"Huh."

I had spent the past forty-five minutes telling Stephen about yesterday. Meeting Derrick, his claims that he used to be an angel, Derrick bailing us out with that Lucy guy, the things Derrick told me about myself, and finished by informing him of my intentions to take Derrick up on his offer. I had attracted an audience with my side of the conversation. Steve was leaning against the front of my desk, arms folded across his chest, and I could feel disapproval radiating off him the more I spoke. Bucky, who was standing behind my chair and whose eyes I could feel burning into the back of my head, wasn't much better.

All Stephen could say, though, was "huh". Which, seeing as how I couldn't read him empathically at the moment, could mean any number of things. It could mean "I find that interesting". It could mean "Well, that's a little disturbing, but as long as he's not causing problems, I can live with it". Or it could mean "you'll be going back there over my dead body" and right then he might have been making a mental list of people to gather so he could storm the neighborhood and instigate the most dramatic eviction ever.

I thought it would be just Loki I would have to worry about. It seemed that I would have a much bigger uphill battle than I originally thought.

Stephen was quiet for so long that I almost started fidgeting, but I was not going to give the two overprotective Neanderthals breathing down my neck the satisfaction. Loki for his part was seated at the other computer with his feet propped up on the desk watching the whole thing with smug delight. I was surprised he wasn't eating popcorn.

"Is your husband going with you?" Stephen finally asked.

Stephen and Loki used to hate one another...still did, in fact. When did Stephen become so damn chipper about my husband being my shadow? "Yes, I even made sure to sew him to my hip so I wouldn't lose him. We finally managed to coordinate our walking but it's a real bitch when he has to use the bathroom." I could tell from the spike of amused irritation I felt from said shadow that I was going to pay for my sarcasm later, but I was feeling cranky. "He might get bored during our lessons though, so be sure to have some puzzle books out for him."

Loki was now trying to catch my gaze in order to give me his patented "you're going to get it" glare, but I avoided the eye contact. Hey, it was fun poking the bear and being a cheeky brat every so often. Besides, I was a little bit annoyed with him, too.

Stephen ignored that bit as well. "What about the Avengers?"

I very briefly glanced at Steve out of the corner of my eye, and met his glower. "They know," I confirmed. I really didn't appreciate him and Bucky hovering, but I had given up glaring at them trying to back off. Loki, of course, was being no help. He was just happy to have other people siding with him.

Why was my life now filled with such bull-headed, overprotective, dominant men? I was just glad the rest of them were all out on missions. I definitely didn't need Thor here. I would never have been able to get rid of him once he found out about Derrick and Lucy. There was still a good chance of that...there was no way Loki was not going to tell his brother about all this.

"I would feel better if you didn't go at all," Stephen was telling me. "I feel better that you are not going alone, but..."

I huffed. "Stephen, if I had even an inkling that Derrick was no good, do you think I would go pay him a second visit, let alone allow my husband to come with me?" I felt the irritation coming off Loki in waves. Oh, he didn't let that line about me letting him come with me at all. Yep, I had a punishment coming.

"You said yourself that there are ways to fool your empathic senses. The Wakandans have technology that block your abilities, it stands to reason someone proficient enough in sorcery would be able to block you as well."

I barely resisted the urge to thump my forehead on my desk.

"It seems too convenient. A strange magic user sets up camp just a few doors down from the Sanctum, and his story is that he used to be an angel and is offering you help that neither I nor anyone else can truly give you."

"Did you and Loki talk sometime between last night and right before I called?" I was getting pissed off, and I was having a hard time hiding it.

"If that's your way of seeing that Loki and I are of like mind on this, then perhaps you need to sit back and evaluate why this is one of the few things he and I can agree on. And I have a feeling the two of us are not the only ones thinking that way."

Stephen was psychic. There was no other explanation for it. "Shouldn't you be trying to blow things up with your finger and checking to see how many nipples Wanda has?"

"You called me. And you will call me again after you have seen this man. With Loki, and preferably additional backup."

I made a disgusted noise and disconnected the call.

"He's right," Steve said the moment I set the phone down. "I don't-"

"-like this. I've been hearing that a lot lately."

"The timing is suspect," Steve continued as though I hadn't interrupted. "Your abilities are growing stronger, you've been working hard to learn how to control them, and on top of that you're now an Asgardian Princess. Along comes this guy who says he can help you, and already he has you trusting him. Who's to say that he isn't trying to use you to get to Asgard, Stephen, or just use you as a weapon in general?"

"I'm going with you two," Bucky blurted out decisively.

"What? Oh, come on! Loki and I can handle ourselves, isn't that rig-" I looked at my husband, and he was studying Bucky with a considering expression. "You can't be serious."

"It might help to have an extra pair of eyes," Loki pointed out.

This was déjà vu. Hadn't I had this conversation with them all about babying me? Hadn't I talked to Loki about his overprotective tendencies and told him that I needed space every so often? Hadn't I told both Steve and Bucky that I had a father, and wasn't in the market for another one? Did they all come down with a case of mass amnesia?

But none of the guys were budging, and I was outnumbered. I sighed. "Fine. But I don't want to hear you whine when you get bored," I told Bucky.

Bucky grinned. "In a magic shop, watching you three sling spells about? I'm sure I can find something to entertain me."

It turned out that Bucky wasn't the one who was entertained, and I quickly realized that letting Bucky come along might not have been the greatest idea I ever had.

Derrick's chin was propped up on his hand as he leaned behind his glass counter, watching Bucky browse the shelves full of crystals and Tarot cards. "Your friend...he single?"

Watching Derrick study Bucky was a lot like watching a cat that was studying a particularly juicy bird. "Yes," I replied warily. "But he's not into men."

"I'm not a man, sweetcheeks," Derrick reminded me.

"You're still...well..." I hated conversations like this. I didn't want to offend, but Derrick's current physical form did possess certain things that Bucky wouldn't appreciate, and lacked certain things that I know he did.

He caught me gesturing up and down lamely at him and shrugged. "Oh, not a problem. It's been a long time since I shapeshifted femme and I can't do it as easily as I did before I lost my wings. It takes me a lot longer, so I normally don't bother." His eyes went back to Bucky, who had picked one of the books up and was thumbing through it. "But he might be worth it."

Oh, good Lord, this was awkward.

Loki, on the other hand, was loving it. "Bah. Just ask him out as you are. He'll love it." He grinned as he suggested it. My husband, the instigator.

Loki could probably relate to Derrick. Afterall, I had often felt like a rabbit being chased by a very hungry and horny wolf during the first few weeks I knew him.

I cleared my throat pointedly. "Derrick?"

"Huh? Oh, right. This way." He cleared his throat after one last lingering glance at Bucky and led the way into the back. I guess I couldn't blame him. Again, I wasn't blind. I may not have ever wanted Bucky that way, but he was a gorgeous man and had to beat the women off with a stick—or a metal arm. But I wanted more answers.

Loki, Bucky, and I waited among the shelves of tattoo and piercing supplies, boxes of inventory and stock, and herbs growing under sunlamps while Derrick opened a door. It revealed a broom closet. "Come on in," Derrick stood aside, and gestured for all of us to step in.

All three of us blinked and glanced at one another. Loki was the first to get brave and step in, and he vanished. Bucky and I looked at one another. I could tell his instinct was to go in before me, but I gave him an exasperated look and he stepped aside to allow me to step through.

There was no warning as I stepped into the closet. No tingle, no sense of magic, nothing.

But it was not a broom closet I stepped into. I froze and stared.

The place had to be about the size of four football fields put together in a grid. Aisles of shelves divided most of the space, and all of them were filled with magical artifacts and weapons. Crystal orbs, swords, wands, daggers, spears, staffs, bows and arrows, shields, cloaks, belts, amulets, talismans, necklaces and pendants, bracelets, rings, vampire hunting tools such as stakes and vials of holy water, even numerous types of guns with different ammunitions. I saw one ammunition container labeled "silver". There were sparkly things, glowing things, things that seemed to blink at us. The entire place vibrated with magic. The air was heavy with it. It was making me slightly dizzy.

I glanced over at Loki, who was looking just as dumbstruck. "You're drooling," I murmured to him.

He gave me a narrow-eyed stare in response.

There was a work area taking up a good chunk of corner, with rows and rows of more books and scrolls. Some of them were so old that I could smell the leather...a lot of those scrolls were made of lambskin. A large wooden work table covered in beakers, vials, measuring tools, scales, mortar and pestles, and other tools someone would find useful in making potions and other things. Near the back was a living area, taken up by living room furniture, an entertainment system, and a large kitchen. A set of stairs lead up into what I assumed was bedrooms and bathrooms. There were two refrigerators, and I assumed one was for food and the other spelling ingredients. Two stoves as well, no doubt for the same purposes. Wouldn't want to accidentally get your dinner and a spell mixed up after all.

An indoor garden took up a large chunk of space. More herbs and other plants that a witch or sorcerer would find useful.

Stephen and Wong were going to lose their shit. Loki already was, but he was hiding it well. Internally though, I could feel him wigging out like a kid who'd just been placed in the middle of Willy Wonka's tasting room.

"Holy shit," Bucky breathed out. Even he knew that this cache was something that you would not want falling into the wrong hands.

We all stared at Derrick. He shrugged. "Just a few odds and ends I've picked up here and there during my travels over the centuries."

"A few odds and ends," Loki repeated dryly.

Derrick heard the edge in Loki's voice. "Don't worry. This stuff is safe here. My Sanctuary has so many wards placed on it that nothing can get in and steal any of it...and if they do by some miracle manage to get in, they likely won't get out."

"A lot of these artifacts are volatile, and really shouldn't be placed in close proximity with certain other objects."

"There's shielding and wards over everything. Nothing mixes. If you're worried about being blown up here, don't be. What kind of host would I be if I allowed that?" Derrick gestured towards the living area. "Come, have a seat."

Loki and I sat on one of the sofas, his arm stretched out along the back behind me. His hand started idly playing with my hair, a move that had become a comforting stim for him. I knew he was tense both because of Derrick and because of the presence of so much magic. Fuck, sitting in the middle of a magical armory wasn't making me sit easy either. How in the epic hell did this go unnoticed by the mages of Kamar Taj? Or by the witches? Or the Voodoo practitioners? The Asgardians? Anyone in the magic community?

Bucky chose to remain standing.

Derrick took his place in a wood chair that he turned and sat in backwards, his legs straddling the seat with the back of the chair against his chest. He folded his arms propped on it. "So, I'm an open book, mates. Ask away."

"How is it you have all of this?" Loki's nod took in the entire warehouse, with all the artifacts.

"I told you, it's from my travels through the centuries, both in this universe as well as others in the multiverse. Some of it was gifted to me for safekeeping, some of it I took because I felt they weren't safe where they were, others I gave to a new home to after their owners died. My Sanctuary is the best place for them. Right at this moment, we are in a small pocket dimension. I inherited after I lost my wings. The last guardian of this cache died unexpectedly and I was tapped to take their place."

"You said you couldn't leave this Sanctuary for very long," I pointed out. "But you travel?"

Derrick shrugged. "I take this place with me. It's very mobile. How do you think I ended up here?"

"How..." Loki began.

Derrick held up an arm, elbow bent, and we saw it. A blank space among the other moving tattoos, a space that was in the shape of a building. "We're inside one of your tattoos?" Bucky asked.

"It's not a tattoo, it's a ward, one that I connected to the Sanctuary to make it easier to guard." Derrick shrugged. "Besides, I have to make a living. I need to eat now."

"Those tattoos are wards," Loki said, looking at the things in question.

Derrick smiled sadly. "They're my protections, and the reason I'm alive. I'm a former angel not because I Fell or anything like that. There was a battle many, many years ago and I was injured. Hideously wounded. It was bad, not even an angel should have survived what happened to me. You both might have noticed that I have no aura."

I didn't see auras, and said so. My empathy on the other hand was picking up something wonky about him. Loki narrowed his eyes studying Derrick. I felt realization dawn in him.

Derrick nodded. "Like I said, my injuries were bad, both physical and psychic. The physical wounds healed eventually, but the psychic ones are permanent. I have no psychic protection, no shields, nothing. Without these artificial wards, which are powered by outside sources, I would be completely vulnerable, an exposed nerve open to attack by even the weakest psychic. The little magic I have is devoted to keeping my immortal ass not only alive, but functional. It's also why I can't leave this Sanctuary. I'm connected to it, and can control everything in here...the shields, the wards, the magic of the place. Outside, I'm easy pickings for anyone who wants to target the former Angel of Freedom." He gazed around the Sanctuary. "But it does get boring, so I do a lot of traveling. The Sanctuary is a pocket dimension that exists outside of any universe, so I have the ability to travel to anywhere within the multiverse, which is what I've been doing ever since I healed up and found myself having to sit out the war against the Beyonder."

Who?