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Conn chuckled low and grinned. “You cast me out of your shop, but not out of your heart, beautiful Mulan. Your affection grants me special access to everything of yours.”

“Behave with me or I cast you out again. Is this your witch?” she asked, pointing at me.

Conn nodded with his grin still in place.

“Figures,” she said, before charging out of the room.

Conn looked at me as I stood “What did you do to make such a poor impression?”

I looked in the direction she’d run and shrugged. “I didn’t know I had.”

“My lovely Wu Shaman is tense and fussy. That means she’s stressed.”

My mouth twitched with the urge to laugh at how well Conn seemed to know Mulan. “Yer lovely Wu Shaman thinks I’m a criminal because I was in prison. She doesn’t like me because I laughed when she told me about her magick.”

Shaking his head, Conn chuckled again. “Seven years of not socializing took its toll on your manners.”

I held the towel in place as I chased Mulan through the rooms again. Conn walked beside me. “She seems to know yer whole name. I thought that was forbidden.”

Conn looked off and scratched his nose. “She knows a lot more than that about me. I have no secrets from Mulan. It’s simply not possible.”

So the Wu Shaman had a way with demons. That was interesting. “Has she ever tried to kill ya?”

Conn laughed. “Mulan’s powerful enough to kill a demon, but I can’t imagine what it would take to push her to that level of action. Unlike the hunters, Mulan doesn’t seek my death. Her goal is only to make sure I’m not doing any demon mischief on this plane.”

“Do ya mean like cursing someone’s herb garden or blighting their corn crop? That probably would get her attention.”

Conn laughed. “I missed your rapier wit.”

I grinned at him. “Ya’re probably the only one.”

“Oh, I’mdefinitelythe only one,” he said, laughing harder.

Back in the main room of the salon, I climbed into a vacant chair two stylists pointed out to me. Mulan appeared by it seconds later. She spent two minutes swearing and pumping the chair to let it down as low as it would go.

When the towel was whipped away, long, wet strands tumbled over my shoulders and down on my breasts. I looked in the mirror, shocked as I touched the length. Somehow she’d coaxed my hair into growing at least six inches.

I smiled at her. “I bet this sort of thing always earns ya a good tip.”

“Vines or hair—it’s all the same to me. It wasn’t like I trained to be gardener.”

Was she telling me my hair was the texture of rough, twisted vines? I blinked but said nothing as she picked up the scissors.

With a last glance and headshake at Conn who lingered nearby, Mulan snipped at my strands until the floor was covered.

I was left with long layers that fell softly into place with only gently coaxing. After charging me a fortune and making me buy some styling gel, Mulan finally let me escape.

“Return and I will care for your hair again,” she told me.

Given how much better I felt with my hair fixed, I probably would return.

* * *

“Didya find the traitor who keeps telling Jack where I am?”

Conn eyed the piece of sandwich I’d cut off and not eaten. I reached over and exchanged my plate for his empty one. He dug into my leftovers before answering. My familiar had an appetite and immortality hadn’t dulled it any that I could tell. Whether it was food, women, or the work I gave him, Conn seemed to enjoy everything equally.

“Yes, I found your ponytail guy. He’s brooding in some tiny office tucked next to the demon hunter main building. They pay a special coven to ward their facilities. I’m sure you could get in, but they’d know you were there. Same with me.”