Life After Death
Chapter 11
"Harry Dresden is dead."
That drew my attention away from the road I was driving along as I headed toward my next dangerous rendezvous of the night. I looked in the rearview mirror at Binder who was staring back at me with a look of obvious trepidation on his face. His eyes met my own as a sort of silent plea to abandon this dangerous plan of mine.
It was rather pathetic but I was happy to remember at that moment that mirrors prevented the use of a soulgaze. This was good because providing such insight to Binder would not only tear down my carefully crafted illusion and scheme to keep Harry alive, but also for the fact that I had no desire to see what 'the real Binder' was like inside. I'm not usually one to judge a book by its cover but most people can still recognize a porn magazine from a distance when they see one. And the fact that wizard sight images stayed with you forever did not make this any more appealing.
But based upon his declaration I was momentarily afraid something in my disguise had slipped and now my secret had been revealed in some other way. That would be a really difficult problem to overcome without resorting to magic, violence, or serious intimidation. Thankfully his emotions though did not register that type of anger or betrayal that one naturally would when discovering they had been deceived so I could assume my act was still performing properly for the moment.
"I am right here as alive as you are Binder." I said trying to sound confident in that particular fact rather than show any concern that ne might be onto something.
"That is only a temporary state of being mate." Binder said without hiding his obvious fear and displeasure. "If you really plan on going through with mad scheme of yours then I don't see you lasting through the night. And while one less Warden in the world would hardly bother me much, the fact that your plot requires that I will likely die right beside you is not something I am particularly thrilled with." He said rubbing his rather stretched waistcoat like he was experiencing stomach problems, most likely ulcers. Hey no one said the magic business was all kiddie birthday parties.
I was about to respond with something a little compassionate and encouraging when he shifted in his seat to a more comfortable position with one cheek raised before letting loose with a distinctive trumpet like sound; though let me be clear that he held no actual musical instrument at the time. I swear I damn near lost my concentration on my illusion at that moment in obvious shock at this rude display.
And that was even before the smell reached me, which considering I was in a moving convertible with the top down and he was in the backseat downwind, is not only baffling from a pure physics perspective but even more disgusting when you think about that level of implication. There was no way, even with magic of keeping my face from registering my disgust for even the best illusion has limits on what it is capable of hiding.
"Oh like your stomach never gave you problems Dresden." He said without a hint of embarrassment while the cloud somehow continued to surround us both. Could this be in some way connected to his ability to summon beings from the Nevernever? More importantly, did I really want that question answered?
"That is not the point." I said trying to concentrate on the road and hoping to pass some sort of three day old road kill or a line of garbage trucks that had baked all day in the summer sun in order to improve the current scent in the air around me.
"Blimey Dresden you mamma's boy, it's not like there are any women around ." He responded with a look of superiority. "We are guys. It's in our nature. It's what we do mate when we are not trying to pretend and impress women." He said and the thought of that took all of my control to keep me from shuddering at the thought. Yeah and Harry always wondered why I never dated all that much.
I was saved from responding at that moment by the reappearance of Sweet, along with her announcing bagpipes sound, which thankfully differed from Binder's 'trumpet,' teleporting into the front seat of my car once again. This is why I had insisted that Binder sit in the back when I got him into my car, which after the last few seconds appeared to be a wise decision that bore additional unexpected fruit as well.
The little leprechaun started to say something but was paused as she sniffed the air. "Who has been feeding bananas to pigs?" She asked with a look of undisguised confusion on her face.
"Saints preserve us!" Binder said with shock at her sudden appearance trying to scramble backwards while still held fast by the lap belt in the back seat of the car. It was anything but a commercial demonstration of grace under pressure.
Sweet looked in the back seat and noted Binder after his exclamation and then looked back at me. "Oh that explains who was eating the bananas." She said with no hint of a smile.
"Hey they are necessary at my age for preventing cramps!" Binder protested as he realized she was insulting him and not merely some small fey demon who had come seeking either his soul or my own, at least while I was driving.
"As long as you believe it." I answered and turned my full attention instead to Sweet who obviously had something of significance to report from the way she was fidgeting. The leprechaun seemed genuinely concerned for the first time since I had met her and I immediately understood this was somehow related to who she was spying on. I know that if it were my task that this action would have intimidated me at least.
"I take it you are still keeping track of her?" I asked to get the ground based faerie to open up for what she had come here to tell me.
"Aye, that we did. Though I should also warn you she is with others of her kind and they are preparing some sort of magical ritual that I am not familiar with." She confirmed with a note of obvious concern. "The good news is that the four of them seem so intent upon this action that you will likely be able to approach the group without being noticed if you apply a bit of common sense caution."
"You see Binder, we should have no trouble getting close." I said as he gave a look that he was listening and that was hardly complimentary to either the idea or myself. Ah well I had forced him to give a wizard oath to support me in this little bit of mischief in exchange for not punishing him for violating his promise to Harry (me as he thought of it) to stay clear of Chicago. So I knew he would either hold up his end of the bargain or he chanced losing his magic, which with the number of enemies he had made over the years was likely the same thing as a death sentence to him anyway only with the terror of not knowing when it would be fulfilled.
"I'd like to know what kind of ritual she is performing before we step in the middle of it." Binder said in response to the leprechaun's announcement. "Based on where your little friend says our quarry is currently hanging out I can only assume that her ritual is obviously a piece of some rather nasty magic. I am not sure interrupting her would be a better result than letting her complete her spell if you get my meaning."
It was certainly true that there were some aspects of magic where disturbing the concentration of the caster could result in rather dire events for all involved. For example it is never advisable to distract a wizard in the midst of summoning and binding a demon of the lower pits. Sure the demon will almost always destroy the one who summoned it first, and you therefore might be tempted to see that as a good thing, but after those few seconds the demon will then turn its eyes, as well as claws, teeth, tentacles, piranha pig's snout, of flaming monkey poo tosses, etc., toward any other convenient prey such as the disturbing party.
Portals were also another form of magic that was better to let the spell run its course once they had been opened rather than taking out the one controlling it. Portals almost always were a test of will, first to force this barrier open, and then to not let the rip in the fabric of reality become too great in size. Taking out the person who was doing that latter task usually lead to screams, pain, death, and a less than complimentary wake for the fool who did so if anyone ever learned of it.
Personally I'm not all that big into ritual magic spells like these. For the most part it is a type not at all like sensitive magic so it does not come all that easy for me. Secondly ritual magic usually requires exacting repetition of key phrases and actions where any deviation causes negative results; in other words it is really the most boring type of spell casting. And for clarity when I say negative results I mean the spell does not work if you are lucky or something equally as bad as my earlier described scenarios takes place when you ar unlucky.
Potion creation was about the limited extent of my skills with ritual magic and even that was not a sure thing. Harry liked to remind me of the time I had accidentally set his lab on fire, doused myself with acid droplets, and eventually passed out from noxious fumes during one attempt to make a simple potion of temporary physical strength. He fails to usually mention that he had been distracted battling a pair of friendly flea infected werewolves at the time not to mention dealing with a few sticks of dynamite thrown into his apartment so I had not wanted to distract him with what I had thought at the time were minor questions on ratios and mixes. Geez you would not believe the lecture I got over that little miscalculation and the number of times he had accused me of helping to ruin his one day off for that year. Yeah right, like the dynamite thing had not done that all on its own! So yeah, ritual magic and perky wizard apprentices did not mix well.
I could sense that Sweet fumed at Binder's 'little friend' comment. Like many beings, leprechauns did not like to consider themselves incorrectly sized for the world. Instead in their eyes humans were overblown and bulky. Add to that natural inferiority complex a little traditional red-headed Irish temper and you understand how Binder's shoe suddenly burst into flames and how he howled as he put it out. Meanwhile Sweet acted like she was focused on other things in our discussion and did not even notice; way too focused on these other things to not have been responsible.
"Do you have any insight into just what type of ritual they are performing?" I asked Sweet because Binder's concerns were indeed worth considering in my plans. Still it would have to be something pretty darn big to turn me from my confrontational course though since I happened to have the necessary pieces on hand.
"No I'm sorry Mo… mate." She said catching herself. I glanced in the backseat but Binder was still focused on yanking off his smoldering sock to have actually heard her near misstep of using my real name. It was a close shock but I kept my heart rate down to nearly double its normal rate.
"The kind of magic they are dealing in is not one of those me and my people have a lot of traffic in." Sweet completed her though but I could sense her concentrating on something else. "I am getting a feeling though that some kind big and evil magic is gathering here in the city. It may be completely separate of course but I'd say the chance of such a coincidence is rather limited." She answered keeping her eyes focused at a distance as if trying to sense more about the spell she sensed gathering in power.
As a sensitive wizard I could feel those types of things too and once the leprechaun mentioned it I did have to admit that I too could feel a rather large gathering of magical power. Something big was certainly taking place and from its 'taste' it could not be good for the city. Speaking of senses I also got a whiff of the same flaming magical chemical concoction that I smelled last night around the sporting goods store fire that water could not extinguish. It was not Hellfire or brimstone, but it was certainly flame-related, evil, and very, very, very, did I mention very, powerful.
Based on the reconnaissance the leprechaun had performed I explained to Sweet how I planned to sneak my forces up without being seen but she suggested a different approach that I had not considered which she said would better serve my purposes. After she explained I agreed with a smile, telling her she was a genius at being devious; which was the best type of genius there is in all creation to most faeries. Sweet said she would go back and scout ahead for any changes in our opponents' activities that I need to concern myself with and would get things ready for me. With another flatulent bagpipe explosion the girl was gone on her pursuits.
"Get your shoe back on Binder we are going to be walking the last few blocks." I said looking at him in the mirror so I could see whatever defiance he tossed my way.
"Walk?" He said with obvious disdain and I could tell that the idea of exercise was one only of last resort and then only of survival necessity in his eyes. That's okay he could use certainly afford to drop a few pounds; I'm sure his doctor would agree.
"Yes walk." I said. "I fairly certain the car might alert them that company is coming before we invite all your friends to the party." I explained. "I personally do not see this as a good thing do you?" I asked rhetorically and then went on to more pressing matters. "How long do you require to summon your army of grey men?" I asked so that I could get the timing right.
"I can bring about a dozen through a minute." He said with obvious pride as I calculated that out. That meant three grey men per adversary per minute. Nope we would need a lot more than that at first if this plan had any hope of success. Figure ten minutes to walk the two blocks, twenty probably for Binder based on the shape he was in, that would make our side number at nearly two hundred and fifty.
Of course there was no way I could put a veil over that many. I think a dozen was the best I could do at one time and even that is probably pushing it considering the magical mechanics involved. It was therefore a good thing that Sweet had offered me that alternative means to disguise my forces until the time came to attack. And the best part was it really should not be all that difficult a spell to maintain once it was in place. That meant I should not be completely out of power if it came down to a fight; well I really mean is if it came down to me being in a fight.
We parked my car and got out to begin our trek. Binder wasted no time in opening his gate and after every ten steps or so another of his grey men was suddenly marching along mostly silently beside us. Thankfully this was not a particularly busy part of town at night or we would likely have stopped traffic as everyone would have stared at our little ad hoc parade. All I needed was some sort of musical instrument and I could have declared myself the pied piper of Chicago, here to rid the city of magical vermin.
I had been to Graceland Cemetery before when Harry took me there once and therefore already knew the general lay out. He had told me after dark the city locks the place up which normally would mean that our group would be required to scale a wall or enter by some other less direct means. However, with Binder, who I may have mentioned did not have the form of an Olympic gymnast, and his army of grey men, the whole Special Forces approach was not going to work. I also suspected that since this was the location my target had chosen and with her already performing a magical ceremony, the standard concerns about the rent a cop at the gate would not be an issue that I needed to spend too much time over.
Unfortunately I found out how right I was, as the body of the cemetery guard lay right beside the shack, his throat torn open and his blood drying on the concrete beneath him. I had seen this particular type of death before, it is one of those events in my life that made mall shopping a less than pleasant idea for me. Thankfully I had come prepared for this potential and as soon as I got through the gate I popped the cork out of one of my vials of holy water and poured it over the face and neck of the presently deceased, but soon not likely to be totally dead, guard. The fact that his entire body began to smoke before collapsing told me I had done the right thing and just in time.
"Nasty bit that." Sweet said as she appeared out of nowhere sitting on a nearby headstone. The fact that there had been no sound of bagpipes made me assume she had merely dropped a veil this time and not teleported to this location. Considering that stealth was called for in this situation I assumed that the use of powerful veils was how she was successfully spying on our target.
"Beats the alternative." I said without much emotion. Based on my recent experiences in Mexico I found it interesting that I had become so hard where death was involved. On the other hand it was just the kind of thing Harry might say so it was a good way of reinforcing the illusion while Binder was standing close by.
"The vampire has not moved." Sweet said confirming what I had hoped for. "She is still performing that ritual around the open grave as you suspected she would be." Given the location, current events, and the individual's personal history it was no great feat of logic to have figured this out.
Graceland Cemetery is rather famous, not just among the Chicago magical community, but also by the general civilian population. It is the largest cemetery in the city and with the exception of a few such plots on church grounds, the oldest of these types of facilities. It has been catering to the final needs of both the city's wealthiest and its most destitute residents for going on two centuries and showing them that regardless of the status and wealth they may have possessed in life that they really cannot take it with them on this final journey.
Tourists actually came to the place during its open daylight hours to bask in the architecture on display here. Yeah that seems like an incredibly creepy idea for a vacation to me too, but hey some people collect stamps and other like to dress up like Elvis so who was I to judge how a person decided to spend their relaxation time?
For that unique group of tourists there were indeed some rather remarkable structures to admire. Oddly enough for a city in the middle of America this included examples of both Ancient Greek and Roman temples, the obligatory self promoting statuary hinting back to the more modern renaissance era, and even a few Egyptian obelisks and a similar time-lined pyramid lest that historical period be ignored. Artists and their patrons had put a lot of work into these final resting places pushing ostentation and self idolatry to a whole new level.
On the other hand there were also swaths of basic weathered marble headstones as well that proclaimed the name of the deceased and a simple final honor such as 'beloved father' or 'loving wife.' Personally I always felt those better spoke to the true character of the one lost to the world than some grand temple made of a thousand such stones.
Harry had brought me here over a year ago to show me his grave. Years before that a Red Court vampire named Bianca had bought both the plot and the headstone for him and offered this as a gift before the magical community of Chicago. It really had served as a less than subtle threat that his days of spell casting were numbered. Harry had actively taken part in her destruction instead; the event it turned out which had sparked off the war between the Red Court and White Council that had finally come to an end in Mexico a few days ago. It therefore did not surprise me that this location, with its continual opening grave awaiting delivery of his body, would play some role in these events now that Harry was rumored to be dead.
I looked at Binder and his army of nearly two hundred grey men that stood behind me awaiting his relay of my command. Even with such numbers backing us up the chubby warlock seemed incredibly nervous, an emotion that displayed to me that Binder had a fair share of common sense in that misshapen frame of his.
But while his eyes pleaded with me to call this confrontation off I merely responded with a shake of my head to say we would proceed as planned. "I am heading up there to prepare things. Bring your grey men up in five more minutes." I ordered in a nearly silent soft tone that carried a deadly seriousness to it. I could feel he was waffling but I knew in the end he would agree because I had left him with no other reasonable choice but to comply. Sweet offered me a wink of support all the same.
I popped a veil over myself and headed toward Harry's grave. Looking around I knew for certain that there was no way I could have tried to hide more than two hundred beings as they wandered through a cemetery in all directions. Sweet's idea on how to accomplish this same thing was the better choice and now I knew the only viable option I had available. All I needed to do was get close enough to where the ritual was taking place without being seen and I could pull it off. Yeah this was just like the stupid types of heroics that Harry usually tried to pull; the same heroics that almost always ended with him getting hurt in some nasty way.
Once away from Binder I really did begin to feel the power of dark, evil, and warm magic that was flowing in the air around me and growing ever stronger as time passed. It was both subtle and brooding in feel, which is the only way I could describe it, like the spell was awaiting a focus to point its attention upon. It permeated the air and even gave a hint of ash to my taste buds though I was not eating anything at the time.
As I have said before my veils are pretty darn good and as long as I avoided stepping on noisy twigs, not something in evidence in this rather well kept facility, I had no problem first reaching a point two rows back from where Marva and her three assistant fledgling Black Court vampires were circled around Harry's grave deep in their spell.
Marva was one of those beings who literally scared the hell out of me for what she represented. Harry, Thomas, and I had faced off against a Black Court vampire a few years ago who, like Marva presently, had a set of fledglings with her also. That fight had nearly killed all three of us and the Black Court leader had only been a vampire in that case for about a year.
Marva in contrast has been around for centuries, or at least that is what Harry suspected, and she was also a wizard of no little power as well. That meant she was many times the level of badass as the Black Court vampire we had fought in the mall, and this time there was no Thomas or Harry at my side backing me up; there was just a perky wizard apprentice, a less than reliable, overweight warlock, and his army of grey men.
I had told Binder to give me five minutes before following in order to prepare my spell and I knew that I needed all that time to do it right or Marva would literally have me for lunch. Once I had the quartet of bloodsuckers in view I began to circle around them so that I was eventually standing for a moment on the opposite side of where I had approached from, and therefore where Binder and the grey men would as well. This pictures is what I had to get perfect in my mind for my plan to succeed.
"Margaret I need your help with this." I said within my mind seeking out the spirit of Harry's mom. Hell I figured with her experience and attention to detail that this could hardly hurt my cause.
"Of course Molly." She answered immediately and seemed to know exactly what it was I needed from her. "I had been monitoring what your new acquaintances have been saying and I have to admit the little leprechaun was right, this is a far better idea."
"I know." I said. "I just wish I would have thought of it." Staying alive without Harry's protection meant I needed to think of these types of things on my own. There would not always be a leprechaun, or a master wizard, available to offer me good advice when I needed it.
"Don't be too overly hard on yourself my dear." Margaret replied. "It is not like even The Merlin was gifted with total magical understanding in his apprenticeship. He had to learn and invent ways to use magic just like the rest of us have to." She explained to cheer me up knowing that an image of a bumbling Merlin always did so.
"Now focus on the task at hand so you do not end up with your pretty throat torn out." She said. Yeah that was just the type of reality pep talk I required at the moment.
Once I was pretty certain I had all the details I required I began to make my way back around the vampires once more to the other side. I judged that I still had a little available time remaining so while I watched my steps I also listened in to what the four vampires were chanting. It was hard to make out all the words since they spoke with a lot of hissing sounds, but my ability to sense magic and the few phrases I was able to pick up told me that they were performing necromancy, no real surprise there, and some sort of spirit searching spell. I had no time to ponder on that too much as I had to get to casting my own spell if I was going to pull this off encounter and live to tell about itone day in my memoires.
I began drawing magic to myself and still kept my eyes darting from Marva and her crew toward the location the grey men would come from. I got to my starting point once more with enough magic and in a fine display of spell casting dexterity I tossed up my new illusion while at the same time dropping the veil. My magical reserves at this point were down to about half of what they normally were when I was well rested. Keeping my illusion of Harry going did not draw a whole lot of power as it was simple, sensitive magic, but even a dim bulb will draw down the largest battery over time and this was the effect that I was experiencing. Not like I had any time to recharge, so Molly stop complaining and get to it.
Marva showed me just how dangerous she was with magic in that she sensed the release of my spell as I cast it and immediately had her eyes darting in my direction without interrupting the repetitive ritual spell she herself was casting. Her three minions were not alerted to her movement or well trained to stay focused on their tasks and therefore kept on chanting as their mistress began to scan for the source of the magic she had felt come into existence or identify the result of that spell. Thankfully for me Marva was used to small, simple, or subtle things where spells were concerned and therefore overlooked what was really going on.
You know that scene in Saturday morning cartoons where Bugs Bunny paints a picture of a tunnel on a cliff face and it suddenly becomes real? Yeah that was sort of what I was doing with my magic. Instead of trying to cast a veil over a whole army of people which would require me at the same time take into account their actions and movements while not making gravestones disappear, Sweet had suggested instead that what I do is create a mural-like illusion across Marva's line of vision.
You could sort of picture it as a curtain of magic that hid the army of grey men as they slowly and quietly came forward but instead of being some opaque barrier that would instantly alert her that something sinister was indeed underway, instead I merely created a replica of the graveyard scene from where she was standing. This is why I had to circle all the way around to make sure I got all the key details correct even down to the visible text on tombstones. Margaret Dresden's spirit was invaluable at capturing all of these details with her near photographic mind.
When the mistress of the Black Court looked up, what she saw before her was the same things she had likely only casually observed when beginning her ritual spell; the same slabs of marble, the same patches of grass and weeds, and even the same glow of street lights from beyond the walls of the cemetery. Having Margaret's spirit able to help me even adjust the colors to the right hues and other various details in my mind's eye helped ensure the illusion would pass the reasonability test especially for a distracted vampire.
As I hoped after just a few glances that revealed nothing immediately dangerous Marva turned her attention back to the spell she was casting totally oblivious to the swarming army of grey men who began to shuffle up to the row of tombstones one layer behind me before stopping and awaiting my command to Binder.
I had to wonder if it were possible in the middle of a complicated ritual spell to engage Wizard Sight. That was one of those little details I realized I overlooked but I guess that Marva either did as well or was not capable of this type of multitasking at the moment.
"Spirits of Set, Omens of Osiris, I command thee to open the Book of the Dead and call forth the spirit of the deceased so that I might speak to him." Marva now chanted louder her words louder as she refocused upon her spell; either that or with a chance to more fully concentrate I was able to listen more closely and decipher them though her lips did not seem to properly align with the sounds.
"Actually Molly the vampire is speaking in Ancient Egyptian." Margaret's voice informed me. "I am merely translating it for you between your ears and your mind so you can understand it."
"Holy universal translator Spock!" I though in my mind. "You can do that for all languages?" Wow there certainly were upsides to this possession by a spirit thing.
"Only those languages that I was fluent in during my life." She informed me to a little disappointment. "That is the twenty seven most used on the planet or in the Nevernever child." She politely scolded me at my unwarranted moment of discontent.
"Well that will just have to do I guess." I said with a sigh that was all smiles inside.
"Dead of the Underworld you serve at my bidding!" Marva's orders and magical command pulled the power of the grave from the cemetery around us to her and focused it through a darkening portal of pure cold, the chill of death no doubt, as her spell began to reach toward culmination. "Spirits of the dead bring me the soul of Harry Dresden!" She screamed aloud with her head thrown back at the dark skies with eyes awash in the ecstasy of magical power release. Her minions' eyes though never left the ground where their chants continued to support her spell. Once more inspiration and fate demanded that I not let this opportunity of a cue call pass.
I parted and stepped right through my curtain illusion before letting it snap back, literally making me seem to appear out of nowhere rather than the normal dissipation of a veil. Even distracted by the spell Marva was alert and the sudden motion was enough for her to sense my arrival and her eyes to snap back upon me, in my Harry illusion of course, leaning slightly upon my fake staff as I smiled in her direction fairly sure she had never seen this type of spell effect before.
"You rang?" I said aloud and without any hint of concern causing Marva to stutter and the magic of her spell she held to shatter in her hands and mind. The area of concentration, centered on Harry's open grave, suddenly exploded outward in a blast of frigid, somber power. Marva caught the blast full in the face as she stared at me and the magic of this whiplash tore gobs of flesh away from her form and further shredded the old, damaged, and simple black cotton shift she wore.
Her recently created fledglings did not have their creator's magical strength or protective wards to draw upon as a defense to the spell's backlash so the power literally blasted them onto their backs and tore away almost all the exposed clothing and a significant portion of the dead flesh they wore beneath. By their nature both Marva and the new vampires would of course regenerate back from these wounds over time, but from the way the young ones scrambled in response to the pain this blast inflicted I knew it would take a few moments at least before they would be a threat. And that little time would just give more grey men time to join the party.
"Dresden, so you are still alive?" Marva asked showing that she had mostly, if not completely, believed the rumors of Harry's death to be true as she stood up to face me rather than continue to appear being subservient to me upon her knees.
"You seem overly surprised by this." I said calmly and made no hostile action which any intelligent being would do knowing she was wounded. It was not that I was afraid to have her misinterpret my actions as hostile and then attack also, well I did have that as a concern but not that she would be focused on, but rather my purpose was to appear annoyingly calm like I did not consider her a threat even worthy of this basic precaution. Undoubtedly she had heard by now the stories that Wizard Harry Dresden had just taken down the entire Red Court in Mexico so Marva's eyes actually widened in fear at my display of cool demeanor and lack of fear. "I would have thought a rifle armed assassin to be far too impersonal for you."
She paused at my comment and then smiled, and if you have never seen it a Black Court vampire's smile is not something you want to look at very often. "You think that I had something to do with that pitiful attempt upon your life?" She asked with a laugh that was just way too sinister in tone not to be completely true.
"It really does not matter does it?" I said in response to her retort. "The Black Court aligned itself with the Red Court which means you and I are still at war." I reasoned and that steel undertone of my words took the laughter out of her voice.
"Besides, let us not overlook that you are an evil bitch anyway and I've been meaning to get around to destroying you and cleaning up my city anyway." I said but still took no offensive action.
Marva's eyes hardened at this blatant challenge but she chose in caution and wisdom not to immediately response. Instead the vampiress looked at her minions who were only now starting to find their balance once more in order to reach their feet and stand though they still were looking much worse for wear. The three glared at me with the Hollywood typical vampire stares of 'dinner is served' on their wicked faces but they also made no move without their mistress's command to do so. She was afraid, I could sense that clearly, but she was also intrigued that I was actually alive and was therefore waiting to see what I would do.
"While the rumors among my kind are that you destroyed the Red Court nearly single handedly I still have trouble seeing you as any kind of true threat. Perhaps this natural ability people have to underestimate you explains how you have survived to this point." She said taking a measure of me while her eyes narrowed and I did nothing at these insults.
"Do you really think you are a match for any of my three newborns much less all three of them and myself you pitiful excuse for a wizard?" She was getting cocky. Good I liked my opponents to feel that way right before I pulled the rug out from under them.
Or in this case dropped the curtain was probably the more correct metaphor. "No, I probably am not." I said without still raising a hostile hand. "That is exactly why I brought along friends of my own." I smiled back and dropped the curtain illusion allowing her to see nearly three hundred grey men standing right behind me and ready to attack.
I did not even turn to look at my soldiers myself, but instead merely enjoyed the way the eyes of the vampire crew widened at this sudden revelation of an army of unexpected and unseen enemies here on their very doorstep. "Go get em boys!" I ordered and Binder through his own magic, who was hiding toward the back behind a larger statue relayed my order to his minions. In an instant the entire groups swarmed right past me to get at the vampires and tear them apart.
Grey men may look clumsy, but they can still move rapidly enough when in a swarm to be a threat to just about anything including Black Court vampire wizards. Marva recognized this too as the horde encircled her forces and she immediately ordered the other three vampires to attack as well before she was fighting for her own life.
It was truly a battle of quality versus quantity. A Black Court vampire, even a mere fledgling, is incredibly fast and vicious as far as most monsters go. In almost every case it took only two or three blows from their inhumanly sharpened clawed hands to transform one of the grey men back into a pile of ectoplasm goop from which they were created. Sometimes it even happened with only a single well placed blow as was most common for those unfortunate enough to attack Marva herself.
But even with all this power at their disposal the Black Court team was starting from an impossible position. In the time it took a fledgling to finish off one grey man, one or two of its compatriots were capable of closing and landing blows on the vampires in return. While these strikes were generally nothing more significant than a knife scrape on an oak tree, enough such blows will still cause even the strongest of trees to eventually fall.
The grey men also felt neither fear nor pain which was probably the two greatest disadvantages the vampires had in this fight. Without a sense of pain the grey men continued to attack even if a vampire's first blow tore an arm from its body. Of course a human could never keep up such an attack in those conditions.
Likewise without a sense of fear the grey men did not register any need to retreat while their companions were being ripped apart right before their very eyes. They just took each loss of their numbers as a means to move closer and attack themselves. This then left the vampires with no breathing room and while Marva was eventually able to draw forth the sword at her belt and made excellent use of it, the continual press of opponents kept her from having the time to draw upon the magic at her disposal which might have tipped the balance in her forces' favor.
In the end it was the vampires' own ruthlessness to see their enemies dead that contributed to their undoing. By killing the grey men the vampires inadvertently transformed these summoned beings back into pools of ectoplasm which splashed upon the ground. After the first two dozen or so such deaths the ground around the vampires was so saturated with the stuff that even the blood suckers' enhanced physical attributes were not able to fully compensate for its hazardous effect.
The fledgling to Marva's left was the first to lose his footing and slip to one knee. It was only a temporary disability but enough for the wave of grey men to literally crash down upon him burying the novice vampire under a mass of battling bodies that kept up their attack until the undead creature on the ground beneath them was torn completely apart.
Marva was not stupid and knew the limitation of her forces when faced with such a threat. She recognized at this point that standing and fighting would only end in her own destruction and no creature that had lived as long as she had, who had developed such a sense of survival, was willing to accept that result to happen just to continue a useless fight. She issued a growl command to her two remaining, yet both wounded, minions to guard her flanks and standing herself at the pinnacle of the formed triangle began to try to cut a wide swath of a pathway to freedom.
The fledgling on her right was the next to stumble and Marva, knowing she needed him to protect her flank from grey men, turned to fight off his swarming attackers with her sword momentarily delaying the breach from that side. But as she was usually a solitary figure and not used to fighting with a team, Marva had not taken the time to tell the minion on her left what she was doing until it was too late.
The last one on her left of course was focused upon his own battles and so stepped past his mistress exposing both his own flanks to attack in the process to almost all sides at once. By the time he recognized his error and tried to retreat it was already too late for him even though Marva slew four or more of the grey men who had turned their backs on her in order to finish off this second vampire.
The mistress of the Black Court and her remaining assistant immediately went back to back and tried to keep the remaining grey men at a distance. Unfortunately they were tiring out and Binder was by this point able to replace each of the grey men lost from this point on by drawing forth a new one. The smile the warlock now wore on his face relayed that he understood we were likely to live through this night after all.
And then I sensed a sudden explosion of powerful magic, the same fire based mystical energy that Sweet had tuned me into. The odd part of this is that the magic had originated from somewhere far behind me, certainly not within blocks of the cemetery, rather than from Marva who was standing before me. I realized in that moment for all her power, Marva was not the female I had observed last night at the fire either then.
The invisible tsunami of power from this explosion reached our battle a few seconds later and its effect nearly made me swoon which attested in exhaustion as the normal flows of magic were temporarily realigned. This demonstrated in a terrifying way the level of power that had been released somewhere in the city.
"Dresden!" Marva called over the odd warbling sound that the grey men made as they regained their own equilibrium and continued their attack. Her own voice seemed just as shaky as I felt and I understood she too had been momentarily affected by the same feeling of malaise that I had experienced. Of course she was in a life and death battle when this had happened and I was fortunately not so the advantage went to me in this case. "My death curse will destroy all those you care about wizard!" She said as a last ditch threat that filled me at first with fear for those I loved and then the rage at this to deny it which exploded from my mind.
In their human forms the grey men seemed to sense these emotions that projected from my body just as well as humans would and they surged even more to attack in response to my anger. First they ripped apart the last fledgling without even knocking him to the ground as they had the others. And then they buried Marva under a flood of ectoplasm created flesh. The Black Court vampire's sword was torn from her hand and tossed away before chunks of her body began to be ripped clean away as well.
"Halt!" I commanded and either Binder immediately translated this command or the grey men sensed my emotional dominance and did as I ordered. "Hold her still." I said and nearly a score of the creature found hand holds upon the vampire's bleeding and damaged body to do as I commanded leaving only Marva's face visible to regard me as I stepped around the pile to look down upon her.
I knew enough not to meet a vampire's gaze even in the red heat of my anger. Members of the White Court could seduce with just such a glance. The Red Court, before they were destroyed, could charm their way into your heart in just such an instant. But the Black Court were said to be able to enslave any being, animal or human, that foolishly met their eyes. I was not about to test that theory so I had one of the grey men place his hand in such a way to almost completely block her sight.
"I could have one of them shove their hand in your mouth or down your throat." I said calmly and very emotionally detached to Marva. "I am fairly certain that this would stop your death curse from being spoken. In fact I would be willing to bet my friend's lives on it."
I could sense from my words that the vampire felt actual fear, possibly experiencing this for the first time in a very long time. That is the down side to being nearly immortal, you forget what it is like to feel helpless. But I was equally certain Marva had enjoyed this when the roles were reversed and she placed others in such a position. All bullies tended to be like that. Now it was time to see if she would cower as quickly as most bullies did when they no longer had control.
"If you wish to survive this night you will agree to my demands without negotiation." I said calmly as I circled her pinned form so that she could not get a good bearing on where I was standing. Red Court vampire spittle could also charm anyone it landed on and I did not want to take a chance of her hocking a loogie at me and pulling a spit soaked victory out of the jaws of defeat; yes pun intended.
Like I said centuries of living as a hunted creature meant that Marva had undoubtedly built up a fairly strong survival instinct and while I sensed complete and utter hatred for me and her present vulnerability at the moment, her remaining rational mind was willing to accept listening to any offered alternatives to death that were presented. Let's be fair, it is not like she was going anywhere.
"What are your demands wizard?" She said in barely contained rage in Ancient Egyptian no less, her words being almost animalistic grunts that took me a moment to decipher with Margaret's help.
Three is the normal number for placing such demands on another as there is magical power in the number three. That is the reason genies always grant three wishes because somewhere along the line, those in charge of magic decided that freedom was worth three services and it has remained that way every since. So to keep this level of power I too would make three demands on the vampire.
"First you will provide me all the information you have or can speculate over the significant magical events that are currently taking place within our city. You answers will be both honest and complete to the best of your ability." I said making my wording such that she could not simply elude me with half truths in order to lead me to my own doom through my ignorance. This was a common practice among higher magical powers such as Faerie Queens and lower plane denizens who would both thereafter providing these just sit back and enjoy the folly.
"Second you will pack up operations and leave the city of Chicago forever more before this day is done." Damn it was after midnight already so I gave her a lot of time. "You will cut all ties you have to this city and leave none of your followers or agents behind to do your bidding either." I demanded figuring it would be good that if Harry was actually dead to make sure one of those beings that most worried him was not around to continue operations. This was especially important if I had to take up his mantle. I would not always have Binder and his forces of grey men at my disposal to do battle with a Black Court wizard in the future.
"Lastly you will swear a wizard oath upon your power that all issues between us are settled and all accounts closed. You and yours shall not willing cross paths to seek conflict with me and mine, especially my friends, in the future lest you suffer the stripping away of all your magic." I said knowing such a thing to likely be as abhorrent even to a Black Court vampire with other natural skills at her disposal as it would be to any wizard of the White Council. This would ensure that even if Marva could hit back at Murphy, or my dad, or even Harry's favorite perky wizard apprentice that the vampire would not do so in fear of losing her powers which she had to consider rationally would be far more important to her over the centuries than a quick moment of revenge against the one who had bested her.
I could feel that her hatred was growing even stronger, and like her magic instead of burning hot it was frigid cold in its raw shock value and danger. "I… do… swear… to… abide… by… all… your… terms… Wizard… Dresden..." She said to me slowly and clearly in English, forming each word as she struggled against the binding she was therefore placing upon herself. Thomas called his inner hunger of lust a demon, a separate entity that he had to do constant battle with in order to not succumb fully to it. I wondered though if this definition was even more true for those of the Black Court whose existence was only one of death.
"You will understand if I do not choose to release your or uncover your eyes until after we complete our conversation." I said without a hint of compassion.
"My respect for you only grows with each breath you somehow survive to take." She replied with a not so subtle undertone. I had to actually laugh at that comment as it really was pretty good one liner considering what state she was presently in.
"Tell me what you know of the source of that explosion of magic we felt a moment ago of the attack on Johnny Marcone last night." I ordered Marva in commanding tone so to allow her the opportunity to fulfill the first part of our bargain.
"I know nothing of it nor who is behind it. Had I known it was coming it might be you lying beneath my hands right now Dresden" She said with obvious enjoyment, so much in fact that she actually smiled thinking she had gotten off easy for this part of the deal to save her life. But I also sensed a little bit of intrigue and evil in her emotions, I mean even more than is regularly part of a Black Court vampire's day-to-day personality that is. She was playing cagey with me.
"Your oath requires your magically experienced speculations on these events as well Marva." I pointed out to her and this gave her pause. "I can tell you know something more than you said, or at least you are hypothesizing upon things that you have yet to speak of."
"My speculations are only that based on the level of what we felt at such a distance that it would take either a well aligned group of significantly powered wizards or a singular being of nearly god-like ability to release such a spell as we felt." She replied as the compulsion required of her. "Groups so singular of purpose without the distraction of self-promotion and infighting are incredibly rare to find, and even more so now since you destroyed the Red Court and rumors claim that you reduced the Order of the Black Denarius to just a few remaining of their number." She replied as she obviously considered any others that might fit that description.
"On the other hand there are there are a number of singular beings with access to that kind of power. Ancient gods, denizens of Hell, dragons, former apprentices of Kemmler, if any such still live, and of course that other order of wizard types who oppose the works of the White Council from both within and without in the shadows just to name a few of the most obvious." She said with obvious enjoyment since her list was too long to offer any particular insight into my dilemma.
"You mean the Black Council?" I said providing the name Harry had designated to use when those who suspected its existence spoke together of the latter group.
"The Black…?" Marva began to question and then stopped. "Ah yes I get what you mean. Yes that appears to be a very appropriate working title for those beings until they provide their own names, probably when looking down upon the remains of the White Council."
"Like I am with you right now?" I said wiping the smile off her face with that one pin stick observation.
"Do you know who they are?" I asked.
"Hardly." She said. "I merely am aware that they exist by an absence of being able to explain some things in any other reasonable manner. Their efficiency of hiding is so well that they are found because they do not exist, if you take my meaning." She explained and I had to admit this was in many ways how Harry came to suspect them as well.
"Like other such beings of power I like to think that as long as their interests are not operating at cross purposes with my own then their organization means nothing to me or to my own personal designs." She said without a care for what other mischief these people might cause.
Okay this information was hardly as helpful as I had hoped when my instinct to capture her and get Marva to talk overrode my desire to see her destroyed. Sure ridding Chicago of the Black Court presence certainly should be chalked up in the win column, as would the fact that in the process I have an oath from her to protect all of Harry's friends from her revenge. But having someone both far more knowledgeable in magic to help me figure out what was going on and evil enough to be doing these things themselves was a situation I would not likely get too often so I did not want to see it wasted. Thanks to her blood sucking nature, Marva knew more about magic than I likely would learn in my first century. And that suddenly reminded me of something important that she might have the answer for!
"How many spells are you aware of that use blood as a key component?" I asked while pulling the note I had jotted Archive's words down upon from my pocket.
Marva laughed. "Really Dresden, that seems an amateurish question for a wizard of your reputation even for someone as young as you." Her emotions hardened a bit and I realized I had made a slight tactical error and raised her suspicions.
"Well this one is rather specific in its requirements so I am glad you are so well versed in these varieties. I should have suspected that a Black Court wizard would specialize in this specific type of magic." I said trying to cover up my tracks with flattery wrapped in sarcasm. "What can you tell me then about the spell that needs the following blood components?" I asked and then began to read down the list one item at a time.
Marva listened closely and obviously was committing the items to memory perhaps for her own future use. While I read them aloud I also monitored the vampire's emotions which read as curious or intrigued meaning the combination was new to her rather than as superior, knowledgeable, or even afraid which I would take to mean she knew the spell.
When I finished I said nothing so that I could let her brood for a moment or two and work through the mechanics of blood magic. I figured a few centuries of dealing in this area might make recalling the correct spell, or at least being able to surmise what it was for, take some time.
"Is that all there is to it or are you holding out on me?" Marva asked as if she had come to some sort of conclusion.
"No that is the complete list that I acquired." I responded. "It is just the eight things as I described them to you. What type of spell do you think the person behind this unique collection is planning to cast."
Marva smiled and this disturbed me just as much as the first time I had witnessed it. "I truly do not know Dresden." She said. "And you know if I were lying that my oath would take away my powers before the words even reached your ears." She had me there but still I could tell by her emotions she was holding out something from me, and judging by the level it was rather vital, that she had deduced.
"But you know something more than what your have said." I challenged pushing the emphasis that I was still in control and that she was still at my mercy for the time being.
"Most assuredly I solved one obvious part of your little riddle." She replied as her emotions became almost gleeful to be explaining this to me. "Those are not spell components you see listed." She said. "Instead they are the eight components for creating some sort of potion." She explained and I immediately realized that she was correct.
Magical potions always require eight items for the magic to be successful; a base liquid, one that symbolizes each of the five senses, one for the mind and the last one for the spirit. As I read down the list I saw that this was exactly what I was reading, a potion recipe for something I could only assume was rather horrible based on its contents. The good side though was that by now knowing what was needed, perhaps I could prevent the being behind these events from collecting all of the ingredients. If they did not have the proper makings, than the evil cake they wanted would never be baked. It was something even an apprentice would know.
Marva's laugh echoed once more around me as the grey men held her down. "I wonder how the great wizard Harry Dresden could have missed something so obvious?" The vampire said with a strong tone of suspicion in her voice. I was glad the grey men were still covering her eyes for I was certain she suspected I may not actually be who I claimed and want to test out that particular theory. Thankfully seeing through an illusion required the process of actually seeing. And after her laugh I was not about to give her that opportunity to expose me.
"By the terms of our agreement Marva I cannot kill you because you swore your oath." I said stepping a bit away so I did not have to look any longer at that deadly smile. "But that does not mean I have to let you go at this moment either." I informed her. "I never swore to do so, only to allow you're the opportunity to survive."
"Those creatures holding you down and the rest of them circled around you waiting to take their place if you succeed in dispatching any of them will all disappear at dawn just like all such spells." I explained. "Of course I understand that dawn is also a rather uncomfortable time for you as well. If you happen to survive remember that your oath requires you get out of town before midnight tonight or you will lose your powers." I turned and walked away not even looking over my shoulder as I headed for where Binder was still hiding behind one of the larger headstones.
"Get out of my town bitch!" I said at last.
"This is not over Dresden!" Marva called to me as I gathered up Binder and rushed him away leaving his grey men to continue to perform the last task he had demanded of them, that of keeping the Black Court vampire contained. They would do so unfailingly until the sun rose in a few hours. "Our paths will cross again wizard! You will die a most horrible death!" She called after me but I paid her no heed.
"Do you hear me Dresden?" She said as we headed almost out of range of her raspy voice. "You are dead! Harry Dresden is dead!"