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“During the five hundred years of the Shang Dynasty, Wu Shamans were female and male. Every shaman had their specialty. There was great respect for shaman magick. Then came the great division.”

“There’s always a great division when things are going well,” I said.

Mulan nodded. “Women became responsible for all religions. Men became responsible for all governments. Eventually, power-hungry emperors decided religion was not needed by their people. They called themselvesWuwithout knowing what it meant. They pretended to divine answers to questions and to heal, but they could do neither. There are few shamans left with my skills. My family made me call myself a ‘natural healer’ to hide what I was.”

“I’m glad ya don’t feel the same need to hide yerself here in Salem. We’re a city full of witches, but I feel like there’s room for all kinds of magickals in this town.”

Mulan didn’t comment. “Tie scarf like diaper now. I’m almost ready.”

I picked the longest green scarf and walked to Rasmus with it. Pressing his lips into a thin line, he crossed his arms and spread his legs. I stared at his crotch trying to decide how to go about it.

“Like wrestler,” Mulan said with a gallon of impatience dripping from her words.

“Wrestler?” I muttered.

“Think sumo,” Rasmus whispered. “Twice around the waist, and then through the legs until you can tuck the end into the waist band.”

“Good idea,” I said, and did as he suggested. There was barely enough cloth.

“Here,” Mulan said, handing the shell to me. “I added his name and a question asking where the demon compulsions are and how many he has on him.”

“Thank ya. Where does it go?”

“Inside green scarf. He cannot touch it. You put it in place.”

I didn’t dare look at Rasmus when I heard him grunt. “Are ya messing with us?” I asked her.

“What mess?” she demanded, looking around with a glare. “I keep spotless shop. There is no mess here. Not ever. Mess is bad for chi. Do what I said.”

Rasmus frowned as Mulan walked to check her heated knife. “If there was a bossy contest between the two of you, my money would be on her. What’s she going to do with that knife?”

I laughed. “Well, that was certainly a sideways compliment. Call out if I get this situated wrong.”

I pulled out the scarf and put the shell into place with one try. When I raised my head to let him know, he was smirking down at me. I shrugged. “It’s hard to miss with a package like yers.”

He looked off instead of smiling directly at me. I reminded myself that Rasmus had a missing wife and had potentially fathered a demon baby. My libido didn’t care about those things, but I did.

I turned to face Mulan. “Done.”

“Move away. I need your witchy energy out of his personal space.”

Holding up my hands, I walked as far away as the small room allowed.

“Will this hurt?” Rasmus asked her.

Mulan looked over at me and smirked. “Only men ever ask that question. Women lift chin and wait. I don’t know how men ever rule over so much.” She looked back at Rasmus. “It is like taking a picture with your cell phone. The shell receives imprint of your energy from the place where the compulsion was placed.”

She picked up a staff I hadn’t noticed before then. An assortment of things were tied on the end pointing skyward. Mulan murmured an incantation and power came out of her. It widened into a bubble that surround Rasmus. He stood inside it looking around in awe as she chanted. Eventually, the bubble left him and got absorbed back into Mulan. Outside of her chanting, the entire process was silent.

“Bring me the shell now,” she said. “He can’t touch it.”

Sighing at her bossy orders, I walked back to Rasmus. I looked up into his confused eyes as I reached inside his scarf diaper. “Is that a hard turtle shell in yer diaper scarf, or are ya just happy to see me?”

His chuckle wafted over me, filling me with a delight I hadn’t experienced in years. I held the shell in one hand while I undid the scarf with my other. The gloves took some of the fun out of it but left enough to have me smiling.

I carried both back to Mulan. “Here ya go.”

She lifted the hot knife and pointed to surface. “Set it there. Put the scarf back with the others.”