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Chapter 14

I ca of paparazzi surrounding it, waiting with predatory patience to get more material for their stories A couple of the to askI winced I was still pretty tired, but it was going to play ot too close to it

I looked around for a way to get down the sidewalks withoutup anybody&039;s equipment, and that hen they tried to kill et of a drive-by attempt once before This one was considerably ines to givevehicle The only tip-off I had was a sudden prickling of the hairs on the back of errolling down

Then so hit me in the left side of my chest and hammered me down onto the stairs Stunned, I realized that so at me I could have rolled down the stairs and into the news crowd, put the whether the shooter wantedme So I curled into a defensive ball and felt two ainst me: one of them on my ribs, the second on my left arm, which I&039;d raised to cover my head

There was an excla over me

"Hey, buddy," said a potbellied ca jacket He offered me a hand to help me up "Nasty fall, there You still in one piece?"

I just stared at hih me, and realized that the cameraman - all of the newsies, in fact - didn&039;t even knohat had just happened

ItThe assassina suppressor There hadn&039;t been any flashes, so he h the car hile sitting far enough back to un didn&039;t poke out suspiciously - and that he never beca the onlookers the subtle clue of a dead body with little holes in the front of it and big ones in the back No sound, no sight, and no victim Why should they think that murder had just been atte her, to look over the crowd and get a plate off of the dark sedan It didn&039;t takeon tiptoe to get a view of the shooter&039;s vehicle, cruising cal up onto the sidewalk or running red lights It just vanished into the traffic like a shark disappearing into the depths I never got a clear look at the plates

"Daister on me now, especially in my arm The protective spells I&039;d woven over ainst the bullets, but the leather had been pulled pretty tight over my skin and as a result it felt like soers ofand refused to do more than twitch I felt similar throbs from the other two hits, and ran one through without ht in the leather of my left sleeve It hadn&039;t penetrated more than maybe a quarter of an inch, but it was trapped in the leather and deformed from the impact I pulled a handkerchief out of ain,unnoticed while about a dozen people looked at me like I was a lunatic

From the street came a wheezy little beep-beep! The Blue Beetle ca Molly was behind the wheel, waving at me frantically

I hurried down to the street and got in before the mismatched color scheme of my car sent the obsessive-co behind me into a conniption As Molly pulled away, I buckled up, then got a sloppy kiss on the face fro thuainst the back of the driver&039;s seat

"Ick!" I told hi lips! Get me some ging and he s content

I sagged back into my seat and closed my eyes

Maybe two minutes passed "You&039;re welcome," Molly said abruptly, her tone frustrated "No problem, Harry Whatever I can do to help"

"Sorry, padawan," I said "This has been a long day already"

"I cauys and cops were going in and out of your apartment The door was broken down and the whole place looked like it had been ransacked" She shuddered and clenched the wheel "God I was sure you were dead or in trouble"

"You were about ninety percent right," I said "Someone told the feds I was the one who blew up the office building They wanted to talk to reide "What about the Swords? We&039;ve got to tell ht away, or - "

"Relax," I said "I stashed them They should be safe for now"

Molly puffed out a breath and subsided in relief "You look terrible," she said, after a ?"

I swept"Giant centipede"

"Oh," Molly said, drawing the word out, as though I had explained everything "What are you looking for?"

I&039;d been scanning the traffic around us for a dark sedan I&039;d found about thirty of theuy who just shot at me" I produced the bullet, a little copper-jacketed round

"What is that?" Molly asked

"Tenty-three Reton," I said "I think Probably"

"What&039;s that mean?"

"That it could have been almost anybody It&039;s the round used inrifles, too" A thought struck me and I frowned at her "Hey How did you knohere to find me?"

"I let Mouse drive"

Thump, thump, thump

I was tired It took my brain a second to sort out the humor in her tone "It isn&039;t funny when everyone does it, Molly Not ready for the burden of constant wiseassery are you"

She grinned widely, evidently pleased at having scored the point on ave me in case I ever needed to find you"

Of course she had "Oh, right Well-done"

"U As far as I know, your apartrasshopper First things first"

She eyed ," I said "Then back to the apartet there, and it&039;s the only place where I&039; to make contact"

She frowned "Butthe wards are down It&039;s not safe there anymore Is it?"

"It never was," I said calmly "If someone really wants to come kill you, it&039;s hard to stop them All you can do is make it expensive for theh"

"Well, sure," Molly said "Butwithout the wards, aren&039;t you kind of having a super discount sale?"

Kid had a point Anyone who ever wanted to take a whack at me had a peachy opportunity now Attention, shoppers! Discount specials on Harry Dresden&039;s life Slightly used, no refunds, limit one per custoainst the , closed my eyes, and said, "What&039;d Forthill tell you?"

"What he always says That he couldn&039;t make any promises, but that he&039;d do whatever he could to help He said to call hiet from his peeps"

"Pretty sure that Roravely "Too trendy and ephe press"

Molly didn&039;t return fire against htly She was conflicted on the whole issue of the Church, which I thought was probably a fine state for her mind to be in People who ask questions and think about their faith are the last ones to ema - and the last to abandon their path once they&039;ve set out on it I felt fairly sure that the Al He had on at the moment, could handle a few questions froht even like it

"Harry," she said "We could talk to my father"

"No," I said in a calm and final tone "That isn&039;t even on the table"

"Maybe it should be Maybe he could help you find Maggie"

I felt a sharp stab of anger and pain go through ht of the Sword and unflagging friend, had gotten his body torn and beaten to bits trying to helpa Sword iven hiainst very real, very literal forces of evil in the world It was incredibly co to have him on your side We&039;d waded into all kinds of ridiculously lethal situations together and coain

Except that last ti only with the aid of a cane, out of the evil-s houses and being with his fa as he stayed retired, I gathered that he had a certain aainst the powers of supernatural evil It would not surpriseover his shoulder at all times, ready to protect him and his fas and halos

"No," I said again "He&039;s out of the fight He deserves to be But if I ask for his help, he&039;ll give it, and he&039;ll have chosen to accept the consequences Only he can&039;t protect himself or your family from them anymore"

Molly took a very deep breath and then nodded, her worried eyes focused on the road "Right," she said "Okay It&039;s just"

"Yeah?"

"I&039; thatif I need hiuess I always had it in s ever went really, truly bad, he&039;d Show Up," she said, putting gentle emphasis on the last words

I didn&039;t answer her My father had died when I was young, before I learned that there was anything stronger than he was I&039;d been operating without that kind of support forthat, in some ways, she was on her own

I wondered if hter even knew that she had a father, if she knew that there was soet yourself an apartoes bad, he&039;ll still be there," I said quietly "Souy breaks your heart, he&039;ll come over with ice crea to do that stuff Most of the time, it matters a hell of a lot more"

She blinked her eyes several tiot what she didn&039;t say But when you need so ass, you really need it And Michael couldn&039;t do that for his daughter anymore

"Tell you what, Molly," I said "You ever need a rescue, I&039;ll handle that part Okay?"

She looked at me, her eyes blurred with tears, and nodded several tiht Then she turned her face back to the road and pressed down on the accelerator

We hit a drive-through and went on back to my apartment

At the top of the stairs that led down to ry They&039;d hammered the door flat There were soh door But the wooden fraet the door ain without extensive repairs that were probably beyond e It wasn&039;t like I lived in an ivory tower or Bag End It was just a dingy little hole in the ground It wasn&039;t much of a place, but it was the only home I had, and I was comfortable there

It was my home

And Rudolph and company had trashed it I closedto calm down

Molly touched ood Carpenter"

I sighed and nodded I already knew that when all this was over, Michael would be Showing Up for ht have to board him somewhere until the door is fixed" I started down the stairs "I just hope that - "

Mouse let out a sudden, deep growl

I hadrod out and my shield up in less than two seconds Mouse is not an alarrowl outside the presence of danger of one kind or another I checked to rasshopper had vanished from view even more quickly than I&039;d readied my defenses

I sed I&039;d heard &039;s snarl This one wasn&039;t as threatening as it ht have been - as it would be, in the presence of dark threats His body posture was a balance of tension and relaxation, si crouch he had exhibited before He&039;d serous, but not necessarily so that had to be immediately attacked and destroyed

Slowly, I went down the steps, shield at the ready, esture, ers stiff and spread wide apart, center fingers folded My right hand held the blasting rod extended beforeout froht fla ainst ine of a well-tuned car

I ca in the fireplace Between that and ht, I could see fairly well

The FBI could have done worse to my apartment, I supposed Books had been taken off my bookshelves, but at least they had been stacked in piles, more or less, rather than tossed on the floor They&039;dthe cushions off, but they&039;d put them back Incorrectly, but they were back Similarly, my kitchen had been dismantled with a kind of cursory courtesy, but not destroyed

All of that was secondary in my mind, next to the pair of coffin-sized cocoons of what looked like green silk One of the cocoons was stuck to , the other to the wall beside the fireplace Susan&039;s face protruded fro near unconsciousness, her dark hair hanging li, I could see only a man&039;s mouth and part of his chin, but I was pretty sure it was Martin They&039;d come back to my apartment, presumably after the feds left, and been captured

"Mouse," Ishook his head as if to shed it of water, and his tags jingled

"Me neither," I said So Whatever had been done to them, it had happened fast, before an extremely quick Susan or an extremely paranoid Martin could employ a weapon

One of my old recliners was faced away from the door As I stepped across the threshold, it spun around (co the fact that it was neither meant to spin norpossible) and revealed, in firelight and shadow, an intruder and my cat

She was tall and beyond beautiful - like most of the Sidhe are Her skin was fair and flawless, her eyes enorreen In fact, they almost mirrored Mister&039;s eyes as he sat primly in the Sidhe wo red hair, accented with streaks of pure white, spilled down in silken coils and waves over her dress of ereen

When she saw me she smiled, widely, and it revealed neatly pointed canine teeth, both dainty and predatory "Ah," she said war time since we&039;ve spoken"

I shivered and keptrod trained on the Sidhe wo experience, that the folk of Faerie, Summer and Winter alike, were not to be underestimated Only a fool would trust them - but on the other hand, only a reat store by the foruest to host One flouted the proper forms at peril ofrather extreme reactions from the Sidhe, the lords of Faerie

So instead of opening up with fire and hoping I got in a sucker punch, I lowered ave the Leanansidhe a precise, shalloithout ever taking my eyes off of her, and said, "Indeed It&039;s been a while, Godmother"

Chapter 15

"Aren&039;t you pleased with estured with oneMister "I ca your little cave andWhat is the word?" Her smile widened "I apprehended them"

"I see," I said

"As I understand mortal business," she said, "next there is a trial, followed byWhat is the word old brows furrowed briefly "Or is it execution and then trial?" She shrugged "La It seeely a matter of see, the jury, or the executioner?"

Ijust stared

The last ti and raving in a couple of distinct personalities and voices while half-entombed in a sheet of ice at the heart of the Winter Court Since I was sixteen, she&039;d pursued me relentlessly whenever I crossed into the Nevernever, apparently determined to transfor out loud Now she was all s to play courtroom with me, as if I were a child and Martin and Susan were a pair of dolls?

"It isn&039;t that I don&039;t like to see you, Lea," I said "But I can&039;t help but wonder what it is you want"

"Merely to ensure the well-being of your spiritual self," she replied "That is what a godmother is supposed to do, is it not?"

"I was sort of hoping your ansould be a bit h that rang like distant church bells over snoeet child Have you learned nothing of the fae?"

"Does anyone, ever?"

Her slender fingers stroked Mister&039;s fur "Do you think it so impossible?"

"Don&039;t you think it is?"

"In ay isto stand around here all day answering each other&039;s questions with questions?"

Her smile widened "Would you like that?"

I lifted a hand, capitulating

She inclined her head to racious victor Lea was better at that sort of wordplay thanhad several centuries to practice

Besides, losing to the guest with grace was a traditional courtesy, as well

"What I would like," I said, nodding toward the cocoons, "is for you to please release these two They aren&039;t robbers They&039;re guests And this is, after all, reeably "No harers and the cocoons seereen mist that quickly dispersed Susan fell li to catch her and lower her gently to the floor

Martin plu covering the concrete floor Nobody was there to catch him, which ful Just awful