Jule closed his eyes, relishing in the ability to Transport himself once more. No more walking across Ireland for him! When he opened his eyes, he found a gruesome sight awaiting him.
"Been trying to call you, Jule," the blond Guardian said from his seat on the couch. He ran a hand through his hair. "Sean's dead. I found his body behind his bar. I don't know what did this to him, but it wasn't a human or a vamp. Whatever it was, it tore him in half."
Jule's gaze dropped to the blanket-covered body laid carefully on the living room floor. His smile faded.
* * * Damian tapped the knife against his boot, deep in thought. The computer screen before him was blank, but he didn't notice.
"You want me to kill Jule," he repeated at long last.
"Yes, ikir. He refused to do as we said and kill his target. He's a threat to the survival of the Guardians, if he chooses to protect her," the Watcher said.
"Let's pretend for a moment that I actually believe anything you're saying," he said. "There's no benefit for anyone if Jule is killed. So what if he failed at taking out a target?"
"If he chooses to protect this target from us-"
"First," Damian said, standing, "Jule doesn't take orders from you. Second, if he didn't execute his target, he has a damned good reason. I trust him over you without question. What I really want to know is why Jule is of any interest to you at all."
The Watcher was silent.
"If you can't answer that, then I'm not going to help you," Damian said. "And the girl? She looked far less harmless than the Other. Why aren't you going after the Other?"
"We can't track them in the mortal realm," the Watcher said. "If you let Jule live, you must kill her. There is no other way to keep the Other from destroying everything."
As much as he hated these creatures, he had to admit that they often led him in the right direction. Damian would never kill his brother, Jule, but if the woman was dangerous enough to warrant a Watcher's attention, he couldn't look the other way.
She'd looked harmless to him, beautiful and scared.
"So I have to do my job because you can't do yours," he summarized. "I'll send Dusty."
"Thank you, ikir," the Watcher said. "In time, I hope to provide more answers."