Building Faith

By Ellf

Fools Rush In 32

Disclaimer: Jim Butcher owns the Dresden Files, any other works of fiction mentioned are not owned by me.

An ill wind blew as we drove to the meeting point, as if the weather itself could sense Guase's intent. A storm was coming, an Alberta clipper, pushing its way toward us, ready to strike. I wasn't sure who the weather would benefit most, but, depending on when it hit, I could use it, but so could she. I didn't know how many zombies she had, but it didn't matter. We'd face them down. We'd make the zombies re-dead. It was a pity what had happened them, sure, but now they were the enemy. The best thing we could do to honor their deaths was to ensure that their corpses were no longer being desecrated by the bitch.

At least it wouldn't be Drew's body, at least if Kumori was telling the truth. I might have had to face down Drew's ghost, but at least I wouldn't have to face down his zombie as well. Who knew what Guase had done to compel the ghost, and who knew how many other ghosts she had managed to compel? Necromancy… It was dirty, tainted magic. Wrong. There was a big reason it was against the Laws of Magic to use, and any sort… I couldn't imagine the type of person who would use such a thing, but from what I remembered, Grevane, a Kemmlerite, liked to spam zombies. Perhaps Guase would be the same with ghosts, even if she had used zombies as well.

There was a reason I'd gone back down into the lab and had to have that conversation while Molly and Murphy were making their respective phone calls: Molly to the Alphas, and Murphy to Kincaid. I'd broken away because I realized that Guase might be using more ghosts than just Drew, and we needed any advantage we could against them. Harry'd mentioned something about a powder or dust that he'd made to deal with ghosts. He'd used it when he worked with Daddy five years ago, and from what I remembered, he still had some left down there.

So I'd descended the ladder into the lab, knowing that Harry needed to install a stepladder at some point if he was going to have Mouse go down there, and I started scouring the shelves. Harry's Ghost Dust was something that would be immensely helpful. I just couldn't for the life of me remember where he'd put it. I started opening containers and peering inside. Why had Harry chosen to store pencil shavings? Oh, right, potions. That explained the gold filings, bits of what looked like pearls, and the tiny slivers of graphite, but where was the Ghost Dust?

"What are you looking for, Faith?" Bob asked from his perch upon the nearby shelf.

"Ghost Dust. Harry said he'd made some, and he still had some left." I shoved some containers aside. They didn't have what I needed in them, and they smelled funny.

"Why do you need it?" Bob asked. "What sort of ghost activity is going on?"

"I just need it," I said. This shelf was a bust, so I moved to the next. It had to be here somewhere. "And, God, I hope there's enough…"

"Faith, I know where it is," Bob turned his orange lights on me, piercing me with his gaze. "Tell me what's going on, and I'll tell you."

I looked at the skull. On the one hand, I needed to know where it was, and I was getting nowhere on my own. On the other, something in me desperate thought that Bob learning about Guase was a bad idea. I knew it had something to do with my past life memories, but I couldn't remember the reason at all.

"Bob," I said, my gaze not leaving his glowing eye sockets. "What do you know about Kemmler?"

"Faith, why do you want to know about Kemmler?" Bob asked, his voice sounding nervous. "You shouldn't want to know about a man like him. He was a terrible person, evil and sick."

"Wait, evil?" I mean, I knew he was evil. Just like his followers. It clicked for me. "World War One…"

"His doing. And then mass graves in World War Two. It took the entire White Council to put him down in 1961."

"Fuck," I simply said, as I let it hit me. As much as Guase needed to be stopped, this added a whole new layer if the ritual could do what I thought it could.

"Why are you asking about Kemmler, Faith?" Bob asked.

"Because one of his fucking apprentices killed Drew," I snarled out. "And then she used his ghost to steal the book from me, and who knows what else she has at her fingertips with ghosts. That is why I need the Ghost Dust."

"Wait, Andrew Warren's ghost stole the book from you for her?" Bob let out a whistle. Strange to see a skull doing it. "It's the wrong time of year for the barriers to be thin enough for that quick a formation. Which means she did something to stir up the turbulence…"

"There had been eight zombies in the warehouse," I said. "And three more ghoul zombies that chased us… that got taken down by the Alphas, Drew and I."

"That might be enough over a localized area… I'd need to think on that. Still, that kind of control… Necromancers are bad juju, Faith. You should stay out of it."

"She killed Drew," I said simply. "Where's the Ghost Dust?"

"Lead box on the third shelf to the right," Bob said, and I went for it. Inside was a bag full of some sort of metallic dust.

"Wait, what's in this stuff?" I asked.

"A mix of things, really, depleted uranium, iron filings, and a few other ingredients," Bob said cheerfully. "Don't worry too much about it. Worry more about what you're going to be facing."

I nodded, thanking the spirit as I started back up the ladder, and as he brushed it off, I swear I saw a glimmer of blue in the eye sockets, but they faded back to his orange soon enough. Something within me idly worried about that, but it was quashed by my desire to deal with Guase. I continued up the ladder, and by the time I made it back up into the apartment proper, it was time to go. Molly'd contacted the Alphas, and Murphy hadn't quite managed to get into contact with Kincaid.

I stared out the window as we drove across the city. Harry lived about a twenty-minute drive away from Merrionette, and I needed to figure out just what I was going to say to the people assembled to try and get them to work together. The Alphas would follow Billy's lead, but I wasn't so certain that he'd follow mine. Or Molly's, for that matter. Sure, we knew them, and sure they'd volunteered for this, but there was a level of trust that Harry brought out in people that I wasn't sure I could. Still. Guase killed Drew, and I needed to make sure that the bitch suffered for it.

—me out, Fai. Molly squeezed my shoulder, and I turned toward her, looking away from the oncoming clouds and the energy that hung in the air. You aren't alone in this. Remember that, Fai. Don't shut me out.

I closed my eyes and sighed before opening them again. Murphy glanced at us in the mirrors and shook her head, but she didn't say anything, focusing on her driving.

Guase needs to be stopped, Molly sent. She needs to be stopped before she kills anyone else and before she manages to pull off whatever she's trying to.

I nodded, And she killed Drew.

Molly nodded. Don't let her kill you too, Fai. Don't let her pull you away from me.

She won't. I grabbed my sister's hand and squeezed it. She needs to pay though.

She will, but I need you to not let it drive you away. Molly leaned her head against the seat I was in.

"Hey, you should sit back," Murphy said. I squeezed my sister's hand as she did so, but my gloved hand wasn't as good as skin contact. "We're almost there… and it looks like Borden and the others are here already… and there's Marcone."

The place I'd set for the meetup was a half mile from what I'd determined to be the likely location of Guase's ritual in Merrionette Park. Molly and I had been out here before, with Drew, and I remembered there was a Dunkin' Donuts within that area. While I'm not exactly the world's biggest coffee fan—I actually rather hate the stuff—I am a fan of Dunkin' Donuts. So I chose the parking lot to the restaurant as our meetup area. We could walk from there to where we'd need to be, it was a safe area to keep the cars, and afterward, if we so chose, we could get doughnuts. Assuming we all survived and assuming we managed to win, of course. I'd happily celebrate my reve—my stopping of the bitch who killed Drew over a doughnut.

I looked over the parking lot. Billy and Georgia's SUV sat in one spot, the motor running, and I could see Andi and Kirby sitting in back. All four of them wore sweats with a form of slippers that would easily come off for when they needed to change. Unfortunately, real life wasn't like fiction, and the Alphas couldn't just morph skintight clothing with their transformation. Magic didn't work that way for some reason, sadly. That was one of the reasons I was reluctant to ask Harry about shapeshifting. Another was his answer when Molly asked.

On the other side of the lot was Marcone's vehicle… well, his vehicles. Marcone had brought a dark panel van along with two sedans. Marcone himself stood outside, leaning on the van, flanked on either side by Hendricks and Gard. All three were simultaneously dressed for the weather and, judging from the bulges I saw under their coats, wearing some sort of tactical gear. Standing not too far from the van itself was what I assumed were the rest of Marcone's forces, or at least it could reasonably be assumed so from the bulges under their clothing. Three of the men were larger, about Thomas's height but built more like body-builders than Thomas's Greek god build. The remaining five men were a bit of a step up from what I'd consider a standard mob thug. They were better cut than Hendricks, and they seemed more comfortable in the situation than the redheaded man did at a glance. Still, all of them were necessary.

Murphy hissed as she slowly pulled into a parking space. "Just what did you tell Marcone, Faith?"

"That in all likelihood, we had no help coming other than what he could provide," I said as I assessed our forces. "And I'm not sure it's enough."

"It'll have to be," Molly said and I nodded. The three larger men were from MonOc Securities, this much I knew from their obviously Norse features. Gard must have gotten through to her boss and impressed upon him the seriousness of the situation. The other five must have been people Marcone trusted in this situation. It was better than letting Murphy call in SI to deal with something that was outside their jurisdiction. "Ready, sis?"

I pulled tight on my gloves and pat my jacket, verifying my wand was still there. I checked the bag of Ghost Dust, verifying its position as well. I watched as Molly did her own check, simultaneous with my own, verifying the location of her own implements. She held both her wands up her sleeves, and unfortunately that was it for the both of us. Maybe at some point, we would carve staffs, but that was neither here nor there.

"Let's go," I said, and simultaneously, Molly and I opened the doors of Murphy's Saturn. Lieutenant Murphy followed us out not long after, and I heard her muttering something about professionalism and jurisdiction before putting on a serious mask. Both Molly and I could feel the detective lieutenant's apprehension, but she projected confidence in her seriousness. She was easily ready to take on whatever was necessary, even if we wished otherwise. The Alphas turned off their car and came out to meet us as we walked to the center. Marcone, for his part, nodded to the men I'd correctly guessed were his as he approached as well.

"Lieutenant Murphy, Miss Carpenter and Miss Carpenter, as promised, we have come to help," Marcone said, and then he glanced to Billy. "I see you have managed to secure the help of Mr. Borden and his pack."

I felt Billy tense up, but he was focusing on Molly, Murphy and I. Given what we were all here for, I doubted that he'd do anything rash against Marcone. He wasn't Harry, after all.

Billy ended up nodding. "Yes, we're here to help, Mr. Marcone." Oh good, he managed to use an honorific rather than just calling the man by his last name as a moniker.

"Good. Miss Gard, please factor them into the battle plans," Marcone nodded to his bodyguard.

Gard nodded.

"We need to stop her from completing the ritual, preferably even preventing her from starting it," I said. "Molly and I can probably get close if the opposition is distracted."

"As of the last scout report, she hasn't shown up yet at the site you mentioned," Gard said. "Still, there have been some homeless shambling around, and they've been starting to congregate toward Beverly Cemetery."

"So she's been killing homeless," Murphy said. "I wondered where she was getting her zombies."

Marcone nodded. "It would seem that way, Lieutenant."

I nodded, stepping away to talk with Gard for a moment, to clarify some things while Murphy spoke with Billy, organizing some planning with him while keeping an eye on me. Molly stood by me to make sure that Gard didn't try anything, but I doubted the Valkyrie would impugn her honor. Gard and I, with Molly's input, managed to try and organize things the best possible way. She'd command how Marcone's forces were deployed, but she'd make sure that they followed the ultimate objective.

Then a chill wind forced our conversation to a close. Molly and I stiffened as we felt the energy carried on the wind. Necromancy has a distinct feel, corrupt, cold, and wrong.

"Sunset was less than half an hour ago," Molly said. "But—"

"—she's begun the ritual," I finished, looking to my sister. We turned to the group. "It's time to go!"

Mobsters, wolves, a lone cop and two wizard trainees… We'd better be enough to win.