Part 32 (2/2)

”Yeah,” I said.

”What you did, Harry...” Murphy shook her head.

”She needed it,” I said.

”She needed it.” The words were crisp.

I shrugged. ”The kid's got power. She thinks that means she knows more than other people. That's dangerous.”

Murphy frowned at me, listening.

”I'd been planning the little ball-of-face-melty-suns.h.i.+ne thing for a while now,” I said. ”I mean, come on. Fire is hard to control. I couldn't have done something like that without practicing it, and you can't exactly use a nice, slow, dramatic face-melty fireball in a real fight, can you?”

”Maybe not,” Murphy said.

”I had a kind of face-melty thing come at me once, and it made an impression,” I said. ”Molly... got off to a bad start. She took her magic and reshaped the stuff around her. The people around her. Murph... you can't do anything with magic that you don't believe believe in. Think about the significance of that for a minute. When Molly did what she did, she in. Think about the significance of that for a minute. When Molly did what she did, she believed believed that it was right. That she was doing the right thing. Think about her parents. Think about how far they're willing to go to do the right thing.” that it was right. That she was doing the right thing. Think about her parents. Think about how far they're willing to go to do the right thing.”

Murphy did that, her blue eyes intense, her expression unreadable.

”I have to keep knocking her on her a.s.s,” I said. ”If I don't, if I let her recover her balance before she gets smart enough to figure out why why she should be doing things instead of just she should be doing things instead of just how how to do them, or to do them, or if if she can do them, she'll start doing the”-I used air quotes-” 'right' thing again. She'll break the Laws again, and they'll kill her.” she can do them, she'll start doing the”-I used air quotes-” 'right' thing again. She'll break the Laws again, and they'll kill her.”

”And you?” Murphy asked.

I shrugged. ”That's a ways down my worry list.”

”And you think what you did is going to help prevent that?” she asked.

”I hope it will,” I said. ”I'm not sure what else to do. In the end, it's up to the kid. I'm just trying to give her enough time to get it together. Despite herself. h.e.l.l's bells, the girl has a thick skull.”

Murphy gave me a lopsided smile and shook her head.

”I know,” I said. ”I know. Pot. Kettle. Black.”

”I wasn't talking about the face-melty thing, Harry,” she said then. ”Not directly. I'm talking about the stupid trash can. I'm talking about the look on your face right before you made the fire go away. I'm talking about what happened to that movie-monster thing in the hotel last year.”

It was my turn to frown. ”What?”

Murphy stopped for a minute, evidently considering her words as carefully as a bomb technician considers wiring. ”There are moments when I wonder if you are losing control of yourself. You've always had a lot of anger in you, Harry. But over the past few years, it's gotten worse. A lot worse.”

”Bulls.h.i.+t,” I snarled.

Murphy arched an eyebrow and just looked at me.

I gritted my teeth and made myself ease back down into my previous slouch. I took a deep breath and counted to ten. Then I said, ”You think I have anger issues.”

”When you destroyed that trash can-when you slagged it in a moment of pure frustration, destroyed it, inflicted thousands of dollars of damage on the city sidewalk, the building behind it, the shops inside-”

”All of which are in Marcone's building,” I snapped.

”I'm sure the people who work the counter at”-she consulted her little notepad-”the Spresso Spress and run the registers at Bathwurks probably don't know anything about Marcone, or care about him, either. They probably just go to work and try to pay their bills.”

I frowned at her. ”What?”

”Both shops were hit by bits of concrete and molten metal. They'll be closed for several weeks for repairs.”

”They're insured,” I said. I didn't sound like I believed it made a difference, even to me.

”People got hurt,” Murphy said. ”No one's face got melted, but that's not the point. You know the score, Harry, You know the kind of damage you can do if you aren't careful.”

I didn't say anything.

”It's just like being a cop. Knowing martial arts. I know that I can do some fairly awful things to people. It's my business to make sure that awful things don't happen to people. I'm careful about how I use what power I have-”

”I'll tell that to my dentist,” I said.

”Don't be petty, Harry,” she said, her voice serious. ”I've made mistakes. Admitted them. Apologized to you. I can't change what's happened, and you're a better man than that.”

Unless maybe I wasn't. I felt ashamed for making the remark.

”My point is,” Murphy said quietly, ”that you knew what kind of damage you could do. But if what you say is true, in the moment you used your magic you thought that what you were doing was right. you thought that what you were doing was right. You thought it was okay to destroy something because you were angry. Even though it might hurt someone else who didn't deserve it.” You thought it was okay to destroy something because you were angry. Even though it might hurt someone else who didn't deserve it.”

I felt another surge of rage and... ...and...

And holy c.r.a.p.

Murphy was right.

The sigil of angelic script, the only unburned flesh on my left hand, itched madly.

”Oh, h.e.l.l,” I said quietly. ”Pot, kettle, black, all right. All day long.”

Murph sat beside me, not saying anything, not accusing me of anything. She just sat with me.

Friends do that.

I put my right hand out, palm up.

Murphy closed her hand on mine for a moment, her fingers warm and small and strong.

”Thanks,” I told her.

She squeezed tight for a moment. Then she got up and went to a vending machine. She came back with a can of c.o.ke and a can of Diet c.o.ke, and handed me the nonvile one. We popped open the cans together and drank.

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