White Night (The Dresden Files 9)

"Uh-huh," I said. "But you think she knows what she's doing?"

"Well," Ramirez drawled, "I hinted that she might want to advertise as something other than a 'wizard,' eventually. If we get the time to look away from the war, some hidebound dinosaur might take exception to someone claiming the title."

I snorted. "Don't call me a dinosaur. It isn't fair to the dinosaurs. What did a dinosaur ever do to you?"

"Other than give me a ride right next to this big skinny lunatic? Mallory's not stupid, and she's done people some good out here," Ramirez said. "Lost kids, especially. Couple of exorcisms I wouldn't have had time to handle. Maybe she can be of some help to you. Though I've got one reservation about her."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Her taste in men. I keep asking her out, and she's turned me down about a dozen times, now."

"Shocking," I said.

"I know," Ramirez replied. "Makes me wonder how smart she could really be. Why?"

I gave him the brief on what I knew about the murders, and on what Elaine had told me about the other cities.

"Someone's framing the Wardens," he said.

"Looks that way. Sow seeds of distrust and all that."

"Five cities. Bastards." He paused to say something off the phone, and then told me, "Hang on. I'm pulling the file on recent White Court reports."

I waited a few more minutes. Then he came back and said, "According to what we've heard out on this end, the White King has met with emissaries from the Council under a flag of truce, and declared a temporary cease-fire. He's agreed to approach the Reds about sitting down to negotiate an end to the war."

"I've met him," I said. "Kissinger he ain't. Gandhi, neither."

"Yeah. Sorta makes you wonder what he's getting out of the war ending, don't it."

I grunted. "There's not a lot of love lost between the Reds and the Whites. A cease-fire won't cost him anything. His people don't get involved in the messy stuff anyway."

Ramirez let out a thoughtful hum. "The way you tell it, looks like maybe not everybody in the White Court agrees with his take on the war."

"They're pretty factional. Triumvirate of major houses. Raith happens to be on top right now. If Raith is pushing for peace, it would be consistent for the other major houses to oppose it."

"Gotta love those vampires. So arbitrarily contrary."

"Say that five times fast," I said.

He did, flawlessly, rolling the Rs as he went. "See there?" he said. "That's why the ladies love me."

"It's not love, Carlos. It's pity."

"As long as the pants come off," he said cheerfully. Then his voice turned more sober. "Dresden, I've been meaning to call you. Just... wanted to see how you were doing. You know. Since New Mexico."

"I'm good," I told him. "I'm fine."

"Uh-huh," Ramirez said. He sounded skeptical.

"Listen," I said. "Forget New Mexico. I've forgotten it. We need to move on, focus on what's in front of us right now."

"Sure," he said, without conviction. "You want to fill in the Captain or should I?"

"Go ahead."

"Will do," he said. "You need any backup out there?"

"Why?" I asked. "You got nothing to pay attention to where you are?"

He sighed. "Yeah, well. All the same. If the Whites are trying to shut down the peace talks, I could pry a few of the boys loose to come help you boot some head."

"Except I don't yet know whose head it is or how to boot it," I said.

"I know. But if you need help, it's here."

"Thanks."

"Watch your ass, Dresden," he said.

"I'd tell you to do the same, but you probably gaze at your own ass in admiration all the time anyway."

"With an ass like mine? Who wouldn't?" Ramirez said. "Vaya con Dios."

"Happy trails."

I hung up the phone and leaned back in the chair, rubbing at my still-aching head. I closed my eyes and tried to think for a minute. I thought about how much my head hurt, which was nonproductive.

"Harry?" Molly asked me.

"Hmmm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Um..." She was quiet for a moment, as though thinking about her words before she spoke.

That got my attention.

"I'm just wondering why you were asking Warden Rodriguez about Elaine Mallory."

I closed my eyes and tried thinking again.

"I mean, Sergeant Murphy said she was your ex. But you asked about her as if you didn't know her."

I mumbled something.

"So I figure that means that you do know her. And you wanted to know what Warden Rodriguez knew about her, without him knowing that you already knew her." She took a deep breath and said, "You're keeping secrets from the Wardens."

I sighed. "For years, kid. Years and years."

"But... I'm under the Doom of Damocles, and that means you are, too. This is the kind of thing that could make them decide to invoke it. So, um... why are you doing it?"

"Does it matter?" I asked.

"Well," she said, her tone cautiously diffident, "since I could get beheaded over this just as much as you can, it matters to me. And I think that maybe I deserve to know."

I started to growl at her that she didn't. I stopped myself because she had a point, dammit. Regardless of how inconvenient I thought it, she did have an undeniable right to ask me about it.

"I was an orphan," I told her. "A little while after my magic came to me, I got adopted by a man named DuMorne. He's the one who gave me most of my training. He adopted Elaine, too. We grew up together. Each other's first love."

Molly set her book aside and sat up, listening to me.

"DuMorne was a warlock himself. Black wizard as bad as they come. He planned on training us up to be his personal enforcers. Trained, strong wizards, under mental compulsion to be loyal to him. He nailed Elaine with it. I got suspicious and fought him. I killed him."

Molly blinked. "But the First Law..."

"Exactly," I said. "That's how I wound up living under the Doom of Damocles myself. Ebenezar McCoy mentored me. Saved my life."

"The way you did for me," she said quietly.

"Yeah." I squinted at the empty fireplace. "Justin burned, and I thought Elaine did, too. Turned out years later that she had survived, and was in hiding."