Chapter 6

"So, the girl is… interesting." Said Thomas, my half-brother.

Yeah, long story there, but to keep it simple, I don't have what could be described as a 'healthy' family life. Thomas was my mother's son, his father the head honcho of House Raith, the reigning rulers of the White Court vampires. We'd met a few years back at a party, and Thomas had saved my ass a few times.

In return, I helped him on a case involving a trio of porn star sorceress's. Long story, that one.

During the case, he revealed our relationship, and I Soulgazed him, learning that he was telling the truth, and receiving a message from our mother. Since then, I've been careful to keep our relations secret. If the White Council ever found out about Thomas, they'd throw me in the deepest, darkest dungeon they could find. Then they'd execute me.

Just another day in the life of Harry Dresden, I suppose.

My staff thumped the ground in rhythm with my stride. I didn't look up at Thomas, but I did send him an affirmatory grunt. He glanced back at that monster he calls a car, and he frowned. "We're sure she's legit?"

"Yeah, we're sure," I said.

"I Soulgazed her myself. At the very least, we can trust her."

Thomas remained unconvinced, the stubborn jerk, but kept his comments to himself. We'd reached the checkpoint that would let us into Casa de Raith, and he had pulled a fancy looking wallet from those designer slacks he wore.

The guard was looking at Thomas's ID, leaning out from his post to do it. It was your standard security checkpoint, big windows, a lone office, and a tiny little crossing bar that was insurmountable as a speedbump. It was obviously more for show than to actually keep intruders out. Anyone dumb enough to attack a White Court nest deserved what came to them.

Which said a lot about me, come to think of it.

The guard was one of those thuggish types, real tall, wide shoulders, and a military style haircut. You know, the kind hired more for their intimidation factor and skill with a gun, than for their critical analysis skills. He stared at Thomas's ID for several moments, then said, "I'm… sorry Mr. Raith, but your sister has made it quite clear that there are no visitors allowed on the grounds."

Thomas rolled his eyes and put the ID away, "I'm not a visitor. This is one of my homes. Are you really trying to deny me entrance to my own home?"

"…Um…maybe?"

Wow.

"Right then," Thomas said, and stepped under the crossing bar. "Harry, come on. This clown will only slow us down."

"W-wait, sir!" the guard called.

I stepped over the crossing bar, "Just sit and wait, Buzz. Trust me, it'll save us all a big headache."

We left him standing there stuttering indignantly. It wasn't really like Lara to hire dumb muscle like that. She preferred hiring smarter, more able minded men. They might be more likely to ask questions, but if they were asking questions, that meant they could be smart enough to deal with whatever might try and threaten her. Obviously Buzz was not of that breed, which raised all sorts of juicy questions to pester Lara about.

So I was in a bit of a pissy mood. It hadn't exactly been a smooth day for me, and if a few people had to suffer my snark, so be it.

Thomas and I walked up the unnecessarily fancy walkway to the Raith Mansion. From the outside, the walls in particular, it had the look of an almost ancient castle built to withstand the test of time. Behind those walls those, it looked more like one of those old Victorian style estates. Rolling hills of green, rows and rows of rose bushes, and a homey little stone pathway up to the front door.

A pair of guards opened the doors for us and ushered us inside. The Raith household had recovered nicely since the last time I had been there. A Skinwalker, a terrifyingly powerful monster with equally terrifying methods, had assaulted the manor to get at me, and left the building a wreck. Looking at all the fancy custom carve woodworking, the statues, the fountains, the paintings, and the unmarred hardwood floors, you'd never have guessed that a near literal war had been waged there. Though, that had been almost five years ago.

That wasn't the only thing that changed. As we walked, I leaned over to Thomas and said, "Notice anything different about your house?"

"Yeah," he replied, in a hushed tone. "Guard numbers have tripled since the last time I was here."

"Seems like someone is feeling a bit paranoid," I mused.

Thomas nodded in agreement, "Related to those Grimm attacks?"

"Has to be. That, or the Fomor are really stepping up their game."

The Fomor, for those that don't know, are a bunch of old Fae creatures from the Nevernever that the Summer and Winter Fae banished to the sea a long time ago. They mostly lurked in the background for a few centuries, but after the Red Courts were wiped out, they've come back to try and fill the void. Emphasis on try.

While other parts of the country were feeling their grip, Lara and Marcone had formed an alliance of sorts to keep the Fomor out of Chicago. Save for a few incursions, it had worked too. I think me making my big comeback probably convinced them Chicago wasn't worth the trouble, because no one's seen them in the area since.

Fine by me, I don't need to deal with a bunch of Cthulu wannabes, especially if the Grimm were going to move up on their turf now. Trade one problem for another, but it's still a damn problem.

We headed to the wing where Lara kept her business space, a much cooler and practical design in comparison to the rest of the estate. This was where most of the Skinwalkers rampage had gone on and it showed. Most of the paintings that had survived were gone, the flooring and paneling were replaced with cheap substitutes of drywall and linoleum, and the lights were pure florescent.

There were also dozens of guards. That's not hyperbole, there were at least three dozen guards stationed at hallways, doorways, bathrooms; And those were just the ones I could see. That pretty much confirmed what we knew. The Grimm were attacking Lara as much if not more than Marcone, and from the looks of things, it had her paranoid as hell.

Naturally, knowing exactly how paranoid and on edge Lara would be, I decided to enter her office (Top floor, another dozen guards, Thomas was my key in) by slamming open the door and letting out a shout of "Honey, I'm h-

I was smart enough to have my shield up before I threw the door open, because three bullets bounced off it and left neat little holes in the ground. Lara Raith stood at her desk, a smoking gun in her hand, and her eyes wide and glowing silver. She looked less like a stressed woman, and more like a caged animal ready to strike at the slightest provocation. Sorry, she did strike at the slightest provocation.

When she saw me though, still standing there unharmed, with Thomas behind me, the silver in her eyes faded. The animalistic paranoia vanished behind that familiar veil of intelligence and humor she carried herself with. But I could see the tenseness in her posture. Lara was very good at hiding how she felt, but I'd seen her in many different situations, and I knew her tics.

While she'd never admit it, Lara was, if anything, nervous about her situation. How very interesting.

Lara slowly settled back behind her big oak desk and let out a sigh. She brushed her hair back into the tight bun her sudden motion had ruined, and fixed me with a glare. I smiled at her in return.

"You seem a bit stressed Lara. Business ain't boomin as usual?"

Lara set the gun on the desk, still pointed at me, and said, "Dresden, Marcone informed me of your involvement in the situation. I am in no mood for games today. Sit, and I'll give you the information you need."

I raised a brow, but decided not to push her smartass tolerance. Straightforward help from a supernatural entity was an exceptionally rare thing. I could count the number of times I'd been given such help on one hand. If Lara was willing to provide this information without her usual game of cat and mouse, obviously she was in worse shape than usual.

So I sat in one of two chairs set before her desk. Thomas took the other one on my left, and shared a nod with his sister. Lara folded her hands on her desk and gave me a level look.

"So, Dresden, what do you know so far?"

I scratched my head with my staff and started listing things, "Well one, that you and Marcone are under attack from a bunch of monsters that may or may not be monsters from the Nevernever for the past week. Two, you were hit first. Three, it's been random and without any seemingly predictable pattern, and four, you've been assembling strike teams to handle them and have hidden the attacks from Mortals for reasons I don't know."

Lara closed her eyes and slowly nodded, "So you know most of what has happened. Good. But, there are key details Marcone does not know, that I'll enlighten you on, Dresden."

I stopped scratching my head. "Oh? Like what?"

"One, that these monsters have not been attacking for a week." She let the statement hang in the air.

Beside me, Thomas leaned forward a little, "Lara, how long have they been attacking?"

She opened one, light grey eye at Thomas. "Four weeks tomorrow. Nearly a month."

"A-a month?" Thomas kept his voice low. I stared at Lara in surprise. I'll admit, I hadn't seen the Grimm in action much, just the one time the previous night. Earlier that day didn't count because of what I had… Seen. Still, I found it surprising that Lara had managed to hide the existence of the attacks for a month.

She nodded slowly. "Yes. A month. They began slow, striking in groups of one or two. Certainly surprising and causing minor property damage, but manageable. But…"

"Let me guess, the attacks are growing more and more ferocious every day, and you can't manage them anymore."

Lara's gaze turned icy. "I would not say such things if I were you, Wizard." She hissed.

I shrugged, "Then what would you say?"

"That these monsters have grown into enough of a threat that managing them in secret is simply no longer possible. My people tell me that if they expand at the rate they are, we will be facing a war of survival within two weeks. At the maximum."

I whistled. Those were impressive numbers, and not exactly untrue, if what Pyrrha had said was true. Yet more incentive to find the portals these things were coming through, and slam it in their faces.

"So you're saying I actually have time," I said.

"You have time, but know that with each passing day, things will grow significantly more…dangerous. These shadow creatures will spill into the streets eventually. The masquerade will shatter, and there will be widespread panic across the city. I don't need to tell you how that would end, do I, Dresden?"

No she did not. Grimm were attracted to negative emotions, and if the citizens of Chicago saw an army of werewolf-like shadow monsters bursting onto the street, it'd be utter anarchy. That much hysteria would whip them into a feeding frenzy.

I shook my head, "No ma'am. What else do you have for me?"

"We've discovered that the monsters are attracted to those in panic. They single them out and go for the kill. They are predators at heart, with no external intelligence to guide them."

Knew that already. I nodded though, acting like this was new information. "So I should think happy thoughts if I come across anymore, got it. Is that it?"

"One more thing," Lara said. She reached into her desk and produced a manila envelope that she passed to me.

I opened it and shook out several pictures and a piece of paper with an address on it. The pictures were of a redheaded man of average height, dressed in a white business suit with a friggen bowler hat and cane. He looked like a real Clockwork Orange wannabe.

I raised a brow, "Okay, and this means?"

"His name is Roman Torchwick," Lara explained, "And he appeared from seemingly nowhere several weeks before the attacks began. He is an arms dealer, and was in dealings with my family until the attacks worsened. He sold us a new weapon he claimed would revolutionize the battlefield. He cut contact with us when the attacks got worse. We have no idea how it works."

I passed the photos to Thomas for him to look at, and considered Lara carefully. "So you've bought some already? And you think he might have a hand in these attacks?"

Lara sighed and grabbed a vial off her desk. It looked like one of those decorative bottles office types like to use to help spruce up the cage that was corporate America, and was filled with a bright red dust. The sandy substance almost seemed to glow when Lara touched it.

"This is what he sold to us. He calls it 'Dust' and gave us these as, in his own words, 'free samples'. And yes, I do believe he has a hand in them Dresden. His appearance in time with the monsters would be quite a coincidence otherwise, and I do not take stock in such things."

"Eh, fair enough," I shrugged, and held out my hand.

"Care to lend me that bottle? If the guy's not at the address, maybe I can use that as a focus for a tracking spell."

Lara tossed it to me underhand, and I pocketed it away. I'd ask Pyrrha about this 'Dust' stuff later. Though at this point, it looked like Lara had no other information for us. I stood with Thomas and gave a slight bow of my head.

"Thank you for your hospitality Lara. I'll see what I can do about your monster problem."

She smiled faintly, "Of that, I am certain, Dresden. Oh, and rest assured that I have one of my secretaries waiting for you at the exit. She will provide you with a list of our facilities that have been hit. And the casualty report, if such a thing interests you."

We left Lara at her desk and returned to the hummer. True to her word, a cute young secretary was waiting for us at the front door and handed me a list. I scanned it as we walked, and felt my skin crawl. The list was roughly two pages of address after address. The Grimm had been very busy, and Lara had managed to keep it all hidden. I wasn't sure which was scarier.

The casualty list wasn't much better, though it was surprisingly short given the number of establishments hit. That was a surprise, but I suppose it made sense. The White Courts at their core where predators, very territorial predators. They hated it when someone tried to intrude on that territory. Which dulled my surprise when I saw the last name on the list.

"Thomas, take a look," I passed him the list.

He scanned it and closed his eyes when he reached the bottom. "So, Natalia bit the dust."

Thomas had a lot of siblings, and I'd only ever met a handful of them. Natalia had been one of three Raith sisters (Including Lara) at the manor when the Skinwalker attacked. She'd been tall and muscular in comparison to her shorter and more traditionally attractive sisters. She put up a fight like the rest and got taken down for her trouble. And now she was dead.

"You gonna be alright?" I asked him.

Thomas passed back the list. "Yeah. I didn't know Natalia all that well, what with being the runt and all. But she's still family, and it's always hard when…"

He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to. Thomas and I both had our share of losses when it came to family. Our mother died on the day I was born, and my dad died six years later. Thomas didn't have as much family he cared about, but he did care about them either way. It's this irrational compulsion we all feel, a little theory I call 'familial dementia'. Makes us feel and act stupid towards those we're related to, even if we can't stand them. The old saying goes that blood is thicker than water, and its right. For the most part.

I can't count the number of times I've put my neck on the line for Thomas just because he was my brother. He could probably say the same thing. We were the only real family we had left, the only ones who could relate to each other. But, I sometimes forgot that Thomas had other members of his family, even if he was conflicted about them.

Thomas straightened his stride, "Don't worry about me man, I'll be fine. All this did was make it personal."

On that somber note, we reached Thomas's hummer and opened the doors to… Well, ever seen those ridiculous eighties movies? The ones where, when girls are left alone they tend to gossip and giggle like mad? Yeah, it was a scene straight out of one of those movies.

Karrin had moved from front seat onto the second row seat across from Pyrrha. Both girls were cross-legged and… giggling!

I had to do a double take just to make sure I hadn't completely lost it. Karrin does a lot of things, but giggling? That's just not her!

"Y-you're kidding. An actual dress?" Karrin laughed.

Pyrrha, who was probably the happiest I'd seen her since I met the girl, nodded, "He said 'An Arc always keeps his word' so he wore a full pink fluffy dress!"

More laughter from Karrin, "T-that is-"

I coughed into my fist and the laughter shut off immediately. Karrin looked like a dear caught in the headlights. "O-oh, Harry! You're back."

"Yep. Seems like you two have been getting along…well."

Pyrrha blushed, "Ah, well, you know. Just…trading stories."

"She's got some good ones," Karrin added, and chuckled.

"You two done playing gossip girl?" Thomas asked. He sat back in the driver's seat

They both sighed and settled into their seats. That seemed to please Thomas, and he started the hummer up. Once we were on the road, Karrin asked, "What did Lara have for you?"

I relayed everything Lara had shared with us, the length of the attacks, their increased frequency, and the list of attacked residents. As I had expected, Pyrrha confirmed that the attacks probably targeted her due to the negative emotions that would surround her operations.

"Erm, no offense Thomas," she added.

"None taken," he grunted.

I tossed the pictures back to Pyrrha and said, "She also told us this guy's been going around selling some sort of new weapon to all the criminals in Chicago. Goes by the name-"

"Roman Torchwick, I know this man," Pyrrha finished.

We all looked at her, save Thomas, and she shrugged, "Back home he was the most wanted man in Vale. Ran most of the crime there and drove Dust prices through the roof. Last I heard though, the Atlas Military had him locked away."

Now there was some new information. I reached into my coat and held up the vial of red sand for her to see. "Pyrrha, when you say Dust, do you mean this?"

Her eyes widened into dinner plates, and her face went pale, "Um, yes. Now Harry, please put that down very carefully."

I raised a brow, "Why?"

"Because if you are not careful, one wrong move could send this entire car up in flames."

Thomas noticeably stiffened next to me, and Karrin scooted farther from the vial. I sat there like an idiot, making no move at all. Pyrrha offered her hand, and I very carefully gave it to her. I had no idea how the stuff worked, and wasn't going to be known as the wizard that blew himself up with high explosives. At least, not in a car full of my friends.

Pyrrha brought the vial close to herself and let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you. I'm going to assume that Dust isn't common in your world?"

"Well I'm pretty sure dust is everywhere," Karrin deadpanned.

"Not dust, Dust." Pyrrha emphasized.

"No, its not." I said. "In fact, I've never heard of the stuff until today."

A curious look passed over her face, "How… odd. What powers your cities then? Moves the car? How do your weapons work?"

"Fossil fuels and gunpowder," said Karrin. "Tends to be the major factor anyway. You telling me that a tiny vial like that could power a city?"

Pyrrha laughed at that, "No, not this little. But Dust is what has protected us from the Grimm for as long as we remember. Our weapons and technology our all powered by Dust to some degree, and Hunters like myself use them in our weapons. I have a friend at Beacon who specializes in using Dust as part of her standard fighting style. That's why I thought you were a Hunter at first, Harry."

I raised an inquisitive brow at that, "So you're saying that Dust stuff is basically a super-mineral? And can do magic?"

"Basically," Pyrrha shrugged. "Though I wouldn't call it magic, just a natural reaction. We don't fully understand Dust yet, but we know how to utilize it."

"Okay, neat and all," Thomas interjected, "But shouldn't we be more worried about the bomb in my car?"

"Don't worry," she assured us, "in the hands of a capable huntress, Dust can be kept nonvolatile until its needed in combat. Only a novice, or a person without an aura could risk setting it off."

I sighed and sunk back into my seat, "Well great. We're safe, but now Lara and possibly Marcone have access to a superweapon they know nothing about, and no real way to control. Fantastic."

So, recap. An interdimensional invasion by soulless monsters that only a handful of people were aware of, two weeks to find and stop whatever was sending them through before mass panic overtook the city, and to top it all off, a new miracle weapon that would probably just amplify the chaos, instead of stopping it. Perfect.

"So what's the plan Harry?" Karrin asked.

I sighed and looked at the address to Torchwick's apartment. "Well, I guess we're heading for a stake out folks."

Pyrrha's stomach let out a rumbling moan that all but shook the car. She covered her stomach and blushed. I grinned, "After we stop for lunch, that is."

A/N: I am back guys with another chapter. As promised, it was either thursday or saturday when this thing would come out. My cold has been kicking my ass these past few days, so I had to push it back. Its starting to recede now, so hopefully, I can start being consistent again. I make no promises though.

Anyway, sorry if the chapter itself is either short or kinda shoddy. I plan on going back and rewriting this and the previous chapter as I'm not happy with them. I'll update you when that happens.

On to questions:

Sociopathic-Antichrist asks: Who would win, Harry or Pyrrha?

Thats situational. If they're both at the top of their game in an open arena? Harry, for sure. He has range on his side and much more experience fighting people leagues above him. But, in a smaller space, I'd go for Pyrrha, because she's probably the best hand to hand fighter he'll ever meet.

Next, is more of a comment than question, but I feel it needs to be addressed. ww1990ww (Hello again) says: Grimm invasion... will never happen. Mab would rather murder Grimm personally then allow this.

You are correct my dear reader. But I believe you're assuming far too much with far too little information. Who says that Mab doesn't already know, and hasn't taken steps to counter it?

Moving on, I received several messages (Including two repeats, thank you Walrus Puncher) calling me out for Thomas having such an effect on Pyrrha despite her protection of true love. In response to this I simply have this to say. Even when under the protection of true love, Harry had a very hard time remaining focused when another White Court was in the room. Arturo (The man they cited as being immune due to true love) was likely immune for more than just true love. Not only was he protected by true loves touch, but he's also A) a porn director, so he has seen plenty of beautiful women in more detail than most men ever will, and B) is with his beloved who was with him all the time.

Pyrrha and Harry on the other hand did not, and Pyrrha has the double whammy of being a virgin who met Thomas while he was still feeding. Needless to say though, such a scene will not happen with her again, as she knows what to expect and will be braced in case it does happen.

Once more, moving on to our last question, Z.R. Stein asked: What did Harry see during his Soulgaze with Pyrrha?

That is strictly confidential. What Harry saw when he soulgazed her, and what he saw the Grimm as will never be revealed. I find it better for the audience if they're left to fill in the blanks there, because whatever they come up with would scare them on a more personal level than anything I could create. As the old saying goes, Nothing is scarier.

Welp, thats all the time and energy I have for today folks, hopefully I'll recover enough to get back on a proper schedule, and we'll be able to enjoy a fun over the top fight scene next time.

Ta-ta for now!