through.”
“That’ll keep him busy!” His grin turned wicked. “Ari’s a lot like him. You’re involved with a guy who’s just like your father. How Freudian can you get?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. Sean displayed his survival sense by changing the subject.
“Mike must have told you I was helping him with thatmap,” Sean said. “It’s taking both of us to do it, and it took us forever to find one gate. Now that we’ve got one, though, I know how they feel, or I should say, how I feel when I sense one. We can focus in on the vibes, which means we should be able to find the others faster, well, if there are any.”
“I don’t understand. You guys knew about the gate in Aunt Eileen’s house already.”
“That’s what Mike and I thought, that we could use that one to zero in on the others. We couldn’t. It’s different than the others. We know Dad made it, right? Well, someone else made the others. So the vibe’s different. Y’know?”
“No, actually, I don’t, but I’ll take your word for it.”
“Okay.” Sean shot me a grin. “And because I’m helping, I was wondering if you could take me on as a stringer for the Agency.”
“What? You? Looking for gainful employment?”
“I know I’m a slacker.”
“Self-knowledge is the beginning of wisdom.” I folded my hands piously. “Learn, my child, and grow wise.”
Sean stuck out his tongue at me. “Well, I deserved that,” he went on to say. “But will you? You’re the head of the bureau now, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, and if you weren’t my brother, I could hire you tonight, but I don’t want to be accused of nepotism. I’ll ask my boss about it. They put Michael on stringer status, and my boss mentioned a while ago that they might be interested in recruiting more O’Gradys.”
“Thanks. It wouldn’t kill me to earn a little money now and then. Al’s birthday is coming up, and I don’t want to buy him a present with his own credit card.”
The guys left when the basketball game ended. Al had to get up in the morning to go to his government job. I locked up, then sat down next to Ari on the couch. He turned off the TV and looked at me.
“Ari, there’s something you need to think about,” I said. “You genuinely scared my poor brother when you were waving that gun around.”
“I never wave a gun around. That’s irresponsible.”
“Well, okay, sorry. Just seeing it scared him anyway. Youdon’t know what he’s like when he gets into full panic mode. It could take hours to calm him down.”
“I needed to make sure that it was them and only them. After all, it’s my job to keep you safe.”
I don’t know what got into me, the Devil, maybe, but lines from
The Tempest
floated to the surface of my mind. “Ariel, thy charge exactly is perform’d, but—”
Ari growled. I don’t know what else to call it but a growl, and his face changed to a dangerous lack of expression. “I hate that sodding play,” he said, and he sounded on the edge of growling again. “And my sodding name, and that sodding playwright, too.”
I stood up and took a couple of steps sideways to get clear of the coffee table. He got up with the Qi of pure rage swirling around him like the tempest in question. I moved to put the coffee table between us.
“I’m sorry.” I made my voice as calm as I could. “Ari, I didn’t realize it would bother you so much.”
He took a deep breath, then another, and shoved his hands into his jeans’ pockets—to keep them safely confined, I figured, like they’d taught him in anger management class. For several minutes we stood on that knife’s edge. Finally, he sighed and forced out a thin smile.
“I’m sorry, too,” he said. “Every summer when I visited my mother in London, I was teased about my wretched name, and that sodding Shakespeare play always came into it. Airy spirit! Too delicate for—” He stopped, cleared his throat, and breathed deeply yet again.
“That’ll keep him busy!” His grin turned wicked. “Ari’s a lot like him. You’re involved with a guy who’s just like your father. How Freudian can you get?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. Sean displayed his survival sense by changing the subject.
“Mike must have told you I was helping him with thatmap,” Sean said. “It’s taking both of us to do it, and it took us forever to find one gate. Now that we’ve got one, though, I know how they feel, or I should say, how I feel when I sense one. We can focus in on the vibes, which means we should be able to find the others faster, well, if there are any.”
“I don’t understand. You guys knew about the gate in Aunt Eileen’s house already.”
“That’s what Mike and I thought, that we could use that one to zero in on the others. We couldn’t. It’s different than the others. We know Dad made it, right? Well, someone else made the others. So the vibe’s different. Y’know?”
“No, actually, I don’t, but I’ll take your word for it.”
“Okay.” Sean shot me a grin. “And because I’m helping, I was wondering if you could take me on as a stringer for the Agency.”
“What? You? Looking for gainful employment?”
“I know I’m a slacker.”
“Self-knowledge is the beginning of wisdom.” I folded my hands piously. “Learn, my child, and grow wise.”
Sean stuck out his tongue at me. “Well, I deserved that,” he went on to say. “But will you? You’re the head of the bureau now, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, and if you weren’t my brother, I could hire you tonight, but I don’t want to be accused of nepotism. I’ll ask my boss about it. They put Michael on stringer status, and my boss mentioned a while ago that they might be interested in recruiting more O’Gradys.”
“Thanks. It wouldn’t kill me to earn a little money now and then. Al’s birthday is coming up, and I don’t want to buy him a present with his own credit card.”
The guys left when the basketball game ended. Al had to get up in the morning to go to his government job. I locked up, then sat down next to Ari on the couch. He turned off the TV and looked at me.
“Ari, there’s something you need to think about,” I said. “You genuinely scared my poor brother when you were waving that gun around.”
“I never wave a gun around. That’s irresponsible.”
“Well, okay, sorry. Just seeing it scared him anyway. Youdon’t know what he’s like when he gets into full panic mode. It could take hours to calm him down.”
“I needed to make sure that it was them and only them. After all, it’s my job to keep you safe.”
I don’t know what got into me, the Devil, maybe, but lines from
The Tempest
floated to the surface of my mind. “Ariel, thy charge exactly is perform’d, but—”
Ari growled. I don’t know what else to call it but a growl, and his face changed to a dangerous lack of expression. “I hate that sodding play,” he said, and he sounded on the edge of growling again. “And my sodding name, and that sodding playwright, too.”
I stood up and took a couple of steps sideways to get clear of the coffee table. He got up with the Qi of pure rage swirling around him like the tempest in question. I moved to put the coffee table between us.
“I’m sorry.” I made my voice as calm as I could. “Ari, I didn’t realize it would bother you so much.”
He took a deep breath, then another, and shoved his hands into his jeans’ pockets—to keep them safely confined, I figured, like they’d taught him in anger management class. For several minutes we stood on that knife’s edge. Finally, he sighed and forced out a thin smile.
“I’m sorry, too,” he said. “Every summer when I visited my mother in London, I was teased about my wretched name, and that sodding Shakespeare play always came into it. Airy spirit! Too delicate for—” He stopped, cleared his throat, and breathed deeply yet again.
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