Shaking his head, he walked past Keelan's antechamber. His brother had set it up to be his library and practice area; it was a sacred space for a witch. That was why Kendrick was setting up his lab in Keelan's bedroom. He cast a protective containment field around his work area and started unpacking his equipment. Grinning, he loosened his pouch from his belt. He opened it and began to pull books and test equipment from the bottomless bag. He looked back into the pouch and floated a long wooden table out and set it in the middle of the room. Now he had a place to work.
He loved his gifts from the fae. His clothes, which changed appearance and kept him clean, had been part of a set called Gentlemen Garments. He had gotten them during a visit to Éire Danu centuries ago. Keelan now wore one of the two pieces he received along with the washing towel which was now acting like a diaper. In addition to the garments, he had been given the infinitely useful Bag of Wishes; all were gifts from the fae queen herself.
The Bag of Wishes allowed him to store anything he wanted in his pouch, regardless of size and weight. He had tried to duplicate it's magic but could never get the mass equations correct. Shaking his head at the mysteriousness of fae magic, he never appreciated it more as his lab quickly began to take shape.
Once Aiden was able to provide him with the necklaces, he would be able to start testing the different types of magic that went into creating them, including tracking down the caster. When he did find the one responsible for his brother's condition, not even the Council would be able to keep the bastard alive for questioning. The second he knew a name, the witch was dead.
*****
Anne watched as Colton looked down at the four boxes and blinked. "Seriously? This is all you own?"
"Yup. One for schoolbooks, one for clothes, one for keepsakes, and one for knickknacks. Right before my father died, he told me to get rid of anything that could tie me down and run after my dreams. Since I had to move across country for school, it made sense to get rid of anything that I absolutely didn't need. It just became a habit after that." She failed to mention that her most prized possessions, her massive anime and book collections, were kept safe in digital format in cloud storage. She didn't even want to contemplate moving her collections if they had been in hard copy. They'd be here for weeks!
"What'd your landlord say?" Sascha asked, picking up two of the boxes.
Anne smiled. "Mr. Clemson has known me since I was in second grade; he didn't give me any grief over the lease. Besides it's a downtown location--well, as downtown as Madison gets anyway. He won't have any problem renting this out."
Not to be outdone, Colton picked up the two remaining boxes. "How'd Bart take the news of you quitting?" he asked, balancing the boxes carefully.
Anne let out a huge sigh. "He's a stubborn old goat! I had to threaten to call his wife before he settled down. He knew I appreciated his concern though; he has daughters, after all."
Colton nodded. "Bart is a wise man when it comes to females."
Sascha looked at him intently. "Truly?"
Colton grinned. "He has lived through having six daughters and a wife."
Sascha's eyes rounded. "I need to meet this man."
Quinn came in through the door. "I moved the SUV to the building entrance so we can carry her stuff down." He blinked as he saw Colton and Sascha with the four boxes. "Is that it?"
"Y'all are too much. Come on, let's head back; I want to check on Keelan."
That got the men moving. Within minutes, the boxes were loaded, and they were back on the road. She rode with Colton while Sascha and Quinn followed in her Honda CRV; it had been her only splurge while in college.
"What?" Colton asked out of the blue.
"What?" she asked in return surprised at his question.
"You're frowning."
"Oh. It's just strange, I guess. I've driven down this road thousands of times over the years, ever since I was a kid. But now, it feels different since I know where we're going."
"How are you really? It's a lot to take in, especially with Keelan being..."--Colton struggled to find the right word--"unavailable."
"Unavailable?" She couldn't help the giggle that escaped. "You make him sound like a doctor busy with a patient."
"I don't like the other terms; they're too depressing."
"I wish I had been brought into your lives for a happier reason, but I don't regret being in your world. It's scary, and I wish Keelan was awake to explain things to me, but everyone has been so supportive, even Meryn in her own way."
Colton chuckled. "She may come across as a bit kooky, but she has a huge heart and is very protective of the ones she loves."
"She seems very heartbroken about Keelan. Were they close?"
Colton stared at the road for a moment. "Yes, but not in the way you'd think. They didn't hang out together, but I think, despite his fear of an uncaffeinated Meryn, Keelan was one of the few people that got her. He understood her sci-fi references and liked the same type of movies. To Meryn, that was priceless. Even now, amongst family, we all love the little menace, but not many people really understand her. "
"I know how Meryn feels. Keelan was the first person I was able to relax around since my parents passed away. It's why I miss him so much now," Anne admitted.
Colton reached over and patted her arm. "We'll get him back. His brother is supposed to be some kind of magical genius. If anyone can get Keelan's soul back, it's Kendrick."