"Your kin?" I suppose anyone Iter introduced me to would be supernatural in some manner, but still. How many gods can a girl meet?

"Yes! We met with Lex while you were out. We are playing the video game." Iter gestured toward the television screen. The current character (Lex's?) was walking forward in front of an inactive doorway, completely ignoring the mechanism to its side. I recognized the puzzle, one of many simplistic obstacles in the beginner tutorial dungeon. It was more meant to familiarize the player with the controls and environment rather than provide a challenge. However, the character kept walking forward without getting anywhere. It was as if an invisible wall were keeping them from proceeding so the 'walk' animation continued in place.

"I can see that," I replied slowly. I had to nip this in the bud. "Iter, can I talk to you for a second in the kitchen?" I tried to assemble a warm smile, but my eyes were screaming.

"Of course." Iter smiled back, but his eyes were confused. I moved to the kitchen, and I dropped my bag on the table, a little harder than I intended. Iter followed, looking at my bag and me with an expression halfway between joy and dismay.

Trying to keep my voice from carrying into the front room, I hissed, "You can't bring stray gods into my home."

"We did not bring Them. It is more accurate to say that They brought Themselves." He responded in a whisper, matching my tone. He looked slightly chagrined, but the expression faded quickly from his features. "At any rate, They are a God. They… We cannot be prevented." He smiled, a little sheepishly.

"Iter is correct." The god named Lex called out from the front room, never leaving the sofa. They didn't seem to raise their voice, but it reverberated like a gong through the house. "We cannot be constrained by mortal concerns. However, what Iter neglects to mention is that They are the cause of Our presence."

I turned and looked hard at Iter, who's smile had become a little sickly. "What does that mean?" I asked pointedly, at normal volume, all pretense of surreptitiousness gone.

Iter grimaced with a sidelong look at Lex in the next room, before he turned his attention back to me. "Lex is not… comfortable with Our continued presence within this world." His shoulders drooped a little, and I could feel the strain coming off of him. Part of me was glad he was feeling put upon. But I also knew how it felt to deal with an unexpected if not exactly unwelcome guest, and could empathize.

"It is Unprecedented." The deep voice rang out. Lex's eyes never moved away from the screen, but a deep 'v' had furrowed its way onto their brow.

"As We reminded You, there is much unprecedented in this situation." Iter countered. "We are merely observing the situation more closely in response."

A rumbling snort was the only reply.

"Wait, are you here without permission or something?" I scrunched up eyebrows. Iter wasn't unwelcome, or anything. I mean, I hadn't known him long, but he was… amusing, I guess? It was hard to put a label on our relationship. He was an alien, but supportive presence. And he saved my life.

It was Iter's turn to scoff. "We go where the Path leads. We require no permission to be who We are."

"You may be hewing to Your Nature, God of Paths. But take care Your Journey does not run afoul of the Order of things."

"That's Your concern, not Ours." Iter shot back peevishly.

"We are All charged with upholding the Order on which We All depend. It is… confound this accursed door!" the god jabbed its thumb hard against the controller, apparently attempting to substitute force for facility. If Lex broke it, I'd need to make sure Iter replaced it somehow.

Iter chuckled, and moved back to the front room and to the side of the couch to assist his fellow deity.

"The door will not open without solving the required puzzle. You must manipulate the rings on each column to… " Iter leaned in to assist his fellow god with the challenge.

Human. We would recruit your aid. Send Iter away.

I blinked at the voice inside my head. It rang so loudly it should be painful, but it didn't hurt. It brought back memories of meeting Iter and Metam for the first time in the Divine Realm.

Indeed. Metam has shown Us this. And while We do not disapprove of your continued position as Hero, We do not believe Iter's actions have been wholly in service to Harmony. Mayhap you can convince Them to see Their Path in a different manner.

But why? I asked in my head. He's only trying to help me. He's not even doing much, except follow me around. And play video games, I added after a moment.

Their very presence bends the world around Them. They are a God. They do not belong.

I didn't respond, thinking it over.

"We should engage Porta for assistance," I heard Lex suggest, the two gods continuing their conversation all the while.

"Ugh, We would rather not get Them involved. We have a History." Iter shook his head in rueful remembrance. "Besides, it is quite a simple puzzle. You are being obstinate."

I listened to them go back and forth for a few moments. After a while, it became clear they were preoccupied entirely with the video game. And Lex seemingly had no intention of leaving. It felt like déjà vu. There was no way I'd be accepting a second squatter in this house. But it didn't seem like Lex would leave until Iter did. And Iter gave no impression that he was convinced by any of Lex's arguments. It might be a long night.

✦ ✦ ✦

When I left for a run the next morning, Lex was still there, grinding through the game. They didn't follow Iter's example and join our jog.

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It was a grey winter morning in the Bay Area, heavily overcast and just under 50° F. While not foggy, the air felt damp, and my exposed skin was chilled. I'd only found a couple of small loot markers, but picked them up on the way – another earring and a chain with a broken clasp. Not exactly a second seed round of funding. Though the physical benefits from leveling up were even more clear now, as I was noticeably faster and nearly as fresh in appearance as Iter by the end.

After a brief cooldown around the block, I turned briskly down the walkway that lead to my front door. It was then I noticed an unfamiliar person looking down at me from the porch. He was dressed in navy blue chinos, a light-blue button down shirt with no tie, and a lightweight bomber jacket that was an even darker blue than his slacks. He watched me closely as I stepped up to the porch.

"Ms. Carrigan?" He inquired with a friendly smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Not a run-of-the-mill solicitor then. "Yes, that's me. And you are… ?"

"Luis Flores, detective for the Redwood City Police Department. I need a moment of your time. Can I come in?" He reached out with a proffered business card. He eyed me, and then Iter, with interest.

I thought about Lex in my front room in his decidedly unconventional attire, and decided going inside wasn't the best move.

"How about we talk outside? I'm just back from a run and still cooling off." I extemporized, wiping my nearly dry forehead with the back of my arm.

"Sure thing," he agreed, and made space for me on the porch so I could stand at the same height. In fact, I was slightly taller than the man, though he was wider and likely heavier. "Most people I talk to like to keep it private, but I'm fine anywhere." He took out a medium sized notebook and pen. "And who might your friend be?"

"Oh, Iter's my running buddy." Iter had joined me on the porch, returning the detective's interest with an appraisal of his own.

Oh, yeah. Appraisal.

Name: Luis Ignacio Flores

Race: Human

Class: Police Detective

Level: 1

So, identity confirmed. That's handy, I thought.

"Mr Iter… ?" he stretched out the name, obviously seeking a full name.

"I only know him as Iter, actually. He doesn't speak much English." I turned to Iter, willing him to help explain.

"Iter Journeyman," Iter said simply, holding out a hand for the detective. Can't say I thought much of Iter's naming sense.

Detective Flores moved the pen to the hand holding the notebook, and accepted the handshake. Then he took up pen and paper and resumed his note-taking.

"Oh? When did you both meet?" he asked breezily, as if we were new friends at a cocktail party.

"Last week," I responded, wondering where this was leading. I slapped my forehead (metaphorically speaking) and started up Augur's Insight as well.

"Oh, was that before or after being let go from Complyze?" He smiled innocently.

I blinked. So he was thorough. "After, actually. I was in a car accident, and he helped me out. Came to find out we had some hobbies in common." I let my voice cool a bit. "Is this what you came here to ask?

"Just following up on some details," he replied. Mostly truthfully, according to Augur's Insight. "I did hear about the accident. Sounds like you're lucky to be alive." He looked at me up and down in my running attire. "Very lucky."

"As lucky as you can be after losing your job and being hit by a car." I chuckled self-deprecatingly, and the detective joined in.

"You do have a knack for being caught up in unpleasant events," he added.

That was so much of an understatement that I nearly burst out giggling. I restrained it. Barely. "That's one way of putting it."

"How would you put it, then?" He asked mildly, but the challenge was there.

"Like being a plaything of the gods," I responded without thinking. I saw Iter frown, but I kept my smile fixed on the detective. He was covering a lot of ground.

Detective Flores waited a respectful moment to see how I followed up, but I stayed silent. His smile hardened, eyes glinting. I could sense the sharp interest as well as enjoyment or fulfillment rolling off of him in waves. The man likes his work, it seems. "Very well, then. Now tell me how you came to be inside the house of Jon Hu on Sunday evening."

✦ ✦ ✦

"That's quite a tale, Ms. Carrigan."

Before starting on my story, I'd told Iter I'd meet him later, and to avoid going inside the house for now. The whole translation skill must be working, since the detective made no note of what I said, though his brow furrowed at missing it. Iter had given a concerned look, but promptly left as if going somewhere.

"So according to your statement, you never spoke with Jon that day, correct?" Detective Flores continued his questions.

"That's correct."

"And when you encountered him on the shower floor, that was the first time you saw him that day as well?"

"Yes."

"Did Ms. Patel meet him earlier?"

I was leaning against the porch railing, while the detective stood across from me, referring to his notes. This re-focus on Bushra made me uneasy, given what I'd heard from Ben yesterday. "Not as far as I know. She said he called her. And I was there when he texted her later."

"But you say you heard someone else there when you arrived?" He leafed back a page or two in his notebook for reference.

"We both heard what sounded like a door or window slamming. Also, the front door was ajar." I added. Then I remembered. "There was one of those doorbell security cameras. Haven't you checked that footage to see who came and went?"

He paused, and pursed his lips in thought. I felt a sense of caution warring with curiosity. Curiosity won. "It is interesting that you bring that up, Ms. Carrigan. In fact, there is no footage available from that camera. You're a computer person. Is that easy to do?" What? I felt a sense of threat that I'd been feeling in the background the whole time grow stronger.

I frowned. "It's not my area of expertise. But anything digital could be erased." That was true, though typically not easily. "Do you know how it was done?"

He grinned and avoided answering. "Would you say it was more Ms. Patel's area of expertise?"

I inhaled, then exhaled. The Auger's Insight was sending me wave after wave of suspicion, intrigue, and aggressiveness, making it hard to focus on the actual conversation. But this dancing didn't seem to be getting anywhere. "What's this about, Detective Flores?" I asked pointedly.

Again, the pause while he weighed his options. He watched me with narrowed eyes, but said nothing.

"Was Jon murdered?" I asked with alarm. This was much more than a follow-up about a suicide.

Another pause, then the easy smile returned. "We do not believe so, no. You don't carve up someone like that without a struggle, unless there's a massive amount of drugs in their system – and toxicology found nothing. He took his own life." He closed his notebook. "But there's things that don't add up. The security camera. The door slam. His missing phone."

"His phone was missing?" I queried.

He looked for a moment as if he let something slip accidently, but I felt a wave of satisfaction off him. He meant to lay that bait.

"Yes," he begrudgingly (at least, on the surface) confirmed. "We haven't been able to locate it as of yet, but it was not in the house. And yet, the victim texted Ms. Patel a short time before you arrived at the scene. If someone confronted him, enticed him to write that note, maybe even gave him a little push – who can say?" He moved his shoulders up and down perfunctorily. "But it ties up rather neatly, don't you think? With the video surveillance gone there's no way to tell. Maybe the phone had information that was just as incriminating? Or evidence of a text being sent automatically, somehow." He licked his lips, and his eyes fixed on me like a predator on prey. "And who benefits? Particularly if they were also involved in a crime that could easily be assigned to a single individual with the stroke of a pen." He grinned at me, showing the whiteness of his teeth.

"…" I kept my thoughts to myself.

"I believe I have everything I need from you for today, Ms. Carrigan. If you find you should remember something new, or have anything to add to our investigation, please don't hesitate to contact me at the number on my card. Oh, and please inform us first if you intend to travel. Have a pleasant day."

Shit.