The brownstone let me in. My old partner, Dylan macBain, was the only other person I knew whom Briallen had spelled free access through her door at any time, and he was supposed to be dead. In a way, I had grown up in Briallen’s town house. Even though my family lived three miles away, I spent the majority of my teens on the third floor of her home. She was one part teacher, one part parent, and a big part friend. Even when my life fell apart, she stood by me. I knew she had put herself on the line more than once in my defense, especially lately.
“I’m in here,” she called out, as I crossed the threshold.
I left my jacket on the hallstand and went to the kitchen. The wave of warmth from the stove brought the smell of stew. Briallen came out of the pantry with a stack of dishes. “You’re early.”
She hugged me, then stared into my eyes as she placed her hands on either side of my head. A warm sensation radiated from her palms. After Gillen Yor, Briallen was the most experienced healer in the city, if not the world. Her essence moved inside me, an intimacy I allowed no one else outside a hospital room. I had an uncomfortable memory flash of the leanansidhe.
Briallen feathered her essence along the edges of the dark mass in my mind. I winced as it flexed when she came too near, but it didn’t react. Perhaps it knew I wasn’t threatened by her touching. Perhaps it wasn’t threatened, if it was that aware. Briallen withdrew and dropped her hands, rubbing my shoulders with a troubled smile.
“I thought you’d want to talk before the others got here,” I said.
She turned away. “It’s changed.”
“I know.”
She kept her back to me as she worked. “It’s bigger. I think it’s spreading.”
“It is.”
She didn’t speak as she broke some greens for a salad. I sat on a stool. She finished, wiped her hands with a towel, and held on to the edge of the counter. “Are you in pain?”
“Headaches. Sometimes it’s worse.”
I slid off the stool and hugged her from behind. She relaxed into me and let me hold her, then looked up at me. She pulled my head down and kissed my forehead. “Okay, enough maudlin. I’m frustrated because we can’t figure out what it is. We will.”
I smiled. “A little darkness never stopped Briallen ab Gwyll.”
She recovered her usual self and pushed me away. “Damn right. Start slicing onions and tell me why you were at the Guildhouse.”
Amused, I picked up a knife. I didn’t think anything happened within a five-mile radius of Briallen without her knowing about it. “I was reporting a leanansidhe Murdock and I stumbled into.”
She scrunched her nose. “Ick. I hate those.”
Only Briallen would react to one of the most fearsome fey with an “ick.” “Keeva said she’d try to get someone to look into it.”
“She must be thrilled that Ryan’s stepping in now that Nigel is leaving,” she said.
“It’s not official.”
“Is that the official unofficial position that came out of your meeting with Nigel and Manus?” she asked.
I chuckled. “I knew you knew about that. Eagan won’t name Ryan. At least, not yet. He wants to drive Ryan and Maeve crazy.”
Briallen chuckled. “I enjoy that myself sometimes. In the meantime, stay away from the Guild, Connor. With Nigel gone, I’m the only ally you have left there, and I’m not there enough.”
“I haven’t thought of Nigel as an ally for months now,” I said. Which was true. After I reached the age of majority, I trained with Nigel. He was my mentor and taskmaster. But when I lost my abilities, he abandoned me and took every opportunity since to ridicule me.
She tasted her stew. “He’s run more interference than you know.”
I scooped sliced onions into the salad bowl. “You mean lately? He tried to kill me last month, Briallen.”
She arched her eyebrows. “I’ve seen news footage of that. Don’t be too sure he wasn’t putting on a show for witnesses. What happened to that leather jacket you were wearing, by the way? I haven’t seen you with it since that night.”
“I lost it when I accidentally destroyed TirNaNog.”
She pursed her lips. “Pity. You looked quite handsome in it.”
“We were talking about Nigel trying to hit me with a deadly essence strike.”
Briallen moved the salad bowl to the island counter. “Look, Connor, you know that Nigel and I don’t agree on everything, but I don’t believe he would hurt you. In fact, if you think about it, his going to Tara will take Maeve’s attention away from you.”
“Tara? I heard Russia.”
She leaned against the counter and sipped her wine. “Via Tara, of course. Trust me, Connor. Maeve isn’t going to forget you anytime soon. Between her worries about the Taint and all the deaths here, you need to be careful.”
“I’m not afraid of Maeve.”
She lifted her chin and smiled. “Good. Just remember that not being afraid is not the same as poking a bear with a stick. Can you get the door?”
The doorbell rang. When I opened the door, Murdock and Meryl stood side by side, each holding a brown-papered bottle. Meryl stamped snow off her Doc Martens. “Guess who tried to give me a ticket for parking in an illegal parking space?”
I cocked my head out the door. “The guy who’s parked at the fire hydrant?”
She mock-glowered at Murdock. “The very one. I mentioned it would be a shame if that hydrant broke in this cold weather.”
She removed her full-length wool coat. Murdock and I smiled at the same time. Meryl wore a black leather top with long lace sleeves, a short black wool skirt, and fishnet stockings. She caught our expressions and looked down at herself. “What? Are the stockings too much? I wore the violet ones because the pink looked kinda trampy for dinner.”
I smirked. “They look fine.”
“More than fine,” said Murdock.
She rolled her eyes. “Children.”
“Hey, you wore ’em. Don’t complain if we look,” I said.
She took her bottle back, and we followed her into the kitchen. Meryl hopped on a stool and said hello. Briallen, I noticed, barely acknowledged her. The two of them disagreed about things I wasn’t privy to. Sometimes I thought it was druidic politics. Sometimes it seemed something more.
Murdock handed Briallen the bottle of wine. She placed it on the counter next to Meryl’s. “You look well, Leonard.”
“Thank you, Ms. Gwyll. You like French wines, if I remember.”
She smiled and brushed her hand down his arm. “Charmer.”
She handed off the bottle to me. “If you could do the honors.”
Murdock and Meryl teased each other about their parking skills while I hunted down the corkscrew. Briallen laid out the salad bowls, and we took seats around the kitchen island. I poured the wine. I may like my Guinness, but a glass of wine in Briallen’s kitchen brought back pleasant memories from my younger days.
Murdock made a curious face as he chewed. “What’s this dressing?”
“Vinaigrette, mostly, with a few special things thrown in,” Briallen said.
“Don’t ask the definition of ‘special things,’” I said. Briallen poked my hand with her fork.
Murdock chuckled. “I never know what I’m eating around you people.”
Meryl poured herself another glass of wine and leaned on her elbows. “So, Murdock, I heard you’re knockin’ boots with someone.”
Murdock choked in surprise. “Why is everyone so interested in my love life?”
Meryl’s eyebrows went up. “Ohhhh! Love life? No one said anything about love.”
He twisted his lips in a smirk. “Are we talking about you, now?”