Book Four: Chapter 91

“Aye.” He pinched off the head of a stunted bulb. “Much like these flowers, if ye be leaving the head to rot, the whole plant still tries to feed it. Imagine then if these blighted buds in me bucket fed off each other—till one becomes strong enough to attach itself back to the plant. Ye remove the dying buds so that the whole plant may live, after all, so why would ye be wanting to reattach the damn thing?”

“Well, you don’t.”

“Exactly. So these beings go traipsing around, trying their damndest to remain on the mortal coil, living a faux life, as it were.” He picked up his bucket. “Unseen by mortal eyes, they continue to bleed away the life of the whole plant.”

“Is that why dullahans exist?”

He nodded with a huge smile. “Indeed! It’s me job to pinch the bud before it becomes something more sinister. Something twisted, like the sluagh that chased you when you first crossed. My sister’s job were similar, though she be having a smaller clientele.”

“Smaller