Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

B y the time I got to Conn's meeting with both guardians and the far darrig in tow, the yelling was already underway. Conn and Henry were standing nearly nose-to-nose. We slid into the room, ignoring them as best we could, to find seats at the conference table Henry had put in here for us.

"Posting a guard at the end of the driveway is ridiculous and unnecessary. This is a home, not a fort, Henry. It also would look like we were charging a fee to get inside. Random people would be stopping to ask for a tour of the property."

"I was responsible for what happened with the rogue fairy, and now I will take whatever steps I feel necessary to protect this home and all those in it. You asked Gale and I to be caretakers of the entire grounds and all the houses. That means I get the final say on what measures are required for our safety."

Seated on each side of me, I heard Rasmus sigh and Zara giggle softly. The female guardian loved watching a good fight.

I did too, when the fight didn't directly concern me.

I could only imagine what Rasmus was thinking about all the anger floating around the room. It was full of emotion and contained very little logic. He considered such discussions beneath him, yet he ended up being in the middle of so many.

I grinned as I did my usual to calm things, which meant I brought up something random to bring the tension. "How about we buy a guard animal instead of assigning a demon to guard duty? We could get a three-headed Cerberus. No one messes with those."

Both demons looked at me like I was the one with three heads. See? It worked every time.

Zara turned to me and shook her own. "That's not a good idea. The demon wolves would be upset by the strange animal. They feel quite possessive of this property."

"Did they tell ya that?" I asked.

"No," Zara admitted. "They told Dylan. They tolerate me, but they adore him."

Across the table from us, Dylan looked uncomfortable at Zara's statement but cleared his throat to speak when I kept looking at him. The far darrig was learning to assert himself, and I was oddly proud of that fact.

Dylan looked back at me. "I'm quite sure the demon wolves could guard the place if allowed the freedom to roam without boundaries. Zara is right that they feel this is their home now."

I shook my head. "They're not animals. They're young, na?ve women barely old enough to be out on their own. They're both around Fiona's age."

Dylan shook his head as well. "They are actual wolves , Aran. Their genetic makeup is as much animal as human. They're more animal than Ben. They might be taught to shift into humans again, but they will remain wolves forever. Which is okay because they've acclimated quite well."

"I saw them in their human forms in a vision. They were young and vulnerable women. How can ya know for certain they'll be animals forever?"

Dylan pulled the artifact out of his shirt to remind me of how knew. He had carefully wrapped his stone with copper wire, skillfully shaping the wire into the form of a falcon. Then he secured the stone around his neck using two strips of supple brown leather.

It appeared to be nothing more than a masculine necklace. Now the artifact was expertly concealed and hard to detect.

"I love what ya've done with yer stone. It's a nice look for both of ya."

Dylan slipped it back inside his shirt. "I never take it off. Its council flows easily into my mind when it's this close. I trust it completely and it told me they would be wolves forever. The spell was for transfiguration, which means their offspring will inherit the changes to their DNA."

"I'm glad ya trust yer stone, Dylan. I think ya should. Forgive me, though, because I don't find that to be good news."

"Would you rather I not tell you and let you learn it later?"

"No. Never hold back. Even when the news is uncomfortable."

My hand went to where my own magickal stone rested. In hindsight, I probably should have done as Dylan had. Instead, I took additional steps because Jack once took it from me.

I made most of my important life decisions to thwart my evil ex-husband. Now I was paying the price. And I hoped I wasn't making the same mistakes with Rasmus. I was putting a lot of effort into our relationship.

Since the guardian turned back time to save my life, at least he seemed worth it. Jack had never been worth it. He even confessed to me that I was a job.

But I couldn't change my past with him. Neither could I change what I did with the stone.

I shook my head to clear away my unhelpful thoughts. Dwelling on things I couldn't change was a mind game I didn't let myself play often.

I looked at Dylan. "My instinct is to protect the women, not use them like ya would use dogs."

Dylan looked at me. "That's kind of you, but as intelligent animals, they need a purpose to feel alive. Playing with their demon caretakers a couple of times a day does not satisfy their needs."

I spread my hands. "Are ya sure, Dylan?"

I didn't feel great about turning them loose. I still felt they needed a keeper who was always around.

"Dylan and I can work with them and train them," Zara said. "Perhaps you could get them a consort animal to watch over them while they are watching over us. That way, they have a constant companion that was more like them."

I tilted my head. "I've heard of putting a donkey into a herd of sheep. Is that what ya're suggesting?"

"Yes," Zara said slowly, but she sounded unsure about agreeing to my example. "More precisely, I'm thinking that a winged horse would be an agreeable companion for the demon wolves."

" A winged horse ," I said with a chuckle before outright laughing. "Do ya have one stashed somewhere, Zara? Last I checked, there were no pegasi herds in the states. They prefer desert climates."

Zara smiled that evil smile I hated. "I meant that I could make you one. It would be good practice before attempting to turn the demon wolves back into humans. All you need to do is buy me a quality horse. I'll take care of the rest."

I stared at Zara without blinking. What kind of magickal so confidently offers to make a pegasus out of a horse? No magickal I knew had that kind of power. I wasn't even sure that The Dagda did. It had taken a dark coven, a powerful fairy, and the power of Dylan's artifact to convert Hisser into a naga.

How could Zara alone prompt such a transmutation?

Shaking my head in dismay, I scrubbed at my face. Good Goddess, why did I take the female guardian on? What arrogant madness had possessed me?

Maybe I needed to call Orlin and rescind my offer. My life would be so much saner.

"An experiment was always going to be necessary before she attempted to change the wolves back," Rasmus said oh-so-casually.

"Wouldn't such experiments make us as bad as the military scientists we keep fighting?"

The guardian stared into my eyes without answering. I stared back, and then realization hit. Rasmus had been right about not being able to stop genetic tampering from happening. Experimentation was a matter of motivation, intention, and what ya did with what ya created.

Their creation of man-made guardians to use as evil super soldiers was a terrible purpose. Our creation of a pegasus to keep the demon wolves company and watch over them might not be. It wasn't the science of genetics that was flawed. Humanity's desire to build weapons to control each other at any cost was the genuine problem. It was also one I realized humanity might never solve.

The biggest downside of Zara's request was that no one could be sure how the experiment would work out. But that was how experiments worked and why people did them.

I glanced around the table before turning to look at Zara. "I'm not ruling any of this out but I'm going to need some time to think it through. What you're suggesting is an extreme measure to take. However, I'll let ya know when I get clear about the demon wolves and the winged horse possibility."

"In the meantime, I'll set up a rotating guard at the gate," Henry declared.

Conn growled at everyone, but mostly Henry. "Fine," he said. "Put someone at the gate."

Rasmus nodded in agreement. "And Zara and I will see what magick we can add to the current wards to strengthen them. We'll work directly with Aran and Mulan once we've decided what we can do to help."

"What do ya feel we need to do, Conn? Ya called this meeting, so I know ya had some ideas of yer own when ya invited us here."

Conn, who had never sat down, shoved his hands in his pockets and continued to pace. "I don't want anyone to leave the property without taking another of us with them. I would prefer no one left at all until we resolve the situation, but I know that's not practical or reasonable. I'm including myself in that seclusion. Please stay behind our wards until you simply must go out."

"Thank ya, Conn. I have no problem with staying here. It will give me time to work in the greenhouse."

Conn's mouth gaped open at my statement, which made me laugh.

"Ben has officially benched me, so there will be no work for any of us until assassins stop trying to kill me. We won't starve unless it goes on for more than a year, and I won't let that happen. My best plan is to toss the fairy's severed head back through their portal. Based on what I know so far, I truly believe Ezra's death would resolve all our problems."

Conn sighed. "Killing the fairy would solve a temporary problem and create a bigger one when the other fairies here start screaming about you being a threat to their safety in this realm. They bring magick to our realm by being here. Killing must remain our last resort."

"Fine," I said as snarkily as I could. "But don't act surprised when the wicked fairy forces me to do it. I've warned everyone that I won't be showing the bastard mercy again."

Conn's expression turned fierce. "Speaking of being forced to do something, have you considered calling in an enforcer? As much as I would rather not work with them, this seems like a case where it would be helpful to have them involved."

"I already asked Ben to call for one. That's why he's not here."

Conn made a sound of resignation. "But we don't know who it will be yet, do we?"

"No. The enforcer could be a previous co-worker who hated me or one of the younger ones who idolized me."

"Or both," Conn said. "I recall you had quite the fan club there."

I chuckled. It was so many years ago that I doubted most remembered me at all. "The chances of it being someone I trained are good because they'd all be highly experienced now. Let's hope for that possibility. Cross yer fingers."

"Your trainees weren't much younger than you, Aran. Most were barely your age."

I thought about it and shrugged. "I didn't have age in my favor back then, but I had the power and the experience. Plus, I had ya following me around. Those I worked with envied my demon partner, and I didn't mind a bit. I thank the Goddess for ya every day, Conn."

I looked around and frowned. "Where's Mulan? How did the Wu Shaman get excused from this meeting?"

Conn blew out a breath. "She's ill and decided to sleep it off. She's blaming her Shaman staff for that as well. The woman broods hard."

I laughed. "I know. She brooded hard about you. Should I go check on her? It appears I have plenty of time."

"Yes, I wish you would. Then I'd know both of you were okay."

"Poor demon. All the females in yer life drive ya crazy. Ya'd think we were conspiring to do it," I said in mock sympathy, patting Conn's unshaven cheek as I passed by.

Then I stopped. "What do ya think about Zara's winged horse idea?"

Conn shrugged. "I don't like it, but I can see how it might be necessary. After converting the jiangshi back into a human, I figured the idea wouldn't bother you."

That had me staring at him. "Do ya think that's what Mulan and I did with her brother-in-law? Seriously?"

Conn nodded. "Yes. The method will be different, but the concept is the same. You can't blame Zara for offering to do something for our benefit."

"Between Rasmus and ya, I feel like I'm taking a philosophy class lately. The two of ya make me think so hard my head hurts."