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“Well, I took ya to Mulan to see if she could break yer compulsions. She directed her magick by inscribing the request on a turtle shell. We put the turtle shell over yer manhood and she sent magick into it that collected information about the compulsions. Then she used the inscribing tool to command them to break. Unfortunately, the magick refused her request. Her failure set her Wu Shaman ego back a bit. No one in Mulan’s life taught her how to try again when things didn’t work.”

Rasmus chuckled as he rolled to put an arm across my waist. “I’m sorry I caused her to doubt herself.”

I rolled my head to look at him. “It wasn’t yer fault. Ya weren’t possessed and she hadn’t practiced her magick in years. I broke some yer compulsions accidentally just by touching them. Conn broke a few others. Then Lilith removed the rest and that’s what allowed ya to transform into yer guardian self again. Seeing ya as a naked birdman was a sight none of us will ever forget.”

I turned my head back to stare at the ceiling. His chuckle in my ear made me smile. Then I remembered I’d be facing Ezra again tomorrow and frowned.

“Anyway... to answer your question, I’m sure Mulan was inscribing the talisman she’s making for her jiangshi brother-in-law. I taught her the spell to put it inside his body, but she wants me to do that part. Her talisman will do all the things Zara mentioned.”

Rasmus rose to one elbow to look down at me. “Weren’t you creating a talisman as well?”

I blew out a breath. “Yes. Zenos and I are also made a wooden talisman. Ours will help fix the zombie part of his problem. We settled on using a repetitive resurrection spell. The problem is not the jiangshi. It’s the fairy Zenos insists has to be released first. The dragon mage says it will take a lot of power for that spell to be done once, much less make it repeatable. He wants to use the angel energy surrounding Ezra.”

Rasmus snickered.

“Why is that funny?”

“Angel energy is some of the most powerful energy in all of creation. It’s also very unpredictable. Your talisman might end up being a bomb and blowing up the jiangshi from the inside out.”

I grunted at the news. “Well, that’s not good. The dragon mage could have warned me.”

“Zenos of the One is as unique as you are. If he says it can be done, he’s probably right.”

“Probably?”

Rasmus chuckled again and tugged my body closer to his. “Magick is never a hundred percent accurate, but if you want odds, I think Zenos and his plan are above ninety percent.”

“That’s not a good enough number for me.”

Rasmus pulled me to his chest and chuckled harder. “Your spells are only eighty-five percent accurate. You trust those to work all the time.”

I pushed out of his arms but it was hard to look mean when ya were naked. “My spells are more than eighty-five percent.”

“You think that because your belief covers the other fifteen percent. The unknown element of all spells lies in the spellcaster's intention. The magick alone is somewhat effective, but it’s the magick wielder that makes it work the way it should.”

I promptly decided that talking to an advanced being was not very helpful in times like these. I was worried enough about tomorrow. I didn’t need to quantify that worry with statistics about my potential to fail.

I sighed heavily before complaining, “I don’t want to talk about work anymore. I’ll never get to sleep as it is.”

“Yes, you will. I’ll help you.”

My snort was soft. “Ya’ve already helped me several times tonight and I’m still awake.”

Rasmus smiled and I could feel his lips curving against my forehead. “I adore your matter-of-fact bravery. I also adore how you’d rather use your sword on a problem than to have to rely on casting spells and faith. Yet you are strong in both.”

I breathed out my concerns and breathed him in afterward. Who was I kidding? It would have been worse to be alone tonight.“Ya know I’d kill to protect my family and Conn, but helping friends is my biggest weakness. Well, it was before I knew ya. I’ve had to move ya onto my weakness list as well. Look at me now. I’m weak as a kitten after being with ya.”

“Weak like Mulan’s tiger cat maybe, which as you well know is not weak at all,” Rasmus said with a laugh.

“After the way I attacked ya earlier, I can see why ya’d make that unflattering comparison. Since I’m feeling well-sexed and mellow, I believe I’ll let that insult go unchallenged.”

“Being with me always will make you stronger and never weaker. You can trust that, Aran of The Dagda. I share all I am with you.”

If my eyes hadn't closed, I might have challenged that outrageous and very human brag about his manly powers. And I might have lost that argument the hard way.

I giggled at my strange thoughts just before the world went dark.

Chapter Eighteen