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Chapter Twenty

"T his is getting awfully murky, Harry," Michael said, worry in his voice "I don&039;t like it"

Snow crunched under our feet as alked fro as a second front hit the city, darkening the skies with the promise of more snow "I don&039;t like itup to present me with options" I stopped in the snow "How&039;s Murphy?"

Michael paused beside , but it seee stopped the bleeding, and we cleaned the wound thoroughly She should be careful to monitor her condition for the next few days, but I think she&039;ll be all right"

"How much pain is she in?" I asked

"Charity keeps so as the painkillers at a hospital, but it should let her sleep, at least"

I gri to hunt up the Denarians, Michael"

He took a deep breath "You&039;re going to attack them?"

"I should," I said, a little more sharply than I&039;d meant to "Because there are people who don&039;t deserve a second chance, Michael, and if these losers don&039;t qualify for the permanent shit list, I don&039;t knoho does"

Michael gave me a small smile "Everyone does, Harry"

A little shiver went through me, but I didn&039;t let it show on inal sin,

God&039;s grace, I&039;ve heard this part before" I sighed "But I&039; to assault them I just want to learn whatever I can about them before we square off"

Michael nodded "Which is e&039;re standing out in the snow talking, I take it"

"I need whatever inforive me And I don&039;t need another philosophical debate"

Michael grunted "I already got in touch with Father Forthill He sent over a report on e think ht be in toith Tessa"

I spent a couple of seconds feeling like an argumentative jerk "Oh," I said "Thank you Thatthat could help a lot"

Michael shrugged "We&039;ve learned to be wary of even our own intelligence The Fallen are masters of deception, Harry So"

"I know," I said "But yousolid"

"A little," he said "We are fairly certain that Tessa and Imariel are the second-eldest of the Denarians Only Nicoderunted "Are Tessa and Nicodeh I suppose it bearsthat they&039;re also husband and wife"

"Match made in Hell, eh?"

"Not that it seeether, and when they do it&039;s never good The last ti to the Church&039;s records, was just before the Black Plague caues? The Nickelheads did that last time they were in town" I shook my head "You&039;d expect a different tune or two in a husband-and-wife act that had been running that long"

"Variety is the key to a happy reed solemnly His mouth quivered "Nickelheads?"

"I decided their naiven what they are I&039; that"

"Those who underestienerally don&039;t survive it," Michael said "Be careful"

"You know me"

"Yes," he said "Where e?"

"Plagues"

"Ah, yes The Nickelheads have used plagues to instigate the ht off a smile that threatened my hard-ass exterior as Michael continued

"It&039;s proven a successful tactic on ained momentum, there&039;s al they can inflict"

I frowned and folded ersubjects, I suppose, over talented ones"

Michael nodded "The Fallen who follow Ih bearers very quickly None of them are kind to those they bond with, but I thethe downtrodden, the desperate, those who believe that they have nothing to lose Those ill succurunted "Lot of those around in the wake of a big nasty plague Or any kind of similar chaos"

"Yes We believe that it is one reason she collaborates with Nicodemus from time to time"

"She&039;s focused on short-ter view"

"Exactly," Michael said "When he threw Lasciel&039;s coin at esture"

"Calculated to rope me in," I said

"You," Michael said, "orto do with the air went through me "Give the coin to a child?"

"A child who couldn&039;t defend hiel whispering in his ear Shaping hiainst his own faine it"

I stared around the yard that had been the scene of so much merriment only a few hours before "I&039;d rather not," I said

Michael continued quietly "In general, the faainst such evils But things like that have happened before And Nicodemus has borne a coin for a score of centuries He has no difficulty with the notion of waiting ten or fifteen or twenty years to attain his goals"

"That&039;s why you think he&039;s here," I said "Because going after someone like Marcone isn&039;t Tessa&039;s style"

"It isn&039;t," Michael said "But I believe that if by helping it happen she could create the kind of environment she loves best, full of chaos and despair, it would be reason enough for her to join forces with her husband"

"How roup of five other Fallen around her" He gave me a quick smile "Sorry Four, now"

"Thank Thomas," I said "Not me"

"I intend to," Michael said "Nicodemus" Michael shook his head "I believe you&039;ve been told before that Nicodees to build concerning hie in the future-"

"Hail the infore," I interjected

"-but our accounts regarding hiular companions-but then he produced Lasciel&039;s coin, which had supposedly been in secure storage in a Chileanat this point"

"Worst-case scenario," I said, "how ht he have with hied "Six, perhaps? But it&039;s just a guess"

I stared at hi nightmares with them this time"

He nodded

"Last time they came to party, all three Swords were here There were four Denarians And we barely came out of it alive"

"I know"

"But you&039;re used to this, right?" I asked hihts take on odds like this all the tilance "We like to outnumber thee it"

"But Shiro said he had fought several duels against theift," Michael said "It was as simple as that Shiro kneordplay like Mozart knewa single Denarian alone, but I would generally consider us evenly matched My fate would be in God&039;s hands"

"Super," I sighed

"Faith, Harry," Michael said "He will not abandon us There will be a way for good to overcome"

"Good overcame last time," I said quietly "More or less But that didn&039;t stop the to the Alhty," Michael said evenly "We serve and live for the sake of others Not for our own"

"Yeah," I said "I&039;roithout a father"

Michael abruptly turned to face ht hand closed into a fist "Stop talking," he said in a low, hard tone "Right now"

So helpat hirabbed the scruff of my neck and turned h the snow and stood with my back to him

Sanity invited shame over for tea and biscuits Dammit I was supposed to be a wizard Connected with ht, master of the disciplinedmy mouth off at a man who didn&039;t deserve it because

Because I was scared Really, really scared I always started shootingscared me It had been an asset before, but it sure as hell wasn&039;t right now When soer as a weapon against it That, too, was usually an asset But this ti, and as a result I&039;d torn into my friend in the most tender spot he had, at a time when he could probably have used ry at Michael I had wanted hi in like Superman and solve my problems, and he&039;d let me down

We&039;re always disappointed e find out someone else has human limits, the same as we do It&039;s stupid for us to feel that way, and we really ought to know better, but that doesn&039;t seem to slow us down

I wondered if Michael had ever felt the same way about me

"My last remark," I muttered, "was out of line"

"Yes," Michael said "It was"

"You want to duke it out or ar?"

"There are better ways for us to spend our time Nicodemus and Tessa should be our focus"

I turned back to hireed"

"This isn&039;t over," he said, a harsh edge in his voice "We&039;ll discuss it after"

I grunted and nodded Some of the tension left the air between us Back to business That was easier "You knohat I don&039;t get?" I said "How do you step fro Marcone all the way to Tessa&039;s end of a society steeped in chaos and despair?"

"I don&039;t know," Michael said He moved his hand to the hilt of the sword he noore belted to his side, an unconscious gesture "But Nicodeot a bad feeling that we&039;d better figure it out before he gets it done"

Chapter Twenty-one

"I f I knew of any trusted lieutenants preparing to betray erated patience, "they wouldn&039;t be trusted, noould they? If you ask politely, I&039;et someone to read the definition of treachery to you, Dresden"

Michael smiled quietly He sat at the workbench with one of his heavy daggers and asome burrs out of the blade Hendricks sat on a stool at the other end of the workbench The huge enforcer had disasse the pieces fastidiously

"Okay, then," I said to Gard "Why don&039;t we start with everyone who knew the location of Marcone&039;s panic roo me She looked better Granted, it&039;s difficult to look much worse than disemboweled, but even so, she&039;d been reduced fro up in her cot, her back resting against the wall of the workshop, and though she looked pale and incredibly tired, her blue eyes were clear and sharp

"I don&039;t think so," she said quietly

"There&039;s not going to be much need to keep Marcone&039;s secrets once he&039;s dead, or under the control of one of the Fallen"

"I can&039;t," she said

"Oh, co upyou for the launch codes to nuclear missiles"