This is my first foray into fanfic ever, so please be gentle. :)
Summary: The problem with vampires who are also practitioners of magic, is well, that they are practitioners, with all that entails. It appears Harry may have bitten off more than he can chew. No spoilers I can think of.
Mostly I had a plot bunny insert itself in my mind when I read the words "death curse" for the first time, and it refused to let go. So I just went with it.
Disclaimer: Sadly, NONE of these characters or concepts are mine. I am playing in Jim Butcher's sand box while he's not looking and hoping he doesn't catch me at it. ;) No copyright infringement is intended, I certainly am not hoping to profit by it (except for metaphorical pats on the head: I like those), please don't send mean lawyers after me. Or even nice lawyers.
*****
The problem with Black Court practitioners is that they've had a lot of time to practice their art. Okay, there's more than one problem —namely, that they're vampires, they're bloodthirsty and evil, among the first that spring to mind— but the problem that was foremost in my mind as I squared off against Bernard de Rome, was that he was a whole lot older and more experienced than I was, and I was likely to get my butt very solidly kicked.
I supposed that I ought to consider myself lucky that his flunkies had all fled once I fragged a significant portion of the machinery in the abandoned warehouse. That's the great thing about abandoned warehouses: they're full of expendable metal stuff that melts in spectacular ways. Great for demoralizing the enemy when your own wizardry is more about sheer unadulterated force than about subtlety. Unfortunately, luck can only carry you so far, and now that I was faced with a wizard who was probably my equal if not my superior in both experience and strength of magic, I wasn't feeling nearly as sanguine as when I'd gone charging in earlier. Good job, Harry, way to use your head. Planning has never exactly been my forte, and this time I'd had the spectacular good sense to go in without any backup. Yeah, not my most shining moment. If de Rome's little coterie had taken half a minute to think about it, they would have realized that they outnumbered me about ten to one, and then I would really have been in trouble.
I threw myself to one side as the vampire summoned up a stream of fire and sent it at the spot where my head would have been. I hit the concrete floor rolling, and a stab of pain shot through me as my shoulder protested vociferously against the rough treatment. I'm not as young as I used to be, all right? Momentum brought me to my knees, and I pulled out my blasting rod.
"Forzare!"
The energy ripped through me and through the tip of the rod, but de Rome twisted out of the way of my clumsy attempt with something akin to feline grace, although most cats wouldn't thank me for the comparison, and sneered at the rather large hole I made in the wall behind him.
"Give up, wizard," he spat, the French accent sounding a little incongruous in the middle of the Chicago night. "You are outmatched. Soon the members of my circle will return, and we will crush you underfoot."
I rolled my eyes. "You bad guys. So melodramatic. You can never resist an opportunity to monologue. What is up with that?" I brought my staff to bear on him this time. I had run out of tricks in my fun bag-o'-vampire slaying tools, and had been reduced to throwing fire and energy around. He'd resisted all my attempts to throw garlic, holy water, and various holy symbols at him, which was already pretty damned impressive. Really, those were the only reason that he hadn't killed me outright and had himself been reduced to using magic against me.
"Fuego!"
Flames burst from my staff, and this time de Rome's dodge looked a little more desperate to me. I was about to be heartened by this when the wooden scaffolding behind him caught fire. Damn. I ducked as he sent a bolt of electricity flying at me, and retaliated with more flame. I was beginning to think I might get out of this mess alive after all, when a burst of energy caught me square in the chest, lifted me off my feet, and flung me against the far wall. My head connected with the concrete with a resounding crack! and suddenly all I could see were stars. My leg throbbed with sudden pain as I fell awkwardly, and couldn't quite get my feet under me. By the time my vision cleared, de Rome was standing triumphantly, waiting to deliver the final blow. My staff was long gone, as was my rod, and I knew I'd be too slow to bring my shield up to ward off whatever he was going to throw at me. By the look on his face, de Rome knew it too.
"Say your prayers, wizard," he snarled, and raised both his hands in an evocation that looked fit to rip me apart where I lay.
Occasionally, I am given to wonder whether or not someone up there really is listening to my frantic prayers not to die. The wooden scaffolding collapsed under its own weight. Okay, so maybe it had been weakened by the fire I had set to it a few moments earlier. Maybe. I claim no responsibility. It came crashing down on de Rome, who let out an ear-piercing shriek as his body was consumed by flames. I pushed myself to my feet, knowing that in a few moments the whole place would be coming down around my ears (I could just hear Murphy's incredulous voice: "Another building, Dresden?"), and I had to make sure the job was done before I got out myself. I staggered toward the burning, shrieking vampire, levelling my staff, but I could tell that it would only be a formality. In another moment, de Rome would be consumed by flames. I hesitated, and in that moment de Rome caught my gaze with his and kept it, his eyes glittering with pain-induced madness. I felt energy crackling all around me, so strongly that it made the fire appear to dim for a few seconds. Then a voice boomed, echoing all around me, so loud that I could feel it in my sternum:
"SICKEN AND DIE!"
That's when the rest of the scaffolding came down on my head.
*****
Uh, so that's the first bit. I have more written (though it's not finished), but if people hate it or something, y'know, I won't put up the rest.