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"I meant old, fat Elvis Possibly Michael Jackson"

The pale man put a hand to his heart "That hurts, Harry"

"Yeah, I&039;ve had a rough day too"

"Gentlemen," Kincaid said, a note of iin?"

I nodded So did Ortega Kincaid introduced everyone and produced a docu for the Archive It ritten in crayon I drank some more beer After that, Kincaid invited Shiro and Thomas to join him at the corner table I went back to the bar, and a a followed me He sat doith a couple of empty stools between us, while Kincaid, Thoround

I finished et ot enough on a put a twenty down on the bar and said, "I&039;ll cover it Another for me as well"

I started tomy life and the lives of those I cared about, but I bit it back Shiro had been right about fighting You can&039;t lose a fight you don&039;t show up to So I took the beer Mac brought a"

He nodded, and took a sip His eyes lit up a bit, and he took a second, slower one "It&039;s good"

Mac grunted

"I thought you guys drank blood," I said

"It&039;s all we really need," Ortega said

"Then why do you have anything else?"

Ortega held up the bottle "Life is more than mere survival All you need is the water, after all Why drink beer?"

"You ever tasted the water in this town?"

He almost smiled "Touch§ٮ"

I turned the plain brown bottle around in ers "I don&039;t want this," I said

"The duel?"

I nodded

Ortega leaned an elbow on the bar and considered me "Neither do I This isn&039;t personal It isn&039;t so I want"

"So don&039;t do it," I said "We could both walk"

"And the ould go on"

"It&039;s been going on for nearly two years," I said "It&039;s hts in back alleys It&039;s like the Cold War, only with fewer Republicans"

Ortega frowned, and watched Mac cleaning the grill behind the bar "It can get worse, Mister Dresden It can get a great deal worse And if the conflict escalates, it will threaten the balance of power throughout the worlds of flesh and spirit alike Iine the destruction, the loss of life that could ensue"

"So why not contribute to the peace effort? Starting with this duel Maybe we could get sons that say &039;Make blood not war&039; or soa did smile It was a weary expression on him "It&039;s too late for that," he said "Your blood is all that will satisfy many of my peers"

"I can donate," I said "Let&039;s say once every two e juice"

Ortega leaned toward"Wizard You ry My voice gained heat "The only reason-"

Ortega cuthis hand "I do not say that your reasons were not valid But the fact of the uest and representative of the Council And you attacked and eventually killed both Bianca and those under her protection"

"Killingher back," I said

"But it will slake the thirst for vengeance that plaguesto at least attempt a peaceful resolution"

"Dammit," I h - " Ortega ht be another way"

"What other way?"

"Yield," Ortega said "Yield to the duel and letto ith me, I could place you under my protection"

"Work with you," I said My stomach flip-flopped "You mean become like you"

"It is an alternative to death," Ortega said, his expression earnest "My kinsainst it For taking Bianca&039;s life, you could replace it with your own"

"As one of you"

Ortega nodded "As one of us" He was quiet for a uez with you Be together She would not be a threat to you, were you both my vassals" He put his beer down "I think you will find that we arefor different teams"

I rubbed at a&039;s offer was one of revulsion The Red Court vampires don&039;t look like iant, hairless bats with slick, rubbery skin They could cover themselves with a flesh mask in order to look human, but I&039;d seen as underneath the hly I still had nightmares

I opened my eyes "Let me ask you a question"

"Very well"

"Do you live in a a responded "It&039;s in Honduras There is a village nearby"

"Uh- huh," I said "So you feed on the villagers"

"Carefully I provide them with supplies, medical attention, other necessities"

"Sounds reasonable," I said

"It&039;s beneficial to both of us The villagers know that"

"Yeah, they probably do" I finished off the bottle "Do you feed on children?"

Ortega frowned at me "What do you er in my voice "Do You Feed On Children"

"It&039;s the safest way The erous it is for all of the We&039;re different" I stood up "You hurt kids We&039;re done"

Ortega&039;s voice sharpened "Dresden Do not lightly discard my offer"

"The offer tomonster in eternal slavery to you? Why would I want to do that?"

"It is the only way to keep your life," Ortega said

I felt the anger coalescing into rage My upper lip curled away froht life is a&039;s expression changed It was only for a second, but in that ant pride, and violent bloodlust on his face He regained his calm quickly, but traces of the hidden emotions thickened his accent

"So be it I will kill you, wizard"

He sounded convincing It scared me I turned and walked to the door "I&039;ll be outside," I said to no one in particular, and stepped out into the late-February cold

That way, I&039;d have an excuse to be tre