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Zenos stopped and turned to stare down at me. He studied me for a long while and then grinned. “It seems I’ll be staying a few weeks. Ya got some unlearning to do first. It’s all that formal education. If magick isn’t explained in a book or a scroll, witches rarely bother to investigate it.”

I resented the lecture. I’d learned plenty from watching others. What kind of teacher was he?

“How can ya teach something not in a book?”

Zenos chuckled. “Have ya always had this problem of people reading yer mind?”

I frowned at the question. Now that he mentioned it, no, I hadn’t always had this problem. It hadn’t happened until I got out of the demon hunter’s prison and merged with the Dagda stone.

Good Goddess, could that be what had unlocked my mind? Was the stone messing with my body?I put a hand over where the stone pulsed under my skin.

“No, I haven’t always been like this, or not that I knew. I worked among all kinds of paranormals over the years. One of them would have said something if that had been the case. It’s been happening a lot since I merged with an ancient artifact. I can’t keep anything a bloody secret.”

“Well, at least ya’re a quick thinker.” He waved a hand as we approached the house. “Why did ya leave Ireland, lass? Salem is the place where they killed all the witches.”

Laughter burst out of me. Feeling snarky, I lifted my lip in a sneer. “I married a bloody Yank who put a babe in me so I had no choice but to follow him here. We parted ways after I got out of the prison he put me in. I’m talking about an actual prison and an actual bad marriage. I escaped from both but it took a while.”

Zenos snickered. “Ya can’t trust most men when there’s significant power at stake. And now ya’re bedding someone with more power than even ya possess.” He held up a hand when I glared. “Don’t freak out on me. Ya’re not broadcasting yer sex life. I only know what I know because Henry warned me about yer relationship to the guardian.”

I grunted in disgust. “Rasmus is here in a mostly human form and not his usual formidable self. I’ve not tested his powers yet but if he keeps annoying me, we’ll all be finding out.”

Zenos entered the house and smiled at Henry. Then his smile fell away as he turned toward Ezra who was now covered from head to toe with several sheets sewn together to make one large drape. The dragon mage looked at the statue and then back down at me. “I smell fairy mixed with a bit of angel. Ya’re quite the little warrior, aren’t ya?”

I glanced Ezra’s way. “Yer nose is correct, dragon. A powerful fairy tried to kill me. The angel ya smell froze the fairy to save my daughter’s life and saved mine. Please don’t read my mind about the details. It’s a long story containing a family secret and not one I can share.”

Zenos held up a hand to show he would heed my demand. “It sounds like a story that requires many glasses of ale to properly enjoy.”

I didn’t want to anger him since he came here to help me so I shrugged as I offered him a wicked smile. “It takes a shot or two of Jamieson’s to make me forget about the statue. The frozen fairy is a problem for me to solve but it won’t be one for anyone else in the house.”

“Like yer Chinese visitors won’t be a problem for anyone?”

He glared at me for teasing. “I see Henry warned ya of them as well.”

“Oh, aye... he warned me. Ya might say he warned me off. I enjoy a good prank but I promised to behave.”

Henry interrupted us and swept the dragon mage up in a man-hug. Zenos turned into the hug and grinned. I waited politely for the two long-time friends to say their hellos before rejoining the conversation.

Henry was still smiling when he looked at me. “Lunch for you and Zenos will be served in the dining room. I invited the guardians and your far darrig friend as well.”

“Thank you, Henry. Have ya seen Conn today? I didn’t see him in the car when Mulan left.”

“I haven’t seen him yet but he’s coming to lunch as well. The Wu Shaman sent word that her family got detained in Boston for sneaking illegal herbs through Customs.”

I rubbed my face. Poor Mulan. “So she’s still waiting at the Salem airport for them.”

Henry nodded. “New connecting flights had to be arranged. Conn said they would be here later today.”

My sigh was loud. “Or she might shake her Shaman stick at her parents and put them asleep for a week in the rental van. Goddess knows, I wouldn’t blame her.”

Zenos rubbed his chin. “I knew a Wu Shaman once. We had quite the time together until she decided to try time travel as a path to immortality. I warned her it wouldn’t work the way she imagined.”

It was obvious this dragon mage got around. “Yes, I heard a similar story. The shaman mastered traveling but her body died the moment her spirit returned to the timeline she left.”

Zenos nodded. “Death is necessary for most creatures. Even those ya call gods eventually change forms.”

I turned and looked up at him. I could tell I’d be doing that a lot in the next two weeks.

Zenos chuckled and held up a hand. “I wasn’t speaking of myself, lass. I made a bargain long ago that guaranteed I would live forever. That’s how I met Henry. Every so often I have to die and regenerate similar to the way demons do. Henare of the Fir Bolg acted as my teacher. He showed me how to get through the transition in the best way possible.”