The chase was almost over. Thomas went around a corner with the barest touch to the brakes, and I found my face pushed into a window. Peeling my cheek from the glass, I shouted, "I said, 'turn right here', not 'come about'."

"Sorry. Wanted to beat the light."

Thomas was still driving a bit angry, but at least he now had a focus for it. Traffic was light for once, and he kept the hammer down.

"This reminds me of a roller coaster I once rode at a travelling carnival," Carlos said. "It fell apart two days later and three people went to hospital."

"I can make this comfy and lose her, or you can put on your big-warden pants."

"Hey, I never said I didn't enjoy the roller coaster."

"How's the leg?" Marci asked.

He touched it where it lay on the floor between them, wrapped some sort of thin tube filled with water, which was glowing. "Just about re-charged. Should be good for an hour or two already."

I kept shouting directions and glancing at the map. I left it to Thomas to avoid or run the stops. Eventually I said, "She's stopped, and not far ahead," and looked up.

We were on 20th Street, heading into the Sunset Harbor Yacht Club. At least that's what the map said; there was no sign I could see. "Park. She's got to be here."

Thomas pulled onto the flat median and stood on the brakes. We screeched to a stop and I nearly lost my neck to the seatbelt. Connie actually slipped out of her seat. Snagging the watch from its hook, I popped open the door and hopped out. It continued to lean against gravity, pointing right at the building.

"Okay, she must be inside."

"She's here for her boat," Thomas said.

"Her boat?"

"She has a yacht. The Shark."

"The Shark?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah, I know. It's a bit obvious."

"So how do we get through?" I asked.

"Over there," Connie said. She was pointing off to the right where I saw a fountain in a green lot. "I've been here before. There's no guards, just a fence and a camera."

Carlos and I exchanged a glance. "No problem," he said. A moment later, the camera was fried, and we were all over the fence. The sun was touching the western horizon, and shadows from the skyline were stretching out over Biscayne Bay. The small ships tethered to the docks all looked fancy and expensive and, to my eye, pretentious. There was just something plain and honest about Thomas' boat, the Water Beetle. It was a retired fishing trawler, designed for function. These boats were all about form.

I pressed up against the side of the building and looked around. There was only one yacht pulling away from the dock. "Thomas?"

He poked his head around and squinted. "Yup, that's her."

"Of course."

"Now what do we do?" Marci asked.

"Rent a boat?" Carlos suggested.

"They'd spot us instantly," Thomas said.

"I need a minute to think," I said. It was too late to plant anything on the yacht to work another tracking spell, and the water would short out the magic anyway, but if she was heading for dry land somewhere, say one of the Keys, then maybe… but I would need to know which one before I could… how the hell was I supposed to -

"I can follow the boat," Connie said.

Bingo.

My head snapped up. "Can you take me with you?"

She nodded thoughtfully. "Aye, if you're willing to get wet."

I smiled. "Then I have a plan."

Less than ten minutes later, I had 'found' a surfboard and made Thomas leave $300 cash in its place. A lanyard was a little harder to find, but not impossible, and Thomas ended up leaving cash for that, too. "This is a stupid plan, Harry," he said.

"Is telling me that the only reason you come along on these little trips?"

"Well, it's the main reason." He touched my shoulder and I stopped walking, surfboard tucked under one arm, staff in the other. "Look, they're going to be able to see you."

"It's about to be dark, I'll be far behind on rough water, and I can lift a partial veil if I'm desperate. Besides, we know part of the plan will work, since it already has. At least, once I'm dry."

He sighed. "I know. I just had to say it. Don't die, okay?"

"I'll make that promise if you promise me something."

"Sure."

"Have a long talk with Justine."

"Beg your pardon?"

"You guys are trying to build a life together, whatever the issue is, you have to sort it."

"Seriously? You're giving me relationship advice?"

"I'm the only person in the world worse at it than you. Which makes me qualified to tell you when something is wrong."

He shook he head. "All right. All right, fine. I'll talk to her."

"Pinky swear?"

"Sit on it."

"Wizard!" Connie. "We will lose her if we don't leave soon!"

Thankfully, there were few people around on the docks. I did not need to draw more attention to myself right now.

Thomas and I hurried down the dock to where the others stood. "Still got her?" I asked as I handed my staff to Carlos.

"For the moment," Connie said, "but they're moving pretty quickly."

I bent over and pulled off my boots and socks.

"You're keeping the coat?" Marci asked.

I sighed. Reluctantly, I doffed it and handed it over. I hated going anywhere without it – I felt naked without it, really – but it would only make the trip worse, and who knew what I would lose from my pockets, or what effect hours in the ocean would have on the enchantments. Not to mention that leather doesn't really like water.

"Good luck," she said.

I nodded to Connie.

She pulled off her borrowed dress, handing it to Marci. Naked, she dropped into the water. A second later, a seal bobbed back up, looking at me expectantly. Thomas handed me the bar on the lanyard, and made a loop out of the hook end, which he laid in the water. Connie got the loop in her mouth and started swimming. I dropped the board, then hopped in myself, making a splash, then laid flat on the surfboard. The water was cool, but still warmer than I had been expecting. A second later, the line tensed and I was off.

Half an hour later, I had to agree with Thomas; this was a stupid plan. I was soaked, obviously. I had almost been run-over, or whatever the nautical equivalent was, three times leaving Biscayne Bay. And despite the mantle and my own regular workout regime, my arms were starting to ache. I tried adjusting my position, and it helped a bit, but I knew lifting my arms after this ride was likely going to suck.

In addition, the waves were taller than I had expected, and I nearly drowned about once every ten seconds, on average. I couldn't even really see them coming, as once we were away from shore, the darkness got thick, fast.

Half an hour after that, I was in abject misery. To distract myself, I started thinking. At first I was playing Star Wars in my head; for some reason, the trash compactor scene got stuck on repeat. After that, I decided to focus on the situation at hand. There were a lot of players in the game, and one or two I hadn't seen yet, but anticipated. And more than a few of them wanted to kill me, or would be required to. I wondered where Fix was.

Another half hour or so, and I thought I had a few things figured out, but a sudden mouthful of sea water derailed my train of thought. I started hacking, and it took a second to realize the lanyard had gone slack. I looked up, but could only see a few tiny lights in the distance.

"Dresden," a voice said.

I looked off to the left. "Connie?"

"Aye." It was a struggle to focus with little but moonlight, but I found her. She was human again, and had a hand clamped onto the side of the surfboard. "They've put in." She nodded at the lights ahead as we floated, bobbing in the waves. "There are guards everywhere."

"Island?" She nodded. I thought for a second. We were in the Florida Keys. I had no idea which one. Land on one side, the Atlantic on the other. "Are we on the landward side?"

"We are."

"Can we approach from the seaward side?"

"We can try, though the waves will get worse. How are you holding up?"

I clamped my legs around the board, squeezed my elbows together, and lifted my chest a little. The feeling was weird, and I assumed my skin would be red from the constant contact. I rolled my neck. "Should be fine. Let's just get to shore."

"If you say so." She put the rope back in her mouth and rippled. A few seconds later, she was pulling me out to sea. This meant that instead of waves coming from one side, and me slipping up and over them, I was basically charging head-first into them. This raised my near-drownings-per-minute to about 60. I also noticed that the temperature of the water dropped significantly. Where the hell was the Gulf Stream?

I couldn't keep my eyes open without getting salt water in them, but wouldn't have seen much anyway in the dark. I just had to trust Connie. At some point, the waves stopped actively trying to kill me, and they moved once again to my side. In the wan light of a crescent moon, I could see a blot of pure black against a backdrop of midnight blue. The island. With no lights.

Connie, human once again, floated beside me. "I can see no one."

"I can't confirm that from here," I said, and I vaguely noticed that my teeth were clicking together. "Just have to risk it."

"I'll have you on shore in about a minute." Again she floated away and the line tightened up. For the first time, the waves were coming from behind, and I found I could keep my eyes focused. The black blot grew, and if I looked up, I could see a few stars blinking – treetops were swaying in a wind. The darkness combined with my growing trepidation and left me thinking of Demonreach; for the first time in a while, I'd be at a complete disadvantage on an island. I didn't like the idea much.

After what seemed like infinity minutes, I saw a shadow of Connie's human form step up in the water, and continue to rise. Needing to move my muscles, I slipped off the board and touched sand with my feet. I stood in the surf, taking slow steps. I thought I saw her head turn, and she waited for me to catch up. Most of my chest was out of the water, and I became aware of a breeze. Slowly, I began to move my shoulders, not wanting to do any damage to the muscles and knowing I wouldn't feel it if I did.

"Are you well, Winter Knight?" she stage-whispered over the sound of the waves.

"I think so. And please call me Harry."

"I can do that." She pulled the board along until the water was at our waists, then picked it up.

As we reached the shoreline, I felt the immense relief I think most people get when their body stops fighting the water and can move at normal speed again. I was so happy in that moment, that I almost didn't feel the ward.

"Whoa, whoa, wait."

"What?"

I knelt down and put my hand in the sand. The waves didn't quite come up this far. I extended my arcane senses into the ground, not unlike at the Fomor house. It was an anti-magic ward, just like the one at the Malvora bank. In fact, it was exactly like the one at the bank, and just like the tripwire at the house. I wasn't sure how I had missed the connection before.

Danicka had a Fomor sorcerer throwing up her wards. That should have been impossible, since the White Court was technically at war with the Fomor.

"Naughty, naughty, Danicka."

"What's wrong, Harry?" Connie knelt down next to me.

"Danicka has a security system." I ran a finger across the wet sand. "I can't cross this line."

"So what? We're stuck on the beach?"

"I am. You can go in; you're not a wizard. It's the magic that…"

"What?"

Now, before I related what happened next, I would like to make one thing very clear: over the years, I've become convinced that something, out there, in the universe, has it in for me. I've called it the Black Council, and it calls itself the Circle. But even I know that sometimes, Bad Things just happen at awkward times.

I reached around, into my back pocket. The thorn cuff was still there. I pulled it out.

"What's that?"

I smirked. "My access card." I snapped it on.

Instantly, I was cold. And wet. And heavy. And exhausted. I fell forward, across the line, flat on my face. I could not move. The ache in my muscles, the cold on my skin, a sudden shortness of breath, and of course the wind chose that moment to pick up. I started shaking, and my teeth began to chatter. If the alarm had gone off, the guards would be here any second, and we'd be dead. And I barely had the strength to move. No, Connie had to run. Or swim. I opened my mouth to tell her to go, to get out before they could find her.

"Easy, Harry, I've got you." Small, strong hands rolled me over onto my back, and worked the buttons on my shirt, then pulled it open. Then there was skin, flesh against my flesh. She didn't rest on me; she was just on top of me, not pushing down. That was nice, since I wouldn't have been able to breathe otherwise.

It was barely warmer than the air, at first. But after a few seconds, that changed, and I felt the cold leaving my lungs. As my chest rose and fell, so did hers. Her arms were squeezing mine, rubbing my sides, my fingers, my ears, getting the sand off my face. "Come on, clear your head. Remember what warmth is, you daft bastard. Don't leave me out here alone. You've got a vampire to kill, and I'm sure as hell not doing that for you."

My eyes fluttered open. Someone needed me. She needed me. If I died, her debt was left unpaid.

She vanished from my chest and I felt her hands on my feet. After a moment, I could feel my toes again. I grunted and moved my legs. "There, that's better." Then she was on top of me again, and one of her arms snaked under my neck, the other rubbing up and down my side. Warmth continued to spread.

A little while later, maybe seconds, maybe minutes, I almost felt normal, if cold. I wrapped an arm around her. "Thank you," I whispered.

"Well, I can't very well help you if you're dead, now can I?" Her accent made it sound like, 'I canna very well 'elp'. I found it delightful, and smiled.

"What would you name a daughter?" I asked.

"Beg your pardon?"

"Friend of mine is about to have a daughter. He's looking for names."

"Oh. Well, I have an aunt named Millie. Strong woman."

"If you think she's strong, I'd hate to run into her in a dark alley."

She barked out a laugh. "Feeling better, are we?"

"I am."

"Good." Her free hand came up to my face. She left it there for a second. "Good," she repeated.

A suddenly became very forcefully aware that she was still naked. My heart sped up a little, and full consciousness roared in with the blood pressure. "We, uh, we should get going." I tried to sit up, but she held on with those powerful arms of hers.

"Are you sure? There are legends about us selkies, you know. They're not all true, but… we do know what we're doing." She wore a grin I could only call 'mischievous'.

Huh. "Look, I like you, Connie. You're funny, nice, and," I glanced down at my pelvis, "we both know I'd be lying if I said you weren't attractive. Oh, and your ability to ignore danger in favor of sex is just inspiring. But you also know loyalty."

"Ah," she said, relaxing her grip. Her expression changed to something else that I couldn't identify. "Lady back home? Or fellow?"

"Lady," I said. I stood, then offered my hand, trying not to look at her body. She took it and let me help her up. I peeled off my shirt and offered it to her.

"Oh, a gentleman." She accepted the shirt, which hung almost to her knees, and started buttoning it up. "So, now what?"

"We head inland, quietly. Then we see what there is to see, and wait for back up." I took a few more steps away from the shoreline. "But first, need to make with the magic." I reached into my back pocket. I was empty. I had a moment's panic, but then I remembered I'd put the key in my other back pocket. Except it wasn't there, either. Then I tried my front pockets. Then the back ones again. At the bottom of the left one, I felt a small opening. A hole. My finger could slide right through it. "Oh, no."

"Harry? Are you all right?"

"No. Oh, nononononono."

"What? What's wrong?"

I sagged, my hands empty, as I realized that a Bad Thing had happened, and felt monumentally stupid. "The key to the cuff is gone." It was physically painful to say it out loud. "Probably on the sea floor by now." I turned to her. "I can't use magic."