A/n: Rewrote this chapter rather heavily. About 80% is new.


You can call me a pessimist… And you'd probably be right. But on some level, ever since that day I left for Ebenezar's farm, I'd known it was going to end up this way.

I'd lived most of my life with that piece of knowledge right at the back of my mind and when the moment finally came, it didn't surprise me. I was ready.

Molly and I arrived at the shoreline warehouse with the late afternoon sun burning hot overhead. The warehouse itself wasn't visible but I knew it was there, and a lone figure stood sentinel outside of it.

Carlos Ramirez was less than ten years older than Molly but still wore the gray cloak of the wardens about his broad shoulders. He was one of only a handful in charge of helping me keep the entire United States in check.

He was of average height and in good shape, with a physique that I guessed came from spending a decent chunk of time lifting weights, probably as much for narcissistic reasons as to keep himself fit for combat.

Of the wardens, he was the one I knew best and probably the only one I could really call a friend.

He raised a hand in greeting as Molly and I approached, his forced smile not so much missing the area code he was shooting for as the city.

"Evening, Harry," he said, nodding at me, then Molly. "Miss."

"Carlos," I replied, accepting his hand and shaking it. "How're you doing?"

His eyes strayed to Molly for a second, his mouth twitching into a grimace for a brief moment before he managed to school his expression once more.

"Been better," he admitted. "Listen, man… Can I have a word in private?"

I looked over to Molly. She was shivering where she stood, despite the sweltering heat, and sweat ran in rivulets down her cheeks, ruining her makeup.

"Please keep your hands in sight and don't move," Ramirez said. "I'm under orders to shoot you if you try to escape. I'm sorry."

He had a desert eagle holstered at his hip, ready for the draw, but at least he wasn't posturing with his hand by it like a Wild West gunslinger.

Whatever little color was left drained from Molly's face. I put a hand my hand on her trembling shoulder and bent down until we were at eye level. Her wide, blue eyes were darting around the area in panic, and it took a few seconds before they locked on mine.

"It'll be alright," I promised her. "No matter what happens, I won't let anyone hurt you, okay? Stay right here.I'll be back in a second."

She nodded jerkily, wiping at her nose.I turned back to Ramirez, trying not to think of how little I would really be able to do in a fight against the Senior Council, and walked until we were out of earshot.

"Was that really necessary?" I asked, glaring at him.

I'll give the kid some credit. He didn't flinch, though he did avoid my gaze.

"Better tell her now than have her do something stupid," he shot back.

He took a few moments to calm himself before continuing. When he spoke, his tone of voice carried the careful pitying note used to address someone who had recently lost a loved one.

"This isn't going to go well for you, Harry. Marta Liberty, McCoy and Listens-To-Wind haven't reported back from the fight yet. The Merlin has all their votes."

Shit. I swallowed and did the math in my head, weighing up the options, the metaphoric cards in my hand and those now in The Merlin's. The man didn't like or trust me and had wanted me executed when I'd been the one up for trial.

He had even less of an incentive to be helpful now, and the help I'd once had wasn't there. Even with the help of Ebenezar and his allies, it would've been up to the Gatekeeper's decision but now... I did the math again, but there just wasn't any way of walking into that warehouse that meant walking away alive.

"Thanks for telling me," I told him stiffly.

My gaze drifted down to his belt again and something new caught my eye there. A single, black hood.

"I'm really sorry, Harry," he said and turned us back towards Molly. "There's nothing I can do."

I put my hand around his shoulder.

"I appreciate it, man." I caught Molly's eyes and mouthed the words "Get ready."

The next part was going to get dicey. Ramirez was a very competent combat wizard; he didn't have as much raw power as I did, but what he did have he used well. In a fair fight, it would be all but impossible for me to take him down without killing him.

He was one of the good guys. Killing him just wasn't acceptable. I walked another few steps along with him, my arm slung around his shoulder in an amicable fashion.

He relaxed, and I made my move.

I slipped in behind him, snaking my arm around his throat and tightening it hard.

"I'm sorry," I said, as he panicked at the sudden lack of oxygen. "I can't risk it."

A proper choke works fast, as Murphy had shown me. Ramirez struggled, slamming his elbow into my ribs several times, each blow sending pain lancing through my body. Slowly but surely, Ramirez' strength began to fade and the blows became weaker until he finally went limp.

I dropped him as gently as I could onto the asphalt and hurried over to Molly. Her eyes were wide with confusion, but she followed me as I took her hand, hurrying over to the Beetle. It took me three tries to get the key into the ignition with my shaking hands, and when I finally managed it, I had to force myself not to scatter gravel everywhere as I drove away. If we were spotted leaving, I'd be one good hex from capture and certain death. Nice and easy. That was how we were going to get out of this.

I kept rubbernecking, but nobody came running and no alarms were raised. It looked like we were safe for the time being.

As soon as we hit the highway, I put the pedal to the metal, tearing down the asphalt and leaving the acrid smell of burnt rubber in my wake.

"What are we doing, Harry?" Molly asked. Her voice was still trembling with fear and almost childlike confusion.

"Running. Fleeing. Skedaddling. Give me a second, alright? I need to think."

To be specific, I needed to seek counsel from a being I'd avoided the past few years, except under the direst of circumstances. It wasn't just my life at stake this time around, though, and I could only think of one source that would give me the information we needed.

"Lasciel," I thought. "I seek your assistance."

"And wisely so," the fallen angel replied.

Upon glancing in the rearview mirror, I saw that she'd appeared in the backseat of The Beetle, legs primly crossed, hands folded in her lap. She smiled at me, a little bit insolently, and buckled up her seat belt. I guess I should be grateful she spared me a Sharon Stone impression.

"You have little time, my host," she told me, as if she was suggesting what I might have for dinner. "The White Council will be aware of your desertion momentarily, and the Wardens will soon be upon you."

"I'm glad you're here to tell me these things," I shot back at her in annoyance. "What do you suggest I do next?"

Lasciel made a thoughtful sound.

"It is a risk, but you must go to your apartment. Order the pixies who clean it to get rid of anything that might be used against you in a tracking spell. I would recommend you burn it all down to the ground just to be safe, but I don't think you'd agree to that."

"Damn straight I wouldn't."

"One would think that after all the buildings you've burned down, another would barely register."

"One would also think that joke would get stale after a while, but apparently not," I groused. "Can we get back on track?"

Lasciel sighed.

"Very well. Upon your return, fetch the skull and your gear. I will show you how to summon my coin."

"No fucking way," I spat out immediately.

"Please hear me out, my host," she pleaded. "When the Council search your house, they will find the coin. And when they do, you will surely be condemned. Thus far, although you are a dangerous wizard, you have not seriously harmed anyone. If they knew you had my coin, they would treat you in the same manner as they did Kemmler."

I swore under my breath and Molly gave me a wide-eyed look. Out of respect for Michael, I try not swearing around him or his family. I shook my head and returned to my mental conference with Lasciel.

"I won't pick up the coin and I don't have the time to work my way through the concrete."

"Indeed. You will pick up the coin of your free will one day, my host, but not this day. I am not attempting trickery or deception. I can teach you to summon the coin in a few seconds and you needn't accept it."

I gritted my teeth.

"Fine. What about after that?" I asked.

"The car is the least predictable method of travel, especially considering you might not only be dealing with the White Council. It is also probable that they will involve the authorities, whether it be directly or indirectly. You should change car as soon as it is convenient and move back and forth through the Nevernever."

"Thanks, Lash," I said. There was a moment of startled silence following the statement, and I saw a brief flash of a smile.

"Certainly, my host."

I shut down the link and shoved the fallen angel far back into my subconscious as we left the highway and returned to Chicago proper.

"In the next few hours, we're going to be dealing with a couple of difficult choices, Molly. What it really boils down to is whether you're with me or not. If you want, you can turn back to the council. They'll probably execute you. You could try to run on your own, if that's what you want, or you can come with me."

Molly took a few seconds to come up with an answer. I could all but tell what she was thinking. She wanted to go home to her father. Michael was a good man, and he'd gladly die for any of his children - Molly knew that as well as I did and didn't want to put her family in that position.

"You saved my life," Molly said, in a quiet thoughtful voice. "You didn't have to but you did. I'm going with you."

We lapsed into an uncomfortable silence, which only grew worse as we got closer to my apartment.

"We've only got a minute," I told Molly firmly as she reached the block where my apartment was. Some jerk had parked a green Volvo in my parking spot, which forced me to park on a side street a little way away from the building.

"Whatever happens in the next few hours, don't use magic on another human. If you can pull up a veil, do it, but that's all. Understood?"

"Okay," she said, looking over her shoulder before following me down the flight of stairs that led to my door. "Gotcha."

I disabled the wards that had kept my apartment safe over many years, though they wouldn't have done diddly squat against the assembled might of the White Council, and slipped inside. My cat, Mister, frightened Molly half to death as he rammed into my shin and then out of the door.

I'd have to ask Murphy to take care of him later. I'd at least had the foresight of asking my half-brother Thomas to take care of Mouse in case something went wrong.

"My trouble kit is in the bedroom over there, under the bed. Check the pantry in the kitchen for stuff we can take with us that won't go bad," I instructed her.

There probably wasn't a lot, but I needed a few seconds in the lab.

Molly did as she'd been told. Nothing like a bit of mortal peril and a daring flight to get her used to taking orders, it would seem. This whole apprenticeship thing was moving along swimmingly already. I told my cleaning staff, present but invisible at the moment, to scour the place as Lasciel had instructed.

I pushed aside the rug, opened the trapdoor, almost tripping and killing myself in my hurry to get down the stairs.

"Harry, what're you-?" Bright orange lights flared up in the eye sockets of the bleached human skull sitting on one of the many shelves in my lab.

"Pipe down," I hissed. "No talking in front of, or near the girl, or anywhere she can hear. No contact at all."

"Jawohl, herr kommendant," he muttered sourly.

"Bob. I've got the entire White Council on my tail. If they catch me, they catch you, so for once in your life, shut up!"

Bob's jaws clacked shut and for once in his unlife, he did what he'd been told.

I faced the ring of silver on my floor where I'd buried Laciel's coin under a foot of concrete.

"Picture the coin in your mind, sigil up. Focus on the sigil and repeat after me…"

She said a word, a long, complicated word in a tongue I didn't know or recognize. She repeated it, over and over, and I mimicked her until I finally got it perfect and a solid weight settled in the gloved palm of my left hand.

The coin was small, blackened with age, except for the sigil, Lasciel's name shining with a bright silver sheen.

"Well done, my host. Let us depart."

I made it up the ladder again and found Molly waiting for me.

"Are you ready?" I asked her, already heading towards the exit.

She nodded shakily and followed me as I shoved the door open. A year back, zombies had tried to tear their way in and I hadn't been able to afford a professional to fix it up. My own repairs had left it fitted awkwardly, so you had to give it a good shove to open.

There was a yelp as the door slammed into somebody on the other side. I only had a moment to take in the sight of a blurry humanoid form on the ground, concealed flimsy veil.

Acting on instinct, I lashed out with a sweeping blow, slamming the bottom part of my staff to its head. The staff impacted with a thunk and the shape resolved itself into that of a young stocky woman with a buzz-cut and a gray cloak. She appeared to be in her mid-twenties, though that didn't tell you a lot when it came to a wizard.

I idly noted that it was probably a good thing I hadn't known she was a woman when I'd hit her, or I might have hesitated for a critical moment.

She wasn't out cold, but her eyes looked vague and I doubted she'd be able to work any magic. There wasn't any time to spare worrying about her condition, in any case. This warden wasn't part of any strike force the Merlin would prefer to send. She was someone he'd placed here for the contingency where I ran for it. By the looks of things, he'd had a pretty limited supply of wardens to go to for that, what with the battle in Oregon and all. But rest assured, there were wizards coming who could and would utterly destroy me, if need be, and I had to get the hell out of dodge before they found me.

I readied my shield bracelet and cleared the stairs in three strides. I could hear Molly stumbling along in my trail, but didn't look back to confirm. That was fortunate because warden number two sucker-punched me the moment I could see the street.

My shield was ready, but my balance was off and the ground not ideal. I caught the blow of raw kinetic force on my shield, which caused it to flare up for a moment in a disc of blue light, before returning to invisibility.

The blow hadn't been particularly powerful, but it was well placed and came in with a bit of spin, sending me stumbling. My left knee struck the concrete hard and I scraped my hand as I scrambled to get back up.

The warden didn't hesitate for even a moment,the second spell coming for me less than a second after the first. My shield intercepted it too, but I hadn't had the time or the focus to block it properly this time.

Some of the force bled through and hit me right on the nose. Which sucked.

I braced myself for the third spell, knowing full well that this time, my defense would not be ready in time. Suddenly, a shower of sparks and a flare of power burst from behind me.

It wasn't much. It didn't even make it all the way to the warden, but it bought me a second. A second was all I needed.

I jumped up the last of the stairs onto the solid ground of the little garden, readying my staff and taking stock of my attacker. He was of average height, dark of skin, and slim, with droplets of sweat beading on his bald scalp.

"Molly," I said, groping in my pocket for a moment and fishing out the keys. I tossed them to her. "Start up the car."

As she reached out for them, I was reminded that it was Alicia and not Molly who played softball as the girl fumbled with the keys, dropping them onto the gravel.

One would've thought that I'd be too busy with a magical duel to accidentally notice - and I'd like to stress accidentally, especially if her mother asks - the amount of thigh exposed by Molly as she bent over to fetch the keys, but apparently not.

I caught a flicker of movement over by the stairs. The warden I'd clubbed seemed to be back on her feet and under a veil again.

Picking your ground and using it well is the key to winning any fight, large or small, magical or otherwise. The older of the two wardens had done it well, and his younger compatriot had been unlucky that she'd been hit by the door, or she might have sucker-punched me.

Maybe she was still a bit dizzy, because she clearly wasn't paying attention to where she was standing.

I drew in power and pointed my staff at the hydrant two feet away from her.

"Forzare!"

Raw force surged forwards and tore the hydrant out of the ground. Water erupted from the resulting wreckage and slowly, like grease on a frying pan under hot water, the veil slid off the warden.

She began to move away, stumbling more than running, and tripped before she'd gotten more than three strides. Under the spray of the water, it'd be difficult for her to put together a spell , which bought me another few crucial seconds.

Her fellow warden sent another blast my way, but he just wasn't strong enough now that I was prepared for it. I deflected the blow to the right scattering gravel everywhere.

I backed away slowly, not willing to risk killing them with a full strength blast. What I needed was a smokescreen of some sort, or a distraction… I've never been a very subtle guy, though. A literal smokescreen would probably do the job just as well.

Behind me, the beetle's engine coughed to life. It was time to go. My gaze locked onto the green Volvo that was parked in my spot. It stood about halfway between myself and the Wardens. Perfect. Fuck you very much, Mr Parking Space Thief.

"Fuego!" I shouted, sending forth a tightly focused beam of fire, laced with just a smidgen of hellfire. It gouged a hole straight through the metal carapace of the old Volvo.

Cars don't explode from crashes like in the movies, or when driven off a cliff. Not unless you're very, very unlucky, at least. But if you pour hellfire into their gas tank, well...

I'd already begun to run in the opposite direction, but some of the heat and the shockwave caught up with me and I staggered, dropping to my hands and knees for a second, before picking myself up and running for my life. I ducked as a blindly sent spell howled past me and cracked the pavement a couple of feet to my right.

I dove into the passenger seat, no small feat for a man my size in a car like the Beetle, and Molly sped off down the street before I'd even gotten the door closed, leaving the wardens behind us.

"Are you alright?" I asked Molly as she took us into the questionable safety of Chicago traffic.

"Y-Yeah," Her eyes were flitting left and right as she kept track of the other cars, compulsively checking the rearview mirror every few seconds.

"Molly," I said, forcing myself to calm down, to speak slowly. "Do you even have a driver's license?"

She shook her head, earrings clinking together and jangling at the motion.

"Okay," I said, still talking slowly. It wasn't easy, coming down from the adrenaline high of our escape. I had to grip my hands onto my knees to keep them from shaking visibly.

"Pull over to the side here and we'll switch."

She pulled over and let go of both the clutch and the break at the same time. The Beetle lurched forwards and Molly quickly stomped her feet down on both the pedals again, only narrowly managing to bring the car to a stop before we crashed into a parked Sedan.

With another panicked glance in the rear view mirror and a stream of sputtered apologies, she turned the engine off and dashed around the car to switch with me.

We left Chicago by the highway. A bit obvious, I know, but if we'd gone by smaller roads there was always the risk of the car dying and leaving us stranded. The Beetle was as reliable a car as I'd ever had, but it would break down on me again, sooner or later.

My heartbeat began to slow down by the time we hit the highway that would take us southeast into Indiana and I glanced over to Molly. She looked pale in the wan light left from the setting sunI put a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll be okay," I said, as much to myself as to the girl. She needed someone to show the way. Where probably didn't matter as much as the fact that she believed I knew what I was doing.

So I drove, pretending I had a clue. I realized about an hour in that I was heading for the Ozarks. I guess it made sense. The place represented safety and stability to me and, besides Chicago, it was the closest thing I had to a home.

But I couldn't take Molly there. I owed Ebenezar more than to drag him into my own mess.

Lasciel appeared again in the backseat.

"My host," she said politely. "There is the Way to Florida the Summer Lady showed you. You needn't alter your course for a while longer. From Florida, I know of a Way that would take you to Australia. You have always wanted to go there, have you not?"

I blinked at that. She was right about the Way. It wasn't that far from here. Mostly, though, I was surprised by how thoughtful the suggestion had been. It probably said as much about me as Lasciel that my first instinct was to look for landmines.

"We'll do Florida, then we'll see where we go from there," I said.

"Florida?" Molly asked, yawning a little.

Woops. I hadn't realized I'd said it out loud.

"I know a Way to Florida through the Nevernever," I said and pulled over as I spotted a gas station. The beetle was still on half a tank, but it wouldn't hurt to fill it up as much as possible. The most important reason was for us to borrow a phone. There were a few calls I had to make.

I called Thomas first. He wasn't at home and, as much as it pained me, I had to leave him a message. I explained everything to him and promised to keep in touch, asking him to keep an eye on Mister and Mouse.

It was a terrible way of saying goodbye, but there wasn't anything to do about that. Next, I called Murphy's cell phone and she answered on the fourth ring.

"Murphy," she said, her voice slurred with exhaustion. She'd had a bunch of crappy days, too, and I'd probably woken her up.

"Hey Murph," I said. "Uh, I don't have a lot of time to explain, so you're just going to have to take my word on this. I fucked up the trial and we had to run. The Wardens are on my ass – uh- you may hear about some burning cars around my place if you haven't already."

There was a moment's silence following my words. "Oh. Shit."

"Yeah, things went FUBAR pretty quickly and I'm sorry. I have to go – check in on Mouse and Mister, would you? I've asked Thomas, too, but you never know with me and phones."

I could hear the tears she wasn't allowing herself to shed yet in her voice. "Of course, Harry. I'll take care of Chicago until you get back. Just- be safe."

I nodded, even though she obviously couldn't see it. "Thanks Karrin. I will."

Last, I called the Carpenters. Molly, who'd gotten the Beetle fueled up and used the bathroom whilst I was on the phone came walking over as I waited.

"Carpenter residence, Charity speaking," said a woman's voice on the other end, sounding tense and tired.

"It's Harry Dresden," I said. "Molly's alright. I need to talk to Michael."

"Harry, what-"

I cut her off.

"I need to talk to Michael. It's urgent."

There was a moment of silence and then the sound of the phone being put down on a counter a little bit harder than was necessary. Ten seconds later, Michael picked up the phone.

"Harry? Is everything alright?"

There was something about his calm, trusting voice that shattered whatever defenses I'd manage to hold up for Murphy's sake. I felt tears begin to run down my cheeks and my voice sounded raw when I spoke.

"I fucked up, Michael," I said. "I should've waited, but I didn't know, I swear. I had to take Molly and run, we-"

I cleared my throat. Damn it, this was not the time to break down like a fucking wimp. Now was the time for the self-discipline expected from a wizard of the White Council.

"We've got to run, Michael. I don't know how far, or for how long, but we have to get out or they'll kill us both. I-"

I clenched my jaw and tried to keep the tears out of my voice. It came out sounding steady, but hollow. "Thank you for being my friend."

He began to say something in that gentle, comforting voice of his, but I'd already passed the phone over to Molly. She didn't hold up any better. I gave her a minute of tearful good-byes with Charity and Michael before telling her we had to go.

We got back into the car, sitting in an uncomfortable silence. It was a while before Molly spoke again, and, even then, her voice sounded raw and unsteady.

"Why do they want to kill me?" She cleared her throat and then added. "The Council."

"It's a precaution," I explained. "Warlocks usually don't find their way back without anyone to help them, and even when someone does try, it often doesn't work."

Molly watched me in silence for a while.

"You were a warlock, weren't you?"

I returned the look, meeting her eyes and nodded.

"My first teacher was one twisted son of a bitch. He tried to put a magic mind-lock on me to turn me into his enforcer. I fought him and killed him."

"But you got better?"

I offered her a bitter smile and shrugged.

"I had a good teacher," I said. "He was hard on me, and I'm going to have to be hard on you too. I expect you won't like that. I don't care. I'm going to teach you and you're going to do what I tell you. Understood?"

She nodded, but as I'd predicted, she wasn't enthusiastic about what I was telling her.

"So while we're on the subject. What did I tell you about using magic against other people when we were at my apartment?"

"I-" She grimaced. "You said I shouldn't."

"And what did you do?"

"But he was going to-"

I felt anger rising inside me. It wasn't entire fair to the girl, but some of it leaked out into my voice.

"Quiet," I snarled. "Answer the fucking question. What did you do?"

"I tried to attack the warden with magic," she said sullenly, eyes fixed on the dashboard, her cheeks red with indignation.

"Yes. You probably saved both of our lives and don't think I'm not grateful for that…"

I put a hand on her chin and gently turned her head up to face me.

"But from now on you will do as I say, when I say. Is that understood?"

She spoke her next words through gritted teeth, but she said it, by thunder.

"Yes, sir."

I nodded and returned my attention to the road. It was a long damn road to spend with a sulking teenager…

"It would be wisest to wait for her to come to you, my host," Lasciel advised me from the back seat. "It means she surrenders to your will and admits to being wrong."

I glanced at the rear-view mirror, then at Molly, who was sitting with her arms folded under her breasts, looking uninterested and sour.

"It's eight hours drive until we get to the Way," I pointed out. "That's a long time, and I'm getting tired."

Even in the dark, I could see the white gleam of Lasciel's teeth as she smiled.

"She will not take eight hours, my host, and you could always talk to me."

I gave her a dubious look, at which she shrugged and said: "I am merely offering."

It was probably a testament to my suicidal stupidity when it came to women that I actually began to feel sorry for turning her down. Maybe one day I'll learn… But probably not.

An hour passed and it was one long hour. We passed through fields and smaller cities, and Molly remained stubbornly silent, though I could sense the restless energy in her.

Another ten minutes went by before she finally spoke.

"Will you teach me how to use magic without hurting people?"

I turned my head to her. "I will."

I drank deep from the can of coke that I'd brought before continuing.

"First of all, we'll have to see what your talents are. Being able to pull up a veil without anybody showing you how is damn impressive. I had one of the best wizards on the White Council trying to teach me and I still can't do them properly."

"Really?"

Even in the dark car, I could see her cheeks flush at the praise, her voice full of disbelief. It was really cute. I smiled a little to myself as I leaned back into my seat, checking the side-view mirror.

As with all good things, this one also had to come to an end.

"Here come the fuzz," I muttered, keeping the Blue Beetle steady as I looked sideways to Molly, and then back over my shoulder. "Have you ever tried veiling something bigger than yourself?"

Blue lights illuminated Molly's wide-eyed expression,the blaring of sirens following a moment later.

"No."

My hands tightened on the wheel.

"You're about to try."

Molly blinked, looking back at the approaching police cars, then her face set into determination. Power swirled and buzzed around her as she gathered her will about her, extending it outwards.

I felt that power brush by me, surprising me with how skillfully it was wielded, especially for someone with no formal training. The world around us blurred as the spell enveloped us, and I quickly realized the downsides of being invisible on a highway.

I swerved out of the slow lane in a panic as someone with the wrong idea of slow tried to drive straight through me.

The Beetle groaned and sputtered, tires skidding along the asphalt. Behind us, the police were approaching fast. I wrenched at the wheel and the vague outline of a police car shot past where we'd been just a moment earlier.

Beside me, Molly was muttering under her breath, eyes screwed shut. A bead of sweat was running down her pale cheek.

"Hold on," I said. "You're doing great."

The police were already disappearing into the darkness, visible only by the lights of their sirens. Things finally seemed like they were about to work out.

And then, as is par for the course, fate decided to rear her ugly head and smack me with the irony stick.

The Beetle's engine coughed and spluttered, and black smoke began to rise from the engine. A second later, Molly's veil faltered and she fell back against the seat, panting as her veil faltered.

An exit appeared. I turned off onto it, urging the Beetle on with every trick in the book. It bought us a hundred yards before my trusty steed finally gave up the ghost.

It wasn't until we'd come to a stop that I realized a third police car, without any sirens to herald its arrival, had caught up with us.

"Time to go."

I reached back for our bags and pushed my way out of the car in time to see the police car skid to a halt a few yards away. Three police officers moved out and dashed into cover behind the car. Two of them had pistols drawn, the third a shotgun.

The highway had exited onto a far smaller road, corn growing high on either side. Lights were spaced far apart, leaving patches of darkness in between.

"Come out with your hands above your head, Dresden!" One of the officers called.

I recognized the young, good looking man who had called out to me. Rudolph, looking pale and frightened under the streetlight where they'd parked the car. If I knew the sniveling little coward right, he had filled in his colleagues with enough bullshit to explain how terrified they both appeared.

I couldn't run with them behind me. Three people firing at us only thirty yards away didn't give us great odds of survival.

"Get behind me, Molly. Whatever happens, stay close."

I began to walk forward, pushing power through my shield bracelet and staff, lighting up the night in blue and crimson.

"Put down the stick and surrender, Dresden, or we will open fire!"

Call me petty, but I gained a lot of satisfaction from the way his voice shook and squeaked. I didn't say a word and just kept on walking. Their nerve broke when I'd crossed half the distance.

Rudolph's gun roared first, shattering the Beetle's window behind me and drawing a startled gasp from Molly. I reached back and seized her with by the shoulder with my right hand just to make sure she wouldn't try to run off.

The shotgun roared in response, follow by more, measured gunfire. My shield flared up in sprays of blue sparks with each bullet and shell that struck it but it held firm and kept moving with slow measured steps until I was ten feet away and the weapons clicked empty.

"Forzare," I roared, slashing my staff through the air.

The car lifted clear off the ground with the screeching of protesting metal and tumbled off to the side to land on its roof a few feet from its original position with another huge crash and shattering of glass.

Three deadly pale cops stared at me. One was holding a walkie talky thingy with its wires torn free and tangling from where they had once been connected to the car. Rudolph's hands were shaking so badly that he fumbled and dropped the fresh magazine he was trying to feed into his gun. The third cop was staring with at the wreckage of their car with a blank expression on his face.

"It's been a while, Rudie." I kicked the dropped magazine out into the shadows. "You'll get three guesses about what I want you to do next."

"Jesus, Dresden," Rudolph stammered, tossing his gun aside without question. "Jesus. Please don't."

I didn't speak. I just stood there, looking down at them .The other cops followed suit a few moments later.

"If anyone pulls a hidden gun out from somewhere," I warned them. "I'm dropping the car back on top of you. Repeatedly."

I could hear the sirens returning. In a minute, we'd be getting more company. It was time to Meep-meep right the hell out of here.

I didn't trust Rudolph's word for a second but I did trust that he was too much of a coward to even try to shoot me in the back. The other two I didn't know, so I backed off with my shield active and towards them, trying to keep the strain of holding the spell up for so long off my face.

The sirens drew nearer but I kept backing off slowly, feeding power into the bracelet and keeping my steps steady. I needed a way out and Lasciel kindly provided without even being asked. There was no time to debate the subject, with the police hot on our heels. If they managed to scramble a helicopter or dogs, the jig would be up even with a veil.

I cast a look over my shoulder and spotted a second car that had stopped to check on Rudolph and his buddies. It was out of hex range now and once it got close enough, it would be going fast enough that any hexing would mean people dying. I lengthened my stride and Molly hurried to keep pace.

"You didn't happen to run track in school?" I asked.

The girl was already panting as I settled into a jog.

"Soccer."

"Right. Pretend there's a ball off somewhere because we'll need to cover some ground here."

We set off into the darkness towards the Way Lasciel had marked in the field to our right, a few hundred yards ahead. Too far ahead, it turned out, when the car closed in on us, sirens howling.

"Into the field," I called, darting off the road and into the corn field. "If you see any murderous kids, run the other way."

I'd hoped to not be forced into running through the field but like the rest of the day, it seemed like Murphy - the law, not charged with upholding it - had decided to shit on my couch.

We'd only made it a few feet into the field before our line of sight was cut down to zilch. It would have to do. Calling forth light with my mother's pentacle amulet would give the police too good of a target if any of them were feeling trigger happy. We slowed, mindful of the uneven ground.

There was shouting behind us as the car skidded to a halt and a flashlight cut a swath through the darkness.

"Molly, wait." I reached out and only barely managed to snag her by the wrist before she vanished off into the field.

I crouched and turned over towards the car, extending a hand towards it.

"Hexus!"

The flashlights died, the flashing red and blue lights followed and the sirens droned on drunkenly for a few moments longer before going silent. We stayed still, crouched and listening, with nothing but our own heavy breathing and loud swearing from the police officers.

I grabbed Molly's hand and began to slowly lead her through the field. I couldn't see more than a foot ahead of me. Fortunately, Lasciel had a flawless sense of direction and had created the illusion of a flare above the location.

"It's time for Nevernever 101," I told Molly as we neared Lasciel's beacon. "Everything is dangerous. Don't trust anything or anyone you meet. Don't look at them, if you can help it and whatever you do, don't talk to them, even if they look human. Especially if they look human."

"Okay."

I had a feeling the breathless, almost choked quality to her voice was from fear, not exhaustion, but I didn't comment on it.

"If we run into trouble and I get taken out, you run and you call for Lily," I enunciated the name clearly. "Call her name three times and tell her Harry Dresden is cashing in his favor and she'll get you out."

I wasn't entirely sure she would, but without Lea around, that was the best contingency I could some up with.

"Oh. Okay."

We'd reached a patch of clear ground where a large old tree had been cleared, leaving behind a stump and a couple of feet of open ground around it. Molly stuck close by me, her face pale. She was trying to be brave and I had the feeling it wouldn't help to let her know I saw through it.

I was getting tired but there wasn't any time to waste on thinking about that. With a wave of my staff and a quiet aparturum, I opened up a few into the spirit world.

The Nevernever is an awesome and scary place and at no time more so than the first time. Molly's first visit had been to Arctis Tor, the heart of the Winter Court. There were worse places, sure, but I'd never seen any of them personally. She hadn't been conscious for a lot of the trip, as far as I knew, but I still wanted her second visit to be… Well, less traumatic.

The location we were to cross over to was as good a place as any you were likely to find, especially considering the circumstances.

The change wasn't as dramatic as one might have expected. There are supposedly some terrifying and mesmerizing places in the Nevernever, but the lands of the Sidhe, much like the Lords of Faerie themselves, were a lot like their human counterparts.

At first glance, you probably wouldn't have realized you'd passed into the Nevernever at all. We stepped into another clearing, though the forest that surrounded us now mostly consisted of large trees without much in the way of brush. Autumn leaves covered the ground in red and yellow and the light breeze was pleasantly warm.

A hundred feet away to our left, a little river went by and across it the lands were green and trees budding.

It didn't look very dramatic, but the river was what separated the lands of Winter and Summer. There was a bridge a kilometer away, but we weren't going that way. The way I'd understood it, this whole area was a kind of neutral zone.

"It looks so- normal," Molly said, looking around.

"Fairie looks lot like the mortal world," I confirmed. "Some places are weirder than others, but this is probably as close as you'll get."

I suddenly stopped in my tracks and Molly, who had been drifting out of my personal bubble a little as she relaxed, quickly took a step closer again

"Look," I said, pointing towards the trunk of one of the large trees. Molly looked along the length of my arm to where I pointed and her eyes widened when she spotted what I had.

A pixie was sleeping on a low-hanging branch. It was pretty big for one of the wee folk, maybe four inches tall, and looked like a young man about Molly's age, with blue hair that drifted in the soft breeze as it snored softly.

"Is it dangerous?" she asked, eyeing the fairy with much the same expression as one might a kitten.

"Yes," I told her seriously. "Everything here is dangerous."

I noticed her tensing and added. "But not alone and not unless we piss it off. Come on."

We detoured a little to avoid disturbing the pixie and made our way down to the river without being disturbed or disturbing anyone. Between two trees that had grown together to form an arch of sorts, I opened another Way.

We returned to the mortal world in the middle of a forest. The sun still shone here, fading by the horizon. It had been hours past midnight in Chicago but the trip had taken us many, many time-zones back. The air wasn't as hot or humid, but still warm.

"Where are we?" I asked Lasciel.

"Southern Sweden," the fallen angel provided. "Just outside a… village, I suppose. I am uncertain about the degree to which it has grown in the hundred years since I was here last."

She managed to insert a shrug into the words somehow and then continued.

"You should be able to find lodging there and in the morning, you're one to two hour's walk from the way that'll take you to Australia.

I nodded.

"Cool. Thanks."

"People used to appreciate Ways far more in the past," Lasciel noted, sounding almost chiding.

I rolled my eyes at the darkness.

"You're very awesome, Lasciel. I'd like you even better if you showed me where to walk next."

She sighed and a light appeared in mid-air thirty feet into the distance. Molly looked suitably impressed when I told her where we were and we set off.

As much as I hated to admit it, Lasciel was right. We'd have to stop soon to rest. Under ideal circumstances, I could probably stay awake for another twenty-four hours but the circumstances were not ideal. I'd slept badly the last few days and used up a lot of my magic, too. If I collapsed or if I was too tired to think properly, we'd both pay the price.

Molly was already stumbling along the uneven paths that took us up and down hill after hill and I stayed close in case she tripped over one of the many exposed roots and rocks.

We found our way to a road after about an hour of trekking through the forest and followed that for a while longer until we finally reached… Civilization, I suppose.

It was a community of a couple of hundred people at most. At least it made finding what seemed to be the only hotel easy enough.

A young guy, probably about Molly's age, sat behind a counter. He had a magazine with pictures of cars in it flipped open and was currently asleep, drooling on the picture of a fancy Mercedes.

I rapped my knuckles against the counter and he almost fell out of his chair in his haste to pretend he hadn't been sleeping on the job.

He said some stuff I didn't understand, blinked in realization and switched language.

"Uh, hello." He blinked a few times and managed to focus his bleary eyes on me. "How can I help you?"

"One room," I said. "Do you have any with twin beds?"

"Yes," he said, eyes on the money. Then he glanced at an open ledger by the desk. "Oh- actually,, we don't. Sorry."

"Just… Any room with a big bed," I said tiredly. My eyelids were getting leaden and there was no time to waste on being picky.

I paid him - fortunate that they actually accepted dollars at all - got the change in whatever the local currency was along with a key. We ambled up a stair, down to the end of a corridor, and went inside. It wasn't anything fancy, but it looked and smelled clean. There was a single bed standing at the center of the room, a TV on a little table by the wall opposite the foot of the bed and a door leading to a bathroom.

I felt the weight of Molly's eyes on me, but when I looked at her, she'd turned away.

"I'll take a quick shower first," I told her. "There are some things I need to set up before we sleep."

Molly nodded nervously, still not looking at me. Her cheeks were flushed pink and she was fussing with one of her sleeves.

I haven't had a proper heater since I moved into my old basement apartment and here the water was blissfully warm. It took me a pretty serious effort of will to cut my time short at five – okay maybe ten - minutes, but I managed it. I'd brought a fresh change of clothes, which was a small mercy given that I'd been wearing my leather duster all through the trip.

By the time I came out, Molly was sitting at the foot of the bed. She'd kicked out of her shoes and had her arms wrapped around herself as though she was freezing.

"Your turn, kid," I said, hooking a thumb at the shower. She got up and walked into the bathroom, carefully closing the door behind her. By the time I'd turned around to the bed, Lasciel lay on it. I would've expected her to wear some ridiculously slinky silk negligee, or perhaps nothing at all.

Instead, she lay on her stomach, facing me, wearing fluffy white flannel pajamas with kittens printed all across it.

I stopped in my tracks to take in that sight, mouth dropping open. Hell, she was even wearing horribly clashing green socks. It was adorable and way, way weird.

"What're you doing?" I asked her tiredly.

She looked perfectly innocent, of course.

"Getting ready for sleep, of course," she said, without any trace of irony or mockery. "I presumed that if you wished for me to wear the seatbelt in your car, you would likewise wish me to be appropriately prepared for bed."

I sighed. I did not have the energy to argue this with her.

"Sure, whatever," I said. "What do you want?"

Lasciel gave the door behind me a pointed look.

"That girl means to seduce you tonight," she said, an edge of teasing to her voice. I couldn't tell if she got off on the idea, or if they just thought it was funny.

"Yeah," I replied in a dry tone, grimacing. "She's not as subtle as she thinks she is."

The fallen angel laughed merrily.

"No, she is not. You could let her. Give her what she wants. It would be an excellent tool for controlling her."

"I'm going to teach her, not control her. Move out of the bed."

Lasciel raised one golden eyebrow at me. "As you wish, my host."

She vanished.

I moved the bed a few inches away from the wall, moved the bedside drawer into a corner and began to pour sand onto the linoleum floor in a circle around the bed. I had to make it a bit thinner than I would've preferred, since my earlier trip to Splattercon had meant using up a bit of the stock I kept at hand, but it was good enough.

Next, I set up a ward at the door. It wasn't a very good ward and it didn't have much in the way of power behind it, but it was enough to make a racket if somebody tried to mess with the door.

Molly emerged from the bathroom, dressed in her old clothes and with her hair mussed up from being dried sloppily with a towel. When she saw the circle of sand around the bed she stopped, looking at me with a pensive expression.

"Circle of power," I explained to her. I swung my legs off the bed and patted the bed next to me. "Come over here. Don't step on the sand."

Molly did so, looking sheepishly embarrassed as she settled a little bit too close. I acted as though I didn't notice.

"A circle of power does all kinds of things," I told her. "Magic can't go past it, from either side. You can use it to store energy when you're working a delicate spell, to summon or trap something, or what we're about to do, to use it as a protective barrier."

Molly blinked, then nodded.

"Okay. Is it working now?" She waved her hand through the air over the sand, as though expecting to brush up against something.

"No and if it had been, you would've broken it. Put your hand over the sand."

Molly bent over the circle and touched her fingers to it and stayed that while for a second before asking.

"Uh. And now?"

"Want it to close. Focus on that intention and-" There was a snap of magical energies as the circle closed and I felt a little surge of pride.

"Well done."

Molly beamed at me.

"Okay. What do I do now?" She asked eagerly.

"Sleep,"

Her smile faltered again and I couldn't blame her. I remember the first time I'd gotten to study magic. It had been the most amazing feeling to finally find something you were good at, and someone who understood you. I hated to spoil that for Molly.

"I'll show you more tomorrow," I promised her. "But for now, we really need to rest. You never know when you'll get a chance to do it next."

Molly nodded, moved over to the other side of the bed and hesitated for a moment before pulling her top off to reveal a black bra that strained to contain her bust.

She glanced at me and if she'd been brave enough to do it while undressing, she probably would've caught me looking. As it was, I had just stopped staring and looked down at my own clothes. I'd planned to sleep dressed on top of the covers, maybe using the duster as a bullet-proof blanket, but it was just too warm for that.

Screw it. I kept the shirt on, but unbuckled the jeans and pushed them to the floor, then hurriedly slipped under the blankets. Once there, I changed my mind, and got rid of the shirt, too. Only when I had done that did I return my attention to Molly.

She lay on her side with the covers pulled up to her pale shoulders, facing me with her cheek on the pillow. I'd only just put my head on my own pillow and gotten blissfully comfortable when I realized the lights were still on.

I groaned and looked up at the ceiling, considering whether I should wait for the concentrated magic in the circle to fry, or hex it down myself.

"I'll get it," Molly said quickly and shot back up from the bed. It was a calculated move and a rather blatant one at that and more or less confirmed both mine and Lasciel's theory.

I couldn't help looking. Molly was wearing the hell out the flirty black pair of bra and panties and watching her walk was very, very intriguing, no matter the angle. She dared to look at me more quickly this time around, and her eyes caught mine. There was heat there, as she watched me watch her and whatever little shred of doubt or denial I'd had left died with that look.

She really was about to try to seduce me. Hell's bells.

The bulb overhead flickered out and with the heavy blinds closed, there was only barely enough light to navigate by, but the sound of rustling sheets a moment later confirmed that Molly had found her way. There was silence following the sound of the sheets and the pop of the circle being re-activated and I lay back to wait for the inevitable. To the kid's credit, it didn't take long.

She made her way over to my side of the bed, bringing her pillow along with her.

"I'm cold," she said in a small voice. "Can I-?"

I sighed internally. I couldn't deny her that small comfort, especially not when she sounded that vulnerable and if I was going to be completely honest with myself, I needed comfort as much as she did. I'm an idiot, I know. I've been told.

My eyes had adjusted enough to see a shy little smile on her lips as Molly snuggled up to me, resting her head on my shoulder as much as on her pillow. It wasn't long before she slung an arm across my chest.

"Better?" I asked.

Molly made an 'Mmm' sound and cuddled up closer, the swell of her breasts pressing up against my side… and then her hand began to descend. She was slow about it, though I think it was from nerves and not patience. I'd like to say I didn't react, but I'd have been lying.

Molly was warm and beautiful and I'm only human. Some parts of me wanted to seize that comfort and revel in it, knowing how little time either of us was likely to have left... If she'd sucker-punched me with this, then maybe those parts would've won out. Now though, I was ready and had too much sense left in me to be able to ignore the fact that it would be wrong to take advantage of Molly like this.

I didn't tell her to stop. I just put my hand over hers, where it currently rested at my heart, and held it there. She froze and even in the dim light I could see the blush rising up her cheeks.

"It's okay, Molly," I told her gently. "No harm done. This just isn't a good time for either of us, okay?"

There were tears in her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away, accepting what comfort I had to offer. I curled my arm around her shoulders and it felt nice. It had been a long while since I'd fallen asleep next to somebody, but it didn't take long.

The room was warm when I woke up. The afternoon sun was to blame for a lot of that, but not solely. Molly had been pretty cozy when we'd fallen asleep, but now she lay more or less draped over me, her legs tangling with mine in a way that was about as innocent as O.J.

She'd stirred about at the same time that I had and seemed to have become aware of our positioning and its implications, judging by the deer caught in headlights look on her face. She rolled away and shambled out of the bed and into her clothes with jerky motions, refusing to look at me until after she'd gotten back from her shower.

My legs ached and protested as we made our way back out onto stairs leading down the sloping green lawns and the down to the gate that lead out onto the street. Standing in the archway made up of two slightly curved slabs of white sandstone and a second, flat slab of wood on top, was a cloaked figure.

He was a stout old man in dark robes, holding a staff of a dark, twisted wood.

Ebenezar McCoy… and by the looks of things, he'd brought the Black Staff.

Fuck.


I let go of my staff and the heavy oaken stick clattered once before rolling away along the cracked asphalt. Next, moving slowly, I removed my duster, letting it fall down my arms and onto the ground.

My blasting rod was tied to the inside of the coat and my gun was in one of its pockets. I looked over my shoulder to Molly, who had frozen in place and whose eyes sought mine, wide and fearful.

"Stay where you are, kid," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "No matter what happens, don't move."

I turned back to my mentor and his sad but determined expression scared me more than the instrument he'd brought with him – and there was no mistaking it was the Blackstaff, either. I could feel its energy all the way over where I stood – something cold, hungry and primal.

I held up both my hands, palms out to my old teacher.

"I don't want to fight," I told him.

Ebenezar frowned at that and his eyes drifted over to Molly.

"Explain yourself, Hoss."

And so I launched into the summary of what I'd been up to between our last meeting at the warehouse, sparing him none of the relevant details save for the mention of Lasciel. By the time I'd given the whole story, his wary stance had relaxed somewhat.

"I met the girl's father two days ago," Ebenezar said gruffly. "Good man. I wouldn't be standing here talking to you if it weren't for him."

He sighed.

"I understand why you did what you did, Hoss, but that doesn't change anything. You put two wardens in the hospital and assaulted a regional commander to escape with a warlock. The Merlin won't give a good Goddamn about how pure your motives were."

"No," I said darkly. "He wouldn't."

Ebenezar grimaced and scratched the pate of his bald head.

"Even the others wouldn't have any choice in the matter, Hoss."

I looked him in the eye without fear. We'd exchanged a soulgaze, many years ago, when I'd been an angry kid who he'd taken in and saved.

"Where does that leave us, sir?"

Ebenezar had always had a vibrant energy about him, but in the wake of my question, he looked very much like a man pushing three hundred.

"I can't help you with the Council. I understand why you did what you did. You had little choice in the matter, but as much as I hate it, it leaves us with few options. You have to run. Consult the creature who calls herself your Godmother and get her help to stay hidden. I will contact you when I can."

"Wait!" I said. "How are you going to find me?"

The question sparked another more relevant one.

"How did you find me?"

He moved in close and showed me the palm of his hand so that nobody but the two of us could see. There was a cut in the meaty part by the thumb. His dark eyes met mine for another moment in a significant look.

"Blood, Hoss," he said. "Now go. They're coming."


I stared at his hand until he drew it back and even after that, I remained rooted to the spot in pure shock. He'd used blood to track me. Not my blood, but his own. Just like I had done with Charity's blood to find Molly at Arctis Tor.

That meant… It was damn fortunate that I was too manly to faint, because otherwise I might have. But in the few seconds I worked out the implications of what my old teacher had shown me, he'd disappeared behind a veil and vanished.

I'd see him again. Or, I would if I survived. If I wanted answers to the million questions buzzing through my head, now was the time to get a move on.

I picked up my gear, grabbed Molly's hand in mine and ran for it.

My legs protested as the path took us downhill yet again. Roots poked up everywhere, threatening to rob me of my already questionable balance.

"Another two hundred yards and then the path veers off to a bridge over a small river," Lasciel supplied me. "From there, you follow a new path for a kilometer before taking a right out into the woods. There is a large rock there. Three paces - two for you, I suppose - in front of it, you can open a way."

Problematic terrain aside, the forest we were trundling through was picturesque. The trees grew tall, with little to no brush in between them, and under different circumstances it would have been a nice place for a brisk walk with Mouse. Unfortunately, that wasn't the day I was having.

"It's really nice here," Molly said.

We'd both been quiet for since we left town and it sounded like she'd been feeling uncomfortable about it.

"Kinda looks like something out of those new Lord of the Rings movies," I agreed. "Have you seen those?"

She rolled her eyes the way only people her age can, conveying supreme disapproval at how old and out of touch I was.

"Of course," she said. "Daniel begged me for a week to take him."

"Well… That was nice of y-"

I wasn't sure what made me do it, but I turned around and brought up my shield on pure reflex and less than a second later, it flared up in a flash of sparks as an unseen force slammed into it with the force of a professional linebacker. I skidded backward on the soles of my boots and only barely stayed up.

Warden Donald Morgan stood behind me, feet planted, the silver sword of his office drawn but not raised. Even so, I could feel the overwhelming presence of his power in the air.

"It is over, Dresden," he growled. "Surrender now."

"Nice seeing you too, Morgan," I shot back, moving so that I stood between him and Molly. "I'm fresh out of surrender but I do have a special on 'Go fuck yourself'. What do you say?"

Morgan had never been the sort to appreciate my humor and the years hadn't changed that.

"The girl is already condemned," he said. There was sadness there in his voice, but no doubt or hesitancy. "But The Merlin is willing to show lenience toward you."

"I'm not letting you take her," I said, pushing Molly in behind me.

"And I can't let you run."

I snarled and slammed my staff onto the hard earth and the runes carved into the wood flared up as I called power into it.

"I guess that only leaves us one way to go."

"Yes."

Morgan raised his sword to guard. I addressed Molly but never took my eyes off him.

"Molly… This is the end of the road. Run. Don't stop for as long as you can. Remember what I told you."

I could see her nodding in my peripheral vision and running off in my peripheral. A few moments later, the sound of her footsteps disappeared.

I grabbed the warden's cloak from my bag and dropped it on the ground. It wasn't just a significant as a gesture. They must have found me somehow and the only thing I had on me they could possibly use for a tracking spell was the cloak.

"Tell McCoy I'm sorry it had to be this way."

Molly's departure didn't change the situation much. Morgan was well known as one of the most powerful wizards in the world. What was more, he had almost a century of experience in the field on me. I could never beat him and we both knew it.

His first attack had been an attempted sucker punch, meant to take me down without killing me. If he'd wanted it, he could've come at me with enough power to kill me through any defense I could've thrown up.

Now he'd have to fight… But he wasn't attacking. I took a step backward, being careful with my footing. Morgan did the same. He was stalling.

Another step. Morgan followed and he stepped into the hole in the ground covered by leaves. It was only about two inches of a drop and didn't unbalance him or give me an opening for a sucker punch of my own but Morgan's right leg trembled.

And I remembered. Morgan and the rest of the wizards had been fighting the Red Court, presumably with Morgan right there at the front lines. He was injured.

Even on his best day, I'd take Morgan in a foot race. If his leg was hurt, I'd outpace him easily. All I needed was to get away from him.

"How far is that bridge again, Lasciel?" I wondered.

"Two-hundred and fifteen yards," Lasciel responded quickly. "But you'll never make it unless you distract the warden."

"That really is advice well worth the price of my soul. Fucking fantastic, Lash."

Morgan's stalling would pan out sooner or later and then I couldn't even hope for a death curse that'd buy Molly some extra time.

Salvation came not in the form of a fallen angel but the daughter of a Knight of the Cross. There was a blur in the air to Morgan's left and Molly appeared beside him without a sound to betray her approach.

That was my moment. I aimed my staff low and send a wave of kinetic force meant to send Morgan sprawling and at the same time Molly swung a heavy stick at his head. Morgan was fast. Faster than any man, let alone one his size, should be allowed to be.

He swept his sword up with his right hand, one-handed, and the silver blade cut improvised club in half. At the same time he thrust his right hand forward to bring up a shield. The spell blasted him back. The full power between every single one of my force-rings, though.

That had the desired effect. I didn't aim at him, though. I aimed at the ground right in front of him.

"Run, Molly!" I shouted as a spray of leaves and dirt covered them both.

Molly was already on the way, coughing and sputtering. I pointed my staff at the ground again and called in more of my will.

"Ventas Sertivas!"

A gale wind came at my beckoning and we ran while it provided us cover. Unfortunately, Morgan didn't care about our clever smokescreen or line of trivialities like targeting. We'd barely gotten more than a few yards when the ground beneath our feet began to shake.

Earth cracked and shattered all around us as we ran and stumbled our way forward. A tree came crashing down behind us and I whipped my head around at the sound and spotted Morgan, disheveled and dirty and more than a little pissed, appear from my wind spell.

The tree blocked his path and as I backed down the little hill we'd been standing on, we were out of his line of sight again, too. With no other options, I dashed down the path, jumping over roots and rocks, hoping to make up for speed with stealth. By the time Morgan got past the tree and up the hill to see us, we'd be out of range.

We made it up another steeper hill and down it again, spotting the river and the slender wooden bridge leading across it with only two hundred feet of light brush and a meadow between us and it.

"Just a bit longer," I panted, pulling Molly along. "Just past that bridge and we'll be clear."

The rickety structure of the bridge had never felt so comforting under my boots as it did in that moment. I drew a relieved breath. And then something resembling a rushing bull hit me in the back.

I hit the floor hard, only managing to turn sideways enough that I hit with my thick skull and not my jaw first. Dentistry bills aside, that was probably a bad trade-off.

"Harry!" Molly wavered drunkenly back and forth in my vision and when I tried to push myself up against, my arms wobbled and faltered when I put my weight on them. Her voice came out shrill and broken with panic. "Come on. Get up!"

Morgan had managed to tag me with a spell from over a hundred yards away. It shouldn't even have been possible to hit a moving target at that range, let alone put enough power into the spell that it didn't fizzle half-way. Or to calculate the amount of power to assure the strike would not be lethal. Hell's bells the guy was good.

"Please, Harry. You have to get up!"

I grunted and pushed my way up to my knees. The world span like a merry-go-round but Molly supported me on one side with her shoulder under mine and I had the railing on the other.

"Sarah Connor was a much better inspirational speaker than you are," I informed Molly. "No? Haven't seen that one, either? We'll get to it eventually."

We moved one step. Then another. Then another. Slowly but surely, emphasis on slowly, we made our way over the river.

By the time we'd crossed, my head was mostly back in the right order and Morgan had caught up. He looked about as well as I felt, with his left pant-leg soaking through with blood where the strain must've popped stitches.

"Fuego!"

Fire roared as it poured from my blasting rod tearing the bridge to kindling and sending the broken remains down into the depths of the river. Morgan glared at me from the other side.

"You cannot escape the White Council's justice, Dresden!"

"Watch me," I called back. "Don't worry, Molly. He can't cross the water."

In my defense, I'd like to point out I was technically right. Morgan thrust a hand forward and the soil behind him rose like a wave, crashing forward and spilling into the river.

"I guess he could cross that, though. Run!"

We set off into the trees again. My legs burned with every step as the ground got rockier and the forest thickened around us. I took comfort in the fact that Morgan would be having an even harder time and that he wouldn't be able to take any more potshots at us.

It was hard work tearing an opening in reality, but I pressed on, knowing we were reaching the finishing line. I closed it again, just to make sure Morgan wouldn't be able to follow. We walked a few paces through a forest with dead spindly trees, whose branches almost seemed to reach out for us as they moved in the breeze. Fifteen steps. A turn to the left. Another two steps.

We went through five different Ways before Lasciel declared it was the last one, leading us through what I think must have been a Svartalver mine at one point, and back into the mortal world.

It was the middle of the night and sky was bright above us. The air was warm and dry, the ground rocky and sandy. I grinned, giddy with triumph and relief.

"Welcome to Australia."

Molly was unfortunately too busy being sick in one of the nearby thorny bushes to appreciate the scenery. Oh well. We had time.