Chapter 11

The Warden's Council

'They've taken Bob,' Harry said when he came out of the sub-basement. Irene hadn't even known that there was a subbasement.

'Who is Bob?' she asked. Thomas's pulse seemed steady and the wound had stopped bleeding. Butters, his efforts severely hampered by his musical suit, crouched by Thomas's head to check for bleeding and swelling there.

'A Spirit of Intellect,' Harry said. 'Inhabiting a human skull.'

Irene had never come across one of those before. 'Is that an external brain of some sort?'

Harry thought that through and nodded. 'Something like that.' He grimaced. 'He used to belong to Kemmler.'

It didn't take a genius to figure that one out. 'If a necromancer has him, does he need the book?'

'I don't know,' Harry said, but he was very agitated. 'Bob deleted most of his memories of his time with Kemmler, but I don't know if they could be retrieved.'

Too many ifs and could-bes. So far things didn't look good.

Bradamant huffed in the kind of way that suggested that if she had been put in charge of this mission, she wouldn't have made such a hash of everything. It took Irene considerable effort to remember that she had decided not to hate Bradamant so much.

Avoiding annoyance on the other hand proved impossible.

'Have you found any clues?' Kai asked, making a show of turning his back on Bradamant, while leaning against the bookcase to block her access to Die Lied der Erlking.

'Just one, in his diary,' Irene said before Bradamant could shove her oar in. 'The head of the beast.' If that even applied to the Word of Kemmler. It could be related to something else entirely.

Harry and Kai both gave her blank looks.

'We'll have to assume at least one of the necromancers knows the ritual,' Irene said. 'Whatever that does.'

'One ticket to instant godhood,' Harry said.

'Excuse me?'

'The equivalent of the power of a minor god,' Harry said. So she had in fact heard that correctly. 'That's why he needs the powerful spectres the Erlking brings to the Wild Hunt; more power to absorb.'

This was starting to sound like very far above Irene's paygrade. She was used to stealing books, not dealing in magic and necromancers. She didn't know the rules of this world beyond the briefing Hercule had prepared for visiting Librarians. Somehow his briefing had failed to mention necromancers and sinister rituals.

The idea of Alberich with that much dark power was not appealing.

Irene stomped down on the panic. She was a professional, capable Librarian. She had banished Alberich from one alternate and would hopefully deny him entrance to this one. Besides, Bradamant would never let her live it down if she lost her nerve now.

That didn't mean she knew what to do now. 'What can we do next?' She tried to make it sound businesslike and decisive.

'We have a meeting with the Wardens,' Harry said. He apparently did know what to do next. This was his world after all. 'I'll put some wards back on the house.' He looked at the door, but it had been so bent out of shape that it probably couldn't close properly anymore. 'But after the meeting we'll have to go somewhere else.'

'Will there be enough books for Library wards?'

Harry shook his head. 'But Alberich is probably too busy getting ready for his big night.'

Or hunting for the Word of Kemmler. It annoyed Irene that she couldn't work out where Hercule had hidden it. She should be able to follow a fellow Librarian's train of thought.

'You said we had a meeting with the Wardens?' she asked. Harry had told her that the Wardens were the military and police force of the White Council, who were the closest thing to a government the wizards had. She had no business there.

'The Captain knew Hercule,' Harry said. 'She's aware of the Library. She wanted you to be there.'

Bradamant sneered. 'The Library must be this alternate's worst kept secret.'

Harry's look plainly asked if he could gag her.

Irene forced herself not to agree. 'You are not coming,' she told Bradamant. If she did, the meeting might end in bloodshed. 'Kai and I will go.' When Bradamant was about to protest, she added: 'We'll need someone here who is capable of holding off attackers.' Butters couldn't fight and Thomas wasn't conscious. 'You are resourceful enough to handle that, right?'

Bradamant scowled at her, but she had promised to do what she was told, so there was no way she could wiggle her way out.

'And don't touch Die Lied der Erlking,' Irene added. 'Butters, if you need to run, you take it. Or Thomas, if he's awake.'

'You really don't trust me, do you?' Bradamant snapped.

Irene forgot her good intentions for a moment and snapped right back: 'Try to go one mission without trying to screw me over, and we'll see about trust then.'

There wasn't much they could do at Harry's apartment. Harry restored the wards and Irene did her best with the Language to beat the door back to its original shape. It still didn't close properly, but at least it didn't look like it had lost a fight with a battering ram.

Thomas came round just before they were due to leave. He looked a bit cross-eyed, but when Butters asked him what his name was and how many fingers he was holding up, he gave the right answers.

'Did you see who they were?' Harry asked.

'Ringwraiths,' Thomas replied wryly. 'The hoods covered their faces.'

That sounded uncomfortably familiar.

'Cowl and Kumori,' Harry said. 'Any zombies?'

'They didn't need them.' Thomas allowed Kai to help him to the couch where he sprawled like a prince from a fairy tale. He certainly had the looks and the flair to carry it off.

Irene had seen how powerful Cowl was. It had taken a car to the face to make him back off, and even that hadn't seemed to put much of a crimp in his style. He had just decided to back off to fight another day. When the greatest threats weren't around to bother him.

But why had they left the book? They had seemed keen on it when the demanded it outside of Bock Ordered Books.

So far there wasn't a lot that made sense about this mission.

And what did The head of the beast mean?

She pondered it all the way to the meeting place, but even though she examined it from every possible angle, she couldn't figure out a useful answer.

The meeting place turned out to be a cozy pub. It was also a magical pub. Irene had been in places like this in other alternates, where they were usually called taverns. It was lit by candles, and, apart from the ceiling fans, didn't seem to have any modern conveniences at all. The power was out in the rest of the city, but here it was business as usual.

Well, until the three of them walked in.

A hush fell over the room, though there was nothing they did or said that warranted that kind of reaction. Irene checked her clothes, but they were spotless; Kai had made sure that when they went shopping she had a few spare outfits.

Most of the people nodded at Harry, but Kai and Irene warranted a closer look, because they were unfamiliar, perhaps. It was clear from everything that this was a gathering place for magical people.

The plaque with the text ACCORDED NEUTRAL TERRITORY was a bit of a hint as well.

The man behind the bar studied them intently. He gave Harry a nod of greeting, then looked at Irene briefly, before subjecting Kai to closer scrutiny.

Harry pulled up a stool at the bar. 'Mac,' he greeted.

'Harry,' said Mac, not to be outdone in brevity.

Harry gestured at Irene and Kai. 'Irene Winters and Kai Strongrock. Friends.'

It seemed that Irene wasn't the only one who decided to extend friendship to someone she had met only days ago. Then again, could you really fight zombies and necromancers together without bonding in any meaningful way?

Well, perhaps if you were like Bradamant and had ice water in your veins instead of blood.

'Pleasure to make your acquaintance,' Irene said, smiling.

Kai inclined his head. 'It is a pleasure to be a guest in your establishment.' He did that thing again where he switched between the ways he spoke.

Mac nodded. 'Welcome.' It seemed Mac was a man of few words.

Harry drew the attention back to him. 'I need some space, Mac,' he said, louder than strictly necessary. 'Some people are meeting me here shortly. I'll need several tables.'

People in the pub began to look properly worried. Some of them got up on their own, but a few needed Harry's advice to make sure to be behind a threshold that night. Then they too departed with almost unseemly haste.

Two minutes later, the door closed behind the last customer.

'How many people do you expect, Harry?' Irene asked.

'A few dozen,' Harry replied as Mac put beer and dinner down before them. 'Thanks, Mac. Kemmler gave the Council a lot of trouble back in the day. His leftovers are nothing to sneeze at either. They'll want to make sure to get all of them this time.'

Mac's only sign of surprise was that his fork froze halfway to his mouth for a few seconds. 'How many?' he asked.

'Three,' Harry replied. He hesitated only for a moment before he added: 'And an evil Librarian.'

The Library really was this alternate's worst kept secret, because Mac never showed any sign of surprise.

'Wardens?' Mac asked.

Harry nodded.

Mac simply turned around and prepared more dinners.

Irene ate in silence. There hadn't been many quiet moments so far. It was all running from one place to another, fighting far too many powerful baddies and investigating in order to try and get ahead of their opponents before they did something very terrible. It wasn't until she sat down that she realised two things: how tired she was and how much her body hurt. She had taken some nasty bruises in last night's fight.

The door opened to admit an imposing man in a torn and bloody grey cloak. The clothes he wore under it were no better off. The sword on his hip and battered staff in his hand suggested that this had happened in a fight of some kind. He looked as if he had been fighting right up to the moment he came here and, having arrived, was preparing to fight some more.

He certainly knew how to make an entrance.

He found Harry and glared at him. 'Wizard Dresden.' His lip curled in distaste.

'Warden Morgan,' Harry returned with just as much warmth. He indicated Kai and Irene and introduced them. 'Librarians.'

'I know,' said Morgan.

He didn't like Librarians either; they didn't warrant a personal greeting.

'McAnally,' said the warden to Mac. It was polite, but nothing more.

'Donald.'

Irene wasn't sure she'd ever met someone who looked like less of a Donald.

'Did you check for veils?' barked Morgan at Harry.

Harry shrugged. 'You wouldn't believe me if I said I had, so I didn't bother.'

These two had history. The tension was thick in the air.

Morgan glared at Harry again. Kai twitched. Since last night he seemed to have extended his protectiveness to Harry. Morgan must be getting on his nerves. Irene put her hand on his arm to calm him down. This was not the place to get into a fight, not with the people they still needed.

Kai looked at her hand, then at her face. He nodded.

Morgan looked around the room and declared that it was all clear. The people who were still outside must have been waiting for that. Five people walked into the pub, three of whom were very young. Irene wasn't sure if all of them were even legally adults. The last of them, a young man with a grin from ear to ear, closed the door behind him.

A far cry from the few dozen trained fighters that Harry had expected.

Their leader, a grey-haired woman, briefly greeted Kai and Irene. 'It is a pleasure to meet you,' she said, and although the tone was more weary than warm, she sounded like she meant it. 'Captain Anastasia Luccio.'

'Irene Winters,' Irene said, then indicated Kai. 'My apprentice, Kai Strongrock.' The woman before her looked tough as old nails, but there was something about the eyes that hinted at least at a capacity for warmer sentiments. 'I understand you knew Hercule. I am sorry for your loss, captain.'

It was appreciated. 'He was a good man,' the captain said. A small smile tugged at her lips. 'Even if he was a bit odd. I met him when he tried to break into our base in Edinburgh to steal a rare book.'

'He broke into a wizard's base?'

Luccio laughed. 'A heavily fortified wizard's base.' She smiled fondly. 'He was quite the smooth talker.'

'Did he get the book?'

She smiled again. 'He did. He was a good Librarian. A pedantic, vexing old fool, but a good friend. And a good man.'

Irene nodded. 'He was.'

Luccio's gaze hardened. 'Do you know who killed him yet?'

'Grevane,' Irene said, feeling absolutely no reservations about sharing that information. If the good captain saw it as her duty to avenge her friend, who was Irene to argue?

Luccio nodded grimly. 'I see,' she said.

Irene saw that Grevane's life probably wouldn't be worth much if Luccio got her hands on him.

'If you would wait a moment,' she said, returning to the matter in hand, 'I will need to discuss some business first with Wizard Dresden and the Wardens. Would you mind waiting?'

'Not at all.'

Kai and Irene remained at the bar while the wizards took the table in the corner. The wizards drew a circle around themselves, which blocked all sound, so whatever they discussed, it wasn't audible at the bar. The body language spoke volumes, though. It was bad news. Very bad news, because the Wardens looked grim and Harry's face kept falling.

After some time, the Wardens got up and joined them at the bar, leaving only their captain and Harry at the table.

'So,' said the cheerful wizard. 'Librarians. You don't see those every day.'

'You're not supposed to notice us at all,' Irene pointed out. 'It means we're not doing our jobs right.'

It didn't faze him. 'We wizards are trained to notice things,' he said, 'such as that you two have run out of drinks.'

Does he know he's not that good at flirting? 'I am not in the habit of letting strange men buy me a drink when they haven't given me their name.'

'Carlos Ramirez,' he said promptly. 'Drink?'

Irene declined on the grounds that she liked to have a clear head when they went up against the bad guys and Kai was wise enough to follow her lead. Carlos chattered, but the looming presence of Morgan put rather a damper on the mood.

Irene chose instead to keep an eye on Harry, because something about the way he sat made her slightly uneasy. She had seen him fight wizards stronger than himself without a second thought. She had seen him take on Alberich without flinching. But he stared at Luccio like a deer caught in the headlights.

Eventually, he put his hand on the folded grey cloak on the table, looking resigned.

One minute later everyone was called to the table again. Irene and Kai sat down on either side of Harry. Morgan sat as far away from Harry as possible while still sitting down at the same table. Luccio observed this, but said nothing.

'Very well,' she said. 'Brief us.'

Harry took care of the first part, up until the confrontation at the door of Bock Ordered Books, at which point Morgan interrupted: 'How did you get involved?' he demanded of Irene. Apparently her association with Harry made her suspicious too.

'Kai and I were sent on a mission to obtain Die Lied der Erlking,' she answered. 'Our brief mentioned that a copy was for sale at Bock Ordered Books. Where my superiors found this information, I do not know.'

They don't tell us. They don't tell us nearly enough.

'And I don't see how it is any of your business,' she added.

Morgan bristled, but one look from his captain made him close his mouth again. Irene used his distraction to pick up the story, because squabbling over these little details wasn't going to help. Time was ticking.

The Wardens were polite enough to listen. Harry told most of the story, and Irene noticed that he left several things out. He didn't mention the Za Lord's Guard; he simply referred to his sources. He didn't mention Bob, but instead said that he strongly suspected that at least one of the necromancers had found a way to circumvent the Word of Kemmler. Come to think of it, he didn't mention Thomas either.

None of the Wardens seemed to notice this, except Morgan, but he was so visibly suspicious of Harry anyway that it would hardly make a difference.

Luccio nodded when they were done speaking. 'We will certainly help,' she said. 'Alberich on the other hand…'

'Alberich is our problem,' Irene interjected, even though she would really like it if he wasn't her problem. 'We have a way to banish him from this world.'

'Why haven't you done it already?' demanded Morgan.

'Because we haven't been able to pin him down somewhere long enough to do it,' Kai said icily.

'What is your plan?' Luccio asked.

Irene exchanged a look with Kai, who nodded. They would have to explain sooner rather than later. 'Alberich is chaos-contaminated,' Irene said. When that didn't seem to mean anything to the Wardens, she explained: 'He has contaminated himself with Fae powers. The Library power does not suffer any chaos. If I can declare the Library in the place where Alberich is, I can push him out.'

'Pushing him out of Chicago isn't going to do much good,' Carlos observed.

'I will ward the area where he is,' Kai said. 'Alberich will be trapped between my wards and Irene's Library wards, which will push him out of this alternate entirely.'

Luccio frowned. 'There are no wards that can do that.'

Kai grinned. He laid his hands on the table and allowed them to change just enough to see claws and the hint of scales. 'Dragon wards can.'

Carlos leaned over to have a closer look, grinning from ear to ear. 'Nice. Never met a Dragon before. Is it true you can breathe fire?'

'No,' said Kai. 'Some Dragons can manipulate fire. Not me.'

Carlos's mild disappointment barely slowed him down. 'But Dragons do manipulate natural forces, right? What's yours?'

Kai shrugged. 'Water,' he said, humbly, as if he hadn't washed scores of zombies down the street with his torrential downpour.

'The problem is,' said Irene, getting them back on track, 'that we have done this before. We got away with it because Alberich didn't know that Kai is a Dragon until it was too late to do something about it. He'll expect it this time.'

Luccio nodded. 'Your best chance is to wait until he is distracted during the ritual.'

Irene nodded. 'That's the only time when we know for sure where he will be.' But it would be very dangerous. 'But he'll know for sure what we're planning when he won't see Kai.'

Carlos grinned. 'We'll just have to make sure he's too busy to think about that.'

Next time: in a totally unexpected twist of events, things are still not going well.

Reviews would be welcome and appreciated.