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He looked into my coffee cup. “Is that your first one?”

“Yeah, but it’s strong... and I’m in a good mood. Ya’re safe.”

“What do you mean it never happened?” Rasmus asked, staring at him.

Conn smiled when our hostess slid a plate of food in front of him and patted his cheek. “Thank you, Katie.”

“You’re welcome, Conn. Aran tried to get me to serve you dog food.”

Conn turned a glare my way. I chuckled, shrugged, and went back to eating. He said nothing to me before he turned to Rasmus.

“You would remember the act. She might have made you forget some of it, but without the compulsion, you would remember details. You also would have permanent marks on your body. I saw nothing like that yesterday. When we find her, we’ll discover the truth of the matter.”

Rasmus seemed to wilt in his chair. His relief was obvious. He turned to look at Conn as he ate. “I hate to ask this, but I’m trying to understand. Are you a demon or aren’t you?”

“Goddess bless, here we go again,” I complained, throwing up a hand.

Conn chuckled as he dug into his food. He ate half of it before answering the question. “I’m an imperial demon, which some consider being a lesser life form. Imperial demons tend to be small of stature, and normally can’t change their size. I’m not one of those.”

“Aran calls you her familiar.”

“What she says is true. A witch daughter of The Dagda’s lineage currently controls my fate.”

“Is that because you’re inherently evil?”

“No more so than you. How many demons did you think you were murdering as a hunter?”

Rasmus dropped his head and nodded. “I now think my work was based on falsehoods and delusions. And I don’t think you’re a lesser anything. You brought me here without harming the building I was in or me. You don’t act like any of the demons I’ve fought.”

I simply couldn’t leave that one alone. “Are ya wanting to start a boys club, Rasmus?”

Rasmus grinned at me. “No, I’m just having an epiphany.”

I was on my second cup of coffee and feeling mellow. “Ya’re allowed. Conn doesn’t hold grudges either.”

“Good. Because I’m grateful to both of you. Whatever you think I can do to move our search along, I’m willing to do it,” he said, falling silent before giving all his attention to his meal.

The three of us honored the quiet peace between us to finish breakfast. I finished my second cup of coffee and most of a third before I felt ready to deal with things.

I looked over at Conn. “If we find the ones who put the compulsions on Rasmus, we might find the open demon portal too. Let’s start by visiting the first demoness. Did ya know her too?”

“Yes,” Conn said. “Her caste is out of New York. By now, she’s reported that we found her compulsion. They will expect our visit.”

“Are ya up for tagging along? My offer for ya to sit this out is still on the table.”

“No, I’m up for it,” Conn said. “You need to be prepared to fight.”

“I had very little to do for seven years. Keeping up with my fight training killed time.”

“So you trained the way any prisoner might. Is that a joke?” Rasmus asked.

I snorted. “Want to step outside and see if I’m lying?”

Conn chuckled. “Are the two of you going to bicker all day? I don’t mind.”

“Only if we keep trying to talk to each other,” said Rasmus, turning his head to look directly at Conn.

Then he and Conn both burst out laughing. I glared at both of them for what they were implying, but neither seemed to care about my feelings.