Page 10 (1/2)

Chapter Fifteen

The first thought that went throughlike, Wow her voice is hot The second was, How the hell did she catch up to us so quickly?

Oh, and somewhere in there the practical side of et shot

What came out of my mouth was, "Is your last name really Romany?"

I didn&039;t hear any footsteps, but her voice came from closer when she answered "It was my married name Briefly Now please step away from my little brother"

Hell&039;s bells, she was his sister! Faht not react rationally to a threat I took a deep breath and reminded myself that under the circumstances, I&039;d be an idiot to push Lara Raith "I assuuns?"

"Assume instead that if you don&039;t, I&039;ll shoot you dead"

"Oh, for the love of God" Tho"

She clucked her teeth, a sound of almost maternal disapproval "Tos like that, I have to keep ree an idiot as you would like us all to believe"

"Oh, come on," Thomas said "This is a waste of tile of the blasting rod I looked over s with stockings and heels-

(How the hell had she caught up to us in the freaking heels? Even for a wizard, sos are simply beyond belief)

- and she held a pair of pretty little guns in her hands They probably weren&039;t packing the high-caliber ammunition of heavier weapons, but even baby bullets could kill , and sauntered closer through the heavy shadows, her skin luritted e to taste-test the curvy dents in her sto at Thouns down, stop with the come-hither whammy, and we can talk"

She stopped between one step and the next, a faintly troubled expression on her face She narrowed her eyes, and her voice slid through the air like honey and heroin "What did you say?"

I fought off the pressure of that voice and growled, "Back Off" My inner Quixote was not to be entirely denied though, and I added, "Please"

She stared at me for aht," shean oath "You&039;re Harry Dresden"

"Don&039;t feel bad I cleverly concealed my identity as Harry the Production Assistant"

She pursed her lips (which also looked delicious) and said, "Why are you threatening ht and everyone else was busy"

There wasn&039;t even the hint of a warning One of the little guns barked, there was a flash of scarlet pain in my head, and I collapsed to one knee

I kept the blasting rod trained on Thomas and lifted my hand to my ear It caun to recede Lara arched a delicate eyebrow at razed my ear with a bullet With that kind of skill, between the eyes would be no trick at all

"Normally I would admire that kind of piquant retort," she said in a silken, quiet voice Probably because she thought it sounded scarier than if she&039;d said it loudly "But where ames"

"Point taken," I said My voice sounded shaky I lowered the blasting rod until it wasn&039;t pointing at Thomas, and eased away the power held ready in it The sullen fire at the tip of the rod went out

"Lovely," she said, but she didn&039;t lower the twin pistols The autulossy hair around her head, and her grey eyes shone silver in the half-light

"Harry," Thomas said "This is my oldest sister, Lara Lara, Harry Dresden"

"A pleasure," she said "Thomas, step out from behind the wizard I don&039;t want one of these rounds to take you if they go through"

My guts turned to water I still had er quicker than I could aim and loose a strike at her

"Wait," Thomas said He pushed himself up to one knee and put himself between me and the other White vampire "Don&039;t kill him"

That earned Thomas an arched eyebrow, but a smile haunted her mouth "And why not?"

"There&039;s the chance that he&039;d be able to level his death curse, for one"

"True And?"

Thoed "And I have personal reasons I&039;d take it as a favor if we could discuss the matter first"

"So would I," I added

Lara let the ghostly s you, wizard, but" She sighed "There is little roootiation, Thomas Dresden&039;s presence here is unacceptable Arturo&039;s independent streak is an internal matter of the White Court"

"I didn&039;t come here to interfere with the White Court," I said "It wasn&039;t arded me "We all knohat intentions are worth Why then, wizard?"

"That&039;s a good question," I said, turning my head deliberately to Thomas "I&039;d love to hear the answer"

Thoaze flicked to Lara, and I had the sudden iainst her

Lara frowned and said, "Tho about?"

"This is a te Really"

Lara&039;s eyes widened "You brought hian

"You&039;re daht he did," I said "You think I&039;d be here for the fun of it?"

Lara&039;s aether for a few seconds, then rose slowly to his feet He winced and put one hand to the small of his back "Looks that way"

"He&039;ll kill you," Lara said "He&039;ll kill you and worse You haven&039;t got a fraction of the strength you&039;d need to threaten him"

"That all depends," Thomas said

"On what?" she asked

"On where the other members of the House decide to place their support"

She let out a short laugh of disbelief "You think any of us would take your side over his?"

"Why not," Tho, but he isn&039;t invincible If he&039;s taken down by e, and I&039;d be a hell of a lot easier to depose than he would But if I lose, you can blaoat Life goes on and the only one to pay for it is me"

She narrowed her eyes "You&039;ve been reading Machiavelli again"

"To Justine at bedtime"

Lara became quiet for a moment, her expression pensive Then she said, "This is ill-advised, Tho is horrible Raith&039;s position is already precarious a the Houses Internal instability now could leave us vulnerable to Skavis or Malvora or those like them If they sense weakness they won&039;t hesitate to destroy us"

"Dad&039;s losing it," Thoht for years, and we all know it He&039;s getting old It&039;s only a matter of time before the other Lords decide to take hio doith him"

She shook her head "Do you kno many brothers and sisters have said such words to me over the years? He has destroyed theainst hiether We can do it"

"Why now, of all times?"

"Why not now?"

She frowned at Thomas, and stared intently at him for better than sixty seconds Then she shivered, took a deep breath, and pointed one gun at my head And the other at Thomas