Phil Denton was only a couple inches shorter than me, his hair solid black and his frame athletic. His FBI-standard suit was bark blue, and he moved with authority in his step. I stood frozen, fifteen feet away from him in shadow, trying not to breathe. His eyes were sharp and constantly moving – a predator's eyes. He wasn't shaped like a wolf right now, but his bearing was decidedly wolf-like.

As he came closer to me, I concentrated harder on my veil, trying to block out scents as well as light. He kept walking, then I was looking at his back. I breathed out, silently, through my mouth.

He instantly stopped and looked over his shoulder. Before I could breathe in a gasp, I felt my mouth shut and my throat close. I got over the shock of that quickly. Thanks.

I apologise, but it seemed prudent. To prevent noise.

Good call. I think I got it now. She let go of my throat muscles, and I breathed in, slowly.

Denton looked around with his piercing grey eyes. After a moment, he relaxed again and stepped up to the door. Kitoro opened it and ushered him in. Without moving, I focussed on my sense of hearing.

"This has to be quick," Denton said. "I have to be on my way to a crime scene shortly."

"It will be," the vampire's voice replied. I heard the rustling of paper. "This is a warning."

"A warning about what?"

"His name is Dresden."

"Dresden?" I heard more paper moving, then Denton's voice came back, but with more disbelief. "A psychic consultant? Who helps the police? Is this a joke?"

"No. And neither is he. Dresden is a wizard."

"A wizard?"

"Do you doubt the existence of magic, Agent Denton?"

About two months ago, he would have. Most people do. But one month ago, someone gave him four really nifty belts. Touching one of them, with the right intent in mind, would turn a person into a wolf. A pretty neat trick, aside from the loss of sanity that goes with it.

"No, of course not. How old is this article?"

"Six months. He is not brought in often, but he does have a habit of making smooth operations… rough."

What can I say? She's got my number.

"Says here he worked with Lieutenant Murphy's Special Investigations unit. Figures."

"You know him?"

"Her. And yes. We met yesterday. A good cop, unfortunately."

"Can you handle her?"

He hesitated. Just for a second, but it made me smile. "Yes. I can simply pull rank. And Mr. Dresden… well, if you'll pardon the expression, I can throw him to the other wolves." He'd actually thrown me to lycanthrope berserkers. They didn't transform into wolves, but they had the pack mentality and killer instincts of them, and they'd almost killed me to death.

"Good."

"Is that all?"

"Yes. Just remember that he can be dangerous. And he has underworld contacts. Dangerous ones, that even you cannot yet match."

"You mean Marcone? John Marcone is a killer and a robber baron. I'll deal with him before the week is out."

Oh, you'll try, Phil. John Marcone was the de facto crime boss of Chicago, and one smart, tough bastard. Chicago could do worse, of course; Marcone was fanatical about keeping collateral damage down.

"If you say so. It is in your hands. Consider yourself warned. Now, I must go."

"Meeting The Librarian, again?" I heard the sneer in his voice, and I heard her freeze. "Our benefactor? You meet them in the public library, right?"

Her voice was frozen solid. "How do you know that?"

"I'm a professional investigator. It's my job to know… to, uh… to know…"

She was eating his memory. I took a few quick steps back as she emerged from the motel room before she could pick up on my thoughts. She looked around, then started walking north. She stepped into a shadow, and never came out. The pale red smear I'd attached to her was faded, almost completely gone, but it was still moving in the same direction. I walked back to Denton's car, kicked one of the tires out of spite, and jogged back to the phone booth.

About five seconds after Denton pulled out, a white pick-up truck pulled up to the phone, and I stepped out of my veil and into the light.

"Hey, Michael," I said through the open window.

"You know, Harry, when I said you could call, I didn't expect the phone to be ringing as I walked in the door."

"Did I disturb dinner?"

"No. Charity left me a note: her mother is ill. She took the children with her early this afternoon."

"Sorry, but, convenient." I got in.

"The Lord works in mysterious ways."

"Does He ever. Do you happen to know where the nearest library is?"

He thought for a moment. "About five or six blocks north of here, I believe."

I nodded. Same direction she'd been heading in. "We need to get there, now."

"Then we will," he said, perfectly sure. The truck pulled out, fast.

*****

The library was a fairly modern building, but not exactly brand new. It had a couple of those flowing half-arches that were in vogue for a while, and was made mostly of brown brick. It stood by itself, next to a small park populated by trees. The neighbourhood was quiet, but well-lit. We parked just down the block between two other cars, and I got out.

"What are we looking for?"

"That vampire who tried to kill me earlier."

Michael looked at me, then looked away quickly. Then he looked at me again, and away again. The conflict on his face was obvious. "I gave my word, Harry. I know she's a vampire, but…" he trailed off.

Damn. I'd almost forgotten about that part. It was easily remedied, though. "Actually, I'm not hoping to run into her again. I just need to know who she's answering to. That person should be here."

He nodded, mollified, and got out. He reached into the back of the truck, and pulled out the gym bag he kept his Sword in, then we both hoofed it over to the library. It was after hours, of course, but there were still a couple lights on inside, and I knew right away we were in the right place.

"How do you know she is here, Harry?"

"The library's been closed for over an hour, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, first of all, I can feel the slight chilling energy she leaves behind when she passes. And second," I said, grabbing the outer door and pulling it open, "the door should be locked."

Michael nodded, serious, and stepped inside. I followed and he pulled Amoracchius out. The vestibule was dim. I opened the next door very quietly, and again Michael went in first.

The place was carpeted, which would mask our footfalls, and dark but for two large overheads. In front of us was the checkout desk; to the left, the exit and its book detectors; to the right, the way in. A little further to the right, there was an open staircase leading up to the second floor. A murmur filtered down. We glanced at each other, then I stepped forward, my left hand and its shield bracelet ahead of me.

We inched ahead quickly as I dared, and I kept my eyes moving. If there was another Jade here, I'd have a better chance of getting a glimpse in my peripheral vision if they were veiled.

At the bottom of the stairs, we could hear a voice, and it was definitely Kitoro's. But she was mumbling something I couldn't understand.

Lash? You hear that?

Yes. But… she is not speaking a language I know. It is nonsense.

Nonsense? Why would she - ?

Then I knew. I use nonsense words myself – when I'm casting a spell.

"Crud," I whispered, and started up the stairs two at a time, Michael at my heels. The stairs hooked a ninety degree turn half way up. As I came to the upper floor, I saw her, standing at the far end of the fiction section, concentrating on a thin line of purple energy slicing right through Stephen King and Dean Koontz.

"Harry, what - ?" Michael started.

Kitoro's head snapped around, and the line began to disappear. "Wizard," she hissed. Then she turned back to the line, and sank her fingers into it, pulling it apart.

I started forward down the stacks, and Michael took the next aisle. "She's escaping into the Nevernever!"

It made a kind of sense. Vampires – all vampires, regardless of Court – have the ability to cross over to the Nevernever and back again, but only in places of significance to them. My brother, Thomas, or any member of his family, could open a portal quite easily if they were in a brothel, for example, because they feed on lust.

For a Jade Court vampire, who feeds on memories, where better than a building where people were always reading, discovering new things and learning? She'd probably have an even easier time in a school.

Well, maybe not a public school.

I couldn't see past her into the portal, but she shouted, "I need help!"

Halfway down the aisle, I saw her duck. From the portal, I saw half a dozen lovely faerie forms emerge and hover off the floor. Six beautiful, naked, waif-thin female faerie forms.

I skidded to a halt. They all had massive, paper-thin wings and pale, ethereal skin. One of them opened her mouth, and I saw rows of pointed teeth. "Ah, crap. I hate sylphs."

Sylphs are air elementals. They almost never touch the ground. They can control the flow of air. If they're really pissed, they can cause storms and lightning. They could turn into air, if they wanted. They tend to rip human beings apart, and have been doing so since about the time of the Industrial Revolution. They're also not known for their loyalty. I once hunted down a rogue sylph as a favour to Lily, the current Summer Lady.

I didn't have time to think about any of those things. Three of them came hurtling down the aisle at me, teeth and hands first. Their wings didn't so much flap as flutter.

I threw up my shield and felt the first one break against it. She immediately began to bleed pinkish blood from her nose and mouth, then hit the floor. Sylphs aren't known for their intelligence or resilience, either.

The second one stopped short. Then she threw out her arms, which did something very distracting to her chest, and I felt the wind begin to blow.

Fortunately, sylphs aren't the only ones who can control the air. Pages and whole books began to fly in my direction, but I planted my feet, and shouted, "Ventas servitas!"

The wind shifted, and blew sideways. Both sylphs were flung against the shelves, and I could see the gust caught Kitoro as well, sort of; she dodged another book shelf that fell over, and jumped back from her portal, which instantly began to shrink.

I jumped the downed sylph, but the wind caster tried to grab me. I swung my staff arm at her, and felt nothing. She turned to air, then made to grab me again. I took another swing, but she vaporized again. As she solidified once more, she smiled a vicious, horrible smile that twisted her face into something not even close to beautiful. She opened her mouth to take a bite out of me… and jerked. I looked down at her lovely chest again, and saw the tip of a sword protruding, covered in pink blood.

Her body dissolved into nothing, not even ectoplasm. Of course, the sylphs hadn't been summoned to Earth; they had come through a portal, using their true bodies. This sylph had just died, permanently.

Michael pulled the Sword back through the book shelf, and more than one book. There were no sylphs in his aisle, so I assume he killed him with gusto. The last sylph cowered away from me. Michael nodded to me, then we both turned back to the portal. Kitoro was pulling it open again.

I ran. I dropped my staff a few feet away, then jumped, pushing off on only one foot and tackling her to the side. Her concentration broken once more, the portal started collapsing again.

As we fell, she twisted her left elbow into my left side, and forced my grip to loosen. It also hurt like hell, but I don't think I broke anything.

It didn't matter. My right hand had her purse, and I pulled it as I hit the floor. We rolled apart. I couldn't stand, but I'm pretty sure she landed on her feet; I looked over, and she was crouched down, ready to pounce. Then, Michael was there, between us.

I pulled out the journal. It was about half an inch thick.

"Knight," she said, in that raspy voice of hers. "You gave your word."

"I gave my word that you would go free, if Harry was left unharmed."

"He has attacked me."

"I know. Which is why, so long as you do not hit him back, I will take no further action against you."

Her focus was entirely on him, which was good.

"Step aside, Knight. I will do him no harm. I wish only to reclaim my property, and be gone."

"It's alright, Michael," I said, standing up. Hold on tight in there, Lash. "I've made a mistake. I very unfortunate one. I offer my apologies," I said, as I handed her purse back to her.

I saw the two surviving sylphs float up to the end of the aisle they'd been cowering in. They looked between Michael and I, and didn't quite leave the aisle.

Kitoro stepped past me, then sunk her hands into the almost closed portal. "Your apologies mean nothing to me, Wizard. You are holding a great secret from me, and I will uncover it."

I said nothing as she pulled the portal open again, then jumped through. The two sylphs flew after her. Something about sylphs was tingling in the back of my mind, but I ignored it for now.

Michael turned to me. "What was that all about?"

I shook my head. "I did make a mistake," I said. "We should have let her go through." I stepped up to the portal, now closing, and saw Kitoro vanishing into a lush, dense forest. "Then," I said, "we should've followed her."

Michael sheathed the Sword and nodded. I grabbed my staff. I couldn't pull Kitoro's portal open any farther, so I simply threw myself through it. I landed in a roll, and got out of the way of Amoracchius, which flew in after me. Michael followed a moment later. I looked over my shoulder. The little purple line stitched itself closed, and vanished. Michael had the Sword over his shoulder in a second, and we were off.

By which, I should say, we started jogging, cautiously. We were in the land of Faerie. Nothing can be taken for granted. The soil was rich and dark. The trees were tall and thick, the leaves bright green and the air, despite the foliage, was fresh.

You can't trust any of it. The lands of Faerie exist and function at the whim of their Queens. The land could shift out from under us, the trees could reach out and strangle us, the leaves could burst into flame, and air could turn to poison, all because the Queen was bored. And that doesn't even cover the other creatures roaming around, most of which were far more dangerous than sylphs.

That being said, I had Michael with me. Bad things have a habit of not happening when he's around.

We moved, and mostly, I let Michael lead. He's a better tracker than I am, and his instincts are just sharper than mine. I was terrified and excited at the same time. Terrified that I was in a wild, possibly hostile place, and might lose my quarry. Excited that she might be about to lead me to the next link in the chain, and I'd discover another member of the Black Council.

After a little while, a few minutes, maybe, or more, the ground began to change. Michael began to slow, and had to concentrate more before deciding which branches in the path to take.

The trees began to change, too. When we started, there was nothing but large, strong oaks. Now there were smaller trees, and many different types: maple, poplar, birch, apple. Undergrowth was popping up everywhere.

We came to a near-solid wall of vegetation, and Michael came to a stop. I stopped beside him, and he looked to me, putting a finger to his lips. He drew out Amoracchius, and held it between us and the wall.

I nodded, steadied my breathing, planted my staff, and closed my eyes, directing all my focus to my sense of hearing.

Kitoro's voice came to me through the bushes. "Well met, Lady of Summer."

Then a voice I'd never thought I'd hear again, a voice I had silenced myself, drifted to me. It was a sweet voice, seemingly young and definitely girlish. It was the voice of Aurora, the previous Summer Lady, who I had killed to prevent a major ecological disaster on Earth, and an upsetting of balance in Faerie. She had basically gone insane, trying to stop what she called 'the hurting.'

"And you, my friend. Is this a gift?"

"It is the thoughts of the wizard Peabody. He suspected your involvement. And… the other. I removed those thoughts."

Aurora's voice became serious, almost grave. "You did very well, then. Our alliance proves its worth."

"I am glad to fulfil my part."

"Does something weigh upon you?"

The was a short pause. "Yes. There is a young wizard. Dresden. He may know I am here."

The smile returned to Aurora's voice. "The wizard Dresden is of no concern. I have a way of controlling him." She's kind of right. At this point in time, Elaine was still her bitch.

"That is well, then."

"How fares your sister, Sumi?"

"She is… well. We have not spoken recently."

Aurora became wistful. "You should. Family is very important, my friend. At times, it is all you can rely on." The was another pause, then her voice perked up again. "Well, I accept this not as a gift, but as a part of our bargain. I am pleased that the pain will soon stop." Then, she said something I had not expected. "And Mother will be pleased that her plan is proceeding apace."

That was what had been bugging me about sylphs: they're not known for their loyalty, except to the Queen of Summer.