"Angels among us"
A/N:I wanted to thank everyone for their reviews! Being new to this, every little bit helps, good, bad or indifferent! Everything may not make sense right now, but it will (hopefully). Sorry this update took longer than usual, I had some things come up that took up my discretionary time.
Chapter 10
As we entered my apartment, Mister rammed the back of my legs and made his way into the living room to take his rightful place on the mantel. With a murmured word and flick of her hand Lash lit the candles in my kitchen and living room.
"Ms. Guard, can I offer you anything to drink, maybe a Coke or water?" I said naming the only two liquid refreshments I had available.
"No thank you." she said diplomatically as she proceeded to the living room and sat in an overstuffed arm chair near the fire place.
Lash was at the fireplace, adding logs and coaxing the fire back to life as I came into the room with two cokes.
"So you say you were attacked twice this week?" Guard started pointedly.
"Yes, once with Murphy and once with Lash." I said objectively as Lash joined me on the couch.
"You were attacked by a denarian, is that correct?" she asked.
"Yes." I said feeling like a suspect in a bad police novel.
"What time did you leave this morning?" she asked.
"Sometime after nine, why?" I asked.
"We were attacked at ten o'clock." Guard said flatly.
"We were both in a squad car with Sargent Rawlings at that time, you can verify that with him if you like." Lash replied calmly.
Guard raised an eyebrow at Lash and looked at me.
"It's true. We were on the interstate at that time." I said patting Lash on the knee as I felt her body stiffen next to me.
"I fail to see how this has anything to do with Mr. Marcone's disappearance Guard said rationally. "You were attacked by a lone denarian and we were attacked by a wizard and a group of hired mercinaries. How do the two relate?" She asked.
"Both Marcone and Murphy were abducted in twenty-four hours, by mercenaries after I get jumped by a denarian. That can't be a coincidence." I said.
"Why not?" Guard asked regarding me with an impenetrable look on her face.
"I just don't buy it." I said knowing there must be a connection.
"Sometimes coincidences happen." Guard said. "The methods of attack are similar in the abductions but not in the attacks on you."
"There has to be a connection." I said stubbornly.
"No there doesn't." Lash said candidly. "She has a point, Harry. She was attacked by a wizard, not a demon. Deidre had no backup and attacked at the first opportunity and failed, twice. This person obviously had a well thought out plan and the resources in place to be successful." Lash said turning from Guard to me. "It indicates two different entities and does not indicate either was operating in conjunction with the other." Lash finished giving me an apologetic look and Guard looked at Lash with surprise and approval.
I wanted to argue, I knew I was right, but I had no logic or reasonable explanation to offer other than I knew it in my gut. I didn't think either woman would accept that as a fact so I tried something else.
"Fine, what did the wizard look like?" I said not ready to give up.
"He stayed in the shadows. I never got a clear look at him. He used fire magic to light the room on fire and smoke quickly obscured everything." Guard said. "He was able to kill with a single spell, he killed at least three of the guards on the way into the building as their bodies showed no sign of physical attack."
"He killed humans, mortals using magic?" I asked becoming angry.
"Yes." She said objectively. "Their eyes and lips were blackened, but not burned. The never made a sound as they died to warn us of the attack." She finished, remembering the bodies that lay in the hallway after the attack.
Now I was involved, he had broken the First Law of magic and he did it in my town. As a Warden, whoever this warlock was I now had a vested interest in stopping him, Marcone be damned. I may be after two different bad guys, but I now had a license to kill the bastard that hurt Murphy.
The markings on the bodies sounded familiar, I'd have to ask Lash and Bob about that later. As the talk continued, Lash and Guard seemed to warm up to one another until they were on reluctantly accepting terms with one another. I sat back and listened to them talk, each making their point and counter point back and forth, like a verbal chess match until they reached an eventual stalemate. We discussed our individual experiences and besides conjecture and hypothesis we came away with noting.
We decided that Guard would use her resources to work on locating Marcone and would call me if she had no success, while Lash and I waited to hear how Murphy was doing and try to figure out who had taken her.
After Guard left we waited for word about Murphy. We walked the dog and stoked the fire and waited anxiously. After what seemed like a very long time, the phone rang.
"Dresden." I said into the receiver after grabbing it on the first ring.
"Harry, its Thomas." My brother's voice came through the static on the phone. "Murphy had a couple of broken ribs and they think one has punctured a lung." He said seriously.
"How is she?" I asked.
"She'll be fine, but she's going to be in the hospital for a little while. They have her in surgery right now but I wanted to let you know what's going on." He said.
"I see." I said as mental images of Murphy lying unconscious on an operating table with wires, tubes and needles poking out of her filled my head.
"Harry, I'll call you back when she comes out of surgery and let you know what the doctor says." He said almost apologetic. "Harry, don't worry. She's going to be fine, she's a tough one."
"I know she is. Thanks for letting me know what's going on." I said.
"No problem, Rawlings is with her Mother and sister. Her Mother wanted me to be sure to tell you thank you for finding her." He said.
"Tell her I'm sorry I couldn't be there." I said.
"She understands Harry. Talk to you soon." He said and then hung up.
I hung up the phone and took a few deep breaths trying to disperse the worry and mental images in my head. I turned to Lash and explained what was going on.
After I was finished, Lash simply looked into my face with concern and worry and hugged me tightly. I'm not sure if she hugged me because I needed one or she did, but we simply held each other for a long moment, barely breathing as the wave of anxiety passed.
"Harry, she's going to be fine, you know that." Lash said finally in a soft voice.
"I know. I just hate waiting and not being able to do anything." I said helplessly.
"You are a powerful wizard Harry. You do a lot of good and more than is expected or could be asked of you, but Harry, you can't fix everything." She said squeezing me, pulling me closer into her body as she kissed my cheek.
"A man's got to know his limitations." I said with a weak smile and bad dirty Harry impersonation.
Lash pushed me away with a surprised smile on her face.
"You quote Clint Eastwood at a time like this?" she said slapping my leg and shaking her head. Then she looked at me for a long while and I finally smiled at her.
"How do you know about Dirty Harry?" I asked.
"I lived in your head, what do you think I did while you slept?" She asked with a grin as she flipped her hair back over her shoulder and gave me a dazzling smile. "You've seen those movies and Star Wars enough times that I could watch the full length marathons from your memories when I didn't need to plan or do research. By the way, you never finished reading Little Women, I have to find that book and see how it ends." She said with a grin.
I looked at her and smiled, feeling the worry and weight lift from me. Murphy was going to be okay and was surrounded by family and friends. I had nothing to do but wait. Thomas and Lash were right, Murphy was tough. Somehow I knew she'd make a speedy recovery. If for no other reason, Murphy hates hospitals and being fussed over. Between her family and friends on the force, she'd sign herself out early just to avoid the embarrassment of being seen in the hospital bed.
"Thank you Lash." I said finally.
"For what?" she asked confused.
"Thank you for making me feeling better, for just being here." I said lamely.
"Harry, that's what friends are for." She said throwing my line back at me with a warm smile. "I'm worried too." She finished.
We sat quietly for a few moments, staring at the flames dancing in the fireplace.
"There's just one question left, Harry." She said with an impish smile growing on her face.
"What's that?" I asked wondering what was coming next.
She waved her hand and the candles all snuffed out at once as she turned to face me. The room was only dimly lit by the little light coming through the high windows and the fire in the hearth.
"Do you feel lucky?" she said moving closer to me, running her hands over my chest and wrapping her arms around my neck. Her eyes narrowed, "Well do ya, punk?" she said as her face neared mine and she finally brushed her warm soft lips against mine. Her lips were soft and wet and teasing as our mouths touched gently at first.
I could feel he body melt into mine, I could feel her curves pressing against my body. Our lips met again, this time firmly, as we kissed deeply and our hands began to explore one another as passion and tension began to build in our bodies. I never answered her question, but at that moment, I felt very lucky. The next few hours passed quickly.
I had just gotten out of the shower and was drying off when Lash knocked on the bathroom door. I wrapped the towel around myself and opened the door. She was wearing a new pair of jeans that fit her well and a pull over knit sweater that fit her very well. Her hair was still wet and hung straight down her back.
"Thomas is on the phone." She said with a smile, her face glowing as she looked at me.
I hurried into the living room, random pieces of our clothes still hanging from various pieces of furniture and picked up the receiver.
"Thomas?" I said anxiously.
"Harry, she's out of surgery and the rib had pushed on her lung but there was no puncture. Her prognosis is for a full recovery, they don't expect any complications, but she will be laid up for a while." He said with a sigh of relief.
"That's really good news!" I said, reaching out to take Lash's hand. "When can we come and see her?" I asked.
"She needs to sleep. You can come see her in the morning. Her Mother is going to stay with her tonight and I think Rawlings will be close by as well." He said.
"Harry, now that we know she's going to be okay I really need to get going. I have an opening in a few hours and I need to get down there to make sure everything is ready. I'm sure Laura is beside herself." He said sounding stressed.
"No problem, thanks for the call." I said.
"Harry, you're going to be there, right?" He asked.
"Ya, we'll swing by I suppose." I said grudgingly. Lash's eyes lit up and she smiled brightly. "Definitely, we'll be there." I finished seeing the excitement on her face.
"See you soon." He said and hung up.
"So we're going to an opening." I said with a halfhearted smile on my face.
"Harry, it'll be fun. I haven't danced in… a long time." She said. "I have to go find something to wear!" she said as she gave me a hug and then disappeared into the bedroom quickly. I could hear her suitcase thump to the ground and the zipper open as she began to cover my floor with various pieces of clothing.
I navigated my cloths strewn room and was able to find my tiny closet and my only suit. After a long while I was able to find my dress shoes and a shoe shine kit. As the shoes were older than Mouse and had been under my bed for a few years before he came to live with me, cleaning and shining them took a little doing.
Finally I was dressed and tying my tie as Lash emerged from my room. She was wearing a black slinky dress that went down to her mid-thigh and had a slit that went dangerously high up one side. Her hair looked as if she had just come from a salon and her fingers were tipped with dark red nail polish that matched her lipstick. She wore black heels that brought her chin to just over my shoulder. She was stunning.
She spun in a quick circle showing me how the dress clung to her curves flawlessly, her hands held out as she turned, giving me a quizzical look.
"How do I look?" she asked sounding a little insecure.
"You look perfect!" I said smiling at her in spite of myself.
As I stood staring at her, she walked over and took the ends of the tie from my hands and tied it in a perfect double Windsor knot and cinched it up to my neck. She ran her hands over my suit, trying to smooth out some old long set in wrinkles.
"Harry, do you have another suit?" she asked cautiously.
"No, just the one." I said wondering why she would ask. I had bought the suit some years back and it was a little faded and maybe a little wrinkled but considering it had only been on a few occasions, it should be in good condition.
"Harry, do you mind if I fix it a little?" she asked.
"Fix it?" I asked incuriously as I pulled the cuffs down to my wrists.
"Yes, get the wrinkles out and so on." She replied with a mischievous smile. It was the "and such" that worried me.
"Fine." I said rolling my eyes, then closing them.
She smoothed the shoulders again and murmured a few words under her breath as I felt a warm tingle all along the fabric of the suit. She ran her hands down my arms and then down my chest and around my waist. She then ran her hands down my legs, tugging at the cuffs. Then the tingling stopped and she stood up with a satisfied smile on her face.
I opened my eyes and looked down at myself. The suit actually fit a lot better. It was no longer black but was now a dark charcoal gray. The jacket pulled in at the waist giving it some actual contour and I had more room in the shoulders. It was smooth and looked like it had just been pressed. The lapels were a little narrower now and seemed to almost shine. It looked sharp.
"Wow." I said. "Is this a glamor? Do I have to leave the ball by midnight?" I asked teasing, knowing that most illusions would last until dawn.
"No, it's real and permanent." She said. "Unless you don't like it… I could change it back to black or maybe Navy blue if you would prefer." She said a little nervous.
"No, this is great." I said admiring my new self, much to her relief. "I was just checking. Where did you learn how to do that?" I asked.
"You pick things up over a few thousand years." She said with a smile.