White Night (The Dresden Files 9)

I put a gentle effort of will behind words, and sent them to Elaine. God, I'd forgotten all about this. I haven't done it since I was sixteen.

Elaine showed me her smile - the swift, rare one, the one where her mouth widened and white teeth gleamed and her eyes took on golden highlights. Neither have I. Her expression sobered as she glanced at Priscilla, then back to me. Be gentle, Harry. They're hurting.

I frowned at her. What ?

She shook her head. Look around you.

I did, going more slowly this time. My focus on confronting Beckitt had prevented me from noticing what else was going on. The room was thick with tension and something heavy and bitter. Grief?

Then I saw what wasn't there. "Where's the little brunette?"

"Her name," Priscilla almost snarled, "was Olivia."

I arched a brow and glanced at Elaine. "Was?"

"When we called her last night, she was all right," she told me. "When we arrived to pick her up, there was no answer at her door, and no one in her apartment."

"Then how do you know...?"

Elaine folded her arms, her expression neutral. "There are several security cameras around the building, and outside. One of them showed her leaving with a very pale, dark-haired man."

I grunted. "How'd you get to the security footage?"

Elaine gave me a smile that bared a gratuitous number of teeth. "I said pretty please."

I nodded, getting it. "You can get more with a kind word and well-applied kinetomancy than with just a kind word."

"The security guard was a smug little twit," she said. "Bruises fade."

She produced a couple of sheets of printer paper bearing grainy black-and-white images. Indeed, I recognized Olivia and her dancer's leotard, even from behind, which was a good angle for her. There was a man walking next to her. He looked to be maybe a tiny bit shy of six feet, had dark, glossy, shoulder-length black hair, and was dressed in jeans and a black tee. I could see his profile in one of the pictures, his head turned toward Olivia.

It was my brother.

It was Thomas.

Chapter Nineteen

"Are you sure?" Anna Ash asked Elaine. "Wouldn't we be better off at one of our apartments? They're all warded..."

Elaine shook her head firmly. "The killer knows where you each live. He doesn't know about this place. Stay here, stay quiet, stay together. Our killer hasn't attacked anyone who wasn't alone."

"And my dog will let you know if there's anything you need to worry about," I added. "He'll probably sit on anyone who tries to mess with you, but if he does a Lassie act at you and wants you to leave, go with him - everyone, stay together and get somewhere public."

Mouse nudged his head under Anna's hand and wagged his tail. Toto dutifully followed Mouse, walking around Anna's ankles looking up at her until she petted him, too. That got a smile out of her, at least. "If we leave, how will we get in touch with you?"

"I'll find you."

"Just like you found the killer?" Priscilla spat.

I ignored her with lofty dignity.

Elaine didn't.

She stepped up to Priscilla and loomed over her. "You ungrateful, insufferable, venomous little twit. Shut your mouth. This man is trying to protect you, just like I am. I will thank you to keep a civil tongue in your head while we do our job."

Priscilla's face flushed. "We aren't paying you to insult or demean us."

"You aren't paying me enough to get me to tolerate your rudeness, either," Elaine said. "Keep it up and you won't have to worry about my bill. In fact, I suspect that in short order you'll stop worrying about absolutely everything."

"Is that a threat?" Priscilla snapped.

Elaine put a fist on her hip. "It's a fact, bitch."

Anna stepped in. "Priscilla, please. You aren't the one paying her. I am. We need her. She's the professional. If she thinks it's smart to cooperate with Mister Dresden, that's what we're going to do. And we're going to treat them with professional respect. If you can't manage courtesy, try silence."

Priscilla narrowed her eyes at Anna, then folded her arms and looked away in capitulation.

Elaine nodded at Anna and said, "I'm not sure how long we'll be gone. I'll get word to you as soon as I have a better idea."

"Thank you, Miss Mallory." After a beat she hurried to add, "And thank you, Mister Dresden."

"Stay together," I said, and Elaine and I left.

We walked together to the parking lot, and on the way Elaine said, "Tell me you've gotten a new car."

We rounded a corner, and there was the Beetle in all its battle-scarred glory.

"I like this one," I told her, and opened the door for her.

"You redid the interior," she said as I got in and started the car.

"Demons ate the old one."

Elaine began to laugh, but then blinked at me. "You're being literal?"

"Uh-huh. Fungus demons. Right down to the metal."

"Good God, you live a glamorous life," she said.

"Elaine," I said. "I thought you told me you were going to lie low until you were ready to come out to the Council." ... The friendly, teasing expression on her face faded into neutrality. "Is this relevant right now?"

"Yeah," I said. "If we're going after him together, yes, it is. I need to know."

She frowned at me, and then shrugged. "I had to do something. There were people all around me getting hurt. Being used. Living scared. So I borrowed a page from your book."

"And you lied to the Warden who came to check up on you."

"You say that like you've always told the Wardens everything."

"Elaine..." I began.

She shook her head. "Harry, I know you. I trust you. But I don't trust the Council and I doubt I ever will. I certainly did not care to be impressed into service as a brand-new foot soldier to fight their war with the vampires - which I would have been, if I had put my full effort into Ramirez's tests."

We looked at each other for a moment, and I said, "Please? I'll go with you. I'll support you before the Council."

She put one of her warm, soft hands over mine, and spoke in a quiet, firm voice. "No, Harry. I won't allow those men to direct the course of my life. I won't allow them to choose if I will or will not live - or choose how."

I sighed. "You could do so much good."

"I thought that's what I was doing here," she pointed out. "Helping people. Doing good."

She had a point. "The Wardens would freak out if you went to them now, anyway," I said, "and revealed that you'd been hiding your talents from them."