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“His past is unknown,” Conn said.

“His magick is hidden, even from him,” I said. “The demon hunters saved him, but they also used him to keep me busy and to cheerlead for Jack.”

Rasmus lifted his head to look between us. I guess that question was on his mind as well.

Conn put down his fork and frowned. “They’re using you—using us—to find Lilith and her caste.”

I shrugged. “Probably... yet it’s something we haven’t been able to do. Lilith has outsmarted us.”

“And now Mulan—the most infamous Wu Shaman in all of China—experienced the second failure of her life because of us,” Conn said.

“Second failure?”

Conn nodded. “Mulan failed to remove a demon from her sister and her family publicly shamed her for it. I looked into the situation after we met—her sister was never possessed. She faked it to get Mulan out of the country. Mulan still blames herself because she feels she should have known about her sibling’s hatred of her. She should have suspected.”

“What happened to the sister?”

“Her faked demon possession caused people to lose faith in her parents as well. The family lost their herb farm, their status as healers, and all their prosperity. Mulan sends money home to them every month. They guilt her into it. The parents now run a laundry and the sister works the counter.”

My disgusted grunt was loud. “Mulan’s tough on everyone, but it sounds like she’s being too tough on herself.”

Rasmus jumped in... finally. “The demon compulsion alone isn’t why Mulan’s divination attempt failed. All she was doing was looking for information, but she couldn’t see anything because of whatever else was done to me. A demon gave his life to keep it hidden. What is so important about me that someone would guard the secrets of my past with their life?”

“That’s an excellent question,” I said.

Conn grunted in agreement. “We have two paths. One is to branch off this quest and look for the secrets the demon hunters are hiding about Rasmus.”

I nodded. “Or we could chase after Lilith and force her to remove the compulsions from him. Since we don’t know where she is, that path is a little murkier. Splitting up yesterday didn’t get us anywhere. Should we flip a coin to choose a direction for tomorrow?”

Conn crossed his arms. “I think I know where Lilith is hiding. She’s surrounded herself with demons who led me in a circle. When my search ended where it started, I wondered why that was the case.”

“Do ya think she’s somewhere inside the circle?” I asked.

“Yes,” Conn said. “And she’s here in Salem. Her caste may be running a shelter for unwed mothers. How else could she get the medical help she needs for her pregnant human form?”

“That’s as brazen as it is practical,” I said.

Conn shrugged. “That’s Lilith. She’s the queen of subtlety when it serves her purpose. It was one of things I loved about her.”

I looked at Rasmus who now leaned on the table with his face hidden in his hands. “Ya seem to be the one at the center of all universes. What would ya like to do?”

It took him nearly a full minute, but Rasmus finally dropped his hands. “The Albany demoness said Lilith captured demon hunters and enslaved them. If they aren’t dead, we need to go after them. They were my team. I need to know what happened to them and why I was made to believe they were dead.”

I nodded. “Are ya okay with that, Conn?”

Conn nodded without verbally responding. We both knew facing Lilith, and his past with her, was inevitable, but I understood why his feelings made him not want to rush that moment. My familiar, friend, and tormentor was a badass, and a truly vicious one when angry, but he had a single weakness that my family had exploited for thousands of years. Connlander of the Fir Bolg was an honorable creature who would sacrifice himself to save all his people, no matter what they did.

“Can ya babysit while I go visit my mother, Conn? She has something of Da’s that I need to borrow. I’d take Rasmus with me, but I think it’s best to keep our kidnap victim a secret. If Fiona is there, she’ll run to Jack without a single thought.”

“I thought your daughter visited you in prison. Why is she not on Team Mom?” Rasmus asked.

That was his lame attempt at making a popular joke, but I gave him points for not being a sad sack. “She’s on Team Dad because Jack bought her a fancy car just like his.”

“Since when are Honda Civics considered fancy cars?”

I looked at Conn. “Does Jack own a Honda Civic?”

“Yes. He owns five cars total, but the fanciest one is the blue Lamborghini. It’s too small for my tastes. I prefer his Porsche Cayenne. He bought Fiona a red Jeep Cherokee exactly like the one he bought for himself so they could be car twins.”