by Jim Butcher
I nodded to the man who might be ordered to murder Molly in the next few minutes. It wasn’t a friendly nod. It was more along the lines of the salute one gave to an opponent at a fencing match.
He returned it in exactly the same manner, and I somehow sensed that Morgan knew that I wasn’t going to let the girl get hurt without a fight. The fingers of his right hand drummed slowly on the hilt of the sword. It wasn’t meant as a threat: It was simply a statement. If I fought the White Council’s justice, I would be fighting him.
We both knew how that kind of fight would end.
I would never survive it.
We also both knew that, if given the right reasons, I’d do it anyway.
Beside Morgan, the Merlin also watched me, speculation in his features. He knew that I didn’t plan on slugging it out if the hearing didn’t go Molly’s way. In the past, the Merlin might simply have sneered at me, spat in my eye, and dared me to do my worst. Now, he was sure I was up to something else, and I could all but see the gears spinning in his head as I entered holding Molly’s hand and guiding her blind steps, followed closely by Fix and Lily.
Morgan nodded to Ramirez, and he went to pull the doors closed and to close the circle around the building, a barrier that would prevent magical intrusion while the Wardens guarded the purely physical approaches. But just before Ramirez reached up to chain the doors closed, they opened to reveal the tall and ominous figure of the Gatekeeper. Dressed in his formal black robes, with a deep purple cowl that left his features shadowed but for the glitter of his dark eyes, the Gatekeeper stood in the doorway for a moment, and something gave me the impression that he was staring at the Merlin.
If so, the Merlin wasn’t rattled. The old wizard inclined his head in a regal nod of greeting and respect to the Gatekeeper, and he gestured for the man to join him. Instead, the Gatekeeper walked to a point in the circle midway between the Merlin and myself, and stood quietly, leaning on an aged, slender staff.
The Merlin regarded this positioning for a moment, eyes narrowed, and then addressed the room, in Latin. “Wardens, close the circle. Warden Dresden, please step forward and introduce us to your guests.”
I gave Molly’s hand a squeeze of reassurance, then let go of her and stepped forward. “First thing,” I said, looking around at the dozen or so Wardens present, plus a few other noncombatant Council members who had been in the area or who were on the Senior Council’s staff. “Is there anyone here who doesn’t understand English?”
The Merlin folded his arms, a slight smile curling his lips. “Council meetings are conducted in Latin.”
The old bastard knew that my Latin wasn’t so hot. I could understand it pretty well, but speaking it myself tended to result in words being transposed in increasingly odd ways until linguistic surreality ensued. If I tried to defend Molly in Latin, I’d sound like an idiot from the get go, and the Merlin knew it. While he technically held all the power he needed to quash any defense, he was still accountable to the rest of the Council, so he had to do everything he could to justify his actions. He’d planned on undermining me with Latin from the moment he heard about the conclave.
But I can plan things too.
“Granted that Latin is our traditional lingual medium,” I replied, giving the Merlin a big old smile. “But our guests, Lily, the Summer Lady, and Fix, the current Summer Knight, do not speak it. I would fain not show the slightest lack of consideration to such prestigious visitors and envoys of our allies in Summer.”
Choke on that, jerk, I thought. Let’s see you snub the ally who just bailed the Council out of ass-deep alligators.
The Merlin narrowed his eyes and chewed on his options for a moment before he shook his head, unable to find a way to counter the move. “Very well,” he said in English, though his tone was grudging. “The Council welcomes the presence of the Summer Lady and Knight in this conclave, and extends its hospitality and protection while they remain within our demesnes.”
Lily bowed her head in acknowledgment. “Thank you, honored Merlin.”
He bowed his head to her in turn. “Not at all, your Highness. It is hardly our custom to involve outsiders in confidential internal affairs.” He pointedly shifted his gaze back to me. “But given the recent development between our peoples, it would be ungrateful indeed to evict you.”
“It would, wouldn’t it,” I agreed.
The Merlin’s eyes went flat for a moment, but his expression shifted back to neutrality. “Warden Dresden. As a regional commander of the Wardens, you have the authority to summon a conclave in matters pertaining to your duties and your area of command. As soon as it is quite convenient, would you enlighten us as to the purpose of this conclave?”
“Two reasons,” I said. “The first is to allow the Summer Lady to address the Senior Council.” I turned my head and nodded at Lily, who stepped forward into the circle, while I faded back to stand beside Fix.
“Honored Merlin,” she began, her tone serious and formal. “My Queen Titania has bidden me to pass her compliments to you and yours, and for two in particular whose courage has gained the admiration of the Summer Court.”
I frowned. “What’s this?” I whispered to Fix.
“Shhh,” he said. “Pay attention. She’ll get there.”
“All I needed her to do was verify what we did.”
“Be patient,” Fix whispered. “She will.”
Lily glanced over her shoulder at me and winked. I twitched. It looked exactly like the gesture from the statue that might have been Mab atop the spire at Arctis Tor.
Lily turned to Morgan and said, “Warden Morgan. Your courageous defense of the Venatori and their retainers, and your assault upon the Red King, were feats she has never seen bettered. My Queen extends her compliments and congratulations to you, Warden, and to the Council you serve. Furthermore, she will not let such acts of daring and dedication go unremarked or unrewarded, and so she has bidden me bestow upon you this token.”
Lily held up a small, intricately detailed oak leaf of pure silver. She walked over to him and pinned the oak leaf to his grey cloak, just over his heart. “I name thee friend and esquire to the Summer Court, Warden Morgan. An you find yourself in peril near the realm of the Sidhe, once, and once only, you need but touch this device and call aloud upon Titania for aid.”
Morgan got an odd look on his face, as though he had tried to make several expressions at once and gotten stuck halfway there. His mouth opened, shut, and then he settled for a deep bow at the waist and replied, “I thank thee, your Highness.”
“What the hell is that?” I whispered to Fix.
The little guy grinned. “The Order of the Silver Oak is nothing to sneeze at. Hush.”
Lily smiled, laid a slender hand over the oak leaf in benediction, then walked back over to me. “Warden Dresden,” she said. “Your own contribution to the battle is every bit as admirable. My Queen has bid me—”
“His contribution?” the Merlin said, interrupting her.
I blinked at Lily.
“Dresden was not present at the battle,” the Merlin protested.
“Indeed not,” Lily said, turning while she spoke to address every wizard there with some of her words. “In the late hours two nights ago, Warden Dresden planned and led a small force in a raid upon Arctis Tor itself.”
A collective inhalation went through the room, and was followed by a nebulous buzz of murmurs and whispering. The Merlin’s poker face was too good to tell me anything about his reaction, but Morgan’s eyebrows went up.
“Warden Dresden and his team won through the defenders of the fortress and launched an assault of fire upon the icy wellspring at the heart of Arctis Tor. His actions disrupted the dispositions of the forces of Winter upon our borders, compelling them to retreat to the fortress to deal with the offenders. Once there, the flow of time through the region was slowed, creating an opportunity for our own forces to come to your aid.
“What is she talking about?” I whispered to Fix. “I
didn’t know I was going there until I got there, and the only fighting left to do was all the fetches.”
“Mmmm,” Fix murmured back. “And yet not one word she’s said has been untrue.”
I snorted.
“In short, honored Merlin,” Lily continued, “and honorable members of the Council, had Dresden not attacked the lair of Mab herself, the mightiest fortress in Winter, had Dresden not stormed the gates of Arctis Tor, the battle would surely have been lost. Every soul who came safe home again from the battle owes his life to Harry Dresden and his courage.”
Silence fell.
She looked slowly around the circle, and let the silence emphasize her previous words far more ably than any speech. “It is for this reason,” she said after a moment, “that my Queen confers upon Warden Dresden status as friend and esquire of the Summer Court.” She turned to me and pinned another silver leaf over my heart, then laid her hand over it. She looked up at me and smiled. “You, too, may once call upon us at need. Well done, Harry.”
She stood on tiptoe and gave me a kiss on the cheek, and then turned to face the Merlin. “My Queen wishes you to know, honored Merlin, that, while glad to be able to go to the aid of the Council against the threat posed by the Red Court, Winter’s forces have returned to their original positions, and once again the forces of Summer must remain vigilant of our borders. Until that situation changes, she cautions you that Summer will be able to offer its allies only limited assistance.”
The Merlin was staring at me so hard that for a second I thought he hadn’t heard Lily’s warning. Then he blinked and shook himself a little. “Of course, your Highness,” he said. “Please convey to Her Majesty the gratitude of the White Council and assure her that even in these desperate times, her friendship will not be forgotten.”
She bowed her head again. “I shall do so. And so are my duties discharged.” She retreated back to her original position, beside Fix.
“Why,” I muttered under my breath, “do I get the feeling that Titania handing me a medal can’t possibly be as simple as it looks?”
“Because you can tell a hawk from a handsaw when the wind is southerly,” Lily murmured in reply. “But it offers you some benefit today.” She smiled at me. “Surely you didn’t actually expect a Summer Queen to do simply as you bid her and no more?”
I grumbled something under my breath, while the Merlin turned to confer quietly with Morgan. A general round of whispers rose up as the wizards took the opportunity to bandy rumors and theories around.
I found Molly’s cold, trembling hand and squeezed it again.
“What happened?” the girl asked me.
“Lily talked me up like I was a hero,” I said. “Everyone seems sort of shocked.”
“Can I take this off yet?” Molly asked.
“Not yet,” I told her.
“Harry,” Ramirez said, stepping over to me. “She’s not supposed to speak.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered to him, and lowered my voice to speak to Molly. “Pipe down, kid. Try not to worry. So far, so good.”
Which was true enough. I had managed not to look like an illiterate idiot, and Lily’s impromptu medal ceremony had tacitly established my fighting credentials as something comparable to those of the Council’s most capable soldier. It didn’t mean that Molly was out of the woods, but it would give me a solid foundation for presenting her case. My credibility was everything, and I had done all that I could to establish my presence before the Council.
The Merlin had been in the game a while, and he knew exactly what I was up to. He didn’t seem too happy about it. He beckoned the Council’s secretary, a dried-up old spider of a man named Peabody, and put his head together with the old man in whispered conference.
“Order,” the Merlin called after a moment, and the room settled down immediately. “Warden Dresden,” the Merlin said. “May we continue with your explanation for the necessity of this conclave?”
I stepped back into the circle, tugging Molly along with me until we were standing on the heavy bloodstain where the boy had been executed. There was a psychic remnant of the death there, a cold, quivering tension in the air, an echo of rage and fear and death. Molly shuddered as her feet came to rest atop the stained concrete. She must have felt it, too.
I had a sudden flash, a horrible image of the future, where Molly’s body lay in spreading scarlet a few feet from a black cloth bag, so bright and detailed that it almost replaced the reality before me.
Molly shuddered again and whispered, so softly that no one but I could hear, “I’m afraid.”
I squeezed her hand and answered the Merlin’s question in the manner prescribed by protocol. “I have brought a prisoner before the Council, one who has broken the Fourth Law. I have brought her here to seek justice, Merlin.”
The Merlin nodded at me, his expression serious and distant. “This woman with you is the prisoner?”
“This girl is,” I replied, and put no emphasis on the correction. “She comes to face the Council openly, of her own will, and in open admission of her wrong.”
“And this wrong?” the Merlin asked. “What has she done?”
I looked at Morgan. “She broke the Fourth Law of Magic when she imposed a fear of drug use upon two addicts in order to protect both them and their unborn child from the damage of their addictions.”
Morgan stared back at me as I spoke. I thought I saw a faint frown in his eyes.
The Merlin remained silent for half a minute, then slowly arched one brow. “She violated the free will of another human being.”
“She did—but in ignorance, Merlin. She knew neither the Laws nor the side effects of her actions. Her intentions were only to preserve and protect three lives.”
“Ignorance of the Law is never an excuse, Warden Dresden, as you well know, and has no bearing upon this judgment.” The Merlin glanced at Peabody, then back to me. “I assume you have examined the victims?”
“I have, Merlin.”
“And have you had their condition confirmed by another Warden?”
Ramirez stepped forward. “I have done so, Merlin. The psychic trauma was serious, but it is my belief that both will recover.”
The Merlin eyed Ramirez. “Is that your opinion, Warden Ramirez? Based, no doubt, upon your extensive experience?”
Ramirez’s eyes glittered with anger at the Merlin’s tone. “It is the opinion of the duly appointed regional commander of the western United States,” he replied. “I believe that the Merlin should remember that he personally appointed me. If it hasn’t faded into a blur of senility.”
“Warden,” Morgan barked, and his tone was one of absolute authority. “You will apologize to the Merlin and moderate your tone. At once.”
Ramirez’s gaze smoldered, but he glanced at Fix and Lily, and then a little guiltily at Morgan. “Of course, Captain.” He drew himself up and gave the Merlin a proper, polite bow. “I ask your forgiveness, Merlin. The last days have been difficult. For everyone.”
The Merlin let it hang in the air for a minute. Then his rigid expression softened somewhat, and I saw a flash of bone-deep weariness in the old man’s eyes. “Of course,” he said in a quieter voice, and bowed his own head. “My choice of words was less polite than it could have been, Warden Ramirez. Please do not take it as a slight upon your performance.”
Clever old snake. Establishing himself as oh-so-reasonable and understanding with the younger members of the Council. Or maybe he really was apologizing to Ramirez, who was the unofficial poster boy of the younger generation of wizards. Or, more likely, he was doing both. That was more the Merlin’s style.
The Merlin returned his attention to me. “To continue. Warden Dresden, have you soulgazed the prisoner?”
“I have,” I said.
“You are convinced of her guilt?”
I swallowed. “I am,” I said. “But I am also convinced that her actions do not represent the malice that defines a true warlock.”
“Thank you f
or your opinion, Warden Dresden.” His voice turned drolly unapologetic. “Doubtless offered to us out of your own extensive experience.”
“I beg your pardon, Merlin. But when it comes to the Council sitting in self-righteous, arrogant judgment over a young wizard who made an honest mistake, I believe I have more experience than anyone in this room.”
The Merlin’s head rocked back as if I had slapped him. I wasn’t as subtle and proper as him when it came to insults, but if he was going to do it, I saw no reason not to return fire. I pressed on before he could speak, stepping forward and turning to address the room as I spoke.
“Wizards. Friends. Brothers and sisters in arms. You know why this is happening. You know how thinly stretched our resources have become. In the past three years, the Council has tried and condemned more warlocks than in the past twenty. Children who are raised in societies that do not believe in magic suddenly inherit powers they could hardly have imagined, and certainly cannot control. They have no support. No training. No one to warn them of the consequences or the dangers of their actions.”
I reached out and jerked that fucking black hood from Molly’s head, and the girl suddenly stood blinking at the light. Tears had streaked her makeup into dark stains running down her face. Her eyes were red with crying, her expression haunted and terrified. She shuddered and lowered her eyes, staring down at the bloodstained floor.
“This is Molly,” I said to the room. “She’s seventeen years old. Her best friend had already lost one unborn child because of the drugs she’d been addicted to. She knew it was going to happen again. So to protect that child’s life, to protect her friends from their addiction, Molly made a choice. She used her power to intervene.”
I faced Morgan. “She made a wrong choice. No one denies that. She admits to it herself. But look at her. She’s no monster. She understands that what she did was wrong. She understands that she needs help. She submitted herself to this Council’s judgment freely. She wants to learn to control her power, to handle it responsibly. She came here hoping to find help and guidance.”
