Life After Death
Chapter 17
"Harry Dresden is dead." Tera West said spitting a gob of blood onto the sidewalk at her feet. "He must be or he would have already found a way to destroy this creature that challenges his territory."
I must admit her blunt, animal-based viewpoint totally succeeding in dismissing my internal efforts at that precise moment to deny this particular possibility and thereby piqued a sensitive spot with me. So instinctually I really wanted nothing more than to call her out on that fact as her words still hung in the air and provide her with a taste of my own wrath.
However, having witnessed Tera's savagery only minutes ago and combining that with the fact that she was currently standing totally naked in front of us and without the slightest shred of self consciousness sort of knocked me off that course of action. In fact, enough that I did not make an issue of her comments at all and instead focused on the more immediate concerns she had raised. It was not that I was into her or anything, but I mean one can hardly miss that she really had no sign of body fat at all on her body and that her eyes looked crazy enough to be a warning.
"You did not do so bad on your own." I acknowledged with a nod to the skill she had demonstrated hoping to calm the crazy. "And we took down her army of golems at least so the next time we cross paths I figure we have the power to bag her and mount her head over a fireplace somewhere." I guess that was not technically politically correct to provide this kind of hunting lodge image to an animal hybrid but Tera took no notice of it or let the comment go without making it an issue.
"My actions are unimportant as I failed to protect my pack." She said spitting another gob of blood and showing that only the end results of any situation matter to her kind. "I successfully protected Georgia and her unborn child but could not stop that beast from taking Will. The girl's pup will be born soon but I am unsure the female will survive the birthing process if she thinks that her mate has been killed. Your kind has lost much of its need to survive…you humans have grown weak."
"Well then tell her that he is not dead and that we will be bringing him back home in time to see his child born." I said with a tone that was thoroughly convincing which caused Tera to look at me with her head cocked seeking further confirmation much like a sheep dog looking for a command. I decided to explain the situation enough to ease her conscience and then get onto recruiting her for my purposes. "The dragon needs him alive until she casts her spell of resurrection and she still has one or two more people to collect before that can happen. I know because according to her I will be the last one she picks up for this little spell of hers."
"That makes no sense. Why did she not take you a moment ago when she had the chance?" Tera asked. "No animal would leave wounded prey when they are vulnerable."
I guess wolves would not understand the concept of torturing an enemy so the dragon's reasoning was foreign to her. "She wants to hurt me slowly as a way of getting back at my family for the hurt she felt." I explained. "She wants my pain to last until I beg for it to end."
"Then we must track her back to her lair or else set a trap for her before she collects the next one. That way we can free those she has already taken." Tera replied coming to the obvious conclusion and with a tone that bespoke that by merely saying something it would make it happen. Life must be easy as a wolf.
"That would be a great plan if we actually knew who the next target was." Murphy piped in bringing us back to reality before turning her attention back fully to me. "Unless you have some idea kid, I'm thinking the best we can do is sit and wait for her to come after you. This would give us the advantage of building a trap for her rather than rushing off and doing something rather Harry-like." She had only the briefest hint of a smile of equating Harry-like with rash and stupid, if effective, in her mind.
Murphy was right in so far that I did not know with any certainty who the next target would be with certainty. Sure I had the list and could make some assumptions but hey I was way out of my league here just trying to play catch up and figure out what she was planning. And the idea of building a trap that could take advantage of all of our strengths really was the smartest idea we had but it would mean leaving those captured at the dragon's mercy until we fought the battle. And even if we won it might not mean we could find them, at least not in time for Georgia's baby to be born.
Like Harry I must admit that I really am not a fan of letting your enemy pick time even if you pick the place when they come for you. There is an inherent advantage of throwing them off their time schedule. So the even better plan would be to combine Murphy's two options. Building a trap around the next target would provide us all the same advantages if we could figure out who the next target was going to be.
But to figure that out I needed someone smarter than me as far as magic was concerned and unfortunately those people not willing to kill and eat me on sight would primarily be members of the White Council, a group that it was in my best interests to avoid for the present time at least since they would be forced to just kill me if we crossed paths. But hey the Council and the big scary monsters were not the only game in town and a quick look at Murphy and the equipment she carried gave me an idea.
"Murph give me your pen and notebook." I said pointing to the ballpoint and cop's notepad she had in her shirt pocket like any good detective probably did out of habit the world over. I figure she had so gotten use to carrying them over the years that it was still natural for her to do so even though she was no longer a cop.
"Tera you may want to go find something to wear if you are going to stick around with us until we get Will back. Your current attire will draw a bit more attention from civilians than is in our best interests." I said with only a glance her way as Karrin opened the pocket on her shirt and extracted the items requested. For her part Tera merely shook her head at more 'human foolishness' but then scampered off and did as I suggested. God I would pay really good money to move like she did!
Murphy handed me the pen and paper without any question other than a slightly raised eyebrow but I was not wasting time explaining. "Please go stand over there and turn your cell phone on. I am pretty sure you are about to get a very important phone call that may just have the answers we require." Karrin looked at me quizzically then shook her head about wizard foolishness and did as I asked.
I smiled and began to write a few words on the page in my hand. True to my prediction not five seconds after I finished Karrin's phone went active it began to chirp fairly loudly. Personally I was expecting Murphy would have a ringtone of 'Kung Fu fighting' or maybe the theme to Starsky and Hutch but it was just the normal, generic one for her brand of cell phone. I guess having to replace them all the time because you work with wizards makes you learn to accept the bare basics where electronics are concerned.
Murphy did not even get a hello off before we could tell the other party was speaking to her. "Molly it's for you." Murphy said confirming what I already knew. "It's that girl Ivy." The look on her face was priceless as she put together that I knew Harry's secret in this case as well.
"I know Murphy." I said confirming this was happening just as I expected. "You are going to have to talk for me or I'll fry your cell phone the way I'm feeling right now." Even with a dozen feet or more between us I was worried that in my emotional state I would still do it so I stepped back a few more feet for safety sake.
"She said she has done everything for you that she can." Murphy began. "She even sent you…"
"Bullshit!" I interrupted before she could finish whatever Ivy had told her to tell me. "Tell her I helped keep her alive just like Marcone did and that she owes the both of us and now it's time to pay the check!" I said letting my anger flow. That was probably not smart on my part as The Archive could trash me with little more than a thought, but dammit we needed what she knew. "And I do not care what she says she sent. Right now we have nothing and we god damn expect better from our friends!"
There really was no need for Murphy to pass along my message as I had been loud enough for the phone to pick it up even at this distance. However, something I said must have struck a chord as after my rant Ivy and Murphy spoke back and forth without me for a few moments. Murphy was resigned mostly to just yes's and no's. I could see by Karrin's body posture that whatever was being said was something important but had no clue because what was being communicated was happening so rapidly and I did not want to interrupt at the wrong time when being silent was smarter.
Two minutes and ten seconds later Murphy hung up her phone after nodding to it in obvious agreement with Ivy's plan; whatever that was. I have no clue why people do that since the other party can't see the action, but Karrin obviously was one of those who did it naturally and now was not the time to ask. She powered it off, even going so far as to take the battery out, and then walked back over to me with more than a little shock showing on her face.
"Ivy said she will be here in twelve hours, maybe less, and says she has a suite at the Hyatt Airport hotel where we can meet her. She will inform the staff that they are to grant us entry to her rooms." Karrin said calmly but obviously as shocked by the news of The Archive's arrival as I was.
This was great news as far as I was concerned once the shock wore off. The Archive was world-class power and if not stronger than the dragon we faced, at least she would give the bitch something serious to worry about especially with the rest of us helping backing her up. That is of course if she was willing to act which supposedly went against the Archive's mantra of observance only unless she was personally affected.
"Did she say she was willing to help us?" I asked wanting to make sure I understood exactly what was being offered before making any incorrect assumptions.
"Yes." Karrin replied. "She said she now has a personal investment in this issue." She paused as she seemed to be concentrating. "And she also told me to tell you that you should not waste the next twelve hours playing with your coloring books but should go save the only person she still needs to collect." She said obviously repeating word for word what she had been told even if it made no sense.
I almost made a smart assed reply at the comment which was so out of character for the Archive. It really made no sense for her to tease me like that since she was younger than me and therefore closer to coloring book age. But then I realized Ivy was not one to use words frivolously and was instead sending me a message. It took only a split second to understand it before Karrin's actual words stuck home and the color drained from my face.
"We are leaving NOW!" I ordered everyone and without a thought took off running back to the car letting the rest run to try and keep up. Up until that very instant I had thought Harry's death was the worst possible thing I might ever face in my potentially long life as a wizard. I suddenly knew just how wrong I had been in that assumption.
With Murphy behind the wheel and the rest of us packed in like sardines we made good time fracturing many speed limits and traffic lights, but it was not nearly good enough as far as I was concerned. I found myself asking Murphy for the time every few minutes until she growled at me to calm down. Yeah that was not going to happen! The stakes were such that even seconds were far too precious to me and my emotional concern seemed to leak out and cause all the others in the car to feel similar.
They each sat silently emitting nervousness in their posture and furtive glances in my direction; even Ms. Gard which seemed strange considering battle and death were like old friends to her. Murphy, as usually for her, converted this excess emotional energy to action and drove as only a cop could through the streets to get to the destination I had told her was about to be attacked. I wanted to be wrong but with what Ivy had passed along there was no way that I could mistake the next target.
Little Harry, my youngest brother and not actually related to my mentor which in retrospect makes the whole 'little' thing kind of odd, had demonstrated an odd talent for precognition in magical terminology. Of course in my household where faith served as the cornerstone the term used would be a gift of prophecy but I digress.
During one of my solo outings this 'gift' became apparent as Little Harry kept providing me clues to my future from various coloring books that he marked up for me. Unfortunately I only figured all this out in retrospect rather than when I could have really used it.
Since that time I had kept an eye on him and found this skill manifest itself a time or two more, always when someone he loved was in danger. I even heard he had made a picture of Harry and I standing on a pyramid. Like the fact that angels guard our house I was not particularly surprised that this was one of those things better not talked about beyond the family, so we rarely did with only one other I know of.
Only myself, mom, dad, and Father Forthill knew about Little Harry's gift. But now it was obviously someone else had a means of learning this as well. I knew the good father would keep his vow of silence and my parents as well but somehow the secret got out. The hint Ivy gave me in referring to coloring books and remembering that one of the remaining ingredients of the potion was "knowing what the future holds" left little doubt in my mind that the final target before me was my younger brother.
I asked Murphy the time again and ran the calculation in my mind hoping we would get there before anyone left. I figured with angels guarding the house even a dragon would give pause before attacking so Little Harry would be as safe at home as he could be anywhere. And the same rules applied for his school since like me, he too was enrolled in a good Catholic private school that had more unseen security. That meant the only window of opportunity the dragon had was when my mom drove him back and forth, which was right about now if she still kept to her schedule. I only prayed that Charity Carpenter would be running behind for once.
But of course that was not to be. Charity Carpenter had never in my memory been late getting kids out the door for school and I doubt anything could make her short of there being some supernatural event, and even that probably would not delay her more than five minutes at worst. I told Murphy not to even slow the car as we drove past my house noting that the family van was not parked in the driveway where it would be. But still according to the clock they could only be a minute or two ahead of us! With a little bit of luck we would get to them first.
Then we all felt the shadow of the beast fly over us and the immaterial sense of fear that emanated from it. My increased sensitivity to such things made my body shake but my determination to save my family overrode any need to cast a spell of bravery on myself this time. Instead I focused on my rage and prepared to unleash Hell itself to save those I cared about. I would not let harm come to more of those I loved.
But then there is Chicago traffic…
The red light at the next intersection slowed us down but it was the cross traffic of early morning commuters heading to work that stopped us in our place. Some part of my mind registered that the cause was the local sanitation department working this area condensed two lanes of traffic down to one. Murphy wanted to do something but even with her cop training there was nothing she could do except come to a full stop as well even though I saw her glancing at the sidewalk with consideration etched on her face.
It took an additional millisecond to understand we were not going to start moving anytime soon so I was out the door and running down the street with Karen calling my name before I even realized the decision I had come to. Pleased with my instincts I did not even turn to look back but put my head down and ran as fast as I could, thanking Harry…my Harry…for insisting that I focus as much on training my body as I did on my magic. Course, the adrenaline helped but the practice did make me arrive two blocks later with still enough breath to shout "NO" at what lay before me.
My mom's van is not all that remarkable, in fact it looks like dozens of others on the streets, unless of course you have ridden in it a few hundred times over the past few years. Therefore I had no problem recognizing it as it currently was sitting on the sidewalk half a block ahead with all the windows shattered out and the top peeled back like some grotesque sardine can.
I ran faster, happy to note that while the roads may be clogged, especially with rubbernecking as drivers looked at the remains of my mom's van, that the sidewalks were still mostly empty and so offered little challenge beyond the occasional trash can, mailbox, and persons walking their dogs. It also allowed me to see a woman's body lying next to the van that was wearing the same coat I had bought for my mother two Christmases ago. I found even more speed in my stride.
I stopped six feet from her, not because I was particularly afraid to learn if she was hurt or even dead, but rather because I now had that familiar feeling that I was being watched with a perverse sense of amusement. Instead of focusing on my mom like I wanted to, I turned and looked up at the roof across the street, finding the familiar cloaked woman holding Little Harry one handed out in front of her and ready to drop my brother.
"Very good child, you are learning." She said approvingly of me. I guess the fact that I had stopped and considered things rationally made a necessary impression with her but of course impressing her was not what this was about. I did have plans to impress her, just not in this way.
I pulled magic to me and produced a flicker, only a flicker, of flame in my palm and raised it toward her. Yes, it was small, but it burned white hot and nearly glowed with all the anger and emotion I was slowly feeding it. At that moment I bet I could have cast a flame blast that might have even impressed Harry.
"Give me my brother bitch and you better hope he is unharmed." I said in deadly seriousness of a whole new level of threat and a promise of pain if she did not do as I ordered. Her left eyebrow rose just slightly in obvious respect for my unspoken power.
But with a word she put a shield up between us, a shield that had a human sized gap right in the middle of it that Little Harry's body was used to plug. "Take your shot child." The cloaked woman taunted me. "My heart lies bare to your power. You need only blast it through your brother to destroy me." She said making sure their hearts aligned perfectly for the shot she offered to me as she smiled.
And of course I could not take such a shot. I wanted to. God help me I truly wanted to kill this bitch. But the flame in my hand withered out before her eyes. Not at that price. I could not be responsible for killing someone, or helping kill someone I…
"Ah what a disappointment you are little girl." She said clucking and shaking her head. "I had such high hopes for you and each time you have only left me disenchanted with your kind."
"Because I would not willingly kill someone I love?" I asked.
"Indeed - To do what needed to be done." She replied. "But it appears your master never trained you to make the really important choices. He left you weak and others will again suffer for this mistake on his part."
"What is it you want?" I said with a sense of total defeat and dropping to my knees in exhaustion. The sudden pain as they hit the concrete kept me focused and made me notice my mother was breathing at least before I turned back to the cloaked woman standing atop the building.
"I would think my goal by this time to be obvious even to you." She said with a shake of her head.
"No." I stopped her. "What do you want in exchange for my brother?" I said to be as clear as possible. There was also an unmistakable tone in my voice that I would agree to almost anything to get him back safe and sound…because deep down I knew I would.
She stopped and looked at me askew again for a moment before dismissing me. "An interesting offer I admit, but alas I need someone with superior vision to ensure the spell's success." That made sense of course. Potions required an aspect tied to the sense of vision so there had to be some sort of magical enhancement of this sense. Using someone who had the ability to see more than normal would help make the spell all that more powerful which of course is what she required.
"What about wizard sight?" I offered hoping she would accept this as an acceptable trade.
"That is hardly a fair exchange of value for one who can glimpse the future." She replied dismissing me. "You would have to do much better than that if you think you are going to tempt me with a deal now that I have what I truly require."
I had to admit she was right. While wizard skills were not all that common among humans and therefore wizard sight was equally rare, precognition was far more unique. What I offered is sort of like exchanging a ruby for a garnet. So what I needed to offer was a diamond for the ruby. But what would be better than precognition? And then it came to me…
A slow smile lit across my face as the cloaked woman began to turn away. "Wait…Have I got an offer for you…Something even you will not be able to turn down."
I sat there for a few moments after the cloaked woman and I concluded our business. She took Little Harry with her as insurance, but had agreed to my terms and even offered me a path to success. The deal left me cold, kneeling on the ground and cradling my mother in my arms. Blood matted her scalp into a sticky mess and there was already some bruising evident on her hands and neck. She had obviously put up one hell of a fight. I do not care how powerful you may be, you do not threaten one of Charity Carpenter's kids and expect her to stand meekly by.
And then I sensed a second presence; one that I had encountered before but did not want to acknowledge now.
"You cannot have her." I said turning and looking into the familiar face of Death. He looked once more like Captain Smith of Titanic fame rather than the Grim Reaper but regardless of the face he wore, what was underneath the grandfatherly visage was undeniable.
"You may find comfort that I have not come for your mother at this time." He said in a voice that was actually calming rather than the freaky or sinister one you would expect. "But know that were I to do so though even your powers, as impressive as they are, would not stop me from my assignment."
"Then why are you here?" I asked ignoring yet another challenge to my skills.
"I am here because you called to me." He replied.
"I think you got your numbers mixed up." I joked. Sure it's not like I have not had a focus on death lately, not just Harry's possibility but my own as well thanks to a dragon for an enemy.
"I think not." He replied without a sense of humor. "You see in my particular line of work it is bad form to visit the wrong customer. It tends to cause people to doubt that my word is final in this area. Those who have encountered me performing my duties me and lived to speak of it tend to make others think this is common. Rare is the one who escapes my hand."
"Then explain Elvis!" I said with a laugh. Unfortunately the look I got in response told me that Thanatos was probably more of a Big Bopper fan than of The King.
Silence floated between us at this point. It's not like my mind was not racing with lots of potential things to say, but there is only so much you really want to say to Death. It's not like you want to become friends or anything as that makes for truly awkward holiday parties when he shows up invited. And of course there are the things that you don't want to say to Death as well.
"You still wish to avoid the uncomfortable subject even though with every passing moment your very soul screams out for an answer to release you from this pain." He said more or less reading my mind and shaking his head in obvious pity.
Did I ever mention I am not a fan of being pitied? In fact it pretty much pisses me off. "Fine! Is he dead or not?" I said not naming Harry directly as Death obviously knew who I was talking about.
He turned his full gaze upon me and if you did not know then yes, Death is not really one of those being you want to have a stare down with. Oddly enough there also is no ability to Soulgaze him either. I suspect that is because he does not really have a soul. Death is not a living being so much as a force, not of nature, but of existence.
"I am not here about that particular subject. I do not respond to inquiries where the questioner already has the answer he or she seeks." He said in deadpan, pardon the pun, seriousness.
I already had the answer to that question? I could feel my brow furrow in confusion but only for the moment it took him to continue with his next sentence and cause me to refocus.
"Since you learned of its power to restore life to the dead you have prevented yourself from fully considering these implications. You think it darkness, or a violation of your precious Laws of Magic. I can assure you that it is not within those boundaries." He said with a sly enticement in his words that caught me completely off guard.
"What do you mean?" I stuttered. "I have not been considering how to use…"
"Really?" He interrupted. "The thought of using this spell yourself never crossed your mind?" He made that tsk tsk tsk sound like a disapproving school teacher. "I thought during our previous encounters I sensed in you someone much more practical than the average White Council wizard. It's a pity I was mistaken. There is much the world and you yourself could benefit from our association." He began to turn away. Yeah maybe it was all a dramatic show but he had sparked my curiosity so I had to know the rest.
"Fine." I said. "What would it take for me to use the spell myself?" I asked. "What deal with the devil would I have to make to bring someone back?"
He stopped and looked back at me again with a smile…well yes… a smile of Death. "The components required are all the same for you as it would be for your opponent." He said increasing the smile. "The items are not so much a potion as they are conditions of a deal, and since I made the offer I care not which one of your chooses to fulfill the bargain in the end as long as I get what I am due." Yeah, I really did not like that smile and the way he seemed to wear it so comfortably. But even still that could mean…
"There is however one notable exception." He brought my inner budding excitement up short. "While most aspects merely require some blood of the victim not their life, a pint or so a piece is sufficient, the base element to accomplish the casting is inviolate. A life must be offered in exchange for the return of one." He said ensuring I knew just what the particular stakes were for this game. "And that life must be blood descended of the being in question." He finished with an odd twinkle of amusement.
Mom moaned on my lap and as we both looked down at her for a moment to see the cause of her distress by the time my eyes raised back up Death was no longer standing before me. His words though had stuck with me and the implications of just what it meant.
Charity was just regaining consciousness when the others I had left behind finally made it through traffic and pulled the car up alongside to me. Murphy, the only one who had ever personally met my mother, at least that I was aware, gave me a brief flash of a concerned look but I shook my head to say not to worry too much. While I waited I had used my chi skills to check out the extent of Charity's injuries, but other than having her bell rung and the visible bruising I had already mentioned, my mother was in pretty good condition for a middle aged woman facing off against a dragon. There are times, not many for sure, but certainly ones like right now, when I am proud of her passing along her genes onto me.
"Molly?" Her eyes fluttered open and showed obvious surprise at seeing me here since I was supposed to still be confined to a bed in a hospital halfway across town.
"Ummm…yeah...about that…" I started to try and make up some excuse using the same voice I had dozens of similar times throughout my teenage years at home.
Then Charity's eyes grew wide and she forced herself up to her elbows as her knees bent preparing to stand. "HARRY!" She said suddenly as her mind now raced and caught up to everything going on. She began to try to stand but I held her back and this became a contest of wills where only my leverage and a bit of magic aimed and suggesting she calm was able to overcome her in this struggle.
"She got him mom. She took Harry before I could get here." I said as I held onto her. "But we are going to get him back." Did I mention my mom is a solid wall of muscle beneath her otherwise small frame? She resisted me still and then turned that force into hugging me just a fiercely. "I promise mom we will get him back."
"Why? How?" She asked in a near panic.
Well that was not really a question I wanted to answer since she was probably not going to approve of just what I had in mind anyway. Besides, what I was currently planning was probably just and dangerous as facing off against an angry dragon so the less I explained to her or the other the better I was going to be. "Don't worry." I said trying to offer a confident smile as she looked up at me. "I have a plan."
"You sound like a combination of your father and Mr. Dresden." She said in cool response that almost made me smile at the comparison. "And by combination I am talking only about the part of their collective planning that always ends in someone bleeding rather profusely." Wow talk about a negative outlook! I am sure that on at least one occasions Harry and dad might not have gotten hurt too bad… not that I can recall it at the moment but I have to be sure it occurred just based on their number of outings. Maybe like agreeing who carved the turkey one Thanksgiving or something…No…probably not. Or maybe it was on a trip to the store?
"Mom, please I can handle this." I said trying to stay focused. "Go home and I will take care of it."
"If you think I am going to sit home while your brother is being held by who knows what…"
"A dragon mom…"
"Dragon?"
"Yeah…in fact the daughter of the one that dad killed." I replied. "She has sort of this personal family vendetta against us so I figure no reason pissing her off any further by bringing forth the rest of our clan."
"I understand and agree. Your father would never accept just sitting at home and we both know he is not healthy enough for this. And your brother Daniel has it in his head that he is taking up your father's sword, but between you and I, I think he has a ways to go yet." She replied and I could do little but smile and agree though I had seen Daniel in action and in my opinion I think mom was being overprotective rather than objective on this subject.
"So I agree it is not the rest of our clan. It is just me. Our home is just a few miles from here. We can stop by the house and get my armor and hammer on the way." I had seen that look in Charity's eyes before and knew I was not going to win this particular argument. In a way I even had to admit was glad for her to be along. I felt a little more complete knowing she was nearby.
But that did not mean I was willing to have my authority in this area challenged, not even by my mother. "Fine." I agreed. "But we have to figure out where she is keeping him first and to do that I have to go negotiate with The Archive for this data."
"I will talk to her." Charity interrupted. "She will listen to a mother in need."
"NO!" I said as firmly as I had ever been with my mother without breaking into a fight. This actually stopped her thoughts as she looked at me with slightly wider eyes. "You will go with Murphy and the rest to gather your gear and you can even help outfit the rest of our merry little band and then wait at home for my call." I said brooking no defiance.
"But…" I knew she was hurting and that sitting and waiting was not something she wanted to do with her baby, or any of her babies, in trouble. This included me, which is why I had to change that particular equation.
"Mom, you will need to trust me more that you have ever in your life." I said as I thought through my options, including ones I could not believe I was even contemplating. I wondered how many times Harry had been forced to do the same. "I am going to ask you to do something that will seem crazy. But it may be the only way to set the world right once more."
She wanted to argue more, I could see it in her eyes. Charity Carpenter was not someone willing to sit and do nothing, which was more or less what I was asking of her. "Please mom…trust me…" I asked one more time, her little girl's voice filled with steel.
"Alright Molly, we will do this your way." She agreed with a nod to me and the others.
"Are you truly determined to go through with this child?" Margaret Dresden's voice asked in my head in a tone that actually offered bewilderment at my considerations of the moment.
"Yep." I replied as I dipped my brush into the paint.
Margaret waited for more until she finally understood I was trying to focus and not think about it which of course made it the only worthy subject for conversation. "I am not sure if I should offer my profound respect for taking such a chance or demanding you have you head examined for this foolishness." She countered after the silence became too much.
"I'd say why don't you wait and see what results and make the statement most appropriate at that point." I replied putting a final touch to brighten a spot just a little more. "Besides if I did have my head examined and they asked me if I have been hearing voices what exactly would you want me to say?" I countered with an internal smile.
Margaret had no response to that particular inquiry but I did feel her relax slightly at my jest which let me get back to the last touches of the task before me. Hopefully I'd be done in time.
On the bright side I had almost half a day to prepare for what I was going to attempt. On the down side I was about to try something incredibly foolish against a level of power that even Harry had serious respect for. You know that old saying that desperate times called for desperate measures? Yeah I left desperate back in the dust a day or so ago.
I also was glad that I was not the one responsible for paying for the hotel suite considering what I was doing to the walls and the carpets. I mean the chalk lines would wash off easily enough and the charcoal ash might take a bit longer but I'm sure it would come up out of the carpeting eventually as well. It was the florescent paint mixed with a few odd inks that had taken me a few of those hours to collect and mix properly that were probably going to cause the greatest commotion with the hotel staff.
And of course they would be an issue with Ivy as well.
The Archive entered the room and the only reason she was not overwhelmed in complete shock was probably because she had sensed my 'writing' of every magical symbol as I placed them all over the walls, floor, and ceiling in her luxury suite. By the time I had started she was probably close enough not to waste time with a phone call and just have this particular conversation in person, which was just fine with me as I did not need the distraction.
"May I ask what exactly you are doing?" She said as she stood in the doorway looking at my 'creation.' Beneath the obvious all-knowing way Ivy had of looking at me, which as The Archive and the repository for all human knowledge was probably par for the course, I could also sense a trace of curiosity as if I was showing her something she had not seen before, which was what I hoped for. When you represent the sum of human learning, seeing something new was probably a treat in and of itself. I wondered if she would think so in a few hours.
All the furniture in the living area of her suite had been pushed off to the side so that a fairly accurate, well at least as I saw it, rendition of the earth with the North Pole in the center was painted upon the center of the floor. Directly above it on the ceiling and going down the walls and doors were accurate placements of all the major constellations in the northern night sky. To be fair I only focused upon those constellations that had magical significance but these were still a fairly significant number. Connecting them all was a thin silver line of ink that started at the North Pole and then traced to the point lowest on 'the horizon' and worked its way in a circle until finally making it to Polaris right above me.
In addition on the pieces of furniture still visible were also personal graphics of unicorns, faeries, sports team logo and comic book heroes and villains.
I stepped into the middle and stood on the North Pole and looked around at my handiwork. "I take it you are not particularly impressed, but I only had a little time to work on this." I said with a sense of hurt pride.
"And just what is 'this' supposed to be?" She said stepping into the room and carefully moving around the room looking at my handiwork without messing any of it up.
"That is Wonder Woman!" I said insulted. "See the golden lasso and how she is holding off that mad horde of fire-breathing midgets?"
"The politically correct term is 'little people' but I did not mean this one piece of art, but rather the entire collection." Ivy said without a trace of annoyance or even any emotion I could tell in her voice.
"Wow I thought you'd 'seen it all' as Harry would have put it." I smiled and stepped back off of the Earth and walked straight to the constellation of Draco the Dragon counting my paces aloud as I did.
"It's too low on the horizon." Ivy said without sounding too judgmental but instead offering advice.
"Everyone's an art critic." I said with a shake of my head. "Besides like all magic it is based mostly on belief and symbology rather than accuracy. I'm taller than you so when I stand on the North Pole it will be where I think it should be and the spell will work." I said rubbing my hand on the wall until I flinched in pain at the sharp little corner of metal sticking through the drywall.
"Dammit. Oh hell that hurts." I said as the blood welled up and I started to bring toward my lips to suck on my finger to stop the pain.
"What did you do?" Ivy asked stepping forward with a moment of concern and right onto the planet Earth.
"I'm sorry." I said looking at her and then letting the blood drip on my mouth fall onto the carpet and the normal circle of magic flare to life around her. Her eyes actually registered surprise, not at my magic, but at the fact that I had actually done this to her.
She gave the spell little note, in her place I would likely do the same, but instead tried to focus on understanding me and what my motives were. While she had endless lifetimes to draw upon, I think Ivy had little practical firsthand experience with betrayal. I felt terrible to be responsible for changing that, but as far as I was concerned I would feel worse the other way.
"You know your own are no match for Harry Dresden's circles of power and even he with all his skill could not contain me were he to try." Ivy said without a direct, merely an implied, threat. "You even know that I destroyed a number of Denarians who tried to hold me this same way and had ley lines to back them up yet still you took this action as if you expect your wards to hold me. Why?"
"I have to trade you for my brother to save his life." I said without regret. "The gift of prophecy is pretty high on the list of sight-related powers, but full cognizance of everything in the world was a power unique enough to make the dragon willing to accept a trade."
"And so you expect your circle to contain me until she arrives?" Ivy asked. "Isn't that asking a lot of your power and my patience?"
"No." I answered. "Part of the deal is that I have to deliver you, though to be honest I am not even sure of where I am to take to."
"Now I am even more confused." Ivy replied still without any sense of hostility but truly wonder. "Molly I know you are smart enough to understand your power cannot contain mine, nor do you have any means to bind and transport me, so why go to this elaborate scheme to lock me in a magical soap bubble?" She continued.
"You are right." I answered. "I cannot hold you. The Denarians are a whole lot tougher than I am and they needed almost all their strength and a confluence of ley lines to hold you, and even that was an iffy proposition. So instead I merely traced out a path…"
"…ah I see for the magic to flow like water following a riverbed." Ivy said nodding as her eyes followed the silver line. "That is a very impressive and creative answer to the problem you face." She nodded in actual approval with a smile. "I knew I liked you not just because you saved my life but for your intelligence and talent." As a demonstration she flicked her fingers and her small charged of electrical energy that flew toward me suddenly whirled away as it followed the magical lines of power that served to nudge and channel it rather than resist its effects. The spark danced the length of the line and then disappeared into the magical constellations.
"I assume the magic is sent somewhere safe?" She inquired both as a practical matter and probably hoping to find a flaw in my trap. Since she had all the knowledge of the human species to draw upon I really did not see any reason to be tight lipped.
"Yeah there is a one-way pin sized gate out into the center of the sun in fact. I'm glad you approve of how it is set up." I said. The choice of the sun was probably the hardest part of my plan. Opening a gate provided The Archive with a potential escape so the trick was not only ensuring it led somewhere instantly fatal, but also that the escaping magic would not harm anyone in the process. "I really am sorry that it has come down to this though."
"So am I Molly." Ivy replied as she sat down calmly in the center of the circle to obviously wait me out. She really did not seem to be holding a grudge which is a good thing.
"Of course you overlooked the fact that I do not have to resist you at all. I merely have to wait you out. Certainly your dragon friend set some sort of a deadline on your delivery and as that time approaches you will have to drop the shield as it will serve no further purpose." She pointed out ever so accurately the flaw that I had actually realized.
"Yeah about that…" I said with an even deeper regret now in my voice. "You see since I was on a time schedule I had to set it up so that the gate also pulled the air out of your circle prison as well. If my calculations are right I figure you have a little over an hour or so of air left in there before you pass out from lack of oxygen. Once that happens and your defenses are down it will not be a problem keeping you asleep with some minor mental suggestions. I have a natural talent in this area you see."
"Oh VERY GOOD!" She said approvingly as she glanced around a little bit now taking in all the various aspects of my trap and therefore considering it just a little more serious than a moment before. "I think Harry would be proud of you." She said twisting the knife in my side since both of us knew that he would not be.
"No." I replied. "Harry would have found another way. I'm not as strong or as smart as he was, nor do I have a whole lot of time to come up with a better plan, so this is the best I could come up with. Truth be told I'd rather he was here to help me."
"Don't put your skills as a wizard down Molly." Ivy replied. "You did capture me. And let's be fair your image of Harry and his ability to do everything right is tainted by your feelings for him. He did kill the mother of his child and asked his only apprentice who loved him to…"
"He did what was necessary to save the life of his daughter." I responded quickly cutting her off in midsentence. "Everything he did was to save Maggie. Don't disgrace his actions by comparing them to mine."
"If you say so." Ivy replied with far more confidence than a young teenager should have. "I meant no disrespect."
"I'd rather not talk about it." I said wearing my own emotions on my sleeve, but hell I figured with the number of love letters I had written to Harry and torn up before I knew about The Archive's powers it was not like I had much to hide or anything where my feelings were concerned.
"Have you figured out where she is hiding?" Ivy asked obviously aware of the location and taunting me with this.
"No." I replied. "Any chance you might want to provide me with that little detail?"
"I had planned to as a means of balancing the scales between us." She countered. "You will understand that I intend to keep this as my trump card. You will need me to find out so you will have to agree to release me."
"Actually I was hoping you were going to help me fight the dragon when you first said you were on your way here." I answered.
"I cannot." She said. "That would be providing you too much. The Archive is not supposed to choose sides."
"I thought she attacked you." I looked in her young face. "Isn't that enough of a reason for you to act?"
"I did." She said. "I sent Kinkaid."
"Lotta good that did."
We sat in silence for a few moments considering this fact until Ivy spoke up again. "No matter, it does not change our current situation and the fact that you need me to provide you answers which I will not do as long as I am your prisoner."
Well there was that; except I had considered this possibility as well. "Ivy, may I ask you a personal question?"
"Why not?"
"Harry told me that your power transfers from mother to daughter, is that right?" I asked.
"Yes. That is how it has been since time immortal." She responded. "Why is that important?"
"Only because I know you have no daughter." I said stating the obvious. "So that raises an interesting question. Where will all that power go if something were to happen to you?" I asked and watched as her eyes grew large.
For the most part magic is tied directly to the wielder and passed through bloodlines. Harry and I both got our talents from our mother, just like Ivy. But sometimes when magic reaches a certain level of power it takes on a will of its own, sort of like a survival mechanism. You know how the One Ring lived even after it was cut from the hand of Sauron? Yeah sort of like that.
The youngest Archive in a very long time sat there pondering the same thoughts that had come to me. Would the sum of all of man's knowledge truly just evaporate if the line ceased to exist? Or instead would it have some sort of failsafe that maybe even the current Archive would not know of to ensure the collection continued?
Harry had told me there were magical beings that had these kinds of contingency plans. Why then would the 'sum of all knowledge' not know of these plans and have a similar one itself? And if you could accept that as possible there really were only two options. The first is that the power would transfer to another predetermined waiting receptacle. The problem with that one is that the waiting host better not know what they were in line for or they would want to kill the primary and gain the crown. And if the alternate happened to die first, what then? That seemed too risky to me to be a real failsafe.
So then there is option number two. At the time of death the Archive power transfers to the next nearest host, just like a parasite. Since the Archive is supposed to be neutral it is not like it would hold a grudge or that would be taking sides. If I were building this type of contingency I figure this is what I would have set up.
And lucky for me I was the closest available host.
"Very well played Molly." The Archive said with just a hint of nervousness. "I suppose I should ask if we can come to some sort of deal?"
"Would you give me thirty minutes or so to sleep on that though?" I asked with a yawn. "It has been one heck of a day…"