whose youth was visible in the rearview mirror—a wrestling poster half-hidden by a woman I vaguely recognized as an actress, Red Sox paraphernalia like any good Boston boy, and a toy ladder truck displayed on a shelf.
Kevin lay on his back on a bed pushed into the corner. His body shield was active, a thick sheath of gold- tinged bronze. The whiff of essence was in the air, the charged scent of ozone. The Murdock siblings were half- druid, but Kevin had inherited enough ability that he registered as a full druid. I had warned Leo that all his siblings would need training to control their abilities. If they didn’t want to use them, that was fine, but they had to learn how to prevent them from activating spontaneously. Abilities reacted to the user’s emotions as much as the will, and all the Murdocks could use a little anger management.
“I tried shaking him, but all that did was move the shield a bit. I yelled at him, too, but he won’t wake up,” Leo said.
Briallen leaned over Kevin, unable to touch him through the shield. She caressed the air over him, her face and hands glowing with faint essence as she examined him. “He’s fine, Leonard. No need to worry. He’s been playing with his abilities.”
“What do you mean?” Leo asked.
Briallen straightened. “He’s sleeping it off. Our bodies are stronger than humans; but we’re not invincible. He’s burned out and needs sleep to recharge himself. He’ll be fine when he wakes up.”
I tried not to smile too much. “Druid teenagers do this all the time, Leo. They find out they can use essence, and they exhaust themselves playing around with it.”
“I didn’t,” he said.
I nodded toward Kevin. “You’re, what, almost fifteen years older than him? Kevin’s still a kid in druid terms. And do I have to remind you of someone who liked to run into walls for the hell of it when he discovered it didn’t hurt him?”
Leo ducked his head, an embarrassed flush coming to his cheeks. “Okay, I get it. You’re sure he’s okay?”
Briallen patted Leo on the shoulder. “Positive. What I don’t like is his using abilities without supervision. There’s a reason druids have formal training. This isn’t stuff to fool around with.”
The relief on Murdock’s face slipped away at the sound of a door’s slamming downstairs. Loud voices carried up the stairwell. “Let’s continue this conversation later,” Murdock said.
Gerry Murdock stomped onto the landing, anger suffusing his face. I didn’t have to guess who had called Gerry. Faith hovered behind him, a slightly guilt-stricken look about her. “Get the hell out of my house,” he shouted.
Leo walked onto the landing. “Calm down, Gerry. They were just leaving.”
“What the hell were you thinking?” Gerry pushed past him, then shoved me aside. I bumped back against the dresser, cologne bottles and coins rattling, but resisted pushing back.
“Watch it,” I said.
Gerry turned from Kevin and leaned in my face. “What did you say?”
I stared down at him. “I said ‘watch it.’”
Briallen stepped next to me. “I don’t believe we’ve met, Officer Murdock. My name is….”
He glared at her. “I know who the hell you are. You’re not welcome here either. Get out.”
Briallen showed no fear, not that I expected her to. People like Gerry—even given his possible druid abilities —were child’s play for her. “I was asked here.”
“Not by me,” he said. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “Out.”
“Gerry, knock it off. Kevin wasn’t waking up, so I called for help,” Leo said.
“He’s fine. He just needs to sleep,” Gerry said.
“How do you know that?” Briallen asked.
He frowned at her. “None of your damned business. You people aren’t the only ones who know about this stuff.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
He thrust his arm out toward the hall. “Leave. Now.”
“I asked them here, Gerry. I don’t need your permission to invite people to my home. I live here, too,” Leo said.
“Maybe that needs to change,” Gerry said.
Leo pushed back into the room. “You got something to say?”
Faith grabbed Leo’s arm. “Both of you, stop it.” She pointed at me. “Take your friend outside, now.”
“Mind your business, Faith,” Gerry said.
She stuck her finger in his face. “Shut it. This family is my business. We are not doing this in front of strangers. It’s over.”
Briallen took my hand and pulled me into the hall. She said nothing as she led the way down the stairs and out the door. Leo came out a moment later. “I’m sorry about that.”
Briallen rubbed his arm. “No need. He’s in pain, Leonard.”
“Yeah, well, it has nothing to do with you,” he said.
And everything to do with me. “I shouldn’t have come,” I said.
Exasperated, Leo glanced up at the house. “I didn’t think Faith would rat me out. She usually is the one calming things down.”
“I smelled essence on both of your brothers,” I said.
Briallen nodded. “I did, too. If I’m not mistaken, it was essence-fire residue.”
“Gerry’s right about one thing: We’re not the only ones who know how to teach about abilities. Have they been training with someone?” I asked.
Leo looked down, then away. “I’m not sure. Kev and Gerry have always been pretty tight. They’ve been going out a lot together lately.”
The look said it all. He was sure but didn’t want to think about it. “Maybe you should follow them. If the Guild isn’t involved, it could be anyone,” I said.
He frowned. “I’m not going to put my own family under surveillance, Connor.”
The black car’s driver opened the door for Briallen. She paused with one foot inside the car. “You’re looking at this as a personal matter. It’s not, Leonard. Your abilities are under control, but you have no idea what can happen. I think Kevin, at least, has more abilities. If they’re both using essence-fire, they can be putting themselves in danger, if not everyone else. I don’t want you feeling guilty if something happens.”
“I’ll think about it,” he said.
The expression on Murdock’s face stayed with me the rest of the day, so sad, yet so angry. I knew what it was like to get blindsided by life. It sucked. My problems hadn’t destroyed my entire family, but somehow they had destroyed Murdock’s. I didn’t know what I could do about it, but I hoped I didn’t make it any worse.
7
The driver drove us back to Beacon Hill, where Briallen lived in a town house on Louisburg Square. The address was tony, the neighbors aloof, and Briallen was indifferent to both. Back at the house, she made coffee because she knew I needed a constant stream of caffeine before noon.
We wandered up to the top floor of her house so she could show me the results of some spells she had been working on. Rather, some spells that she hadn’t had any success with. Briallen faced a sealed stone door on the top landing. Arms crossed, she leaned against the banister. “If I weren’t so angry, I’d compliment her on her skills.”
“She,” of course, was Meryl. I stared at the door, trying to find a break in the stone. Meryl had been in a trance state a few weeks back. Nigel Martin, another old mentor, had devised a spell session to bring her out of it with Briallen’s help. I had been dubious. Nigel and I were on less-than-cordial terms these days, and I suspected his motives, with good reason as it turned out. He had attempted to kill Meryl inside Briallen’s sanctum sanctorum. Meryl had had other ideas. She turned the tables on him, came out of her trance, and sealed Nigel inside the room. He was still in there.
