After the raging fury of the Merlin's Death Curse, the Scottish countryside seemed unnaturally quiet. Ivy had been shielding not only herself, but John Marcone and his helicopter crew as well. That left Harry alone to face the two remaining members of the Senior Council: Injun Joe and Martha Liberty.
"What in the name of all creation just happened?" Martha Liberty asked, and it was clear from her angry tone that the wrong answer would result in violence.
"I could ask you the same question," Harry shot back. "You two just stood there while the Gatekeeper escaped."
"Are you telling us that Rashid was the traitor?"
"Of course he was," Ivy said as she walked over and took up a defensive position next to her husband. "How could you two possible not know that?"
"We knew that someone had betrayed us to the Black Council, but the Merlin and the Gatekeeper both claimed to be on our side," Injun Joe explained. "We had no way of knowing for certain which one was lying, so we decided to play along until one of them made an obvious mistake."
"And here I thought we were gaining some competent allies," Ivy muttered. "John, I believe you should leave as soon as possible. The Wardens will be arriving soon, and they have a tendency to be overbearing when dealing with mortals."
"Yes, that does tend to be a common trait of police officers the world over," the crime lord remarked as the blades of his helicopter started whirling. "Ms Gard is waiting for me in Aberdeen, so we should back in Chicago for dinner."
"Thank you for your help today Gentleman Johnny," Harry added. "If you ever need a favor, don't hesitate to ask."
"He is so young," Marcone said as he turned to Ivy with a sad look on his face. "Try not to ruin him."
"I will do my best," Ivy promised.
As predicted the Wardens—lead by Captain Anastasia Luccio herself—arrived en masse a few minutes later. The death of four members of the Senior Council and the desertion of a fifth was an unprecedented security disaster. In fact it was so unprecedented that none of the Wardens really knew what to do.
"Potter will have to come with us back to Edinburgh," Luccio finally declared. "Even if it was a duel, the boy did kill the Merlin of the White Council, and there has to be an investigation of some sort. He also could be legally implicated in the deaths of the other three."
"But I didn't kill them," an indignant Harry said.
"That remains to be seen," Luccio replied. "Wizard Liberty, Wizard Listens-to-Wind: do you concur with my decision?"
Martha Liberty snorted. "I think the relevant question is does the Archive concur with your decision."
"We have her outnumbered," Luccio said in a tight voice.
"You made all these swords yourself, didn't you?" Ivy asked as she gestured to the silver blades each of the Wardens carried at their side. "Their enchantments allow them to block curses and cut through wards. Isn't that correct?"
"Yes, it is. And you are now facing a dozen of them in the hands of my most experienced Wardens," Luccio replied.
Ivy closed her eyes, and each one of those silver swords began to glow with a reddish-orange color. In just a few seconds they started to burn through their leather sheathes and fell to the ground. When Ivy opened her eyes there nothing was left of them but long slabs of melted silver.
"Anything you can do bambina, I can do better," Ivy said. "We will be returning to Edinburgh with Injun Joe and Martha Liberty, but if you even think about arresting my husband I will slaughter the lot of you."
The short trip through Nevernever was awkward. The Wardens were all keeping a close watch on Ivy and Harry, but pretended not to at the same time. To everyone's relief their mixed party arrived at the White Council's headquarters in less than ten minutes. The Sidhe-crafted tunnels beneath the Scottish capital were extensive, but a wizard could only cross over from Nevernever at certain heavily guarded checkpoints.
"Wizard Dresden, you are still alive," a shocked Luccio said as they entered a long and shadowy tunnel which lead down to the larger chambers were White Council was based. "And not only are you live, but have chosen this particular day to return to Edinburgh."
"Yeah, isn't that a coincidence," a grinning Dresden replied as he cast a strong privacy ward. "Wizard McCoy is also here, and we brought along a few friends.
"I can't believe that damn redneck survived... again," Injun Joe said a moment later as he wiped away a tear from his face. "You could dump that stupid son of a bitch in a live volcano, and he would climb out with nothing worse than case of sunburn."
"Where is the Gatekeeper?" Dresden asked.
"He ran away," Ivy said with a smirk. "I told you he was one of the traitors."
"What about the others?"
"Potter killed the Merlin. The boy stabbed the greatest wizard in the world in the neck with a wooden stick, and it worked," an amazed Martha Liberty replied. "Arthur's Death Curse took out Ancient Mai, Cristos, and Gopal."
"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph," Dresden muttered. "Ivy's crazy plan really worked."
"I doubt the rest of the White Council will see it that way," Luccio pointed out.
Dresden looked over at his former lover, who was glaring at the Archive with a look of pure hatred. "What is going on here Anastasia?"
An annoyed Injun Joe answered for her. "A few months ago Captain Luccio recommended to the Senior Council that both Harry Potter and Jared Kincaid be eliminated, and it seems that the Archive found out about it. The girl was been taunting Luccio all day."
"We should have done it. Thanks to her emotional attachments the Archive is now completely out of control. Her so-called plan could have easily blown up in our faces."
"We don't have time for this," Dresden snapped. "If we don't present a unified front to the rest of the Council there is a real chance a civil war with breakout between us and Cristos' followers."
"I agree," Martha Liberty said. "Anastasia, if you can't act like a professional than you are of no use to us."
"As always you have my full support," a stiff Luccio told them.
"That is what we wanted to hear," Injun Joe said. "Now this is what we are going to tell the others: Rashid took advantage of the duel and attacked his enemies on the Senior Council. This was nothing more than a coup attempt, and he was acting alone. No one is going to say a word about the existence of the Black Council."
"So the Lone Gunman strikes again," Dresden joked.
"We will choose new members for the Senior Council today, and that political excitement should keep everyone distracted," Martha Liberty added.
"Warden Ramirez and I are providing security, so you don't have to worry about any fights breaking out," Dresden told them.
"How many of my Wardens have you two hotheads corrupted?" Luccio asked. "Fifty? Sixty?"
"About a hundred and twenty," Dresden admitted sheepishly.
"Over half of the Wardens have rebelled against the Council? When the hell did this happen?" Injun Joe asked.
"We aren't technically rebelling against anything, but Cristos' condescending attitude did piss-off most of the younger generation. Plus I have developed a kind of... reputation over the past few years, so a lot of people were willing to follow my lead."
"What Dresden is too embarrassed to say is that since he personally destroyed the Red Court Vampires many of the younger wizards now believe he walks on water," Ivy told the others. "After Injun Joe he is easily the next most popular person on the White Council, which is pretty impressive for a former warlock."
"Thank you," a touched Dresden whispered.
"Just because you're popular doesn't change the fact that you are also an idiot," a grinning Harry Potter pointed out.
Over a thousand wizards were in Edinburgh that day, and the news of the Merlin's death nearly caused a riot. Arthur Langtry had dominated not only the White Council but most of the supernatural world for over two-hundred years, and now he was gone. Luckily Dresden, Ramirez, and their Wardens had some serious reinforcements backing them up.
All three of the Knights of the Cross were mingling with the nervous crowd, and no one wanted to tangle with them. Thomas Raith hadn't really recovered from his injures, but he did look impressive standing there in his new armor. Ebenezer wasn't a hundred percent healthy either, but he was managing to get around with the help of a cane.
Even more shocking was the presence of the Summer Lady Lily and the Winter Lady Luna. Many of the older wizards had met one or more of the Sidhe Queens, but to see representatives of Summer and Winter acting like good friends was frankly bizarre. Both Lily and Luna made it clear that they valued the friendship of the White Council, and that the surviving members of the Senior Council had their support.
At the same time Injun Joe, Martha Liberty, and the Blackstaff were politicking at a furious pace. Everyone accepted that Ebenezer would be reinstated to the Senior Council, but that still left four open seats. There was also the matter of who would be Arthur Langtry's successor as the next Merlin. It had been centuries since the Council had seen this much political upheaval. Many wanted to postpone the elections for at least a day or two, but the three old and very powerful wizards insisted that any delay would only put them all in danger.
Dresden went over to speak to his brother Thomas while all this was going on. "Where is Maggie?"
"She was bored, so Molly and Mouse took her to Ebenezer's old rooms. You said that he had an extensive library up there."
"How are you feeling?"
"Like someone removed my intestines, puréed them, and then shoved them back into my gut. What are Bonnie and Clyde doing here?" Thomas asked as he waved his hand in the general direction of Ivy and Harry.
"Don't even look at those two the wrong way. You and Justine have been given a rare second chance. Do you really want to waste it by getting yourself killed after only three months?"
"She murdered all of my sisters. I can't just let that go."
"You had better," Dresden warned. "A fight with Ivy is one you're never going to win."
The haggling and the horse-trading went on for hours. Slowly a consensus formed: Asia had been neglected in favor of Europe for too long by the Council, and there were to be given three seats this time. Wizard Jiaying from China, Wizard Waen from Thailand, and Wizard Saleh from Indonesia were finally selected from a long list of candidates. Much to his disgust, Injun Joe was the unanimous choice as the new Merlin.
"I can't imagine what the other shamans are going to think of me now that I've taken the name of a dead white man," he complained when the news was announced.
All this activity still left one last post to be filled, but no one seemed eager to replace a traitor.
It had been literally decades since the last time the Gatekeeper had feared for his life. As he crossed the threshold of an abandoned yet heavily warded hunting lodge in the Ural Mountains, he realized that were was an excellent chance this would be the day of his death. No wizard on Earth could hope to defeat the three other leaders of the Circle, and he doubted if he could even summon the will to fight back against his allies given his result failures.
"Rashid my friend, please sit down and have something to eat," Ferrovax said as the Gatekeeper entered a partially refurbished dining room.
Although he looked like a typical Russian businessman at the moment, Ferrovax was in fact a semi-divine dragon of staggering size and power. Shape-shifting was the least of his many abilities, as Rashid learned to his regret a hundred and fifty years ago. A good friend had made a pact with the ancient dragon, but failed to honor his end of the agreement. Confident in his strength as a wizard, Rashid had confronted Ferrovax but was defeated with humiliating ease. The short battle had cost him an eye, and left one side of his face covered with hideous scars.
Still his courage and loyalty had impressed the jaded dragon for some reason, and the two struck up an odd friendship. Once every few years Ferrovax would appear, always in a different form, and would share a few hours of thoughtful conversation with the wizard he had callously maimed. He even presented Rashid with the mysterious metal eye he now used. It was far more useful than his original eye, and even allowed him to glimpse disjointed pieces of the future at times.
It was during these rare conversations that the Circle had been born. Ferrovax had seen the rise and fall of countless civilizations, but he feared that something terrible was approaching. Not only was humanity multiplying at an alarming rate, but their new technology threatened to spin out of control. Dragons such as Ferrovax sought harmonious balance above all, and he feared that the future of the Earth itself in danger thanks to these reckless humans and their dangerous technology. After the horrors of the Second World War Rashid had no choice to agree with him, and together they conceived of the vital mission which the Circle was dedicated to carrying out.
"Yes, every condemned man should be allowed one last meal before his execution," the vampire Mavra added.
Normally a Black Court Vampire resembled a walking corpse, but Mavra now looked like prim and proper librarian. Several years ago she had blackmailed Harry Dresden into retrieving the Word of Kemmler for her, and the book's various rituals had restored her diseased and decaying body to perfect health. It had also greatly increased her magical strength, but it hadn't turned her into a god-like figure as the necromancer Cowl had originally feared.
Cowl had hoped to gain the Word of Kemmler for himself, since an unhealthy rivalry for dominance had always existed between various the members of the Circle. Thankfully the fool had died at the hands of Ebenezer McCoy. Rashid had hoped that Ancient Mai would be able to take his place as one of the five, but that plan—along with so much else—had been ruined by the Archive and her little twit of a husband.
"Mavra, if you mock Rashid again I shall give that new body of yours a scar which not even magic will be able to heal," Vlad Drakul hissed as he used a water stone to sharpen his favorite scimitar.
While the Gatekeeper was in awe of Ferrovax's draconic power and had a healthy respect for Mavra's skill as a sorceress, he was actually afraid of Vlad Drakul. As the scion of demon and human he had phenomenal physical talents. But that wasn't what frightened Rashid. Unlike his son Dracula who had become common Black Court Vampire, Drakul didn't need to kill to survive. No, the monster simply loved bloodshed for its own sake.
Rashid had argued with Ferrovax for years against allowing the sadist to join the Circle, but his friend had insisted. While Drakul was violent beyond all reason, he also had a strict code of honor which he always obeyed. As with the Sidhe's concept of honor, this code had nothing to do with human morality, but it did make him a predictable ally. And unlike Mavra who had joined the Circle out of a base desire for revenge, Drakul truly despised the corruption of the modern world.
"Do we always start our meetings by threatening to kill each other, or is today a special occasion for some reason?" the Denarian leader Nicodemus asked.
"What is this piece of trash doing here?" Rashid asked. If he was going to die today, he didn't want his death to be witnessed by an unholy obscenity like the Fallen Angel.
"The Circle has always been governed by five individuals," Ferrovax stated. "Cowl had to be replaced, and Nicodemus was the obvious choice. The Knights of the Cross must be dealt with if we are to succeed."
"As the Sorcerer of the Circle I should have..."
"That title is nothing more than a ruse we use to manipulate our lesser servants," Mavra said dismissively. "We five have always controlled the Circle, and Nicodemus received the three votes that are needed to join us."
Rashid knew there was no sense in arguing with his colleagues once a decision had been made. "Very well. It took me several days to make my way here, so I take it you have all learned from our spies of the disastrous events which took place in Scotland?"
"Don't be so glum, the Merlin is finally dead," a grinning Drakul pointed out. "I doubt that even any of us could have killed Arthur Langtry in less than ten seconds. I am looking forward to meeting this boy Harry Potter."
"Potter is nothing more than a tool of the Archive," Mavra snapped. "Your precious Hellhound is in a perfect position to strike. Why haven't you order her death?"
"Jarred Kincaid is no longer my obedient dog, and at times I wonder if he ever was," Drakul replied. "Besides, that would rob us of the chance to face the girl in battle."
"This isn't a game!" Rashid barked. The stress of the situation had finally gotten to him, and he could only pray that Ferrovax would prevent the others from torturing him at length.
"I agree," Nicodemus said. "There is no point in pretending that we are going to kill the Gatekeeper. His knowledge of—and control over—the Outer Gates is central to our plans. Isn't that so?"
"Yes, you are quite correct," Ferrovax said, before turning to Mavra and Drakul. "You both wield great power, but only the magic of a mortal wizard can breach the Gates."
"We had the entire White Council firmly under our control, and this fool allowed himself to be outmaneuvered by a teenager," Mavra jeered. "He must be punished."
"I have grown sick of these petty squabbles," Drakul declared as he got to his feet. The scion was as tall as Rashid, but carried over a hundred extra kilograms of pure muscle. "We have plotted in the shadows for decades, waiting for this moment. Now that it has arrived there is nothing the wizards of the White Council can do to stop us. I say that it is time to strike!"
"I suppose you are right. At this point there is nothing to be gained from further delay," Ferrovax mused. Mavra looked unhappy, but she nodded her head in agreement.
Drakul raised his goblet of wine into the air. "Then I give you all a toast: to the Dawn of a New and Glorious Age."