Battle Ground (The Dresden Files 17)

Mac took a small folding knife out of his pocket, opened it, and pricked his thumb. A drop of blood welled.

“So everyone here will be safe,” Karrin said.

Mac hesitated for only an instant. Then he took a deep breath and pressed his thumb against the back of the placard, smearing his blood there.

“Anything that wants to get to them will have to go through Mac first,” I clarified quietly.

Mac took out a nail and a hammer; then he tucked the placard under one arm and walked out with them. A moment later, we could hear him using the hammer as he hung up the sign.

I turned to Murphy and said, “Here’s where we part trails.”

Her eyes flashed. “Harry,” she said warningly.

I spoke in a flat, harsh voice. “You’re slowing me down.”

Karrin’s eyes blazed. And then they shone and overflowed.

“Goddammit,” she said, looking away.

I could have hit her, hard, and hurt her a lot less.

I sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. “I saw Will and the Alphas out there,” I said quietly. “Look. I have to go work with the Council. But the Accorded nations don’t really care about regular people so much. Someone has to look out for them. I want to put you in charge of the Alphas and the Paranetters defending one another and anyone around here who needs help.”

“You want me to be safe,” she said harshly.

“If I wanted that, you’d be on the island,” I said. “You’re hurt. And you’re a goddamned adult, Karrin. This is a war. I want you where you will do the most good.”

“And where I won’t distract you,” she said.

I sighed and mopped a hand over my face. “If I could fix your injuries, I would. But the fact is that you can’t keep up right now. It’s just that simple.”

“Fuck you,” she said, her voice raw, and turned away. Then a moment later, and very wearily, she murmured, “Goddammit.”

I put a hand on her shoulder. “Take care of our people. You’re one of the few I’d trust to do it anyway.”

Without turning, she gave a single severe nod.

Then she whirled, seized my coat, and dragged me down to her for a kiss. It was sharp, sweet, fiercely and desperately hot.

When she let me go, it took me a second to open my eyes and straighten up again.

“Harry . . .” she said.

“Be careful of the big bad Titan?” I said.

Her eyes wrinkled at the corners. “You’re not going to do that,” she said. She put her hand on my arm and squeezed, her eyes intent and ferocious. “Kick. Her. Ass.”

Chapter

Four

We left Mac’s office to find the common room silent. Everyone was staring at us. I’m used to the people in Mac’s place sneaking covert glances at me, but it was rarely this crowded there, and the effect was disconcerting.

We stood there for a moment before Murphy nudged me and murmured, “Say something.”

“What?” I asked.

“They’re scared,” Murph said quietly. “They know you have power. They want to hear from you.”

I scanned the room of anxious faces.

Will and Georgia Borden were there, along with Andi and Marci, Chicago’s very own vigilante werewolves. Will and Georgia made an odd couple. Will was about five and a half feet tall and must have weighed two hundred pounds, all of it muscle. Georgia was nearer six feet and looked like she ran a marathon a week. Both of them, as well as Marci and Andi, were dressed in loose, easily removed clothing.

But among those present, they were the only ones with anything like a chance on the streets given what was coming.

The Ordo Lebes was there, kitchen witches with too little power to be considered for bodies like the Council but who had already fought its battle by providing safe houses around the city, warded very nearly as well as a wizard’s premises. Think of it as the magical equivalent of a barn raising—dozens of minor talents working in unison to accomplish much more than they could have alone.

Everyone else was just folks, people with enough talent or the right circumstances to be connected to the supernatural community but who didn’t have much in the way of power. Hell, even Artemis Bock was there, though he kept his head down and didn’t look at me, since he’d kicked me out of his store for good several years ago.

God, that seemed so petty and unimportant now.

I walked by him to get to the center of the room and put a hand on his shoulder encouragingly on the way by.

“Hello, everyone,” I said. “I guess you know me. But if you don’t, I’m Harry Dresden, wizard of the White Council.”

For the moment, anyway.

I took a deep breath. “There’s not a lot of time here. So I’m going to give it to you straight. We’re looking at an apocalypse.”

That got me dead silence and stares. Murphy elbowed me in the ribs.

“Little A,” I said in protest, then clarified. “The Fomor, those kidnapping bastards, are coming with an army. And they mean to kill everyone in the city.”

That got me dead silence. You could have heard half of a pin drop.

“What do we do?” Georgia asked into that void. “What can we do?”

Nervous whispers began to spread.

“You’re not alone,” I said instantly. “There’s considerable power getting ready to argue with them about it. Names out of storybooks are getting ready to fight the Fomor. But that means it’s going to be big-league bad out there,” I said. I blew out a breath and pushed my fingers back through my hair. “Here’s how it is, people. The wolf is at the door. So if you’ve been meaning to take a martial arts class, or you thought maybe you should learn to shoot a gun, it’s too late. You’ve only got three choices now.”

I held up a finger. “You can run, and they’ll chase you.” I held up another. “You can hide, and they’ll hunt you.” I clenched my hand into a fist. “Or you can fight. Because they are coming to kill you.”

I pointed at Will and the Alphas. “These guys have made themselves ready and can maybe survive. But we don’t need theoretical warriors out there. If you don’t think you could win a scrap with Will and his people, the only business you have out there tonight is dying. The safe houses, like this place, will probably be the last to fall. But if the enemy takes the city, they will fall.

“So make your choice. Run. Hide. Or fight. Any of them could get you killed.”