Kit and Tully | Love or Music?

20 - New Guy's Destiny?

Tully agrees to do it. He can't refuse, but he's rigid with nerves.

"I want to throw up, Kit. I don't think I can do this."

"Yes, you can." I sound more confident than I feel, as I persuade him to drink some water and take deep breaths. 

When the band disappear backstage to get ready, a white-faced Tully goes with them.

Felice, Spike and I exchange looks but we don't say anything. There is nothing to say. It's in the hands of the gods now. This is his big opportunity. We all know he's terrified but he can't screw it up. Because one thing is for sure –if he does Mac won't give him a second chance.

The Blue Ball is sold out, packed with enthusiastic music lovers. Energy pulsates through the crowd as they wait for Black Death to come on stage and belt out songs that have become familiar as they've climbed their way through the Irish charts. We've all heard them on the radio, even people who aren't fans.

At last the band burst onstage in a flurry of sound and lights. Mac leads the way, Tully, white as a ghost behind him, the others filing out to take their places, bass, keyboard, sax, percussion and, finally, Len on drums. Mac holds out the microphone towards the crowd and yells 'Tick-Tock' and we all shout right back at him 'I'm waitin'.

Just like that, he has us all under his spell, and, beside him, Tully comes to life. It's like the crowd sends a spark though him, a spark that electrifies and makes him much more present.

The ordinary Tully is easy to miss, but this Tully is riveting. He holds the guitar aloft and jives and jams with Mac as though they've been doing it together for years. They close in, move apart and drive the crowd wild. 

It's all about the mood and the moment. 

Tully makes some minor errors, but he doesn't let it faze him. He carries on and looks so confident I don't think the crowd even notice. Mac, as always, oozes charisma onstage but he's had practice. This is Tully's first time and he's coming a close second.

"He's doing well, isn't he?" I say to Spike.

"Yeah." Spike sounds uncharacteristically impressed. "Never thought he'd be this good."

"Looks like Tully's found his drug," Felice shouts in my ear with an undercurrent of malice.

But she has a point. It's like he's high. He's lost all his inhibitions and blazes with confidence.

In the assault of sound, light and noise, my mood suddenly deflates. Something doesn't feel right.

And then I hear an unmistakeable whisper, a harsh voice in my ear. "You made your choice. Are you ready to pay the price?"

I turn to see Mike Meara standing behind me. In the dark, his face in shadow, he could be Aonghus.  A shiver runs through me.  What did he say to Baz and Jenna when they left the building?

"They chose love." The words hover on his lips as he answers my unspoken question. "I told them they wouldn't regret it." He disappears into the crowd, his smile lingering like the Cheshire cat's grin.

"Are you alright?" Felice asks beside me. "You've gone very pale. You can't faint now, not in the middle of the best gig ever!"

"Did you see Mike Meara?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's back there. Been there all night." She nods towards a window high up on the wall. Behind it we can see Mike Meara at the mixing desk.

There's no way. It makes no sense.

Am I losing my mind?

I stare up at the window, mouth open, and he winks straight at me.

At the end of the set, Mac presents all the members of the band. Finally he introduces Tully. "Will you all please give a special welcome to Black Death's new lead guitarist?"