Jule offered a smile and handed the journal back to the Guardian. "I'll be back later. Watch your back until I have someone else assigned to station."
"No worries," Rourk said.
"I'll bring in someone quick," Jule said.
"I took Sean's job at the pub. Figured it'd keep my mind off things," Rourk replied. "Sean was like a brother to me."
Jule heard the quiet note of sorrow in the Guardian's voice. He and Sean had been assigned together at the station for over a decade. He patted Rourk on the shoulder.
"Do what you need to, Rourk. If you need a vacation or anything, take it."
"Thanks, Jule."
Spirits dampened, Jule watched Rourk leave for the pub before Transporting himself to the forest side of the Other's property. He opened his senses. Yully wouldn't be home yet, and there was no tingling of power that would indicate the Other was present. He Transported himself into Yully's room and looked around briefly before stepping into the quiet hallway.
An hour later, he returned to Yully's room empty-handed. He stood there, frustrated, as another thought hit him. He wasn't sure what he sought, but he'd hoped to find some trace either of the Guardians the Other killed or the Other itself. The Other's bedchamber had been empty, as if the otherworldly creature was permanently gone. Jule crossed to Yully's wardrobe on a hunch and opened it. It, too, was empty, as if the Other had fled and was taking Yully with him.
The hair on the back of his neck rose, and he tensed, waiting for the creature to materialize.
"Are you done playing these games?" the Watcher asked.
"What games, Watcher? You have all the keys to this puzzle," Jule replied. He faced the small man with glowing green eyes.
"You have them, too. You're refusing to see that."
"If I had the keys, I'd use them!"
"Xander visited you, didn't he?"
"Nothing but a fever dream," Jule said.
"You know that's not true."
"You want me to believe I'm an Original Being?" Jule asked, amused. "I have Guardian powers and nothing else."
"If you returned to the immortal realm with me, I-"
"No."
"So you'd rather stay here and watch the world fall apart," the Watcher said. "You've always been a selfish creature, Jule. You chose a human and serving the White God over the immortal realm at the Schism, despite the need for your power by your fellow immortals."