Chapter 12 up as well.

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Chapter 12

"Lara has arrived as well," Thomas stated as he jogged me out of my momentary reverie, as we crossed the street and passed the vintage car sat outside; a silver Rolls-Royce Wraith similar to the one blown up a while back. I wondered how Lara had swung for a new one or whether she'd somehow salvaged the last one.

It was no surprise then that the usual crowd seen at Mac's was more subdued than it should have been. As I entered, the old-time patrons of the bar all talked in hushed voices as they avoided gazing at one larger table set in the corner. Though I was more than surprised to see who sat at the table.

No one could mistake the huge gorilla for anyone other than the massive Hendrick's. Why he was here though was answered with the man sat immediately to his right; Marcone, his hands set calmly on the edge of the table as he sat in conversation with the person opposite him, the owner of the glamorous car outside. Another person sat with his back to us, though I couldn't help noticing the grey cloak hanging from their shoulders or the scabbard of a sword protruding from his hip.

As our party came into view however, even the hushed conversation vanished into silence as everyone present turned our way. It was hard not to notice our entrance, our gear making for a strange sight even for us. It was Hendrick's who saw us as he alerted the rest of his table, the person with his back to us, leaned back and down as his fingers brushed the floor behind his seat. That was when I realised they were concealing their words behind a circle.

As the fourth member of their conversation turned round, a grin threatened to make an appearance as I made out the face of the youngest regional commander of the wardens; Carlos Ramirez.

He hadn't changed at all. The cocky smile warmed his features the moment he caught sight of me, the swagger in his step still present as he wandered over to me and slapped me on the shoulder.

"Dresden! Of course it had to be you the moment I was ordered here." He said happily. Though his face hadn't changed much, a lot had; the sword at his side and staff in his hand now covered in nicks and scratches from numerous and life-threatening altercations.

"What do you mean ordered?" I asked as I grasped his arm in reply.

He studied my face as he replied, "This morning! McCoy came to see me in person with orders to get to Chicago immediately and to seek out Ms Raith and Mr Marcone here."

"So the Council are talking to them?" I ask.

"Yeah, for a while now. I knew something was up as soon as I saw him outside Edinburgh, the only time he hasn't been holed up there since your disappearance is when he's coordinating offenses with Luccio in the field." Ramirez said before adding, "he'd been out of sorts ever since…"

"….since my brush with death?" I finished.

"I guess, though it could also have been earlier. When you told him about your daughter and the Red Court, the only way he thought he could count on our aid was by telling us everything he knew."

"My daughter…?" I stuttered, "but that means that..."

"…we know you and McCoy are related? Yeah, he told us about that. Even though some of us were already set on going anyway, the others needed help convincing this was an indirect attack on the Senior Council."

I never thought about that in my reasoning at the time. It wouldn't have been just me, my daughter or even my newfound grandfather who'd lose their life, but also the Blackstaff and a member of the Senior Council; the one member of the Council who's allowed to violate the Seven Rules at his own discretion. The Red King not only trumped his daughter's petty vendetta, but also very nearly sent the deadliest of messages to the whole of the White Council; we can get to any of you.

"Hell's bells!" I swore, "I never thought about it in that way the entire time."

"I know, it didn't change my decision to come in any case." He said simply; I'd known ever since we'd talked in the hospital after the quashed rebellion within the white Court that Ramirez was a member of the Grey Council. I also knew that as part of the younger generation of wizards, he was amongst those who looked up to me to some extent.

That's three people I now know on the Grey Council; McCoy, Vadderung and Ramirez. Though Vadderung was the only real surprise, it was reassuring to know that I was not alone in walking the fine line I so often find myself in recent times.

I found myself reduced to saying, "Thank you for helping us."

Ramirez nodded before leading the way back to the table. I, of course, stopped at the bar to where Mac waited. As I got there, we wordlessly shook hands. Mac was not much of a talker and was a natural reserved and secretive man but I trusted him and counted him a friend.

"The kid?" he asked, with his hand still in mine.

"Safe," I replied as he let my hand go with a last, reassured squeeze and a grunt. Murphy then showed up at my side with a few bills and a brief word as Mac put some steaks on the grill and shoved his signature dark brew our way, hesitating before including one for Molly, no doubt still considering her too young for such a drink.

We eventually found ourselves at the table, now laden with heavenly steak sandwiches and beer as everyone waited on us to finish in silence. It was a weirdly fun experience; Marcone with his patient, yet cold exterior, Lara watching us as a cautious predator would its prey and Ramirez with his cocky, laid back style, even going to put his feet on the table top until a glare from Mac stopped him.

When I'd finished, I smacked my lips petulantly and took a long draw of my beer before even acknowledging the others. Molly and Murphy apparently showed more tact as they had been finished a while and were waiting on me to start.

"So, I'm gone a couple of months and look at the mess you've made?" I say, with an almost accusatory expression crossing my face as I gaze at everyone in turn, in particular Lara and Marcone.

I'll give it to them; they both manage to hold their own expressions when I say it even if I can tell that underneath that, they aren't amused in the slightest.

"Not our fault, Dresden" Marcone said calmly, "in fact, I would consider the opposite as a possibility. It was not long since your alleged death that everything started going wrong."

"Your point is?" I ask.

"Our point is, when you mess with the Red King and such power as can be found in a confluence as large as Chichen Itza, there are going to be consequences, such as what you see here." Lara answered, as if she was talking to a child.

I'm flummoxed. A political power vacuum I can understand, but by her tone I'm wondering what more there is to it. That's until I think about the bodies we left earlier, bodies with an unusual appearance and inhuman characteristics.

"What do you mean? Surely you can exploit such chaos and control it in the near future," I said, not fully understanding.

"In time, perhaps. Mr Marcone and I could easily have taken control of the situation here in Chicago within weeks. But there are parties coming along that don't bow to the same pressures as those in the past. Those who thrive on such chaos are awakening because of the energy unleashed for the bloodline curse." Lara answered.

"Like what?"

This time Ramirez answered first," like demons from the far reaches of the nevernever, like Fae creatures unaligned with Summer and Winter. When the curse went off, it was also felt in the netherworld, and there are things there that should be left well alone."

"Creatures that rival the strength of the thing that took my brother, the skinwalker for example Dresden," Lara put in as Thomas shuddered against the flow of memories.

Not more of those things? I thought.

Oh Crap!