A few people wrote how if Murphy was a Valkyrie or Einherjar that Kringle would have brought her along. I’d caution against that belief. As Kringle said, Odin and Kringle are two legal entities with one body. We’ve never seen Gard, the ravens, or any of Odin’s trappings when he’s in his role as Kringle. If Murphy was in Odin’s employ that doesn’t mean he’d bring her along when traveling as Kringle.

I’m in the Murphy for Einherjar camp. It’d be my preferred ending for her. She was a great foil and police liaison for Harry when his work was primarily local. He’s grown beyond the regular interactions with mortal authorities in the main series. Not only has she lost her way as a character after leaving the force, sh’s also lost her original purpose to the plot. She can’t swim in the same water as Harry now. So either she becomes a damsel in distress (which I’d hate and she’d hate), she gets written out somehow (death, moving away to start up/manage a new Fellowship of St Giles deal as an offshoot of the Paranet maybe), or she gets beefed up. Of the beef up options I like Einherjar the best. She can die and that death would be incredibly meaningful to us and to Harry if done right. Then she can come back to rescue him at a key moment in the BAT.

My vote is still for Murphy being an Einherjar. One, it’d be badass. Two, it allows her to live on while still dying and causing Harry to have loads of guilt. The Einherjar have been on screen for a long time, so I personally don’t feel her death would be cheapened by her ultimately coming back to fight in the BAT.

About the Shroud: I still don’t think it’s purpose is to heal. Remember, Hades’s exchange with Harry. The vault was an armory, and it exists to contain weapons of terrible power when they are not needed. I like the idea of the Shroud destroying the Nemesis infection. Healing, but in a way that hurts the Enemy.

I’d wager good money that Nicoodemus and Anduriel know Harry is the Warden of Demonreach. Anduriel is too well informed not to know. And there is no way the Denarians are going to step foot on Demonreach now that Harry has awoken it. If they think the coins are confining then they definitely won’t like a crystalline cell. The artifacts are safe until needed.

Speaking of Demonreach, Hades word choice with “containing” sparked my interest. Demonreach has the same purpose. To contain dangerous beings. As Alfred said, they are always dangerous, but locked up they have the least ability to act. Not saying there is any direct connection between Demonreach and the artifacts...but we know an apocalypse is coming. I suspect those locked up beings will get out somehow. And the weapons to fight them are now in circulation.

I don’t think Marcone is behind this. He accepted the weregild from Harry with the agreement that he would leave the heist gang alone, Murphy included. Marcone is a crook, but he is an honorable crook and he doesn’t go back on his word. And even if he was inclined to, I think he is recognizes that people who go back on their word in the supernatural world are not looked on kindly.

I would have a harder time figuring out who might not have bought Rudolph. He’s a scumbag with naked ambition and poor impulse control. Whoever is pulling his strings, I doubt he even knows their true identity. Anyone using Rudolph would not see him as anything more than an expendable tool.

I think Murphy dying and coming back as an Einherjar sounds likely. Like the faerie mantles, she has been trained and built a relationship with the Einherjar over time. I can see her dying heroically, and Gard being there to escort her to Valhalla. She’ll be out of the picture for a while, and then return for the BAT, Murphy the White to turn the tide.

A lot of shading of Ebenezer's character that I enjoyed. Which I wager ups the likelihood of his death being imminent. How and its impact are up in the air. It will be the second senior council member lost in a short span (as far as wizard life times go), and the Blackstaff at that. The Council will go into upheaval as wizards jockey to fill the power vacuum left behind. This may be the beginning of the end for the White Council as it has existed. Losing McCoy and/or a vote to expel Harry are more than enough to lead to a schism.

McCoy is old and set in his way. He reminds me of my grandfather. He was a product of the life he lived, which is very different from mine. He spouted horribly racist things, but hired a lot of Black people to work for his company at a time that was not the norm. He spouted horribly anti-gay things, but came to love my husband like his own son. McCoy thought he was doing the right thing. To have his judgment questioned by someone else- probably when he's questioning it himself, is sure to ruffle his feathers.

Old prejudices die hard. And McCoy has had multiple lifetimes from a mundane perspective to develop them. Whampires, svartalves... I think McCoy has a human-centric perspective, where Harry is much more willing to take allies and make friends where he can get them. McCoy spent his whole life protecting humans against supernatural threats. I think any supernatural race had plenty of time to cross him and get on his naughty list. Not surprised he has issues with the svartalves. At this point I'd be surprised to hear of anyone McCoy doesn't have issues with.

I also think this showed Harry's growth too. He expressed himself clearly and without devolving to shouting, shooting, or storming off. Sure, the exchange got heated, but there was no actual fire summoned. And ultimately he's right. It's his choice how to raise his child. And as others have pointed out, he destroyed the entire species of the last villain who tried to harm his daughter. He's killed multiple immortals. Only a fool thinks coming at Maggie is a good idea- like Nicodemus, who was goaded to rage by Harry after murdering Deirdre. And look how well that ended for Nicodemus.

I’m confident these are the full chapters, not snippets. I think last time we got a total of five chapters before the book release.