Page 59

Rasmus ran a hand through his real hair. He was out in the open and out of disguise. “The one you called Orlin informed me I was the child of a guardian. I assume he meant one of those weird birdman creatures fathered me. Maybe that explains why I have wings.”

Well, as lies went, that was a good one. “Did ya fly here?”

“No. They wouldn’t let me. Two of them flew me here by holding my arms. The wig fell off somewhere in the neighborhood. It’s hard to pay attention to fake hair pieces when you’re trying not to scream. I didn’t realize how frightening it was to fly when you aren’t the one in control.”

I sighed and held out a hand to him. He took it and pulled himself to his feet. “I’m sorry I didn’t wait for ya. Orlin hadn’t decided yer fate when I had to leave.”

“He told me you argued with him about me.”

“Orlin is my biological grandfather. The guardians shift into human form to interact with us. His interaction with my grandmother produced my Da. Then Da produced me. My grandmother was Murieann of The Dagda and Conn’s previous keeper. I told ya my story was complicated.”

“I guess genetics don’t lie.”

“No, they do not. Yer story with me is just as complicated.”

“Will you tell me the truth about it?”

I sighed as we walked through the house to the kitchen. A half bottle of Jamieson’s sat in the middle of the table. Conn always knew what I needed before I did. This was why I loved him like a brother.

“Can I pour ya a drink, Rasmus?”

“I don’t imbibe, but thank you. I’ll take a glass of water with ice.”

I got a glass and put ice in it. Fiona had some sparkling water in the refrigerator. I fetched a bottle and set it and the glass in front of him.

I dropped a couple of ice cubes in a short glass for myself before I went to sit across from Rasmus. I poured my glass a third full of Jamieson’s and waited for it to chill. “My deal is off with Orlin and his kind. Ask me any questions ya want and I’ll answer them. Orlin can take a flying leap off a cliff if he gets pissed.”

Rasmus leaned on the table. “I felt like something was off with the whole child-of-a-guardian story. He offered it in a manner that didn’t allow me to ask questions. While I waited for you to get home, I had a different thought. Am I theactual friendyou keep mentioning went away and not just some guy who looks like him?”

I lifted my whiskey glass and saluted him. “Ya were always sharp, Rasmus, no matter what people did to ya.” Then I drank deep before pausing.

While the warmth of my drink spread through me, I waved a hand at his chest. “Changing into yer new self wasn’t something ya mentioned to me before it happened. That’s why I was so shocked when I first saw ya.”

He drank his water and glanced at the cabinets over my head. “My instincts knew your reaction was weird but I ignored them. Your power drew me and I didn’t want to make you mad.”

“Orlin is adamant that ya asked to be made into the man ya are right now. They said I should honor yer choices. I had decided to keep their secrets before Zara said ya were like her. I knew it wouldn’t be long before ya replayed that comment in yer heard and figured out she meant that both of ya used to be guardians. Orlin told ya the child story because he refuses to give up on whatever plan ya made with him and the other brethren to live out yer life with me as a regular human.”

“What was I like before?”

I set my glass down. “Ya were older, for one. All guardians are ancient and ageless, but ya had silver at yer temples and showed yer maturity. Ya also tended to be surly about most things human because ya considered us to be flawed. Guardians have a superiority complex that makes it really hard to like them.”

“But you liked me anyway.”

I snorted. “Yes, I liked ya anyway. I didn’t trust ya completely, but I liked ya. We argued a lot about power but it wasn’t in the negative way I always argued with Jack when we were married. All yer memories of yer past is just a story they gave ya to make ya feel human. I’ve tried to be as understanding and supportive as I could be about it. Zara made my efforts all for nothing when she dropped the truth on ya.”

“Am I like her?”

“Ya are indeed like her... or ya were. They did something to stifle yer true self. I wouldn’t fight that much if ya intend to linger here. Yer cover story serves a good purpose with those they made forget ya.”

“Like whom?”

“Colonel Benson is the only one I’ve noticed so far. They couldn’t make people like me, Conn, Mulan, or even my daughter Fiona forget. I was surprised by my daughter recognizing ya.” I put my chin in my hand. “Which completely proves Fiona has magick and I need to tell her that the next time the subject comes up.”

“Were we lovers before I underwent these changes?”

I grinned at his direct question. “No, but I believed we were on our way to getting together. I’ve been really mad because they took those memories away from ya and expected me to go along with it. From their perspective, ya took them away from yerself with yer decision to do what ya did.”

“And now I’m not the man you knew. I’m only similar to him.”