in it.

The clever part was still seeing everything lit up.