Page 9 (1/2)

I hate cryptic warnings I know, the whole cryptic-re, but it doesn&039;t suitlike that? All three Knights and the population of Chicago would die if I didn&039;t get involved-and my number would be up if I did That sounded like the worst kind of self-fulfilling crap

There&039;s a case to beMortals, even wizards, all exist at a finite point in the flow of time Or, to make it simple, if time is a river, then you and I are like pebbles in it We exist in one spot at a time, occasionally jostled back and forth by the currents Spirits don&039;t always have the sa thread than a stone-their presence tenuous, but rippling upstrea more of the stream than the pebble

That&039;s how oracle spirits know about the future and the past They&039;re living in the ive brief warnings, or mysterious dreams or prophetic knock-knock jokes, or however they drop their clues If they tell you too , so they have to give out the advice with a light touch

I know It makes my head hurt too

I don&039;t put much stock in prophecy As extensive and aware as these spiritsAnd as nutty as people are, I don&039;t buy that any spirit is going to be able to keep an absolute lock on every possible teenuine prophecies aside, I could hardly drop the case now In the first place, I&039;d been paid up front, and I didn&039;t have the kind of financial breathing space I would need to be able to turn down the money and pay my bills at the same time

In the second place, the risk of imminent death just didn&039;t hit me the same way it used to It wasn&039;t that it didn&039;t scare me It did, in that kind of horrible, uncertain way that leftto focus my fears upon But I&039;ve beaten risks before I could do it again

You want to know another reason I didn&039;t back off? I don&039;t like getting pushed around I don&039;t like threats As well-intentioned and polite and caring as Michael&039;s threat had been, it still made me want to punch someone in the nose The oracle&039;s prophecy had been another threat, of sorts, and I don&039;t let spirits fro to do, either

Finally, if the prophecy was right, Michael and his brother Knights could be in danger, and they had saved o I could help the on bad guys in a fight, but they weren&039;t investigators They couldn&039;t run these thieves down the way I could It was just a question ofthem see reason Once I&039;d convinced them that the prophecy they&039;d received wasn&039;t wholly correct, everything would be fine

Yeah, right

I shoved those thoughts aside, and checked the clock I wanted to move on Ulsharavas&039;s tip as soon as possible, but I was beat and likely toaround town, there was no sense in going out there into the dark, exhausted and unprepared I&039;d wait for the potions to be ready and Bob to coht would cut down on the risk as well, since Red Court vaot incinerated by it-and I doubted these Denarian fruitcakes would get along with it either

Thus prioritized, I checked ether a couple of potions that would offer me a few hours of protection from the narcotic veno any kind of potion required a base liquid, and then several other ingredients ic put into the potion to the desired effect One ingredient was linked to each of the five senses, then one to the mind and one to the spirit

In this case, I wanted so that would offset the venomous saliva of the Red Court vampires, a narcotic that rendered those exposed to it passively euphoric I needed a potion that would ruin the pleasurable sensations of the poison

I used stale coffee as redient To that I added hairs from a skunk, for scent A small square of sandpaper for touch I tossed in a sht A rooster&039;s crow I&039;d stored in a s, and a powdered aspirin for taste I cut the surgeon general&039;s warning label froarettes and chopped it fine to add in for the mind, and then lit a stick of the incense I so and wafted some of the smoke into the two bottles for the spirit Once the potions were bubbling over a burner, I drew inthe enthusiasm

I let them simmer for a while, then took them from the fire and emptied them into a pair of small sports-drink bottles After that, I slumped on a stool and waited for Bob to come home

I , I jerked ht and nearly fell off my stool I clambered up the ladder and picked up the phone

"Dresden"

"Hoss," said a weather-beaten voice on the other end Ebenezar McCoy, a sometime teacher of mine, sounded businesslike "Did I wake you up?"

"No, sir," I said "I was up anyway Working on a case"

"You sound tired as a coal-ht"

"Uh- huh," Ebenezar said "Hoss, I just called to let you know not to worry about this duel nonsense We&039;re going to slap it down"

By "we," Ebenezar meant the Senior Council members Seven of the most experienced wizards on the White Council held positions of particular authority, especially during times of crisis, when quick decisions were needed Ebenezar had turned down his chance at a seat on the Senior Council for nearly fifty years He took it only recently to block a potentially fatal political attack directed against yours truly by some of the more conservative (read, fanatic) members of the White Council

"Slap it down? No, don&039;t do that"

"What?" Ebenezar said "You want to fight this duel? Did you fall and hit your head, boy?"

I rubbed at ive on&039;s already pretty full to be letting this vampire push you"

"He knehere to push," I said "Ortega brought a bunch of goons into town Vaht hit oing to have a bunch of people I know killed"

Ebenezar spat so in what I presumed was Gaelic "You&039;d better tell me what happened, then"

I told Ebenezar all about a "Oh, and a contact of mine says that the Red Court is divided over the issue There are lots of them who don&039;t want the war to end"

"Of course they don&039;t," Ebenezar said "That fool of a Merlin won&039;t let us take the offensive He thinks his fancy wards willout?" I asked

"Well enough for now," Ebenezar admitted "One major attack has been pushed back by the wards No more Council h the Red Court&039;s allies are putting pressure on ours, and a few Wardens have died on intelligence-gatheringto last You can&039;t win a war sitting behind a wall and hoping the enemy decides to leave"

"What do you think we should do?"

"Officially," Ebenezar said, "we follow the Merlin&039;s lead More than anything, noe need to stay together"

"What about unofficially?"

"Think about it," Ebenezar snorted "If we just sit here, the va to take apart or drive away our allies and then we&039;ll have to take them all on alone Look, Hoss Are you sure about this duel?"

"Hell no," I said "I just didn&039;t see ht be worth it to the Council Neutral territory forcould cohed "Aye The Merlin will think the sa" He was quiet for a moment before he said, "Not much like the days on the farreed

"Do you remember that telescope we set up in the loft?"

Ebenezar had taught s in the Ozark hills, hay doors to the barn&039;s loft open, stars overhead shining in the country darkness by the millions "I remember That asteroid we discovered that turned out to be an old Russian satellite"

"Asteroid Dresden was a better naht, "Do you remember whatever happened to that telescope and such? I kept ot around to it"

"We packed it in that steamer trunk in the horse stall"

"With the observation logs?"

"Yeah," I said

"Oh, that&039;s right," Ebenezar said "Obliged"