Murphy and Mouse moved to flank me. "Queen, Lady," I said, nodding. They wore the same clothing I'd seen on them the last time we'd spoken, and the athame was at Mab's good hip.

"You say you wish to fulfil mother's bargain," Maeve said, glancing over us, "and so quickly, but I see only your pet and your friend. Surely neither of them is Daddy?" She said it with just the wrong amount of suggestiveness, and just a little too much of a look at Murphy.

I shook my left sleeve, working my shield bracelet out. If there was one type of magic I'd gotten very good at besides locating spells, it was shields. Molly was still quite hopeless when it came to those. I quietly hoped I'd have a chance to help her improve.

"No. These are not the Fathers. They are nearby."

Mab made a very unhappy face. "You waste my time, wizard?"

I sensed Murph tense up beside me. Mouse lowered his head, but didn't make a sound. "No. I only seek assurance of their safety."

"I gave you that already."

"You gave me your promise, true. Then you come with another." I looked pointedly at Maeve.

The Lady dropped Grimalkin and pouted. "You don't trust me, Harry?"

"Don't take it personally. I don't trust any Sidhe as far as I can throw them."

"Wise," Mab's voice told me. And it was Mab's voice. Cracked, unrefined, and closer to a whisper, but it came from her throat.

"Mother, you'll strain yourself," Maeve said, suddenly quite serious.

"I am the judge of my own strength," she whispered back, voice harsh. "Very well, wizard. You wish an assurance? I will not harm the Fathers, nor allow them to come to harm. That is, in fact, why I had them sought." She took a deep breath, shuddered, then leaned against Maeve.

"Mother, stop, please." Maeve sounded very young for a moment. Like any regular child, who was afraid for her parent.

Mab steadied herself, then straightened her back. Grimalkin again spoke for her: "Few see me at a moment of weakness and live to speak of it. I will take your promise of silence as payment for my promise of safety."

I was confused, but I nodded at once. "I swear it on my power. None will know this moment."

"Then bring them forth."

I turned to the cottage, where the small fire continued to burn, casting the only light on the hillside save for a quarter moon. "Molly! Bring them out!" I turned back and lowered my voice. "Just be a second."

Murph didn't turn to me, and didn't bother whispering. "Are you sure about this, Harry?"

"Sure as I can be."

A few seconds later, I saw Mab and Maeve's eyes looking around me. I didn't look back, and neither did Murph. We both watched their eyes track around beside Mouse. I glanced over. Molly stood in front of the Father, Bob's skull in her hand.

"Bob," I said, "you can talk."

The skull shook a little when the orange tea-lights lit up. "My Queen!" he said, and just a little nervously. I watched Maeve. One side of her mouth curled up. Her eyes were soft, not calculating. She almost looked innocent. Hell's bells, she was genuinely happy to see her Father.

Mab let out a sigh that sounded almost… relieved? She slowly limped forward, her hands out. Molly stood her ground, hand out in front of her, and to Bob's credit, he didn't shake. His eye lights receded, though, down to tiny points. Murphy had one hand on a gun in a shoulder rig, her eyes on Mab.

Mab took the skull up in both her hands. She smiled. "Beloved," she whispered herself.

The eye lights flared up. "My Queen! Please, I beg your forgiveness! I never wanted to - " But Mab hushed him. And she was smiling. What the hell?

Man, I thought my family was screwed up.

"There is nothing to forgive, Bob, was it?" Murphy and I traded looks. This was not how we'd figured things would go. "Your flight was not your choice. You merely maintained the balance, as we ever have. I have missed you."

"And I, you, my Queen." Very slowly, Mab ran one finger down the bridge of the nose on the skull. Bob shivered. I hoped he shivered with cold. Knew he didn't.

Gross.

Maeve cleared her throat. She glanced at me, and that look was one I'd treasure for the rest of my life; she was uncomfortable. "Mother?"

Mab cradled Bob to her, then looked at the Summer Father. "Edimon," Grimalkin's voice said.

He'd been perfectly quiet up to that moment, not even betraying discomfort at Mab and Bob's reunion. Now, he bowed his head. "Queen of Winter. How may an old Fool serve you?"

"By returning with me to Court."

"The Winter Court?"

"Yes."

"May I ask why?"

"For your own protection."

"Forgive me, but from what must I be protected?"

Mab took a deep breath. "From the Summer Queen herself. My sister Queen wishes you dead."

"Whoa, wait a second," I said. "How is that balanced? Titania wants to kill him, but you're okay with Bob? And why now, after 600 years?"

Mab turned and looked at me, regally. "The time has come to fulfil our bargain. All I know of the Black Council. To begin, however, I answer your newest questions. My sister Queen wishes to sacrifice the Father of her daughter, in order to resurrect her."

"What? That's impossible," I said. "I mean, no offence, but Fae have no souls. Once you're dead, isn't that it?"

"Normally, Boss," Bob said from Mab's hands, his voice dreamy. "But the Queens are different. They're special."

Mab smiled down at him. "Correct. It is the nature of the Mantles themselves to hold a piece of their bearers."

"Wait," I said, as it tumbled together in my head. I think Lash might have helped straighten it out, but I wasn't paying attention. "You're saying there's a part of Aurora inside Lily, right now?"

"An echo of her essence, yes. Combined with the blood of her Father, the previous Summer Lady would live again."

Anger welled up. "Titania would have to kill Forthill and Lily to do that."

"Yes."

"That's insane."

"Titania is not mad. But she has not been herself for two millennia."

"That's about right," the Fool said.

"What's right?"

"That's when her bouts began."

"Her – you mean when she started having her 'fits of madness'? The ones you had to guide her through?"

"Yes."

"'Twas not madness," Mab interrupted, "though I thought so myself, for a time. She was too deliberate in her actions." She turned to Maeve, and took her hand. "Taking a mate, birthing a daughter, forcing me to do the same." She looked into Maeve's face. "I do not regret it for a moment, of course. But she has been trying to disrupt the balance between us for centuries. The balance has only been maintained because I counter her. But I cannot keep up forever. I cannot foresee everything she will do."

"Something's happened. Something you can't counter. What is it?"

Mab hesitated. Then she drew herself up. "One of my courtiers was… changed."

"Changed? Changed how?"

"In her mind. Perhaps possessed, perhaps only convinced, but her mind was broken. I was forced to imprison her."

"Leah? You're taking about my godmother? Titania broke my godmother's mind? That's why you froze her in ice?"

"Yes." Her finger dropped to the hilt on her belt. "This was corrupted. A powerful enchantment, but only strong enough to affect one. I removed it, but I was too late to prevent its effects. That is part of why I took it from her."

"Part, but not all."

"I must take the long-term view, wizard. Even without the damage it wrought to the Leanansidhe's mind, her possession of such a powerful weapon was a direct challenge to me. Balance must be maintained, both within and without."

I shook my head. Lash, I hope you're catching all this.

Then she was standing beside me, staring at Mab. Of course. Keep asking your questions Harry. You have many.

"Alright. What happened 2000 years ago?"

Again, Mab hesitated. "The demons," she said.

"Which demons?"

The Father stepped in. "There were many on Earth at that time. It's one of the reasons Christ was sent; to cast them out. Little of that made it into the Bible, of course. The Church didn't want to frighten everybody."

"Yes. But I believe the tale is still told of the strongest one?"

The Father's features creased, then his eyes widened with understanding. "Of course."

I raised my hand. "Sorry, I didn't go to Catholic school."

"Of course, Harry. Though I think you've heard the tale. Jesus was in a small town near the sea, when he was approached by a man behaving erratically; He was possessed by a demon. Jesus cast the demon out, but before doing so, he demanded the demon's name. Or perhaps its Name, to be more accurate. The response is quite famous."

From behind me, Murphy spoke up, though Lash whispered it to me at the same moment: "Our name is Legion," she said, "for we are many."

"Just so."

I shook my head again. "You're saying Titania was possessed by Legion?"

Mab inclined her head. "Yes, in a way. The Legion was the name they took themselves, but there were only five of them, each with their own name."

"Okay, I'll bite. What were their names?"

She smiled, and there was nothing nice about it. "He Who Walks Below, He Who Walks Above, He Who Walks Before, He Who Walks Within, and He Who Walks Behind."

I froze. I couldn't help it. My voice was suddenly quite thready. "There are five of them?"

She nodded. "Five aspects of one being."

Murphy touched my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Molly stepped forward. "Harry, didn't you fight one of them? One of the Walkers?"

I swallowed. It took some effort, since my throat was dry. I'd always thought there were two, or maybe three Walkers. "Yeah. When I was sixteen."

Murphy raised her eyebrows. "You defeated something that knocked around the Summer Queen? When you were a teenager?"

"I… I think so. I don't actually remember the fight. Just being afraid, then getting angry. Justin DuMorne, my first teacher, he managed to summon He Who Walks Behind, and set him after me."

"This was after he tried to enthral you, right?" Molly asked. "You and Elaine?"

"Yeah. I escaped, barely. After the bit with the Walker, I went back to Justin's place, to rescue Elaine. The house burned down."

"The Christ did indeed banish the Walkers to the outer realms," Mab resumed, "but the damage had been done. The Legion was residing in a mortal then because my sister Queen was able to cast most of them out. But one of them was left behind."

"Let me guess," I said, strength returning. "He Who Walks Within?"

"Yes. Though the weakest of the Legion, he is the most insidious. The connection between the five has never been undone, or disrupted. When the Christ cast them out, they were banished to the Outside, as one."

"Exorcising Legion freed Titania?"

"Yes, but as I say, the damage was done, to her mind. When the fallen Warden returned them, I feared what would happen… but you cast them back out." She raised an eyebrow. "It did not go unnoticed."

"Um, so, would the return of the Walkers be a bad thing for her, then?"

"She was tainted by them already. Their return would be disastrous, and herald the end of Titania's sanity."

"Huh. I was afraid you'd say that."

Mab and Maeve's eye both widened. Grimalkin jumped out in front of me. Mouse let out a short, low growl, which the interpreter ignored. "What has happened?"

"The White King," I said.

"Oh, God," Murphy cursed.

"The vampire?" the Father asked. "The head of the White Court?"

I nodded. "I knew the Black Council had vampires in its corner… damn it. It was about five years ago. The White King summoned He Who Walks Behind to power an entropy curse. But the ritual was… uh, disrupted, when the sacrifice escaped." In truth, Lord Raith had been trying to sacrifice my brother, and his son, Thomas. Murphy had been there, and almost been broken by Raith before Thomas' sister Lara had stepped up and broken him.

"Then the White King was a fool," Maeve said.

"I think he meant for the Walker to escape, just not quite the way it happened."

"It is as you say," Mab said, "I am sure. You are correct, wizard, the Kings of the three full vampire courts are members of the Circle, as is the last of the Black Court."

"The Circle," I mumbled. "Right. I heard Cowl say that, once."

"Cowl?"

"The necromancer."

"Ah, yes. He who hides behind death. He and his apprentice are of the Circle."

"Who else? Who else is involved?"

"The attackers, the Old Ones who breached Arctis Tor."

"The Denarians. How many of them were there? Do you know which ones were there?"

"There were four," she said. "I know not their names, but I saw their sigils." She put a hand out and traced four seemingly random designs in the air, leaving cold, burning light in the wake of her finger, which faded slowly.

Lash?

Imariel, who is hosted by Tessa, Finiel, by Deirdre, Thorned Namshiel, and Prusiel.

Thanks.

I was a little afraid to ask my next question. "What about humans?" I asked. "Are any members of the White Council part of the Circle?"

I was hoping she'd say no. Really, really hoping. Instead, she chilled my blood, but not with magic: "At least three, though I know not their faces."

Before I could ask another question, like whether that included Peabody or not, Demonreach told me something. I turned my head at the same moment Mouse, Maeve and Mab turned to look the same way.

"The power of Summer draws near," Maeve said.

I did a quick mental check. "There are four – no, eight, no, wait… 15. There are fifteen four-legged creatures emerging onto the island from the Nevernever." I turned to the direction they were coming from – the same path we'd come up earlier tonight. "Oh, boy." Lash vanished.

My hand tightened on my staff and Murphy finally drew a gun, complete with flashlight attachment on the barrel. Then she drew another one. "Dual-wielding, huh?" I whispered. "You have got to be the most awesome chick I've ever known."

"Shut-up, Harry," she said with a smile.

"They are centaurs," Mab whispered. "They have come for Edimon." And boy were they coming. They'd arrived near the shore, but I could feel they were already halfway up the hill.

"What? Why would they come now?"

"Something has changed."

"I know," the Father said from behind us. "The concealment magic the Church laid on me was contingent upon my never wilfully revealing myself. Now that I have, it's gone."

"Ah, crap." I said, guilt crashing down on me. "This is my fault."

"No, it's mine. I think it best I go with the Winter Queen, don't you?"

I wanted to say no, I really did. But the centaurs' hoofs were now almost to the top of the hill. "Yeah. Go, Father."

Mouse let out a thunderous growl. "I know, buddy. Molly, ready on Plan B. Murph, get ready on Plan C."

"Are you sure?" she asked, but she was already putting one handgun away reaching under her other shoulder.

"Sure as I can be." I turned back to the Sidhe. Edimon was standing next to Maeve. "I know the Queens are unable to harm members of the other Court unless attacked, so my guess is you're bugging out."

"Good luck, Harry," the Father said. Then Maeve, smiling, winked at me and touched his shoulder. They faded into shadow and were gone.

"Fare thee well, wizard," Mab said.

"Yeah, seeya around, Boss!"

"Wait, Bob - ?"

Then Mab, too, was gone. And she'd taken Bob.

There was no time to think about that, though. The centaurs had arrived. They were freaking huge. Ever seen a full-size draught horse? I mean a big ol' Belgian or Shire horse? Good. Now increase that about 15 percent and swap the neck and head for an ugly man's torso and face, give it a spear or a bow the size of my body, and you know what we were about to go up against.

"Kill the mortals!" the first one shouted, and the last little vestige of hope I'd had that we might talk our way out of this vanished.

"Murph, now!" She tossed a small wooden box straight at the on-coming stampede, and threw herself backwards at the same time. I caught her, and Molly triggered the shield crystal she was holding.

I felt the shield spring up, a perfect sphere of energy, solid as steel. Plan B was a go.

A hundred things could've gone wrong with Plan C. The magical construct inside the box might have been tuned incorrectly, the wood itself might have been cut the wrong way. I'd been in a rush when making it, just trying to get it finished, to prove to myself it could be done. Hell, it might have gone stale; I hadn't touched it since before my little foray to the past.

In short, nothing might have happened.

The box exploded.

It was great.

Nine of the centaurs fell, paralysed. The rest scattered.

"Son of a bitch, it worked!" I shouted.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Molly said from behind me. The crystal in her hand shook, flickered, and cracked. The shield instantly fell, and she dropped the crystal.

"What was that thing?" Murphy asked, guns already out and tracking a still-moving target.

I brought my staff up and willed a little energy into my bracelet, priming it. "Anti-magical hand grenade," I said. "Got the idea from the landmine in Colorado. Was hoping the shield would last a little longer, though. Molly, vanish!"

She did, and Demonreach felt her throw herself to the ground, too. Smart kid. A spear roughly the size as her body flew through the space she'd been occupying. I twisted, and hoped Demonreach could keep me in tune with the movements of my enemies.

Lifting my staff and drawing in my will, I shouted, "Forzare!" just ahead of where the centaur was. The lance of force knocked him off his stride, but the blast wasn't as strong as it was supposed to be. I looked over at the box. Something inside it was still glowing. Great.

"We have to go!" I shouted. I turned just in time to be blinded by muzzle flashes. Murph had taken her time lining up her shots, but she felled two centaurs at once. The dropped to the ground in agony, and the entry wound immediately began to sizzle. Murph liked to use bullets with low velocity and soft tips when fighting non-human opponents. The iron in her bullets would likely burn right through the centaurs and out to the ground. If they survived, they'd take years to recover.

"What?"

"The anti-magic bomb is still working. I'm starting to feel it!" And I was getting dizzy. Very bad sign. "Molly!"

She flickered back into sight, a little wobbly on her feet. Murphy got under my left arm and mouse helped Molly stand. If it came down to it, she probably could ride him. Murph helped me pick my way among the fallen centaurs, but there were still 4 of them out there, dodging into shadows and among trees. Like Molly and I, their movements were hampered and uncertain.

Mentally, I was fine, but I couldn't get any focus on my magic. The landmine we'd come across had acted like a paralytic and running water at once: I hadn't been able to move, and drawing in magic, focussing it into a spell, had been almost impossible. The grenade had much the same effect, but I'd thought it would be instant, not continuous.

There I go, exceeding my own expectations again.

I felt two centaurs on either side of us as we started down the hillside. They were moving cautiously. Murph had one gun out, tracking back and forth. "Harry, where are they?"

"Mmm," I said. My words wouldn't come together. Once we got to the dock, the effects would ground out, and Molly and I would be fine. Getting there would be an adventure, though.

"Shit," she said. Murph has a natural ability to analyze a situation and sum it up in one word. Must be that cop training.

I felt two centaurs coming closer. The pressure they put on their feet told me they were likely still armed, holding weapons off to the sides of their bodies; spears, then.

I couldn't get my concentration together to form a spell, or even to charge my shield bracelet. I was in a total brain fog.

Then I heard Lash talking through the haze, her voice struggling, but very fast. Or was everything else just really slow now? Harry, I can only help a little; your inability to concentrate is mine, too.

Right, right. We share the neurons.

You cannot draw in magic for defence.

I guess not. Can't even form the words.

You can cast without words.

Not with any degree of, um, control.

Can you draw on Soulfire?

The trip through time kind of burned it out. When I asked Bob, he said to wait… um, a week or two? Or something?

Then draw on the Hellfire.

That seemed like a good idea. Everything went back to normal speed. I pulled the mental trigger that would allow me to channel the Hellfire Lash had… and the pain was remarkable.

I closed my eyes, groaning, and nearly fell over. If Murphy hadn't been holding me up already, I would have pitched right down the hillside. She whispered my name.

Demonreach, it seemed, did not much care for Hellfire. I got the impression of the island's genius, which I had once seen as an enormous, dark, hulking, limping creature with a hidden face and glowing eyes, frowning at me. No, I don't know how it was frowning when I couldn't see its mouth, but it's like being in a dream where you know what city you're in without seeing a sign.

So, I couldn't draw in normal magic; couldn't tap the Soulfire without killing myself; couldn't touch the Hellfire without pissing off my most powerful ally; the centaurs were about to strike; and I couldn't warn Murphy because my jaw didn't want to work. It was, as they say, quite the pickle. And my brain fog seemed to be getting thicker.

There is one other source of power! Lash shouted at me.

From above, I sensed movement, or Demonreach did. It wasn't birds. Oh, I hate sylphs! Wait, what power?

The island itself – the leyline, Harry.

The Gatekeeper warned me never to tap it, I said. Then I giggled. Hee-hee. Tap it.

Lash was a fair bit more serious than I was. You will all die if you do not!

Hearing that, I glanced down at Murphy. She was still holding me up, and still holding out a handgun. She was trying to push me back. She was looking up, so she must have heard the sylphs coming… she's always trying to help. Help me, help others. Funny, I never really noticed before, but she rarely tries to help herself. Always taking responsibility, never praise.

I know how that feels. She's always looking after everyone, and after everything that's happened to her in the last few days… No. Son of a bitch. She wants to die the way she lived. Well, no. She is not dying for me. Not a chance in hell.

I felt the centaurs shift their weight; they were throwing their weapons. I felt the air compress and shift around the trees and against the ground; the sylphs were diving. I felt Mouse trying to push Molly back, and I felt Karrin stepping in front of me.

I felt my staff, still loosely held in my right hand. There was a moment of clarity. I tightened my fist and brought the staff up, sending images of what I needed to Demonreach. I pictured a glowing ribbon of energy, whipping around the island, and flowing into me. Then, with a shout, I closed my eyes and drove my staff down.

The runes along my staff flared up in a golden-green light. I had no idea it would be so easy.

The brain fog cleared instantly, just burned off, and nothing gradual about it. My thoughts, my sensations, were crystal clear. I could see in perfect darkness, and I knew everything, all at once, no need to ask. I felt the air, the ground, the water, the stones and the plants. I saw through the eyes of every animal, and felt the movement of every leaf, every blade of grass

And the strength. I was the island. I was ancient and eternal, and nothing was going to outlast me… nothing was going to end me. Leaving my staff planted in the ground, I pulled Murph back and stepped forward with one hand. With the other, I swatted the flies.

The wind answered my call, and as the spears and sylphs streaked towards us, it caught them and cast them down. The whooshing sound was musical to me, like a familiar song I hadn't heard in years. I threw a backhand gesture at one of the centaurs, and watched as the wind and ground cooperated to toss it up and back, back, into a tree.

So effortless. So simple.

I called the wind again, and the sylphs, now trying to escape, were cast into the air. Some of them vaporized and drifted away, but a few were thrown in to the lake.

A centaur to my left tried to charge. With a glance, a sent a tree falling on top of him, breaking his back.

The two remaining centaurs turned and ran. I opened a chasm beneath their feet with a thought. I thought to bring the land down on them, to crush them there.

"Harry!"

My focus snapped back to my own. "Murph? What the - ?" I stumbled, and she caught me. I was drained, but worse, I was so… small. I looked down at my hands. They were so soft, so useless.

"Hey!" Murphy was in my face, holding it between her hands. "Harry, what the hell happened?"

"I think," I said, the brain fog growing back, "I just found out what a heroin addict feels like. We need to get out of here. Now."

She nodded, not understanding, but trusting me. Between her and Mouse, they got Molly and me back to the boat. It was slow going, but no one and nothing else bothered us. I faded out about the time she dropped me in the bunk on the boat.

*****

I woke up and we were at the dock, drifting gently. The sun was up, but just barely. Molly was asleep across the cabin in the other bunk. Mouse lay at the door, one eyes open. I smiled at him. He snuffed and closed his eye. I turned my head the other way and found Murph lying there, her head on my shoulder. She started.

"Morning," I whispered.

"Don't get any ideas," she said, eyes still closed. "I just couldn't sleep on the floor."

"No ma'am, no ideas here. Above my pay grade."

"Good."

We were quiet a moment. I figured the time had come for me to ask her something. "Listen, Karrin. You're really good at watching my back."

Now her eyes opened, and she was serious in a second. "What are saying, Dresden?"

"My job's not getting any easier. How… uh, this is weird. How would you like to work with me? You know, as a partner."

She gave me a sad smile. Then she sat up, and dug around in a pocket. She pulled out something I couldn't see. "Story of our lives, isn't it, Harry?"

"What?"

She turned and handed me a business card. It said 'Vincent Graver, P.I.' and listed a couple phone numbers and an address. I had the same card in one of my pockets. I flipped it over, and in pen, Vince had written 'Monday, 8 a.m.'

"I already have a job."

I crumpled the card in my hand, but I couldn't help but smile a little. I was happy for her. "The son of a bitch takes everything from me," I half-growled.

She glanced at my apprentice. "You do keep letting him have things."

I snorted. "I have a phone call to make."

"I'll keep an eye on Molly."

I worked my way quietly over to the door, Mouse getting up and waiting for me. "Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"What happened out there? They had us dead to rights, and you woke up. What did you do?"

I looked out over the water, then back at Murph. "Something I shouldn't have."