Page 54

When I came back, Rasmus had also walked closer.

Mulan took a seat and held the heated knife over the shell. She traced the writing in the air above the additional part she’d written, while simultaneously she spoke it all aloud in her own language. Then, very cautiously, she touched the knife to one symbol. The smell of the shell burning filled the small space.

She chanted again then lifted the knife, eased back, and studied the spot it had gently burned. A second or two later, the shell exploded into too many pieces to count. Some pieces disintegrated into nothing but dust.

“What does that mean?” Rasmus asked.

I had the same question, but Mulan’s expression was one of confusion.

“The demons don’t want him to know what they did to him.” She pointed at the pieces. “One just gave his life to thwart my divination. Wherever he or she was, they exploded in front of everyone. It will take centuries for that demon to reform. Your American demons aren’t used to dealing with someone like me, so they thought we would not notice failsafe.”

“No need for ya to worry about protecting yerself from them, Mulan. They probably think I did that to them,” I said with a shrug. “And I can live with that. But now what can we do?”

Mulan stood and sighed. “I will give your man a haircut, and then you go bargain with demons to remove them.”

I blinked at her matter-of-factness. “Is breaking their magick beyond yer skills?”

Mulan looked at Rasmus and then back at me. “If we cast out the demons, we might turn him into human vegetable. Better to find other way. I will not charge you for this—just for haircut.”

Rasmus turned his back and walked across the room. The towel fell from his hair to the floor. He didn’t seem to notice.

Mulan and I both watched him. “Thank you for trying,” I told her.

“It’s okay. I miss my work,” she said. “Maybe you need my help again sometime.”

“If I ever go into business for myself, I’ll hire ya to help me.”

Mulan shook her head. “No, I will stay here. Ireland is not for me.”

That’s right. I had said I would go home when this was done. Ma must have shared my entire life story with the Wu Shaman because Mulan seemed to know more about my plans than I did.

“Let’s go cut his hair,” she said firmly, shaking off her failure as she removed her vest.

She put her shaman outfit into the box with the shells we didn’t choose and added the scarfs to it as well. When she finished, the only item left out was the now cooling ceramic knife.

“I can’t fix your man, but I can make him look good. I will also pray to the ancestors to make your quest to free him successful. They may intercede once they know I failed them.”

I shook my head. “Ya didn’t fail yer ancestors. The demons won this round, but we’ll win in the end.”

As usual, Mulan didn’t stay to listen to me. She took off at a near run and left us to follow her. I guided a stoic Rasmus to the main room and into Mulan’s chair.

He smiled at people and nodded when asked questions but was otherwise silent the whole time... and stayed quiet on our trip home. His hair looked amazing, but his expression was like looking into a void. I’d seen wraiths with more animation.

Confronting Lilith seemed to be the next logical option to free Rasmus from his compulsions. My initial task of finding an open demon portal had grown to include finding out the secrets Rasmus couldn’t remember keeping.

But there was also the whole military connection that was unexplained too. That path would lead Rasmus to more truths about himself. And I was pretty sure it would reveal that he was not a demon hunter or a human.

ChapterEighteen

Dinner was a sullen affair. Rasmus was still upset over Mulan’s revelations. Conn was frustrated that he was being lied to by demons under compulsions that warped their version of the truth. We had reached a point where every direction led to lies and more lies.

I’d ordered Chinese food—probably because Mulan was on my mind—but none of us were hungry enough to do it justice. We’d be eating leftovers for days if this moping didn’t stop.

“What’re we doing?” I asked, breaking the silence. “I made a promise to find an open demon portal, but I don’t think that’s a real problem. The real problem seems to be the demon hunters and demons potentially being in business together. Are they keeping me busy? Or distracted? Why not just leave me where I was?”

Conn shifted in his chair and looked at me. “That is a good question.”

I nodded. “And Rasmus seems at the center of everything. Why?”