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“I’m being neither!” I shouted into the phone.

“Then go get another haircut. Bye, Aran.”

A laughing Conn wrestled the phone from my fingers before I could throw it against the wall. “Your temper is much worse than I recall it being before you spent time in magick jail. Inanimate objects become projectiles now if I turn my head away for too long. You need a keeper until you readjust to society. Take Rasmus with you. It’s your turn to babysit him.”

I stopped and stared. “Why are ya calling him by his name? Ya’ve been calling him hunter or demon hunter or human up to now.”

“Why are you so suspicious, Aran? This is the second day you’ve woken up in a foul mood.”

I huffed as I crossed my arms. “Ma keeps insisting that I get another haircut. She’s refuses to listen to all the demon hunter shenanigans we’ve been discovering.” I pitched my tone to mock my mother. “It’s fine, Aran. Another haircut will give ya a fresh perspective.”I stopped mocking to snort. “She’s being ridiculous and I’m too old to do what she says.”

“I don’t have an opinion about what you should do or not do. All I’m saying is take Rasmus with you.”

“I heard ya the first time,” I muttered under my breath.

Conn smiled as he handed me my phone back.

I took it and sighed in defeat. “Okay. I’ll text ya. When are we going to track down yer regenerated demoness?”

“Soon. In the meantime, I suggest you do a little digging of your own. Give Mulan my love when you see her.”

“Why would I be seeing Mulan today?”

Conn rolled his eyes. “Maybe you need to see her because she’s a Wu Shaman and might know a few things about demons that you don’t. Your mother was goading you in hopes you’d figure that out on your own.”

I felt like the biggest of idiots after Conn spelled it out for me. “Well, she could have just said that instead of harping about me getting another haircut.”

“And you could act like you have a clue. She’s trying to help without helping. That’s always been Bridget’s way.”

I pressed my lips together and nodded. “Fine, I’ll make another appointment with Mulan and I’ll babysit our hunter. He can go with me.”

“Rasmus talks in his sleep,” Conn said. “He and someone spend a lot of his sleep time fighting. He keeps asking them to understand something. But he mumbles it and won’t answer when I ask for clarification. Whatever they gave him to make him forget, it buried his old life deep.”

“Do ya think he’s talking to a demon in his sleep?”

“Yes, but the human kind, which is scarier than him talking to a real one. We haven’t really confirmed his personal details yet. I’m thinking his past might shed some light on this whole situation.”

“It sounds like we’d be taking on the military to ask those questions. Why would they talk to us?”

“I’m thinking we can get around asking permission. How do you feel about raiding the hospital records first? Rasmus said he woke to Jack. Who else was in the room? Did the military pay his bill? Or the demon hunters? I think the answer to that will be illuminating.”

ChapterSeventeen

“I’m willing to pay for an hour of consulting.”

Mulan was organizing her hair pins. “What is consulting? I know nothing about talking for money. I do hair, witch. That’s money. Not consulting. If you do not need your hair done, go away.”

I stared her down.

Mulan chuckled when I said nothing more. “I can make your hair even longer. Do you want it dragging on the floor like a princess in a fairy tale? I can do that.”

I held up a hand. “I know you have mad hairstylist skills, but I’m happy with my hair growth speed. What I need from you is the secret to removing demon compulsions?”

“You get hair done and we can talk.”

I didn’t have time for this nonsense. “How about ya cut his hair?” I turned and pointed to Rasmus who’d taken a chair when I’d started arguing with Mulan.

“He’s got bigger problems than needing a haircut,” she said.