To be honest, when Harry Dresden thought of the Mexican restaurant own by the family of his fellow Warden Carlos Ramirez he pictured tables covered with old newspapers and a Mariachi band playing in the background. What he found when he reached Los Angles was a very high-end establishment. There were several stain glass windows, a lot of expensive artwork on the walls, antique oak furniture, and a floor of gleaming Spanish tiles.
Another surprise was the fact that all the male patrons were wearing suits and ties. His torn pair of jeans and black duster were very out of place, so much so that four large busboys were about to toss him out on the street. Luckily he was rescued just in time by his apprentice.
"Harry! You're back!" Molly cried. She was wearing the same stylish outfit as the rest of the waitresses and wearing it well.
"Miss Carpenter, do you know this bum?" one of the busboys asked as he cracked his knuckles.
"Yes, he's a good friend of Carlos," Molly replied. "Could you please go back to the kitchen, and tell him that Harry Dresden is here. We will be waiting for him in the break room."
The break room for the restaurant staff turned out to be nicer than his former basement apartment. "Why aren't you in Chicago with your parents?" Dresden asked as they sat down on a leather couch.
"After you went AWOL for the second time in less than a year the White Council decided to appoint a new Warden for the Midwest region of the United States. Tattnall is even more of a hard-ass than Donald Morgan was, and given my status as a would-be warlock I didn't feel safe living in the same city as him. So I called Carlos, and he told me that his parents were looking for a new waitress. He has also been teaching me some combat magic during our spare time."
"Don't you kind of stand out?" Dresden asked as he gestured towards her long blonde hair.
"Haven't you ever watched a telenovela before?" Ramirez asked from the doorway. "If you went by what they show on the television, you would think that over half the women in Latin America are blue-eyed blondes. By the way, it's good to see you alive."
"I told you he wasn't dead," a beaming Molly said. "So tell us what really happened in Branson."
"How do you know about that?" a stunned Dresden asked.
"Harry, the whole world knows about Branson. There has been nonstop coverage of it for the past two months," Ramirez explained. "Over six thousand people died in one night. The government says it was a rogue meteor strike, but everybody on the White Council believes the explosion was caused by some sort of magical disturbance. Since you disappeared two days before it happened we figured you must have been involved."
"You also once told me that your mentor Ebenezer McCoy has... had a farm in Southern Missouri," Molly added. "Was he there with you when it happened?"
Dresden snorted. "Yeah, he was there alright. Ebenezer is the one who caused the explosion in the first place."
He than explained how the Black Council had used nerve gas against the small town of Branson, and turned its dead inhabitants into an army of rampaging zombies. The attack on the old farm was described in great detail, as was the timely intervention of Queen Titania's centaur warriors. Finally he told the amazed pair about the epic duel between Ebenezer and Cowl.
"Cowl had to be one of the leaders of the Black Council, and now he is dead. So that's great news," Ramirez pointed out.
"True, but the effort almost killed Ebenezer. We have spent all this time in Nevernever, and he still hasn't made a full recovery," Dresden said. "Plus I haven't gotten to the bad news: I hit four of the Grey Council's safe-houses before coming here, and all four were burned to the ground. Have you two heard anything from Edinburgh?"
"Nada," Ramirez replied. "Since Cristos was elevated to the Senior Council all the younger Wardens have been cut out of the loop. Whenever any of us asks for more information they tell us to shut-up and do our jobs. The wizards of our generation are very angry about the situation, and if you wanted to start a rebellion you would have plenty of support."
"No, if we start fighting among ourselves then the Black Council automatically wins," a frustrated Dresden said. "I need to get in touch with Injun Joe and the others."
"Harry, if you went to Edinburgh now I honestly believe that Cristos and his supporters would find an excuse to put you on trial," Ramirez told him. "And the Merlin would be happy to give them your head on a platter if it allowed him to keep his job."
"And as your apprentice my head would be right next yours on that platter," Molly added unnecessarily.
"Don't worry grasshopper, that's not going to happen. Have either of you heard from Karrin Murphy lately?" Dresden asked.
Molly's face fell. "Harry, I hated to be the one that has to tell you this, but..."
"...Sanya is dead. Yes, I know about that."
"How could you know? You said you had been staying in Nevernever during the past two months."
Dresden hesitated. Thanks to her soulgaze with Thomas Raith, Molly had learned that the two of them were brothers. But Ramirez didn't know that—just like he didn't know about Dresden's true relationship with Ebenezer McCoy, or about the existence of his daughter Maggie. Keeping these secrets had been so important to him in the past, but given the potential disasters they were now facing it seemed ridiculous. So he told them the truth about everything, as well as the news that Ivy had destroyed all the White Court Vampires.
"You expect me to believe that the Archangel Michael who I learned about in Sunday school came down from heaven, and cured your half-brother the vampire just so that he could become the newest Knight of the Cross?" Ramirez asked.
"Carlos, more than anything in the world Thomas wanted to be rid of his inner demon," Molly told him. "He would have paid any price for the freedom the Archangel was offering."
Ramirez took a moment to digest all the news. "I'm still too much of a Catholic to question the final judgment of the Man upstairs. So if you are sure Thomas Raith isn't a vampire anymore, then that's good enough for me."
"There is one thing I don't understand. If the White Court Vampires were really destroyed than why haven't we heard anything about it from Edinburgh or on the Paranet?" Molly asked.
"Captain Luccio told me a few years ago that the members of the Senior Council are terrified of the Archive," Dresden explained. "Now that Ivy has started attacking her enemies it looks like their worst fears have been confirmed. That is probably why they are keeping the situation with the White Court under wraps."
"Well, at least those foul monsters are gone," Ramirez said philosophically. "To answer your original question: Murphy called us a few days ago looking for you. She and Neville Longbottom were in London when we talked, but I'm not sure where they are now."
"I will go and give the cradle-robber a call," Molly said as she headed towards the door. "Stay here. If there is more than one wizard standing next to the phone it stops working."
Dresden looked over at his fellow Warden. "So Murphy and the kid are together now?"
"Did you think she was going to sit around and wait for you forever?" a ginning Ramirez asked. "Karrin is good woman and deserves whatever happiness she can find in this crazy world. Besides, he's over the age of consent."
"That's true. So... you and Molly?"
Ramirez started laughing. "My madre exchanges daily emails with Charity Carpenter. If I so much as kissed your gorgeous apprentice those two matriarchs would start planning the wedding five minutes later, and I'm not ready for that kind of commitment."
Dresden leaned his head back into the plush cushions. The couch was comfortable, and he was exhausted after a long day of hiking through Nevernever. "This place isn't what I was expecting."
"You thought there was going to be a Mariachi band playing in dinning room, didn't you?" Ramirez asked. "How do you think I can afford custom body armor, an endless supply of hand grenades, and designer sunglasses on a Warden's pitiful salary?"
Before Dresden could embarrass himself by answering that question Molly came rushing into the break room. "We have a serious problem. The White Council about to go to war. Again."
Dresden, Molly, and Ramirez made the trip from Los Angles to the United Kingdom in less than an hour. Once in London they met Ivy, Harry Potter, and the two Knights of the Cross at the Archive's Mayfair townhouse. Dresden was unhappy with Ivy's presence at this meeting, but the need to avoid another costly war forced him to swallow his anger and his pride.
"Are you telling me that the Merlin of the White Council broke one of the seven Laws of Magic right in the middle of London?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes, he specifically told Neville and me that time had been stopped throughout the city," Murphy replied.
She was actually sitting on the kid's lap, but Dresden was too intimidated by the new couple to make any of his usual smart-ass remarks. If he ever went up against the two Knights of the Cross in a fight he would lose in less than sixty seconds.
"The Laws of Magic state that a wizard can not "swim against the Currents of Time", so technically the Merlin is innocent of any wrongdoing," Ivy coldly pointed out to Dresden.
She still seemed upset about their argument on Demonreach. Maybe pissing-off the most powerful teenage girl in the world hadn't been such a great idea on his part.
"I've personally witnessed three warlocks being executed for just attempting to perform temporal magic, and the Merlin was present all three times," Ramirez argued. "For him to use that type of spell under any circumstances means that something is seriously wrong."
"I agree," Dresden said. "This whole ambush in the park sounds like it was a set-up designed to attract the attention of the Knights of the Cross."
"Of course it was a trap," Ivy said as she rolled her eyes. "I can't believe people were actually stupid enough to hire you as a private detective."
Unlike the others Murphy wasn't intimidated by the Archive's obnoxious outburst. "I don't think it's really possible to play tricks on our Boss."
"This Black Council tried to kill Sanya back in São Paulo, and they failed," Neville added. "Neither Karrin or I were hurt during our fight in Regent's Park, so it looks like they failed again."
"The Merlin wasn't interested in killing either of you, he was aiming for Ivy and me," Harry told his old roommate. "It pretty obvious he wants to avoid another long and bloody war, so he is hoping that the International Confederation of Wizards will unilaterally surrender to the White Council."
"That's not obvious to me," a skeptical Molly said.
"Yeah, why not just talk to Potter directly if he wants the ICW to surrender?" Dresden asked.
"Because that could be seen as an act of treason by the other members of the White Council," Ivy explained. "By using an indirect approach like this he can maintain plausible deniability by blaming the leak on the unstable Archive."
"So the Merlin just wants to have a secret peace conference with your husband?" Molly asked. "That's not such a bad idea."
"It's a bad idea if he's a member of the Black Council and is seeking to consolidate his personal control over all human magic-users," Dresden replied. "We have to find out once and for all where the Merlin's true allegiances lie."
"Well, I'm glad to see you finally caught up with the program," Ivy said as placed an elaborate piece of parchment on the table. "Warden Ramirez, I want you to take this to Edinburgh and personally present it to the White Council."
"That's written in Latin. That does it say?" Murphy asked.
Ivy gave them all a sinister smile. "My husband is challenging the Merlin to a duel under the rules of the Unseelie Accords."
It had taken a week of tedious negotiations to arrange a meeting here alongside a seclude Scottish loch half way between Edinburgh and Hogwarts. Ivy and Harry were facing all seven members of the Senior Council, which was a sure sign of how much they feared the Archive. The Supreme Mugwump couldn't really complain though, since the Merlin hadn't declared war on the ICW while the talks were still ongoing. Tomorrow would be a different story if things went pear-shaped in the next hour.
Harry had already met the Merlin and Injun Joe, but this was his first time seeing the other titans of the White Council. They turned out to be an eclectic bunch. The Gatekeeper was a giant of man—even taller than Dresden—and his shadowy cloak was similar to the ones worn by the Unspeakables. Despite her grey hair Martha Liberty—a woman of African descent—could only be described as statuesque. She seemed very unhappy about this whole situation.
"You can't possible expect us to take this seriously!" Gregori Cristos bellowed. He and his Indian colleague Gopal weren't simply unhappy with the situation. They were both furious. "The International Confederation of Wizards has never signed the Accords, so your husband has no standing whatsoever to challenge the Merlin to a duel."
Ivy threw a leather portfolio at the fool's head. "That contains letters from Queen Titania of Summer, Queen Maeve of Winter, and Donar Vadderung of Monoc Securities which state that they recognize the ICW as a fellow signatory of the Unseelie Accords."
"Why weren't we informed of this decision earlier?" Ancient Mai asked. The repulsive crone had been glaring at young couple since the moment she arrived, not that it was doing her any good.
"Your official notification must have been lost while it was in transit," a nonchalant Ivy replied.
The relevant documents had in fact been spent to Edinburgh, but the courier was killed by Kincaid before he could reach his destination. When it came to the Unseelie Accords violating the spirit of the law was not only allowed but expected, so long as the letter of the law was obeyed. That was something the late Lara Raith had never understood, and it seemed that her stupidity was shared by the current members of the Senior Council.
"A duel will change nothing," the Merlin said. "I will defeat the boy, and then we will crush the ICW. Surrender is the only viable option for your people at this point."
"If you call me a boy one more time, I am going to kill you," Harry said in a cold voice.
Ancient Mai let out a sharp laugh. "Arthur, teach the little boy a quick and painful lesson. We have much more important things to be doing with our time."
The Merlin was ignoring Harry while he closely studied the Archive. "You told your husband of our plans regarding the ICW?"
"It must have slipped out one night," Ivy lied. "Harry is a talented lover, and I sometimes lose control in the heat of the moment. But then you are so old, I doubt you even remember what it's like to have sex."
"If the boy is killed will you seek retribution against me or the White Council?" the Merlin asked bluntly.
"No, I will accept the outcome of this duel," Ivy answered. "At the same time I reserve the right to defended myself from any threat. As always."
"Very well, do have an emissary in mind?"
Ivy took an orange plastic gun out of her coat and fired a flare into sky. Less than a minute later a helicopter came into view, and gracefully landed next to the loch. The American crime lord Gentleman Johnny Marcone disembarked while carrying a small wooden case, and then walk over to the gathering of wizards.
"Sorry to keep you waiting John," Ivy said.
"That is quite alright, I have been looking forward to this all week," Marcone replied before turning to address the Senior Council. "Mrs Potter thought I would make an acceptable emissary. Do you concur, or shall I leave?"
"For the life of me I can't decide if you are incredible brave or totally daft," the Merlin said as he looked over the American's custom-tailored three-piece suit.
"That is a question I often asked myself."
"He will do," the Merlin declared. "As the individual being challenged I have the choice of weapons. I choose magic."
Marcone than turned to Harry. "Mr Potter, would you be so kind as to choose a place and time."
"Right here, right now."
"I man after my own heart," Marcone said with a smile. "Who will act as your seconds during this duel?"
"Ancient Mai, if you would?" the Merlin asked. The Chinese wizard nodded her head in acceptance.
"Ivy," Harry said. The others looked like they wanted to object to this choice, but his opponent remained silent.
Marcone than opened the wooden case, and took out a large hourglass which he placed on the ground. "The sands will run up in exactly one-hundred seconds, at which point the duel will begin. I would advise you not to use any tricks on this hourglass. It belongs to a certain one-eye business associate of mine, and will kill anyone who attempts to tamper with it."
Harry quickly pulled Ivy in for a long kiss, which included more than a little groping. "I love you," he said as they parted.
"I am genuinely fond of you," Ivy replied.
The Merlin was watching them with disgust. "I should kill you for that puerile display alone, but if you drop your magic... stick to the ground I will simply render you unconscious."
"Did you think I was joking when I said I was going to kill you?" Harry asked. "Because I wasn't."
The old wizard actually snarled. "You and your insignificant Confederation will submit to the authority of the White Council, and there is nothing you can do to change that fact."
Harry responded with a two-finger salute.
When the very last grain of sand flew up in defiance of gravity, two things happened simultaneously. First the Merlin raised a ward blocking Harry's ability to apparate. During the course of his long life Arthur Langtry had fought against dozens of these feeble wizards, and he knew once the boy was pinned down the duel was all but over.
At the same this powerful ward was being cast Harry put on his Invisibility Cloak. The Merlin didn't hesitate when the boy disappeared from his field of vision. He immediately called on his Sight, which allowed him to pierce even the most powerful of magical veils. He found nothing.
"Boo!" a voice screamed.
It was cheap trick, but it worked. The Merlin turned his head searching for a target to destroy, but what he found was a now-visible Harry standing only millimeters from his face. The two locked eyes for a second and it happened: Ivy joking referred to it as a mental gag reflex, but most wizards called it a soulgaze.
Normally during a soulgaze the two people would be force to share... well, their souls. Or at least a great deal of highly personal information about their emotions. Ivy had access to thousands of written descriptions of the process, and she claim it was unique for each person.
This was the only field of battle on which Harry could hope to win the duel. His internal magic was weak when compared to the overwhelming strength of the Merlin's external magic, but its delicate nature was ideal for manipulating the human mind.
Harry's background also provided him with another important advantage. Three brilliant wizards had spent years using magic to violate his mind. Dumbledore, Snape, and especially Voldemort had all left extensive scar tissue on his psyche. Thanks to Ivy's tutoring he was able to use his weaknesses to set a trap for his more experienced opponent.
"Where are we?" the Merlin asked as he looked around at a place far different than the Scottish countryside where he had been standing just a second ago.
"King's Cross Station in London."
"You are using a soulgaze to trap me inside of this mental construct," the Merlin reasoned. "That is why you and the Archive were acting so provocatively. You wanted to use my anger against me. Your wife taught you a clever trick boy, but it will only last for a second or two at the most."
"A second is all I need," Harry replied as he held out his wand. "This isn't my real wand. It's just a sharpened piece of wood coated with Basilisk venom. As we speak my hand is coming closer and closer to jamming it into your neck."
"You fool. My Death Curse will destroy you."
"Yes, Ivy told me all about those. I think my mother performed one the night she was killed," Harry mused. "When we are done with our little chat I will shut your mind down for a few more seconds, so there isn't going to be a Death Curse. Now back to the matter at hand: are you a member of the Black Council?"
"How dare you..." That was as far as the Merlin got before he fell to the ground in agony.
"That was the Cruciatus Curse—or at least what I remember the Cruciatus Curse feeling like," Harry explained. "Lie to me again, and I will punish you. Time passes very slowly in here, and according to Ivy's research I could hold you captive for what will seem like hours."
The Merlin tried, and failed, to stand up. "You would actually spend hours torturing another human being?"
"I spent years being tortured by the Dark Lord Voldemort, so yes I would," Harry replied. "Are you a member of the Black Council?"
"No, I am not a traitor. Cristos, Gopal, and Ancient Mai all are though. Along with one other whose identity I am not sure of."
Thanks to the nature of the Soulgaze Harry knew the wizard was telling him the truth. "So Ivy was right, it is the Gatekeeper."
"The Archive has no way of knowing that for certain!" the Merlin raged. "It could easily be one of the others."
"My wife has her faults—she always keeps the seat down in the loo for instance—but stupidity isn't one of them," Harry replied. "The Gatekeeper is tasked with monitoring the Outer Gates, but for the last few decades those Gates have turned into demonic Autobahn. Dozens of major Outsiders have been spotted here on Earth; doesn't that strike you as an odd coincidence?"
"Perhaps."
"There is also the matter of his longstanding friendship with Queen Mab," Harry pointed out. "It would have allowed the Gatekeeper to get close enough to the Queen to administer the poison which caused her and Leanansidhe to go insane."
"This is all circumstantial evidence at best," the Merlin retorted. "I need facts to present to the rest of the White Council if I am to move against him and the other traitors."
"You have run out of time. Your only viable option at this point is to use your Death Curse against the Gatekeeper," Harry said in a cruel mockery of the man's earlier words.
The Merlin's eyes went wide. "But I am innocent."
"So are my fellow wizards and witches, but you were just about to hand the ICW over to the tender mercies of Black Council," Harry told him. "Besides Ivy thinks you are a lousy warlord, and once you are out of the way one of our allies can take over the White Council."
"Wait!"
But Harry Potter did not wait, and he did indeed jammed his fake wand into the wizard's exposed neck. Not shutting down the Merlin's mind was a dangerous gamble. If he decided to use his Death Curse out of spite there was nothing that could have saved Harry, not even the power of the Archive. However in the last few seconds of his life Arthur Langtry proved himself worthy of his great title.
The Merlin of the White Council summoned a veritable ocean of magic into his hands, and then lashed out at his true enemies. The spell he cast with his last breath burned him to a cinder even before the basilisk poison could finish its work. This was the true power of a Death Curse: the freedom to push yourself far, far beyond any rational limits.
Cristos and Gopal were powerful wizards, but their hastily cast shields might as well have been made out of tissue paper. Both men were consumed by flames till nothing was left but ash. There was a slight chance that Ancient Mai could have saved herself, but the woman's advanced age had slowed her reflexes, and she too was burned alive by her former ally.
On the other hand the fourth target did have the magical power, the blinding speed, and the esoteric knowledge need to block a Death Curse. If the Merlin had concentrated all of his magical strength on his most dangerous foe the Gatekeeper would have died, but facing only a quarter of that strength allowed him to survive. As the other three traitors burned, the mysterious wizard opened a portal to an unknown dimension and fled.