Page 11 (1/2)

Chapter Twenty-six

Here&039;s so choked unconscious hurts

There&039;s this horrible, crushing pain on your neck, followed by an ale of terrible pressure that feels like it&039;s going to blow your head to tiny pieces fro trapped in your brain The pain surges and ebbs in ti

It doesn&039;t matter if you&039;re a waifish super professional wrestler, because it isn&039;t an issue of strength or willpower-it&039;s siy If you&039;re hu down A properly applied choke will take you from feisty to unconscious in four or five seconds

Of course, if the choker wants to make the victim hurt er

I&039;ll let you guess which the skinwalker preferred

I struggled, but I ht as well have saved rip on ed, and then the skinwalker sat up out of the wreckage, sloughing it off as easily as an arctic wolf eht down the hallway, I was able to get my hands and knees underneathhardwood The skinwalker let out a chuckling little growl and casually slaainst the wall Stars and fresh pain flooded h the air and landing in a tus that only seemed to be connected to me in the technical sense

I lifted dazed eyes to see the security guy from the entrance hall coun held to his shoulder, his cheek resting against the stock so that the barrel pointed wherever his eyes were focused When he saw the skinwalker, uncovered from its veil, he stopped in his tracks To his credit, he couldn&039;t have hesitated for more than a fraction of a second before he opened fire

Bullets zipped down the hall, so close that I could have reached out a hand and touched theolden-furred blur, and rebounded off the wall toward the gun its body as it did, and suddenly a spider the size of a subcouy

At that point, he i around a corner with the skinwalker co hard behind

"Now!" someone called, as the skinwalker reached the intersection of the two hallways, and a sudden howl of thunder filled the hallith noise and light Bullets ripped into the floor, the wall, and the ceiling, co the air with splinters of shattered hardwood

The skinwalker let out a deafening caterwaul of pain and boundless fury The gunfire reached a thunderous, frantic crescendo

Then

I tried to push myself to my feet, but soain I kept trying Whoever hadlike a Laundro the wall, I ed to make it to my knees

I heard a soft sound behind me I turned my head blearily toward the source of the noise and saw three pale, lithe forh the hole that the skinwalker had made The first was Lara Raith She&039;d torn her skirt up one side, almost all the way to her hip, and when she landed in a silent crouch, she looked cold and feral and dangerous with her sword in one hand and her machine pistol in the other

The other to with eerie beauty, their eyes glittering like polished silver coins-the sisters Justine had uess I&039;d arrived in the otten so but weapons and silver body piercings, which gleamed on one eyebrow, one nostril, her lower lip, and her nipples Her dark hair had been cropped close to her head except for where her bangs fell to veil one of her eyes, and she carried a pair of wavy-bladed swords like Lara&039;s

The second seemed to be taller and more muscular than the other two She hat looked like ahair was aaxe in her hands, its blade honed along a concave edge instead of the more conventional convex one

Without any visible signal, they all started prowling forward at the same time-and it was a prowl, an atavistic, feline motion that carried ere very clearly predators forward in total silence Lara paused when she reached lanced over my injuries with cold silver eyes and whispered, "Stay down"

No proble stopped with a last stuttering burst of gunfire The security guy ca around the corner Bloodtear through his jacket on the left side His left arripped the handle of his ht He wavered and dropped to one knee as he spotted the three vaestured with a hand, and the other two spread out and uard "What happened?"

"We hit it," he said, his voice slurred "We hit it with everything Didn&039;t even slow it down They&039;re dead They&039;re all dead"

"You&039;re bleeding," Lara said in a calm tone "Get behind me Defend the wizard"

He nodded unsteadily "Yeah Okay"

Lara&039;s guy had to be either incredibly lucky or really good to have survived a close-quarters battle with the skinwalker I stared dully at security guy for a second beforeNobody was that lucky

"Lara!" I choked out

Security guy turned in a blur of un at Lara&039;s head like a club-but she had begunand heher head off her shoulders by a fraction of an inch She flung herself to one side and rolled as security guy&039;s other ar yellow fur and claws as it came She avoided the worst of it, but the skinwalker&039;s claws left a triple line of incisions down one shapely thigh, and they welled with blood a little too pale and pearly to be hu forward, its body broadening and thickening into the forreat bear with oversized jaws and vicious fangs It overbore her by sheerwith its steely jaws I heard a bone break, heard Lara cry out in rage-and then the skinwalker flew straight up into the ceiling, its head and shoulders slah it, and out onto the floor above

Lara had rolled to her back, and had launched the thing away fro and smoothly muscled and utterly desirable, even as she lowered the one arm tucked in close to her side Her skin shone with cold, alien power, and her eyes had beco for a few seconds, slowly lifting and straightening her arm as she did

Her forear out through the flesh But over the next few seconds, the flesh seemed to ripple and beco beneath the skin of her arm-even the hole that the bone had torn in the skin sealed slowly closed, and in ten seconds I couldn&039;t even tell she&039;d been hurt

She turned those empty white eyes to er For a second, I feltto her desire, even as woozy as I was, but that was quickly snuffed out by a surge of nausea I turned my head and threw up onto the expensive floor while my head and neck screaain, Lara had turned her head away from me She picked up her fallen weapon-but the machine pistol had been bent into the shape of a coehammer paws She discarded it, recovered her sword, and drew thequickly-not in effort, but in raw exciteainst her dirtied blouse She licked her lips slowly and said, evidently for my benefit, "I sometimes see Madeline&039;s point"

There was a fee that was answered by a leonine roar that shook the hallway The short-haired sister flew into the wall at the T intersection ahead, and collapsed like a rag doll There were sounds of swift asp

Then silence

Athe axe-wielding sister&039;s limp form by the hair The veil faded as the skinwalker ca us its bestial, not-quite-human form It stopped in front of us, maybe ten feet away Then, quite casually, it lifted one of the unconscious va away froer and sed it

Lara narrowed her eyes, and her rich ry smile "Did you need a break before we continue?"

The skinwalker spoke, its voice weirdly modulated, as if several different creatures were approxi speech at the same time "Break?"

With the word, it calirl&039;s left arm in midhuoing to kill you," Lara said calhed It was a hideous sound "Little phage Even here at the center of your power, you could not stop es are fallen Even the foolish pretenders to power visiting your house could not stop ether to push myself to my feet Lara never looked at me, but I could sense her attention on ather ical strike The skinwalker would feelbefore it becaencies

The eight silver rings I wore, one on each of ers, served a couple of purposes The triple bands of silver weresoood imitation of brass knuckles But their y every tie, but when they were ready to go, I could release the force stored in each ring with instant precision A blast fro ht out of hi-which o on each hand

I didn&039;t bother to say anything to Lara I just lifteda pile driver of kinetic energy at the skinwalker Lara bounded forward at the sa, ready to lay into the skinwalker when my strike threw it off balance and distracted it

But the skinwalker lifted its left hand, fingers crooked into a faesture, and the wave of force that should have knocked it tail over teakettle bounced back froht from a mirror-and struck Lara full-on instead

Lara let out a startled whuff as the equivalent force of a speeding car slaainst thethe hallway behind me

The skinwalker&039;ssmile of its own, and its bestial voice purred, "Break, little phage Break"

Lara gasped and lifted herself up with her arms Her white eyes were fixed on the skinwalker, her lips twisted into a defiant snarl

I stood there staring at the skinwalker It was hard, and I had to use the wall to help me balance Then I took a deep breath and stepped away fro very carefully, until I stood between the skinwalker and Lara I turned to face it squarely

"Okay," I said "Let&039;s have it"

"Have what, pretender?" the skinwalker growled

"You aren&039;t here to kill us," I said "You could have done it by now"

"Oh, so true," itwith loat about it, prick," I ain "You must want to talk So why don&039;t you just say what you came to say?"

The skinwalker studied er froirl It chewed sloith so sounds, and then sed "You will trade with me"

I frowned "Trade?"

The skinwalker s froht the object and tossed it to ht it It was a silver pentacle necklace, a twin to my own, if considerably less battered and worn

It was Thomas&039;s necklace

My belly went cold

"Trade," the skinwalker said "Thomas of Raith For the dooan, too "Suppose I tell you to fuck off"

"I will no longer be in a playful mood," it purred "I will come for you I will kill you I will kill your blood, your friends, your beasts I will kill the flowers in your home and the trees in your tiny fields I will visit such death upon whatever is yours that your very name will be remembered only in curses and tales of terror"

I believed the creature

No reflexive co from my lips Given what I&039;d seen of the skinwalker&039;s power, I had to give that one a five-star rating on the threatoaze shifted to Lara "If the wizard does not obey, I will unmake you as well I will do it every bit as easily as I have done today And it will bring me intense pleasure to do so"

Lara stared at the skinwalker with pure white eyes, her expression locked into a snarl of hate

"Do you understandof flesh you&039;ve attached yourself to?"

"I understand," Lara spat

The skinwalker&039;s smile widened for an instant "If the doomed warrior is not delivered to in ht take more time than that," I said

"For your sake, pretender, pray it does not" It idly flung the unconscious vampire away from it, to land in a heap atop the other sister "Youdevices," the skinwalker said

Then it leapt lightly up through one of the holes in the ceiling, and was gone

I slu

"Thohtmare had my brother

Chapter Twenty-seven

Lara took charge of the afteruards were dead, another dozen uards had sprung their ambush were so covered in blood that it looked like they had been painted red At least a dozen more personnel hadn&039;t been able to reach the battle before it was over, it had all happened so swiftly-which meant that there was someone available to help stabilize the wounded and clean up the bodies

The skinwalker&039;s hex had effectively destroyed every radio and cell phone in the Château, but the land lines, based on y, were still up Lara called in a s the medical staff that the Raiths kept on retainer

I sat with ainst the hile all this happened, a little apart from the activity It see an itch, I noticed that there was a wide stripe ofdown my neck Must have been a scalp wound They bleed like crazy

After soth of ti the movement of her tounded relatives The two vampires were liberally smeared with their own blood, and both were senseless When they were carried off in stretchers, the uards, and Lara walked over to rey eyes concealing whatever thought was behind them "Can you stand, wizard?"

"Can," I said "Don&039;t want to"

She lifted her chin slightly and looked down at otten my little brother involved in?"

"Wish I knew," I said "I&039; from"

She folded her aritive Warden, I presume"

"It&039;s one way to interpret that"

Lara studiedneat white teeth "You have him He came to you for help"

"Why the hell would you think that?" I asked

"Because people in hopeless situations coular basis And you help theer "Now, to decide what iswith the skinwalker&039;s demands Or to write Thomas off as a loss, take the Warden from you, and turn hi him There is a rather substantial reward for his capture or death"

I eyed her dully "You&039;re going to play along You&039;re hoping that you&039;ll be able to act reluctant and get soe for your cooperation, but you&039;re going to give it to me anyway"

"And why should I do that?" Lara asked

"Because after the coup attempt in the Deeps, Thonasty co and kill him after it openly defies you in your own home, you look weak We both know you can&039;t live with that"

"And by giving in to his demands, I avoid the appearance of weakness?" she asked skeptically "No, Dresden"

"Da, set Shagnasty up, and then take him out in the true, treacherous tradition of the White Court You get Tho your own folk"

She narrowed her eyes athts Then she said, "And when that is done, what if I should take the Warden and turn him over to the White Councilto the table with your folk in the future"

"Sure it would But you won&039;t do that"

"Won&039;t I?" Lara asked "What&039;s stoppingwith aa well-developed sense of self-worth"

It wasmatches aren&039;t your style, Lara If you play this situation right, it will further your reputation and influence Why jeopardize that by throwing doithover me She idly s h the torn sealy over sht be like to throith you Dresden To go to the ht happen"

I licked my lips and jerked my eyes aith an effort, incapable of speech

"Do you kno to really control someone, Harry?" she asked, her voice a low purr

I cleared rey eyes were huge and deep "Give them what they want Give theive If you can do that, they&039;ll coain" She leaned down close and whispered in ive you, Harry Shall I tell you?"

I sed and nodded, not daring to look at her

"Surcease," she breathed into , wizard I can take away the pains of the body Of the ive you so no one else can-freedom from your burdens of responsibility and conscience" She leaned even closer, until I could feel the coolness of the air around her lips "Sweet Dresden I could give you peace I your eyes with no worries, no pain, no fears, no regrets, no appetites, and no guilt Only quiet and darkness and stillness and ainst yours"

I shivered I couldn&039;t stop ive you that," Lara said, her lips slinking into a smile "You wear your pain like a suit of armor But one day, it will be too heavy to bear And you&039;ll reive you what you need" She let out a sh "I don&039;t require more food, Dresden I have that in plenty But a partner You and I could do ether that we could not alone"

"Sounds swell," I croaked, barely able to get the words out "Maybe we&039;ll start with getting Thohtened her spine and leaned back froer She closed her eyes and stretched a little in place, the way cats so display of lithe fearded ht, of course Business first You want me to help you"

"I want you to help yourself," I said "We&039;ve both got the same problem"

"And that would be?" she asked

"Traitors within the organization," I said "Inciting conflict and destabilizing the balance of power"

She arched a raven black eyebrow "The Warden is innocent?"

"Only if I can find the guy who set him up"

"You think there&039;s a connection between your traitor and the skinwalker"

"And another connection that led me here," I said "One of your folk paid that lawyer and rewired her head"

Lara&039;s mouth twisted with distaste "If that&039;s true, then soauche One never leaves such obvious and overt blocks behind-and especially not in a contact only one layer res call too much attention to themselves"

"So," I said "A White Court vaauche, overt, impatient Oh, and who did not show up to defend the homestead when the skinwalker broke in And who Thomas recently beat and humiliated in public"

"Madeline," Lara murmured

"Madeline," I said "I think whoever is pulling the strings on this operation is using her I think we need to find her and follow the strings back to the puppeteer"

"How?"

I reached into an&039;s supposed account on it, along with a photocopy of the huge deposit check "Find out who set up this account Find out where the es "After that, see if you can&039;t find some way to track dohere Thomas&039;s cell phone is"

"His cell phone?"

"Shagnasty said we could contact hi Thomas&039;s phones Isn&039;t there sos are?"

"It depends on a nu the skinwalker doesn&039;t have a subscription to Popular Science He&039;ll probably have soht not even realize that it&039;s possible to physically trace the phone"

"I&039;ll see what I can find out," she said One of the medics approached us and stood back respectfully Lara turned to the young e report you wanted"

She held out her hand He passed her the clipboard as if he didn&039;t want to move his feet too close to her Lara scanned over the tope, and murmured, "Hennesy and Callo both have broken backs?"

"It&039;ll take an X-ray to confirm it," the medic said nervously "But from what I was told, the, uh, the attacker just broke them over his knee and threw them down They&039;re paralyzed Probably permanently"

"And Wilson lost both eyes," Laraat her "Yes, ma&039;am"

"Very well," Lara said "Take Hennesy to Natalia&039;s chao to Elisa"

"Yes, ma&039;am Should I send Wilson to the infirmary?"

Lara stared at him with absolutely no expression on her lovely face Then she said, "No, Andrew I&039;ll come for him in a moment" She held out the clipboard, and the medic took it and hurried away

I watched Lara for ato kill those men When Elisa and Natalia wake up"

"They will feed and their lives will be spared Annoying as it may be to lose what I invested in those uns," she said "I cannot so easily replace members of my family and my House As their leader, it is my responsibility to provide adequate care and sustenance in times of need-particularly when loyalty to the House is what created that need"

"They&039;re your own men," I said

"That was before they became useless to the House," she replied "They know too much of our internal affairs to be allowed to leave Lives must be lost if my kin are to survive their injuries Rather than inflict that upon one who can still be of use to us, I preserve lives by seeing to it that these men serve us one last time"

"Yeah You&039;re a real huular Mother Teresa"