Just a few feet beyond the well-lit yard, the island dropped into darkness. Once again, I couldn't see. But the Winter mantle could sense. I indulged it a little. The darkness faded a bit, the scent of death and decay wormed its way into my nose. I moved as quickly as I dared. I never thought of myself as a stalker or a hunter, but with the mantle close to the surface, the need to chase things down became very strong. As a result, I soon found myself running in the dark, guided by the basest instincts a living being can rely on.

Those instincts saved my life when Krejetzy swung a freaking tree at me.

I ducked my head for no reason I was consciously aware of, and took the blow almost entirely on the shoulders. I was sent sprawling, face first. Somehow, I think sheer stubbornness, I managed to hold onto my staff. I pushed myself up almost before I finished sliding, and willed a shield into existence.

I took another impact from flying foliage, and the shock traveled up my arm, but I didn't lose my footing. I lifted my other hand and shouted "Infriga!"

Condensing moisture out of humid air amazingly easy. A rock solid ball of ice appeared at the end of my staff and shot forward, growing even as it travelled. It shattered against another tree, taking a huge chuck of wood with it. I looked around, but saw nothing. I stopped moving, listened.

Nothing.

I risked speaking. "I know you're still - "

He exploded out of some ground-covering bushes, hands first. I twisted to get the duster between us; if he got his hands on my throat, Connie wouldn't be able to pry him off.

He hit me hard, lifting me into the air. I crouched low and I came back down and planted my staff. "Geodus!" The ground jumped in a very good imitation of an earthquake, throwing him back up, off his feet. I lifted a hand before he could land. "Forzare!" The blast took him full in the chest and sent him through another tree, a very tall palm. There was a loud cracking noise, and the tree came crashing down towards me; I ducked and rolled out of the way. I stood up and immediately took a large rock in the back.

I stumbled, but got another shield up. Noise from the left. I turned. The from behind me. I spun again. I enhanced senses that came with the mantle were razor-sharp, and wound tight. I could see in near-perfect dark, and hear pretty damn well. Which might be the only reason I looked up.

Krejetzy was sailing down on top of me in a graceful, silent arc. I moved my shield, but took the whole impact in my arms, and they buckled. The dome of protection vanished, and he brought down a might fist. I took the hit on my left arm, and both felt and heard something disturbing like a break.

I grunted with the pain, then danced back a step as took a swipe at me. Then again. And again. I backed into another tree trunk, and ducked to the side. His fingers ripped the bark off. I tossed a fire spell at him, tuning it wide. He dashed to the side to avoid it, then took off again.

I followed, fast as I could. The hunt, the chase, was on me now, and I couldn't have let him go even if I'd wanted to. He was little more than a smear of moving darkness against more darkness, but I didn't let him get away. I bounced off of trees and tripped on rocks and roots; I simply caught myself on my hands and bounced back up.

He dropped from sight. I slid to a stop; I was at the top of an embankment, leading down to a tiny depression. Someone in the past had used the clearing as a barbeque pit. I knew this because I had to throw myself down the bank to avoid the flying barbeque.

I rolled to my feet, shield ready. He was already charging at me and bounced off the shield, driving me back. My heels dug small ruts in the dirt, but I didn't let the dome of energy dissipate this time.

He backed off a little, putting a couple of split-log benches between us. His dead eyes followed me as I tried to gain an advantage in ground. Part of me wanted to just charge at him, rip him to pieces with my bare hands, but another, smarter part, knew he was too strong for that.

For a moment, we both paused to gather our bearings. Aside from the exposed roasting pit and the log benches, there was nothing in the clearing. I was breathing hard, he wasn't breathing at all.

"You can't let it go, can you?" he asked.

"I have an edict from my Queen."

He nodded. "I understand. A pity. You are quite a bit more impressive than the usual ilk."

"Yeah. Management's trying something new."

"I have never killed a Winter Knight before. The Summer Knight, once, decades ago, but not Winter."

"Have you ever tried?"

"The opportunity never came up, until tonight."

"Well, then, why don't we just get this over with?"

He said nothing, just blurred. I had a shield ready, but he didn't come straight at me. Instead, he circled the clearing and came in from the side, and his hands wrapped neatly around my neck. I should have seen that coming, since he wasn't much for direct confrontation. Somewhere in my mind, I realized there was a lesson to be learned here.

I lost my concentration and dropped my staff, both hands going to his as he started to squeeze. He lifted me off the ground. He didn't say anything. I pulled at his fingers and kicked wildly, but the best I could manage was to slow his fingers down. I started seeing stars.

A green cloud burst from my jeans pocket, resolving itself into a face. A face I found familiar. It wasn't quite Maggie's face, but it was close. Krejetzy's head snapped to the side to follow the movement. The cloud made a screaming sound, and next thing I knew, my daughter was wrapped around his head, zipping into and out of every crack in his desiccated skin. "What? What is this?" He was swiping at his own head, taking chunks of his own flesh off with his nails.

He dropped me and I landed hard, my legs collapsing. I gulped in air.

"Get out of me!" the vampire shouted.

I could barely move, but my hand found the familiar sensation of the smoothed wood of my staff. I planted the bottom end in the dirt, lifted the other end, pointed it at his heart, and mentally triggered the kinetic energy spell. There wasn't much in it, but there was enough. The staff jumped, hard, and buried itself in his chest. It splintered, breaking off inside him.

The vampire gasped and stopped moving. The green energy coalesced outside him and stopped moving. He slowly shrank in on himself, getting smaller and smaller until he just collapsed, his clothes dropping into a pile full of dust. Olan Krejetzy was dead.

I just sat there, breathing hard for a moment, deflating myself. Then the beautiful green ember lights drifted down to me, again forming a face that seemed to resemble Maggie. "Are you okay?" her voice asked from everywhere and nowhere.

"I will be."

The face smiled.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Leave the bracelet."

She looked confused. "Um, I just did. Like when I left the skull."

"No, I mean, no one told you to. How did you do that if no one told you to?"

"I have to be told? That doesn't make any sense. You said I should be good. I felt a need to help you. That was the good thing to do, right?"

I was suddenly a little scared. "Yes. It was. And I did. But spirits can't leave their vessels unless the possessor of the vessel gives them permission."

"Oh. I didn't know that. I mean, I did, but I didn't realize it applied to me."

Then I got a lot more scared. My spirit daughter could leave her vessel without permission. She wasn't like Bob; while she was a spirit, she seemed to have some degree of free will. A spirit, with all the knowledge of a Fallen angel and the emotional maturity of a practical newborn. And knowledge, to a being like her, was literally power.

Forget scared. I was fucking terrified.

I walked back towards the lot, a little stunned and a lot worried, following the sound of human voices. With the hunt over, the mantle had retreated, and the fatigue of the last two days plus the burst of running was catching up to me. I ran into Thomas, who looked relieved in the little light I could will into the amulet, and Connie.

"Harry! Empty night. You're okay!" He slapped me gently on the shoulder. "You are okay, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

"Harry," Connie said. She was naked again, and quite unconcerned about it. I was too tired to be concerned myself. "You were successful?"

I nodded. "He's dust."

"Seriously?" Thomas asked. "I mean, no offence, but, how?"

I held up the bracelet. Through the keyhole, if one were inclined to look, one could see a slight green glow. "Had a little help."

"Wow. Oh, right." He reached into a backpack he was wearing and pulled out the wooden skull. "Here."

I took it. "Thanks. Hey, if you'd like to go back," I said to the cuff. She didn't answer, just floated from one object into the other. She seemed to be moving slowly. "She's exhausted," I said.

"Yeah, saving your ass can be a little draining." I snorted.

"What is that?" Connie asked.

I decided to be honest. "A weapon." She backed away half a step, but let it go. We started walking back along the trail.

"Oh, here," Thomas said. He reached up behind his neck and undid the amulet he was wearing – mine, complete with the cut ruby – and handed it over.

I took it and handed over the skull so I could undo his from around my neck. "I guess it worked?"

"Yup." He took his back and started to fasten it. "Ramirez opened the door to the Nevernever, and M - the jewel told us where to go after Dana found you."

I crinkled my eyebrows. "'Dana'?"

"Yeah. As in Scully, from the X-Files? Scully, skull-y?" he hefted the skull in one hand.

I said nothing for a second. "That's… actually pretty good." Connie looked confused, but said nothing. Thomas put the skull back in the pack. "Everyone's okay?"

Connie said, "Andi's a little shaky, but she's still dealing with her first set of injuries. Mr. Ramirez's leg went out again, but he managed. Marci's fine."

Thomas continued, "The Einherjar turned on the Fomor after Connie killed Danicka."

"Killed?" I turned. "You mean you actually - ?"

"Tore her head off," she said. I smiled with the irony as we emerged into the lit-up yard.

"Then our Norse friends vanished," Thomas said.

"Vanished to where?"

"Took their own shortcut, I guess." I looked around. There were bodies everywhere, but none of them were human. And none of them had died clean. How sad. Ramirez and the Alphas were stacking bodies and parts. Marci and Andi had pulled dresses on and both looked quite disgusted. "This is so gross," Andi muttered.

"You tear things apart with your teeth and claws, this is the price you pay," I said.

"Dresden," Carlos said.

"I'm told you managed," I said.

"Yeah, to cut a Fomor lord in half. I'm going to call this trip a success."

I nodded. "Need some help?"

"Please."

We piled as many bodies as we could, mixed in some wood and surrounded the pile with rocks. Carlos and I set fire to them while the others got the yacht ready to depart.

I actually managed to get some sleep on the boat. I found myself thinking more clearly when I woke up. The sun was coming up as we pulled into dock. I emerged onto the deck in time to hear Marci asking Thomas, "Wouldn't it have been better to leave the boat? I mean, won't the police have questions about who was on it?"

"The police don't have questions when the White Court is involved."

"That's the truth," Carlos said. "You should see how fast an investigation closes in L. A. when they get a hint that the Skavis or Raith are involved."

As we pulled in, I could see a pair of men waiting on the dock: Mr. Large and Mr. Talkative. "I guess Lara sent a car?" I asked.

"I called ahead," Thomas answered. He clambered up to the bridge to take the wheel.

Once we were docked, the lot of us – including Connie, now wearing a borrowed dress again – followed the men to Lara's limo. Lady Raith herself was not there. The ride was mostly quiet. Instead of the hotel, they took us to an empty parking garage where Thomas' Humvee and his sister waited.

She actually seemed relieved to see Thomas. As the others moved their things from one vehicle to the other, I looked at Lara. "A moment?"

"Certainly." She led me away from the others, her fashionable and very expensive heels clicking on the concrete. We kept walking until we were well outside earshot, even of Thomas. I kept my voice low anyway.

"Congratulations."

"On what?"

"Another masterful gambit."

She looked surprised, but there was a twinkle in her eye. "Whatever do you mean?"

"All you had to do was leak your travel plans." One side of her mouth ticked up, ever so slightly. "Your strongest critic in the Court is dead. A powerful predator with a grudge against you and yours is dead. The Fomor were shamed, and dealt a blow from a White Council Warden, though I'm thinking that was just a bonus. Your policy of supporting peace with the Council and adherence to the Accords is shown to be in everyone's best interests. I'm guessing you caught wind of Danicka's deal with Krejetzy a few years ago and were just waiting for an opportunity. Just had to leak your plans, and wait for Danicka to be Danicka. Seriously… Batman would be proud."

"If you say so."

"It's nothing less than I'd expect from you, really. The only thing I can't figure; you're good, but Mab's better. How did you get one over on the Sidhe?"

She smiled, and it was hungry. "Oh, Harry. What makes you think I did?" She turned and walked back to the cars. I was left standing with my mouth open. She stopped and looked back. "Oh, I hear you've got a friend looking for girl's names?"

"Yeah?"

"I've always been fond of Lilith. Or Salome." She kept walking, and after a good long sigh, I followed her. As Lara got into her limo, Thomas asked me, "What was that about?"

"Oh, you know," I said. "Plots and schemes."

"Oh, good. I was worried there, for a second."

The trip through the Nevernever was relatively quiet. I told the little one she could come out, though I guessed that wasn't strictly necessary anymore. I spent my time thinking and napping.

We emerged back into the empty lot, and before long, we were dropping Andi and Marci at Butters' apartment. Connie tried to return her borrowed dress then, but Marci insisted she keep it. We dropped Carlos at a Way he was comfortable with, in the yard of a high school. "You sure you'll be all right to walk?" I asked from the Hummer's window.

He rapped his knuckles on the brace. "It's good for at least an hour. Won't take that long to get back to L.A. Get in touch with Listens-to-Wind."

I nodded. "I will. And hey, thank you."

"Don't thank me until all the paperwork's filed." He held up a fist, and I reached down to bump it. "Good to have to back, man."

I thought on it for a second, and decided I agreed. "It's good to be back."

A short while later, Thomas pulled up to the marina where the Water Beetle was docked. "Why are we here?" I asked.

"When I called ahead, Lara wasn't the only one I talked to. Someone's expecting you." He nodded to another limousine, and the young woman standing beside it.

Molly. "Is that the Winter Lady?" Connie asked.

"It is," I said. "Come on."

We walked beside each other while Thomas waited in the truck. We stopped a few feet from Molly as she smiled. "Hi," she said.

"Lady," Connie said.

"Molly," I said.

"It's good to see you both. Harry, where's your staff? And your shirt?"

"Broken off in a vampire, and splattered on some Fomor."

"Well, that's not the strangest answer you've ever given. Connie, you're well?"

"I am, Lady."

"And you were successful?"

"I was, Lady."

"She kicked ass," I added.

Molly nodded gravely. "Well, in that case, I hold your debt paid." Connie took a deep breath, as though a great weight had just been lifted from her. Molly held out her hand. "And, thank you. I'm rather fond of the Winter Knight."

Connie shook Molly's hand, but she looked up at me. "Aye, I understand why." Then she yanked her dress off and handed it to me. I averted my eyes and Molly rolled hers. "Give that back to Marci?"

"I will," I said.

She put a hand on my left arm pulled me down; I winced only a little. She kissed me on the cheek. "And be careful. I don't want to have to save your life a fourth time." Then she turned to the water and dove in. A second later, there was a splash from her tail, and she was gone.

"She did a good job?" Molly asked.

"Couldn't have asked for better. Everything worked out nicely. For everybody."

She looked at me, some guilt on her face. "I think I owe you an apology."

"How much did you know, going in?"

"Nothing, really. I only got the full story a few hours ago. I think this is why the Queen got me to talk to you. She didn't want you suspecting anything."

"What, that Mab had a backdoor deal with the Raiths?"

"Exactly!"

"Don't."

"What?"

"Don't. Don't apologize. You were manipulated, too."

"I know, and I hate it!" She stopped, and leaned back against the car. "There are a lot of things I'd like to say right now."

"But, you have a Faron."

Her face tightened up. "I never would have sent you into such a messy situation if I'd seen it coming."

"Maybe not." I turned and leaned beside her. "But as much as we both hate it, it's what I'm here for. It's actually my job now. And your job is to be my boss. You're my captain, and I'm your soldier."

"That seems so unnatural."

"You're telling me. When last we met, you were but the learner."

She looked up at me with a pained expression. "Now I am the master?" She shook her head. "This is how it's going to be from now on, isn't it? We're stuck."

"Well… I don't want to get your hopes up, but I've heard rumors that, under the right circumstances, mantles can be moved around."

She snorted. "I've heard those stories, too. I don't want to get your hopes down, but it's not easy to do."

"Good. Nothing worth doing is ever easy. So, until that option becomes available, we stay sharp. We take care of each other, just like we agreed."

She nodded. "All we can do, isn't it?"

There was nothing else to say. We hugged, then I sauntered back to the truck and Thomas drove me home.

I grabbed my bag, bounded out of the truck, waved goodbye, and let myself in. "Honey, I'm - " I cut myself off. Karrin was sitting in the living room with the Summer Knight. "Fix," I said, tensing.

He was a thin man, but had a decent amount of muscle on him. Unfuly, shlouder-length white hair. He wore jeans, boots, and a linen shirt. He usually carried a sword, but he had left it at the doorway, and it was now right by my hand. He stood, slowly.

"Harry," Karrin said. "We have a guest." She subtly emphasized the last word. I relaxed a little. If Fix was here as a guest, he was bound to behave. "If you two want to duke something out," she said, "we can take it outside." She moved to stand beside me, a subtle but important sign.

"Winter Knight," he said, nodding at me.

"Summer Knight," I answered. "What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to express what a shame it was that I wasn't able to meet you in Florida. Unfortunately, my Queen had other duties for me."

I felt a tiny little smile tugging at my lips. "Yeah. Yeah, that was a shame." I licked my lips. "Fix, are we cool? I mean, we haven't spoken since - "

He held up a hand. "Harry, don't." He paused a moment, gathering his thoughts. Karrin and I said nothing. "Lily was the first person who was ever nice to me. I loved her. And I miss her." He took a deep breath. "But I don't blame you. Honestly, I don't even blame Maeve anymore, though I'll admit it took a while to get to that point." He stepped closer. "In the end, all the fighting - Summer/Winter, left/right, east/west – isn't important. It's all just a distraction from the real fight."

"Inside/Outside," I said.

He nodded. "There's a greater enemy. And that makes it very, very important to keep everyone close. Winter, Summer, friends, family, even enemies. Everyone. So, yeah, we're cool." He even managed to pull up one side of his face.

I gave him a serious nod, then moved out of his way. He picked up his sword by the scabbard and moved to the door. "Hey, Fix," I said as he opened the door. He paused. "What would you name a new born girl?"

He gave me a confused look.

"A friend of mine. About to have a daughter."

He hung his head sadly. It didn't occur to me at the time why he would look so sad, but thinking back on it later, it was obvious. "I was always fond of Diana," he said. "But in the end, there's no point in asking around, Harry. The name should mean something to the family." Then he turned and left.

I let out a breath and looked at Karrin. "Hi," I said.

"Hey. Welcome home. Where's your shirt?"

"It blew up, but I wasn't wearing it at the time."

Her eyebrows jumped. "This is going to be a good one."

"Yeah. Later." I bent down and kissed her. Then I picked her up and stated towards the bedroom. "Much later."

That evening, just a little after dinnertime, Karrin pulled her little SUV into the Carpenter driveway. "Last chance to re-think," she said.

"No. No, this is the right thing to do."

We headed inside, Charity and Michael greeting us warmly. Like family. Dinner was finished, and children were reveling in play. Mouse almost knocked me down, and Maggie wrapped herself around my leg when they saw me. Then Harry the Younger wrapped himself around my other leg, and I had to clomp about the house like an awkward ogre with no knees for a few minutes until they got bored.

Kids.

After a little while, it was bedtime. I carried Maggie into her room. Mouse was already there, and made a show of getting comfortable on his spot on the floor. I closed the door over without latching it and put her on the floor instead of into bed. "Maggie, I want you to sit next to Mouse and hold on to him, okay?"

"Why?" she asked, though she did sit and sink her hand into his fur. He didn't object, just looked at me.

"Well," I said, taking the skull out of my pocket, "there's someone I want you to meet."

She was looking at the skull, and she seemed very confused.

I put the skull down in the centre of the room. "I just want you to remember that there is nothing to be scared of, and me and Mouse won't let anything bad happen, okay?"

"Oooookay." She sank a little further behind Mouse, her eyes never leaving the skull.

I made a face. Obviously my reassurances weren't helping. "Okay. Let's try this differently. Don't think about this silly old skull. It's just a piece of wood I carved. It's what's inside it that's important." I touched the carved wood, and said, "Would you like to come out?"

Tiny little green lights flickered to life in the eye sockets, and Maggie gasped. Then the ember lights slowly flooded out into a glowing cloud. I sat on the floor between my daughters, and held a hand out to Maggie. She seemed hypnotized, wide-eyed and curious as the cloud turned and twisted and made strange shapes. In her fascination, she seemed to forget to be scared. Even Mouse was watching.

"Maggie?" She turned to me. I smiled. She smiled back and took my hand. She stood up, and so did I. She looked back at the cloud, with a child's awe and wonder. "Now, I'd like to introduce you to your sister."

The cloud resolved itself into a shape, the shape of a face. The face was very close to Maggie's, but not identical. It looked back at Maggie with the same expression of wonder. I had been worried that Maggie would be afraid, or confused, or disgusted, or any one of a thousand things, but she was simply amazed.

Maggie still held on to me, but she held out her other hand, still smiling. The cloud re-shaped itself to have a body, and held out a ghostly hand, too. The face smiled.

"She's so pretty," Maggie said. "Beautiful."

I sighed and smiled, all tension leaving me. And I considered the name 'Belle.'