The Black Council was an intensely secretive organization. Even the Archive, who knew everything that had ever been written, hadn't been able to learn the identities of its members. There was one partial exception though. A necromancer named "Cowl" had revealed himself to Harry Dresden to two separate occasions. Both Dresden and Ivy were sure the man had once been a disciple of another powerful necromancer named Kemmler, and that he was a member of the Black Council. But that was all they knew. Now they could add another important piece of information to their files: he was now in São Paulo, in the company of a masked woman.
"Hello Cowl, it's nice to see you again. Are you going to introduce me to your lady friend, or shall we get right down to business?" Dresden said as he noticed Harry Potter conferring with the leader of the Brazilians Aurors.
"Don't you ever get tired of that pathetic juvenile banter?" an irritated Cowl asked.
"Ask me that question again after I whoop your ass." This comeback caused Cowl's mysterious companion to laugh, which unnerved Dresden for some reason. "What kind of game were you playing at with those Black Court Vampires?"
"They were bait, nothing more," Cowl replied as all the Aurors suddenly apparated along with the two Weasley brothers. "It seems yours allies have run away. It's a pity, I was looking forward to killing them."
"Do they make true wizards take a class on "how to be a wanker" before they give you your bloody staffs?" Harry asked as he, Hermione, and Kreacher joined the others.
Cowl chuckled as Sanya came around from the other side of the still-burning warehouse. "Boy, I think I will keep you alive, so I can use you as a human sacrifice. To answer your question Dresden: we constructed this trap to catch the Russian Knight of the Cross."
"May I be of service?" Sanya asked in a tight voice. He had Esperacchius in one hand, and was balancing a RPG rocket launcher on his shoulder with the other. Neville was trailing right behind him like a nervous puppy.
"Who is the new recruit?" Cowl inquired.
"Show him Longbottom," Sanya suggested.
Without any grace or panache Neville pulled Amoracchius free of its sheath. Like the other two swords it was giving off a powerful otherworldly glow which stood out even next to the burning warehouse. The young Knight seemed more concern with his friend's reactions than with the threat posed by the two dark wizards.
"So, an untrained boy and an undersized woman. When the original Merlin was entrusted with one of those swords he did a much better job of find a proper Knight—or should I say King—than you did Dresden," Cowl remarked.
"I think these two will..."
Harry glanced over at Hermione and they shared a silent conversation with their eyes: these two loved the sound of their voices even more than Dumbledore and Voldemort. Hermione squeezed Kreacher's hand for a second, and then winked at Harry as she let go. The pair then immediately apparated to a spot a few meters behind the two members of the Black Council. They both knew that attacking the true wizards with conventional spells would be useless, so Harry levitated a slab of concrete in air, while Hermione created a dozen razor-sharp ice spears. They then launched these items into the air.
When the others saw the attack they quickly joined in. Kreacher fired off a handful of arrows while Sanya fired off a rocket-propelled grenade. Murphy pulled out her Beretta and emptied a clip, and even Dresden pulled out his new blasting rod once he realized that his monologue had been cut short. The small rod sent a powerful jet of pure fire straight at Cowl.
Harry and Hermione quickly apparated out of the way, and back to their friends. This was a good idea since the dome-like shield Cowl created deflected all of their attacks with ease. Harry sent a metal sewer cap flying like a Frisbee; he then grabbed Neville and Kreacher. The three-way apparition was a strain on his magic, but they successfully made it to a nearby alley shielded from the battle. Hermione joined them a few seconds later, since her bond with the dark-elf allowed her to sense his location even in the middle of a muggle city.
"Take these two to Nevernever, and then get Neville to Chicago as quickly as you can," Harry commanded.
"I want to stay and fight," Neville said.
"Please don't take this the wrong way, but you would just a distraction for the others," Harry told him. "You need a lot of training before you can face powerful opponents like those two, and the only man who can give you that kind of training is the former Knight of the Cross like Michal Carpenter."
Kreacher was watching Hermione as she used a rune-covered dagger to carefully open a portal to Nevernever. He didn't care about anyone but his soulmate, and had no problem abandoning the others to their fate. "Will Queen Titania and her servants allow the Winter Knight safe passage, or will we have to fight once we reach the other side?" the dark-elf asked.
"Hermione and Luna are important to Titania for some reason that none of us understands," Harry offered. "I'm sure she will allow the three of you to travel to Chicago. The Brazilians promised me that they would give George and Charlie with an international portkey, so you should be able to meet them in the United States tomorrow morning."
"But what about you?" Hermione asked.
"I will catch up with you all later," he said before apparating once again.
The battle was still a stalemate when Harry returned. Cowl and his companion were hiding behind their shield while Dresden hammered away at them with an impressive variety of offensive spells. Murphy and Sanya were cautiously approaching the shield with their swords held high. Harry decided to put on his Invisibility Cloak and wait for an opening.
"I'm curious comrade: how are your stomach pains? Are they getting worse?" Cowl asked Sanya as he took out a large black crystal from the pocket of his cloak.
The two Knights froze, and even Dresden let up on his magical onslaught. Murphy went over to check on her fellow Knight, but kept Fidelacchius between her and the dome as she moved. "Is he telling us the truth?"
"At first I thought it was a simple case of indigestion, but it has been getting worse all day," Sanya admitted. "Whatever that black crystal is, it just made the pain more intense."
"Why do you damn Russians insist on being so stoic in the face of pain and hardship?" an annoyed Murphy asked.
"It's the only way we can survive living with our women folk," the Knight replied as he began to tremble. "What did you do to me?"
"We slipped you a unique poison yesterday while you were eating lunch with the lovely Miss Costa. Let me tell you, it takes a great deal of delicate magic to bypass your "divine" protection," Cowl smirked. "In case you were wondering, your whore passed away three hours ago. It was a very long and painful death, as you will soon discover."
"You bastard!" Sanya yelled.
The Knight tried to lunge at the shield, but instead doubled over in pain. Harry suddenly appeared at his side and began running his wand over Sanya using several of the advanced healing spells Ivy had taught him over the summer. The poison or whatever it was had spread throughout his body, but it hadn't yet caused any irreversible damage. Murphy and Dresden took up defensive positions between them and the two dark wizards, who seemed content to hide behind their impregnable shield.
"You stupid little boy with your stupid little stick. Not even a full-trained healer from the White Council itself could save him from death," Cowl told him.
A few minutes later Harry helped Sanya to his feet. The Knight didn't look very healthy, but the pain seemed to have passed once the poison was gone from his body. "You will be as good as new in few days."
"That is impossible you fool," Cowl sneered.
"You idiots are supposed to be wizards. Do you really think you should be throwing the word "impossible" around so much?" an exasperated Harry asked.
"I have used shields like this before," Dresden said as he studied the magical dome. "It's strong, but you are going to have to come out and play sooner or later. And when you do, the odds don't look good for the old Black Council."
"Then I will just have to change the odds," Cowl told them as he raised his hands to the sky in supplication. It was almost as if he was praying to some unseen god. "We were hoping the vampires would have finished you off, but we brought along a little insurance... just in case."
Suddenly one of the walls of a nearby building exploded outwards, showing the area with debris. What emerged out of the cloud of dust was a nightmare made into flesh. Technically you could call it a giant, except for the fact that it had about twenty extra eyeballs scattered all over its black and red body. That included a huge meter-wide eyeball were the thing's stomach was supposed to be.
"This beauty was chosen specifically to kill the Knights of the Cross," Cowl remarked. "Swords—even ones as powerful as yours—have very real limitations as you children are about to find out."
Murphy quickly executed a flawless attack with Fidelacchius which should have severed the giant's Achilles tendons, but Cowl hadn't been lying about the it's abilities. Despite being over six meters tall and weighing who knows how many tons the thing moved like an Olympic gymnast.
It leapt over Murphy's blade, did a flip in the air before landed perfectly on its feet, and then backhanded Dresden all in one fluid motion. Murphy tried to slash at it again, but a well-timed jab from the giant put the female Knight on her back. Even in his weakened state Sanya tried to attack the giant from behind, but a mule kick from one of its huge legs sent him flying.
"I guess the eyes in the back of its head really do work," a tense Dresden remarked as he got to his feet. "Potter should head for the hills. That thing is an Outsider, and your magic will be useless against it."
Harry ignored the older man. Ever since the giant had appeared he had been filled with a very familiar sense of dread, and it all made sense to him in a twisted kind of way.
"Expecto Patronum!" he shouted.
The silver Prongs which emerged from the Elder Want couldn't kill the giant anymore than it could kill a Dementor, but it certainly got the monster's full attention.
The appearance of Patronus seemed to clear Dresden's head, and his incantation of "Ventas Servitas" created a gust of wind strong enough to knock the giant back on its heels.
"Conjunctivitus!" Harry then shouted while the monster was still off-balance.
The spell was supposed to cause serve pain in your victim's eyes, and it certainly worked. The giant quickly shut all its many eyelids as it crashed to the ground. It then let out a scream so intense that it shattered glass windows for blocks in every direction.
Dresden ran up to the giant's head and placed his blasting rod directly inside its ear before yelling: "Fuego!"
A torrent of blood, brains, and flames then exploded out of the other side of its huge head, killing the giant instantly. For good measure Murphy and the still-weak Sanya both stabbed the corpse in the heart. Or at least where its heart was suppose to be.
"We have the tools, and we have the talent!" Dresden shouted as the giant began to dissolve into ectoplasmic goo.
"You have nothing more than luck," Cowl snapped. "That Outsider could have easily killed the Knights of the Cross."
"Then it was a good thing that our Boss made sure these two were here to help us," Murphy replied as she helped Sanya stand upright. "How long are you going to hide in there, you worthless cowards?"
Rather than answer Cowl just collapsed in a heap. "That wasn't his real body—it was just a spare he created for today," the masked women told them.
"You mean it was nothing more than a remote-controlled meat-puppet? That's why he never came out and attacked us," Dresden muttered. "Well we have some questions for you lady, so why don't you drop the shield and face the music."
"Are you really going to torture me Harry Dresden, the first woman you ever made love to?" the women asked as she removed her venetian mask.
"Elaine?"
Like Harry Dresden, Elaine Mallory had been orphaned as a child. They had both been adopted by a true wizard named Justin DuMorne, who had trained the two powerful teenagers in the Art of Magic. DuMorne's plan was to turn them both into his slaves, and he had successfully enthralled Elaine using black magic. However Dresden had fought back, and despite his youth he had killed the older wizard. The experience had deeply scarred the teenage girl, and Elaine had sought out sanctuary among the Sidhe of Summer. She allowed Dresden to believe that she was dead, and he had only learned that she was alive a few years ago.
"Yes, it's me Harry. And I brought along another old friend of yours," Elaine said as she held out her hand. The sigil of the Denarian Lasciel was clearly visibly on her palm.
In order to protect Michal Carpenter's son, Dresden had once picked up a silver coin of the Order of the Blackened Denarius that had been left near their house. That particular coin held a Fallen Angel known as Lasciel, and touching it even once had marked him. A shadow of Lasciel's personality had lived inside of Dresden's mind for years, talking to him all the while. They had even become friends of a sort before she was destroyed saving his life. But he had always rejected the idea of become a host for the Fallen Angel itself. It seemed that Elaine had accepted the offer.
"I don't know what Lasciel promised you, but whatever it is, she is lying," Dresden said. "I swear to you that none of the Fallen can be trusted. All the Denarians know how to do is manipulate and destroy the free will of their hosts."
"Lasciel wants to survive the coming storm just as much as I do," Elaine said. "You have no idea of the scope of the disaster which is about to come crashing down on the world."
"You told me that after being enthralled by Justin DuMorne you would never again submit to anyone's control," Dresden argued.
"Lasciel doesn't control me, we are true equals in every way. That is the pact we made, and I know she will keep her promise."
Sanya actually growled when he heard that. "If you truly believe that, than you are a fool. Despite the Denarian's sweet words it views you as nothing more than a beast of burden, and that is all you will ever be to it."
"I sorry to interrupt this little reunion, but the muggles have finally broken through our blockade. An army of local law enforcement is only a few blocks away," Harry told them after taking a little scouting trip around the perimeter.
"Can you bring down this shield so we can take her with us?" Murphy asked. "She must have a lot of information about the Black Council we could use."
"It would take too much time, and I'm not in the mood to be thrown in a Brazilian jail for starting this fire and burning down the entire the neighborhood," Dresden said as he continued to stare at the first woman he had ever loved.
"Then I think we should retreat to Nevernever now, and leave her here," Harry suggested.
"Yes, run along now," Elaine told them. "Thanks to Lasciel I am fluent in Portuguese, and it will be no problem for me to talk my way out of police custody. We will meet again soon enough."
After leaving the battle the four heroes found a tea party waiting for them in Nevernever. Of course it was the strangest tea party any of them had ever seen. Their portal opened on to a vast plain which held two hostile armies made up of every magical creäture you could think of. Queen Titania had promised Ivy that she would guard this area of Nevernever, and it seemed that Queen Maeve had deployed the forces of Winter as well. Sitting in the no-man's-land between these two magical armies was an elaborate gazebo where the Summer Lady and the Winter Lady were waiting for them with refreshments. In addition to Hermione, Kreacher, and Neville the two Ladies were hosting a few other guests as well.
"Hoss, you're alive," a relieved Ebenezer said when he saw his grandson. "I brought some reinforcements, but these two wouldn't allow us to pass over to Brazil."
"They did not need your help," Luna said as she petted her two meter tall... thing. It looked like some mad scientist had stitched together the worst parts of a gorilla, a grizzly bear, and a lion. And the would-be-Frankenstein had then added a horn to the thing's forehead. A crumpled-horn, to be exact.
"I see you finally found your elusive Crumpled-Horn Snorkack here in Nevernever," Harry said with a grin.
"I found all my special creatures waiting for me here in Nevernever, but Tycho does have a special place in my heart," Luna replied with a grin of her own. "Please allow me to introduce you to the Summer Lady Lily and her Summer Knight Fix."
It wasn't much of a shock that the Summer Lady was stunningly beautiful; she was a Sidhe after all. The Summer Knight was more of a surprise for Harry. Unlike Dresden and Sanya he was of average height, and was kind of ugly as well.
"Lady Luna was told us so much about her friend Harry Potter," Lily said.
"I bet Luna left out all the incredibly brave things she did during our battles with Lord Voldemort," Harry said as he kissed Sidhe's hand.
"After dealing with Maeve for all those years it was a bit of a shock to learn how humble and kind the new Winter Lady can be," Lily admitted.
Harry then turned to Fix. "I know it's your job to fight against the Winter Knight, but if you hurt Hermione Granger I will hunt you down and kill you."
The Summer Knight held up his hands in mock surrender. "The purple elf already gave me this speech. I can't make you any promises, but I will tell you that it will take a direct order from Queen Titania for me to hurt Granger, or any other woman for that matter. I saw too much of that garbage when I was growing up."
Luna gracefully cut in at this point. "I know you have already met Ebenezer McCoy, but there are three other members of the White Council with us here today."
Anastasia Luccio was an intimidating brunette in her twenties, but like Ivy her cold eyes seemed to belong to an older woman. Carlos Ramirez was also in his late twenties, and had the same air of confidence about him that Bill Weasley possessed. The third true wizard was as old Native American named Joseph Listens-to-Wind, or Injun Joe as Ebenezer called him, who was leaning heavily on his staff. None of them seemed happy to be meeting Harry Potter.
"Hoss, what the hell happened down in São Paulo?"
Dresden than told the members of the White Council and the two Ladies about their fight against the Black Court Vampires, Cowl, and the Outsider itself. He left out the part about his former lover Elaine Mallory, and shot the younger Harry a nasty look when tried to mention her name. None of the true wizards were willing to believe Dresden's wild story at first.
"I take it that Potter and these... Aurors uses a great deal of black magic during this so-called battle," Luccio asked as she fondled the hilt of her sword.
Tycho the Snorkack struck like lightning, and pinned the Captain of the Wardens to the ground before anyone else could react. Its long claws were millimeters away from disemboweling her, so the other true wizards froze in place.
"It is hard to believe that someone so old can be so stupid," Luna hissed. "Harry Potter is the Archive's consort. If the White Council is foolish enough to harm him she will destroy you all, and don't doubt for a moment that she can."
"Anastasia apologize," Ebenezer ordered.
Despite being seconds from death the woman was defiant. "It was a perfectly reasonable question to ask."
"Now!" the old wizard barked.
"Anastasia these people haven't lived by the Laws of Magic for centuries, and this isn't the time or place to try and bring them to justice," Injun Joe added in a much gentler tone.
"Fine. Please accept my apology, Mr Potter."
"Apology accepted," Harry said politely. By now he was too familiar with the arrogance of the White Council, but he saw no reason to offend the woman.
Only then did Tycho release Luccio, and ramble back to Luna's side.
"Now that we have all calm down a bit, why don't you bring your friend Sanya over here so I can have a look at him?" Injun Joe said. "We can't afford to have a Knight of his caliber out of commission for too long."
"I already healed him," Harry said. "The poison is gone."
"Injun Joe is the best healer on the White Council and has been to medical school over a dozen times," Dresden told him. "Trust me Potter, if you accidentally missed something, he will find it."
Sanya laid down on one of the benches as the old Native American began to run his hands over the Knight's body. Luna suggested that they all have something to eat while they waited, and told them that the food and drink being provided would in no way obligate them to the Sidhe. It was over an hour later before the examination was complete.
"The pain was so bad Sanya actually started to tremble?" Injun Joe asked Dresden after he pulled him aside.
"Yeah, that sounds about right."
"And Potter healed him with nothing more than his wand?"
"Yeah, that's what happened," Dresden confirmed. "Why, what's going on?"
"Well I'll be damned," Injun Joe muttered. "This Cowl person used the same poison that the Red Court Vampires employed against us in Edinburgh, expect that Sanya was given a more potent liquid instead of the weaker aerosol form that we were exposed to. This poison has already killed a dozen of our people, and we still don't have a cure for it."
This bit of information confused Dresden. "But Ebenezer told me you were infected."
"I still am, but thanks to my magic I have made a partial recovery like most of the other victims. However the poison is still in my bloodstream, and I could have a relapse at any moment. We believe that the stuff is extra-dimensional in origin."
"You mean they got it from the Outsiders?"
"That is what our best alchemists in Edinburgh keep telling me," Injun Joe replied.
"Potter used some really bizarre mojo on that Outsider in Brazil," Dresden explained. "One was a deer made of pure light, and another caused the giant to violently scratch at its eyes. His friends told me that the kid was been hit twice by their form of a death curse. Maybe he has some sort of power over the Outsiders because of that?"
"Or maybe you two share the same birthday."
What only a few people like Ebenezer and Injun Joe knew was that unlike other true wizards, Dresden's magic could actually harm the Outsiders. His mother had planned the date of his birth in order to give him this rare power over the Outer Demons. It was probably the reason the late Queen Mab had been so eager for him to serve as her Winter Knight.
"I not sure why Potter can perform this unique type of healing, but my examination of Sanya shows that it's effective against the Red Court poison," Injun Joe continued. "Let's ask the boy how he feels about helping out the White Council in our hour of need."