Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files 8)

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."