Damian's Immortal

"The only thing bothering me is you. Say your piece and get out of here," Jule replied.

"You were expecting me."

"Why should that surprise you? I've been expecting you for years. The opportunistic bastards that you all are, you'd take advantage of a time like this."

The Watcher clenched his teeth, green eyes flaring with light and spinning before he regained his temper. Jule was happy to piss off the little green-eyed troll. The Watchers thought him lesser, because he'd chosen the mortal world over the immortal one.

"Chosen is the wrong word," the Watcher said. "You were banished."

"Happily banished." Jule baited the immortal creature. "You won't jerk me around like you did Damian."

"Is that a challenge?"

"It's a dare, my little friend."

The Watcher paused again to rein in his composure and then spoke in a reluctant tone. "The Grey God has torn the fabric between the mortal and immortal realms. We discovered there is a creature here that can steal the Guardians' power and use it to rupture the breach. It's left the Black God in an advantageous position, since all but the White and Grey Gods are powerless."

"What do I need to do to right this?" Jule asked.

"We're stitching this tear back together from the immortal realm. We can't fix it from the mortal realm. We don't know who can, but we know who can destroy our efforts."

"Someone here in Ireland," Jule guessed. "Or you would've let me go home."

"I'd rather someone else take this on, but you're my only option," the Watcher said in plain distaste. "Yes, I kept you from returning with Damian to North America. The creature that can prevent us from healing the rupture is near here. She's called the Magician. We're not sure what this Magician is, but her powers are … unique and dangerous. She feeds off the powers of Guardians, so we stripped the Guardians of power."

"Leaving them and the humans vulnerable to the Black God. Great plan, Watcher."

"We didn't take this decision lightly! If her powers grow enough, she'll not only prevent us from stitching up the tear between realms, but she'll open the doorway between the two worlds. You know well enough what the Others will do in the human realm," the Watcher said.

"Make the Black God look like Santa Claus," Jule said with a frown. "So you sapped us to keep her from absorbing our power. What's this have to do with me?"