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Mulan threw herself at me and hugged me tight. I stumbled back a little from the force of it.

“I thought she would kill you. Conn made me leave you behind.”

I pulled the Wu Shaman off me and looked into her eyes. “Conn was right. The guardians do what they want and it helped me not to be worried about ya. They kept Rasmus and gave me no choice in the matter.”

Mulan wore taller heels with her outfit so I was still the shortie. I had to reach up to pat her cheek. “Zara didn’t want to kill me. She wanted to be my friend and recruit me to her cause. She’s mentally needy because the male guardians banished all the female ones. They put female guardian souls into human bodies and let those bodies die. Their souls are stuck hanging around the bones.”

“That is barbaric,” Mulan said.

“Yes, I agree. Zara said she was the only one who survived what they did to the females of their kind. She confessed to killing five of the twelve missing women and admitted to turning at least two into demon wolves. That leaves five more waiting somewhere for their fate. I don’t know how to fight her, but I have to try to stop her from killing more defenseless people.”

Mulan lifted her chin. “The guardians like you. They will help you stop her.”

I laughed at the irony. “They already declined that honor, Mulan. Plus, they let Zara go while I watched. They need to fully restore the female guardians but Orlin’s being an arse about it. I refuse to consider myself related to that man.”

Mulan gasped in shock. “You are guardian?”

I looked on the other side of her where Conn stood watching us. “I can’t believe ya didn’t tell her, Conn.”

He shrugged in his jacket. “It wasn’t my story to tell.”

Mulan picked up my hand and held it. “You are witch, god child, and guardian. Such power no one else has. No wonder I am drawn to you.”

Conn hailed a taxi and loaded us into it. I freed myself from her grip to climb inside.

Mulan turned to me the moment we headed home. “I saw your guardian in his new form. I did not know him. He looks younger.”

“You may never get to know him. Orlin—my guardian grandfather—made me leave Rasmus behind. Zara told him what he was, and I got blamed for it. He may be gone for good now.”

Mulan nodded beside me. “I hurt for you like you hurt for me.”

I blew out a breath. Did the idea of never seeing Rasmus again actually hurt? Or was I just angry? It was hard to decide.

“I don’t understand how guardians can see themselves as heroes when they conduct themselves like villains. I would be happiest to never see any guardian again, but I have to track down where Zara is doing her work. She’s been alive for thousands and thousands of years. She’s had a lot of time to become a witch.”

Mulan nodded. “Her research sounded like mythology though—not truth.”

I shrugged before I answered. “The Dagda used to tell me that a person could live a thousand lifetimes and never understand more than a fraction of what has come to pass on this planet.”

Conn looked at me. “The Dagda also said that no creature was all-powerful. He said the moment a creature began to think it was omnipotent, the universe sent someone more powerful to prove it wasn’t true.”

I nodded at what he said. “I’m not going to be able to defeat her, Conn. I knew that when we were talking. Her power is greater than mine and she knows it.”

“Remember what you told Rasmus about the troll?”

I smiled at the reminder. “Yes. I suggested a stealth attack might keep his knuckles from getting bloodied. Punching on a troll and challenging a guardian are both foolish.”

Conn looked at me. “But I’ve seen you do them.”

I shrugged as we exited the car at the house. A lone man sat on the front step. He was there for me, so I walked ahead of Conn and Mulan.

Rasmus—sans wig and glasses—looked up at us in the dark. They said hello and waved as they passed by to enter the house.

I stopped in front of Rasmus. “Do ya know what ya are? Or did Orlin take the knowledge away from ya?”

“I bet you think I’m the worst date you’ve ever had,” Rasmus said as he grinned at me.

“Seriously, Rasmus. What did Orlin tell ya?”