Blood Debts [Dresden Files / The Return (SM, R.5)]

[Sunshine Temple]

Disclaimer: I do not own the Dresden Files, Ranma 1/2 or Sailor Moon.

Summary: When on a mission as the Winter Knight, Harry finds himself on a parallel Earth. Can Harry succeed at his duties when confronted with a mercenary company, succubae, and a potential breach of the Outer Gates? A crossover with The Return.


Author's Notes: This is set After Skin Game of the Dresden Files & After Book 4 of The Return. I also wrote this story such that people not familiar with the Return or Dresden Files can understand what's going on.

The Return can be read here. or here.

Now I'll admit I'm not even sure if this story will have interest here, given the animes and book series it's sourced form, and that it's well one of my stories, but I figured since I just stared this one why not?

Blood Debts The Return Book 5
Chapter List.

Chapter 1: Lagging Questions, Part A
Chapter 2: Lagging Questions, Part B
Chapter 3: Unwelcome Answers, Part A
Chapter 4: Unwelcome Answers, Part B
Chapter 5: Underground Diplomacy, Part A
Chapter 6: Underground Diplomacy, Part B
Chapter 7: Lost Arrivals, Part A
Chapter 8: Lost Arrivals, Part B
Chapter 9: Choices, Part A
Chapter 10: Choices, Part B
Chapter 11: Fey and Brooding, Part A
Chapter 12: Fey and Brooding, Part B
Chapter 13: Midnight Appetizer, Part A
Chapter 14: Midnight Appetizer, Part B
Chapter 15: Just Desserts, Part A
Chapter 16: Just Desserts, Part B
Epilogue: Opening Consequences

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.
Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.

For reference:
In The Return timeline: this takes place after Book 4 Capital Offense (in pre-revision return after old chapter 34).

In The Dresden Files timeline, this takes place after the fifteenth novel Skin Game
Previous knowledge of the Return or Dresden files is not required to read this story.
Chapter 1: Lagging Questions, Part A


The stone bunker was on fire, and it wasn't my fault. The blizzard of ice shards pelting the wooden logs that made up the trench walls on the other hand...

That was a work of art; a lethal barrier that bought me some time, if at the cost almost all of my remaining magical power.

Then the explosions hit, and then the howls of the eldritch creatures... stopped. That's when I went with plan B. With a wheeze, I slashed with my staff. Reality puckered and little tear formed, far too small for me to go through.

"Aparturum!" I cried pushing my will as I cast the spell again, this time adding something extra. The rip blew apart and I stumbled though the flashing opalescent void.

Consciousness blacked out for a moment. I woke up in time to see myself slam onto a desolate field. The ground was just cold enough to have a rime of ice that broke when I hit, and just warm enough to be a muddy mire beneath.

My staff fell from numbed hands, and my coat fluttered around me. In the distance I could hear shouting. I lifted my head to see what looked like people in green camouflage with raised rifles. My eyes closed and when I opened them again I could only see a grey cloud-filled sky.

As consciousness fled once more I realized that, in retrospect, I might have used a bit too much SoulFire in that last spell.


***************


I awoke with a start. A thin sheet fell off my bare chest as I sat up. My eyes quickly scanned the room. With bare white concrete block walls, it was bland, almost antiseptic. I looked to my left and found a cart of medical machines. I'll admit to a mischievous grin when I saw they had been unplugged and pushed to one side.

Opposite them was a large metal table. Scooting over to the edge of my bed, I craned my neck over. I winced as pain shot down my spine then returned my attention to the table.

It looked like someone with OCD had gone through my possessions. My clothes had been cleaned and neatly folded. My wallet had been emptied into meager stacks of bills and various forms of ID.

Another pile consisted of my shield bracelet, belt buckle, my mother's silver pentacle amulet, as well as the various bits of string, chalk, salt, crystals, and Play-Doh that I had been carrying in my duster.

I frowned a bit at that. Putting all those items together seemed to indicate someone was clued into the supernatural, or they could simply have collected all the random junk that had been in my pockets.

My blasting rod and staff were put to one side. The long oak staff actually hung over either end of the table. Next to them was the old Ka-Bar knife that I had used for a long time. And next to that... I paused seeing the dull gleam of my Smith and Wesson X-Frame. The giant revolver had been a gift from Murphy and there it was on the table, complete with the remaining speed-loader of fat fifty caliber shells.

I exhaled. Was this another sign that someone had been clued in enough to realize that a Wizard's staff even more dangerous as a gun? Or had they simply put the obvious weapons together. Six feet of oak could do a lot of damage, and a blasting rod could work as a small baton or compliance device.

Either way, whoever had gone through my stuff had left me with several weapons. Once again, I looked around the room. One door was open to a small bathroom, another looked sturdy and probably went outside. I also spotted a pair of black domes in the ceiling. They were obviously cameras, which meant the room was bugged, unless they had taken the clue from the medial equipment and shut those off too.

I idly wondered if those were there to be the obvious surveillance equipment. Hells Bells, technology was such that you could make fancy cameras that were nearly undetectable. Of course high tech cameras were the exact opposite you'd want with something like me. My eyes went from the black domes to the neat pile of wizarding gear.

On the other hand, maybe those domes weren't cameras. Maybe they were.... low tech. I could imagine a series of mirrors. Sort of like a horizontal periscope. Or maybe it was simpler, maybe I was being watched by people from the floor above me. I shook my head. It didn't matter if they could see me, whoever they were; they had already rifled through my stuff.

I glanced down and noted with some relief that I had a pair of pants on. They reminded me of something akin to pajama bottoms, or maybe sturdier scrubs. However, they were a couple inches short. I cracked a smile at that, whoever was running this place, whatever it was, didn't have supplies for gangly wizards.

"Hey! I'm up! Is there anyone here, or is this like some Twilight Zone thing where the place is empty?" I obnoxiously shouted. Then I Listened.

Listening is something I picked up, it's not magic, not exactly, but it does focus your mind on exclusively on hearing, on picking up every little detail. It was one of the few "quiet" things the Winter Knight mantle actually helped with. But I suppose it was advantageous for predators to be able to hear everything as they lay in wait.

For a few seconds, there was only the sound of air circulating in the ductwork. Then I felt a distant buzzing, it reminded of being under power lines on a summer day, but louder and more forceful, like being near a tunnel full of raging water.

The next sounds came from beyond the metal door. There was the clomping noise of boots on tile floor. Some came closer others went further. The scuffing stopped, and I heard what might have been a squelch on a radio. There were a few hushed words.

Then the door opened. I didn't hear a lock disengage. The door simply opened. Beyond the door was a bland grey hallway with another metal door opposite mine.

Two women crossed the threshold. Seeing them, I gave a frustrated little sigh. To the left was young Asian woman with a short brunette bob. She wore a grey uniform blouse and pants with black boots. The uniform had black piping and looked military. But from know country I was familiar with. A silver bar flashed on her collar denoting some type of rank while a black patch with grey lettering was just visible on one shoulder.

Her eyes were a muted brown and her expression hardened. She was attractive enough, but her uniform was not exactly flattering. However the way she carried herself, and the utter lack of makeup, convinced me that she did not care very much.

She bore a slightly haunted look that reminded me of cops who had spent too many years on the force and, uncomfortably, of Murphy. She looked too young to be so... burnt.

Next to her was a slightly older looking woman. She was tall, and blonde. The professional but haughty way she carried herself and her stern expression reminded me of Gard, a mercenary I knew. But looking the pale blonde over I was fairly sure this was no Valkyrie. She had long legs, and her uniform consisted of a short grey skirt and a well-filled tailored blouse and black jacket. On her collar was a pair of gold bars.

I didn't remember much about military ranks, but I figured the blonde was the more senior of the too. I looked between the two. It was obvious that the blonde was wearing the dress uniform while the brunette had the more practical... utilities, I think they were called.

The pistol holstered on the blonde's hip was also much larger than the brunette's. I glanced from the gun to my revolver and frowned. The worrying signs about the blonde were mounting.

"Mr. Dresden, is everything okay? Do you need a medic?" the brunette asked.

Medic. What had happened? I remembered something about military people when I came in. I paused, there was also something off about the brunette's accent.

"One has been dispatched," the blonde assured with a direct level gaze. I had to split my attention between her and the brunette.

That accent was obvious. And sensing too rich of a target my mouth outran my brain. "Oh man, I better hope you're really German. Otherwise I'd be too embarrassed to be taken prisoner by some Ilsa knockoff."

Then a smile spread across the blonde's face and taking an exaggerated step she clicked her heels and opened the door. "You are no prisoner, Herr Dresden."

"Ilsa?" the brunette asked her attention focused on me.

"A movie, Lieutenant," the blonde chuckled. "A particularly bad one. Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS. An exploitation film about Nazis."

"Oh." The brunette blinked.

"You haven't seen it?" I quipped.

"Kids these days," the blonde agreed.

"It's a classic," I added.

The blonde simply raised an eyebrow.

Still keeping her eyes on me, the brunette cleared her throat. "Ma'am that's a bit..."

"On the nose?" the blonde idly brushed her jacket. "I suppose we can count our blessings that he did not reference a more... derivative sequel. Werewolf Women of the S.S would be far more pointed." she gave toothy smile.

I laughed, then I got a closer look at her teeth. And then my heart started to speed up; I started gauging the distance between the bed and the table with all my gear on it. I could blast them with force or ice, then grab my stuff and be out the door...

"Herr Dresden. Calm down," the blonde said her voice deepening slightly. She took another step. "You. Are. Not. A. Prisoner." she, slowly, enunciated.

"Okay, right, then why am I here? And who the hell are you? You got to rifle through my things, why not return the favor?"

The blonde gave me a measured stare. I pulled my gaze away. She then lifted her arms up. "I am going for my papers," she said as she slowly reached into her jacket with her left hand and then lobbed a leather wallet to the bed. It bounced in front of me.

I opened it and found a wad of colorful money. Canadian for some reason. And a few pictures. One was with the same blonde and three younger women. Despite their different hair colors - one had auburn hair, the other had black, and the last one had green for some reason - they all had a familial resemblance to the blonde.

The other was a picture of the blonde and a redhead with striking purple eyes. Oh, and they were all just as pale and lovely as the blonde herself. I pushed that aside and found a military ID in the wallet. Or at least something for...

"Willard International Consulting? What kind of name is that for a secret organization?"

"Often keeping a bland cover name allows one to conduct work without being noticed. Similar to why a prime magus would be a registered private investigator."

"Whatever," I read further on the card. "Captain Eve Jarvis? That's gotta be fake."

I noticed a ghost of a smile appear on the brunette's face.

"It's real, enough," Eve pushed past that. "And this is Lieutenant Kasumi Tendo."

"And what makes you think we're some kind of secret organization?"

"Well, you think I'm some kind of wizard?"

I then noticed the blonde's smile turn thoughtful. She hadn't called me a wizard, the term she had used was magi.

"Look, you seem pretty clued in on magic," I said waving at the sorted piles of my gear. "You seem to know that I'd screw with your electronics." I waved at the medical equipment. "And, oh yes, Ilsa over there isn't human."

"Bravo Herr Dresden," the blonde gave a clap. "However, you neglected to mention that the military observed you falling through some sort of portal on the grounds of a high-security base whereupon you hit the dirty snow and collapsed."

And then things started clicking together. I had been in a rush to escape the NeverNever. Opening the way had been difficult. And I wasn't sure where I would have ended up.

"Oh." Someone appearing out of thin air outside a military base would raise questions. Questions that the higher ups would want answered. I laughed.

"Ah, enlightenment," Eve said in a satisfied tone.

Still laughing, I looked over the table and then back out the hallway. "You're all, what supernatural mercenaries?" No wonder I had thought of Gard; this place could be just like Monoc Securities, which made me worry just who was running this group.

"Among other things, including training, consulting, and R&D."

"Right, whatever. You know the spooky side of the street. Or at least you can explain it away to the military. Which means, I'm not a prisoner. Unless you're dumber than you look."

The blonde took the implied threat in stride.

"But if I walk out that door," I continued.

"You'll be in a hallway," the lieutenant stated.

I sighed. "But if I leave this building..."

Eve nodded. "Yes, the military would have some pointed questions.

"And unlike you, they don't believe in magic."

Eve simply spread her hands. "While, we are more than willing to hear you out. You would not be the first wizard that we've interviewed and let go."

I looked past her. I was pretty sure she wasn't lying. But beautiful inhuman women don't need to be able to lie to ruin my life.

"And what if I walk out of here and then break out of military custody?"

The blonde's smile turned broad. "Why Herr Dresden that would be a most... illustrative... experience for them would it not?"

I exhaled, running the options. I could escape which meant these WIC guys could sell more "training" to the military. I could get killed trying to escape which meant basically the same thing but the army would get to do the world's dullest "alien autopsy" on my corpse. Or I'd stay locked up in some secret prison. Well, until Mab or someone else got pissed off enough to bust me out.

But either way these people wouldn't take the blame. By how the supernatural world reckoned hospitality they had treated me like a guest.

"Okay? What do you want?"

"Merely a few answers on where you came from and how you ended up here," the blonde assured. "You see, we're most interested in... visitors."

"I'm from Chicago. You went through my pants and my wallet," I deadpanned.

The brown-haired lieutenant smiled, and it was more terrifying than the fanged grin of the inhuman German. "Yes, but you see that driver's license number doesn't match anything in the American records. Nor does your does your Private Investigator card. Not to mention your Illinois FIOD card or carry permit. And the listed locations are not valid addresses. The building you list as an office doesn't have that many floors."

"Umm?" I blinked. "You ran a lot of records." At least she had one of my newer business cards and licenses. The older ones would have pointed to an office building that had blown up and a boarding house that had burned down.

"You've been unconscious for nearly a full day, shall we get you that medic?" the lieutenant asked her voice uncharacteristically sweet.

"The fascinating part is that if these are forgeries, well, the ID cards are too good," Eve noted. "Most wouldn't bother with a forgery of this quality unless..."

I sighed. "Unless they'd pay to have the databases altered to match. Or they'd use names that match existing records."

Once more, Eve spread her hands.

A pit in my stomach started to form. "And let me guess... you don't have any records of a Harry Dresden?"

"None that match your description," the lieutenant agreed. "There are some... persons of interest that have similar builds to you, but they are either accounted for, deceased, or in one case to old to match you." She gave me a critical look. As if expecting my face to shape shift.

"And then there's your gun." Her eyes went down to the revolver on the table. "We had the ATF contact the manufacturer to start a trace. But, according to Smith and Wesson, they never made a 50 caliber revolver with that serial number. No, it's to a little pink pocket 38."

"It was a gift?" I stated.

"That wouldn't have changed the factory records. More importantly, the serial numbers on the revolver show no defacement or regrinding marks," the lieutenant noted.

"Yes, it'd be next to impossible to modify a serial number without leaving a mark that it was changed. Not without lowering and refinishing the whole area, but then it would be measurably thinner. Which yours is not," Eve added.

"It is a shame you lost your holster," Kasumi noted with a tiny bit of amusement.

"Um-" I started.

"We might have a spare in stocks for him to use," Eve said.

I then held my tongue. It was one thing for Murphy to rag on me not having a holster but these two... It was also worrying that they were more swayed by my gun being off than my IDs, though I supposed the gun would be harder to forge...

I mean someone could make a fake gun. But an exact copy? It was like the ID, if one had the ability to do it with that level of detail, why goof up on the serial numbers?

I sighed. At least they hadn't complained that my age didn't match up to my birth date. Or that the issue date on my cards was for some future date. That eliminated time travel. Probably.

"But you guys have dealt with the White Council of Wizards before right? You can call them up? They've gotta know about me."

The two officers shared a glance.

"Oh... you've gotta be kidding me." I rubbed my forehead. "How about Mab? You know her right? The Winter Court? Queen of the Unseelie?"

Eve gave a pitying smile. "And this is why we wanted to talk to you Herr Dresden. Perhaps after the medic checks you out, you can get dressed and we can continue our discussion?"

Grumbling, I leaned back onto the bed. "Fine. But if this is all some sort of Twilight Zone headgame you'll regret it."

***************


With all the bedside manner of a Navy corpsman, the gruff medic, Barnes I think his name was, pronounced me "Good enough" and left the room. But not before he dropped a black leather holster off with another grumble, this one about "cowboys copying the Colonel".

The two officers then exited giving me the illusion of privacy. A quick shower made me feel human. As I got dressed, I put my thoughts together.

After putting the silver pentacle amulet around my neck, I touched the ruby gem inset in the center. It was also a gift from mother. The gem glowed but all I got was an ominous hiss. It might not be proof that the officers were telling the truth, but it wasn't reassuring.

My first task was to use my contacts and confirm that this wasn't some elaborate Gaslighting. Sure, maybe none of the phone numbers would work but I had other means of summoning help. Ones that would get through, if I got desperate enough.

So, I was dressed and geared up, and still fiddling with the holster belted on my hip. And then the Ilsa knockoff and the dour lieutenant came back.

I got to see more of the facility. It was a pair of drab corridors with anonymous metal doors. The highlight was when we passed a window and I got to look out and see a dead lawn sprinkled with bits of melted, dirty snow bounded by a high fence with a forest beyond that.

The snow and the threatening overcast sky and trees nearly empty of dead leaves were at least somewhat reassuring season-wise. The part of me that knew when to run, and clashed with the predatory aspects of my Winter Knight mantle found at least the concept of escape pleasing. Though part of me was concerned about the medical examinations, surely people who'd run down the serial numbers on everything I had on me wouldn't be above taking a bit of blood.

But that view was quickly passed, and I was put into a dull conference room.

Anyway, their fancy wall display burned out a few slides in. It was an accident. Honest. Especially, since without missing a beat a perky almost-secretarial young woman named Maya pulled out a couple folders for me to look over. After a bit of that, Tendo grumbled and mentioned something about finding a slide projector and running the transfers.

Which left me dropped off in a break room. In what had to be a ham-handed attempt to reassure me, they left the door open. There was a coffee machine on the counter and I fiddled with it to get a pot brewing.

At least the beans they used smelled strong. A couple minutes passed by as I looked at the bulletin board against one wall. There were a few notices about emergency procedures. Which ranged from the expected blizzard, fire, and medical to... well there was a whole section on inter-dimensional containment.

The jargon made my head swim so I looked at the other notices. There was a pot-luck chili cook-off and BBQ competition coming up, and a signup sheet for a Company hockey team.

I looked out the door and tensed as a pair of soldiers walked approached. Unlike the two officers or the medic these were wearing full battle-rattle including armored vests, kneepads, gloves, and enough pouches to make a 90's superhero nod appreciably. Their goggles were pulled up over their helmets and they carried bulky looking rifles slung from harnesses on their chest. The guns were also appropriately large for a 90's comic book, with what looked like two barrels sticking out the front.

My tension grew as they neared past the door. One of them, a muscular dusky fellow waved while his leaner companion nodded to me. The pair then walked past, hardly making a note of the tall guy in the duster.

As the coffee maker gurgled and brewed, more people crossed the hallway. About half were in the tactical pouches and rifles dressup, while the rest were in what I considered "mercenary casual". Of the ones dressed all tacticool, the majority were wearing the grey mercenary duds, but a good fraction wore green and had Canadian flag shoulder patches. There was even a young man with a buzz-cut who went past wearing a button-down shirt and a blazer coat.

"Maybe the slideshow wouldn't have been that boring," I muttered as the pot started to fill. I inhaled, despite the weirdness, "At least the coffee smells good," I muttered turning to the machine. I opened a cupboard looking for some sugar and creamer, and found a row of mugs. Some were personalized others...

I pulled a black one out of a large stack. It had the Company's logo. It was a grey globe surrounded by the letters W, I, and C. In between each of the letters was a symbol of warding; including two variations of the Elder sign. While it lacked the stark minimalism of Monoc Securities the symbolism was clear if bluntly overdone.

"So... they've got Lovecraft and the Necronomicon too," I muttered putting the mug down.

"Oh? You made a new pot?" A new voice said by the door. It was a deep, playful contralto. I was reminded of the blonde and, neck prickling, spun on my heel.

"Easy there Tex," the redheaded woman said holding up her hands as she stepped into the room. She sniffed the air, sniffed again and smiled. Between her belt, pants, motorcycle boots, and jacket she wore enough glossy black leather to skin a cow. A violet silk blouse was under her jacket and matched the vibrant shade of her eyes. Short shiny crimson nails tipped her fingers.

"Ah," I eyed the wild red hair that spilled down her shoulders. She was one of the women in faux Illsa's pictures. She looked like the same nationality as the lieutenant, but there was more to it than that. Her features were stark with an almost sharp chin line. She looked like she could be on the cover of an 80's rock album. That familiar alabaster skin also helped with the Rock-biker look.

"Friend of Ilsa's? I mean Eve." There was also something off with how she carried herself.

The redhead smirked as she strode closer. "Sister, actually."

"Of course," filling my mug I took a step back. I was pretty sure that I wasn't dealing with White Court vampires, but that was at least in the right ballpark.

The redhead stretched up and pulled a cup off of the shelf. I will say she wore those pants exceptionally well. And it was purely out of curiosity that I looked to see what mug she had picked.

It was a good sized one emblazoned with "World's Greatest Mother". The color had faded slightly showing that it had gotten fair use, but it had also been meticulously cleaned and the way the redhead held it indicated she had personal attachment.

I slipped another gaze at her face. I could see someone wanting to....

I blinked. "I'm sorry?"

The redhead frowned. "I was saying Mr. Wizard, could you fill me up?"

"Really? Going that blunt?"

She waved the cup in front of me. "Coffee." She then pointed with at the pot in my hands.

"Oh.... right." I filled her cup. "How do you take it?"

"Black," the redhead shrugged then took a sip. She stepped back and leaned onto the counter.

"Well, I'll let that slide this time.."

A crimson eyebrow lifted.

I took a pull from my mug. The coffee was good, or at least it was strong. "Your sister is German but you're..."

"Japanese." A smile. "You can call me Ranma Saotome."

A different last name than the blonde was using. And I had been among the faerie, not to mention wizards, long enough to hear a name cop-out. "I'm guessing you weren't born sisters. Adoption? Divorce?" My brother had lots of half-sisters, all with different mothers.

The redhead took another drink and laughed. It was oddly low, as if it came from deeper in her chest.

"There's also the whole succubus act. Pale skin, freaky eyes, unnaturally attractive."

"Act," the playfulness drained from the woman's voice as she set the cup down.

"Uh..." My hands flexed, and I glanced at the staff I had leaned against the counter.

The redhead tilted her head and a pair of black horns pushed their way out of her teased crimson hair. This was followed by a set of purple and crimson membranous wings popping into existence followed by a long spade-tipped purple tail snaking out the base of her spine.

Still holding the mug, my other hand dipped as the Winter Mantle's interest raged and my stance shifted. My duster parted revealing the tooled leather holster.

"Go ahead, skin it!" the redhead demanded as she lifted off the counter. "Skin that smokewagon and see what happens." Her eyes met mine.

I felt pulled into the gaze and broke contact, instead looking to her hands. Her little crimson nails seemed a hair longer.

"You don't know what'll happen," I stated placing the cup on the counter. In the same motion I swept up my staff.

The redhead grinned. Looking close I could tell she had fangs, but unlike a vampire more than just her canines were sharp.

"No, I don't know. Your kind are tricky, but you're a guest in this place, and if you try to hurt my friends, my family, you will regret it."

I raised my hand away from the revolver and put it on the staff. At least it seemed less threatening. Then my brain caught up with what she said earlier. "Tombstone really? You think I'd play for blood?"

"If so, I'd be your Huckleberry." Her grin grew as she looked up at me. Which... made the row of sharp teeth seem... friendlier?

"Look Red... I don't want to start a fight. I just get twitchy when surrounded by sexy demon ladies. You dig?"

Laughing the redhead, leaned back and picked up her mug. "Sounds like this isn't your first rodeo."

I watched her tail swish back and forth. My mind also ran the numbers. I had made deals with demons before. What? Don't look at me like that. I eventually realized that selling parts of my Name to Chauncey for info was a bad idea. Besides, the blonde and the redhead seemed too.... human.

That left the Blackened Order of Denarius, Many of them could pull the succubus act. But they were really Fallen Angels pulling the strings of mortal hosts. They also tended to gain another pair of glowing eyes above their regular ones. And, oh yes, they were completely insane.

I decided to go for it. "Okay, so you're a succubus, what kind?"

"Kind?"

I affected an air of disinterest and superior knowledge (hey - wizard). "Sure Red, plenty of things on the spooky side do the whole 'pretty lady' lure. Attract prey then eat 'em. Vampires do it, faerie do it, the Fallen do it. I know even a few ghosts who do it."

And then she pointed to her chest and said the thing I had really not wanted to hear. "Demon."

"Oh come on! You're being way too human for that. Not to mention if you'd been summoned up here you should be contained... or rampaging. And that's not even getting into how you'd have to possess a body..." I started to feel the cold anger of the Winter Knight rise up. That wasn't the only thing off about her.

"You're too high-strung." The redhead gave me a long-suffering look.

"Me? That's another thing. Demons aren't this calm. The whole Adversary, war against the Creator, thing gives them a huge chip on their shoulders!"

Sighing, she pointed to herself. "Shinto, I'm not part of your heaven-hell game."

"Well, me neither, I mean I know... wielders of holy..." I shook my head. "Look. I'm not the invading demon."

The demon's eyes flashed. "Invader? Listen Mage. I was born here, I have bled for this world. I have watched good men die fighting the many angled ones. And I will not be called down by some tourist that fell out of a hole in the sky."

The demon's tail straightened as she drew herself up. "Only one of us in this room can rightly be called an Outsider. And it ain't me."

Once more her gaze pulled me in. Hearing my own heartbeat I pulled away. It was too late. The Soulgaze hit. It shouldn't have happened. Why? Well okay. A Soulgaze is when a mortal practitioner meets the eyes of another and holds it. You see into their soul, they see into yours.

Here's the thing; the operative word is "soul". Both parties need a soul for it to work. You can have a Soulgaze with a human. You can have one with a changeling. You can have one with a White Court vampire or even a sasquatch. But you can't have one with a demon.

But apparently, with some demons, you can.

The redhead's soul.... imagine a tree. Imagine it was made out of brilliant purple light. And each branch is a connection to someone else. I felt the links to daughters, to sisters, to parents, lovers, even friends. Love pulsed along the branches coming from a strong trunk. Looking down I could see the gnarled roots of the massive tree sunk deeply into the ground.

It was awe-inspiring and explained the care and love she gave that little mug. Here was someone who would do anything for her family, would give anything for her daughters. Even the tree itself was for them; the redhead's very existence was a result of that adamantine will.

Then I looked at the roots. It was not earth they were sunk into. It was a mass grave. The roots had speared flesh and greedily drained the bodies of everything they had. Death and sacrifice had been turned into love.

I broke out of the Soulgaze with a shudder. A hand went to my forehead and I rubbed my temples.

I looked up to see the demon nodding thoughtfully to herself. "You and your mate protected her. You killed them all." that toothy smile flashed again. "Well done."

"Uh..." I swallowed. It looked like I wasn't the only one to make a mountain of corpses defending my family. Hells Bells, my own mentor Ebenezar wasn't shy about the people he had killed. Nor, my occasional friend, and mercenary Kincaid. Not to mention some of the Wardens I have worked with. Nor the faerie like Lea...

Huh, I knew a worrying number of people who have filled graveyards worth of folk.

"So... what was that?" the demon asked as she refilled her mug and offered the pot to me.

I tried to re-engage my brain. I looked past her calm expression and then at how her tail stiffly hung behind her with a slight curve. I took the pot and watched as she took a slow sip and patiently waited.

"That was a Soulgaze. It happens when a practitioner looks someone deep enough in the eye."

"Huh. That why you avoid everyone's eyes like a naughty puppy?"

For a moment I almost felt a wave of amusement wash over the demoness. I exhaled.

"What'd you see with your magic peeping Tom powers?" the redhead lightly asked. I noticed her tail was swishing, and that she had resumed looking me in the eye.

"You love your family very much, and -uh- you'll do anything for them."

"You too; terrible tragedy with your mate," she looked down at her cup.

"How much... what did you see?"

Those luminous purple eyes met mine. "A father embracing an oncoming storm. An altar, a woman of... dread power. A pyramid, another altar, a knife, a mother letting a father end a war. Blood, water, frozen ground."

She kept starting me in the eye, eventually she blinked. "It's not happening again."

"Sorry, one shot's all you get."

The demon frowned. "Doesn't seem fair."

I stared. This was the first time someone had been disappointed they couldn't get another look into my soul.

"Bah, once is enough trouble." I put the pot back. "Hells... uh heck, I'm surprised I could even do it with you."

The redhead raised an eyebrow.

"You sure you're a demon? I mean like all the way. Maybe you're a scion; you know one mortal parent, one supernatural?"

She tilted her head and let her tail smack against the cabinet door below the counter. There was a shimmer and her black boots were replaced with polished silver hooves as her ankles arched up slightly.

Her pale skin started to shimmer with an almost silver opalescence. A gold tiara with a purple four-pointed star appeared on her forehead, and swelling behind it was the slicked, polished ruby mass of her hair. Another pair of black horns spiraled out of the crimson mass as the tresses pulled themselves into a polished bun.

Her features became sharper with a tiny upturned nose. Hard cheekbones with a bit of a hollow. Her lips darkened to a glossy purple and grew as her smile widened. The whites to her eyes were pushed out by the expansion of her purple irises.

A silver band holding a purple gem cut into another four pointed star encircled her neck. Below that was the pearlescent gleam of her now more sculpted pale lavender bodice.

I pulled my attention back up to her choker but the temptation was still there.

The curvy almost waspish torso was contained within the gleaming bodice that flowed and hugged her curves. A red bow with a heart-shaped center was pinned over her left breast. Okay, my gaze had lowered, but it was only to look at the crimson heart.

Her jacket evaporated as narrow shoulders were encircled by stiff black "puffs" of gauzy material. Forearms were covered in sleek slick lavender material with white piping. It was too thick to be gloves but too thin to be gauntlets. The gloves made her fingers look even longer with a seeming extra "joint" on the gleaming blade-like claws.

Spilling out over wide hips was a long pleated dark purple skirt. Moving over pale thighs set a bit apart from each other, the dark pleated material moved of its own accord, eventually settling into a shin length hem with a long slit going up the left side.

Daintily holding the cup with the tips of her long talons, the redhead sipped as she stepped forward. I noted that her hooves and shifted ankles caused her to walk with a bent-knee stance that caused her hips to sway more, especially when she slowly turned around and winked. Her tail, now much thicker at the base and over two yards long lifted and swished back and forth.

"Well, Mr. Wizard?" the redhead asked in a deep purring contralto while looking over her shoulder before leaning over to the coffee machine and filling her mug. A forked tongue came out and quickly licked a wide row of gleaming fangs. "Is this demon enough for you?"

The mantle of the Winter Knight raged up. Every base and predatory instinct that came with the position of Winter Knight wanted to take the redhead. I could just imagine that part screaming at me how she was even bending over. Then I could imagine my Id whistling and mentioning that at least this time I knew this woman was an inhuman predator.

"Okay, I might concede you're a demon," I blurted as I worked at counting primes in my head.

"What, you need further testing?" she asked as her tail swung out and, grabbing the doorknob, pulled it closed.

My attention went from the doorway to the demonic booty. "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me."

The demon gave a rich deep laugh. "Hmmm?"

"Aren't you?"

Straightening up, she spun on a saucer sized hoof. She inhaled the air and her broad smile flashed. She then started circling around me towards the break room table. "Really, Mr. Wizard." she said as she moved the chairs. "You would know if I were trying to seduce you," she purred, pulling one out after pushing in another.

I am not a wise man. Okay, I am a wizard, and the root of that is wise man but... whatever. What I mean is that I'm a sucker for ladies, and more importantly I've dealt with a lot of glamorous (and Glamorous) women. From White Court vampire temptresses, to fairy queens to Fallen Angels. Granted, I've bumbled around most and killed more than a few. And the less said about what Mab and I did right after I started working for her as the Winter Knight the better.

Anyway, the short bit is that I was really confident in my ability to "Just say no" and arrogant enough to.... The room dropped a few degrees as I dipped into Winter power of the White Knight's mantle. "Oh, let's see what you've got Red."

The demon's eyes flashed and I steeled myself for the mental assault. Especially as she swayed closer to me. She took a step to the side, then I took one. Ruing my pride, I focused my defenses as I took another step.

Then she grabbed my staff. No, not that one. Anyway with one hand she put her mug down and with the other ran her long claws over the polished shaft.

Okay... no more jokes. Anyway, then she put both hands on the wood. I shifted my grip and in that moment her tail whipped up and batted my arms away.

An instant later she had spun the staff around, hooked it between my legs and with a hand on my shoulder, unceremoniously levered me into the office chair behind me. In that moment a distant part of me noticed how she had positioned herself, and that this was a move similar to one the Aikido ones Murphy had used.

Then I got a lap full of purring demon.

It took embarrassingly long for me to realize the coifed redheaded had jumped onto my thighs and then wriggled in comfortably. I blame it on being dazed by the fall. There was a rustling as I felt her tail wrap around my legs while her wings unfurled and draped over my shoulders. One set of talons gently took my arm and wrapped it around her waist and while it was making sure my hand was somewhere.... interesting, her other hand reached up and cupped my cheek.

Then something clicked, something that had seemed off since I'd first seen her. "Hey you're short! You're an itty-bitty little demon." I told you; I'm not a wise man. However, I did have enough sense to not comment on the two heavy pressures on my chest.

The redhead's smile froze and she blinked. "And?"

"I mean you're shorter than Murphy!" Despite the situation, I chuckled. Murphy would have laughed at this situation to, or smacked me upside the head.

"Who is?"

"Someone I'm... close too. She's very tough."

"You're close?" she asked her eyes softening.

"Well... it's... complicated."

"And here you are with me," her talons gently caressed my face. "Poor, dumb Harry."

My free hand went up and grabbed her arm. A rime of ice started to creep out. My other hand went down and found the base of her tail.

Her eyes widened and the throaty purr resumed.

I pushed a bit more of my power and saw as the ice started to sublimate. She was strong, but I had better leverage, and with another Winter push I got her arm down. My other hand was at the base of her tail and gave a bit of a squeeze.

"I am not just food."

The demon leaned against me and I tried to not notice the silver snowflake over the red heart bow on her chest. "Clearly not,"

As I hit 1117 in my mental counting, I pulled my hand away from her loosened bodice. The lavender material seemed to sparkle with ice. "This is a test isn't it?"

Her grin returned.

"See, you're not actually doing the succubus mind trick stuff."

"Mmmm?" the demon noted as she pulled back her wings.

"You wanted to see how I'd react. If I'd give in-" I looked down at the tail around my legs. "Or flip out."

"I'll admit it was a bit of a sink or swim," the demon smirked as she unwound her tail.

"Why do inhuman women always feel the need to test me that way?"

"If it's that frequent, maybe it's the only way you'll learn?" the demoness noted as she hopped off my lap. She picked up her mug.

"And what would you have done if I had freaked out?"

The demoness gave another one of her low-pitched laughs.

"Right."

There was a shimmer as the demoness shifted back to her black leather clothes, boots, normal fingers, and teased 80's metal band hair. She took her mug and topped it off. "Though I'll confess it might not have been all bad if you'd have had some fun," she winked. "But, I'll admit, you're not exactly my type."

"Well I'm also sorta... it's complicated," I grumbled. At least with Lara or even Lash, there was some pretext to their humanity.

I picked my staff back up and stood. "Still, I somehow don't think the Company would approve of such a test. At least that dour Lieutenant and your sister the Captain."

"Good thing I'm not Company, just a contractor," Ranma smiled. "More coffee?"

I shook my head. "Wait... so you're a mercenary for mercenaries."

The demon's merry grin returned. "It does allow some... flexibility."

"Huh," I put my cup in the sink and sprayed some water.

"Oh? You're telling me you're all straight lace and by-the-book Mr. Wizard?" She took a contemplative sip.

"Hey, I might work for the White Council and the Winter Queen but I'm not a puppet."

The demon nodded sympathetically, but her expression was a bit distant

"You have no idea what I'm talking about."

"Based on what you told Eve she's the Queen of the Winter Faerie. The Unseelie right? The wicked faerie? " She leaned forward. "The bad guys?"

"It's not as black and white as..." I groused then noted she was waving her tail... "Right, I'm talking to a demonic mercenary."

"And what do you do for the White Council of Wizards?"

"Warden," I answered.

"Warden of what?"

"What?"

"Well a warden is in charge of a prison right?" Ranma asked.

"No, I'm not that kind of warden for the White Council."

She nodded. "Mab, she was the one in the soulgaze."

"Huh?"

"I saw two sacrificial altars. Both stone, both had sacrifices. The first one, that was you swearing to her?"

I nodded. Of course she saw elements close to her own affinity.

"Warden, you run a prison for them? The Fae?"

"What? No not for-" I stopped and waited. Her next question would...

"And what do you do for-"

I held up my hand. "Careful, if you say her name too-"

Tail drooping, looking slightly bashful the demon nodded. "Sorry, I didn't know she was Love-Coda restricted." She tilted her head. "Will it summon her?"

"If you get her attention."

"Well, that's a way to get you home."

I chuckled. "I'd prefer to go with a less... pestering option."

The demon nodded, washing her cup. "I hear you."

"Do you? Or are you going to keep switching up your questions to throw me off balance."

The demon laughed it was a rich and charming. "Look I get it, your boss is a very powerful, very scary lady. I'd feel intimidated dealing with her too. It'd be like bugging my grandmother for some bus-fare," she remarked, opening the door. "Course, I'm not as close to my grandmother as you are to your boss-lady," she added with a little laugh.

I blinked. "Oh come on! You saw that too!" After a moment I shuffled out of the break room. "It was bad enough to have that broadcast all over fairyland..." I muttered under my breath as I followed a few steps behind her.

At least the redhead's subsequent snort of laughter informed me that her type of demon had excellent hearing.

We went through another corridor and passed a few more mercenaries. I noticed that they were all armed. Even, or perhaps, especially the trio of pale girls we passed. Ranma's face lit up as she chatted with them. I recognized two of them from the photo Eve had in her wallet; the third had lavender hair and eyed me with a mischievous smile before going on her way.

"If you're not running a prison for them, what does a Warden of the White Council do?" Ranma asked after bidding the demons farewell.

"Enforce the Laws of Magic," I replied, noticing we had entered a large concrete floored room. At first I took it for a storage room, then I noticed the vehicles.

"You're a wizard cop?"

"Uh… kinda."

She raised an eyebrow and waited. I got the impression that she used that expression a lot. It was a very "mom" look.

I had to keep myself from feeling embarrassed. "See, the Wardens are the combat wizards of the White Council. In peace, we enforce the Laws of Magic, go after warlocks and other black magic users. They also protect people from other monsters."

"And in war..."

I snorted at her leading statement. "Take a guess."

"Right." She nodded. "And you do that all and work for the Queen?"

"Kinda."

The "mom gaze" returned.

"Look, it's complicated, but basically the Summer and Winter Courts get to pick one mortal champion, representative, emissary and... bruiser. Their Knight."

"Wizard cop, PI, and bruiser for a faerie queen? Impressive."

I kept a bit of relief that she hadn't deduced my other positions, such as my other warden job. That is exactly what kind of prison I was warden of. "And what about you Red? You're not just a contractor."

She smiled and pointed further down the garage. "Oh look, our ride's here."

"Come on, muscled, crew-cut mercenaries don't give respectful nods and treat just any five foot-nothing woman as a comrade-at-arms." I snorted. I had seen cops, Aikido disciples, and Einherjar give the same looks to Murphy.

She opened the door to the grey panel van. And looked at me. I could detect a hint of amusement in her eyes.

There were a couple of mercenaries by the door. They were both dressed in office casual. But they had the short hair, fit physiques and wary eyes that I had come to expect. I was also pretty sure they had some kind of discrete body armor on under their shirts.

"Come on tell me she's not just a contractor?"

The one with black hair looked to his partner. "Miss Saotome? Oh she's a plain-Jane trigger puller."

I snorted. "Right an operation with officers as suspicious as big-blonde Ilsa don't leave just anyone alone with a known wizard. Not if they're clued into magic."

He held up his hands. "Okay you got us. She's one of our combatives instructors."

I eyed the mercenary.

"Captain Jarvis is just worried about her sister," the other one said.

"Right, the sister that's the head of a whole-" I paused what was the collective noun? There were a lot and Bob, my old assistant, would harp on me whenever I used one incorrectly. But there was a generic one... Ah yes. "A whole brood of succubae?"

"Three, technically," Ranma said after she finished circling the van.

I gave her a half-lidded gaze.

"Okay, okay, you got me," the demon waved her hands. "Long ago, I worked for the Queen of the Moon as a Maho shojo complete with bows and miniskirt. I'm kinda negotiating to get back in."

The image of her fluffy demon getup floated into my mind. And stayed purely because I wanted to recall if that outfit had bows. In resignation, I looked to the two mercenaries. "She's not being sarcastic is she?"

"I couldn't say, Sir," one said with a little smile.

"Huh." I didn't know anything concrete about "Maho shojo", that is magical girls, but from what I'd heard from some of the Wardens that operated in Japan, it was basically a type of ritual magic.

Think of ritual magic like a vending machine. You put in the money, pull the lever, and out comes the treat. Or in this case you say the right incantation, do a ritual, and out pops some magical power. In either case, the treat or the magic is supplied by an outside sponsor.

Anyway "Maho shojo" were young women that were empowered by various kami, spirits, what-have-you and fought forces of disharmony and evil. It seemed odd but no stranger than a decade or so back when I had to deal with a coven of porn stars using ritual magic to kill their enemies.

Yes.

Look my job is strange. Okay?

Still the sponsorship was... interesting. Red seemed like she had plenty of power. Did she really need some Moon Queen to sponsor her too? Or had she just hatted up and grabbed every power source she could grab?

I'll confess to having had similar urges. And well, given I was Mab's Knight among a great many other things...

I looked up and saw the demon's face marred by disapproval. It was not quite the same "mom gaze" as before, that one was "Explain yourself young man" this one was more "Why can't you focus like the other children?"

"Yeah?"

"Look, you were on a mission. Did you go alone? Did your buddies evacuate a different way? Or do we need to mount a rescue mission?" she asked with more exasperation that I would have expected. "You didn't ask about anyone else, so it seems like you were alone, but I don't want to assume."

"I was alone." I frowned. "How do you know I was on a mission?"

Her eyes went to my coat, staff, rod, and revolver. "Is that your walking around gear Tex?" Her grin came back at my confused response. "Oh. It is," she turned back to one of the mercenaries. "Check out Mr. Wizard, Gabe! This is his going around town outfit."

The black-haired man looked up from the report he was reading. "Sensible."

I frowned. "You didn't know I was on a mission, you were just fishing?"

"Maybe. But the important thing is... you didn't lose any buddies right? We shouldn't be looking around the wilds of Ontario for another wizard who fell through the sky?"

I shook my head. "No, I was sent alone." I had asked Mab for time to get some reinforcements but she had a way of being... insistent.

The demon gave that little head tilt and sniffed the air.

"What's the van for anyway?"

"You let a demon and a bunch of mercenaries lead you to an unmarked black panel van and only now just started to ask where we're going?"

I suffered through another "disappointed mom look" as she joked with one of the mercs about if they had any spare burlap "head bags".

"I'm trying to be diplomatic; I am a guest here. Whatever this place is," I stated easily. In truth, I felt I'd have more options on the road than in their facility. It wouldn't be the first time I've had to destroy a van or escape a moving vehicle.

"It used to be a helicopter factory or something," she said absently. "Anyway, you'd like confirmation this isn't your world right?"

"It would be nice to know if things are more Philip K. Dick or Harry Turtledove," I said.

"In that case we could have just given you a history book," the black-haired mercenary snorted.

"I dunno, if you ignore all the time travel nonsense Turtledove's not that bad," the other mercenary defended.

"We can stop at a bookstore if he insists," Ranma rolled her eyes.

"You're awfully calm about this whole 'parallel worlds thing'."

The redhead pointed to her horns. "Besides. You're not my first, or my strangest, tourist, Mr. Wizard. Anyway, I'm betting you have a whole bunch of contact numbers in that thick-head of yours?"

"Well... but If I use your pho-"

She thumped the side of the van a bit impatiently. "Right, so here's what we do, we go out, you pick a supermarket and you buy yourself a cheap phone."

At the word supermarket my stomach grumbled.

"And some grub, or you can pick a place. Then you can try calling your people. Best case, you actually do find someone and can arrange transport back home. Worst case, you don't, but then you'll know it ain't us screwing with you."

I pondered that; it was a pretty fair plan. And trusting on their part, not just that I wouldn't escape but that I also wouldn't cause a scene in public. But there was one problem.

"That's good but..." I rubbed my head. "See, my powers break cell phones. Wizard magic doesn't like technology, and cell phones get the worst of it."

"It does now?" The demon sighed through her nose. "Fine, we'll you a find a payphone." She nodded to the brown-haired merc who walked off. "Or a couple, you pick one you like and go from there."

"Yeah, I guess that'll work," I looked around the garage. I could see its past as a factory's shipping and receiving section. There were a couple more vans, a few sedans and a hulking grey armored vehicles. Those included great big truck-like beasts that SWAT teams often got surplus from the army. And, relatively, smaller trucks that resembled my brother's ostentatious ride, save far more Spartan and with the bolted on armor kits.

I eyed the van. It looked like its suspension had been reinforced and the doors and windows were thicker. "What's the hold up?" I asked after a couple minutes.

The redhead nodded to the merc who was jogging up to us. Behind him two pale demons followed. Despite seemly moving at a languid pace, they were keeping up with the man.

"Any trouble, Whipple?" the redhead asked.

"Nah, LT had expected something like this," he said tossing a blue zippered bag at her.

She caught it; there was a clink of change.

For a split second I froze. Laugh all you want, but I've had bad experiences with coins in the past.

Without missing a beat, or seemingly noticing my discomfort, the redhead simply popped the bag to her other hand and lobbed it at me. I clumsily caught it and took immediate relief that the bag was sealed. Said relief grew infinitely larger when I didn't feel any spark of magic from the banker's bag.

Look, you deal with coins holding Fallen Angels that can infect your mind with a touch and then tell me you wouldn't be twitchy over strange people tossing random coinage at you.

Holding the bottom of the bag, I carefully unzipped it. Inside was a shiny collection of gold-colored coins with a queen on one side and some kind of duck on the other, gold and silver-ish coin with the same queen and a bear and finally some all silver coins with a moose (or was it a reindeer) as the animal.

Careful not to touch the coins, I shifted the bag around but if there was a pitted, blackened ancient roman coin among the queens and animals I didn't see it.

"Mom!" one of the newly arrived demons happily cried, knocking me out of my coin based obsession.

I looked up to see a taller succubus with fine black hair and deep red eyes hugging the redhead. She had similar facial features to her mother, but they weren't as sharp. Combined with her height, they gave her an almost aristocratic look.

However that was tempered by the infectious joy with which she embraced the redhead. She looked to be in her late teens and wore a maroon dress over black leggings. She carried a long, thin bundle slung over one shoulder that had to be a sword.

Next to her was a slightly shorter woman with platinum blonde hair pulled back with a white bow. Wearing a vest and tailored slacks, she looked a bit younger than the black-haired demon, but it was hard to tell. She had a long lumpy backpack sling over one shoulder. They both looked younger than the redhead, but Ranma didn't even look thirty.

The blonde smirked as I bashfully zippered up the bag and slipped it into a coat pocket. She then slipped under the redhead's arm and leaned in. I felt almost an electric tingle. It was the magical equivalent of standing under high tension wires. And my mind immediately went to the "tree" I'd seen in the Soulgaze.

"Huh, group hug," I said when the surprisingly saccharine display broke up.

The redhead smiled without a hint of embarrassment. "Girls, this is Harry Dresden Warden of the White Council and Knight of the Winter Court," she said giving a little bow of the head. "Dresden, these are my daughters Ukyou," she indicated the platinum blonde. "And Nariko," she pointed to the black-haired demoness.

"Uh, hi," I waved. Unlike with Ranma I felt guilty looking at these two girls. Okay... more guilty. "Two? I got the impression you had more?"

A prideful smile crossed Ranma's face. "I've got three more, but they're training at the moment. That is unless you want to be mobbed by succubae," she teased.

I held my tongue and simply looked to the van. Personally, I thought having three demons shadow me was a bit much. Though if my count was right, dour Ilsa and her girls made for four succubae, Red and her girls made for six, and if I assumed the same number for the third sister from Eve's picture... Well, call it fifteen or so demons working for Willard International. Which made having only three follow me seem less worrying, though the fact that they had over a dozen demons was a whole different level of potential worry.

Ranma's purple eyes locked onto me and without breaking eye contact she gave a motion with her hand. The two humans took the driver's and shotgun seat. The daughters took the back row. Then keeping her broad smile, the redhead stepped back and motioned to the middle row.

"Yeah, let's get going," I murmured.

***************


I was torn between slamming the phone down in fury or letting it drop in apathy. Instead, I went to the bag of French fries that I had propped up on bottom lip of the windbreak around the pay phone.

The salt and crunch gave me some solace, even though the heat had long since dissipated as evening approached. I took a sip of my drink. At least that was still cold and contemplated my next move.

Seeing that I was off the phone, Ranma stepped closer, crossing the park path. I had no doubt that she could still hear me, but at least she made a point to not hover at my shoulder. Then again, it's not like she'd heard anything useful.

I'd gone through various White council contacts, a bunch of the folks that ran the Paranet, Murphy, the Carpenters, my former apprentice and sort of boss Molly, Butters, and William the Werewolf. It might not have been a total wash. I'd left a few messages on answering machines that weren't obviously someone else.

Still, the inability to get in touch with anyone was ominous. I looked down to the South and saw the giant space-needle like thing dominating the sky-line. I definitely wasn't in Chicago and it was looking likely that I was even further. Also the people around me, well I'd only met a handful jogging or walking their dogs in the park. The air was starting to get further below freezing though I wasn't sure the temperature, since everything was in that crazy metric the Canadians used.

But they people out and about had seemed... nicer than if this was Chicago. Though the place was emptying as darkness threatened.

I wasn't without options; I still had a few more numbers to call. Though contacting Ivy might be... awkward. Her bodyguard Kincaid normally answered her phone calls. How do you talk to the mercenary you hired to kill you?

Long story, suffice to say I'd had a plan to "retire early" from my job as the Winter Knight. Mab had different ideas. And… well it turned out killing myself wasn't really my idea in the first place. Look, I told you it was a long story.

I glanced up; Ranma was waiting off to the side. She'd put her hands in her coat as if she was trying to keep warm. I'd had my suspicions. Thanks to the Winter Mantle I didn't mind staying out, and I was pretty sure demons were immune to the cold.

She glanced over me and let her eyes settle onto the fries. She sorted at the logo. "Burger King? Really? Could you be more American? Fast food, revolver, big coat, you just need a cowboy hat to complete the look."

"I don't do hats."

"Oh? You'd look good in one."

I grumbled and looked down the path to the parking lot at the west side of the park. In it was the van that had driven us. The other demons and mercs had decamped to a picnic table near the vehicle. They had even unloaded a few of their bags. It seems they had brought their own food. To the south of them was a meandering creek that ran across the park. Between the creek and the path were a couple large rocks, clearly there for decoration.

The demon flashed her teeth. "If you're gonna be a cowboy cop in your duster and six-gun..."

"Very funny." I shook my head and composed myself. Her smile looked a bit... off. And it wasn't just how broad it was or how bright her teeth were. I blamed it on having seen her demonic form. Even now, in her "barely-passing as human" guise, I could easily imagine how she really looked.

She looked at her watch. On a steel band with an analog face, it looked purely mechanical. It was an amusing bit of overkill. I mean, sure my magic ruined cell phones and computers when I walked up to them, but the rest of my tech-bane was cumulative.

Hells Bells, I've been on helicopter rides. Though the less said about those the better. In my old apartment, I had a landline phone that worked most of the time. I owned a car once. Sure, it was an original VW Beetle. Sure, the Blue Beetle stopped being blue after only a few years worth of repaints and replacements, but it was mine, and I'd had it for over a decade. Sure, it'd required Herculean efforts from my old mechanic Mike, but it had worked three days out of every four on average. Well, until it was smashed up by a monster of the Red Vampire Court.

Look, the point was that if I could use a modern car... well for a week at least. Being around me with an electric watch shouldn't be a big deal.

Ranma glanced over at the table with the others. It was fairly random but on occasions she would rotate off and one of the other girls would be near me. They were both pretty quiet, with the blonde one going into a rant about the way my burger was cooked.

It turns out she had... opinions on how to properly work a griddle, or a grill in this case. The other was almost silent and I would have called her shy if not for the distant, guarded way she watched everything.

"You got more numbers to try?" Ranma asked, watching a couple running down a park path about a hundred feet off. They were both in matching running pants and windbreakers. The woman's dark ponytail bobbed while the man's mullet swished.

"A few," I admitted. But I was already planning my next steps. The easiest was to simply open another Way to the NeverNever and simply walk through the portal.

Unfortunately, it wasn't that simple. The NeverNever didn't map one to one with the real world. See, you can step through a portal walk a mile in the NeverNever then hop through another portal and find you've gone hundreds of miles. Or conversely, only a few feet.
That's because points on either side were linked symbolically. A place of darkness and evil will link to another place of darkness and evil. Or it could be as simple as a den of ruthless wyld faerie hunters linking to an office of human police investigators renowned for their ability to track fugitives.

See, the NeverNever is a land where magic and metaphor and such are just as powerful as the laws of physics, in some places they're moreso. It could make for convenient travel. Say a five minute walk between Singapore and Boston, but it was also incredibly dangerous as you could find yourself breathing acid, heated thousands of degrees, or crushed under ten gravities.

And that was just the environment, the flora and fauna, not to mention the natives, could be worse. It was also gigantic, and, worse, the links were slowly changing. My mother was one of the few mortal wizards to actually make a make a go at mapping the Ways and she had been at it for decades before her death.

Now in theory, going back to where I'd fallen though in the first place should work. Ways are supposed to be two-way like that. But I knew enough about my luck to know it would not be that simple. It never was. Still, that was high on my list of trying to get out of here.

I glanced at the demon expected her to be annoyed at my reverie. Instead she was looking thoughtful. "Mr. Wizard, you more close quarters or ranged?" she asked, her tone offhand.

Years ago I'd have a ready answer. But I wasn't the wheezy wizard I once was. Over a decade of experience, including fighting without my powers, had helped. Not to mention that I stood well over six foot tall. Pulls all the physical training over that time. Which, more recently, the Winter Knight Mantle had provided a great help on. It's amazing what happens to "No pain, no gain" when you can ignore little things like muscle fatigue. For running to be even remotely challenging, I had to use a weighted vest. A heavily weighted vest.

Still... I am a wizard. And it's not like my magical prowess and skill hasn't grown over that time. Stepping to one side and angling my back, I put a tiny bit of power into my staff causing the runs to glow the barest bit.

Looking down the path in the, opposite direction of the parking lot, the redhead nodded fractionally. "If the balloon goes up you're the heavy, I flank. The others rearguard," she said in a bare whisper.

A quartet of men approached. They wore grey off-the rack suits. And inexpensive, somber ties. The older of the men in center wore a brown overcoat almost as long as my duster. He also had a square-jaw and a bit of greying at the temples. His green eyes were flecked with bits of gold.

A slightly younger man with dark brown eyes and a blonde crew-cut stood next to him. His tie was a red that seemed almost bright compared to the rest of their dull colors. The young man seemed almost bulky and walked as if vaguely uncomfortable with his clothes. He also carried a briefcase that seemed too small for him.

Flanking them were two even younger men in dark sunglasses that were at odds with the rapidly approaching night. They looked mid-twenties at most.

"Mr. Dresden, a pleasure to catch up with you," the older man said. His accent was nasally, but it was American.

"Special Agent Lucas," he lifted his right hand while his left pulled slightly at his over coat. "If we may?" he asked me after his gaze passed over the demon.

"Sure," I said, leaning the staff on one shoulder.

Lucas opened his coat and slowly pulled out an ID he flipped it open. The action revealed a black gun in a shoulder holster.

"Special Agent Worth," the other said in a low rumble as he repeated the same action. Another shoulder holster flashed.

"FBI?" I asked. The identification document listed one as Stobart Lucas and the other as Virgil Worth.

"Information your arrival… leaked." Lucas said.

"Maybe parts of the Canadian military aren't so comfortable about mercenaries," Worth added.

"Maybe they called, maybe when we heard what was happening to one of our citizens we flew up," Lucas continued as he gave the redhead a wolfish smile.

"And what do you want?" I asked skeptically. Bad experiences with the Feds aside, this whole setup was a little too cute.

"Why, Mr. Dresden, we want to help you get home." His eyes went from the redhead to the mercenaries by the parking lot. "And out of... custody."

My neck tingled. Part of me didn't want to be here. This whole situation seemed wrong.

The redhead gave a shrug as she watched the others in the park. The jogging couple had lapped the park and there were a few others out and about. She then turned back to the parking lot and I watched as her luminous purple eyes blinked.

"What if it's not that simple?" I asked, glancing at Lucas' gold-flecked green eyes.

"Oh, we know you're a long way from home, Warden," Lucas assured. "One lawman to another, we have ways of getting you home. You have my promise that I'll get you back."

Worth nodded, while the two others were simply silent.

I pulled back. I didn't feel the pull of a soulgaze yet, but I wasn't about to try it. "Someone's informed."

"The Bureau tries its best. And we try to be more... diplomatic than certain private sector groups."

"Mercenaries. Unprofessional," Worth added.

The redhead inhaled and sniffed the air. She then looked at her fingers, then back to the Feds.

"What if I'm skeptical? I mean, it's not like I'm in a rush."

Lucas made a point of looking at the payphone and the fast food debris. "Clearly not. Still... we thought you might need a bit of convincing so we stopped by the... special archives before our flight. If I may?" he asked reaching back.

The redhead shrugged.

"Virgil," Lucas said.

The blond man opened his briefcase and pulled out a drab folder. Lucas then stepped closer and reached out. "Remember how J Edgar insisted that the Bureau hire only good little Catholics?"

Laughter bubbled from the redhead.

I took it. It was grey and the cover was "Restricted // Keyhole Tempest // Ordo Malleus World K40" Inside was... My eyebrow went up. It was a brief write-up of the Knights of the Cross and some of their contacts in the Church.

"Where did you get this?"

"From our Church contacts." Lucas shrugged. "The Papal Expeditionary."
"Apparently the big boss likes to keep the various 'branch offices' talking," Worth added.

I almost nodded. That much was true. I personally knew an Archangel that worked both with the Church, the Knights, and ran his own "spook shop". Literally. It was a group of spirits that he used to help fight evil.

The demon, however, did nod. "We've worked together before," she then grinned at the Fed. "I'll call Bishop O'Malley myself."

Lucas' own smile forced its way up. "Good, good. That would make things easier," he held out a hand. His eyes seemed to shine with mirth. Worth, for his part, glowered slightly.

I closed the folder and tossed it over. Lucas reached out and caught it in midair.

"Sounds good, I guess I'll call them directly."

"And with both the FBI and the Company vouching for you I'm sure you'll get all the help you need," the demoness happily agreed, giving Lucas a wide grin.

"Yes, well, we'll be in touch," Lucas stated as he handed the folder Worth who stuck it in his briefcase.

"And their badges?" Ranma absently asked

"I'm sorry?" Lucas asked.

"The two goons," the demon lazily pointed.

"Really, Miss Saotome?" Lucas sighed.

"Really. Now, I'm not like my sister. I can't cite the exact model and caliber of issue guns of various country's national police forces." Her grin grew even broader and the shadows deepened around her.

I tightened my fingers on my staff and felt a wave of energy wash over me.

"But even I know that the FBI carry Glocks these days." She stepped to the side and looked between me and the feds. "Now, sure, impersonating a federal officer is a crime, but I'll let that go... if you and your pack of goons stand down and tell us who sent you."

She rolled her shoulders and stepped forward and deeply inhaled. "You've got guts."

I was slightly disturbed by how she said like she was in the butcher shop admiring a fresh cut of meat.

Lucas chuckled. "You're outnumbered. You can't even call for help thanks to your Wizard friend, phage."

The demon's eyes shimmered. And a deep rumbling noise came from deep within her diaphragm. It took me a second to realize she was chuckling. It was lower in tone than even normal for her, and it seemed like she was keeping herself from going into maniacal laughter.

Eyes hardening, Lucas' hands moved to his shoulder.

The redhead smiled. There was something anticipatory about her. "Go ahead, skin it. Skin that smoke wagon and see what happens," the demon stated as she took another step closer.

"Listen Miss, I just here to talk to Mr. Dresden. I-I'm getting awful tired of your-"

At the stutter, the demon's eyes flared and she put hand up pointing two fingers at Lucas' face. "I'm getting' awful tired of your gas," she stated. "Now jerk that pistol and go to work."

Lucas's eyes shimmered, and he glanced to his partner.

"I said throw down law dog!"

"Easy there Drago," I told Worth as I reached into my own coat.

Lucas's hand flexed.

"You gonna do somethin'?" the demon demanded.

"And I was trying to be civil." Lucas gave a long exhale. When he finished his eyes were shining golden. "Let the Wizard go Miss Saotome. This does not concern you. We merely want him to go back home."

The two flanking goons rolled their shoulders and shifted their weight.

The redhead's deep laughing abruptly stopped. "That ain't my decision. You try to keep him from goin' where he wants."

Worth glared between me and the demon. "You turn him loose or we'll tear you apart."

She spared a wink at me. "We playing for blood then?"

Worth's hand touched the butt of his gun and my revolver swept out and pressed against his forehead. There was a series of satisfying ratcheting noises as I drew back the hammer on the massive fifty caliber weapon.

"You die first, get it? Your friends might get me in a rush, but not before I make your head into a canoe, you understand me?" I stated.

Worth blinked, more confused than frightened or even angry. "What?"

"Tombstone! Doc Holiday, Wyatt Earp?" I snorted. "Philistines."

Eyes flashing, Worth set his jaw and glared, his chin jutting out. Some of the others in the park seemed to have noticed and were turned to us. The mullet jogger tilted his head while his partner might have grinned. Her teeth flashed white in the gloom.

Just on the edge of my vision, I could also make out a pair moving towards the picnic table with the others.

Lucas opened his mouth. Then, his gold eyes narrowing, he paused. I could tell he'd made his decision. "Men... kill the-!" he yelled the last words ending in a snarl.

Which turned into a gasping scream as a gout of flames burst from the redhead's fingers. It was a narrow almost beam-like pillar red fire, held in by purple spirals.

The familiar and horrifying sent of burnt flesh and hair filled my nose. Before me Worth's eyes also flashed golden and he began to change as his jaw began to grow and hair started to sprout on his face.

I pulled the trigger. His head blew apart and the rest of his body dropped like a potato sack, following Lucas to the ground.

The two goons in the back row wavered, their suits ripping apart as their bodies bulked up. Muscles and fur grew everywhere. Hands became paws tipped in curled claws. Mouths expanded into fang filled jaws as they howled and pounced. Similarly changing, the others in the park dashed forward leaping bounds.

Charging forward, the demon's wings, tail and horns popped into existence.

And then everything went to hell.


End Chapter 1


I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Pale Wolf, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf. Special thanks should be given to Ellf for his help in soundboarding and getting this idea off the ground. His own Dresden Files fics such as Training Daze and the Building Faith series were major contributors.

In fact, I started this project back around January/February which is in roughly line with Ellf's own stuff. I mention this because that means that I've got 12 chapters of this story already written. I've got everything but the ending couple chapters written up so, yes, this is a story that I can have finished.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.
Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.


Chapter 2: Lagging Questions, Part B


What is it about werewolves and the FBI? In fairness, unlike the last time, these weren't actually federal agents. And they were a different type of werewolf, more "wolfman" than, you-know, man turning into wolf.

My musing was interrupted by the redheaded demon hitting one of the goons. Each hulking salivating shaggy-pelted monster had to be nearly 8 feet tall and clearing 400 pounds of muscle. She was under five foot and couldn't be much over a hundred pounds. I'm sure she has supernatural strength on her side. What supernatural creature didn't? By that same regard, I was pretty sure they did as well.

And I'd fought enough supernatural creatures to know that size has an advantage all its own. Still, she hit the goon, and by hit I mean "Slam all her weight and a combat boot into the side of the knee".

Murphy had said something about that. "Your opponent's body may be stronger than your body, his arm may be stronger than yours, but his arm is not stronger than your whole body." Now that was nice enough with humans, but I knew supernatural creatures who had more strength in their finger than my whole six foot, nine inch body.

That said, I don't care how strong or supernatural you are. There's only so much a knee joint can be strengthened. The whole point of a joint is to bend, and if you hit from the wrong, or in Ranma's case, right angle...

Putting his weight on the other leg, the wolfman howled. The demon rolled forward and sunk talon tipped hands into the wolfman's shoulder. Snarling in pain, he snapped at her and swiped at her, raking claws against her side.

The demon had shifted into some sort of grey-green uniform that looked like a loose kevlar bodysuit under an armored vest. Around her waist was another set of hanging armor that looked vaguely like the dangling straps on a Roman legionary uniform and also almost like a pleated skirt.

I shifted my attention. She was taking care of my flank and getting anyone close. That left me with the further out targets. A quick scan showed there were multiple groups rushing towards me. Two groups of two came from the North, one bearing from the east the other the west. That last one being mullet jogger and his partner, now a brawny russet colored wolf-woman. Or was it female wolfman?

From the south was a veritable pack of half a dozen of the creatures. They were about to bound over a small creek that meandered through the park. To the east by the parking lot were several other groups but I saw the platinum haired demon pull out a boxy rifle that made me think of Belgium chocolates. Her sister had drawn a katana that glowed with a ruddy light.

Both in armor identical to their mother, they faced away from each other on an oblique with the two human mercenaries, leveling their own rifles, in the center.

Right, then, pack of half a dozen to the south it is. My gun slipped into a pocket and I leveled my staff. The runes carved on it flared. "Forzare!" I shouted as a wave of force blasted the mini pack.

Four of them bowled over, two splashing into the water but two sunk their claws into the muddy bank of the not-quite-frozen stream and managed to hold on.

"Bad move." The runes on my staff turned white. "Infriga!" Ice started to form around the pack as the heat drained from the stream and was sucked towards my staff. The wolfmen who had dug in had it pretty bad as ice crept up around their paws holding them fast. The worst were the two who fell in and had the stream freeze over them.

And now I had a staff bursting with thermal energy. Sure it was a small creek, but it takes a lot of energy to change the temperature of water. While my blasting rod was optimized for this kind of work... my staff was already out.

I spun around and saw that one of the groups to the north was about fifty feet away. Mullet jogger and ponytail jogger it was. "Fuego!"

Okay, my fire wasn't as contained or as angry of a shade of red as Ranma's, but it was a cone of flames that lit up the whole park and charbroiled the mulleted wolfman. Amazingly even in wolf form, the hair fur his head was especially shaggy. Well, until bright orange flames licked over him.

Though I suppose, it was more amazing how the bulky, but strangely lithe female wolfman managed to dart to the side and evade the attack.

As I did my fire and ice double move, Ranma's other hand came up and jabbed the bottom of the wolf's jaw. There was a flash of gore as his muzzle blew off. An uncontrolled curdling, bubbling scream came out.

And despite his ruined face, the wolfman lunged at the demon, claws outstretched. His partner charged her from behind.

Her eyes flashed; her tail shot up. I'm not sure what happened but it dove into the other wolf's chest and blood started to spurt out from his lower ribs. Golden eyes burned insanely.

Another ruined howl came from the mangled face of the wolfman in front of her as it charged. The demon slipped inside and dodged one claw swipe and blocked the other with her forearm against the wolf's larger and bulkier arm. She slipped to the side and evaded the blows of both wolves.

There was an almost contemplative look on her alabaster face as she matched the two attackers beat for beat, managing to avoid or deflect darting arms that hit like steam pistons. It was impressive to see one fighting with half his face cut off and another with a gory hole his abdomen.

These things regenerated fast. Given that, my ice trick had bought me even less time that I thought.

It was then that I could confirmed the wolves had the edge in strength as the wolfman without a face managed to knock her a bit to the side by powering though a block.

Her luminous eyes flared deeper and her grin returned. The wolfman with the chest wound tried to slash her; the thick claws actually caught her armored vest. Her arm snaked out caught him by the elbow. Thin demonic talons flashed. A bulky hairy arm the size of a man's leg fell to the ground in a gush of blood.

With her other arm, and the support of her whole body, the demon punched the wolf's chest. The wound had mostly healed from where her tail had struck. Still, there was a crack as the blade of her hand broke ribs. The hulking hirsute man was knocked back a step.

Side stepping forward, she jabbed her hand into the wound, then she triggered here flame powers. Flames poured out of the wolfman's mouth as his remaining arm flailed.

Before he slipped off the demon's arm, she was already turning and gave a kick to the half-faced wolf's ankle as he tire grabbing her leg, she twisted but his claws sank through the Kevlar just below the armored skirting.

Blood spurted from the demon's lower thigh. She rolled forward, wrist locked the meaty paw that tried to grab her neck and with her bleeding leg swept out the wolfman's. As he fell, she twisted an arm, broke the wolf's wrist and rolled back kicking off of his waist. There was a crack as the wolf's hip broke and her arc wobbled but a wing flapped out to stable her as she landed in a low crouch.

I took stock of the battlefield. To the north the female wolfman jogger had linked up with the two other wolfmen. Passing a large tree, they were like twelve yards off, honestly, alarmingly close. Wings pulled back, tail twisting, the redhead had rushed to intercept them.

To the east by the parking a fusillade was dying off. The mercenaries and the demons had been outnumbered two to one but they seemed to have firepower on their side. The two mercenaries had fired their bulky rifles which had also lobbed a few grenades from their under-slung mounts.

However, that was just fire support for the two demons. Facing opposite they advanced. To the south the platinum haired one, her orange eyes flaring, advanced with a compact yet oddly thick rifle. It reminded me of the Belgian gun Kincaid had given Murphy. However, instead of firing little bullets that zipped through everything, this thing roared with a heavy crump blasting melon-sized chunks out of the wolfmen.

On the other side the black-haired demons used her sword. Her body moved with a long-limbed elegance, especially her footwork. However, her bladecraft had slightly less finesse. The softly glowing crimson blade wove through the mass of wolves, who despite the deep cuts, spilled guts, and the occasional pin-wheeling limb still pressed in.

A fist met her chest and clawed the armor. The plates held but part of the front of the vest ripped off. Another wolf stabbed with a paw. Stepping back, her ruby eyes flashed as she avoided most of the blow. Blood poured out as she jumped back and leveled the katana.

I'm not sure exactly what she shouted; it sounded Japanese. But then lighting burst from the red blade and arced between the wolfmen. "Holy Sith Lighting!" I exclaimed.

I was pretty sure that group could stand on their own. I turned back to the South and the mini pack I had frozen. The two who had been knocked over had managed to dig out their friends. I'd noticed that the pair who had their paws frozen into the ice were limping as their limbs regrew. They hobbled over to help the two that had fallen into the water. Their muzzles dripped with blood as they worried and tore.

I readied my staff but the two broke out of the ice faster than I had expected. Much of their pelts peeled off as the partially skinned beasts rose from the icy stream. Steam rose from their ropy, bloody muscles.

A dozen furious golden eyes focused on me and charged.

I centered myself and planted the staff on the ground. Now, I had been doing more than just rubbernecking. The pack charged. Half a dozen wolfmen rushed in a frothing loping run. Scrambling up the bank they rushed over the park closing in.

It was a risk but I pulled in Soulfire and Winter energy. "Disperitus!" I cried lifting my staff and slamming it down.

A crack opened before the pack in a rough jagged line. Then before they crossed it I hardened my will and followed up with "Geodas."

Soulfire, powered from my own soul fed into the magic. Silver light flashed as a giant shimmering hand slammed down on the ground, and the wolfmen. The crack sheared into a sinkhole and the howling wolves tumbled into the oblong pit.

Gasping, I grit my teeth, they were already clawing at the sides of the pit and trying to jump out. Sweat dripped down my brow. It was time to close the trap. This time I rested my staff in the crook of one arm and drew my blasting rod.

The runes on the shorter wooden rod flared. "Pyrofuego," I hissed. A dense foot-wide column of blue-white fire shot out of the tip of the rod. My coat billowed in the backlash as the spear of fire shot out, and right into the pit. I angled my wrist raking it over the length of the oblong hole and held it until the howls and whimpers stopped.

I wheezed as the fires died off; the runes on my blasting rod still glowing as the bunt scent of wood smoke came from the enchanted carvings.

My exhaling continued as I twisted away and looked to the west. I could barely see the road at the far end of the park but that was about it. However, there was a stirring to the right close by. In torn suits, the partially transmogrified bodies of Worth and Lucas stirred.

"You've got to be kidding me," I groaned as they rose up, their heads knitting together.

"Wizard... you were warned." Lucas' voice was a grating gasp. His head had reformed with muzzle full of jagged teeth and torn canine ears.

Regeneration, lovely. Still, I'd faced werewolves with quicker regen.

Well, one.

And it killed a lot of good people. I raised my blasting rod.

And Worth slammed into me. The blond wolfman was big and bulky even compared to the others. He hit like a bus and for a moment I held. The might of the Winter Mantle rallied against the wolfman.

Then Worth roared and hit again, and I tumbled. My staff went flying. The Winter mantle stirred and raged. Pain and disorientation waned and I got control and rolled up to my feet in a crouch.

I had a split second to steady myself before the blond wolfman hit me again. Claws slashed at my duster. This time I muscled back and held my ground. In that moment I thanked every long hour I'd spent running in sand weighted down, every monotonous session I'd spent on a maxed out weight machine.

The spell enchanted leather held. Worth's gold eyes blinked in confusion. Then he smiled and punched me. Yeah... the magical protections I'd put into the leather protected it against impacts and clashes and even hits, but it did it by dissipating and widening the impact. I could still feel the blows.

I gasped and went down to one knee. He hit me again. Being the Winter Knight allowed me to become physically enhanced. And that's what was keeping me up. After realizing my holster was empty, my hand went to my side and another hit the ground to steady myself. The little shields on my bracelet jangled.

"Defendarius," I wheezed mentally casting my shield spell. My timing had to be just right. And I had to use my old shield. The one that was a blue bubble of adamantine force. Unlike the latter ones that had more give and protected against more than just force. The old spell was more brittle it was easier to defeat and easier to slip other things past it, like heat.

But it took less energy to cast.

Now... that wasn't why I was using it.

I planted my arm with the shield bracelet onto the ground and a blue hemisphere or force arced into existence between my kneeling form and the wolfman looming over me. Well between me and most of the wolfman. A hairy arm to nearly the elbow fell next to me and a fisted hand cut at the wrist fell to the other side.

Yes my old shield was more brittle, but that meant it was sharper.

Worth blinked in shock and then roared at me beating a bloody wrist stump against my shield.

"Hah! You stupid bastard, you've got no arms left!"

The hand I'd been holding against my side reached into an inner pocket. The pocket I'd absently dropped my gun into. The monstrous revolver swung out. My shield dropped. I had four shots left. I aimed low, at the wolfman's hips. I pulled the trigger and the heavy bullets broke even those reinforced hip bones.

Drawing onto more Winter power I sprung back gaining some distance from the stumbling wolfman.

His eyes gleamed and I slammed the barrel against his snapping snout. "What are you going to do bleed on me?"

Worth's eyes blinked in confusion.

"Really? Not even that one?" I pointed my blasting rod. "Fuego," flame shot out and flesh bubbled and charred.

Then I got shot. Bullets impacted the side of my duster. I turned to see Lucas in his wolfman form holding a gun. It looked tiny in his misshapen paws. Gold eyes looked on in amusement.

"No staff, empty gun and... " he paused one gold eye closed.

A bullet whizzed by cutting my blasting rod in half.

"Nice shootin' Tex." A rictus grin fell over me as I let the shattered rod hang by the thong over my wrist. I fed more power into my shield bracelet and readied it.

"I was aiming for your hand." Lucas barked a laugh. He raised the gun. "Still, you don't have any protection on your head."

Then several things happened at once.

Lucas fired.

My shield, my proper shield, popped into existence.

And a pair of deep purple beams shot from the redhead demon's eyes. They burst out and cut through Lucas's gun, fingers, and arm. Then they raked over his torso gouging deep, messy cuts.

Lucas turned as the gun, and much of his hand, fell to the ground in pieces.

Eyes glowing, the demon's smile broadened as the shadows deepened around her. Lucas sprang forward.

Dropping the remains of my blasting rod into a coat pocket, I looked around. Other than the demon dancing around the fake FBI wolfman, there seemed to be a bit of a pause to the fight. At least the gunfire to the east had died down. Though the demons and one of the mercenaries had formed a closer position around a fallen comrade.

That did not stop the black haired demon from pointing her sword at one of the wolfmen who had fallen near her. A severe expression was on her face as an arc of lightning shot out and fried one of the creatures.

I also found my staff. My free hand stretched out and I concentrated. "Forazine," I hissed pushing away a pounding headache. The length of wood started to wobble and then flew into my hand. Hey, if the demons could use Sith lightning and imitation lightsabers then I could use Force telekinesis. Not to mention that I knew an actual knight with a real lightsaber. Okay, it's a holy sword that projects a beam of light that can cut anything. Close enough.

Now that I had the staff, I popped open the cylinder to my revolver. Giant empty cartridges fell out. I dropped in another speedloader, twisted and snapped the cylinder closed.

The two goons who had accompanied Lucas and Worth shivered and started to rise. Their bodies were still pretty mangled but their claws and slavering mouths full of teeth had formed enough.

Already a freshly bloody mess, Lucas pulled back as the two went at the redhead. They were then followed by a newly healed trio from the North led by the pony-tailed jogger.

Lucas' suit coat was in tatters, mostly from the enlarged growth of his shoulders, but it was also burned, sliced and looked like it had bullet holes in it. When had he been shot? He gasped as his wounds healed and seemed to almost make a decision. But then his eyes flared and with a snarl he jumped back in.

The demon wove around dodging most of the mobbing wolves' attacks. The bulk of the rest she blocked. Still, she was outnumbered six to one. In the bare seconds they fought, hits started to connect. I noted that she positioned herself to let her armor most much of the impacts, relying on the plates inset in her vest and skirting.

She also shifted her body, more willing to take a rake across her stomach than having a hip broken, more willing to have a chunk of a bicep torn off than have an elbow broken.

That's not to say she was only defense. If anything her offense was more aggressive. Hairy limbs flew and muzzles were sliced apart and knees were crushed. Her tail darted and stabbed, cutting through the torso and severing the spine of a wolfman foolish enough to jump her from behind.

I aimed the revolver and put in a few shots. The bullets were heavy enough that they at least distracted the beasts. I was loath to use anything more forceful. Sure, she could regenerate but how much?

The body hit her on the back and the rest of the mob pressed her. Two were decapitated outright in the press, but that left three, well three and a half, to try and dog pile her.

They snapped their mouths and clawed in a frantic frenzy. The demoness screamed in rage and pain. Then came the raking purple beams and gouts of fire. Her whole body seemed to be aflame and the wolves yowled. Wings pushed, legs kicked, arms threw and the pungent burning hairy bodies lifted.

The demon's lips parted. My heart stopped. Deep purple shadows clung to her like blood. They shimmered and splattered, and then I realized that much of it was blood. I had seen women, seen monsters that could double as goddesses of violence and death. Terrific and awful blood soaked avatars of violence and seduction.

She flicked her claws and, with a burbling laugh, she pulled back her lips. It was not a smile, though a wild glee did seem to burn in her eyes

She lunged. One wolf was disemboweled as she dragged a hand though a torso, stopping at a ribcage which she tore with a meaty squelch of tearing flesh and breaking bones. Another was hit in the muzzle by her tail. This time I got to see how it worked.

Extruding from the edges of the spade-shaped tail were dozens of little filaments that glinted in the fires. They writhed and twitched and where they touched flesh... up close it was like hitting someone in the face with a blender. The beast fell down screaming and paws clawing at its own face.

At the last moment Lucas slipped aside and the demon fell on the jogger wolf-woman. The demon bit her neck, planted a clawed hand on the wolf's shoulder and tore. Blood spurted in a howling scream and the demon swallowed. The claw lowered and in a quick, disturbingly elegant, move that spoke of long practice, the ribs were sliced and cracked apart.

Once the heart and liver were scooped out she moved onto the next wolf. Her eye's savage gleam grew but there was an almost… epicurean expression on her face as she sniffed and sectioned the wolf her tail had ravaged. The most disturbing part was that despite the savage gleam in her eyes, her expression and posture were such that I knew the demon was in complete control of herself.

A paw fumbled in a suit coat and Lucas pulled something out tearing up a pocket. He lifted a hand. I broke out of my trance and the revolver swiveled.

The demon swallowed the bit of quadriceps. Her eyes narrowed.

Lucas laughed as the bullet hit just above and between his shoulder blades. Two purple beams raked over his arm, my next bullet hit the back of his head and something dropped to the ground.

"Grenade!" the demon shouted, blood dripping down the corners of her mouth.

I distantly heard a vehicle rev to the South-west as I powered my shield. It could handle a single grenade. It had been hit with worse.

But then instead of having the multi-colored bubble get hit with shrapnel in a grey puff, blinding white light flared as the grenade exploded in a bright flare. I turned my head away and slammed my eyes shut.

My eyes were blinded for a second, then the machine guns opened up.

***************


My vision returned. I took stock of things. I was in a crouch with my duster falling behind me and leaning my arms on my staff. Time seemed to slow. The Winter Mantle suffused me. It was dark but my vision had a crisp clarity. The animalistic part of the Winter Knight was angry but oddly... patient, as if it knew I would respond to this affront, vehemently

My shield was up. That was good.

I was being shot at. That was bad.

I was being shot at a lot. That was very bad.

I felt my heart beat.

I spared a glance at Ranma. She had also dropped down onto her belly. Some sort of flaming nimbus was surrounding her too. She had a shield too. Good.

I saw splashes of blood and meat kick out and into her flaming shield when some of the bullets hit her. So, her shield wasn't as strong. Bad.

The gunners were on some kind of truck and they seemed to know their stuff as they poured on the fire. The muzzle flashes kept me from seeing exactly how the guns were mounted but the constant rate of fire indicated it was heavy-duty. They were probably bolted onto the vehicle's frame, and with this volume of fire had to be fed by long belts. I didn't want to think about how many rounds they could store in the back of a vehicle. I had been shot at before... a lot.

I had become a connoisseur of being downrange to gunfire. From the disturbingly common pistol hits, to the roar of shotguns, to the back-breaking pounding of being hit by an anti-materiel rifle (Hurray for spell-reinforced dusters!). From the cheap little machine pistols, to big box-fed machine guns firing rifle bullets. Despite all that, vehicle mounted guns were a novelty. It was like being hit by the force of an anti-materiel round but at the rate of a machine gun. (Which was exactly what it was).

My heart beat again. The crystalline focus of the time dilation held, but not for much longer. Oh, there was no magic, simply the effect of adrenaline slowing my perception of time.

My shield distorted and puckered, as hit after hit slammed into it. They seemed to be keeping more pressure on me. The dome shimmered and flickered and I pushed more of my will.

The shield stabilized but then I kept pushing. Runes on my staff flared and my shield bracelet ran hot against my wrist. I didn't have much time. Once my shield dropped all I had was my duster. Which would hold... for a bit.

I glance over, after the initial flare the redhead's flaming aura had dimmed. A feeling of rage washed over me from her direction. She had seemed to sink into the shadows and there was a burst of motion. Okay... so the demon was up to something.

Well, I could be up to something too.

I slammed my staff. "Geodas!" The Earth energy slammed against the shield bubble and pressed. I concentrated and shaped the spell. It wouldn't escape until...

I dropped my shield. The spell lashed out. A narrow fissure shot out from my staff; I dodged the side hit the ground, rolled to behind a bolder by the phones, and flicked my shield back on.

The truck continued firing, until the steadily widening fissure snaked under the vehicle and the front and back drivers side wheels fell into the trench and the thing slammed to the ground. The guns kept firing, but it was erratic as they swiveled about.

"DarkStar Burst!" The demon might have shouted. I can't be certain, my hearing was pretty shot.

But I did see her crouch up from a position that was behind a large tree. Her hands were clasped and a black... orb shot out. I got a brief afterimage of purple and white fire wreathing the object before it raced away, button-hooked and slammed into the gun truck from the side. It exploded, erupting with deep purple, enveloping flames.

Despite myself, I gave a low whistle at that. If I didn't know better it looked like she could aim that... whatever it was after launching. It also made sense why she offered the close quarter work while giving me the ranged. It was not that she lacked for ranged attacks, but she could do more damage close in, and take more.

A throbbing engine noise began to drum against my head. It was felt more than heard.

The guns stopped. For a precious moment silence fell over the park.

It was too late, a Gatling gun opened up. Tracer-laden fire stabbed down from the sky, as a helicopter droned overhead.

"Oh come on! How much crap do you stupid wolve-"

That's when I noticed the direction the skyborne fire was pointed in. The tracers hit with a density that made it seem like a solid laser beam. It raked over the wolfmen who had managed to heal and shamble out of the pit by the stream. Bodies were minced by the withering fire and fell in heaps.

The beam then turned onto the gun truck and cut it apart with seeming contempt.

Then as suddenly as it had started the beam shut off.

My head pounded. I let the shield drop. Weapon mounted lights started to turn on. I cast a spell over my pentacle amulet adding a bit of blue light, and then lit the runes on my staff. It was good to be able to see once again.

The helicopter kept its low, slow orbit over the park.

Ranma strode towards me; the glow ebbing from her eyes. Her uniform was a mess. Blood, viscera, organs, tears and gouges marred the loose bodysuit. One of her skirt pleats had been slashed exposing a cracked armor plate. Her vest had dents and a couple craters where she'd been struck by high caliber bullets. A bit of lead gleamed in one of the craters having been stopped at the last armor layer.

Another was marked by a gaping hole that wept blood. Either impact would have been enough of a hammer blow to knock a human down and a fair number of supernatural critters, too. Still, without the armor, the bullets would have hit at full velocity and done a lot more damage.

As I stared, the wound closed itself. Comprehension dawned. The brood's armor was designed with regeneration in mind. The layers were intended to slow down attacks, spread out the impact, reduce damage, all to make it easier for the demon's innate healing to work.

I looked down at the organic effluent that spattered my own coat and revised my evaluation. She wasn't any messier than I was, and unlike the wolfmen she didn't need to stop for a lie down to heal her damage.

"You hurt?" she asked approaching. Her fingers flexed as if to burn off excess energy. Her tail also swished. It almost looked thicker to me. I glanced at her again. Her cheeks didn't seem as... gaunt as before. Actually, the short demon seemed less slight overall.

I exhaled and made a point to go over my limbs and chest. During a fight it was surprisingly easy to get injured and not notice it. It was even easier when tapping into the Winter Mantle's "ignore pain" abilities. "No I'm... fine."

"Good," she smiled. Her teeth were bloody and stained. She sniffed the air and looked around in a circle. "We'll have you checked out by the Doc anyway. You might have gotten wounded and not know it. Adrenaline does crazy things."

I nodded, trying not to think about how her teeth got that way.

She unclipped a canteen, splashed some water into her mouth, gargled, and spit. This time I couldn't keep from blanching at the soupy string of gore that came out.

The demon took another swish and repeated. This time her spit was only tinged pink with blood. The redhead then drank from the canteen. She wiped the rim with a tan rag from one of her vest's pockets and offered it to me.

I eyed the canteen. I looked down; we were both splattered in blood and drenched in sweat. Hell with it, my mouth was dry; I was thirsty.

I reached out, and suddenly there was a labored howl. A burnt and flayed wolfman rose up. And charged. I recognized the remains of a flowing pelt atop its head: the mullet jogger.

The canteen fell from my hands as I fumbled for the holstered revolver. Eyes flashing, Ranma's hand blurred.

Suddenly, the wolfman's torso blew apart. From the sternum to belly button and nearly the entire width of his body was a ragged flared hole. In front skin had peeled off from the detonation while in back bone and organs spewed out in a great fan.

Then there was a thunderous bang.

His spine utterly shattered the mullet wolf flopped down and amazingly he tried to drag himself forward. Growling, Ranma strode forward. A boot crushed a paw. The wolfman snapped and tried to lunge.

The redhead's hand dipped and a silvery pistol appeared. It was a massive steel-framed affair. The gun fired with a familiar report, and a long 50 caliber casing flung from the gun. I watched the case tumble then turned back to the wolfman.

The cranial damage was slightly worse than when I had shot Worth in the head. I briefly pondered them using the same caliber as I lifted my hand off the revolver. Hearing the helicopter near, I looked up.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Ranma kneel down and start poking through the wolman's guts with a clinical eye.

Ropes spooled out of the helicopter and dark shapes dropped down. Some descending on the ropes, others simply jumping and letting their wings catch just above the ground.

I heard another set of pounding turbines. To the east another helicopter descended and spooled lines.

Soldiers fanned out in grey Company armor and helmets. Familiar bulky rifles were shouldered. At the vanguard was a quartet of demons in a diamond formation. They wore the same plate-skirt and vest over Kevlar bodysuit getup as the redhead.

I also noticed that they all had... bows on their chests. Maybe bow was the wrong word. On their chest armor, in the center of the bow, each wore a sullen red gem. Dangling from the gems were two pairs of Kevlar-sheathed ribbons. I stretched out my senses: the gems were magical. There was a familiar vibration that set my teeth on edge. The ribbons seemed to be antennae, or maybe they were sleeves that protected the actual antenna.

To the right confidently strode a demoness with tousled orange hair. It had more body and curl than even Ranma's. And unlike the brood mother, the makeup this one wore was blatant.

However, her bright green eyes shone with a predatory madness and her lips were curled in an amused grin as she sniffed the air. Cradled in her hands was a wide stubby weapon. It took me a second to notice the belt of grenades being fed from an underslung box. I blinked.

To the left was a demon with dark, shorter cobalt blue hair. It was slicked back with a bit of a tease on the ends. Her makeup was a bit more toned down, and done in shades of blues that tugged at the Winter Mantel.

Oddly, her hands were empty. She had a short rifle slung over one shoulder identical to the blonde's weapon. There was also a large pistol holstered on one hip, but that seemed to be part of the uniform more than anything else.

In the center front of the group was a tiny demoness. Even in the heavy armor she looked slight and slender. Younger looking than the others, she had powder-blue hair spilling out behind her. She had a pair of immense slender knives in her hands. Their blades glowed the same dull red as that Sith katana.

Her makeup was also in Winter colors, though softer, more pastel, shades. However, more than that my Winter Knight senses tingled. There was something... Wintery about the delicate-looking demoness.

The demon in the back had no makeup. Well, she might have had on lipstick, it was a bit hard to tell what was a "natural" color, never mind the poor lighting in the park. Cut into a short bob, her hair was a dark red that was almost auburn. She wore the same uniform but unlike the others moved a bit awkwardly, as if she wasn't as used to it. Pale blue eyes seemed to coolly scan everything.

However what stood out about her, dwarfing everything else, was the gun she carried. It had dimensions more in line with a piece of farm equipment than a weapon. The rifle had a thick heavy barrel that had a bore like a drainage pipe. There was a reinforced stock, a giant scope, and a magazine the same dimensions as a thick hardcover book.

The whole sniper rifle was longer than she was tall. And like the orange-haired demon she carried the massive weapon without any seeming effort.

The demons' faces brightened and they rushed over to the brood mother.

"Mom!" the three in front gushed while the sniper hung back.

Ranma hugged the demons in a group hug. Smiling she motioned to the sniper. "Come on, Morgan."

The barest tinge of a flush colored the sniper's cheeks as she glanced at me and joined the hug before it broke apart.

"Right, good shot," Ranma stated.

"Thanks, Aunty," Morgan said, bowing her head, which also presented her horns to the older demon. She then shrugged. "It wasn't much, even without the digital assist."

"Still," the brood mother smiled and passed a dripping bundle to Morgan.

The sniper's nostrils flared and with as light embarrassment she slipped it into a large pouch on her armor. I pointedly looked away from the… gift.

"Girls, Dresden. Dresden, girls. Full introductions will have to wait," Ranma clapped her hands and raised her voice. "What we have here is an organized Pattern L attack. I don't know the Level, but they're high enough to regenerate head-shots."

She glanced around, meeting the eyes of every mercenary and demon. "Secure the scene, and make sure they don't get up. If we can get one safe for questioning, do it, but I don't want any risks. These are some bruisers here.

"Also their leaders were dressed as American federal agents, including fake ID."

She met the eyes of a brown-haired agent. It took me a moment to recognize Lieutenant Tendo behind all the battle-rattle. The two women exchanged meaningful nods. The demon then bowed her head to Tendo and gestured with her hand. A sign of deference? That was interesting.

"Forensics is going to come in and go over this, but if you see something, secure it now," Lieutenant Tendo stated. "I want Gold team assisting the Fifth, Green on perimeter. Red with me. This place is going to be a zoo once backup arrives."

Tendo looked around. "Which will include local police. I want you all looking human when the boys in blue arrive. Get to it."

"Wounded?" Ranma asked moments after Tendo finished. "Casualties?"

The black-haired demon was standing a bit to the side. "Smith was hit in the second wave," Nariko stated, a tiny tremor in her voice.

A flicker of emotion passed the stern brunette's face. "Take me to him," Tendo ordered.

Ranma also growled as she and the others ran to the picnic table. I followed.

"Barnes has stabilized him," Nariko assured as they neared.

I looked over to see the same medic who had cleared me kneeling over one of the mercenaries that had accompanied in the van.

It was the one with short black hair. The other mercenary and the platinum blonde demoness hovered over him. The demon actually had a flashlight out and was pointing it on Smith's wound.

I also got a clear look at her rifle. It looked like a copy of Murphy's little P90. By that I meant it was a compact boxy-looking rifle with a trigger near the front, a tiny stub of a barrel extending beyond the frame, and a magazine running along the length of the top.

However, Murphy's gun was made out of plastics and fired a zippy little round. This gun was a sullen beast that seemed to be hogged out of a solid piece of steel. My Winter faerie powers were on edge just looking at it. There was also some brass scattered about that looked more like all-metal shotgun shells than anything else.

The wounded mercenary's olive green eyes seemed alert, if glassy. He smiled when he saw us. "Hey Red, Mr. Wizard." He then nodded to Tendo. "LT, Ma'am."

Tendo's face softened as she crouched down. She simply turned to the medic.

The dark-skinned medic glanced up then went back to cleaning a nasty set of slashes on his side. "Lacerations. It was a glancing blow. The armor didn't stop it but it kept it from getting deeper." As he closed the wounds and started wrapping, Barnes chewed the side of his lip. "Not to mention the pounding his ribs took when he got hit. Nothing's obviously broken... Lt. Covington will need to do a mess of X-rays."

"Helo Evac?" Tendo asked.

Barnes hissed through his teeth. He then met the lieutenant's eyes. "Just in case?"

"Right."

"It'd have some room, check with the civilian responders?"

Tendo nodded. "I'll coordinate and see who needs immediate transport."

Smith nodded and smiled at Ranma. "Looks like no D Program for me tonight."

Tendo's face clouded at that. "Glad to hear you'll be okay, Gabe."

Ranma patted him on the shoulder. "Just means you'll buy drinks for us next time."

Tendo squeezed Gabe's hand. "We'll get you patched up," she looked to Ranma.

Nodding, the redhead stood. "Ukyou, Nariko. Make sure he gets to Doc Covington."

The two demons bowed their heads.

Distant sirens started to get louder.

Tendo swore. "Right, I'll have to play public relations." She then turned her radio on. "Warden Dresden, please try to refrain from magic until after I've radioed in a medivac. It won't just be Gabe in there."

"Uh… sure."

Tendo nodded and went back to Gabriel and the others to coordinate

Ranma tugged at my arm. "Come on, let's look at some dead monsters."

"Sure," I fell into step next to her.

The redhead exhaled in an angry hiss. Her shoulders shook a tiny bit. Her tail quivered. She paused and with some reluctance closed her eyes. The horns, wings, and tail flickered and vanished.

She took the wounding of her men personally. Ah. Yes. They weren't just mercenaries to her, they were hers. I recalled the great tree that I saw when I soulgazed her. Not all of the connections were to her family.

I could feel wisps of rage wafting from the redhead. She gave a thin smile. "You look disappointed." As if following my gaze she twisted and looked down her spine. "Miss the tail?"

I coughed. "No- um... I wasn't staring."

A bit of amusement crossed her eyes as she kept walking forward. I really wasn't staring at her butt. Honest. I was looking at the armor back there. The back vest narrowed around the shoulder blades and there were slits that had accommodated her wings. A similar notch was in the bottom of the vest to allow her tail to come out.

The gear was all custom, which meant that someone had manufactured it. Heck, the guns looked to be purpose-built. Maybe the grenade launcher and the sniper rifle were original or just slight mods. But the pistols and those rifles were custom. The Company was investing a lot in equipping these girls.

Part of what had raised my curiosity. "What's the D Program?"

The demon's eyes locked on me. Eldritch purple depths bored onto me. My step faulted. "A choice, a very personal choice."

"Sorry..." We resumed walking. I pondered. What kind of choice would require you to be mortally wounded?

I thought back to the last powerful succubus I knew. Okay, Lara was a White Court vampire. But she was from a family of supernaturally alluring and strong creatures that fed off of sex. After a battle where her retainers, her mercenaries, were mortally wounded, or even just blinded or had their backs broken in battle, she fed them to her family.

Oh sure, she defended it by pointing out her sisters were heavily wounded themselves and thus needed to feed, and that the feeding would be extremely pleasurable. To Lara the situation was clear; someone had to die to save her family. Why not use mercenaries that couldn't fight?

However... no one in Ranma's brood was injured. More so I doubted the redhead would throw the lives of her men away like that. Even if they did volunteer. Which I suppose someone might. I mean, if you were going to die... why not do it in the arms of a beautiful woman?

But there was no way Gabe would have such an attitude if the D Program was short for "demon chow", not to mention the medic and the lieutenant. So, it had to be something else.

What did that leave? What personal choice was only open to gravely wounded mercenaries?

Oh. Of course.

"D Program's a bit on the nose isn't it?" I asked, my mouth running faster than my brain. "Was Faust Force too blatant?"

Despite herself, the redhead chuckled. "It's a delicate subject."

I nodded. Mercenaries hiring demonic contractors was one level of scary. Mercenaries converting their members to build a "demonic army" was a whole extra level. Hells Bells - I still found the concept worrying. It did explain the investment in weapons and gear.

"You're not objecting," the demon noted as we returned to the bank of phones where this mess had started.

"Should I? If I accept that you're not evil, then I can't deny your friends a chance to live. Not if it's their choice."

The redhead inclined her head. Even without her horns present, I now recognized the gesture. "You made a similar choice," she stated, crouching over Lucas' body.

Her nostrils flared and she blinked.

"I could have," I admitted. A few years ago I was injured, my back was broken. But I had to save my daughter. That was unacceptable. However I had... options. Ultimately, I went with Mab. She healed my body and gave me power, but there were others. The Blackened Order of Denarius could have given me everything I asked for, but the cost would have been high.

The redhead met my gaze and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, maybe I did," I grumbled.

The redhead blinked. "No, not that, the body." She pointed. "It seem funny to you?"

The coiffed orange-haired demoness had stepped up to us. She wrinkled a nose. "That's not how they normally smell?"

It was an eviscerated corpse. I'm not sure what miss high-fashion thought a dead body should smell like. Wait. "Yeah, he's not healing. Shouldn't he be back up by now?"

"Feh," the green-eyed demoness snorted and kicked it with a boot. "Damn bastard's just sitting there," she groused, her tone at odds with her appearance.

"Maybe a slight off-smell," her blue-haired companion noted.

"Yeah, got a whiff of spoiled sweetbreads. So, no BBQ?" she asked with a leer.

The redhead ignored her daughter. "There's a bit of smoke," Ranma murmured. She sighed and flicked out a claw.

It sunk into Lucas' forehead, cut down, and pried. The hairy skullcap cracked off. Even I could smell the burnt almost cinnamon scent that wafted up.

Tiny green flames flickered in the skull cavity, turning the man's brains to ash. Ranma glanced at me. I reached out a hand. "Yeah, magic."

The orange-haired demoness snorted again.

"Misako?" Ranma asked her.

Green eyes twinkling, she nodded and went over to Worth's body. Her fist came down with a sickening crunch. With no more emotion than if she were shelling a crab, the orange-haired demoness peered into the shattered skull cavity and took a sniff. She repeated the action for the two goons who had followed Worth and Lucas.

Idly flicking some skull shards off her fingerless gloves, Misako returned to us. "Yeah, all their brains are fried," she licked the back of a finger. "Technically broiled."

Nodding, Ranma didn't look surprised, or disturbed, by her daughter's actions. "I don't hear anyone else having to fire on the other Pattern L's. Right. Akane, Misako have the others check out their corpses. I wanna see if everyone had some Kool-aid."

"We'll also check the truck," Akane, the dark blue haired, demon noted.

"Yeah, those were human," Ranma absently noted.

"Maybe their brains won't be overdone," Misako laughed as they trotted off.

"Kool-aide?" I asked.

"Your world didn't have Jonestown?"

"Oh we did, it just-" I stopped. I was about to say "it just seems well before your time." Problem was Jonestown was well before my time. Sure, Ranma looked younger than me, but I wasn't really sure how much younger, or if that was even true. Guessing the ages of supernatural women tended to be nothing but trouble.

"It just seems odd that you'd pick a mass suicide from a cult," I finished lamely.

"Who's to say this wasn't a cult?" She asked inspecting the lupine face. "Pattern L's can have it tough. Until they get control."

"Lycanthropes?"

The demoness nodded. "You've got 'em?"

"Something like that," I stated. Well not exactly. I knew of two ways for humans to turn into wolves, a group of berserkers that had extra strength, aggression, and healing, and a man who had a hereditary curse that transformed him into a lupine nightmare. But I didn't know of any werewolves that turned into giant wolfmen.

"Still..." the demon made a thoughtful noise. "We've got folks that can regenerate from having their brains blown out and their heads burned off… and some green flames in their skulls puts 'em down."

"Yeah, that seems suspicious. Someone didn't want them to talk?" No wonder she had mentioned Jonestown.

"Why else? You got any ideas, Mr. Wizard?"

"There's a few things I could try," I admitted. Fire was tricky. It was purifying, not just physically but magically. It was why a lot of us wizards used it. Still, there was something I could do.

I sighed and opened my third eye. As my wizard's Sight cane into focus, I looked to the ground. The Sight was handy. It laid bare magic. But it came at a cost, everything I saw would stay just as vivid as I saw it now, forever.

Raising my eyes, I kept my gaze limited to the top of Lucas' skull. Under the Sight, the green flames were vivid. A bright sickly green fire merrily burned in the top of his skull like a grotesque jack-o-lantern.

Threads of green fire led from Lucas' skull. About two dozen, the nearest went to Worth's. His crushed skull also burning merrily. I risked a bit and looked down the blond wolfman's body. It was a throbbing twisted hairy form of bulging, shadowy flesh. I could see a shattered human body buried deep within, chest burst, limbs flayed, jaw pulled back in a silent scream. It looked like the wolf had torn its way out and subsumed the humanity.

And spiraling through the wolf shadow-stuff was another green line that went to the wolfman's heart. I pulled back and tracked the other threads running out of Lucas' skull. They matched where the woflmen had fallen in the fight. There was even bundle that went to the west towards the gun truck.

"Yeah, they're all linked back to Lucas. He must have triggered it when the cavalry arrived," I glanced up at Ranma.

I stared. And quickly shut down my Sight.

She looked... much the same. Her red hair flowed more. Her armor was pristine and made of shiny silver and gold instead of Kevlar and ceramic plate. She also had hooves instead of boots. Her face was cleaned of the grime and blood of battle.

Multiple pairs of horns had adorned her brow and solid luminous purple eyes stared deeply into me. However, I could see threads spiraling away from her as well. Pulsing purple, they were the same links I had seen when I'd soulgazed her.

The soulgaze was personal, intimate, but it was also abstract, metaphorical. Or at least it often was. The Sight had confirmed just how literal of a creature the redhead was.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah fine, doing that just gets me."

"Doing what?"

"Wizard Sight. Sees things, gotta cost," I noted. She handed me a canteen and I took a sip.

Ranma stood up. She offered a hand and I used that and tapped the ground with my staff.

She looked from the staff to the wolf-pit and the crevasse that swallowed one side of the gun truck. "Good geomancy. Takes a lot to move that much earth."

"Earth magic's actually something I'm weak in. Not as bad as water magic but..."

The demon whistled. "More impressive then."

"You've got some?" I asked.

"Yup. It's too slow for most fights, but handy," she smiled. "You're pretty good at fire."

"You too."

"Could be a bit less clumsy with a gun, but you didn't accidentally shoot me. I'll take that," she smiled.

The sirens drew closer and I saw police starting to cordon off the park. There were a handful of larger vehicles. Either SWAT or reinforcements from the Cmpany. Ranma tilted her head at their arrival, but didn't seem concerned.

She took in the battlefield, looking from bit to bit. "We have two dozen Pattern L's. Two doin' a passable impersonation of Feds. They had heavy machine guns and the will to use them in a city."

I noted that several of the sirens were ambulances. My stomach clenched.

"Maybe as a last resort," she shrugged "But when things went bad they still opened up."

I noted that the Company had also used heavy weapons. Though a helicopter shooting down at a truck should have less collateral damage than sustained fire across a city park.

"How bad is it?"

"Dunno, worse than some fights, better than others." she said, distantly. "This was a mess, but it was cleared up quick enough,"

"Quick?"

"Wasn't hours of a running gun battle. Also no bystanders inside the park,"

I remembered the anxiety and pressure that had been building before Lucas has appeared. How people had started to empty the park, leaving just Lucas and his pack. "That was you?"

The demon bowed her head. "It was a precaution."

I pondered. On the one hand it showed she gave a damn about innocent people. On the other it meant she had the ability to influence emotions at a distance.

"And since we were outside, people could just walk away. Buildings are harder. Least, we didn't have any room clearing." Her eyes appraised me. "You've done that before. No you've fought in buildings as they've burned down."

"With people inside," I admitted.

She patted me on the shoulder. "You don't have any healing magic do you?"

"How?"

"If you did you'd be running to those ambulances right?" she asked.

I could just hear her unstated follow-up question: "And you'd have healed my friend who got slashed open because he'd been assigned to drive you around right?"

"Right," I agreed. "And lemmie guess, you've only got one type of healing magic?"

Ranma's face clouded, but she nodded. Her hands flexed. She was powerful; she knew people were hurting, but she felt helpless. Maybe she even felt a bit guilty about it.

I could relate. "These wolves were pretty serious," I noted, shifting the subject.

The redhead exhaled. "Lucas' pack was also wired up with suicide spells. And had fake documents just in case they could convince you that you should go with them."

"Yeah, yeah, someone really wants me dead," I leaned on my staff. "I've got a gift at making enemies."

"I bet you do." The demon chuckled. She then lifted her arms to encompass the park. "But doesn't this seem like a lot to organize, you know, given you've spent less than a day here. And most of that was asleep?"

"Yeah, they knew I was coming."

"Or someone came over here before you did, organized this little welcoming party."

The demon looked at me and smiled, her teeth gleaming. "So, Mr. Wizard, which of your enemies is screwing with my city?"

I glanced over at her. There was something about her tone at the end of the question. Recalling my Sight of her I wondered exactly how literal she was. I cleared my throat. "Well... that's kind of a long list."

***************


Rubbing my head, I eased into the mess hall table. At least these folks were big believers in showering after a battle. I did pick at my black shirt. It was new and, while wide enough at the shoulders, not quite long enough.

I picked at the bowl of stew and piece of cornbread in front of me. Across the table were two demons. The one with glossy straight black hair and red eyes: Nariko. And the one with teased curly orange hair and crazy green eyes: Misako.

Nariko was still in her armor though she had unhooked her scabbard and leaned it on the table. I noted that both the katana's handle and scabbard were metal. Instead of the dull red of the blade itself, they were a silvery grey metal anodized with a slight iridescence.

Misako had somehow found the time to slip out of her armor and was in a ruffled pink blouse and orange skirt with red swirls. However that didn't prevent her from lugging that grenade launcher around. She also eyed my staff as she dropped her weapon onto the table as if it was some sort of challenge.

I'll confess, it was almost reassuring to see a demon acting like a jerk. With all the group hugs and colorful hairdos, I was worried that I'd have to learn some lesson about friendship being the real magic.

Nariko glared at Misako, causing the coiffed demoness to frown and wilt back in her chair.

Okay, I didn't have much personal experience with siblings. I didn't even know I had a brother until much later in life, but I had spent enough time around people who did grow up with brothers and sisters.

"Cornbread's good at least," I said taking a bite.

"Try it with the stew, the meat's extra fresh," Misako added with a smirk.

I eyed the stew. It smelled great. But part of my mind did go back to the bloody bundle that Ranma had given the sniper succubus. I stirred it, the meat looked like beef cuts.

"Mr. Dresden, it's fine." Nariko glared at her sister, her tail straightening out. The two shared a long look. "Misa-chan is just being..."

Misako looked smug. "What? The meat is fresh we got a shipment from the butcher this morning. Almost a shame to use it as stew meat," she said before eating heartily from her own bowl.

I watched the green-eyed demon with curiosity. She met my eyes then turned away. Her eating style was... strange. She was neat enough; she didn't spill. There was no slurping or other rude noises, but she did eat with a glee and gusto that seemed at odds with her ladylike act.

"You'd be fine, unless Ukyou was cooking and even then she keeps the... special dishes separate," Nariko noted. Her red eyes turned grave. "You weren't served by a blonde demoness from a red pot were you?"

I frowned. There had been a demon back in the kitchen but... "Well she had white hair, but it was in ringlets, cute little thing." Unlike the... older demons her eyes weren't quite as... haunted.

"Oh, that's Desiree," Nariko said. "Nice to hear she's helping around in the kitchen."

Misako snorted. "He's into Cecilia's girls. Figures."

"What?" I sputtered. "No, that's not at all!"

"So, even they're not pretty enough for you?"

"Misa..." Nariko's voice was threatening as she sipped her tea. Red eyes met green.

Not breaking from the stare down, Misako pouted.

This time I laughed. "Really? Supernaturally attractive demons girls are gonna pout that the wizard isn't falling for their tricks."

Crossing her arms the green-eyed demon huffed.

Nariko elegantly sipped her tea. "What did you expect, dear Sister?"

Misako sniffed the air. "At least he's not a prude like Mother."

"Mother isn't a prude," Nariko stated.

Misako rolled her eyes.

"I think I'll have a chat with Ukyou; I'm sure your mate would find your behavior very informative," Nariko mildly said.

Misako glared at her sister.

I looked up from my stew. It was rather good, but the sibling bickering seemed to be getting away from me. "What?"

"Don't listen to Misako. She's just trying to get a reaction out of you," Ranma said as she slipped up to the table. Wearing a fresh and clean set of armor, the redhead flopped down in the chair next to me. She had a large bowl of stew in front of her as well as a pile of cornbread and a big cup of tea.

"Which doesn't seem like the smartest of moves," Nariko observed.

"No, it's not," Ranma leveled her gaze at the green-eyed demon.

"It was just a little bit; it's not like I called him a virgin."

"I have two kids," I said a bit defensively.

Misako's eyes flashed mirthfully. "So? Mom had-"

Ranma held up her hand.

I thoughtfully chewed a piece of cornbread. "Wait..."

"Misako, why don't you check on the others."

"But Mom, they're just watching Doc Tofu as he cuts up those bodies, that's boring, he won't even let us take snacks."

I thought the demon's whine was a bit theatrical, especially the part about snacks.

Not looking up from her tea, Ranma simply waved her hand.

Misako huffed and, throwing her grenade launcher onto a shoulder, got up and sauntered out of the mess hall, her tail swishing angrily behind her.

Her sister gave a satisfied tiny little smile.

"Sorry about Misa-chan," Ranma put down her tea. "She's -well- she can be a jerk but she more curious than malicious."

"That shark didn't mean to bite the surfer in half, she was just taking a nibble out of curiosity," I muttered.

"Misako was actually rather restrained," Nariko stated.

I eyed the black-haired demoness.

"It's not like she tried gnawing on your, or hit you with her tail."

"She didn't try to do that soulgaze thing did she?" Ranma asked looking her daughter in the eye.

I frowned. Those demons spent plenty of time giving each other direct eye contact, but they had avoided holding my gaze. "Huh," I noted.

I looked up at the concrete ceiling then at the rest of the bare-bones mess hall. It was comfortable enough I guess. The national-park style landscape posters on the walls helped, but it did nothing to detract from the fact that this was a subterranean complex.

There were plenty of mercenaries at the tables. Including a few that I knew to be demons, but, unlike the last facility I was in, I didn't see any Canadian army guys.

"How's your friend? Gabe, right?" I asked the redhead.

"Gabriel?" The redhead smiled. "Doc Covington thinks he'll recover. That is if he doesn't get infected."

"Oh." I stirred my stew. "I didn't think he got bitten." Or that lycanthropes were contagious that way. I mean they weren't in my world, but these weren't my type of werewolves.

Ranma and her daughter shared a look. The redhead took a bite of her meal. "Not what I meant. That's not the normal way you make a Pattern L."

"So, the infection?"

"Those claws were pretty dirty," Ranma shrugged. "Doc Tofu took some samples of the one that slashed Gabriel."

"Ah! Yeah, Butters said something like that, about how you'll get infected from a zombie bite but that's because rotting corpses are full of nasty stuff."

"Butters?"

"A medical examiner I know, probably like your Doc Tofu," I ventured. Both had food names which was probably a coincidence. I did wonder if Tofu was into Polka too. I eyed Nariko's sword, there were enough coincidences.

"Handy fellow." Ranma nodded. "Still Forensic Pathology Section's got plenty of stuff to sift through."

"Like the briefcase Worth had?" I asked.

"And their false IDs and even those guns." The purple eyed demon shook her head. "Where they got some Browning heavy machine guns...

"Still you're not the first tourist we've had."

"You said that before." I looked around the room mulling it over. "In fact, before I met you I was at a briefing all about that. Complete with a presentation and folders." That office girl, Maya, pulled out paper reports in folders after I'd burned out the display at that last briefing. I'm sorry, when the display accidentally failed.

Still, Eve and Tendo had taken it in stride. But at least that time they let me go out to get coffee... which was where I met Ranma. How much of this was the Company being anal retentive? Was this all a setup?

The phone calls I made were pretty good evidence, as were the wolfmen. Those were definitely something different. And if the fight in the park was all a setup... why not have it just be Lucas and Worth? They could go wolf, make some threats, then retreat.

"I did," the demon smirked.

It said bad things about the level of paranoid nonsense that I'd dealt with that I at least entertained the idea that these mercenaries had setup a pack of wolfmen to be slaughtered and opened fire in a city park in order to sell me a confidence scheme. Yes it was extreme but the principal was sound. Many confidence schemes worked by a stranger befriending the mark and then defending the mark against an overly hostile second stranger.

Still, it didn't hang together. Complicated plans rarely worked out. Hells Bells, I pretty much depend on my ability to put a wrench in such schemes.

I used some of the cornbread to finish mopping up the last of my stew. Though if this was a con job, why even bring in the demons? The Company had plenty of humans. They could have easily kept the demons secret from me.

"Tourist implies they went home."

The demon smiled. "Yup."

"How did he get home?" I asked.

"She," Ranma corrected, a bit tartly.

"And how did she get home?" I repeated.

The demon gave me another pitying glance; it was rapidly becoming "a look". "She opened up a portal and walked through."

"Oh." I sighed to myself. I wanted to palm my head. It couldn't be that simple. It just couldn't. Okay, sure, I wanted to try opening a portal on the place I arrived. But I knew from long experience that it couldn't be that simple.

"Now if you can't-"

"No, no I can do it. That's how I got here in the first place."

The demon opened her hands.

"Wait that's it?" I laughed. "You bring me back to where I fell through, I open a Way and go back home? It's that simple. Then what's all this?" I waved my arms around.

The demon gave me another "mom" look. "You having some time to recover after a nasty fight."

My head pounded. "Which happened because I was out confirming that this wasn't my Earth."

The demon nodded.

"I could go back."

"You could try," the demon corrected. "Something tells me the spell that got you here wasn't exactly normal for you."

"Yeah." I said as Nariko returned and gave me more stew. "And Lucas and his buddies knew I was coming. Who told them? Who here even knew I existed?"

"Those are excellent questions." Ranma said, concentrating on her meal.

I could try to get back. I should try to get back, but I didn't like unanswered questions. Especially when it came to packs of heavily armed wolfmen who wanted to kill me.

"What's your plan?" Ranma asked.

"What do you mean? Aren't you guys going to do your forensic voodoo and chase down leads?"

"Sure, that's what we're going to do." The demon looked up. "But I want to know what you want to do."

"You'll just let me go home?"

"If that's what you want, I won't try to stop you." Grinning the demon leaned on one hand. "But I've seen you in a fight. If you want to get to the bottom of this," her toothy grin returned. "I won't try to stop you either."

I mulled it over. "I've got kids of my own."

Ranma held up a hand. "Say no more, we'll arrange transport."

I shook my head. "That just means I want to get to the bottom of this." I exhaled. "And I want to touch base with the Home Office first."

The brood mother bowed her head.

***************


Still carrying a little bowl of stew and a piece of cornbread I was led to a conference room. It was more of the same concrete and steel decor. At least the chairs were nice. I could see that some large wall monitors had been turned off and a few conspicuous bare spots with dangling wires where computers had been pulled. A slide projector had been wheeled into the room and it was pointed to a screen that had been pulled down from the ceiling. Some mirrors were hung on a far wall. I shied away from those.

Eve and a young woman with short brown hair were at one end of the immense table. "Hey Ilsa!" I cheerfully greeted.

The blonde demon gave a little smile. "Warden."

I went over to one of the chairs and flopped into it. "Have you guys thought about getting some plants? It'd cheer the place up."

"Uncleared botanicals would be a security risk," Eve dryly said.

Ranma snickered, as she and Nariko took seats across from me.

I noticed that the brunette with Eve was also wearing the Company dress uniform skirt and blouse. She carried a couple folders. And she was not Tendo. I then recognized her as Maya. She had been running the presentation earlier today.

"Where's the good lieutenant?" I asked

"Lieutenant Tendo is supervising cleanup and containment," Eve stated. "Agent Iverson?"

I looked her over. She seemed human enough, and unlike many of the other mercenaries, like Lieutenant Tendo, her expression was not quite as guarded.

"Thanks Maya," Ranma gave a sad little sigh and held out a hand.

Maya handed a slim folder over.

The redhead opened it. I watched her tail droop.

"It could have been a lot worse, Maya offered. "Compared to Ottawa or that fight where we lost a helicopter against the Numbers."

I saw Eve's eyes harden at that. It looked like she wanted to sink her claws into the table's surface, but was holding herself back.

Ranma wordlessly handed the folder over to me.

I looked inside. It was a single page. My eyes glazed over the boilerplate at the header listing who wrote it, the operation name, date, time, and other natter. Instead I focused on the three columns in the center of the page.

The leftmost was a list of wounded, the right deceased, and the middle those likely to be moved into the right column before the night was through. At least it all fit on one page. The same handful of last names also cropped up. Families.

People guilty of nothing more than living near a park and happening to be downrange of some heavy machine guns. My spine chilled as I dipped into the Winter power.

"They killed eight people, injured a dozen more, all to take a shot at me?"

"Is that common among your enemies?" Ranma asked.

I snorted. "Are we counting the necromancers, the Vampires, or the Fallen Angels?" I paused to consider. "Well, they're not normally so overt, what with keeping the supernatural secret from the normals." As long as you don't count office buildings being blown up, necromancers throwing down with zombie and ghost armies, or Red Court hit teams assaulting FBI offices, I mentally added. Still all of those events did manage to get covered up... more or less.

"Those guns aren't quiet," Ranma agreed.

"Yeah but that's something people can comprehend. They'll blame terrorists or maybe drug dealers or maple syrup bandits."

The blonde gave a thin smile. "And the giant wolfmen?" she asked her tail curling over.

"It was dark. No one else was in the park. Even if there had been someone to see something, no one would believe them," I held up my hand. "And even if someone had recorded things the magic would have interfered with it and it'd look like a crummy fake."

Ranma and Eve shared a look.

"I've had experience with this before," I huffed. "Including video of a monster wolf attack. Me and Murph have been haunted by that video for years."

Eve nodded to Maya.

The brunette turned on the projector. Splashed on the wall was some sort of ugly governmental building sat next to a canal. Thick smoke billowed out of it while military vehicles and troops swarmed about. Another was a picture of a university. It was also aflame.

"Two weeks ago the Canadian military headquarters was attacked," Eve explained, her voice carefully neutral.

Maya flipped to a new slide. This one was... Well it looked like a dismembered squid in some sort of armor, or maybe a body-glove. Possibly, it was a space suit. There were more creatures, of various sizes and numbers of tentacles. Many carried what were obviously weapons. I watched as the images of damaged, burned corridors their floors covered in standing water went past. Bodies, both human and... other, filled some of the hallways in a jumble.

"We don't know what these outsiders were after, but we do know they were summoned by combat cyborgs who infiltrated the facility and stole some sensitive equipment," Eve's voice tone was clinical, as if she'd been giving briefings like this for a long time..

"What did you call them?" I asked my mouth dry. "And what? Cyborgs?"

"The demon shrugged. "Outsiders. Squids. They're definitely not from around here," she gave me a pointed look.

"Oh-kaaaaay," I drew the word out. "And the cyborgs?"

"The remnants of a Red Army research project on super soldiers. Due to technical limitations, Comrade Scaglietti had to use magical means to bind the cybernetic components to the, well, subjects. This caused, as you could guess, issues," Eve explained.

"Oh.... uh...." I chewed my lip. In my experience magic and technology didn't get along. At all. "What kind of person decides that magic's the thing that'll fix his six-million ruble men?"

Eve quirked her lips. "I said it caused issues. Still we'll have a more detailed brief on them later."

"For one, they're women not men," Ranma added. She then snorted. "For another they're reckless idiots for listening to a damn cultist and causing this mess."

"Be that as it may, that's for the next briefing," Eve said. "Maya?"

The image changed to show an ovoid summoning grid. There were broken crystals and marks on the floor. Even a projected image of it felt... wrong. For once I was relieved to feel the deep subsonic buzzing that seemed to part and parcel of Company facilities.

Ranma glanced over. "They didn't take kindly to us shutting down their gateway."

"Casualties were high. Many of the personnel were not... expecting such an attack. However, assets were able to respond and containment protocols were enacted." Eve nodded to Maya.

The screen clicked to the next picture, then the one after it, then the next. It was of a bridge over that canal. The photos were frames of video taken from a helicopter. That same government building was in the background.

On the bridge was a pair of tanks. And some of those squid creatures. And a shoggoth. I stared at the giant blob of inky protoplasm, all teeth and eyeballs. I continued to stare. I had fought a shoggoth once in the subterranean Undertown below Chicago. I was lucky to have lived through it.

And here one was out and about.

"If you will," Eve ordered Maya

She clicked through a few more photos and stopped at the one where one of the tanks ran over the blob monster.

"Still shots don't do it justice, but we didn't have time to convert to 16mm film," Eve stated.

"This was Ottawa?" I guessed.

"That is the capital of Canada," Eve dryly reminded.

I went back to the earlier photos. The attack on the building... well that could be covered up. Maybe. There were a lot of people dead, and even more that were wounded. And people would talk, but if the government stayed quiet and blamed the attack on...

I frowned. They'd have to come up with a whopper like that Red Court attack on the Chicago FBI building.

"Army fights the Blob. Live at Eleven," I joked.

Eve reached under the table and tossed a newspaper in front of me. Then another.

I looked at the headlines and the pictures of tanks running over blob monsters. "Huh... well I was close."

"We normally would have shown you video clips," Eve shrugged.

"My tech-bane isn't that bad," I grumbled. "I won't break a television just by being around it, it might not last after a few days but..."

"Noted."

Ranma gave a thin smile. "At least we managed to keep these secret," she pointed to her horns. "Among other things."

"Still... " I frowned. "I mean, this breaks the rules. I don't know how your world works, but in mine the spooky side of the street has some... decorum."

"It would see that these fellows aren't aware of the rules," Eve said.

I looked at the screen. "I mean, yeah the monsters kill humans. Well the bastards take a lot, but that's the reason why they stick to the shadows. You get too blatant and the prey will get spooked."

"And when the prey has armies?" Ranma asked.

"Millions of pissed off humans can make a difference," I agreed.

The redhead gave an approving little smile.

"Right, bringing in mortal authorities is called the 'nuclear option' for a reason." I went back to the bridge picture. "And here they are attacking a military headquarters. I mean there's gonna be reprisals."

The gnawing pit grew in my stomach. The "squids" were wrong, they were definitely alien. They didn't look like the Outsiders I had seen, but I'd only seen a few of those beasts.

"Yes, there will be," Eve's voice was frosty.

I shook my head. "Geeze, the closest I've seen was when the Red Court, uh vampires, attacked an FBI office. They killed everyone. Still, even the Red Court didn't attack in broad daylight. Well, they have, but that was using mundane means. A poison gas attack that kills hundreds and hundreds doesn't make normal people think vampires."

Eve folded her hands and watched me.

Ranma raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, vampire thing aside. All the supernatural stuff was inside, they made sure their big scary monster wasn't seen. This would be like them attacking the Hoover Building and then fighting the US Army on the national Mall."

I rubbed my head. There was something I wasn't remembering. "And as for reprisals..."

As if recalling a fond memory, Ranma's smile grew. "The Reds, they're the ones you wiped out."

"Yeah," I frowned. The Reds had been getting bolder. The war with the White Court of Wizards had gotten rather desperate. Including the nerve gas attacks and their destruction of Archangel. What would they have done if I hadn't stopped them?

No wonder these mercenaries were so on edge. No wonder they were working with demons. They'd been hired by the Canadian government to... what? Fight supernatural invaders.

Then it clicked. "Ah, that's why you've been watching me." I looked around the table. Even when they were out of sight I knew that the demons had never been very far from me.

Eve tapped the tips of her fingers against each other in a mock clap.

Ranma gave an approving smile and bowed her head.

"And when you said you kept me out of Canadian custody..."

The redhead nodded to Maya who switched to a different set of slides.

I absently chewed on a bit of cornbread. I suppose my fears of rotting away in a secret government prison weren't entirely unfounded.

Ranma held up a placating hand. "You must understand, when Eve said you appeared in a sensitive area, it was no exaggeration."

Maya clicked on the projector. The picture was of a familiar muddy field. There was a hillock near the center and a copse of dead trees. Like with the squids, even the picture had a palpable sense of wrongness.

"You guys have the worst vacation slides, like totally the worst."

"Well, if you want vacation slides," Ranma smiled while Eve frowned.

The next image was further out. It showed the whole area had been surrounded by trenches, redoubts, and bunkers. Some looked like fresh poured concrete, other parts looked like they had been extruded from the Earth itself.

I paused, remembering the ice and fire I'd escaped from in the NeverNever.

Eve's arm pointed to the hillock at the center of the field. "That's where you fell through. You weren't the first. You can imagine the shock to the army units staffing the observation post when a human suddenly appeared.
The barriers are thin there. Over a month ago something broke through there and took a peek."

"And breaking through act weakened things?" I guessed. The more you opened a way to the NeverNever, the easier it got.

"The Squids?"

Ranma nodded. "The eggheads think it was a recon, maybe they contacted the combat cyborgs or maybe they were just summoned. Either way it matches the signal that broke through in Ottawa."

"But I didn't?"

The demon chuckled. "That the hoodoo that you gave off when you fell through didn't match the Squids was the only reason the Canadians agreed to hand you over."

"What? I was human didn't count for anything?"

"I suppose it kept you from being shot on sight," Eve shrugged.

"Coming from a demon that's not exactly reassuring."

Eve gave a tiny smile that showed the barest hint of teeth.

"You must understand Warden Dresden. While we are more than willing to help you get home, where you arrived is a sensitive area. Further inter-dimensional breaches could be calamitous," Eve explained.

"In other words, we'd rather not have Mr. Wizard's experiment go wrong and break a hole in reality," Ranma added.

"Does he have to open the portal there?" Nariko asked sipping her tea.

"Uh… maybe," I shrugged. "Look opening a Way isn't an exact science."

"Do tell," Eve said.

"Opening a Way at that spot is probably my best bet on getting back but..." I studied the picture. "But that could just be a collecting point. I mean if the Squids that hit Ottawa also came through there," I frowned.

"Yes, we are worried that you'd open a doorway to their world, unwittingly of course," Eve added with a thin smile.

"Yeah, heck, maybe portals are attracted there because of the weakness, like a gravity well."

"What if you opened a portal somewhere else?"

"Well, that'd still go to the NeverNever, but it might not go somewhere nice, or even remotely close to where I need to go."

"And that's why you want to call the Home Office?" Ranma asked.

"Among other things," I did have other tools to explore the Ways. My mother had a lot of expertise, expertise I could tap into. My worry was that I might have wandered further than even she had explored.

"Such as?" Eve lightly asked.

"I was on a mission for Mab." I leaned back in the comfy office chair. "I was told that an observation post had been infiltrated. I was sent in to check it out and if so... clean it out."

"The Faerie use observation posts?" Ranma asked.

"A lot like that one," I gestured to the display. "That was a line of trenches bunkers, a place of watching, waiting, and fighting. Things on one side of a portal tended to match up, if at least metaphorically, with things on the other side."

The two brood mothers shared a look. I was starting to wonder if they were telepathic or something.

"You're also on guard against intrusion?" Eve asked.

I snorted. "Yeah, protecting my world against Outsiders is like Mab's main job. Which is why I'm smelling a setup."

"You think she sent you here?"

I thought back to when I had opened the Way that got me here. My first attempt failed, and it wasn't until I used some Soulfire that I managed to punch through. "Maybe, all I know is that things are never what they seem with the Faerie."

"And yet you're their Knight," Eve observed.

"Which is why I want to call her up and figure out what's going on." I sighed. Bugging Mab wasn't a bright idea, but I was working for her and she should tell me something.

The blonde demon smiled; it almost seemed to reach her eyes. "A productive idea. If you'll draft a list of any material you require, we'd be more than willing to assist you."

"What's the catch?"

"The catch, Sir Knight, is that if you were sent here, and given that someone here already knew you were coming…"

I worked my jaw. "Then that means there's a leak in both our organizations."

"Potentially." Eve showed more of her teeth. "More to the point it means that there is someone that is doing something and desperately wants to keep both you and us from stopping them. That is certainly something that warrants investigation. Does it not?"

End Chapter 2


I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Pale Wolf, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf. Again, special thank to Ellf for his help in soundboarding and getting this idea off the ground.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 3: Unwelcome Answers, Part A


In an echoing warehouse, I marked out a ten foot circle on the concrete floor in chalk. As I measured it to make sure it held the same size over its circumference, the clicking of metal on concrete caused me to look up.

For a second my pulse rose. I mean, come on; wizard in a spooky warehouse with a bunch of shadowy mercenaries and a trio of approaching demons.

One of whom was wearing an inky black leather dress and had hooves. Behind her were two of her daughters - the ones with blue hair. The smaller and cuter looking one wore a pink cheongsam that went past her knees with silver trim and purple floral accents. There were even pink bows in the long, powder-blue hair that fell straight behind her and was cut with level bangs.

Her older sister had darker blue hair in a pageboy and had darker, heavier makeup. She wore a tooled silver belt holding up a pair of shiny blue shorts and a teal top that showed plenty of midriff.

Look, I honestly tried not to ogle them. It helped that I had experience dealing with seductive supernatural women. Okay... that's not what I meant. Worse, the redhead watched my discomfort with obvious amusement.

She idly tapped a hoof on the floor.

I noted that the tails on all three of them were swishing slightly.

"Is this a bad time?" the redhead asked.

"We've got hours to go before midnight," I remarked.

"Yes, but I wanted to make sure you weren't doing any... delicate preparations," she waved a hand at the open crates I'd scattered about. A collection of polished stones and crystal cubes gleamed. There was also a package of water bottles by the crates.

"Nah, I'm just double checking some measurements," I made a mark on the circle to note where I'd stopped my inspection. "What's up?"

"One of our boffins wants to make sure our equipment won't get slagged by your little experiment," Ranma explained.

"Ah," I stood up. "Isn't that the whole reason we're not doing this in your base? To avoid damaging your equipment."

Ranma ran her hand up my arm. Luminous eyes looked into me. "Why no Mr. Wizard. Come on," she gave a gentle tug.

I followed. "Why are we here then? I mean, what's the difference between one concrete box and another?"

"Blowing up this building would cause a lot less collateral damage," the younger sister, Nabiki, said in a cute, innocent voice.

"Oh."

"There is a chance this summoning spell could go horribly wrong, no?" Ranma asked, over her shoulder.

"Well.... fine," I admitted.

We turned a corner in the L-shaped echoing room and stopped in front of some… well it looked like a pile of machinery. It was inside a metal cage.

"Besides, the Drake wouldn't mind if this place was destroyed, Company already paid for it."

"The Drake?"

"Drake Kuno, he's a land developer and broker," the cute demon said flashing her sister a smug smile.

"Among other things," the older one, Akane, rolled her eyes.

"Hmm?" I asked.

Ranma waved a hand. "He's Nariko's father, nice enough guy, if a bit odd."

"Oh," I blinked. "That's how you get all these places?"

The redhead gave me another "disappointed mom" looks.

"Hey, I'm not up to date on hidden lairs. My idea of a safe house is a storage unit." I wasn't technically lying. Sure my spooky island, Demonreach, was safe, to me at least, but I would hardly call it a "safe house".

Ranma blinked at me. She then nodded to the mercenary working around the machinery. "Dresden, Dirac. Dirac, Dresden."

A young man deftly stepped out from the machinery. He had blue green eyes and short black hair. Gangly with a pronounced Adams apple, his skin looked a bit pale and there were bags under his eyes. He looked like he didn't get enough sun or sleep. But he looked far fitter than the average geek. He had runner's legs and his arms had wiry muscle.

More striking, he freely met redheaded demon's eyes. "Charmed, Warden." he held out a hand.

I shook it, and felt the slight tingle of a fellow practitioner. Not very strong, hardly more than a flicker, but there was something.

"Now, I've heard your magic is a bit hard on technology?" Dirac asked.

"Uh yeah, mortal magic plays hell with computers and the like."

"Interesting," he absently said stepping back to futz with a bit of equipment that looked like an old mainframe computer, or maybe a furnace. Look, I don't know technology. I do know that neither, normally, had whip like antennas sprouting from the sides.

What I did know was this thing was the source of the buzzing hum that I'd felt in every single Company facility I'd been in. A bit of blue light also spilled out from somewhere in the middle of the tower.

Examining the stout steel cage, I took note that the pile of electronics was completely protected by it. Also in the cage was a bank of batteries and a generator. Outside the cage was something that looked sort of like a radar dish mated with a metal octopus.

Finally, I noted the crisp reddish black line that encircled the entire rig. The line Dirac had so deftly stepped over. Also in the circle was a length of wire that linked to a small metal box bolted to the floor that straddled the red line. Cables then ran from that box to the mess of machinery.

"Okay Philo, you gonna show me how to make plutonium from common household items? Because that glow isn't exactly reassuring," I asked, eyeing the tower.

Dirac's eyes widened and he laughed. "Nah, Mr. Wizard, on tonight's episode of Secrets of the Universe, we'll be seeing if a Pattern Scanner and Inter-dim Jammer can be shielded from a wizard's magic."

"And those things are?"

Dirac pointed to the radar-octopus. "Pattern Scanner. It detects various supernatural events and beings."

I leaned forward to get a closer look. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Ranma shifting to where she could grab me. Huh. "Magic detector? Snazzy."

"Everything gives off energy. Even eldritch things. We can classify events into Patterns and get a rough signal strength."

I tried to study the equipment. And I wished I had Bob with me. He had been my go to spirit advisor on the rules of magic. Course, he was working with Butters, but that meant he knew about computers now. Bonnie would be helpful too, for much the same reasons.

"You've got a spook scope. Shame it's so bulky."

Dirac glanced to Ranma, who nodded.

"We do have portable versions."

"You have your own PKE meters? Damn," I whistled. Half the problem with getting people to believe the supernatural was getting people to see it. The other half was getting them to believe it after they had seen it.

A lot of this stuff was invisible to non-practitioners, and even the visible stuff could only be seen via first-hand experience. Cameras were one of the first things to go. But, if you had a way to record the spooky stuff...

Dirac smiled. "Not exactly, those guys never calibrated theirs."

"They also were bad at negotiating their contracts," Nabiki added.

"And the Inter-whatsit?"

"Jammer." Dirac affectionately patted the tall case. "This is what keeps someone form teleporting in here and stabbing you in the back."

"Oh," I walked around the rig. I was reminded of the dull red gems with sheathed antenna-bows that the demons wore on their chest armor. "That's gonna be a problem."

"Yes, Sir. We'll have to drop the Jammer when you summon the fairy queen," Dirac's tone was matter of fact.

"Right, and this is your circle," I knelt down and looked at the blackish red line. There was something there, not much, but it was more than a bit of paint. "Well, magic circles don't take much, anyone can make one with a bit of will."

"Shall we start the test?" he asked, almost eager.

"Sure," I shrugged.

"Clear the line!" Dirac ordered, stepping back into the circle. He slowly spun around to see no one else was near the rig. He then looked at me. "Activation in three, two, one." He flipped a switch.

I pulled back and reached my hand.... It wasn't a tangible barrier, but my fingers tingled with the energies the circle was putting out. A smell that was a cross between burning ink and charred blood wafted up.

"Power is stabilized," Dirac looked between a set of analog gauges and a tablet computer. "Control test?"

Rolling her eyes, Ranma impatiently tapped a hoof. Both she and Akane lowered their hands and shadows welled around the brood mother's silvery hooves and her daughter's boots. With matched gestures, they brought the shadows towards the circle. Flaming auras sprang up around both of them. Akane's was a flickering blue while Ranma's was a blend of red and purple, even her flames were wreathed in shadows.

A dark purple and blue iridescence shimmered as the black shadows lapped up to the edge and started climbing up the barrier. I gripped my staff and the runes started to glow. What can I say? Animated shadows are creepy.

"Warden Dresden, please wait, you're interfering with the control readings," Dirac said, not looking up from his instruments.

"Uh sorry," I pulled back my own power and pointedly kept my Wizard's Sight suppressed. The power washing over the brood mother was bad enough with my normal senses.

Dirac nodded. "That's fine, Red. You and Akane can pull back."

The two demons shifted, and the shadows retreated. In Akane's case they pulled back in a series of snaps and pops. Ranma exhaled and her form shimmered. The imposing presence retreated as hooves shifted into boots and the inky black dress turned into a purple blouse and black leather skirt and jacket.

"Hmm that's it? You were holding back," Dirac noted tapping part of the screen.

Ranma gave an absent wave of her hand.

The lanky man shrugged. "Okay, we've got good readings. Can we have backup Jammer on standby?"

Ranma glanced at Akane. The demon nodded. She punched up with her arms and in a flash of light, her form shimmered. And suddenly, she was now wearing her armored getup. Complete with ruby chest-bow.

"Good," Dirac nodded. "Warden Dresden, do not cast at the moment, but do you have a spell that's particularly.... offensive to technology?"

I grinned. "Do I ever."

"Excellent." He clicked his radio. "Ready power to standby. Repeat: ready power to standby." Then in a louder voice. "Disable all electronics. Sound off when completed."

I then waited as the various mercenaries keyed off their radios and other gizmos. Even the demons got into the theatrics with Akane pulling glow sticks out of one of her vest's pouches.

"Oh, come on, you guys can make magic fire!" I complained after Akane cracked the glow-sticks and tossed one to her sister and one to her mother.

"Excess use of magic would interfere with the test," Dirac calmly said.

I sighed and made my pentacle amulet glow.

The redhead looked around the room then nodded to Dirac.

"Power to standby."

The lights then cut out. Dirac and his machinery were bathed in a mix of green light from the glow sticks, blue light from the jammer and various little LEDs and other displays.

"Wait..." I looked to Ranma. "You can see in the dark, can't you?"

The redhead contemplated the glowing stick. "I believe I can."

"Theatrics," I muttered, shaking my head.

"If you're ready, Warden?" Dirac mildly asked.

I grumbled, letting the irritation well. I built up the frustration, shaped the spell, and pointed with a hand. "Hexus!"

The dark air shimmered as the spell launched out, and splashed against the circle with buzzing red motes. The air immediately above the circle lit up in a barely visible red cylinder.

Dirac looked at his display.

"If you had a cell-phone in there I'd have fried it!" I groused.

The mercenary smacked the side of his tablet. "Yes... you might have." He adjusted a knob on a power supply. "If you'll indulge me with another spell."

In the end it was half a dozen more spells. And towards the end the smell of ink and blood was starting to get disturbing.

But I'll give them this. The circle was solid, if primitive. It wasn't very efficient either. You can use electricity to power magic, but unless you know what you're doing it's pretty wasteful.

"Testing concluded," Dirac announced.

I rolled my eyes. And then had to blink as the overhead lights snapped back on.

The circle was depowered and Dirac stepped over.

I was still blinking when he offered his hand. "Thank you for your help. I know it's a bit tedious but..."

"But you want to be safe," I sighed in agreement.

"Now you can go back to setting up your end of the summoning," Ranma offered.

"Yay," I deadpanned. "Still, I suppose I could make a bigger circle around the summoning one just to give an extra layer of insulation."

Dirac nodded.

As we walked back to my circle, I pulled out my pentacle amulet. Ostensibly it was to stop it from glowing. But really it was to check the ruby embedded in the back, my mother's "map". Well, it was less a map and more her collected experiences of how to travel using the Ways.

Unfortunately the response was the same as last time. "That's... where are you? I didn't think even the Gatekeeper went out this far," echoed my mother's confused voice in my mind.

"Not in Kansas anymore," I muttered.

"I would certainly hope not, if those parts miss the Topeka flight we'll have to do with a substitution; we're on a schedule here," Ranma said.

"What?" I asked as I returned to measuring out that ten foot circle.

"The last part for your summoning. It's coming from a storage site in Kansas."

I completed the measurements. The circle was as good as I could make it. I then started to mark out five equidistant points on its circumference.

"Lotta effort to help me. I mean chartering a private jet on an hour's notice, just to fly a bracelet over here," I said before picking up a bottle of water and taking a swig.

"It's a daily flight." Ranma snorted. "We simply diverted it. It's a bit of a rush, but it's only two hours flying time from here."

"And that's why Ilsa wanted a shopping list from me then and there?"

"It's easier to rush ship an item with five hours notice than with just two, also it gives us time to set things up. I mean, this is, technically, a diplomatic meeting."

"Fine," I then double checked the five points, this time making sure they were all the same distance from each other. "It's still a lot of money."

Ranma crouched down and looked me in the eye. "Do you know how much a helicopter costs to run?"

"Huh. Can you hold this end?" I asked, handing her the end of the chalk line while keeping the reel in one hand and pointing to a spot on the edge of the circle with the other.

"Sure." Ranma put the line where I indicated. "Anyway, double it since there were two choppers. And add in the cost of the pilots and the ammunition expended. Those mini guns shoot money. Heck, the wolves fired a lot of brass too."

Catching an eyeful of her blouse, I snapped a chalk line between two of the marks. "Uh a lot?" I asked starting to make a pentagram conscribed within the circle.

"And then there's the combat pay rate of three Pattern D's."

"I've hired mercenaries before. I know how... pricey you can be," I grumbled. It was true, a good mercenary, especially one with "talents" could cost an astronomical sum. Enough to get you in serious trouble if you couldn't pay it off.

"And of course there's all this," she waved her arms to encompass the facility and point at the various human and demonic personnel.

"That ain't reassuring me about the extravagance you guys are putting forth."

"Back when I was starting, before I'd signed on, the Company once flew me out to China just to prove a hunch," the redhead looked me in the eyes. "They'll do what it takes. We'll do what it takes."

I finished sketching in the pentacle. "Because of things like Ottawa?"

"That's a start," Ranma softly said. "We think things will get a lot worse."

"Don't they always," I murmured, examining my outline. "Okay... I think I can start painting it in. I moved to the brushes and paint cans. I debated between doing it freehand or putting down tape to bound the lines.

"Purple?" the demon picked up one of the cans.

"Yeah, purple for communication," I explained.

She made a thoughtful noise. "Why purple?"

"It's how it works for me."

The demon gave me another opaque look.

"Magic's tied up in your emotions. Your belief is very important in making it real. To pull off a spell you have to believe it will work, believe it should work."

"I don't think we can shoot fire just because we believe in ourselves."

"Not just because, no." I pointed to the circle I had sketched out. "It's like the circle. I can't do the spell without one, but I can't do the spell with just one."

"And you think purple is for communications?"

"When I was younger, I was taught the roles of color in the casting of spells. Green used for fertility and prosperity, red gave passion and energy, black vengeance, blue defense."

At that I took the blue tin, a spool of tape, my staff and walked a several steps out. I then dipped the brush in some blue paint, taped it to the staff and used it to make a wide circle enclosing the pentacle. Thankfully this circle didn't have to be precise.

Standing beside me, the purple-eyed redhead chuckled. "So, you're saying the type and color or our clothing matters?"

"Well, clothes can influence a spell..." I allowed. Hells Bells, some of the really precise stuff required me to meditate, bathe, mediate again, and put on special robes while lighting incense.

"Style too? Or just color?" she asked with a gleam.

I started at her. "I guess since we're dealing with a queen of the fae style does count."

"I shouldn't wear my armor or a black gown? Would your queen find that displeasing?"

I paused, and forcing down the heat in my cheeks looked the succubus over. "Something less... aggressive than battle-rattle might be appropriate. But other than color... yeah she's into evening dress, gowns too." It was awkward, but I managed to dip the brush in some more paint.

"And the blue to defend against outside interference?" Ranma asked as I finished.

Nodding I pulled the brush from my staff.

"Now, maybe I don't need purple for the inner circle, but it'll help," I tapped one of the cans before picking up the giant wooden compass I'd used to mark out the circle. "See, the circle doesn't have to be perfect. Any enclosed shape will do. That's why I didn't care about the outer circle."

"But the more perfect the circle is, the more efficient it'll run?" Dirac asked. The boffin leaned in.

"Uh yah, and since I'll be making one heck of a long distance call I want to take every advantage I can. Really, you don't need all of this stuff to do magic," I waved at the boxes of supplies that surrounded my workspace. "It just makes it a lot easier."

"Helps channel the energy?" Dirac crouched down. He kept one arm held behind his back as he looked over the markings I'd sketched out.

"Yeah, and acts as mental focuses. Magic's mostly mental, you need to form it in your head and direct the construct as you will the forces to make it."

Dirac studied the diagram then looked at the components. "It's different."

"Magic is very individualized, since it works with from what's inside. I mean my magic's different from yours, or from hers."

"Magic? Me," Dirac shrugged. "I dunno about that." He gave the pentagram one look. "Still..." he looked at the equipment and stepped back.

"Every bit helps?" Ranma asked, a gleam on her eye.

"Oh yeah, I mean, for the really fancy stuff I've actually done the full deal: meditation, cleansing showers, special robes, more meditation, incense. You can do a lot to dial things just in," I stood up and rolled my shoulders.

"And this is a diplomatic meeting, with a faerie queen," the redhead gave me a sly smile.

She lifted her hand and snapped her fingers. Nabiki nodded and darted off. She snapped them a second time and there was a delicate chime as her silver hooves reappeared. Decorative dark cobalt greaves formed covering her shins and accenting her hooves. A second pair of horns spiraled out as her eyes turned solid luminous purple with slit pupils.

Her skin gained a silvery opalescence as her features turned more severe: a sharper jawline, more pronounced, slightly hollow cheekbones, and a thinner upturned nose. Her lips grew wider, darker, and glossier as her eye makeup expanded out in shades of purple and crimson.

A plain silver band encircled her neck. A gleaming lavender bodice pulled in her torso, hugging her curves and showing a decadent amount of flesh. A red bow with a heart-shaped center was pinned over her left breast.

Her forearms were covered in sleek lavender silk gloves that transitioned to extra long, gleaming blade-like claws. Her wings shrank down into an almost ornamental size and folded against her bare shoulders like a little cape or shawl.

Held back by a gold tiara with a purple four-pointed on her brow, the slick ruby mass of her hair pressed behind it. Crimson tresses were sucked into swelling, slicked polished bun that curved over the top of her head. A four inch long narrow fan of hair spilled out from behind of the bun in a ruby wave.

Pinned at the base of the hair bun, just above crimson fall was a golden crescent moon, with the tips down in an inverted U shape. On the side of the bun was a collection of silver letters and symbols surrounding a globe: the Company's logo.

Hugging flared hips was a long dark purple skirt that began to... grow and ripple out. Due to her hooves and shifted ankles, she walked with a bent-knee stance that caused her hips to sway more. However now, the swaying seemed to grow and with each step the skirt grew and shifted, especially in back.

As I watched, the skirt puffed with layers forming underneath, and even more dramatically in back. Gathers formed with a little gauzy lace edging falling over the skirting. A veritable bustle came to be as the skirt extended backwards and even pushed up her tail to where it had to go up at a 45 degree angle at the base of her spine, causing the thick, two yard long purple appendage to swish back and forth.

Looking over her shoulder, the demon gave a long-lashed wink and a playful smile. Her tail twitched and a large lavender bow tied around the base of it, ribbons spilled out from the bow falling to either side of the freshly formed bustle. Etched onto the big bow were the runes and letters of the Company's logo, with a large silver globe serving as the tie for the bow itself. The continents were silver while the oceans were a dull crimson.

The younger demon had returned, and she was carrying a zippered suit bag. "It just came in!"

The redhead rolled her hips. "Now, you've got some painting to do, but once everything is squared away we've got some special clothes for you too."

I stared at the demon's glossy frippery. "What's with the gown?"

"You did say this was a diplomatic meeting," the redhead looked down. "Do you not approve?" she stepped with a swish on her hooves and caught my eye. "And here I thought you were admiring it."

"That's not what I mean."

"You told me not to wear a black gown."

I sighed.

"Is this the wrong style?" the redhead stepped forward and leaned in. "If formal attire would be offensive to her..."

I sighed. "No... she had me wear a tuxedo for the birthday party she threw me." I looked down. Can you blame me?

Contented Ranma pulled back. "Nice job Nabiki, you guessed right."

The young demoness in her pink cheongsam smiled.

"Though the gowns are a bit more... sleek." I coughed. "Well, not counting the women who simply wore diamonds and nothing else."

"Very sensible." Akane nodded approvingly.

A sculpted crimson eyebrow arched. Ranma glided forward and stood her hip against my hip. A set of long talons ran over my duster while her tail curled over my leg and the bottom hem of her gown brushed over my boot.

"How badly do you want to get me out of this gown?" she coquettishly asked.

I looked over and noticed that she stood so that the snowflake side to her hair bun was facing me.

"Earlier, you made sure to ask If I wasn't doing anything delicate before taking my attention away, and now you're giving yourself a makeover and telling me about the tuxedo you got me?"

Wordlessly, she took my hand and placed it around her back, under the fan of hair and atop the bow, tail and bustle. She then draped the hand that had crept up my back and over a shoulder.

"Sorry, I guess I was a bit eager." She then winked.

"Eager? Didn't you say you were just a contractor? Do you even know how to, you know, dance in a gown?"

"Is that an invitation?" And with a gentle pull she drew me to an empty spot beyond the circle and we started dancing. The diminutive demon leaned her head on my chest. Feeling the warmth and soft pressure of her body, I could smell the conditioner and product she used to style her hair.

My legs worked on auto pilot; it was a basic slow dance. Nothing fancy. The way her hips moved under my left hand was strange enough

"Inexperienced?" I smirked, the Winter part of me enjoyed having an advantage over her. And both parts of me enjoyed being this close to a lovely woman, even if she was ridiculously overdone.

"My, you dance well," she noted.

For a moment, I let my hand sink deeper into her bustle. A rumbling came from deep within her; she was actually purring.

"I don't get much chance to... the last time was... was with Mab."

"Oh my, you're close to her?"

"It was at my birthday party," I frowned. The Winter part of me seemed to be pulling in my hands. "You've done a lot for me."

She looked up. Her fangs showing in a tight smile.

"And I haven't done much in return..."

With my free right hand, my left seemed completely indisposed, I lifted her chin. I saw the plain silver choker, and an urge struck me. I led her back towards the crate, composing the spell as we danced.

I bent over and picked up one of the water bottles. I poured some into my cupped right hand, and lifted it towards her neck. With a whispered word and a blast of Winter power, ice started to form. Purple shadows and demonic power also flared. The Winter Mantle seemed... satisfied as I withdrew my hand.

The demon purred and rested her head on my shoulder. But not before I saw that her choker was centered with a pure white crystal snowflake over a stylized blue pentacle. I knew both were made of ice, but enchanted with Winter power to stay frozen.

I let my hand drift deeper into her bustle to where it almost slipped from her tail. The dancing was relaxing. I could feel myself drawn in. I didn't feel any supernatural pulling, at least from her.

The coifed redhead gave another contented purr. Her tail rustled and switched which leg it was curled over. It was a stark reminder that she wasn't human, if anything she was more alien than a White Court succubus, but she could turn off her desire to feed.

As we danced, I noticed the others were watching, observing. The daughters were amused and seemed on the verge of cheering, while the mercenaries were expectant.

Cupping her bustle, I whispered into a pointed ear. "As lovely as this is, I should get back to work."

She disentangled herself. "Pity," she said, but there was a respecting smile. The demon then started sashaying back to the pentacle.

I followed. The rolling of her tail and swaying bustle impossible to ignore. "That was a test wasn't it?" I called, catching up.

She looked back over her shoulder. "Well, you either had the self control to return to your task or...." she trailed off in a purr.

I eyed the gowned redhead. "That's not a fair test," I stated, and most definitely didn't whine.

"I know. Pity." She cupped my cheek. "Now, you don't want to dawdle on your painting, especially since you can't get changed until afterwards."

Grumbling, I went back to work. I decided to do it freehand. I had experience and could mark the lines precisely enough. Also the focus kept me from getting distracted. Especially as the brood mother hung out just in view, chatting with her daughters.

It was an impressive gown. Most clothes for non-humans weren't really optimized to take into account, let alone compliment, their inhuman features. On the other hand, the gown was too busy with frippery to really enhance her beauty. Something more understated would certainly suit her better.

I shook my head and returned to work. Fortunately, I'd done all the hard stuff in making sure my sketching was accurate.

After some time, I sealed the can and put the brush down on some work rags. I inspected the purple pentacle. I frowned, picked up the brush, knelt, and touched up a few spots.

"Lovely," the redhead said, slipping next to me. She offered her hand and helped pull me back up.

On reflex I kept her hand and kissed the back of her palm.

"Flatterer."

She then circled the pentacle, her skirts swishing.

To my relief she gave it a wide enough berth. It would be bad if she'd smeared the paint before it could dry.

"And now to make the affinity items," I said, rolling my shoulders again.

The demon raised an eyebrow.

"Items that key in the summoner and the summoned," I pulled out a list next to the crates. "First five items for Mab."

I went over and took out one of the crystal cubes, a small case, and then started rooting around the box of polished stones. I had requested ones that were relatively soft. I searched until I found a black one shot through with blue lines; it was smooth but vaguely peanut shaped. Perfect.

"Okay, first thing is a communication stone." I put the rock down on an impromptu bench made of larger crates. "Fortunately it doesn't have to be a real communications stone, just represent one."

"And that is?" Ranma asked.

I took out a tiny metal pick and started carving runes into the stone.

Dirac had wandered over and was eyeing my creation.

I think it was soapstone, either way it was pretty soft, especially since I didn't need to make them last for a long time. "It's pretty simple, you take a stone. You carve in the correct runes and put in magic to power it up. Then you break it in two."

"And what, each half remembers the other half?" Dirac asked.

"Exactly! Now the runes hold the magic and work through that connection." I took my brush and started filling in the runes with paint. "You talk into one, and your voice comes out the other."

"They're walkie talkies, out of rocks," Ranma snorted, which was hilarious given her getup.

"Yeah."

"What's the catch?" Dirac asked.

"Magic tends to fade, so you have to get your spells really worked in to have these things last more than one sunrise. Same if you want them to work for a longer distance, you have to put in more power so you can carry the signal."

"But these are just for tonight," Dirac eyed the stones. I could tell he wanted to take photos of them, heck he could keep 'em.

"Yup," I ran a hand over them, feeling that my runes were holding. I then picked up a chisel and routed in a toolbox until I found a hammer.

I put the chisel in the grove between the two lobes of the rock. The hammer went down. And now I had two rocks. I checked the connection and placed one inside the circle at one of the points of the pentacle.

I then put the other half opposite that point outside the circle. "This also helps reinforce that this isn't a binding summoning. Instead, I'm doing this to talk to her."

Going back to the crates, I found the small box. Undoing the latches I found a silver tiara with a single blue sapphire in it.

"Should I wonder why you've got a stock of pretty princess tiaras?" I asked twisting the tiara around.

The demon glanced down at her gown then gave a haughty smirk.

"Uh... right." I tried to take stock of the magic emanating from the tiara. "What did you do, rob an ice princess?"

The redhead gave another incongruous snort. "Please, she was no princess. But she does have ice powers, and some of her equipment was seized and handed over to us."

"Seized?"

"Oh, you know." The redhead waved a gloved hand. "The whole magical girl, full of pride, fearing for her leader, tempted by darkness. That whole tragic song and dance."

I sighed and put the tiara down on the inside of the next spot on the pentacle. "Yeah... I kinda do."

The redhead nodded to me. "We'll have to give you a briefing on her. That way if you run into Mistress Mercury you'll know what you're dealing with."

"Is she as bad as that rune mage, Murdock, was it?" I asked, taking off my silver amulet. I placed it just outside the circle opposite the tiara.

"He's more annoying; she's more unpredictable. For one she wants to prove herself to her Moon Queen."

"Ah," I recalled Ranma mentioning that she had been empowered by a Moon Queen. The whole Mercury thing sounded like a bag of trouble.

Ranma's hooves clicked as she watched me place my mother's pentacle amulet. "You're matching things that represent her with things that represent you?"

"It's like with the stone itself, you have to establish a link between the two halves."

Pulling a notebook out of his vest, Dirac walked around the circle. He then went over to the demon and inspected her gown. Drawing a beeline to the bustle he pulled one of the ribbons from the bow tied around her tail. He also pulled out an electronic device that did not at all look like something from Ghostbusters.

Okay fine, it was a sleek little bit of plastic, but there was a display and some flashing lights.

"You're being forward," Ranma teased the gangly man.

"Experimenting with jammers again?" Dirac noted.

"Maybe."

Dirac let the ribbon fall. "I'm not sure trying it around your tail is better than your horns."

"Uh what?" I asked.

"Miniaturizing our Jammers requires using a certain... magical power source," Dirac explained. "Electricity can do it, but it requires a lot of equipment to convert the energy to something that'll generate the right signals."

"But if it's pulling from magic you don't need the converting stuff?" That made sense, much of magic was learning how to redirect and convert energy.

"Correct. It makes it much more portable. However if the jammer gets overloaded…"

Ranma sighed, "Yes, yes, it's not directly tied into my tail."

Dirac gave her a skeptical look.

"As long as it's not powered when I try to phone home." Going back to the crates, I idly wondered if anything else to the redhead's getup was actually functional. That might explain the pounds and pounds of frippery.

I pulled a crystal cube out of the cut foam liner. After studying it for a few seconds, I nodded. I vaguely wondered what the crystals were for, but I supposed cut fused quartz had various applications, especially given the... machine-shop magic the Company seemed to be into.

"Okay, which of you can make shadows?" I asked, looking up from the crate.

"That's Akane's specialty," Ranma beamed.

The dark blue haired demon slipped up and gave a sharp smile. "What do you need?"

"Right, lemmie just set something up." I took a brush and another can of paint. I then quickly drew a five foot white circle twenty feet from the purple pentacle. "Okay, this is rough and ready, but, thankfully, we just need to keep out interference."

The demonic daughter gave me a sidelong glance, but she did step into the circle.

"Okay, I'm gonna want you to fill this with shadows," I explained placing the crystal on the center of the white circle. I then picked up my staff. "Once you've done that I'll fix the shadows so they stay in the crystal."

Akane glanced over to the redhead. The gowned demon gave an elegant nod. "Just keep it simple," she told her daughter.

Once she was in the circle with me, I reached over and closed it with a bit of will.

Looking to the floor, Akane started to circle around the crystal cube. I shuffled keeping myself opposite from her. It took me a moment to realize she was trying to angle her shadow.

When it got close to the cube, she stopped. Concentrating, the demon lifted her arm and made a waving motion with her hand. Stretching out, her shadow responded and began to cover the cube.

As if filled with ink, the crystal material darkened. I lowered my staff until it was an inch over the top. "Wait..." The cube darkened into a shimmering ebony with an oily dark blue sheen.

"Okay, now hold it," I concentrated, runes glowed on the end of my staff. "Tenere," I murmured as blue motes fell from the staff onto the crystal.

"Now withdraw," I said lifting the staff.

Akane stepped back, her shadows retreating. In their wake was a cube full of shadows.

"Okay, that worked," I smiled. It was impressive. Especially with the roiling dark blue sheen. Then, the crystal cracked.

Ranma's eyes widened, her daughter swore, and I just noticed that Dirac had taken position such that the crates were between himself and the white circle.

My staff snapped back down. "Defendarius," I cried as a blue dome appeared over the cube.

Then, it exploded. Okay that's an exaggeration. It was more like a bit of dry ice popping than a grenade going off. Still, bits of crystal flew, and magical fire laced out and bounced off the shield.

"Oh come on! I wasn't even trying!" Akane growled

I turned to her. "Your shadows make things explode!"

The demon blinked at me. "Well yeah, why else would you control shadows?"

My brow furrowed.... she kinda had a point. I knew someone with shadow powers, and I'd certainly love it if I could make that shadow explode.

Idly smoothing the front of her gown, the redhead shook her head. "I was afraid of that."

I glared between the two.

"Akane, be a dear and clean that up," the redhead sweetly said.

The blue-haired demon bowed her head and complied, sweeping up the crystal shards.

The brood mother picked up another crystal and glided over towards me. She held another cube up in her long talons. "Shall we?"

I took the cube and after waiting for Akane to sweep out the circle I closed it back up. This time the brood mother stood across from me.

One hoof in front of the other, she gave a bow at the waist before clasping her taloned hands. "When you're ready," she said with a coy grin.

"Right, let's try it again."

This time it took longer for her to draw out her shadows, the filling of the cube took longer, and there was a slight purple tinge to the darkness. However, there was no ominous sheen.

"Tenere," I said holding my staff above the replacement cube. I looked over to the demon who was watching with a bit of amusement on her made-up face. "This isn't going to explode on me?"

"Oh, my shadows don't do that," she promised.

"And what do they do?" I eyed the cube. Shadows moved within it like thick smoke.

"My, that is impressive, Mr. Wizard," she noted dropping into almost a curtsy to pick up the cube.

I eyed the way the shadows on the cube seemed to pulse and move against her talons. "Maybe you should place it on the pentacle," I offered.

With my directions she put the cube onto the next point of the purple pentacle. After she did that I fished around in my coat pocket. And drew out the two fragments of my blasting rod.

"Hopefully this won't be as bad as the summoning ritual where I used a broken blasting rod."

"Oh what happened?" Ranma asked, slipping up next to me. "Did someone wreck the summoning?"

"The summoning went great. Actually given the lack of preparation and half-assed work, I was actually pretty impressed."

"Wha'd you summon?"

"The Erlking," I muttered. "I even got him too... until a necromancer cracked the back of my skull."

"Who?" the bouffanted redhead inquired.

"A lord of the wyldfaerie. Very powerful."

"Ah, shame about the necromancer. You won't have to worry about that," she patted my arm. "What's next?"

"I've got the darkness aspect for the queen. Now I'll need to make a matching cube of ice."

"I can make magic ice!" the younger demon cheerfully said.

I eyed the cute, pastel demon. "Does it explode?"

She grinned.

"No exploding," I stated.

Behind her the older sister grumbled. "What's with you and things not exploding?"

"Wait..." I looked between the daughters. "One that controls darkness, one that controls ice." I turned to the redhead. "And their mother all done up like a dark queen."

"Well, I don't use that title much..." the redhead allowed.

"Huh," I thought it over.

Ranma looked to Dirac. "We talked it over and thought that since you were looking for items with 'resonance' to your queen that we might as well help."

"You could take the position opposite the circle from me, with your daughters at the other two points of a four pointed star. That... that could help us."

The demon waved a talon to the four sided star on her tiara.

I snorted. "Not bad for machine shop magic."

Dirac looked vaguely upset while the prim demoness chuckled to herself.

"Well, I suppose Major Saotome would like that term," the gangly technician allowed.

"I think I can swing this one myself." I went back to the crates and thought of what Dirac had said. The redhead didn't have a rank, her blonde sister was a Captain, her third sister didn't have a rank, and I didn't think any of the daughters were officers.

So, who was the Saotome with the rank of Major? Was there another demon running around?

"I could try making non exploding ice," Nabiki offered. "Are you sure you don't want any?"

Her adorable pout interrupted my thoughts. "Uh..."

"Please, your icicles are even more unstable than my shadows," Akane scoffed.

The cute demon looked bashful. "True... and I've only made little slivers and shards."

"It's no problem. I'm the Winter Knight. I can handle making some ice."

"Yes you can," the redhead purred.

I glanced at her choker and then back at my makeshift workbench. That might not have been the brightest move on my part. "Yeah, that shouldn't be too hard."

Picking up a fresh bottle of water, I rooted though one of the crates finding thee cubic hollows in the close-celled foam that had been used to hold the crystals.

"Yeah that'll do," I murmured. Then I poured into one of the hollows. I let Winter power flood out causing the streams to frost over and the gurgling water to turn to slush.

I then topped off the ice slurry. More power froze it to a solid block that I levered out. It was a bit uneven but another flash of power gave it a nice clear crystal sheen.

After that, it was just a matter of rubbing down the sides of the block until it became a proper cube. Once the edges were nice and sharp, I took my staff.

"Tenere," I cast fixing the cube of ice. It now glistened with a slight blue hue and with an inner iridescence.

"That'll keep it from melting?" Ranma asked.

"For a time," I picked up the cube and placed it at the fourth point of the pentacle.

"Can you make more?" the redhead leaned in. "It is lovely."

"Lovely and cold, that'll be a good affinity item for her," I agreed before going to the opposite side of the pentacle. I then upholstered my revolver and placed it just outside the purple circle.

I looked around the giant pentacle. I had four items for Mab, for four me. "Well, that's it, until the last item comes in."

"And if it doesn't?" Nabiki asked.

"I can make a replacement," I shrugged. I could. It's not like I needed an item of faerie manufacture, but what Eve had found in the Company's catalog of seized items would do nicer than anything I could make in the couple hours I had before midnight.

"Your preparations are done?" the redhead asked slipping up next to me and taking an arm.

"Until it gets time to put down my athame and do the summoning ritual, yeah."

"Then we can get you dressed." The demoness snapped her long talons; it was an eerie echoing metallic sound.

Lifting the suit bag, Nabiki stepped forward.

"Look this isn't necessary."

"I thought you said fancy dress would help. I'm doing the role of the dark queen," Ranma gave a curtsy. "Aren't you your Queen's knight?"

I sighed.

"And since we don't have a suit of plate armor for your to wear." Her purple eyes gleaming, the redhead began to pull me towards the suite of offices at the front of the warehouse.

***************


"Now, you said I wasn't the strangest tourist?" I asked shying away from my reflection. Mirrors were risky in my line of work. There were plenty of things that could use them as doorways. "What's stranger than a private eye wizard working for a fairy queen?"

Ranma nodded, helping me slip on the button down shirt. "I met myself."

I nodded. The Company had made a pretty good case that this wasn't my Earth. And if alternate Earths existed, why not a copy of yourself? That did make me wonder if I had a doppelganger here. Clearly, the Company didn't find any evidence of a Wizard Dresden in Chicago. Which wouldn't be hard, they'd have just had to check the yellowpages. Or if they did find my double, they didn't tell me.

But that didn't mean much. It's not like I was a native of Chicago. I could have moved to a different city. Or I could be using an assumed name. Or I could have died. Or I could be in hiding. Hells Bells, I'd done all of that myself.

I then noticed the demon wasn't talking, instead she was buttoning my shirt. Her long talons quick and nimble.

"And what's so strange about that?"

Ranma chuckled. "For one she's... human for another she's married to a guy."

"Ah, while you were born a succubus?" I ventured.

The redhead shook her head. "I was human, once."

That caused a shiver down my spine. It didn't help that she had also buttoned the lowest button, which put her talons in a sensitive area.

"We all were," Nabiki quietly added.

"Right, the D Program?" I asked.

"It wasn't formal back then," Ranma shrugged, she then took the hanging pants and eyed them critically.

"So, unlike you... she didn't become a demon?" I carefully asked. I wasn't sure where the trepidation came from. Was it regret on her part? Jealousy of a version of herself that had retained her humanity?

However more of my attention was focused on helping her put pants on me.

"Different, but close." The demon gave me a vague nod and zipped up. "And her husband makes her happy," she said, with what might have been regret but there was a large measure of bewilderment.

As far as I knew, Ranma was a single. And being a single mother had to be hard, let alone with five demonic daughters. "Uh?' I eloquently inquired.

Ranma's eyes focused back on me. She clopped around me and made some adjustments to how my pants rid on me, notably around the back of my waist.

"It's weird she's married? I didn't think you'd find monogamy that alien."

The demon blinked. She then looked at Nabiki, then back to me. And then she started laughing. Her contralto voice descended into chuckles and guffaws, that really contrasted with her gowned form.

Handing me a pair of shoes with matching socks, Nabiki also tittered behind her hand.

"Okay, what'd I miss?" I asked. They were a bit loose, but the shoes would do.

"Succubae not being monogamous," Ranma laughed as she picked up a belt.

"You're sex demons," I said a bit loudly.

This caused the redhead to blink again, then resume her laughter. "Oh poor, dumb Harry," she said after regaining her composure.

"We don't get married, but we do have mates," Nabiki said, with a bit of wistfulness, which I figured was due to her age.

"Wait, Nariko said Misako and Ukyou were mates."

Still laughing, Ranma gave me a pitting look. "Yes?" she asked holding the belt.

And the clutch went on my brain. And it was totally due to the biological implications. And not that my mind was flooded with the images of nubile lesbian succubae. I mean "mate" had a very clear meaning.

And I'll admit having a redheaded succubus slipping a belt around my waist may have contributed.

"You didn't find it odd that we're all female?" Ranma asked with a tease.

"Not really, I mean my brother's got nothing but succubus sisters."

Picking up a tie, the redhead raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, White Court vampires."

As she slipped the silk around my neck, the demon kept looking at me.

"Okay, he's my half-brother. On my mother's side. And –well- his father killed all of his other sons. Thomas was the only one who lived."

Tying the tie off, Ranma kept her stare.

"Not that I assumed you did any such thing," I rambled. "But I'd gotten used to Lara and her innumerable sisters."

"And so you didn't think much of a pack of succubae?" Ranma shook her head.
"Poor, dumb Harry," Nabiki echoed her mother, patting me on the hand with a little smile.

The contact tingled slightly.

"Your brother is an incubus? And yet you're twitchy around demons?"

"I'm twitchy around vampires too..."

Ranma waved that off. "If your brother's family is that insane you're justified."

"You don't know the half of it."

"Yes, we've got some experience dealing with your kind of tourist," she said slipping the suit coat over my shoulders. "There? How do you look?"

Despite myself, I looked into the mirror. To my relief it wasn't exactly a tuxedo that had been bought for me. It was similar but had a sleeker, almost rugged, cut. The pants and coat were black with just a hint of a dark blue shimmer. My tie was of a similar color Instead of white my shirt was a dark slate blue. Polished shoes that were almost boot cut shod my feet.

My hair had already been washed and combed and after a tense moment with some silvery claws my face was neatly shaved. There was something nice about well-fitting dress clothes. Not only did they make you look good, but for me it was a rare treat to have something that actually fitted.

I was a bit impressed that they had managed to get my measurements so well, and then in a few hours had gotten a suit that fit me, but Toronto seemed like a big city. I'm sure there were enough suit stores that they could find one willing to do a rush job if they threw enough money.

However, that was only part of my buoyed spirits.

Looking ever the dapper wizard, I held my staff in one hand. And on my other arm was a demon queen.

Well... part of the Winter Mantle rose. She wasn't quite our queen...

I gave a smile. "It's a lovely gift." I eyed the redhead, the mantle surged, hungry.

"You're welcome."

"But I should give you one in exchange," my hand went to her bustle at the base of her tail.

"Oh you've already..." Ranma's hand went to her choker.

I looked into her eyes. "You can shift your clothes, what if I... helped?" the runes on my staff started to glow. "If we're going to go with costumes for the summoning..."

The demoness licked her glossy lips and then bowed her head. I lowered my staff and lifted my hand, letting the winter power flow out.

Ice gems formed, glittering around her wrists and hung from pointed ears. Her bodice pulsed with violet tracery that ran over her curves. Her shadows grew and responded, following where my hand went, adding details to what I cast. A four pointed star surrounded by a ring of silver nestled atop her cleavage.

The choker around her neck widened, sweeping down her throat and taking on the features of a gorget, with a rounded profile on the angled bottom. The armor-like neck covering also swept up to just under her chin.

She now held her head raised at an almost haughty angle as her neck was extended while the lower end of the choker helped draw the eye to her bosom. "Oh, a posture collar, how decadent," she purred with a little flush to her cheeks.

Looking at her hair, inspiration struck me, "Now, you're a fan of Earth magic?"

"You could say so," she said with a wide smirk.

The runes on my staff tinged green as I waved it over the gravid hair bun curled up atop her head. My ice trailing hand went up and both were met by the deep purple shadows of her own magic.

The ruby tresses shivered as their swollen curves became studded with purple ice gems as my staff slowly fed Earth manna in. The highly polished coiffure grew and smoothed. Something I hadn't expected was for her golden tiara to move out as the metal expanded, gilding her horns and adding to the spectacle atop her brow.

She made a contented noise as my hand went back to her tail. The Winter Mantle agreed and pushed me on. A thicker tail arced over a widened and flared bustle.

I watched as her dress expanded. Earlier, the back of her dress had a bit of a flare in back, but now the dress had puffed out, flowing down to wider skirting. I wondered if she had a full blown crinolette hidden in there with concealed layers of hoops and staves.

Part of me felt guilty by adding to the extravagance, and even the Mantle groused that I was making her less undressed.

My hand slid down her tail and she purred. The tip and fins to her tail now having a slight blue gem tint. Meanwhile Nabiki had sidled over and lifted up her mother's skirting. My staff slipped out and touched the accents on her hooves. Shadows sprung forth and the cobalt armor grew and flowed downward, coating her hooves.

When it was over her polished hooves moved with surprising daintiness given they had enlarged from saucer sized to salad-plate sized. She also moved even closer, pressing herself against my side as she clung to my arm with both sets of talons and wrapped her tail around my waist, slipping it in just under my coat.

My hand returned to the back of her bustle and the Winter Mantle felt almost satisfied as she rested her head on my shoulder. There was then a series of flashes as the pastel demon daughter skipped around us with a film camera that looked like a relic.

It took a bit of effort, but I pulled myself away from the mirror. Reflections were tricky, and mirrors were gateways. I hadn't had a mirror in my house, well ever, really.

I could feel the deep hum of Dirac's Jammer, which I suppose kept things secure enough. I shrugged and exited the room. There was a bit of difficulty with how Nabiki left first and the demon queen pressing against me as we crossed the threshold.

Once we got to the warehouse floor, the other demon daughter was waiting. Clapping, she gave a little bow. "Hey mom, remember when you criticized me and Misa-chan for how much eye makeup we used."

"I'm still using less than you did," the redhead said with a toothy smile.

I did note that her tail was swishing angrily.

"Maybe if you put on more that mage would do more than just grope your ass," Akane teased.

"Uh..." I looked down. And sure enough, there was my hand.

"No need to tease Sir Harry. He's a perfect gentleman," the redhead gave a happy sigh as she continued to lean on my side. "Besides, teasing him is my job," she added with a smirk.

Maybe it was experience but the act of her being on me felt good.

Let me elaborate, it merely felt wonderful. That is the high tension sensation of having a lovely and interested person hanging on your every word. It was great.

But it was not the cocaine and chocolate with a bit of heroin high that came from the light caress of the succubae I was used to dealing with.

Part of that, I think, was because the White Court vampires were kind of a symbiotic creature. On the one hand, they were the most human like of the vampire types; on the other hand, they got all their super powers form a demon-like parasitic Hunger that dwelled within them.

Naturally, those powers came at a cost, namely feeding their Hungers. Sure, they had some degree of control, but they still had the constant hunger of what was, in many ways, a separate entity.

Meanwhile the demon happily leaning on my side seemed bracingly straightforward. She could be in full battle-rattle tearing apart and eating wolfmen or done up like a Victorian-age demonic temptress.

I sighed and went to the purple pentacle and inspected the work. It was when I had completed my second circle that I noticed she was still at my side. She was far quieter on those huge hooves than I expected her to be.

And speaking of her tearing apart her enemies, having that tail wrapped around my waist was... distracting. Though I suppose it was fair given my hand had moved to the base of her tail. I could feel the buzzing coming from the bow she'd wrapped around her tail, which by my estimate did feel thicker.

"I should get you a parasol," I laughed.

The demon queen slowly turned her head. Her choker forced her to move her shoulders as well, still the motion caused the gems on her updo to sparkle in the light. A little smile crossed her lips. "Oh?"

"Well if we're going to practice walking a promenade."

Her smile grew. "Do tell."

"Maybe something lavender with lace ruffled on the edges and a lacquered handle."

"You have a good eye for such finery," Ranma grinned.

"Uh, thanks?" Look, I wasn't used to having women complement my fashion sense, supernatural or no.

"I mean it," the redhead insisted. "Doesn't he Jared?"

Dirac looked up from his work. He gave the demon queen a once over. "I suppose you could use that as a Jammer, put a blade in there. Didn't Misako have one of those?"

"That would be very cute," Nabiki cheered.

"Cute," Akane scoffed. "What ever happened to an honest, slinky leather dress?"

A door clicked open and a familiar statuesque blonde woman entered. Her boot clad feet clicked on the floor. Cold blue eyes looked over the scene with a sense of bemusement.

At her heels were two younger demons. One with teased orange-hair in a red leather dress that looked like it was poured over her then cut down. She wore black platform stilettos and walked with a total confidence. I had no doubt she could walk on gravel or mud with those things. Balanced on her manicured hands was a small dark green crate that she kept running a hand over covetously

The other was slightly taller with smooth light-green hair. She was wearing a grey suit and tie with a little dark grey skirt that was hardly longer than the bottom hem of her suit coat. One of those block-of-steel bullpup rifles was slung over a shoulder and a large holster was tied to one thigh, just about even with the top of her smoke colored stockings. She wore a pair of black pumps and walked plainly but not with the overt elegance of her companion.

I sighed. It said a lot about my life that I could study how women walked in high heels, even before I had stumbled onto several broods of succubae.

"Hey Ilsa, how's tricks?" I smiled when the blonde demon closed in. "Tie up anyone interesting?"

She flashed me a smile. In her heels she was only a little bit shorter than me. "No one recently." She took a moment to adjust the redhead's bodice. "But maybe you will."

I coughed as the demon queen gave a haughty smile as she squared her shoulders.

Almost dismissing her crate, Misako had dropped it with the others and ran over to us. "You went with the Victorian gown!" she cheered.

The green haired demon looked at all this with a distant expression. However, I noted she did stay close to the blonde demon. I recognized her from the photo in Eve's wallet, she was one of the blonde's daughters.

Misako then went into a detailed inspection. All the while, she talked about the various support garments, hoops, staves, spats, hooves, jewelry, and other bits of finery. She then came to the choker.

"A posture collar?" Smirking, her green eyes flared. "If I'd known you'd put on one of those, I'd have suggested some more fun things."

Shifting her shoulders to show of the choker, the redhead gave a haughty smile. "Oh, this was Sir Harry's idea." Rolling her hips she took a half step back to angle her torso so she could look up at me. "In fact most of the upgrades and jewelry to this gown were his idea," she added, with a bemused smirk.

Her motions also reminded me that my hand was still pressing against her bustle.

Misako's predatory smirk grew. "Really now?" she slipped closer. "Impressive, Mr. Wizard," she exhaled.

And this time I felt the mental pressure and floating delights of a succubus' mind powers.

"Misa-chan..." the demon queen cautioned.

Misako pouted.

"Yes, what will Ukyou think?" Nabiki gasped.

"Don't mind Misako," Eve stated, "You can beat her with your staff if she gets too frisky," the blonde added, utterly deadpan.

The green haired demon shook her head. "Sometimes, I can't believe this job."

Eve patted her on the shoulder.

"Is that the bracelet?" Ranma asked freeing a hand to point to the crate Misako had dropped off.

Nodding, the blonde leaned over and undid the clasps. Glancing at the contents, she pocketed what looked like a packing slip and turned the crate and pushed it towards me.

Demon still on my arm, I walked forward.

The redhead slipped off. Long talons went into the box and pulled out a silver bracelet. Opals and sapphires shimmered. She turned the bracelet, examining the metalwork.

I stepped closer. It looked like it was made out of delicate ribbons of silver woven together, engraved, and set with gems.

"It looks pretty enough." The brood queen slipped it into my hand.

The bracelet flexed under pressure and seemed almost springy. It also hummed with power.

Misako hovered near her mother staring at the bracelet.

"Is it faerie?"

"You don't know?" I let the bracelet roll around in my hand.

"Haven't had the pleasure." She flashed a grin. "Will this do?"

I gave the bracelet a long look. "Yeah, it's Winter Faerie all right." I looked to Eve. "Where'd it come from?"

She met my gaze with a smile.

Feeling the pull of a Soulgaze, I looked away.

Eve reached into her coat and pulled out the packing slip. "According to this, it was purchased from an estate sale in 1933. Its previous owner had, officially, liberated it from the summer residence of the Duke of Lorraine in the waning days of the Great War."

She flipped the page. "Apparently, quiet inquires to the Habsburgs came to a dead end. No one remembered the piece."

"Or no one wanted to admit to it," I watched the opals and gems sparkle. "You really just had this thing sitting in a warehouse for the better part of a century?"

"You saw the print-outs from our catalog, Warden Dresden," Eve stated.

"Yes, but you carry a lot of cold iron about you," I gestured to the guns she and the green-haired succubus carried.

"That smoke wagon of yours is two kilos of steel," Ranma happily reminded.

"Yeah, but that's because steel's a handy material. Just look at that thing," I pointed to the green-haired demon's rifle. Up close it was definitely a block of steel milled into a shape vaguely like a hulked-out version of that Belgian bullpup Murphy liked.

Then I saw the cartridges it used. Hells Bells, they were slightly-tapered shafts of brass as thick as my fingers and, when you added the giant stubby bullets in the end, looked just as long.

The green haired demon idly patted her gun. "What about it?" she asked.

"It looks like your Q designed it just in case you wanted to bludgeon a faerie to death."

"That's absurd Pattern F's are quite rare." Her cheeks tinged ever so slightly.

"Besides the requirement was to make sure the gun was robust enough to shatter a reinforced humanoid skull and continue cycling for at least five hundred rounds," Eve smoothly assured.

The redhead had slipped up to her demon daughter and ran a talon over the rifle. "It is an elegant weapon."

"Elegant? It's an over-powered, brutal little thing... Oh." I smoothed my tie.

The redhead beamed. "Fitting no?"

"He didn't even get to mention how it's too much, too heavy for most humans to handle." Eve shook her head. "Pity."

"Hah. Anyone ever tell you you've got a good sense of humor, Ilsa?"

The blond gave the tiniest bow to her head.

"Fine." I turned back to the circle. "We've got the final piece, we can get things setup."

"Good to hear." Eve clapped her hands. "Ah, before I forget, sister."

I heard the redhead's dress rustle and her hooves shift.

"Serena has been asking after you. You may want to talk with her after the ceremony," Eve stated.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the redhead nod. Well given her choker, she had to bow at the shoulders, but the gesture meant the same thing. For my part I was looking at the purple pentacle.

I crouched down and gently placed the bracelet at the tip of the last point of the star. I released a bit of my will and felt a slight tingle as the first bits of power started to flow. After giving the setup a critical eye, I dusted my hands and stood.

"I think this'll work."

Misako's heels clicked as she stepped up. "Mutual affinity, eh?" she asked stepping around the pentacle.

"Yeah, five items for myself, five for her."

"Interesting simplicity to the design." the demon eyed the cube of shadows and the bracelet with a broad smile. "Efficient."

"I'm pretty sure I'll need it."

She looked to the outer circle. "Two layers? Add a third and you've got the start of one heck of a containment circle."

"You know magic theory?" I glanced to Dirac and Ranma. Neither of them seemed surprised.

"A bit on wards." The orange-haired demon shrugged. "Mostly it was field work activating someone else's design." Her expression grew remote. "Demons tended to be too fast unless you timed your ambush just right."

I gave a slow blink. "You fought demons too?"

Misako gave a level stare.

The redhead swept in and put an arm around her shoulder. "Yes, but Misa-chan was talking about things she learned... before."

Misako frowned.

"Ah." I winced.

"Not all of her past experience was on how to apply makeup and hunt," Nabiki added giving an overly innocent smile to Akane.

I might not have much experience but I could recognize sibling rivalry when I saw it.

The redhead then drew the taller daughter into a hug, seemly ensconcing her with lace and ruffles. Her tail came out and wrapped around the younger demon who began to happily purr.

The two blue-haired demon daughters gravitated closer and the demon queen pulled them into an embrace. The purring grew louder.

"Huh, another group hug," I glanced over and saw that Dirac had given the display a bare glance and instead was discussing his notes with Eve.

The blonde demon, for her part, did seem a bit distracted but had an arm around the green-haired succubus pulling her into a half hug.

"Too cute," I shook my head and gave the pentacle another walk around. All that was left was my old Ka-bar knife. Five items for me, five for Mab.

The demons seemed humane enough. They were certainly loving enough.

Perhaps that was the wrong word, given what Ranma would do for her family. But did I have a place to talk? I knew what I was willing to do to save my daughters. I knew what I did to save Maggie. I also knew what I would do if Mab hadn't agreed to make me the Winter Knight.

I glanced between the demons and thought of the D Program. I went to Mab because my back had broken and I needed to be healed, and I needed power. These mercenaries...

The purring stopped.

I looked over as hug broke-up.

Akane and Nabiki went off to one side. Their tone as they talked with each other was biting, but their tails were swishing in sync. Misako for her part was fluffing and straightening her mother's gown.

Leaning over, she made a tisking noise. "Mother, you're dressing up, you can use some eyeshadow."

The redhead raised an eyebrow.

"Bah," Misako snorted. She turned back to me. "What happens if you actually summon your boss?"

"That's whole-"

"No, I mean, you physically pull her here. She gonna be upset her assassin pulled her away from the office out into the field?"

"Assassin?"

"You are wearing a lovely suit." Her green eyes glinted. "Say, you ever kill anyone in a suit?"

"Yes."

"Doesn't it make you feel like James Bond?" she purred.

"Hey now!" Ranma glared. "His gun's much bigger than Bond's little capgun." She reached out and gave my arm a pat. She clopped closer and her other arm snaked out and her talons brushed against my hip, and that empty holster.

Her head gave a disappointed little shake.

"What? I'm using it for the ceremony," I pointed to where I'd put the revolver just outside the pentacle.

The redhead turned to follow my arm. "That's why you have a spare," she scoffed cocking her hip to one side.

"Two is one, one is none," Misako recited.

"I don't see you carrying two pistols."

The redhead tapped her chin with a talon and looked down at her gown.

"Mother could hide a carbine in there," her green-eyed daughter said approvingly.

"Besides our pistols are our backup weapons," Misako smirked.

I simply thumped my staff on the floor.

"And that is an impressive weapon," the redhead purred reaching out to it.

Misako's eyes flashed, but she bowed her head to me.

Eve handed a notebook back to Dirac and stepped closer. "We've got ten minutes. Are we go or no go?"

"Yeah, we can get it." I gave the pentacle another glance. "There's just one more thing."

Eve looked crossly at me. "Oh?"

"Just a couple reminders." I exhaled. "My boss can be a bit... sensitive to slights. Offending her is a bad idea. Challenging her is worse."

Ranma turned to Misako and simply narrowed her eyes.

The demonic daughter pouted but bowed her head. "I'll be quiet."

The redhead sharply nodded.

"Also the faerie love to make deals and will try to get the better of you. Entering into bargains or accepting gifts is not wise as it will just draw you in further."

"Do tell," Ranma tapped her choker.

Eve frowned. "I did consider calling in legal."

"That's why we'll let Mr. Wizard do the talking; he's already in hock with his boss."

I may have grumbled.

"We'll have to be careful if she tries to extract a price from us," Eve said.

I caught the blonde's eyes flick to Ranma as her tail curled. The redhead's own tail rolled to one side.

"It'll be best if you lead the questioning," Eve continued. "First order is to figure out if you were sent here. That those Pattern L's here already knew about you and tried to neutralize you is compelling evidence. And if you were sent knowing why and getting additional intel would be desired."

"Yeah about that..." I sighed. "Look the faerie can't tell direct lies."

Pursing her lips, Eve looked vaguely offended. The blonde exhaled. "Direct?"

"Yeah."

"Meaning statements they give have to be true under strict Boolean logic?"

I nodded.

A little growl rumbled within Eve. She lifted her hand and started counting off. "Thus they can imply, speak in generalities, give answers that are technically correct but colloquially misleading, all to let a person come to a false conclusion."

"Yah, they really tend to be rules lawyers."

A hint of irritation flashed in Eve's eyes. "They can also give a hypothetical statement or present a thought experiment, state what another person thinks, and, of course, a statement of theirs can be framed as question thus removing the onus of veracity."

"Um... yeah." I rubbed my head. "Look, I know it's really frustrating."

The green haired demon looked to Eve. "Don't forget disinformation via proxy."

Eve gave her daughter a hug. "Good point Morrison."

"And that is?"

Morrison looked to Eve who nodded. "Put simply: Person A hides item X. They tell Person B where to find it," the green-haired demon said. "You find Person B and get them to tell you where X is. However..."

"The first person lied to the second," I grit my teeth. "Yeah... they'll do that too."

"A reason for them to keep non faerie around," Eve noted.

"What a hassle. Why not just assume they can lie and be done with it?" Ranma asked.

"They can't tell direct lies so you can get some information," I countered. Okay there was one case where a fae could tell a direct lie, but if Mab was able to lie then I was completely screwed.

"Yes, decoding diplomat speak," Eve gave a cold smile. "But one part is a concern. Sir Harry, why does your queen act this way with her knight? Doesn't this degrade your performance as her agent?"

"Yeah, jerking a person around and lying to them is not the way to build trust," the redhead said.

I rubbed my head again. "Tell me about it. See my boss prefers... older tools of recruitment. Namely giving people enough rope. Well... it's more like she finds people that tend to fall into quicksand and then offer them rope, for a price. It helps that she's very patient and can wait for years and years."

"Ah, still one thinks that makes for poorly motivated staff," Eve said.

"She has her ways, besides she's more of a sink or swim mentality with her... retainers."

"By throwing them in the quicksand?" Ranma surmised.

"I guess my metaphor was pretty mixed..."

"Five minutes." Eve glanced at her watch and met Dirac's gaze.

"I'll get into position," the gangly technician said, going over to his machinery and magic circle.

"Final check then," Eve stepped away and turned on her radio.

I shifted my tie and simply looked over the pentacle.

The redhead had slipped up next to me. "You ready?"

"Yeah, not like rushing right now would help," I shrugged. "Besides midnight is just the optimum time. I can always try it again."

"Should we get into position?" she asked giving her hips a shake.

"Right, I'll need, um, Akane and Nabiki for this."

The brood queen nodded; the gems on her hair twinkled. She then sauntered off with her hooves clicking on the floor.

She quickly returned with the two blue-haired demon daughters.

"Are they dressed appropriately?" the redhead teasingly asked.

I looked between Nabiki's cheongsam and the skimpy, shiny shorts and top Akane was in. "Well, it's not exactly the Winter Queen's look, but it could fit the Winter Lady," I allowed

"Winter Lady?" Nabiki asked.

"Each faerie court has three queens. In increasing power, there's the Winter Lady, the Winter Queen, and the Winter Mother," I said as I led Akane to one spot.

"And you're summoning the queen?"

"Yeah," I didn't want to get into too much detail about the other queens, not now at least.

"How?" Ranma asked, as I had her stand across from my position.

I raised an eyebrow. "I'll be using her Name." I actually had pretty good luck at summoning the correct faerie queen. Though I haven't tried to summon any of the Winter or Summer Ladies... for reasons.

I then had Nabiki stand opposite Akane and took position across from Ranma. I took the knife in my hand and knelt down.

"Is there anything we should do?" the redhead shouted from across the pentacle.

"Think dark queen but do not cast anything." I looked over to Akane and Nabiki. "Same for you two, shadows and ice. But don't actually spread anything out, that could wreck the energy I'm putting through the pentacle."

I glanced over and saw Eve standing a few steps to the side. "Warden, we're ready." She held out her arm.

I waited.

"Prepare for Jammer shut-down." Eve stated, her voice deep and carrying. "Turn off all Jammers in five... four... three... two... one." She then made a cutting motion with her hand.

The familiar background hum ceased. The sudden silence felt oppressive. As did the gazes the demons and mercenaries had leveled on me. It didn't help that the power the redhead and her daughters started to pump out started to press against me.

Okay, I needed to make with the magic.

I took the knife and nicked my palm. I let a drop of blood fall onto the pentacle which flared and began to sparkle. Placing the Ka-bar just outside the circle, I began to focus my thoughts.

Pulling in the energy emanating from the demons, I went from focus item, to focus item forming my thoughts and readying the energy.

Exhaling I released the energy, and the spell burst out. The pentacle flared in violet light. "Mab!" I cried. "Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness, Queen of the Winter Court! Mab, I bid you to come forth!"

End Chapter 3


I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf. Again, special thank to Ellf for his help in soundboarding and getting this idea off the ground.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 4: Unwelcome Answers, Part B


The power throbbed within the pentacle as the pressure built. The spell reached out; the Winter power within me sang; something... cracked. The power shot off and the spell homed in.

I was struck by the visual of gas shooting out of a pressurized steel tank. A siren went off and halted mid-wail as the light in the warehouse seemed to dim. Keeping the spell formed, I glanced to see that the shadows around Akane and Ranma had deepened while the ground around Nabiki was rimed with an ominous frost.

Blue black shadows filled the pentacle as the air chilled.

They coalesced into a sleek cobalt blue gown flowing over a tall female form. Dark blue hair cascaded down her shoulders. She looked ethereal; it took me a moment to realize she was ever so slightly translucent.

Harsh, slightly-feline, ice-chip blue eyes stared down at me while lips the color of frozen mulberries quirked in an amused, but contemptuous smile.

"My Knight," she purred, stepping out of the pentagon center of the pentacle. "You seek my counsel," Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness, stated, standing a pace from the edge of the purple circle.

Already on my knees, I lowered my head. I noticed her heels made no sound on the concrete. So, I hadn't yanked a faerie queen to this reality. Yay. Which also meant, I hadn't inadvertently imprisoned her. Double Yay.

"That I do," I lifted my head. "Uh... sorry if I interrupted something," I added standing up.

"Ensuring my Knight pursues his Winter Duties is worthy of my attention," Mab stated. She then turned and inspected the three demons standing around the circle. Her smile grew fractionally.

The succubae for their part watched with loose, low tails and slight tilts of the head.

I blinked. "Right, that sounds like I was sent here for a reason?"

"Does it? Fascinating company you keep, my Knight." Mab tilted her head in an almost bird-like manner. "Perhaps your objection to the Denarians was more aesthetic than moralistic."

"The Nickelheads are cheating chumps." I watched Mab's hips as she sauntered to the opposite side of the circle.

The queen inhaled, and I wondered just how much her image was sensing. Slowly stepping from one side to the other, Mab eyed the redhead. I flushed a bit as her eyebrow quirked at the jewelry and choker Ranma wore.

"You're of BlackSky's brood," the queen stated.

"Her granddaughter, DarkStar" the redhead bowed her head and dropped into a curtsey. The shadows around her hooves pulled in, mirroring the motion.

I made a note to the names. As demonic names went- well- they sounded like aliases.

Mab gave a slow bow of her own. "At least someone understands the necessities of decorum," she glanced back at me, looking cross.

"Hey, I'm wearing a suit."

"Under protest no doubt," Mab paced around the circle. It reminded me of the smooth, languid motions of a shark.

"I have questions."

Mab lifted a hand in acknowledgment. "One would presume that even you are not so uncouth as to summon mere merely to show your latest diversion."

The queen turned back to the redhead. "Not that you aren't more than acceptable."

"Thank you." The brood mother's eyes gleamed. "And I see why you spent so much time to possess your Knight. He may be a bit slow, but has much potential."

"Yes, he grows slowly, but he grows." Mab gave a single laugh.

"I'm afraid to ask what he was like when he started," Ranma stated.

I shot a glare at the redhead.

"Brash, passionate, easily-led by a pretty face, often overwhelmed by circumstance but focused, driven to win, and devastating."

My spine chilled. I was not used to Mab complementing me, even if it was reluctantly.

"A good start." The demon smiled. "Plenty of opportunity."

"Okay... can the dark queens stop chatting about how to best bend me to their will?" I asked.

Mab and the demon exchanged a look.

"You're not ordering me back, and you don't seem surprised that I'm calling you," I pointed out to the faerie queen. "Hells Bells, you seem more bemused by the gaggle of succubae than anything else."

"Do you have a question, my Knight?"

"You're not the only one who knew I was being sent out here. When I arrived, I was set on by a bunch of wolf-men that had all sorts of information about me and the Knights of the Cross."

"You are incorrect." Amusement slightly thawed Mab's eyes. "You were sent without my consent or knowledge."

My stomach chilled as I recalled the second thing she said to me. "But if I'm here in pursuit of my Winter Duties..."

Mab glanced back at the redhead. "You see the burden he can be?"

Ranma shot her a sympathetic look before turning to me. "Maybe you should give her a question."

I glared. Then exhaled and faced Mab. "Right. You didn't send me. Unless you somehow sent me unwittingly."

"A fascinating concept," Mab dryly noted.

"But you're not angry that I'm here, and you're not demanding I come back. You're also implying that I'm on official Winter business."

Mab waited; she seemed to be holding back her impatience.

"However, you could easily just say I'm on business. I mean, it's not like you've been shy about ordering me in the past. Which means..."

The faerie queen gave a single soft clap.

"I was sent by one of the other queens of Winter?"

"As I said, he grows, but slowly," Mab said to Ranma.

Ranma nodded. "And you didn't directly answer his question."

Mab inclined her head like a fencer's salute.

"So, who was it?" I asked concerned about the answer. "The Winter Mother or Molly?"

"Do you really think the Winter Lady would dare do something behind my back?"

I exhaled. "It's a possibility. It wouldn't be the first time a Winter Lady went off the reservation."

Mab's eyes narrowed. The previous Winter Lady, Maeve, was Mab's daughter. Things went real bad at the end. Hells Bells, Mab had ordered me to kill Maeve. And the worst part was Mab was right to place the hit. In fact, things would probably have been a lot better if Mab had done that earlier…

I put up my hands placating. "Look, I don't want any trouble. Molly was my protegee."

Mab gave a haughty sniff and waited.

Okay. Either Molly had started to do her own secret plots or... I was here on the Winter Mother's orders. And that was almost as bad as Machiavellian Molly. Let's put it this way, the Winter Mother thought Mab, the icy, dark queen before me, was "too sentimental". In other words Winter Mother wouldn't have hesitated with respect to the assassination of her own daughter.

I exhaled. "Can I ask what I'm here to do?"

"You can ask," Mab smoothly said.

The redhead chuckled.

"Why was I sent here?" I held up my hand. "And before you go on about the price of this information. Need I remind you, that while I'm here, you are without your Knight. Without your mortal champion."

"That is obvious." Mab eyed me.

"If you don't help me then I won't be in any particular rush."

Mab smiled revealing delicately pointed canines. "That is not your nature. Your morality, your tenacity, will propel you. You are inexorable."

I made a fist and rapped my skull. "But I'm not fast. Old Harry's pretty slow. You're gonna let one of the Summer queens have a clear advantage for a month or two? You'll let the scales be unbalanced for that long?"

"Even you are not that tardy," Mab stated.

"Maybe I stay and enjoy the local color," I bowed my head to the redhead and rolled out my arm towards her.

The corners of Mab's lips quirked up. "Your daughters?"

"They're in good hands," I shrugged, chilling my emotions. "I could use a vacation anyway."

Mab's expression grew opaque. "Normally, I would let your find your way." She turned to look at the demons. "Especially with such finely appointed diversions."

Of course Mab approved of me hanging out with succubae. Anything that might tempt or corrupt me. Still, I waited her out.

"However, there is but one Knight for three Queens, and you will be required. There are convocations back in your city where your presence would be an asset."

I raised an eyebrow. Scuttlebutt had been that the signatories of the Unseelie Accords were wrangling some kind of big meeting. And since Mab had written the Accords...

"Lay it on me, my queen."

"Your insolence is not the endearing asset you make it out to be." Mab's lips twitched.

"I notice you didn't simply say you hated it," I countered.

Mab ignored that as she resumed studying the demons. "Alas, I fear you will not be satisfied with what I tell you."

I grunted. One thing I'd learned was that Mab took her word seriously. Even implying she would bargain in bad faith would get her ire. And by ire I mean: slowly freeze your eyeballs.

"What is it that you seek?" Mab idly inquired.

"I know someone from my world reached out and contacted some chuckleheads in this world."

"A simplification." Mab corrected. "For example, it could have been someone from this would that contacted your world, or perhaps mine."

"Was it?"

"You ask the wrong question."

"Of course I am," I grumbled.

"If I may?" Ranma asked.

Mab shifted to her and bent her head in recognition.

"What is the correct question?"

"Excellent."

"I was gonna ask that," I muttered.

"This one pleases me. Polite. Lethal. Passionate. You chose well allying with her, my Knight." Mab nodded to me. "The question is not Who but What."

"Okay... this person contacts this world. They plan to kill me when I stumble over here, or maybe they were gonna send me back. Either way, they want me not interfering. What's this person trying to accomplish? "

"To thwart an evil man's plans." Mab's smile grew. On anyone else it would be an expression saying "I know more than you", but Mab as a fae queen, she always knew more than me. Minor ire at Winter Mother poaching me aside, she found something darkly amusing about this whole meeting.

"Evil? That's pretty black and white for you."

Mab waved dismissively. "Evil as you have called it, my Knight."

Frowning, I thought. Her addendum meant someone I considered a bad guy was the ultimate target. That gave me a motive, and a worrying one.

"Right, that could mean I'm dealing with some misguided fool who thought killing me is part of defeating some greater evil." It wouldn't be the first time. Hells Bells, I was once shot in the back by a giant sniper rifle wielded by a crazy priest.

Mab sniffed and returned to the redhead. Where she quietly chatted with the demon. Ranma obligingly leaned forward to showcase her choker.

"It could also mean that we've simply got a couple bad guys fighting each other. What is this, another Darkhallow thing? Some sort of dark magic fried the brains of those wolfmen. Am I dealing with another batch of necromancers? "

Drawing herself away from inspecting the redhead's skirting, Mab gave me a labored stare. "My knight, the person you seek knows not what they summon."

I groaned. "Great, is this some sort of ill-informed do-gooder making the wrong pacts and summoning a power they can't handle?"

"Does that sound familiar, my knight?" Mab dryly noted.

"It means I'm going to have to look for a summoning."

Mab eyed the pentacle she stood within.

"One that will go wrong?"

The Winter Queen lifted her gaze. "Regardless. This person's actions will be a significant threat to both this world and your own."

"Okay... that is something." I exhaled and concentrated my will.

"Are you fatigued?" Mab's question was cold.

"Long distance calls are kinda expensive."

Mab looked at me expectantly.

"Which means whoever is doing this will need a lot of energy to conduct their summoning? Enough to be noticed? Especially if it'll punch through to both this world and mine. Hells Bells, if it's powerful enough it'll need a place of power and some real special equipment."

Giving me a long suffering look, the faerie queen then bowed to the demon queen. "If you can bestow my mortal tool with some maturation and polish. I would consider a proper Winter Knight worthy of a boon."

"What did I say about deals?" I warned the redhead.

The demon's purple eyes glared at me. She then bowed at the waist and paused to collect herself. "Regretfully, I cannot take your offer, at this time. As you have said, your Knight is slow to grow. I fear the goal of returning him to you with due haste may conflict with your request."

A vaguely approving look crossed Mab's face.

The demon straightened her torso, but kept her horns bowed. "However, I will to impart upon wisdom on your Knight in exchange for his service rendered to me and mine. Provided, it does not overly detain or delay his departure or, intentionally and permanently, damage him," the redhead added after a moment.

Mab nodded. "It is done."

I opened and closed my mouth. "Did you just sell me to a demon?"

"Rented." Mab waved a hand.

"Remember the last time you rented me out?"

"That was different." Mab's predatory grin focused on me. "That was a Fallen. Here, you've already entered into a pact. I merely allowed you some token of propriety. Would you really risk Winter's name by serving without recompense?"

"We are mercenaries," the redhead reminded.

Looking at me, Mab's expression clouded. My body started to go numb.

"I wasn't going to stiff them!"

The Winter Queen's glare hardened and she returned to the demon queen. "Despite appearances, you will not be disappointed with my Knight." She brushed her hands against each other.

I watched Mab's opalescent nails shimmer and start to grow in length.

"Are your inquiries satisfied?" Mab asked me.

"No, but I'd bet this is all I'd get," I grumbled.

A ghost of a smile crossed Mab's face as she stepped back to the exact center of the pentacle. "Also it would not do to leave my Knight drained and fatigued." Becoming more translucent, she flexed her fingers and flashed her teeth. "Not when you have to service your Queens," she said as her form faded from view. Leaving a ghostly image of her lips and eyes.

The draining power snapped off and I rocked on my heels. The bright lights returned and after a second or two I felt the hum of the Jammers resume.

Staring at the empty pentacle, I slowly exhaled and inhaled deeply. Shaking my head, I made my way back to the crates and grabbed a bottle of water.

"She's fun," the redhead noted as she clopped up, lavender skirts swishing.

"Twisty like a corkscrew." Eve noted, paging through her notes. "She implied much, but there were a few outright statements. If she's reliable…" the blonde eyed me.

"It's kind of her thing," I drank some more water.

"Lovely." A little growl escaped the blonde.

"Another Beachhead Situation?" the demon queen asked.

"I got five points that she wanted to get across," Eve flipped another page and looked me in the eye.

I turned away. That was getting to be an annoying habit of theirs.

"First; you're here deliberately and officially," Eve prompted.

"But it wasn't Mab who set this up."

"That is the second." The blonde nodded. "Third is the motive of our summoner."

"Stopping some bad guy." I shrugged. "But that could someone doing dirty work to stop a greater evil, or the standard back-biting bad guys are known for."

Eve bowed her horns in agreement. "Which leads to the fourth point."

"Yeah, she outright told us our summoner is being played," I rolled Mab's words around in my head. If there was anything worse than a faerie being opaque and cryptic, it was the rare moments when they were upfront and blunt.

"And the fifth."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course it'll be a threat to both my world and yours. It's not like I'd have an easy job." I grumbled and started policing up the affinity objects. At the very least I wanted my stuff back.

"We're agreed then." Eve nodded and closed her notebook. "There is an upside to all this."

"Yeah," I slipped my mother's silver pentacle amulet over my neck. "The summoning ain't exactly subtle."

"It also gives us a direction as we track down the evidence... recovered from those Pattern L's."

"Yeah, if you need help on ritual components or how to find places of power." I yawned and retrieved my revolver. "I can help with that."

"Excellent. Odds are the summoner's magic style will be more similar to yours than ours." Eve gave another nod. "I'll call the situation in to command and update forensics on what to look for."

Watching Eve saunter off, I almost missed the redhead popping up next to me.

"I can see why you picked her," the demon queen noted she slipped her hand inside my coat and shifted the gun from the pocket it was distorting into its holster.

"She was the best of a list of bad choices."

Keeping her hand on my side, the demon raised a thin eyebrow. "Oh? Is that all?"

"It was either kill a mess of people and become a dark god, let a Fallen Angel take over my mind, or her. At least with Mab it's just a job."

The demon chuckled. "And you believe that?"

I looked down at met the demon's gaze. "Mab cannot change who I am."

Leaning in, the redhead smirked. "And that's why she likes you," she said in a sing-song purr.

"Gah! You make it sound like she's got a crush. She isn't like that. She's not human."

The redhead simply tapped the floor with a single hoof.

"Not like that. Even by faerie standards she's cold and distant. She's more a force of nature than..."

Shadows roiled around the demoness as she rolled her shoulders to tilt her head. "You two are physically compatible."

"That was just the one time!"

The demon queen chuckled. She then clapped her hands. "Right. Girls help square things away; we're going to have a busy day tomorrow."

The three daughters moved to the pentacle but stopped just outside the circle. As one they turned to me.

I blinked at the pale faces. "Okay, that's a bit of a Children of the Corn vibe."

"Is it safe for them to help dismantle things?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, yeah." I looked at the cube of roiling darkness that the redhead had filled. "Probably safer for them to handle some of those things."

"Are classes still on for the morning?" Akane asked picking up the shadowy cube.

"Sure, no reason to cancel because we might have a raid," the redhead waved talons dismissively.

Slipping the broken ends of my blasting wand in the suitcoat pocket I frowned. My duster was far more practical storage-wise. "I'm gonna change."

Fluffing her skirts, the redhead sighed. "I suppose dress-up time is over."

Misako sighed as she boxed up the silver tiara and the faerie bracelet.

Boots echoing on the floor, Eve returned to us. Slight frustration marred her face while the tip of her tail flicked side to side.

"Yeah?" Ranma asked.

"Serenity is on her way. Apparently she has wants to see our guest."

"Really?"

"Coincidentally, Kiri is accompanying her."

The redhead's face clouded and she gave a little, frustrated stomp. "And the Colonel's letting them come?"

"She was insistent; the Colonel did manage to delay them until after our conference concluded," the blonde's tone was neutral.

Looking between the two demons, I could tell they were having some sort of unspoken conversation. Their tails and postures shifted enough. Again I wondered if they were telepathic or merely highly empathic "Who are you talking about?"

The redhead gave a smile. "Good thing you're still in your suit."

"Oh?"

"You wanna meet another queen?"

***************


There was ample time to square things away around the summoning circle and relax for a bit in the warehouse's office section. Well, I relaxed with a soda and a crumbly energy bar one of the mercenaries given me. My staff was leaning against an overturned desk behind me.

Ranma and her brood sat nearby chatting. Except for Misako who hovered over her mother fretting over the redhead's coiffure and cosmetics. In the end, the demon queen looked about the same.

There was the sound of a vehicle parking, a pause, then a roll-up door lifting, another pause, and then the door from the warehouse opened and Eve led in three young women.

At the head of the group was a tall, elegantly featured, woman with pale blue eyes. She wore minimal makeup and the only jewelry she had was a thick silver tiara on her brow. A golden crescent moon was at its center.

Gleaming silver hair was pulled back in a tight, plaited bun. She wore a dark navy-blue jacket with gold piping over a beige blouse with a high collar. A thin dark blue silk bow adorned her chest. It reminded me of the Jammer bows the demons wore.

A slit dark blue skirt with silver accents ran down long legs to just past her knees. She wore cream stockings and fashionable ultramarine boots with a slight heel that were similar to Eve's.

I glanced between the silver-haired queen and the blonde demon. They were of similar heights, eye colors, and figures. Though the blonde was a bit more voluptuous while the other woman was more statuesque. And unlike the blonde, the silver-haired woman was decidedly Japanese and actually had some color to her skin, instead of demonic alabaster.

Behind her were two younger and shorter women The older of the two had long fine black hair and wore set of black slacks, maroon blouse, and charcoal jacket. Deep eyes smoldered as she glanced around the room. She kept position close to the silver-haired woman, as if a bodyguard or maybe something more.

I noted her irate attention seemed focused on Misako. The green-eyed demon, for her part, grinned and waved.

Rounding out the trio was the shortest and youngest. Hells Bells, she was a girl. It was hard to tell her age but I could bet she wasn't in high school. She had long dark green hair, dusky skin, and deep red eyes and wore a ruffled black dress with emerald green ribbons.

Her expression was stern and unnervingly fixated on me.

All three practically crackled with power. It wasn't even something they were projecting; it felt like the natural burn-off of their natures.

Eve stepped to the side between myself and the trio. The succubae stood up and prowled behind me while the brood queen slipped up and took position opposite Eve.

Her purple lips curled into an amused smirk.

I noted the silver haired woman seemed more intent on starting at the demon's hooves, horns, hairdo, and neckline than on me.

The blonde demon gestured to me. "Harry Dresden, Warden of the White Council and Knight of the Winter Court of the Faerie."

I nodded my head.

"Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom, Lady Pluto, and Lady Mars," Eve said, pointing to the silver-haired woman, the green-haired girl, and the black haired young woman in order.

"Uh, hi," I said.

"This is a wizard?" Lady Mars said dismissively. "At least his suit's better than the last one."

I held out my hand and the short-haired demon daughter tossed my staff. Thankfully, she stuck the throw and my hand gripped it. I dropped the staff against the ground and let the runes glow. The scent of wood-smoke started to curl from the charged runes.

Lady Mars' glare hardened. Sparks flickered at her finger tips and her hair flared as if blown by hot air. The dark tresses also began to gain a burning nimbus.

"Okay Firestarter, you want to throw down?" My hand tightened on the staff and I pointed to the demons behind me. "Because I've seen the pyros these girls are and I'm curious how your ritual magic compares."

Mars grinned. I felt the room's tension increase as my skin began to feel prickly. Suddenly, I got the feeling that challenging Lady Mars' pyromancy skills was a bad idea. And I really started to wish I'd slipped on my duster.

"Rei," Serenity stated without looking back at her subordinate. Her tone was adamantine.

The pressure abated, but Mars still glared at me.

"New gown?" Serenity asked stepping closer to the redhead.

"I had some help," the demon queen teased, slipping up to the taller woman. Her tail lifted and curled around the other woman's skirt.

A part of me flickered with irritation, and I strode over to the pair. "Look, it's late and I just got done talking with my boss, but what's this all about?"

Serenity eyed me. With her boots and height she only had to look up slightly. I was transfixed by her eyes. There was power here, but constrained, untapped. "You're not like him," she said after a few moments.

"Would I hang around with someone like Murdock?" Ranma asked.

"You have before," Lady Pluto noted, stepping forward. She nodded to my staff and swept her arms, flicking her fingers. An ornate grey rod taller than her appeared. Made of a dark silvery metal and adorned with flanges and filigree, it was topped with an immense garnet orb.

"Fancy," I noted.

"I am the Guardian of the Gates," the diminutive lady noted.

"Of course you are." I groaned. "Look it's not my fault I'm here. One of my bosses sent me here."

Pluto tilted her head. I felt like a bacteria at the wrong end of a microscope.

"I'm on good terms with the Gatekeeper from my world," I offered.

Pluto circled around me. Her staff tapped on the floor.

The Moon queen and the demon queen continued their little... chat.

The red eyes continued to bore into me. I pulled my gaze away. "I know I'm not from around here but I've been sent to help."

The emerald-haired girl leaned the staff on her shoulder. Her expression was expectant but measured. "Do tell," she dryly remarked.

"Someone's gonna summon something big here and it'll damage my world and this one."

"Yes, you were sent to cleanup your people's mess." The girl sighed.

"My people? You know who the summoner is?"

Irritation flashed over Lady Pluto's face. It was then replaced by resignation "I am the Guardian of the Gates. I felt your trespass."

"And the summoner?"

"Was far more subtle. You bashed your way in like a noisy thief. The summoner, as you say, was silent and slipped in."

Ranma's ears pricked up and she started to watch Puu, her tail swishing.

"It was only by tracking the damage you had caused that I was able to detect the earlier intrusion." Lady Pluto's composure instantly recovered. It was eerie. One moment she bore barely-contained frustration, the next it she was utterly calm.

Maybe it was my years of experience, maybe it was that I was technically part of the faerie courts, maybe it was because I had just gotten done talking with Mab, but I realized that the scary little girl didn't actually say she didn't know who the summoner was.

"How early?" Eve asked.

"It's hard to tell, given someone ripped apart the fabric of reality."

The blonde eyed her. "Do you know where they arrived?"

"South. I'll see if I can narrow it down," Pluto flatly stated.

The tall blonde looked down at the creepy girl. "Would it help if you went to where Warden Dresden arrived?"

The girl nodded.

"We'll take you there."

The girl bowed her head in recognition. It was a stiff almost doll-like movement.

"What do you mean by my people?"

Pluto looked at me. I then realized something. I wasn't getting the pull of an incipit Soulgaze from her. "The intruder is like you."

"Meaning? White Council? Winter Court? Another practitioner? What?"

The green-haired girl gave a stiff shrug.

"Hey, Mister Wizard," Ranma said, her hooves clicking as she walked up. "Which do you prefer, red ants or black ants?"

"What? What does that matter?" I frowned; her question was familiar.

"That's how Puu sees the rest of us Mortals," the redhead grinned pulling Serenity along with her.

Groaning, I looked at Lady Pluto with new wariness. Anyone that a demon would consider less "mortal" than herself....

"But ants?" Serenity asked.

"It's from Watchmen," I stated.

Ranma nodded. "I figured a comic book reference would get though his thick skull."

I grumbled.

"But Puu's not that distant," Serenity defended.

Pluto chuckled. "There are many worlds my Queen. More than you can count. But for the Gates, they are beyond my domain." Emotion now bloomed in her voice. There was wistful regret and traces of an old anger long worn down with time and resignation.

"Oh-kay...."

"Don't be scared, Puu just puts on a scary show," the redhead said as she scooped up the smaller girl and drew her into a hug. The ruffled accents to Lady Pluto's dress were swamped by the larger ruffles and layers of the demon's gown.

The younger, or at least younger looking, girl protested for a bit. Until her silver-haired queen joined in. With her almost Victorian uniform she added an oddly regal air to the whole thing.

"Right, she's just a harmless kitten," I deadpanned.

"I could eat her up," Ranma gave a toothy smirk bumping her hip against Serenity while wrapping her arms around the diminutive Pluto.

Glancing over, I saw Mars' eyes smolder, almost literally, as she glared at the demon queen. I briefly wondered what kind of "issues" the moon queen's entourage had.

"You can try," Pluto stated.

"Oh?" Ranma teased.

The green-haired girl craned her neck up and gave the demon a look.

"Right, you can get more info on who's running around here plotting their dark summon?"

Pluto pulled her gaze away from the amused demon. "Hopefully where and when she, or he, came across."

"And the damage I caused?"

Pluto gave me a dark look. "This isn't a magic wand." She thumped her garnet rod.

"Well... technically... I mean..."

Her red eyes narrowed as "the look" intensified.

"The situation is... precarious, Warden Dresden," Eve gently reminded. "Do remember Ottawa."

"Right the squid things," I stated studying the garnet orb atop Pluto's staff. There was more to it than she said. I could feel power buzzing off of it.

I suppressed a sigh as I opened my Wizard's Sight. Colors shifted as magical energies entered my Sight. For my part, I focused on the top of the silvery staff. Energies raced up and down it and the orb itself seemed to consist of layers of lens-like foci. There was power in it, but only to keep the enchantments running.

In a way her staff was a lot like my own.

Well, aside from the shimmering black threads that were tied to it.

And here's where I should have just closed my third eye; instead, I followed the threads.

They pulled back and towards the green-haired girl. But they didn't emerge from her. then I realized that I was looking at Lady Pluto herself.

On one side was Ranma's branching demonic energies, on the other was Serenity. The Silver-haired queen seemed starkly lit as she glowed with a bright, nearly blinding white light. In contrast the ebony shadow she threw flickered with golden shimmers in the inky depths that overlapped and rippled like waves, or fine scales.

However, those two merely bookended what I was seeing.

Lady Pluto stood before me. Her dress was prim and ruffled. Her body poised and still. And running from her wrists, ankles, and neck were iridescent black lines. More pulled from a row down her spine and out the back of her head.

A few lines twitched and her head tilted. The world around her became... drawn and plastic. For the first time I felt like I was in the NeverNever, specifically one of the "thin" areas where the laws or reality broke down.

I swallowed. Before me was meat marionette on a flat puppet theater stage riddled with worm-rot. The foci of the garnet rod could help nail things down, but ultimately it was like hammering rotten boards.

And then behind the stage where the threads were being moved.... iridescent bubbles churned and popped.

A green eyebrow was pulled up and the silver rod was yanked down. The garnet orb smacked into my oak staff. There was a sharp crack, the scent of ozone, and my Sight closed.

"Grawa-nrab?" I gibbered blinking my eyes.

"Someone tried to sneak a peek," Lady Pluto crossly noted.

"Poor, dumb Harry," Ranma sighed.

Eve handed me a bottle of water. I took a sip.

"What did you see?" Mars asked, genuine interest in her voice.

I caught Ranma's eye, but the demoness' expression was opaque. How much was the Moon Queen keeping from her retainers? How much was Lady Pluto keeping from her queen? What did I even see? The Moon Queen had power, like one of the younger fae queens but Lady Pluto... what even was she?

"A lot of power, and things... falling apart," I added. I took another sip and rubbed my head.

Mars sniffed and went to Serenity.

Eve stepped over to Pluto. "If you're still good, we'll arrange for transport for you."

The redhead broke out of the hug. She gave Serenity a wink and sauntered over towards me. I noticed that Serenity's eyes were following the demon's bustle.

"And are you okay?" the redhead asked.

"Yeah, just been a busy day... you know," I coughed, my chest hurt with that fatigued feeling of having spent too much time up. "Also not used to the monkey-suit."

"And you don't have to deal with a bodice or all this hair weight." The demon nodded sympathetically.

I blinked. She had bent her neck. I caught sight of her suddenly bare neck.

The demon then reached up and put her taloned hands atop her coiffure. She gripped and pulled her arms down. The updo collapsed as the ice gems that studded it melted. The ice crystals making up her bracelets also liquefied and ran.

As did her tiara and then her bodice. Her clothes and skirting and bustle turned plastic, then liquid, and ran down. Gloves and claws dripped as the shining frippery and silken finery around her hooves sparkled and evaporated with purple sparks and sank into a pool of shadows.

The shadows retreated, drawing closer to her hooves. Which then melted and shifted back into black leather wedge-heel motorcycle boots. Teased wild hair falling down her back, the demon rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck. She then smoothed the leather jacket that had draped over a violet blouse and leather skirt.

I tilted my head. I had to keep in mind just how easily the demon could change her form. I wondered if there was more to her shapeshifting ability; if she could impersonate people or if she was limited to variations of her own form.

"Handy," I stated, loosening my tie and undoing the top button.

Frowning a bit, Serenity shifted her own dark blue jacket.

Looking over from her conversation with Eve, Lady Pluto tisked.

I gave a theatrical yawn. "Hey, unlike some spooky not really-little-girls, some of us need to sleep."

Eve glanced to her sister with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'll handle it," the redhead nodded.

***************


An electronic buzzer went off near my head. Rolling over, the braying beeping pounded into my skull. Blearily, I rose up on the queen-sized bed. It was barely twilight outside the window.

The alarm continued to screech. I pushed a button atop the blinking device and instead was rewarded with a full blast of radio static. I growled and pointed my hand. Magic shot out and the clock-radio sparked and died.

I swiveled, put my legs down onto the floor, and watched the numbers dim and go dark. I picked up the clock and dropped it into the trashcan next to the nightstand. It landed atop the plastic packaging the clock had come in.

Look, the thing had three strikes against it. First, I'm not really a morning person, and I was up late last night. Second, electronics and me don't get along. Third, I preferred my alarm clocks to be windup with actual bells, not beeping buzzers.

Yawning, I stood up. Still, I supposed, the clock had lasted the night. The bedroom was nice, but it had the lack of human touch that marked it out as a guest room.

However, a couple things stood out. Clothes hung in the closet and the dresser was full. Obviously at least one of demonic daughters used this room, if only for storage. Probably Akane based on the style and colors of the clothes.

Another oddity was that the marks on the dresser, desk, and the cleared shelves indicated that this used to be more than a guest bedroom. Still, that didn't mean much to me as I tossed on a shirt, grabbed a pile of clothes, and went looking for the bathroom.

I exited into an upstairs hallway. Doors faced me. I tried a couple. First I found another empty bedroom. This one packed with shelves and more personal effects. The room had two vanities, one of which lavishly stocked with cosmetics.

Frowning at the room's unused bed, I closed the door and wondered if the demons actually slept. The next room was a deep and very well-stocked linen closet. My musings abated when the third door revealed a bathroom.

Like the other rooms, this one was neat and rather spacious. However, the walls were crowded with cabinets and shelves. The shelves on the wall above the tub were also full. There were half a dozen different racks that each had their own group of varying bottles of shampoos, soaps, and other odds and ends.

The double sink also had a mess of toothbrushes in holders, spools of heavy duty floss, dental picks, and cups for water. In one cabinet was a big box of unopened toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste. I frowned, realizing this was more than I wanted to know about demonic oral hygiene. At least the toothpaste and mouthwash was good stuff.

Still, I took a fresh toothbrush, found a fresh bar of soap, and took the shampoo that smelled the least flowery. Behind the toothbrush box were even some safety razors. They were old and I couldn't find any shaving cream but they'd do.

Showering, shaving, and taking care of everything else helped wake me up. By the time I'd gotten dressed and was returning to the guest room to get the rest of my stuff, my mind had begun to clear.

Shrugging my coat back on, I made my way to the stairs. The house was nice. It was smaller than Chateau Raith, where Lara ran the White Court of vampires.

But that was a mansion on hundreds of acres of groomed grounds. And while much of the Raith family had been raised there, it was not exactly a "family place".

And well, this wasn't a mansion at all. It was a rather large house with two stairwells, but it was still a suburban family residence. It was larger than my friend Michael's place, and he and his wife raised over half a dozen kids there. But it shared the same homey feel of a house filled with family love.

Hells Bells, the place practically emanated the energies of Ranma's connection to her brood. The threshold alone buzzed and crackled.

What did that say when I visit a demon queen's lair and it reminds me of the white-picket fenced home of a retired Knight of the Cross and his family?

Going down the front stairs, I glance out a foyer window; I could see a white van parked on the private lane the house was on. Granted, this place didn't have angelic protectors. On the ground floor, a tantalizing scent drew me.

I glanced around the cathedral-ceilinged foyer. There was no one else in sight, but the house did not feel empty. I wondered how trusting they were to let a wizard unescorted into their house. There was a lot a wizard of my caliber could do with a bit of time to prepare. Then again, there was a lot they could do, given they had the home field advantage and outnumbered me by a lot.

I wandered through the house, being pulled towards the rear of the building by the heavenly smell. Like the upstairs there were family pictures adoring the walls. Interestingly, both human and succubus. The hiss of a griddle and burble of a coffee-maker welcomed me as I stepped into the kitchen.

A long table was on one side near a door that led out to the back porch. The whole kitchen was faced with broad windows that looked out onto a dark, tree-edged yard. Standing some distance back from the house, I could see an outbuilding. A covered path that snaked from the porch connected the two buildings.

There were broad countertops, a wide island, and the other side of the room was dominated by shelving and the open door to a walk-in pantry. Heavy duty appliances gleamed. Hells Bells, the kitchen actually had a griddle. No, not those flat plates you put on stoves, or those electric things you plugged in and put on the table. This was an inch thick slab of steel mounted on top of burners.

There had to be an acre of workspace on the cook-top, but only a small part of the glossy steel slab was occupied. A couple pancake-like things sizzled on one part of the giant griddle. A taller succubus with straight platinum hair was giving pointers to a shorter girl with white hair in ringlets.

"Good morning Mr. Dresden," the taller one said, her back towards me.

I frowned; I didn't think I made that much noise. I entered the kitchen. The griddle might be largely empty but much of the counter-space had been filled by bowls and platters and containers. There was link sausage, bacon, sausage patties, Canadian bacon, chorizo sausages, thick chunks of ham, breakfast sausage, smoked fish, blood sausage, shrimp, and even a solitary can of spam.

That was just the meat section. There were also minced vegetables, fruits, aromatics, little metal cups of freshly ground spices. Bowls of batter were also being kept in a glass fronted chiller. A wooden box of syrups and sauces had been opened. One of the maple syrup bottles looked as dark as molasses.

And then there was the drinks section. Two coffee makers burbled, a tea kettle steamed, and juice carafes stood iced and ready.

Still facing away, the blonde guided the spatula in the younger girl's hands. "Right, you want to wait until the bubbles on the edges are set... yes just like that. Then check for browning. Good, now flip."

The younger demon turned the pancake and gave a bright smile to the older demon. The platinum blonde patted her on the head. "Now do the others, Desiree. I'll see what Mr. Dresden wants for breakfast."

Desiree nodded and went to her work.

The blonde, Ukyou, turned to me. She wore a kind of abbreviated dark blue robe that reminded me of the chef's outfit at the Japanese steak houses I would go to in Chicago. Her shining pale hair was pulled back with a big orange bow.

"You're looking well. Coffee?" Ukyou asked.

"Sure."

Nodding the demon went to the pot, took a mug and poured. "Sugar, cream?"

"Sure."

She took out a little pitcher of cream and a bowl of brown sugar.

I poured and stirred and used a spoon to add just the right amount. I would take it black, but I could also take it a bit sweeter.

"You look like you had a restful night," the blonde noted. "Even after all the... fun." she added returning the coffee pot.

"I didn't sleep with her," I blurted.

The little white-haired demon giggled.

The coffee pot clunked into place. The platinum blonde demon turned and gave me a look. "Yes, I know," she shook her head. " Desiree prep the garlic and dice a two of the shallots."

Frowning slightly, Desiree nodded

"You know?"

Ukyou's tail lowered and twitched as, once again, she gave me "the look",

"Of course you do. It's not like she wouldn't tell you."

The demon's tail lifted and she burst into laughter.

"What?"

"You really don't know do you?" Ukyou snickered and turned to the griddle. "Okay, Mr. Wizard what do you want for breakfast?"

"What do you mean I-" I cutoff and eyed the large spread of vittles. "What's all this for?"

"After Mother's lessons," Ukyou gestured to the building in the backyard.

I studied the wood-framed building. While it had some of the sleek modernist styling of the house it was next to, the way the building was framed and lit was familiar. It was wood, slats, hanging lanterns, and screens. I could see figures bounding about within.

"That's a dojo," I stated. I had been to plenty in my life. Mostly at Murphy's behest. Those had been modern buildings with mats and other equipment. This looked like something out of a kung fu movie.

"Why yes, yes it is." Ukyou held the batter dispenser and "the look" returned. "Cecilia and her girls are the focus. But Mom's using my sisters and some agents for a few demonstrations. And of course they'll learn something too."

"And you're here cooking?"

Ukyou laughed. "It's my day, and Desiree wanted some lessons of her own."

The young demon's tail swished, and Ukyou gave her another set of ingredients to prepare.

"Ah, that makes sense. So it's a rotation?"

Ukyou raised an eyebrow. "Well... normally today is Akane's turn..."

"She's not a good cook?"

The blonde's laugh returned. "She's bland but edible now," Ukyou stated as if that were some great accomplishment.

"I see." It probably was. My former apprentice was an awful cook, but I supposed being forced to feed a gaggle of hungry demons would provide some motivation.

"So today you're doing the big pancake breakfast?" I asked

After taking a moment to stare at me dumbfounded, the demon shook her head and went to the massive griddle. "Now what do you want on your okonomiyaki?"

"What?"

The tip of her tail flicking to side to side, Ukyou sighed. "Your pancake."


***************

Finishing up my breakfast, I stepped out onto the porch. The last bits of blueberry and bacon in a fluffy pancake went down great. The demon seemed off put by my calling my breakfast a pancake, but was more irked at how I had demurred from the more exotic ingredients and sauces.

Still, it was filling, and she did know how to cook.
Sipping my coffee, I walked down the pathway to the dojo. The outbuilding sat on a slight rise and somehow seemed to loom over me.

The sounds of physical activity came from within. Reaching the decking surrounding the dojo I peered through a window and... stared.

Look, it's not my fault. I had expected, well, gi or robes, or even exercise wear. Though, technically, what the demons were wearing did count as exercise wear. And there were a couple people wearing gi.

The brood however... wore Lycra. The Technicolor rainbow of hair colors was complemented by a Technicolor rainbow of skin-tight bodysuits.

"It's something isn't it?" a voice suddenly croaked to my left. "It makes a man feel young."

Startled, I turned and looked... down. Standing next to me was a diminutive old man. Wrinkled with wisps of hair on a nearly bald head, and bug-eyes, he leaned against a wooden pillar. However even if he stood up straight. I knew he'd be shorter than Ranma.

"I wasn't staring!" I reflexively cried.

"No need to sell me a story," the old man said with a knowing leer, that reminded me of Bob.

He gave a slightly wheezing laugh, and a goofy grin, but his eyes were sharp and focused. I then took note of the stance his legs were in, the firmness he gripped the pillar with, and the old robe draped over his narrow shoulders

I frowned, recalling the wisdom of Pratchett: "Do not act incautiously when confronting little bald wrinkly smiling men."

It had served me well in dealing with wizards and master swordsmen. "Ah, are you an instructor? Are these your students?" I guessed giving a respectful nod of the head.

The old man chuckled. "Just those two layabouts," he pointed with a gnarled but strong hand.

Looking through the window, I saw he had pointed towards the two male instructors. "Huh," I sipped my coffee.

The old man gave the interior of the dojo a longing look. "I'm gonna get some breakfast before the rush." He then reached up and patted me on the back before starting to walk towards the house. "Oh, you better have an excuse ready," he called, sauntering away.

"Excuse?" I turned to face him, but the old man had already slipped into the kitchen. When I turned back to the dojo, I saw that the action had ceased. The students and teachers had stilled. Ranma pointed to me and beckoned with a finger.

Exhaling, I crossed the threshold.

Wearing a purple bodysuit, Ranma stood at the far end of the dojo. She had a little smile on her face as the dozen or so succubae at the front separated allowing me to pass.

The humans, agents and instructors, also watched me stride in. Next to Ranma, knelt one of her daughters, the one with short dark blue hair. The one with fine black hair and intense red eyes and the one with coiffed orange hair and crazy green eyes stood in the middle of the dojo.

The two had swords at the ready and it looked like I had interrupted a match.

Ranma idly waved a hand, and the two bowed. Though the green-eyed demon gave a smirk as she bowed bow, she and her sister stepped aside.

"Uh, breakfast is lookin' pretty good," I offered stepping into the center of the room, acutely aware that I was surrounded by demons, skimpy dressed ones at that. It probably didn't help that I was still eating a folded pancake.

"Oh?" The redhead gave a sideway smile. She glanced to the side. "How are we set for time, Pops?"

One of the human instructors was a stocky-looking man with glasses and a white bandana tied over his head. "We're fifteen minutes from break," he said.

Nodding, the redhead thought for a moment. "Right," she clapped her hands. And stepped closer to the students. "Girls, this is Warden Dresden. He's a wizard. What does that mean?"

"Magical powers?" one of the succubae with short turquoise hair cut in a pageboy bob asked.

"You can do better than that, Priscilla." Ranma chided.

I kept my silence; it was interesting to see "the Look" when it wasn't aimed at me.

The young succubus almost wilted under the redhead's gaze. "A wide variety of magical powers."

Nodding, Ranma held out her hand, prompting the girl to continue.

Priscilla swallowed. "Well, if every fantasy book and movie is true then, there's also a lot of spells and skills. And a deeper understanding of how magic works."

"Excellent," Ranma clapped her hands.

I noticed Priscilla's cheeks pinken slightly.

The redhead started to circle around me. "Sir Dresden is human. And while he has powerful patrons, it is his knowledge and ability to rapidly apply that information that makes him dangerous." She turned to me. "Is that a fair assessment?"

I stared. This wasn't stern demon mom, playful succubus, or even ravenous combat monster.

The redhead chuckled and continued her lecture. "In battle I saw him cast half a dozen distinct spells that manipulated water, fire, air, and earth. He also came prepared with several types of enchanted and mundane items. And, later on, showed the ability to alter and customize spells when the situation demanded it."

I eventually nodded, recognizing her passion and analytical ability. Martial arts, in all its forms, open hand, weapon, magical, mundane must be a huge thing for her.

The redhead stepped in front of a succubus with rich chestnut hair. "What does that suggest to you, Hazel?"

"Don't let a wizard prepare?" She tapped her chin. "Well, if he's on your side buying him time might be the best option."

"Yes, as with most opponents surprise is a wonderful asset," the redhead stepped to the side and gestured to me. "Now what is unusual about Sir Dresden? Take your time"

I looked around the room as the heavy gaze of the demons fell on me. Keeping my eyes moving did help to keep me from staring anywhere dangerous.

A girl with twin black ponytails raised a hand. "Question."

"Yes, Isabel," Ranma said.

"We don't know enough mages to know what's normal."

"Concealing your true capabilities is an advantage." The brood mother glanced meaningfully at me. "Do as Priscila said. Use movies and books."

"He's young," Isabel immediately said.

Smiling, the redhead made a "please continue" gesture.

The young demon frowned to herself. "He's tall like Gandalf and got the staff but he's not in robes. His coat sticks out a bit but he'd pass as a normal. Also..."

The brood mother waited.

Swallowing, Isabel met the redhead's eye. "He's fit, really fit. Muscular, moves like he knows how to fight, and he's got scars too. Physically, he's well above the human norm. And wizards aren't known for being bruisers."

"Bah, watch Lord of the Rings again; Gandalf was a scrapper," I snarked.

Ranma nodded to me before going back to Isabel. "Good observation, but you forgot the gun, most people don't carry one as a matter of daily routine.

"You must remember that most folks don't set aside the mental headspace for lethal violence. The idea that someone may want to kill them, that they may have to kill someone is entirely absent. If they get into a fight, they'll have to spend the time to get into that headspace; time they often won't have."

The demon stood and clasped her hands behind her back. "If we are not looking for something?"

"We will not see it," the class answered back.

"If we were not listening for it?"

"We will not hear it."

"And if we do not understand it?"

"It did not happen," the girls repeated.

"That's how people explain away the paranormal," I muttered.

"Oh?" Ranma tilted her head and took a step back, yielding me the floor.

"Uh..." I looked around the room and hurriedly finished the last of my pancake. I sighed. I had taught newbie Wardens before, and I had a wizard's apprentice once. "Okay, a lot of people don't believe in the supernatural. They think the universe is nice and ordered. So, if something spooky comes up and attacks 'em..."

I looked over and saw the redhead attentively listening.

"Well, they freeze up. Their mind says 'this can't be happening to me'. And often they die. Those that survive, well, they'll try to live on, and go back to normal. They'll deny what they saw, thinking instead of a ghoul, it was a junkie or something. Because they don't want to live in a world where monsters exist. It makes it easy for them to forget.

"And there's also the peer pressure. Unless a friend or family member had an experience with the 'spooky side', they won't be believed. And even people who mean well just won't understand."

"Well said." The redhead clapped her hands. "And that was the specific case."

"Oh?" This time I tilted my head.

The redhead took my place. "Okay, a lot of people think the universe is nice and ordered. They think it's fair. That bad things happen to bad people. So, if someone nasty comes up and attacks 'em..."

She mimicked the little shrug I gave. "Well, they freeze up. Their mind says 'this can't be happening to me'. And often they die. Those that survive, well, they'll try to live on, and go back to normal. They'll deny what they saw, instead thinking that people can't be that 'bad'."

The redhead turned to me. "Because they don't want to live in a world where monsters exist. And then there's the peer pressure, unless they have a friend or a family member who also had a lethal force encounter the fear, the speed, the pressure... it just won't be believed. And even people who mean well just won't understand "

I frowned.

The demon bowed to me. "You gave a specific example of non-human threats. I gave the general case. Humans can be right bastards too. And as much damage as monsters do to your folk, statistically you're a bigger threat to each other."

She shrugged. "Now those that fight back... well that's different, they might forget later on, but in the moment, in the moment, they saw that the real world is red in tooth and claw."

I sighed, but nodded. I had seen plenty of nasty humans, ones worse than monsters. Ones that became monsters. Hells Bells, the Fallen Angels were only half of the picture when it came to the Denarians. They still needed human hosts, and many of those started out quite willing to enable the mayhem their Fallen companions wanted to cause.

The redhead appraised her class. "Most people are uncomfortable with the idea of predators, specifically the idea that they could be prey. They don't like to think that monsters exist, even human monsters."

"What drives fear?" Ranma turned and pointed to one of the succubae off to the side.

The powder-blue haired girl blinked.

The brood mother gave a patient look.

"Helplessness and ignorance drive fear," Nabiki recited.

"And fear?" Ranma pointed to the audience.

"Fear drives hate," a green-haired succubus completed.

I blinked. Wait.

Ranma nodded. "And why? Isabel."

"People fear what they cannot control and they fear what they do not understand.

I couldn't help myself. "Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering," I stated with muppety gravitas.

The redhead paused for a brief moment and I saw her eyes wince as her tail flicked about. "There's more truth to that line than you think," she smoothly said.

"And are you going to ask me to snatch a pebble from your hand?"

"Do you seek now to know the answers, or to understand the questions?" she archly asked.

"I guess I shouldn't try to outdo your kung fu knowledge."

The redhead looked around the dojo. "I'm more a fan of Bruce Lee's work. But when it comes to things to learn for the Art anything goes," she chuckled to herself.

Blinking, I frowned. I was pretty sure I had missed something.

The redhead gave a tiny sigh before going back to the class.

"Ignorance and helplessness. Yes, this applies to others. Yes, this applies to you. Some will be afraid of you, some will hate you, some will want you destroyed."

I watched as she seemed to have the eye of everyone on the room.

"However, do not think you are immune. Your own fears are driven by helplessness and ignorance. This is why we train, why we learn."

The redhead gave a glance to the older man in glasses; he nodded.

"Right, breakfast," she clapped her hands.

I noticed the demon's nostrils flared slightly with anticipation.

The succubae and mercenaries bowed to the redhead.

Ranma bowed in return. "Dismissed."

Standing to the side, I watched as the demons filed out.

The bald human instructor looked to the redhead. Ranma gave a tiny shake of the head. The other humans, the mercenaries, slipped out as well.

Soon, I was alone with her. "Hear anything about, uh, Gabriel?" I asked.

The redhead smiled. "Doc says he's looking clear of infection. He should be ready to go back on duty once he's healed."

"Good, that's good." I nodded and looked around the dojo. Empty, it was even more spacious.

The redhead looked me up and down. "I suppose you slept well enough," she said with a wry smile.

Coughing, I turned away.

"Too easy," she laughed and rolled her shoulders.

I tensed as her gaze fell upon me. Clinical, detached, she had returned to instructor mode. She tilted her head. "Pity."

"Pity?"

"Pity we won't get to spar." She glanced over to the door.

I turned slightly and saw Eve step inside. The tall blonde demon was wearing a grey suit coat with a matching slim skirt. A predatory little smirk was on her face, and she carried a leather folder. She sipped from a coffee cup and was finishing some sort of pastry.

Ranma's tail raised and swished. "Oh my, someone's got news."

Eve gave a little nod. "We have a lead."

"Oh? Did the scary little girl come up with something?" I asked.

"Miss Meiou's analysis is inconclusive," Eve stepped closer. Her teeth flashed. "However, studying Lucas and his associate's effects gave results."

"That being?"

"It took a while but we found a set of keys to a rental locker at Union Station."

I snorted. "Of course. Practitioners love stashing things in lockers at train stations and bus depots. What'd you find?"

"A handful of grimoires. Things they didn't want to risk bringing to a fight," she handed the folder over.

I opened it. Inside was a printed list of titles and photos of the covers and some of the inside pages. . "A folio of the Parchments of Pnom? A pretty good fake..."

"It is," Eve agreed. "It might even be an original. We're not sure where it came from."

I raised an eyebrow. The White Council was rather certain that the Parchments of Pnom was an elaborate forgery. I shrugged and moved to the next set... and gave a low whistle. "That's a Testament of Carnamagos."

"It appears to be, complete, or nearly, too," Eve stated.

"Complete nothing. There were only two documented copies. One was destroyed by the Spanish Inquisition, the other burned by the Soviets when they overran a Thule Society laboratory outside Berlin." I eyed the book feeling uneasy.

"The tome would be... slightly more common in this world then," Eve stated.

"Ah," I absently nodded. It figured. All that was really required was for one book to survive long enough to be copied. Completely stamping out a tome was actually rather difficult. Fortunately, warlocks and cultists weren't the sharing type.

Heck with a lot of ritual magic, the more available the spells were the less powerful they were. If every Tom, Nick Scratch, and Saruman vied for the same entity's attention then there'd be less mojo to go around.

"It is noteworthy to see a copy so complete," Eve added.

"Huh." I went to the next book. "That's an... odd edition of Unaussprechlichen Kulten,"

Eve winced at my pronunciation. "We believe it was a rebinding. There's considerable marginalia. It looks to be someone's working copy." She took a sip from her mug.

"And a copy of... Cryptomenysis Patefacta?" I frowned.

"The Art of Secret Information Disclosed without a Key," Eve supplied.

"Yeah, I gathered. Okay... we've got two books on the lineages of obscure old gods, the scrap book of someone who paled around with all sorts of nasty cults, and... a book on eldritch cryptography."

The demons looked expectantly at me.

"Yeah, Lucas was a player. This is more than just picking up a Sussex Manuscript translation of the Necronomicon and trying to get some squid-god's attention."

I sighed and flipped through the pages again. "That's... not good. Looks like my boss-lady was right. We've got a summoner. You're watching the locker?"

Eve gave me a vaguely offended look. "Yes, but we have another lead." Her teeth flashed again. "We know where two of those books were purchased."

I looked between her expression and her shifting tail. "Local?"

"Incognito?" Ranma asked.

The blonde nodded.

"Interview?"

"Surveillance teams are in place," Eve agreed.

I looked between the two. "Wait."

"You're coming along?"

"Inside support," the blonde stated.

"Great, I'll take Ukyou to supplement."

Eve contemplated her mug. "She's still serving breakfast."

Ranma waved her off. "Desiree's helping. Besides Nabiki can spot her."

"Right," the blonde turned on her heel and started walking out of the dojo. The redhead followed.

"Wait? Are you doing what I think you're doing?" I demanded.

Ranma looked over her shoulder. "What? You don't want to play Good Cop, Wizard Cop?"

***************


I jumped out of the van, onto the sidewalk, and ran up to the squat brick building sitting in front of me. It stood alone on the block isolated by dead, frozen grass and a gravel parking lot. The windows were narrow, small, and suspiciously thick.

The only adornment was a single sign saying "East York Rare Books".

Jogging up towards the door, I heard footsteps behind me. I grabbed the handle and felt a slight tingle. I inhaled and pulled the door open.

Magical energy prickled against me as I crossed the Threshold; the magical barrier that surrounds a person's home. That meant the guy lived here too. I was entering without permission, which meant I had to leave a lot of my power outside, but it was worth the risk.

Inside, the store was dimly lit and... small. In front, there were a couple of aisles of shoulder-high shelves. But they were mostly bare. Behind them was a heavy wood counter that ran the length of the antechamber. And behind that were tall cages containing further stacks of books, many in their own locked crates.

Standing behind the counter was a spare, bald man with pallid skin. He wore a white suit coat over a pale blue shirt and amber tie. Seeing me, his wrinkly face formed into a scowl. Dark green eyes focused on my staff, and his hostility gained a contemplative edge.

"Mage? And what do you-" his raspy voice cutoff when he saw the three demons entering behind me.

Wearing a violet blouse, dark charcoal suit-coat and matching skirt, Ranma took position to on the other end of the counter.

Following the redhead, two blonde demons slipped in. Ukyou had changed into a silver-grey suit that complemented her platinum hair. Unlike the other succubae, she wore pants instead of a suit skirt.

She and Eve took up positions flanking either side of the door.

The shopkeeper's eyes narrowed at the sight of the demons. "And how can I assist the Company?"

"Are we that transparent?"

The old man tilted his head. "I don't hear helicopters." He glanced to a cluster of security monitors to the side. "And there're no tanks on the street. Or agents stacking up at the door." His thin lips forced into a grin. "I suppose this is your idea of subtly."

He laughed then coughed. "Or should I be flattered that I warranted three of you."

"Can it, Incognito," Ranma stated.

I made a point of looking around the room. "So, is there like a mail order catalog for you sleazy peddlers in dark tomes? Or do you decide on a decorating theme at your conventions?"

"How could I forget," he appraised my staff again. "Do you know how to use that thing boy?"

"This isn't about me." I chuckled. "And Incognito? Seriously? Speaking of subtle.. was Hugh Mann too fancy of an alias?"

The old man crossed his arms. "Make with the demands. I've got a business to run."

Ranma dropped a manila folder on the counter.

"Must we do with the theatrics?" Incognito asked.

I looked around the room. Eve and Ukyou stood silently. Though the younger blonde had a slight tilt to her head.

Putting a bit of flare to my staff, I turned back and fought off a slight tingle that ran up my arms to the top of my spine. "Hey, you're the one that called this subtle."

With a murmur the old man flipped the folder open. "Ah." Studying the photos, he looked wistful. "And that was such a lovely find. Do you know how hard it is to get the Testament of Carnamagos? Let alone one a reading copy that was rebacked and had proper shagreen binding. I can count on one thumb how many of those there are on the planet." Pulling a gold pen out of a coat pocket, he sighed.

I blinked. In used book parlance, a "reading copy" was one that was well used. It might have marks, rips, and notes, but above all it was complete. However, the blonde demon said the book they picked up was "nearly" complete. I glanced over, but the tall demoness was silent.

The old man continued. "Not that that lunatic American seemed appreciative. At least his money was good, and his whelp seemed enthused about it," the old man added as if an afterthought.

"And the cult book?" I asked pushing to the latter set of photos.

The old man gave a brief smile. "Unaussprechlichen Kulten. I've got half a dozen in the back." His pen pointed to the locked stacks behind him.. "But this was Captain Klaus Woermann's copy."

"He liked to write in the margins, who does that?" I laughed, keeping myself from shaking my head. There was a slight, very slight tingle at the back of my neck, as if I'd picked up some static electricity in a dry room

"A former captain in the Kreigsmarine. One who thought war inoculated him to other horrors." The old man gave me a conspiratorial grin. "I'd be wary of your companions, mage. Take the blue-eyed one back there. In a different time, she'd be along with Captain Klaus or maybe with Thule."

Turning back, I couldn't help but chuckle. The tingle had passed, or at least I didn't notice it anymore. Besides I had my mental defenses up and there was no sense of intrusion or pressure.

Eve gave me a clouded expression.

The old man's wistful expression returned. "This wasn't the first pick. No, she asked me if I had an Annotated Abnett edition." Using the tip of the pen to shift the pages, Incognito snorted. "A practiced eye sure, but a bit beyond my blood."

I frowned. Who was this she the book-dealer was talking about now?

"But you just happened to have one of these lying around?" Ranma pointed to the picture of the Testament of Carnamagos.

"Ah no, that was a special order."

"For?"

The man gave me a wry smile. "And now we get to the negotiation."

Ranma stepped forward. The shadows started to darken around her boots.

"Don't," the old man's hand flipped up, thumb resting on the top of the pen. "You're not the first little hell-tart I've dealt with." He increased the pressure on the silver stud atop the pen. "We can do civilized business or..."

The side of my staff slammed into the counter with a heavy klunk, leaving the top two inches from his neck. "You were saying?"

The old man gave a rasping chuckle. "Mexican standoff?"

"That implies we all die. I don't know about you, but I'd lay good odds on the redhead pulling a Wolverine."

The old man stared; his sudden amusement starting to wilt.

"Mutant, from the comic book? Geeze, and you call yourself a book dealer. Anyway, I'd bet old Red would survive. Course, you should also take note where she's looking."

Staring levelly at the old man's nose, the redhead's eyes began to flare.

"The Company is more than willing to do business," Eve said near the door, in an almost disinterested tone.

"Perhaps, we can start with this 'little hell-tart'?" Ukyou asked, speaking for the first time.

There was just a hint of echo to her voice. I laughed, normally it was the mother demon that had the funny voice.

The old man's nodded wistfully. "She was in human drag, but you can tell," he turned to me and winked. "Isn't that right, my boy?"

"Like these ladies?" I asked gesturing to the demons.

Finger lifting off of the pen, he idly twirled it. "Nope. She was pale, but the flesh was human."

"Not pancake powder Goth pale?" I asked, drawing a sharp look from the redhead.

"That be the truth," he leaned back and nodded to himself. "The American put on a brave face but he was scared of her. And she was bored, at least after she got the Testament and I told her I didn't have an Abnett edition. Punk."

"The American?"

"Drab suit, brown hair, green eyes with gold flecks," Incognito waved off.

"This man?" Ranma pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it. It was a cropped copy of Lucas' fake ID.

The old man grunted. "That was him. I'll give that for free."

Smiling, Ranma slipped the picture back into her jacket and stepped back.

Using the tip of his pen, Incognito lifted my staff off of the counter. I was surprised by the strength in the old man's hand. Perhaps I had forgotten the wisdom of Pratchett. But in my defense, this wrinkled old man wasn't smiling... much.

"Calm down, boy; we're now doing business," he assured before looking to Eve. "Do you have my books?"

"Do you want them back? The Company would be happy to returned seized property, pending a complete investigation."

"But he sold it..." I started before Ranma shot me "the look".

The old man gave a phlegmy snort. "I only picked up the Testament because the American put down a deposit."

"And Captain Klaus' Unaussprechlichen Kulten?" Eve asked.

"A curio, though I suppose the marginalia would be informative to someone in your business."

"Perhaps my associates could make use of those books. A complete edition of the Testament would be useful," Eve stated.

I frowned, something was up. It seemed that the old man had sold a complete book and then... what had Lucas done with it? I wished I had had the time to actually inspect the books before being driven out here.

As Ranma watched, the old man slowly knelt down. There was a whirr and a clunk as he opened a safe. Then with a grunt, pulled out a locked accordion file. It had heavy bronze hasps locking it shut.

Running the gold pen over the locks, it popped open. I felt a magical backlash as a powerful spell disarmed and stared as the old man started paging through. If I could guess, he had enchanted the file to burn the contents if anyone forced their way in.

"I would want to make sure the Company pays fair market value," the blonde noted.

The old man chuckled. "I just happen to have a purchase order that you can use for reference." He took out a small bundle of pages and dropped it onto the counter.

The old man then locked up the file and slipped it back in the safe.

Ranma had spread the papers. There were a couple pink pages; the third copy of triplicate forms. There was a purchase order, a deposit receipt, an inventory receipt, and a payment receipt.

I boggled a bit at the price of the Testament of Carnamagos, and the wry note that the payment had been cash. It wasn't quite briefcase-full-of-cash money. But it would have been awkward to carry any other way.

Looking to the side, I saw that Ranma had hardly noted the price and was instead looking at the names and dates on the paperwork. Stobart Lucas of Boston was the buyer. The demon gave the old man a skeptical look.

"Now don't feel cheated, not until you've seen it all," the old man pushed the last bits of paperwork, carbon copies of the inventory descriptions, aside.

A rubber band was wrapped around a stack of Polaroid photos. Wordlessly, the redhead cut the band with a nail and spread the photos. They were of this very antechamber. I looked around and could see spots in the stacks where cameras might have been hidden. The images were grainy and the colors were dim, but a hidden camera could hardly have a flash.

The old man chuckled. "After the last... colorful visit I put in some redundancies to my security system. Ones that have some protection against electronic interference."

"Cable run? Pneumatic actuator?" Eve asked.

The old man gave a salute with his pen.

I picked one up. My hands trembled. It was eerily familiar, if with the opposite perspective. Five people were in the picture.

At the counter was the back of the old man's head. Standing exactly where I currently stood, was Lucas' nervously, grinning form. Flanking either side of the door was the beefy, blond crew-cut form of Worth and the goon with the mullet. This time, mullet-wolf was wearing a cheap suit that matched Worth's.

And then there was the fifth person. She was short, almost pixyish, with high cheekbones and a delicately pointy chin. Short silvery hair framed a heart-shaped face, and gorgeous green eyes looked vaguely bored as she leaned on the counter.

"Stars and Stones," I swore. I knew who this was. The pieces fell into place. I now understood exactly what Mab meant when she said I was looking for someone interested in thwarting an evil man's plans.

Damn it. Literally. It was the Denarians. I was dealing with a Fallen Angel. Worse, a jilted Fallen out for revenge.

"That the Hell-tart?" Ranma asked, leaning to look at the photo.

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I had been holding out hope that maybe the old man was wrong, or maybe it was a different "demonic" lady. Hells Bells, I've faced enough wickedly evil women.

"Yeah it's-"

The redhead held up her hand cutting me off. She then gave Incognito a smile and started gathering up the paperwork.

"Loose lips my boy." The old man chuckled.

The redhead bowed her head before tugging my arm and drawing me away from the counter. Ukyou stepped to one side and opened the door.

Eve strode past us and placed a grey business card onto the counter. "I trust you prefer cash?"

The old man's face suddenly soured. "Canadian, American, Euro, even bullion. But if you insist on a wire transfer, well, then I'll have to add a processing fee."

Eve smiled thinly. "Payment will be dropped off by close of business today."

Ukyou and Ranma had already exited the building. I lingered at the threshold.

"Don't insult me, the Company's money is always good," the old man grunted, pocketing the card.

Eve nodded and firmly, but gently pushed me outside. She then gave me a chill, toothy smile and escorted me to the van that pulled up just as we crossed to the sidewalk.

End Chapter 4


I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf. Special thank to : J St C Patrick for his help in proofreading this (and the other) chapters.

And the Dresden Files fans should have enough info to figure out who Mab was talking about. Other readers will have to wait until ch5 when Harry tells the others who the girl in the picture is.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 5: Underground Diplomacy, Part A


I was in another of the Company's drab concrete and steel themed conference rooms. Behind me, a projector threw cropped, slightly retinted images we had retrieved from the book store. This time, most of the chairs were occupied. In addition to Ranma, Eve, and a passel of demonic daughters, I recognized the good Lieutenant Tendo and a few other human officers.

Oddly enough, Eve seemed to be the senior officer. At least the most senior visible. One wall of the room had several built-in mirrors that seemed a bit too convenient.

"Her name is Polonius Lartessa." I gestured to the woman being projected. "She's the second senior-most member of the Order of the Blackened Denarius. A group of lunatics and their Fallen Angel buddies. There's up to thirty Fallen, each stuck in an ancient silver Roman coin. Yes, those thirty pieces of silver."

It said something about my life that the assembled audience didn't blink at my comment.

"Wait, each Fallen is trapped inside the coin?" Lieutenant Tendo asked, looking up from her notes.

"Yeah, it's part of the deal. They're limited. But there's loopholes. Namely, if they can get a host." I pointed to the photos. "Tessa here's been with Imariel for over a thousand years."

"How do they take a host?" one of the human officers asked. He was short, broad-shouldered man who looked to be Pilipino.

"Skin contact with a coin." I nodded to the murmur. "Yes, it's that bad. On the upside, the Fallen can't take control. Not at first, but their presence is there."

"And if the coin is removed?" Tendo asked.

"A shadow remains." Sighing, I scratched my palm. I noticed the minute tensing in the quiet room. "That is a Shadow of the Fallen. She'll have only a fraction of the real Fallen Angel's powers, but she'll have all her memories. Including how to summon the coin itself. And yes, that means a wielder will be exceptionally hard to contain, even if you remove the coin."

Eve looked up at the mirrored wall to her left. "Would you consider anyone who touches a coin compromised?"

I stepped to the end of the table and took a glass of water. "I'd be suspicious. And rightly so. But it's not like the Fallen jumps in and takes control. It has to be invited, the host has to give permission for the Fallen to take over."

"I'm guessing they can be quite persuasive," Tendo dryly noted.

"Each Fallen is older than the universe, and has been observing humans since we came into existence. Even in their limited state, they have knowledge and power to call upon that makes them exceptionally hard to resist. They'll give you what you want; they'll help you, and ask for little in return, at first."

"Can the Shadow be destroyed? The connection be broken?" Tendo asked.

This time, I kept from scratching my palm. "Yeah, there are ways. It takes a lot of work. But the hosts aren't lost. Hells Bells, saving the hosts is why the Knights of the Cross exist."

"Lucas mentioned them. Church agents from your world," Ranma stated.

"Yeah, each uses one of three Swords: Amoracchius, Esperacchius, and Fidelacchius. There is a Nail worked into the hilt of all three. And yes, those nails."

Eve make a thoughtful noise.

"I'm serious, and I'm pretty sure they're also Excalibur, Durendal, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi respectively."

"Powerful artifacts," Eve said.

I couldn't tell if she was skeptical or not. Interestingly, Ranma and her daughter Nariko perked up at the lineage of Fidelacchius.

"Powerful? Kusanagi was forged by Susanoo," Ranma stated.

"So, it has elements of two major religions? Shinto and Christian?" Eve's thoughtful tone returned.

"About that. " I coughed. "Fidelacchius... it kinda broke."

The room stilled as those purple eyes bored down on me. "You broke Kusanagi?" Ranma icily asked.

"It wasn't me!" I shook hands. "Besides it got better!"

The demon's glare softened a bit.

"That's kind of the point. Like the coins, the Swords can't just be destroyed. They have to actively be misused against their purpose."

"Noted," Eve nodded. " The knights, they fight the Denarians," the blonde's statement was not a question.

"Well... yeah, I mean their main goal is to save the hosts, to get them to turn away from the Coins, but..." I shrugged.

"They're dealing with people enthralled by Fallen Angels. Fighting seems to be pretty expected," Ranma smiled.

"Yeah. But when the cause is right there's no one that you'd want to show up more than one of the Knights."

"You've worked with them before."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah." Hells Bells, I'd been the custodian for multiple Swords holding them until a worthy bearer appeared. Yes... I've done the Merlin bit. It's overrated. For one, I've still got one of the Swords stored in a safe place back home. Well, technically Murphy has it... it's complicated.

I coughed. "Yeah, they're good people. And sometimes that makes things difficult for them... " I remembered Shiro's sacrifice and Michael on the helicopter. Being a Knight came with huge risks. Starting with being called to missions by the "Home Office". Often they don't even know where they're going, let alone who they're fighting until they arrived.

"Very difficult," I repeated.

"Perhaps you can tell us more information in a later briefing," Eve suggested.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Just in case one of them does show up," the blonde smoothly said.

I sighed: another meeting. "Sure. You'll like them. Sanya uses a Russian machine gun with his Sword and Butters is a total magic and tech geek. Right up your alley. He's the current wielder of Fidelacchius."

"They're a major threat to the Denarians?" Ranma asked.

"One of the biggest."

"Could be why Tessa came here," Ranma suggested. "Get away from them?"

"Possible. They have used diversions to keep the Swords from showing up." I nodded.

"She also came to get the book that no longer existed in her world, no?" Tendo inquired.

"This place may also be more... favorable terrain for a summoning," Eve reminded.

I remembered what I saw behind Lady Pluto with my Sight, the footage from the Battle of Ottawa, and shuddered. "Maybe all three, the Denarians like to have contingency plans."

"Are only humans viable hosts?" Eve asked.

I put the glass down, and pondered her unspoken question. "Nope. Sure, I've mostly seen humans use 'em, but I once saw a Fallen happily work with a homicidal sasquatch. That was a nightmare, well two nightmares combined into one giant nightmare. I would not recommend any of the brood touch one."

I expected a bit of outrage on the part of the succubae. That at least one of them would insist she could handle the temptation. Instead, they continued to quietly, attentively watch.

"Uh, right, here's why. It's not just People and uh... Forest People. Okay, take the White Court Vampire. Now, they're humans permanently bonded with a Hunger. That is a demonic entity that gives them powers but requires them to keep it fed. And they're born this way."

This time I felt a bit of ire from the succubae contingent. "It's just an example. But they're supernatural and got demon bits, and I'm pretty certain that a White Court Vamp could get infected by a coin."

Eve tapped the table. "There's more to this example than the succubus aspect."

"Yeah, I can Soulgaze with White Court Vamps. They've got souls, like you. And that's all I think is required in a host for the coin."

The blonde demon nodded. "Definitely a danger."

"Agreed." Ranma looked to her daughters. "Are we clear?"

I noted all of the broodlings readily nodded, even the one with the orange hair and crazy green eyes.

"Wait what?" I blinked. "This is the part where you tell me you're used to temptation, or that you're firkin demons and can handle dark powers. Or obviously evil artifacts." I pointed to the sheathed katana Nariko had leaned on the table.

Misako snorted. "Right because I want to have another powerful demonic figure with her claws in my brain."

A platinum blonde, sitting to Misako's left, put her arm around the girl's shoulder and pulled her in. Across from them the young powder-blue haired demon frowned. Her pen almost fell from her hands as she gave a little shudder. She then tightened her grip and went back to her notes.

I looked between Misako and the redhead. "Ah..." I had been wondering just how telepathic they were. Or maybe empathic was a better term.

Ranma held her hand up. "Let's just say we're very aware of how easily one can be usurped by a more powerful demonic entity."

"Oh, ah good. Because the coins are bad news." I exhaled. "But they're only half the story."

"The hosts?"

"Yeah, a lot of them are dupes, recruited from the desperate or downtrodden. The Fallen takes over and wears 'em like a suit. And once the suit's worn out..." I shrug.

"They pick up a new one," Tendo surmised.

"Yup, but the real dangerous ones work with their hosts," I pointed to the projection. "Tessa's been at this for a long time, and while most of her recruits are of the 'use and throw out' style, don't forget that she has other recruits."

"She is the Number two in this 'Order'," Eve stated.

I held my hand out and waved it. "Kinda. Nicodemus Archleone is the head of the Order, and they're all Fallen and all dedicated to havoc and destruction but..."

"Two factions then?"

I nodded. " Nicodemus plays the long game. Tessa likes her blood and havoc now. Which fits with her mantis form."

"Mantis form?" Tendo asked.

"Yeah, the Fallen can give their hosts the power to transform into a twisted demonic body. So, in addition to being a powerful sorceress, Tess can become a giant creepy bug with extra strength, armor, and claws and mandibles. Speed too. You would not believe how quick she is. And can split into lots of nasty little bugs."

"Lovely," the officer stated.

"She is fast, resourceful, sadistic, and ruthless. This is not someone you want to underestimate, and you corner her at your own risk."

The mercenaries nodded.

"She's more than a pretty face. She also helped cause or worsen a lot of bad events in my world."

"Such as?" Eve asked.

I took a sip of water. "The 100 Years War, the Rwanda Genocide, the Valencia Atrocity, the Killing Fields, and the War of the Roses. She also teamed up with hubby to worsen the Black Death in Europe."

"War of the Roses?" Ranma asked.

"English dynastic conflict following the hundred year's war. It had its moments, but not exactly worth putting on a resume," Eve frowned.

"My world's version must have been worse," I shrugged.

"And the Valencia Atrocity?"

"During the Spanish Civil half the population of Valencia was murdered in a ten month span. Each side blamed the other but..."

"Yes, I see," The blonde nodded. "As interesting as historical divergences are, we're overlooking the more interesting part."

"Yeah, Tessa's married to Nicodemus," Misako laughed.

The room quieted for a moment. The only noise being the pens being used to take down notes.

After having some more water, I nodded. "Yup. A few years after he gave her a coin, she married him... and they had a kid."

"Both parents hosts? That had to have messed her up." There was a dangerous edge to Misako's voice.

"Yeah... Deirdre, their daughter, was crazy. She had her own coin and was almost as old as her parents, but she... worked with Nicodemus," I said, choosing not to go into the more... unpleasant details of Deirdre's relationship with her father.

Eve shifted back in her chair. "He's the evil man your Queen spoke of."

"Yeah, Tessa's here for revenge."

"It's about Deirdre," the redhead looked to me. "What did Nicodemus do to her?"

I exhaled. "He killed her. It was part of some evil scheme of his, and he killed her."

"And now Tessa's summoning something to go after the man that murdered her daughter."

***************


The briefing room had quieted at my bombshell. Ranma looked pensive and even Eve's cool facade was slightly cracked.

I sat down in one of the chairs and poured myself some more water. I knew form the Soulgaze that Ranma was more than willing to spill blood to protect her daughters. Hells Bells, it's not like I was in a place to talk. I wiped out an entire species to protect Maggie.

And it's not like Nicodemus didn't deserve it. The man was a snake and scum. For about two thousand years, Old Nick had murdered and schemed his way across the world. The lives he had ruined were countless. He'd tortured and murdered personal friends of mine.

I watched the blonde demoness stand and talk with another agent while the projector was fiddled with.

It was tempting to leave Nicky to his fate. I'll admit it. I wasn't above a bit of revenge. Heck, the last time I saw the bastard, I was part of a long con to ruin his reputation, powerbase, and take away his minions.

And part of that con... well... Let's just say I'm glad no one asked why Nicodemus murdered his daughter. Or how I knew that he'd murdered her himself...

Don't look at me like that. I didn't figure out that part of the con until after the fact. See, some people, people that Nicodemus wronged over the years, which may have included my boss, figured out a way to get revenge.

They tempted the old bastard; they dangled a trinket in front of him something that if Old Nick really, truly wanted to get.... well he'd have to kill the one person who didn't hate him. The one person he could actually trust. The one person who actually loved him, who was at his side all these long years.

Old Nick really didn't want to kill Deirdre. That was the point. The revenge was forcing his hand. Yeah, there's a reason why pissing off Mab is considered a supremely stupid thing to do.

So that's the thing, Tessa looked under every rock to get her revenge... against something Nick regrets, something that Tessa herself would do if the situation was reversed. Part of me was amused at the idea of the dog-pile of bad news falling on the old snake.

On the other hand...

Letting Tessa summon something that could take out Old Nick seemed like an extremely bad idea. Moreso because of Mab's warning that Tessa was being played. What she thought she was summoning and what she'll actually summon were apparently two different things.

"We've got to stop her," I muttered.

"Glad we have your agreement," Eve dryly noted as the projector clicked on. "We managed to trace the weapons used in yesterday's attack. The pistols were SIGs that were issued to the German federal police, they spent over a decade in use and were listed as destroyed due to excessive wear."

I snorted.

"Indeed," Eve clicked to another slide. "The machine guns are more interesting. They were from a lot sold to the French government for testing and evaluation back in the 70's. They were part of the inventory stolen when a warehouse on an Army base was robbed."

"Who robs an Army base?"

"The Brotherhood of the Moon," Eve clicked to the next slide. Which showed a photo of Lucas and several other men and a few women. I recognized Worth and the mullet guy.

"Moon?" Ranma laughed. "Oh, better not let Serenity know about these goobers.

I snickered. "Oh man. What, was Brotherhood of the Wolf too obvious?"

Eve gave a tight smile, but her blue eyes were amused. "Their name sounds a bit more elegant in the original French: Confrérie de la Lune."

I had a hard time wiping the grin off my face. "What's their deal then?

"The brotherhood is a group of Pattern L's. Lycanthropes. They're close knit and we estimate they have well over two hundred active members. They were originally French with long roots in the Burgundy region but scattered after the War."

I grunted. "What's their motivation?"

"We think they're a cult. There definitely are mystical aspects to their recruitment."

I snorted. This was a group of magical wolfmen, of course they were mystical.

"However, they tend to keep a low profile."

"A couple dozen of them attacked a public park at sunset and then opened up with heavy machine guns."

"Yes, and that was their biggest and most visible attack in thirty years. Normally they work in the shadows."

"And now, they're doing crap like this?" I sighed. "Damn."

"Indeed." Eve clicked to a new slide. There was a bar chart that looked like a revenue breakdown, and then a line chart showing hits over time. There were a lot of blank spots, but it seemed to be a steady amount. "In the past they would normally hire out as hired goons for both the mundane and supernatural world: protection rackets, hired muscle, couriers, and the occasional hit job."

I frowned at the charts. "How do they like to get paid?"

"That's the worrying part. Rumor is they'll take cash but will offer discounts for certain books and items."

"Lycanthrope thugs don't normally collect spellbooks," I grumbled. Okay that was a half-truth I knew a few werewolves who studied magic. Though I wouldn't call them thugs.

"These do, and they may want them back," Eve said, her teeth flashing. "Or they might want their ally to think they want them back."

I frowned at that.

"Do they also make inter-dimensional deals with Fallen Angels?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah, Tessa and her band are bad enough, but them working with a mess of super-strong wolfmen with military weapons is worse," I said.

"Aren't Tessa's supporters thugs as well?" Tendo asked.

"Mostly, but she has a couple handlers and specialists. There's Rosanna who does the vulnerable demon-girl act."

Ranma turned to me eyebrow raised.

"Bat-wings, hooves, but cloven, tail, brown eyes, dark hair, oh and red skin," I frowned as the demons and officers resumed their note taking. "She's Tessa's second-in-command, but also does recruiting and is the handler for the 'dumb muscle' hosts."

I drummed my fingers on the table. Tessa had an ally, someone who was an expert in sorcery. Now, I had assumed that Namshiel's coin had been taken by either Marcone or Mab. Neither would have actually used the coin. The mob-boss was too... determined to be his own boss to submit to a coin.

And besides, he had just been abducted, tormented, and seen the Denarians abuse a child. He had ample reason to hate the bastards. Same with Mab. Someone had attacked Acrtis Tor, her capital, with Hellfire; I was pretty sure that Thorned Namshiel was behind that.

So, his coin should have been out of play. But the coins had a way of getting loose. And given how Lasciel's coin had escaped suspiciously quickly I wasn't willing to assume Thornyboy was still in the penalty box. Hells Bells, what if Maeve had taken the coin from whatever dark hole Mab had put it in?

I nodded. "There's also Thorned Namshiel. He looks like a gaunt grey skeleton monster with bony spurs sticking out of joints. Lanky, greasy hair. Real ugly, but he's the one that taught Tessa sorcery and magic. Very skilled."

"Estimate?" Eve asked.

"Maybe a century or two ahead of me. The guy's some major trouble. Both for precision work, channeling overwhelming power, and combining the two." I looked to my glass. "He's also a big sneak and managed to snag a coin purse full of Tessa's stable of flunkies. If he's involved in this, I can see him advising her on the nuts and bolts of the summoning."

"Would Tessa bring her whole crew?" Ranma asked.

"For this? She'd want to. Would they all come? Maybe," I shrugged. "The Nickleheads aren't the most unified group. If they saw Tessa making a hit at the bossman... they may throw in. Rossana'd take her side. Definitely. Namshiel... if this is as heavy of a summoning as we're looking at, then yeah. But some of the others would stick to Nicky and hope to get on his good side if Tessa loses."

Eve looked at the projection. "Two Fallen magical specialists, one handler, and how many grunts?"

"She might have eleven coins." My head pounded at the scale of how bad this could get. "I mean... they might all jump in. Then again, this summoning has to link to my world..."

Frowning, I wasn't sure if I'd rather have Thornyboy back in Chicago playing evil sorcerer or over here. Splitting the bad guy's forces was handy, and if Thornyboy was where the Knights could get to him...

"Warden Dresden?" Eve lightly asked.

"I'll have to know more about what Tessa's got planed, but there's a real good chance she'll need someone to draw the summoning from this world to mine."

"Still, even divided, she can have two groups with considerable magical skill and offensive power, yes?"

I leaned back in the chair. "I know, that makes you wonder what Lucas and his wolves brought to the table."

"They have local knowledge and a resource base," Tendo offered.

"Knowledge... they did the leg work on getting those books. One of which Tessa couldn't get." I looked to the head of the table. "So, you going to say exactly what Lucas took from the Testament of Carnamagos?"

The blonde demon smiled thinly.

"Because apparently that sour old man sold a complete edition. Or at least that's what he said when he suddenly got all wistful and laughed at every little thing." Recalling the tingle I'd felt on my neck, I looked over to Ranma.

The redhead grinned at me. "What can I say? Ukyou's more than a good cook."

I shivered then went back to Eve. "Right, so Lucas got a complete book, and then after he hid it, the book suddenly stopped being complete."

Still having that ghost of a smile, Eve tapped the clicker and the projection went to the next slide. It consisted of a few photographs of the Testament. Including a zoom-in of the book splayed open to its last third or so. In the picture, with helpful arrows, were the neatly cut stubs of five pages.

"We believe the excised section documents the lineage of a specific god. Interestingly, the parts that remain detail how to conduct a sacrifice to gain its attention, but..."

"But omit details like its name and affinity." I shook my head. "Instead of handing the books to Tessa, they store them someplace, and then, just in case the books get stolen, they cut out critical info."

Despite it, I chuckled. "I'm not feeling a lot of trust here."

"To be fair, Mrs. Lartessa does not seem trustworthy."

"The Wolves are worried that once Tessa figures out how to do the summoning she won't need them anymore?" Ranma asked.

"Why not? Backstabbing is how the Denarians work."

"That is something we can, perhaps, exploit. Given the Brotherhood seems to be taking such measures."

"There's also why they're helping Tessa do this summon. What do they get out of it?" I asked.

"Maybe Tessa's summoning multiple creepy crawlers and the Brotherhood gets to keep one," Ranma shrugged.

I blinked. "Oh... that's bad."

"Could be what's on the missing pages, I mean a lineage does mean a family of eldritch monsters right?"

Groaning, I rubbed my forehead.

Eve clicked to the next slide. This one had the other books. "We didn't see any other defacement on these books. Which might mean the Brotherhood felt the information in there was not critical, or it might be things that Tessa already knew. There's also the extremely likely chance that the Brotherhood has resources beyond these."

The blonde then looked towards me. "Fortunately, we have our own resources, these books, and your considerable expertise."

"Oh..." I repeated after blinking. "Yes, of course."

"Anything to help us know how to stop things, with a bit more... finesse," Eve stated.

"Finesse? You fired a Gatling gun from a helicopter," I boggled.

"Yeah," Ranma agreed. "We're worried the Canadians will decide to simply bomb this place of power, wherever it is."

"Canada?"

"They do have fighter-bombers and artillery," Lieutenant Tendo reminded.

"And after Ottawa they're real twitchy, yes?" I asked shifting in my seat.

The blonde demon smiled thinly.

"We still have to find the place." I tapped the table. "The scary little girl have any luck? Uh, Lady Pluto?"

"Lady Pluto's analysis is inconclusive." Eve frowned. "She provided us with a potential region, unfortunately Southwestern Ontario is still over fourteen thousand square miles."

I noticed the blonde shift impatiently; she was more animated than she normally let herself be.

"Pluto is continuing her work, and says she can narrow things down but may take time."

"Frustrating?"

"She has been a bit more irritable yes," Eve allowed. "We've deployed our own airborne assets to the area. But by the time the drones detect something..." the demon lifted a hand.

"Right, the Canadians will have bombed the place?"

"It is a possibility," Eve noted. "This is why advance warning is critical. We're also working with law enforcement to see if any of Lucas' associates can be found leasing buildings or renting property in the area."

I grunted in acknowledgment. A lot of investigation work boiled down to running down every lead you could think of until you hit pay dirt. It wasn't glamorous, but you had to put in the legwork to get anywhere.

"Right, if that's all then let's get back to it." The blonde looked around the table, then settled her eyes on Ranma. "I want the Fifth ready to deploy, as well as three teams of agents," she added looking to Tendo and the other officers.

There was a wave of acknowledgements as everyone stood and started filing out of the room.

Ranma appeared at my side. "Come on, Mr. Wizard, let's get you to the laboratory."

***************


I pinched my nose and pushed myself away from the table. Grumbling, I eyed the heavy book with its creepy leather cover.

Dirac looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Problem?" the technician asked, his Adams apple bobbing.

One of the doors to the room was open, and an older woman with grey tinged black hair stood at the threshold. Unlike many of the other bare concrete rooms, this one had thick black panels on the walls with thick wires running between them.

A tablet computer was in her hand. She looked at it with a frown, left it behind, picked up a sheaf of papers, and closed the door behind her. There was more black paneling on the door as well.

"I'm sorry this is going slow, Warden Dresden," she gave an almost grandmotherly smile. "There's only so much the translation software can do."

"Sure Doc," I eyed the badge that hung on her lab-coat: Doctor Sarah De Cotis. It said something that this organization hired more than just "trigger pullers". It also said something that they were starting to let me interact with their eggheads. Between the three of us we almost had a supernatural brain trust going on.

"It's still more help than I'm used to," I lied. I had to be frank, after years with Bob, Lash, and recently with Bonnie, I had gotten pretty spoiled. Spirits of intellect, Shadows of Fallen Angels, and spirits of intellect with the knowledge of a Fallen made for extremely handy assistants.

The doctor kindly smiled, clearly not believing a word.

"It doesn't help that it's encoded," I added pointing to the splayed open copy of Cryptomenysis.

"Or that you're missing the most important pages," Ranma noted from her chair. She had a binder propped up and was reading some sort of mission report.

"Yes, there's that." I grit my teeth. "Look, there's years-worth of information here."

"There's about three doctoral dissertations on applied theology," De Cotis evaluated rubbing her chin. "Provided you could get a defense board with the proper clearances."

Dirac cleared his throat.

"Yes, yes, there's at least a thesis on dimensional manipulation and transmission," De Cotis airily dismissed.

"Machine-shop magic," I grumbled.

The redhead put her book down. She looked to me. "You speak nerd, right Mr. Wizard? 'Cause my eyes glaze when they or my Mom get like this."

I smiled a bit, both at the self-depreciation and the mention of her extended family. It was another example that they were opening up to me. However, that Ranma was here watching me, instead of leaving me alone with their eggheads did show the limits of their trust.

I pulled at a pair of imaginary suspenders. "Well, I might just be a simple country wizard. I don't have much book smarts, and I did my magic learnin' out in the Ozarks-"

"You're from Chicago," Ranma interrupted.

"Fine." Letting my arms drop, I glared. "You know how summonings work?"

"Like what you did last night?"

"Close enough." I waved my hand. "For major mojo you've got to get the attention of what you're summoning, you need the energy to do that, and then you need the ability to contain it."

Ranma simply looked at the books.

"Yeah, yeah, devil's in the details," I pointed to a slim volume.

Wearing a pair of thick latex gloves, Dirac pulled over Captain Klaus' Unaussprechlichen Kulten. The lanky man then flipped to a page full of lopsided typeface and spidery notes scrawled in the margins.

"That the ritual?" the demon leaned in, seemingly interested.

"It's a ritual," De Cotis corrected. "If you'll look, the being mentioned is rather pedestrian. But it does refer to filling a willing vessel. But that's standard."

I eyed the old woman. I wouldn't consider a goat-faced tentacular horror "pedestrian". Okay, well -I- would, but no one else should.

"Yeah, but it gives a framework, and that book," I pointed to the Parchments of Pnom which Dirac obligingly opened. "Says rituals that work on Shubby can get the attention of Lucas' new friends. Or at least their cousins."

I nodded to myself. "It's actually a pretty clever hack. Tessa heard rumors of what she wanted to summon, but didn't know how. So, she looked around for a ritual that she knew that worked on something similar." I flipped the Unaussprechlichen Kulten book closed.

Dirac looked vaguely affronted by my treatment of the book.

"Then she found a way to work backwards from Thing One to Thing Two." I tapped the Parchments of Pnom. "And finally she found people what knew how to contact Thing Two," I tapped the Testament of Carnamagos.

"But the whole thing's in code and the Wolves ripped out the pages!" I grumbled swiping at the Cryptomenysis Patefacta.

The redhead tilted her head. "You're such a geek."

I glared.

"Still, it's not like we need to know how to do the ritual, just where it is. We can always stop it the old fashioned way."

"Not if we're too late," I said darkly.

The demon nodded.

"But, we've at least narrowed down where it isn't. The base ritual can only be modified so far," De Cotis pulled out a piece of paper with a map of Southern Ontario. Parts of it had been crossed out, but a lot of it was still shaded in red.

"Yeah, but they've got all the info they need. There's a reason the wolves took out those pages," I ran my fingers through my hair.

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, I think you've put off lunch long enough."

"His stress has been making it harder to use my machines, even with him inside this faraday cage," De Cotis added.

"I told you, we could have stuck him in a circle and things would have been fine," Dirac said.

The older woman sniffed in disdain.

"Right." Ranma clapped her hands. "Too many big-brain people getting cranky. Lunch break."

"It's three o'clock," De Cotis noted.

Ranma returned her gaze. "You don't have to eat, but I am. And without me to play babysitter we are locking up."

The scientist sighed. "Fine," she went to a phone that hung to the wall and made a call.

Dirac busied himself piling the books and organizing the notes. De Cotis hung up and helped him.

Ranma tugged my arm and pulled me to one side of the room to allow them to take photos of their paperwork with a compact digital camera. The notes were then fed into a shredder the resulting confetti was then put into storage bag.

As I watched bemused at the paranoia, the other door to the room unlocked and Eve led a trio of agents into the room. One carried a thick metal briefcase while the other two had their rifles held in their hands.

The mercenary lifted the case and then gently placed it on its side. Still the case came down with a heavy clunk.

The agent stepped aside, and Eve unlocked the thick clasps and opened it. The interior looked like black foam with rectangular sections cut out. I frowned. Even with the steel sidings the case seemed a bit too heavy to be empty.

Ranma motioned for me to stay on the far side of the room before she went off to her sister. The blonde handed her a few small items.

Dirac moved in to pick up the books, but De Cotis shooed him away. I then watched as the old woman put on a pair of thick, rubberized gloves and gingerly lifted each book, and then slowly, delicately placed them into the case one by one.

"They're just old books. You don't have to act like you're defusing a bomb!" I cried.

Pulling off his gloves, Dirac shook his head and laughed.

De Cotis rolled her eyes then took out another case and started packing away her computers and the cameras.

Ranma looked up from talking with her sister and walked over. Eve picked up a clipboard, and began circling around the table and going through a checklist.

The redhead pulled her hand out of her pocket and adjusted her leather jacket. "Come on, hungry wizards are grumpy wizards," she assured, taking my arm and dropping something into my palm.

I eyed the grey plastic cube. Twice the size of a ring box, it had a locking clasp and a heavy hinge. Next to the clasp were two recessed buttons behind a hinged plastic cover.

The demon lifted the tiny molly-guard, pressed the green button, and the clasp popped open. Inside was a layer of a silvery-blue metal and a layer of black padding. Nested in the padding, and offset to one side, was a clear glass vial with fluted seals. Next to the vial was a small set of tweezers and a tiny metal wand with a bulbous tip covered in a blue cap

I blinked. "For the Denarians?"

"Sample collector," The redhead nodded and pointed to the tools "Use the tweezers or the glue grabber to pick up the coin, drop it in the vial, snap the lid shut and hit the red button."

"And the red button?" I eyed the case. It was better than using a dice bag, I supposed.

"Locks it."

"Actually, those Mark 7's release a pressurized epoxy which fuses the latch and the hinge. I'd be careful with that," Eve said from across the room while she fussed with her clipboard.

I closed the box. I supposed these mercenaries had dealt with hazardous stuff before.

"Will these be sufficient?" Ranma asked.

"Short term, yes. The coins are dangerous. And anyone who's touched one can call it back no matter how you secure it, but..." I rolled the box around in my hand. "This'll keep someone from touching it in the first place," I admitted and slipped it into a pocket.

Ranma handed me another. "Two is one. One is none," she said in a sing song voice, as she took my arm.

I sighed and let her take me towards the door.

"I'm thinking of going off base to get something to eat," Ranma said as we stepped out of the room.

The scent of smoldering paper hit my nose. Were they actually burning their notes? Was shredding not good enough? Okay, from a thaumatalogical perspective burning was a good idea, but still… "Yeah... I could go for seeing some sunlight."

"Working underground does get to you," Dirac agreed.

I nodded. Sure, I had lived a good part of my life in a basement apartment, and used the subbasement beneath that as my laboratory, but that was different. This was a brightly lit, rather spacious underground facility. I had a drafty, cramped little concrete box without electricity where I spent all my time talking to a skull by candlelight.

Totally different. Anyway, I no longer had that basement apartment. Vampires burned it down. At least my secret, spooky island lair had a much cooler, if much scarier underground facilities.

***************


Following the demon down the corridor, I mulled and thought. Thus my gaze was lowered for reasons other than looking at the backside of the redhead's leather skirt.

I had been here for, what two days? Well, three if you count the time I was unconscious after falling through the portal. I didn't know how much longer Tessa had been here, but I knew she thought I was a threat and wanted to get rid of me.

I shifted my step to pass over a metal trough in the floor. I glanced to either side and saw similar inset in one wall, and the edge of a steel door in the other. Slipping through, I gave the blast door a wide berth.

Even if Lucas wasn't lying, and given he was a wolfman terrorist impersonating an FBI agent, and working for a Fallen Angel that didn't seem likely... But even if he was telling the truth, sending me home would have gotten me out of Tessa's way just as much as putting a bullet in the back of my head.

There was a slight tingle as we reached an intersection with another corridor that ran perpendicular to ours. Pulling my arm, Ranma took me down the left-hand turn. I glanced behind me and saw Dirac fussing with a panel near the corner.

By the time the lanky man caught up to us, we were at another set of steel doors. The hallway had widened and Ranma was chatting with a couple of mercenaries working behind a heavy counter.

Tessa and I had never really... talked. She didn't know me like Nicodemus knew me. Hells Bells, technically I'd worked with the guy. Granted, it was part of that con of Mab's to get her revenge on him, but the point stands.

Nicodemus had plenty of personal experience to get his measure of me. Tessa... well we met a couple of times in between her helping or thwarting her hubby. Still, she knew enough to consider me a threat. I had worked with the Knights of the Cross on multiple occasions, and I had stopped Nicodemus several times.

There was a buzz and the steel doors slid open and we passed through a narrow hallway-like airlock. There was another blast door at the far end, but it only opened after the first door had closed. I looked to either side and frowned at the plain plastic paneling on the walls. If asked, I'd lay good odds that there were claymore mines or some other nasty surprises hidden behind the panels. It wouldn't be the first time I'd seen that trick.

I pushed that thought aside and stepped into the garage. The steel door slid closed behind Dirac with a heavy klunk. The echoing concrete room rang with the sounds of idling engines, air tools, and the beeping of a reversing forklift.

Despite its large size, the rectangular parking garage felt crowded To my left was a set of pallets with anonymous grey crates tied down. Past that was a loading dock where equipment was being positioned in front of a closed steel shutter. In front of the dock were a few armored Humvees.

There was enough room to maneuver a heavy truck past all the equipment, but only just.

To my right was maintenance bay. A crew of mechanics scurried between several tool chests, lifts, tires, welding equipment, and other bits of tooling. I could just make out a lathe and some heavier machinery in a caged off area against the far right wall.

An unmarked white van had its engine pulled while in front of it an armored vehicle with a rounded hull, and no tires, sat on a set of jacks. Behind that was another steel door on the far wall.

The room itself was divided by a row of heavy concrete pillars. Solid concrete blocks filled the spans between the one third of the pillars to the right and the one third to the left.

Only the center third, with yellow and black caution stripes painted on them were open. A mercenary was waving his arms to guide a lumbering armored vehicle between them..

I followed as the demon led us past the pillars. In the second half of the room were two immense doors. Heavy steel, they looked like something out of a missile bunker.

One was to the right on the far wall perpendicular to the row of pillars. Pushed up against the pillars was a row of armored vehicles. Sullen grey, these had long barreled turrets atop them.

The other door was on the left side of the garage. That section was relatively clear. A cargo truck idled as a team of mercenaries moved about it with inscrutable bits of equipment. The head of the inspection team looked at us, then looked at his equipment and back at us.

Really, most of them held rifles and looked stern. Only a couple were using things that looked like leftover props from Ghostbusters. Glancing over, I saw Dirac frown.

Ranma stopped in front of a trio of vans parallel parked up against the far wall that went from grey to black. Lieutenant Tendo waited by the open doors. Her face was unreadable. It was some emotion that looked alien on her, but if I had to guess she seemed displeased with Ranma.

My attention went back to the cargo truck. The cab was empty and the driver's side door was left ajar. The team inspecting it packed up their gear and after pushing the crates to the side; they started rummaging around in a vehicle that had been parked near the pillar.

However, one of the technicians came our way.

I then noticed that Ranma's tail had gone straight, and that's when I recognized Tendo's emotion. She was nervous.

"Sergeant, has the delivery cleared inspection?" Tendo asked the mercenary who jogged up to them.

A tall, blocky, dusky-skinned man with a shaved head nodded. "It went through pre-inspection in the lock, cleared our scans," he handed Tendo a clipboard.

The lieutenant nodded.

I eyed the truck. A bit larger than a moving truck, it was white and silver. Its logo was for some sort of food distributor. "Guess even secret bases have to eat."

"Rations do get old," Ranma agreed.

Ignoring our banter, the sturdy young man continued. "I checked with Franks. He and Meyers supervised the loading. Procedure says we're about to open it up for the physical inspection but..."

Tendo looked across. "Yes, Rawlins?

I blinked. The guy did look a bit like a younger version of Detective Rawlins. The police officer did have kids...

Rawlins looked at the truck that his men had taken position on. "But something's off.... Sure the seals and locks are there. The delivery driver checked out when we swapped drivers on the surface, but..."

"Scans?" Dirac suddenly asked.

Rawlins held up a boxy little display. Dirac sidestepped me and as Ranma not so subtly pushed me to the side, allowing the gangly technician to look over it.

Blue-green eyes scanned the display, then looked up at the vehicle, then back up. He sucked in through his teeth.

"Did you call it in, Sergeant?" Tendo asked.

Rawlins glanced between the officer and the demon. "Course, Ma'am."

The brunette looked to Dirac.

"The reading says clean but... it's too crisp," he adjusted the knob. "When did you take this?"

"Just now," Rawlings said, looking towards Ranma.

The color drained from Dirac's face.

Tendo imminently went to her radio. "This is L. T. Tendo. Five-Four-One-Three-Niner. Motor Pool. Vehicle Inspection Bay. Status Goal Keeper. Repeat, Goal Keeper."

Ranma's eyes flashed. And she went to the back corner of van where she took position and watched as Dirac and Tendo's men started slipping on body armor that they had stashed in the van.

I looked around and saw the men on the loading dock and the maintenance bay had also stopped working.

"What's going on?"

Dirac slipped a spare vest on and held up his arms while Ranma adjusted the straps. "Rawlins' scan should have picked up you two. Even this far, there should have been some bleed-over, at least a little Pattern D and a little Prime. Instead, he got a reading saying there's nothing but plain old humans down here."

My stomach clenched. "Your fancy scanners are being spoofed."

Taking a spare rifle handed to him by the brown haired mercenary who was with Gabriel yesterday, Dirac nodded.

I glanced back and saw a squad of men from the maintenance bay sprint over to one of the parked armored vehicles on the other side of the row of pillars. "And if you're being spoofed..."

The redhead smiled and sniffed the air. "Then we've got visitors." She eyed the vehicle we were behind. "Not much cover here, but... it is concealment."

Tendo gave her radio to Dirac as she slipped on a helmet and goggles. Listening to the lanky agent explain the egghead perspective, I looked around. The mercenaries had geared up and pulled away from the cargo truck, and there was even a Humvee nudging its way to just ahead of the pillars.

I wasn't sure if the mercenaries in the garage had been reinforced, or if they had simply pulled out more equipment, but there was a fair bit of quiet activity. Okay, some of the people were definitely newcomers, but not all of them. Ominously, I saw a few people with what appeared to be firefighting gear. I looked at my duster and staff and revolver. "I feel a little bit underdressed."

Ranma, in her own battle-rattle, dragged me back in behind the line of vans. She critically looked me up and down. Then pulled a set of earplugs out of a pouch on her vest.

I raised an eyebrow. She pointed to the vehicle-mounted machine guns. I acquiesced and stuffed them into my ears.

"We gonna go in?" I asked, nodding to the truck.

The demon gave me "the look".

"Or not," I amended. "You're not just gonna leave them there. Am I shouting? I feel like I'm shouting." My voice sounding odd to my dampened ears.

"Poor, dumb Harry," the redhead teased.

After giving Rawlins some orders, Tendo edged over to me. "Odds are these are some of your friends?" she asked hooking her radio to a headset.

"What if it's just a bad sensor? What if there's no one in the truck?"

"Then it's a training exercise."

I glanced at all the waiting mercenaries and at the gun turrets that had swung their barrels towards the cargo truck. "Expensive exercise."

"Not yet it isn't," Ranma murmured.

My response was cut-off by a tinny reverberation coming from the truck. The feedback-like echoing died off and a light voice rose up. It sounded youthful, feminine but also oddly distorted.

"Wizard Dresden," the voice carried across the garage, enhanced but punctuated as if speaking via popping soap bubbles. The ear plugs I wore didn't help. Though I wondered how loud she'd seem without them.

Ranma glanced at me.

"Yeah, that's Tessa." The playful madness was familiar enough.

Tendo nodded and spoke into her radio. I wondered how long it would be before it got fried.

"Hey Tessa!" I yelled towards the truck. "Are we playing hide and seek or the lamest Trojan Horse reenactment?"

"I'm giving you an opportunity." Irritation edged her voice.

"No, you're hiding in a truckload of potatoes and fish-sticks," I taunted.

"Keep her talking, " Ranma whispered in my ear. "The more time we get; the more we learn about her, the better," she said slipping on a pair of Kevlar gloves.

"My quarrel isn't with you," Tessa snapped back.

"I got a bunch of dead wolfmen that say otherwise,"

There was a brief pause, when she resumed her voice was once more contained. "They came with a good faith offer to get you home. How is it my fault your... hosts antagonized and attacked them?"

"Yeah, you're all heart."

"You should applaud me. You know all that Nicodemus has done. I will end him. Something your precious Knights have failed to accomplish."

"And all you need from me is a little book and five easy installments of 49.99. Buzz off mantis girl."

"I can do it without the book. The Brotherhood has made plans. I just wanted to... cause the least trouble," Tessa baldly lied.

I knew Tessa; causing trouble was her business. On the other hand, the summoning would be much harder without the Testament, or at least without the parts the wolves took.

The redhead tilted her head. Her purple eyes flashed with dark amusement.

I nodded. It seemed like Tessa was here to get the Testament which meant the wolves were still tricking her. On the gripping hand, she was a liar. Maybe the book was just an ancillary goal, or a complete smokescreen.

"You think I'll just hand the Testament over to you?" I shouted. Glancing over, I saw Tendo continue to give and receive orders via her headset.

"Honestly..." Tessa drew the word out. "Honestly, I would have thought you'd rejoice at helping bring about Nicodemus's downfall. All you have to do is stand aside."

"No deal."

There was a hissing pause. "And once more, you're defending Nicodemus. How does it feel to stand at his side and advance his cause? Was helping him steal the Grail not sufficient?"

I grit my teeth. "This isn't about him."

"Really? Once again the faerie have loaned you out, and once again-"

"Oh shut up!" I snorted. "You're summoning some big creepy thing. Something you couldn't even summon back home. If this was really just about revenge, I can think of a lot of easier ways to take out Nicodemus." The guy did have a weakness, and while I don't know if anyone else had figured it out, Tessa was one of the others most likely to have.

A couple seconds ticked by.

"Succubus," Tessa's voice resumed. "One mother to another would, you deny me my vengeance?" she asked, and despite the distortion, her tone was almost pleading. "How many have you killed to protect your young? Will you be a hypocrite like Dresden and deny me too?"

Ranma met my eyes; a crimson eyebrow rose quizzically.

I shrugged. "She's a liar."

"Good enough for me," the redhead's fangs flashed in a smile. She held out her arms and an obsidian and purple sphere formed, and with a jinking bob, shot off. As it raced towards the cargo truck, the gun turrets on the vehicles opened up followed by other machine guns and then a pair of RPGs.

***************


Explosions wracked the cargo section of the truck, and the sheet metal sides ripped as bullet holes blew into existence. Smoke came rose up and the fire continued.

Behind me, the long heavy gun on the armored vehicle barked out round after round. From the truck a scent of ozone emanated, white clouds rose. and through the holes I caught a bit of shimmering pearlescence like the surface of a swimming pool.

"They've got a shield up!" I shouted against the cacophony. It made sense, I could run a good shield spell; of course the Fallen could do the same. Or better.

Then the truck's cargo box blew apart. From the inside.

Metal walls and roof launched out towards us in jagged ribbons. Water splashed onto the floor. As the squealing peels of metal hit the concrete fifteen feet in front of the truck, those inside took the opportunity to jump down behind the back of the vehicle. A thick shimmering bubble of water puffed out and flowed back giving the wolves some protection.

I saw bullets strike the shield. Little cavitation bubbles marked their passage as the magically lifted water slowed the projectiles down.

Crouching down, I looked under the truck's wheels. I could see a mass of thick hairy legs, one set of spindly legs that were draped in seaweed and then...

Ah. Off to the side was a set of slight limbs in chitinous armor.

I pulled back. And leaned into Ranma. "Gotta be two dozen wolves, geeze that must have been like the worst clown car ever in there."

Ranma glared at me.

"Also two Denarians, One's definitely Tessa. Shield's water magic, heavy duty lotta power to keep it up."

The redhead nodded and relayed the info. "Right. The Fallen are our priority."

Rifle grenades began to explode against the shield. These sunk into the watery surface and exploded blowing parts of the watery wall apart.

More water splashed against the concrete. Then a rocket hit and a whole section blew apart for a second before the air flickered and the water was pushed back into the dome shape. Glancing in the wreckage of the cargo compartment I could see a few blue plastic 55 gallon drums. That must have been where Mr. Seaweed had stored his water.

But before that happened, I saw one of the wolves fall; its head blown off. Sniper. The two Fallen dived to the side.

Quirking a hand, Tessa darted just in front of the truck's hood. She was all chitin and spurs, spindly limbs and scything mandibles. A grenade blasted against the mantis form's armor, but the diminutive Denarian held herself and a gout of Hellfire blasted out.

The thick column of angry red fire raced away and lanced past me. It splashed against the armored vehicle just under the cannon's turret. For a moment, the armor actually managed to hold against the demonic fire pouring against it.

Then the side of the vehicle began to deform and slump as its engine gunned and it turned in the confined space. It didn't get far as the ammunition within began to cook off.

An obsidian sphere launched from Ranma's hands and slammed against Tessa. Her armor smoking, the mantis girl stumbled. The gouting hellfire reduced to a mere firehose of flames that she raked in front of her.

The mercenaries had hunkered down behind cover so that part of the Denarian's attack itself didn't do much damage, but in an instant I realized damage wasn't the intent.

Howling on the heels of the flames, the wolves charged forward. The hair on their bulky, muscular bodies singed and burned as some of them actually ran in the hellfire, but they were already regenerating.

The mercenaries' fire immediately shifted.

There was a firm tug on my arm and the redhead bolted forward. Running low, her wings were pulled back and her tail and hair streamed behind her. Clenching my staff, I grit my teeth and took off after her. It says something about her speed that I actually had to push myself to keep up.

The wolves were on us instantly.

Well, I should say the redhead was on them. She openly charged a group of creatures, each one easily three-four times her weight and three feet taller than her.

She sidestepped a lunge from the lead wolfman, clawed through the side, broke the knee of the next with a kick, and fired a gout of flames on the two following that. Her tail whipped around and slammed through the neck of another wolf as she passed by.

Following, I saw that the wolves were already healing. The one with the broken knee was getting back up. My staff came down and I hit him across the head. On the riposte I cried "Fuego," And blasted him and the other lamed wolf. Fire seemed to be the theme for today.

My boots splashing, I turned and saw the mass of wolves nearing the mercenary lines. Wolves were starting to fall, but not fast enough, and many were getting back up.

I shifted my foot. Ah yes, water. I grinned and lowered my staff swept my staff to the left. "Infriga!" I cried visualizing scooping and shoveling. Winter power flared as the water puddling the concrete floor was swept aside and flung towards the wolves in a freezing arc.

Some of it splashed against them, but their hulking bodies easily broke the thin rime. However, the bulk of the water had hit the concrete floor freezing in place.

I grinned and leveled my staff. "Forzare!" a wave of invisible force battered the wolves, their mad rush already faltering on the slick surface. I took a tiny moment to relish their furry forms going ass-over-teakettle before returning to my own charge.

Ranma had bounded over the flayed ribbons of sheet metal; the demon's wings giving her a bit of a flip.

I followed, and while I did not have her demonic advantages I had a much longer stride, the Winter Mantel, and one other advantage. "Parkour!" I shouted launching myself over the torn sides of the cargo truck.

Landing, the redhead spared me a dirty look before launching a DarkStar burst.

Bare feet from the truck, I had a clear shot at the Denarians. Mr. Seaweed looked oddly distorted behind his flowing shield. Strips of seaweed fell from the creature's head concealing its dark face and tumbling down its glowing chest. My staff shot out "Pryo Fuego!"

Flames blasted forth and the shield flashed over as steam flared up. "Crap!" I cried activating my own shield bracelet. On the upside, the water shield did seem thinner where I'd hit it.

Ignoring the heat, the redhead took advantage of the obscuring cloud, jumped up and rolled over the hood of the truck to slam into Tessa.

Both glowing angelic eyes and human eyes registered brief shock before
the slight mantis-girl was knocked down by the demon's impact. Scrambling away, Tessa was covered by the two wolfmen who had remained at her side lunging at Ranma.

I could still hear gunfire. Hells Bells, that was about all I could hear. Heavy machine guns, assault rifles, grenade launchers, and more were all fired in an echoing concrete box. I was thankful for the earplugs. Sure, I felt half-deaf now, but without 'em I'd be worse. I was also thankful I wasn't behind the truck. That far concrete wall was being chewed apart by all the munitions that missed... or simply blew through the wolves.

Still, the point was that among the cordite symphony was an occasional deeper boom. There was a sniper, at least one, out there. And he was firing some serious ordinance to even stand out among the other sounds. Which meant if I could give 'em a shot...

"This is a bad idea," I murmured blasting with another scream of "Fuego." Again, fire jetted from my staff. Again steam billowed back. Again I dropped the fire spell. Again the hot gas flashed against my own blue shield as I crouched down, feeling the heat press against me

But this time when my spell dropped the flames had boiled away a hole in the Denarian's shield. Right about level with his-

Boom.

I don't know how close the round really was to my head, but it felt like bare inches. Mr. Seaweed's head had blown apart in a rain of greenery and twitching seaweed. The Denarian flopped to the ground and the water shield splashed to the floor in a deluge.

Splashing in water up to my ankles, I rounded the battered hood of the truck. Closing in, I could see Ranma and Tessa fighting. Both women were small, demonic, and armored, but there the similarities ended.

Tessa seemed to have the edge in speed and fought with a raw viciousness, where Ranma, for her predatory nature, was refined and honed. She was also outnumbered.

The two wolves had tried to circle around and harass her. The redhead pointed her hand at one and a lance of fire shot out burning through an arm and shoulder and then turned to another and purple beams fired out of her eyes and gouged out the top of the other wolf's skull. The creature howled as brains boiled and charred.

The damage began to heal, joining the other wounds layered on their mangled bodies. Despite the damage both shambled forward, their unnatural stamina keeping them up.

Ranma slipped aside and blocked the scything blades. One caught against her arm, but the demon took in the damage and racked her claws against the Denarian's chest. Sparks flew off and lines were cut into the chitin armor.

The redhead hooked a leg into the writhing mantis-girl's and turned knocking her off balance. As Tessa fell, she stabbed out, Ranma rolled and stomped down with a boot. The Denarian screamed as her arm broke. Her other arm slashed wildly and she pulled back up to her feet. Exoskeleton popped and twisted as she glared, hate in her eyes.

Tessa snapped forward. In a blur her bladed arms shot out. The demon blocked and stepped inside, blood flew as a her right arm was flayed to the bone. Tessa's scything mandibles lunged in. At the last moment, Ranma strained her spine and head-butted the Denarian.

There was a crack as she slammed her forehead against Tessa's nose. It was armored, but, not enough. Chitin broke and ichor sprayed out as dazed shock crossed Tessa's eyes. "You..." she hissed.

That was my opening. Holding my staff in one hand, I drew my revolver with the other. "Fuego!" I screamed and pulled the trigger.

Three rounds went into the head of one wolfman, while... I'll confess I wasn't paying as much attention to aiming with my staff. But enough of the column of flame lit up the other wolfman's torso.

"Hi Tessa!" I cheerfully, and loudly greeted as the redhead pounced. The fountain of blood pouring down her left arm had slowed to a trickle. Despite my smile, I was worried. Tessa was more than a physical powerhouse, she had plenty of sorcerous power, as indicated by that blast of Hellfire. If she was holding back now, she had to have a reason...

The mantis-girl launched a whip of green fire. Growling, the succubus turned and jumped away. The healed wound on her arm was torn open anew.

As Ranma's eyes flared, I leveled both my staff and my gun. "See... this time I thought you should fight someone your own size."

The redhead tilted her head, dipping her horns in mock salute.

Behind her mandibles, Tessa smirked. "Funny, wizard, I thought much the same."

The redhead shot me an irritated look. It was then that I noticed that the water shield had returned. And that both Mr. Seaweed and the wolf I'd burned were getting back up.

The Denarian was still without a head, but there was a glow coming from its chest. The draping seaweed parted revealing a face high on its torso. Angelic script and a second pair of eyes glowed above a pair of maddened human eyes sunk into the green chest flesh The seaweed tendrils thrashed in anger.

Meanwhile the wolf gave a toothy grin that grew... and grew. Its already beefy body bulked and swelled. Ram's horns spiraled out of a head that grew longer and sharper fangs. Burned fur healed and turned into thick leathery skin. Over twelve feet tall, the creature's chest deepened and it crouched in an almost simian gait.

Another pair of eyes glowed above the blazing golden ones. I didn't even need to see the angelic script marking the creature's forehead to know who it was.

Magog.

Oh, Hells Bells. It's never easy.

End Chapter 5

I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf. Special thank to : J St C Patrick for his help in proofreading this (and the other) chapters.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.

Chapter 6: Underground Diplomacy, Part B


So, here I was in a secret subterranean base, surrounded by angry wolfmen, heavily armed mercenaries, and three Fallen Angels. Worse, one of those Fallen was the most physically powerful of the Denarians. And that was with a regular human host. Now, he's riding along with someone who started out as a giant super strong creature with ridiculous regeneration.

Well, at least I had my trusty sexy demon friend....

I looked over and saw that Ranma was no longer at my side.

Tessa chortled. "Gagheil deal with Mr. Dresden. Magog make me a doorway."

Grunting, the giant Denarian ran towards the pillars in a lumbering gait.

"Now..." Tessa turned to me. "If the succubus gets in the way-."

Springing forward, the redhead slammed into the gloating Denarian. It seemed that instead of standing there while Tessa gloated, Ranma had decided to flank her and get near enough to close in one bound.

Knocking her over, Ranma parried a blow of Tessa's and grabbed each of the mantis girl's arms at the wrists. The demon growled, and stabbed her tail into the Denarian's hip. Razor filaments sparked against the exoskeleton as bits of chitin chipped off.

My chest shuddered as I heard a rumbling that shook the air. It was like standing too close to a subway train. I didn't have much time to think on that as I had to put up my shield to block a tidal wave of water being blown at me by Gagheil.

Ranma let go of one of Tessa's arms and slammed her hand into to the torn section of Tessa's armor. The redhead set her jaws. Purple and black light exploded from her palm. The DarkStar Burst shot out, the orb detonated inside Tessa's hip.

As I froze the water pouring over me, I realized that was no train. Frost came off my staff. I dropped my revolver into a holster and took my staff with two hands. I figured I was going to need more magic. Behind the wall of ice, Gagheil's creepy chest face looked at me. Seaweed limbs twisted and flexed, and the ice began to crack.

Madly howling, Magog had returned and backhanded Ranma off of Tessa. The demoness flew towards the giant vehicle-sized steel doors. Coughing blood, the demon twisted in midair, flared her wings, hit the concrete wall with her boots, bounded off and landed on the floor in a three-point crouch.

"Woo! Superhero landing" I cried. "Is that hard on your knees?"

Ranma spared me a glare before unceremoniously vomiting a mess of purple-tinged blood. Rising, she lifted her arms and launched twin lances of fire at Magog.

Screeching, Tessa tried to pull herself up, her left leg at a crooked angle. With ichor pouring out of the hole in her hip, she tried to inch away. Green fire sparking off the end, her whip twitched in her right hand.

Her other hand flicked and with a hissing word she slammed it into her hip. There was a flash and her leg snapped and twisted into place. Flicking her whip, green motes flew around her as she glanced behind at me and Ranma.

She pointed to Magog and swung her arm around in my and Ranma's direction.

The two Denarians bolted. Tessa's diminutive form was rapidly overtaken by the hulking gorilla-wolf. Due to his long stride, Magog was deceptively fast.

A DarkStar Burst slammed into Magog's back, just below the neck. The purple orb detonated in a spray of blood, but much of the thick, leathery skin seemed unharmed.

The redhead darted forward. A line of water shot out from Gagheil and she flipped to one side. The wall of ice burst apart around the Denarian. I leveled my staff. "Infriga!" The water froze and fell to the concrete in a crumbling line.

Ranma glanced at me.

"Go! I'll follow after I take care of Mr. Seaweed." I shifted my feet and planted my staff.

As the redhead ran off, Gagheil whipped his arms. Lengths of ropy seaweed shot out and wrapped around my staff. I twisted and stepped to the side all to fight to keep my staff in my hands, but at the cost of giving ground and sliding closer to Gagheil.

This also gave me a nice view of the pillars dividing the garage.

I watched as Magog was raked by machine gun fire. The creature roared as the bullets struck and cut out small divots, then the rockets hit. Those actually caused gouging, bleeding holes. Still, it was like chipping away at a stone wall with a chisel.

Tessa was at his heel using his bulk for cover and lashing out with quick bits of green fire from her whip. Or she would have if not for Ranma at her heel, harassing the Denarian every step of the way with fireballs and slashes.

Then with a echoing roar that hurt my ears despite the earplugs, Magog lunged at the Humvee revving between the pillars. Its turret still firing, the vehicle reversed gear. Then the giant Denarian's fist slammed down on the armored hood. Suspension shattered, the vehicle slumped down.

Magog then kicked the truck, sending it skidding backwards. Then the cacophony of fire intensified. More explosions detonated and Magog's forward motion slowed.

More seaweed strips wrapped around my staff refocusing my attention. The distance began to close between me and Gagheil.

The Denarian's lips curled into a nasty grin as his eyes flashed. "You're abandoned little wizard," Gagheil gasped his words distorted from the way his mouth was set in his chest. Eyes glowed and water began to rise, forming a shield around him. They also formed a barrier that it was slowly pulling me into. "You're alone."

I laughed. And suddenly stopped resisting with my boots. The seaweed suddenly pulled me forward. Reaching out with one hand I fed soulfire into my spell. Bits of my soul acted like rebar strengthen and enhancing the magic. "Infriga," I screamed, just before my palm hit the water shield.

There was a snapping grinding noise as the entire shield flash froze. I had a moment to enjoy that I wasn't going to be drowned, just before I slammed into the icy wall. And got hit in the side by my staff, which was also stuck in the ice like a popsicle stick.

The Denarian's surprise was cut off when Gagheil gave a chortling laugh. "Stupid mortal, you disabled your staff far better than I could ever."

"Stupid like a fox!" I wrapped both my hands over the staff and activated my shield bracelet. "Forzare!" Waves of force detonated around the end of the staff. The same end embedded in the ice.

Remember as a kid how you were told to never, ever, close your hand around a firecracker?

Well, if you've ever played with fireworks, you'd remember if you had one go off near you... or had a psychotic "friend" light one and toss it at you. When that happened most of the explosion hit the air, and only part of it went against your skin. Sure it sucked and you might get cut up a bit… but unless it hit your eye you'd be okay.

However, if you made a fist around a lit firework....

Then all the pressure was dedicated towards tearing off little fingers.

In short, there's a reason miners drill holes into rock and push explosives into the bores instead of just piling them against the cave wall.

This meant that Gagheil's shield exploded into thousands of chunks of icy shrapnel. Meanwhile my shield managed to protect everything, except for the bit of staff that stuck out past it.

Green ichor bled out as the Denarian fell to the ground. Several large, jagged bits of ice pierced his limbs and torso. The seaweed wrapping around my staff went slack.

I stepped closer, ice crunching under my boots. My steps sure on the frozen terrain. Gagheil tried to scrabble back up. "Really? Ice and water against the Winter Knight?" I slammed the tip of my staff into his chest just under that creepy face.

Gagheil screamed.

"What, next you gonna try that trick against Aquaman?"

The Denarian's seaweed wrapped around my staff and tried to pull it off.

"Fine," I concentrated. The runes on my staff glowed and crackled with power "Fulminos!"

Seaweed and water make for a rather poor conductor. But if you shock with enough electricity, it'll conduct. The Denarian screamed as electricity arced through it and grounded out on the puddle it was splayed in.

I stomped forward. Hooray, for thick insulated boots.

The Denarian screamed and this time the seaweed pulled against my legs. As I fell, I slammed my staff against its face. Then I hit the ground and my staff clattered off. My hand went to my belt and grasped something.

Twitching, bleeding, and actually steaming a bit, the Denarian scuttled towards me. Its mouth roared and I got a good glimpse of the hooked lamprey-like teeth in its mouth.

Then I saw them shatter as I rammed my revolver into the Denarian's mouth. I cranked the trigger, emptying the cylinder. Green blood splashed out in a frothy fan. Gagheil crumpled in front of me and I used the gun-barrel to knock the dying Denarian off. I caught a glimpse of where his spine had shattered from the heavy bullets. Bits of brains and maybe bits of heart, all tinged a nasty green, leaked out.

I gasped, feeling bruised and drained and a bit choked. "Holsters... what a concept," I laughed as the green blood and limp seaweed started to smoke and turn translucent and jelly-like.

Behind me, the explosions and gunfire continued. But I forced myself to concentrate on reloading my gun, retrieving my staff, and then watching the body.

The Denarian slowly reverted to human form as the ectoplasm used to make its demonic body evaporated. With a sickening lurch, a head drew out from the flat shoulders as the body turned into that of a pale, almost Nordic looking man. Well, it was hard to tell, as most of his face was shot off, as well as the gaping hole in his chest.

"So.... there's a downside to moving your head," I remarked, while waiting for the characteristic ting of metal bounding on concrete.

There was no flexing hand to reveal a coin. However, among the shattered, now human-looking, teeth and past the torn tongue was gleam of tarnished silver.

Pulling out the sample box I knelt over and popped it open. "Bless your paranoid egghead hearts," I said, taking out the little wand. Turns out, it also extended. It made short work of fishing the coin out of the watery viscera and dropping it into the box. Tossing the glue stick to the side I closed the lid and hit the red button. There was a hissing noise as it sealed itself shut.

Giving another gasping exhalation, I shook the box to confirm the coin was still rattling inside and dropped it in a coat pocket.

I caught my breath for a moment. Then I heard Magog roar, smelt the sulfurous scent of hellfire, and was almost knocked down by an explosion that shook the ceiling and made the lights flicker and almost go out.

I groaned and pulled myself to my feet.

***************


Leaning on my staff, my head swam. My feet splashed as I jogged away from the remains of the truck. I focused and controlled my breathing. It wasn't the same as getting a second wind. But you don't get to be a wizard without the ability to hold your concentration, no matter the pain and fatigue.

And Hells Bells, compared to some of the stuff I'd survived this was just being lightly winded. I made my way towards the pillars dividing the room. That was where the sound of fighting was.

Well... the loudest fighting. In front of me were the pillars, and beyond that was Magog's roaring bellows and heavy gunfire. To the left were Tendo's and Rawlins' teams.

A dozen or so wolfmen were splattered along the concrete floor in pools of watery blood. Some of the bodies still twitched and thrashed, and earned more gunfire for their trouble. Meanwhile, Rawlins and his men were working. Two men guarded while another used a careful under hand lob to drop an incendiary grenade on a wolf's head, and then, once the fireworks had died down, a fourth man chopped the head off with a fire axe.

Their armor was smeared with gore, and I was pretty sure that Rawlins was man short. I nodded to them as I lopped past. Their work was hurried but... business-like.

It made sense, the wolves could regenerate, and if they weren't put down then Magog and Tessa would have a lot more reinforcements. I don't know if Rawlins' actions would be enough, but I wasn't sure what more they could do at the moment. Well, I'm sure they had some flamethrower crews. Immolating the entire body would probably work. But that took time.

My thoughts halted as I passed the pillars and darted back behind the concrete column.

Green fire splashed against the pillar as Tessa screeched and covered Magog's backside. For his part, the giant wolf-gorilla was far to the right side punching the heavy steel loading dock door.

The walls shook with each punch. And the steel had dented and pushed down. I frowned Magog seemed.... smaller and... wider Then it hit me. He had to be able to pass through the door once he brought it down. As it was, his curling ram's horns were just a hair shorter than the head of the door.

He pulled his arm back and... a pair of purple beams shot out and sliced through knuckles and fingers. The Denarian's roar pounded at my ears as Magog turned and charged the redhead.

Tessa screamed and pointed to the door, unfurling her whip. She then flicked a wave of green energy at Ranma who dodged to the side. The succubus was in constant motion, occasionally pulling back to let the mercenaries get a hit in. Still, it looked like she was holding back... or waiting for something.

I glanced to the left, the mercenaries had pulled to the left side by the maintenance bay. They were giving harassing fire to the Denarians and had established a perimeter to gun down the remaining half dozen wolfmen.

A few of them were down, including some who had been left on the concrete unmoving. Still, there was a bit of triage by the access door past the maintenance bay.

The door on the far wall just past maintenance hissed open.

I felt the tingle on my neck. Looking at the people wounded and worse, rage boiled within me. Sure they were soldiers, but this wasn't their fight. I clenched my teeth and let the Winter Mantle focus my rage, my will.

This was where I'd stop them. I planted my staff on the concrete and pushed in a bit of soul fire. It rang like a bell.

Tessa turned with an annoyed expression.

Magog roared.

For a moment Ranma simply boggled... then taking advantage of Tessa's distraction, launched herself at the Denarian and body-slammed her to the ground. Claws dug against chitin until Tessa flicked her whip and knocked off the demon, who landed with a messy roll.

As that happened, I rushed forward. "Hey Magilla! Remember me!"

Magog roared insanely. And he bore down on me like a train. All four eyes glowing with pure rage.

I planted my feet to get a grip on the wet floor.

"Forzare!" I screamed as the water rushed past my feet and under Magog's.

Then I leveled my staff. "Arctis!"

Magog's footing slipped... but he caught himself and started thumping forward. His pace had slowed but each, deliberate ice-crushing step brought him closer.

"Out of tricks little mortal?" he grumbled voice like as steam-engine.

"No... just stalling." I ducked down My shield flared into existence and the grenades started to fall. And an orange-haired demoness cackled madly.

I knew Misako's gun was something special. Bulky grenade launchers tend to give that impression. But what had eluded me were the details... like how it was fully automatic....

And belt-fed.

Dozens and dozens of armor-piercing high explosive grenades rained down on Magog as Misako continued to laugh.

The other broodlings came in on her flanks. Her platinum blonde partner had one of those bulky rifles leveled and was giving supporting fire.

Thick hide opened, and blood poured out of wound after wound. Magog bellowed and turned to the demons. Wispy green energy rose up as ice shattered beneath his feet

The brood separated with the aforementioned Misako and Ukyou forming one group, and the two blue-haired demons in another. Nariko stood in between with her sword drawn.

Both Ranma and Tessa moved in to intercept the giant Denarian. "Get back to that door! I'll take care of them," Tessa ordered while the redhead gave a thin smirk
Heedless, Magog roared. And once again, I was thankful for my earplugs.

Running near the wall, Ranma glanced over. For a moment those purple eyes caught mine.

The penny dropped. With the brood spread, Ranma to one flank, and myself on the other. Magog was being drawn into a trap.

The succubae opened fire. Shadows, lightning, grenades, exploding ice, and other attacks opened up. The mercenaries behind them also launched a pair of missiles.

"Pyrofuego!" I cried pushing more will and launching a pillar of flame into Magog's side just above his hip.

A curiously human scream came out as Tessa realized the same thing I had.

Blow after blow hit, and for once the damage actually started to accumulate. Bleeding, the giant bellowed and swelled further in height. A DarkStar bust slammed into the side of Magog's head burning off an ear and tearing up the creature's shaggy scalp.

The Denarian howled; furious eyes focused on the demoness as he turned to the redhead. The wounds from the original grenade strike had healed, and the rest were slowly closing up. The ice had also been fully chewed up and a green miasma floated above the floor like a mist.

The two blue-haired demons shifted to Tessa. The smaller one launched a barrage of exploding ice until Tessa pressed in close only to have her older sister grapple her away.

Synchronized, Ranma and Nariko jumped forward. The redhead with her claws out. Her daughter with her red sword.

Magog's attention was split. One massive paw came down and Nariko parried, catching the claws with her blade. The other tried to take out Ranma; the redhead dodged and flayed Magog's wrist.

That's when Tessa struck. She knocked one sister down, ensnared the other with her flashing green whip, and in that second lined up a clear shot.

Hellfire flashed out in an angry destructive wave.

"Infriga!" I cried. My own lance of Winter power crossing Tessa's hellish power. Ice formed and flash-steamed. A damp sulfurous smell filled the already stinking garage. The hellfire was diminished, but the range was short.

Ranma was struck in the side, her armor boiling off; the demon screamed in pain and anger. I saw a flash of ribs and organs. She began to slump down.

Nariko raced to her mother.

But Magog was faster.

A meaty paw the size of the redhead's torso lunged out and scooped her up.

Laughing, Tessa shot out with Hellfire. Towards me. I got my shield up and hunkered down. The Winter Mantel helped keep me cool but I knew she was holding back. She had enough power to pop my shield, but she seemed content to keep me in place.

Holding the battered demon, Magog raised his right arm and squeezed. From behind my shield, I couldn't hear Ranma's ribs and spine crack but I could see the blood raining down in sheets.

Red eyes flaring, Nariko dodged Magog's other arm and closed in. A crater was blasted on his chest as someone took a shot at him with some sort of heavy gun.

Cutting at his fingers, Ranma's tail thrashed; she had one free hand. Fire washed over his brutish lupine face. Lunging forward, his jaws bit down on her arm.

Obviously, Magog wanted to take his time. He was furious. He wanted to make the redhead hurt, instead of simply crushing her into paste, or biting her head off.

Screaming, Ranma narrowed her eyes and twin beams shot out. He shook her, but until he bit through her arm their faces were transfixed. The purple beams cut into the wolf's golden eyes. They boiled and exploded.

Both screamed, then Ranma detonated a DarkStar Burst. Magog's jaw blew apart and Ranma's arm ripped off.

Tessa screamed and launched a blast of Hellfire.

My stomach turned, but there was something I could do. Nariko's wings flapped as she tried to jump to dogge Magog's grabbing arm. "Forzare!" I cried as my magic blasted the Denarian's limb aside.

At the apex of her leap, Nariko's katana slashed down. There was a bit of resistance as it hit the demonic hide of Magog's wrist. The blade flashed, flesh and bone parted.

Magog's right hand hit the ground with a thud. The Denarian howled in rage. The platinum haired demon rushed in and peeled her mother out of the giant fingers, while Nariko stood guard.

Glaring with hate-filled eyes, Tessa turned and with another blinding burst of Hellfire burned through the door Ranma and I had used to enter the garage.

Well, two can play that game. "Pyrofuego!" I yelled, using a lance of fire to slam her into the concrete wall. The mantis demon then turned and in a hoarse screech cast her own force-spell, knocking me down.

As I fell, I noticed that the green miasma had gotten higher, maybe up to my knees. Well, if I were standing.

Tessa leapt though the hole she had burned in the armored door. I heard an echoing explosion, and the retort of sniper rifles. I recalled the wall panels in the airlock on the other side of that door.

As I pulled myself up, I could see Ukyou dragging Ranma's body off... blood smearing the ground. The tingle on my neck increased as Magog's hateful bellow returned. Though, it was more of an inarticulate scream with his lower jaw turned to pulp.

Her face set tight and eyes narrowed, Nariko shouted orders to her sisters and pointed with her sword. I wasn't sure what she said, but I stood up shakily.

His remaining glowing Fallen's eyes full of madness, Magog made a beeline for Nariko.

Then the other girls struck. I could feel the hate radiating off of them.

Misako intercepted him with a fresh belt of grenades. It was then that I noticed the greenish miasma was thickest around her legs and it actually seemed to be pulsing, even flowing from Magog to her.

I then noticed that the Denarian was still blinded in his lupine eyes, still had a mangled jaw. And that the bleeding hadn't even stopped from his right forearm stump.

The blue haired demons came in a pair.

Misako ceased her grenades as the older one struck. Shadows sprung out from Akane's legs and blew up around Magogs' feet. The younger one came in and launched a burst of ice into the Denarian's thighs. The frozen slivers sliced into the thick hide and exploded, shredding flesh.

Magog bellowed and turned to them instead of Nariko, but in doing so had to widen his stance.

Flicking out a pair of great folding daggers made out of the same material as Nariko's sword, the tiny demon then fell into a slide.

I rushed forward. I knew that move; it was flashy and risky, but if she could pull it off...

Then she shot between Magog's legs and with each arm sliced through the Denarian's hamstrings.

Just as Magog lunged downward, Ukyou opened up with her rifle, the heavy rounds blasting apart the Denarian's remaining meaty paw.

I caught up to the little power-blue haired demon. I looked up. Even mangled and sliced apart the wolf-monster was an imposing mass of muscle. "Forzare!" A blast of force hit the floundering Denarian in the chest.

There was a burbling howl as Magog hit the concrete floor; his legs unable to support his weight. His wounds were healing... but with an agonizing slowness.

"Ahhhh..." I said with realization. The grenades and other opening attacks were a distraction. Misako and Ukyou were laying the real groundwork. While Ukyou's mental whammy ensured Magog was too enraged to think straight, Misako's miasma kept his injuries from healing. Probably by draining him in some way. After that, it was a matter of keeping him off balanced until they could knock him down.

"Nicely done. The bigger they are..." I offered a hand to Nabiki.

"Yeah, yeah," the little demons said as she stood back up.

As Magog tried to pull himself up, Nariko darted in. Dodging a stumpy arm she stabbed forward with her blade spearing a glowing Fallen Angel eye and into the creature's skull. The Denarian was down to one eye left.

"Lightning Devastation," the succubus coldly stated.

Lightning flashed down, frying the glowing eye and boiling brains.

Sniffing the air, almost savoring the scent, Nabiki smiled. "Go on Mr. Wizard, we can finish this up.

"Watch out for the coin," I stated. Ukyou and the others had gotten closer.

"First thing we'll do is find it." The platinum blonde demon promised and pulled a combat knife, not do dissimilar from my K-bar, out of a sheath on her vest.

I turned and saw five demons descend on the Denarian. Each had a blade of some type in their hands. Including a wan, blinking redhead.

Running towards the door Tessa had burned through, I didn't spare much of a look at the butchery behind me.

***************


The burned edges of the steel door were still glowing. Which meant they were still far too hot to touch. I gauged the size of the hole, then glanced down the hallway.

Tessa was a short little monster, but on the upside, Hellfire tended to burn pretty big holes into stuff. The narrow hallway between the two sets of doors was blasted and battered. The panels lining the walls were just... gone. The metal frames they had been set in were twisted wrecks and behind that the concrete was blasted and pockmarked.

Clearly my estimate that there had been dozens of claymore mines hidden in the walls was... optimistic.

"This is a bad idea." I exhaled a bit and pulled my staff in close. "Parkour!" I shouted jumping through the hole. My boots just cleared the bottom of the hole as my knees pulled in.

I then hit the ground running and jumped over some burned wreckage. I could see burnt smears of what might be blood in the middle of the floor. I quickly crossed the hallway and with another cry jumped through the second door Tessa had burned through.

My boots then hit the tile floor and skidded to a halt.

The next room was.... empty. After the devastation of the garage and the airlock the pristine security station was eerie. It looked like the guards had just stepped away from the heavy counter. Only the scent of burnt plastic rising from the room's electronics belied that status.

"They pulled back. That means..." I murmured. There was an explosion down the corridor followed by another insectile screech. "Oh, crap."

Taking my staff, I resumed my run.

"You!" Tessa screamed. She had stopped short at an intersection with a perpendicular corridor. A crystal pendant held in one clawed hand and was being drawn to the left.

"Me," I gave a strained grin and looked past her down the far end of the hallway.

There was a hissing whoosh as another rocket shot towards her.

With contemptuous ease, she flicked her wrist and a shimmering green shield popped into existence and the rocket's payload blasted against it.

"Impudence," the Denarian hissed as she slowly turned.

Glancing at a panel just beyond the intersection, I chuckled. It was the same panel Dirac had fiddled with. "You don't know the half of it. Defendarius!" I cried dodging to the side.

The shield sprang up around me. A chain of little charges detonated at Tessa's feet, blasting clear a circle of tiles which revealed a blackish-red line.

The air hummed as the circle energized. Even from here, I could smell burning ink and blood. For a split second confusion clouded Tessa's face, until her shield began to fritz and flicker.

That's when the heavy machine guns to my left opened up. Rounds started to hit. Chitin armor broke and shattered. Blood spurted as Tessa raised her hand and fed more power into her shield.

I screamed in surprise but held my own shield. Not because I was worried about being hit by them. No... I was worried about the demonic sniper straight down the other corridor.

Which unfortunately, put me downrange of a giant gun longer than its shooter was tall. There was a heavy boom that resonated over the machine guns.

A hole blew though Tessa's chest. Her mandibles scythed and with each arm she fired a beam of hellfire down each of the corridors.

Screeching as her armor reformed, she slammed the floor with a clawed foot, broke through the circle, and darted down the remaining corridor to my left.

Which led to the room where the books were kept.

I started running.

The layout of their ambush, meant the Company knew Tessa was going that way...

Which meant they had another trap planned. And given that Tessa was still holding back her sorcerous power...

I started to run faster. Then I started to wave my hands to the mercenaries.

The two approaching demons stopped just across the intersection. One was tall with bright green hair and eyes and the other was shorter with dark red hair. The green-haired one carried one of those thick boxy rifles that fired the thumb-sized rounds.

Her companion carried a gigantic sniper rifle. Up close, it was no less ridiculous. The barrel still reminded me of a length of drainage pipe. She'd slotted in another hardcover book-sized magazine and maneuvered the lengthy gun.

In the confines of the corridors, it was fairly awkward. But she still managed to turn and face the wall on the right side of the hallway. Holding the gun vertical, she then dropped to one knee

Hells Bells, the thing was only a hair shorter than my staff.

Edging to the corner, my boots crunched on the shattered tile around Dirac's magic circle. Wisps of smoke and sparks still rose up from it.

Meeting my eyes, the green-haired demon pointed with a gloved finger. She then pointed to her sister, then to the sniper rifle, then to me, then made a sweeping motion with her hand over her forehead.

I blinked. Why did they have to do this secret squirrel stuff? Still it was simple enough. She wanted me to protect Little Red while she made the shot.

I then made the thumb and forefinger "Okay" symbol. And, amusingly, Miss Green nodded and squeezed her sister's shoulder.

I had a fraction of a second to be amused at my ability to speak spy-spook.

Then Miss Green fired a bolt of green fire across the intersection.

Suddenly, the machineguns stopped.

The succubus sniper leaned to her right and the giant gun snapped down.

I stepped to the side and lowered my staff crossing it diagonally over that ridiculous barrel.

"Defendarius!" I cried focusing my shield bracelet out via my staff, concentrating to keep a gap around the barrel itself. Down the length of the corridor, Tessa had her own green shield up as she used a narrow, blinding lance of fire like a blowtorch to burn a hole through an armored door.

The lack of overt Hellfire concerned me. Either that trap had taken more out of her and she wasn't able to slag through doors in one go, or she had decided to hold that ability in reserve for the moment.

The auburn haired sniper, apparently, had no such musing. The instant her gun came down she pulled the trigger. In the confined space the detonation was deafening. The first round slammed into Tessa's shield.

Her partner also opened fire. The green energy rippled as each round hit, like a pebble being dropped into a placid lake.

However, the armor piercing grenade reacted more like fast-balling an iron ball into a pond. Instead of ripples the entire surface splashed, undulated, and frothed. Then the grenade exploded.

Tessa set her face and poured in more will. The entire surface frothed. But at the point of impact....

There was a small gap. Screaming in rage, Tessa's form blurred and shot forward.

The sniper-rifle boomed again. And, despite the lithe Denarian's twisting motions as she bounded and dodged, the sniper hit the... exact.... same spot on her shield.

This time the grenade tore through the shield dug into chitin armor and exploded.
Bleeding ichor, Tessa stumbled.

That's when I acted.

"Forzare!" I screamed, pushing more Soulfire into the spell. A shimmering ghostly hand shot out from the end of my staff, caught the squirming Denarian and slammed her into the armored door.

The little sniper fired two more rounds, blasting chiton, flesh, and blood off of Tessa's chest.

I followed with a sweep of my staff. "Infriga!" Needle like icicles froze out of the air and shot towards the mantis-girl in a barrage.

The sniper was raising her rifle when Tessa gave a screech that was somehow even louder than the giant rifle.

That end of the corridor exploded in a blinding flash of sickly green light.

Angry buzzing energy and shards of steel and concrete slammed against my shield. The barrel and muzzle brake that extended beyond my shield were burnt and covered in carbon and scratches.

Feeling the heat pressing against the shield, I gasped and held. And held. Then with one final push I released the spell and nearly stumbled to the floor. Bracing hot air still washed over me, but it was like standing by an oven... instead of a blast furnace.

Her face betraying a bit of shock, the green haired demon glanced at me.

"That's what happens when you corner her!" I shouted, my ears ringing. Once again I thanked my earplugs. Though even with them I'd be lucky to come out of this with just tinnitus. "Forzare!" I repeated, this time without the extra soul juice.

The smoke and debris cleared, revealing an impressively damaged hallway. And that the two inch armored steel blast door was simply... gone.

The green haired demon stepped forward and covered while her sister reloaded the bulky sniper rifle. She then smiled with a flash of teeth and darted down the hallway.

Grumbling, I followed her and her sister.
***************


We passed the room where I had studied the books with the other eggheads. Evidently the case had been moved. Which made sense; why else stick the books in a locked case?

Still, I was pretty sure Tessa knew where the books were. That pendent she was using probably had a piece of the Testament in it. Given we knew the Brotherhood had pages from the book... they could have provided her with some scraps. Or maybe she tore off a corner herself after she bought the book with the wolves.

Either way, with a scrap from the book, she could do a bit of thaumaturgy and generate a link that would draw her inexorably towards the Testament. It was an easy enough spell. Heck, it was the one I used all the time as a Private Investigator to find things.

Which meant...

I upped my pace, using the Winter Mantle and my longer legs to sprint past the two demons. The corridor was ending ahead of us. Fifty feet ahead of me, Tessa reached the door at the end of the hallway. More doors were on opposite wall, including one that was ajar, but the Denarian ignored those and slashed through a plain metal door.

After tearing through multiple reinforced steel blast doors, this one fell easily.

My disquiet grew.

See, these mercenaries were a paranoid bunch. They put in layers of defense and prepared their facility in a way that would make Marcone give a grudging nod of respect.
"Gentleman" Johnny Marcone, was the undisputed leader of the Chicago criminal-underworld, employer of a literal Valkyrie, and a Freeholding Lord under the Unseelie Accords. He also believed in preparation and designed his facilities to take on supernatural and magical enemies. Frankly, I'd be a bit insulted if he didn't. But when the Denarians came after him, they managed to compromise his safe-house and abduct him.

These mercenaries... I wasn't so sure.

As the mantis monster jumped into the bare concrete room, more clicked into place.

They knew Tessa was after the book. Stars and Stones, they heard her demand for it. Which was why they didn't immediately open fire. They wanted to be sure of what she was after.

They tried to stop her in the garage. They failed. But they accomplished two consolation goals. First, they stripped her of support. Instead of having Magog, Mr. Seaweed, and a gaggle of wolfmen rampaging in the facility... it was just her.

Second, they slowed her down. And since they knew exactly where she was going, that bought them time to clear the corridors, put people in place for their ambushes, and...

I looked into the room. It was empty except for some crates, what looked like a pile of conduit tubing, filters and HVAC supplies, and a large, thick fire-safe bolted to the far wall.

The Denarian went straight to the safe. Even Tessa would need to spend some effort to get through that. That is if she didn't want to burn the book to ashes. She held her hands and a narrow, blinding jet of Hellfire began to carefully cut through the thick steel plating.

The mercenaries had planned this. Or I should say, they anticipated this. They figured Tessa would somehow get here, that she'd find her way to the book. I had spent a whole briefing warning them about how dangerous she was. It looks like, for once, someone had listened to me.

It was a novel feeling on my part.

And now they had Tessa, who was alone, who had been injured, who had been harried every step of the way, who was now distracted by finally seeing her prize in front of her.

The ajar door to left of the safe-room silently opened further.

Slipping through, a statuesque figure held a green satchel with one arm. She was tall with her blonde hair tied back in a tight bun. With one smooth motion she yanked a cord with her other hand, paused for an aching moment, and then lobbed the satchel though the doorway into the safe-room.

I was down on the ground a split second before the green-haired demon's hand pushed my shoulder down. So, those two demons had caught up to me. I concentrated; my shield went up enveloping the three of us.

The tall blonde then pulled back and slammed against the wall inside the room she'd come from. The green satchel skidded on the tile floor and bumped against the hooked feet of Tessa's mantis armor.

Hearing the door move, Tessa had already spun and was about to kick the satchel charge. She was too late.

It detonated.

Most of the explosion was caught in the room. But the hallway gave a convenient funnel for a lot of the pressure-wave. I took a moment to realize I was lying with two very... healthy young women. Even if most of their figures were obscured by their armor.

My musing was interrupted when a secondary explosion rocked the hallway. It was a bit larger than the first.

This time I laughed. Of course there was more than one bomb! What had they told me? Two is one, one is none. Heaven forbid, you have only one bomb, what would you do if it was a dud?

I could see thrashing and inhuman screaming from inside the safe-room. Greenish light roiled and flashed from within. Once again Morgan touched my shoulder. She then lifted me up.

As I got back up and raced towards Tessa, I saw the tall blonde dart out of the side room for a second time. This time Eve as accompanied by her third daughter.

The shorter black-haired demon had something with tanks awkwardly slung on her back, interfering with her wings. In her hands was a long metal wand connected to those tanks via a hose. She pulled one trigger and the tip of the wand sparked, she pulled the other trigger and a bright yellow gout of fire shot into the room. She twisted the wand splashing it back and forth.

A second later Eve flexed her hands and a jet of blue flames launched out. The magical napalm hit the mundane stuff and exploded in a blinding corona that left spots on my vision.

"Now that's just not fair," I gasped as the safe-room became a hellish inferno. The back blast from the fire attacks roasted my skin.

The flamethrower guttered out. The black haired demon lifted the back trigger and shrugged the backpack off her shoulders. I guess those things didn't have much capacity. Then again it looked like it was dumping what half a gallon a second? The tanks looked only a few gallons in size each.

The figure within the inferno had stopped screaming. Which would have been a relief if she wasn't standing stock still. A green aura flared around her battered from.

I had seen this magic before. It took a lot of skill and concentration to ward off this much heat and walk in an inferno. But it could be done.

I coughed, smoke was already billowing out of the room and it was getting rather hard to breathe. The Denarian didn't seem to notice. Even the demons at least coughed once or twice as Eve and her green-haired daughter had switched to their rifles and fired into the Denarian.

I could see vast swaths of her insectile armor were simply gone, leaving Tessa's pale human skin visible. However, the figure's eyes, both human and her Fallen burned with hate.

She reached into a section of her exoskeleton and pulled out a black crystal that glinted in the firelight.

"Stop her!" I shouted.

Morgan snapped her sniper-rifle and blew Tessa's arm off at the elbow. Her clawed hand twitched as it and the crystal fell to the floor. I noticed that while Tessa hissed in pain, her eyes were still triumphant.

The crystal hit the burned tile. It shattered. Sparkling black sharks skittered across the floor like a fine powder.

The flames stopped.

I mean they completely stopped. One second there was inferno the next it was a steaming, smoking, burnt beyond recognition room. The air still shimmered with heat.

Oxygen.

The room had lost its oxygen. Without that fire couldn't burn. And without it... That meant....

My head pounded and dizziness grew as I started to twitch. My lungs burned. The Winter Mantle raged at this, but I knew that was a sucker's bet. The Mantle didn't give me any extra power, it just let me ignore my body's limitations. Granted without those limitations, I could train like nothing else.

Except oxygen deprivation wasn't something you could just ignore. It wasn't something you could train against. If I let the mantle run wild I could fight... but then I'd just get hypoxia all the faster.

The four succubae attacked, I could tell their moves were more sluggish and uncoordinated.

Tessa laughed as she strode forward. "I know about of your little affinity for fire. So, I came prepared," she said, her voice echoing oddly. Provably a side effect of her spell.

My vision dimmed, but I could make out a green shimmer around her mandibles. Of course she brought her own air supply. How else would she have kept her lungs from boiling in the inferno?

"Enough carbon dioxide to tamp out any fires. And enough carbon monoxide to knock out any meddlers," Tessa gloated.

Then a pair of ice-blue beams shot out of Eve's eyes and knocked the battered one-armed Denarian onto the floor in front of the safe.

Despite myself I snickered, of course the massive safe had survived. As I wondered if Tessa had cut enough to ruin its fire rating, I slumped forward and the green-haired demon caught me as she dragged me back while the others fired on Tessa.

My vision started to grey out, bluffing at the edges. I tried to dig my heels as I was being pulled away. My head swam, and everything went dark.

***************


Light blared into my eyes as something pressed against my face and a cool blast gushed into my lungs.

Someone batted my side. "Wake up Mr. Wizard," a familiar voice purred in a somewhat muffled voice.

"Graa," I muttered behind the oxygen mask. In front of me glowing purple eyes came into focus. My vision was still blurry but something seemed off about her face.

"Looks like I missed some fun," Ranma said pulling me up. We were in a side room down the hall from the safe-room. Eve and her daughters were there. They had already removed their oxygen masks. And were slipping on goggles and gas masks. Lousy demons and their supernatural recovery. Outside I could hear more gunfire. Including Misako's crazy machine grenade gun.

"You're a lucky man, acute carbon monoxide poisoning isn't something a human can just take a hit of oxygen and walk away from," Ranma said.

I coughed. "I told you she'd react badly to being cornered," I said. Or I tried to. The mask may have garbled it.

"Correct, Mr. Dresden." Eve stated, her voice raspy and hoarse. "The target is contained for the moment. And is focused on breaching the safe. A fortunate side effect to her countermeasures is that even her fire magic is far less effective at cutting through the armor."

I could see the green-haired demon watching the safe-room via some type of compact periscope. She periodically stated which part of the safe Tessa was cutting through.

"Well, isn't our glass half full of napalm," I groaned and pulled at the mask. I turned to Ranma and blinked. Then blinked again.

She had both her arms. That wasn't surprising. And she had a... contented well-fed aura about her. That wasn't surprising either. Not that I wanted to contemplate on exactly how she had gotten well-fed.

What did surprise me...

After a few more breaths my vision cleared up.

For starters her face was definitely... different. Her features were sharper with a little upturned nose and sharp cheekbones. But unlike in the break room yesterday her cheeks weren't hollow nor was her chin-line sharp.

No, she definitely looked well-fed. Also her face was a glossy and smoothly feminine mask with inlaid makeup and gold tracery. Porcelain white, her features had solid purple eyes, ruby eyebrows, and full plump purple lips.

"Mr. Wizard?" The redhead asked. The lips on the mask stayed sealed.

"Uh... new mask?"

The demon chuckled. The effect eerie given her unmoving features. "Protection," she simply said.

I blinked and looked at the glossy red updo her hair had been sculpted into. Behind the larger pair of spiraling black horns was a massive layered bun. I suppose it could be armor.... or armor like. At least there were no loose strands to grab or catch fire.

Lower was a set of contoured pale lavender chest armor. It reminded me of the bodice Ranma wore when she sat in my lap. Except instead of showing generous cleavage, this one went to her shoulders and clasped around her neck. Also this garment was thicker around her torso. Disquietingly the metallic armor had ice-blue inlaid trim.

A set of gleaming leather harnesses and pouches was strapped over the chest armor. A familiar heavy knife slung from one sheath and a large pistol was holstered on an opposing chest rig. The holster was made of strange leather, perhaps some kind of sharkskin or manta ray.

Her forearms had bracers made out of the same lavender material. Under the bracers and running up her arms was some sort of textured silver bodysuit. If I didn't know better I'd say it was her own skin.

I definitely avoided looking too closely at her silvery hands. Other than to notice that her talons had returned. But unlike the flashy long ones she had in the break room, these were thicker and more business-like, more stabbing and piercing than slashing.

Her skirt was something else. Curved spade-shaped dark purple plates the size of postcards overlaid each other like scale armor to fall over her legs down to just above the armored greaves over her hooves. They were anchored up top by gleaming silver armor with blue tracery that went around her waist and linked to the bottom of her bodice.

Each segment fronted matte material that seemed to drink in the light, but if I had my guess it had a ceramic plate backing, to give some extra ballistic protection.

The spades overlaid more flexible and smaller inner plates forming a fluted pleated structure that could bend and twist. Which I had plenty of opportunity to observe as she checked me over and fitted me with my own set of goggles. In addition to extending the strap she also disabled some sort of computer display and pulled the batteries. She then bent down and took out a gasmask to clip under the goggles.

So, I had ample chances to watch how both the bodice and skirt moved. Honestly, I was making sure her armor was fitted probably. Honest.

Below the hem of the skirt peeked a pair of lavender greaves that locked over grand hooves with white edges that gleamed with wicked sharpness.

Gazing down allowed me to determine that additional armor flexibility was given by slits on the left and right hip of the skirt. Behind the slits, similar material covering her hips was visible, flaring them out, including solid plates on the sides of her hips giving extra armor over shapely legs thick with muscle. The additional width caused the skirt plates to be pushed out at the top of her hips around her backside.

Because of this, the silver armor that the skirt segments hung from arched further out in her back and actually curved down arcing over the tops of her thighs. With her thick, two yard long tail emerging from the back, the whole thing resembled a molded armored bustle. Worse, I noticed that the ice-blue tracery formed a single snowflake over each cheek.

My face flushed.

Ranma looked over her shoulder and somehow her mask winked. She then slipped a taloned hand into my coat and secured an oxygen bottle that ran to my mask.

"If we've made sure we're properly attired," Eve stated.

"One last thing," Ranma said in her muffled voice. Nimble talons opened a pouch and a grey plastic cube dropped into my hand with a metallic rattle. I almost dropped it.

"Don't worry, Nariko made sure no one touched it when Magog's body shrank down into a human and we found the collar around his neck."

"Uh... great..." I said slipping it into an inner pocket in my coat. A deep one.

"Pattern Silvers have arrived at the ready point," the black haired daughter of Eve said, holding blocky telephone. It looked like something a lineman or a phone technician would use. Braided cables ran from the phone to a plug in a far wall.

"Good, keep them there as reserve. I want them mobile in case we need to contain a breakout."

One of Eve's daughters spoke into the phone, she looked back up. "I've now got HVAC control on the line.

Eve nodded. "Good, can they do the flood?"

The daughter frowned. "They have the O2 reserves but..."

"Yes, fire suppression systems have been compromised. We'll burn that bridge when we get to it," Eve snapped.

"Wait..." I blinked. "Do you have sprinklers?"

"We have several types of foam and gas systems," Eve said a tad irritably. "We had to remotely turn them off in that room of course."

"No. Do you have water? Plain water."

Eve's eyebrow went up. She then gave a thin smile.

"If you can pour water into that room...."

The blonde nodded. "Sophie, see to it that when Mr. Dresden arrives he'll have plenty of... working material."

"Yes, Ma'am," the daughter said before ordering into her phone.

"Target is on the last two bolts, less than thirty before the safe is open," the green haired demoness said.

Ranma turned to Eve and the two sisters exchanged a look.

Eve cleared her throat. "Mr. Dresden. Do you have any electricity based spells? Like say an electric discharge sufficient to vaporize an electric wire?"

Next to her the armored redhead's lips somehow shifted into a grin.

"Uh... yeah I can do something."

Handing me my staff, Ranma slapped my back and grabbed the door back into the corridor. The pounding grenade and rifle fire stopped.

The armored demon pounced across the threshold, and I followed.

***************


My neck tingled. Maybe from the demonic emotional mind magic. Maybe because I had some amount of carbon monoxide poisoning and really shouldn't be fighting. Maybe because I was running towards a pissed-off, cornered, Fallen Angel. Maybe because said Fallen had been pummeled by machine guns, grenades, and grenade machine guns, all of which were now pointed at my back.

Or maybe, it was because the last time I fought Tessa it was also in an underground vault room. And that time she had covered me in creepy bugs that crawled all over me, in me, and whispered me maddening secrets.

It took the intervention of a Knight of the Cross to drive her off. And while the Knights were known to show up just in the nick of time... I was pretty sure I was a bit out of their jurisdiction now. Still, I would have loved to have a Knight show up and help me.

So yeah, there were plenty of reasons why I wasn't feeling too great about this. Let's not neglect that I was wearing a hot gasmask because Tessa, of all people, was the one to finally figure out how to defeat my preference for fire attacks.

Still, the caveman part of me, well I preferred to call it my chivalrous part, didn't want to have a woman take the brunt of the damage in my place. Even if said woman was a succubus who had already been wounded far, far worse than I had been today.

On the other hand, watching the redhead run did reveal something. With each powerful lunching step her tail grew longer and thicker. Almost four inches at the base the dark purple tail started to push more vertical as her torso leaned forward a bit, her legs and hooves also adjusting to the slight change in stance.

Three yards long, the massive tail curled up. And actually rose up past one of her folded wings, the end lifting to nearly shoulder height. I watched her hips grow out, the flare increasing to support all that tail-weight. The silver armor in back also widened and lowered further down in a sculpted sweep. The snowflake adornments seemed even larger and twinkled with an icy rime.

All of which I noticed because I was concerned about her structural support. Actually, what did concern me were the half-dozen icy blue iridescent ribbons that trailed off the fins of her tail. Twinkling with an uncomfortably fae-like script the translucent streamers writhed behind her lofted tail.

Her hands went up and a pair of DarkStar Bursts were shot off. The dark orbs exploding against Tessa's green shield. Hissing, the Denarian turned. One of her arms looked withered and misshapen. As if her armored exoskeleton was simply wrapped over her human skeleton.

Black wisps of fog still clung to the floor. So, she still had her anti-oxygen spell up. Her other hand wielded a narrow, cutting torch-like, beam of Hellfire. Her eyes widened at me, then blinked at the armored succubus.

"Forzare!" I cried using her distraction. My voice was all muffled, but it's not like that was important. Invisible force lanced out, slamming Tessa into the burned safe.

Still rushing, Ranma's tail shot out, as she crossed the threshold. The heavy appendage slammed into Tessa's shield. Ribbons of ice twisted and cut. The shield flashed, two of the ribbons melted. The shield parted. And the rest plunged through. Strips of razor sharp ice slashing into the Denarian's armor, prying under chitin plates. Tessa went down in a greenish smear of ichor.

Then the sprinklers hit. Well, the actual sprinkler heads had already been melted, bent, or outright destroyed. But since the water supply had been cut off to the room ahead of time, the room had stayed dry. However the pipes were still there, and once the flow was turned back on...

Water sprayed down from the blasted ceiling in uneven spurts and fits. Some sections were blocked entirely and no water fell, and in the far right corner a pipe had busted and water simply poured out.

Which suited me just fine.

"Infriga!" I cried as my goggles threatened to fog. I pointed my staff to the sluicing downpour and swung it towards Tessa. The wave of freezing water followed and spattered against her form.

The ribbons on Ranma's tail continued to slash through the armor and tear at the diminutive body beneath. Then the Denarian screamed. The sound cut into my skull. If I hadn't been wearing the ear plugs I probably would have gone deaf. However the likelihood of prolonged tinnitus had increased.

As it was, I barely had time to duck when the block of ice exploded behind a wall of force. Chunks splattered against me. Then, with another ear-rending screech, Tessa held out her withered arm.

I flew back and slammed into the concrete wall a few feet to the right of the door. Eyes burning, Tessa flicked her other hand and Ranma went flying. As the demoness pulled herself back up, the Denarian grabbed the steel door to the safe and pulled.

Metal groaned and creaked, then the last bolts gave way and the door tore free. She heaved the thick steel door into the air, and then, with an evil grin she hit it with a blast of magical force and the thee foot by six foot three inch slab of steel rocketed towards me.

I rolled to the side just as the safe door smashed against the floor with a crunch of breaking concrete and a cloud of fine dust. The hellfire blowtorched edge was less than an inch from my right leg.

My relief was short lived as right on the heels of the safe door was Tessa's pouncing form. "Why must you interfere!" she raged as her claws raked down.

The Winter Mantle surged as ice formed around my fingers. My arms shot up, long ice talons blocking Tessa's mantis claws. I then kicked out. Say what you will about super demonic strength. I had more leverage, and I was already on the ground.

Tessa howled as my boot slammed into her ankle. I then tried to sink my claws into her shoulders as she slashed at me. Then Ranma lunged at her from the side and knocked her all the way to the ground, tail stabbing and claws piercing.

The Denarian hit the redhead with another force blast. The succubus crashed into me, the writhing ribbons of her tail falling just to the side of my left hand. There were still hunks of exoskeleton and flesh hooked onto Ranma's claws.

Tessa looked down at where her armor and parts of her shoulder and chest had just been ripped off. Blood and ichor poured freely.

"You dangerous, mute lunatic!" she hissed at the demon raising a hand.

Then the sniper rifle boomed.

The side of her torso blowing apart, Tessa spun and summoned a shield that flared up in the doorframe. Further hits blasted against the shield. I frowned; she was pumping a lot of power to keep that up.

Then again... this was probably what she was holding back for. Giving a frustrated screech, Tessa darted to the safe and pulled out the metal case.

"You know, I'm gonna have to see your library card before you can take those out," I wheezed as Ranma flopped off me and slumped onto the floor. Her hooves shifted and fell against the wall.

I looked up and saw Tessa's mandibles spread, revealing all too human looking lips.

"There's got to be an easier way to take out old Nick," I said.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the redhead's tail swish, and her legs tense.

Tessa smiled. "I'll tell Nicodemus that you gave every effort trying to save him."

Kicking off the wall, Ranma slid across the wrecked floor. Her right arm shot out and hooked Tessa's leg.

I then leveled my staff. "Forzare!" My blast of force hit her in the chest.

Tessa knocked to the floor. She held onto the case with a death-grip. Ranma ignored that and with her left hand grabbed one of Tessa's mandibles and wrenched it off.

This time the Denarian didn't scream. Blood poured down her face.

Ranma rose, her armor stained and dusty. Her mask seemed almost amused. She let the mandible fall to the ground.

I watched as it started to smolder with green fire.

Then I saw that the hate, the fury in Tessa's eyes had gone cold.

"Oh, crap," I muttered and then looking back to the mandible shot out a burst of Winter power and froze it in a block of ice.

Then Tessa slammed the briefcase onto Ranma's head. The Denarian hit the redhead with a surge of speed. Hellfire shot out, and I ducked to the left as a blast nearly took the side of my face. The attack had also blown past the redhead's skirting.

Spade-shaped plates hissed and cracked as the entire left side of the succubus's skirting slumped to one side. There was even a smoking furrow cut into the side of her hip.

I pulled myself up. "Forzare!" I said, this time my blast only pushed Tessa back a couple of feet. Still it separated the two.

Ranma used the opportunity to pull something out of a vest pocket. I recognized the long device Eve had handed her when we left for lunch.

A detonator. Lovely, of course they had another bomb. A clawed finger flicked the rocker cover and pressed the button up top.

Nothing.

There was a bare moment of silence. Tessa's head tilted.

"Mr. Wizard, shock the case!" Ranma ordered. Despite the mask, her voice was clear, demanding.

I dug deep. Normally, I had to have a channel, or at least a conductive path to do this. But electricity can arc through air. Just look at lightning strikes. "Ventas Fulmino!" I screamed pouring Soulfire into the spell. The magical matrix added strength, but more importantly, it added structure.

A silver bolt shot out from my staff and hit the metal case.

Which promptly detonated in a blinding flash and a metallic crump. Despite the gasmask I wore, the scent of burning paper still hit my nostrils.

Tessa still held the case. But it was a burnt husk. The sides had blown out, the bottom had fallen to the ground and fine slivers of ash sifted out.

A deep chuckle came from the redhead as she stalked towards the Denarian.

Tessa's eyes went down to follow the twirling ashes. Her hand opened; the shredded case hit the ground with a thud.

"I told you, you had to show your library card. These people take book theft very seriously," I snarked. Well, I thought it came off well, Tessa seemed more confused. Maybe my gas mask muffled it.

Glancing to my left, I activated my shield.

"You petty annoyances." Without one of her mandibles, Tessa's face looked even more wrong and lopsided. "If you think this-"

And that's when the redhead pounced, her talons hooked into Tessa's cheek and she launched a DarkStar Burst. The obsidian sphere must not have been entirely fire based. Or maybe it had its own oxygen.

Either way it exploded, snapping the Denarian's head back. Tessa's shield went down and I swung my staff at one of her knees. It hit, and the six foot length of oak reverberated against the armored limb. Still there was only so much armor you could add if you wanted a joint to still bend.

Another a dome of force pulsed out knocking Ranma and myself back.

That's when the machine guns opened up from the hallway. Heavy rounds peppering and beginning to piece Tessa's armor. Her body bled and ichor fell. A look of supreme frustration crossed her face. Then with one arm she pointed to the ceiling and with the other she pointed to the floor.

The swirling black fog at our feet fell to the ground in piles of dull black crystals. That meant that oxygen could come back into the room.

"Hellfire!" I screamed as the angry vivid red lance shot out of her upraised hand.

The ceiling breached and a tunnel started to burn through. I pulled Ranma to my side and held my shield as molten and flaming debris began to fall.

Smoke filled the room, and for once I appreciated the stupid mask tied to my face. Shouting and gunfire also increased.

Then the gunfire and shouting dissipated. After a minute or so the smoke did too. I blinked my eyes blearily. Despite my judgment I pulled off my goggles and rubbed them. That also pulled my mask off. Acrid air burned my throat a bit.

There was a tugging on my arm. I looked down and saw talons gingerly holding my arm as I was dragged out of the safe room by the redhead.

We were met by Eve's grim face in the hallway. Sophie was at her side still talking on the combat phone.

Ranma's mask had retreated, exposing her face. "Come on, we've got to get topside and-"

Eve shook her head.

"The Silvers and two teams intercepted her."

I noticed a bit of worry flicker across the redhead's face. "And?"

"They blew her up." Sophie said cradling her phone. "Then a swarm of insects flew off. Miss Hino and Miss Kino tagged a mess of 'em but..."

"Give me that," Ranma ordered holding out a hand.

Sophie complied.

"Uh, that's actually something Tessa can do."

"Yes, you said she could split up into 'lots of nasty little bugs', " Eve said shooting Ranma a look.

The redhead glared back but continued with whoever was on the other end. "What do you mean the bugs you got are still burning? Even the ones Mina took out?" the redhead growled. "Forget that. What happened?"

I shuffled out of the room. The green-haired demon took my arm and helped me lean against the wall. I slumped back a bit. A canteen was pressed into my hand. As I sipped, she held my cheeks and inspected me before patting down my arms, legs, and torso. Her hands even went high up the inseam of my pants and around the back of my thighs.

"What?" I asked as the business-like inspection continued.

"Injury check. When the adrenalin is up people often miss that they've been wounded," the demon said as she checked my neck. "I once got my side slashed up and hardly noticed it."

"Oh..." I sipped some water. Ranma had mentioned something similar after the fight in the park.

"Nothing's broken or squirting," she patted me on the back. "Still, the doc should look you over...." her expression clouded. "Well, once things calm down."

I nodded. I was a pretty low priority. Hells Bells, by my standards of injury, I'd gotten out of this pretty lucky. I took another sip and leaned back, sliding a bit further down the wall.

Despite that, the demon's expression brightened. "Thanks for the help," she patted me on the shoulder. At least that was at an easier height for her to reach now.

"Okay..."

"Why don't we take five?" she said leaning against the wall next to me. "We'll let the brass square things away for a bit?"

I nodded. That sounded like a wonderful idea.

"So, how did you get to be a wizard cop?" the green-haired demon asked.

***************


I chatted with the green-haired succubus for a few minutes and learned a bit about her. She was named Morrison. She and Morgan were Eve's eldest daughters. They were the inaugural members of the D Program. And Morrison's human family still didn't know she was a succubus.

Well, they didn't even know that Morrison was some sort of secret agent mercenary. But reading between the lines, it sounded like they had some idea. Apparently the Morrison's family, her human family, had a history of joining the Marines, and the perky green haired demoness was a bit of a black sheep for not. I didn't know how the USMC and the Company interacted in this world. Stars and Stones I hardly knew how the Marines operated in my world.

For my part, I gave a brief overview of the Wardens. Starting with how I got conscripted to fight a gaggle of necromancers that I just happened to stumble onto. And how I managed to resurrect a T-rex to ride into battle to stop their summoning ritual.

Always lead with a dinosaur story. It'll impress even the most jaded of trigger-puller slash spell-slinger operator types. Then I told a bit about the war against the Red Court Vampires. I left out how the war ended, and some of the nastier stuff, like what I did to the ghoul that had ambushed the Warden training camp where I was an instructor.

Morrison seemed to know I was holding back, but she didn't say anything about it.

Still, the small talk helped. Especially with the parade of agents and technicians running down the corridor. I could imagine there was even more activity out in the garage. And on the levels above us that Tessa had burned through.

But the alarms had silenced and there wasn't any gunfire or magical explosions or deadly gas attacks. So, that was nice.

With a groan, I got up from leaning against the wall and made my way back to the safe room at the end of the corridor

The room had been swept up a bit. Though I could see a team of eggheads looking up at the hole Tessa had burned through the ceiling. It looked like it had gone several stories up. Spotlights had also been pulled into the room. Sometime during the fight, the room's lights had given the ghost. Probably after the flamethrowers.

I say looked like, because there was already a steel plate bolted into place a couple levels up. It looked like they were doing all sorts of structural engineering tests. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole room would have to be abandoned. Or would need additional bracing, or new concrete, or something. The walls were certainly damaged enough, being shredded by massive swipes from the redhead's tail.

All I knew was that the mercenaries in hardhats and clipboards didn't chase me out. Though they did tell me to watch out for any loose cables. While they assured me there should be no live cables in the room, the damage was pretty extensive.

I just nodded and knelt down over the bit of Tessa's mandible. The area around it had been cleared, but the actual block of ice containing the thing had been left alone.

Eyeing the ever so slowly smoldering bit of Denarian flesh, I took a piece of chalk out of my pocket. Well no, first what I did was confirm that I still had the two locked cases containing Magog and Mr. Seaweed's coins.

And then I rattled the cases to confirm the coins were still there. I'd had my pocket picked by Denarians before. I wanted to make sure Tessa didn't repeat Thorned Namshiel's trick. He could be real nasty with those glowing filaments of his.

But after that, I took out some chalk, knelt down, and drew a circle around the little block of ice and started working my magic.

Then after a few more minutes, I slumped my shoulders and groaned. I looked over my shoulder to see some new visitors.

Unsurprisingly, Ranma was at the head of the little procession. She had returned to her Kevlar vest and skirt getup. Which was reassuring. I suppose the whole mask, battle gown, war-tail, and hooves look had some advantages. But it was... well it was a bit much. Say what you will about her normal battle-rattle, but at least it wasn't gaudy.

The idea of magical adaptive armor was neat enough though, especially in close quarters, facing a lack of oxygen and Hellfire. Thus I took her downgrading to a more "conventional" armor was a sign that she didn't expect stuff to explode.

Behind her was the regal form of Serenity. Her silver hair was still in a tight braided bun. She also wore the same dark blue almost Edwardian military jacket. But this time her long skirt had silvery armored segments that were reminiscent of the "armored battle-gown skirting" Ranma had, but somehow sleeker and more elegant looking.

She also carried a long wooden staff that looked something like a full-length flintlock stock. But instead of a gun barrel there was a black crystal shaft that ran the length of the staff. A smaller scepter tipped with a sharp-pronged golden crescent moon was socketed to the front, bayonet style.

I allowed a brief moment to imagine Serenity jabbing that thing into Tessa's form before frying her with whatever magical powers a Moon Queen could tap into.

Following her was a girl with dark green hair, dusky skin, and those spooky red eyes. She wore obsidian chest and skirt armor that was similar to the segmented skirting the brood wore. She also had bows and other bits of frippery on her uniform.

However my attention was on the ornate grey rod she carried. The garnet orb toping it drew the eye.

Serenity looked to Ranma, who gave a nod.

The tall silver haired woman stepped to me and bowed. "Warden Dresden, you have my apologies."

As a full member of the White Council of Wizards with power to represent and sign under the UnSeelie Accords, regional commander in the Wardens, and mortal champion of the Winter Court of the Faerie, you would expect me to be trained in the basics of supernatural diplomacy.

Instead, I looked up from my crouched position and sputtered. I offered a hand, still stained with blood and chalk dust and quickly pulled it back to wipe against a pant-leg that was stained with all kinds of gore and grime.

Smooth.

Ranma laughed.

"Uh, what'd I do wrong?" I shook my head. "I mean, what'd you do?"

The queen looked confused. "I let the monster escape."

I snorted. "Lady, look around." I waved at the burnt-out room. "We all hit her. None of us could stop her. Way I see it, at least you spooked her enough to do her thousands of bugs vanishing trick."

"Yes... unpleasant that." A strangely youthful look of revulsion crossed the queen's face. "But in that case. You and Ranma got her to flee in the first place."

"Eh, Red's the one that dished it all out. I just zapped the case." I turned to the demon. "Which was apparently full of explosives."

"Incendiaries." Ranma corrected.

"Were you not going to tell me it was rigged to blow?"

The demon tilted her head.

"That's just her way." Serenity forced a smile, and patted me on the arm. "However, Ranma, if your family wants to take a rest, my girls are still fresh. We can take guard."

Slipping closer to the queen, Ranma nodded. "Thanks."

Distracted by the way the two were eyeing each other, I didn't notice the green haired girl appear next to me.

"That's a part of the.... Denarian you called it?" Lady Pluto asked, looking at the frozen mandible.

"Yup."

"It hasn't burnt up like the bugs Jupiter and Mars caught."

"Failsafe," I said. "See any bit of yourself you leave behind, blood, hair, teeth, or creepy demonic mandible, still has a connection to the rest of you. That means another magic user can use it to track you, or worse."

"Ah. Law of Contagion?" Pluto asked.

"That's the one," I nodded.

She then inspected the symbols I had drawn around the chalk circle. "So, this Polonius Lartessa ensures any bits of her that get broken off burn up before they can be exploited. However, you managed to freeze a chunk, retarding the self-destruct."

"And it's still not good enough," I growled.

Lady Pluto raised an eyebrow.

"This is basic thaumaturgy. I've got a bit of her, I should be able to at least get an idea of her direction. Or at least a connection."

Lady Pluto quietly waited.

"And this is the type of thaumaturgy I'm really good at. Stars and Stones, I used to make most of my money finding lost things."

"Thus, she's shielded or..." Pluto inspected the mandible. "Or she's no longer in her mantis form."

I groaned and rubbed my forehead. I then swore.

Ignoring the profanity, and my embarrassed reaction, the girl smiled. "Well now, you just need to wait for her to go into battle, and you can connect this bit of exoskeleton to the rest of her."

If only it were that simple. Frustration bubbled within me. "Couple of problems with that."

"Yes?"

"Well, even under Winter ice, it's still burning. But even if it wasn't, this thing's ectoplasm. Come the next sunrise, it's going to turn to goo."

"Ah," Lady Pluto tapped her fingers against her staff. She looked pensive.

"Secondly, when Tessa summons her armor, it'll have new mandibles. So, the connection won't be that great. I'll really have to push it to get anything."

Pluto leaned in.

I looked down to keep my eyes from meeting hers. Opening my Wizard's Sight around her was bad enough.

The girl smiled. "I can't help you about the second part, but for the first... I'll break the rules for you. Just a little bit."

"Huh?"

She reached out and lowered the staff until the garnet orb was just over the block of ice. Her lips moved. Listening as hard as I could I could barely hear the words "Time Stop".

The garnet rod flickered and an iridescent sheen covered the block of ice. "There." Pluto stood up. She met my gaze. For a moment, I once more felt like a bacteria under a microscope. "Oh and if you're not satisfied, perhaps we can make... alternate arrangements."

"Ahh?" I blinked, my eyes darting down.

"Also. I'd be careful to not directly touch the ice. Living organics will not react well."

"Uh.... thanks?"

Deep red eyes flickered with mirth. "Happy hunting, Mister Dresden," she said, spotting the silver-haired woman talking to the redheaded succubus. Lady Pluto's eyes hardened for an instant before she turned on a heel and left the room to rejoin her queen.

My stomach clenched. On the face of it, that was a nice gesture. However, mucking about with time was a pretty serious bit of magic. At least it wasn't an outright violation of the Sixth Law of Magic. Freezing something in time might be frowned upon, but I couldn't see how this would cause the same type of temporal paradox that time travel or messages from the future would.

I took a moment to study the block of ice. The smoldering green flames had frozen. Maybe it would last past sunrise. In the abstract, it was a neat bit of magic. But I knew that there had to be a cost somewhere. I wasn't very knowledgeable on chrono-magic, see the Sixth Law, but I knew a small bit. And one simply didn't stop time for something, even something small, and not have repercussions.

Then again, Lady Pluto was something else. The images of her burned into my memory with my Sight were evidence of that. I had a feeling that I was being played. I frowned looking at the mandible.

No, it was more that Lady Pluto had her own schemes and I was merely ancillary. I sighed. I had more than enough "Court Intrigue" on my plate.

Suddenly, Ranma crouched down next to me. The redhead eyed the block of ice and sniffed the air. A thoughtful expression crossed her face. "Puu must like you," she noted, dropping a metal case between us.

"She stingy with her magic?"

Ranma nodded.

I sighed again. It figured that mysterious magical gatekeepers would take an interest in me. I looked at the case; it was about the size of a thick bible. "Got a bomb in that one too?"

The redhead gave me "the look" and opened the case. "It's a piece of something that tore through this base. What do you think?"

"Uh, right. I wouldn't touch..."

The redhead nodded and took out a set of tongs that had been slotted in the case. She glanced over at me. "Oh, are you done with this?"

"Yeah, I did my thaumaturgy. I'll want to check it out before sunrise. Make sure it doesn't melt. Maybe see if I can establish a link."

She nodded and lifted the ice block out of the circle and slipped it into the case. It closed with a click and she did the latches.

We stood up and I frowned at the case. This mess had started because of something they tried to secure in a locked case.

I followed her out of the room and watched as she handed the case to a group of mercenaries who carried it off... somewhere. Doubtless, where they stored things like the notes and photos they'd taken from the books.

We walked down a corridor, made a turn, went through a blast door and entered a new hallway. This one was spotless and had unmarred concrete and busy mercenaries. I noticed a higher fraction of them had body armor and rifles than before.

"How bad was it?" I asked as she led me to a break room.

The little bit of office banality caused me to smile at the incongruity. I covered it up by making a beeline to the coffee machine.

She slumped into a chair. "It could have been worse," she admitted after I passed her a cup.

I nodded. I saw a few bodies in the garage. In the corridor it looked like everyone had cleared out in time to prepare the ambush. Still, Tessa got some shots off, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were more casualties. Hells Bells, I wouldn't be surprised if that shaft she burned through the ceiling didn't hit someone.

"There's sandwiches in the fridge." She laughed. "We never did get to have our lunch."

I gave a wry smile and fixed us a meal. I guess she was still hungry.

"Oh, I thought you had some lunch?" I asked putting a plate in front of her.

"Doesn't count," she said, ripping into the ham.

I took a few bites. My curiosity grew. "What about the D Program?"

The redhead put down her sandwich. She shook her head.

"Huh."

"Langdon and Carroll were in the program but they were already KIA and none of the mortally wounded..." She gave a little shrug and looked down.

"Not that many people sign up?" I asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

"If you were given the choice, which way would you go?"

I picked at my meal. Then added some more mustard. "What about those who weren't mortally wounded?"

"The docs are taking care of them. Nariko and Cecilia are up there in case surgery goes wrong but..." She polished off the sandwich. "Most of the casualties will have time to make a decision as they recover. Well really, it'd be those that can't recover.... and want to get back into the game."

I thought it over. "I did something similar," I admitted.

"Taking Mab's job offer?" the demon ventured.

"Yeah, the Reds, the vampires, had my daughter. I broke my spine; my legs didn't work. But being the Winter Knight..."

Ranma reached out and patted my hand. "You did what you had to do."

I shook my head. I got up and made another set of sandwiches.

"I know why you had me do it, but it's a shame we lost those books," I shook my head and resumed eating.

Chuckling, Ranma stretched up, leaned across the table, and whispered into my ear. "Two is one, one is none."

"Oh." Realization dawned. The safe only had the one case. But the eggheads had filled two cases. One with books, another with the notes, photos, and cameras. If they had taken pictures of every page...

Then they'd have a backup copy of those books. Backups that Tessa's thaumaturgy wouldn't find. Because Tessa's spell worked off of making a magical link between the literal pages.

In computer terms, something I only have indirect experience with, Tessa was tracking the hardware: the material the words were written on. And the Company had made a copy of the software: the words themselves.

I whistled. Hells Bells, I wouldn't be surprised if they hadn't already printed out fresh hardcopies of those books. Printed on plain copy paper that Tessa couldn't track.

I resumed eating. And that was only a first step. They could have sent our couriers with little computer drives. Sent copies to various bases, or stuck in anonymous bank vaults, or law offices. That's what made books so hard to stamp out. All someone needed was one copy, a bit of time, and there'd be dozens more to deal with.

"Once things get settled a bit, and the medics get enough of a breather to check you out, maybe after a bit of a rest..." Ranma smiled. "Then you can get back with the other eggheads and resume your research."

I groaned.


***************


My vision returned. And I immediately knew it was a dream. Sure the featureless, giant darkened room was a big tip-off.

But a bigger clue was the old VW bug sitting under a spotlight in the center of the room. It was battered, worn, the windshield was cracked, and only one of its fenders was still blue, but it was still my car.

Of course, the Blue Beetle got smashed into a cube three years ago by a vampiric monster. Hence: dream.

I took a moment to give the Blue Beetle a wistful look. It had been a crummy car, but it was my crummy car. And it had worked. Mostly.

Then I focused on the person sitting on the hood.

He was another clue that this was a dream.

He was a tall man with severe features, dark hair, and dark eyes. Scars crossed his face. It was a face I was very familiar with.

Less familiar were his clothes.

He was wearing combat boots, coyote brown cargo pants, and an armored vest under a tactical rig besotted with a Liefeldian amount of pouches. In what straddled the line between prudent and melodramatic fear of vampires and the like, the vest had a high, armored, collar. Inscribed on the front was a grey pentacle.

A revolver was in some type of black plastic composite holster strapped to his thigh. The black lever gun held in his hands had enough plastic gewgaws, scopes, lasers, grips, and slings bolted onto it to fill the ad pages in an issue of Soldier of Fortune.

Worse, he was wearing a boonie hat with the side brim curled up, and his goatee had been grown out into a puffy beard that played up the whole "operator mercenary look." Though, the topper was the pair of black shoulder patches with silver snowflakes.

I sighed at my unconscious self. The whole thing caused my hackles to rise. Not only was the getup ridiculous but it was also... familiar.

"And the tactical dressup is?" I asked, starting to circle around my car.

Turning to keep me in view he smiled. "Well, you seem to dig this kind of stuff. And it's not like I was gonna appear wearing a bodice and hooves."

I snorted. My unconscious self... well he's me. Maybe a bit darker, maybe more open with my instincts and urges. He likes to claim he's my intuition. And yes, I realize that talking to myself might be a worrying sign.

Still, I had a vague feeling of deja vu. I hoped it was merely because I'd been around mercenaries. I really hoped it wasn't my Foresight. See, as they get older, us wizards start to get a bit prescient, having the occasional flash of the future. As I was still a newb by wizard standards my Foresight was just coming in. But it did make me jump at every odd feeling.

"So, what questionable wisdom do you have for me?"

"When have I steered you wrong?"

"You could have been more clear when you warned me about Ash. Or about my daughter." I gave him a dark look.

He patted the rifle. "Not my fault you're too thickheaded to pick up what you're telling yourself."

I finished circling the car and tapped my foot.

Slinging the rifle, he hopped off the hood. "Dude, you're being played," he said meeting my gaze.

"What the mercs? Sure... they're keeping secrets, but so am I. Hells Bells, I fought alongside them in their base. I think there's some measure of trust."

"Not them." He gave me an annoyed look. "Remember why you're here. Remember who sent you?"

I thought back to last night's chat with Mab. "Oh."

He smiled. "Oh, indeed."

"Right... Mab said it wasn't her, which means..."

"We work for all three Winter queens," he glanced at his shoulder patch meaningfully.

"Yeah, yeah, it's just that if Winter Mother is behind it than that means...

"You can say it," he smiled.

"Outsiders," I knew as much. Outsiders were well... they came from Outside. That is beyond the NeverNever. Beyond places like this world, maybe even beyond the Squid monsters that attacked Ottawa. Outsiders were enemies to reality and they were constantly attacking, constantly scheming, always looking for a way in.

"Isn't it funny that Tessa found out about this place. I mean to get to this ass-end boondock of reality? We're way in the boonies of the NeverNever right now. And here's Tessa, already with allies and plots."

I sighed.

He continued with false cheer. "And funny how this place ended up not only having weak enough walls to allow the summoning, but they still had the book that'd tell her who to call. You know the book that was wiped out where we came from?"

"What's your point?"

"You know if this was just about revenge on Tessa's part there would be easier ways to get Nicodemus." He chuckled. "It's not just you that's being played."

"The Wolves have been keeping secrets from her too."

"They're also holding back. Did you notice the distinct lack of French Army surplus hardware?" he asked tapping his gun.

"So what? The wolfmen we fought were-"

"Dregs? Spares? Sacrifices? Why would they send their best to help Tessa retrieve books that they didn't really need?

"Why send her at all? Why not admit that they took precautions and had kept the critical stuff in a safer place?

He gave me a pitying look. "Yes, why would the magically weaker group let their obviously untrustworthy ally go on a mission with a high likelihood of weakening her forces, even if she emerged victorious. Look at this from the Wolves' perspective.

"They lost a bunch of men."

"And Tessa lost one of her sorcerers, her Heavy, and didn't recover any books. I think the Brotherhood of the Moon would be happy to make that trade," he said hopping back onto the Blue Beetle's hood.

"She could have died."

He shrugged. "Sure. Not likely. She's like a cockroach. But even if she died... well the remaining Denarians would either continue the summoning, abandon it, or betray the Wolves right away. As for the latter they'd be doing it without the help of Tessa, Magog, and Mr. Seaweed."

"And if she won the fight?"

He gave a predatory grin, which looked far too fitting on my face. "Worst case, she doesn't lose anyone, and returns with the Testament."

"She'll see that it was defaced," I pointed. "That the critical passages were removed."

"And she'll blame the mercenaries she stole the book from. She'll think they did it to spite her. Or you," he added after a moment's thought. "Yeah, she'd blame you."

I crossed my arms.

"Leaving the wolves off the hook," he leaned back on the windshield. "And later on they can reconstruct a ceremony that might work.

I swore. "You're right. We're being played. All of us."

He lifted his head. "Don't forget what you said. 'Tessa doesn't react well to being cornered.' What do you think will happen when all this comes down around her ears? Especially since you'll be the one front and center wrecking things."

I swore again.

He laughed. "Now, now, it's not like I'm asking you to tone it down."

"Of course you wouldn't." I glared. "You and the Mantle like it when I cut loose."

Stroking his beard thoughtfully, he eventually shrugged. "Look, managing our instincts and aggressive side is conscious Harry's problem."

"Don't fob this off on me."

"Which one of us is a figment of the other's imagination?"

I glared.

"You've got power, you've got a dark side." he fiddled with the rifle. "It's up to you to make sure you don't cede control. Besides those ice claws were pretty handy today weren't they?"

I huffed.

"Look at it this way, you've been Mab's for three years, and you're still not her pet monster."

"I resisted Lasciel for longer."

My dark-self nodded approvingly. "Still, you reached and accommodation, shame about events but..."

Shame was an understatement. Lash took a psychic bullet for me. I crossed my arms and waited.

"My point, is that you shouldn't let another opportunity pass you by."

"What opportunity?"

That pitying look returned.

"Really? You're not gonna do anything about Ranma? She's totally into you."

I scoffed. "She's not into me. She's just flirting, playing."

He thumped the hood. "Dude, do you know what flirting is?"

"She's not my type."

My unconscious-self shook his head.

"Yeah, because a beautiful, lethal, powerful woman is totally not your type."

"She'd a demon chick."

"So? Stars and Stones, you lived with a 'demon chick' for four years. You had a kid together."

"Lash was different," I admitted, quietly.

He nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, she was actively trying to corrupt you. Lash was trying to turn you into a Denarian."

"She got better. And what about Murph?" I asked.

"What about her? You worried about cheating on her? Because.... if your gonna do something with her, that'd be great. But you've gotta commit."

"That's not exactly an option right now is it? We're not even on the same planet."

"Then you better make sure you stay in one piece until you get back to Chicago." He leaned forward, eying me.

"Hey, I made it through today," I defended.

"Weren't you just complaining about the Mantle cutting loose?" He raised an eyebrow. "Besides we had a lot of backup."

I grunted.

"And it's not just Murph waiting for us back home is it?"

I glared. "Keep Maggie and Bonnie out of this."

"Hey, I want to get back too. But Tessa's gotta pay. So..." He patted the rifle. "We've gotta make sure we survive, no?"

End Chapter 6


I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, Ellf, and Toxinvictoria . Special thank to : Ellf for getting this off the ground and inspiring this project.
Which is at the halfway point! So go read some of Ellf's Dresden Files fics, like Training Daze or the Building Faith series

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 7: Lost Arrivals, Part A



I flipped to a new page on the thick binder. I jotted down a few notes on a legal pad. Okay... I made a couple of doodles. Part of me wished that the Company hadn't made backups of the books they seized from the Brotherhood of the Moon.

Sure, the downside would be that I wouldn't have the Testament of Carnamagos to pour over and try to piece together a ritual that'll summon some nameless horror, in order to learn how to stop Tessa from summoning said horror.

But the upside would be I wouldn't have to pour over the Testament of Carnamagos.

My flipping took me to the section the wolves had cut out of the book. I sighed. As if trying to work through an eldritch tome containing half-mad ramblings on the lineage of best-forgotten gods was bad enough, I was working with an incomplete copy.

Where the direct mentions of who they wanted to summon had been cut out.

The wolves, showing a just plain unfair level of sense for bad guys, realized that a gaggle of Fallen Angles might not be trustworthy. And thus took precautions, namely hiding certain details of the ritual they needed Tessa and her merry band to pull off.

Grumbling, I turned to De Cotis' report on the Woermann edition of Unaussprechlichen Kulten that the Company had also copied.

Dr. Sarah De Cotis looked up from her own notes. An older woman with grey tinged black hair and slightly dark skin, she sat at the opposite side of the long conference table. Not because she didn't like me. But she was taking notes using a tablet computer and had a few other electronic gadgets.

Given the level of paranoia these mercenaries had I wondered what measures they took to secure their electronics. I knew explosive charges were not out of the question. Part of me was worried that I'd accidently set off a bomb or something down here.

Spread out between us on the table was a large map. The corners were anchored with a coffee cup, a folded up munitions catalog, and other odds and ends. About half of the map of Southern Ontario was crossed out, though there was still a lot of areas bordered in red.

There was a fair of land between Toronto, Niagara Falls, and Detroit. Though the evidence was pretty strong that the Falls were too far East. Which I found a relief, as the falls could be more than a source of electrical power. Of course this part of Canada was surrounded by the Great Lakes. And one couldn't swing a beaver without coming across some sort of body of water. Not to mention all the historical sites. Between the various frontier wars and First Nations this area was rich with history.

De Cotis saw me looking over the map.

"At least we're pretty sure it's not in anyplace.... densely populated," she offered.

"Oh?"

The pointed to a few of the small cities on the map. Hamilton, Cambridge Kitchener, and, the amusingly named, London were all in the "maybe clear" zones.

I sighed. "Yeah... on the one hand..."

"Urban combat..."

"Sucks." I nodded. I had fought battles in Chicago and in the boonies. A real advantage the latter had was less collateral damage. "But on the other..."

The researcher simply swept her hand over the map. There was a lot of territory to cover. And even the sparsely populated areas sill had innocent people that the Denarians wouldn't think twice about hurting.

I sighed went back to my work.

Unaussprechlichen Kulten was a classic of the supernatural world. Well if you defined an atlas of crazed cults and their practices as "classic". Apparently, it was something of a hobby for.... nihilists, libertines, and hedonists of a certain... type to go out and see if they could experience such cults first hand. It was like the world's worst idea for a vacation tour.

Captain Klaus Woermann was one such man. His copy of Unaussprechlichen Kulten was filled with margin scrawls, like some demented travel diary.

De Cotis, for her part, had managed to collate references to certain rituals that lined up with the creatures listed in the Testament of Carnamagos.

"I'm surprised you're not off with the others," De Cotis idly noted, pausing to page through a Mid-Enochian dictionary.

It amused me that she kept a hard copy. Though her copy did have more marginalia than Captain Woermann's little bucket list.

"I don't like flying."

The older woman looked across the table. "Please, I doubt they'd push you out."

I blinked. Actually, I could see Ranma pushing me out of an aircraft. Playfully. She'd catch me. Or have one of her daughters ready to do it. "Nah, I don't get along with helicopters."

She looked over her glasses. "Bad experience?"

I nodded. Sure, seeing one of your closest friends get shot up and nearly killed while he was hoisted into a helicopter in your place would count as a bad experience. Not to mention that it was Tessa who pulled the trigger.

"That and my magic doesn't do well with planes, helicopters or anything high tech."

De Cotis frowned. "Gas-turbine aircraft engines are exceptionally robust." The researcher tapped the table. "Though I suppose the FADEC controls could be susceptible. I mean if you can crash one of these...." she tapped her tablet.

"FADEC?"

"Full authority digital engine control. It's the computer that takes the pilot's commands and tells the engine what to do," she explained in a patient, almost grandmotherly tone, well if your grandmother was also an adjunct professor.

"Ah.... yeah, I'd probably wreck one of those..." I shrugged. "Maybe not right away, but over time."

"Hmm, perhaps, it's best for you not to go on training," she admitted.

"Yeah..." I went back to her report. She had found a few rituals that Captain Woermann had seen that might have been close enough. I jotted down a few notes and slid the legal pad over to De Cotis' side of the table.

She rotated the papers and tapped her pen against the side. She gave a little frown.

"I know none of those rituals seem to have enough... punch, but they're ones Tessa and the wolves could pull off."

She looked over my notes. "Again with the willing vessel ritual? Isn't that a bit low power?"

I shrugged. "Sure, it'll kill whatever poor sap 'volunteers' if they summon anything big, but these guys don't care about that."

"I'm more concerned that the ritual itself doesn't have the strength to handle anything that big." She went to a new page. "We could be overlooking a place of power sufficiently large. Or perhaps energy channeled from your world?"

I sighed. "Yeah... I'm making a list of those rituals too." The problem was that whatever Tessa was after it had to be big, and that meant a lot of magical mojo. Nothing comes for free. Even with magic.

The problem was when it came to powering a major spell the enterprising sorcerer had plenty of options. There were ley lines one could tap into. Elemental powers that could be harnessed; hells bells my first big case was against a warlock harnessing storms to cast spells that would rip people's hearts out.

Certain artifacts and ritual sites could also be used, especially if they had been used many a time before. Each use would grow the power and ease of said object or location. There were also the classics of sacrifices. I'd seen blood, flesh, spirit, and soul all used.

Still, our efforts were narrowing things down.

We didn't know exactly who Tessa wanted to summon, or how, or when, or where.

But going from a needle to a haystack to a needle in a hay bale was an improvement.

Just don't expect the guy sifting through the bale to be happy.

The door to the conference room opened. I heard a chair scoot back and looked up. I tilted my head. De Cotis had got to her feet and saluted.

And then I remembered that De Cotis was more than an academic researcher. The older woman in a grey blouse, skirt and lab coat was standing at attention holding her arm in salute. I also noted the pistol she wore in a shoulder holster. Indiana Jones and Daniel Jackson aside, most researchers into the ancient world didn't go around armed as part of their jobs.

Well, I suppose that depends on where your dig site was. There are a number of places where the archeologists might not be armed, but they would hire armed guards. I frowned in thought.

"Sir, Ma'am, what's the pleasure?" she said, addressing the man and woman entering the room.

Eve entered first. She was in pristine and stark form. Blonde hair in a bun, harsh blue eyes and grey dress uniform. She took a step inside the room, nodded to De Cotis and myself and then moved to the side.

Then a tall, spare man entered. His light green eyes locked onto me. They were the shade of faded dollar bills. He strode across the room utterly confident.

His brown hair was gray at the temples and his figure was a bit gaunt. I put him at nearing the far edge of middle age. His face certainly had enough worry lines. He wore a grey uniform with a black tie. Silver leaves glinted at his neck as rank insignia. A pair of holsters were slung low on his hip. His jacket did little to conceal them.

I saw Eve step aside and heard her suggest that De Cotis take a coffee break.

The man stepped up to me, unperturbed by the demon at his heel. "Warden Dresden, a pleasure to finally meet you."

"And you are?" I asked pulling away from his gaze.

"Colonel Jacob Edwards." The man held out his hand. "My apologies for not meeting you earlier." He sounded American, with a Midwestern accent vague enough to be an old-style radio newscaster.

I shook it. I pondered the introduction. Names were powerful things, especially to a wizard of my caliber. More so when given freely by one's own lips. However, Jacob Edwards might be an alias. Hells Bells, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone here was operating under a nomme de guerre.

His grip was firm but I could tell he was holding back. It was a bit odd that an old guy would have such grip-strength. His wrists also looked slightly thicker than I'd expect. I also noted a deep scar running along the back of his right hand.

"You saved the lives of a lot of my men." Jacob nodded. "Thank you for your assistance... your continued assistance."

"Oh, this?" I swept a hand over my notes as I sat back down.

"Among other things," he agreed, sitting down across from me.

I crossed my arms. "Now that I've fought with your demons and mercs, for the second time, you've figured I must not be some scary mind-bending magical security risk, right? And now you feel it's safe to stop hiding from me."

"Yes, Mister Dresden." Jacob didn't even blink. "That is entirely correct. Or was I wrong in concluding you're not a threat?"

"Oh, I am a threat. Just not to you."

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "I suppose I left myself open to that one."

"Yeah, you did. And how are repairs going on at your fancy underground base?" I asked. Today, I was working at the secondary facility to the north of the city. The same one I had been kept in after first falling through a portal into this world. It was smaller and it wasn't underground, but it hadn't been ravaged by Denarians and wolfmen.

"Well enough, this may accelerate us moving to an alternative facility." Jacob placed his arms on the tabletop.

"Sounds pricey. I never knew how those Bond villains could afford it all. Then again, you guys don't strike me as the volcano lair type. Too hard to insure. Who would even offer such a policy?"

The older man allowed a dry smile. "Alas, that is why I'm speaking to you, instead of Commander Stillwater."

"You're not the big boss?" I asked, glancing at Eve who stood at his shoulder. The blonde gave me an opaque look.

"Executive Officer. The Commander was summoned to Ottawa." Jacob idly ran a finger over the scar on the back of his palm. "To speak with our clients and sooth some ruffled feathers and calm things down. Necessary work."

"The Canadians?" I laughed.

His expression hardened. "The battle of Ottawa. Their military defense headquarters was assaulted by interdimensional invaders led by human, well human-enough, pathfinders. And now..."

"One of your bases... but Tessa's not some alien invader?"

"Oh? I was under the impression she was in a symbiotic relationship with an otherworldly being of vast power and was attempting to summon something from beyond space and time." He leaned back and studied me.

I chewed my lip. "I'm pretty sure that Tessa's not in league with the same bad guys that got the Canadians so riled up." It was possible the Squids were minions of the Outsiders, but if that were true... well then things were even worse for this world.

"I'm inclined to agree." Jacob nodded. "However, our clients may see things differently. They're also concerned about how you arrived at the location of a prior breach. Not to mention that, your arrival corresponded to a rather public attack in this city. We'll have to take care of that."

"That's because Tessa was already here! And was paranoid enough to expect someone like me, or one of the Knights of the Cross, to be sent after her."

"Yes, Mr. Dresden." Jacob readily agreed. "Thus she and Brotherhood elements were surveilling us, looking specifically for you, or your associates. However, care must be taken on our part to ensure our clients do not do anything... rash in the aftermath."

"That would be impolite." I snorted. "We're talking about Canada here."

The older man glared. "It's a mistake to confuse politeness with meekness, Son."

I looked away from his gaze. "Sure... but this is the Canadian government. Don't they call us Americans cowboys?"

"Governments are all about force," Jacob slowly drawled. "And when pushed against the wall, those that profess peace and abhor violence will do one of two things. They'll either deny the threat and die or they'll lash out and demand the biggest hammer be dropped. Given that our client has seen fit to hire us..."

"And you and your merry band are the biggest hammer?"

Jacob laughed. It was as dry sound. Made all the more creepy by how it seemed to be genuine mirth. "Mr. Dresden, my organization has no fighter jets, has no bombers. Other than some special contractors and equipment, we are primarily infantry. Admittedly, our air cavalry, artillery, and logistics support is exemplary, but any client nation could crush us... if they were motivated to do so."

I mulled it over. That was true. The footage I had seen of Ottawa included tanks. And as large as the Company's bases were, they still had far fewer people than an actual army.

Jacob lifted a hand. "Though if it were to come to that, I suppose they'd stop paying us first. We are, after all, guests in their country. But we do what we must. I'm sure you understand. Your duties as a Warden would bring you into contact with local law enforcement."

"Yeah, I've worked with the Chicago PD," I admitted. Though that was more often as a private consultant, and rarely as a Warden. Really, the White Council ignored mortal authorities whenever they could get away with it. Which, given they were a bunch of, you know, wizards, was most all of the time.

That's something that really pissed off Murphy. Especially, when she found out that the Council had decided to play judge, jury, and executioner and kill a warlock in Chicago. Cops get kind of twitchy when they find out someone was murdered in their city, and no one told them about it.

That was the twisted part. What these mercenaries were up to was technically legal. Or done with the approval of the people that wrote the laws and cut the checks for the police and army. Which was close enough.

There was even some degree of accountability. Though, I was cynical enough to be sure that the mercs were hiding things from their clients.
Especially given the subtext being thrown in my face. I decided to remove the sub from the text. "Jacob, can I call you Jacob?"

"By all means, Mister Dresden. Or would you prefer your warden rank or your Winter Court title? You do wear so many hats and I would hate to offend," he smoothly said, those faded green eyes twinkling.

"Harry's fine."

"Of course, Mr. Dresden."

I glared.

Jacob patiently waited.

"Is this you not-so-subtly blaming me for causing a scene and rocking the boat? What, first you thank me for saving your men and now you say I should have done it quietly?" I asked.

Eve gave a tiny smile.

"My." That dry laugh returned. Jacob flexed his fingers. "No Mr. Dresden. Quite the contrary. If you see Mrs. Lartessa at a Toronto city council meeting, I expect you to tear her throat out, burn her to ashes, freeze her blood. Whatever. It. Takes," he slowly, clearly stated.

The officer folded his hands before him. "Even if it's in front of live cameras and dozens of witnesses. Even if she looks like an innocent young human woman and you look like some gaunt monster in a long coat. If you judge you have the opportunity, do not hold back on my account."

"What?" In my experience the spooky-side of the street was pretty fanatical about "hiding from the normals". Stars and Stones, even these guys were twitchy about all the exposure Ottawa had caused and had clamped down covering up my first fight with the Wolfmen.

"As I said, when soothing our client is concerned, we'll take care of that. We'll make sure they don't do anything rash. If we have to extract you from police custody, we'll take the hit. If we have to find a way to smuggle you off-world when this is over we will do that." Jacob's tone was even, assured.

I blinked.

"Mrs. Lartessa is a major threat yes?" Jacob asked.

"Sure but-"

"Then stopping her is worth it."

"Look Jacob, normally people don't tell me it's okay to cut loose. That's how buildings get burned. How faerie queens die. How entire nations get wiped out."

Eve's smile grew. She looked almost approving.

The older man leaned back and studied me for nearly half a minute. He wasn't nervous. He wasn't apprehensive. He wasn't even trying to intimidate me with a silent gaze. He was merely processing what I had said. I had once read a book about the first codebreaking computers, giant clunky, but implacable, machines that would grind through thousands and thousands of possibilities until they found the solution. That was the vibe I got from Jacob.

"And did you do such things for callow, petty, or frivolous reasons? Perhaps to sate some lust for blood?" he eventually asked.

"Well... no."

He spread his hands. "Actions have consequences. And you do not strike me as an irresponsible man." Jacob frowned. "Perhaps blunt and a bit stubborn, but not a shirker."

I laughed. This really wasn't the tone I expected. I wondered if this was how my godmother Leanansidhe had felt when Mab told her she could "indulge herself". Well, probably not. Lea was a sidhe, and the faerie didn't exactly have "human" morals or limits.

Jacob studied me. "You were planning on exercising restraint against Mrs. Lartessa and her ilk? Yesterday's battle indicates otherwise."

"You sure you know what you're saying?"

He tilted his head fractionally; a ghost of a smile touched his lips. "Ah, that was you being restrained," the older man mused. "All the more impressive. And useful."

"And what are you asking?"

"I'm asking you to use your best judgment. You know Mrs. Lartessa best. For my part, I'll support an ally to do what's necessary to get the job done."

"You say that now but-"

He cut me off. "Mr. Dresden. I oversee a team of Pattern D's. You've seen some of their... less savory capabilities, yes?"

My memory went back to Ranma using a canteen to wash a bunch of flesh and blood out of her mouth. Or the brood advancing on Magog's slumped form, blades drawn, eyes hungry. I nodded.

Jacob smiled. "If we can whitewash cannibalism. I believe we can explain away your... excesses to our client."

I looked to Eve. The blonde gave a little grin that flashed her teeth.

"Sure, you'd be willing to accommodate a brood of succubae. Having a cadre of super soldiers must be handy."

"Yes. They have proven to be quite capable and loyal. Both should be rewarded, no?"

I allowed a nod. They also weren't rampaging monsters. Even Misako for all her bombast didn't seem like she would slip a gear and kill some random Joe.

And morality aside, capable, obedient, and discrete demons would be quite the asset. One an organization like this would feel was worth cultivating.

"And the D Program?"

"I trust the brood; I trust my men. Why should I bar volunteers? Especially those who would die otherwise," Jacob smoothly stated.

"Right." Sure, that was one way to put it. The other way was that the D Program allowed his organization to slowly grow their demonic forces. And to retain experienced personnel who would otherwise have been lost.

"I suppose the Fifth NH Task Force could be construed in a negative light," Jacob allowed, after studying my expression. "But I'm sure you're aware of how necessary, or even innocent, actions could be taken poorly."

"Kinda," I sheepishly admitted. Sure, as a teen, I had used magic to kill my mentor, breaking the First Law. Sure, I had spent years with the shadow of a Fallen Angel living in my head. Sure, I technically knew how to pull off a really advanced necromantic rite that can turn someone into a dark god. Sure, I had once raised a zombie T-Rex. Sure, I had killed people in cold blood.

Sure, I agreed to work for the Queen of the Dark Fae as her personal hit-man and leg-breaker. Sure, I've bonded with a scary supernatural genius loci, which just happened to be a super-jail for all sorts of eldritch things. Sure, I ended up helping Nicodemus, the head of the Denarians, steal the Holy Grail.

But... I had reasons to do all of those things. Most of them pretty good. Honest.

Once again Jacob studied me for a long time. I could see him weighing factors, judging what I had said, probably replaying footage that had been recorded, recalling reports that had been written about this fight and ones in the past.

It was almost mechanical. Again, the closest I could come to was watching an old WW2 code-breaking computer chug along. When the calculation was complete, he then nodded to himself and stood up.

"Mr. Dresden keep up the excellent work. Do what you feel is necessary," he extended his hand.

Lost in my own thoughts, I shook it.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask Captain Jarvis or Miss Saotome. Best of luck in your studies. Happy hunting," he smiled, flashed a bit of teeth, turned, and exited the room with Eve at his heel.

The door clicked shut.

I was still mulling when a couple minutes later De Cotis entered carrying two mugs. She put a cup of coffee in front of me and then took her seat at the far end of the table. "The Colonel have anything interesting to say?" she asked unlocking her tablet.

"Sure, he told me to be myself."

The woman whistled. "My, somebody likes you."

***************

I was never fond of hospitals. Part of it was that my magic didn't get along with technology, and medical devices had gotten more and more advanced. Part of it was because I didn't like to be reminded of my own mortality.

And another part was the feeling of helplessness. Sure, I was a wizard and had access to the powers of Creation. But healing magic was one of my weak areas. Granted, that was a really, really hard branch of magic but that was only some consolation.

Also this wasn't technically a hospital. But it was still full of doctors, medical equipment, and casualties.

So, I sat outside the medical wing of the Company base. After doing some more research with De Cotis I had been shuttled back to their downtown facility. Fortunately, it was on a different level as yesterday's fight. It seemed that the mercenaries had the sense to draw Tessa's attention away from their medical wing.

Hells Bells, the area I was in was pristine. It could pass for a hospital waiting room, shabby chairs included. Well, if you ignored the steel doors, and the heavily armed guards.

And the blonde demon who sat next to me.

Legs crossed, Eve was reading through a briefing of some kind.

"She visits them a lot?"

The blonde glanced over at me. "Until they're discharged or transferred. The Commander and the Colonel also make time."

I held my tongue. It could be Ranma showing concern and wanting to raise morale. Stars and Stones, it certainly was that. Unless the redhead was a far better actor than I suspected, she was simply too blunt to bother with deception and schemes.

Though the cynical part of me pointed out that a friendly, sympathetic comrade would make a great ambassador. For lack of a better term, she humanized the brood.

And her mere presence would be sufficient advertisement to the healing benefits of the D Program. Everyone knew how much damage she had taken yesterday and here she was back to normal.

I tried to put myself in the shoes of a young mercenary. Someone who had spent years training and honing skills to be the best. Most likely they'd never return to the front lines. They'd lost a part of what defined them, who they were. Someone who now was facing a long road to recovery. If recovery was even possible.

I'd lived that; it had taken me years to regain the use of my left hand after it was burned by vampires. I knew exactly how tempting an offer to be healed could be. I knew what someone would do in desperation...

No matter how innocent Ranma was, no matter if she didn't even mention the D program. Her presence was still a temptation. I mean it's not like she'd tell a soldier no if they asked.

I'm sure she wouldn't turn them right away. Not here and now. Not when they were stabilized and no longer in danger of dying. It wasn't like if they were mortally wounded on a battlefield and she had to rush. She'd have them think it over, give them time consult with the doctors, sure, but...

I looked over at Eve.

She had clasped her hands on the briefing and was watching me.

I shook my head slightly. Better to change the subject before I said something really stupid. "Here's something I don't get. You were hired by the Canadians to fight monsters, right?"

"Broadly put, but yes."

"But you're apparently also training their military. Teaching them how to fight monsters."

The blonde nodded.

"Isn't that undercutting your business? I mean if the military can do the job then why pay you?"

"Our client is in a transitional stage." Eve flexed her hands. "Keep in mind that most nations do not retain dedicated forces to counter NH threats."

"Non-human?" I asked.

Eve nodded. "We are talking about units that require expensive, specialized training and equipment."

"Right, monster hunters cost a lot of money." I'd seen some of that; the Company mercs went through a lot of ordinance yesterday.

Hells Bells, hiring just one monster-hunting mercenary for just one fight had nearly bankrupted me. If my brother hadn't paid Kincaid's bill for me, I would have owed a very scary man a lot of money. I didn't want to think about what I'd have had to do to pay Kincaid back.

"Also, consider the human costs. Troops for such units are normally drawn from specialist police and military forces. Forces that are usually short on manpower."

"I suppose you could recruit directly.... Hire people off the street"

"Governments frown on that for their own forces, but yes that is a possibility, one we often use." Eve smiled. "But then you have to spend more time training them," the demon raised one hand. "However, you do spend less time untraining them," she admitted raising the other hand.

I snorted. "Right, people don't believe in monsters. That's kind of a big hurdle."

"Not just for the recruits," Eve pointed.

"Ah," I leaned back. "Is that it? Some government mucky muck realizes monsters are snacking on a bit too many citizens and instead of officially admitting there's a problem and creating government unit to deal with it... hires you guys instead?"

"Sometimes." Eve chuckled. "Other-times, the 'snacking' as you put it, is infrequent enough that there's not enough work to keep a unit in active service. And that's not even getting into the operational cost."

I eyed her. "You said 'most nations', and that Canada was transitioning."

She chuckled. "Yes, some countries, by sheer size or history or increased demand, build up their own forces. The Americans and the Russians are examples of the former. The United Kingdom and the Vatican are of the middle. And the Canadians are realizing they've become the latter."

I thought back to the footage I'd seen of Ottawa. "Increased demand" was one way to think of it.

"Aren't you still undercutting your own line of work though?" I asked.

Eve chuckled. "Mr. Dresden. Yes we are training up the Canadians. But who is shipping them munitions? Who is consulting them on weapon purchases? Selling them licenses so they can build specialist equipment? Teaching them how to build that equipment?"

I laughed. It was so... well mercenary was the proper word. "Okay, you're making money now, but won't you eventually make yourselves redundant?"

She eyed me. "If our services are no longer required in this country, would that not be a good thing?"

I looked away. "Right..." I frowned. "Wait... isn't your organization's cover story that you're some kind of military contractor?"

"That specializes in training and R&D."

"But... that's what you're actually doing."

Eve's grin returned. "Yes, Mr. Dresden?"

I grumbled.

"I would have assumed that working with the fae would have made you used to such deceptions," Eve stated with a hint of amusement.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it. White Council of Wizards' full of intrigue games too," I grumbled.

"Not to mention keeping magic secret from the public?" Eve asked.

"I was in the Yellow Pages." I snorted. "Under Wizards."

Eve raised an eyebrow. "Was?"

"Vampires blew up my office. Then I was dead... Well, mostly dead. I got better...." I sheepishly defended.

The blonde made a thoughtful noise.

"Anyway I've gotten some temporary office space but... well I missed the deadline to put in a new ad. I'll have to wait a couple months. Stupid phone book. I don't know why they let it lapse in the first place. It's not like there was anyone else in the Wizard section. Then they told me it was all on computers anyway... "

Eve patiently waited for my rant to taper off.

"You publicly declared your status?"

I nodded. "I have it painted on my door and everything: Harry Dresden, Wizard."

"And people believed you?'

"Some...."

Her dispassionate gaze studied me.

"Fine. Most thought I was a crank or a fraud. The best people would say about me was that I was a competent PI who had a weird gimmick." I sighed. "I specialized in lost items, you know?"

"Bulk of your work?"

"Day to day stuff. Sure, I'd have to save the world, but that doesn't pay the bills," I said, not technically lying. My major cases rarely paid well, but my most recent one...

"But, I have a knack for tracking spells. It's the type of thaumaturgy I'm really good at. But most of my clients... well they didn't care how I found their lost wedding ring, just that I did," I sighed.

Eve gave a little nod.

"Guess that's like you, the government doesn't care what was making too many taxpayers disappear, just that you stopped it."

"Perhaps," she smiled, thinly.

"Still, those that did believe could be troublesome too," I sighed. "Did you know I had to add 'no love potions' to my entry in the phonebook?"

The blonde demon actually smiled at that.

"Still, it wasn't all bad," I shook my head. There was a reason I was working to reopen my business. It had taken Rashid's help to get my legal status sorted out. Turns out when the police declare you dead that causes all sorts of problems.

Fortunately, the Chicago PD never found a body. That is they never found my body. Which made sense, after I was shot Mab had absconded with my not-quite-a-corpse and, with the help of my spooky island, slowly healed me.

In addition to being the Gatekeeper, Rashid was Senior Council, so he had connections. Coming up with an explanation as to where I had been for the last year or so, and why a whole lot of my blood had been found at a murder scene... well that was a bit harder.

"You have three jobs then?" Eve asked

"Winter Knighting doesn't exactly pay the bills, and the White Council hasn't changed the Warden's pay structure in decades," I huffed.

Eve's little smile shifted.

I looked away. She'd caught me lying. No surprise, given her heightened senses, and well... I'm not the best liar. Still, taking the job from Mab was bad enough; taking her money would make it worse. And the Wardens did have ways to increase their pay to keep it in line with the current century.

However, I didn't want to depend on a paycheck that only existed because Rashid pulled strings. Well, I suppose Ebenezar did too. He was on the Senior Council too, and my grandfather. Hooray for nepotism!

I wondered why Eve was letting that slide. You'd think a mercenary officer like her, one I suspected did work "interviewing" people, would be interested in my finances. Then again, feigning disinterest could be part of her ploy.

Murphy did tell me that one of the key parts to a police interview was simply getting the perp to talk... and then listen to what they had to say. It might take hours, but odds were the more someone talked the more they'd implicate themselves.

Knowing the way these mercenaries worked, I was certain they had transcripts of every word I said squirreled way. Hells Bells, I wouldn't be surprised if they were working on a way to record me. Maybe they dug out an old reel-to-reel or an ancient Edison wax cylinder recorder. Or maybe they found some way to compactly shield electronics.

That Dirac kid was a clever fellow; I'd lay good odds he could figure something out with his "machine-shop magic". Maybe he shrunk down one of his circles and stuck a couple 80's tape recorders in it for redundancy, afterall two is one...

Distracted as I was, I missed when the blonde demon had gotten up. I looked over to see that the door to the medical wing had opened and two more succubae had stepped out.

Ranma was in her customary black leather jacket, purple top, and black skirt. Her expression was a bit morose but she seemed happy to be with her sister. With her was another pale, unnaturally attractive, woman with... strange eyes.

She had curvy lavender hair and smiled demurely to me. She wore a light purple dress with white accents that revealed little but was very flattering. Despite being between Ranma and Eve in height she seemed to have less.... presence than the other two demons.

Smiling at me, Ranma nodded her head. "Hi, Harry."

"Uh, hey," I stated, because I'm an experienced wizard and smooth with the ladies.

"This is Cecilia, my sister."

The lavender haired demon bowed her head then held out her hand.

"Charmed," I said, shaking her hand. I glanced between Cecilia and Eve. I could see the resemblance. Though that might have been just because both demon ladies were pretty enough to almost be in the uncanny valley.

"A pleasure to meet you," she smoothly said with a playful grin. Her grip was surprisingly strong.

I frowned at that. Why would I be surprised that a demon was strong? I glanced between Cecilia and her sisters. Ah. Ranma and Eve both radiated martial power. Hells Bells, Eve always wore a uniform and carried herself with military bearing. Meanwhile, Ranma simply prowled around, reveling in what she was.

Cecilia... she seemed to downplay things. The part of me that evaluated potential threats raised her a couple notches.

Letting go of my hand, Cecilia bowed her head again. "Thank you for your help yesterday; for protecting my girls."

"They were fighting too?"

"They're a part of the Fifth NH Task force, yes," she said with pride. "Logistics and supply mostly," she then added.

Ranma put her hand on the taller woman's shoulder. "They're still young, and front like work isn't for everyone."

Cecilia laughed. It was a gentle, sincere sound. "Yes, because bringing extra ammo to yours and Eve's girls isn't dangerous at all."

Ranma looked embarrassed, but Cecilia slipped up and hugged her.

"So, how is everyone? Still... injured..." I trailed off, lamely.

Cecilia's smile was pitying but kind. As if watching a child trying their best but still messing up.

The redhead slipped out of the hug. "Rawlings should be back on duty in a week or so," Ranma breezily said as she led me out of the waiting area.

"That's good," I admitted. "Give him my best,"

"Oh, I already did," she nodded as we went through a security door and went down a corridor.

I noted that she pointedly didn't mention the other injured agents she and Cecilia had visited.

"Did Puu's spell work?' Ranma asked as we passed a checkpoint and went down a flight of stairs.

Our shoes echoed on the concrete steps.

"It didn't turn to goo with the sunrise," I shrugged my shoulders. The power to keep ectoplasm fixed in form was handy, but worrying for what it implied about Lady Pluto's nature.

"But?" she asked after we went through another checkpoint. I noticed that instead of distant professional politeness the mercenaries were more open with me. Or at least, they were diffident and respectful in light of my abilities. It actually reminded me of how they treated Ranma.

Except, I got less appraising glances at my physique than she did. Not that I didn't get any. There were some female agents after all. Though not all of the looks were from...

"Harry?" Ranma leaned forward and snapped her fingers in front of my face.

"Uh, yes?"

"You're in the front of the line so you couldn't be checking out anyone's butt," she playfully stated.

"Uh, right!" I coughed. "No, I was thinking about the tracking spells I tried."

"Any luck?"

I shook my head.

"Could it be the Jammers?"

I pointed to Eve. "She had me driven off base for my second try."

"And still nothing?" She asked as we neared a lab room.

"No connection at all. Which means-"

"Tessa wasn't in mantis form when you tried. Or she was, but the piece we've got won't link to her new armor. Or she's blocking that type of spell somehow," Ranma completed as she opened the door. Smiling, the demon practically bounded across the threshold.

"Right. The thaumaturgy link requires similitude and there might not be a connection between an old batch of mantis armor and her current set. On the other hand, her new mandible should be physically and magically identical to her old mandible. So, it's not unreasonable to presume those two items would have a link," I mused as I entered the room.

It was another bare concrete examination room with locked cases, a central thick-slab worktable, and a door to a storage room in the back. I was pretty sure it wasn't the same room I had been working in yesterday. But I might have been imagining that this room was the mirror image of the previous one.

I frowned. Instead of the collection of books and notes there was the case that Tessa's mandible had been stored in. Dirac's gangly form was there.

Also in place of Doctor De Cotis, there was a different egghead in a lab-coat. This woman was a few years younger than De Cotis. Japanese, she had auburn hair and fine, if a bit stern, features. She was also being nuzzled by Ranma.

Blinking, I watched the auburn-haired scientist hug Eve and a surprisingly bashful Cecilia. The door closed behind me and the group hug broke apart. The scientist straightened her lab-coat.

"Ah Mr. Dresden, you can call me Doctor Saotome." She stepped forward and held out her hand.

"Charmed." I shook it. "You're Ranma's mother?"

Nodoka smiled. "Among other things."

"Huh."

"I'm also an officer here," she pointed to the gold leaves on her collar. "But I heard you don't have much patience for that stuff."

"Mom's a materials scientist. She's designed our armor," Ranma proudly said.
`
"I just did work on the composite plates and the Kevlar weave," Nodoka brushed aside.

"She also helped design our weapons," Ranma eagerly added.

It was amusing to see Ranma acting almost... innocent. She was happily bragging about how awesome her mother was. It made her seem younger. I looked between the redhead and the scientist and frowned. Dr. Saotome looked human. Which meant she was Ranma's mother back when Ranma was human. I suppose the auburn-haired woman could be in her early forties. Even then, she had to have had the redhead when she as rather young.

"Now that's a definite exaggeration," Nodoka laughed. "Most of the weapons were already in the prototype stage, and things like Nabiki and Nariko's blades were built by Master Nishina. I simply assisted due to the exotic nature of the... steel we had been given."

"You mean the evil-looking red metal?" I asked, eying the case that contained the mandible fragment.

"I wouldn't call it evil," Dr. Saotome chuckled. "Yes the chips, shavings, filings, and other bits of swarf from machining the metal are quite toxic to humans, that doesn't mean that the material itself is corrupting," she assured.

I blinked. "It's mostly harmless then?"

Nodoka smiled thinly. "I wouldn't let my granddaughters use it if I thought they were endangered."

I chewed my lip. That didn't exactly answer my question. I sighed and leaned my staff against the workbench. "You're here to look at the bit of Denarian we snagged?"

"The Colonel thought I might be some small help," Dr. Saotome said before Cecilia gave her a quick hug.

"I've gotta check on the girls and make sure they're helping restock everything." The lavender-haired demon shook her head. "Desiree is already complaining about how many grenades Misako burned through."

"I'm still thinking we should charge her a per-round fee," Ranma noted.

Dr. Saotome raised an eyebrow. "Really? You want to tell that girl she can buy her own ammunition?"

"40mm grenades do cost about thirty dollars a round," Eve reminded.

I blinked. that seemed expensive but not that... Then I recalled how Misako had been emptying belts of the stuff. "How many rounds per belt?"

"Forth-eight," Eve absently replied.

I did the math in my head. "Oh." I'd spent most of my life eating ramen noodles, cold cereal, living in a dinky basement apartment, and thinking that Burger King was a luxury. So, the idea of spending over fourteen hundred dollars on a single belt of grenades... It made my head hurt.

"Let her buy 'em." Ranma snorted. "Like she'd drop ten grand on grenades."

Everyone in the room gave the redhead a half-lidded stare. Even I looked on at her disbelieving. And, to my surprise, so did Dirac.

Cecilia gave her sister a long look. "Right, I'll just tell Desiree to hide the order catalog in case Misako comes sniffing around looking to 'shop'," she promised before opening the door and stepping out of the room.

Eve frowned. "I should get going too. Duty calls."

Ranma gave her a quick hug and the blonde left.

As the door closed I looked back to the table. "Right.... so mad science?" I asked undoing the locks to the case.

"I wouldn't call it mad science," Dr. Saotome stated as she pulled out tools and a bound notepad.

"Well, that's very reassuring," I dryly noted opening the case. Nestled within the padding was another, clear, case.

I lifted the inner case out and plopped it onto the table.

"It looks like a Tupperware box," Ranma noted.

"I wouldn't recommend eating it," I said, pulling the lift off.

The redhead gave me a sidelong glance, but she still she sniffed at the gleaming mandible entombed in ice. The ice itself glowed with an iridescent sheen.

Pulling on a pair of thick blue rubber gloves, Dr. Saotome studied the block. "Can I cut off a piece?" she asked, lifting it up by a silver chain I had threaded through the block. It made for a gaudy pendant, but I remembered Lady Pluto's warning not to touch the thing.

"Sure," I shrugged. "Just be quick. Chances are good it'll turn to goop."

"Dirac?"

"Yes, Major?"

"Use the electric saw to slice a section?"

The gangly man nodded. "With the right blade it should cut through the ice and sample."

"Do it."

"Yes, Ma'am," Dirac said as he slipped on a pair of gloves. He pulled a compact saw out of cabinet and fiddled with the blades.

As he did that, Dr. Saotome maneuvered the block into a padded vise mounted inside a fume hood. Once it was locked down, she activated the airflow. Slipping on a pair of goggles she went to a wall phone and called it in.

I sighed at the precautions. Not that I could blame them. Frankly, it was a bit of a relief to see someone treating this stuff with an ounce of caution.

Though, I sighed again when Ranma dropped a pair of goggles into my hand. I grumbled, but complied. They didn't bug me like this when I drilled the hole so I could thread the chain through.

Dirac went to the fume-hood. The saw kicked on; its tooth-rattling whine shrieking above the blower sucking air out of the fume hood.

The shrieking grew as the blade bit into ice. He slowly pressed the blade down and lopped about a quarter inch off the edge of the ice block. A chunk of mandible was caught in the slice, like some sort of demented luncheon meat.

Dirac turned off the saw and left it under the fume-hood. "Confirm and secure the sample, Mr. Dresden?" he asked stepping back.

Grumbling.... I leaned under the fume hood. Yup, block of iridescent ice with a giant creepy bug mandible. I picked it up by the chain, put in a bit of Winter power to ensure it stayed frozen, lowered the block into the clear case, and closed it.

"Ah, excellent." Dr. Saotome positioned her tools and slipping next to me, started cutting the mandible chunk out of the ice sliver. She started running various hardness tests and pulled out a microscope. She shouted out various findings, stresses, and compositions. All of which flew over my head, but were dutifully written down by Dirac.

"It's... probably chitin," the scientist frowned. "Stronger than expected. Also this spongy mass inside the exoskeleton is definitely organic." Her forceps worked and deposited various samples into little containers.

I held my tongue. For about five seconds. "It's just going to turn to goop."

"Yes, you've said as much," Dr. Saotome absently noted. "Ah!"

I could see wisps of smoke rising off of the microscope, the sectioned samples, and then get sucked into the blower atop the fume hood.

"Complete denaturing." She prodded the sample with forceps. She then sealed the sample jars.

"Yeah, it turns to clear ectoplasm then just evaporates."

"Like those two dead Denarians we recovered," the scientist noted.

"Yeah, they turn to human when dead."

"Well, what was left of 'em," Dirac noted.

Dr. Saotome picked up one of the sealed containers. I could see the clear gunk begin to sublimate. "What's the operating process here?"

"Uh... well something spooky pulls ectoplasm in from the NeverNever, then shapes it with will and magic to give it form and substance. Remove the will and magic and it turns back and melts away."

"Versatile," Dr. Saotome noted.

"Sure, but it's expensive. It's not... real. That is to say it's only real as long as you're powering it. Cut off the power and splash. Complicated and big things take a lot of power."

"And the raw material comes from another dimension?" Dr. Saotome thoughtfully asked.

"Uh... yeah."

Saotome turned to Dirac. "Our Jammers didn't block this? Were they pulling in raw material once they got in the perimeter"

The gangly man hissed through his teeth. "Yeah. They were regenerating in battle, and our Jammer vault was untouched."

I snorted. "Regenerating? Magog went full Kong in the parking garage."

Leaning on the central table, Ranma tapped her fingers on the edge. "That's a loophole in our security."

"Exploit it?" Dirac asked.

"If they can bring ectoplasm in what else could they bring in?" Nodoka went to her notes. "The Magog entity drew in a lot of raw material."

"Yeah, he was huge," Ranma rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck.

"That's teleporting in mass amounts of material," Dr. Saotome frowned.

Dirac shook his head. "But Ma'am, teleporting is a far larger load. Ectoplasm is just... goop right?" he asked me.

"Uh... yeah, it's not like opening a Way. Or if it is, it's a really tiny one."

"Right. So, there's a huge energy delta. It's like the difference between using a pipe to move water and a series of locks to move a ship. Sure in both cases you're moving water around, but the results are very different." Dirac's Adams apple bobbed as he talked.

I nodded. I could understand that metaphor, but I was worried the eggheads would start talking out of my depth. Honestly it was a bit irksome. I was used to being the magical expert in a room, but when it came to the white-board style math these guys had me beat. Now if I had Butters here I'd regain the edge in egghead capability.

"But it's not just the energy our Jammers..." he glanced to Dr. Saotome who nodded.

"Right, our Jammers work by generating interference. Basically, increasing the barrier to teleport within range. You can't get the signal through. And even if you did it'd be applesauce."

I nodded. "Like beaming through shields in Star Trek!"

Ranma chuckled.

Dr. Saotome gave me a flat look.

"Hey, I'm more of a Star Wars fan," I defended.

Dirac shrugged. "But with ectoplasm, that doesn't matter. There's no risk of going all Brundlefly because what's being pulled in is homogenous. It only gains definition once it's on our side."

"Oh," I said.

Dirac rubbed his chin. "Still... "

"Still?" I asked staring at the block of ice.

"Still, it's opening a channel." The young man started to pace. "And you'll end up with like material on both sides. You can do a lot of mischief if you have assets on either end."

I swore. I then rubbed my forehead. I swore again.

Ranma grinned. "Someone's got an idea," she said in a lilting voice.

"That could be what Tessa and the Wolves are up to," I hit the table with my palm. "If it takes a huge amount of power to summon the big thing they're after... they could just open a little gateway, pull in some material, and use thaumaturgy to establish a link."

Dirac rubbed the bridge of his nose. "A bit of pre-summoning before the main summoning?"

"Sure, it's like... "

"Refueling at sea," Dr. Saotome said.

"Huh?"

"You've got a warship and an oiler, both are underway, and you need to get fuel and supplies from the latter to the former. How do you do it?" she asked.

"You've gotta get the two ships close to each other... and at the same speed and heading," I ventured. "Okay, so in this metaphor that's having the planes of reality align.

"Very good Mr. Dresden," Dr. Saotome said, approvingly. "Now you've got the two ships aligned. How do you get the fuel across?"

"With a fuel hose."

"Those hoses weigh hundreds and hundreds of pounds. How do you get the hose across? Throw it?"

"They shoot a shot line. Or is it a messenger line?" Ranma shrugged. "Either way they use a special launcher and shoot a light line over."

"And once there's a line connecting the two ships..." Dr. Saotome looked expectantly at me..

"They can run progressively heavier ones, until they've got something strong enough to hold up a fuel hose," I nodded. "Damn, that's how Tessa's gonna do it. Though that only works for fuel, and not things."

Dr. Saotome chuckled. "Mr. Dresden. It's only a metaphor. Besides they use the same method to hoist pallet loads of ammunition and supplies between ships as well."

"Right, the key step is getting that first link," I jotted down a few notes. "Okay so, they'll need a place where reality's a bit thin."

"Explains why they're here and now," Dirac muttered.

"I'll call Doctor De Cotis and have her sent over, this is more her specialization," Dr. Saotome said, walking to the bulky wall-phone.

"And once the time is right... well before the time, they'll save that for the big ceremony, they'll..."

"Prime the pump?" Ranma offered, distantly.

"Yeah, they'll establish some link, maybe summon something small. Or send someone from this world over there, there was a line about 'filling a willing vessel'," I shrugged. "Whatever it is, that'll make their next step, the real big ritual that much easier." It wasn't that unheard of, plenty of heavy duty rituals required preparation rites. Hells Bells, the Red Court's big curse took almost a week of preparation at Chichén Itzá, and by preparation I meant human sacrifices.

"Okay, you've got an idea what Tessa and her furry friends are up to; you still gotta figure out where she's doing it," Ranma said. Her voice was pleasant enough but I saw her tail's tip flick to and fro with impatience.

"That is the trouble. Normally the Denarians aren't subtle with their mayhem but by the time we find the bodies, it might be too late."

The redhead nodded.

"You're bored aren't you?" I guessed.

She gave a rueful chuckle. "You might get off on all this mystery stuff Mr. Private Investigator, but I told you: I'm a trigger puller. I'd rather be in the field or, honestly, teaching a class."

***************

I scrapped the end of my staff around the loamy, half-frozen dirt. I looked at the cow pasture in the distance. The sun was starting to set and the air was beginning to chill. A large van idled by the side of the road. Ranma stepped up next to me. She was wearing black pants and had a dark coat.

She handed me a locked case and a compass.

"What I love about my job getting to visit exotic locals," I said closing the circle around me with a force of will.

"Overrated," Ranma snorted. "Tell me when you spend a decade on a training trip across the ass ends of China, Korea, and Japan."

"Well... I studied under a master wizard in the Ozarks...."

Ranma tilted her head. "And you think a Southern Ontario dairy farm is too good for you?"

I snorted and went back to work. I unlocked the case. Opening it I withdrew the little block of ice. Careful not to touch it, I lowered the frozen mandible on the ground and used my staff to cut another circle around it in the semi-frozen dirt.

"It's not that I think it's too good for me," I said as I fiddled. "I mean I used to drive a VW bug and my favorite restaurant is Burger King."

The demon scoffed. "Yeah, maybe you should focus on your voodoo."

"It's not voodoo. Yes, voodoo dolls do work on thaumaturgy by establishing a link between the doll and the person represented, and yes I am doing thaumaturgy here, but voodoo itself is a religion. "

"Touchy." The redhead stepped up to the edge of the circle. "Guess, I won't make a zombie joke," she teased.

I harrumphed and continued the spell. I had done my tracking spell thousands of times. It had the most utility in my mundane investigative work. I mean, most of my work as a PI was helping people find lost items.

So, I had a lot of practice and a lot of skill using it. Which was good as Tessa's mandible was a pain in the ass to work with. Not only was it frozen in a chunk of ice but I wasn't even fully sure it would match up to her armor the next time she went all mantis girl.

"I didn't expect you to be so sensitive about religion," Ranma noted. "You're not exactly religious yourself."

"Yeah well..." I frowned and felt a little tug on the silver chain I had threaded through the cube. I sat down onto the cold ground and crossed my legs. I was careful to not cross the inner circle.

"You've got friends who are into the whole Knights of the Cross thing. Wouldn't that convince you?"

I snorted. "Please. Of the two active Knights, one's an agnostic Trotskyist and the other's a Jewish Jedi." I pushed a bit of Soulfire into the spell. The cube was twitching. The chain felt like I had a fish nibbling on a line; that was new. I cut the filtering inner circle and let more of my power flow into it.

"Huh," Ranma shrugged. "I guess I can see that."

"Yeah, I know spirits and souls exist. I know there's an afterlife. I've met old gods." I said, without shifting my attention. "Hells, Bells I'm on speaking terms with an archangel."

"And you're not religious?"

"It's a matter of faith. And my faith is in magic, using the powers of Creation to help people." The mandible was definitely tugging on the chain. "Everything is connected. It's just a question of finding the connections," I said as I pushed a bit more.

"Ah, animism. Well yeah, spirits reside in all things, but they can only interact with people at certain places or through specific objects," the demon shrugged. "It's like how you summoned up your boss."

"Yeah... that's correct," I frowned. "I didn't expect you to-"

Rolling her eyes, she cut me off. "I'm Shinto. I'm quite aware of kami and various small gods."

"But you're a..." I frowned; she had mentioned that when we first met but...

"Demon?" She smirked, and I could just imagine her tail swishing. "Now why would me being able to sense the connections between people and be more spiritually aware hamper my religion?"

"Oh," I supposed a Japanese demon being Shinto wasn't that strange. Shiro the previous wielder Fidelacchius was an accidental Baptist. He was an Elvis fan and due to a translation mixup thought he was going to meet "the King" and instead got baptized.

Though, that did make me wonder about Amaterasu. I was pretty certain that she existed. The question was in what form? Gods tended to wax and wane in their connection to the mortal world. They also adapted and shifted as time went on. Odin was a prime example of that. On the other hand, as far as I knew Amaterasu still had a large number of mortal worshipers. Including my redheaded companion.

I pushed those thoughts aside as I lifted the mandible by the chain and started to stand up

Ranma leaned forward and once more peered at the dangling cube. "Looks like you got a bite Mr. Wizard." She grinned.

"Get the map," I said holding the chain in one hand and the compass in another. Instead of hanging straight down, the cube was being pulled to the side. As I stepped in a slow circle, I felt the tug of the icy block wax and wane. Curling my fingers over the chain, I closed my eyes and shifted my arm ever so slightly. Once the force of the chain was at its strongest, I opened my eyes.

I was facing to the southwest, maybe a bit more south than southwest. The block was pulling against the chain in the same direction. I then read off the heading on the compass on my other hand.

Ranma had already unfolded a map and had it on a clipboard. She put a mark on the location where we stood. Using a protractor she marked the compass heading and then used a straight edge to draw a line.

I glanced over. The line went from the outskirts of some place called Cambridge out over more boonies and farmland across another town called Brantford and went all the way out to Lake Erie.

The demon smiled. "You get things settled here. I'll call it in, but don't break that link," she said running to the van.

I sighed and broke the outer circle. I understood her concern. They got a lead on where Tessa was, and it wouldn't do to have a grumpy wizard ruin their radios and cell phones. Still, it felt a bit like I had been used and tossed to the side.

That feeling got more acute when the van shifted gear and lurched forward.

Ranma poked her head out of the sliding door. "Come on Mr. Wizard!" she said thumping the side of the van.

Still holding the tugging cube by the chain, I loped up to her. "What's the hurry?" I asked as I jumped inside and sat down. I took care to lower the dangling cube into a case. Lady Pluto had warned me not to touch the thing, and I didn't want to find out what would happen if I did.

In the row behind me was the rest of Lt. Tendo's team. Unlike the two mercenaries in the front seats these two were in full battle-rattle.

"We don't know how long we've got and it'll be nice to triangulate a location before the signal cuts out," Lieutenant Tendo said as she floored the accelerator.

I harrumphed. It was bad enough to learn that my former apprentice Molly had figured out the "use triangulation with a tracking spell to find the location of something" before me, but having these mercenaries rushing me was irksome.

The heavy grey van raced down country highway eight. I'm not sure how fast we were going but after ten minutes of white-knuckle driving and passing every truck and car that got in our way, the chain started to vibrate, and I said we needed to stop.

Tendo made an irritated noise but pulled us over. The door opened and Ranma practically pulled me out. I pushed a bit more soulfire into the spell pushing it further. I wondered if Tessa was using countermeasures to make it harder to track her.

As I drew the circle around me, I glanced over and saw Ranma marking our new location on the map. Unless I misread the scale, we were about ten miles to the southeast of the first location. The mercenary riding shotgun had also jumped out. I could feel the tension increasing.

This time the forest was on our side of the road and the farmer's field was on the opposite side. The circle closed, sealing off the ambient magics. The cube's twitching on the end of its chain stopped and a steady pull resumed. I repeated the chain and compass trick. Only this time the compass heading was almost due west.

Ranma drew a second line and whistled. I looked over. The two lines intersected at a little crossroads town maybe twelve miles away.

"Lomar," the demon noted. "Damn, she's close." She handed the map to the green-eyed mercenary and he ran back to the van.

I broke the circle and looked down at the hanging frozen block. It had worked. And all because Lady Pluto had used her magic to preserve it. I was wary of gifts from supernatural entities, but at least this one seemed to have a positive outcome

"Close, I think that's part of why the spell didn't work before," I said.

"She's jamming your magic mojo?" Ranma asked as she pulled a second map out of her jacket. She refolded it and studied the little town of Lomar.

"Tracking spells are powerful," I said taking care to seal the cube back into the case I had pulled out of the van. It was smaller than the previous one, maybe it offered less protection, but at least now I could carry the thing in a coat pocket.

I then stepped closer and looked over her shoulder. "And it's not just me she's hiding from."

The redhead nodded. "What do you make of the location?'

I glanced at the map. Lomar was between a larger town of Saint George to the south and another little bump on the map named Branchton to the north. Other than that, there wasn't much that wasn't fields and farms.

"It's small, can't be more than five hundred people. Isolated too... but..." I frowned. "There's a larger highway only three miles to the west."

"And an airport ten klicks to the east," Ranma pointed on the map.

"Yeah, I remember passing it," The Winter Mantle burbled within me. It knew what I was looking at, and it approved of the prey selection.

"Soft target?" Rama asked.

"Yeah, small enough that there won't be much resistance, but large enough to have plenty of bodies. Isolated enough that a counterattack will take time, but not so isolated to prevent a ready means of escape." I exhaled.

"I'd say we found the place," the demon smiled, her teeth shining in the twilight.

"Good," I grinned back. "Let's ruin Tessa's night."

The demon groaned and pointed to the van. "Just... just get in the car."

***************


Stunted saplings and brambly dead undergrowth pulled at my coat as we crossed Kingsport Creek and neared the edge of the forest. The treeline was still further away than I liked but this part of woods past the creek was on a little rise. I pulled next to a tree and knelt down behind it.

Several yards to the left, Ranma had slipped into another spot. The demon's grey armor blended into the night gloom. Even her hair seemed muted and dark as she sniffed the air. My boots dripped. Fording the creek wasn't hard but it was just deep enough to annoy me.

Taking a pair of binoculars out of my coat, I noted a slight tingle. Magic was in the air. I took a few of the little town to the west. It matched the detailed map Lieutenant Tendo had pulled up on a spare tablet computer. It had lasted for a few minutes before all the color bled out of its screen. Long enough for us to get the layout of the own and get a rough, very rough, plan.

Technically Lomar didn't sit at a crossroads. There was a gas station at the actual intersection. It stood alone amongst some wheat fields.

Instead, Lomar sat a bit to the north of the east-west road and was bisected by the north-south running Route 13. And even that wasn't fully accurate. Due to the way the Kingsport Creek pressed against the east edge of the town, there were only a couple dozen houses on this side of the main drag. Most of the town lay to the west of Route 13.

The real problem was that Lomar sat in a bit of a valley and the land around Kingsfort Creek was boggy and must have been prone to flooding. Fortunately in late autumn, the ground was pretty dry and gave us an elevated view of the town in the shallow vale below.

I moved my binoculars slowly. At first, I just got a sense of the town itself. I further revised down my population estimate. If all these houses were full, there couldn't be more than three hundred people here. The place was a bit rundown but seemed pleasant enough. People could be happy here I suppose. But it also underscored just how far from home I was, and how badly I wanted to stop Tessa and get back.

And more than a few houses looked abandoned. Hells Bells, a disquieting number, about half, were dark. It wasn't that late and I bet that even Canadians didn't go to bed before 8 PM. Though the thought of being curled up snug in one's bed did appeal to me; I suppressed a yawn.

Then I went and looked over the streets. They were empty. The occasional car drove down Route 13. However if anything they seemed to speed up and blow right on through Lomar.

My attention went to downtown, such as it was, in Lomar. There was a cluster of buildings on the west side of Route 13. That the post office, consignment store, and hardware slash bait shop were closed was expected. The grocery store being closed was a bit odd.

However the town's bar being closed was very disquieting. Sure this one-horse town wasn't Chicago, a place I missed more and more, but even out in the boonies the bars wouldn't close this early.

I lowered my binoculars and sighed.

The succubus had slipped up next to me. Her expression was subdued and tense. Purple eyes met mine. Even they seemed muted.

"This is bad," I whispered.

"People are still alive down there," she added in an even quieter voice.

I deduced her unspoken "For now," and nodded. I tapped my foot on the ground impatiently. I dipped into the Winter Mantle and my alertness sharpened..

"What's wrong?" Ranma asked, her quiet voice insistent.

"I..." I frowned. The magic in the air. "Stars and Stones... it's a compulsion."

Her head tilted ever so slightly in the gloom.

"You feeling homesick Red? Maybe a bit tired? Getting the urge to go back home and snuggle under some blankets."

The demon blinked. Her gaze hardened. "Clever," she hissed.

I nodded. As mental magic went, it was subtle, but long ranged. The urge to go home worked in two ways. First, it made sure the residents of the Lomar would stay put. Second, it would ensure those passing through would keep on passing through.

Then came the latter part of the spell. The urge to sleep was weaker, but that was fine; it was cumulative. Once they were home what else was someone going to do?

With two spells Tessa and her goons had corralled and hobbled a whole town.

"Serious mojo?"

"A compulsion spell over a mile in radius? What do you think?" I ran my binoculars over the town. This time, the quiet streets were even more ominous. Worse, now three quarters of the homes had turned off the lights.

The demon gave a little nod then looked at me. Her gaze was challenging.

I knew what she meant. It took power to cast a spell like this. And sure the Denarians, especially those that had been around for a while had plenty of sorcerous power. Say what you will about the Fallen, but they really can teach someone the ins and outs of magic.

Still, this was a considerable expense, and all to turn the Lomar into a... larder. Or maybe a battery was the better word.

Ranma had watched the emotions play across my face. She gave another curt nod and slipped away. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her pull a radio out of one of her pouches and turn it on. She then slipped out of sight.

By the time I put my binoculars down, the redhead had returned.

"They're still alive?"

"I can smell lots of people and feel..." she shrugged.

"I'm not feeling any major necromantic energies." My mouth had gone dry. On a pure numbers game this wasn't quite enough... resources to pull off a Dark Hollow. Also, it was the wrong time of year. Still, it's not like Tessa had anything good in mind that required an entire town to be docile and somnolent.

Focusing my emotions, I pulled a little case out of my coat and withdrew the fragment of Tessa's mandible hanging from its silver chain.. I used my staff to clear a circle in the woods and setup the summoning spell.

This time the direction the creepy pendulum pulled was to the north-west. Sighting in that direction, I lifted the binoculars to my eyes. It pointed past the town itself. There was a farm supply store on the west side of route 13 just to the north of Lomar.

I couldn't tell if the fragment was pointing towards the store itself, the warehouses behind it, or even the grove of woods that surrounded the property. But it was definitely in that area.

Lowering my binoculars, I saw that Ranma had already vanished, doubtless to report my findings. I wasn't sure how long her radio could last, especially once the spell-slinging really started, but I'm sure she had spares, and it wasn't like backup was that far away.

The demon silently emerged from the gloom and gave me an expectant look.

"I don't know what you want, but I'm not exactly the most 'subtle' one," I said. "Forward scouting, recon isn't my thing. I know you've got reinforcements coming but-"

Giving a sarcastic look, she held up a finger and wagged it. "But there's a town that's about to be wiped out," she hissed in a voice that was hard even for me to hear.

"Well, we don't know what Tessa plans to do here," I offered weakly, securing and pocketing the case with the bit of mantis mandible.

The "look" returned. We both knew I was lying. We both knew I was itching to rush in. I realized that Lieutenant Tendo had deliberately split us up like this. Her team was approaching from the south and was set to rendezvous with reinforcements or back us up.

Meanwhile, we had been sent ahead... because she knew how I might react. She also knew she couldn't stop me. Well, not without making me "combat ineffective". And even that was if she got really lucky and surprised me.

I wondered if the same held true for Ranma. Was she here as my minder? Or was she sent off because we'd have a better chance attacking together.

"This'll be a spoiling attack," the demon leaned in, her breath hot on my face, her voice nearly silent. "We sneak in, hit them hard, throw a wrench in their plans, then pull back and hammer them with backup."

I nodded. I wasn't so sure about the "pull back" part, but I did love smashing up dark rituals.

She then looked me up and down. "I don't suppose you can be a bit more stealthy?" Ranma asked

I snorted, and winced at how loud that noise was. "Yeah, I can manage," I said as I cast a Veil. Now, Veils weren't my strong suit. I'm more of a raw power with my evocations. Though, I do have a knack for thaumaturgy.

And Veils are very fiddly bits of spells that require bending light, dampening spells, and, at the high levels, masking scents. However, I have had a lot of practice over the years, especially when it came to teaching an apprentice who happened to be really, really good at Veils.

I smiled as the demon's eyes widened as I faded out of sight. Sniffing the air, she gave an approving nod and crouching down away towards the edge of the tree-line and the town below.

Shadows deepened around her and the succubus's colors faded even more as she nearly vanished. It was a mix of natural camouflage, field-craft, and demonic powers. Realizing I would easily lose track of her, I followed the vague smudge that might be the redheaded demon.


End Chapter 7

I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, Ellf, and Toxinvictoria . Special thank to : Ellf for getting this off the ground and inspiring this project.

(And uh.... this chapter is the halfway point. Sorry)

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 8: Lost Arrivals, Part B


Ichor bubbled and hissed as it dripped off my Sword. I stepped back and slowly turned in a circle. I had been taught to watch my back. Charity Carpenter's training had been... thorough. Not that I was complaining. Okay I did complain from the bruises and aching muscles that came with Charity and Michael's help.

However after my first couple outings as a knight, I really started to appreciate all they had done for me. But the triangular stone chamber seemed empty of enemies. Erie green light pulsed in the room.

Well, it was empty of enemies that were still alive. Goo still dripped off the ceiling from where a rubbery tentacle had flown up after I'd sliced it off. My heart still raced. I might be a Knight but I was no Michael or Sanya. I didn't know how they could do this and make it seem so easy. The way Harry put it, confidence was a big part of it.

Bad guys were supposed to fear Knights. Our missions came with purpose, and with that power.... and responsibility. Some of the cosmological implications were disquieting, but I was doing good work. My first mission did save a hospital's pediatric wing.

I kicked a gorilla-shaped, hairless... thing. Unlike its companions in the room, it was still mostly in one piece. Some of its tentacles thrashed. I flicked my Sword down. The glowing blade parted flesh. Ichor sprayed, adding to the spatters on my black pants and vest. At least it missed the white mantle and cape I wore over the vest.

"Aww, damnit," I cried. I looked around the room. A stone ledge stuck out of one wall. The makeshift altar was angled slightly and had grooves in the sides and a hole to collect blood. A large circle of crystals with an eye-bending onyx statue rested on the stained altar stone.

I circled the triangular room again. One wall had an open doorway. It was the one I had taken to get here.

The other wall... well, there was a pointed arch set in silver-veined onyx. It looked to be the same material as the queasy-looking idol I had just laser-sworded. Instead of leading to another room, weird green light filled the archway.

Turning back to the altar, I peered closer at the circle. Okay.... one of the foci items on the circle was a little replica of the gate, complete with its own shimmering, miniature portal of green light. Right, I might not have much magical talent, but I had a pretty good teacher. However, even the most rudimentary course in thaumaturgy would explain what this circle was trying to accomplish.

Well, I'll admit that it wasn't a straightforward summoning. The positioning of the crystal bells and the swirled pentagram indicated that this was more of a binding, or perhaps communication spell.

Setting up such a ritual was beyond my skill, even with Bob's help. On the upside, stopping it was pretty trivial.

Fidelacchius sliced through the unholy tableau with a satisfying hum. However, the eerie green glow remained. I turned back and studied the glowing portal. It flickered.

I didn't need a glowing sign in the air telling me I had to go through (though I didn't object to the help). I had been sent on a mission. An Archangel told me I was to stop a Denarian from making a huge mistake, and so far, I hadn't run into any Denarians. Sure, I'd found a few cultists and a load of servitor creatures they had purchased from the Fomor, but not a single Nickelhead

Said Angel had also hinted that I'd have an opportunity to help a friend in need. And so far, I hadn't run into any friends. Part of me was a bit disquieted. The "home office" didn't normally give me briefings. Normally I got my missions by seeing the right sign over the person I needed to help.

I eyed the glowing gateway and exhaled. That is if it was a gateway. It could be an agony grid or a incinerator. I picked up a bit of broken crystal and tossed it through. It vanished. That wasn't conclusive. It could still be a disintegration matrix.

Maybe, it just worked really fast. And even if it was a gateway, I had no idea where it led. Harry had told me that there were parts of the NeverNever where there was no oxygen, no gravity, and all sorts of other wonderfully-lethal environments.

The portal flickered again. Then for a third time. It looked like I couldn't delay any longer. The wood grip of my Sword felt slick in my hands. No, I wasn't a Sanya let alone a Harry Dresden. My name is Waldo Butters and I am a Knight of the Sword. And I had faith. I held Fidelacchius ready and stepped into the green light.

***************


There was a swirling, lurching rush as I was pulled through the portal. Lights flashed by and my stomach knotted. Shuddering, my body felt like it was being drawn through a keyhole.

And then my boots hit loamy ground. I blinked. I was outside. An overcast night sky loomed above me. Light from the portal flickered from behind.
And everything was on fire.

I was in a clearing in a grove. Blocky stones had been pushed in a circle that included the stone archway that held the portal. In the center of the circle was a large altar.

The area around the altar had been partially paved with interlocking flagstones. It all looked hastily constructed. For one, the flagstones only covered half of the circle. For two, a couple of the grey standing stones had fallen over. And for three, there was a crane and a pair of forklifts just outside of the circle.

The machinery was also on fire.

The clearing was illuminated by tall torches, sputtering klieg lights, and narrow glowing crystals mounted in brass tripods. And the fire. Can't forget the fire. And honestly, torches were rubbish for light. The random bits of lawn, vehicles, trees, and people that had been set aflame were giving just as much light.

My body tingled. The scent of sulfur, wood-smoke, blood, viscera, burnt flesh and, confusingly, wet dog filled my nose.

Stepping forward, I kept my Sword ready. This wasn't my most confusing fight visually, but that was only because I still had my glasses.

There was a blast of flame that fully illuminated the stone circle. And suddenly, I understood the smells, all of them. The gateway behind me flickered again. Its green light actually fading for half a second.

Just past the altar before me, and filling fully half the circle and much of the area beyond it, was a mob of wolfmen. The hunched hairy figures stood nearly nine feet tall and had to be four hundred pounds of wiry muscle. They seemed to glow with red outlines in the dim light.

Howling, yipping and snarling they had formed into a rough circle a couple dozen yards from me. Within the circle were piles of burnt and eviscerated lupine bodies many of which were still twitching. And in the very center stood two figures back to back.

On the left was a tall, lanky man with a billowing leather duster and a long staff glowing with eldritch runes. His staff was lowered and bright white-blue flames shot out of it soaking the first line of wolves like a flamethrower.

On the right...

That was a demon: glossy black horns, big leathery wings, spade-tipped tail, and talons. She had a wild mane of deep red hair and wore some kind of tactical armor. I'll confess it looked a bit similar to the vest and rig I had on. Except, she wasn't wearing the white cloak and she had some kind of loose bodysuit underneath.

A group of wolfmen broke away from the pack and charged her. The demon sprung out to meet them with a mad gleam in her eyes. I did note with some relief that while her eyes did glow she only had one pair. So, she probably wasn't a Denarian. They had two pairs of eyes, with the glowing eyes of the Fallen above their human ones.

Also unlike the wolves she didn't seem to be outlined in red.

Heedless of the fact that she that she was outnumbered and out-massed, she charged them. Each wolf had to be four times her weight and four feet taller than her.

She flipped under one set of claws and broke a tibia. Then, with an economical slash of her talons, opened the jugular of another wolf. Her tail lanced out and somehow buried it into a third wolf's hips. She had taken out the acetabulofemoral joint between the hip and right femur.

As that wolf fell down, his leg unable to support his weight, she flipped over and fired a spear of fire into the eyes of a fourth wolf while slashing between the second and first cervical vertebrae of a fifth wolf that had found itself running past her.

I glanced back to Harry. He was also outnumbered and was pouring on the violence, but while he was his normal brawling self this demon had a surgeon's understanding of anatomy.

Or maybe a butcher's. I then saw the demon bare her fangs as she ripped open a ribcage, fish out a heart and liver and promptly feast on the organs. Yeah, I'm thinking more butcher.

My observations were interrupted when one of the wolfmen wheeled its head around and spotted me. The giant brute lunged forward. A quarter ton of angry wolf shot towards me. And I learned two things.

First, despite their size, these things were fast. My heart pounded with primal fear as a giant apex predator charged at me. It ate up thirty feet in the blink of an eye. And I had to force myself to not run away. Training helped. Over the months Charity had put me through thousands of drills.

The practice didn't reduce the fear, not so much that, but it did focus my actions. Instead of staring dumbfounded I swung my Sword.

However, this led directly to the second thing.

Giant wolfmen were not lightsaber proof. As it closed, in I flipped my Sword in an arc. Two giant, hairy, ham-hock arms pin wheeled off. The wolf howled in pain as I followed through with the Sword and flipped the blade forward. The glowing blade slammed into the monster's muzzle and bisected its head

The hulking creature flopped down and began to twitch. I gasped, my heartbeat still pounding.

Then I learned two more things. Third: the wolf I killed had friends. Who were now charging at me.

Fourth... the wolf's head was starting to reform as it tried to pull itself up.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me," I sighed as I flicked my Sword down, decapitating the beast. I distantly heard gunfire. It didn't sound like Harry's revolver. In fact, if I didn't know better, it sounded like machine guns.

Lifting my Sword, I closed towards the two new wolves racing towards me. One was bulky and dark furred while the other was more rangy and had a shaggy grey pelt.

"Look, you don't want to do this," I warned as I slipped into a stance.

They charged. I slashed my Sword through the torso of the grey one.

The monster took the hit and closed towards me, allowing his companion to flank me. I screamed, wrenched my sword free and, with a wild swing, flailed my blade through them both. Blood spurted as I horizontally bisected the two of them.

My chest heaved, but the creatures were still crawling towards me. After taking their heads, I returned my attention to the mob before me.

The circle around Dresden and the demon had shifted into a more... egg shaped grouping. With me at the smaller point of the egg.

Harry looked at me. He gave a long blink. "Butters!" he bellowed, his resonate baritone cutting across the battle. "Butters! Glad the Home Office sent you over!"

Swallowing, I simply saluted with my Sword. That's when the realization hit me, I was the backup the Wizard Dresden had been hoping for.

Me. I was the Cavalry.

Suddenly, I felt like I had some real big shoes to fill.

"Okay! Army guys and pale demon chicks are on our side! Denarians and Wolfmen are the baddies!" Harry shouted after blasting a line of wolves with a veritable wall of spear-like icicles. The attack scythed through a dozen of the creatures studding each with a score of long icy spikes.

I blinked. That was a new attack. Harry then gasped and took a moment to lean on his staff.

The redheaded demon seemed to pause in her, disturbingly precise, carnage. Her eyes locked onto mine for a brief moment. They were a softly luminous, deep violet. It was as if she was taking the time to file me under "Do not eat".

"More demons? Wait... army guys?" I asked, my voice totally not carrying the distance.

And that's when the helicopters came.

A droning dark shape swept by overhead. I could just make out darkened figures jumping from the flying machine. Maybe half a dozen people plummeted towards the grove.

Then as one, their wings spread out and five more demons landed. They wore the same gray-green armor as the redhead, but their weapons were different. One, with orange hair and crazy green eyes, had a boxy grenade launcher that started scything over the mob while her partner, a taller figure with pale whitish hair, covered them with some type of stubby, but bulky, rifle.

Two demon girls with blue hair worked as another pair. The younger, daintier of the two flicked out a pair of giant red-bladed knives and began chewing through the wolves while, what had to be her older sister, started smashing through the giants bare handed. Much like the redhead. Though she preferred to wrench joints in ways they were not meant to go and do things like shatter collarbones and the temporomandibular joint where the jaw met the skill.

Meanwhile, the last of the quintet had dark hair and held a glowing red sword. I did notice they all bore a family resemblance. Though I wasn't sure how much of that was the uniform armor and alabaster skin.

I heard what might have been another helicopter. More figures descended. I didn't see where they landed. For all I knew, there were more demons. However, I did see what might have been rappelling lines being dropped.

I'll admit I was a bit distracted. The whole thing was turning into an overwhelming, disjointed scrum. For one thing, the gunfire was pounding against my ears making it harder to even think.

The demon girl with the glowing sword had wheeled a bit closer to me. It looked like she and her sisters, cousins, whatever... the other demons were working to flank and corral the wolves. Being the hammer to Harry and the redhead's anvil. Red eyes met mine, and the swords-demon gave a fencer's salute. And then her sword shot out arcs of lightning.

"He's found a Sith," I laughed as I slashed my Sword through another wolf. "Of course Harry found a Sith demon chick."

And then the helicopters opened fire. Gatling guns poured down bullets at such a hellacious rate that their tracers merged together. Then bolts of green energy shot up causing the helicopters to jink and dodge. They pulled back a ways but continued to periodically open fire.

The whole thing threatened my sanity. It was too much noise, too many bright flashes in the dark gloom. All the smells of blood, offal, gunpowder, wet dog, burning flesh, and fear pressed against me.

And oh yes, I was busy frantically slicing apart giant wolfmen. Frankly, I was a bit amazed that they hadn't managed to touch me, but again: lightsaber.

My blade sang as the glowing light parted flesh and I stepped to the side. I made a brief mental note to take Charity and Michael out to dinner after I got back home. I owed them at least that much.

That's when I noticed that the gateway behind me had snapped shut.

His face pulled into a snarl; Harry rushed the wolfmen once more. I knew he had gotten stronger. Hell, I had been on some of the runs with him. Well, I'd started but had to bow out after the first couple miles, not that I could keep up even at the beginning. Meanwhile, he just kept going, even wearing that damn weighted vest.

So, I had expected some level of superior physicality on his part. Though my own notes suggested that the Winter Mantle was less a superpower and more of a super-enabler... That is the Mantle allowed Harry to push past normal human boundaries instead of, in and of itself, endowing him with superhuman abilities.

Still, I had to admit that the icy talons that sprouted from Harry's fingers were a definite superpower. Harry was still smaller and weaker than the wolves, but the gap was narrower than I had expected.

Hell, the only reason I was still in this fight was because the wolves didn't quite seem to figure out how to fight against a lightsaber. That and I seemed to be pretty lucky in fending them off. And of course that some measure of training had managed to sink in.

But I'd say a bigger factor was that the other demon girls had coalesced into a front that was driving the wolfmen back, keeping them from flanking me.

Their assault did nothing for my hearing, but it was nice to no longer be under immediate risk of being devoured. The tall black-haired one with her own magic sword had continued to get closer.

My attention was pulled away from the willowy demon with her, obviously sinister, red blade by Dresden giving a guttural scream. A lance of force shot out and knocked down three rows of hulking wolves.

He and the redhead then fell upon the displaced monsters. The contrast between him and demon woman was... interesting. In both cases, it was claw against claw, but while she had her surgical precision, Harry seemed to be in an almost berserker rage as he tore through them. I was starting to worry how much he was leaning on the Winter Mantle. I mean when the liver-eating demon was the more restrained one...

The redhead's precise hits put down the regenerating creatures a bit longer. However, Harry's slapdash slices and tears did leave wounds rimed with ice. The frozen flesh resisting attempts to heal.

But in both cases, it was a bit academic. Far in their wake, the orange-haired demon-girl raked the wounded wolves with a barrage of grenades. I wasn't sure what the shrapnel range of those grenades were, but the gleeful grenadier demon seemed to know her business. Limbs and organs flew as explosions pounded my head.

With a scream of Parkour, Harry cleared the altar and landed on the other side near me. He was only a few yards away. I sprinted up to him. A wolf came in to my right. Moving unconsciously, my wrist flicked-out, lopping the monster's legs off at the knees.

Harry gave me a savage grin as his taloned-hand went out and shredded the wolfman's neck. Pulling in her wings, the redheaded demon had dropped next to him. She gave Harry a vaguely disapproving look and used her tail to finish removing the wolf's head.

"Careful these things can heal just about anything," she shouted over the din as she pointed at the snapping head. Flames danced at the tips of long fingers and a beam shot out blowing apart the skull like a firecracker in a melon.

"Harry, what the hell's going on?" I asked, glancing about. It felt like there was a bit of a lull in the fighting, then I realized that the other demon girls had taken positions around us. There was also more machinegun fire somewhere in the distance and what might have been a rocket explosion.

"Summary; twenty words or less," the redhead told Harry.

"Nicodemus murdered Deirdre. Tessa wants revenge. She came to this world to summon some old god to stomp on Nicky," Harry then counted on his icy fingers and gave a goofy grin.

"Well, great!" I shouted. I had only met Nicodemus and Tessa once. That was the day I had taken up the Sword, that was the day they tried to kill the Carpenter family. And come to think of it... that was probably the day Nicodemus had killed their daughter.

And now, Tessa wanted revenge? She was twisted enough normally. Hell, she made Nicodemus seem like the calm and rational one in that relationship. But murder her daughter? I don't know if someone like Tessa was really capable of love, but I'd bet with Deirdre it came the closest.

"Anyway," Harry looked between me and the redhead. "Ranma this is Doctor Waldo Butters, Knight of the Cross. Butters this is Ranma Saotome... uh Special Contractor for... uh what does WIC stand for?"

The redhead, Ranma, smiled. "Doesn't matter." She bowed to me. "Pleasure to meet you Doctor Butters. Harry's talked a lot about you."

"Uh, charmed?" I wasn't sure what to do with my hands, so I just returned the bow. "We got a plan?"

"Tessa tried to sacrifice this town. We smashed up her ritual; now we're killing goons. But she's our real target," Ranma explained, her tail swishing behind her.

I blinked at the demon as I realized something. For all the power and lethality that radiated off of her, she was short. I mean she was shorter than me. She had to be Murphy-sized.

Now that we were close something else clicked, she was Japanese. I blinked. My first mission, not counting the time against Nicodemus and Tessa, was against a baka baku named Dr. Miyamune. Once again: short, pretty, Japanese. I was starting to wonder if the Almightily was giving me a "type".

Harry grinned, flashing his teeth. "Any advice from the Home Office?"

I winced. Why was it that Harry's smile was more unnerving than the demon's?

"I was told that I had to stop a Denarian from making a huge mistake." I raised my voice so Harry could hear.

"You can lower your voice Butters, we both hear quite well," Harry replied, but he nodded thoughtfully.

"Told you, Tessa's being played," Ranma said as she flexed her claws.

"I was also told I'd have a chance to help a friend in need."

"Finally!" Harry's grin warmed, becoming less scary. "About time those Angels started being straightforward."

I held my tongue. I was pretty sure that Harry was being a bit optimistic. Glancing down, I noticed a green miasma hugging the ground just above the flagstones, seemingly sucking at the fallen wolves. The monsters seemed to be healing slower. That was... good.

My study was interrupted by Harry clapping his hands. "Right. Now that we're all on the same page, let's stop Tessa."

I frowned. We were hardly "on the same page". Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the redhead summon a pair of flickering obsidian orbs. Harry ran a hand over each of the orbs, murmured some arcane word, and they flew off into the sky.

I still wasn't sure why Dresden was working with a gaggle of demons but he trusted them, and well... I trusted Harry.

"Okay!" Harry grinned with a mad gleam in his eyes as the redhead called and released another pair of orbs. "Red and I will break through, you do Knight stuff with your Sword and the rest will cover us."

Blinking, I inched forward and shifted the grip on my Sword. This was the downside of trusting Harry: his plans.

A howling chorus cut over the chaos, and I shivered. I had gotten used to werewolves, but these hulking, misshapen things bellowed more than howled. The wizard and the redheaded demon flipped around the altar.

Harry lowered his staff and an arctic-blue blast of fire shot through the surging ranks. To his right, Ranma cupped her hands and a violet tinged arc of flames shot out.

Wolfmen began to scream as they were immolated. The scent of burned hair and boiled blood filled my nostrils. As both poured on the fire, I leapt in behind them and racing ahead, hacked at anyone who tried to get past. It was hard; both could run much faster than me.

As they cleared open a path, the other demon girls watched our back and flanks. To the left the older blue-haired one shot out with some kind of explosive shadow attack while the orange-haired one fired more grenades on the right side.

The green miasma had spread further and fewer of the wolves were getting up after being hit. The blonde and younger blue-haired one seemed to have taken the rear-guard sweeping behind the rest of us.

I found myself going forward with the black-haired demoness watching my back. Up close I could tell that her sword was actually a crimson bladed katana and not a red lightsaber. So, there was that at least.

I raised my sword-arm and the glowing blade flashed over in blinding light nearly as bright as the sun.

Shadows bent away from me and for a moment the wolves stood transfixed. Distantly, I heard a hateful, insectile screech.

My mouth opened and words began to pour out. "Polonius Lartessa! Look at what centuries of destruction has cost you! You have caused countless acts of suffering and loss and now you respond to your own loss with further suffering?" I asked in a loud booming voice that was not quite my own.

"Revenge will not bring you peace!" I cried as the last of the wolves parted. The giant creatures had started to break under the combined assault.

They revealed a rough dais made of piled stone. It sat in front of a small warehouse and... I blinked. It was some kind of farm supply store. Distantly, I wondered just where the heck that portal had sent me.

Then my attention was on the three figures that stood on the dais. Shimmering yellow light surrounded them. To the left was the grey, gaunt, skeletal form of Thorned Namshiel. I had never seen him, but Michael's lessons had included briefings on all the Denarians he had fought. As far as he knew, there weren't other Fallen sorcery masters with lank greasy hair and pointy bone spurs jutting out of every joint.

Namshiel's glowing green Denarian eyes were angry, but his brown human eyes seemed almost... worried. Opposite him stood a large barrel-chested man a dark suit with a bushy black beard, wild long hair, and shining golden eyes. His lip was pulled back in a snarl and he flexed his hands.

A thick hardcover grimoire hung from a silvery chain over his neck like a gaudy parody of a book-themed rapper. Maybe a Mc Poindexter who tried to get kids to read. I immediately marked him as the leader of the wolfmen.

And between them was the diminutive and mantis-armored form of Tessa. All four of her eyes boiled with rage as she stared down on us. Her mandibles clicked and she let out a screech.

Idly, I noted that Rosanna wasn't here. She was Tessa's second in command and her absence struck me as worrisome.

Blasts from Harry and Ranma battered the yellow shield. Namshiel's skeletal face turned into a rictus at the pressure.

Tessa turned to him and if anything the raw hate in her eyes magnified. "You were supposed to secure the other side!"

"I did!" Namshiel gasped, his hair seeming even more limp and greasy.

"Evidence says otherwise." Tessa spared me a momentary glance. Recognition flashed in those alien eyes. For the barest instant, I froze. Then I recovered and pointed my Sword at her.

She turned back to the sorcerer. "Fine, the Knight and other intruders are your fault. Deal with them."

The large man in the suit growled.

"Come Vuko, it seems you were right..." Tessa spat as she beckoned to the man in the suit and turned to leave the makeshift dais.

The redhead flicked her hands and a quartet of obsidian orbs slammed onto the yellow dome from four different directions.

"Disperdorius!" Harry yelled as he swung his staff. Runes flared as it impacted the shield. Purple beams shot out of the redhead's eyes. And the demon with the red sword also fired lightning.

Acting on instinct I charged forward and hit the shield with my lightsaber.

Energy crackled as the magical shield shattered.

"Incompetence!" Tessa snarled at Namshiel. Blurring, she jerked to the side, but not before then the left half of her torso exploded. Shrieking, she fell down in a gout of blood, entrails, and shattered chitin.

A fraction of a second later was a booming echo of some sort of immense gun.

"Sniper!" Vuko shouted as he slammed to the ground and dragged Tessa's fractured form.

Namshiel lifted a clenched hand, yellow filaments extended from his fingertips, and the shield began to raise. I noted, with some confusion, that he seemed to hold a pair of black shells in one palm. Something about them struck me as wrong. However, the grenades and other gunfire starting to rake across the dais distracted me.

More worryingly, the redhead had pounced up and was clawing at Vuko and the wounded Denarian. Her talons sunk though the armor and into Tessa's leg. Vuko's head blew apart, followed by another boom from that sniper.

Mandibles snapping, Tessa pointed and shot Ranma away with a burst of glossy black shadows. However, the redhead had hooked her claws behind the Denarian's gastrocnemius muscle, and when she got pulled off it flayed the calf muscle right off Tessa's tibia.

Suit and pants ripped and shredded as Vuko tore out of his skin. His human form was replaced by a titanic wolfman who towered over the others. There was a meaty splat as the wolfman's head grew back. It was a hairless, skinless mess, but mad intelligence shone in those golden eyes.

Tessa flopped down. "Change of orders, kill the succubus-spawn!" she ordered as Vuko scooped her up and ran off. The sniper hit the bounding wolfman again, blasting a hole in his chest, but the creature kept running.

My blade wavered. Harry was snarling and blasting at Namshiel, meanwhile Ranma had launched herself at the retreating wolfman with his mantis-girl cargo.

Sword up, I edged around the makeshift dais. I could now see the backside and almost laughed at how rough the pile of bricks and cinderblocks actually was.

For an instant, the air seemed to still. The screams and gunfire retreated into the distance. Namshiel flexed his fingers, glowing tendrils waving. The fingers to Harry's right hand clenched over his staff. The runes glowed white as frost started to form on his duster.

The moment, if it had existed, popped and as one the demon girls burst forward.

Skull-like face grinning, Namshiel snapped the castanets in his hand. The beat he rang out was rhythmic and somehow managed to ring over the din. Dread grew in my heart.

With his other hand, he fired a gout of burning embers that struck against Dresden's shield. However, my attention was on the shimmering threads that had extended out from the Denarian's fingers as he continued the beat.

Eviscerated and chopped wolfmen began to rise out of the green miasma. Their faces were slack, well those that had faces. Several that stood up were headless. Many were missing limbs. Blood still pumped and oozed from wounds but it was clear their hearts were no longer beating of their own volition.

"Zombie werewolves?" Harry cried. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" he screamed as he slammed his staff against Namshiel and blasted him with a wall of force.

The Denarian skidded back.

"You happy playing drummer boy while Tessa runs?" Harry asked as he hit Namshiel again.

"You wouldn't understand, pretender."

"I understand that someone sprung you from the penalty box," Harry grinned savagely. "I'd also bet that someone had to suggest this, this trip, this ritual to Mantis girl. Gee, I wonder who."

I missed Namshiel 's response as an undead wolf was lurching towards me. It had lost an arm, one leg ended in a stump, an eye was torn out, and much of its chest was simply gone. But it was moving, necromantic energies fought with its innate regeneration as the creature tried to bring itself forward.

My Sword went through the beast. And then I had to cut it again. The black haired demon girl nearly bumped into me.

Her willowy frame was a bit taller than me, and even in her armored vest and skirt she looked slender. Her red eyes burned with concentration and her katana sizzled with blood.

"Ukyou, Nabiki, protect the wizard. Akane, Misako, area denial!" she ordered as her eyes met mine. She then nodded to me then waggled the tip of her sword at Namshiel.

Swallowing, I nodded.

The orange-haired demon girl had loaded on a new belt of grenades. She gave a maniacal laugh, as she waded through the zombie wolves. I could only spare a glance at the surreal moment. She took out dozens of the undead things, but more kept coming. It looked worrisome when she got overwhelmed by a mob. Until she started screaming with rage as she started beating them with her grenade launcher and cutting through them with her tail and talons.

Her blue-haired companion was a bit more reserved, and I could see more of the redhead's precision fighting style. This time, the hits were all about dismemberment and structural damage. Which made sense: a zombie was a lot less dangerous if it couldn't reach you.

But my attention was more focused on keeping my organs on the inside. The Sword flashed and lupine bodyparts flew. One wolfman, its pelt almost burned off, slammed into me. Its companion who was missing its head and left clawed at me with its right.

Talons hooked into my armored vest as I tried to pull away. Then the whole arm was shredded into bloody slices as the black-haired demon struck with her katana. She then turned her blade and fried the skinless zombie wolf with a burst of lightning.

As she did that, I saw another group make a beeline towards her back.
It was led by a snapping, legless wolf that rapidly ran forward on its hands. The image would have been comical but not for its fangs, or its charging, and slightly less mangled, companions.

I lowered my Sword and there was a burst of light and a holy chorus that cut through the cacophony. The wolves slowed. Their racing, terminator-like pace reduced to a twitching shamble. I tightened my grip and met them, exploiting the opportunity.

As my Sword scythed through the mob, I felt the air chill. Billowing clouds of ice spilled out as Dresden fought against Namshiel. If I had more time, I might have been able to study the magical energies the Winter Wizard and the Denarian sorcerer were using against each other.

I was somewhat familiar with Harry's spells, and he was rapidly shifting between them, alternating between defense and offense. Though, his aggression seemed to be ramping up. I could feel his frustration grow as Namshiel kept neutralizing his attacks. His quips were certainly getting more disjointed. For some reason, he was ranting about Captain America's sidekick Bucky.

Glowing threads writhing out, Namshiel raised his hand; the one that wasn't giving a steady zombie-controlling beat. The blonde demoness shot him. His shield flickered and blood spurted out his side.

But a hail of bricks and stone blocks were ripped from the dais and flew out. A few hit the demon girls, but most launched at Harry. For a moment his shield bracelet held, then one of the glowing tendrils flicked against his wrist and cut the strap off. The bracelet with its tiny metal shields fell.

Dresden's shield dissipated. "You cheating, Red-Skull knockoff!" he cried. I could tell he was trying to restart the spell, but then the rest of the bricks and heavy stone blocks slammed into him.

Harry was pushed back and hit the altar with a crunch. The duster gave a lot of protection, but there were limits to what it could do, especially when faced against basic blunt trauma. Still, Harry was stirring. He was a stubbornly tough man, and that was before he went all Winter.

However, I was certain he had several fractured rib bones. The question was if his lung had been punctured or if he had any lacerations to his spleen liver, or kidneys. A puncture to his aorta was also possible, but there wasn't much I could do if that happened.

Well, not as a doctor anyway.

As the Denarian charged down the dais and flew towards the altar, two demon girls intercepted him on either flank just as he crossed the ring of standing stones. The blonde one, Ukyou, aimed her bulky, yet oddly compact, rifle and with an ear-splitting roar slammed round after round against his shield.

I could actually see the heavy bullets splash and flicker. Each looked as big around as my thumb. The shield shimmered and the instant before it collapsed, the littlest of the demons flipped in. Nabiki carried two long knives that were made out of the same ominous red metal as that Sith katana.

The pale-blue haired demon flicked down with both blades. One caught on a bone spur that jutted out of Namshiel wrist. It sparked and deflected. However, the other one came down right through the carpal bones.

The Denarian's hand tumbled to the flagstones. The castanets stopped clicking. Hate flared in all of Namshiel's eyes as he whipped up those glowing filaments in his remaining hand.

Meanwhile my job got.... well a bunch of the necromantic wolves did flop down like puppets with their strings cut off. But just as many continued their ravenous attacks, and a considerable minority simply loped off into the woods.

I stabbed forward and sliced a mangled wolfman through the thorax and into the vertebrae. This was the risk one took when stopping a necromantic drum beat.

See, the rhythmic beating isn't what animates the undead. It's what binds the undead to the necromancer's will. Remove that control and... well the zombie can go wild or just stop. I did wonder if Nabiki knew that or if she just deduced that that the beat the Denarian was making was connected to the zombies.

"Interfering phage!" Namshiel screamed as he flicked his hand. Glowing cables whipped out and snaked around Nabiki and Ukyou's necks.

Dropping her gun, which fell to hang by a sling attached to her harness, Ukyou tried to claw under the noose with one hand while slicing at it with the other. Nabiki for her part simply tried to cut with her blades.

Blood began to spurt as the filaments dug in. Nariko screamed and darted forward, with me on her heels. I could see that the two girls being strangled had reached a simultaneous decision and charged at Namshiel even as the filaments dug into their tracheas and sawed vertebra.

I grimly noted that Namshiel was putting most of his pressure on the front of their necks. If he had concentrated on the sides, the two demons would already have been bleeding out. So, he wanted them to suffer first.

That's when Harry gave a berserk scream and blasted Namshiel with a wall of blue flames. The Denarian's hair caught aflame and his skeleton-like body started to char.
Harry bolted forward, nearly running on four limbs body slammed the Denarian.

He stabbed with the end of his staff and pinned Namshiel's remaining hand against the hard stone. The filaments went limp and the other demons went to their injured companions.

And then Namshiel smiled. His lank hair writhed, and more filaments shot out. Harry blocked, but one slashed over his left eye. Blood poured out. He lifted his staff lifted and the Denarian flicked a hand.

The two began to brawl. The occasional magical blast came out but they seemed more content on battering each other. It came down to the snarling Winter mantle versus the strength provided by one of the Fallen.

But that wasn't what was really happening.

I ran as fast as I could and somehow managed to keep pace with the demonic swordswoman. She fired a burst of lightning. It sparked over the Denarian's back and he stumbled.

Shining filaments wrapped around two of the standing stones and pulled them down. Harry flipped to the side, and dodged out of the way of one. But not the other.

There was a sickening whump.

The better part of a thousand pounds of stone landed on Harry's right leg. The staff fell from his hands. His scream cut across the battlefield. Still sparking from the demon's attack, Namshiel lurched closer. Harry fired a cone of ice, but Namshiel dodged to the side and kicked him in the left arm.

Sharp bone spurs on the Denarian's foot flayed Harry's hand well into the metacarpal bones, fingers dangled crookedly. Harry looked up at the Denarian and started to laugh.

"Foolish pretender," Namshiel hissed. "You have lost."

"Nah, I've got friends," Harry said, looking past Denarian, at me.

And that's when I swung my Sword and took Namshiel's head off at the shoulders. The demon at my side immediately followed with a stab that pierced through the Denarian's heart.

Namshiel flopped to the ground. There was still more gunfire and snarling wolves. However, the demon girls seemed to have it in hand, even if Nabiki and Ukyou looked wobbly and rather ashen grey.

"Make sure he's dead," I ordered the swordswoman as I rushed to Harry's side. "And don't you dare touch any silver coins that fall out," I ordered over my shoulder, pointing with my Sword.

"They've got more sense than that," Harry gasped.

"Good to know," I said. My blade retracted, and I slipped the Sword into a vest pocket. As I pulled my medical kit off my vest, I took stock of him. "Okay, Harry... you're in a bad spot, but I'm here."

"They're good girls," he added as blood wept down his face.

I glanced at his eye. It was bad, but the blood wasn't spurting. No, the mess of his hand and leg.... the blood loss there seemed to be the priority.

I ripped a pair of tourniquets out of their packages. Emergency medical science had evolved over the years. When I was in med school, tourniquets were seen as a measure of last resort. The sense back then was "Oh my god, you'll lose the limb if you use one of those!"

I did his arm first, and cinched above the wrist. He didn't scream much. I did hear someone should for a medic. That made me smile as I wound the windlass-like tightener on the tourniquet's strap and locked it in place. I then took out a dressing and started to package his left hand as best as I could. I tried not to think of the mess the Denarian had made of his fingers, or at how little chance there was they could be saved.

Now, medical science has gotten better, and people realized that there was still some blood flow that got to the limbs, no matter how hard you strapped down. And really, it was more important to stop the damn bleeding. Stop the bleeding, keep the heart beating, keep them breathing, get them to the hospital.

I exhaled as I tried to get under Harry's leg. One of the demons, Akane, came up and actually started digging underneath his thigh so I could pass the strap through.

Of course today.... worrying about losing a limb might be moot. I looked him over and made a decision. Out came the needle with some pain juice. I scribbled out the time and dosage on a tag and pinned it to his shirt. I then made similar notes on the tourniquets.

This time, when I tightened down the tourniquet I really had to clamp down. Leg wounds were a bitch. The femoral artery was a monster to get under control. Even if it wasn't damaged, it still pumped a turnpike of blood.

There was a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw a short man in grey armor with dusky brown skin. He had a large medical pouch over one shoulder. There were more soldiers behind him.

I could also see another blonde demoness. She was tall and had cold blue eyes. She reminded me of that mercenary that Marcone had hired. There was recognition in her eyes. I suppose Harry had told them about the Knights, about me.

"I'm Corporal Barnes," the man said. His eyes were a dark green and looked over Harry with a clinical detachment. "I can takeover for you, Sir,"

"I'm a doctor," I said, a bit briskly.

Barnes glanced over to the tall blonde demon who nodded.

His demeanor immediately changed as he slipped on a set of gloves. "Of course, Sir, I'll assist. My kit's got some more to it than yours," he diffidently said as he opened the satchel he had been carrying.

We worked together for a bit. I idly noticed that there were more people entering the clearing. Some of the bodies were being dispatched and moved, creating a path. And suddenly there was silence. Sure, there was still the occasional gunshot, but now their presence stuck out. Maybe I was imagining the background being quieter than it was, my ears were still ringing. I made a note to get myself checked for tinnitus.

More than my own hearing, my focus was on Dresden and taking care of him. I'll admit Barnes was good. The man seemed to have an experienced hand at trauma care, and he had more equipment. "Okay... I think we've done what we can," I exhaled checking Dresden over after bandaging his head wound.

Barnes nodded, but he was talking into his radio. I noticed a group of soldiers rushing up with a stretcher.

Harry had slipped unconscious which wasn't a great sign. But on the upside, he seemed pretty free of concussions. His breathing and heart rate were good too.
I would have preferred to get a better idea of his oxygen saturation but the pulse oximetry device of Barnes' wasn't giving good readings. It was times like this that I hated how his powers ruined MRIs and similar diagnostic machines.

"I think we can start getting ready to move him." My eyes went to the stone that was still crushing his leg.

Barnes nodded.

"Ideas?" I asked.

If the medic was surprised by the doctor consulting his opinion, he hid it well. "Double check that tourniquet, have the girls lift the rock, slip him onto the stretcher," he then hissed through his teeth. "Hospital's fifteen klicks to the north. He safe to fly?"

I winced. The question was more than just his own health. Harry's magic was hell on technology. I didn't know what would happen while he was unconscious. He had flown on helicopters before, but what if he had a burst of power? These soldiers seemed to work with the supernatural, maybe their systems were hardened.

But maybe not. I did the math. Under normal circumstances that was twenty minutes travel time, half that if an ambulance really burned rubber.

"Too risky; drive him," I ordered.

I looked up and saw the demon girls had closed in and were looking at the fallen stone. I saw the bandages around the necks of two of them and winced with guilt. I had focused on Harry and forgotten there were other injured.

Swapping gloves, I got up and approached. Nabiki, the young blue-haired demon was actually shorter than me. "It's okay, I'm a doctor," I said as I inspected her and then Ukyou.

Their wounds had already been sealed with clotting powder and bandaged up. It was crude meat-ball surgery, but I suppose one advantage of Namshiel's fine filaments was that instead of tearing wide lacerations the slices had created narrow, if deep, wound tracks.

Still... the girls looked pretty ashen-grey and the tops of their vests were soaked in blood. I checked their bandages, but was loath to really fiddle with them. The important thing was they weren't bleeding out now, and I wasn't going to risk reopening those wounds. Certainly not here, let a medical team in a hospital deal with that mess.

"You girls must heal pretty well?" I tried to ask conversationally. Poor bedside manner was one of the reasons that I had to transfer my residency.

That and I had problems detaching myself from the pain and suffering of others. Too much empathy was a bad thing in a medical doctor. It made one indecisive, burn out, or quit. It made me switch to a medical field where all my "patients" were beyond any pain.

Giving a cute smile, Nabiki nodded. The blonde, Ukyou gave a more jaded gaze.

I winced. "It's okay, I know it hurts to talk. I'd prefer it if you didn't aggravate things, not until you're fully healed."

The two demons looked at me flatly.

"I'll make sure of that," the swordswoman said, stepping up to me.

"Uh, thanks," I glanced down and noticed that Nariko's katana had a metal grip and scabbard. Both had been anodized, but the colors were hard to make out in the dark.

"Nariko-" Ukyou tried to speak.

The older demon girl simply narrowed her red eyes. "No. Not until you've healed." Nariko's expression softened. "It won't take very long anyway."

The two girls begrudgingly bowed, using their waists not their necks, and stepped aside.

There was a loud rumbling as an armored vehicle of some kind backed in. It came as close to the dais and remaining standing stones as possible. The number of soldiers had started to increase, as well as the amount of vehicles.

I went back to Harry; Nariko and her sisters followed.

I talked with Barnes as we move the stretcher as far under Harry as we could get it. Tourniquets and bandages were checked. Barnes also checked Dresden's IV and updated the list of drugs we'd given him. The demons got into position.

Barnes and the demon girls all looked to me.

"Move it," I ordered.

Over a thousand pounds of stone lifted and... well... yes, technically, Harry's leg was still attached to the rest of him, but it had been crushed between the fallen standing stone and a thick paving stone.

I pushed the image from my mind and instead focused on ensuring he didn't bleed out. Mostly, it was making sure the strap above his knee stayed tight. Barnes pulled him all the way onto the stretcher and the stone slammed back to the ground.

Two more soldiers took each end of the stretcher and lifted it while Barnes and I fussed over Harry. His heartbeat and breathing were still good, and he wasn't bleeding much. All things considered...

I stepped back as he was loaded into the back of the armored truck.

"Doctor, wait!" Nariko said as she ran up.

I stopped.

The demon eyed me. "You are a Knight of the Cross, yes?"

My hand brushed against the hilt of my Sword. "Yes."

"Excellent," Nariko pulled a cube out a vest pocket and dropped it into my gloved hand. It landed with a metallic clink. About twice the size of a jewelry box, the cube had some recessed buttons and a type of latch.

"Uh." Even with my gloves I could feel the skin on my palm crawl. "Namshiel's coin is in there?" I asked, noticing that she was wearing leather and Kevlar gloves.

Nariko nodded. "You can deal with this?" she asked, hope in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah..." I said as my other hand went from my Sword and to a pouch in my vest. I pulled out a white silk bag embroidered with silver Stars of David. The cube slipped into the bag. I pulled the string, said the Prayer for Protection, and then feeling the bag tingle and hum, I stuffed it back into a pouch.

Oddly enough, the demon was openly relieved to be rid of the thing.

"You didn't touch it?" I asked.

Shaking her head, Nariko looked horrified and vaguely insulted.

"Good, good," I shook my head. Michael had taught me how to secure and contain the Coins, at least temporarily, before getting them to the Church. However, having a demon, wings, horns and all giving one to me wasn't part of the training.

Okay, technically Michael did spend a fair bit of time giving me advice on how to talk to the hosts. How to get a person to give up the coin and turn away from the Denarians. Saving those enthralled by the Fallen was the true purpose of the Knights. And Sanya, and Harry for that matter, showed that someone could give up a coin and go on to do great things.

But... that wasn't the quite the same as having a demure demon girl drop a coin into my palm.

My spine tingled as a feeling of anger and frustration washed over me.

I turned and saw the redheaded demon step out of the shadows. Her jaw was set and her armor was battered and singed. Ranma's tail flicked behind her in little twitches and jerks. The armor on her right leg from shin to knee had been burned off, revealing blistered skin and her flesh was torn enough that I would have sworn she had a compound fracture if not for the fact that she was putting weight on her leg.

By my guess, all that was pretty conclusive evidence that Tessa had escaped. She was like a cockroach. I wasn't sure if it was by teleporting, turning into a swarm of insects, or maybe she just kept riding that giant wolf.

Nabiki and Ukyou rushed to her and the three hugged. The redhead's expression softened and the air tingled with relief. But there was still the undercurrent of anger.

Looking into the armored truck, Ranma's mood changed. Her anger waned and her face bore an expression of sad recognition. "Poor, dumb Harry," she whispered.

She then turned to me. Deep purple eyes locked onto me and she bowed her head. "Thank you."

I shrugged. "He's my friend."

"Yes, he spoke highly of you," the tall blonde demon said stepping up. "Doctor Butters."

I noticed Barnes climb into the vehicle and give me an expectant look. 'You know me?" I asked.

"He gave us the descriptions of you, Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Sanya, and others just in case. He said you had the habit of... appearing when needed," she explained.

I shook my head. "Yeah..." I moved towards the truck.

"A moment," the blonde held her hand. "I understand you wanting to be at Mr. Dresden's side. You know his medical needs best. But you have more options you may not be aware of. Very useful all of them."

I hesitated by the door. I could see something shining by the flagstones.

"You can ride with Harry and provide his medical care. And there are plenty more waiting at the hospital. You can stay here and help make sure all the Pattern L's, all the wolfmen have been accounted for, or you can stay here and help with the townsfolk."

My stomach clenched. "What happened?"

The blonde's face darkened. "My sister and Mr. Dresden did stop Miss Lartessa's ritual, but not before considerable casualties. We're already overstretched checking out the town, the army is sending their own people and local medical is coming, but we can use whatever help."

I nodded to Barnes and hopped off the truck. The man returned the nod, pulled another medical satchel off the vehicle's wall, and tossed it to me. I saw Ranma glance at two of her daughters. The wounded demons jumped into the truck, taking my place. They pulled the rear door shut. As the armored truck raced off, I ran over to the object I had spotted.

"Okay, how can I help?" I asked after going to the flagstones and pocketing Harry's shield bracelet.

***************
[[

Sight returned. I looked around and knew it was a dream. For one there was no pain as I walked. For another I was walking.

Also, I was in a familiar darkened room. Though this one looked a bit like the bare warehouse I'd been in a few nights ago.

Ah.

In the center of the room I saw a lanky man working with a brush and a can of purple paint. He was over six foot tall and covered in scars. He also looked just like me and was drawing a ten foot circle on the concrete.

"Lend a hand?" My double asked as he got up. Bearded and wearing a boonie hat, he still bore the tacticool armor and tan cargo pants look. There was still something frustratingly familiar about the whole getup. Like a reverse deja vu. I pushed it aside, I had bigger fish to fry.

I eyed the Winter snowflake patches on each shoulder.

"We could use some help," my unconscious side said. He tapped a medical kit strapped to his vest.

"How bad is it?" I asked.

He snorted. "You think you'd be having this dream if it were good news?

Oh. That... that was true. "What are you doing?"

He put the brush down and looked at me like I was an idiot.

The man poked me in the left arm. "We are not mission effective," he said drawing out the last word.

I sighed. I had gotten badly battered in that fight. Still, I saved Ranma's daughters and Butters was there...

"And I'm sure he helped us. I'm also sure we didn't die," my double drawled.

"You want to call Mab."

He thrust the brush at me. "No you want to call Mab."

I sighed, again.

"Set up the focus items, I'll get the circles and pentacles."

I eyed him. Really, I was doing both that and setting up the items, but... mentally compartmentalizing was vital for doing high end magic.

As my unconscious self drew in the purple pentacle, I visualized the various affinity items. Five for myself. Five for Mab.

I repeated the ones I'd used in flesh and blood two days ago. For Mab, I envisioned a silver tiara, a sidhe bracelet with opals and sapphires, a crystal of shadows, a crystal of ice, and a communications stone.

For myself, I visualized my k-bar knife, my mother's silver pentacle necklace, my blasting rod pieces, my revolver, and the matching communications stone. I also held in my mind the magical connections each part represented and linked them in the greater pentacle.

Meanwhile my double, drew a larger white circle around the purple circle to lock out any magical interference.

See, one of the secrets about magic is that you don't need fancy tools or special items to do it. Granted, that myth was perpetuated mostly by Practitioners. In the days when witches and mages were hunted, you could always point to a decided lack of wizarding gear as evidence of innocence.

On the other hand, focus items made magic a lot easier. Most of the time, the items worked as a sort of mental shortcut, a way to define and hold something to manipulate energy and channel it.

You could do without, just... that meant all the energy would be flowing directly through your mind. But I was a professional, and this wasn't the first time I'd done a summoning like this.... without a net.

Now... on the downside I didn't have Ranma and her daughters helping "boost the signal" and I didn't have tangible foci items help prop me up.

On the upside... I knew such a spell could work. I paused to clear my mind. I walked around the circle and inspected the items. Shifting them a bit, refining them, centering my mind.

My other self stepped back.

He bowed his head to me. I licked my lips. Dream or not... this was still risky. I was trying a summoning in my own head. What if it didn't work? Or... what if it did?

"Mab!" I cried. "Mab, Queen of Air and Darkness, Queen of the Winter Court! Mab, I bid you to come forth!"


Power and will throbbed. I didn't have the support of a demon queen, a demon to represent ice, and one to represent shadows. But I did have plenty of Winter power. Might as well have that troublesome Mantle do some good

The room dimmed.... I pushed the spell. Frost began to grow on the purple lines.

Shadows darkened in the center of the pentacle. An ethereal image appeared. Made out of shades of blue, the figure shimmered a bit.

It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut and not make a Princess Leia joke.

My doppelganger, on the other hand, knelt, black kneepad hitting the concrete. He had unslung his rifle and held it before him like a knight offering his liege a sword.

"Uh... hi."

Mab tilted her head fractionally. Slit, ice-cold eyes studied me, looked through me.

I rubbed my chin. "So... are you real or are you just another hallucination like him?" I pointed to the me who was slowly getting back to his feet.

Mulberry colored lips quirked into bare amusement. "I am no figment of your mind, dear Knight. I expected more independence on your part. This constant hand holding is... not what I expected of you."

"We're not getting any more help," my double murmured.

"What? I'm her knight. Why can't she help?" I turned to her. "Why can't you help? Hells Bells, how bad is it?"

Her lips quirked. "Really? You would pay for answers you already know."

I crossed my arms. "Fine. The first question."

Mab took a step in the center of the pentacle and looked between myself and my bewared double. "You already have the full measure of Winter power. It is up to you what to do with it."

I groaned. Faerie couldn't lie, but that didn't mean they had to be straightforward.

"You're her knight. She's already given you her power," the other me stated.

"That's it? I'm not asking for more power."

"But you are," he countered.

I glared at Mab. "So, that's it? I serve you as Knight, I get hurt and then you toss me aside once I break."

Her gaze pinned me in place. My limbs started to go cold. My right leg and left arm felt especially numb. My vision began to blur. "I have not relinquished my claim on you. You are still my Knight. You will serve me," she stated, her words clipped, harsh.

"So, no new deal?" I gasped. "You've got the power to heal me. You healed me after I got shot."

"What would you bargain?" Mab grinned. "I have your body. You already consent to serve me. I doubt you'd give up your family, tempting as that may be, to me."

"No. You know better than to make that mistake."

She gave a tiny nod, like a fencer acknowledging a hit.

I exhaled. "What if I'm too hurt to be a knight? What good am I to you as a cripple? Or dead?"

Mab smiled. Even with her rendered as a lousy hologram her delicately-pointed teeth shined. "You live. Your friends are skilled; you are in no immediate danger of passing. Excepting your own foolishness.

"If you continue to live, then in time you may heal. Perhaps this will teach you caution and to not abuse your gifts. Or perhaps teach you to be more clever with said gifts."

"People will die."

"Yes, they have. Yes, they will." Her tone was flat, unforgiving.

"I have to help!"

She gave that bird-like tilt to her head. "You recruited allies did you not?" she sounded genuinely confused. "Your successful diplomacy bodes well for your future."

I grumbled.

"Have they not come to support your mission?"

I stared. Realization dawned. "You don't want me to fight Tessa, do you?"

Her eyes hardened and I saw her fingers flex. "I was not the one that sent you here. I would not have sent you here." Her composure returned. "Still, I must make the most of this."

I shook my head. "And you'll stand back and ensure I can't fight."

Mab chuckled. "Your slow growth continues, my knight."

I grinned. "What if I ask Mother Winter to heal me then?" I asked with false bravado. I would much, much rather talk with Molly. My former apprentice was the Winter Lady, a fae queen in her own right. But.... I was pretty sure she didn't have the power to heal me at such a distance, and even if she did Mab has blocked my communications to Molly before.

My alternate self boggled. His rifle actually fell out of his hands and clattered to the floor.

Well, that was a tell. Turns out I was a worse liar when dreaming than when awake.

Mab actually laughed. "Don't let me stop you. By all means, indebt yourself to the Winter Mother if that is your desire."

I froze. See the problem with that particular Winter Queen was threefold. First.... she made Mab look cuddly and approachable. Second.... for all her power Mother Winter has the least influence on the mortal world.

Lastly.... I was pretty darn sure she was the one that sent me here. And I knew she was less forgiving of failure than even Mab was.

"Is that all my knight? Mab clasped her hands. "I expect matters here are concluded, and that you fulfill the interests of the Winter Court. Are we clear?"

***************


I woke up to an old friend: Pain. I've been shot, drowned, burned, stabbed, bitten, clawed, beaten, and battered. This was likely yet another reason why I didn't like hospitals.

On the upside, I had plenty of experience and ample mental focus. You couldn't do heavy magic without the ability to keep mental constructs perfectly aligned. And Hells Bells, I'd just summoned Mab in my head, so a little pain was nothing.

I was able to work past the pain and the throbbing in my head. My hands hurt, so did my feet; that seemed good. I gasped and blinked. My visions seemed limited to just my right eye; that seemed bad. My chest had the bloated-post surgery feeling.

Also the Winter Mantle helped ignore pain and dampen things down. It was the least the stupid thing could help me with after getting me in trouble.

I then noticed that someone was saying my name.

Fighting a bit of vertigo, I looked around the room. From what I could see without sitting up, it looked like a standard hospital room. Odd. I half expected the concrete and steel of a Company facility. I turned my head and let the disorientation in my vision swim a bit. All my gear was piled on my table. My shield bracelet was draped over my holstered revolver.

I then spotted a familiar short man in blue scrubs. A surgical hair net fought against his springy wild hair.

"Butters?"

"Hey, Harry..." he said with a soft smile. He then walked up and started checking me over. His bedside manner had gotten better. Which was good, as mental focus or no, broken ribs sucked.

"How's my favorite doctor-knight doing?" I asked, flexing my right hand.

"Busy," he absently noted, a frown crossing his face.

"They got you uh... autopsying?" I asked. Butters was a coroner.

"Once the... rush died down," he admitted. "They were pretty short-handed in the first twelve hours. I mean the town..." He looked out the window.

I turned. Huh, a window. I tried to sit up, and with Butter's gentler help managed to get something of a view, without much fresh pain. It really wasn't worth it.

Outside was a field, a river, and, then rising from the horizon, a plume of greasy-gray smoke. Given how far away it was, that had to be a giant smoldering pyre. A pair of helicopters sat in the field and the roads within sight were cluttered with military vehicles.

My eyes.... my eye widened. Memory flashed. I remember the things burning... the undead wolves. Thornyboy pulling down the standing stones, him standing over me, kicking me.

"The town? But we stopped the ritual."

Butters gave a weak smiled. "You stopped it after it had started. Those closest to the circle..."

"How many?"

Butters looked away.

"How many?" I repeated, anger edging my voice.

Butters' tone turned clinical. "A quarter of the population of Lomar is dead. Another dozen will die; a couple dozen might make it. There's severe internal hemorrhaging. It was like something was trying to rip their hearts out."

I swallowed. Lomar was a small town but it still had a few hundred people.

"If we're lucky we won't break into the triple digits," he gave a weary grin.

"Tessa will feel every death," I promised.

Butters simply nodded, too tired to argue. "I have no idea how they'll cover this up," he absently said.

"They might not," I muttered.

Butters blinked behind his glasses. "Really? I know this is Canada and all, but, even up here, people don't believe in the supernatural."

I chuckled, without humor. "This ain't our world. Out here shoggoths have already attacked a capital city in full daylight."

Butters stared.

"Seriously, I saw the footage myself. Giant blob monster versus tanks."

Removing his surgical cap, Butters ran a hand through his wild hair. "Is that why the army's working with you. Working with demons?"

"Yeah... the wheels are coming off." I nodded. "I dunno if the government will admit to it being a Fallen Angel and wolfmen trying to summon old gods, or if their cover story will merely be 'another incursion of Squid men from beyond the stars'."

He stared at me. "You're serious." After studying me, his shoulders slumped. "You are. Jesus, Harry what kind of mess is this?"

I laughed, bitterly.

Bitters winced.

"How are Ranma's girls?" I asked, my hand clenching.

"The demons?" he shook his head. "They're fine. Their neck wounds healed up nicely."

I frowned at the emphasis he put on the first word.

"The town... is it always like this?" He looked me in the eye. There was something haunted, almost guilty, about his gaze. I didn't know what he did after I got hurt. I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know.

I glanced aside before the Soulgaze could start. "Sometimes it's worse, but this... this is a big one."

A hand went to his side. I could tell that he was touching the handle of his Sword through the scrubs. He shifted and straightened his stance.

"Most of them lived. It could have been worse," he chewed his lip and glanced back at the door. "I'm sorry Harry. I'm bad at this bedside manner. Part of why I'm not a real doctor."

"Knock it off, Butters."

"The merc's doc, Covington, is here. She could walk you through better. I just helped the medics and the local surgeons..."

"You're stalling."

The short man sighed. "The good news is you're not going to die."

"Ah," that was good news. But I already knew that. Mab told me so.

Unfortunately... I looked around myself and saw what was... missing.

"And more... good news... your lung was reinflated. It's still touch and go what with those broken ribs. But they'll heal."

He sighed. "More... good news is that we saved two of your fingers, and part of a thumb. I knew you'd want us to do everything we could do to keep... as much as possible."

I nodded. My hand, my right hand twitched. Of course Thornyboy got me in the left hand; it was just starting to work right.

Still, I winced at Butter's leaden tone. Butters hated seeing people hurt. It's what made him transfer to pathology. But here... he seemed detached. Again, I wondered just what he had seen. What made him look at my mangled limbs with... professional detachment.

He exhaled and forced a smile. "We'll get you though this Harry. I won't say you've faced worse, but you have faced pretty bad."

When my left hand had gotten burned years back, the docs had recommended amputation, saying it would never heal. They didn't know I was a wizard. Practitioners lived longer than normal humans. We also healed better. Butters knew that. He knew that eventually I'd heal just about anything. That was the whole reason I didn't have the degenerative joint, muscle, and brain damage of a professional boxer, racecar driver, or offensive lineman.

However... there were two key stipulations "eventually" and "just about". It took me the better part of a decade to regain functionality on my hand. I looked down at the wrapped stump on the end of my left arm.

It was also why I could push on the Winter Mantle and not have it burn me out... well not as long as I didn't push too hard.

I doubted I could regrow fingers. Still... I had gotten used to having a barely functional left hand. I could do it again... if that were the only thing.

I glanced further down. "And the leg?"

The short doctor just looked sad. "We had to take it off just below the knee."

My teeth must've clenched and my gaze must have gone wild.

Butters stepped back and he held up his hands. "Easy Harry. We did everything we could! It was just..."

"I could have..."

He gave a sad little shake of the head. "No, the damage was too extensive. I was there. I know what you can do Harry. It would have been.... "

His shoulders rolled forward. "To be honest there wasn't much we had to remove... It was just pulverized meat. The bones... they were literally broken into hundreds of pieces."

My hand went to the bandage over my left eye.

Butters immediately stepped in. "Don't," his voice was sharp, full of authority.

"Did I lose it?"

"Nearly." His expression turned bittersweet. "We can put that under the 'good news' column. If it if doesn't get infected, at least. We will need to get you to a specialist."

He stepped back from the bed. "Anyone else... You're blind. Legally blind that eye at best. Probably fully blind. But..."

"I'll get better?"

Butters shrugged. "You've got better odds than anyone else. Still, an eye's not like a hand. It's a lot more complicated and delicate."

"Good thing it's my left then. I'd hate to have someone confuse me with Donar Vadderung."

Butters raised an eyebrow "The head of that European mercenary company? The one that blonde Valkyrie-like lady Marcone hired works for?"

"That's the one. How awkward would that be? Us going to a party with the same type of eye patch? Good thing his is over his right eye," I rambled.

I saw the trepidation in his expression. He was a Knight of the Cross. He knew what happened to Shirou and that Michael was crippled by Tessa. And here I was...

He had to wonder what his own odds would be.

His uncertainty lessened as the little doctor stood straighter. "It's okay Harry, I'll finish this."

I had to smile. I opened my mouth but before I could speak there was a knock on the door.

It opened, revealing armed mercenaries guarding the hallway. A slight redhead stepped in. She was wearing her purple blouse, black skirt, and leather jacket combo.

Butters edged slightly away from her.

Knights knew such things. I wasn't sure if it was a sense they gained or outright info from the "home office", but they knew when someone wasn't human.

Of course, there was also that Butters had seen the brood queen in battle. That did tend to leave an impression.

Now, I wasn't worried about a supernatural throw-down. There was that much at least. For starters, Ranma didn't have a reason to attack Butters. And Butters...

Well, something to keep in mind is that the purpose of the Knights of the Cross isn't to destroy the Denarians. Yes, they stand in opposition to the Fallen. Yes, they will be sent stop the evil plans of the coin bearers. But their main purpose is to save the bearers, to free those in thrall of the coins.

It's a bit of a thankless task. Given that, many of the bearers have been completely twisted by the coins, or started out twisted enough to think palling around with a Fallen was a good idea.

However, that was in line with the limitations of a Knight. They had great, holy power... as long as it was used righteously. The instant a Sword was used counter to its purpose, it stopped being a Holy Sword and became merely a sword. This was most obvious in Butters' case. I mean his Sword didn't even have a physical blade.

All in all, I wasn't too worried about Butters trying to slash open Ranma. Well, as long as she didn't do anything crazy first.

The door closed behind her. Ranma gave a slight smile to me.

She then clasped her hands and bowed deeply to the wiry man. "Thank you for your assistance Dr. Butters."

"Harry's my friend," Butters said a bit forcefully, his ears pinking slightly at the attention.

"Indeed, but you helped more than just him." She then turned and bowed to me. "I'm sorry this happened, Harry, but thank you for saving my girls."

"How are Nabiki and Ukyou? I heard they're doing well."

She slipped closer and sat on the edge of the bed. "They have their heads, I'll send them up to visit after their shift is over. And thank you for saving them." she bowed her head.

Lifting her gaze, her eyes met mine, a sad expression on her face.

I realized that she'd been in this position many times before. She had power; she could help but... she had to hold herself back.

"What's next?" I asked.

"Your research was spot on. They needed to 'prime the pump' with a lesser summoning."

I snorted. A lesser summoning that would have wiped out a town. Even with a botched one, a third of Lomar's residents weren't coming back.

"We hit 'em here, so they won't be able to jumpstart the big ritual for a few days at least. We've got time. The eggheads think they'll either have to do the big ritual solo or try another 'little' ritual to prime the pump." She looked to Butters.

"This wasn't her main summoning?" Butters asked, looking a bit green.

" 'fraid not." She shook her head. "We find the primary summoning site, pound it to hell, stop the ritual, kill Tessa and her minions. Then doctor-knight here picks you up and you both go home."

"I can help," I stated without thinking. "I have to help."

Her lip twitched. "Yes, you can."

"Harry?" Butters cautioned. "I know you're the Winter Knight, but even the Mantle won't get you up and running...."

"What are my options?"

"You don't have time to get used to the prosthetics. Even if you hadn't lost your leg, you won't be ambulatory. Your lung would be at risk of collapsing, and then there's your ribs.

"And the hand," Ranma reminded patting my right arm.

"You gonna to suggest I stand back and do research?"

"It's important work. Not everyone gets to fight." Her expression darkened. "And, it wouldn't be a suggestion."

The Winter Mantle twitched and a growl escaped my lips.

The demon gave an indulgent smile.

"Harry... " Butters said, in a calming voice. "We don't need to do anything to keep you. All we have to do is not roll your wheelchair onto the battlefield."

"No. There's something she could do," I stated.

The redhead exhaled and lifted her shoulders. She stretched her neck. "Careful, Mr. Dresden. Be very careful."

"I saved your kids."

She smiled and held my hand. "Yes, but we both know I'd do it before today."

The contact tingled slightly. I watched as she looked me over, sizing me up. She sighed. "There's a reason members of the D-Program apply before they get injured."

"Harry, what're you talking about?" Butters asked, an edge to his voice.

The demon looked at me, expectant. "You tell him."

I shifted in the bed. "She has an offer on the table."

Butters boggled. "Dude, didn't you already take that deal? Isn't being stuck working for Mab lesson enough?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that's why I haven't asked."

Butters rubbed his neck. "Mab healed you once, have her do it again."

"Technically, she's healed me twice. And no can do." I shook my head.

"How do you know?"

I laughed. "Already asked her. She told me to hit the bench."

Butters frowned. "Uh Harry... this is the first you've been awake in over fifteen hours."

I pointed to myself. "Wizard."

The doctor gave that frustrated little expression when he learned some new twist of magic that he hadn't yet figured out.

"You're her Knight. Doesn't she need you working?" Butters demanded.

"She tortured my predecessor for years. Of course she'd think me spending a decade slowly healing is a fitting lesson in humility." I flexed my hand under Ranma's grip.

Ranma gave a thin smile.

"And what do you think?" Butters asked Ranma, a bit of accusation entering his voice.

"The most sensible option seems to be off the table," Ranma allowed.

Butters looked between us. "Well, if Mab won't heal him...."

Ranma looked down and smiled at me. "That depends on if his doctor considers him of sound mind to make an... important decision."

"Harry." Butters stated.

"Do I need to spell it out?" I asked.

Ranma squared her shoulders and placed her hands on her lap. "Yes, you should."

I glared at the demon. Then coughed. Pain struck and my vision started to blur. As I got control of the pain, Butters closed in to examine me.

Satisfied, he stepped back. "Harry, I don't know what you're planning, but you'll be in no shape to fight." He glanced out the window. "And knowing you, you've got some crazy, ill-thought-out plan to make yourself better. And that you're talking to a demon isn't reassuring me about this plan."

The redhead inclined her head to acknowledge the doctor's point.

Butters looked at her and sighed.

"In fairness the procedure itself isn't ill-thought out," Ranma said.

"Harry.... tell me what this plan is," Butter's voice was firm.

I winced. Partially at the accusation, partially because secret plots were catnip to wizards, but mostly because of what my idea was.

Butters crossed his arms. And for a moment I wasn't looking at a thin little medical examiner, but instead a Knight of the Cross.

I swallowed.... and exhaled. This time the cough wasn't as bad.

"She can heal me," I gestured to Ranma

"I gathered," Butters dryly remarked. "What's the catch?" he asked her.

Ranma tilted her head and gave a little smile.

"From what I gather.... the healing's a side effect ain't it?" I asked Ranma.

She nodded.

Butter's expression was flat. "You're thinking about letting her turn you."

Ranma gave a satisfied little smile.

"Uh... kinda," I admitted in a small voice.

As the only one standing, Butters looked down at us. He tapped his arms.

"You're gonna have to do better than that," Ranma stated, amused.

"Butters, I Soulgazed her."

His expression softened fractionally. "You're not totally insane. Still..." He sighed. "Harry you can Soulgaze White Court vamps. That doesn't mean they're all nice guys."

"My brother's one."

"And look at all the struggle's he's had." Butters sighed. "Just because he's an incubus..." he shook his head. "Really Harry?"

I looked down.

"With the Winter Mantle? Do you know what a combination that'd be?" Butters asked.

"Mab did make that clear," I admitted.

"She knows? Is this her idea?"

I shook my head. "No no.... it's just she told me that if I ever... stopped being the Knight. Well..."

"Oh, Harry," Butters looked down. "She'd really pick him?"

"She's the Winter Queen."

"And he'd accept?"

"She'd give him Justine."

Ranma tilted her head.

"Uh... Justine's my brother's..." I frowned. "She's my brother's. But since he's a White Court vamp..."

The succubus frowned. "And?"

"His Hunger... well it likes her too. And that causes... issues."

The redhead shook her head. "Man... the White's really got the short end of the stick."

Butters rubbed his chin. "Wait... so the Winter Queen would use the Mantle to... control Thomas's Hunger? Huh.... well if the Mantle could help one type of incubus, maybe it could help another..."

"See, it's not that bad," I said, trying to give a smile I certainly didn't feel.

Butters gave me a cross look.

Ranma chuckled

Butters scoffed. "It's still an insane idea. You're not that desperate."

"Really?" I demanded, waving my stumpy left arm. "Because right now being pretty like my brother doesn't seem like such a bad deal!"

The short man sighed again.

"You going say I don't have cause to fight Tessa?"

Butters narrowed his eyes. "I helped the soldiers and medics go through Lomar. Finding... survivors. You don't think I want revenge? To get a pound of flesh from her? But that's not why we're here." His fingers brushed the hilt of his Sword. "Not why we fight."

"Maybe you, you're a good man. I'm not a good man."

Butters laughed. "No. You're not a smart man. And if you hat up nabbing whatever dark power because you want revenge, things will get worse." He turned to Ranma. "Uh, sorry?"

"Apology accepted," the redhead shrugged. "Harry's got a point, you're the better man than him."

"Hey!" I groused.

She pointed from Butters to me. "Evil fairy queen's wizard hitman. Holy Jedi knight doctor. He's also humbler."

"Look I'm not..." Butters mumbled.

Ranma leaned forward. "You think I don't get it? The bitch loosed her goon, and he tried to garrote my daughters." The redhead's tone deepened. "And where was I? Chasing the little cockroach; she scampered off until she broke my leg so she and her shaggy friend could sprint out of Jamming range and teleport away. So, I get your anger. I get your desire to find her and rip her apart."

Her eyes flashed. "You know what I'll do to her. You know what I can do." The demon leaned closer. "The question, Mr. Dresden, is if you really want to have your anger become more like mine."

She turned to Butters. "And thank you so much for killing that bastard for me," she said with a warm smile.

I slowly shook my head. "Uh.... well I've got Thomas. He can help me..." I looked at the far wall. "I'd never hear the end of it but he could... he could help me learn how to incubus."

The redhead started to laugh. It got deeper and gained an edge.

"What's so funny? I think you'd be all about leaning on a sibling for support."

Still chuckling, Ranma shook her head. "No, no, no. You've missed something pretty important."

"What?" I blinked. Well, technically I guess it was a wink.

"Oh," Butters noted. He then snorted.

"What?" I asked.

"Harry... did you notice something about these demons?"

"What? Sure they're all pretty girls but-"

Butters looked at me like I was slow. "Five girls. You know the odds of that? Now add in the ones that scary blonde has."

I worked my jaw. In retrospect it did seem odd that all the members D Program were female....

My eye widened. I boggled at Ranma. "Really?"

The redhead crossed her legs. "It's still your decision."

"So... not an incubus." I looked down at my lower limbs. I'd gain a leg but lose a... Well, that was an interesting exchange below the waist.

The succubus smirked. " 'fraid not."

"You didn't know?" Butters ruefully shook his head. "How long have you known her?"

I groaned. "I was hoping that... maybe..." I looked up to Butters. "Look, Thomas has, like, a dozen sisters. Only sisters."

Butters raised an eyebrow.

"All of his brothers, well other than me, met with 'accidents' as they grew up. I'm not suggesting Ranma had any reason like that to explain having all girls, but it still might have been something embarrassing or personal. I thought it'd be rude to ask!"

The redhead patted my hand. "And it was endearing."

I rolled my shoulders and mulled things. Fine, I'll admit to being a bit... chivalrous. Or as Murphy would say "a bit of a chauvinistic pig." But really, turning into something like my brother was less of a change than turning into something like his... sisters.

I turned to Ranma. She wasn't anything like Lara Raith (aside from the obvious succubus stuff). For one, Lara was definitely accumulating power, leveraging her de facto control of the White Court into... something.... grander.

Meanwhile, Ranma was perfectly content to train, fight, and raise her brood. She didn't seem to have any desire for greater power and authority, despite it being foisted upon her.

I could relate to that.

"Harry," Butters stated. "You're being rash."

"How long was it between his previous injury and becoming the Winter Knight?" Ranma asked.

Butters snorted. "He made the deal in the church right after they'd gotten him strapped down. It was before I'd even arrived to help," he said, eyeing me.

I looked away.

"Oh, I picked well." The redhead looked smug.

"It doesn't have to be you," I said, petulantly.

"Really? " Her voice became cold. "Who else? One of my sisters? Daughters? Maybe a niece? Do you really think they'll go behind my back?"

Butters gave the demoness a respectful nod.

"You don't want me?" I evenly asked, and totally didn't whine.

"Please," she laughed. "It's not about what I want. You don't really want this. You didn't even know what you were asking for. Hell, you haven't thought this through at all."

I grunted. She was exaggerating. I had a plan. Sure it boiled down to: part one get healed by Ranma, part two uh...., and then part three revenge on Tessa.

Part three I was pretty solid on.

"What about when you get back to Chicago?" Butters softly asked.

"What about when I get back like this?" I demanded, not wanting to think about Murphy's reaction, or the Carpenter's or... Hells Bells, what about Maggie?

A frustrated rumble grew in the demon's chest. "He didn't think through the Winter Knight thing did he?"

"Nope," Butters said.

I frowned. Oh, I had a plan for becoming the Winter Knight. I'd save my daughter from the Red Court vamps and then... and then I'd kill myself. Well, I hired an assassin. Kincaid owed me a favor and the mercenary knew how to kill a wizard.

Though neither of us realized that Mab wouldn't let a little thing like being shot by a sniper rifle stop her from keeping her shiny new Knight.

In fact, Mab's efforts at healing me and keeping me alive after I'd been shot had... well they'd taken a lot out of her. Maybe that was why she'd told me to hit the showers this time around. She couldn't spare the mojo, or the time, to heal me. Especially not when I wasn't actually dying.

Ranma took my arm and held my hand. "This is why I want you to talk with your friend. You have an opportunity to think this over. It's not like this is a decision you can back out of." She stared into my eye.

Looking into those intense purple eyes, I wondered how much she had seen in our Soulgaze. Did she know about my plot with Kincaid?

She let go. "If you can't convince yourself to do this, then you won't convince your friend."

"It's not his choice to make!" I shouted, then coughed.

"No. It's mine," her eyes hardened. "Convince him, convince me, convince yourself."

She straightened her shoulders and looked expectantly at myself and Butters.

"Harry, there's got to be another way," he said.

I pulled myself a bit further up on the bed. My jaw clenched as I worked to manage the pain again. "Oh? Let's count the options. There's my current boss, but Miss Ice Queen has already turned me down. There's your new boss but he turned me down the first time."

"What?" Butters' eyes widened.

"Yeah, before I made the Winter Knight deal I called up Uriel. We had a nice chat. And... well, he did show me Maggie. And..." I looked down. In retrospect the archangel had done more to help me. For one, he knew I wasn't in my right mind when I called up Kincaid and setup the hit. However, Uriel plays the long game, and it was a year before he could even the scales.

That said, he did know just the right thing to say to help me deal with Mab, to keep me from falling into despair.

"You have other options; you're a wizard."

"What? The Dark Hollow? You want me to kill a mess of people and do a necromantic rite? Have you looked out the window?" Thanks to Lash I had the entire Word of Kemmler memorized. Not that I had much cause to use the capstone work of the previous century's preeminent necromancer.

Butters' glare was almost as intense as Ranma's

Ranma made a thoughtful noise.

"Oh there's the Denarians! I mean Nicodemus would be happy to help, especially now. Get me hooked on a coin and stop his ex-wife's revenge? Sure!" I laughed.

Butters harrumphed.

"Well, I guess I wouldn't get Lasciel's coin. Really it's for the best that it's stuck in the Underworld. We didn't exactly have a friendly reunion."

"Becoming a demon chick is preferable to playing Master-Blaster with some Fallen Angel on your back? What a ringing endorsement," Butters snarked. His cheeks flushed slightly. "Uh, no offense, Miss."

Ranma gave a strained smile. "Some taken."

Seeing the slight hurt in her expression, Butters flushed and gave another awkward apology.

"Dude, why do you think I went to Mab in the first place? She was my least evil option."

The redhead eyed me.

I blushed with embarrassment. "The difference is that now I've got a non-evil option."

Butters blinked.

"How flattering," Ranma, dryly, said.

"You know what I mean. Look, Mab might not be evil. Sure, she's sinister and really dark, but at the least you can say she has a purpose. Yes, it's an important purpose, but you still wouldn't call her nice, and certainly not good."

The demon raised an eyebrow.

"Red, you're not as dark as you think you are."

Ranma scoffed.

"This is coming from Harry," Butters told her. "Even before the Winter Knight thing he was really scary."

I sighed. "Look, the thing is that with my Queen I'm worried about her turning me into her personal monster."

Butters had to nod in agreement.

"But with Ranma, I'll lose my humanity, I'll lose my manhood, but I won't lose my soul."

The redhead looked vaguely guilty. I had the sense that she had something she wanted to say. Some point I was ignorant of that she wanted to explain, but couldn't quite bring herself to say.

"You won't?" Butters blurted out. "Oh right, Soulgaze..." he murmured while Ranma eyed him.

"You sure you want this Harry?"

"No, but the way I see it, it's the least-worst option," I said, remembering Mab's disapproving look and how she refused to help, saying she'd already given me the measure of her power.

Ranma frowned. "I'd object, but the D-Program was created to be the least-worse option."

"Man... Harry..." Butters looked around the room. "And you want me to sign off on this?"

"She wants it," I pointed to Ranma. I rubbed my forehead and picked a bit at the bandage over my eye. "But yeah Butters, I'm kinda hoping you make sure I'm not totally crazy."

I could see Butters was tapping the Sword hilt in a pocket under his scrubs. Not for any aggressive reason, but for reassurance.

"Being a Knight's more than just swinging a Sword. And you said you were sent here to help a friend."

Butters nodded. He turned to Ranma. His stance was even. "Can you tell me what this process entails? Exactly."

"Finally some sense." The demon allowed a smile. "There are two ways to turn someone into a succubus. There's the daughter change, and the sister change."

"The differences being?"

"The daughter is a quicker change." Ranma leaned back a bit. "The brood mother basically forces her will, her power on someone else. The brood mother pushes the transformation creating a new body. Thus healing any damage as a side effect. The new demon is relatively weak, as she's freshly turned and quite dependent on her mother."

"How much faster?" Butters asked.

"It's under a minute," Ranma said. "The sister change takes far longer."

"That's what you use for the D-Program?" I asked. I recalled how Ranma and her daughters interacted. Hells Bells, there was also Eve and her daughters.

"When it's a mortal wound," Ranma clarified.

"That means the other change isn't fast enough. Or maybe a dying person isn't strong enough?" Butters' voice was mix of professional and geeky interest. He was a medical man, and despite a lack of magical talents he was roughly in my league on the finer points of magical theory. I had more experience and talent, but he was much smarter.

Ranma nodded.

Butters pondered. I could see the gears turning in his mind. He knew how injured I was right after the fight. Hells Bells, he helped save my life.... again. So, if Ranma really wanted to turn me, consent be damned, all she had to do was have him sent off to medic someone else.

Then she could make me a daughter and claim I was D-Program. Stars and Stones, she'd could even call to base and have them fake some paperwork.

My stomach tingled. And it's not like her new daughter would disagree with her beloved mother. Damn... said new daughter would happily help forge a pre-dated consent sheet. Instead, Ranma had shown restraint. Frustratingly so.

Seemingly coming to that conclusion, Butters bowed his head to the demon. It was short but respectful.

"That means that the sister change isn't forced? And if the daughter change makes a daughter..." Butters adjusted his glasses. "You mentioned force... is that why you kept on Harry? For the sister change to work... he has to want it?"

"That's exactly right," Ranma beamed at the doctor. "In the sister change, the brood mother presents her power, she even gives a... blueprint you'd say. But it's up to the new sister to invoke the change. It's a lot more energy intensive and slower."

"You want me to become your sister?" I asked.

Ranma gave me "'the look".

"Uh Harry... what's she's saying is that you have to want to become her sister." Butters looked between us. "This isn't you turning him into a succubus is it?"

"Nope." The redhead smiled, flashing her teeth. "He's gonna have to turn himself into one."

I groaned and leaned back against my pillows.

Ranma looked mildly affronted.

I swallowed, my brain finally catching up. "No, no, no! I'm honored that you're willing to help. That you'd give up your own power, that you'd make me your sister it's just..." I trailed off.

Butters and Ranma waited.

"It's just scary. I was kind of hoping it'd just... happen," I admitted.

"Poor, dumb Harry," Ranma patted my knee.

"You don't have to do this," Butters reminded.

"He's stable yes?" Ranma asked

"Sure... I mean it's a lot of damage, but his lung doesn't seem likely to collapse again unless he stresses it too much. And there's the risk of an infection."

Ranma nodded. "Good, once he's safe to move we can go back home."

"Why?" I asked.

"We've got some time. If you're serious you'll need to talk with Cecilia and Eve," Ranma stated.

End Chapter 8


And congrats to anyone who guessed this plot point. To be fair there was some foreshadowing, see the fight in the WIC base and some of Harry's musing, especially when he was waiting in the medical wing.


That said, yes, Harry is being very reckless and charging ahead, which is why Butters, and even Ranma, are cautioning that Harry think things through, and maybe think of alternative solutions. Remember, being Harry Dresden is suffering.

I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, Ellf, and Toxinvictoria . Special thank to: J St C Patrick for ironing out this chapter, and confirming the structure.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 9: Choices, Part A


The blonde demon looked me square in the eye. I could sense just a bit of relief in her expression. Like her sisters, she preferred direct eye-contact. However she had, until recently and deferring to me, avoided it. Things were different now.

Now, I needed her to do this. The Soulgaze hit and I was pulled into those deep blue eyes. My vision blurred; I lost the feeling of my body.

And then I found myself sitting in a hard metal chair.

I blinked. That is both my eyes blinked. I looked down and found two legs, two hands. In light of that, it made sense that I was sitting instead of lying on a bed. I shifted in my seat. The throbbing background pain was gone. Sure, Butters and the mercenary doctor, Covington, weren't exactly stingy with medication, and sure I had my own ways to manage pain. But I knew I had been hurt, and bad. The chair was uncomfortable though.

I looked around.

The room was square, grey, drab. It was almost a cube. The walls were painted concrete. A steel-trimmed, grey desk divided the room. A blocky bulk, it looked like it had been taken from a battleship. Hells Bells, the thing was bolted to the concrete floor.

Which, I noticed, was slightly sloped towards a drain that sat a couple feet in front of my chair. Vertical file cabinets lined three of the walls. A row of bookcases filled with heavy hardcover books lined the wall behind the desk. I noticed that the room had no door.

I then looked at the desk itself. There was a blotter in the center. A row of mechanical pencils, a sleek green phone, and an open ledger were to the right. To the left was a collection of framed photographs. I noticed that they were all of the brood. There were pictures of Eve and her daughters, Eve and her sisters, and mixed pictures of various broodlings. There were portraits and impromptu pictures of them while training.

On the edge of the desk facing the chair was a row of... tools. The collection of knives, prods, needles, shears, nails, and vials gleamed in the light. I looked down and noticed that the chair I was sitting on was also bolted to the floor.

Sturdy steel loops that connected to handcuffs and shackles were also threaded through the chair's frame. Thankfully, none of them were actually around my arms or legs.

I looked back up and studied the woman behind the desk. The tall well-endowed figure was familiar as was her crisp, grey uniform. I did noticed that there was a bit more amusement in her blue eyes, and that her blonde hair wasn't pulled in quite so severe of a bun.

"Mr. Dresden," Eve drawled as she pulled the ledger closer. "You have killed in cold blood. You tortured one man by beating him with a baseball bat and tortured a ghoul by burying it in an anthill."

I shivered and looked around the room. Soulgazes worked both ways, but they didn't usually involve a conversation. Though they can be altered. I had such a dialog with my brother when I gazed him. My mother had set that up, in case her sons ever met.

The demon's voice was dispassionate as she flipped a page. "You slit a helpless man's throat to take his power, killed a lover to commit genocide, murdered a man by having your dog break his neck, ah, and you also eviscerated Leonid Kravos and then ate him."

"Hey, that was Kravos' ghost! And the damn sorcerer ate part of me first. Besides, it was my ghost anyway.... kinda," I muttered.

Looking expectant, Eve folded her hands.

"Great, so I Soulgaze you and get told more about myself. Are you that secretive?" I grumped.

"Really Mr. Dresden? You can do better than that." She leaned forward. "You're not the simple-thug you present yourself as."

I eyed her. Then studied the contents of the room again. The neat files, the pristine desk, the "interrogation" tools. "You're a piece of work aren't you?"

"It's not like you're unaware of what I am. When we first met, you called me Ilsa did you not?"

"That was a joke," I muttered. Then I heard a song. It was somewhat familiar.... It was one of my brother's custom ring tones. The one he used when the other side of his family called. The vampiric side. I'd heard it a couple times when they'd rung Thomas... before my powers killed his phone, again.

It was the national anthem of Nazi Germany.

I gave the blue-eyed blonde torture demon a half-lidded stare. "Really?"

Eve actually looked... bashful. "We don't get to pick our parents do we? Or our grandparents."

Despite myself, I nodded. My mother was known for... pushing the limits of the Laws of Magic. And my grandfather... well Ebenezar was the BlackStaff. He was the one person on the White Council authorized to break the Laws of Magic. I'd personally seen the man kill over a hundred men with a single spell, and that was just the tip of the blood on his hands.

"I suppose grandfather Konrad wasn't so bad," Eve actually gave a wistful smile.

I blinked.

"This tells me you're not a World War Two aviation buff."

I blinked. "No..."

"Oberst Konrad Jarvis was one of the top Aces of the War. Yes, he killed many, but haven't we all? Now grandfather Koning...." she looked away.

Images flashed past me. Experimentations, exsanguinations, camps, surgeries, necromancy... a lingering shadow.

Eve flashed her fangs as the vision was pulled back. "Humans are quite capable monsters are they not, Mr. Dresden?"

"Uh yeah..." I shook my head. Necromancers were lurking about in both our worlds' versions of World War Two.

I looked to the pictures. There were no pictures of Eve's human family. I studied the picture that had Ranma and Eve. The blonde was clutching the redhead, holding tight.

"You asked to be turned." I exhaled. "You weren't even hurt were you?"

"Sometimes, the apple doesn't far from the tree, Harry," Eve said. "Sometimes, you can choose your family. Sometimes, prodigal son doesn't want to return."

"You didn't want to be a monster," my mouth felt dry. "That's why you became a demon. What kind of life does that?"

Eve gave a weak smile. "A lonely one, Harry. A very lonely one."

***************


I was pulled back into my body. Pain flared up and my vision reduced. I slumped on the bed and lifted my head. Eve sat on the edge of the bed. Straightening, she bore a quizzical if somewhat satisfied expression. We were back in the guest room in Ranma's house. The same one I had stayed in the first night. Except now, there was a lot more medical equipment.

She bowed her head to me. "Ranma is right about you."

"Glad," I worked my jaw. "So... were we just chatting in an office?"

"Is that what you saw?" A blonde eyebrow rose. "Fascinating."

I resisted making a Spock joke. For one she didn't have pointy ears. Which was a bit odd, I knew Ranma had them when she was feeling extra demonic. Then again, Eve didn't strike me as the flashy type. Probably had to do with being male as a human.

"Yeah, we had a nice chat. What did you see?"

Eve's lips quirked. "A report. Very thorough."

I groaned.

The stern blonde laughed. She held my wrist. Her touch was warmer than I expected. "I would be happy to have you as a sister," she promised with a gentle squeeze before standing.

"Provided, you'd accept having me as yours," she added smoothing her suit coat. I detected just a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"You're not the only one with skeletons in your closet."

The blonde gave a single chuckle.

"Really... I'm still more scared about the whole...." I admitted gesturing down over my body. My arm's sweep may have ended at about crotch level. "You've gone through the sister change. How did you handle it?"

"Remarkably easily." Eve's expression sobered. "The change does that. Perhaps I should say, it ensures it."

I looked over the buxom blonde poised in her charcoal suit-skirt. She was effortlessly graceful. Even without trying, she was alluring, and that was without any of the mental whammy tricks I'd seen the White Court pull. "Predatory advantage?"

Eve nodded. "We are mimics. Certain instincts are... advantageous. Hunting, feeding, being comes easily. "

"But the Hunger?" I knew my brother struggled with it. But the White Court vamps had a separate entity within them demanding to be fed. The brood however...

"Is a desire," Eve stated sounding somewhat confused.

"No, I mean, you don't have a voice demanding you to feed? Pushing your every action?"

"You have seen us in action, seen us at rest. How controlled by our baser instincts would you say we are?" Eve asked, mildly.

I frowned. It was a good question. The brood seemed to prize self-control. Though self-control was a keystone of martial arts and military discipline. "I guess what I'm worried about is what I'd be like..." I swallowed. "As a succubus."

There I said it. I was asking to become a succubus. Stars and Stones. What did it say about a plan that both Mab and Butters thought was insane?

Eve tilted her head. "You sell yourself short, Harry. You've endured worse. You've thrived in spite of worse. You'll thrive after this. You're too stubborn to give up."

She smiled. "If that's all, I'll send Cecilia in, yes?"

"Yeah," I said distracted by the future. Defeating Tessa was only the first part. I still had to get back to Chicago.

Eve looked pensive. "Be careful with her, she's had... a troubled life."

I might have considered her words, but I was busy thinking about afterwards.

Hells Bells, I had to see Maggie and Bonnie. Well, at least Butters was here. That'd smooth things out with the Carpenters.

I was mulling things over, so I didn't notice the door open and one demon leave nor the time that passed before the next one entered. Looking up, I saw a lovely woman with curly lavender hair. Her proportions weren't quite as generous as either of her sisters, but she was still a succubus.

However, where Ranma was confidently self-assured and Eve was utterly implacable Cecilia was actually apprehensive.

"Take a seat," I offered.

She sat down in the chair next to the bed.

I looked her over. She had a bit more makeup than her sisters and wore a nice white dress. She looked the most "Mom-like" of the trio. Which I suppose wasn't hard given Ranma's sharp aggressiveness and Eve's Valkyrie sternness.

I frowned, recalling Eve's parting words. What did it mean when someone like her said someone else had a "troubled life"?

"Do we have to do this?" Cecilia asked. "I trust my sisters, and I know that you've fought with us..."

I held up my hand. "Well, I'd like it, but... we can just keep a secret. It's just the two of us right?"

Cecilia giggled.

"What are you afraid of seeing?"

"It's not that." The demon shook her head.

Ah. "You don't need to be embarrassed by anything I see. I'll keep it a secret."

Her laugh returned. "Of course you would. We'd be family."

I worked my jaw. "You've already agreed?"

Nervousness dissipating, Cecilia rolled her eyes. "Sometimes my sisters are far too cautious. Afraid that any slip up and they'll crush someone, hurt someone." Her gaze went distant. "They don't know the real damage one of us can do."

"So?"

She shrugged. "You asked for it, and despite the drama of waiting for your doctor friend's Okay, we both know you're fit to make your own decisions."

Her attitude was a bit more my preference. All this introspection was making me uncomfortable. "What if I regret it?"

Cecilia gave me a pitying smile. "Oh, to have that luxury."

"If it's not fear about seeing what's in my head, and not embarrassment about me seeing what's in yours, then why don't you want to Soulgaze?" I asked, more curious than anything else.

Cecilia's eyes went down as she adjusted her skirt hem. "I don't want to hurt you," she said in a quiet voice.

I managed to keep myself from snorting. I had 'gazed quite a few tough customers, and a lot of broken people. There was the torture my brother was under. There was seeing the enslaved soul of a Denarian's human host.

That didn't even count the things I had seen with my Sight. I had filled quite the bookcase of terrible, forever-vivid memories: unspeakable horrors, gut-wrenching physic torture, death and more.

So, my initial reaction was to dismiss the demure demon's worries.

But then, I considered things before speaking.

Hey, blame the medication. Or maybe that this was serious business. Or maybe that I didn't like hurting women. Hey... I don't have to blurt out every thoughtless idea that enters my mind.

One thing stuck out. Most of the brood didn't exactly talk about how they had lost their humanity. Ranma mentioned something about past lives, but Cecilia was like Eve, before that Soulgaze at least, I knew nothing about how she had turned.

Given things like the D Program, I knew it was a sensitive issue. Except, Cecilia wasn't part of the D program. Morrison and Morgan were the first, and Cecilia was older than them.

"How did you become a demon?" I gently asked.

Cecilia exhaled.

Despite her current human-seeming appearance, I could just imagine her tail uncoiling.

"I was taken. I was turned by Alexia," she said spitting the name with venom.

"Ah."

"Alexia was Ranma's cousin. Well, a cousin from back before she reincarnated, back when she was DarkStar. I'm not sure about how all that ancient history works but Alexia cared about it," Cecilia shrugged.

"Alexia was another succubus?"

Cecilia gave me "the look". She sighed. "Alexia was banished. Growing up, she heard the stories about DarkStar, grew jealous about how grandmother BlackSky lionized her. Then she found that DarkStar had returned... and was working for the humans."

"She wanted revenge?"

"And to prove herself. Prove to grandmother that she was strong, that the banishment should have been lifted."

"Why was she banished?"

"She was a poor mother."

I blinked.

Cecilia leaned forward. "You don't understand. Over our daughters... we're powerful, wizard."

"The connection? The empathic bonds?" I had felt the link Ranma had with her daughters. And the one bit of "humanity" Eve had in her Soulgaze was shown by pictures of her family.

"Yes, mother and daughter, sister and sister. Mates. All linked," Cecilia gave a sad smile. "Now consider the opportunities for abuse."

"Oh."

"Like fishhooks in the brain, all the brood mother needs to do is... tug."

I winced. I'd seen something similar with the Red Court vamps. They were all linked and abused each other. Well, until someone exploited that link, and they all died.

"Broodlings are precious. But consider if someone just bit humans and made daughter after daughter after daughter. Not as people but as clay."

"That's the transformation where the mother forces the change?"

"Force. That hardly describes it." Cecilia looked bittersweet. "So many of us died."

"Died?"

"DarkStar was alone. She was young. Alexia thought..." Cecilia closed her eyes. "Alexia thought that she could kill her with weight of numbers."

"They were freshly turned?"

I thought back to seeing the redhead tear through a dozen hulking wolfmen. Sending baby succubae against a someone like that...

"It was a slaughter?"

"It built up to it. Alexia changed tactics, she changed those close to Ranma," Cecilia looked down. "It got worse."

I nodded; I knew how personal the redhead took things.

"As they fought, more died. And Ranma got more daughters. Alexia got more as well or at least daughters she paid attention to. Ones she dressed up and played house with."

I could feel the hate and jealousy roiling off of the woman.

"She even stole one of Ranma's daughters and added her to a group that she groomed as daughters. Real daughters, not minions that she made and threw away." A growl edged her voice.

"You were made into a minion?"

That sad smile returned and she shook her head. "I wouldn't be here today, nor would my daughters."

"Ranma killed them all?"

"Not personally, and Akane, Nabiki, and Misako were saved but..." Cecilia sighed. "Alexia didn't realize what she started."

"Ranma ate her?"

"Ranma ate her."

I nodded. Part of me felt very satisfied by that. Alexia had used her powers to cause pain and destruction. She'd hurt women and children. She'd also inadvertently done a lot to strengthen Ranma, to drive her further from her humanity.

Throwing a constant supply of minions at a young demon, forcing her to fight, to feed, forcing her to make and adopt daughters, causing her to rely on the Company more and more...

"Alexia helped make Ranma who she is?"

"Did your enemies make you?" Cecilia reached out and put a hand on my leg, just above the stump. "If you go through with this, will you say Tessa made you one of us?"

I pulled back a bit from the contact. "If you weren't fighters..."

Cecilia flexed her fingers. "We were sex demons."

I blinked.

"We were used for sex. Rewards, recruitment, entrapment, blackmail, raising money." She looked past me. "Even recreation. Alexia's personal recreation."

I coughed. That was all too familiar of some of the less savory parts of the White Court, or the Denarians for that matter. "And when she died?"

"We were living elsewhere. We escaped notice. We weren't important. As the eldest I took charge. I..." She gave me a soft smile. "I took care of us," Cecilia said with some pride.

"Then we got noticed. Then the Canadians arrived. Then the DarkStar that killed so many of our sisters came for us."

"She didn't kill you," I offered, lamely.

Cecilia laughed. "No, she didn't. She wasn't the monster Alexia made her out to be."

I reached up and took her hand. "It's okay, we don't have to do the Soulgaze."

Exhaling, Cecilia shook her head. "I've already told you everything. It's just..." she swallowed. "It's one thing to say it, it's another to experience it."

I winced. She had a point. Each Soulgaze was different, and sometimes they were excruciatingly intimate.

"I don't want to hurt you."

I couldn't dismiss her concerns. "I know, but I have seen worse," I assured her. The hell of it was... I had.

The demure demon nodded. She slowly exhaled and looked up. Lavender eyes met mine. I felt the tug and after a moment's hesitation went with it.

Pressure hit me. I fell into darkness. I saw people stripped of their humanity, their personalities; their beings twisted and abused.

I felt the fishhooks in my brain as a titanic demon with yellow-blonde hair and tanned skin twitched her puppets. Flesh warped; they danced; they died.

The tanned demon abandoned her toys. I was filled with the sick desire and longing for the one that abused me. Alexia had tormented Cecilia, she had humiliated Cecilia, she had used Cecilia...

But she was still Cecilia's mother. And Cecilia still craved her approval.

The dominating presence pressed down on Cecilia and crushed her. Who she was evaporated. The support and love a young broodling required was gleefully withheld as Alexia focused on her favorite toys.

A core of resilience burned within Cecelia as others fell to their baser instincts. She still had a bit of hope, that she would get through this.

Then their numbers began to dwindle. Alexia threw more and more at the Enemy. But the Enemy was not sated by the deaths of toys.

The Enemy grew closer.

And then the presence was gone. It was like the sun going out.

Alexia was dead.

For a time Cecilia was alone with her girls. She had the core; she stepped forward and became for them what Alexia would not. I saw the young demoness bloom into motherhood.

Pride and hope grew within the little brood.

And then the Canadians came. Soldiers burst into their comfy home and the fear returned. The Enemy had returned.

The Enemy relented.

Hope.

I saw how Cecilia clung to that narrow reed of hope.

It took root and grew.

The Enemy accepted her and hers.

The darkness ebbed and pulsed as I felt the broods intermingle. Connections grew between them, emotions flowed, trust built. Reveling in the warm cozy feelings I drifted out of the Soulgaze and it felt like I fell back into my bed.

Sweat had beaded on my brow.

Cecilia was blinking to herself. She looked up, eager but nervous.

"It ended nice," I allowed.

The demon gave a little laugh. "So did yours. Well, until you came here. Even your romantic life was.... improving," she allowed.

I felt a bit of pain. What can you say when you've had multiple lovers brainwashed and one turned into half vampire, then full vampire, then dead by your hand. "Yeah..."

She looked thoughtful. "Though, you seem to have the same hang-ups my sisters do." Nodding to herself as if she came to a decision, the demon brightened. "Still, your daughters are lovely."

I took her hand. "So are yours."

Her cheeks pinked ever so slightly. "That's all three of us. What's next?"

"I've gotta get Butters to sign off and then..."

Her expectant look returned.

"Then I've got to make sure I want to do this."

Patting my hand, Cecilia laughed. "Oh Harry, you're going to do this. You wouldn't have bothered with all this effort to get cold feet at the end."

***************


Cecilia left the room, and only a few minutes had passed before the door opened.

Butters slipped in. He looked a bit winded and was drinking water from a plastic bottle. He was dressed in loose cargo pants and t-shirt. I saw the hilt of his Sword sticking out of a pouch on his belt. Well, it was more like a holster.

I grumbled. It looks like everyone was into holsters but me.

Butters blinked. "Uh, how is your morning, is everything okay?" He asked slipping up to me. A flashlight came out of his pocket and he gave me a once over before checking the chart that rested on a side table.

"Sure. I managed to get to the bathroom all by myself. And it only made my ribs feel like they were halfway on fire."

He nodded and put the chart down. "You've Soulgazed all the sisters."

"Yup."

"Am I next?" His tone was matter of fact.

I frowned. "No.... I'd prefer saving that for after."

"Harry..."

"If I do this. Wouldn't it be a good idea to have someone I trust Soulgaze me? Make sure I'm okay. Make sure I'm...."

Butters clenched his jaw but he nodded. "Make sure you're you. I can't fault the logic," he admitted. "It's just a lot of responsibility."

I spread my hand. "Hey, it's the big leagues. You knew the job was dangerous when you took up the Sword."

He tapped the hilt thoughtfully. "Yeah, I've been thinking about that. What my job is as a Knight. What we're supposed to protect."

I waited.

"It's all about free will isn't it? Sure we fight monsters, but ultimately it's making sure people can choose. We're opposed to the Fallen, not the hosts."

"Sucks when a host can give up the coin and play possum though," I noted. It was a standard tactic. If a Denarian forfeited the coin and surrendered, even if they fully intended to recover the coin... a Knight couldn't touch 'em.

Butters grabbed the hilt of his sword. He drew it.. "Michael told me that the hardest part was knowing when to stand back." He contemplated the length of wood with a little nub of metal sticking out. That metal was all that remained of the original steel katana blade. Before it was reforged into a katana it was a tsurugi known as Kusanagi.

And before that... well it depends on which religious view you take. There's the history that Shinto attributes to Kusanagi. Meanwhile Fidelacchius is one of three Swords, each of which has a Nail worked into the hilt. Yes, those nails.

We both knew that misusing the Sword was how it had gotten broken in the first place, and that Butter's faith that he could make a difference was what reformed it into its new form. I noted he didn't activate the glowing blade it now possessed. He sighed and gingerly placed the hilt onto the end table next to my medical chart.

"As Knight of the Cross and wielder of Fidelacchius," he adjusted his glasses. "I can't stop you. You are free to make this choice."

"Oh-kay....." I drawled.

He picked up my chart and made a show of going through the pages. "And as your doctor, I have observed you post-injury for long enough to conclude you are lucid and in control of your faculties. Thus you are fit to make life changing decisions with regard to your own welfare."

The chart was put down just as gently as his Sword. "But Harry, as your friend I can't agree to this."

"You don't trust them?"

"I hardly know them!" Butters waved his arms. "I've been here, what, two days?" Seeing my ire he shook his hand. "No, I'm not saying they're bad. My girlfriend's a werewolf, I'm friends with an incubus, and my mentor and assistant is a talking skull. They're not the problem here."

"Then what is?"

Butters rubbed his forehead. "Did you ever think that maybe Mab's right? Maybe you're supposed to be on the bench for this one?"

I glared.

"Look, you getting too hurt to fight has happened before."

"Yeah, and I made a deal with a Faerie Queen. A deal that had more strings than this one."

Butters looked skeptical but then he shook his head. "Not that, afterwards. You know the injury that was so bad you were dead for a year."

"Oh, that." I had been shot and Mab had healed me. My spooky island had helped. That's part of why I was so pissed at Mab's refusal to help now, cryptic comments aside.

"You were gone for a year. And after you got back you also spent a lot of time on your spooky island. You've been benched before."

"Butters-"

The little pathologist cut me off. "Exactly. You were gone. I know you were on your island because you were... sick."

That was a polite way to phrase it. In reality, I was pregnant.... Don't look at me like that. Bonnie's a spirit. It was different. She doesn't have physical body. It was more Athena and Zeus and less like Schwarzenegger in Junior.

"But that's my point," Butters continued. "You were too hurt to do the job and I stepped in."

"You were doing the Batman gig pretty well when my ghost showed up," I said.

"I was scared out of my mind and leaning heavily on Bob's help just to survive." Butters snorted.
.
"And now you're a Knight."

"And now I'm a Knight," Butters agreed. "Maybe that's why I was sent instead of Sanya. I've played the 'Harry Dresden' understudy gig before. I was told I'd have the opportunity to help a friend, and here we are."

I considered it. He had a point. The Knights were always sent for a reason. "You don't think I should do this?"

"I don't think you have to do this."

I shook my head. "No. Those times I didn't have a choice. When I was dead, I couldn't go out."

"You weren't dead, only mostly dead."

I laughed. "Right, I was slightly alive. But that's the point, I was stuck on the island. My body anyway. With Miss Ice-Queen and Demonreach keeping me alive.

"And later? When you were... overdue with Bonnie?"

I laughed. "Same deal. Demonreach was the only thing keeping the pain down. Well, until Queenie came and had a job for me to do."

"So, to stop you from meddling... you need to be, literally, physically constrained."

"And even then, my ghost will still find a way to haunt you," I declared, crossing my arms. Or crossing what was left. I may have made some spooky noises.

"You're insufferable!"

I laughed.

"And what about your magic?" he asked.

I stilled. "What about it?"

"You won't be human. Could you still be a wizard? What if it's not just your manhood being given up?"

I shook my head. "They can do magic."

"Different magic." Butters looked thoughtful. "Their magic seems to be more extensions of their powers. More instinctual."

"Thomas can do magic," I said, quietly.

Butters raised an eyebrow.

"He's a minor talent and his training was... rough. And he's embarrassed to use it around me."

"Because you're both pig-headed and prideful," Butters snorted.

"But he can do it, and if a White Court vampire can use magic then a succubus should be able to," I stated, with confidence.

Butters stared. "You don't know that for sure."

I looked down. "I have a pretty good idea."

"I can't imagine how worse you'll get after this," Butters grumbled. "And that's not counting the healing factor. You'll get even more reckless, won't you?"

"Huh," I hadn't considered that. I was so focused on the change itself healing me that I hadn't really considered the powers. Hells Bells, I'd seen Ranma grow an arm back within minutes. Even her daughters could get sliced and battered and come back.

Butters scoffed. "Of course you haven't thought about it," he said reading my expression.

"It sounds like an upside," I defended.

"This isn't like the Winter Knight. You can't scam your way out of it," he said harshly.

"What?"

He gave me a half-lidded gaze. "We both know you're looking for a way to no longer be Sir Harry."

"My boss isn't as nice as yours," I admitted.

He scoffed. "Sure, the odds of you getting out of knighthood is slim, but they're still better than the odds of you..."

"Turning back into a human?" I exhaled.

"You never found a cure for Susan. And she was just half vampire."

I looked down. Strictly speaking that was a lie. I had found a cure, back when I first visited Mother Winter and Mother Summer. Unfortunately, I had to use that gift on another, someone who, ultimately, became another faerie queen. Well, until she died too.

Despite all that, Butters had a point. It's not like curing supernatural transformations was easy.

"There's another thing..." Butters' voice lowered. "Would you even want to?"

I kept my head down.

"You've been with these girls longer than I have. Do they seem unhappy to you? How many of them were once human?" he asked, his voice soft.

"All of 'em I think."

He gave a nod. "How many of them would go back? If offered a cure, how many would want to become human?"

I didn't have an answer.

"That's the difference, Harry. Sure, being a knight is a worse deal for you. But you're still you enough to not like it, to fight it. Oh, you like the powers, but if given a chance to be rid of 'em, rid of being under the Winter Queen, you'd take it."

I nodded. That Molly was the Winter Lady complicated things, but if I could be rid of the Winter Mantle...

"What about this? If you go through with this and later on get offered a cure, offered to be turned back to human would you do it?" His tone was gentle, but insistent.

"She said it was remarkably easy," I muttered.

"Who?"

"Eve. She said accepting the change was 'remarkably easy'. And something about new instincts and adapting," I explained.

Butters gave me a flat "I told you so" look.

I laughed. "Is that it? You're concerned that I haven't thought things through?"

"Yes!" his tone was emphatic.

I laughed again. "Dude, it's me. You should be glad I'm giving it this much thought."

"Only because you're being forced to," Butters sighed. "Have you considered what you could lose here?"

I looked away. There was more than my gender at stake today, but what choice did I have?

Butters sighed. "Funny when the scary demon lady shows more restraint."

"She's confident."

"She's just met you, that's why she's overestimating your debate skills."

"Butters, I have to do this," I pleaded.

"And I refuse?" He leaned against the wall. His hand not quite hanging by the hilt of his Sword.

"I have to stop Tessa. What happened to that town was just the start. If she gets her big pet monster she'll cut across the world, both worlds. Sure, she's telling herself it's to get Nicodemus but we know the type of mayhem she likes. And that's assuming what she summons is what she thought she was summoning. I've got a pretty good idea that Tessa's being played and what she'll pull in will be even worse. I want your help but..."

Butters met my gaze. I closed my eye and tilted my head.

"Ranma won't turn you. And I doubt she'd play rules lawyer and have someone else turn you for her," he stated with absolute certainty.

Sometimes trying to bluff a Knight of the Cross really sucked. "Fine. If you refuse I'll have to... improvise." There were other powers here. I wasn't sure what Serenity's deal was. But I knew her "assistant" Lady Pluto was a serious player. She was a Gatekeeper in her own right. She had also implied a willingness to... help the last time we met.

I did know that Serenity was a patron and endowed others with ritual magic. Lady Mars and Lady Jupiter and the rest of her retinue were beneficiaries of her power, Ranma too. However, that plan was even more nebulous and risky.

"If your Plan A is 'turn into a succubus' I fear for what your Plan B is."

Recalling what Lady Pluto looked like with my Wizard's Sight, I laughed nervously. Compared to Pluto these demons were far more... human. And there were other ways. There was power on this world, and I knew certain dark rites. But after Lomar... well what would I be willing do to if Butters denied me?

"Harry, if I agree... then I've got some of the responsibility for this. For what happens to you; I don't want you to screw up your life."

I stared. "Screw up my life?" I asked, a smile slowly growing on my face. "I'm a six-foot-nine, thirty-nine year old out of work private investigator stuck doing the bidding of the dark queen of the evil fairies with only two working limbs, a crappy loaner office, and a spooky island to my name." I waved my stumpy arm over myself. "Do your worst."

Butters froze. Then his brain engaged and he laughed. Eight years ago, he stumbled into bunch of necromancers scheming to become a new god of death. After being attacked by zombies, one of which was a coworker, he demanded to know the truth.

I cautioned him that being clued into the magical world would change things for him that it might "screw up his life." His reaction... well... it was a lot like mine just now.

Straightening his glasses, Butters regained his composure and tapped the hilt of his sword. "Ask me."

"What?"

"If you want my consent, give me the courtesy of asking for it."

I closed my eye and centered myself. I realized that I could be petulant and act insulted. Make Butters storm off and it'd be over. Well, it'd be over for me. Butters had a point. Between my allies, new and old, there was a formidable force arrayed against Tessa.

"What do you want?" Butters asked. His voice was mild but those four words... there was a hook in them.

I exhaled. "I want to be healed."

He waited, his gaze patient.

"I want to be turned into a succubus." I paused, mulling over the words. "I want you to agree to it. I want to be able to fight."

The tips of Butter's fingers tapped the polished smooth wood. "When I asked to be told about the supernatural you told me the truth, even when you thought it was a mistake. You helped me, even when you afraid I was a coward." His voice was quiet.

His words cut into me. But... when I first met him he was scared, he was ignorant. He did freeze and want to run. It took years for him to grow, to meet his potential. But I guess he'd never have reached that point if no one had trusted him at the start. "Butters..."

He lifted his hand off the Sword to silence me and stepped closer. "No. It's okay. I won't stop you. You have my consent."

***************


After going to the bathroom, Butters helped me back to the bed. It was a bit embarrassing, but he helped me handle the crutches, especially given I couldn't grab the left crutch given my mangled hand.

I slipped further onto the mattress and exhaled.

"There are prosthetics," Butters offered.

I glowered at him.

"I know, I know. The physical therapy to get used to them would take too long, and limbs aside your ribs are in no condition to fight," Butters sighed and looked towards the door.

"I thought you agreed?" Ranma asked as she stepped into the room. "Have you changed your mind?"

Butters gave the redhead a long look. "No, just checking to see if he has." He rolled his shoulders.

"Prudent. It is a weighty decision," an older woman said as she entered. Carrying a briefcase, she had shoulder length auburn hair in a slight wave. She had the grey pants, lab-coat and shoulder holster that I thought of as uniform of the Company eggheads.

"Doctor Saotome," I nodded.

Ranma smiled at her mother and slipped closer to the older woman.

"Dresden," Dr. Saotome bowed her head then turned to Butters. "Doctor Butters."

"Uh, hi," Butters extended a hand.

"Sorry for all the trouble," she said shaking his hand.

"It's not your fault."

"I'd like to say things aren't normally this bad but..." Dr. Saotome gave a rueful smile. "Anyway, my daughter speaks highly of you, both of you. And my other daughters too."

Ranma blushed slightly and hugged the older woman.

I frowned a bit. It was somewhat hard to tell how old Dr. Saotome was, but she still seemed too young to be Ranma's mother. Then again it was rather hard to tell how old the redhead was.

But slow aging was a part of the supernatural gig. Hells Bells, wizards also lived longer than normal humans, and aged slower too.

Dr. Saotome stepped up and walked next to the bed. "This is it, Mr. Dresden. You've gotten the approval of my girls and your friend." A strange, almost jealous, look crossed her face. "Are you ready? It's quite the commitment."

I nodded.

"Mr. Dresden. There is no turning back." She sat down on the bed and adjusted her white coat. "Now, I will be happy to have you as a daughter. And I'm sure you'll be happy to have me as a mother however..."

I murmured. Mother. I never knew my mother. She died when I was very young. My father also died. I spent the bulk of my childhood an orphan.

"However," Dr. Saotome continued. "That is in the future. The time for questioning this decision is now. You can't delay it, not forever," she added, looking down.

"Because he won't question it later. She won't question it," Butters corrected himself.

Both Saotomes, mother and daughter, looked at me, expectant.

"Yes."

The redhead made a satisfied noise and leaned closer sniffing the air.

"Turn me."

"Again, you've got it backwards." Ranma snickered. "But we'll work on that," she said before going to the doorway and leaning over the threshold. She waved her hand and stepped back

Cecilia and Eve followed her into the room. I saw Nariko standing out in the hallway. The three succubus sisters looked at me; I could feel the weight of their almost hungry intent. Their horns were out; their tails swished behind them.

Butters' eyes went from the demonic trio to me then back again.

Ranma met his gaze.

For his part, Butters stared back.

"You can stay and observe if you like," Ranma said, amicably enough. However, I saw the tip of her tail flick with apprehension.

Frowning, Butters eventually exhaled. "Nah, I'd get in the way. Maybe I'll go back to the dojo." He then grinned. "I can't believe you have one of those. Murph'd freak out."

Ranma chuckled. "Nariko was looking forward to more sparring." She stepped to the side and waved through the open door.

Butters took a step out of the room. His hand fell on the Sword hilt. The little doctor turned to me. "Harry... I know you're too stubborn to back out now. But don't do anything stupid." He frowned then looked to the demon sisters. "Try to make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid."

"Hey!" I cried.

Butters gave a melancholy laugh and followed Nariko out of the room.

"Well, that could have gone better," I grumbled. "Hopefully, I'll stay tall," I added to myself.

Ranma sat to my right on the bed. "He's worried about you." She ran her long fingers down my arm and looked over, sizing me up, like a piece of meat or maybe a pile of clay.

I grumped.

The redhead chuckled. She looked over her shoulder. "Are you going to stay?" she asked her mother, her voice hopeful.

"Of course," Doctor Saotome said, her voice a bit too smooth.

I wondered if there was something else at work.

"Now Mr. Dresden. The sister change is rare enough. My daughter's only done it once before. Would you mind if we took some readings?" she asked, pulling out one of the mercenaries' little scanning devices.

Ah. Well, that made sense. "Uh... sure, but my powers might interfere..."

"I've heard about your issues," Dr. Saotome wryly noted stepping back and closing the door. She set the scanner down and put the briefcase atop a dresser. She opened it, revealing another scanner inside one of Dirac's dark red circles. The scientist flipped a few switches.

"Huh, planning ahead." I had suspected the mercs would try something like that.

"It's not like we've been fussing over this for a day," Cecilia remarked as she sat down to my left.

"Frankly, I'm surprised we got the green light this early in the morning." Eve stood at the foot of the bed and leaned forward. Her tall form loomed over me. Her lean, sharp face looked hungry, but I could see a hint of nervousness peeking past her facade. "Shall we?"

"Oh yes, let's," Cecilia purred.

Ranma gave a toothy smile.

My heart began to speed as I realized this was more than having three hungry demons intently staring at me. They started to edge closer. Eve slipped onto the foot of the bed.

"Last chance to back out," Ranma stated, her voice deepening. Her eyes began to glow.

The pressure from the three succubae increased "Do it!" I cried.

Ranma's eyelids closed halfway and she gave a satisfied noise.

"Backwards," Eve purred. Her eyes were luminous and she started to climb forward on the bed.

"Cecilia," the redhead stated.

The lavender haired woman flicked out a claw and started cutting my pajamas.

"Hey!" My protest was cut off by Eve lunging down, pinning my shoulders to the bed. The pressure pushed higher as auras began to flare around the trio. My body warmed as my flesh tingled.

Ranma slipped in, her face inches from mine. "Okay Harry," her breath was warm on my face. She ran a hand down my cheek, down my chin and over my neck. "We're going to push... you can't fight it; you'll have to work with it."

I nodded, transfixed by her gaze. The bed felt softer. Everything tingled; it was like luxuriating in a warm bath.

Ranma's eyes flashed, turning into solid purple glowing orbs. The other two followed. The bath then felt like a Jacuzzi. It was as if warm jets pulsed against my skin. Distantly, I noted that I was naked.

The demons pressed closer and I, not so distantly, noted they were naked too. The Winter Mantle surged, relishing the contact of three beautiful women. I leaned back as Eve's hands went down my torso. Despite the warmth, my skin felt cool.

"That's it," Ranma purred. Her voice seeming far away and yet echoing through my mind.

Everything tingled. And I made a happy murmur. The phantom pain I had been feeling shifted, becoming more of the warm prickling. I felt my toes curl and flexed my fingers. An image was pushed into my mind. It was...

The chill feeling of my skin increased. I felt the image, I knew... my mouth felt dry. More energy pushed into me. I squirmed and shifted and took more in. Then something... snapped, the floodgates opened and I arched my back. Something seemed... off.

"Now... join us...." Ranma whispered into one ear.

"Join us sister," Cecilia whispered in the other.

I waited for them to change me, but I felt like I had missed something. Then I felt the change happen....

Flesh flowed, pleasure mounted. Bones grew and shifted. I cried out. The Winter Mantle surged. I became a passenger and sunk deeper in as my body greedily sucked in more energy. My tongue ran over sharp teeth, and wider lips parted. I leaned up and they contacted the redhead's lips. I felt her pleased reaction, and basked in it.

Giving a triumphant purr, the redhead returned the kiss. My other sisters pushed in as my body took in their energy and reveled in their body-heat. Everything felt cool and crisp. The Mantle pushed and a hungry growl escaped my lips.

That was followed by a high cry as my temples burned as horns emerged. My sisters released their wings and in an almost sympathetic act of jealousy my back was ravaged with an ice cold tingle as my own pair burst forth.

My backside shifted as Eve worked her hands and teased out a tail. The Mantle reacted and I felt myself drift deeper into the bliss as my sisters cuddled and fed me. Ranma worked over my horns while Cecilia whispered in my ear.

I closed my eyes and contently purred before nuzzling back. It was easy to just go with it, easy and pleasurable. The reassurance and love from my sisters lulled me to sleep. My eyes fluttered up and I saw my sisters parting as Nodoka stepped forward. The contact with her tugged at my heart. It wasn't as vivid as those to my sisters but...

The purring increased as she hugged me and then I pouted as she withdrew. Fortunately the others lay down and I happily drifted off, curling up against them. The dreams that followed were mostly of me lying with them, though there was a coldness within me that happily drained their warmth.

There was also a sense that I'd forgotten something, but that was hard to focus on. I simply nuzzled in closer and ignored it.

Consciousness briefly returned. Ranma kissed me on the forehead and asked if I wanted something to eat. I yawned and pouted; my tail swished.

Cecilia offered to help me get dressed.

I gave another yawn and instead fell back to the bed and slipped next to Eve. To my disappointment the taller blonde got out of bed.

Despite that, I gave an annoyed growl but spread out on the bed.

"Was it really that draining?" Ranma asked.

"Look at her," Eve stated.

"Oh, I am," Cecilia sounded pleased. "She's impressive."

I smiled at that, though my eyes felt heavy.

"She's falling asleep already," Eve's words were soft.

"Let her nap?" Ranma suggested.

Eve and Cecilia nodded, "We can get things ready, you watch her."

There was more but I was more interested in how soft my pillows were.

***************


Consciousness returned as I woke up a second time. The bed was soft but cool. Shifting around, I pouted. My sisters weren't...

Pulling myself up, I blinked. I could feel them. There were pulls from Ranma, Eve, and Cecilia. There was an emotional tie with each. Pale hair falling around me, I looked around the bedroom. They weren't in the room, but they were close. Maybe downstairs. There were smaller tugs from their daughters, my nieces.

Struck by the concept of daughters, I exhaled and shivered. I wanted to go back to mine. My body buzzed and the sheets slid off my form. I looked down and saw sleek glossy blue armor with black accents over a lithe female form.

I paused, I could feel my sisters, but something felt... not absent, instead the feeling was as if something that was once there was now no longer... separate. I shrugged, and then a tail the same blue flopped into position from behind me.

The fins were a clear, powder-blue crystal. I reached out and touched the fins. Four long fingers flexed. They were tipped with blue-black talons of glossy ice. Still... I had a whole left hand again. That was nice.

I laughed. It was a rich, if high, sound. Really, ice claws were the most mundane thing. I had those as a...

I blinked and exhaled, then inhaled deeply. Which did all sorts of interesting things to my torso, ice armor or no. Sensations pounded at me, my sight was sharper. Scents were far more powerful, including those of my sisters. There was also the buzzing coming from my horns.

My horns...

I closed my eyes counted prime numbers. My tail swished with each count like an oversized metronome.

When I got to seven thousand, nine hundred, nineteen, I reopened my eyes and took stock of the room. There was the large bed, a pair of dressers, closet, pile of my clothes and equipment, and a dressing mirror in one corner.

I wasn't normally one for mirrors. In my line of work having a mirror in your house was like leaving your window open in a bad neighborhood. Too many things took it as an invitation to cause trouble.

Still....

I jumped off the bed. It took me a second to realize that I actually had two working legs. My joy dampened when I bent forward and looked down. The blue armor ran down over my ankles and ended in a pair of dark blue hooves. Silvery greaves were bound around my lower legs with silver loops. Extending down, the greaves covered the shins above hooves. They were dark, shining with a deep, almost glossy, iridescence.

My cheeks felt flush as I nervously laughed. Then gathering myself, I moved towards the mirror. Each clomping step was met with rolls and sways as various... things rocked back and forth. Incongruently, my tail merrily swished back and forth.

I reached the mirror and stopped.

"Holy Blue Beetle," I squeaked out in a girlish voice. I swallowed.

In the reflection stood a very tall, long-limbed woman. If I had to guess I'd say she...err that is I stood at six foot five. I was almost willowy, except my form was a bit too muscular for that. I definitely had curves, but to my relief I was about the least endowed of my sisters.

Yes, relief, that's why I ignored how the reflected demon's metallic sapphire-blue lips pouted in disappointment.

Powder blue translucent wings rose out of my back. I shifted my shoulders and figured out how to flex them. "Blue armor with black accents, clear wings," I frowned at how high my voice was. I coughed.

"Yeah... that's third Blue Beetle. Well, if Jaime Reyes were a demon lady..." I said still getting used to my voice. At least it was now more of a contralto... though that meant I sounded a bit like Eve, or Gard.

My reflection frowned. "Are you sure Jaime's the best analog you want to pick?"

Out of habit I glanced away from the woman's eyes. The reflection, being me, mirrored the action. "Why? Because that Blue Beetle got his powers via an alien entity that burrowed into him with aims of subverting his will?"

My reflection nodded then smiled. Hells Bells, I had a dimple.

I laughed and studied the rest of my face. My skin had paled to the white of fresh snow. There was also an utter lack of scars. Not just on my face but anywhere... the accumulated damage from decades of fighting monsters... gone.

I gasped. My features were striking: sharp cheekbones, self-amused smile, narrow chin. I looked a lot like my mother. Well, her and my godmother Leanansidhe. I had Lea's delicate little nose.

And my eyes... for starters I had two again. I blinked each eye, enjoying having that ability once more. They were dark like my mother's. And still brown like before, but there were some bright blue flecks that sparkled within.

And while I wanted to assume that the shape was an illusion due to the azure eyeshadow I had on I knew better.

No, I had the almond-shaped, slightly slitted eyes of the sidhe.

Then I saw the pointed ears peeking out of my pale hair. It's funny that those little points gave me more disquiet than my slender, almost longhorn style, indigo horns.

My pupils widened, almost becoming rounded. "Okay... what's with the faerie stuff?" I asked running a clawed hand through my hair.

Even that was Winter Fae. Periwinkle roots paled to fine strands that were white tinged with a hint of blue. I think the shade was called Alice Blue. My pale hair fell back and brushed just between to my wings... er between my shoulder blades.

"Seriously... I look like a sidhe succubus. What the hell?"

"Can't the great Wizard figure it out?" my reflection teased flashing a smile that revealed large gleaming fangs among delicately pointed teeth. Once again I was reminded of my godmother.

"My sisters aren't like this," I murmured.

I looked up, my reflection approving.

"There are two ways of being turned."

I tapped a hoof on the ground. "Three if we include getting pregnant."

My eyes rolled in my reflection. "Focus Harry."

"Right. Well, there's the mother turning and the sister turning. The first is when a succubus forces the change on another. It's faster and less draining on the mother but..."

My reflection nodded approvingly. "But it enthralls the new broodling. She's dependent on her mother, she was created, shaped, by her mother."

"But in the sister change...." My tail started to droop in realization.

"That's right, in the sister change the demonic energy is offered. But it's up to the new demon to shape herself to... become," my reflection swept her claws over her form.

I lifted my arms. "I did this?"

My mirror image snorted. "No, you got lazy. Did you want to be this?"

"I wanted to stop Tessa; I wanted a cure!"

"Exactly." My reflection smiled. "You let yourself be changed, you took in the energy but then..." My hand then spun in a hurry up motion.

I exhaled. "So there I was presented all this power, but I didn't truly..." I swallowed.

One of the things I knew about magic was that a spell didn't work unless you believed, fully believed, not just that it would work, but that it should work, that it was right for it to work. That's what made magic so powerful, and what made Black Magic so insidious. Necromancers, for example, truly believed what they were doing was right.

Now, not all magic worked that way. But a lot of it did. More importantly, mine did. And what happened to me was magical...

My reflection looked expectant.

"And there I was, being changed into a passionate, supernatural predator."

"If only there was a part of us that was a passionate, supernatural predator," my reflection said as I touched my neck. My mother's silver pentacle amulet adorned the front of a wide, shining platinum choker that encircled my neck.

The front of the choker actually extended a bit down my neck like a decorative gorget. The bottom of the curved choker segments met flush with my armor. Looping fae script, inlaid with gold, flowed along the edges of the choker. In the center of the gorget surrounded by more gold inlay was a flawless four-pointed amethyst star.

Up on the choker proper, the open spot in the pentacle amulet's center was filled with gold and set in the very center was the blood-red ruby my mother had also left me. Surrounding the ruby, the gold setting held a sapphire Winter snowflake that sparkled merrily in contrast with the almost sullen ruby. The gold accents themselves contrasted with the silver-hued band of the choker..

"The Mantle," I stated, withdrawing my talons. I then realized that's what was missing. Ever since I became the Winter Knight, the Winter Mantle was a part of me. It allowed me to ignore injury, push my physical limits, it even augmented my powers. It also was aggressive, base and predatory.

Now... now, it was no longer a distinct part of me.

My reflection chuckled and I pushed my will.

The Mantle responded obligingly. The blue armor retreated and pulled back, segments collapsing, folding, and even melting. The ice pulled back towards my spine. More pale, fresh snow-colored skin revealed itself.

I did notice that I kept enough ice around my waist to simulate a bikini bottom and there was a bit of blue armor up top that could pass as a bustier. My talons thinned and retreated into dark obsidian-blue nails, and my hooves sublimated, revealing arched feet. Wings vanished as the translucent sections retreated and the supports folded in.

The transformation was actually pretty slick and reminded me again of the Blue Beetle. At least I had some influence on my transformation. I gave a relieved sigh as my heels hit the floor. I did notice that my choker still flashed around my neck. The gorget had retracted, leaving just the choker with my mother's pentacle and ruby.

"Are you the Mantle?" I asked the mirror

My reflection gave me "the look". It was disturbing how effective that was on my face. Then again I was a tall demon chick.

"No, I'm a tall demon chick," My reflection said echoing my thoughts.

"Oh, you're me."

My reflection rolled her eyes.

"Still, I didn't expect I'd become fae. That could be all sorts of problems," I said looking over my form. At least I got my wish that I stayed tall. Though this might have been too tall. But there might be a way around that...

"Focus Harry, who cares how tall you are?" my reflection growled.

"Right, being fae. Well, I suppose there's an easy test." I looked straight at my reflection. "I am five feet tall."

"I am male," my reflection said.

"I am human," I replied.

"I do not think Butters is cute."

"Hey!"

My reflection stuck out my tongue. I noticed it was a shade of blue. "Fine Sanya."

My cheeks flushed, tinging blue.

"He is the only Knight of the Cross, active or retired, to not be in a relationship," my reflection offered.

"We're not having this conversation."

Once again "the look" returned.

"Right, I'm just talking with myself," I shook my head. "Okay so, I can lie."

"Including to yourself," my reflection murmured.

I glared. My reflection glared back.

"That means I'm not fully a fae..."

"Changeling?" my reflection offered.

"Yeah, part mortal part fae. You can Soulgaze a changeling. And they can..." I blinked then turned to the mirror.

My reflection's sihde eyes twinkling with the delight of anticipation reminded me of Lea. It was a bit disturbing. The fangs didn't help either.

Leaning over to the dresser I picked up a folded index card. It was a spare I'd pocketed from notes I'd been taking... before Lomar.... before I'd gotten hurt.

I raised my other arm. There was another test. One I had been afraid to try. Failing this test was something I didn't even want to consider. Sure, I tried to sound certain to Butters, but this test scared me. I snapped my fingers and concentrated my will. "Flickum bicus," I intoned.

The card burst into flames. It immediately began to curl and collapse.

"Gah!" I shook the card, ice shot out my fingers and enveloped the charred mass. Soon I had what looked like a pile of ash entombed in Lucite.

"Huh..." I placed the block of ice onto the dresser. Fire and ice.

"There's another test..." my reflection teased as I picked up another card.

This time I stared at the card for a few more seconds. I still had my magic. I could still wield the powers of creation.

I was still me.

One thing kept me from grinning like an idiot.

Okay, I was talking to my reflection while burning index cards, dressed in an ice bikini. I had the idiot thing pretty well covered.

I took a breath, and this time only eked out a bit of power. "Flickum bicus," I said trying to draw on my Soulfire. It had been gifted to me by an archangel after I had lost the Hellfire powers that came with touching a Denarian coin.

If I still had that...

The card sparkled and flared. Silver fire merrily burned over the entire card. However, instead of turning to ash the card simply shimmered and slowly darkened.

"Hah!" I cried jumping up and down as my tail swished to and fro.

"You're a demon happy about controlling fire," My reflection deadpanned.

"No! I'm a demon that can still use mortal magic and angel magic!" I laughed shaking the card at my reflection.

Which just meant that my reflection mirrored my actions.

Deflated a bit, I snuffed the flames out and dropped it next to the ice block full of ash. Which I noticed wasn't melting.

"Is this really that surprising?" my reflection asked.

"Just nice to know," I shrugged. "I should have Butters Soulgaze me. That'd be the next test."

I felt my palm hit my forehead.

"Poor, dumb Harry. Soulgazing a succubus was one of the first things you did here."

I chewed my lip. "It's not that... I want him to check me out."

"Phrasing?" my reflection asked.

I ignored her. Well, me. "So, we've got a type of demon that have souls, can use mortal and angelic magics..."

"Why, it's almost like they're part mortal," my reflection deadpanned. "But where have we seen something like that?" she asked sweeping a hand past a pointed ear.

"They're a species of Changelings?"

My reflection shrugged. "Something like that. Sure, they talk as if we're full demons, but you've seen our sisters in action. You're not that demonic."

I nodded to myself. There could be something in the past history of the succubae, how they... we were first created.

"Probably. You can ask." My reflection shrugged. "It's not like this is the first supernatural species that you've seen which feeds on sexual energy and you can Soulgaze."

"Thomas," I said. My brother is a White Court vampire. Mab also said he also was mortal enough to be the Winter Knight, that is if I ever quit the position. He could also do magic, not well, but he could do it.

"Yes, she did," My reflection agreed. "And no we're not," I said touching my choker. My hand then ran down my torso and arm. Not only was my skin the color of fresh snow but it felt as soft and fluffy.

"Okay, I'm still a wizard. Still the Winter Knight. Only now I'm a sidhe succubus too," Sapphire lips curled into a cocky smile. Part of me was very pleased with that. I spun on a foot and walked towards the door.

"I'll definitely have to thank my sisters for this," I purred exiting the bedroom. It was only when I had gone halfway down the hallway that I realized I was still, technically, nude.

***************


Concerns about decency vanished from my mind as I was drawn to the kitchen. Enticing scents tickled my nose and there was a pull that drew me in.

A bare foot crossed the threshold. I knew who was waiting for me before I stepped into the room. For one I could smell her, for another I could feel her presence.

Sitting at the table, a redhead was looking up from her coffee. She tilted her head, examining me critically.

My heart raced and my tail straightened.

"My, so exotic. Tall though," she took a sip from her mug.

I swallowed.

Then the redhead pounced. Her chair fell back with a clatter as she leapt up, slammed into me, and wrapped her arms in an embrace.

My arms slipped over her and pulled her closer. She was soft and warm. Or maybe I was the former. She was definitely the latter. Part of me relished drawing the heat from her. Hells Bells, my tail had started to wag.

The redhead.... Ranma... my sister began to purr. I noticed that the tips of my nails had sharpened and I was idly running them down her back. Then she rolled her tail around mine and we both began to purr in sync.

I reveled in the feelings she was giving off. I don't know when exactly but we found ourselves lying on the cool tile floor. That made the height disparity was less awkward.

Gazing at her, I gave a contented sigh. I could feel the love that suffused her, taste the power that came off her in waves, and bask in her shear presence.

I swallowed. I was very much the little sister in this relationship.

Looking into her eyes, I realized I was actually draining her. Nipping bits of energy from my sister. Languidly stretching, I shifted to nuzzle under her chin while my claws continued to explore.

Warm lips pressed mine. My whole body tingled, but I felt it the most at the roots of my horns and the base of my tail.

"We can't indulge ourselves too much, dear sister," There was a trace of reluctance in Ranma's voice. She then pulled herself into a crouch.

Sitting up, a tiny growl passed my lips.

The redhead simply looked at me.

Under those purple eyes, I froze.

"Control sister; remember who you are," she held out her hand.

Swallowing, I took it and she pulled me up and then towards the table.

I blinked and took stock of the other pleasing scent in the room. I sat down.

"Making yourself whole would make anyone hungry," Ranma smiled as she pushed the white paper bag towards me. She then went to the fridge and returned with a paper cup.

I had already opened the bag and withdrew the contents. A familiar scent drew me in. It was something I had smelled for years. But now... now there was extra depth. It was like going from seeing in black and white to seeing in color.

My sister had a little smile as she watched me carefully unwrap the quartet of Whoppers and line up the cartons of Burger King fries. The toppings, the ratio of ketchup to mustard, even the extra packets for the fries were there.

"You knew?" There was one thing missing however...

"I remembered what you ordered before we went to the park." She patted my hand. "And I know you'd appreciate something... familiar."

"But there's no crown," I said, and totally did not whine in a rising voice. I certainly didn't pout either.

Reaching out with a languid smile, Ranma ran a fingertip over my choker. "Well... if you insist... we could take care of that.

Coughing, I looked at the kitchen wall clock. "It's before noon? How did you get a lunch order?"

"We can be persuasive," she added with a wink. "Well, I bribed them to switch over early."

I smiled. Then my stomach gurgled. I fell onto the food. I'd like to say my ravenous behavior was the fault of my newly demonic nature. But I knew I had such hungers as a human.

Human.

Idly munching on a clawful of fries, I looked down. I could see pale skin and the swell of my blue armor. Alice blue hair fell around me. Even the shadow I cast on the table was different. Slimmer. And the shadows cast by my horns stuck out to either side.

"You are impressive," my sister noted after watching me eat.

I looked down at the demolished fast food. "Yeah, if the Denarians hold an eating contest they'd better worry."

"Perhaps." Ranma chuckled. "But I'm thinking of your training." She reached out and ran a finger over my arm. I almost purred at the contact. Even the warmth of her touch felt like it left a trail down my arm. The tip of her finger pressed into the yielding snowy-soft skin.

My sister looked from my armor to the snowy skin of my arm and made a thoughtful noise. "The Winter Mantle?"

"Uh yeah... it was a major influence when I changed," I nervously laughed.

"Impressive."

"You haven't seen the half of it, it expands to like full armor."

"Full?"

"Well up to here," I held a hand to my neck.

Eyeing me, my sister laughed. "Yes I can imagine with a choker like that you don't need more protection. Still..." her thoughtful expression returned.

And then she stabbed a finger towards my arm. The point struck my forearm.

I gave a surprised noise. Which was neither girlish nor high pitched.

I flashed my sister a hurt look, but she was instead running her finger over my forearm.

I could see a vividly-blue bruise blossoming into place. I guess I should be thankful that my sister hadn't extended a claw and flayed open my skin. Still, there was something different about the contact. It felt... harder.

"Interesting," she noted running her finger over my forearm.

Looking closer, I could see that the bruise was already fading. Also the tip of her finger no longer sunk into my skin. My arm had gone from feeling like fluffy snowflakes, to hard-packed snow.

"Automatic response, that's good," she pulled her hand back. "Still, that'll make you a bit more sensitive than the rest of us."

Her thoughtful expression became anticipatory and... hungry. "We simply must begin your training, Dresden. Your limits..." my sister smiled. "I'd take you to the dojo now but..."

"But?" I licked my lips.

She took a sip from her mug. "Someone else is using it. Someone you should talk to."

"Oh...." I swallowed and my tail drooped.

"It's okay," my sister took my hand. "He knows you did this, he knows you're okay. You just need to show him."

End Chapter 9


And here... we... are. Yeah... Butters and Ranma tried to caution Harry. But... we all know how stubborn Harry is. And yes there are several alternative solutions. But... they all have downsides. Even the most tame one that Mab suggested (Course the downsides to that are a bit moot given Harry's mistake)

I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, Ellf, and Toxinvictoria . Special thank to: Ellf and DCG for their work on this concept.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 10: Choices, Part B

My hand rubbed my belly as I walked the path that connected the house to the dojo. I took a moment to revel in the contented feeling of being full.... and luxuriate in how wonderfully soft my skin was. The warm morning sun also felt wonderful.

My tail swished back and forth. The stones felt cool against my bare feet, but after a couple steps my armor extended. Silvery greaves shifted into place, and hooves clopped against stone.

Stepping up to the porch that ran around the dojo, I peered inside.

I looked in and saw a short human in black cargo pants and t-shirt facing off against a slightly taller succubus in a red Lycra bodysuit. Both had black hair, but where her tresses were fine and straight, he had a wild shock of hair.

Both were thin, but while she was on the lithe, somewhat willowy side, he could... charitably be considered edging out of scrawny.

She held a katana that gave off an almost malevolent red glow, while his sword flared with a blade made entirely of pure light. It also hummed as he moved and sparked whenever the two blades came into contact.

Standing just off to the side was another girl. This one had orange hair and intense green eyes. Surprisingly, she had a sober expression and was intently supervising the proceedings. Though she did glance towards the door and give a big grin.

Tail drooping, I hesitated at the threshold. Watching the two spar was fascinating. Nariko was more experienced, had finer footwork, and had the edge in reach, but Butters wouldn't be dissuaded. There was a stubbornness and willingness to take risks that I found appealing.

Also it seemed that his lightsaber had a "safe" mode, because he was able to freely bonk her with his blade. Meanwhile, Nariko had to hit with the flat of hers. I idly wondered why she was fighting with live-steel when I was certain that they would have training blades stashed somewhere.

I was so transfixed by the match that I didn't really notice I had entered the dojo. The two had circled around and Butters' back was towards me.

The swords stopped.

Nariko looked at me and pulled her katana back.

Butters tilted his head and began to turn.

"Oh, wonderful!" Misako clapped her hands. "Finally! Someone in this family with a sense of style."

As the green-eyed demon rushed over to inspect my form, Nariko smiled and bowed her head approvingly towards me.

That left the... human. Geeze, I was still over a foot taller than him. The short man held Fidelacchius, the Sword of Faith. The tip of my tail started to curl.

He adjusted his glasses. Maybe it was due to the demon chick fussing over my ears and my horns. She also complemented me on my makeup and tried to ask me what blush I used.

Stepping forward, I shook my head. This caused Misako to pout, the girl had pulled a hairbrush out of.... somewhere and was about to use it.

"Butters, Butters, Butters. You have the opportunity to play Jedi versus Sith and you're not wearing a robe?" I turned to Nariko. "And you, where's the force lightning? Or at least wear a black bodysuit. I mean you're a demon with an evil, glowy sword, you've got appearances to keep up!"

Tilting his head, Butters nodded. "Harry.... you're looking.... better," he said, his eyes darting over my form.

"It'd be hard not to." My smile broadened as I clomped closer. "Two arms, two legs, two eyes."

Butters continued to look me over. The embarrassed geek had passed and now his expression was clinical. Well, the man was a medical examiner. "You're a fae too?" he asked keeping his sword pointed low.

"Sidhe," I sniffed.

The tip of the sword made small circles as his gaze went from my chest, to my choker to my eyes and ears. I may have leaned forward to give him a closer view.

He looked to the other demons and made a thoughtful noise. "The Winter Mantle?"

Smiling, I nodded. "You're getting pretty quick on the uptake with this magic stuff," I purred keeping my voice low.

"You screwed up, didn't you?"

Misako snorted.

"It's not like...." I frowned, tail drooping.

Butters laughed. The Sword's blade dimmed and vanished. "Oh, Harry. How did you screw up turning into a succubus? And what are you wearing?"

My cheeks felt flush. Well... they actually felt very cool but I knew blood was rushing towards them.... and my ears. I looked down. Then I swallowed. "Uh, that's my armor."

Butters raised an eyebrow. "It's a shiny, metallic blue bikini bottom and matching bra."

"Bustier," Misako corrected.

He shrugged. "That's not armor. Okay, maybe in a fantasy videogame."

Misako nodded.

I leaned forward and rubbed my forehead. Well I rubbed the base of my horns. That did make me feel better, despite Nariko's raised eyebrow and the snickering coming from Misako.

"Okay, yeah it's part of my armor...." I concentrated. The Mantle eagerly complied. There was a shifting noise as blue ice grew out and plates extended. Soon everything bellow the neck was encased in blue and black ice armor and a pair of light blue translucent wings grew into place rising from my back.

This time Butters' blink was followed by a geeky grin. "You're the..."

I twisted a bit showing off the side and back of the armor. "It's more form-fitting than anything Jaime had with the scarab, but it'll do."

"You went from the Wizard Winter Knight to the sidhe succubus Blue Beetle. That's nuts." Butters shook his head, but he was smiling.

"Says the Jewish Jedi Knight of the Cross."

Butters laughed. He stepped closer and then sidestepped as I twisted to show myself off. "The armor does look real cool," he said.

I wondered if he was saying that half to himself. "Alien symbiot infiltrator armor" was probably less scary than "predatory demon chick". Not that I disagreed. I did look real cool.

"Geeze, you're tall though. Even as a girl." His empty hand idly reached out.

My tail just happened to roll beneath his palm.

His fingers were warm, very warm. He looked confused as his hand automatically closed around the appendage.

A purr escaped my throat. I looked down and leaned closer, my armor pressing against him.

"Harry," He stated looking straight up. "What are you doing?"

There was no tremor to his voice. The scared little medical examiner that had his lab destroyed by zombies was gone. His other hand still held his sword. I knew he could activate it in a second. I also knew he wouldn't.

My lips parted. Despite his size he was....

I blinked and jerked my head up. "You're pulling my tail," I squeaked out, with a little frown. The backside to my armor did feel a bit tight, but so did my torso. It would have been easier if Murphy had been the one sent to give me backup. Easier on the eyes too.

"Oh... didn't mean too," Butters coughed, letting go.

I ignored that my tail lifted to push against his palm.

I grinned. "Never mind that, you can make it up to me. There is something I want you to do," I said my, voice softening as I once again leaned closer.

"I'm flattered, really, but I'm very happy with Andi," Butters deadpanned.

I blinked. My tail flicked and part of me felt fluttery. Worse, my cheeks chilled again. Andi... now she was something else: buxom strong. Butters was a lucky man.

"Do you know you blush blue?" Butters asked. "I wonder if your blood's really blue, or if it's an illusion caused by how your skin filters certain wavelengths of light," he asked in medical examiner mode. He then peered into my eyes. "Huh... the veins in your eyes look blue, but they're all weird and faerie."

"Yes, exactly!" I cried.

"What?" Butters' brow furrowed.

"Soulgaze me!" I demanded, superfluously. I was already being drawn into his chestnut eyes.

There was fear. There was desperation. I felt an overwhelming desire to prove oneself. I saw a kid standing up to a bully. He got knocked down. He got up. He got knocked down again.

The page turned. Now older, the young man tried the military; he was rejected. He tried the police; he washed out. Two things were apparent, the little man struggled against his limitations, but he kept at it.

There was medical school, and a period of success, of vindication. But it was all too short. His internship was rocky, his residency was a nightmare. It was the blood. It was seeing people suffer. Once again, the flesh failed him.

He pushed on. He made do. If he couldn't deal with live patients, he'd become a doctor for dead ones. Bitterness crept into him as a young man became an adult.

The page turned. And he discovered something new. Something different. He reported his findings. That the bodies he had examined were human-like but not human. All his work was correct. His evidence was solid.

But everyone knows monsters aren't real.

He stood by his work. He was locked up. He was forced to recant. The well of bitterness came up and whispered against him. But the man still had hope; he still thought he could make a difference.

The page turned, a year later he met a gangly, distant man that looked off with a thousand yard stare. A year after that zombies tried to kill him, the gangly man saved him, and together they rode a tyrannosaurs rex.

He had made a difference; he had saved lives that night. Both in helping control an undead dinosaur and as a doctor. Still, the fear held him back.

The page turned, over the years the fear nipped at him, pointing out his weaknesses. But over the years he rose to the situation. He helped as he could, and did what he could. He found love.

Then the gangly man disappeared.

And the little man realized that he could do something.

His faith that people can still do the right things and that one can make a difference even if the flesh is weak was tested. He learned, he grew. He stumbled, but, like when he was a boy, he got back on his feet.

The ultimate test came in the rain, saving a family from being murdered by monsters. The gangly man had returned, but had been vanquished. There was no one else. The little man knew he couldn't win, not against the Denarians, but he knew he could make a difference.

He had faith.

My head snapped back as the Soulgaze withdrew. I shivered and realized I'd slipped down to my knees and draped my arms around Butter's shoulders. The massive difference in our heights put me at a strange angle relative him. Despite the awkwardness, I pulled closer.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into his ear. "I had no idea."

Butters turned. The Sword had fallen out of his hand. He'd brought that arm up and wrapped it around my back, just below where my wings emerged through my armor. His other hand was lower by the base of my tail.

"You?" He gave a strained laugh, hugged me and leaned his head against my shoulder. "God Harry.... just...." He looked me in the eyes. "How do you go on?"

I chuckled. Well, it was more of a purr. "What about you? Steve Rogers is less stubborn than you are."

"I was more of a DC fan but... Captain America did appeal to me." He straightened himself or tried to. Instead that just pulled me in closer. "Growing up... I did wish for super serum, but a Sword is a nice consolation prize."

I shifted to lean close and whispered again. "The serum isn't what made him a hero."

He blushed.

"And a sword doesn't make a Jedi," I added, looking down. My arm slipped off his shoulder. Talons stopped just over the Sword's wooden handle.

He followed my gaze. Lifting his hand of my shoulder, he picked up the sword and deposited it in my palm. I took a moment to study the polished wooden grip and the little shard of steel that stuck out.

Nariko gave the hilt a respectful, slightly awed look. She was her mother's daughter and into swords. Despite its new state, Butters' blade was once Kusanagi. It had been made by the Shinto god Susanoo and, as the legend went, was given by Amaterasu to Japan's first Emperor. It was interesting to see someone who was impressed by a Sword of the Cross, as a holy relic independent of the whole "cross" aspect.

Butters stood. "Harry, it'll be okay."
He offered his hand.

I held out the sword.

Butters grabbed me by the wrist. He grunted with effort but managed to pull me back up to my hooves.

Okay, I'll admit that I helped too. I mean, the guy was over a foot shorter than me.

Misako clapped, and, for once, she didn't look snide or sarcastic. Though that might be because she was too busy shifting between clapping and taking pictures. Nariko also gave a genuine smile.

I bowed my head.

"You've got demonic fangirls," Butters noted.

I struck a pose and cocked my hip. "They're my nieces," I said, sounding more proud than I expected.

"It is nice to have a cool auntie. Someone with decent fashion sense," Misako smiled. Ah, there was the familiar mad glint to her green eyes.

I looked down. I wasn't nude, technically. "Clothing... right."

Butters shook his head. "You really are clueless aren't you?"

My lips shifted into a pout.

He looked up at me with a strange expression. "I'd say you can't be that dumb. But here you are a giant ice-fairy demon lady."

"Hey!" I stomped a leg.

He looked down at my gleaming hoof then back up at me.

"You going to blame the others on why you're like this?"

My pout grew embarrassed. "No..."

"Certainty not," Misako said indignant. "Mother's a stick in the mud when it comes to this stuff, so she wouldn't do it, Auntie Eve doesn't care, and Auntie Cecilia is far too subtle in her machinations to be this blatantly indulgent, even if the results are lovely."

"Blaming others includes blaming the Winter Mantle," Butters gently reminded.

I gestured towards myself. Indicating the pale wintery hair and various bits of ice adorning my willowy form.

Butters crossed his arms. "You're saying you were outsmarted by a pack of heightened instincts that Mab dumped in you?"

Huffing, I felt my wings droop. "Fine, you were right to be worried. You can say 'I told you so'. I wasn't thinking." My tail also went limp.

"Hey, don't be that way," he stepped closer and took my hand. It was warm.

A smile touched my glossy lips. My gaze drifted down. My fingers were longer than his. His hands were delicate-looking, surgeon's hands, but they still looked human. My hand was as if carved from alabaster and my dark blue nails seemed honed out of polished stone. They looked more art-piece than flesh. Even the blue veins just visible below the skin came off more like fine tracery.

My tail rose up and curled around one leg.

"You're still Harry." He looked me in the eye. "You were smart enough with the Soulgaze. And only Harry Dresden could be both a fae and a succubus and still be clumsy."

"Hey!"

Misako took a picture of us. "Even mother is more gifted at being a succubus. And she was a virgin for the longest time."

Nariko reluctantly nodded.

"Hey!" I blinked. "Wait, Ranma was a virgin?"

***************


I was back in the bedroom. Once again, I was staring at my reflection. It was getting a bit eerie. So far, I'd spent more time looking at myself in one day than I ever had... before. I'm sure Murphy would say that that was due to my innate cave-man attitudes towards gender.

Murphy. Shiny sapphire lips creased into a frown. Explaining all this would be... problematic. But... I murmured as my tail swished... explaining it would be so worth it.

"Auntie! Lift your arm," a boisterous voice said as I was prodded in the side.

Turning, I saw Misako was trying to remove a button-down shirt. The green-eyed girl struggled a bit getting it off my shoulders.

I leaned over to give her an easier time.

I looked at myself. This was necessary, especially the bra. Breasts are heavy. I was glad I was somewhat less endowed than my sisters.

I saw that one of Cecilia's girls, Desiree, had stepped into the room carrying a shoe-box. Misako handed the periwinkle shirt over, and took the box. "Just a bit tighter in the shoulders and a bit more across the front," she said to the younger girl. Desiree blushed slightly at me before slipping out of the room.

Misako motioned for me to sit down on the bed.

From the box she pulled out a pair of leather work-boots and started lacing them up over the pale blue knee-socks adorning my feet.

"How do they fit?" she asked, slightly irritated.

I took a few steps. "Fine," I shrugged.

"Finally," she said with some relief eroding her frustration.

"Sorry?" I asked.

"Oh, it's not you," Misako airily waved. "Well, it is you," she admitted.

"Pardon?"

She pulled me up and went back to the mirror.

"See."

I saw a tall woman towering over a shorter woman. It didn't help that the taller one was only in a bra, underwear, and boots. I blushed a bit.

"You have any idea how difficult a woman your size will be to get clothes for?"

I blinked.

"What about Eve?"

"She's got problems, and you're like a head taller," she gave me an apprising look. "At least it's not all bad. Undergarments won't be much of a problem."

"Huh." I then realized that the clothes I was already wearing did come out of a pretty standard packet.

"Fortunately, your height is the only... excessive measurement of yours. And you're willowy enough and your torso is also more long than broad. Thus your bra's band size isn't excessive."

"Hurrah," I deadpanned.

The coifed girl eyed me. "It's no laughing matter; custom bras are expensive. You'll still need to order custom stockings." Her gaze lowered. "But on the balance I'd say that's worth it given those fantastic legs."

I focused on my reflection. Though I did notice a prideful smile grow on those sapphire lips.

People entered the room, and I felt Desiree and Meredith. I picked up a bit of nervousness emanating from them and a desire to help.

I cocked my head. Desiree carried that periwinkle shirt and pair of pants. Meredith had... my duster. My tail drooped.

Misako swatted the appendage. "Not yet, we're still trying human duds."

Frowning, I obliged; my tail vanished. "Fast work, I noted."

"We only had to make a few adjustments this time, Auntie," Desiree assured.

Soon, I went back to the bed, off came the boots, on came the clothes, then the boots came back on, and the duster slipped over my shoulders. The heavy spellbound coat felt... comfortable. Purring, I ran a hand over the sleeves, there was something about leather. And it was a gift from Molly. My ears and cheeks flushed at that, a gift from the Winter Lady.

My idle and happy thoughts were interrupted when Misako once again led me to the mirror.

A tall woman gave a cocky smile back at me. Black slacks and a dark blue button-down western shirt with black accents showcased her lithe figure without being blatant. Draped over that was a black leather duster. It looked a bit more voluminous over my new frame, but it fit.

I looked down. The reinforced material had been altered. I could feel that a bit had been taken in to fit more slender shoulders, and the sleeves had been re-hemmed for arms that were just a bit shorter. However the bottom hem was left the same length, turning a calf-length coat into an ankle-length coat.

Meredith and Desiree clapped.

"Not bad," Misako admitted. "You can do the bifauxnen style well."

"Uh... thanks," I twisted a bit, taking in the look. I wasn't sure how else I could have done it. I mean this was basically how I dressed before. Okay, t-shirts were more common than button downs, but I wore the latter when I had to dress nicely.

I also wore cowboy boots, but I was afraid that Misako would launch into an explanation about how I'd have to find a cobbler to make me special ones. And worse... she was probably right. That said, I did know some cobblers. Their operation was small, but they did great work.

"If I'm going to have such a problem finding clothes that I'd have to mod them, why don't I just buy menswear?"

Misako gave me a flat look while Meredith giggled.

"We did get those men's department," Desiree gently stated.

"Oh." I picked at my shirt. "So the mods are..."

"Because you're not shaped like a guy," Misako snorted. "Really Auntie, we must get your clothing style in line with your makeup style."

Ignoring that, I lifted a boot.

"Yes, those too. Shoes will be a hassle. Well, you might be able to get sneakers, but anything fashionable will have to be bespoke."

Huh, so my prediction about cowboy boots was correct.

"High heels will have to be completely custom," Misako added.

"That's not going to be a problem," I snorted.

"If you say so," Misako chuckled. "Now, stylish pants and shirts would also fall under the same problems."

"Skirts may be okay," Desiree offered.

Misako looked me over. "Yes, as long as she keeps in mind that a knee length skirt would, on her frame, look like a mid-thigh one."

"But it would show off those wonderful runner's legs!" Meredith said.

"Good point," Misako agreed.

I frowned. They had a point. I'd be careful when buying pants. I could easily end up with something that looked like flood pants or clam-diggers. Shorts were worse. I'd be hard to find something that didn't fit me like glorified Daisy Dukes.

"Great job girls," I smiled. Feeling the welling joy in my nieces I swept them up into a hug. They began to purr. Then I began to purr. Afterwards, still basking, in the feeling of connectiveness I returned to the mirror.

"Very good work," I bent forward then squatted, rose up, and moved my arms. "You really make these fit a lot better."

"Oh, it's a major advantage we have," Misako smirked.

"You'll pick it up soon enough," Meredith assured.

"Will I pick up how to look more human?" I asked. I had dropped the demonic accoutrements, including my horns, which made everything feel a bit muffled.

Misako shrugged.

"This isn't exactly subtle," I pointed with a pale long-fingered hand with dark blue nails.

My face was a similar pallor, with the barest tinge of blue, especially on the cheeks. Not to mention, the sharp teeth when I smiled, the pointed ears, or the dark, almond-shaped eyes with those blue flecks and slit pupils.

"I still look pretty sidhe."

Misako nodded. "And the choker is a bit blatant."

"That stays," I said sharply, my hand going to the platinum band. It was barely obscured by the collar of my shirt.

The green-eyed young woman slipped closer to me. "At least this shows the upside to your bold makeup."

"I'm not wearing makeup."

Misako gave an indulgent smile. "Of course, but still such exotic eye shadow will make exotic eyes more accepted. And someone with such rich blue lips will of course use blue-hued foundation. Especially given such 'obviously dyed' hair."

"People will assume I'm doing some type of goth look?"

"You are wearing dark clothes and a long black coat," Desiree said.

I tilted my head. They might have a point. Most people went out of their way to avoid admitting that the supernatural existed. So as long as I wasn't too blatant...

"And the ears?"

"Comb your hair over them," Misako shrugged.

"Or learn to cast a glamour," Meredith offered.

In my reflection, a pale slim eyebrow rose. "You could have started with that."

Misako chuckled. "Sorry Auntie," she said, not sorry at all. "It's not like it's something we normally bother with, but since you're all fae..."

"And a wizard!" Desiree added.

I slowly nodded.

"Misa-chan said you had fancy armor..." Meredith's tone was leading.

I eyed the little demon. "I might," I grinned. The mantle responded. By now the whishing sound of growing and sliding ice was familiar. Blue and black armor slid over pants and shirt. Boots were covered then morphed into dark hooves with silvery greaves. Armor slid over hands and my talons grew out. Horns extended, and finally my tail snaked out the slit the back of my duster as my wings lifted and grew into place.

"Ooooh...." Desiree stepped looking around.

Meanwhile Meredith ran a hand over the slick material coating my thigh. My tail swished. And I crossed my arms. "Pretty neat huh?"

"You kept the coat?" Misako asked looking between my shoulder blades.

"The coat's awesome."

Misako allowed a small nod.

I shifted out of my armor and back into the blouse and pants.

Sniffing the air, I turned to the door. I noticed that my nieces had mirrored the move. The synchronicity was eerie, but we could all sense who was coming.

The door opened and Ranma stepped in. She was wearing black leather pants, boots burgundy blouse, and a matching black jacket. I glanced down at myself, then at Misako who tried looking innocent.

There was more than a bit of similarity between my clothes and my sister's style.

"Looking good," my sister smiled as she closed in for a hug.

I returned the embrace, the diminutive woman almost vanishing in my arms.

Two more of my nieces had entered: Ranma's daughters Akane and Nabiki.

"Huh, Misako's being more restrained than I expected," the older one dryly noted.

"Give her time," her cute baby sister said in a sing-song voice.

Misako stamped a foot. "Can't I be nice?"

Ranma pulled out of the hug and gave her coiffed daughter a flat look.

After a moment, Misako looked down. "This is her first day. We shouldn't overwhelm her."

I reached out and patted her on the shoulder.

"That mean I shouldn't suggest a nice kimono? I have a pattern in mind and everything," Nabiki offered.

"What were you thinking for the sash?" Akane asked.

"Well I didn't want to get too formal for the obi. I mean, I doubt she even knows how to tie one but there is a shade of lavender that might be perfect."

Ranma lifted a finger. "I appreciate the sentiment Misa-chan. However..." She let the word hang in the air as she gave me her full attention.

I frowned in confusion, but my tail drooped in apprehension.

My sister made a show of looking at her watch. "We've already lost most of the morning, we're going to have to rush if we're gonna get some training in. Tessa will try again; we don't know how much time we have."

I growled at Tessa's name. "Training? Well... Butters and Nariko are taking a break." I glanced out the bedroom window. I couldn't see the dojo from here but I wasn't sure about the rush.

"No, no, not there," Ranma's smile grew. "We'll have to go someplace we can stretch our wings."

"Oh," I said in a small voice.

***************


I stepped out onto the bright sunlight. Half-dead grass rolled in front of me. The ground undulated with hummocks. There were several bare spots with exposed dirt and more than a handful of craters. Beyond the rough field, leafless trees clawed at the cloudless sky. There were layers of fences, both within the forest and in front of the trees. Rolling hills surrounded the grounds, and directly in front was a lumpy bump of land. Even with its top sheared off, the massif stood larger than the rest of the hills.

The trees near the summit had been blasted down; their logs lying scattered down the slope like toothpicks. At the very top was burned debris that indicated some sort of building was up there. Gaping concrete tunnels and holes were among the ruins exposed like a skull with its teeth ripped out.

The damage wasn't fresh. Many cycles of rain, sun, and wind had worn things down and I could see that some greenery had begun to creep in before autumn had halted the advance. I nodded at that.

Behind me, Butters stepped out of the building. It was one of those corrugated steel prefab military-style structures. You know, the ones that are like a half-cylinder on the side. There was a cluster of them at one end of this field and there were a few other outbuildings in the distance.

He had tossed a black vest over his shirt. He rubbed his bare arms. I noticed they were a bit more muscular than his normal "noodle arms". Training with Michael was paying off. Which was good; not many Knights get to retire. Well, that is to say not many long-term knights get to retire. There have been plenty of knights who take up a Sword for one mission and hand it back. However, those that make a life of it... well they end up being lifers. And not many rookie Knights get a full-time mentor.

Butters turned to me and looked up and down. He breathed out and looked back out across the field.

"Yes?" I arched an eyebrow and my tail curled slightly.

"Are you sure about this?"

I ran a finger along my left horn. I paused, enjoying the tingle. "Bit too late for me to back out," I stated, making a note to be careful with those things. Of course succubae would be more sensitive.

Butters lifted his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose.

"No, well yes," he sighed. "Yes it's too late to back out, something I'm painfully aware."

"Hey-"

He held up a hand. "And no, I'm not objecting to you training. That's a very sensible idea. One that I doubt was yours."

I pouted.

"The redhead, Ranma?" He asked; I nodded. "She seems to be pretty focused on that."

"I was going to ask to practice." My tail drooped.

He looked at the rolling land in front of us and made a thoughtful noise.

Sure, I was planning to practice, but I was thinking we'd start in their dojo. And not be driven out here into the wilds of Canada.

This wasn't quite Camp Kaboom out in the desert of the American Southwest where I helped train newbie Wardens, but there was plenty of evidence that this was a place for live-fire practice.

I inhaled and could smell just a hint of the sulfurous scent of expended munitions on the crisp fall air. There was another scent, something familiar but hard to quantify.

"Sure, practice is good, but did you have to dress like that?"

"Huh?"

He looked me over, his eyes lingering on the base of my tail before he crossed his arms.

"It's.... " I sighed. "She told me I shouldn't be wearing the armor for this."

"So, you decided on a blue bodysuit?"

"It's what Misako had," I mumbled.

"The one with the orange hair and the crazy eyes?" He laughed after I grunted in agreement. "You're being played."

"Played?" I looked over myself. The dark blue Lycra fit well, and gave a surprising amount of support. "But I look good in this, right?"

Butters tilted his head. I could see his brain working behind his glasses. "You're a tall succubus in a skin tight leotard," he stated as if to confirm the reality before him.

Smiling, I rolled my hips as I twisted to get a good look at myself. "It is surprisingly comfortable," I noted as my tail swished back and forth.

"Played," Butters repeated.

He said something else but I didn't notice as my horns tingled. I then realized what that familiar scent was. It was Ranma. I could feel my sister's presence, not just with her approach but how it had permeated these grounds. I recalled a similarly enveloping feeling at her house.

A rich contralto voice chuckled. "Played would be if Misako convinced you to wear a miniskirt and tiara."

"Maybe high heels," the blue haired niece added. Akane looked me over. "Or just convinced you to go with hooves."

Butters looked down at my legs. "Yeah, at least you've got feet."

I crossed my arms. Truth be told, I wasn't sure exactly how summoning hooves worked. I knew they came when I went all Blue Beetle ice armor. It was probably like making my wings appear. Or those ice talons.

The instant my fingers and toes started to tingle, I halted that line of thought

Ranma had stepped out of the building and was circling around me. She wore a dark purple bodysuit that, despite being the same cut as mine, seemed to have more.... gravitas.

Then again, it might be the presence my sister put out. I bowed my head to her.

Purple eyes twinkling, she returned the gesture. As did Akane who stood at her side a few paces back.

Butters frowned. "Why do I feel like we're about to duel?'

Ranma chuckled. "Spar. There is a difference."

I did look between us, there were two groups of two. "Wouldn't that make you my second?" I lightly asked.

Butters shrugged.

"There's no settling of accounts here. No, this is a teaching experience," Ranma's lips curled into a smile. She then gestured for me to follow and turned down the slight incline further into the cold field.

"Oh? Do we have time for you to teach me your martial art?" I asked, my boots swishing through the half-dead grass.

"No. Shame that." My sister clasped her hands behind her back. "But there is something vital that you must be taught, before you go into battle."

"I'm listening," I said.

"You're not human."

I blinked. My tail lazily moved to and fro. "Do tell."

Smirking, the redhead started to pace around me. "Yes, yes, you've got the breasts and the horns and the tail. But there's more than that." She stopped and met my gaze. "You're a baby. You've been one of us for what? Not even a whole morning?

"You don't know your powers. You don't know what you can shrug off and what you can power through. You don't know your limits."

"And you do?" I crossed my arms. "Didn't know you had much experience with sidhe wizard succu-"

And that's when her right fist slammed into my side. I coughed up air as my diaphragm burned and twitched. I had taken a lot of beatings over the years, and had come to be a connoisseur of taking a hit.

And Ranma knew how to follow-through enough to do real damage. Her fist pushed in just under the ribs and lifted out with a jerk. I growled and slashed with my hands, talons springing into place. Still shocked, my attack was instinctual. One arm was knocked aside by Ranma's tail with a warm hiss, the other was grabbed by her left hand and twisted.

I tried to roll out of the wrist-lock, and in the process stumbled to the ground. Ranma slipped her grip and pulled on a finger, torquing the joint.

"What the hell?" I demanded beginning to pull myself up. "You could have warned me."

Butters stepped forward but Akane held up her hand to halt him.

"You can get out of this," Ranma mildly said. "It's just a finger."

She let go and peered over me. "How do your ribs feel?"

I almost detected a flicker of uncertainty in those purple eyes. A moment of worried empathy that she had hurt me, more than she had intended. The redhead sniffed the air and the moment passed.

I gasped and felt my side. It hurt; pain washed over me. But... it wasn't the pain I'd expect from having had my kidney smashed to a pulp. Bruised yes... but not damaged. I had a huge, nasty bruise on my side. But as I prodded, the tender spots seemed to lessen. I could just imagine the heavy blue bruises shrinking under the bodysuit.

"And then there's your arm." Ranma's tail waggled over my left arm. There was a large straight cut running down my forearm. Cerulean blue blood squirted out of the sealing gash. The sleeve of my bodysuit still flittered where it had been sliced open. It seemed to coagulate faster than human blood.

"It actually is blue," Butters remarked.

"I can heal..." I blinked.

"And you didn't even notice that wound," Ranma tilted her head. "Control, dear sister, control."

Glaring, I stood up. I exhaled, my body tingled and the pain started to fade, but there was a tightness in my chest, a hunger. I thought back to seeing Thomas, Lara and their sisters after a battle. They could heal damage too, but it came at a cost.

Ranma flexed her hand. She then licked the back of a finger. "Yes, that's another thing. We need to see how much your healing costs."

"How much she'll need to feed?" Butters asked.

My sister nodded to him. "And what," she took another lick. I noticed a flash of blue disappear past her lips.

"Hey! That's my blood!"

"The Mantle?" Butters asked, ignoring my outburst. The redhead nodded. He looked me over. "Harry's obviously using its power."

"Yes, but how much can she use it?" Ranma grinned, flashing her teeth.

"Ah," Butters stepped back.

I gave the Knight a quick glance. "Is she gonna do what I think she's gonna do?" I asked, suddenly feeling very naked to be without my coat or staff. The tight Lycra bodysuit wasn't helping.

"We need to learn your limits; it's important," Ranma said in her most soft and sympathetic "mom-voice". I also felt that a part of her would enjoy this. "We'll have to go in stages to make sure we don't push you beyond where you can heal but..."

"What if I fight back?"

Purple eyes twinkled. "Please do, but try to minimize the magic usage; you need to learn how to use this body you begged for."

Butters snickered.

"It's win-win," Akane agreed.

Ranma's amused smile vanished, replaced with a contemplative, evaluative look. Shifting her feet, she met my eye.

I put my arms up and gave a loose stance. "This is gonna to suck isn't it?"

The redhead snapped forward.

I've said it before. I've been beaten a lot. I've become a bit of an unwilling expert in receiving and managing pain. Though, I suppose the one time I broke my own hand to escape a set of handcuffs was deliberate on my part.

The attack was vicious, intense. She came at me with a flurry of blows that I barely blocked and leg swipes that forced me to mind my footwork. I grit my teeth. The barrage was also restrained. I knew she could be faster; I'd seen her hit harder.

Hells Bells, most of her attacks were with her fists and the blade of her hand. From what I knew of her style, she preferred to use her claws in slashing or stabbing attacks. Her combos and responses were also sluggish.

As we sparred, her hits started to come in faster. My heartbeat climbed as I worked to block and dodge and grappled her. My head buzzed and I pushed harder with my own hits. She blocked them, but each time, it felt like if I pushed a bit more I'd get through her defenses. It was also more of a brawl, I knew she had a full repertoire of throws and joint locks and other nasty bits, but it looked like her focus was on gross blunt trauma.

I blocked her arm, pushed her aside, and using my greater reach slammed a fist into her side. Strength flared in my arm as her ribs cracked. Snarling, I followed up with a right jab on her chin.

There was the reverberating thunk of fist on bone. I gave a triumphant yell.

Bounding back, Ranma smiled, there was red blood splashed on her teeth. "Good, you're starting to tap into your capabilities. But you're still fighting like a human." She spat some blood. "Also don't hit where the bone is strongest."

I breathed a few times... then realized my heartbeat had dropped back down and my breathing had returned to normal.

"That's like a human?" Butters cried. "You were going after each other like a kung fu movie."

Ranma tilted her head. "Yes, it was showy and a bit slow. Though there wasn't enough blood." One hand behind her back, she turned to me and beckoned with the other. She stood relaxed in a bladed stance with her knees bent. Her tail whipped back and forth.

"Oh, you cocky little shrimp!" I cried, charging her.

At the last moment, I shifted my angle and tried to punch past her. Her arm went up to block and then I moved to kick out her leg.

Just before my blow landed, I caught a vaguely approving look and then she jumped. My foot went through empty air. Her blocking arm grabbed mine and yanked my elbow over my head and back. My balance shifted, and her tail wrapped around my left leg

I cried as she flipped me over. My arm was yanked one way and my leg another. I landed in a rough heap. Meanwhile, Ranma gracefully fell, straddling my chest. "Work through the pain, Dear Sister." Those purple eyes looked apologetic but she still snapped my left arm just above the wrist.

I screamed. My hand flopped around bonelessly. It would have been comical if not so painful. I may have made a T-Rex related quip.

Then she punched me in the face. My nose broke and blue blood splattered everywhere. Some of the finer droplets seemed to freeze in midair. Her claws slid out, and she started to cut into me. Little lines were slashed into my shoulders

The pain and anger boiled over. And a cold... calm descended. The pain was there but it was something I had lived with. I'd fought with worse. I ignored her slices, they were agonizing but no real damage.

My right arm came up, dark ice talons already forming. I swiped at her. Her hand came up and she blocked. I expected that.

Which was why my real attack came with my left arm. My forearm might have been broken, but I could still throw some weight. My clawed hand hit her face like a fleshy flail. I gritted my teeth as I felt my bones begin to knit together.

That approving smile returned, marred by the slashes across her face.

I then whipped my tail around and yanked her foot. She fell forward, her head landing heavily on my chest. Head-butting her, I used my forearm with its floppy wrist to pin the back of her neck. With her somewhat restrained, I started rabbit punching her with my right hand. Though part of me wanted to start slicing her apart.

Then she kneed me in the crotch. I learned two things. One, that women were pretty darn sensitive down there too. And two, that my sister could knee hard enough to break a pelvic bone

And then she bit me. On the chest.

It wasn't any cute little love nip. Don't think of those delicate holes the vampires make. Actually, vampire bites aren't like that at all. They're messy, vicious wounds where flesh has been torn out.

So, exactly like that. With a final burst of pain, my wrist locked back into place as the bones fused. Still holding, her with my am, I changed targets from her torso to her bloodied chin. Her mouth snapped shut and I felt her jaw crack. I then took my healed left arm and heaved her off in a broad swing.

One advantage I had to be being a foot and a half taller than her was that, compared to me, the little redhead weighed nothing. Flapping her wings, she did a midair twist and neatly landed on her feet. Her lips and chin were splattered with blue bits. It looked like she had been messily eating a blueberry pie.

"You bit my tits! You crazy bitch!" I screamed pulling myself up. I put weight on my feet. Despite how it felt, my hips weren't apparently broken. Or maybe they'd healed, or maybe she didn't hit as hard as I originally thought.

The front of my bodysuit was a torn and bloody mess.

Butters looked between us and despite the dirty look Akane gave him, he stepped forward. "This has gone too far."

The redhead appraised the man and looked to me. She waited, silent.

"She's still pulling her punches," I gasped, angrily. I felt a bit insulted that she was holding back.

"Harry, she's eating you," he patiently said. I could see the hurt look in his eyes. He had agreed to this and was worried it was spinning out of control.

"She coulda made garland and streamers with my entrails." I looked sharply at my sister. "Or ripped my heart out."

She flashed her blue-stained fangs and bowed her head. I could see the predatory edge to her, but those eyes were utterly rational. It was disturbing. This really was just a lesson for her.

Looking a bit green around the gills, Butters swallowed. "Jesus, Harry, and you asked for this?"

"Repeatedly and demandingly." Ranma strode forward. "How many bones have I broken?"

I idly tapped my nose. It was tacky with blood. But it was still my nose. Well, okay it was Lea's delicate little nose. But the relevant thing was that my nose had healed and it wasn't even the tiniest bit crooked or bent.

She made a point to step to the side and observe my flicking tail. "And here you are eager to go another round."

"If only to wipe that smug off your face."

"You're starting to learn," she purred. "I was worried about how thick that head of yours would be."

"You're holding back," I growled.

The "look" returned. Her eyes bored onto me and I felt the weight of her presence push down on my shoulders and horns. "You're young, of course I'm holding back. I don't know if you'll survive having your head cut off, or your heart eaten. Few of us can. Hell, I took a risk when I punched you in the side at the start."

"You didn't know how fast I could heal?" I demanded.

"Still don't, not everything. What if it takes you two days to regrow an eye and the balloon goes up?"

"So, he turns demon chick and still has to wear an eye-patch against Tessa?" Butters snorted. "That's exactly Harry's luck."

Ranma out-stretched her hand. Looking over her fingers she methodically studied my form. A smile crossed her lips.

"You look like a kid in a candy store." I crossed my arms. "Picking the best parts you're going to break?"

"It's that spark of comprehension that makes teaching worth it." Her smile grew. "You're starting to understand which wounds you can take, and which you must dodge. Yes?" she asked, tilting her head with a twinkle in her eye.

My stomach dropped out at that.
`
Her claws slid out. I shifted and expected a blitzkrieg of kicks, punches and slashes.

The redhead did not disappoint. She was faster. She was more skilled in unarmed combat. Which is only fair. For my age, I'm one of the top combat wizards on the planet

But when it came to physical fights I was more of a brawler with only a smattering of professional training. Granted, I had been training with the Mantle and had physical abilities well above the human norm. But as for training...

My sister... was a professional trainer for demons, mercenaries and special forces troops. Hells Bells, technically, she spent a lot more time teaching than she did fighting. Which I suppose was fitting, I spent more time doing mundane, okay mundane-ish, investigative work than fighting monsters.

Of course, at the moment, my sister's training consisted of "It's only a flesh wound, ya pansy."

I gasped as I managed to partially block her forearm, her wrist snapped down and clipped the side of my horn. I yowled. That was another thing, she knew this body's weaknesses far better than I did..

Stepping back, I pushed another attack off. I had one advantage: my reach far exceeded hers. My arms were covered in layers of healing bruises and my legs had started to go numb.

The pressure kicked up as she seemed to dip into her inexhaustible reserves of stamina and hit just a bit harder and faster. I clocked her on the side of the head when I found an opening, and got slashed through the bicep for the trouble.

Knowing her preference for combo attacks, I pulled back, and then it felt like my guts were on fire. As I blocked a kick, her tail slipped up and slashed over my belly. Lycra and skin tore apart, there was pain that locked up my knees, and ropes of gaudy blue and purple intestines spilled out.

I screamed as ice flared around me and my hair started to lift up. I moved in to throttle her as my eyes burned with rage and pain.

For her part, Ranma's face was utterly calm as she slashed open my shoulder and head-butted my chin. The pain of my spilling guts hit me with a visceral horror. And for an instant, I didn't notice that once again I'd been knocked to the ground. I missed that I was on my back, that the redhead had sunk one hand into my chest and was moving to grab my neck.

No, my attention was on how the tip of her tail was obscenely looping through my guts. I distantly heard Butters call out, and could see Akane shout something in return.

But then the penny dropped. Ranma's hand touched the cool metal of my choker. The pain became distant. I matched my sister's gaze and smiled. "My turn."

There was a whisking noise as my armor snapped into place. Plates of blue ice grew, covering my skin. And in the process, growing over Ranma's hands and tail, freezing them in place.

The little redhead tugged at her arms and gave a little nod of approval. And then I throat-punched her and slashed her right cheek into ribbons from ear to chin. Deep red, almost purple-tinged blood splashed out and splattered on my lips.

Snarling, I licked the drops away and rolled over so I was the one pinning her. I licked my lips again, the flavor was delicious. I was going to be real hungry after this.

I got in a couple more hits and felt my guts begin to heal. And then I remembered that my sister's legs were still free. And then she broke my knee and with a stomp shattered a mess of the little bones in my foot.

Distantly, I realized I just might end up being more injured at my sister's hands than Thorned Namshiel's. Laughing madly, I responded by thickening the ice keeping her hands and tail in place. And then I smelt something like burning pork, except more mouthwatering.

Ranma's hands ripped out of their icy prisons. The hand that had sunk into my torso left a burning wound cavity while the other had heated my choker to the point where it was hard to breathe. The redhead flipped off and, with a whip-like crack, ripped her tail free of my guts in a shattering rain of blue ice and blood.

"You dirty cheater!" I gasped, pushing a bit of cold into my choker to keep it from burning. I also layered more ice over my wounds.

I stomped forward; my gleaming hooves digging into the turf. My legs tingled and my knee ached.

"You're the one that started using magic." My sister beamed with pride, which was creepy given she still had half of a Glasgow smile.

"What's wrong with you two?" Butters demanded as he pushed past Akane.

The blue-haired girl huffed but looked to Ranma, who shook her head.

"As I said, we don't have time to get her up to speed. We're stuck with teaching her to swim by tossing her into the deep end," Ranma patiently explained, seemingly not noticing her cheek knitting itself back together.

I rolled my shoulders. My gleaming armor did give some comfort. At the very least it gave support even if my knee still felt a bit stiff.

My sister nodded. "Now Doc... if you want to jump in. She could use some partner training...."

Butters looked a little green but set his jaw.

The redhead gave that unbalanced smile but bowed her head. "No, no... with you I'd have to hold back."

She held up a hand before he could respond. "It would still be good training, important training. But I can't just break your bones and have you be back up for another go."

"Isn't this draining her?"

I looked between the two.

"Yes, she's still standing after that, at her age? Impressive."

I still wanted to throttle the redhead, but praise from my elder sister buoyed my mood.

Butters still looked a bit queasy but his intellectual side was coming out. "And afterwards you'll see just how much it'll take to sate her hunger?"

Ranma nodded.

"Hey! I'm right here!" I stamped a hoof, indignantly.

"Akane, Sir Butters, you both might want to step back." Sniffing in my direction, the redhead tapped her chin. "And call the duty officer to inform her that we're entering the live-fire stage."

Turning on her radio, Akane nodded and put an arm around Butter's elbow and gently pulled him back towards the building.

Taking a few steps forward, Ranma clasped her hands behind her back. "This time, you take the initiative," she offered flexing her wings a bit.

"Uh, is the armor okay?"

My sister's smug grin returned and she simply beckoned once more with her finger. "Your training is far from complete Grasshopper."

"I'm gonna steal that pebble from your hand," I growled dashing forward. My long legs ate up the distance between us. My wings trimmed back and at the last moment flapped giving my terminal approach an extra burst of speed.

I leaned forward and down and icy talons shot out and stabbed towards the redhead like a brace of missiles. It was the fastest and hardest physical hit I'd given. Even the attacks I'd made back when I used a cursed belt to transform into a Hexenwolf didn't have this raw aggressive power. When I'd first became the Winter Knight and the Mantle was pushing me at its fullest I hadn't slipped loose this much.

The hit was solid, my other arm knocked away the redhead's parry. My claws slashed down.

But I knew I'd miss.

My sister bent her knees and dropped down, her head passing under my claws. Her forward foot angled to give purchase while her trailing support foot shifted and dug in, launching her towards me.

I was overextended and now Ranma was about to grapple me. It seemed to be her preferred style: let her enemy attack, dodge as close to them as possible, eat the remaining distance, and gut in melee.

That's when I spun on one leg and kicked up with the other. Ranma's claws hit the armor over my torso. Light flashed as the glowing talons gouged at the blue ice. Meanwhile, my kick connected; the edge of a gleaming dark blue hoof slashed open Ranma's side from her hip to her ribs.

Blood flew out of the ragged wound. And then I realized I was even more over-extended. And I still had a vicious succubus clawing at me. Bits of ice chipped flew in sparkles as she dug at my armor. Her talons shrank in length, turning form thin stiletto-like slashing blades into short thick chisel-like triangular claws which proved far better at stabbing into my armor.

However, my attention was kept more on keeping her from stabbing something.... especially vital. I'd learned that when she got this close her talons were more of a diversion. Her real goal came-

Pain slashed on my knee as I tried to hop back. I whipped out with my tail to block her own snaking appendage and kicked at her leg. There it was: once she closed in, if she couldn't kill in one hit, she'd take out her opponent's legs and knock them down to the ground, denying maneuverability and mobility.

I managed to get a punch into her shoulder and worked under an arm. But despite my greater reach, I was hardly able to keep her from knocking me off my feet.... er hooves. Her tail slashed through my thigh. Armor parted and blood spurted out. I looked down, then her foot hooked my leg. I slipped and started to fall over.

Frustration flared within me. Then I got punched in the chest. Another fist pummeled me. There was a loud snap as my armor began to spider-web. I fell onto the ground, my back slamming into the sod, my wings splayed under me.

My sister's little stabbing claws pried under the cracks and ripped off the chest-piece of my armor. I flipped my tail over, but her own shot out and knocked it aside. I punched but she moved to pin me down and block both arms. A growl escaped my lips.

Then she gave me a disappointed look.

That got me. I screamed and clawed my hands at her. She moved to knock them aside, but not before blue flames shot out my palms Twin jets slammed into the redhead and blasted her off my chest.

She flipped over, trailing smoke and flared with her own burning purple aura. Her wings spread and she stabilized her descent. An enticing charred, meaty smell tickled my nose as I glanced at my clawed hands.

Don't get me wrong, I'd made fire before without a focus item. Hells Bells, fire was one of my favorite types of attacks. But this was.... different. There was no visualizing the spell, gathering energy, fleshing the construct, and releasing it. This was... primal, automatic.

My fingers flexed. I could do succubus magic.

Then I noticed the shimmering black orb forming between Ranma's hands as she pulled back her wings and came at me like a dive bomber.

Lifting off my back, I centered myself. I pointed my fingers, there was a weak blue spark. Okay, maybe I couldn't do succubus magic.

"Nuts to this," I murmured and concentrated on a spell. Sure my sister had told me not to use magic, but given she was going to hit me with an exploding ball of magical fire, I'm pretty sure that rule had gone out the window.

The armor on my forearms glowed and ice gauntlets thickened as I visualized the runes carved into my blasting rod.

So... yes... this was going to be wizard magic. But I'd shown that I could do the same fire attack with succubus powers, and I was curious as to the difference.

Yes that's it... curious. I grabbed my right forearm with my left hand and, tracking my sister, aimed it Megaman style.

"Fuego!" I cried as the runes on my forearm flared and a lance of blinding white fire shot out. My lips curled into a smile.

And, really, wasn't the whole point of this exercise to learn what I could do?

The beam arced out, cutting across the sky. Pulling back a wing, Ranma banked away from the beam. I twisted my wrist to keep the white lance on her. Then she released the orb.

Her wings spread and pushed and she flipped out of the dive while the black orb shot towards me while it randomly jinked from side to side.

"That's just not fair!" I cried as I switched to trying to hit the orb with my fire attack. On the upside, my endurance was much better. On the downside, I really wished I could do both types of fire attacks at once.

A few yards above my head I finally hit the orb. Before it exploded in a rain of shrapnel, I ducked my head under my arms. I felt hot shards ping against my gauntlets but nothing seemed to penetrate the armor.

"Next time, I'm bringing my coat and my shield bracelet," I muttered, pulling myself up. I flexed my legs; hooves dug into the turf. My balance felt a little bit better, and my ankles seemed to be up higher and further... back, though maybe that was because my knees were a bit bent in this loose stance I took.

My sister landed on two legs and fell into a crouch.

"No superhero landing, this time?" I shouted across the field.

Springing back up, she met my gaze. Despite the distance, I froze, transfixed by her purple eyes. She smirked and blasted me with a pair of purple eyebeams.

"Damn-it!" I screamed dodging to the side. One beam hit me in the horn. A scream escaped my lips, but I held up my arm. "Fine! Fuego!"

A white-hot beam of fire shot out. And Ranma raced towards it. Expecting her to dodge, I started jittering my arm.

The nimble little minx flipped and rolled and leapt. She even used her wings to change direction midair. Despite that, I managed to get hits, but that just meant the white beam had to burn through her aura first. And since she kept moving and dodging, those protective purple flames of hers managed to wick and dissipate my attack in the few brief instances I managed to hit her.

Tail twitching, my frustration grew. I had to prove myself. Sure, this was my big sister. Sure, she'd been a succubus for a lot longer; I had only been one for less than a day. But I was a wizard, more importantly I was pretty sure I'd been fighting supernatural monsters longer than she had.

I started to run towards her, might as well get the grappling over with. Despite the damage, hunger and fatigue, my legs seemed almost eager to run. Then again I had spent years practicing and learning how to run, maybe my previous abilities just meshed with this new body...

My lips curled into a smile.

My sister drew closer and I debated what spell I was going to break out next. I had an idea, but I wasn't sure if I should wait on the surprise or not. It was clear we'd both broken the rules. Though I had noticed a lack of further ranged attacks on her part.

The base of my spine tingled. My eyes widened. On instinct, I dodged. My weight shifted and powerful legs darted me to the side.

A tiny purple fireball shot out. It was barely the size of a golf-ball, and was something I'd normally just block with my shield. However a throbbing pulsing power came from this attack. I had dodged it, but barely. Instead of blasting though my palm, the purple fireball grazed my forearm.

If you define "graze" by took a pinky at the first knuckle, cut along forearm armor and skin leaving a bloody furrow, and clipped the elbow joint.

"That's it! Screw the surprise." With a wave of pain I slammed my wrists together. My armor grew as more runes flared along my gauntlets and prongs grew out. It looked like a giant ice version of my blasting rod had extruded from my armored arms.

Which wasn't far off the mark. "Cannem Flagrantissimum!" I screamed digging into my succubus powers and my wizard magic. The prongs began to glow as silver motes sparkled.

An instant later, a thick pulsing blast of white and blue fire shot out. The recoil knocked me half a step back and I dug my trailing hoof into the ground to regain my balance. Shadows bent away from me as I pumped more into the flaming torrent. Succubus fire and wizard fire blended together, all held in place by a helical carrier beam of Soulfire.

Powered by a person's soul, Soulfire was a kind of magical rebar that you added to spells to make them stronger or more resilient or to add to their capability. However, this might be one of my more literal uses of the "magical rebar" analogy.

It wasn't quite Blue Beetle's plasma cannon, but it worked for me. The blue and white flames caught my sister and she flattened under the impact. I aimed the beam down, but my vision was impaired by my attack's own blinding backwash.

After a few seconds the beam cutout. One second there was a ten foot wide, hundred foot long beam of solid fire, the next there was a steaming trench of dirt full of flicking flames and silver sparkles. My arms lowered and the gauntest disengaged, shrinking back down.

My heard raced, my knees wobbled. I blinked at the trench. It actually reached beyond the field and had lit a couple tree trunks on fire.

I didn't see my sister; my nostril flared.

And then I was bopped on the back of the head.

"Oww!" I cried twisting around as my sister popped up next to me.

She blinked at the flaming furrow. "Oh, that's actually kind of cool." For once her face didn't have that smug "I know more than you" expression.

I blushed. "It just came to me..."

"Needs to be quicker," she patted me on the shoulder. "Come on, let's get lunch"

I wobbled a bit. The fatigue that had been chasing me started to catch up. "Uh... yeah," My stomach growled. "Food would be most welcome."

Butters and Akane had approached while my sister had guided me back towards the building. There were also a few mercenaries with fire extinguishers and other gear.

My niece clapped her hands. "Just wait until I tell Misako what you can do! She'll be so jealous I got to see it first."

"Holy...." Butters looked me over and swallowed. "That wasn't Hellfire was it?"

I looked the knight over. I was hungry. I took a step closer. My armor shifted. And began to retract. I felt air blow against my midriff and the lower parts of my thighs and knees.

A pair of mercenaries nodded to me as they passed. Both the male and the female were fit and determined. But... I sniffed the air and turned back to Butters. Him I knew. I smiled and looked down at him. I shifted my hooves and took a relaxed pose, balanced on my new knees. My face tingled but I let my grin grow

Butters met my gaze. His expression was opaque. He then turned from me to my sister.

For some reason jealousy burbled within me. I shook my head causing my fine pale hair to spill around my shoulders. It had gotten tinged a bit red, but I had more pressing concerns. My hips almost creaked as they pressed against the tight blue skirt that wrapped around my waist and backside.

I licked my lips and leaned forward. Loose slightly fluffed hair fell around my face. I wasn't sure how Andi managed this style. Maybe I could ask her when I got back to Chicago. There were a lot of things we could... talk about.

Butters' stance shifted and I could smell his adrenaline and hormones spike. Well, he had been becoming more martial and aggressive. Good.

"Have I thanked thee for thy help and support, Sir Knight?" I asked rocking my hips as I put a slim manicured hand on his shoulder. There was a rustling sound as my above the knee skirt thickened. My tail flicked as sapphire lacework grew on my armor's skirting and bustier. I then winked and took a dainty step right next to him, my hooves almost up to his boots. There was rustling noise and thousands of clear armored ice ringlets rained down from the hem of my skirt. Translucent mail poured over my knees, shapely, calves and angled ankles. The occasional mail link was dark blue forming a repeated snowflake pattern to the flexing under-skirting.

A hand touched my elbow. "Sister," Ranma stated. "Are you hungry?" There was worry in her voice. There was also her adamantine will.

My tail thrashed with irritation. She knew I was hungry. "As are thee," I said, archly. I slipped next to the knight and inhaled. "Just because thou have surrounded thine with so many delicious exemplars doesn't mean thee have any right to get greedy with my..."

She squeezed my elbow; I blinked. I bowed my head, my dangling sapphire earrings chiming. Huh... why was I wearing earrings to a sparring match?

I then sniffed and turned to the knight. I lowered myself, somehow it was easier to bend down with these knees and ankles. Mail ringlettes piled around me in a shimmering pool. I fluttered my eyes and licked my lips. "Shall, we have the pleasure of lunch?" Butters wasn't my type but... he was brave and he was here.

"Harry," the knight stated.

My lips quirked

He leaned in. "Why do you look like Andi?"

I stopped. A long fingered hand went up and pulled at my hair. There was a noticeable red tinge to it. I looked down. Hells Bells, I had cleavage. Okay I was still getting used to the whole chest thing, but it looked like my armor was doing some real Wonderbra magic here. Then I felt my face. The lean features and little fae-nose were.... well not gone, but my face seemed a bit...

My niece stepped in and held a small hand-mirror. I blinked. Yup, with the fluffed reddish hair I could make a passable succubus version of Butters's werewolf girlfriend.

"Harry.... are you?" He steeled himself and shook his head. "Miss Blackstone, you're trying to seduce me," he dryly stated.

"Blackstone?" I shook my head. At least my hair was back to its pale-almost white color, and my delicate nose had returned.

My sister chuckled.

"If you're going to vamp up and drape yourself all over me, I ain't gonna call you Harry. And Copperfield just sounds weird."

I nodded. I was Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden.

Part of me tingled as I rose up. My hands roamed over his chest as I found his shoulders and lifted. "Thou honor me, sir knight," I whispered.

"Oh, that does sound perfect. BlackStone," my sister laughed.

I whipped my head back and glared.

"You do know our grandmother is named BlackSky right?"

I leaned a bit on Butters and frowned.

"And of course," The redhead pointed to herself. "DarkStar."

Butters laughed. "It's a perfectly good succubus name."

"And thou hast given it to me," I purred and leaned in to kiss him.

Flush, Butters turned his head and I planted my sapphire lips on his cheek. Still, I puckered, pressed down, gave a little twist, and just as I withdrew let my lips part. My tongue darted out and gave a slow little lick.

My sister tilted her head. I glanced over and could see the gears turning behind her eyes. The match might be over but she was still in full "instructor mode". I noted the slight twitches the tip of her tail made and wondered if each motion corresponded to something new she observed about me.

I gave a little sigh and shifted around so I could drape my arms over his shoulders. I had to bend down to do it, but my new knees let me do that with ease. I could bend my knees and ankles and it was like I could suddenly stop being so tall. It also meant my skirt was pressed against his backside.

There was a flash as my niece took a picture. I blinked then grinned more and pushed myself closer to Butters and motioned for her to take another shot.

"How about we get her some lunch?" Butters suggested, adjusting his shirt-collar.

Still studying me, my sister nodded. "That is a wonderful idea." She idly lifted her arm and made a circling gesture. "Come on Akane, let's check in and see if Ucchan and Desiree have got lunch ready."

I sniffed the air and could just make out the scent of something roasting. I half nudged, half turned Butters towards the building.

"No, no, you can take a load off, Sis," Ranma assured leading me to a bench next to the doors to the prefab building.

Akane helped Butters sit down and handed him a few bottles of water and handful of ration bars.

Ranma stretched over and hugged my neck and shoulders. It mussed up my hair a bit, but I didn't care. A rumbling purr grew within me.

"I didn't expect that on your first day. I'm very proud of you," she gave me a quick kiss.

"With all of my magic, victory would have been mine," I said without whining, or pouting. Sure, I had crossed my arms and pulled in my knees, but my tone was totally even and mature.

My sister looked at me like I was an idiot. "Well, yes. And I could have had Morgan shoot off your limbs. Winning wasn't the point of the lesson. But now that we know how well you can heal, how quickly you can learn, and... how you act when you get hungry," she gave a toothy grin, patted me on the shoulder, and slipped into the building, Akane in tow.

"She's pretty scary," Butters noted as he handed me a water. "Kind of like Murph, but with bloodlust you know?"

"They are about the same size." I gave a smug smile to conceal my nervousness. I wanted to get back and see Murphy. Well, I wanted more than that. But I couldn't leave, not when Tessa was still plotting to summon... something.

My stomach growled and I slumped onto the bench and gasped. My tail limply fell behind me and my wings drooped. One advantage of this new body was that it cooled off after physical exertion pretty quickly. Still not fast enough, I looked at the bottle of water, drank half of it, and then dumped the remainder on my head.

Butters sat on the other end of the bench. He blinked at me. "You do realize what she's saying, right?"

Blushing, I squared my shoulders and smoothed out my skirt. Well, the ice mail ringlets that draped down my legs. The armored blue skirt around my waist and thighs was pretty much impossible to rumple. I then crossed my legs at the knee and rocked my hooves. At least it was easier to do that with these new joints. I did have reverse-knees, well if you counted my ankles, which were much further up, all of which gave me a better balance. And at least my choker kept me from slumping my neck and shoulders.

"I am well aware of my sister's intentions," I primly stated.
Sluicing through my hair the water started to crystallize. The rime frosting on my horns tingled as well. I slouched down and reveled in the coolness. My forehead felt especially cool. I lifted an arm and flexed my hand. There wasn't even a dull ache from where my sister had broken it in two places. I wasn't sure when she broke it the second time. On the upside my pinky came back.

The knight eyed me. "You're a baby succubus, and you came out stronger than even she expected."

I shifted my position and gave him an expectant look.

He sighed. "She just gutted you like a trout and was happy that you pulled yourself together. Do you think she's going to go easy on you next time? Or are you just going to play dressup?"

I frowned. Maybe that's why my legs shifted so much, my sister had done a lot of work on them. Glancing off to the side I saw that Butters was stealing a glance at my thighs. So, I slowly uncrossed my legs. Then tapped a hoof and parted my knees just so.... and then leisurely crossed them the other way.

My stomach growled. Loudly. My cheeks flushed blue and I put a hand over my mouth. Part of me wanted to crawl into a bed and sleep, another part wanted to use a bed in a different manner. Either way, I still felt flush and my neck and ears were hot. "Pardon me, Sir Knight. But I feel faint, if I could have some of thine provisions?"

Butters rolled his eyes and tossed a ration bar at me. "There's also you leaning on the Mantle."

I used my claws to snip off the end of the wrapper to the energy bar, gingerly peel the wrapper and nibble down the protein enriched food. Licking my lips, I gave Butters a warm smile and a slow wink. I then sluiced a bit more water over my head.

"You know bad things happen when you lean on Winter Faerie power." His exasperation gave way to bemusement. "Then again, you let yourself get turned into a sidhe succubus. So maybe you getting all fancy fae right now is expected, if overdone."

I gave a dismissive sniff, and returned to inspecting my arm. The wounds had vanished. I knew there wouldn't even be a scar. My attention having moved to the sapphire lacework on my bustier when my nostrils flared.

The scent was familiar. I turned before my visitor could speak. "Yes?"

A young woman with green hair and dark skin looked at me... and blinked. Lady Pluto was wearing a light purple dress with red piping and a matching jacket. If she were older it could pass as a type of feminine business-wear, as it was she looked like a schoolgirl from some bizarre, if elite, private academy. Though the large key-themed grey staff she carried ruined that image.

She eyed my dripping hair. "Ah, sorry for... interrupting you Dame Dresden, Sir Butters" She bowed her head to him, but her red eyes studied me.

I turned away, I did not want to risk Soulgazing with Lady Pluto. "Nevermind, I was uh... training. " I ran a hand through my hair flicking out the excess moisture. I did feel something slick but sharp on my brow.

Pluto continued to eye me.

"What dost thou want?" I asked, my voice cracking a bit higher.

Concerned, Butters raised an eyebrow at me. I smiled back at him.

Lady Pluto smiled. "To make reparations."

End Chapter 10


Poor, dumb Harry. She's starting to realize what she's gotten herself into.


I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, Toxinvictoria and Ellf.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 11: Fey and Brooding, Part A


My stomach growling, I eyed lady Pluto. "Reparations, for what?"

"How was your training?" The green-haired young woman eyed me. "Nothing like a fresh new body?"

I pulled back from her steady red gaze.

"It was... intense," Butters said from his spot next to me on the bench.

"Ranma is exuberant and loves helping her family," Pluto smiled warmly, but that ageless crimson gaze seemed to dissect and study me. With my sister that gaze meant she was trying to learn the best way to teach me, with Lady Pluto... it was like she was cataloging a fascinating insect.

"Something like that," Butters muttered, sipping his own water. He seemed rattled by the training. Or at least rattled by something.

"Thou hast come to check out the fresh meat?" I struck a pose, then blushed, suddenly realizing I was just wearing a very stylized version of my armor. While I knew Lady Pluto was likely some sort of ageless.... thing, she still looked like a kid.

"In part." Pluto eyed me, then laughed. "Lovely tiara."

My hand went back up and felt over my brow. Yeah, that was a tiara up there. I was going to have to be careful in the future. For one, that tiara might clash with my hooves or my skirt. "Please, pardon the faerie magic. This form is new to me," I said reaching up to pull the sculpted ice off.

But, part of me decided to leave the tiara in place. I lowered my hands and primly folded them. The gems embedded in the tiara felt like they'd be pretty, but I would need a mirror to be sure.

Smiling, Pluto nodded. "As I was saying... given your troubles I felt... reparations were in order," she reached into her jacket and pulled out a cream envelope with gilt edges.

"Reparations. What didst thou do?" I trailed off. "It was thy interference!" I cried.

Lady Pluto toyed with the envelope, holding opposite corners with the tips of her fingers.

"Thou art part of the plot that spirited me to this realm!"

Butters glanced at me and groaned.

Pluto smiled. "I'm the Guardian of the Gates, why would I do a thing like that?"

"Perhaps a Fae Queen and an Archangel called upon thee with an offer of reparations. In common parlance, they wanted to replace their divot. That would put a certain symmetry upon your current offer would it not?"

"Interesting... if convoluted hypothesis."

Butters gave the creepy green-haired girl a long look, but ultimately shrugged.

I smiled at his cool reaction. He had come a long way. I took a new bottle of water and played with the cap. He looked at me and gave a somewhat pained, somewhat bemused expression.

Pluto leaned in. "And lovely speech affection. Isn't that right Sir Knight?"

"It is... new on... her part." Butters frowned. He wasn't as used to scary supernatural women acting all spooky and cryptic. I would have to help him remedy that.

I scoffed. "Please. The Winter Court bears the brunt of combating the Outsiders. Uriel cherishes guarding free will, especially when the Fallen try to break the rules." I made a point of studying my sapphire nails.

"And now thou propose that Tessa, by pure happenstance, discovered a loophole that allows her to call forth an eldritch horror on another plane. Self-same plane this Winter fae just happens to get sent to via a misadventure of her queen's power and Soulfire."

Butters made a choking noise. It looked like I'd have to do a bit more to get his attention.

Pluto spun the envelope. "You don't want my assistance?"

I turned up my nose at her and made an exaggerated fanning motion. "My, it is so hot dear Knight, wouldst thou agree?" I poured the water over my head. It splashed and met the tiara and began to freeze into place. My hair slicked and smoothed down as the ice formed a glossy headdress. Ears and horns poked out from the sides.

I was hoping for something vaguely Egyptian, or at least movie Cleopatra, in style. The headdress flared to either side of my head with silver trim around alternating horizontal bans of cobalt blue and white ice. Pulled down by the ornamentation, my hair fanned out my back in a glossy wave.

Feeling the weight and constriction of the headdress, my back and shoulders straighten to a prim stiffness. I gave a contented sigh and slowly recrossed my legs. This time I knew Butters was watching.

The knight for his part looked at me and blinked a few times. Doubtless, he was stunned by my beautifying of myself.

Pausing to make sure my face was made up, I studied Lady Pluto. She seemed amused by all this.

"I think thou hast been assisting since day one," I purred, leaning forward. My headdress and my choker kept me from bending or turning my neck, but it was worth it. Ice started to freeze along the tips of my fingers, my tail swished angrily, and I could feel my eyes begin to flare as my aura began to crackle.

I'll give Pluto this much. She took in a pissed off sidhe succubus wizard without blinking.

"You overstate things. Your hypothesis would be far more... elegant if you supposed that I merely acted as a beacon to ensure you didn't get... lost when you arrived."

"My arrival was a most undignified fall on frozen mud and detention by the local royal guard," I sniffed.

"Yes, you landed within a hundred kilometers of the target. Quite accurate considering the distances involved."

"It hasn't been the first time you've been at the center of a game like this... BlackStone," Butters noted, hesitating over my middle name.

Feeling a pleasant tingle along my horns, I smiled at the name. It did fit, especially when he used it. My chest felt a bit warm as I let my talons recede. He was right; he didn't know exactly how right he was, but he was right.

"And I'll admit to offering to helping you find the location of the... pre summoning location. And helping you preserve that fragment of Tessa's armor." Pluto's clinical studying of me resumed. "I suppose I should have taken warnings to your... rash exuberance to heart," she said taking in my accessories.

"Thou hast been talking with people from my world," I stated.

"Do you want my assistance or not?" Once more, she waved the envelope.

"At what cost?"

Lady Pluto grinned. "Consider it reparations for me not heeding those warnings about you."

"Fine." I flicked an icicle into the air and knocked the envelope out of her fingers. As it fluttered down I used my tail to bat it into my hands. One corner was sliced off.

Pluto muttered something about demons.

I eyed her but extended a talon to cut the top of the envelope.

Inside was a brief dossier folded over an accompanying picture.

Butters leaned in and gave a low whistle.

I took a moment to stare. And to scoot over so that Butters was pressed up against me. Running my tongue over my teeth, I then blinked. "This... man is known to thee?"

"Known, and I am willing to pay his contract on your behalf." Pluto smirked. "We have a mutual friend."

"I can imagine," I dryly noted. I took a moment to memorize the particulars, specifically to study differences with regard to my own info on this... man. I then folded the papers back into the envelope.

"I can arrange a meeting," she looked me over. "Perhaps later, after you'd had a chance to wash and... change."

I glowered at the green-haired girl. A snarl was cut off as I decided to simply turn my nose up and haughtily dismiss her. Given how my neck was restricted I had to arch my shoulders back, but it was worth it.

Pluto shook her head. "Contact me when you're feeling more... yourself." She then bowed to Butters. "Sir Knight, do take care of your friend."

"I will," he said with a bit of resignation.

Watching her leave, my eyes twinkled as I scooted a bit closer to him.

Butters eyed the envelope. "You really going to take her up on the offer?"

I turned to face him. Well, I rotated my torso and shifted my legs. As fancy as it was, my headdress had some severe limitations. "It is an option, Sir Knight. And additional help would be of use."

He gestured around the grounds. "We're surrounded by mercenaries, you've got a shiny new brood of succubae willing to help, and we've got magical girls falling on themselves to give you more help."

As he spoke, I counted off on my fingers. "Do not forget the Canadian Royal Guard. They seem most intent on bombing first and asking questions later." I tapped another nail.

"Well... after what happened to the town of Lomar." He met my gaze; he could do that now.

I nodded. Well... actually I couldn't nod. Instead, I bowed my head and slowly lifted it back up.

His face clouded. "I thought this might happen."

I raised a trim eyebrow.

"I told you that if you were patient, help would be forthcoming." He tapped the envelope.

I raised a hand and let it flutter. "La, so it is. I made my choice, Sir Knight. We both did."

"You're going to take her offer?"

"I'll talk with my sisters first, but, yes, I plan to at least meet with the man." I shifted my shoulders and sniffed the air.

"Meet with who?" Ranma asked, exiting the building.

"Ooh! Someone's dressing up fancier!" Akane said, following her mother.

"Lady Pluto offers a boon," I held out the envelope.

Ranma took it and was pushed aside as Akane lifted her camera.

Smirking, I reached out and pulled Butters into a hug.

The old camera flashed a few times as Ranma read the envelope's contents and Butters blushed.

Reluctantly, I released the little knight. Ranma handed the letter back.

"Is Lady Pluto's offer in good faith?" I asked.

My sister chewed her lip. "Yes, she'll do what she says. However... she's got an ulterior motive. She always does."

"Who doesn't, dear Sister?" I fluttered my eyes.

Butters let his gaze drift from me to my sister. "You seem pleased by this?" he asked her.

"The hairstyle isn't my taste, but I guess the aesthetic fits her."

I preened at her approval.

"Misako will love it," Akane said sneaking another photo.

"The frippery and flirting is okay? What about the fae-speak? Do I need to remind you what she was like this morning?" Butters asked.

I frowned and gave him a hurt look.

My sister chuckled. "Well, if all she did was flirt and glam herself up, I'll count that as a victory."

I crossed my arms. "I recall thee doing the same when we summoned my queen," I huffed.

The redhead grinned. "Exactly, fun is fun, but it's not like you tried anything."

I worked my jaw. "This was a test. Thou were watching. To see what I would do under the pangs of hunger. Seeing if I could..." I blushed. "Control myself."

"It wasn't me watching you, but yes." My sister shrugged.

I recalled comments she had made earlier in the day about having Morgan shoot off my limbs and shuddered. That might not be what she had setup to make sure I behaved, but it was close enough. My sister was willing to eviscerate me to teach me how to heal. I'm certain she wouldn't bat an eye at more extreme measures if I lost control. Not to mention that the target of my... interest was a Knight of the Cross, a class of people uniquely empowered to defend against the, unwanted, advances of a demon.

My sister took my arm and lifted me up onto my hooves. "Come on, you get cranky when you get hungry."

I grumbled, but let my sister lead me towards the building. At least I managed to ensure that my Knight had a good view as I made sure my new legs had plenty of sway. Still as nice as Butters was, I did want to go back home and find Murphy.

We went down a short corridor, the heavenly scent of cooking flesh swam around my head. Butters followed and I might have added a bit more swing to my step. If I had, well I'll blame that on my new knees. My mouth watered and my stomach growled. However, I kept my composure as I entered a small room.

It seemed to be a barracks lounge. Stuffed comfortable chairs were around a plain table. There was a mirror on the far wall, and an unplugged TV. An adjacent table had steamer trays heated by little fire tins. Everything was piled with meat: trays, platters, plates, cutting boards. It was like a petting zoo had been dressed, butchered and cooked.

I almost wobbled as Ranma led me to a chair. A partially large plate of meat, with its own bowl of broth stood before me.

Ukyou bowed her head. Desiree stood next to her. "Enjoy, and welcome to the family," they both said. I could tell they were impressed by my look. Their smiles told the story.

I smiled at the two girls, relieved that Ukyou's neck had healed.

I slid into the chair and motioned for Butters to take the seat at my right. Ranma sat to my left, her chair pushed right next to me and Akane took the spot across.

There was no preamble. Ukyou nodded to my sister, then she nodded to me. My first instinct was to dig into the pile of pork ribs and steak with my talons. But the Winter Mantle made itself known, and I was struck by the desire to not embarrass my queen. I took a knife and fork and dug in. I ate and ate and it sated me, but I could do more.

My tail straightened and my body flushed with delight. A very physical desire sated, I continued to eat making happy purring noises. I also basked in the presence of my sister and looked to her for reassurance. I also drew more sustenance from her.

Ukyou served me a pork loin with the fatback perfectly rendered into cracklin. I looked at my glass of water contemplatively.

"What's next for her training?" Butters asked.

Ranma reached out and patted my shoulder. "I've got a good idea of her capabilities. She's something special. But there's so much to cover."

I smiled at the tingling contact and shifted a bit closer. My hunger was receding but not fast enough. I picked up a glass and drained it. As I contemplated, Ukyou stepped in with a pitcher and refilled it.

"Like flying?" Butters cut into his steak. I worried that he wouldn't eat enough. Maybe I should talk to Ukyou. I smiled. He had experience with women of a certain type.... That is his girlfriend Andi was a werewolf. And I had used a Hexenwulf belt too... I licked my lips and lifted my glass once more.

"Exactly," Ranma pointed with a fork full of sausage. "The basics are instinctual enough, but there's a whole art to flying. Not just maneuvering, but using your wings in close combat. It adds a whole other dimension of motion." As she explained, she whirled the fork around.

Butters sipped his water. "How long does it take to train a new succubus? If you had the time."

"Months."

I could feel my sister's gaze, but I was more interested in my meal. And the warm feeling I was getting from her. It sated me almost as much as the meat. I picked up a spoon and sampled some of the broth.

The warm hearty liquid filled me, I murmured happily at the deliciousness. I caught Ukyou's eye. "Wonderful. Truly a restorative. Didst thou know that the word restaurant came from the French restaurer."

My platinum haired niece nodded. "Meaning to restore life. Early French soup sellers said their broths would return one's strength."

"Quite correct in thine case," I happily murmured.

Butters glanced at me. I smiled to reassure him; he seemed a bit fretful.

"Months?" Butters winced. "BlackStone... Harry doesn't have that time."

Eating some pork, I swished the water in the glass. I smiled at him. I was busy letting an image form in my mind.

"It's learning a whole new fighting style, with a whole new body." Ranma leaned back. She absently patted my head as I nuzzled her arm and nibbled more energy from her. "Prior experience does shorten the time. Take someone from the D Program. In that case we've got a candidate who already has martial training and combat experience. Granted, it's not martial training in Succubus Saotome school, but it's something."

Butters looked at me, I smiled. I lifted my glass and drank half of it. Ukyou refilled it with a nod.

"Harry's got plenty of experience."

"Yes, she does."

I tipped the fill glass, water poured over my forehead. Some splashed back and thickened and widened my headdress. The bulk of it sluiced over my face where it froze into a glossy white mask. I winked at my sister, but unlike the mask she wore my jaw-line extended out as more teeth sprouted. Filling in my maw. Thicker lips stretched out as my face was pulled forward, giving me a vaguely lupine or perhaps equestrian continence. My ears had also extended out their points lengthening, but at the very least my new face matched my headdress.

"BlackStone!" Butters cried.

Purring, I smiled and fit a whole beef rib in my mouth and happily crunched it and daintily sucked the marrow. I licked my lips and dabbed at my mouth with a napkin. "Yes my Knight, what is thy command?"

Butters glared at me. He crossed his arms. "Stop playing around, Harry."

I winked and lifted a whole chicken breast and slipped it between my lips. It gave a satisfying crunch.

My sister turned and blinked. "Huh."

My nieces took a new batch of photographs and I leaned back to give them a good shot.

"You didn't expect this did you?" Butters asked Ranma.

Giving a light smile, my sister shook her head. "Not this fast. I guess she's got experience with shape changing magic?"

I went back to the pork loin. This time it seemed to vanish before my eyes.

Butters ran his left hand over his forehead while the other flopped to his side. "Yeah you could say that, not as much as you think."

I gave him a smile as my tail snaked out and wrapped around his wrist. It took a bit of effort but I managed to get his right hand on my leg.

He raised an eyebrow as his fingers found purchase through the clear ringlets. "It's too bad Murph's not here. She wouldn't take this crap from you."

I leaned over to him. "Perhaps I should be punished, my Knight?" With all my frippery, I couldn't glance down and honestly my snout was in the way, but I knew I had to be presenting him plenty of cleavage.

"You're in a relationship, aren't you?" My sister asked my Knight.

Butters turned away from me, but I noticed he kept his hand on my leg; I shifted so his grip went a bit further up my thigh. I also adjusted my ankle so my hoof rested just across his foot.

"Yeah, with a really great girl." He gave a slightly pained expression.

"BlackStone...." My sister's voice was warning.

This time I pouted, but went back to my steak. T-bones had wonderful marrow.

"I can call her off if you want," my sister offered.

Butters sighed. His hand slowly went back down to my knee. Which I shifted along with the leg I had draped over his foot. "She's not doing any mental stuff to me?"

I could see his hand went to his side to touch his sword.

The redhead chuckled. "Nothing. Other than clumsy flirting."

"Strong words, Dear Sister," I huffed, my voice edging soprano in tone; it was a bit hard to keep my tone even given all the changes on my face. "Do not forget the adornments upon thine body when thou attempted to catch mine eye." I picked up my glass. It turned out drinking was also more efficient in this form too.

"At least I wasn't trying to speak all fancy," Ranma muttered before going to her meal. "And my gown was prettier," she waspishly added in a low voice.

I sniffed and turned up my nose. Granted it took shifting my torso and leaning back my shoulders, but it was worth it, especially given how far my snout extended out.

"Well, she has been exceeding your expectations," Butters offered.

My sister looked me over and gave a small smile. "True, and this shows why control is such a key part of our training."

"Control? She seems pretty indulgent to me," Butters muttered as he removed his hand from my knee.

I pouted.

Ranma shrugged. "It's a mix. On the one hand, she overexerted herself and is leaning on her Mantle, heavily. On the other, she isn't trying to eat you."

I gave Butters a coy smile, and let my lips part.

Ranma pointed with a fork. "It's important to remember that we're predators. Very pretty predators. But predators none the less." She eyed my face. "Though we don't normally make it quite so blatant."

"I have some experience with supernatural predators," Butters said. "There's a lot of leaning on instincts and fulfilling their own natures."

I nodded approvingly. That matched my own experience.

"And that's what her training will have to fix," Ranma stated.

"Oh?" Butters asked.

Ranma looked to Akane, who had been mostly silent.

"Training is all about augmenting instincts. Repetition and experience build up new responses and actions. Physical superiority is just a starting point," Akane explained, not looking up from her rack of ribs.

Butters chewed thoughtful. "Okay, so if the right training, equipment, and experience can really help a human against a supernatural creature.... then one of you...."

My sister smiled. "Yes, just imagine the potential."

Then Ranma gave a little sigh. "There is much I can teach... but I fear I don't have time. Still..." she patted me on the arm. "We can lay a good foundation."

Butters looked back at me, which caused me to pause in my third helping of broth. "And we're not even counting her powers as a wizard," he said.

Ranma started ticking off with her fingers. "Right, we've got basic body management: controlling her healing and handling her hunger. Then there's flight and basic physical attacks and moves. And then there's integrating her wizard magic with her demon powers."

She looked at me with sparkles in her purple eyes. "She's going to be a nightmare with that staff of hers."

Taking a break in the meal, I made a happy noise as I nuzzled her side.

"And the dress-up?" Butters asked.

"Let her have her fun." My sister's grin turned vicious. "It's not like it'll last when we get back to her training."

I frowned. Not at the implicit threat of physical exertion. No, it seemed that all that water and broth had started to go through me. I lifted my head. "Pardon sister, but may I ask the whereabouts of thine facilities?"

The redhead blinked. "Uh?"

"She wants to go to the bathroom," Butters flatly stated.

"Bluntly put, Sir Knight," I sniffed.

He sighed. "You're Harry-frikin'-Dresden not some Sihde Lady-in-waiting."

"Akane, could you show her the way?" Ranma asked.

As Akane stood, I got up to my hooves. I then left the room in a huff. Lady-in-waiting? I was Mab's personal retainer. I was far higher than any mere lady of the Winter court.

As my niece led the way, we passed a few of my sister's comrades. They were fine specimens. And surprisingly they did not shy away from me. I actually had to turn away from one exquisite dark-haired young woman.

A soulgaze would have been a distraction. Still I gave her a long smile, bowed to her, and as we passed added a bit more sway to my gait. If anything with my tail and legs that made things easier. Not to mention the click of my hooves gave a certain... forewarning of my presence.

It did make things easier when we turned a corner and instead of running headlong into a pair of strapping mercenaries I was able to slip past them with only a bit of a bump as my hip brushed by the one with olive-green eyes, short blond hair and a delightful scent.

I gave both him and his partner warm smiles until my niece took my hand and drew me past them. I let my tail linger for a bit and curl past them.

She pocketed her camera and giggled. "It is nice to have a fun auntie," she said opening the door to a sparse restroom. "Mother can be such a prude sometimes."

"Thou art too kind." I hadn't expected to be either part of a "fun auntie" but I could take it. I stepped into the bathroom, my hooves clicking on the tile.

Akane laughed as the door closed behind me.

The room was brightly lit, but there wasn't much more than tile walls, a sink deep enough to wash your elbows, shower cubicle, toilet, and above the sink.... I stepped forward. Of course this room had a mirror. I smiled at my reflection. I could get used to mirrors.

I rolled my shoulders, which was a bit hard with my blue and white headdress. Mostly blue eyes on a white mask with a sleek muzzle stared. A white crystal tiara, set with sapphires curled over my brow. Behind it my more elfin ears and horns arced out. My icy wings spread slightly, framing my tall willowy figure.

My neck was fixed by my thick silver and platinum choker, pentacle, winter sigil, ruby and all. Below that a dark blue bustier with sapphire lacework pushed my assets.

Below that was the pale bare skin of my midriff. Around my hips draped a heavy blue skirt and spilling from that were tiny white ice ringlets forming a sheeting mail skirt that ended just above gleaming hooves.

My broad glossy lips curled into a smile and thought of Butters. "Perhaps I underestimated my Knight's devotion to his lycanthropic mate."

"Or perhaps he doesn't like rejected He-Man villains," my reflection answered.

I glared and let my wings fold back against my back.

"Come on look at us." The image in the mirror leaned forward, as my mouth spoke those words. "We look like Evil-Lyn's awkward cousin. The one way too into cosplay."

"I do serve the queen of Air and Darkness," I gave a haughty sniff.

"Yeah, yeah, Mab's the inspiration for just about every dark queen out there. Heck she probably has a training camp where she gives lessons."

" 'Tis a reasonable supposition."

The reflection worked my jaw. "But we're not supposed to take pride in working for her, nor use that as a defense for indulging in dark demon dress-up."

I crossed my arms. And gave her a sidelong glance. Being my reflection, she, of course, mirrored my actions.

"And we're not even flirting properly!" she complained, her tail straightening and pointing up behind her.

"It hardly seems appropriate to blame me for that deficiency," I pouted, which was very interesting given the current size of my lips.

"You think the Winter Mantle knows how to flirt?" she asked.

"It seems to know fashion," I muttered.

That earned me a flat, almost contemptuous, look. Well as flat as a polished lupine/equestrian mask of a face could give.

"I suppose the Mantle of the Winter Court was not created with a fine understanding of dressage, style, or coiffure. Doest thou recommend a complaint be lodged with thy queen?" I airily asked.

"Your dream self wears a goatee and he never heard the end of it. He wears a winter pin and you start fretting like an 80's suburban mom worried her kid's on the marijuana cigarettes and the devilish Dungeons and Dragons."

I gave a dismissive sniff.

"But when you go all freaky-fae and start talking like you're an extra in Shakespeare in the park, oh that's just fine!"

I simply quirked my lips and gave a distant, bemused expression. I was starting to understand why Lea and Mab did the mysterious fae bit; it was amusing.

"Yeah, have your fun, but remember, Sis said you need better control." She lifted my arms and shook them in frustration. "Controlled, all this is an asset."

"Yes, and if not, it is a liability."

My reflection's ire grew. "Hells Bells. Fine, you want to go after Butters. Cool! He's a good guy. Andi would understand; I'm sure. "

"Perhaps."

"Let's look like someone Butter would want to bang. And flirt properly," my reflection offered.

"I tried looking like Andi. His reaction was quite negative."

"Fine, that was a little on the nose. Obviously that was the wrong look." A devilish gleam entered her eyes. "Maybe we shouldn't look like all wolfish then. In fact...." I looked down and saw my hands opening the cold water tap.

"What is this?" I asked as my hands cupped water in the deep metal sink.

"I'm tired playing the straight man in this bit. You want to obtuse your way through being a sidhe succubus? Fine by me." She then took a large scoop of water and tossed it on her chest. Err my chest. Freezing, the water added itself to my armor. Okay, it added to my bustier.

Stamping a hoof, I cried out in surprise, but my arms repeated the motion. This time the splashes hit my skirting which seemed to push out with more flare. I had a moment to realize that my figure was no longer quite so willowy before my head was plunged into the sink

Water poured over my face. Extending and smoothing the mask. My lower jaw creaked as a few more teeth grew in. When I pulled myself up, my reflection gave a smug, contented smile. With far too many teeth.

Her face had grown out and where before my features were partially vulpine, now they were decidedly equestrian. Especially given the transformation of my nose and the movement of my nostrils. The sapphire accents around my eyes had grown, becoming artistic inlays accessorized with little gemstones. My lips shone with a mirror-like gloss and I could see reflections of reflections in them.

The mirror succubus shifted her headdress back to its proper position. "Clearly if you want him, you'll need to become someone he wants to bang on your own merits."

"I was unaware that my Knight had preferences that lay in this direction," I said my voice high and clear.

"Well, this was to keep us from copying Andi but..." She smiled, and the idle fantasies and little hungers I had bubbled to the forefront.

The fae demon leaned forward until her lips barley brushed against the mirror. "It would be easy to change his mind. Just a nudge," she breathed.

I narrowed my eyes. "No."

She put her hands on the edge of the sink and leaned further in, now her chest threatened to break through the glass. "But the hunger calls. How does Thomas handle it? Do you think he'll give us some lessons?" She winked.

I exhaled adding my own fog to the mirror. "It is tempting. My brother is experienced."

My reflection smirked.

"But not in that way." I pulled back and studied my reflection. The image in the mirror struck a few poses. I may have added a few of the more flaunting ones. While it wasn't as small as Lea's, that nose did look very cute. Though it'd look cuter with my real face and not this mask.

"Besides, my hunger is no longer quite so acute," I added.

The image in the mirror nodded soberly.

"A test? I pray that I don't have more," I sighed.

"The days you stop testing yourself are the days bad things happen."

I decided to go with the old haughty sniff for a response.

"Really? You're going to hide as Miss BlackStone?"

"I'm not hiding."

"You're locked in the bathroom talking to yourself."

I grumped.

"Or maybe you're just more comfortable with the idea of 'Miss BlackStone' having these feelings, instead of you, even if that means hiding behind a mask. It's okay if some random sidhe succubus has these feelings, but not Harry Dresden."

"I'm not hiding!"

"Prove it."

I glared.

My reflection glared back.

A growl escaped my lips as they curled back revealing pointed teeth. My eyes flashed blue. I looked into the mirror.

My shoulders slumped, or as much as they could with all the frippery I was bound up in.

I closed my eyes and centered myself.

There was a pulling sensation as my face split from just below my tiara, between my eyes and down my face. The tugging continued as it rounded my nose, over my snout, crossing my lips and down my jaw.

The polished mask receded as the separation grew. My facial enhancements peeled back exposing my snowy soft skin. By the time I opened my eyes, the mask had just finished retracting into the silver-chased headdress and heavy tiara.

I exhaled. The face that looked back with its delicate nose, sharp chin line and distinctly sihde features was strangely comforting. Even though my mouth did feel a bit too small. As I worked my jaw I noticed cracks forming on my tiara.

The icy material creaked. There were also white spots sprouting on the flared sides and top of my headdress. There was a loud snap and the tiara broke apart into rough sapphire-embedded chunks that tumbled off my shoulders.

The collapse hit my bodice tearing it down and with as shudder that garment also broke up. This time into thousands of fine snowflakes that sheeted down my arms and back.

Below, there was another collapse. I looked down and saw my ice-mail skirting falling in a heap of shattered ringlets. Some hit the floor and shattered with a musical chime, but most simply dissolved into snowflakes that drifted down onto the tile floor.

I blinked, and took a step out of the heap of melting debris. As that happened, my skirt shivered. At first the blue material spread out covering my torso from neck to thighs, and I noted with some regret, returning me back to a willowy form.

Once the blue ice had returned to my Blue Beetle style armored shape, it began to retract and peel back. The whisking telescoping sensation was comforting. It allowed me to pretend I had been using the stuff as combat armor and not for lewd dress up.

I looked to the mirror. Horns, slit eyes, pointed ears, sharp teeth looked back. But my features were human... ish... On the plus side, my dimple was back.

My reflection seemed approving. Though I did glance down at the melting bits of snow and ice with... was it regret?

I noticed the silver and sapphire chunks were also melting. They turned clear and joined the rest of the ice that melted to water and ran towards the drain. I frowned noting two things. One, it seemed I was able to draw in ectoplasm and shape it as desired.

Two, I was, insistently, reminded that the main reason I'd gone here was because I had to pee.

I rushed to the toilet. And after a confused moment where I dumbly stood before it tapping the tile with a foot, I turned around and sat down.

Then flush with embarrassment, I realized that with my armor gone I was back to wearing that blue leotard. Sparring with Ranma had let it thoroughly damaged, including tears to the chest, arms, and one leg.

Peeling it off tore it up further, but there was no way around that. I tossed it onto the floor, on the damp puddle that was all that was left of my clumsy extravagance.

I did my business and finished up.

I suppose I should be glad. Unlike my blood, my urine wasn't some weird color. I half expected it to be some shade of blue.

Standing up, I walked to the sink. I idly pushed the leotard out of the way.

"No funny business," I told my reflection before I started washing my hands.

As I cleaned them I felt the magic tingle. It would be possible to exploit the water to make some rings, bracelets, gloves, or something more exotic, but...

I gave a little sigh and turned off the water.

I then looked into the mirror. My attention drifted down.

"Well, this is awkward."

"You've got two options," my reflection said. "You can go au natural or you can shift into your armor."

"Butters is a fan of Blue Beetle," I noted. I then considered the time I had spent in here and what I knew about my new family's sense of preparedness.

My reflection scoffed.

"But... I've got a better idea," I stepped to the door and knocked.

I waited and cracked the door open a couple inches.

Akane stepped into view. She looked me up and down. "Is there a problem, Auntie?" she lightly asked with a grin.

I flushed from top to bottom. "Could you go to my bag and get a spare set of-"

She cut me off and handed over a heavy-duty hanger. Draped over it was a familiar leather duster and underneath looked to be a complete set of clothes.

"Oh... uh thanks."

My niece wasn't finished. She also stepped aside to retrieve my staff. That she pressed into my other hand and then with an evil gleam she picked up a pair of boots and dropped them into my overburdened arms.

"It's good to see you're feeling better, Mother and that nice Jedi Knight were worried about you," Akane grinned as she closed the door.

I stumbled back a bit and the clothes, boots, and staff fell to the floor in a clatter. I might have growled in frustration.

Another growl may have come out when I realized that the hanger had been prepared with the outer-most layers on the outside, which meant I had to remove the coat, shirt, and pants before I could even start getting dressed.

Also without Misako and her cousins helping, getting dressed was a bit awkward. I initially thought the wings would be the most problematic part, but it turned out that my tail made getting pants on a bit of a trick.

Still, wearing nice black pants and a dark blue silk shirt did feel nice. Especially after I put on the proper underwear. My armor did provide support but... well let's just say that when it came to making an intimate garment ice was a bit... lacking and leave it at that.

I was shrugging on my coat when I looked down and saw that some clothes still remained. I blinked. Getting dressed wasn't like assembling a bike or a gas grill. You shouldn't have parts left over.

I bent down and picked up the socks. I looked at the boots and my frown deepened. Then my gaze went down.

"Ah," I sighed. A pair of glossy hooves peeked out the legs of my pants. "I'm an idiot," I muttered and concentrated.

The familiar sensation of my armor retracting ran over my legs and I sifted my stance as my feet rested down flat on their heels. I wriggled my toes and with a shrug slipped on socks and boots.

I laced them up, picked up my staff, and gave my reflection one last look. My choker shined at my neck. Wings rested back against my long reinforced duster. The clothes were nice, and draped well over my willowy form. Though I did spot a bit of lace accenting around the chest on my blouse.

Still with the staff, coat, and pentacle choker I looked far more wizard succubus than fae succubus. I opened the door and stepped out of the bathroom.

I followed Akane back to the break-room. My boots clomped against the floor. She opened the door and stepped aside.

"Yes, that's exactly the danger," my sister agreeably said. "If she exerts herself too much and she can't find enough to eat..."

"She'll starve?" Butters asked

"Or lean on the Mantle."

"And we saw how much of a mess that is," he muttered.

"Or feast on something else," my sister looked up as I entered. "But the upside is in most fights you'll find plenty to eat."

"Most fights?" I asked, looking around the room.

"On occasion you'll go up against something... indigestible," Ranma glanced at her plate. "Which is why you don't want to use up all of your reserves in a fight."

"Looking good Harry," Butters offered.

I smiled ant took my seat. "You were right. I was... too hungry. Sorry about that." Embarrassed, I sat down and adjusted my seating. The chair was a bit low and I just realized that it was somewhat awkward to sit in as it put my knees up too high. I sighed and wondered if there was something better than pants for my legs.

The short man shook his head. "Oh, that's not the only thing I was right about."

I took sip of the broth that Ukyou had thoughtfully reheated.

"Remember how before you got turned I warned you."

"You gave a lot of warnings."

"I worried that if you got a healing factor you'd get even more reckless," he laughed. "Funny, that."

I blushed.

"I also warned that you weren't thinking things through and that your deal with Mab might come back to bite you on the butt." He idly buttered a roll.

I crossed my arms. "Fine, fine, I was dumb."

He eyed me and I knew he was deliberately not stating the other stuff he was right about.

Before I was turned Butters mentioned that while being the Winter Knight was a raw deal I was "still me enough to enough to not like it, to fight it".

Except all it took was being turned into a sihde succubus and one vicious sparring match, not even a real fight, and I'd turn all fancy faerie, acting just as snooty and crazy-aloof-Winter as one of Mab's pretty goons.

I looked down at my long, elegant fingers.

"It's okay," Ranma assured, patting me on the hand. "It's just a little clumsy flirting. You're with friends and family."

"Yeah, that does run in the family." I allowed a smile. I turned to Butters. "You should have seen how she dressed when we summoned my queen."

"Misako has the photos at home," Akane offered.

"Huh," Butters remarked.

Ranma sipped her water. "I still say that was to help with the summoning. What's your excuse?"

"I was hungry and hitting on Butters," I bluntly stated. I winced. "But hey, I'll blame hunger for how clumsy I was."

Butters eyed me. "You're saying you're still going to hit on me?"

I popped some steak into my mouth. "Well, that won't be fair to Andi would it?"

The knight shook his head.

"That's my excuse," I looked to my sister. "What's yours? I mean you're not still a virgin? Right?" I sniffed the air and frowned. Supposedly White Court vampires could tell. At the very least, Lara was able to determine my friend Warden Ramirez was one, in spite of all his bravado about being a lady-killer.

"No, I am not," Ranma's cheeks pinked slightly.

"Wait but you've got like, half a dozen daughters... Ohhhh..." Butters said with dawning realization. "Sorry."

My sister gave a strained smile but shook her head.

I nodded. I was pretty sure that she hadn't been pregnant, but this confirmed that. Huh, that's something I had over her. Well, if you counted my daughter Bonnie, which I did.

"Laugh it up," Ranma leaned back in her chair. "But finish eating, because we've got more training to do."

"Ah."

My sister eyed me. "And you've already got your wings out. Excellent," she purred with an evil gleam.

***************


"She pushed me out of a helicopter," I groused, leaning on a reclining Adirondack style chair on the back porch. The dark yard spilled in front of me right to the tree-line. To my right the dojo sat unlit. Heavenly smells came from the kitchen; my stomach gurgled.

"Yes, you told me," Butters noted with exasperation.

"My sister pushed me out of a helicopter," I repeated. I looked around the ground. It was odd. Despite the dark, I could see everything, but the colors were muted. Once again, I was struck by my Hexunwolf experience. I should really talk with the Alphas, maybe check out what they had learned over the years of werewolfing. That would also give me an excuse to see Andi.

"I know. I saw you fly."

"I fell. My sister, she pushed me."

Butters tilted his head. "Wait... today she's eviscerated you, broken your bones, taken you on an endurance run up and down a mountain until you collapsed."

"It was more of a hill," I whined. That annoyed me. I had gotten used to running with my brother. He was a white Court Vamp, so no slouch there. Hells Bells, I had been leaning on the Mantle on those runs, and wearing a vest weighted down by a couple hundred pounds.

And despite all that Ranma still found a way to wear me down.

"How about when she held you under water until you thrashed and began to drown?"

"My sister did seem frustrated by how... comfortable I was in the water," I gave a light laugh.

"She cut you, made you heal, then cut again. She made you hold a fireball and mediate and when you lost focus sprayed you with napalm."

"Please, that one was easy," I sniffed. My tail twitched back and forth.

The man eyed me.

I pointed to myself. "Wizard. Mental concentration is what we do."

"She still had a guy with a flamethrower light you up."

"Only because I started juggling."

Disbelieving, he shook his head.

"Besides, I got my shield back up."

"Ah yes, she let you use your bracelet and staff. And how did that go? How hungry did blowing through your magic make you?

I smiled and shifted my seat closer to him. "Is that a proposition, Sir Knight?"

He groaned. "Focus, Harry."

"I'm not the one listing the day's itinerary," I countered, my stomach rumbled again. "A list that has a notable absence."

"My point is that despite all that's been done to you, you're obsessing over your flight lessons."

"Lessons?" My voice raised. "What does thou not understand, Sir Knight? It was a crass act of defenestration," I huffed and stretched my legs. I had taken off my boots and it was nice to get those off my feet.

Butters unzipped a pocket on his vest. He pulled out a candy bar and tore the wrapper. "Here, have a Snickers. You get all fae when you're hungry."

"There's something I would prefer more than a confection, my Knight," I purred. I leaned forward and took his treat.

Holding the bar in my elegant fingers I gave a long wink as blue ice slid from my choker and up the back of my head. It spread over the sides and flared out into my headdress and continued solidifying into a large clear, sapphire studded tiara.

I slowly eased the bar into my mouth. As I chewed, my jaws expanded with the sound of freezing ice. Facial enhancements regrew as my glossy white mask flowed back into place. While my new features took shape my blue armor grew over my body and then receded leaving me with a bustier, flared skirt, draping white ice ringlets, and glossy greaves over my hooves.

Pushing with a leg, my chair scooted closer to his. "Thy generosity is most appreciated," I breathed.

Butters looked at my visage. And blinked. "What are you doing to yourself? I thought you got this out of your system at lunch. If you think this will make me more willing to cheat on Andi-"

I put a finger to his lips, and relished the tingle of the contact. "Peace. Thou have mistaken my intent," I assured in a light, high voice. I shifted my body so I could face him. "Do not worry, my knight. Your nobility is appreciated." With some reluctance, I withdrew my finger.

"Oh... kay," he stated.

"Clearly I was remiss in not making the same offer to thy mate."

"Andi?" Butters shook his head. "Look I'm not sure you're her type."

"Did she not have relations with Marcy at university?" I asked.

"I mean the whole pretty-pony fae thing. Come on Harry, you look like a unicorn, but with two horns."

"I can be quite accommodating," I purred as I lifted my tail and let it arch behind me.

Butters sighed and took out another candy bar. Undoing the wrapper, he handed it over and rolled his eyes as I nibbled it off his fingers.

"Lovely. You are so considerate," I blinked as my stomach's grumbling lessened.

He held out a third bar.

I worked my jaw and leaned back into my chair. "I'm trying to seduce thee again?" I sheepishly asked.

"Blatantly and overtly, Lady BlackStone," Butters's tone was witheringly dry.

"Ah..." I looked down at my clothes. Or tried to. Well at least I wasn't dressed in anything too embarrassing. "But I was just talking about Andi...."

"Oh, that was a new twist. You offered to throw yourself at her."

My broad lips curled into a smile. "But what if she says yes?" I coyly asked.

Butters coughed.

Seizing my victory I leaned forward and slipped a hand into his vest and took another candy bar. In the process, my lips may have brushed against his. Totally by accident, I had to get in real close to see what I was grabbing.

I slit open the confection and after relishing it, relaxed and let my mask peel back. This time, I concentrated a bit and made sure my tiara dissolved into fluffy snowflakes like my headdress and mail skirting.

I stretched as my armor shifted and retreated.

"You're so abusing that power," Butters noted.

I smirked and leaned back in the reclined seat.

"Given what we can do, that hardly counts as abuse," Cecilia said stepping onto the deck.

"Oh... how much did you see?" I asked my cheeks flushing. I looked over at my sister. My tail twitched angrily. I shouldn't be surprised that someone was watching me. Once again, I was alone, and hungry, with Butters.

But what got me was that Cecilia was the one babysitting me.

I looked up at my sister's amused look and stilled.

"Hmm?" my lavender-haired sister innocently tilted her head. "I was coming out to tell you that dinner is almost ready."

Despite her harmless demeanor, Cecilia was still a brood mother. She was also a peer of Ranma and Eve, two powerful demons. I looked her over and recalled what Misako had said earlier in the day about Cecilia's "subtle machinations".

I was reminded of the White Court. Those vamps eschewed using direct force and instead used catspaws and indirect means. Ranma and Eve were very direct in how they fought, but I knew succubae had mind bending powers that started with seduction and got more dangerous from there.

"Ah, well... good." I glanced over and saw she held some folded papers.

"Though there's no need to be embarrassed. You're young, and little girls are supposed to like horses. Why some of my girls still play dress-up, maybe if you're interested they'll show you their toys," my sister's innocent tone continued.

"Errr...."

"Hah!" Butters barked out a laugh.

My cheeks started to turn a deeper shade of blue.

"You'll flirt with me but get embarrassed when your sisters find out." Butters shook his head.

"It makes a kind of sense, Doctor," Cecilia offered. "Recall that Dresden's siblings all have different ways of dealing with their hungers."

"Siblings? Not sisters?" he asked.

Cecilia maneuvered to lean on a support post to the porch's roof and faced both of us. "Your brother is a part of this."

"Yeah," I chewed my lip. It was more fun to go all flirty fae than think about the mess that was my brother's life. "He tried something... different. He ran a salon."

My sister raised a slim eyebrow. "Well, well, clever man."

"It took a lot of work to setup, but when he did..." I shrugged.

"I'm guessing there weren't any, shall we say, backroom extras?"

"Nah, he did low impact, high volume."

"That lessened the addiction too right?" Butters asked.

"Yeah, it was a pretty good deal but then..."

Cecilia waited.

I opened my mouth. I closed it. It wasn't my place to say. A Skinwalker had abducted my brother, tortured him, flayed him, made him go mad with hunger, desperate to feed. And then the Skinwalker fed him; it brought him girls. My brother was too damaged, his Hunger...

He fed. He fed until there wasn't anything left. And then the Skinwalker did it again.

My tail hung limp.

Butters winced but held his tongue. He knew my brother, and I wasn't sure how much he knew about the Skinwalker thing, but he knew enough to know something bad had happened.

"Oh... so that's why Ranma did all that to me." I blinked. Among other things, today's training aimed to show me that, as a succubus, when I got hungry... I would start acting... funny. That I would start to lose control, but more importantly before that happened my judgment would... Well I'd start thinking that my fae godmother was someone worth emulating.

Stupid Winter Mantle.

"Yes?" my sister politely asked.

"Well, let's say my brother had a bad experience. Someone pushed him to his limits and..."

"His instincts took over? He fed without any regard other than preserving his own life?" Cecilia gently asked, taking my hand.

"Yeah... he was pretty strung out afterwards... horrified at... " I squeezed her hand back. "It made it real hard for him to see himself as human."

My sister gave a weak smile. "And that's why our sisters are such fanatics about self-control."

"Self-control? Ranma tried to tear you apart," Butters said.

I shook my head. "Yes, but there wasn't any passion to it. It was just part of the lesson."

"We all have different ways of dealing with our hungers." Cecilia patted my hand.

"Yeah... my brother closed his salon. He feeds directly but he doesn't hurt them. Justine, his lover, also helps him." I looked out onto the yard.

"Meanwhile, our sisters have a different way," Cecilia said. "Like those... monks that deny worldly pleasure..." she snapped her fingers.

"Ascetics?" I asked.

"That's it!" She laughed. "Ascetic succubae."

Butters gave the lavender haired woman a long look.

My sister shrugged. "But really that's them focusing away from feeding via pleasures of the flesh and instead focusing on... well... feeding on flesh."

"Huh? Ranma flirted with me when I was human."

Cecilia waggled a finger. "But she didn't drain you. No, our sisters get almost all of their... extra nourishment via combat."

"They take life force when they kill?" Butters asked.

"Is it any worse than eating their bodies?" I replied, a bit defensively.

"I'd say the real line would the act of killing in the first place," Cecilia stated. "After that it's just a body."

I could see the gears turning in Butter's head. "Your scary blonde and scary redhead sisters aren't comfortable with draining via naughty-fun-times, instead they find it more palatable to just kill and eat people?"

"It's not as bad as you make it sound," I said.

Butters glared at me. "Yeah, I wouldn't have let them turn you, otherwise."

Cecilia shrugged. "Well, Ranma also gets power from her magical girl thing."

"Ahh, a supernatural patron supplying power would help." I nodded. "I could do that. I mean the Winter Mantle."

Butters's glare returned.

"You are," my sister said.

"And not without side effects. Maybe long term ones," Butters added.

Cecilia nodded to him. "Might be a good reason for her to look at other options, yes?"

I looked between the two. "You're saying I shouldn't that I should feed? Like..."

"Like a succubus?" My sister shrugged. "It's your choice. "

I frowned.

Butters snorted. "What do you think you've been trying to do with me all day?"

I blushed again.

Cecilia gave my fingers another squeeze. "It's not like our sisters are deficient. They're perfectly happy and good mothers to their broods. There's worse examples to follow, but I'm betting Ranma didn't even act as if there were other options? That there were other ways to handle our urges and needs."

My hand went to my choker. "I guess I'm a bit different."

"Yes, and I don't mean your faerie powers."

"I am a wizard."

Cecilia's smile got a bit strained.

"Not that. You're more emotional, more passionate. Especially when compared to our sisters."

"Ranma's not unemotional."

"No, but she's very straightforward. Her emotions are blunt and simple. She's also the eldest of us, she has spent over a year honing her skills in keeping her nature in check."

"And Eve is... Eve..." My tail swished as I thought. I twisted and looked back down. How often had that thing given away my mood today?

"You're saying I might not need to take all of Ranma's advice?"

Once again I glanced at the papers in her other hand. They looked like pamphlets.

"Oh, you should. But she is very confident," Cecilia added.

"And cocky," I said.

"Yes, when it comes to things Ranma's experienced in she assumes she knows best, and often isn't wrong. But that means that the few times she is wrong she can be blind to other ideas."

Looking at me, Butters let out another laugh.

I blushed. Sure... that sounded a bit like me as well... a bit.

"I don't want to force you to do anything, I don't want to tell you what to do, but I do want to make you aware that you have choices," Cecilia softly said. "And if you ask I can tell you more about them. You have more choices than Ranma thinks you have, more than you think you have."

"Is this about the training?"

My sister laughed and called me an idiot. "No of course not. You'll need her training. You're a fighter; you might as well learn how not get yourself killed. But then what? You are planning to live after you beat Tessa? What will you do? You'll still be one of us. You'll have to make some real choices."

"Oh." My tail curled and rolled. "You mean when I go back?"

Cecilia gave a little sigh. "Yes, I suppose you won't stay with us."

My wings drooped. "Well..." I briefly considered picking up Bonnie and Maggie and... what, abandoning the rest of my world to its fate? My friends? My brother? My grandfather? Murphy? Chicago?

I'd once said I'd be willing to "let the world burn" if it meant my daughter would be safe. I then saw the consequences of that kind of thinking. Then again, I wasn't sure that this world would be safer. If anything things were falling apart quicker here.

Monsters and aliens were no longer a secret, and countries were getting even more paranoid and aggressive. Hells Bells, even the Canadians were freaking out, willing to put tanks on the streets of their capital city and preparing to bomb their own towns.

But despite all that... even if this world were safer, even if I could grab everyone, convince Murphy and Butters and the Carpenters and... Molly? I slowly exhaled.

No. None of them would abandon their world.

And that didn't even count that Mab would have... problems with me running away. Especially given that I... kind of... fused with the Winter Knight Mantle.

Quietly watching me, Cecilia nodded. "It's okay," she reassured. "You have obligations. Though, you'll eventually have to consider what you'll do when you get back."

Butters crossed his arms and simply looked at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes Butters, you were right about that too. Add it to the long list of things I didn't think through."

"Was she always this bad?" Cecilia asked, seemingly with genuine concern.

"Worse," Butters replied.

I huffed. Once again I looked to the papers my sister held. "What's with those? Did you print out your advice?"

Cecilia looked down and laughed. "Oh no... this is general stuff." She then fanned the small pile of pamphlets revealing the titles.

They were made out of folded stock and looked like something anyone could order in a print shop. Honestly, they reminded me of ones I had made several years back.

My old office had a pile of pamphlets just inside the front door. My favorites were "Magic and You" and "Why Witches Don't Sink Any Faster Than Anyone Else - a Wizard's Perspective".

Though given the contents of these pamphlets, I was sure the mercenaries had made them internally under secret conditions by cleared personnel, stored under lock and key, inventoried and signed out only by approved contractors, and then said contractors would hand 'em out to any succubus they met.

I looked at the cover. There was a cartoon succubus named Silva. I opened it. Ah... hello Birds and the Bees and high school health class. "You're giving me 'The Talk'? I'm old enough to know what sex is."

My sister gave me 'the look'. "You're a day old succubus who's playing with her powers like a puppy trying to bite her own tail." She leaned over and flipped to the next page in the pamphlet.

I worked my jaw and tilted my head. "Huh," I said as my tail flexed.

Butters had pointedly averted his gaze.

My sister gave a satisfied smirk. "You were saying?"

"I wasn't that clueless about women!" I pouted. But I went to the next pamphlet. This one was more of a hygiene booklet. Once again, it was illustrated with a funny little cartoon succubus. The captions were in English and a type of mangled Latin that made mine seem polished.

Cecilia laughed "You might know about human women, but succubae are different." Her tone that indicated she was skeptic with regard to the first point.

She turned to Butters. "Do make sure she reads these. I'm afraid we'll have to do all we can to make sure we get through to her."

"Hey!" I groused.

Butters laughed but nodded.

***************


Sprawled on the couch, I rolled on my back. Patting my stomach, I made a contented noise. My tail flopped over my leg and limply flopped off the front of the couch. My coat was hung over the couch-back and I wore my pants and blouse, though I had slipped off my shoes.

"I could get used to meals like that," I murmured as I reached out and pulled a new binder out of the metal briefcase case that had been propped open on the coffee table. I flipped to a new set of glossy, almost waxy-smelling pages.

"Having talented daughters is nice," Ranma noted. She sat on the couch next to me and absently ran a finger behind an ear and around the nape of my neck.

I wriggled my hips so the back of my head rested on her thigh. Despite that, my feet still dangled over the armrest.

"I don't know how you can eat so much," Butters remarked from a chair that sat a bit past my feet.

"Metabolism," Ranma remarked as she wrote out notes. She leaned the pad against the other couch armrest so she could keep a hand free.

The doctor scoffed. "Yes, yes. I know why. It's still just freaky to see pale thin girls pack it away." Butters flipped to a new page and squinted at the lines of spidery text on the printout he was reading. "Just like how it's creepy to have eldritch tomes in three ring binders," he said feeling the texture of the thin paper between his fingers.

My sister looked up from her notes. "Well, we did have a bunch of nice leather-bound moldering tomes. But someone decided to blow them up." She patted my head.

"Hey! You're the one that told me to zap that case!" I pouted. "And without telling me it was full of explosives!"

"Well, did you want Tessa to get away with the books?"

"I didn't expect you to booby-trap everything!" I cried; my voice might have gone a bit higher with frustration.

My sister simply gave me a slightly disappointed look.

"Wait... what?" Butters asked.

I closed my binder. "You know how Tessa attacked their fancy base a couple days before you came?"

Butters blinked. "Uh, yes?"

"Well, she was doing it to steal back these." I gestured to the large briefcase and the binders filling it.

Butters flipped to a new page. "What, did you make copies and then hide a bomb among the originals? So, that if she tried to steal them..." the little man blinked at our expressions.

"It was a last resort," Ranma explained.

"Oh."

"Yeah, they only did that after the missiles, the claymores, the anti-magic mine, the sniper rifles, the machine guns, the satchel charges, and, oh yes, the flamethrower failed," I said.

"Don't forget throwing a gangly wizard at her," my sister added, scratching behind my ear.

"Or the scary demon queen," I countered, rolling over to my side with a happy murmur.

"You're insane, all of you insane." He thumped the binder. "No wonder you wanted to adopt him into the family."

"Don't sell yourself short." Ranma gave a warm smile.

Butters meet her gaze. "Really?"

I pouted as Ranma folded her hands in her lap. "Nariko's very fond of you. As are Ukyou and Nabiki. You have proven yourself, Sir Knight."

"Oh," Butters coughed.

"Take it as a compliment." Ranma chuckled. "I'm blundering about trying to flirt with you."

"Yeah, it's not like she's got a secret plan to wait for the perfect opportunity to turn you," I blinked. I then tilted my neck so I could look up at my sister.

The redhead gave a coy smile.

I looked her in the eyes. "No."

"Right, you're hoping he'll consent to something entirely different for you," Ranma teased.

Blushing, I rolled over. "That's not what I meant." I pouted.

"Do you have to tease her?" Butters asked.

Chuckling, my sister leaned back. She looked at her wristwatch.

"How much time to you have?" I asked. Apparently, she was on the guard duty rota. Which made sense. Someone like Ranma would be skilled at protecting her house and family.

"A bit, then I'll relieve Eve and Nariko.

I nodded.

My sister turned to Butters. "You're an only child aren't you?"

He grumbled.

"Teasing is a part of having siblings."

"Your sisters don't tease you. Well, not counting Harry," Butters added after a moment.

I rolled back onto my side and saw Ranma give a little grin. "It's a bit subtle I'll admit."

"Being the eldest has its privileges," I muttered.

My sister shushed me and resumed scratching behind my ears and at the base of my horns.

"And she'll grow out of this?" Butters asked Ranma.

The redhead resumed her writing. "Well, she'll grow up."

"She's Harry," Butters flatly reminded. He sighed. "Murph really should be the one here. She'd be better able to handle this... er handle her." He corrected.

"They're in a relationship?"

I blushed again and drew my knees towards my body. "Between me and Karrin? It's complicated. Very complicated... now."

"It wasn't that complicated when you left."

Turning my head, I met his gaze. "That was before!" I cried, my eyes flashing.

He didn't flinch. "Yes, that was the risk of your choice," he patiently said, his tone gentle.

"But Karrin's not here, and I'm not even sure she'll like me like this..." I whined, my voice slipping.

"It's okay," my sister reassured as she resumed patting between my shoulders, just below my choker. "Don't come on too strong when you come back. Give her a chance to get used to.... you."

"And if she can't?" I asked in a small voice.

"Then that's it, you can't force her. You can't force it to work," her voice was regretful and distant.

"Oh."

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Butters cleared his throat. He frowned at De Cotis' notes. "About this summoning Tessa's doing."

Ranma put down her pen. "Yes? Any ideas? Harry said you were very strong on the theoretical side."

"I've got a good tutor," Butters coughed looking bashful. "But... I don't know how much... energy she got from the Lomar... killings."

"But?" I prompted.

"Well... I think she got the most important parts. She established a link with wherever she's trying to summon. Even drew the link back to our world."

I frowned. "But you smashed everything before you stepped through the gateway."

"That was right after you and Ranma broke up their little party," he frowned and flipped through some more excerpts on the summoning ritual. Or what we guessed the summoning ritual was.

"Will Tessa have to try again? Do another pre-summoning sacrifice?" Ranma asked.

I thought it over. Not nearly enough people had died to give the necromantic power to get what she needed. She would need to kill a lot of people before she could try again. Then again... maybe she'd try a different source of magical power.

"Yes," I said.

"No," Butters said.

"No?"

"Okay, she only got like, a quarter of the... energy she needed. But she did get enough to setup a link. So in a pinch...."

"She can just make the main summoning a bit bigger?" Ranma asked.

"That'd be risky."

Butters glanced at me. "What part of this isn't? It's not like Tessa is shy about killing people."

My sister nodded, and took down a few more notes.

"She may be sadistic but she's not reckless; Tessa wants her revenge. She doesn't want to get caught," I countered.

"She also lost a major sorcerer," Butters reminded. "Two counting the one you took out in the garage."

I gave a toothy grin. "Yes, thank you so much for killing Thorneboy."

Butters blushed. "That's a lot of magical capability. Thorned Namshiel had to be here to help with the ritual."

"More than that," I muttered.

"Oh?" Ranma asked.

"Last I heard that Fallen didn't have a host and the coin was locked up somewhere."

"Tessa sprung him? She needed his expertise?" Butters ventured.

"Maybe, could be the other way," I flexed my hands. "We don't know how Tessa found out about this ritual. How she learned about this particular world, let alone about contacting the Brotherhood."

"You think Tessa's being played?"

I eyed the knight. "Both my boss and your boss say she's being played."

Butters hissed through his teeth.

"Shame we can't question Namshiel," Ranma idly said as she wrote on her notepad

Both Butters and I stared at her.

"Yeah, bad idea," I shook my head.

"Duh." My sister snorted. "Say we find someone to play host, giving a fallen angel a fresh body is stupid idea. Even if we could contain him, I doubt we could successfully interrogate him."

I made a somewhat mollified murmur. I wondered if our sister Eve would take that as a challenge to her professional skills. Then again, the blonde seemed like a sensible enough woman.

Relief crossed Butters's face. "Yeah, we're not gonna get any answers from him."

"He's sneaky even by nickelhead standards," I grumbled shifting my position.

"Well, yeah, he mentored Tessa," Butters shook his head.

"I also think he was part of the attack on Arctis Tor."

"Mab's after him?

I nodded. "And that means he's got some shady friends," I allowed. Whoever he had been working for, Outsiders maybe, was bad news. Okay, so Thorneboy could be the one to help Tessa "discover" the ritual. Maybe he even fed her feelings for revenge and desire for power.

"Was it too late? We got him, but Tessa's committed," Butters frowned. "Maybe she won't like being told she's played."

"Not if she's too far gone," Ranma said as she flipped back to a previous page of notes.

I shrugged. "She won't believe us, and as you said, she's committed. She tried to kill a whole town. She won't stop, not now. She and those wolves have gone to ground somewhere and have dug-in, plotting their next step."

Butters shifted, still uncomfortable with the idea.

I didn't press. I knew the Knights were all about saving the hosts. Hells Bells, Michael tried to talk down Nicodemus. And I'd bet good money that Tessa, Nicodemus's crazy ex-wife, would be even harder to get through to.

I glanced up and tried to look at what my sister was writing.

Ranma smiled. "Course work for tomorrow."

"Oh."

I must have made a worried little noise because Ranma's expression softened.

"I think you have enough control that we can do a demonstration in the dojo"

"No more tearing me up?"

"Well, not there," She chuckled. "I'd also want to take you to the range," Ranma sighed. "But you can find a shooting instructor on your world."

"While I'd have a hard time finding another brood mother?"

Ranma nodded. She looked wistfully at her list and glanced at her watch, checking how much time she had left. "We'll have some time after we defeat Tessa."

I mulled that over. I had to go back. I had responsibilities, family, and it was my world.

She shrugged. "But again... I'd rather spend that time making sure you're ready... you're capable of going back. You won't have us there to help you."

"I can handle being alone!" I cried, indignantly perhaps, but certainly without pouting

My sister gave a knowing nod. "Yes, that's what we'll have to ensure."

Curling up a bit, I bit my lip. My horns tingled, distracting my introspection. I lifted up and saw Dr. Nodoka Saotome enter.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend your training today," she stepped up to the couch and looked down at myself and Ranma. I found myself grinning. The older auburn-haired woman returned the smile.

Nudging me to one side, Ranma scooted closer to the edge of the couch.

"Some of the other eggheads and myself were sent to Lomar this afternoon," she explained, sitting down on the couch between myself and my sister. She ran her hand through my sister's hair and idly stroked a horn.

Giving a bit of a jealous grumble, I leaned my head on her leg.

"Did you find anything, Doctor... uh..?" I asked.

"Some information about the crystals they used for the summoning. Unusual stuff but..." she shrugged and glanced down at me. "You know, I wouldn't mind if you called me Mom."

I blinked.

"Uh?" I asked feeling a slight warm tug from her. There was a connection but it wasn't the bright heavy line to my sister. Hells Bells, I had an easier time following my link to Ranma and then trundling up the linkage to her....

Oh... warmth burbled within me as I smiled and shifted.

The older woman smiled. Her grin grew when my sister handed her a silver hairbrush. "Thank you, Ranma." She rolled the brush in her hand. "You poor dear," she said running a hand through my fine pale hair.

"It's..." I trailed off when the bristles sank into my tresses and she started to brush. Arching my back, my legs stretched out; I started to purr.

"You are tense," she said running the brush in long even strokes.

I shifted and murmured happily.

"She doesn't stretch enough," my sister tersely noted.

"I'm sorry I can't just drop into a perfect split," I bristled. My hips still ached a bit at that part of today's lessons.

"With that body you should be able to put your legs behind your head," Ranma sniffed.

The brushing slowed. "And are you working to fix that?" the officer asked my sister.

"It's on the list." My sister sounded sheepish.

"Wait," I shifted slightly. "What was all that stuff we did after lunch?"

"That was just a warm-up. Really, I should teach you yoga." My sister made a frustrated little noise. "But getting your chakras straightened out alone would take..."

I blinked. "You know yoga? I mean sure you wear the tight bodysuits but..."

My sister gave me a flat look. "I have studied under Tibetan yogis. Learning how to channel vital energy and prana are fundamental building blocks to the higher levels of the Art."

"You went to Tibet?"

"Yes, part of a multi-year training trip over China, well, parts of Korea too. Bit of Japan at the start."

The brushing stopped. Mo... Major Saotome shook her head. "I suppose there was some benefit of your father taking you for ten years."

This time I simply stared. "Ten years learning mystic Asian arts? That's some real Doctor Strange stuff there, Sis."

The redhead tilted her head. "Strange-sensei, what about him?"

There was a clatter as a binder slipped from Butters hands. "You're pulling our leg right?"

"Well, he was an instructor and protegee of the master." My sister looked confused.

"You're not telling us you were taught by the Stephen Strange?" he asked adjusting his glasses.

"What? He was another foreigner studying with us at the hermitage. But then Pops stole some book from another senior acolyte, this Baron guy and things...." she shook her head.

Butters narrowed his eyes. "No. You're not telling me you studied with the Sorcerer Supreme or that your father stole a book from Baron Mordo."

"He was going to pawn it for booze... and that's when we had to run..." my sister sheepishly admitted. "Hey! How'd you know the guy's name was Mordo?"

Butters gave my sister a long look. "You're pulling our legs," he repeated.

"Dude, we're in a different world," I said raising my head to get Mother's attention. As the brushing resumed, I started to purr.

Butters grumbled.

"Do you want to go to a comic shop tomorrow?" I asked.

"We're not in the Marvel world," Butters's voice was sharp.

"Doctor Strange existing doesn't automatically make this a Marvel Universe," I sniffed. "It does, however, imply the existence of Dormammu."

"What the hell are you nerds talking about?" Ranma demanded.

"They doubt the veracity of your exploits," Mother explained.

"She's being mean," I murmured rolling over and burying my face into mother's thigh.

My sister sighed. "I trained under a mystical master, well mostly his American protege, in the Himalayas... and my father screwed things up and we had to leave.... in the middle of the night..."

I lifted my head slightly, and saw Butters give a glare. "You're messing with us," he declared.

My sister made a disappointed sound.

"Oh, I'm sure you had an adventure like that, but you just swapped in the names," Butters explained.

"Why would I do something like that?" Ranma asked, assumed.

"Because your sister is a giant geek, and you're teasing her."

Ranma shrugged. "Still, as much as I'd like to teach you..." she looked at her list and grumbled. "You can find a yoga instructor in your world. Either Hatha or Raja would do. I'd avoid the house-wife in spandex crowd. After you get your basic flexibility in, you'll blow past anything a dilettante instructor can teach you."

I heard my sister shift. Again, she was looking at her watch. "I've got to go in a bit. But yeah, I can add yoga to the list of lessons she should find when she gets back home."

"Maybe she can find a decent Parkour instructor too," Butters mused.

Ranma nodded. "That would be better than the grab-bag she's currently got.

Slightly distracted by mother's brushing, I blinked. "Hey. It is too parkour."

"No, that's freerunning," Butters said. "And you don't shout parkour."

"Uh-uh," I drowsily corrected. "It's parkour."

My sister grumbled. "What you're doing is not derivative of the French Yamakasi. And while there is some of the Belle style it's more of the German branch, which means while you could call it parkour, any formal instructor would consider you wrong."

"Neerrrd." I poked her and laughed.

My sister huffed. "It's important to be precise."

"Isn't your martial arts style a grab-bag of everything anyway?" Butters asked.

Ranma sniffed.

Blinking my eyes, I simply pressed myself against Mother and let the two bicker. After a while the purring rumble grew within my chest.

"Is that normal?" Butters asked a few minutes later. He did sound a bit relieved, maybe it was because someone else was the focus of my attention.

My mother's voice was soft. "Young succubae can be very needy."

I could hear a bit of regret in her voice as I nibbled and drained.

"Yeah, but this was the sister change," he said.

"Yes, it was," Ranma stated. "Imagine what she'd be like with the daughter change."

I wanted to pout but the feelings I was getting from Mother and sister made it hard for my mood to sour.

"It's also her fist day," Nodoka added.

"There's another thing," Butters softly said. "Harry's an orphan."

I blinked again, wicking the wetness from the corners of my eyes. I nuzzled a bit closer to Mother.

Butters coughed. "I guess BlackStone isn't."

"I'm not… I'm not sure about that," my mother said, embarrassment entering her voice. "I can do my best but... I'm still human."

My sister leaned in and hugged us both.

Flooded by the feelings of both I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off. I knew it wouldn't last. For one, my sister would have to get up and patrol the grounds. But for the moment I could relish being close to my family.

End Chapter 11


I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 12: Fey and Brooding, Part B


I walked up a shaded path. The larger Saotome-Tendo residence sat kitty corner across the street from the cottage I was approaching. Looking down, I saw the cropped bases of perennials that had been prepared for winter.

The house itself had cedar shingles for roofing and siding. It gave the little house a comforting smell that matched its quaint appearance. It reminded me of the vacation houses on the lake in the Indiana and Wisconsin suburbs of Chicago.

It also reminded me of Murph's house. Oh, it wasn't as cute as the gingerbread styled house that Murphy had inherited from her grandmother, but the incongruity was similar. I noted that there wasn't a name on the door, or any lettering on the welcome mat. The place was neat; it looked quiet, unassuming.

Which was a bit superfluous given this cluster of houses had been turned into a private lane complete with fences and gates. The patrolling mercenaries, demons, and other security systems were a bit more discrete, but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the houses on the little street had armored vehicles stuffed in their garages, ready to deploy.

I reached the door. I noticed it was solid without any inset glass or flanking windows. I'd also be pretty sure that the door frame was reinforced too. Not out of any hope of stopping a determined attack, but it would buy time to evacuate or counter attack. I had done something similar on my old apartment. Well, I'd also added wards in addition to the reinforced door.

I also noted that there weren't many windows that faced the street, especially on the ground floor. And the few that did were narrow, set high, and seemed a bit thick. As their first fight with Tessa proved, my sisters were big believers of defense in depth. It should be no surprise that the home of my most paranoid sibling would be... prepared.

I lifted my fist, but the door opened before I could knock.

"Ah, BlackStone, a pleasure to see you," Eve warmly said as she stepped back to let me in.

Crossing the threshold, I stared. My sister was wearing a dress. Her long blonde hair was down, and to repeat myself: she was wearing a dress. There had been less shock when I had seen Murphy in a dress.

With a crisp hem a few inches below the knee, it was a light blue floral print dress with little strappy shoulders and a glossy leather belt cinched around her waist. Her hair had a surprising amount of body as it tumbled down her bare shoulders and back.

The door closed behind me. I glanced and saw deadbolt locks, bracing bars, and that it was indeed thicker than normal. I then turned back to my sister. Hells Bells, she was wearing an apron too. It had a scalloped edge with little ruffles.

There was also a bit of a bulge in the front at where her belt was. Ah, so that's where she carried her gun. I glanced down. On the other hand, her skirt was flounced enough that I was pretty sure she also had a thigh holster as well.

"Ranma's been very impressed with your work," she said, taking my arm as she led me away from the somewhat cramped alcove that made the cottage's entranceway. I noted that, unlike Ranma, she didn't insist on removing shoes.

I also noted she was wearing high heels. Ones high enough to put our eyes at the same level.

"This is how you dress off-duty? I never figured you for a Hausfrau."

My sister's lips quirked in a smile.

Oddly enough, she wasn't wearing much in the way of makeup. Not that she needed any. I mean that was a given with our kind.

"Sometimes, like when we're all here," Eve clapped her hands as we entered a cozy living room. "Girls, we have a visitor. It's Auntie BlackStone."

"You're enjoying that name way too much."

The blonde gave a restrained smile that actually went to her eyes. "It's an adorable alias your friend came up with."

My tail flicked as I studied the room. The lighting was low and intimate, except for a large oak desk flanked by gooseneck lamps that cast down bright white light. The ceiling was a bit low in the room and there wasn't much in the way of windows, but there were stuffed couches, a heavy bookcase and other accoutrements. Prints hung on the wall, there were a couple landscapes that flanked a small window. However the walls were dominated by two large frames.

Both were seascapes. Both had ships sinking. Both looked to be from World War Two. Over the desk was a four foot print that had a bright day and calm seas with dive-bombers cruising over a carrier that was aflame by a hit near the stern. Given the giant rising sun painted on the deck it had to be Japanese.

On the opposite wall was a print of a battleship on a grey day. Smoke billowed out of the back as it tried to push through wallowing grey surf. I didn't know much on my history, but even I recognized the Bismarck.

"Huh," Mulling over the symbolism, I turned away from the pictures. My sister was German and had.... issues with her family. And our sister Ranma was Japanese, but she didn't seem to care.

Two of Eve's girls were lounging on the couch. The shorter, younger one with black hair was curled up against her taller bright green-haired sister. Said sister was swearing a charcoal and grey suit with matching stockings. She sat with her legs folded up under her.

At the desk was the auburn-haired sniper. At first I thought my niece had disassembled a sink drain or some other bit of plumbing. But no... neatly placed on the polished butcher-block style oak surface were the parts of her rifle.

The immense barrel rested in a set of pads and the scope had been packed in its own velvet-lined tray. I then noticed that the desk wasn't a desk at all. There were no drawers. It was more of a bench. There was a padded vise to my niece's left, and to her right was a hinged magnifying lamp she was using to examine some bit of machined metal.

The younger girl curled on the couch stirred. Stretching, Sophie blinked at me. She was wearing a red sweater over a set of black tights. "She is tall." Her gaze went over me and seemed to hover around my tail. "Flashy too."

Looking up from her book, Morrison nodded. I noticed her green hair was more glossy than usual for us... for succubae. She smiled, her bright green eyes shining. "Hello Auntie Dresden," she said with a little bow of her head.

"Please, call me Harry."

Morrison chuckled at that.

"See, she's going by her old male name too," Sophie teased punching her sister in the shoulder.

"Huh?" I blinked

"Oh don't mind that, Morrison hasn't decided if she wants a new name," Eve explained as she led me to a couch that was angled to face the one my nieces were on.

"Can I get you a refreshment?" she then asked the perfect picture of a poised happy housewife hostess. "I do have some lovely liquors. Maybe some peach brandy? Or if you prefer I have some sausage I can heat for you. If that's your preference. Or some lovely cheese." Her voice lowered. "Perhaps something with a bit of age and substance?"

I squinted my eyes and blinked. My tail curled up and started to wrap around my leg.

Morgan looked up from the workbench and turned to face the rest of us. "Mother, quit teasing her."

Eve slowly shook her head. "Now, now girls, there's nothing wrong with being nice to family. "

"Especially with the youngest member of our family," Morrison said.

"She does need our help and support," Eve readily agreed. "I'll get something for us to drink," she spun on a heel and slipped out of the room.

Shifting on the couch, my wings were pulled closer to my shoulders. I did feel like I was being teased.

"It's okay," Sophie smiled. "You're coming along well. It's just..." she glanced at the door her mother had left.

"The sister turning does have a downside," Morgan noted.

"Yeah, it's more costly and complex, and it's easier to screw up," I added in a quiet voice.

"In addition to that," my sniper niece's voice was flat. She had short pageboy style red air and cool blue eyes. "Yes, you're not as dependent on a mother figure as we are, but... you're still a succubus. You still crave a mother"

I blushed. "Dr. Saoto- er... Nodoka... Mother has been very helpful."

"Alas, she's still human," Eve said, returning with a pitcher and glasses on a platter.

My sister poured a glass of some spice-smelling cider and handed it to me. "Don't let my girls get you down. Seeing you just reminds them of being that age."

I took a sip. The warmed cider was heavy and good. Also I was pretty sure it had some amount of alcohol in it. "That age?" I looked at my nieces. "They're older than me..."

After serving her daughter, Eve sat down next to me. Smoothing her apron, she bore a patient, indulgent expression. "Yes."

"Sorry, it's just..." I shifted to a straighter sitting position.

"It has been a busy day," my sister agreed.

"Yeah, so, how old am I?" I asked. My nieces' disbelieving expressions made me want to curl into a ball. "Am I the thirty-nine-year-old I was before this?"

Again, my sister shook her head. "No. You are not."

"I'm..."

My sister shifted closer and draped a wing over my shoulders.

I took a moment to relish the warmth and sip my cider. It felt like my fingers were greedily sucking the heat in through the cup. Despite being a bit large, I leaned on my sister and enjoyed the tingle as I drained her.

"You can say it," Morgan stated, her voice gentle.

I took a sip of cider, using both hands on the glass. "I'm a baby succubus."

My sister's wing drew me in closer and I started to purr.

"There's no shame in that," Eve stated. "We all start young and emotional, but we grow."

Nodding, I simply nuzzled her.

After a bit I felt better and shifted my seating. My sister's large blue wing was still draped over my body like a cloak.

"Ranma, she knew?"

Eve simply looked at me.

"Right, of course she knew. She was in sensei mode all today. She had more important things to tell me than the obvious."

"Or maybe Sensei Ranma wanted her little sister to figure it out for herself?" Eve suggested.

I frowned. "She did teach me the importance of managing my powers by beating me up."

"Yes, she's a fan of the Socratic Method." Eve laughed. "Well, with more hitting."

"I guess she underestimated my thick-headedness."

"Did she?" Eve took a sip. "Despite worries about how you... changed. You've been making excellent progress. You've exceeded her expectations She's very proud of you. We're all very proud of you."

Smiling a little, I blushed, and my tail swished about.

"Which means for tomorrow, she's come up with something to really challenge you.

And then I whimpered.

My sister chuckled. "Really? Like you'll shirk from a challenge."

"Well... no..." I pouted.

"And there's your research with Doctor De Cotis. One upside of that pre-summoning you stopped was that we learned more about what Mrs. Lartessa's ritual will require," Eve noted.

"Wait, you want me to train how to be a succubus and continue my research?" I asked, in a completely even voice, without any whine.

"You've had your day off, tomorrow you get back to work," my sister, mildly said.

"Today was not a day off," I harrumphed. But it was hard to keep my mood sour being with my sister.

"Didn't you sleep in most of the morning?" Morrison asked.

Eve gave a little smile.

I glared at my niece. "I was sleeping off being turned into a demon," I hissed.

"Cecilia did say you were going to be more... emotional than us," my sister noted.

I frowned. Okay, I did tend to be a pretty passionate person. Some might call me pig-headed and self-righteous, but I preferred to say I had a strong will and a keen sense of justice. There was also that my magic came, in large part, from my emotions.

There was also... how do I put this delicately? Two of my sisters seemed kinda fanatical about keeping their emotions in check.

I could understand why. I've seen my sisters' souls. Ranma's was an eldritch tree rooted in blood and corpses. I wasn't sure what my soul looked like to her, but whatever she saw, my eldest sister liked it. Most people were stunned and haunted by the experience. She was the only person I'd ever met who was disappointed she'd only get the one opportunity to Soulgaze me.

Eve's soul was a clean, neat, sterile place with only the barest touches of, for lack of a better word, humanity. With both sisters, I got the impression that they knew, intimately, what would happen if they lost control.

Granted, that was something I could relate too. Playing host to the shadow of a Fallen Angel would do that. Not to mention the Winter Mantle pressing its own predatory, passionate instincts and drives on me. Hell's Bells, even back when I'd first started as a private eye wizard, I'd lost control and burned a mansion down. It was an occupied mansion, and not everyone who died was a vampire.

"What made Cecilia think that?" I asked.

"She has more experience on the softer side of our powers," Eve said.

I nodded, that was Cecilia. Not as direct as her sisters, but she knew just what kind of damage our kind could do. Not the physical, but the mind-bending mental and psychological damage. I frowned as I recalled some of the comments Misako had made about her "devious" aunt.

What if my mind had been warped?

I looked around and realized I was nuzzling a large, blonde demoness. I lifted a hand and ran it over one of my long-horn style horns. They were very sensitive and the contact tingled.

Stars and Stones... my brain had been warped. This morning I didn't have a passel of sisters. This morning I was human; I was male. Now? Well, it certainly wasn't a human brain in my skull.

Oh sure, it's probably pretty close, but the hormones and other chemicals were different. A neurologist could point to structural differences. If an MRI wouldn't explode with me in the room, I'm sure they could have made plots of how my brain was as a human versus how it was now.

Hells Bells, I'd bet good odds Company had some reports on exactly that subject. There certainly were enough demons working for them.

Plus, I spent a good part of the day having my physical differences beaten into me, literally.

And here I was warmly snuggling with a woman who just yesterday I thought of as standoffish and scary. The question wasn't: "Has my mind been warped?" The question was: "How much had my mind been warped?"

It was a scary thought. For anyone it would be, but for a Wizard, with all the ego and pride, and fear of mind-bending black magic and supernatural predators it was even more acute.

"Adapting to the change is remarkably easy," I muttered. The realization disturbed me, but perhaps not as much as it should have.

Eve tightened her hug. "I warned you."

I nodded. "Butters did too. He was nice enough not to be too blatant in his 'I told you so'."

"He's a good friend."

I frowned, not sure if she was putting subtle emphasis on the last word or if I was reading too much into it.

"It's good to have people to help you through this," Sophie reassured. "So you don't... forget yourself as you adapt."

I looked at my niece, then at her sisters. There was pity mixed with just a hint of jealousy in their expressions. It was well-concealed and I might not have noticed if not... if not for the fact that I was empathically linked to them.

But I could understand their feelings. I was only dealing with a sister change. Their transformations had been even deeper. So, on the one hand, they took pity on me because I didn't have a mother to support them like they did. On the other hand, they were the tiniest bit jealous because, while I was a baby succubus, I didn't need a brood mother like they did.

"You're adapting," Eve agreed. She noticed my mulling. "BlackStone?" she asked.

"I'm questioning my lack of questions," I murmured.

Eve crossed her legs. "Do tell?"

I sighed and leaned on her. "I've... changed; I've adapted."

"Adapting. You've still got plenty more growth ahead of you," Eve gently corrected.

I pouted. "But... I'm finding I'm okay with it. I mean I don't have to be here with you? I could have...."

"Spent more time with Doctor Butters?"

I blushed.

"It disturbs her how okay she is with it," Morgan said as she assembled her rifle.

I watched her dexterous fingers manipulate parts without the little auburn-haired sniper even really looking at what she was doing.

She shifted in her chair. Pale blue eyes studied me. "You feel you should be questioning this more, questioning who you are. You feel you shouldn't be okay with being a succubus. And yet you are. So now, you question your lack of questions. You wonder what kind of person you are now."

I nodded and turned to Eve. "Remarkably easy? Is it by design?"

Eve nodded. "New succubae that happily adapt did better than those who did not. They went on to make more succubae."

"What, it's an evolutionary thing?" I could see how over the generations there would be a bias towards new succubae fitting in with their broods better and better.

Eve shrugged. "Partially. It also looks like it was bred into us when our species was first made. The records are... murky. Even if it wasn't part of our creation, later brood queens would see the advantage of new converts adapting more quickly and with less mental damage."

I sniffed and sipped my cider.

Eve renewed her hug. "Do not think these feelings are not real. Would you dismiss my daughters? Ranma's daughters? I am your sister."

I shivered as her emotions washed over me. Intellectually, I could try to dismiss them, that they were the product of how our kind had been created, adapted, and shaped. I didn't have these feelings before I was made into a succubus. I could try; instead, I purred and enjoyed the contact.

Maybe it was because I had been an orphan for such a long time, and it was only in the last. I paused I had known Thomas was my brother for nearly a decade. Wow has it been that long? Still, he had been my only living family. Until my daughters. And until... today.

So, I think I can be cut some slack for wanting to be close to my new family.

And, introspection could wait. Though I did make a mental note to talk with Cecilia.

"Where do Cecilia and her girls live?" I drowsily asked.

Eve raised an eyebrow "They moved into a house on our street. Further down the road."

"Ah."

"We could get a place for you and your daughters, but you have duties on your world." My sister shrugged. She would miss me, but she understood duty. Though I was pretty sure she didn't know how many obligations I had. More than just my work for Mab, I also had a scary island prison to keep an eye on, and, of course, a city to guard from supernatural threats.

"Yeah," I agreed, idly thinking about moving here. If things were different... still having all of my sisters living so close to each other...

Well on the one hand, it allowed for mutual, more efficient, defense. On the other, it made for one target. Though, I was pretty sure they had safe houses and other caches scattered about. Hells Bells, we'd summoned Mab in a warehouse they had procured.

I frowned. "Eve... how do you buy all these properties? I mean, underground bases, compounds out in the woods, private streets, warehouses. Do your mercs really have pockets that deep?"

"It's about finding the proper partners. The training grounds you used today is technically seized property. It was originally owned by a cult."

I nodded, remembering the bomb damage to that hilltop and the collapsed tunnels and bunkers.

"Consider these houses; I purchased this house, the Tendo family owns the one Ranma and her brood lives in, and Cecilia got a loan for hers."

"And the other houses? Heck, how did Cecilia get a mortgage? It's not like she's got much of a credit history."

Eve smiled. "As I said, partners. Drake Kuno is a long-time friend of the Saotome and Tendo families, and an associate of the Company."

I raised an eyebrow. The name was familiar. "Nariko's father? He's a land developer. He's in that deep with you all?"

My sister nodded.

"And what does he get out of it?"

"Patriotic duty? Helping fight against alien invaders," Sophie suggested.

I gave my diminutive niece a long look.

Eve coughed. "It does help that many of our properties are technically leases. And the cost of our facilities is, ultimately, billed to the government."

"Ah," I nodded.

I'd seen enough to know how "Gentleman" Johnny Marcone's land scams worked. If you set the scam er... deal up right, you could profit on the purchase, rent, and sale of the same piece of land. I shouldn't be surprised that a bunch of mercenaries would use tactics similar to the Chicago mob.

"This isn't the first... useful partnership on Drake's part. Two decades ago, he sold several properties in Tokyo to build the funds to start making purchases around Ontario. He managed to convince the Tendos to come over."

"Right, the family the good Lieutenant comes from." I was starting to see Lt. Tendo's trepidation. Her sisters were alive, they were still her sisters, but they were... different. I lifted my head.

"Wait... he's Nariko's dad right? How does that work?"

Eve looked at me with a patient expression.

"Jokes about Ranma being a virgin aside... I didn't think she had been a demon long enough to..." I slapped my forehead. "Of course! He's Nariko's father from when she was human."

My sister nodded ever so slightly.

"That means Nariko's got two mothers?"

"Technically, but Drake is a widower. She died when Nariko and her sister were very young."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." My tail drooped in sympathy.

"It's part of why Nariko's so attached to her mother."

Nodding, I felt a bit of gnawing in my stomach. "Yeah... I lost my mother too. I never really knew her," I said drawing more from my sister.

"You do have Major Saotome."

I smiled remembering her brushing my hair. "Yeah," I said a bit dreamily. "And she's a much nicer surrogate mother than Lea."

"Who?"

I winced. "My frmermrmr," I muttered.

"Pardon?" Eve asked, an edge slipping into her voice.

I looked guiltily to the side. "My fairy godmother."

There was a pause in the cozy room.

"You mean that literally, don't you?" Morrison asked.

I simply gestured towards my pointed ears.

"You've had a long association with the faerie?" Eve asked.

"Sidhe," I corrected. "Yes, she's technically a faerie, but that's like calling a human a primate. And as insulting."

Eve nodded. "You had a difficult childhood," she stated.

I grumbled. Of course she knew. She had Soulgazed me and said gaze had taken the form of a report. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a whole section on my being orphaned and bouncing around the system until a wizard named Justin DuMorne found me. He had found another orphan with magical talent: Elaine.

And then I'd bet Eve read another section about how DuMorne taught us magic, and then tried to enthrall me and Elaine. I escaped. DuMorne sent a monster after me. Long story short: I looked for help, someone to give me power. And I found... well I found Lea.

"She made it harder?" my sister ventured.

"She helped too... in her own way," I sighed. Well I'd thought I found her, but really... Lea had found me. "Lea was friends with my mother."

My sister nodded.

"I didn't realize it at first, but she had been watching me for a long time." I sipped more cider. "She took her duties as my godmother seriously. Not that she'd tell me."

"Why not?" Morgan asked as she checked over her rifle.

"Because she's a sidhe. All the fae are big on bargains and debts, and hate giving straight answers."

My nieces nodded while Eve looked thoughtful.

"Plus Lea's barking mad. She's better now, but she's still real scary."

"Oh?" my sister's tone was mild, but I could hear the interest behind the word. Eve concealed it well, but she was a passionately curious person.

"Long story. Basically, she got hit by a mental whammie from a booby-trapped artifact. A lot of bad stuff happened before Ma- er, my queen nailed it down." I winced at my slip. Saying the name of a magical being got their attention, especially one of the fae. That's why the ritual I used to talk to Mab was, fundamentally, just calling her Name.

The rest was just adding power and clarity to the call. To make it into something that would grab her attention. Course, you could do more than just "grab attention". Hells Bells, that's why knowing an entity's true Name was so dangerous. Summoning and binding were the start of the damage one could do.

"A denarian coin? Or something similar?"

My tail flicked. "Similar," I admitted.

"Another entity dwelling in an artifact offering power?" my sister asked.

"Bad guys love the classics," I stated trying to keep my voice even. I wasn't technically lying. However, the Nemesis entity wasn't stuck in the athame Lea was given. The dagger was just what it used to infect her.

My sister renewed her hug and made a thoughtful noise.

Despite my nervousness, her presence was relaxing. I took a bit of time to just luxuriate in the feelings. Then the phone rang.

I glanced over and watched as Eve reached and picked up a simple corded phone that had been sitting on an end table. As she quietly talked I heard electronic chirps coming from my nieces.

Morgan and Sophie took out radios and started talking. Everyone's voices were calm, but I could feel the tension in the room rising.

"Understood, transferring to a new phone," my sister said as she lifted her wing.

I frowned as the hug ended and the blonde stood up. She then hung up the living room phone and strode to the kitchen. It only rang once before I heard my sister pick it up.

"What's going on? We find out where Tessa is?" I asked, turning back to my nieces.

"Auntie Ranma's talking with someone," Sophie said as she pulled off her button-down sweater, revealing that she was wearing a leotard instead of tights. Also that she had a pair of shoulder holsters strapped over her torso.

"You were sprawled on the couch wearing that rig? How was that comfortable?" I asked

Morrison looked up from the bag she had stowed next to the couch. "With a proper holster you can take a nap without discomfort or retention worries."

"Huh," I straightened my posture as I sat up. "So, what's going on?"

My nieces looked at each other.

"Well?" my voice sharpened a bit.

Cradling a phone between shoulder and ear, Eve stepped out of the kitchen. "It looks like your godmother has dropped in for a little visit."

My tail went limp. "Oh?"

"At least that's what the sidhe Ranma's chatting with said," my blonde sister seemed to gauge my nervousness. "She seems concerned about you."

I looked down at myself. "Well, damn."
***************


I stepped out into the night. The scent of stained wood decking and cedar shingles tickled at my nose. However, there were two more scents that got my interest and my tail straightened.

A wooded path snaked out of Eve's backyard and in the distance I could just make out a fence-line with the muted colors of my night vision.

Straining, I tiled my head and, focusing on hearing, Listened. The shaking and rubbing noises of tree branches losing their last leaves mixed with the dry rustling of dead grasses and undergrowth. It turns out that my hearing had enhanced as well as the rest of my senses.

"Really? You knew him as a teenager?" I heard my sister Ranma ask.

"Does anyone ever know a teenager? Especially at sixteen," a smooth, familiar voice replied.

That was met by my sister's deep chuckle. "That is a dangerous age," Ranma said with what sounded like wistfulness.

"What do they say 'Old enough to think you know better, young enough to have no idea how wrong you are'?" the other woman asked.

"Did he really simply ask for power? No strings or stipulations?" My sister laughed again.

There was a brief pause. I could now just barely hear their steps. I shouldn't be surprised. Given who my sister was talking to, of course they would both be silent if they chose to be.

I glanced over at Eve. Putting away the electronic scanner, she had stepped to the side and was sniffing the air.

"It did rank among the more foolish of bargains. However, I'm sure thou wouldst agree that training her is a unique experience."

My eldest sister snorted. "Thick-headed, stubborn, arrogant, but... she does learn eventually."

Her companion gave a thoughtful, and far more ladylike murmur. "A score and one year, that is the time between her first lessons at my hand and enlightenment as to what I was really teaching her."

My sister whistled. The sound cut across the cool night. "And that's with your help."

Two figures emerged from the woods. Both had long, slightly curled, dark red hair. Wearing her Kevlar bodysuit, armored skirt, and vest my sister stood on the left. Her wings were out and her tail hung low and straight behind her. To her right was a taller and more ethereal figure. Slit amber eyes glinted in the dark, and she had sharp features and a petite, and too familiar, nose.

I strode off the deck. "Oh come on! You call those lessons! You tortured me and told me it would give me power."

Leanansidhe, my fairy godmother, strode forward. "And you defeated the warlock DuMorne." She wore a gauzy, abbreviated red gown with blue accents. In the darkness it looked pale and even more spectral.

"Yeah, but you didn't make me more powerful."

Lea sighed. "We have had this discussion, Poppet."

"Yeah, yeah, you gave me the confidence to find out the true power was within me all the time." I pointed to Ranma. "At least when she beat me up it was because...."

I trailed off and gave an inarticulate shriek. "Oh, you cheating little shrimp! You were running the same con as Lea!"

"I would say that verifies your identity," Ranma dryly remarked.

"There is a reason I did not correct thine supposition," Lea remarked as she strode up to me. Her feet were bare, though she seemed to pay the cold ground no mind.

Ranma nodded slightly. I also noticed her tail had become a fraction less tense.

"Come, let us get a good look at thee," the sidhe extended a hand and took my chin.

Eve caught my eyes. For a split second the tension in the air spiked.

I gave a little shake of negation. This was Lea. Yes, she was scary. Yes, her morals were, at best, alien. Yes, she was, even by fae standards, a little bit mad. But she was still my godmother. And she took her duties seriously.

Looking up, Lea shifted my chin and made a study of my face. She eyed my horns and then her eyes lowered and seemed to see through my clothes. "Not bad work. A bit on the nose," she said focusing back on my features.

Despite myself, I smiled at the attention and approval.

She looked over my clothes and gave a delicate shrug. "Presentable, but such beauty should be dressed in more than 'presentable' clothing."

"Hey! Pants are functional," I pouted.

Lea gave me an indulgent smile. "I do hope that one day thy raiment is as elegant as thy form. Whomever designed that is an artist."

"Oh, she did that to herself," Ranma said.

"Do tell?" Lea's attention returned and this time there was a new respect in her eyes. She reached up and took my shoulder. "Well, I am flattered, Poppet."

"I uh... didn't mean to take your nose," I mumbled.

"And thy mother's chin and cheeks?" Lea's expression grew a bit distant. "I miss her as well."

I nodded in sympathy. However, I did not give a goofy grin and preen at my godmother's approval. I certainly didn't pose and shift my hips as she circled around me.

Lea laughed. "And so tall? Though being lean and sleek does suit a predator such as thee," she purred slipping a hand along my tail.

My wings popped out, and I totally didn't blush and nuzzle her.

She absently scratched behind my ear. "At least you can claim some benefits from the tragedy that befell you."

"You knew!" I cried, stomping a hoof on the deck.

Quirking her lip, Lea simply looked down and raised a slim eyebrow.

I could just imagine her making a comment about how my slacks clashed with my hooves. However, she surprised me with what she actually said.

"Lovely footwear Poppet, but doest thou find pants constraining, given thine legs?"

"No... of course not." Coughing, I eyed my godmother. "How long have you been following me here?"

My godmother smiled.

"You always loved staying near me, watching me."

Lea's grin grew, showing delicately pointed teeth. "Would thou deny me the enjoyment of watching my goddaughter?"

Eve's expression was opaque. She turned to Ranma. My sister's tail flicked back and forth for a moment, but she nodded to the blonde.

"BlackStone," Eve stated.

"Huh?"

"Oh! Is that a new title?" Lea gushed.

"Shall I invite her as a guest?" Eve asked, idly smoothing her dress and apron. Though the cynic in me guessed she was also taking the opportunity to do a check that her holsters were still in position.

Not that that mattered, I was also certain that my sisters had other security arrangements in place. No doubt setup as Ranma escorted Lea. For example, I knew they had snipers other than my niece. Still, aside from that, the question of hospitality was a key one.

Many supernatural powers were restricted by thresholds. Some couldn't cross them at all without an invitation. Some left behind a large portion of their powers. Some, like the White Court vampires, merely lost a part of their powers.

The fae... they were restricted in a different way. Without being invited, they were compelled to do no harm against the household. However, said restriction only lasted for the duration. It would also be taken as an insult; they could easily just leave the building and get their revenge later.

On the other hand, supernatural beings took the duties of guest and host as almost adamantine.

"Yeah, you won't cause any trouble?" I asked Lea

"No more than thee," Lea assured.

Eve gave my godmother a level gaze.

"I suppose I could hold myself to a higher standard than that. Thy sister is very young," Lea graciously allowed.

"Miss Leanansidhe, I would like to invite you in as a guest," Eve said with a gesture as we stepped along the deck.

Approval sparkled in Lea's eyes. "And I would like to accept thine invitation and catch up with my goddaughter."

Sitting on the railing, Ranma groaned. "Look, just invite her in," she ordered her voice gaining a sharp edge. However her tail was still hanging loose behind her.

Eve exhaled. "Of course. Lea? Would you care to partake our hospitality?"

Lea laughed. "I care very much."

"Fine, be that way!" My redheaded sister threw up her hands and flipped off the railing, landing onto the grass.

"I'm supposed to be on guard tonight anyway.... I won't have to listen to two of you..." she muttered before crossing the yard and making for the trees. Her body slipped into the shadows and quickly out of view. I tried to look for her, I even tried Listening and sniffing but there wasn't even her sound or scent in the air.

"Is she always so moody?" Lea asked.

"Is she?" Eve retorted.

I groaned and looked at the wooded path with longing. I could sympathize with Ranma's frustration. Even if I was surprised at the crack in her self-control. And was a bit jealous at her ability to simply slip away.

I rubbed my forehead. "Lea would you like to come in and be our guest?"

"I would like that."

Eve cracked a smile.

I grit my teeth. "Would you be our guest?"

"Let us find out," Lea glided towards the door.

Intrigued, Eve walked up and opened it.

For a second Lea paused at the threshold. "Yes, I would," she said and crossed.

"Interesting," Eve said as she entered.

"I would say so," Lea agreed, giving my sister an approving nod.

"What just happened?" I asked, entering the clean, sparse kitchen.

"You invited her into my house," Eve stated as she went to the stove. A pot of cider was simmering and she ladled some into a cup.

"And it looks like thou possess the authority to make such an invitation," Lea noted, gracefully accepting the cup.

I blinked. That was.... Normally, only those who lived in a house could invite others. There were exceptions, but they were only for close family members. "Uh..." I eloquently muttered.

"What brings you here?" Eve asked a few minutes later when we were seated and she served a platter of apricot pastries. "I fear to presume that you were brought here simply because BlackStone mentioned you in passing."

"Is that such a dreadful proposition?" Lea asked, nibbling on the pastry. Again, she nodded her head in approval.

"I would presume that my sister's Queen has a vested interest in her well-being. That is her ability to continue fulfilling her duties as the Winter Knight."

"Not an improper presumption."

"And my sister recently contacted her Queen, telling of grievous injury with demands of succor," Eve said as she served me cider and pastry.

Lea looked to me. "Thou seem intent on pushing the limits of thy place Winter Knight." She laughed. "And amusingly, it seems thou convinced the Mantle to go along."

"Hey, I didn't do this." I crossed my arms.

"Yes, that's the problem," Eve noted. "Thus we have a queen who knows her Knight was sent off and injured in the course of his duties. A knight with a history of making poor and rash decisions."

"You made me wait a full day and get Butters to agree to it," I grumbled as I crossed my legs. I bounced one hoof over the other.

Sitting down, Eve held out her palm and gave a "do you see" gesture.

"I would not deny that my Queen has an interest in the condition and disposition of her knight," Lea stated.

"Noted," Eve sipped from her glass.

"Mab sent you to spy on me!" I said.

Eve and Lea exchanged suffering looks.

"Would it be wrong for her to be concerned about you?" Lea asked.

"Concern isn't part of her vocabulary," I snippily said, my voice rising.

Lea simply gave me a disappointed look. We both knew better. While Mab was very remote, very proud, very cold... she still cared about certain people. That was why the situation with her daughter Maeve became such a mess.

Lea turned to my sister. "She is very young."

"Not even a full day; she will grow."

"La, that is the way of things."

"Perhaps we should retire to a more personable and comfortable room?" Eve suggested after sipping some cider.

"Is that a forward proposition?" Lea playfully asked.

"Merely an offer for you to spend some quality time with your goddaughter," my sister stood up and started filling a fresh pitcher of warm cider and loading a platter with more pastries.

"How could I refuse such an offer," Lea smiled.

"Huh?" I blinked.

"Come," the sidhe said as she stood and took my hand. She then followed Eve into the living room. I clopped alongside my godmother.

I absently noticed my nieces had left the room. However my attention was distracted when Eve sat me down next to Lea before refilling our glasses and putting little plates with pastries on the maple coffee table before us.

Leaning onto my godmother, I gave a happy murmur.

"My... she is a treat."

"Yes, she is," my sister agreed as she took a seat on the second couch opposite us. But not before she placed something in Lea's hand. It was a silver handled hair-brush.

The same brush Mo- Nodoka... had used earlier in the evening.

"I suppose I shouldn't be worried about you giving an unfavorable report to your queen," Eve confidently said as she crossed her legs and smoothed her dress.

"I couldn't speak for my queen," Lea smiled as she inspected the brush. She laughed. "Well, not unless authorized or compelled to do so."

"Like when she was too angry to speak and had one of her malks talk for her," I softly said.

"There are other situations where our queen has required a proxy," Lea said as she put the brush into my hair and started giving long slow strokes.

Purring, I leaned over and stretched out, taking up much of the couch.

"Other than when she's full of rage and pain?" I asked, my voice high and innocent.

Lea smiled. "Yes. Perhaps you'll find out."

I blinked up at her, my eyelashes fluttering.

My godmother laughed, and quickened the brush-strokes. "Oh, thou are a delight!"

My cheeks flushed.

"I suppose any questions with regards to the queen's approval of her knight can be remedied in person?" Eve absently asked before sipping some cider.

Lea gave a predatory smile as she put her cup down. "I will admit that imagining, no, anticipating what my queen will do with her new pet does bring me amusement and pleasure," she punctuated her declaration by reaching over and picking up a glossy hoof and inspecting it.

"Pet?" I squeaked as my voice hit soprano. At least my ankle and knee joints were now flexible enough that she could pull one of my hooves towards her.

"Hush, Poppet," Lea assumed as she released my leg so she could brush with one hand while the other ran along the tip of my ear and the base of a horn.

My purring grew louder as I nuzzled closer and slipped my head onto her lap. Her gown was soft at least.

"Now, DarkStar pledged to my queen to impart 'some wisdom' on her knight," Lea looked down at me and smiled. "I do wonder if this exceeds the terms of the bargain."

My sister paused as if to consider. "Ah, but those lessons were provision that included to not to not detain or permanently damage the Winter Knight."

"Would thou say the injuries at the Denarian's hands constitute DarkStar's lessons?"

"No." I shifted to gaze up at my godmother's eyes. Eyes so much like mine, and for the first time I regretted the inability to Soulgaze with one of the sidhe. "I was the one that demanded to be changed," I stated, my voice ringing high and clear.

"Thou art one for reckless bargains. One could call it endearing," Lea said as she continued her ministrations.

I blushed but focused. "In fact, my sisters didn't change me at all. Technically, they merely provided the energy, the potential."

Lea chuckled. "Yes, thou said thee didst it to thy self."

"Well..." My voice drew small, like a little girl admitting something naughty. "It wasn't me... not exactly."

My godmother blinked. She then took in my choker, my pointed ears, my slitted eyes, the way my skin was tinged blue, and the rest. "Oh."

I nodded.

Lea laughed. "Thy queen may have some questions with regard to thee usurping the Mantle in such a way."

I crossed my arms. "When I asked her for help, she said I already had the full measure of Winter power. Way I see it, the Mantle's mine," I stated, totally not sounding like a pouty pre-teen.

My godmother gave a tut-tut noise as she brushed my hair. "Thou have much to learn."

"Not you too!" I groaned in frustration as my voice cracked. "First Ranma, now you. What, will I have to learn all sorts of sidhe rules and protocol? Courtly dances, and deportment. How to use a fish knife and when to use the salad fork." I asked, not whining

Lea slowed the brushing. "My, she is a needy little thing," she remarked to my sister.

"She is young, maturity will come," Eve said.

"I have known her for much of her life, of his life," Lea's fingers ran over the choker that encircled my neck. "Pardon my skepticism."

"Then it is fortuitous that you are aware of her special needs," Eve smoothly said.

"Hey! Stop treating me like a baby!" I cried, well not literally. Okay, not much. Well, there was a bit of a sniffle when my high, bell-like voice cracked.

Both my sister and godmother gave me "the look".

"Hush," Lea then reassured as she put her arm around and rocked me as she brushed.

Reluctantly, I resumed my purring.

"Arguably, thou shouldst already know such things about the Winter Court, Dame BlackStone," Lea continued.

"Lloyd Slate didn't," I pouted.

"Measuring thy self against your predecessor, might, perhaps, be an exercise in futility," Lea said as the brushing abruptly stopped. She lifted my chin and renewed her inspection of my features.

"Sure, the last Winter Knight was a thug and monster. Oh, and a traitor. I'm just a demon. I guess that means I'll be held to a higher standard."

"Yes, thou will." Her hungry, slightly mad, eyes met mine. "Moreso if thou presume to be one of the sidhe. Proper dress alone..."

I looked away, guiltily. "I'm, er... not exactly. I mean not really..."

Lea laughed. "Yes, yes. You are still a mortal. A lovely loophole." She nodded to Eve. "I'll admit your House is more charming than most of your kind."

"House?"

Lea's smile was pitying.

"House BlackSky. Your grandmother," Eve reminded. "Far less gaudy than those of House Luxon. Though not as scheming as House Elena."

"Oh," I said in a small voice. Great, another powerful and scary authority figure in my life. I blinked. "Wait, Mab expressed knowledge of BlackSky upon her summoning."

Eve and Lea gave me looks that seemed to say "yes, and?".

"Perhaps a history refresher?" Lea suggested.

"We can add it do her study list."

"Do I not have any say on what ye would teach me?" I demanded, in a confident and even tone. Honest.

Lea giggled at my outburst. "And what would thou like to learn, dear Poppet?" she asked, running a finger over the length of a pointed ear.

I shivered, but there was something that could be useful, especially with this new form.. "Godmother, how do I cast a glamour?"

"That is knowledge, value." Lea smiled, flashing her delicately pointed teeth. "What would thou bargain?"

"You won't teach me just because I'm your godso- er goddaughter?" I asked hopeful.

Lea patted me on the head. "You are precious, Poppet. But, perhaps, not that precious," she added with a playful grin.

Eve tilted her head, the ghost of an amused smile on her face.

I exhaled. "I know you like dressing me up."

"An activity you so rarely let me indulge in," Lea sighed.

I shivered. In fact, I could only recall her dressing me up once. That was when she provided myself and Susan with enchanted armor and clothes... right before Chichen Itza. Before we rescued Maggie from the Red King. Before I killed Susan. Before we killed the Red Court.

"Ah," Lea's lips parted with anticipation. "Do you suggest a deal?"

I licked my glossy lips. "Yeah, glamours are about changing one's appearance, so you can indulge in dressing me up as you teach me."

My godmother looked a tiny bit disappointed. "Ah, but it's not real garments. Only seeming."

"She does possess other clothing powers," Eve suggested.

Lea's brows raised in interest. "Oh?"

"You mean like how Misako and Priscilla were adjusting my coat and shirt to fit me?" I asked.

"That or how Ranma can magically summon gowns and bodices, or how you can summon ice dresses and gowns," Eve dryly remarked.

I swallowed as Lea grinned. "Yes, Poppet, let us make this deal," she purred, her eyes flashing greedily.

***************


My stomach grumbled as I looked at my reflection. Well, it was a reflection. A tall light-haired blonde with dark eyes looked back at me with a dimpled smile. Wet lips were pale red, a... natural color.

Her skin was an odd beige color, tinged with pink. I blinked. Her eyes were too round, as were her pupils. Her ears were too short. The reflection wore a blue sweater and a pair of shorts that weren't quite as abbreviated as Daisy Dukes, but still showed plenty of long shapely legs.

"I look weird," I said, my voice catching. My head felt muffled, both from keeping the Veil-like spell up and from hiding my horns.

Lea leaned up against my shoulder. "But you make such a pretty human."

I shifted to look sidelong at her and glared. My godmother was still in full sidhe form. Where I looked... plain.

"Oh she's jealous!" my niece Misako cooed, as she stepped up to us. Her made-up features frowned. "She's blushing all blue."

"Correct, precious one," Lea nodded to my niece. "A minor detail, but one that could expose her."

"It looks funny on human skin tone," Nabiki noted.

"Concentrate, Poppet!" Lea flicked me in the ear. "You must keep the image in mind. Concentrate on the details."

Grumbling, I focused and the blue tinge on my cheeks shifted into a more human red.

"Are thou satisfied? Have we done enough dress-up?" I asked, my tone even and mature. Though I might have stomped a high-heeled foot. At least I didn't sound one bit pouty.

"We have not begun to do enough to satisfy me," Lea whispered in my ear.

"Another gown then? Perhaps some evening wear?" Misako suggested.

My tail would have dropped had it been out.

"How about less formal?" Nabiki offered.

My spirits perked at that. However, my hunger was getting a bit more acute.

Misako sniffed the air. "Oh?"

"A nice yukata," the young woman offered.

Lea's expression turned appraising.

"A what?" I asked. I inhaled and my stomach grumbled louder.

"Think of it as a simple kimono," Misako explained. "Lighter, easier to wear."

"But breakfast," I whined.

"Thou wanted to be taught glamours," Lea chastised me.

"And I can pass as human!" I stomped a foot.

Lea gave me an amused smile.

Misako waved her hand. "You look a bit too farm-girl blonde, auntie."

I rolled my eyes and let the spell shift. Glamours were like veils in that both bent light to create illusions. However, where a veil made yourself invisible, a glamour... shifted your appearance.

Think airbrushing a model for a magazine cover as opposed to removing a Russian general who had fallen out of favor with the Politburo. Both involved manipulating what people saw, and both were hard requiring lots of fiddly little bits of detail-work.

However, I had experience with veils, and while I wasn't great, I could make 'em.

But more importantly…

I watched as my reflection shimmered and my features paled. Hair turned from blonde to Alice blue. Skin went from creamy beige to snowy white. Figure shifted to a more lithe and taller form. Lips darkened to a glossy blue, and the skin on my eyelids darkened.

More importantly, I was a succubus. I wasn't quite sure where my innate powers ended and the glamour took over, but they seemed to work hand-in-glove.

I concentrated and held my form. My ears wanted to return to their pointy shape, and given how Lea had flicked them I was pretty sure they actually were in their true form. Almond-shaped eyes looked back at me, but I made sure my pupils looked round, instead of slit.

"Watch your blusher," Misako reminded. "Blue blush is fine, but blushing blue isn't something humans do."

I huffed a bit and shifted the way my cheeks were colored. I exhaled. The muffled feeling had lessened. It took less power to maintain this form; it was closer to how I actually looked.

Lea stepped back and inspected my form. She then glanced at my nieces. "Is it that draining, Poppet?" she asked me.

"It wouldn't be if I hadn't spent the last two hours beforehand playing dress-up," I said my voice pitching clear and bell-like, until it cracked towards the end.

"Mind your tone," Lea smiled and laughed as if appreciating a joke. "Still, if the rest of thy family can pass as human, then perhaps this form would suffice."

I grumbled, annoyed that it took a glamour for me to look as "almost human" / "not technically uncanny valley" as the rest of my sisters and nieces.

"Perhaps if thou had not let thy Mantle choose thy form thou wouldst not be in this predicament."

"But then she wouldn't be all sidhe and blue," Nabiki said.

"Yeah, just think of what she'd look like as a normal succubus."

I stared at my reflection. This mess was my fault. I thought I could just be turned into a succubus. Well, really I just wanted to undo the crippling injuries Thorned Namisiel gave me.

Problem was, the Sister change didn't work that way. It wasn't my sisters turning me into a succubus. I was supposed to turn myself.

And... well... I dropped the ball.

But what if I hadn't? I gazed at my reflection. Well, I probably would have looked like how I thought a succubus should look.

And sure I'd seen quite few women swing the succubus look. Even before my sisters, there was Jenny Greenteeth of the Winter Court, and Rosanna of the Denarians. But... when it came to succubae, I'd have to say my brother's sisters came to mind.

I blinked.

Hells Bells. Would I have looked like Lara?

At least I'd still have dark hair. Though it'd be long and glossy, in that perfect slightly curled style. I'd be pale, but more of a natural pale and less freshly fallen snow. There'd be makeup, but it'd be subtle just enough to give people the wrong, or perhaps the right, idea.

I tilted my head. I wouldn't be as tall. Sure I'd still be tall, maybe six foot, but the Mantle made me nearly six and a half feet tall. Also without the Mantle's influence...

Well, I wouldn't be quite so lithe of figure. I looked down at how my reflection was filling that sweater. I exhaled and the muffled feeling around my horns abated.

"Now what's this?" Misako asked looking between myself and my reflection.

I blinked. A White Court vampire looked back at me.

She was a more willowy than Thomas' other sisters, but she had the same rich dark hair and silvery-flecked eyes. The overt allure was there.

However, she also had a pair of long horns, wings, and a tail. Some White Court vampires, those of House Raith, might play at the succubus bit, but they didn't have the demonic accoutrements.

Dark peach-colored lips parted. They certainly didn't have fangs.

"She looks kind of cute," Nabiki admitted.

"Exploring thy brother's side of the family?" Lea teased.

"Uh... yeah," I coughed. "Girls, this is what a vampire of the White Court looks like."

Misako looked skeptical. She then poked one of my blue wings

"Right," I concentrated and my demonic extras vanished. I focused on my glamour and my reflection's teeth shifted to something more human.

A young Raith sister stared back at me. For a moment I froze. And my stomach picked the perfectly wrong moment to protest its Hunger. My eyes flashed silver. I shivered and let the glamour drop.

The reflection shimmered. Hair paled, and features shifted.

"Never thought I'd be happy to see my gangly, fae-featured, longhorn and hooves self," I exhaled and stretched a leg. "Now can we get breakfast?" I asked shifting my stance. Stupid tight pants.

"Not going to try something more exotic?" Lea asked, her disappointment evident. "The poor Whites are so pedestrian," she pouted.

Stepping away from the mirror, I glared at her. Sidhe eyes meeting sidhe eyes.

"Fine," Lea gave a flippant shrug. She turned back to the sweater and pants I wore. "La, at least we can get you into something more comfortable," she said taking my arm and reversing my direction.

"Oh?"

Lea eyed my sweater. "Thick and knit tops are not thy style."

"It is a bit heavy," I admitted.

Her gaze lowered. "And perhaps something with more room for the legs?"

"Something short? To show them off?" Misako offered.

"That would look lovely, Precious." Lea nodded.

Of course my godmother liked the most twisted and aggressive of my nieces.

Misako beamed. "And maybe some stockings?"

"Lovely as that would be." Lea laughed. "I was thinking the opposite garment style."

Looking at my reflection I swallowed.

***************

Lea and Misako were fussing about me when Nabiki opened the door.

I could feel who was arriving which was why I let them continue their work. Having my hair brushed was very calming.

My coiffed niece and glamoured godmother stepped aside. Lea idly spun her silver hairbrush while Misako anxiously tapped her fingers on the side of her makeup case.

Butters stepped into the room with Cecilia at his heel. "Harry breakfast is..." He looked at me and paused. The knight then turned to the other women in the room then back to me. He blinked.

Smiling, I stepped forward. "Something disquiets you, my knight?"

He looked out the window, the sun was just rising. "Well, I never picked you for a morning person."

"A necessary, if draining, habit of this family," Cecilia remarked.

He looked around the room, seemingly avoiding returning his gaze to me. "I hope you slept well," he said noting the still-made bed in the room.

"Oh, very well." I blushed. Succubae sleeping habits were... comforting, if a bit crowded. In retrospect, it was obvious why Ranma's daughters knew I wasn't sleeping with her when I was human. It also explained why despite having so many people living under one roof, this house had a lot of spare bedrooms.

He nodded. "That's, uh good."

I smiled and gave a little twirl. Drawing attention to how my duster, and the rest of my clothes flowed about. "Lea's lessons were informative, I've learned a lot about glamours and how to change my appearance."

"You don't look anything special," he blurted out.

The mirth evaporated from my face.

Cecilia forced a grin. "My, I hope you've got more tact with your girl, young man."

Realizing he was surrounded by lovely, irate, and slightly mad women. Butters waved his arms. I'll admit it was amusing to, for once, be on this side of the "guy says something stupid to a bunch of women" equation.

"No, no. What I mean is she looks normal," he said, flustered.

I crossed my arms with a huff. My tail drooped as I looked down at my clothes.

"Oh geeze. Come on Harry." He looked up at me. "What I mean is you've spent how long with your godmother, the fashionista grenadier, and the adorable ice bomber?"

"I told you we should have gone with a mini skirt," Misako grumbled.

"Maybe the kimono would have impressed him," Nabiki quietly added.

"Or at least put her hair up," Misako added.

"I think she looks good with it brushed out, it gives her hair more body, and shine."

Lea raised a hand. "Hush girls, subtlety has its rewards."

Butters eyed Lea. Despite myself, I smiled. His growing resolve was impressive. Even a few years ago he would have had problems dealing with a high sidhe like her.

He then nodded to her. "You may be correct, as there is artistry and subtlety about her."

"I hardly got to do anything," Misako grumbled looking forlornly at her makeup box.

For a moment my smile grew. Then I caught my reflection. "Wait Butters! This is subtle?" I stomped. "I'm wearing a skirt."

"And a lovely one," Cecilia agreed.

I smiled at my sister and stepped closer to the knight. It was more comfortable to walk with less... restriction. Though the glossy dark blue material did swish about my legs. At least I managed to convince Lea that I was fine with an ankle-length bottom hem. Even if Nabiki pressured me into adding some ruffles.

The knight shrugged. "You've got hooves, horns, and a tail. A pretty blouse and skirt are kinda minor compared to that."

Close enough to loom over him, I shifted my stance so my knees and ankles were a bit more bent. It still placed me well above his height, but at least it wasn't quite so intimidating. "So, you approve?" I asked, in a confident and not at all needy voice.

"It's better than you putting on some gown, headdress, and pony mask and throwing yourself at me."

I blushed.

Lea made a thoughtful murmur.

Cecilia caught my godmother's eye, raised an eyebrow, and gave a slight nod.

"I liked her gowns," Misako grumbled.

"Time and place, Precious. Time and place." Lea assured.

"Such as?"

"Oh, my queen hosts several... intimate events where an elegantly equestrian theme would be most suitable for her knight."

I coughed.

Laughing, Butters patted me on the shoulder. "See, this is what happens when you show your fairy godmother that you have magic dress-up powers."

Instead of giving a biting retort I simply leaned into his contact.

Approaching Cecilia, Lea stepped around the two of us. I noticed her intrigued glance but more of my attention was on Butters' reaction.

The knight pulled me into a somewhat awkward hug. "Come on, let's get some breakfast," he assured me.

"Well, if thou insist, Sir Knight," I smiled as we stepped to the door. My nieces followed us.

"It is a nice skirt," Butters hesitantly assured.

I raised an eyebrow.

He coughed. "It is. I'm just... well after yesterday..."

Stopping just outside the door. I continued to give him a silent look.

Butters sighed and looked to my nieces besieging.

"He means you spent yesterday turning your hair fluffy and red at him, plumping up your breasts," Misako smiled viciously. "Oh and turning yourself into a unicorn."

I blushed. "Oh... Akane saw.... she told you?"

"You also did it last night before dinner," Butters remarked.

"Yes, then," I laughed nervously.

"Well, there was the second gown you made this morning. The tight white one with the matching-"

I held up a hand to silence Nabiki and looked back and saw Lea and Cecilia were still in the bedroom. The two were quietly chatting.

"Are you coming?" I asked, vaguely disquieted by my sister and my godmother having a discreet conversation.

The lavender-haired woman gave a shy smile. "I might have some contacts. Why? What are you looking for?" she asked Lea.

"I might need thine advice on that." Lea took hold of the door. "Pardon, Poppet, but allow me some surprises."

"I'm not so sure I like surprises."

Cecilia smiled. "It's okay, Dear. You'll like this one," she reassured as Lea closed the door.

"Uh?" I asked, worry underscoring my voice.

"Don't be such a baby," Misako slapped my shoulder.

I glared at her.

Her smile froze as her tail stiffened. "Well... even if Auntie Cecilia is plotting something, it'll be nice."

"You said she was the devious one."

"But that doesn't mean she isn't nice about it."

I continued to look at her, and Misako wilted a bit.

Butters tugged at my arm. "Come on.... you'll feel better with some food in you."

"Yeah..." I agreed as we went down the hallway. Reaching the top of the stairs, I hesitated.

Misako's eyes went down to my hooves. Giving a little smile, she moved Butters's hand so it was at my elbow and... well she didn't quite push us down the stairs but she was a bit emphatic.

"Yes?" Butters asked.

"Auntie's a bit clumsy, just in case she trips, you can help," Nabiki smoothly said.

I gave him a weak smile.

He looked up at me and shook his head. "You know when I took this job I didn't expect I'd be helping baby demons figure out how to walk on their cute little hooves," he said as we descended the stairs.

Misako had ran ahead of us, bounding down two steps at a time. She had pulled out a camera and it flashed and clicked.

"Why does it feel like we've been setup on a date?" Butters asked.

"Don't blame me, I was with Lea and them since I got up," I said concentrating on hitting each step evenly. In some ways a hoof was a lot more challenging to work with than a foot.

"True, you're not exactly subtle, are you?" Butters smiled as we reached the bottom of the steps.

"I can be subtle!" I said, without stamping a hoof.

"About romance?" Butters asked.

I grumbled. But the smells coming from the kitchen had increased, and did mollify me as he led me towards them.

I could feel that my other two sisters were in the kitchen. Stepping in, I gave a bit of a disappointed murmur.

After seeing Eve "let her hair down" last night, both figuratively and literally, seeing her in her severe bun and grey suit-skirt getup was somewhat of a let-down. Ranma, on the other hand, was actually wearing a pale ruffled dress with a matching lacy apron.

Hearing a familiar noise, my eyes were drawn down and I saw silvery hooves peeking out of the bottom hem of her long dress. She also had a second pair of great spiraling horns out and her hair was up in a loose crimson bun garnished with lavender ribbons.

I blinked and watched my sister open the oven door.

"Did you learn anything fun?" the redhead asked as she pulled out a pan full of cinnamon pastries.

"Uh, yeah," I inhaled the savory aroma. I also must have come off as a bit lost because Butters pulled me towards the kitchen counter, where some plates and utensils had been set.

"Sure looks like it," Ranma said with a smile as she eyed my skirt.

I blushed as Eve fixed my coffee. "Remarkably subdued," she noted.

"Don't worry, we got plenty of time doing some fun dresses," Misako assured as she snatched a cinnamon roll. Nabiki gave her a frown but she took her own plate of provisions and went to the kitchen table where their sisters were already eating.

"It's good that your godmother was able to enjoy spending time with you." Ranma eyed me to convey the unspoken "without damaging anything."

I nodded. "So uh... what's with the getup?"

"It's my turn to cook breakfast," Ranma said as she filled my plate with pastries and fried bits of porkflesh.

I eyed her dress. Then looked down at my own. "Huh." My stomach's protesting cut off further introspection.

"Great another one going on about long skirts and hooves," Eve muttered.

"I know!" Misako shouted from the table. "You'd think miniskirts would be the most complementary!"

Ranma shrugged. "It's only two of us."

"We both know Cecilia prefers longer skirts." Eve sipped her coffee. "And just what are she and Miss Leanansidhe up to?"

"Some sort of surprise," Butters said as I continued to eat.

Eve made a thoughtful noise.

"As if we don't have a busy enough schedule," Ranma sighed.

"Miss Lartessa has given us a one day reprieve so far; I doubt we can count on many more," Eve stated.

"Denarians are jerks like that," I muttered, chewing on a wedge of ham. "Drop in unannounced, never make appointments, ruin vacation trips."

Eve reached over and gently closed my mouth.

I blushed, then sipped some coffee. "So, what punishing training do you have for me today Red?"

"You should touch base with Dr. De Cotis and Dirac," Ranma said.

"Another meeting of the eggheads?" I asked and smiled at Butters. "You'll like Dirac he's a magic geek like you."

Butters blushed.

"Still, I would love to get your flying better, and work on your team tactics," Ranma nodded to Butters.

"I can fly," I grumbled. "You pushed me out of a helicopter."

"Fly. Better," Ranma corrected. "However..."

"Lady Pluto wants you to meet with her associate," Eve briskly completed.

"The mercenary she wants to hire for me."

"Yes. Him."

"When?"

"In about an hour," Ranma hesitated. "She wants you to go alone with her."

Eying Butters' mostly untouched place, I licked some icing off my lip. "Why?"

"She said she'd prefer the meeting to be private. Especially if you decline his services."

"Huh." I speared a sausage and chewed it. "You trust her?"

The coifed redhead sighed. "I have some... minor concerns but if I were in your shoes I'd go alone with her."

"But neither of us are wearing shoes," I joked.

My sister gave me "the look".

I sighed. "Right. Pluto's a spooky creepy girl, but she's probably not a bad guy. Still..."

"Still?

"I feel like I'm 'on rails' here Red, that I'm less making decisions and that events are being managed for me," my tail flicked in irritation.

Ranma sipped her juice. "You made the choice to be one of us."

"Yeah but..."

"It's not like you mind the training. You complain, but you're like a sponge; you soak in everything," she sighed. "That's why we have to make the most of the time we do have."

Eve put down her mug. "So yes little sister, you are being managed," she said, bluntly.

Eating another cinnamon roll I waited for her to continue.

"We know we can't stop you from fighting Miss Lartessa, not now."

My tail curled as I thought that over. I was pretty sure she was lying. Okay, I was more physically powerful now, especially when compared to my injured state when I was human, but this power came with new vulnerabilities. I'd lay good odds that if anyone could shut down a baby succubus it would be her elder sisters, especially if the three of them worked in concert.

"Thus, we're doing our best to make sure our little sister will be able to survive her next fight."

I opened my mouth to protest.

Ranma cut me off. "Yes, you can heal, but if you don't know your limits, you could easily starve. Trust me, you do not want a starving, out of control succubus on the battlefield."

I felt the room get tense as the broodlings looked towards their mother, worry radiating off their horns.

"Uh, yeah I'll be careful," I assured. I gathered this was something she had experienced, personally.

My sister looked at me with a not quite believing expression.

Eyes slightly wide, Butters's expression turned thoughtful as he looked between us. He picked up a bit of sliced and fried steak.

"I'll be extra careful," I pouted.

Wordlessly, Butters dumped a few rashers of bacon on my plate, and then tossed on a couple of breakfast sausages.

I turned up my nose at him. Well, I did that after eating a few slices of bacon.

"Really? Not gonna make a lewd joke about me giving you sausage," Butters teased.

"Please, I have some taste, that's more a Bob level joke," I said, referring to my former magical assistant. Butters now possessed the skull, and the pervy spirt of intellect that dwelled within.

I frowned. "Oh man, Bob's going to have a field day with me." The sprit was extremely knowledgeable about magic, but he was also obsessed with the female form. Though that might have been my fault, given I first got the skull when I was a teenage boy, and well... the skull is shaped by whoever holds him.

Instead of laughing, Butters looked a bit embarrassed but had to nod in agreement. He knew just as well what Bob was like. Stars and Stones, he was the one that introduced Bob to the internet.

Since Butters knew Bob back when I had him, the spirit didn't change much when he took custody of the skull. Or I should say, Butters already had a mental idea of how Bob should act. Which was good, that meant if the skull ever returned to me Bob wouldn't change that much because its holder was a succubus.

Ranma looked into her mug. "Well, we do have a bit of time before Puu... before Pluto shows up. Perhaps we can go to the dojo?"

I may have made a little whimper. "But I can't be torn up, not if I'm going on a meeting."

My sister smiled. "Oh, I've got something gentle in mind."

My tail drooped.

"Now, now, I'm thinking of some more simple yoga. You know, get your flexibility up." Teeth flashed as her grin grew.

"What a lovely idea," Lea said as she and Cecilia entered the kitchen. "You did seem very stiff this morning, Poppet," she said, somehow finding a place next to me.

"Improved flexibility has many benefits," Cecilia added as she helped Ranma serve Lea, then helped herself to some breakfast.

Lea nodded as she nibbled on a cinnamon roll.

"And doubtless it'd help with whatever scheme you two are cooking up," Ranma noted while Eve smiled approvingly. The redhead then swept her hands over her dress and the pale material split and flowed as it morphed into her violet lycra bodysuit. Her hair tumbled down her back, and her larger pair of horns vanished.

"Oh sister, you exaggerate" Cecilia gave a shy, utterly innocent grin, that almost fooled me, and I had overheard her and my godmother plotting. My unassuming sister was scary at being... unassuming.

Snorting, Ranma turned to me. "Don't worry, we're just going to establish a baseline. Find out your limits of flexibility. Later you can work on expanding."

I swallowed. "See Red, I know what it means when you want to test someone's limits."

***************


Stepping through the portal Pluto had summoned, I shivered. I was used to opening Ways between realities, but the iridescent slit Lady Pluto made felt... alive. She also took a bit more time and cast some sort of spell with her staff before marking the edges of the portal with a series of glyphs.

Stomping my hooves, I got the tingling to stop in my legs. I lifted a leg and stretched it out. There was a bit of a pop and I rolled my shoulders. Ranma was right, I was a lot more flexible now. Still, I'm not sure the best way to teach me that was to twist me into pretzels. I looked over and saw Pluto wave her staff and close the gash.

The staff then shimmered and melted shrinking into a garnet tipped charm hanging on a silver chain that she slipped over her wrist. She adjusted her coat and stepped over to study me.

Her gaze swept from my pale, almost white, Alice blue hair, past my gleaming choker, down my leather duster, over my lacy dark blue blouse and glossy maxi-skirt, and finally ended at the polished hooves that just peeked out the ruffled bottom hem.

"What?"

"Jut making sure you can pass. You'd be amazed how often your nieces will forget that they've got horns or wings out." She meaningfully looked down at my legs.

"I somehow doubt their mothers would train them to be that sloppy," I crossed my arms.

She simply continued to look down. "And you had that... godmother was it? Helping you this morning," she murmured.

"They can pass for stiletto heels!" I stomped. I had added sharp burrs extending down the back of my hooves, and really the shape and a mild glamour was enough.

Lady Pluto's comment about Lea got me thinking. What was my godmother up to? She left the house just as Pluto had arrived to pick me up. Maybe she had gone back to my world. Maybe not. I did note that none of my sisters even tried to ask what Lea was up to. It made me wonder if the Company had even bothered trying to surveil her, or did they realize it's futile to try to track a powerful fae who can veil herself.

Then again those mercenaries didn't strike me as quitters.

Moving to studying the sides of my head, Pluto chuckled. "Shame, you didn't do something about the ears."

"Hey, I've got a glamour over those, and I brushed my hair forward!" I cried. Really with the glamours my godmother had taught me I could walk down the street in my full Blue Beetle armor and not be noticed. Though it didn't seem wise to push my luck, not on my second day.

Pluto rolled her eyes and muttered about demons. She reached into her pocket and handed me a pair of sunglasses. "At least you're not stuck on all thee and thou."

I grumbled.

"Put 'em on," Pluto ordered as she stepped out of the alley.

I reluctantly complied and followed her. She had a point, my eyes were unmistakably fae and if my glamour wasn't.... quite up to snuff... well people noticed eyes more than they noticed feet. Or in my case hooves.

We exited the alley and she went left down the sidewalk.

I looked around. It was a city, but the buildings looked old brick and stone. Things seemed bright, if a bit worn. On the other side of the street was a narrow canal. Probably Europe. Maybe Venice? Amsterdam? Though none of the signs looked to be in Italian or Dutch...

My stomach grumbled and I wished I had had a larger breakfast, but I shrugged and followed Lady Pluto. I smiled as we passed some people about their business. Inhaling, I relished the fresh air and the rich scents. My hunger burbled and I found my eyes drawing to store windows and linger on the food within as we walked past. For a city, things smelled okay over here.

Pluto led me towards a small outdoor cafe that was at the corner of two winding side streets. It was nice to get a bit of walking in, and enjoy the.... scenery. Even if the smooth stones did make or awkward footing, but my legs were nimble enough and I got to get in a bit of people watching. Absently, I noted a bit of understanding with my brother's views on the same subject.

Pluto found an older man sitting alone at a table. Leaning his back to the wall, he read from a newspaper and sipped from one of those tiny European coffee cups. The cup looked even smaller in his big, scarred fingers.

A large polished oak cane with a silver topper in the shape of a dog's head was hooked over the edge of the table. Sensing us, he folded the newspaper, removed a black wide-brimmed hat, and gestured for us to sit.

Thin lips parted to give a smile with an amused gleam. His hair was long and pulled back in a ponytail that was almost all silver. A neatly trimmed grey beard adorned a lined face. He looked about twenty years older than me. Well... older than I looked as a human. I'm not exactly sure how old I look now.

I mean an adult succubus could look whatever age she wanted, but I wasn't exactly an adult succubus.

Adding to his battered, but roguish look were scars running across his cheeks and the sable eye patch that covered his left eye. His skin was tanned and rough, as if he'd spent many years of hard living. Even sitting down, he looked tall. The grey suit he wore was finely tailored, but did nothing to hide his strong, wiry frame. A silver pocket square was neatly folded in his coat pocket.

The bespoke styling did hide his shoulder holsters pretty well. He wore no tie with his black button-down shirt, which was also tailored to hide a soft bullet proof vest he probably wore. That is unless the man was bulkier than I had guessed.

His eye tracked the both of us, though he spent more time looking me over. He seemed to pay particular attention to how my long skirt moved when I walked. Did he know my joints were different? Most people hardly noticed. His lips curled into a satisfied smile that felt... odd.

"My, what trouble did ya get into?" he asked in a deep, somewhat raspy voice, dropping his hat onto the spare seat he'd draped his black jacket over. His gaze flicked to my choker and he seemed to nod at the pentacle over winter snowflake design.

Once again, I could feel his gaze follow my legs as I smoothed my skirt and sat down across from him, and crossed my legs. Lady Pluto sat to my right.

I blushed at the attention. Hoping both that my glamour ensured the skin tone stayed human and that he did not notice anything amiss with how my ankles worked.

"I heard you were willing to do work?" I asked, adjusting my duster's belt so I could sit more comfortably.

"I am a man with many hats, but today, for you, I'm here as a mercenary, well perhaps an assassin." His almost piratical smile returned. "Now, what'll I call you, Miss?"

"BlackStone. Dame BlackStone," I stated, automatically and with as much authority as I could put in my high voice.

Lady Pluto picked up a menu and flipped to the tea page.

His eyebrow moved in such a precise move that it had to be an exact tell. "And how can I help the Winter Court, my lady?"

"How do you know this is for Winter?"

The large, roguish man gestured towards my choker. "Call me experienced with ladies of Winter."

My blush grew, and I wondered if he could see through my glamour.

"Let us presume that if Dame BlackStone is acting under the auspices of Winter then it is in her legitimate capacity as the Winter Knight. However, that does not necessarily put your actions under the obligations, or protections, of Winter," Lady Pluto explained.

"If I take yer contract," the man clarified.

"If you take the contract," Pluto happily agreed.

The man leaned back. "It'll depend on exactly what that contract entails." His eye fixed on me. "Dame BlackStone, who are you fixin' for me to fight?"

"Oh, nothing much." I smiled. "Wolfmen cults, Denarians, and Outsiders. Think you can handle it?"

His eye widened slightly and the man sipped from his tiny cup. "Well, I may need to raise my fee," he admitted to Lady Pluto. "Given all this, I've got more questions."

"I have answers," she replied.

"Yeah, no need for you to go in blind," I added.

He smiled, evidently approving of my quip.


Pluto sighed.

"Good, good." He lifted a hand and held out two fingers to Pluto.

The girl nodded to him.

"Good news." A smile grew over his scarred face.

"Hmm?" I asked tilting my head.

He put the cup down on the saucer with a dainty clink. "It looks like you've bought a two for one deal."


End Chapter 12


I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf.

And a bit of further news, the remaining chapters and the epilogue of Blood Debts have been written and are in editing / prereading. So good news. In time, will be able to read this story to completion.

Thanks to everyone for their comments and help with this!

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 13: Midnight Appetizer, Part A


Leaning over the counter, I tapped the beaker. Tiny bubbles swept up the sides and popped. I took a small measure of pink salt and slowly tipped it in. As I poured, I pushed with my will. The bubbling fluid turned clear and the steam coming off the beaker thinned to a bluish wisp. Energy flowed from me into the potion. My eyes fluttered, and, with a little gasp, I severed the connection.

Butters stepped to my side. Adjusting his glasses, he studied the potion. "How long does it need to go?"

"Ten minutes or so?" I ventured with a little yawn as I reduced the flame on the Bunsen burner. Making potions after training with my sister might not have been the best idea, but I was a wizard and I wanted to do wizard stuff. The bubbles began to diminish in frequency and I put a stopper in the top of the beaker.

Butters looked crossly at me and picked up a different stopper. This one had a bent glass tube running through the stopper that linked to a check valve. "It's still hot enough to steam for a while," he reminded.

"Uh, right," I blushed as I swapped out the stoppers.

"Do you want it to blow up?" Butters asked.

I pouted. Normally, I asked my magic spirit advisors to double check my potion making. For years that had been Bob the Skull, but Butters had him. Now, I had my daughter Bonnie but she was back home with my other, more corporeal daughter, at the Carpenter's house.

"This isn't your lab." He looked around the concrete subterranean room. "But I could see how you'd get confused."

"This isn't like my old laboratory at all," I groused. "No shelf full of bad romance books and dribbly candles."

Butters laughed. "You know Bob complained about how I didn't let him light candles in the apartment. He says it ruins the ambiance." He sighed. "I told him molten wax ruins computers."

"He does make for a challenging roommate."

"Lucky you, you could stick him down in a dank, cramped subbasement on one of the shelves overflowing with junk and leave him with his candles and books," Butters said, sounding a bit wistful and... nervous.

"Sounds like a safety hazard," Dirac noted as he inspected the rig I had under the fume hood. After eyeing the flames and the bubbling check valve he reduced the fume hood's fan level.

"You don't have to be so paranoid," I huffed. "It's a perfectly safe potion."

The gangly mercenary technician gave a slow blink. "You asked for half a pound of white phosphorus."

"I didn't use all of it."

"And you had us shred a rocket engine manual into confetti."

"You didn't need to pull out the whole thing," I muttered. "I only needed like half a page."

Dirac shrugged. "There was some concern that your requests would be wasteful. Some of the oils you asked for-." He picked up a glass bottle with a tin screw-on lid. A reddish waxy liquid sloshed inside. "-are difficult to procure these days."

"And should you even have sperm-whale oil?" I asked.

"You did ask for it," Butters inquired. He scoffed and turned to Dirac. "And that's not the worst he's asked for. Get this, he... er she... actually had some powdered rhino horn and a lead box with a supply of depleted uranium."

I blinked at Butter's slip up.

Shaking his head, Dirac chuckled. "Really?"

Butters laughed. "Harry uses it for fighting ghosts."

"Ghost dust works by making things extra real, and a dense metal like that is perfect," I stomped the floor.

"Huh," Dirac looked thoughtful. "You need more depleted uranium, Miss Dresden? We've got plenty of that in stock."

I gave him a level glance. "Should I be worried you have that stuff?"

The man smiled and turned to Butters. "How about you, Sir?"

"Isn't depleted uranium dangerous?" Butters asked. "Yeah, it's a lot less radioactive than natural unenriched uranium, but, radiation aside, it's still a toxic metal."

"It's also flammable. Which gives some potential as an incendiary." Dirac mildly stated. "But we have containment procedures for far more dangerous materials," he added.

I stared. That was true. I glanced back at the brewing potion. I wasn't sure if mercenary was referring to the Denarian coins they were storing for me, those red demon metal blades my nieces used, the freaky machine-shop magic contraptions Dirac maintained, or some other bit of exotic and dangerous stuff.

Hells Bells, they had RPGs, missiles, grenades, and other things that went boom. I didn't know what chemicals were used to make a rocket motor or an explosive warhead, but I knew they weren't pleasant.

Butters gave the man a skeptical glance. I could tell he was thinking similar thoughts.

Slipping closer to Butters, the bottom hem of my skirt swished against his leg.

"Your Jammers, they're not radioactive are they?" Butters asked.

"Technically?" Dirac took a step to the side and gestured to a long bench where a Jamming device had been dissected.

Instead of the bulky building-protecting models that resembled a computer mainframe crossed with a furnace, the Jammer on the lab bench was one of the portable versions worn by my sisters and nieces.

The protective Kevlar sheeting had been pulled off revealing two pairs of gleaming whip antennas attached to a central housing. The red cover to that had been removed exposing minute... channels that had been cut into a gem-like crystalline material.

Leaning in, Butters inspected the tiny designs and patterns.

For my part, my attention was on the slowly bubbling light blue potion. Yes, on the potion and not the Knight's backside.

Or maybe, I was rolling kinks out of my shoulders. Today, my sister had deemed my ability to fall was "satisfactory" and decided to up our training. That was in addition to her throwing me around and having me do flips and tumbles.

"Very nice, but... is it radioactive?" Butters asked. "I mean we're talking about something that blocks out teleportation." He frowned, his curiosity drawing him in.

Dirac provided a magnifier mounted on a metal arm with an attached light.

Butters adjusted the height of the lens and bent over further to look at the crystalline lattice.

My focus on the... potion grew. I shifted a leg and one of my knees popped. I was starting to see the wisdom in my sisters' instance on stretching.

"I suppose that only makes it radiation in the sense that it's electromagnetic radiation," Butters frowned. "Still, an energetic enough EM pulse can cook you."

"That's what a microwave oven is," I helpfully added.

"Are they EM waves? Does this thing work like a radio jammer? I mean I don't see any power supplies. And it looks like it runs on magic, but what are the antennae broadcasting?"

"That's correct. A magical power supply's actually what enabled most of the miniaturization," Dirac explained with pride. "The downside is that only Pattern Silvers can use these devices. Fortunately, the brood is sufficiently attuned to provide that power."

"And your larger Jammers are electrically powered? Okay… so is most of their machinery is dedicated to converting the power to the right signal?" Butters asked

"Magic is all about converting and shaping energy," I added. "It gets less efficient the more you have to manipulate it."

"These Pattern Silvers must be inherently related to dimensional stability," Butters surmised. "I mean if their magic readily converts to a jamming signal."

I thought back to what Lady Pluto looked like with my Wizard's Sight, and the mastery of opening Ways and dimensional travel she had demonstrated this morning.

"That seems to be a valid supposition, Dirac allowed.

"That's not exactly answering my question," Butters stood up and looked thoughtful. "But what is it about these signals that blocks teleporting? Does it scramble the targeting so they show up in the wrong spot? Does it make it so a portal can't open? Does it just raise the energy cost prohibitively high?"

I missed out on Dirac's answer as my attention went back to the beaker. As I checked the potion, I missed Butter's follow up question. It had terms like multiplexing, modulation, and equalizing-autonegotiation,

And then Dirac's reply got even more esoteric.

My tail drooped as the two got deeper and deeper. Butters went over to a whiteboard on one wall and started sketching out a rough diagram that made my eyes hurt. The man had nimble fingers, but his handwriting was still as sloppy as any doctor's.

I leaned closer, ducked under the fume hood. Inspecting the potion, my lips curled up into a smile. There was something... relaxing about potions. There was an elegance to their slow deliberate nature. Though sometimes getting the right ingredients was a real pain.

The door clicked open.

"Hi Nabiki!" I greeted as I got up from the workbench.

My pale-blue haired niece stepped into the room. She looked at me and smiled. "Cute skirt auntie!" her gaze lowered. "And hooves? My."

I blushed. "You've got a nice dress too."

Her face brightened and she gave a little twirl; the blue bows on her fluffy pink outfit fluttering. "Thanks!"

I glanced up at a clock on the wall. "You're early, did my next training session get moved up? Or do Eve and Ranma want me to try another tracking spell?"

"Probably. Not that you've had much luck." Nabiki's gaze swept over the room. Her attention fell on Dirac and Butters.

The two eggheads looked up from the whiteboard. Dirac held a marker and had crossed through parts of Butter's diagram. It looked like a demented version of chutes and ladders merged with tic-tac-toe.

She smiled at them, and they went back to their messy scrawling. "You think Miss Mantis is laying low?" Nabiki asked me.

I sighed. "Probably." I still had the fragment from Tessa's mandible, but I hadn't been able to get it to work with a tracking spell, not since Lomar. The Denarian was already using counter-spells to block tracking. Doubtless she had increased her precautions.

Still, it didn't hurt to keep trying.

My niece nodded. "And I don't know if mom moved training up, but she's been... antsy."

"She seemed calm when she was throwing me about the room an hour ago," I noted. Well, actually, she seemed a bit tired. Part of me took some pride in that despite my sister's seemingly boundless stamina she did seem a bit fatigued towards the end.

I suppose spending a few hours in a padded sparing room throwing and flipping someone a foot and a half taller than you had to take it out of you. Sure, my sister was strong, but I was probably half again her body-weight. The only reason I wasn't passed out taking a little nap was because of the insane endurance training I had been going on with my brother back in Chicago.

Long, long runs on the beach wearing a weighted vest tended to add up. Also with all the flips and rolls my sister had me doing, the room tended to spin a bit after training and I figured lying down might not be the best idea.

But playing with potentially hazardous chemicals? That was just fine.

"She did worry about your hooves cutting up the mats of the company's sparing room," Nabiki stated.

I blushed. "Well..."

"But it was only the one comment. Then she started making calls and the like. I think she's got something planned."

My stomach clenched. When my sister got... creative training got painful. This was a woman that figured stress-positions, wall-kicks, burpees were basic warm ups, and felt that if you didn't end up with broken bones, then you weren't really pushing yourself.

My niece had a playful smile as she slipped to the workbench with the potion bubbling on it. "Oh, what's this?" she asked, her tail swishing.

"So, did training get moved up?" I asked.

"Nope" She reached out to the beaker.

My hand snapped out and caught her fingers, but her hand had already stopped half a foot from the potion. "What's going on?"

"Wanted to talk," she said, her eyes not moving from the potion. "But now I'm curious about this." She sniffed the air. "What is it?"

"A potion."

Her blue eyes lit up. "Magic? What's it do? How's it work?"

"Just a pep-up spell. Anti-fatigue."

"Magic coffee?" Nabiki eyed my fatigued form. "I can see why you'd want that."

"She did ask for a bunch of grounds," Butters said as he added a line of equations to the whiteboard.

"It's not just that," I stomped a hoof. "I mean... it's more than that. Normally, there isn't a substitute for a good night's sleep and nourishment but... well..."

"You found a loophole?" Nabiki asked.

I smiled. "Kinda."

"Is it done?"

"It still needs a little bit more time to brew."

She inspected the bubbling blue fluid. "How's it work? You just drink it?"

"Yup. Though it won't taste very nice."

She raised an eyebrow.

"It's a potion, the taste is only part of it. All eight ingredients have specific purposes."

"Eight?"

"Yup," I started picking up items from the far side of the work bench under the fume hood. "You've got a liquid base. An ingredient paired to each of the five main senses, then one for the mind and one for the spirit."

My niece pointed to her horns. "We've got more senses than that."

"Well... yes..." I huffed. "Look, that's why I'm testing this out. Most of our senses seem to complement the human five. Anyway, the ingredients are more than their physical makeup. You put energy into the potion as each ingredient is put in and when you start brewing it."

Nabiki nodded at the bowl of coffee beans, bit of salt, crystal full of sunlight, and other accoutrements. "It's about creating a holistic experience?"

I blinked. "Uh... actually yeah."

"You engage all the senses, the mind, and the spirit of the imbiber. But each is really hooking them, opening a channel to transport the magic energy put into the potion?" she guessed. This time she extended a claw and tapped the side of the beaker.

"You really shouldn't do that," I admonished.

Nabiki pouted but straightened herself up. "Maybe next time you can brew with your horns out, Aunty."

"In that case I may need to add a new ingredient."

"Wait..." Nabiki glanced at the beaker. "Are the ingredients for the brewer or the drinker?"

My tail slowly swung back and forth. "Huh... both? I didn't really..."

Leaning with her back on the bench, Nabiki gave me a half-lidded gaze that seemed too old for the youthful succubus.

"There's more to it than that..." My tail drooped, tip curling.

Nabiki raised her eyebrow and gave a little shake of the head.

"Look, I never really made spells for non-humans, and until recently..."

"You were human."

I blushed.

"And now you're the little sister," There was interest behind Nabiki's statement.

"Well, I have an older brother." I went over to the beaker and turned off the burner. "So..."

"Yes, the incubus," my niece seemed amused for a moment. Her expression sobered. "Still, you're older than your sisters."

Using a set of tongs, I moved the beaker onto a rack to cool. "Yeah..."

"But you're still the baby sister," she leaned forward. "That's something we have in common," she said in a near whisper.

I met her gaze.

Pale blue eyes stared back at me. My gaze darted to the side before a Soulgaze could start.

Nabiki sighed. "I used to be... older." She wrung her hands over the hem of her dress. "I used to be Akane's big sister. I was a year older but..."

I swallowed. "Alexia?"

The young demon nodded. "She had taken Akane... she had taken me... It's complicated but..." Nabiki shivered. "Mot- Alexia made me... then she made me..."

My arms went out as I bent down and hugged her. "It's okay; she's gone... you have Ranma," I assured as my tail curled around her legs.

Nabiki leaned into the embrace. However, even with me bending over, the diminutive demon's head only came up to my chest. "Yes... it's okay," she purred. Then gave a sardonic chuckle. "That's the truth of it it's it?"

Long hair swished as I tilted my head

Nabiki sighed and held tighter. "I'm like this now; we're like this now. And that's okay."

"I uh... didn't..."

That dry laugh returned. "Please Aunty, we both know you're the emotional baby sister among your siblings. I doubt mother, Aunty Eve, or Aunty Cecelia made you that way. So... you've got that comfort, I suppose."

"I'm surprised you're not saying that was Cecilia's sinister plan," I murmured.

Nabiki laughed.

"You think it's my fault I'm like this?" I stomped my leg.

Nabiki's tail simply tapped my hoof as she cleared her throat.

"That's the Mantle's doing," I pouted.

"Did the Winter Mantle turn you into the baby sister?" she teased as she continued to cuddle. "Or is it simply because you are the baby sister?"

"I've er.. I'm only two days old." I frowned. I had meant to say "I've only been this way for two days." but...

"And will you stay the baby sister?" she quietly asked. "It's not that bad."

Glancing at the clock, I turned back to the potion and extended my senses. "It's done," I noted.

"Is it?" Nabiki gave a sly smile. "What about being the little sister?"

My tail slowly rolled back and forth. "Uh... well, I am the little sister..."

Grinning broadly, Nabiki leaned forward. "Is that your decision then?"

The door clicked open and I turned with relief. "Ranma! Back to training? It's early but my potion's done, so I can go!" I exclaimed with forced cheer.

The redhead blinked at me. Her tail rolled behind her as she juggled a pair of helmets.

Okay she wasn't literally juggling them. Not that I'd be surprised if she were.

The redhead tossed one to me.

I caught it; it took me a second to recognize that it was a motorcycle helmet, and that my sister's leather getup was a bit more... reinforced than normal. Her leather jacket was thicker, instead of a skirt she had on leather pants, and her boots were a bit heavier and lower in the heel.

"Did you test your potion?" Ranma asked, rotating the remaining helmet in her hands.

"Not yet."

"What's it do?" she asked stepping over to the fume hood. Her tone was interested, but I noticed her tail was anxiously moving to and fro.

"Pick-me-up and energy replenishment."

"Oooh," Ranma nodded.

"What's this for?" I asked hefting the black helmet. "Some sort of defensive driving training? Or are you going to wallop me in the head and don't want to risk me losing an eye? Or, wait no... paintball uses different facemasks?"

The redhead gave me a flat look. Her tail lowered and flicked about. "They're motorcycle helmets."

I gave a slow nod. "Right... so what kind of bike training?"

My sister tilted her head and stepped to the side. After looking me over, she inhaled and gave a little sigh.

Tail hanging limp, I shifted my hooves. I could feel something like anxiety and frustration coming off of my sister. That was usually a bad sign.

Smiling, the redhead looked up at me. "I was thinking going out, having a nice ride, and getting something to eat."

"Huh?" I blinked.

Ranma spun her helmet in one hand. "Well, if you insist on more sparring..." her smile grew predatory, but there was something almost forced to it. "You were making good progress this morning. I guess it just takes a good night sleep, and some early morning yoga and you can move around with some semblance of grace."

"No, no! A lunch break would be nice," I assured.

Butters turned from the whiteboard he and Dirac had filled with arcane symbols. Okay, arcane symbols I could understand. These were far too... mathy.

My sister nodded as I studied her once more. Sure, she was offering me a break, offering to spend some time with me that wasn't training or studying or thaumaturgy but... it wasn't solely for my benefit. Hells Bells, even the time spent with my Godmother playing dress-up was also teaching me how to shift and cast Glamours.

She glanced down at the helmet. "Hopefully it won't be as big of a mess as the last time we tried to go out for lunch."

I nodded.

"At least that would mean Tessa'd be making her move," Nabiki stated, her high voice turning surprisingly cynical.

For a second Ranma smiled but then shook her head. "One shouldn't even wish for that... still, the waiting is painful."

"But going for a ride could be fun," I glanced over to Butters and smiled.

The thin knight coughed. "Uh Harry, I think Ranma's having this as a private lunch. I mean I don't have a motorcycle."

The redhead nodded. "Arrangements could be made but..."

"I have a bike!" Nabiki happily added with a dimpled smile.

I stepped back. I guess having dimples didn't render one immune to their sinister power.

Still, her joy was infections and I found a myself grinning as my own dimple appeared.

"I suppose I could go out to eat instead of doing more training," I said as I went back to the beaker. I put a hand to the glass. The potion felt cool. I extended my senses and, satisfied that it was done brewing pulled it off the rack. Removing the stopper, I poured it into a plastic tube with a quick snap cap. It wasn't quite the squeeze sports bottles I was used to, but this potion was smaller in volume anyway.

My sister watched this with interest. "Not going to test it out?"

"Not yet." I slipped on my coat and put the tube in an inside pocket. "But I figure we're going to resume training after lunch. And after that I may need a pick-me-up."

The redhead's smile was far from reassuring. "You're learning. Excellent."

My tail drooped a bit as I grabbed my staff.

"Oh, don't be such a baby," my sister laughed as we left the lab. Glancing back, she looked down at my skirt. "Oh, maybe you should put pants on, Sis."

Grumbling, I followed her and my niece down the hallway.

***************


Motorcycles are fun.

Motorcycles are cool.

There's something about the speed, the power, the danger, the intimacy that comes with controlling a device that minimizes the distance between you and the road.

Even when you're a passenger, much of the allure and power is still there. Though I'm sure much of that experience came from it being Ranma's torso my arms were clenched over as she raced down the streets.

It had the same freewheeling rush as flying, but it wasn't quite like same. The ground was too close for one. For two the throbbing engine between my legs was very... interesting. It was probably for the best that my tail and horns were hidden and I had a mild glamour up. In retrospect I almost regretted my comment to Murphy a couple of years back about why "all women liked motorcycles", not that it was wrong, but that it hit a bit... close to home.

The redhead drove the giant purple and burnished steel Harley with a zeal that reminded me of Murphy's own skills. Though Ranma did push her bike a further to the edge, forcing the heavy beast into leaning, nimble turns that I'm pretty sure even Karrin Murphy wouldn't risk.

Well, not unless she was driving a gangly wizard while being chased by the Erlking and the Wild Hunt. Now that was a distressing thought. What would the Erlking make of me now?

Lord of the Goblins, peer to the Queens of the fae, the Erlking was a predatory spirit associated with the hunt, bloodlust, and primordial violence.

And I... may have once summoned him and tried to imprison him in a circle. It was only temporary. The idea was to keep a bunch of necromancers from stealing his power.

It... didn't exactly work.

I was knocked out by a necromancer, my talking skull assistant was stolen, and the Lord of the Hunt Escaped to ravage Chicago.

Yeah... not the greatest Halloween I'd ever had.

It was only because me summoning a tyrannosaurs rex had impressed him that the powerful wyldfae had let me go. Also... he thought I was too weak to be "sporting prey" when he found me later that night.

That Halloween was the first time we met. Subsequent meetings went... better. Including the time, I shot him and took the Wild Hunt from him. In his own, vicious alien way, he seemed to have a begrudging respect for me. Or at least in my ability to hunt down my enemies.

Of course, that was back when I was human.

The growling engine between my legs lowered to a rumbling purr as Ranma pulled us into a parking lot. The big bike slowed and she put down a leather boot to balance the gleaming machine. The kickstand flipped out and she turned off the key.

There was a bit of a shake and the vibrations stopped. Blinking, I untangled my arms from around her torso and hopped off the bike. At least my height made that easy enough. Which was useful as my knees felt a bit loose.

I pulled off the helmet and leaned forward to peer into glossy black surface of the bike's rear fender, in the reflection my long Alice blue hair shook out. Sapphire lips curled into a confident, hungry smile that I didn't quite feel.

Yeah, the next time I ran into the Erlking, things were going to be... interesting.

My sister's opaque visor studied me for a moment before she pulled her own helmet off and jumped off the seat. Another bike pulled in next to us. I blinked. The motorcycle was Pink. No let me amend that; it was PINK. The machine almost hurt to look at. It didn't' help that the rider wore a matching motorcycle bodysuit that showed off her youthful form. Even her helmet was a glossy pink with cute little cat ears.

The whole getup was diabetes-inducing. It didn't help when my niece removed her helmet and shook out her powder-blue hair and gave a heart-wrenchingly adorable smile.

"Going fast today Mom? You trying to lose me?" Nabiki joked.

"Just giving your aunt a good time," Ranma laughed.

"Not like we could lose your bike in a crowd," I muttered. I went to the long scabbard on the side of Ranma's bike. According to the label it was, ostensibly, for fishing poles. That was a handy excuse as the dimensions weren't quite right. I suspected it was really a rifle rack that had a bit of... creative rebranding for the non-American market. Not that I cared, it fit my staff well enough.

Holding my staff, I adjusted my coat and got a good look at the building we'd stopped in front of. "A BBQ joint? Didn't Ukyou make us that for lunch yesterday?"

"That was grilled, even the pork loin she made wasn't properly slow cooked," my sister said with a knowing grin that was kind of annoying.

The part of me that was capable of introspection realized that this was the sort of secretive behavior I indulged on more than one occasion. The rest of me stomped a foot.

Tilting her head, the redhead took on an air of wounded innocence. "But I'm taking you to experience the native cuisine of your people, dear sister."

I harrumphed. Which must have been far too cute given how my niece giggled. I then made a show of looking at the restaurant's sign. "Funny, this doesn't look like a pizza joint."

"Do you know how hard it is to get good Chicago deep dish up in Toronto?'

I blinked. I was then struck by the image of mercenaries rolling up in full battle rattle to various pizzerias in the city. My chuckle was cut short when I realized the idea wasn't that ridiculous.

Okay, sure, they wouldn't be all armored up, but there were a lot of mercenaries that had to be fed. And young military-aged people did like their pizza. I could see my sister giving a few choice words to a few choice people and suddenly it'd be pizza day for a whole lot of hungry mercenaries.

I rubbed my forehead. The whole idea seemed to be a ridiculous misuse of pizza. And I'm speaking as someone who regularly used the stuff to bribe wee little pixies. Come to think of it...those pixies were my own personal army too...

I worked my mouth. I had to know.

"And how did you confirm there wasn't any good Chicago pizza?"

Ranma gave a slow blink. "There's a couple of agents from that city and some local to this a area and I asked them if they knew any good places around here that matched up."

The tension in my shoulders lessened in relief. "Ah good, I was worried you'd have the agents go out and buy a bunch of pizzas."

My sister nodded. "Well, yeah, how else would they test 'em?"

I sighed.

"I know." She patted me on the hand. "I also looked for a proper Chicago dog. That went even worse. I couldn't even find a good Portillo's hot dog place in Ontario."

I stared. That she would even know about a local chain was... Okay, yes Portillo's hot dogs were great, and their ribs were phenomenal.... when I could afford them. But this was something she shouldn't even know about.

"Ranma.... do you ever think you're too thorough?"

The redhead snorted. "Please, thorough would be calling up a Chicago steak house and having them air freight over some aged beef."

Nabiki frowned. "But I thought you-"

Ranma's hand clamped down on her daughter's shoulder. "Not now, Dear."

I blinked. "Uh?"

Ranma took my hand and started pulling me towards the restaurant. "Now, Chicago is known for some slow-work smoke houses."

I continued to blink at her. "Yes...?"

"So, I figured this place would work." She looked me up and down, eyeing my shirt. "Well, it's a good thing you can change your clothes."

"I'm not a messy eater!" I pouted.

My sister gave me a patronizing smile.

Grumbling, I followed her into the restaurant. The scent of wood smoke and meat filled my nose and I had to keep from salivating. I also focused on my glamour; I just knew that if my tail had been out it would be twitching to and fro.

There was a bit of an antechamber with plain wood seats that served as a waiting area. A podium sat at the passage that led deeper into the restaurant. The seating beyond was plain and the tables were black with shiny metal trim. The place was a bit too clean to be considered a proper dive, but it definitely was a hole-in-the wall.

Without any mind, Ranma went past the ten or so people waiting at the benches. Half were a group of young men in overalls from a machinist's shop. There was a young couple in office-drone wear. Okay, I don't know if the two men were dating, but they seemed familiar and happy enough together. And across from them was a gaggle of highschool-aged girls.

They all watched my sister enter, but only the machinists held their interest. Then I came in. And all their eyes fell on me. My lips quirked into a smile.

"Why are people looking at me like that?" I whispered, once we were at the hostess station. I also noticed that a fair number of the dining crowd had looked up from their tables and took notice of me.

My niece gave a soft chuckle. "Well Auntie, you're a big, tall weirdo. But... since you're a pretty-looking big, tall weirdo they find you intriguing," she quietly replied.

"Says the girl in the pink jumpsuit," I muttered.

"Also, you're practically broadcasting your hunger," Ranma added before the hostess came up.

"Am not," I said, smiling at the long-limbed blonde woman. The hostess wore a dark grey blouse and a black skirt that showed off her slim form quite well.

The hostess momentarily shied away from my gaze. "Yes?"

"Saotome, party of three," Ranma stated.

"Do you mind waiting? It won't be a moment." the hostess asked.

"We made a reservation." My sister's voice was mildly put out. She turned back to glance at us.

Pouting, I stepped closer. I didn't quite loom over the blonde; she was rather lanky. Thus I was only a head taller than her. "I am so hungry. Please, couldn't you do something?" I purred.

The hostess blinked. Her chestnut eyes widening ever so slightly. "Yes, of course," she brightened. "This way."

"Would it be too much to ask for a window table?" Ranma asked.

"Would a booth be fine?" the hostess asked. The spring in her step made the back of her black skirt do interesting things.

My sister glanced out the window. "Perfect."

"Your server will be by shortly," the hostess bowed and sauntered away.

Ranma and Nabiki took one side of the booth while I leaned my staff and took the entirety of the other side.

"Laying it on a bit thick," my sister noted as she flipped through the menu.

"Well, I am hungry," I said picking up the menu.

"Hmm," Ranma murmured. Her purple eyes darted to look out the window.

Following her gaze, I twisted in the seat to look over my shoulder. She was looking at the two motorcycles we had driven in.

"Really? The whole-eating-while-watching--the-door-and-your-vehicle-thing? Are you that worried about your fancy bike being stolen? What about sitting with your back to the wall?"

The redhead laughed. "Stolen? Oh, if only."

Pouting, I went back to the menu as my cheeks pinked in embarrassment. Well...they didn't really turn pink, but I managed to add that detail to my glamour.

The smell was enticing. Clearly, this was a place that knew how to slowly prepare and infuse meat. Eyeing the other tables would have made my mouth water, but I managed to keep myself in check.

It would have been overwhelming, but I was used to temptation and how to mitigate it. Though, I'll admit my gaze may have... lingered. Turns out I was hungrier than expected.

"Good choice sister, everything looks so delicious," I murmured. Yes, I said "everything", certainly not "everyone".

"They do?" Nabiki idly asked.

Ranma's response was cut-off by the approach of our waiter. He was a twenty-something young man, who, while a bit short, did have a muscular sleekness to him. A confident smile was on his olive features and I was reminded of Warden Ramirez. I had gone on more than a few adventures with Ramirez, including riding a dinosaur together and dueling White Court vampires while the rest of their court watched.

My lips quirked. That was a bittersweet night. Aside from the indiscriminate death and destruction, a gaggle of super ghouls had wrecked the party, that was the night that Lash had taken a psychic bullet for me.

Lash may have been the shadow of one of the Fallen, but she had shown the ability to change and grow. She was also the mother of my younger daughter. However, looking at our waiter, my mind was focused on something lighter that had happened that night.

That was when I had learned that, despite assertions to the contrary, Ramirez was actually a virgin. I leaned forward and gave our waiter a coy smile as Ranma and Nabiki gave their orders.

Soon enough, his attention was on me. Still smiling at the man, I slowly let my attention go to the menu.

After flipping through the menu, I raised my gaze. "I'll have the lemonade, and whatever you think is tasty."

He gave a cocky smile. "Well, how do you like your meat?"

I folded the menu and placed my hands on it. "Juicy, flavorful, generous portions. Oh and plenty of sauce," I added with a wink.

"There's always the brisket. There's a batch of cherry-wood beef ribs. And we do have some smoked sausages that are about ready."

"I do like a good sausage."

The waiter grinned knowingly. He poised his pen over the order pad. "Which will it be?"

"All of it," I smiled. I looked over to see my sister carefully watching the exchange.

He paused. "The brisket alone is nearly a pound of meat."

I put my hand out and patted him on the arm. "Don't worry, I can handle it. I am very hungry." I licked a lip. "Besides, if not I'm sure I can get... help."

"Of course. I'll get your drink orders," the waiter grinned goofily and sauntered a way from.

"Charming young man." I watched him leave.

Ranma gave me a flat look.

My niece giggled.

"What?"

The redhead leaned back. "Just curious."

Recalling how she was watching me earlier, I frowned. "I thought you said this was just a meal. That we weren't training."

"Everything is training," Ranma said.

I loved my sister, but sometimes I did want to hit her. Problem was she'd say that was also training.

The waiter had returned with our drinks. He gave me a hopeful grin as he put the lemonade before me. I put my lips around the straw and sampled. "Lovely," I purred.

"Will there be anything else?" he asked, keeping the goofy, expectant look.

"I'll let you know," I smiled patting him on the arm again.

Grinning, he left.

"Someone's trying to earn his tip," I noted.

"Shameless," Nabiki laughed.

Ranma sipped her water. "As I said, everything is training."

"What? This a 'Let's see how BlackStone acts around humans' bit?"

The redhead chuckled. "Your godmother did just teach you how to use glamours."

I crossed my arms. "Well, this isn't my first time out in public. What about that trip Lady Pluto too me on?"

"Yes, she told me about that." Ranma swirled the ice in her glass.

"Does everything have an ulterior motive with you?"

"Says the wizard." The redhead leaned back. "I let you have your secrets and cryptic half-answers. Do let me have my esoteric training methods."

"I'm not going to wax your bike for you," I huffed.

Ranma laughed. "Aww, but it'll make a great breathing exercise."

Nabiki blinked. "What?"

"Before you time kiddo," I said. I then gave my best Mr. Myagi impression. "Wax on, right hand. Wax off, left hand. Wax on, wax off. Breathe in through nose, out the mouth. Wax on, wax off. Don't forget to breathe, very important."

My niece glared at me.

"Yes, all those old movies auntie BlackStone likes are before your time Nabiki-chan," Ranma teased.

"I'm a year older than you," the cute little succubus said with a little glare.

I blinked and looked between mother and daughter. Ranma's age was hard to tell, but she couldn't be younger than twenty, and Nabiki had to be no older than... I paused. She was driving a motorcycle. So, she had to be, what, sixteen? She hardly looked that. She said Alexia had twisted her and that she was a year older than Akane. How old was Akane then? "Uh... what?"

"Never mind that." Ranma laughed. "Still, we do need to make sure you can handle yourself... in public."

I nodded. Flirting was one thing but... well my brother had the devil of a time adapting to living on his own or, more accurately, living without the financial support of the White Court. See, holding a steady job is actually kind of hard for a hungry incubus, especially one that was more than willing to sleep with anyone who caught his fancy. Turns out break-room fun time was not the best way to retain employment.

So, I could see the reason for my sister's concern. "There's also that after Tessa is taken care off..."

Ranma nodded; it was a sad little motion. "You'll be going back."

"Thomas can help me," I huffed.

The redhead sipped her water. "Yes, and it's wonderful that you'll have him, but we should make sure you're as ready as possible here and now." She sighed.

I could feel her concern and worry. My sister knew she was taking things fast, faster than she'd like with me, but she didn't have any choice.

She played with her cup. "This social interaction stuff is more Cecilia's area of expertise. But she's with Lea."

"And what is she doing with my godmother?"

"Do you want to ruin the surprise?"

I blinked. Normally, surprise and my godmother were a terrible and terrifying combination. I honestly wasn't sure if the fact that Cecilia was helping her diminished or added to that. My apprehensive musing was cut short when our waiter returned with a giant platter laden with meat.

Several plates were placed before me and I purred in delight. My sister's bemused expression was all that kept me from tearing into the mass of succulent, savory smelling meats. However, it was convenient that BBQ was finger food.

For a while I was lost in contently chewing and eating. Though to my embarrassment, Nabiki did have to tap me on the shoulder a couple of times. It seemed that my glamour would... slip a bit when my attention focused elsewhere.

***************


We left the restaurant feeling happy and full. Clouds had moved in, dimming the chill afternoon light. I pulled my coat a bit tighter over my shoulders, but it was purely reflexive. Both my succubus and Winter nature made me rather immune to the cold.

A hand ran across my belly, despite feeling full, part of me was still a bit… peckish. Pushing those thoughts aside, I watched my sister get her bike ready. The redhead nodded to her daughter and Nabiki went off to her pink bike.

Glancing at me, my niece took a few steps further away and pulled a phone out of a pocket.

I grumbled as she powered it on and started talking. While I could easily understand why my sisters used their phones and radios to keep in touch, it was still a bit frustrating. My powers made it impossible for me to use a cell phone or other such technologies; my mere presence burned them out.


"Just be glad we didn't make you stand in a circle," Ranma idly noted, sensing my frustration. Then Nabiki waved over her mother. Frowning, the redhead ran up and took the phone.

As Nabiki came over to me, I watched the redhead blink then become peeved.

Curious and more than willing to snoop, I decided to Listen in. Listening isn't exactly magic, which makes it handy for eavesdropping on phone conversations; it's more of a trick of mental focus. I concentrated on what my sister was saying and Listened.

"I don't care what assurances she's giving us; the timing is too cute," Ranma snarled.
I almost winced as her deep contralto voice came in clear and loud. I had forgotten just how much better my hearing was now.

She had started to pace and turn. A motion that I noticed allowed her to keep track of her surroundings.

"Oh, I'm sure she has plenty of information, after all her stupid pet cultist was responsible for the last breach," the redhead sighed and paused. "No... of course I want to meet her."

I blinked. Her tone and stance had shifted slightly at the end. My sister always prowled about languidly balanced, but I could feel that her hackles were raised. More than that, there was a bit of... eager anticipation about her.

"Eve, we'd need more time." There was another pause. "Yeah, that she's willing to give it to us is also-"

Looking across the street, my sister trailed off. A crimson motorcycle had pulled into the gas station on the opposite side of the road. The Suzuki's matte paint dully gleamed. A lithe figure in a grey bodysuit straddled the bike.

"Oh, you bitch!" My sister snarled as she shifted and pointed towards the bike with her free hand. Shadows deepened around her the tips of her fingers began to spark and her eyes started to glow.

The rider pulled off her grey helmet. Long dark brown spilled down the left side of her face and shoulder. I could just make out the woman's delicate features and her cold, adamantine gaze.

For a moment the woman and my sister stared each other down.

Hunger and aggression came off or Ranma in waves. Nabiki had taken a position to watch her mother's flank, and I noticed my own body reacting as my armor felt like it was ready to spring into position and the runes on my staff started to smolder.

I could feel... wrongness coming from the woman on the red Japanese bike. There was a magic about her that was disturbingly familiar.

The woman gave a cold smile that didn't reach her eyes, revved her bike, wove between the pumps, and sped off.

My sister's fingers tracked her departure. "Yeah, that was her. Damn show off," she grumbled as her arm lowered. Her body maintained its spring-like tension.

"Fine, set up the meeting." Ranma said as she stepped back and kept her vigil. She seemed to take particular notice of approaching vehicles and second story windows. She closed the phone and stalked back over to us.

"Well?" Nabiki asked, innocently as she sidestepped so she could keep a view of what was behind her mother.

"Was that who I think it was?" I asked. My sisters had briefed me about some of their enemies. And a lithe brunette with a delicate, but cold, face and a hired cultist narrowed the pool down. Also the grey bodysuit and red motorcycle were pretty large clues.

"Yeah, that was Galina A'deen, leader of the Combat Cyborgs."

"Soviet assassins hired to kill your moon queen and her magical girls," I stated shaking my head. Sadly, that was not the strangest hitman and client pairing I had heard of. That would have to go to "Winter Knight ordered to kill one of his own queens" or Winter Knight arranging his own 'retirement'." Though for that second one, I'll confess I was not entirely in my right mind at the time.

Ranma nodded. It was a curt, deliberate motion. She was still on edge. As if expecting a fight to break out at any moment, she moved to her bike and motioned for Nabiki to get on hers and for me to hop on behind the redhead.

"And she wants to meet with me," my sister said with a predatory grin.


***************


After that little surprise, things started happening fast. Unfortunately, since it was being organized by Eve, and Ranma didn't trust me with a radio, I was pretty much in the dark.

This world didn't have anything like the Unseelie Accords. The Accords were rules setup by Mab that most of the supernatural nations and powers of my world had signed onto. Surprisingly new, the Accords were built on previous conventions and traditions and were subject to periodic revision. Mab had hinted that another such a revision convocation was pending. No wonder she was irritated when the Winter Mother sent me on what was supposedly a quick mission to the border.

The Accords had procedures for settling debts, both wergilds and duels, negotiating safe passage through territory, declaring neutral ground, petitioning of grievances to another signatory, rules of host and guest, and other diplomatic niceties. Well, perhaps niceties was stretching it. The Accords explicitly had no "spirit of the law" only what was the letter of the law.

Under the Accords, a third party signatory could be brought in to arrange the meeting, or if there was no open belligerency Accorded Neutral Ground could be chosen. I will note that I've experienced betrayal at such a meeting, and yes it was the Denarians.

Still, it at least gave a framework.

There was no such framework here.

Hells Bells, I wasn't even sure how the Russians had contacted the mercenaries. Let alone, what convinced both parties to pick an acceptable venue.

I wrapped my arms tighter around my sister as she gunned her bike down the highway. Ranma seemed to be going further towards the lake that made the city's Southern border. We were nearing an industrial area. I could feel her irritation at Galina's little appearance.

Her showing up like that said a few things. First, that the Russians were able to find Ranma. I could understand why my sisters were up in arms about that. But from what they had told me, Galina had hired a rather powerful cultist. Magical tracking could be a real pain to defeat, no matter what precautions you took.

Even Tessa, with all her experience and sorcerous minions, managed to leave enough behind that we were able to track her to Lomar. Granted, she had gone to ground since then, but we were going to find her again.

Still, Galina could have attacked us. She could also have brought the other five cyborgs. Being outnumbered two-to-one by them would have been... troubling. Instead, Galina did not. A mitigating factor was that my sisters weren't Galina's targets. Serenity and those magical girls were.

Killing Ranma wouldn't get Galina paid. It might bring the Russian a measure of satisfaction, it might make the job of killing the magical girls easier, but the act itself wouldn't satisfy their contract.

What Galina did was, effectively, saying: "Yes, I found you; I could have attacked, but I just want to talk." That she appeared at a gas station was not lost on me. Though, I did wonder how much that made my sister hesitate.

Not that I had any room to cast stones, my first real fight took place at a gas station, which, somehow, burned to the ground.

The bike slowed as we pulled into an abandoned factory complex. I chuckled despite myself. It wasn't quite as arch as an abandoned warehouse, but I suppose when one wanted a large amount of private space in a city the choices were a bit limited.

To my surprise, Ranma drove past the gutted buildings and into a crumbling parking lot. We passed over gravel and cracked asphalt passed by us as we went out to roughly the center of the abandoned lot.

A few weeds had popped out, dotting the bare ground. Other than that, the lot was clear for a few hundred yards around. However as it was surrounded by sagging wood fences and gutted buildings the lot was at least fairly private.

Nabiki and Ranma stopped their bikes and I hopped off. I looked around the buildings. I couldn't see any snipers, grenade teams, missile crews, or whatever nasty weapons the mercenaries were bringing. Which was kind of the point. The lot was also big enough that I couldn't really smell anything. At least it was interesting to know the limits of my new senses.

My coat blew in the breeze as I continued to look about. "We've been stood up?" I asked as Ranma led us away from the bikes.

"They're being told the location now; keeps them from having time to prepare," Ranma said.

"But what if she's following us?" I asked, shrugging my staff against my shoulder.

My sister gave me a bemused look. "That's why we only arrived just now."

"Oh." I frowned. Still, the cyborgs were quick. I'd bet good money Galina had her own backup following her. Which meant that this was rapidly turning into a powder keg.

My sister and niece both shifted into their armor. Kevlar bodysuits and plate-bearing armored skirts and vests appeared over their bodies.

"Being a bit aggressive?"

Ranma tapped the dull-red gem on the center of her chest. Two pairs of long ribbon-like antenna trailed off of it. "I want Jammers up and running."

Nabiki nodded. "Jammers would be good. Especially if she brings..." Something chirped in her vest and she stepped off to the distance.

I nodded. The devices powered up. Their vibrations set my teeth on edge. It also made my horns ache. Noticing that the other two girls were showing their demon forms, I relaxed my glamour and shifted out my wings, horns, and tail.

A bit further away from us, Nabiki was speaking into her radio.

With my horns out the fuzziness retreated and my senses sharpened. Which had a couple of negative effects: First, it made that annoying buzzing worse; Second, it underscored just how exposed we were out in the middle of this lot.

My niece waved her hand, her youthful face tense. She held up two fingers, made a fist and shook it back and forth, and then made a few more esoteric gestures.

Still, I gathered enough of her meaning and I nodded sagely along with my sister. Our guests were coming. I heard the sound of a pair of engines.

Two motorcycles sped onto the lot. They came from the opposite side of the expansive lot. There was Galina's trim form on her red Suzuki bike. And following her was a... man on a shiny silver BMW bike.

I might not know motorcycles, but they parked their bikes just far enough away that I was able to read their brand names or make out their logos. I had to chuckle at the paranoia. In a way it made sense to go for smaller vehicles. A bike had a lot less space to hide a bomb or equipment than a car. Part of me mused on the idea of the mercenaries trying to insist Galina come here on a bicycle. Sure, you could put explosives inside the frame, but that'd be less space to work with.

The two approached. Galina wore a grey bodysuit with red trim. On a cursory glance, it almost passed as motorcycle armor. But as she approached, its military utility became more apparent.

Long limbed, she walked with a crisp, formal grace that reminded me of a professional ballerina. Though her chest was a bit large by ballet dancer standards. Dark brown hair was tied behind an ear and tumbled down her left cheek and shoulder.

Her face was youthful, surprisingly delicate-looking, but her dark eyes were cold. She watched us with a steady gaze. I could feel her tension and resolve. She smelled.... well she smelled fit, fresh, and a bit exotic, like a mixture of new sweat and light machine oil.

As a succubus, I found her intriguing and tempting. But, as a wizard... I swallowed as my senses focused on her. With every smooth step whorls of necromantic energy wafted out from her. Holding my staff, I continued to study her. My sisters had told me these cyborgs were created using magic to link their mechanical components to their organic bodies.

At the time I hadn't really considered what kind of magic would be used to accomplish that. Mortal magic and technology don't play nice, so a magical cyborg was a concept that hurt my head and I didn't give the idea too much thought.

In fairness, that had been one among many dry briefings. Also when Eve started talking about human experimentation using captured Nazi Black Magic research I tended to not question the details.

I forced a smile as Galina approached. In a sick way it made sense. Say you wanted to bond something dead with something alive? Say you had no moral compunctions? Why not use necromancy to build your cyborg army?

The answer: because that's completely insane. Not that insanity ever stopped a necromancer.

Keeping my rictus grin, I shifted my attention to Galina's companion. And I almost fried the brutish looking man on the spot. It wasn't the garish suit the broad-shouldered man wore. Though it was a hideous livid yellow with green squares. It wasn't his horrible striped tie. Nor the neatly-pressed shirt he wore that had a pattern that I swore was actually a summoning rite. It wasn't even the hideous, oily flock-of-seagulls hairdo that perched on his craggy face. Even his briefcase was a sickly green leather.

No, it was the greasy magical energy that emanated from him like a cheap cologne (which he also reeked of). The man was a cultist, blatantly so. He strode forward, thin lips pulled into a mocking grin. Whatever horror he worshiped might not be an Outsider, but whatever it was, it was something best forgotten. Smoked aviator style sunglasses covered his eyes. Worse, the greasy, shimmering energy coming off of him felt vaguely... familiar.

To my side, Ranma gave the cultist a hard glare. She saw him as a threat as well, but most of her attention was on the approaching brunette. Emotions poured off of the redhead. It was a tightly blended mix of anger, interest, and respect.

I could feel my sister's mental state heighten as her emotions sublimated and she entered an almost meditative state. Her emotions were still there, but her mentality had steadied. Her body was even more like a coiled spring, as her motions turned languid and even smoother than the cyborg's.

"Galina A'deen," my sister purred as she strode forward. "What do you want to talk about?"

Nabiki stood a bit off to the side and behind her mother, taking a flanking position and watching our backs.

The Russian and the cultist stopped. They were about twenty feet away from us.

Wind blew over the lot.

Demonic purple eyes met dark cybernetic ones. The two woman stared each other down. I had seen Ranma fight. I had spent the last two days being trained by her. I had a fair idea what my sister was capable of when it came to melee combat.

And frankly, the idea that that cyborg was her match was terrifying.

"So, you two gonna keep posturing or are you gonna whip 'em out and start measuring?" I said.

Growling, Ranma's eyes flickered to me.

The cultist snorted.

"It is an interesting suggestion." Galina's lips quirked and her eyes actually seemed a bit amused.

"Don't you start," Ranma hissed.

"Oh? It's one of yours that suggested it," Galina relaxed her stance. Those cold eyes seemed to scan me. "My, another one? How does the Ryzhaya bestiya find the time?" she asked the cultist.

The brutish man shrugged.

"And what's with bringing him?" Ranma pointed to the cultist. "Mal de Veste's the fool that caused the Ottawa mess."

I narrowed my eyes. Well, I would have, instead I was gaping at his name. Look, I knew Mal de Veste was a pseudonym, but I hadn't quite realized it was also a horrific pun.

The real shock was that I was, at the moment, at a loss for a good quip.

Galina exhaled. "Yes, that."

"Or are you going to blame Shest?" my sister smirked. "It was just the two of them. Your ghosting little cyborg or that big creep. Whose fault was it?"

"There were... complications," irritation flashed on the Russian's delicate face.

"Was stealing a Jammer core really worth all that?" Ranma shrugged. "Well, it's not like any of yours died. So what if you triggered an invasion of Squid monsters."

"I warned her not to trigger a pulse," de Veste grumbled as he held the base of his pinky between the thumb and forefinger of his opposite hand.

"I was hoping I could offer some information," Galina sighed.

Ranma simply stared.

The Russian gave a frustrated noise. I could feel the hate pouring off of her. Like Ranma, she wanted to fight. She saw the succubus as a challenge, but, also like my sister, she held back.

"How about you disco Dan? You bring anything to this other than ugly clothes?"

"Says the gothy, cowgirl fae," Mal grumbled. "Pointy ears, a western shirt, and duster? What, no cowboy boots?" he asked, slowly lowering his briefcase to the ground.

I eyed the case. It was ugly, but less than the rest of the guy's getup.

Galina held up a hand. "Enough. That invasion of Ottawa was not planned; it was not desired."

"Yeah, if you had planned it your girls would have been emplaced to ambush the Senshi when they arrived." Ranma's grin was broad.

Galina allowed a slight chuckle. "You think we're that desperate?"

My sister's purple eyes returned to the Russian and held her gaze.

As the wind blew through the lot, the tension ratcheted up. Fingers flexing, Galina shifted her stance ever so slightly. Leaning down, Mal's large hand went to one of the catches on his briefcase.

I flipped my staff forward, the end suddenly pointing at the brutish man's face. The runes started to smoke and glow. "Don't do anything rash, Fashion Disaster."

The oily man glanced over to Galina; his heavy brow furrowing.

The deceptively delicate Russian made a cutting motion with her hand. Sighing, she met Ranma's gaze. "Think what you will of us. But we do not want a repeat of Ottawa."

"That's why you're here?" I blurted.

"Yes." Galina spared me a moment's glance before going back to Ranma. "We detected something unusual."

"You mean Shest and him found something," the redhead pointed to the cultist.

Galina gave a frosty smile. "Yes and it wasn't until they and Dve'nadtsat researched things that they realized what they had found."

"And I'm sure, that gave you time to move your girls and cover your asses," Nabiki interjected.

"Handy," I noted.

Galina barely concealed the flash of irritation. "The Moon Queen has... unconventional reconnaissance assets, and we are on guard against such intrusion."

"Wait..." I raised my staff away from Mal's face. "Lady Pluto. You're scared of a little girl?"

The Russian glared at my niece then at me. "That green-haired, red-eyed... thing is no little girl." Her expression flickered and she went back to Ranma. "Nor is it the first one that Zaika has employed."

Mal rumbled something that might have been a laugh.

"What did you find? And where?" Ranma asked.

"Finally, to the point. If I may?" Galina asked and gestured to the briefcase.

Ranma made no attempt to cover up the glow in her eyes or the sparks coming off her fingers as she took aim at the Russian. "By all means," my sister smiled.

Unperturbed, Galina nodded to Mal.

The brutish man knelt down to his briefcase. He stared at me. Or at least I think he did, it was hard to tell with those smoked sunglasses.

I turned my eyes just to the side. There was no way I was going to Soul Gaze with him. Still, I moved my staff back into position.

Bulky, slab-like hands undid the catches with surprising nimbleness, and he slowly opened the case. There was no explosion. There was no out-rush of poison gas. There wasn't even a cache of weapons.

Instead, there was simply a pile of plain papers held together with a heavy binder clip. The papers started to blow and fan about in the wind. I could see pages of copied handwritten notes, a few maps with margin scrawls, and printouts of... well it looked like old style radar displays overlaid on the screen from an Asteroids arcade machine.

I blinked. "Huh."

Ranma gave the binder a quick look. "Ah, so not a location?"

"Shest says it's a non-localized phenomenon," Galina shrugged.

"They're moving. I'd say they're testing around, seeing which place is the weakest," Mal stated, his voice flat. "Though the more they test the more it resonates, eventually they'll get lucky and find the right spot."

I gripped my staff. The brute of a man said that last part almost admiringly. Well of course, someone that worshiped squid-gods would approve of Tessa's scheme. "Lucky?" I asked with a bit of scorn.

There was more than my distaste with this man. Tessa was many things. Sure she was more impulsive than husband Nicodemus, but she was still a devious schemer. She had invested a lot of work in this plot. And my gut said she wouldn't have the final summoning depend on luck.

Mal pulled back his lips. "For them. This is fertile ground, they can take advantage of the worm-rot that's riddled reality." He made a show of looking me over.

I shivered. He wasn't wrong. If you were skilled enough and knew where to look you could pull magical energy from just about anything. Even a body of water held power, especially if it had historical or ritual significance. Or if you were lazy, the human body had plenty of energy. And Tessa was more than willing to slaughter hundreds to pull off a sacrifice.

The brutish man almost sneered. "You might not be of the Rune Order but you're one of the wise. Tell me you can't feel the futile ending, the imminent collapse."

I snorted. "Next you'll be telling me the Stars are Right and then offer me some pamphlets."

"Not yet they're not, but soon." The man in the ugly suit laughed. "Besides, proselytizing you would be pointless."

"Is it?" I flexed my hand on my staff.

"Pentacle choker, enchanted duster, sidhe blood, stink of magic, and oh yes, wizard's staff." Mal smirked. "Yes, I'd say you're a player." He inhaled and his thin lips forced to a smile.

Both Galina and Ranma looked annoyed while Nabiki side stepped so she could stand flank to me.

"Me? Player? We've got a magic cyborg and mercenary demons, don't they count?" I asked

Mal smoothed his tie. "Please. For all Miss A'deen's experience, this is her first real operation against magical targets. "

Galina's eyes narrowed at the cultist.

"And while your..." Mal tilted his head. "Sister?" he asked then nodded. "While she may be more clued in... it's as a killer. She'll use the arcane, but as a weapon. She won't study for the sake of the art."

Ranma gave a tiny nod of agreement.

"But you...." Mal put his thumb and forefinger over the base of his opposite pinky.

I then recognized that motion. It was a nervous habit, as if he were spinning a pinky ring, but he wore no jewelry.

"You, understand." His smile seemed genuine. It did not make his features any more pleasant to look at. "Oh, we may not agree, but... we might understand each other, one philomath to another."

"Fat chance Mongo," I sniffed. I could handle the lummox's aloof insults; that was fine. But this... respect was wrong. Hired muscle, cultist or not, shouldn't express an intellectual kinship. They certainly shouldn't even know the word philomath. This oily clod being a lover of arcane learning made as much sense as mob-boss Marcone's bodyguard having a graduate degree.

Okay that wasn't fair, I knew "Cujo" Hendricks at least went to college. Sure, it was because he played university football. Which... I'll admit was more than I could claim. Hells Bells, I didn't even complete High School. Sure, I had my GED, which was technically the same, but...

Frowning, I glanced at my sister. It was still probably more formal education than Ranma had gotten. If her stories about spending over a decade travelling over China, Tibet, Korea, and Japan learning martial arts were true, then she had even less schooling than I did. On the other hand, she had claimed to have been trained at a monastery alongside Dr. Steven Strange.

I was pretty sure she was joking about that. My other sisters... well I knew even less about their schooling. Not that it really mattered. Dr. Saotome was definitely an educated woman and she wasn't ashamed about her daughters... myself included.

Mal's blunt smile was worryingly familiar. He knew more than he let on. "If you say so," he chuckled. "One doesn't have to agree with an artist, or even like the art, to appreciate the skill involved."

My eyes narrowed slightly. Some of the most technically skilled magic I had seen was done by the Denarians. I recalled a series of circles that used crystals, statues, images, caged sound and light, all to build a prison for a special little girl. It was terrifyingly complex and took centuries of skill to create. It was also extremely satisfying to smash up with my staff.

He seemed to make a point of studying my face. The big man then shrugged. "Deny it then," he said, a little bit disappointed. "If you fear your brood would think ill of you."

I gave a frustrated growl and split my attention between him and the cyborg. If I could risk it, I'd ignore the unpleasant man completely.

His obnoxious, ugly grin returned.

Feeling very weary at all this, I thought about the vial in my coat pocket. I wondered if I could use a bit of a "pick me up", or if me downing a magical potion would cause an incident. There was also that this was the first potion I had made as a succubus, and used new ingredients, so I couldn't be sure it would work, let alone know its side effects.

Ranma glanced at me. I could feel a spike of impatience come off of her as she made a "are you done now?" expression.

Chastised, I nodded. Then I glared at Mal's smug little chuckle.

"Your information is tempting," the redhead looked down at the still-open briefcase. Papers fluttered in the wind. "But why should we accept? What is your price?"

"Price?" Galina took a step closer to the briefcase before de Veste. "What good is completing our contract if the world ends?"

"You want to enjoy your money. How capitalistic," Ranma stated.

I blinked. I didn't think it was possible for the Russian's eyes to get colder.

"Not everyone can cling to powerful patrons," Galina said.

"Yeah, sucks that the commies decided to kill you all for being too expensive," my sister shrugged. "Good thing the Church was able to save your chrome-plated butts."

A minute tremor rippled through the cyborg's body. It was a tiny tell, but that the Russian had any reaction at all told me she was furious.

"Don't be so arrogant tvar," Galina hissed. "We all make plans for our survival. I know you're not simple enough to pretend your masters will never betray you." The Russian's eyes darted to me for a moment. "What is the old mercenary saying about payments, de Veste?'

"They don't have to pay you if you're dead," Mal grumbled.

Galina gave another smile. This time, disturbingly, it reached her eyes. "I intend for my team to get paid for my troubles, tvar. I intend for there to be a world left after we conclude our mission."

"Ah," I said, realization dawning. "That's your price."

The Russian turned to me. I pulled back from her gaze.

"Say you kill the magical girls. The Moon Queen, her princess... whoever. Afterwards, she'll be coming after you," I stuck a thumb towards Ranma. "But... what if she was just a bit slow?"

My sister set her jaw.

The Russian's lips tugged up into a predatory smile. "Or perhaps just her. Maybe others delayed. Maybe it comes down to me and her. I buy time for my girls to escape."

A crimson eyebrow rose. I didn't have to see my sister's tail to know her interest.

Galina took another sidestep, both closer to the briefcase and to Ranma. "Maybe I die. Maybe you die. Maybe both die."

"We could fight right now," Ranma stated.

"Messy, we're not alone." The Russian made a show of looking around. "You want intimacy."

I could feel the emotions flicker across my sister. Letting assassins get away with murder so she could indulge in a one-on-one duel? I'd like to say that she'd never make such a deal. Hells Bells, I'd like to say I'd never make such a deal. But… I was a succubus working for the Winter Court.

"Tempting." Ranma licked her lip. "Still, this doesn't make up for you goons... accidentally causing that Ottawa mess. Especially him."

"Yeah, why even bring Fashion Disaster if he'll just antagonize us?" I asked. Seeing Galina's eyes flash with amusement, I frowned. Had I given her a setup line?

The Russian nodded. "Would you believe I brought him for his expertise?" she asked with faux levity.

My frown deepened. I had given her a setup line. Well it wasn't the first time, and that was the downside of being snarky, sometimes you setup opportunities for others to snark. Strangely, I noticed concern color Mal's features.

Galina glanced down at the briefcase, her feet were now a couple of feet from it. "Fine. Since you doubt my intentions." Her arm suddenly blurred. There was a flash as a blade appeared between her fingers.

In one smooth, almost too-fast-to-see, motion the knife slid out and sliced out the right half of Mal's neck. Blood gushed out and my nose was tickled with a scent that both hungered and repulsed me.

The bleeding man's form also blurred, his limbs taking an iridescent edge. He reached to draw his gun but Galina's other hand darted out and pinned it in place. In a flash Mal tried to turn to break the grip, and drew a grenade from a coat pocket. But the cyborg was on him and closed in.

Still in the same initial flashing arc, her knife flipped around and slashed Mal's left hand.

As the grenade tumbled to the ground, the blade flicked and stabbed. Dozens of wounds appeared as his liver and kidneys were cut to ribbons. Twitching, the cultist began to slump forward. Before he could topple, Galina reversed her grip and stabbed the knife straight into Mal's heart.

I stared. The cyborg's attack was over in less than a second. I had seen people skilled with blades before. A wanna-be cult leader named Aristedes was one. A nasty piece of work, he, before being crippled, was inhumanly fast with a blade thanks to a knack for kinetomancy.

Nicodermous was another. I didn't know how the Russian would fare against a millennia old Denarian, but anyone short of that... I shivered. Suddenly, my sister's… interest in Galina took on a more disturbing edge.

The brutish man's glasses had been knocked off, he blinked up at her with surprise and slumped over. His body hit the briefcase sending it spinning closer to me. Letting go of his gun, Galina's other hand flicked and a new blade appeared and was used to slit the other side of his neck. It as a quick, but economical motion and this time blood poured out in a much more sedate flow.

Blood pooled around the body. I sniffed the air. The cultist was dead. Something... something I could eat was gone. My stomach churned. And it wasn't because of the body. Sure I'd seen a lot of death, caused more than a bit myself.

But I'm still not kosher with sudden, cold-blooded murder, even if it's a freaky cultist. But this time I could feel it. I could feel the man's spirit, his soul leave the body. I wondered if this was how my former apprentice Molly felt around death. She was very empathic, and could feel... everything. That also might make her new duties as the Winter Lady... complicated.

Still, I knew violence was something that Molly had a hard time dealing with... well until I died and she had her whole Ragged Lady revenge thing.... which wasn't exactly a sign of mental stability really. Let's put it this way, Molly was homeless and being trained by Lea.


Keep in mind that Lea is as ruthless a trainer as my sister, except with less warm and fuzzy "people skills".

However, I'm pretty sure that when Molly felt someone die her reaction wasn't more... hungry than anything else. My body reacted like it had seen a donut roll off a plate and onto the ground: something delicious had been lost.

On one level it was disturbing. But that didn't keep my stomach from churning. Spirit aside, there was still a corpse before me. The really disturbing part was that wasn't why my stomach was churning. To my new senses, splattered before me was a pile of meat, but it was wrong.

Okay. Imagine you buy a pork loin, a nice roast, a good pork shoulder, or a fresh fillet of salmon. Some large piece of savory meat. Something you bought that just makes your mouth water. You got the grill ready; you got spices; you made sides. All in preparation for a sumptuous meal.

So, it's with that level of eager anticipation that you unwrap your prize, ready to cook it. And then the smell hits you. The meat had turned. Oh, it wasn't putrefied, it wasn't green and rotting, but it was spoiled nonetheless. And, suddenly, anticipation turns to frustrated disappointment.

That's what Mal de Veste's body smelled like to me.

Still holding my staff, I shivered.

Glancing over, I saw my sister seem utterly nonplussed by the murder she had just witnessed. In fact, if anything, Ranma seemed annoyed by the interruption. She had held up one arm and made a fist. I wasn't sure what the hand signal meant. Probably something like "Don't shoot, she only killed one of her own men."

Picking up the grenade, Galina slowly rose. She scoffed at the lumpy little device and, meeting Ranma's eyes, pulled the pin.

The redhead's stance shifted, I readied my staff.

The Russian dropped the grenade; it landed on the body with a plop. After a couple seconds it popped and shimmering, fire spewed out as the strangely iridescent incendiary started to burn clothes and flesh.

I gagged at the smell coming from the corpse being burned in eldritch flames. Remember my metaphor about spoiled meat? Yeah, imagine cooking it, while also burning a bunch of wool-polyester blend fabric.

The Russian seemed to ignore my distress "You can have what's left, I just want to make sure the bastard doesn't get back up."

Ranma simply continued her hard glare. To my relief, I could at least feel some disquiet from my niece. Nabiki also coughed.

"Satisfied?" Galina asked as she kicked the briefcase over to the redhead.

"Skeptical," Ranma stated.

"You just killed one of your men!" I blurted.

Galina gave me a cold smile. "No. I killed a contractor. One who tried to corrupt my men. One that failed in a spectacular manner." She took a moment to study the burning body. Despite the grenade's help, it was turning into a smoldering mess. "His expertise was not worth the trouble."

"So, you kept him around to show off to us," Ranma stated flatly, her expression almost bored. Despite her poker face, I could feel that my sister was a bit disturbed and quite distrustful of the cyborg's reaction.

"Fine. Read the documents. Consider my offer." Galina glared. "Keep the body. Eat it. Dissect it. I don't care. It's more than he deserves."

"That it?" Ranma asked, keeping her bland tone.

"We're done," Galina turned on a heel and made it a point to walk to her bike with her back facing us.

I glanced over at my sister. My staff moved fractionally.

My sister appeared to consider the offer. She knew I could try to hex her.

And I was pretty sure that necromancy or not, a wizard's anti-technology magic would have to make things difficult for a cyborg. At the very least it would give Ranma an edge against her. At the most... we could stop her.

The redhead sighed and shook her head.

I blinked. "Really?" I whispered.

Ranma made a sweeping motion with her finger, as if to indicate all the hidden, tense people watching this little meeting. Apparently, Galina could kill one of her goons without sparking a crossfire, but I doubted we could attack her without having her backup intercede.

"Well, this is going to be a pain to deal with," Nabiki sighed at the corpse.

Galina had reached her bike and with a rev of the engine drove away.

"We're not chasing her?" I asked

"We are not," my sister said, stressing the first word as she met my gaze.

I glared at de Veste's body. The flames had died down and what remained... wasn't pretty. "And so now we have to baby sit a corpse?"

"Screw that," Ranma snorted. "Galina's girls are still staking out this location." She kicked the briefcase closed and, leaving it there, started walking back to her motorcycle. "We'll meet up with the others, sweep the area, and then secure the body and the file."

"Sweep?" I frowned looking around the expansive factory.

Ranma's tail swished behind her. "Think of it as a training exercise."

***************


Looking out the van's window, I watched the streets scroll past. Glancing over, I saw my sister was doing much the same, though her purple gaze seemed a bit more focused. I then turned to the man sitting next to me.

"You okay?" Butters asked

I flashed him a smile. "I didn't know you cared."

"You did have an exciting day," the smaller man noted.

"I've seen death before," I said a bit more petulantly than I intended.

The doctor eyed me. He gave a slight nod. 'It wasn't the first time you went through paranoid scribblings either."

I chuckled. "I didn't do much. You had Dirac and Doc De Cotis helping you. You guys are a regular brain trust," I laughed as the van turned down another road. "That allowed me to go off and train with my sister."

Butter's face clouded while Ranma gave an amused smirk.

"You sure you're fine?"

"A bit hungry," I shrugged.

His contemplative look returned. "You saw someone murdered, you read the paranoid confessions of a Russian girl who saw too much, and you were happy to... train with your crazy sister? And all that seems fine to you?"

"I told you, this is old hat for me." I exhaled. "Seen loads of bodies, witnessed plenty of murders already."

"And? No feelings of... hunger."

"No, and not today either," I huffed.

Ranma tilted her head. She could tell I was lying.

"But was that because he was a cultist?" Butters asked, his voice quiet.

I glared at him.

Butters held my gaze. "I talked with Dr. Tofu. He showed me the body. Even I could tell it was... wrong."

"You are a Knight."

Butters laughed. "I'm a medical examiner."

"The meat was spoiled," Ranma noted.

"I wouldn't know," I grumbled as the van slowed down and rolled towards a gate.

"Really?" Butters shrugged. "I would have thought he had been killed a lot earlier based on the corpse Dr. Tofu had on his slab."

I sighed and looked back out the window. A mercenary in business casual was talking to the driver while another swept the vehicle. I looked at the gate, guardhouse, and fence blocking the small roadway. On first glance it looked like the setup one would see surrounding a private gated community.

However, the posts, bollards, fences, and structures were a bit more reinforced than they initially appeared. Looking down the road, I studied the houses closer to the gate. A couple of them had shutters over some of their windows. If I were a paranoid sort, maybe I'd do more than stash vehicles in those garages. Maybe I'd have rifles, or machine guns, or rocket launchers stationed in those houses.

Pop open the shutters and open fire. Or if I was really being paranoid I'd have the weapons behind the windows without shutters. Or skip the windows entirely and just have part of the wall slide open.

A motor clicked on and the gate began to pull across the road, and I shook my head. "You know, someone'd think you're paranoid, Red," I told my sister.

Butters grimly chuckled. "Really, Harry? You had enough wards in your old place to keep out a zombie army."

"Well, yes," I pouted.

"Sounds prudent," the driver said as he maneuvered the van up the driveway.

"Sure Gabe, but even against Pattern Z's pure defense isn't enough," Ranma said as she slid open the door.

"Well..." I shook my head. "See, my Wards aren't entirely defensive."

After hopping out of the van, the redhead turned to face me.

"Lots of lighting and thunder. Plenty of zombie chunks."

"Hah!"

"Yeah..." Laughing nervously, Butters looked a bit queasy as he climbed out. That whole zombie-filled, necromancer-throw-down Halloween wasn't the first time Butters had been exposed to the supernatural, but it was the first time his life had been threatened by it. The first time he'd seen someone killed by magic. Being chased by a zombified coworker does leave an impression.

Sliding over the bench, I frowned at the open door. Gripping one of the grab handles I leveraged myself up.

Watching me try to maneuver out of the van, Butters raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm not used to a long skirt!" I yelled, my face flushing a bit as I levered my legs and managed to plant my feed on the driveway.

Butters turned to Ranma.

"I tried to get her to wear pants," the redhead defended.

The little doctor turned me.

"Have you tried walking with hooves?" I smoothed my skirt. "And a gentleman's supposed to offer a lady a hand when she gets out of a car."

Butters just groaned.

"At least she's not hitting on you," Ranma offered as we started walking towards the front door.

I gave a haughty sniff. "Well, I was going to suggest we go over what the Russian gave us, just the two of us."

"Wow, a date studying eldritch data," Butters dryly said.

"With a beautiful succubus!" I stomped a foot.

"Well, Dirac did think the Russian's data could collate with his." Butters shook his head.

"Yes, yes I saw the big map the three of you had pinned to the wall."

"We are making progress, but it still feels like a needle in a haystack," Butters shook his head as Ranma opened the door.

"Welcome to the world of Private Investigating," I shrugged, entering the foyer. My hooves tingled a bit as I crossed the threshold. "At least you don't have to go searching through a dumpster for clues. I never did get those jeans cleaned." Despite the irritation at the memory, seriously butcher shops could make some nasty garbage, I did feel better. It was probably the warm feelings the household gave me, that and I could feel another of my sisters.

"Or bribing pixies with pizza," Butters added closing the door behind him.

I rolled my eyes. "That's easy. Let me tell you, there's some spirits that you really don't want to summon unless you're desperate."

"Wait... pixies... pizza?" Ranma asked.

"Nevermind that," I waved her off.

"Your godmother?" Butters asked.

"Yes, you want to be careful summoning her," I huffed.

"No... her," Butters gestured.

Sniffing, I turned away from the knight and down the hallway. And then I saw my lavender-haired sister Cecilia and my red-haired godmother exit the kitchen. Laughing, the pair approached us.

"Goddaughter, thou art finally back. Now, we mustn't tarry," Leanansidhe imperiously said. She paused and sniffed the air. "Thou smell of death."

"Uh... yes?"

Cecilia arched a lavender eyebrow. Ranma met her gaze and gave a tiny shake of her head followed by shifting her tail.

"Was it fulfilling?" Lea asked.

"No, she kinda just stood there and watched," Ranma explained.

"Ah." Making a disappointed noise, Lea took my arm. "Still, that dost mean thy hunger remaineth doest it not?"

Looking into her green eyes I sighed. That is to say I totally didn't bite my lip in a trembling pout, and I certainly did paw at the floor with a hoof.

The lavender-haired woman moved in to hug me. She hardly came up to my shoulders, but I still purred at the contact. Butters looked somewhat uncomfortable, where Lea simply watched with an intrigued expression.

"Poor hungry little succubus," Cecilia assured. "Don't you worry."

Ranma cleared her throat. "Sister, a moment?" she asked, a formal edge to her voice.

Turning, Cecilia met her eyes. To my surprise, she didn't wilt under that intense purple gaze. "But of course," she said, bowing her head.

The two stepped out of the foyer, down a hall and into the living room, and started talking in hushed whispers. I tried to Listen and... blinked. They were speaking Latin, really, really mangled Latin. Okay, that was strange.

Now Latin was the official language of the White Council. So, it was something I knew. Sure, I had learned via a dodgy correspondence course but even my meager skills were better than this. It sounded like they were speaking a fluid Creole of Latin and something more.... harsh.

But it was hard to tell, for one the two rarely said a complete sentence, and there were whole exchanges that were nothing more than flicks of the tail, crossed expressions, rolls of the shoulders and at most a word or two.

Cecilia was making some kind of case, and her stance was almost aggressive as she argued, I could feel her passion emanating. Ranma, on the other hand, was... apprehensive. Her motions were clipped and the emotions I got from her were... hesitant and muted. The redhead seemed to be dipping into her well of self-control, and was trying to at least understand her sister's argument, whatever it was. There was also an uncertainty and hesitation that I had never seen in her before.

Lea had slipped up next to me. "Fascinating aren't they? Even when using brood cant they are expressive and lovely. They really can't help themselves."

"I wonder if my heart shows on my sleeve like that," I whispered.

Lea gave a musical laugh. "Oh Poppet, it always has. No, in many ways, this change for thee is most... appropriate."

As my sisters returned, I crossed my arms. "Okay, what's this little tiff you two are having about me?"

"How do you know you're the focus?" Butters asked.

"Because they wouldn't have excluded me otherwise," I said tapping a hoof, eyeing Ranma.

Cecilia, for her part, shot a smug look to her sister.

Ranma didn't even have the decency to look chastised. "Cecilia has pointed out some unique needs of yours. Ones that my training may have overlooked."

Now, Ranma looked embarrassed. I had to keep from rolling my eyes. I could understand pride.

"You've used my expertise too, Sister," Cecilia sweetly said.

"Yes, and you've pointed out she doesn't have the time to grow that we had," Ranma agreed. Her tone was even but I could see the stiffness in how her tail was curled. I wasn't feeling any anger directed at me it was more a feeling of guilt at her own inadequacies.

My foot rang against the floor gain. "And what exactly are you planning?" I asked Cecilia.

Lea took my arm. "A lovely meal to sate thy hunger, goddaughter."

I frowned wondering what kind of meal Ranma, of all people, would object to.

"That and a bit of dress-up," Cecilia allowed.

"Perhaps rectify her coiffure," Lea added.

"Don't let them drive you to do anything you're not comfortable with," Ranma said, then met Cecilia's eyes. After the lavender-haired woman bowed her head, Ranma looked to Lea.

The other redhead quirked her lip. "She's been my Goddaughter longer," Lea grinned flashing her pointed canines.

Ranma's lips pulled into a smile, one that deliberately did not show her teeth. "No, she's your goddaughter, because of me."

"She'd got you there, Lea. In over a decade you couldn't turn me into a hound. But about a week with her and..." I shrugged.

"Probably should have offered something better than a hound," Ranma said.

"Perhaps," Lea gave an airy sniff. "Perhaps thou had better opportunities."

My sister shrugged. "Harry's the one that begged me. Even thought she'd end up an incubus."

Lea's lips curled in amusement. "Really? Such a silly poppet."

"Thomas has nothing but succubus sisters. Maybe I could have been like him," I muttered.

Both my sisters laughed. "And as for opportunity... yes. I mean your queen managed to make Dresden hers."

"I am not Mab's!" I stated.

Everyone gave me a skeptical look, including Butters.

"Anyway." Ranma gave a little cough. "My point stands, you can say no to either of them. Don't think you can be forced."

"Such tiresome morality," Lea sighed.

My redheaded sister blinked. "I eat people."

Lea chuckled. "As if cannibalism is a noteworthy distinction. Who among us has not partaken?"

"I haven't," Butters said.

"Knights," Lea scoffed.

I crossed my arms again.

Lea gave me, what I presume, was indented as a reassuring smile. "Thou art young. And thou hast not yet hadst a real fight in thy new body." Her hands fluttered. "La, all this talk, come we mustn't tarry. We have to get thee ready for thy dinner."

"Uh..." I said as Lea put her hand back on my arm and started guiding me up the stairs. "What about Butters?"

"Oh, we hadn't planned on your companion coming," Cecilia said.

"It might be best to leave the knight, Poppet. Besides, I'm sure Sir Butters can findeth something... worthy to busy himself with," Lea said giving me a gleaming smile. "Regardless, we've arranged for thine escort,"

"I can hitch a ride back to the brain trust and go over the data," Butters offered. "That is if you're okay with this."

"See," Lea grandly said. "You should trust the Knight of the Sword."

"Really? Weren't you just complaining about their morality?"

"In this particular situation," she smoothly assured tugging me upwards.

"Oh?" I turned to my sisters, but I was already up the stairs.

"Excellent," Cecilia said, helping me towards my room.

"Escort?" I asked as they sat me in front of a vanity in the guest room I had been using. From the makeup scattered about I had figured out this was Misako's stash. None of my other nieces were quite so... involved in cosmetology.

"Hush now," Lea said as she picked up a silver hairbrush and started running it through my hair.

I'm a big enough person to admit that I may have stopped protesting at that, and my eyes just might have lost focus, and I might have begun to purr.

"She is so much more agreeable like this," Lea absently noted.

"Young broodlings tend to be that way," Cecilia said as she pulled an ivory and sapphire colored silk dress out of the closet.

I gave it a suspicious eye. It looked custom-made and I wondered how long Cecilia had been planning this. On the other hand, her daughters were remarkably fast at hemming clothes and alterations.

My suspicions about the dress's bespoke nature came after Lea stripped me out of my skirt and top, gave me a new set of foundation garments, and slipped the silken clothes on me. The dress had a long shimmering dark azure skirt with ivory trim and a constellation of twinkling sequins. Above a shiny ruby belt, the dress' top was a low-cut shimmering ivory with crimson piping as trim.

As Cecilia adjusted the dress, I noted its sleek lines. There were no ruffles, gathers, or pleats. Other than the trim and the handful of sequins it was more understated and elegant. This was especially when I thought back to the gowns that my other sister wore. And, uh, the ones I tended to wear.

Furthering the contrast was how they did my hair. There was no elaborate headdress, no fancy updo. Instead my pale Alice blue hair was brushed out and a silver snowflake ornament was pinned over one ear.

Even the makeup they put on was more understated and elegant. Sure it was more than I'd worn ever before this trip. Well if you discount the times I've appeared on the Larry Fowler show, but studio makeup doesn't count. But it was also a lot less than when I was all... fae.

I quirked an eyebrow at Lea. "Are you sure you guys aren't holding back?"

"We do have more experience than thee," Lea reminded.

Cecilia giggled. "Ah, to be young and want to show off."

"And I would hardly consider our efforts to be subtle," Lea said as she polished my choker.

"But..."

"It's a sliding scale, Sister," Cecilia said as she started filling a shiny blue leather purse with various spell components and bits from my duster's pockets.

"Hey," I pouted.

Cecilia looked up from slipping my revolver into the large purse. She gave a put upon expression. "Yes, I know Ranma and Eve don't like off-body carry, but they're a bit anal, and I don't want to spend the time getting a thigh holster rig for you."

"That's not what I meant," I grumbled.

"Shame, it would make thee more observant if it were," Lea noted. She inspected my face, then peered into the mirror Cecilia had positioned me in front of. "I suppose you're presentable enough."

I stared. On the left side of the glass was an elegant, willowy lavender haired succubus. On the right was a mad-eyed redheaded sidhe. And between...

I had started to get used to my reflection. Okay maybe not my tall, sleek sidhe succubus form, but I was getting used to looking into mirrors.

Look, it's a wizard thing. Lots of stuff can use mirrors to travel through, and I had gotten into the habit of not having mirrors in my house, and not using them much. But now...

Tail swishing, I gazed into my reflection. The dress was less skimpy than I expected but was still very flattering. As Lea gave some finishing touches to my makeup, Cecilia slipped the purse up my arm and over my shoulder, its contents gave a reassuring clink as it settled against my hip.

"I suppose she's passable," Cecilia said as she put the makeup and other bits of kit away.

"I wouldst not disagree with thy statement," Lea agreed, pulling my arm.

"Uh... are you sure about this?"

"Oh, you'll have fun," Cecilia assured as they took me out of the room and down the hall.

My tail curled as I wobbled down the stairs. At least they hadn't tried to saddle me with high heels. "But what if..."

"I'll be with you the whole time; I promise," Cecilia reassured.

Ranma was waiting by the front door at the bottom of the stairs. She looked my dress over, and despite the slight worry crossing her face I could feel the amusement wafting off of her.

"Not bad looking," my sister admitted. "She's still so tall."

"Why a complimentary dress hem is so vital," Lea said.

Smiling, Ranma then exchanged a look with Cecilia. There was the barest wisp of reluctance as she opened the front door. "Your ride's ready."

"Excellent," Cecilia said as she helped me across the foyer.

Ranma's gaze went to my purse. "Have fun," she grinned, flashing her teeth.

"So, where are we going to eat?" I asked after settling down into the van. Lea seemed to take a quick moment to eye the mercenaries in the front row. Though a reassuring smile from Nariko seemed to placate her.

I was a bit surprised to see my niece there. The dark-haired woman gave Lea a polite nod, which the sidhe returned.

"Someplace special." Cecilia observed as the van left the private lane the brood's houses were on and started transiting public roads.

"Oh? What kind of food? Ranma found a great BBQ place for lunch..."

"I think Desiree is preparing a fish meal," Cecilia allowed.

"Really?' I nodded as the van continued to drive. "Wait... your daughter's cooking?"

"Yes," Cecilia noted with price. "Desiree got a few lessons from Ukyou. And Hazel is helping her."

I blinked. "Sister... where are we going?" I asked putting my hand on my purse. The presence of the potion and a bunch of my spell components was strangely reassuring.

Lea laughed. "Only now dost it occur to thee to ask?"

I pouted

"Her placidity was helpful in retaining the surprise." Cecilia looked out the window, down the road. "Ah, we're here."

"Where?" I repeated.

The van slowed and pulled up a winding driveway. Even in the twilight the grounds were well manicured and full of trees with ornate lamps lighting our way. I was reminded a bit of the property Chateau Raith was situated on. Though on a smaller scale. This familiarity continued when I caught sight of the mansion at the end of the driveway.

It was nowhere near as large as the building Lara lived in. But she ran the White Court of Vampires from that mansion. Heck, as her base of operations, it had an administrative wing with offices and cubicles.

That was one thing my sisters and the mercenaries they worked for had to their advantage: no cubicles.

My thoughts were interrupted by the van stopping and my family starting to disembark. "Okay... it's a nice place, but where are we?" I asked.

"Home." Nariko gave a little smile. "Well, my other home," she added, and I could detect a bit of sadness emanating from her.

"Huh?"

As we walked up the stone front steps, Lea made a disappointed noise.

"She'll figure it out, give her time," Cecilia assured.

"I am aware of my goddaughter's slowness," Lea stated.

"Other home..." my eyes widened. "This is your father's place?" I asked Nariko.

My niece gave a little nod.

"This is Drake Kuno's place."

Cecilia gave an approving nod.

"Why are we having dinner with him?"

My sister's smile became strained.

Lea, for her part, laughed. "Oh, poppet. Art thou really so limited in thy imagination?"

The door opened and an innocent-looking young brunette woman in a dark green dress with a white apron welcomed us in.

"Hi Hazel!" I nodded to my niece.

"Oooh, lovely dress," she said guiding me inside.

"How are the arrangements?" Cecilia asked as she stepped in.

"Very good, Desiree says the meal is almost ready."

Lea looked at the doorway and flashed Nariko a look.

My niece's red eyes flashed. "I'm sorry," she bowed her head. "Please do come in." She looked at me and I nodded. "I'd love to have you as a guest of the family," Nariko added.

Lea's lips quirked as she crossed the threshold. "Which family?"

I grumbled at her.

My godmother gave me a winning smile.

Giving a dismissive sniff, I looked around the foyer. It was larger than the Saotome-Tendo residence, however, it had a similar modern, almost sparse, decoration style. There were pale grey accents to the walls and the lighting was indirect and the floor sparkled with polished grey stones.

"I heard we have guests?" a booming voice said as a tall man came in from a darkened side room.

A large, burly man, he wore an ash-grey suit with a muted burgundy tie and white shirt. There was a little gold leaf pin on his jacket lapel. His tousled hair was wild and tumbled down his shoulders. His form was a broad and formidable, like a former hockey bruiser but without the scars. He was Japanese, but he also had, from what I could see, a bit of a boater's tan.

A couple of inches shorter than me, his intense eyes had a faraway look before they settled on me. He smiled at me, with an expression that seemed to indicate he was familiar with the secrets of the universe.

In fairness, I actually have seen that expression on people who did dig too deeply into things man was not meant to know. He walked over and without any prompting hugged Nariko.

That confirmed what I had suggested. This was the Drake.

Purring slightly, Nariko returned the embrace.

I stepped a bit to the side as the two conversed. The two quickly caught up. The Drake was clearly proud of his daughter, and while I could feel the love between them there was a bit of awkwardness on her part.

I turned aside not, wanting to pry. Not that it made a difference; I could still feel my niece's emotions. A bit of his emotions flickered through my connection to her.

Glancing over, I saw Lea giving me a knowing smile. "Isn't it sweet?" she asked.

"It is," I absently noted. I glanced over and frowned a bit at my godmother.

"Something wrong?"

My tail flicked. "You're being nice."

She fluttered her eyes coyly "Flatterer."

"See, that's what I'm talking about. Normally, your training is more... aggressive."

My godmother made a tiny noise of bemusement.

"I know how you taught me to defeat Justin DuMorne. I know how you taught Molly."

"Let us presume your knowledge is correct," Lea allowed. "What of it?"

"You're up to something."

Lea gave me a pitying look.

"That's not what I mean?"

"Then what do you mean, Poppet?"

I stomped a foot, but that just caused her to laugh more.

"Apologies for my delay," the Drake said as he stepped over to us. "You must be the lovely Miss Stone, a pleasure," he said taking my hand and bowing slightly. "Allow me to say you have beautiful hair."

I blinked and almost sputtered. His smile was nice enough, and something was tickling my nose. "It's BlackStone; one word," I said.

"Oh, please forgive my rudeness," He looked chastised but there was still a ghost to his grin. "I'll have to make it up to you."

I chuckled and looked down at him, fortunately keeping my gaze on his lips wasn't... that onerous. "If you insist, but I'll hold you to that oath."

Lea nodded approvingly.

"Well, I have to make sure the Drake does not disappoint you Miss BlackStone," he said, offering his arm.

Cecilia caught my eye. Her expression seemed to say "it's your choice"

Giving her a slight nod, I took the offered arm it and let him draw me further into the mansion.

The others trailed behind us, except for Hazel, who went off into a side hallway, presumably towards the kitchen.

The house seemed a bit empty. Sure the corridor and rooms were well-appointed. The furniture was nice but not ostentatious. The rooms were well decorated but it was... cold. I could tell that people still lived here. This house had a threshold after all, but there was a sense of emptiness. I knew the Drake was a widower and Nariko lived with her mother. So that was two people who had left. I wondered if Nariko had other human siblings.

He led us through a cool living room full of dark leather chairs and couches and across a dining room appointed with a heavy polished oak table and matching chairs. The lights were low in both rooms and I caught a somewhat approving look on Lea's face.

I was still worried about what her angle was in all this. And I wasn't sure if her working with my "normal" sister was reassuring or worrying.

Soon enough the Drake slowed and took care to help me down a handful of steps and into a smaller, more intimate room. The effort wasn't required, I had gotten used to walking with these legs, but it was appreciated. I flashed him a smile and looked around.

We were in a patio that overlooked the mansion's back garden. The grounds had been banked down for winter, but the lantern-illuminated statuary and reflecting pool still gave a nice view. In the summer, and during the day, this place must have really been something

A few tables clustered around the room. My hooves rang against the tiles as I looked out the large windows. Despite myself, I pouted when the Drake let go of my arm.

Behind me, he pulled out a chair, and after giving my arm a gentle, but firm, tug he motioned for me to sit. Taking the seat I smoothed my dress as he pushed the chair in.

As he sat down next to me at the small circular table I glanced over and saw Lea and Cecilia taking one on other side of the room. I did note that Nariko had slipped away sometime, leaving the four of us in the room.

Though that only lasted briefly. Two of my nieces were descending the steps. Hazel carried a silver platter with a bottle of wine and some fluted glasses, while Desiree's platter had dishes with little bowls of soup surrounded by delicate slices of fish and steaming clams and bits of crab.

My body started to tingle as the scents filled my nose. Eyeing the plate put before me, my tongue flicked out. I spotted Drake coughing to himself and gave him a coy smile.

"This smells delightful, Desiree," I said as my niece blushed happily. However, I managed to keep myself from pouting at the meager portions.

"It's just an appetizer, Auntie," she assured as her sister filled our glasses with white wine.

"I guess, this'll have to tide you over... until the main course," the Drake said.

"Oh? Well... I'm sure we can find something else to eat." I felt my cheeks blush slightly and my stomach grumbled.

He reached out and patted my hand. "I'll make sure you don't go hungry."

I could feel the mirth floating off of my nieces as they finished up and went to serve my godmother and sister.

"So... you work with the mercenaries?" I asked before spooning some of the soup. It was light almost-broth-like but the slivers of lobster and scallops nicely complimented the leeks, green unions and mackerel-base to the soup itself.

"I help them find properties and buildings," the Drake said as he speared a slice of raw tuna.

I paused to savor the soup. It was delicious but my bowl was rapidly depleting. "I've heard, but that can't be a full time job."

"It's not; I'm also a principal."

"You?" I smiled. "You run a school?"

"It's a little private academy. Something of a recreation of the place I used to run back in Japan," He shrugged and went back to his meal "What about you?"

I sipped some of my soup. "I have a few jobs myself: wizard, private investigator, Knight."

"Knight?"

"Oh, I work for a fairy queen," I airily said while Lea paused in her meal to glance at me.

"My." He chuckled and drank some wine. "Well, you definitely fit in with your sisters."

"They work for fae?"

He shrugged. "Well, magical girls."

"I'm sure there's a difference between the two," I teased, catching some of Lea's quiet irritation.

"Well, forgive my presumption." He flashed a grin. "I'll have to find a way to make up for that as well."

I smiled, returning to my soup, which had all but vanished. Nibbling at some of the sliced fish I allowed a little pout. While delicious, it was hardly filling. If anything this, underscored my hunger.

Which I suppose was the point of an appetizer. Keeping my grin, I leaned forward. "Are you going to finish your soup?"

"By all means," he said offering the bowl.

As I drained the second portion of soup, the larger man watched me with his own bit of amusement. Then with a little pout, and a bit of lip quivering, I managed to snag the rest of his appetizer.

Murmuring, I leaned back and sipped some of the wine. It was a bit sweeter than I was used to, but I was hardly a connoisseur.

Happily, almost dreamily, luxuriating, I hardly noticed when my nieces returned to gather our plates. I did notice when a new delicious scent entered my nose.

A plate with a steak of swordfish and a fillet of trout on a bed of rice was placed before me. I cooed at the food and watched as Desiree zested a lime and squeezed a lemon and, after asking permission, gave a few twists on a wooden peppermill the size of a table leg.

Beaming, the two girls filled our glasses, replaced our wine bottle, and then moved to Cecilia and Lea's table.

"They really went out of their way for this," I said, cutting a bit of fish and scooping it into my mouth. My tail flicked as I purred happily.

"They are a nice bunch of girls," the Drake agreed.

I caught the tone in his voice. "Reminds you of yours?"

He laughed. "You can say that."

My knife worked as I cut the swordfish. "Well, I know about Nariko, what about your other daughters?"

"Daughter," he clarified, taking a sip of wine. "I only have two."

"Same here," I smiled.

"Lovely. How old?"

"Pretty young, but we're talking about yours," I smoothly said, running my fingers up his arm. My hunger flared and with my hand had some more fish.

Cheeks coloring, he looked at his glass. "Well... Kodachi's a year younger than Nariko. And.." he paused.

"Yes?" I asked, leaving my left hand in place.

"She's almost done with her training."

"Training?"

"She's going to be a Company agent," he explained.

I blinked. "Huh... isn't that a bit young?"

He nodded. "A few get in young. She won't deploy until she's a bit older. Not unless..." After trailing off he took a sip of wine.

I nodded. I had trained new Wardens. Kids not much older than Nariko and her sister. Hells Bells, they might have been a bit younger. I'd also fought alongside them during the war against the Red Court. My experiences weren't quite as... thorough as Carlos however. Warden Ramirez was on the sharp end of that war, right up until it suddenly ended.

He was still dealing with what he did during the war, the hate he had for the vampires. Stars and Stones, we were all dealing with that, and the aftermath given the.... abrupt, genocidal way I ended the damn war.

Noting my demeanor's change, the Drake shifted his arm and clasped my hand. He squeezed. His grip was strong and firm. It wasn't as strong as mine, but it was still comforting.

It was also... enticing. Returning to my meal, I mulled things over. My dinner was delicious but it was not exactly... filling. Especially, not after lunch. But even that meal lacked... satisfaction.

Tongue licking a lip, my eyes went from my dining companion to the other table. I could feel... expectation wafting from my sister and godmother. Neither was staring at me, in fact it looked like they were having a nice animated conversation, but I knew better.

As I pondered, I ate some more of my dinner. Chewing helped me think. It was also delicious. The portions also seemed to disappear after a couple bites. I noticed Lea and Cecilia ate far more slowly than I did.

Suspicion on what they were up to gnawed at me. But it wasn't the most pressing thing grumbling inside me. Returning to playing my fingers over his arm, I turned back the Drake.

He looked me in the eye. I turned aside.

"Something wrong?" the Drake asked.

"Oh, I'm just thinking about... dessert," I improvised with a sly smile. I put my fork down on the empty plate before me. Hungry, I eyed him.

"I did hear there was cake," the Drake offered.

"Really?" My smile grew as before I took some wine. I lounged in my chair and looked out the windows. It was starting to become a lovely evening.

"Chocolate I believe," the Drake added, his eyes looking over my form.

Flush at the attention, my hunger became a bit more acute. "I could go for something sweet," I purred.

"I'm certain we'll have something," he allowed. He then looked at his wine.

"But...." My hand went further up his arm as I leaned closer to him again. "Maybe we can have dessert someplace more... private?" I asked as my body tingled. Looking up, I risked stealing a glance at his eyes.

"I have something in mind." Giving a confident grin, the Drake stood. Still holding my left hand in his right, he held out his other hand.

Accepting the offer, I let him pull me up to my feet. His left arm then fell over my shoulders, and after I made a contented murmur he pulled me closer.

I let a hand roam as he led me towards the stairs at the exit of the room. The Drake paused and looked over a shoulder. "Lady Cecilia?"

"Yes?" My sister asked as she and Lea stood up. She looked between us. "Shall I presume you'll be having dessert upstairs?"

I inhaled and gave a dreamy smile. Halting my fingers mid-caress, I paused and nibbled my lip.

I could feel the mirth emanating from my godmother. I looked at the two then back to the Drake. My stomach grumbled once more. "Yes... we will," I said in a quiet, but confident voice.


***************


Stretching out, I arched my back and flexed my arms. It felt good to get the weight off them. Several joints popped, especially the base of my spine and hips. Giving a contented sigh, I rolled back over and pulled the covers back up over my torso. My tail languidly swished, the finned tip just slipping out the side of the bed. I was still getting used to those fins, not to mention the other things my tail could do.

Nuzzling up and relishing the body heat of my slumbering companion, I found myself drifting in and out of consciousness. Deep contented slumber was split by relaxed bouts of almost meditative languidness.

In my years as a professional wizard, I've had experienced supernatural seduction plenty of times. Frankly, it was a lot less glamorous than that made it sound. Still, it was a familiarity born of experience.

From the brutal, addicting euphoria of a Red Court vampire's venom, to the insidious, delightful glamour of the fae, to the smooth, aching sensuality of the White Court, and even the intimate, tailored temptations of the Fallen, the methods were varied but the promise of perfect pleasure was the same.

But all that was all at the receiving end.

It turns out...

I parted my lips and inhaled. My body tingled. I cuddled a bit closer.

It turns out, being on the other end of the transaction was even more of a thrill.

I ran a hand down my dozing companion's side. I took a moment to smile at my fingers. If nothing else, he was certainly... creative with my hands.

I now understood what my brother had to fight against and... not fight against. I understood just what kind of a monster his sister Lara was.

Pressing a bit closer, I inhaled. Part of me was still off-put by the aesthetics. I would have preferred someone... well more like Murphy... or Butters or Sanya. On the other hand... speaking of aesthetics, the Drake, unlike a certain knight, didn't laugh at my headdress. No, the Drake was most... appreciated of what I could do with some frozen water and a little imagination.

All in all, my sister had done her best. And I wasn't... displeased with her pick.

My sister...

I now understood what Cecilia was trying to teach me. And... why Ranma was so focused on control. Part of me wished I had been more like Ranma, and had more rigid self control, another part was glad for Cecilia's help.

Licking my lips, I gazed at his earlobe. I could give a little nip. Despite being sated, I was still a bit... peckish. And I was sure the Drake would be eager for another go at it. Though he might be upset at being woken up. I chuckled, in that case he might decide to use the riding crop.

I murmured happily. It was nice that he didn't find my demonic nature, horns, wings, and hooves included, off-putting. If anything, it was the opposite And even if I woke him and he wasn't interested in more...

It would be easy, so very easy, to just... take. Delicious too. Even though I finally felt full, I was not... sated. Despite how my skin almost felt taunt, I knew I could take in more. I could take everything, drain until there was a husk and then feast on the flesh and suck the marrow from his bones.

My lips pulled into a pout as I relaxed and rolled onto my back. Sure I could take what I wanted, but it wouldn't last long. I knew I wasn't alone. I could feel my sister's presence. This was part of Cecilia's lesson.

I growled softly; it seemed all of my sisters were testing me. Which meant Cecilia had seen, or at least felt, everything. My cheeks flushed a bit at the thought.

My ire abated as I stared to drift back to sleep. My shimmering, almost fluffed-out, Alice-blue hair draping over the both of us. Some time passed as my mind entered that spongy, slippery border realm between unconsciousness and wakefulness. Contented noises slipped past my lips as I luxuriated among the soft blankets.

And then the door burst open.

I was instantly sitting up, eyes flaring. I gave a quick blink as my sister strode into the room. "What's...."

"We have to go. Now." Cecilia stated, her tone adamantine.

My head tilted as the other person in the bed stirred. My sister was wearing... well it was the same type of grey-green Kevlar bodysuit under an armored vest and reinforced skirting that the other Company succubae wore. She carried a holster and other pouches of gear on her battle rattle.

She also had pale purple wings, horns, and tail out. I stared; I hadn't really seen Cecilia overtly demonic, let alone armored and armed.

"What's going on?" I managed to ask as she closed in. My sister pulled me off of the bed and shoved a heavy pile of leather into my hands; it was my duster.

"Your brain trust thinks they've found Tessa. Or at least locked down the summoning site," my sister stated, anxious energy spilling off of her.

I glanced at the clock on the Drake's nightstand. Well, first I had to pick a bra off of it. "What, did they do an all nighter?"

She knocked the bra out of my hands. "Skip that, skip the dress, armor up, grab your gear. We need to go. Now."

Pouting, I gathered up the big purse with my revolver and spell components in it. I saw the pink potion. Grabbing the test tube, I pulled the stopper and downed it.

The shimmering liquid burned as it went down and tasted like rock salt and ashes. But everything did snap into focus and the grogginess was banished from my mind. Unfortunately, the potion also removed my languid mellowness.

"Where's Lea?" I asked as I summoned my armor. My body buzzed with energy. Only some of which was from the potion.

"She said she was called away by pressing duties for her queen," Cecilia said, skeptically

"She can't lie," I offered.

My sister gave a quick laugh.

I shrugged. Sure it could be a coincidence. Mab was as stern taskmaster and she was just one of the three winter queens Lea owed fealty to. But I had been around the fae long enough to know they always had an angle. "What about Nariko?"

"She's sorting out transport," Cecilia stated. She still seemed rattled.

"I wouldn't worry... overmuch about Lea.

Cecilia gave me a look. "I knew your godmother was going to give us the slip and do her own thing."

"Err.... yeah... that's her nature," I muttered as I slipped my duster on.

By now, the Drake was stirring. Blearily he got up. The man looked between us. "Ah, it's important then?" he asked, his mood sobering.

Cecilia nodded. "I'm sorry, but we have to go,"

As I made sure I had all of my gear, I gave him an awkward smile. "I had a fun time," I stammered and winced at how lame it was.

A bit of mirth escaped my sister's serious expression.

I huffed and leaned down and gave the Drake a quick hug and a longer kiss.

Cecilia then grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room before I could say anything more.

"So... where is the summoning?" I asked as I was dragged down the hallway.

End Chapter 13


I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf.


And from this ending line you can guess what the next chapter will hold. Thanks to everyone who's read and commented on the story so far! And as for BlackStone's meal... well Cecilia wanted to show Dresden that she didn't have an ascetic (or the succubus equivalent) like Ranma and Eve. Dresden is more emotional and passionate, and given her new nature... denying it would bring trouble. Lea for her part agreed. Which... is probably a warning sign.


In other news: I've been going over the Return. Revising and reworking stuff. I'm going to re-release the updated chapters in their own closed arcs. Turns out that the Return is actually a few books.

Revision note: Huh, wow. I was doing Return revisions as Blood Debts was finishing out, which is fitting.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 14: Midnight Appetizer, Part B



The van slowed down and stopped. Still edgy from the potion, I looked around. We were in front of a gate. High razor wire stretched out in either direction. Radios crackled as the mercenary driving and his companion riding shotgun talked with the soldiers manning the gate.

I blinked at their splotchy grey-green uniforms. I also blinked when they shined flashlights into the van and got a look at each of us. These were Canadian troops. And I was a bit self-conscious at how I was dressed in just my armor and duster.

Also the men standing around the gate were split into multiple teams, one group behind metal barricades and an idling APC to one side with its lance-like cannon aimed straight at us.

I could feel the apprehension coming from the soldiers. Especially after members of their team gave the van a sweep with some familiar-looking scanning equipment.

Concentrating on holding my powers, I listened as the radio chatter got a bit more heated. Having everyone's radios fry due to an antsy succubus wizard would be... awkward.

After a few tense moments, the sergeant manning the gate nodded and motioned to let us pass. I looked out across the broad expanse on the other side of the fence. We were on some kind of a military base, probably an airbase of some kind. To one side I saw helicopters taking off and landing as troops waving glowing wands directed them.

At the end of that line a giant beast of a chopper descended. It had twin rotors front and back and the backwash rocked the van as it landed. I looked over and saw Nariko press her lips together.

"It looks like the Canadians are taking this pretty serious, eh?"

My niece's red eyes blinked for a second. "Yes," she said, pointing a bit further afield.

Following, I looked up and saw a helicopter hovering above the second row of landing pads. It wasn't quite as big as the transport helo that had just landed, but its engine still throbbed as its blades beat down at the ground.

A long sling hung from beneath it and a crew of soldiers worked to attach it to a collection of metal struts surrounding a long tube of metal. It was only after the sling was secured and the helicopter took to the air that I realized what it was.

"That's an... big gun," I stated, flatly.

"155mm howitzer," Nariko nodded. "Probably one of the newer M777s."

"They're bringing artillery?"

Nariko's expression darkened. "And urgently... given they could tow the piece behind a truck."

"They're probably doing that too," Cecilia added. "Military sorts love the belt and suspenders approach."

"Then they should let the Company use our assets too," Nariko said.

Cecilia shrugged. "The Canadians feel that they should be the ones firing heavy ordinance in populated areas."

I mumbled something in vague agreement as I thought. There had been situations in the past where I had wished the authorities had believed me. There were even a couple times where they had. Okay... those were magical authorities, but still.

When I called in a Code Wolf on a bunch of necromancers all competing in order to become a new dark god in Chicago a few Halloweens ago, the White Council played the cavalry and sent a Warden strike team to help me.

Granted... that was after the Council had suffered a major defeat against the Red Court so the strike team was a bit... short-handed. Stars and Stones, things were so bad that they drafted me into the grey cloaks on the spot. Still, the White Council came when I called and provided backup, such as they could.

Mortal authorities on the other hand.... Well there was one time that Murphy offered to do just that on a previous Denarian attack. This was back when she was still a cop and ran Special Investigations, a branch of the CPD that dealt with "unofficial" problems. I'd made the judgment call back then that people who weren't trained into the supernatural world would face too dangerous of a learning curve.

Denarians should not be someone's first exposure to the supernatural.

As I watched the helicopters lift off and buzz about, I wasn't quite so certain that I was wrong. Across the long runway that divided the base I saw a low-slung hangar open and watched as a jet was pulled out by some sort of motorized cart. It was hard to make out, but something dark and bulbous hung from each of the sleek, twin tail, grey plane's wings. It looked to be about the size of a fighter jet, or maybe a bit bigger. Its glass canopy looked like it sat two people - I don't know much about military jets. I had enough problems with flying in civilian aircraft.

The van had slowed and was going through another check point. This one was more thorough, but I didn't pick up the tinge of nervous apprehension among these troops.

Though that was probably because I could feel a couple of my nieces among the perimeter team. I also felt something that might have been a ward. Or it may have simply been the buzzing of getting even closer to the source of their Jammers.

The van stopped. The doors opened. I jumped out, my hooves hitting the concrete surface. The smell of jet fuel infiltrated my nose and the hum of engines pounded against my ears and chest. Light blue hair whipped around in the night breeze. I took a moment to look around the base before Nariko gently pushed me towards the concrete building in front of us.

Feeling my other two sisters, I stepped through the steel door. I wasn't sure what I expected. Maybe a dark cavernous room with a sinisterly-lit table in the center surrounded by uniformed officers with rows of medals on their chest and smoke curling from cigars and pipes. Maybe a giant monitor on one wall displaying a map and satellite feeds and in front of that rows of technicians in some sort of mission control.

And to be fair... for all I knew, the mercenaries had a room like that.

But it wasn't here.

Instead the inside of the hangar was... a hangar. The lights were bright, but that was so maintenance people would be able to see as they worked. And there was a map to one side, but it was paper and had been tapped up to a wheeled whiteboard. There were also a few technicians and people operating computers and other bits of esoteric machinery.

I exchanged a nod with a harried-looking Dirac. Nariko's prodding became less than gentle as she pulled me away from the delicate electronics. Pouting a bit, I rubbed my hip and went towards the center of the room.

My sisters stood in front of the taped-up map. Eve was talking on a radio while Ranma flipped through a folder of photos. I felt their focus and apprehension. Between them Butters and Doctor De Cotes were making notes. He worked from a clipboard while the older research scientist used her tablet PC.

Flipping through notes, his nimble handmade annotations and after consulting with De Cotes, he would occasionally hand a print-out to Eve. I watched as the blonde would take the missive and read out the information to whomever was on the other end of the radio.

As we approached, Cecilia cleared her throat. Glancing back Ranma smiled, but she also nudged De Cotes, who shut-off her computer. Eve also ended her radio chat and turned to face us.

"Sorry for interrupting your date," Ranma said with a little cough.

"Well, I heard my little brain trust found Tessa," I gave a toothy grin. "I suppose that's worth an interruption."

Butters gave an awkward smile and straightened his black vest and white mantle. The cape-like garment had a red cross over his heart. It wasn't quite the same as Michael's knighting gear but it got the point across.

"First off, the Russians were wrong. They saw a bunch of different distortions at various locations and thought that Tessa was 'testing the grounds'." Butters's voice carried in the hangar surprisingly well. "They got it backwards. Tessa wasn't looking for the best spot."

It clicked into place. "They were making it?"

He nodded. "Yeah, they were tuning the ambient magical energies to make this the best spot." The knight pointed to the big map. His finger was just to the south of the town of London Ontario, a bit over a hundred miles from Toronto.

I stepped closer to the map. He was pointing to what looked like a hospital. Eve then indicated another section of the board. There an aerial image had been blown up of the area. It was taken by some sort of night vision and thermal equipment but there were lots of notations and overlays of roads and other items. "The Park Institute?" I asked, frowning. There was also a forest to the south of it, and below that a trio of ponds.

"The nearby Western University has found some artifacts between the Westminster ponds," Butters pointed to the three bodies of water with a frown.

"Oh?" I gave a little sigh as my tail went limp

"They haven't' really dug in the areas, they're still conducting negotiations with some First Nations folks."

The tip of my tail flicked about in apprehension. "Okay... but there's plenty of hospitals, factories, ponds, rivers, waterfalls, forests, and libraries in the area." My hand swept over the larger map.

"And this is among the list of locations," Eve agreed as she gestured over the big board. There were a lot of blue and red marks on it. "However-" she looked meaningfully at Butters.

The shorter man nodded. "But from her notes.... this... Shest woman, she rambles about 'rumblings in the earth.' So, we cross referenced places that were doing excavation work."

The blonde demon's smile turned frosty. "And the Park Institute is having their foundations shored up by a Quebecoise construction company."

"One that got a bunch of new trucks full of.... equipment driving in these last couple of days," Butters added pointing a group of tractor trailers in the picture.

I sighed and looked at the ponds. "Three is a powerful number. And there's a lot of... raw material to work with."

Butters shuddered in memory of Lomar.

"What about your... magic defectors?" I asked Eve.

"Drones and scouts seem to indicate something is up. Thus..." her eyes went to the big map covered with pins and marks.

"Thus, you felt this was serious enough to call in everyone," I finished. My attention when back to Butters. "What about you? Any word from the Home Office?"

The doctor frowned at the photos. "It feels like where we'd have a boss battle... but that's just a hunch," he eventually said with some reluctance.

"Butters?" I asked. When dealing with a Knight of the Cross hunches were often more than just hunches.

"There's no arrow in the sky... I looked," he added in a quiet voice before turning to me. "It's a hospital, Harry. What do you thinks gonna happen?"

"Tessa hasn't started attacking yet..." I eyed my blonde sister.

Eve nodded, "We wouldn't be talking here. As it stands, we have some time to get organized."

"Not if Serenity's late brining in Hino," Ranma grumbled.

I blinked, but our blonde sister simply smiled. "We'll have time for the ceremony, and to consult you," Eve told me.

"What do you think, Miss Wizard?" Ranma asked.

I growled. "It... fits. But there could be a backup site?" I sighed. A few years back I had to deal with an Outsider incursion. They had decided to try their summoning at three separate locations at the same time.

"We have plans for that," Eve nodded to someone behind me.

Sidestepping I turned and saw a diminutive figure emerge from the shadows. Maroon eyes glinted.

"Is that why you're having my team stand back?" Lady Pluto asked

"You have the most rapid response capability, and concerns of a second summoning site are reasonable," Eve stated, nodding to me.

The young woman with the ageless eyes sighed. "It won't be the same for them, not without Ami."

Butters strode forward. He was a pretty short guy, but even he was taller than Lady Pluto. "We've met before."

"Yes, after Dame BlackStone's training," Pluto bowed her head. "Pleasure to meet you again, Sir Knight."

"And what are you doing here?"

The green-haired girl swept her hand over the map. "Ensuring privacy."

Butter's eyes widened. "Tessa can't?"

Ah, so that explained the strange ward I felt on the way in.

"The Denarians aren't to be underestimated," I stated. I knew that Anduriel, the Fallen working with Nicodemus Archleone, could use shadows to spy on anyone. Well, it was a bit more complicated than that, but it was still a formidable capability. One that took a being like Mab, or Odin, or a group of Angels to counter.

I don't know if Tessa's Fallen, Imariel, had similar capabilities. And I didn't know what Lady Pluto really was, but I was pretty sure if anyone could secure us from Tessa I'd lay good odds on her.

"Bringing out the big guns, Sis?"

"Now more than ever." Eve smiled.

I could see the logic of that. One downside was that if Tessa was aware of the additional security that would clue her in that we were planning something.

"Wait, what won't be the same without Ami?" Butters asked.

"The Pattern Silvers have a teleport capability. But as a group," Ranma explained.

"Really? Cool!" Butters said. I had to agree with him. Actual point-to-point teleporting would be a lot better, more precise, and less dangerous, than traveling through the NeverNever.

Then again, I was reluctant to try traveling through the NeverNever here. The fact that my Mother had never explored this far meant that the ruby she gave me, that I wore around my neck, couldn't give me a roadmap to follow.

Every time I tried using my mother's ruby she sounded... worried about how far out I was. This whole place was pretty Swiss-cheesed dimensional-wise. More than that, just stumbling around blind in the NeverNever was suicidal on a good day, doing it in a place where reality might come undone was too far, even for me.

Though I was sane, a lot of my enemies... weren't.

"I'll have to substitute for Ami; we can still do it though." Pluto gave a shrug as if teleportation were some minor parlor trick.

"We'll hold the Pattern Silvers in reserve until we confirm that this is the sole site, find a secondary site," Eve paused for a moment. "Or if we require additional forces."

Pluto tilted her head. "Ah, speaking of additional forces, Miss Aino is here with Dame BlackStone's mercenaries."

Ranma sniffed the air. "Quite the coincidence. Looks like the gang's all here."

The doors opened and a... procession entered. The company mercenaries and Canadian soldiers in their battle-rattle were expected. Even that cold-eyed Jacob fellow was chatting with some army officer who walked with a bit of a cowboy swagger. The latter mentioned something about Option Lanark being ready and Option Cold Lake on Standby.

Behind them came the rest of Serenity's team. Most were wearing their articulated armor with bow and ribbon accents. A blonde with piercing blue eyes that seemed to flash with a hint of red was leading a tall, muscular man in a suit. He had an eye patch and carried a bulging duffle bag of gear over one shoulder. Next to him was a similarly dressed dusky young woman. Carrying a near identical bag, she had long dark hair that fell over half her face and shoulder.

Though the last two arrivals were what got my attention. Serenity stepped in. She wore an armored getup that seemed to draw some inspiration from the blouse and skirt uniform she wore when I last saw her. Her hair was pulled back into a severe braided bun and the queen carried her own polished wooden staff and a golden scepter adorned with a silver crystal of some kind.

Next to her was Lady Mars.

And she had a... different uniform. She wore a red pleated skirt tied with a bow in back and a white kimono jacket without any adornment. A couple of white and red hair ribbons were tied in her ebony tresses.

She was dressed as a Shinto priestess. And from the way she carried herself, it seemed she actually was a miko. I wondered if she was more of the modern incarnation that helped around in shrines and preformed some rituals and cleansings or if she was more akin to the shamanistic roots of the position. She had beads wrapped around one wrist and carried a set of bells and a lit candle.

Curious, I followed Ranma as she vectored in as those two walked up.

Ranma bowed her head. "Rei, thank you for doing this."

"It'd be rude of me to not." Lady Mars exhaled. "And it wouldn't be right to push someone away that asks for help." She pointedly said, studying the demon. "But what changed your mind?"

"Him." Ranma pointed to Butters.

Mars studied the unassuming-looking man. I felt a flash of something deep and steady. The kind of power that I felt whenever Michael, a retired Knight and good friend, used when on a job. Faith.

"Ah," she smiled slightly and bowed her head to Butters

"Having a Knight of the Cross show up, made me think we should use our own resources." My sister sounded... embarrassed at that.

"Gonna ask for some Ofuda next?" Mars asked.

Ranma rubbed her chin. "Would they work on a Denarian?" she asked me.

I paused. Ofuda were charms, wards, that were written on strips of paper. They were used in exorcisms and purifications. "I dunno. Problem with the Fallen is that they're in there with their host's consent."

"So, even if the charm was powerful enough..."

I shrugged. "You can't evict someone that's been invited. Maybe it could weaken their connection, but I don't know."

"Rei?" Ranma asked. "You saw Tessa. Thoughts?"

Lady Mars snorted. "I didn't have time to do anything but fry the mantis freak."

Serenity cracked a smile. "The great DarkStar asking for our expertise."

Looking more embarrassed, the redhead chuckled. "I know when to consult an expert." Glancing between me and Serenity, she looked thoughtful for a moment.

The redhead shrugged. "I might have something to ask you later, but for this Rei's a lot better at Shinto stuff than I am, and the four of you all are better than me at magic."

"Even me?" Butters asked.

"You have been tutored by one of the best in magic theory," I noted.

"You?" Lady Mars asked with a bit of smirk.

"Er... someone else," I coughed. "But it's the same guy who taught me a lot of the stuff I know." I really didn't want to explain to a bunch of magical girls that I had been taught a lot of my magical knowledge by a talking skull. Or that said skull used to work with one of the most notorious necromancers of the last few centuries.

Of course, my other magical teachers were... a crazy blood-thirsty fae, a former Warden turned warlock who tried to enslave me as a teenager, and... the Blackstaff: the Wizard Council's assassin, black-bag, and wetworks man.

Yeah, giving these girls my curriculum vitae, might not reassure them. Especially since, I'm now a big sidhe succubus with the demonic wings, tail, and horns.

Stars and Stones, this was the Queen of the Moon and her personal guard. They were remnants of an empire that worked with BlackSky. They'd at least have more formal training than the hodgepodge I had gotten. At least I hoped so.

Lady Mars' gaze seemed to look through me. She turned to Serenity and gave a nod. Serenity for her part looked a bit relieved.

"You wanna help?" Ranma asked.

"Yes, I think Rei's got a ceremony that should work," Serenity said.

"Great!" Smiling, Ranma patted Rei on the shoulder and turned around.

Jacob looked up from his conversation with the cocky Canadian officer. The older man nodded, and I could swear I saw warmth touching his faded green eyes.

"Right," Ranma clapped her hands. The sound cut across the hangar like a shot. Everyone went silent.

"I'll keep this quick," the redhead scanned the room, her gaze pausing on each and every one of us in turn. "Our enemy is Polonius Lartessa, a thousand year old sorceress with a Fallen Angel in her pocket. She's leading a group of fellow Fallen and is being helped by the Brotherhood of the Moon: at least a hundred lycanthropes with military equipment," Ranma's booming voice then softened.

"Their aim is to summon an ancient elder god, probably more than one. They came here expecting easy pickings, thinking they could defeat whatever we threw at them, that they could hurt us, take what they want, and run." Her eyes narrowed.

I wobbled, feeling the connection to my sister throb. Glancing, I saw my other sisters, nieces and many of the humans in the room have similar reactions.

The redhead grinned, her teeth flashing white. "Allies, comrades, friends, family, she could not have been more mistaken. She will not escape. Not this time."

I nodded. I could understand Tessa's motivation. Nicodemus had killed her daughter. I had done some pretty nasty stuff to rescue my daughter. What would I have done to get revenge if Maggie or Bonnie were murdered? I shivered.

I thought about the things I had done to save Maggie... how far would I go if I only had revenge to motivate me?

I knew how to do the DarkHollow, which was similar to what Tessa had done at Lomar. But... my understanding only went so far. Still, if I ever went around grabbing every bit of power I could, without regard to the consequences... well that I was all demony only made that a more terrifying concept. Supposedly, I had a very scary demon empress grandmother...

The twisted part was that if Tessa had taken another path to get her revenge... well, I wouldn't have trusted her enough to join her, but I would have watched and made popcorn.

My sister exhaled, the tension going out of her wings and tail as she stepped to the side, yielding the floor "But first, a small service." She made a motion with her hand and every demon in the room took a knee.

As I followed a bit behind the others, I noticed the Company mercenaries and Canadian soldiers had shifted their stances, clasped their hands behind them, and bowed their heads. The magical girls had formed an honor guard around Lady Mars. As she stepped in front of everyone, they pulled back. The only people not participating were the two mercenaries Lady Pluto had hired.

Lady Mars looked out at the assemblage. And I could feel the power around her. Not the aggressive, crackling elemental power from before. This was the heavy, bedrock power of Faith.

"Thank you all for coming," Lady Mars said. The bell she carried gave a single perfect musical ring.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed someone I had forgotten. He was easy to overlook. The Knight of the Cross and bearer of the Sword of Faith stepped forward. In one smooth motion, he knelt down and drew Fidelacchius. The blade of light flashed in a holy chorus. He then flipped the Sword and offered the hilt to her.

For a moment, Lady Mars stared. The blonde magical girl in golden armor slipped up and took the candle from Mar's hand. Then a smile not quite her own crossed the priestess' face as she took the Sword.

"Thank you, Sir Knight," Lady Mars said as she raised the Sword. "We beseech Amaterasu Omikami for her blessing on this endeavor, that we may be cleansed and protected."

The glowing Sword flickered; the pure white surface rippling as if aflame. Lady Mars began chanting in Japanese. The color shifted to gold and dawn burst from the Sword filling the fresh, pure light of sunrise.

***************

My horns tingled as I walked through the echoing room. Eve and the other officers were by the big board going over maps and resistance photos. Watching everything, Ranma stood a bit off to the side, leaning on the pillar and making the occasional comment.

I noted they gave her suggestions due consideration. I guess after Lady Mars' lightshow even the Army guys were on board with the plan. I'm not sure what the effects of Mars' blessing were, but sunshine does have all sorts of connotations of renewal so it couldn't be bad. It was a good sign that some of the higher powers of this world were on our side.

I nodded to Lady Pluto, who had brought the other magical girls to talk to the good lieutenant. It sounded like Lt. Tendo was working on communications for when they teleported in. She had my sympathies. Magic was hell on electronics. Especially things like cell phones, though modern radios weren't much better. Well, military tech was hardened for extra interference... but it was also more fancy computer-wise.

I waved to Cecilia and her girls who were going through stocks of weapons, ammunition and equipment and going to each squad and checking their load outs. I noticed there were a lot of flares, chemical glow sticks, mechanical watches, and other bits of retro tech being passed out.

. I suppose I should have been surprised by mercenaries having stocks of old weapons just in case, but I had visited Monoc Securities's HQ. Donar Vadderung, Monoc's CEO, dozens of armories, enough outfit an army in equipment of the century of his choice.

Having some crates of old Vietnam-era single-shot grenade launchers was mild in comparison. I noticed Misako turn up her nose at them, but she still accepted one and had Ukyou take another.

I then saw Nariko hovering over Butters and smiled as I approached.

"No, it's not too tight," Butters assured as Nariko adjusted a strap that ran around his thigh.

The diminutive swordsman was wearing something that looked like a grey climbing harness. Really, it went well with the rest of his tacticool gear. It even gave a nice contrast to his white mantle. It also distracted a bit from how the only weapon he carried was his Sword.

Sure, it's not like a Knight needed more than that, but the other active Knight of the Cross, Sanya, used a frickin Kalashnikov alongside his Sword Esperacchius. And I did kinda wish Sanya was here.

Butters was great, but in my experience you could never have too many Knights of the Cross. Though I suppose I'd already met my quota of holy knights teleporting in to save the day at Lomar.

Adjusting his glasses, Butters gave me a baleful expression. "Harry, I'm sorry I ever laughed at you complaining about the helicopter training."

"Ah, so you heard how the spear-tip's deploying?" I gave a smile and patted him on the shoulder. "You'll be fine, have some faith."

Nariko straightened up a bit and looked him level in the eye. "You will not fall, Sir Knight. I will get you safely down."

Staring into her red eyes, he nodded. "Thanks."

"Any spare equipment you need? Like eyewear?" she asked.

"I've got a second set of glasses," He said patting a zippered pouch.

"Cased?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Good. Got a case for the ones you're wearing? You'll have to take those off when we drop."

"Actually... " Swallowing, Butters forced a manic grin and pulled a pair of sport goggles out of his vest. "Lost my glasses on my first... mission. Figured something like this could help."

"Prescription?" I asked.

Butters gave me a flat look.

"Very good," Nariko cheered.

"Look at it this way, you might be jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft. And you may be depending on a Sith demon for a safe landing."

My niece tilted her head at me.

"But at least you'll be able to see the ground coming up to you," I offered.

Butters frowned. "I'm.... not sure that's better."

"It is," Nariko promised.

"How do you think I feel?" I asked. "You know how bad I am with flying. And um... especially when my knight friends are with me. At least we're not on a helicopter."

The doctor shook his head.

"Look, I'll be good. And it's not like I can magic up a flight spell."

Butters' cross look returned.

"That was more of a float spell... and... that flying carpet never worked."

"I was talking about the wings."

"Oh, well, we don't have time to make you into a succubus."

He sighed.

I laughed. I was joking. Honest.

"We'll need to secure your Sword." Nariko frowned. Her scabbard was tied down to her vest and the side of her armored skirt. But Butter's Sword was just a hilt

"Tied down pouch?" Butters offered.

"That'll do... but we can't lose it."

"I think that priestess would have my head if I did," Butters chuckled.

Nariko gave a reluctant nod. "And what about you Auntie?"

"Me?"

The dark-haired girl tapped my staff.

"Oh... I just figured I'd just grow my armor around it and lock it across my back or something." I glanced down at my duster. It did cover most of my back, save for the slits near the mantle where my wings went out. My tail used the slit that already existed in the back of the duster. "Eh, I'll figure something out."

Nariko gave a skeptical glance, but went back to adjusting Butter's harness.

Avoiding her gaze, I spotted the tall man with the stark, scarred face. His duffle had been opened on a tall table and he was checking over his gear. He had a long dark ponytail shot with silver, grey at his temples and a trimmed grey beard. A sable eye patch that gave him a rather piratical air.

Working alongside him was a young woman with skin and hair that was a touch darker than his. Both were in the process of putting on sets of dark armor with black tacticool vests and accessories. It reminded me a bit of Butter's gear but more... well, both mercenaries were more physically impressive than the short knight.

Hells Bells, between her lithe figure and his broad shouldered muscular gruffness they could be in a comic book. Though I suppose the orange accents to their armor and raw number of pouches helped with that impression.

She looked up. I could only see one of her eyes, her hair covered the other, but that was enough for me to turn away.

"Hey, Loba check in with the creepy green-haired girl, then get our marching orders from Ilsa over there," the old man said gesturing towards Eve.

"Hey! That's my nickname for her," I stomped a foot.

"Sure thing, Viejo," the young woman said as she holstered a slab-sided pistol, secured an iron wand, and sheathed a couple double-sided fighting knives. She then brushed past me.

"Kids," the man said as he filled a tiny cup with some aromatic coffee out of a steel flask. He then pulled out a second tiny cup.

"She doesn't look young," I said after accepting his offer.

"I'm not just talking about her," His left eye tracked the room. "At least the soldiers are operator types and thus are a bit older, still... there's plenty of kids here. Those ritual magic users, bunch of the demons." He took a sip. "You."

"I'm not...."

"Can it. You're not the only White Council Wizard here."

"Is it that obvious?"

"You wag that tail more than an eager puppy," he noted, inspecting a gleaming revolver. It looked like a giant old-west gun, but it was all polished steel, including the grips, and, oddly enough, looked hand-tooled and finished.

I tried not to blush. "She looks like her mother," I noted.

"I'd say the same 'bout you." He put the cup down.

This time I failed.

After checking the gun, the older man smirked.

"She's tall too; she have a growth spurt?"

"Her last one, just like you had."

"Just like we had," I corrected.

The older man, nodded. "So, what can I do for ya, one Dresden to another?"

I blinked at the older, but still, clearly, Harry Dresden. "Sorry, I'm still dealing with the whole evil twin thing."

"You're the demon," he amiably noted.

"You're the eye-patch and goatee wearing mercenary with the sinister garment," I picked up a black and orange armored mask that was on the table. "I mean really? Deathstroke?"

"Slade's perfectly fine," the other Harry grumbled. "Besides, you ain't got room to talk being all Blue Beetle via Killer Frost. Though the Winter look does suit you. Reminds me of a couple protegees of mine."

I crossed my arms; I didn't want him to distract from the issue.

"Ah." He shook his head. "Mab then? What pit were you in that got you desperate enough to grab that rope?"

"Maggie," I said simply.

His smirk vanished. He simply nodded. "I can think of worse Queens of Winter to ask, but I can also think of better."

I snorted. "Yeah, well, the Winter Lady I like wasn't in office at the time."

"We always were impatient." His eye twinkled. "Winter, Summer, seems like there's always a couple Ladies that I could work with."

"Well, the Winter fae already sent their emissary to this shindig: Me." I stated. Sure, Lea was lurking about, but she had her own agenda.

"You brought some friend with you," he noted glancing to Butters before checking his own sword. It was a heavy affair with a silvery blade that was similar to a Warden's sword. It wasn't Luccio's make, but whoever made it was familiar with the Commander of the Warden's methods.

"How do you know he's not local? That we're not local?"

"You ain't from this world Hoss," he stated. "And I recognize that hilt. Now, the Fidelacchius I know ain't no lightsaber," he looked up and eyed me.

I turned away. I really didn't want to get into a Soulgaze with myself. My sisters aside, most people who had looked into my soul weren't exactly pleased with what they saw. Well, Butters handled it well. And Ranma wanted to get another shot...

Still, I wasn't exactly keen to find out why Harry Dresden's soul had upset so many people so much.

The older man cleared his throat. "That Sword is also Kusanagi, one of the Imperial Regalia of Japan."

"Uh yeah..."

He sheathed his sword and slipped the scabbard on his hip. "Items that are key to the Imperial Family. In fact, only the Emperor and certain priests can see them."

"That's how the story goes..."

"And not only are the Imperial Family descendants of... Amaterasu, but she bequeathed that sword to said descendents."

"Huh.... that's true," I had done some research and did find that many of the bearers of the Swords could trace their lineage to various royal families. Shiro, the previous wielder Fidelacchius, was descended from last king of Okinawa, Michael from Charlemagne and Sanya from Saladin. If I had to make a bet I'd put odds on Butters being of the line of David.

"And you had a magical girl, an avatar of Mars, who is a war God, a priestess of Amaterasu, a solar goddess, wield that sword, which is now a blade of light in a ritual to invoke her blessing before battle." Old Harry made a thoughtful noise. "I can't tell if you're more clever than you let on or the luckiest SOB alive."

"I'm a gangly succubus with pointy ears and ice armor. What do you think?"

His gaze briefly met mine. I turned away.

"Wile E. Coyote, Suuper Genius," we both said in unison. Though his voice was much deeper and gruffer than mine.

He laughed. "They do say: history is made at night." He gaze fell on me. "Character is what you are in the darkness."

"Buckaroo Banzai? Really?" I asked

"It's a classic," he crossed his wiry arms.

"I could say the same thing about Flash Gordon."

His eyebrow went up in a "Yeah, so?" gesture.

"Okay, story-time gramps; what's made you... you?"

The older man eyed me, well one eye did. He rolled a shoulder and looked around the hangar. "You ever work with a man called Kincaid?"

"Yeah, and he's not just a man."

"Right." He gave a tiny nod. "You ever hire him?" he asked, almost as if ashamed.

"Couple times." I admitted, as my tail started to flick to the side.

"Big spender. He don't work cheap," the scarred, older wizard gave a bitter laugh. "How'd you pay?" he asked checking over a bulky-looking rifle. It was piled along with a shotgun and a few black pistols.

"Second time it was him paying me back for a favor."

Grunting, Old Harry adjusted some magazine pouches, and clipped on one of those black polymer-framed pistols to a black thigh holster.

"I helped rescue Ivy, the Archive."

"Ah," he nodded and tightened a strap of the armor plating over his chest. "Lemmie guess Hoss, other time wouldn't have been clearing out a Scourge of Black Court vamps?"

"Oh." And my tail went limp with realization. A decade ago I hired Jared Kincaid to do just that. The mission, killing Mavara and her vampire minions and servants, consisted of myself, him, Murphy, and my grandfather Ebenezar on spell support. He locked down Mavara's sorcery while the three of us went in.

Which was a mighty handy trick when dealing with a powerful sorceress.

After the fight, Kincaid gave me a bill and three days to pay. It was a... breathtaking amount. "How'd you pay it?" I asked the older man... the older me.

He squinted. "How'd you pay it?"

"Thomas."

His expression softened. "He was a good brother," he said with regret.

I shivered, getting only some of the feelings the older wizard let slip. "He was kicked out of the White Court at the time; it took all of his savings."

The man simply nodded.

"Thomas didn't bail you out?" I asked with a frown.

"He wasn't available at the time, but he got Justine out."

"You going to elaborate on that story?" I asked.

"No," he stated.

My tail froze, and a shiver went up my spine. "Okay... but without Thomas... You owed him. You owed Kincaid."

"That I did," the older man nodded and adjusted a holster in a cross draw rig. Unlike the rest of his gear, it was tooled leather with runes, instead of plastic kydex, Kevlar, or ceramic. It also held that handmade revolver. Which was a decided contrast from the rest of his black military-looking guns.

"He didn't try to kill you for not paying?"

The man snorted. "And waste talent like that? Naw, that'd get a bunch of people upset, including a couple girls he didn't hate. And then there's the others that wouldn't take it kindly, not the least of which includin' the BlackStaff."

I nodded. My grandfather, our grandfather, Ebenezar McCoy was the BlackStaff. He also hated Kincaid.

"And besides, killin' me wouldn't get him back his money, would it?" I asked.

He nodded.

I stared as realization hit. "You started working for him."

His aloof expression turned almost guilty. "I'll give Kincaid this. He never once tried givin' me a job he knew I wouldn't do. Maybe, he figured I was too stubborn."

"But still... you killed for him,"

"In a couple hours, I'm gonna be killin' for you, Hoss," he stated, not looking up. "Besides, I had to pay off my debt."

"And after you paid him off?"

The older man shrugged. The bit of guilt evaporated. "I kept at the job."

My tail started to lift up and twitch.

"Don't get high and mighty with me, Missy," he grumbled and stepped forward. Despite my height, he was still nearly half a foot taller. He was also broader in shoulder. He could loom with skill.

"I know who you work for. You wear your queen's mark around your neck. And I know of your Family." He made a thin smile.

"What's that about my family?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Hoss, you're a granddaughter of BlackSky. Empty Night – even I've heard stories about her."

I grumbled. Looks like I had another scary grandparent to read up on.

"I also know what you'd do without all of that. What choices you'd make if you had to save Maggie, but couldn't call on your queen."

I froze. Taking up a Denarian coin, or triggering a major necromantic spell were the start of my alternate plans if Mab wouldn't let me become the Winter Knight in order to save Maggie. Of course if I did the DarkHollow... well I wouldn't be much better than Tessa would I?

"I don't break the Laws of Magic for money."

Genuine mirth bloomed on his face. The older man threw back his head and laughed. "Hoss, do I look like an idiot?"

I glared up at him. "You look like a knockoff Deathstroke."

"So you said, and from the newest BlueBeetle I'll take that as a compliment," he smirked. "No. Violatin' the First Law's too much trouble. I don't need Wardens after me."

"And they just let you kill people?"

"I don't need magic to do that." He idly rested one hand on the hilt of his sword, and another on the pistol on his left hip. I noted that it wasn't on the bespoke revolver in its special holster.

"I bet the Merlin just loves you."

"We've 'ad our disagreements." He snorted. "Nepotism only goes so far. But he should have expected that I'd follow in my mother's footsteps. He knew his daughter liked to skirt the edges of the Laws. Course like he's got room to talk about voilatin' the Laws."

I blinked. He was talking about Ebenezar... as the Merlin, the head of the White Council. Okay my grandfather was no slouch. The guy was Senior Council. So yeah, it was possible he could one day be the Merlin. But for that to happen... well there were quite a few other Senior Council members in line before him. Not to mention Arthur Langtry, the current Merlin, would have to kick it first.

Though that was only half of the story. Grandfather was the BlackStaff. The one wizard the Council allowed to break the Laws of Magic. What does it mean for the White Council of Wizards if the Council's assassin ended up taking over?

My grandfather only took the Senior Council post reluctantly, during the War against the Red Court, and to prevent Langtry, the Merlin I knew, from putting another of his Cronies in charge. What kind of disaster would require Ebenezar to become the head of the Council? Did every other Senior Council member get killed?

The cynical, suspicious part of me whispered a darker question: Had Ebenezar been forced to bump off traitorous members of the Council? Was it a coup? My Ebenezar was currently part of the Grey Council, a nebulous secret group fighting the corruption within the White Council.

Refilling his tiny coffee cup, the older wizard sipped and watched my mental train go around in circles with bemusement. If this was how others felt when interacting with me... well no wonder I was so hard to get along with.

I took a swig from the tiny cup before me. "How can you drink this frou frou stuff?" I asked after gagging

Old Harry eyed me and snorted. "You're the Winter Knight and in House BlackSky, this reflexive shunnin' of the finer things don't suit you."

I put the cup down. "Right, like you'd turn your nose up at Burger King?"

He snorted. "Course not Hoss, but that means I won't complain if someone puts a fine steak in front of me."

I pouted. "But... will you wear the crown?"

"Damn straight, how else will I embarrass my little girl?" He chuckled, then went to adjusting armor and checking his boots.

I laughed. His Maggie was at least ten years older than mine. "You're older than me."

"Wow, you must be a detective," he drawled.

I huffed. "What I mean is that you're from my future. Well... a future."

He reached out and poked one of my horns.

"Hey! If this is about the Sixth Law violation."

He gave at thin grin. "I ain't the one that time traveled. That's your scary green-haired friend, and while I like to keep my nose clean as far as the Council is concerned..."

I crowed my arms. He might be an alternate me, but he was an assassin.

"But it don't have nothing to do with the Laws of Magic."

"What then?" I asked.

"Hoss, I think we've diverged a bit much. Empty Night, we went our separate paths when you paid Kincaid's bill and I didn't. And I sincerely hope that my experience in the Vampire Wars wouldn't yield clues to help you at this point in our life."

"Wars? Plural? This has to do with why you referred to Thomas in the past tense?"

His eye narrowed.

"There you two are!" a deep contralto purred as my sister neared. She had been talking to Lady Jupiter. The leggy brunette handed her something that looked like a white plastic watch with gold accents and left with a wave.

Pocketing the wrist-watch, my sister ran over and popped up between us. She glanced at the gear arrayed out on the table, then at the gear Old Harry had already strapped on, and finally, after giving him a long sniff, looked him in the eye.

"I should have known our Pattern D Prime would gravitate to Puu's Pattern H Prime."

I sighed. These mercenaries did love to catalog and label everything. Though I suppose calling Practitioners "Primes" was a bit neat. It had pizzazz.

"Oh no," Old Harry said as he turned away from my sister's purple eyes.

"Aw, but you seem so... interesting," she purred with a mock pout while her tail swished. "Just one Soulgaze?

"Nope," He shook his head. "If let you get your claws in me you'll never let go," he said giving me a pointed look.

I turned from my doppelganger to my sister. "Hey!"

***************


I hate helicopters. Not without reason. Good reasons even. The problems my powers cause with technology aside, I almost got horribly injured the last time I used a helicopter in combat, and a very good friend of mine did get horribly injured and almost died on the operating table.

So, I had more than a bit of trepidation as the various mercenaries and soldiers were assigned to their helicopters and transports. As I finished stowing my gear, I rooted around the hangar snagging a few odds and ends for spell components. I even managed to get a can of Play-Doh from one of the hangar mechanics that he had stowed in his locker. Apparently, he got it for his kid, brought it inside because he was worried about it getting frozen, and had forgotten about it.

What? Play-Doh is a very useful spell component. Look, think about it: thaumaturgy is all about creating connections via identical, similar, or related objects. Well, bits of clay that came from the same container make for perfect links. Also it's cheap and common as dirt.

As I was working on ways to keep stuff from falling out of my pockets, Butters stood by me. The composed knight was a far cry from the terrified man with the Oktoberfest polka-suit cowering from zombies.

I watched Ranma go from group to group and quietly chat with each just as they were gearing up and moving to their helicopters.

By now the engine noise was starting to get loud, even from within the hangar. And then my sister came up to us. Her daughters followed in her wake and Butters stood to one side as Nariko hovered by him. Wearing sport goggles, he carried a helmet and an oxygen tank was strapped over one shoulder with an attached gas-mask.

"So... time for us to get to the 'chopper?" I said, with what might have been a bad Austrian accent.

The redhead blinked, and "the look" returned.

"We're not taking a helicopter," she stated.

"Look the line doesn't work if you replace 'chopper with another word," I pouted.

We weren't going by helicopter, but... my stomach plummeted as she pulled me out of the hangar and towards...

Well, it was a plane. She hadn't lied when she told me that earlier. It was one of those big ones with the four engines hooked up to propellers, and the long straight wings, and a big ramp in back.

As we strode towards the transport, I'd like to say that my duster whipped back dramatically behind me. I mean my sister's hair rippled ominously in the blowing air, and Butter's white mantle fluttered. Instead...my coat tails got a bit tangled on my staff and tail. Grumbling, I adjusted my duster and reluctantly belted it around my waist.

It was hardly a "the Right Stuff" moment, but at least I didn't trip. Though... that might have been because one of the loadmasters helped me step onto the ramp.

They also helped me find some... well technically it was seating. There were things that folded down that I could sit on. The bottoms to the seats were a pair of hard poles with a bit of fabric between them. So while the seating was too small, at least it was uncomfortable. And instead of backing, the seats had a webbing of some sort of red nylon material. I had to take care to make sure neither my wings nor my tail got caught in that.

Ranma may have spotted my apprehension as she sat down next to me, and slipped a set of ear muffs over my ears. They didn't really fit, but the gesture was nice. Butters, looking a bit green, sat down to my right, further away from the back ramp I noticed, with Nariko to his right. He was busy checking the helmet, mask, and air tank rig he had been saddled with.

Despite the ear protection, the engine noise became oppressive as the plane started to spool up and taxi towards the runway. There were a series of whines and clunks as the ramp closed. I glanced over and saw my nieces settling in. Some had a bit of apprehension and nerves: Ukyou, Nabiki, and to a lesser extent Akane. They were the sane ones. Nariko was stoic and focused on guarding Butters.

Meanwhile Misako's eyes shone and she caressed her grenade launcher like a hunter petting a favorite bird-dog on the drive up to the hunting lodge. Her tail flexed with a palatable eagerness. At least she wasn't talking to the gun... much. Her other, simpler, grenade launcher was slung over one shoulder and she seemed to be pointedly ignoring it.

I centered myself and worked on controlling my powers. Crashing the plane's avionics or knocking out the engines with my magic would be... bad. Though I did watch with a bit of jealousy as Ranma connected Butters into the audio system of the headsets they wore.

The engines screamed and I was pulled to my left as the plane shot down the runway. We tilted there was a lurch and then... airborne, and my stomach was left on the ground.

It turned out, I liked flying. At least under my own wing power. But being stuck in a creaking, shaking windowless tube? That wasn't fun. It also wasn't fun being unable to communicate with anyone because of my magic.

Instead I concentrated on what I did know. Of course we were taking a plane. It was faster than the helicopters, and we were the first group dropping in.

Once down, our first task would be to knock out any anti-air capability the Wolves or the Denarians had, either by destroying directly, or alerting the artillery teams where they should hit. Which explained all the flares, smoke grenades, and the like everyone had loaded up, those were backups in case even hardened radios wouldn't work.

The plane started to level off, that made my stomach feel a bit better. Cut off from the communications channel, I would have felt lonely save... I was still feeling my sister and my nieces.

I glanced over and saw Butters give me a smile before Nariko slipped on his helmet. With the black visor and breathing apparatus it looked... well, I guess it was fitting that a Sith succubus was the one dressing up the Jedi knight.

And if Butters could keep it together when he didn't even have wings, what reason did I have to be...

Okay, honestly, I was a bit nervous at the whole thing. I presumed the transport was going to stay out of range of the anti-air systems the mercenaries and the military thought the Wolves had. I'm sure it was a very educated estimate based on past capabilities of the Brotherhood, what was stolen from the French, and that magic was hell on electronic systems such as the teeny, tiny computers that made up modern missile-brains.

Still it was all a guess. I mean the Canadians were flying in artillery guns. And as long as they used old-school fuses in the shells, they'd explode just fine, anti-tech magic or no.

What if the Wolves had something like that that? Okay, I didn't know if a howitzer or whatever could hit an aircraft. But maybe they had a big dumb rocket or some other nasty surprise would knock us out of the sky.

Which... I realized with grim bemusement was why there were only the eight of us getting ready to jump. I glanced over at the loadmasters checking our gear and then further forward to the pilots.

Hells Bells, at least we could fly. That gave us some chance to escape a damaged plane. Maybe not a good chance, but it was something the transport's aircrew didn't have.

I mulled those thoughts over as the others kept talking about... something. I don't know maybe they had some sort of radio uplink back to the hangar or to their base. As I focused on keeping my magic contained I did reflect that my techbane had one advantage; it kept me from being micromanaged.

I absently felt my ears pop as the air pressure around me started to ease down.

Well... if Mab wanted to talk to me she didn't need a phone or a radio. Which sort of made the lack of contact with her since I was hurt at Lomar a bit... suspicious. Oh sure, Lea had met me, but that just meant Mab knew what I had done.

And... well, that made my stomach do interesting things. I added that to the list of... complications I'd have to deal with when I got back to Chicago. My worries were interrupted by a klunking noise followed by the wind kicking up. Glancing over, I saw the rear ramp of the airplane begin to open.

Oh.

Hazard lights flicked on, bathing the interior with an eerie glow. The loadmasters were now wearing safety ropes that clipped them to tracks on the ceiling. We.... were not. The brood stood up and began shuffling towards the gaping door.

Beyond was a whistling blackness. Above, I could make out pinpricks of stars and below the various lights of Southern Ontario.

My nieces did final checks on their gear. Misako seemed especially paranoid at making sure her grenade machine gun was strapped on. There was a thunk as the ramp locked into place.

My sister had slipped over and had a brief conversation with one of the loadmasters before unhooking her headset and handing it over. The other girls followed. Purple eyes met mine and Ranma flashed a grin.

Staring out at the night sky, Butter's breathing quickened, which gave a deep respiration noise. Nariko put a hand on his shoulder and clipped her harness to his, pulling the two into something like an embrace.

As the final checks went on, the lights switched over to green and there was a harsh buzzer that managed to pierce the wind and engine noise.

Ranma made a cutting motion and her daughters went towards the gaping door. I followed and watched as four of them practically bounded off the ramp. The succubae began to fall and I watched as their shrinking forms became dimmer. I could just make out when their wings deployed.

Nariko was a bit slower as she had to coordinate her steps with Butters. And then those two went over the edge. Ranma met my eye again as I shuffled towards the precipice. I looked down. I could see the lights of homes and towns but nothing of the ground itself.

I looked back at my sister, and it struck me...

I was a succubus wizard being airdropped as part of a military strike to prevent a lunatic, her Fallen Angel buddy, and a bunch of wolfmen from summoning some sort of big scary critter as part of a revenge scheme, and said critter wasn't even what they thought they were summoning.

There was a time when I was just a private investigator who used a little bit of magic now and then to help clients find lost wedding rings and the like.

Honest.

I stared out at the empty sky below us. "I'm a wizard" I shouted. "I failed flight school!"

I noticed irritation flash across my sister's eyes. Guess she wasn't a fan of that movie.

I had a moment to ponder that before her leg blurred and she snap kicked me. There was pain in my upper thigh where she hit me, but that was easy to ignore. Because I was screaming while falling out of a plane. On reflection, part of me wondered if she actually was a fan of Buckaroo Banzai and was offended at me mangling the line.

I mean John Parker only said line that after he was plummeting towards the ground, and my sister could be quite the stickler.

As I rolled over I caught a glimpse of the aircraft and saw my sister swan dive off the ramp.

***************


I spun, flailed, and tumbled in the darkness. What I didn't do was panic. Sure I'd like to claim that was due to me being a wizard long experience with the frightening and uncanny.

And perhaps, unsurprisingly, being a wizard did give me some experience at falling in pitch black darkness with only a few specks of light in the far distance. So... I suppose I had had worse. Sure, I was much higher up now, but I wasn't falling in the NeverNever. And this time...

Instincts and training kicked in as my wings slowly spread. They caught the air and arrested my rotation, then I let my right wing go a bit further out and managed to right myself.

Wind buffeted my hair as an icy cold blast air stung my eyes and made my lungs ache. Sure, I was a being of Winter, but I didn't like having my saliva freeze, let alone my eyes. The latter I knew from personal experience.

Let's just say my queen didn't like her ability to repay a debt being questioned.

Still... I was flying, and right side up. Flexing, my wings caught the air. I guess it was more accurate to say I was gliding. I looked around and... Dang.

I had no idea where I was. Okay... I swung around until I saw a cluster of lights. I also felt an ominous hum in my horns. Right, if that was London, Ontario, then the target should be right by it.

My musing was interrupted by a figure rocketing past me before wheeling back up. I glanced over as my sister pulled up alongside me. In my night-vision her hair was the same dark grey as her uniform, with her skin being a lighter grey. Only her eyes showed a bit of color.

She gave me a smile. Ah, right, her teeth were white in the gloom.

Trimming her wings, she shed altitude even faster. I followed her descent. Below us, sparse fields gave way to blocky warehouses, a freeway lit by the occasional car, a few more warehouse and then to a twisting warren of suburban houses.

By that point we had lost enough altitude that I got a bit of vertigo as we raced over the dark homes. I felt like I could grab a rooftop if I leaned down with my arm. On the upside, I was able to get my bearings. We were nearing the Westminster ponds which meant our landing zone was...

Another upside was that flying was much more pleasant when I could see where I was going. Another bonus was that this time my magic wouldn't kill myself and everyone else in the sky.

My sister pulled in her wings and dropped down towards the large green field that had suddenly appeared below us. Smiling at the burst of speed that came with the near free-fall, I followed her and waited for the redhead to swing her body forward and flare her wings back out. Slowing, she landed on the grass with bent knees and took off running without breaking strike.

I repeated her maneuver. When my wings spread, I realized my mistake. Yes, I had larger wings which would retard my fall, but I was also heavier and, worse, since I had tried to catch up to her I had pulled back my wings further and had been dropping faster.

Hitting the ground, my hooves dug into the sod. There was an all-too-brief illusionary moment of stability, and then I tumbled forward. Wincing, I pulled myself back up and folded back my wings. The pain wasn't bad, even if my staff had hit the back of my head when I landed.

My sister was immediately at my side. "You okay?" she quietly asked pulling me down into a crouch. "Looks like you came in a bit hot."

"Yeah... just a little rattled," I whispered back. My hand felt the comforting weight of my revolver strapped on my hip. Huh, holsters, how about that?

She nodded. "Good, check your gear make sure nothing got loose, then come on."

I followed her, sifting through the pockets of my duster and the other stuff hanging from my armor. I didn't do a complete inventory, but everything seemed there.
I glanced around noting we had landed in the athletic fields in back of a local school. A line of houses was in front of us. I blinked my eyes. Night vision was still pretty spooky. The colors were muted, but I could see everything. I wondered if this was what those fancy night vision goggles were like, well, with less green, and probably much better peripheral vision.

The others had already formed up behind a shed in the wooded backyard of some house that butted up to the athletic fields. Ukyou was doing something with a radio. I suppose that was one advantage of me being the last on the ground gave them.

Butters had already been unhooked from Nariko and had shed his gas mask and helmet. He looked a bit wobbly but gave a smile when he spotted me. Moving up to him, I returned it feel only slightly jealous that he had had an easier landing than me.

"Confirm, all units on the ground. Commencing insertion," the blonde said into her radio before clicking it off.

Ranma slipped up and pointed to Akane and Nabiki. The two blue-haired girls nodded and dashed ahead of us while Ukyou and Misako drifted to the back and a bit to the side. That left myself, Ranma, Butters, and Nariko in the center.

It was in that rough formation that we leapfrogged through a row of houses, across a residential road and cut past the parking lot of a small apartment complex. I wasn't sure what trouble my sister expected to find in sleepy suburban Canada in the middle of the night.

Then again if the Wolves were really paranoid, they'd have some defense in depth, and put out sentries and scouts to watch for… well this exact kind of infiltration. My horns tingled as we neared the woods that surrounded the Westminster Ponds.

The easternmost pond was to the north, through the stand of trees before us. This time Ranma was on point, her nearly invisible dim form was crouched a few trees into the forest.

She waved an arm to me, a gesture I felt more than saw. With a bit of trepidation I lopped over to her. The pressure on my horns increased to an unpleasant buzz. It reminded me of the Jammers the mercenaries used, but more... sharp. It was also oddly familiar.

The redhead looked deeper into the woods and I followed her gaze. Now my skin started to tingle. There was the slightest bit of... well, it would be a pretty crappy tripwire if it were one that could be seen. An unpleasant scent tickled my nose. Though it wasn't really a smell in the normal sense.

Ranma turned to me.

"Yeah, it's a trap... well, more like a fence," I said.

"Alert? Damage?" Her voice was so quiet even my succubus ears could hardly hear her. "Can it sense us now?"

"One sec." I suppressed a sigh as I opened my third eye. The Wizard's Sight is a powerful tool. It allowed a Practitioner to see most all magical effects and see things as they really were. Of course, it came at a cost, anything Seen won't be forgotten. It would stay fresh and vivid.

Still, it looked like the Denarians had taken precautions and I should really figure out what this thing actually was. Bright colors suddenly burst into my vision. I glanced over and saw my sister: stark predatory beauty, purple wings and claws, crimson and coiled power.

With effort, I looked forward. A beating blue line ran through the forest. The energy was anchored to stones that had been buried among the leaf litter, about one every hundred feet.

Sickly green threads hung from trees that straddled the blue line. Each thread linked a tree to the line, forming a jagged palisade. As I watched, I saw each beat of the blue line suck a bit of life from the trees.

Okay... I wasn't aware that you could do necromancy on plants. Sure, I knew in theory one could do necromancy against any living thing. And I suppose using trees to power your fence was one way to do it. Sure it'd kill them, probably sooner rather than later, but I doubt Tessa cared.

If anyone tried to cross the fence they'd break one of the threads, causing the blue line to discharge. It was a pretty handy way to both hurt any intruders and to alert Tessa to their location. Hells Bells, I'd bet anyone trying to disturb the trees would set it off too. That made for a rather tall fence.

I spent a bit more time examining the fence and the outlying area. Just because you saw one trap, that didn't mean there wouldn't be a second one. I exhaled. I didn't see anything else, but that could mean that it wasn't active yet. Or it could be hidden even better.

I did keep my attention focused on what was in front of me. Something… unpleasant, and heavy tingled edges of my senses to the north, west, and south-west. I really didn't want to use my Sight on Tessa's summoning ritual. Even the preparing steps was something I didn't want to See.

I closed my Sight and blinked. Now that I knew what I was looking for, I could see the sigils carved into the threes and the anchor stones. The magic threads themselves shimmered just on the edge of my vision.

"Yeah... it's a tripwire and an electric fence," I whispered. Okay, it probably wouldn't be electricity it zapped you with, but it'd be nasty. "Good news is that we haven't set it off."

She nodded.

"I can also feel the ritual... the edges of it at least."

My sister made an inquisitive look.

"More good news is she hasn't triggered the summoning," I added.

"We have time," she breathed out. "Okay, Miss Wizard, any ideas on how to get us in?"

"Without flying over?"

She gave me the "look".

Right, you don't make a tall fence against an enemy with helicopters and flying demons without having a spell to watch the skies. I reached into my duster. "Well, I might have an idea."

Ranma looked at the plastic can I pulled out my pocket and smirked.

***************


Magic is all about connections and moving energy. The necro-fence moved energy from the trees to a line that ran the perimeter of the site. I gave another sigh, realizing that the whole thing could act as a magical circle.

Said circle would act as a boundary separating whatever was going on inside the circle from the ambient magics around it. Circles could also be used to collect energy, imprison or bind... say summoned creatures, and other fun things.

Back to my point, magic was all forming connections and moving energy with said connections. Now, thaumaturgy was specifically about using similitude to make connections. Break a piece off of something and that little piece, at some level, was still a part of the whole.

I had called Butters over and quickly explained the situation to him. The Knight might not have much magical talent, but he was a genius at the theory, and it was good to have someone to bounce ideas off of, even if he couldn't see much in the gloom.

Then I explained my idea on how to get through the fence.

Naturally, he boggled.

"Harry... you're talking about using Play-Doh," he hissed.

"You have a better idea?" I sincerely asked.

He exhaled and thought it over. "Digging would take too long."

"And the tree roots are part of the necro-fence."

"Right." He seemed pained. "There's always just blowing the damn thing and going through. Cut it in a mess of places and they won't know where we're coming in."

Glancing over at my sister and nieces, I nodded. They had spread out and taken some cover, but I could feel that idleness didn't suit them. And we were on the clock.

"Harry, this is pretty delicate work." His statement was a not so subtle reminder that my own skills were more in long-term enchanting, using thaumaturgy to find objects, and combat evocation, and less in extemporaneous high-precision work.

"Right," I motioned for my sister.

Ranma seemed to appear between us. She glanced at the fence then back at us. She wasn't impatient, not exactly, but I could feel the eagerness about her.

"I'm gonna try to cut a hole in the fence. If I screw up, and it goes off, take out a bunch of the anchors," I explained as I pointed out the stones that channeled the blue energy. "That'll knock it down so you can cross. It'll be a mess but..." I shrugged.

Her purple eyes looked to me. I knew what she was thinking. Ideally, the fence should be cut in multiple spots along the perimeter. But me cutting a hole required us to bunch up so we could all cross in quick succession.

Giving an encouraging smile, she reached over and hugged me. I had a moment to bask in the contact before she slipped away; the eager, hungry feelings receding with her.

"So... no pressure," Butters said with a slight shiver.

"I've gotten through worse," I assured him as I inspected the necro-fence.

There.

Twenty feet to my right was one of those anchor stones, and twenty feet to the right of that was an area where the jumbled trees thinned a bit.

I motioned and slipped closer. As I kneaded the Play-Doh in my hand I started muttering a spell. It would be tight, but there was an area where if I removed four threads I could slip though the necro-fence. I suppose that was one advantage of being the tallest one here. If I could fit through, everyone else should have an easier time.

Butters followed. "Still gonna need to hold the clay up somehow." He glanced at the leaf litter. "Plenty of sticks about, could use them as props."

I looked to him with approval. That wasn't a bad idea. The fence's magic probably wouldn't notice the ground being pierced by deadfall from the very trees used to build the necro-fence.

"Not bad, but I wanna close the fence behind us." I said opening my palm revealing four blobs of Play-Doh. With a punched mid-section and bulbous ends, they looked a bit like green peanuts.

Butters nodded.

I held my staff over them.

"Wait..." he hissed. "Do the spell separately for each one."

I blinked. That would cost more energy and time but... Stars and Stones, he was right. "Arboras laqueus," I whispered putting a bit of Soulfire into one of the peanuts.

I then repeated the spell three more times. Instead of doing all four at once, this made it so that each of the four was cast with a unique, if similar, spell, A different sliver of my soul went into each casting.

"Good call," I smiled. Butters was right. This way helped give each bit of clay its own unique identity. And I really didn't want to cross the wires on this spell.

I stared at the handful of peanuts. Each glittered and flashed with silver light. A pair of tiny silver lines went from each of the lumps to the tip of my staff. Concentrating my will, I raised the staff and the clay lifted out of my hand.

Okay... slipping closer to the necro-fence I licked my lips. This was the most delicate part. Soulfire can enhance spells, it was like magical rebar. Or in this case like a magical superconductor.

Now that I knew what to look for, I could make out one of the green pulsing threads was right in front of me. Grabbing a floating peanut, I aligned it to the thread and nudged it forward. Just before it touched the green line I raised my free hand.

If this didn't work, this was when I'd set off the necro-fence.

I held my breath as the little bit of clay slipped into the thread. There was a silver fizzle as the line passed through the green Play-Doh. And...

The necro-fence held. The pulsing blue circle hummed; the green feeder lines pulsed with their steady beat. The only difference was now one of the green threads looked like it had swallowed a peanut.

I exhaled. "Okay. Next part." I extended a claw and with a delicate flick cut through the peanut's pinched middle. I felt like I was cutting the red wire on a ticking bomb.

Clay parted. There was no discharge. The two new pieces began to drift revealing a gap between them.

My tail swished and I grinned. The green thread went into one half of the peanut and magically reappeared on the other cap. "Now, that's a bit of thaumaturgy."

"Good job, but don't get cocky," Butters whispered. I knew he couldn't see the workings that made up the necro-fence, but he could deduce I hadn't screwed anything up, given the lack of alarms going off releasing necromantic energies.

"You've gotta do it three more times, and then reel them apart to enlarge the hole," he continued.

I frowned, that was not exactly the plan as I had explained to him. Honestly, I had been planning to extend the silver threads and separate this pair of clay bits before tackling the next thread. "Yeah... it's easier to do it your way."

I swallowed and willed the next peanut into the air. Butters was right. This was delicate work, not exactly my forte. But to my advantage it was steady work. The real challenge was getting the clay to intersect the trip lines without setting them off.

Something that got a bit more complicated the further into this I got. It turned out I did have to widen the hole a little bit, if only to have room to reach the two threads on the far end of the necro-fence.

But after what seemed like far too long, and with what felt like a bit of sweat freezing down my back. I had four pairs of little clay lumps bobbing in the air. I felt the focused attention of my sister and nieces on me and their approval.

Controlling my breathing, I eased my staff in the middle of the cloud of Play-Doh. Then I slowly, gingerly extended the silver lines that linked the end of my staff to the pieces of clay.

The hole in the necro-fence grew as the clay pairs separated. This part was a bit trickier than I expected. I had to keep tension in the green threads as I rolled them over, all without them hitting the ground or each other.

Eventually, I had a ragged hole large enough for me to shamble through. I raised my arm and gave another wave.

Again my sister appeared at my side. After looking over the floating bits of clay, I could tell she wanted to give an appreciative whistle. She settled for a hug. "Quick work, good job" she whispered.

I glanced at the white watch on her arm. I'd only been doing this for a few minutes? Huh… I pulled my staff up to the top left corner of the hole and willed the silver threads to the edges to maximize the open space.

The others had eased closer.

"Right, see where the bits of clay are. Do not step past them," I quietly instructed. "Keep your arms and wings and tails inside the ride at all times. Do not step on the ground right under the clay. Touching the circle would be worse than the threads. Don't hit my staff either. Got it?"

The others nodded and Ranma simply dove through the hole. The necro-fence ignored her. A few yards on the other side her wings popped and she landed before vanishing into the woods.

Most of her daughter rapidly followed in a bout of acrobatic agility that just had to be choreographed. I grumbled about cheating martial artists. There were only three of us outside the circle. Nariko nodded to Butters who was studying the locations of the bits of Play-Doh.

"Can I have a leg up?" He asked looking a bit bashful. I could see his concern. He wasn't exactly a clumsy man, but he didn't want to set off the fence, not after all the work we'd done.

"Aunty, if you'll help on this side I'll do the other," Nariko offered.

I nodded and the red-eyed young woman leapt though the hole. However instead of disappearing into whatever combative formation her sisters had taken up she turned and stood at the far side of the necro-fence.

It didn't take much to help lift Butters up and through the hole. It helped that Nariko was fairly tall so she could reach though the hole. Sure, with the staff I only had one hand free, but he really did need just a step up and a bit of stability. Also it was nice to get a bit closer to him.

I shook my head once he was through. My smile vanished when I realized that I was alone on the far side of the fence. And I still had to get myself, and my staff through.

***************

I tried not to grumble as I slipped through the forest. At least hooves were rather quiet. It would have been embarrassing if I were the most noisy person in our little expedition. Though I suspected that once Butters got more training with the Carpenters and more experience under his belt, the little guy would give me a run for my money.

Getting through the necro-fence turned out to not be as hard as I feared. Sure I was alone, but I had made a Dresden-sized hole. And Nariko and Butters were on the other side to help me cross. It was Butters who pointed out that they could use my staff to help stabilize me so I didn't hit anything.

Then came the laborious process of closing the hole back up. First, I had to reel in the silver threads on my staff to bring the Play-Doh pairs back together. Then, I used a pair of claws to mush the twinned lumps back together.

Finally, with a bit more Soulfire I plucked each lump off its green thread. That was the most awkward part of the whole process. Sure we were all clear of the fence, but it would have been just my luck to set the damn thing off when I was trying to cover our tracks.

I dropped the lumps of clay back into their can and pocketed it. And with that we were in.

Exhaling, I followed the others deeper into the forest.

Ranma halted us and waited. I couldn't really see my sister in the distance, or much of the others. Seemingly satisfied with the silence, the redhead motioned and then our dispersed formation became even more dispersed.

Nabiki and Akane peeled off and ranged to the south-west, hugging closer to the necro-fence And a few minutes later Ukyou and Misako split off heading about due west.

I knew they were being sent off to scout two of the three ponds. Just as Nariko and Butters were going to bear to the north-east and check out the third body of water.

Having slipped under a veil, I closed to Ranma. My sister silently slipped through the woods; though I could use our connection to get a range on her. I could also feel the slight apprehension from my nieces as they went about their work.

Ranma halted within sight of the edge of the tree-line. A finger of cleared land had been cut out of the woods to serve a couple of baseball fields. The fields were still there, but the overhead footage had shown the construction company was using the area to store their vehicles, supplies and trailers.

Easing next to my sister, I blinked as I made sense or what I was seeing. I could smell the musky scent of wet-dog and feel the wolfmen and their human servants. Servants, allies, subordinates or were they just wolves that were still in human form?

I saw my sister jotting down notes on a map, seemingly ignoring my disquiet.

Either way, I my tension grew as I watched a few dozen people working and unloading the tractor trailers. Not only was there the sickly-sweet feeling of black magic in the air tingling my horns, but I was struck by the worry...

If I could smell the wolves, could they smell me? Sure, my veil was supposed to cover that. But how good were their senses? Still, I took some time to watch them unload, and our presence didn't cause any hue and cry to be raised.

The wolves worked largely under leafy netting and tarps. Given the old fashioned looking mortars and machine guns and other bits of equipment, it reminded me of a WW2 or Korean War movie. Well, one with werewolves, of course.

A few of the pieces had been setup. Including a couple of nasty double barreled cannons that had their own motors to control them. There were also rocket launchers that looked like bundles of pipes welded together.

"I think we found the stuff they stole from that Army base," I murmured.

"It's not all French," Ranma whispered back as she finished up her shorthand. "How much of this would work once the magic goes off?"

I shrugged. "I dunno, it looks simple, but I'd have to check and see how many electronics and the like. Also radar and the like can last... for a bit. But... all this stuff is inside the necro-fence. That can't be good."

She nodded and slipped her notes into a pocket.

"Still, they covered it up, that shows they expected some attack."

Still the camouflage was a bit clumsy. Wouldn't someone notice trees when there were no trees before? And what about thermal or whatever fancy sensors the mercs and army are using? Then again, maybe the necro-fence obscured that stuff too? I could also see equipment being shuttled to the area in the center of the ponds.

"Come on," Ranma ordered.

I followed her as she slipped back to the south, once again going deeper into the woods.

We weren't alone for very long. Butters and Nariko returned shortly. The black-haired girl handed some notes to her mother while the knight looked visibly shaken.

"You okay?" I asked him.

Nodding, he tugged at a canteen on his harness. "This... this is definitely the place." Butters swallowed then took a drink.

"The summoning?"

"It's like Lomar," he whispered. "The ponds are like... pumps to a central ritual." He shuddered, I knew the feeling. The whole area felt creepy and even at this distance the tension of the mounting summoning was palatable.

I was about to ask more when my other nieces returned. There was the scent of blood on one of Nabiki's knives. And the young woman seemed a big embarrassed.

Ranma nodded at that but took two more sets of notes from the four girls.

"We got away clean," Akane insisted.

"But they'll note two sentries are missing before long." Nabiki frowned.

After Ranma hugged Nabiki, Nariko pointed to the other girls and started setting up a perimeter.

"Clock's ticking anyway," Ukyou said.

"And we spotted mantis girl and some wannabe succubus," Misako noted as she tapped her grenade launcher.

So... Tessa and Rosanna. That was at least two Denarians. I exhaled. This was it. Sure there could be another summoning site, but Tessa was too prideful to use her own presence as part of a misdirection. Besides, she wanted to be present for the summoning, to take control of the big creepy crawly.

"The guys in robes at our pond were finishing up and there were more wolves being moved to the south," the blonde explained pointing to a spot on her map before going off with Nariko.

"Right, it looked like our group was nearing unloading their supplies too," Pulling back her sleeve, Ranma glanced at her wrist. "We're running low on time as it is," she said before going back to compiling the four maps she had received.

I frowned. That wasn't the beefy grey and black mechanical watch she had taken to wearing around me. It was white, and looked... delicate. It was also the thing Lady Jupiter had given her earlier.

"They're bunched up and rushed, the wolves should have distributed their defenses first," Misako shook her head, and then joined her sisters in the perimeter.

"I'm pretty sure Tessa cares more about the ritual going off than security," I said.

"Her loss," Ranma murmured. "Circle time, Sis," she absently said.

Sighing, I used my staff to cut a circle in the loamy dirt. Then with a bit of blood and will I energized the circle. I also inhaled and gave a few calming exercises to keep my power from flaring

Satisfied that my tech-bane was contained, my sister pulled out a radio. It was a bit chunky and nowhere as sleek as the headset she normally wore. She clicked it on and frowned.

The redhead grumbled and motioned to Ukyou. The blonde tried her radio. Then Nariko. After that it didn't take long to confirm that all their radios weren't working. Even Butters wasn't able to contact anyone outside.

Ranma's tail drooped slightly. "Well, Plan B then."

I eyed the various smoke grenades and flares and other bits the brood carried. They could mark the targets the old fashioned way. But then Tessa and the Wolves would know they had incoming.

"That's Plan C." My sister smirked. She then pulled back her sleeve, once more revealing that watch. "This is Plan B."

I stared at the blinking digital face on the watch. The familiarity clicked. "One of the magical girls gave you that."

She nodded and pushed a button on the side, and it flipped open.

What I had first taken for flimsy white plastic, was actually a ceramic material that looked more solid. Looking more closely, or as well as I could in the dark gloom, the gold accents were of a higher quality; it wasn't some cheap toy.

The orange gem and Jupiter symbol on the center of the inner face were also a clue.

And then Ranma spoke into the watch. "This is Pathfinder Red, over."

"Really, with the codenames?" Lady Mars' voice came out of the watch. It was tinny and hard to hear, but it was there.

Oh, it was a communicator watch, like something out of Dick Tracey or Johnny Quest, but it was one that Serenity and her girls used, so it was magic.

Ranma gave me a triumphant smirk as she talked into the watch. "It's more of a nickname. Anyway, this is the site. We've even spotted the big bug. Repeat, this is the site. Ready for target intel?"

There was a brief pause. "Okay, I'm ready," Mars replied.

I waited in my circle as Ranma started reciting coordinates with clear, deliberate enunciation. After a couple entries she would pause and have Mars recite them back. All this power... all these resources and they were talking using a girly, sparkly trinket. And then it hit me. My sister was more than a demon; she was also a magical girl!

"Magical communicators aren't blocked?" Butters asked.

I shrugged. "It's Pattern Silver tech, or Lunarian magic if you prefer."

"And the tech-bane only affects non-magical stuff?"

I gave another non-committal gesture. "Maybe."

"But the chance of it working was worth carrying a watch," Butters agreed.

"Knowing my sister, she'd got one of her girls wearing a spare." I snorted. "Two is one, one is none," I said in a sing-song voice that got me a flash of irritation from Ranma.

Okay, maybe chatting during an infiltration of an enemy ritual while your sister was trying to give targeting data wasn't the best of ideas.

She eyed me. "Make with the magic, Miss Wizard. We might have enough time to do some earth magic to get some type of trenches dug."

"Tessa might sense that," I offered. Also if I stepped out of the circle I might knock out their communications link, Lunarian magic or not.

"Try to do it quiet-like then." Purple eyes bored into me. "I'll take the risk of us being somewhere a bit more protected from shrapnel over tipping her off a few minutes ahead of time."

Nodding, I broke the circle. I really hoped that the Canadians had put their best, most experienced gunners on this. I mean, people who knew how to do more than just put in GPS coordinates and pull the string, or however they triggered those big guns.

I stepped a bit away from my sister who was finishing up giving coordinates.

Crouching down, I held my staff horizontal. "Geodas," I whispered as I pushed downward with my will forcing earth to part directly below my staff. I then shuffled to the side drawing out a shallow trench.

Distantly, I head Lady Mars's voice return with a final check. Of course there was more to it than these two. I remembered Lieutenant Tendo. No wonder she was liaising with the Pattern Silvers. I bet her radios worked. And using those, she could contact the Canadians, who would then call the artillery teams.

Who would then... lob shells packed with high explosives right at us. My tail drooped a bit with the realization, and I put a bit more power into my spell. I really hoped my babbling didn't cause Ranma to transpose a digit or something.

And that wasn't just for my own hide. Hells Bells, there's residential buildings all around us and a flippin' hospital due north. At least it was night so the school just south of here should be empty.

Still, I was struck by the sudden desire to know how far away those guns were and how accurate they were at that range. I vaguely remembered something about how artillery had to fire a couple shots to get the range dialed in before they could really have accurate fire. But I wasn't sure if I was remembering right.

I could just imagine Eve shaking her head and telling me that's what I got for reading comic books growing up instead of military history books, war memoirs, and manuals for military material. Hells Bells, she'd probably lecture me about the trench I was making.

I mean I didn't know how deep to make it, or wide. It had to be big enough to fit all of us... and spread out seemed to be better. Right? And my apprehension grew as Ranma and Mars synchronized their watches.

I could have made a joke about all the old war movies that had that corny bit, but given I was in the middle of an example of why having precise timing could be a matter of life and death...

"Okay," my sister exhaled after Mars gave her a time. "Thanks Rei."

"Someone on this end had to answer the communicator. And you've got Makoto's and Mina's."

"Not just that, but thanks anyway." Ranma laughed. Her expression sobered. "Be seeing you."

"And you," Mars quietly returned.

By now I had stepped into the trench and had moved my staff vertical as I ran it along the walls shoring them up and widening the slit in the earth. My fangs tingled as I tried to keep the force confined to a narrow area. It was getting exhausting. I dunno… maybe a lot of little slits would be better than one big trench.

My sister flipped the communicator closed. "Right, you heard the Lady, we don't have much time."

"Uh…" I stated, still grappling with the idea that I'd be in the middle of an artillery strike. It sounded like a better idea back in the hangar. For one, the forest we were in seemed a lot bigger up on the big map than it did when you were actually inside it. And I kind of wished I'd made my trenches a bit deeper.

Ranma hopped down into the cavity. It came up to her chest and was wide enough to turn around it. "Not bad..." she nodded.

She flexed her hands and crouched down. I felt a throb of concentrated power and the crumbling dirt wall in front of her stated to solidify and shift. "Keep it up, Sis," she hissed.

I put more power into the spell and watched as the trenchline slowly grew and squared off into something more solid. The edges were lined with almost parapet-like crenellations and the ends of the trench expanded with their own little perpendicular sections, kind of like a stubby letter I.

Ranma exhaled, and I noticed her hands had extended into claws and her hooves had dug into the packed dirt of the trench-slit's floor. Stones had pulled up to edge the tops and corners of the miniature fortification.

"And you told me to be low-key," I grumbled.

"Hey, Sailor Earth here." She glanced at her watch and hissed before signaling her girls to come into the trench with her.

Grumbling, I turned and saw Butters had climbed down. He adjusted his glasses as he peered about, mostly using his hands to feel the sides of the trench. His eyes had adapted to night vision, but he was still human.

I could tell his mind was taking in the implications of my sister having us expend the time and effort on such a structure. "I guess it's better to be in this than out of this."

"Unless there's a direct hit on us," Misako happily said as she squeezed past to take up position at one of the perpendicular edges of the trench. "That's something even Mom couldn't walk away from."

Well, that was a cheerful thought.

Butters simply swallowed, steeling himself.

"No matter how this goes, there's gonna be a lot of death," I whispered to him as my nieces busied themselves. Which I supposed was better than waiting down however much time we had left in introspection.

"We're not even offering a surrender," he murmured.

"You okay with that?"

Butters stared out towards the central ritual site. "Not really, but... I was at Lomar; I helped in the aftermath. I can understand why the Canadians are doing this." He sighed. "They'd be bombing this place regardless. At least this way we can make sure their shooting's more accurate, that Tessa hadn't roped any civilians into this..."

I nodded. We both knew Tessa hadn't picked a place of power next to a hospital because she wanted to have prompt medical care available to her minions.

We settled into an awkward wait. My eyes scanned the forest. My ears twitched with every sound, expecting Tessa's insectile shriek to pierce the night. Or a blast of hellfire to slam into the trench. Even a pack ravenous of loping wolves would have broken the tension.

Then I felt a bust of... excitement from my sister as she mouthed the word "Now" and flicked her arm. It was so quiet I could barely hear it. Butters hadn't heard it.

Acting on instinct, I yanked him down to the bottom of the trench. And empowered my shield. With a focus of will I pushed it so that it covered the whole trench. I had withstood some pretty nasty stuff before, including explosions, but I wasn't sure about a direct artillery hit, still, it was better than not having it up.

A quartet of booming explosions overlapped with slight delays. It sounded like they were coming from all around us. The earth shook and my teeth rattled. Lights washed over us and the trees shook.

There was a bare, bare instant of what might have been silence. At least the pounding on my ears had dialed down to a mere whining ringing.

The sky opened up.

These explosions were no longer distinct; direction was impossible to discern. Flashes, debris, blowing, tearing trees, skull-pounding noise. It felt like we were inside a storm-cloud in the middle of a thunderstorm.

***************


I suppose one upside of the massive headache the barrage gave me was it made it emphatically clear that we hadn't all been killed by a shell landing short, or long. Also keeping up a shield of that size was taxing even to me.

The forest... well, it wasn't gone, but so many of the trees had been stripped out. their branches and bark that they looked more like stretched, flayed corpses than anything else.

A piercing skull-splitting noise cut across the eerie calm that had followed the barrage. Ah, there was Tessa's insectile rage-filled scream. That was then followed by mournful howls all around us. The pitiful cries turned wrathful but were underscored by secondary explosions to the North.

Well... guess the artillery hit their anti-aircraft equipment. As I clambered out of the trench, I heard a distant droning that got steadily louder. Then a wave of necrotic energy screamed past me and, horns tingling, I stumbled to the dirt. Horns throbbing, I rolled over and saw my nieces were shaken and even Ranma had paused to blink.

Only Butters seemed unfazed. "The necro-fence," I gasped.

"Old man you musta taken it down," Ranma said as she helped me up. "Come on, there's not much time," she slapped me on the back.

Spreading in a line, we ran forward. I was sure my nieces had some sort of formation to where they were. Though I hung back to keep next to Buttes, who was also being escorted by Nariko.

Still, the little guy was making good time. But I supposed you couldn't become a Knight if you weren't determined. I could feel his resolve. That was reassuring, especially given the whole "running towards the Denarian ritual".

Sure, I was doing it but... I'm.... me. I glanced down at my body-hugging ice-blue armor and spell-reinforced duster. Well, close enough. Still this was....

Okay Butters had jumped through a portal not knowing where it would go. And if he hadn't arrived at Lomar...

Another explosion caused my head to shake. For a terrifying moment, I was worried that the Canadians had decided to resume the artillery barrage. Fortunately, it was just an ammunition truck the wolves had blowing up.

Helicopters shot over head, some seemed low enough that I thought tree branches would start coming down. A few seemed to slow as they passed over various locations and bright green beams of tracers spiked down.

Other helicopters hovered to allow troops to rappel down, some simply slowed and disgorged demons that popped out in quick descending arcs. A couple of the birds ducked down below the tree lines in what I hoped were deliberate landings.

The cacophony grew louder when we neared the edge of the tree-line. As the woods thinned out I was able to see the hospital to the northwest.

And now Butters slowed. Fire reflected off of his glasses. To the northwest the Institute was aflame with flashes of gunfire popping up around the hospital grounds. A chorus of howls answered the gunfire and I could just make out a helicopter bobbing down and opening fire as some sort of slab-sided armored vehicle skittered through the hospital's parking lot.

"I guess we underestimated the size of the Brotherhood of the Wolf," I noted.

Butters flashed me an irritated glance.

"You wanna go there and help? I understand," I hissed, looking a bit closer to home. Angry red light and sickly green energy suffused the buildings and other... things that made up the central ritual area.

A dark pressure washed over us and a queasy feeling grew in my gut. Tessa's hateful screech rose up again. It may have been wishful thinking on my part, but I detected a hint of trepidation and... triumph on her part. Stupid Denarians.

"I want to, yes," Butters hand clenched the hilt of his Sword. "But I have to get to her first... I mean that's where you're going."

And then the grove thinned enough for us to see the sloping ground below us. In the back stood Tessa's twitching mantis form. Rosanna had been conversing with her and my sense of... aesthetic found something almost offensive about one of the Fallen taking on a succubus-like shape. I could see more shadowy Denarians working feverously as the imposter succubus ran off to some other task at Tessa's behest.

However, my attention was on the crowd of wolves that had been coalescing. A panicked, if hulking, rabble was being organized by a truly giant black-furred wolf-man with flashing gold eyes and a heavy book hanging from his thick neck on a chain.

"Nariko, if you can, raise the Silvers start calling in targets of opportunity," Ranma ordered as she summoned a pair of obsidian orbs in her hands. "Ukyou, help spot with flare grenades."

The platinum haired succubus looked a bit skeptical but nodded. However her grenadier partner was eager.

"Misa!" Ranma pointed to the giant wolf with the book hanging over his neck at the head of the now charging wolves. "See that guy! Fuck him and everyone near him." And then she launched a sphere of purple-wreathed black fire.

Grinning, Misako leaned into her stance and depressed the trigger to her grenade launcher. There was a hammering, thudding noise as she emptied a belt of 40mm grenades.

Bodies tumbled down as green-tinged explosions swept aside the wolves before us. Somehow their hulking leader managed to survive the onslaught, but I was a bit distracted as I had been swept up with my sister in our counter-charge; I hardly had time to cast the spell I had been readying. Two of Ranma's daughters held the left flank while two took the right and Nariko was in back with Butters.

A pair of black orbs slammed into Tessa almost knocking the mantis girl's legs out from under her. Legs smoking, she nimbly regained her footing.

Tessa's eyes locked on Ranma "You. Interfering. Traitorous. Spawn!" she screamed in incandescent rage that caused the wolves near her to yelp in pain.

Tessa bent her fingers and beam of Hellfire burst forth. The livid, angry energy was almost as bright as an artillery shell. My sister dodged but it still hit her straight in the chest. I expected armor to char, for her flesh to boil, at least for her own flaming aura to react.

Instead there was a heavenly chime and the Hellfire burned off in a flare of golden light. And the Denarian was flat footed. Gaping, she all but ignored me. "How in the Adversary's meddling name did you do that?" she snarled.

By now Ranma, her armor still smoking, had slipped in and wrenched Tessa's extended arm and snapped her elbow joint the wrong way.

"Fuck you, that's how." Ranma answered as she slipped a leg around the tiny Denarian and threw her onto the ground.

Hellfire wreathing her like an incandescent aura, Tessa screamed. I would have made a comment about how Tessa used to complain that Ranma didn't talk the last time they fought but... It wasn't really my place to say that. Either way, Tessa launched herself up to try and gut my sister.

But that's when my Veil dropped, and the end of six feet of Ozarks oak smashed Mantis-girl's skull. It wasn't a clean hit, but in my defense: she was a fast little thing.

Now as Veils go. I'm... okay. Teaching Molly how to refine her own innate talent with Veils resulted in me learning a lot on how to be better with my own. Still, I was nowhere near good enough to escape the notice of someone with over a thousand years of experience, and a Fallen Angel providing backup. Well... unless said someone had been enraged to an irrational tunnel-vision.

"Hey Mantis-girl!" I cheerfully said as I pressed the end of my staff into the small of her back crushing her to the ground "Remember me?"

She tried to squirm out but managed to turn and face me. There was a spark of recognition in her eyes. Hells Bells, Tessa was strong. Even without any leverage she almost escaped.

"Here's a hint: Forzare!" I cried as a wall of force shot out from the staff. Chitinous armor cracked and blood spurted out as I tried to crush her like a bug.

Then I noticed the worried expressions on both Butters and my sister's faces. Though in fairness the redhead was also trying to dismember Tessa with those eyebeams of hers.

And then the Denarian exploded.

Wings flailing, I was knocked backwards in a tumble. Somehow I had lost my staff. Blearily, I glanced over and oh... Ranma must have protected Butters from the blast. Or maybe it was the other way around.

The Denarian rose from the crater in a jerky motion as she ripped my staff out of her back. The wood groaned in her talons as she studied the carvings. My sister came in for another attack, but this time Tessa raised a shield with her other hand. And then the giant wolfman, Vuko I think his name was, lunged at her.

"Lartessa, the summoning, we have to-" Rosanna started, her scarlet skin splattered with blood and ichor. She then spotted Butters. Though to her eyes he wasn't a middle aged medical examiner polka player.

No... she saw a Knight of the Cross with a Lightsaber. With a Sith demoness standing next to him. Nariko smiled thinly as she lifted her katana.

Studying all this mantis-girl turned to me. "Dresden..." The armor around her head began to split, revealing her disturbingly youthful heart-shaped face. "Lasciel had you for years... to no avail; they have you for a fortnight and you sign your soul over. The Webweaver is slipping."

"Maybe you just suck at the whole Faustian bargain thing," I smirked stomping closer. Ice started growing out from where my hooves hit the dirt. I flexed my arm and the icy gauntlets began to expand and grow runes similar to those on my blasting rod.

She snarled.

"You also suck at the revenge thing. Normally I'd sit back and cheer someone trying to take out old Nickel-head. Maybe give a few pointers, but you have to royally screw up to get me involved."

"You gave up your humanity to stop me," she laughed. Her lips pulled back into a crooked grin. "I win."

I made a show of glancing around at the helicopters and gunfire. It seemed that things were getting more under control at the hospital. At the very least the explosions to the north had died down.

Though most of the combat was a bit further away where Rosanna, still leading Butters and Nariko on a merry chase, seemed to be trying to rally the remaining Denarians and Wolves. Vuko and his cadre were busy trying to fend off Ranma. At least Vuko was large enough to shake off having massive chunks of flesh ripped out.

"Really? This isn't the part where you say 'You'll never stop me', or 'You and what army?' Because... " my tail flicked up towards the sky.

Her giggle returned. "Stop me? I already did it."

Oh. Empty Night.

"Wizard, all your plans," Tessa grinned flashing white teeth.

"All your interference," she continued, glancing at the soldiers and demons fringing the wolves. Sniper and mortar fire had started to tell and her fellow Fallen were retreating, but Tessa's reaction was a dismissive shrug.

"All your sacrifice," The Denarian contemptuously looked me over. "All for naught."

"Just kill her!" Ranma swore as she dodged a blow from a giant, smoldering wolfman. Even from this far away the smell of burnt fur filled my nose. Vuko might be the size of a mini-van but he was almost as fast as my sister.

To my left one of the ponds suddenly stilled. Explosions, flares, and cold stars were reflected by the smooth-as glass surface. There was a snapping tearing noise as the edge between the depths of the sky and the water below began to crack.

I don't mean the water had frozen and cracked. It wasn't even the air above the water was shearing apart. No, the idea of reflection, the concept of a mirrored image broke down.

And something came... through.

I'll give the Canadians and the mercenaries credit; they didn't even pause to count tentacles. The second something started sloughing though the crackling, expanding portal they opened fire.

"They rise!" Tessa cried, a mad edge to her voice. A magic shield also flared to life around her.

Heavy Gatling guns laden with tracer figure gouged into a burbling rubbery hide that shimmered like some alien sky. Whirls and motes of lights twisted on the creature's skin as if it still reflecting the starlight of its native dimension. Seemingly ignoring the weapons fire, sinewy arms that ended in hooked tentacles tore into the dirt as it pulled forward, out of the portal.

As it dug in, the loamy ground seemed to grey and the thing's hide became more... vibrant. Or at least the colors became more pronounced. Hues that had no place on a sane palette scratched into my eyes. I was reminded of the livid angry colors of a poison arrow frog crossed with the flickering changing colors of a cuttlefish.

Hells Bells, the gigantic lumpy thing almost looked like a cross between a frog and a squid, though it was... more... I may have giggled as I was struck by the familiarity of the colors. Sure, none of the shades were like those on the cultist Mal de Veste's hideous suit, but "paisley plaid" was close enough.

I then heard another keening noise and glancing to the east saw a second squid-frog lumbering forward. This time a barrage of rockets blew into its skin. Plaid chucks bounced away in a spray of orange goo.

A squashed head-like appendage peeled back like some sort of cephalopod-flower nightmare and a pure beam of paisley flickering antic energy shot a helicopter out of the sky. Its partner joined in clipping another aircraft.

Well... at least we kept Tessa from summoning something out of all three pools.

I watched as the helicopter spun and tumbled landing in what I hoped was an empty field, and not, say, a residential neighborhood. The light to Tessa's shield flickered a bit... and I realized it was down to just the two of us.

So... even wolf-men, Vuko, my sister, and the other Denarians were smart enough to pull back in the light of this insanity.

Something almost like... worry colored Tessa's petite face. I wasn't sure what she had expected to summon but giant plaid squid-frogs wasn't it.

"You save your box tops, you send in the money, you wait six to eight weeks for shipping, but the toy's never as cool as they made it sound in on the back of the box," I glibly said, without... okay maybe my voice did crack a bit.

"You! You did this," Tessa hissed as she worked her hands creating a complex spell. I recognized many of the symbols forming around her from my readings. She was trying to bind the creatures.

"You got me, this is all my fault," I added with a strained laugh. The sounds of combat had gotten quieter.

Of course part of my attention was far away, back at the airfield where we had staged before this little mess. The Canadians had jets there; jets that on reflection were carrying bombs. And if those planes weren't already in the air they'd be screaming down the runway.

How much time did I have before the government decided to cut their losses?

As I bent down and used my tail to try and flip something up into my hand, I glanced over and saw Butters and Nariko exchanging sword blows with Rosanna's glowing whip. The trio moved around a bit of rubble that had once been some type of outbuilding. The scarlet demon girl was impressive, being able to hold off against both a Jedi and a Sith. It helped that her little hooves were especially nimble. Though I suppose Butters was holding back.

"Rosanna you don't have to do this!" Butters cried. "Look at all Tessa has wrought in her mad quest for revenge. How many of her kin, your kin have been destroyed, and look at that!" The knight demanded pointing his glowing Sword at one of the giant frog-squids. "Stand down... please."

The Denarian paused, a sad look crossing her face. "It's too late!"

Nariko's sword flicked and blocked the whip. Lightning crackled and fought against the Denarian's power.

"It's never too late, at least let us fix this, how long have you known Tessa? Is this how she normally acts?" Butters pleaded.

Rosanna looked sad. And I couldn't help but snort. From what I'd seen Tessa was always a bundle of rage-fueled crazy and Rosanna knew it.

"Please." Butters leveled his lightsaber. "Don't take my compassion for weakness," he said stepping around as Nariko watched his flank.

Red eyed widened and the succubus flipped her sword and used the flat to push the Holy knight aside. There was an explosion as Rosanna's torso ripped apart and she flopped down in a bloody heap before she tried to scramble back up.

More gunfire hit against Tessa's shield, some of the heavier rounds actually piercing the energy barrier.

"You're being oddly silent. No pithy comments?" Tessa leered as the continued to cast her spell; I felt waves of compulsion shoot out and try to harness the giant creatures.

Both squid-frogs yowled as their plaid skins rippled and seemed to suck more of the life, the color, out of the world. Though that could have been less to do with Tessa's efforts and that despite pulling back the Canadians, the mercenaries, and the demons were starting to concentrate their fire on them.

One group that was still a bit close was a squad of mercs following... Well, there's a familiar flash of orange and black. I saw a tall broad-shouldered man in black armor draw a long sword and start hacking at some of the hulking wolves.

The blade shone with a silver gleam that was almost like a Warden's blade, but not identical. I mean a hired assassin using the same weapon as a Warden of the White Council would be wrong.

In his other hand the masked man held that shiny handmade revolver. He thumbed back the hammer, took precise aim, there was a cracking boom, and in a burst of antic blue light a willowy avian Denarian that had been rallying the wolves fell in a tangle of leaves, limbs and black, pumping ichor.

Next to... well... Old Man Harry was the lithe armored form of his daughter. She took a pointed stance with a shimmering shield in front of her and a shouldered battle rifle. Her iron wand was clipped to the front of the gun like a thin bayonet. Said wand was projecting the shield. Working in concert with her father, she took off any targets that the sword-slinging wizard missed, when she wasn't directing the occasional pot-shot my way.

The remaining company mercs had taken support positions and were methodically clearing forward with them on point. Which I supposed was how they had trained with my sister and her daughters.

The older Dresden caught my gaze and for an instant I looked at him eye to, well, eye. It was kinda creepy how half of his mask was just blank.

I gave him a mad grin and gestured.

Tessa was right about one thing, I had been oddly silent. For one... she had missed that I'd retrieved my staff. But with my alternate self here....

The version of me that liked dressing up as a super villain grinned. He aimed his revolver and.... okay, my sisters are right. I should really spend more time at the range. I'd like to say I'm a... fair shot.

But let's be honest.... I don't practice nearly enough. Too busy doing other things, being a detective, being a wizard, being dead, working for my Queen.

Old Man Harry? Apparently, he doesn't have that problem. Apparently, he made the time. The damn showboat practically fanned his revolver, at twenty yards, one-handed. Sure, the first hit caught Tessa unaware, but she then started dodging and weaving. Enchanted bullets hit her shield and shattered the energy barrier, shorting it out,

Oh.... and the damn fancy cappuccino-drinking man learned how to reload.... while carrying a sword in his off-hand. Growling, I readied my staff and readied my own spell.

"Glacivallare!" I cried as I slammed the end of the staff into the ground. Runes flared and a wedge of stone about ten feet long, half a foot wide, and twenty feet tall shot up under Tessa's feet.

There was a snapping noise as the edge of the wall caught the Denarian's leg and her ankle bent in the wrong way. She fell on the side of the wall closest to me and for a moment was on the ground.

Lips pulled back, I launched myself at the distracted Denarian. My claws sunk into her armor, but she fought like the rabid little wolverine she was.

She kicked, clawed, and burned. But thankfully my coat and my armor managed to help me. Though water was pouring off of me in dozens of little, and not so little gashes, I managed to get my tail around her torso and started using the bladed fins to pry apart the exoskeleton on her back, while also palm striking her nose and casting ignus straight in her face.

Okay, first off it was her fault for not snapping her mantis armor over her face again. But... maybe blasting a miniature sun in her eyes wasn't the brightest of moves.

She screamed louder than whole pile of demo charges going off in a cave. It was louder than the bellow of one of the Forest People playing host to a Denarian. Her cry of pain was almost as bad as the unshielded mental blasts my spooky Island Deamonreach gave when it tried to communicate.

Though with Alfred I didn't bleed from the ears. But... that might have been due to her managing to blast me off of her in a pretty impressive arc. I'd like to say that I used my fae and succubus agility to nail my landing, but honestly I was lucky to hit the ground.

Pulsing, angry crimson energy emanated from Tessa in flickering waves. It helped cover up the sheeting blood that poured down her face. She lifted her head up and two glowing angelic eyes stared at me. Oh... so I had Imariel's attention. Wonderful.

My attention turned to Old Man Harry and his Maggie, and Butters and Nariko. Both groups were closing in.

"There they are!" I cried.

Though I could feel the trepidation on Butter's part. The knight's attention was split between the burning hospital, the bleeding Denarian, and oh yes, the pair of giant, and plaid, eldritch horrors. "Yeah... hard to miss," he said not playing along.

"There who are?" Old Man Harry asked, willing to spare a moment.

"There! Evil Pure and Simple by way of the Eight Dimension!" I cried theatrically pointing to the building-sized monsters.

Sparing me an annoyed glance at my classic reference, Butters looked back at the frog-squids. One which was being hit by some heavy rifle fire, grenade fire and a whole slew of magical attacks. The other was being pounded by helicopters.

Nariko was at his side.

He licked his lips. "Uh... maybe... thanks for the help Nariko but... I can handle it from here."

Nariko simply pointed with her sword. Her mother, her sisters were still fighting.

"Maybe they should pull back, I mean... we're hardly slowing them down."

I fired waves of magical fire out of my gauntleted hand. I then I switched to force and will, all to try to knock Tessa back down and saw a familiar mad-gleam on my niece's face. It was one I had seen on my sister.

Nariko hit the Pattern Silver Communicator on her wrist. "Beachhead. Priority! Grid N4 832 210. Grid N4 832 211. Immediate suppression!"

Old Dresden stopped and, despite his mask, I could have sworn I saw the color drain from his face. Though the feelings emanating from him were blatant and clear

They were close enough that I could just hear a hesitance on the voice on the other end, maybe a reluctance, maybe a desire to help.

"Uh-" Butters tried to say before Nariko knocked him over. She shot a bolt of lightning from her sword straight into the air. "Danger Close!" the demon screamed cutting across the battlefield.

She then said a quick prayer to Amaterasu and put her body over his.

My other self had also taken to ground with his daughter, both their shields flaring as they pumped in extra power existence. Everyone else seemed to be taking cover, but I wanted another shot to get Tessa from closing in.

The good news is that I impaled her right in the chest with an icicle as thick as my wrist. There was a crunch as it broke through chitin, blood sprayed out, and she fell.

The bad news: that's when the artillery hit. Again.

***************


Standing was a mistake.

I was blown over when the sky exploded. Tessa on the other hand, well someone was nice enough to force her to her knees when the air filled with high explosives.

Thus, I woke up to being viciously kicked in the side. I suppose I should count myself lucky that I had woken up. But... given my stomach was being cut apart by Tessa's taloned feet, I wasn't feeling so lucky.

My mouth tasted of ashes and blood. Unfortunately, it was my own blood. I coughed and it came out in a dark blue spray.

The Denarian's anger radiated out in steady waves. One of the first things you learn as a Practitioner is that emotions are powerful. However, they have to be shaped by will and control.

So while Tessa really, really believed in the righteousness of beating me to death she, at the moment, lacked the control to leverage it. I suppose mantis-girl wasn't used to things not going her way. Though, it doesn't help that the last time she was pissed off was when her daughter got murdered. Which... was the whole reason we were both in this world.

Then again Tessa did seem to be content with disemboweling me on the installment plan.

Still, she should have just killed me. Then again, mantis-girl liked to play with her enemies, make them suffer. Meanwhile I had plenty of experience at suffering. Laughter burbled past my lips, along with a bit of blood.

Tessa paused for a moment and her insectile-armored heat tilted.

"My sister's beat me worse than this," I laughed as I raised an arm. "Forzare!"

The Denarian dodged but the wave of force still clipped her torso and sent her flying over the lip of a berm.

Gasping, I pulled up. A oily, fishy but almost minty smell filled my nose and I gagged. This time the blood that came out wasn't so dark. That was good… right? At least the gashes on my torso were starting to freeze over as layers of armor regrew.

My hooves dug into the sides of the crater I must have been blown into. I could now see...

Ah, the summoned monsters had retreated from the barrage. Not back to wherever they came from, but each squatted in one of the ravaged ponds, making them look even more like a nightmarish combination of amphibian and cephalopod.

Both had been damaged with tears and gouges in their rubbery, plaid hides. The one to the North looked like it had lost a hooked tentacle arm. However, much of their spongy, reeking matter was still present. Though orange fluids were leaking out.

And even squatting in water the pair lorded over the blasted terrain. The ponds had been diminished and water had been splashed everywhere. They deflated and expanded a bit, looking even more toad-like.

It was like if a Macys Thanksgiving Day parade float could be made out of nightmares and bad mojo. With each croaking pulse the grounds around the squid-frogs greyed out a bit more and looked almost crumbly.

By some miracle, the hospital was still standing. So, good targeting on the Canadians' part. It wasn't even on fire anymore. However, the grouping of buildings in between the ponds had been blown to kindling.

As I ran up the lip of the crater I looked for my staff. I seriously considered getting a strap or something. My head cleared a bit, amazing what not having your face pummeled will do, and my horns tingled with familiar sensations.

Good. I could feel that my family had survived, and as I jumped over the crater lip with a scream of "Parkour". I also spotted Butters and Old Man Harry moving about. My pleasure at seeing them alive was diminished by the hunger flaring in my chest as I flapped my wings.

Tessa had done a fair bit of damage and it was only fair that I pay her back. My claws flicked out, and I landed a bit clumsily. Still one of my hooves managed to catch Tessa's right leg just above the knee and I fell upon the little Fallen angel host.

I could hear my sister's admonishing tone as I clawed and grappled with Tessa. There was no finesse no skill. Our talons were out and what proceeded was a dirty and messy fight with a lot of biting and clawing. Blood and ichor flew as ice armor and exoskeleton ripped apart.

Honestly, I felt like I was buying time, keeping Tessa occupied. Well... part of me felt that way. The Winter sidhe succubus part was focused on taking down an enemy and feeding when she could.

Every moment Tessa was trying to beat me in a bout of rage-fueled anger was a moment when she wasn't trying to gain control of the blimp-sized monsters she had summoned.

I slashed open her forearm and then burned out her shoulder, but that came at the cost of a shattered knee. Still, I was hanging on. But... I growled in frustration no matter what I did Mantis-girl could heal it.

And as for the frog-squids they took a barrage that wiped out a super wolf army and just needed a little sit down before they started bounding across the countryside. I'm sure if I wasn't busy head-butting a Denarian I'd come up with some scheme to banish the summoned.

But... at the moment I felt like all I could do was keep Tessa' attention, let my friends and family evacuate, and wait for those bomber jets. Hopefully that'd be enough. And hopefully, I'd have enough power to call up a shield.

As I kneed Tessa in the neck, she slipped in the mud and I fell on her. "Geodas!" I screamed.

A hole was punched into the mucky ground just behind the Denarian. Dodging a blast of Hellfire that lit up my hair I laughed once more. There was an idea, when the bombers come I should just make a hole and pull myself in after it.

Tessa charged and I angled my arm; the runes and prongs over my gauntlet had grown back. "Pyrofuego!" I cried as blue fire lit up the murky gloom. Flames caught Tessa in the chest and pushed the Denarian back until she nimbly rolled just short of being pushed into the hole I'd made.

Still bemused by my "bury yourself" idea, I pulled myself back up and flicked mud off of my wings and tail. It wouldn't be the first time I'd taken refuge in what could very well be my grave.

Then my horns flared in pain as I felt sky breaking once more. I glanced over and saw that the squid-frogs were agitated. Well, maybe that was because a pair of armored vehicles were lobbing missiles at them from the hospital parking lot. The vehicles rapidly reversed as the frogs turned and antic, but paisley, beams shot from one of them. It was like being attacked by Disco. The creature's fire missed as a group of helicopters used that chance to harass them from a different angle.

However, my attention was on the incipit teleportation that was now making my stomach heave. Then mantis-girl so helpfully blasted at me with a broad gout of Hellfire. For a moment Tessa's malevolent glee was matched by my own dread as I reinforced my shield. Despite the magical protection, I still felt like I was melting and roasting.

Then the air to my left ripped apart and we realized that this portal was silver-tinged. The waves of Hellfire stopped as Tessa watched five figures coalesced out of silver light.

Four young women in articulated metal armor with shiny little skirts appeared. Accented with colorful bows, ribbons, and golden tiaras, the quartet went to their knees two flanking either side of a tall woman in silver armor and pale blue eyes.

Despite myself, I swallowed. I hardly noticed as my ice armor shed its outer layer and then grew thicker in an attempt to remove any mud and freshen my look. My hair fluttered as it straightened and a bit of the muck fell away. I felt a heavy power of... something.

Something old. Layers of powerful and intricate enchantments. I was reminded of the complicated, temporally-interlocking wards that made up my scary island. And given that said island was a supernatural supermax prison, the comparison left me feeling... disturbed. The entity before me was a person, yes, but she was also a magical construct of vast complexity.

Even the two squid creatures seem to pause, tilting their tentacle fronts towards the woman in silver.

Tessa tilted her head as she studied the tall woman in the armored gown. "I've seen you before... what in the Adversary's meddlesome name are you?"

Pale lips quirked into a smile as Queen Serenity leveled her scepter. "Polonius Lartessa. In the name of the Moon, I will punish you!"

End Chapter 14



I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf.

And... here we go. Two chapters left.

In the Return Revision project: I'm almost done with the last chapter of what's going to be the first book. So expect to see the posts of The Return: "Brooding Responsibility" in a couple weeks at the most.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Chapter 15 Just Desserts , Part A



The air around the silver-haired woman hummed with power. Serenity aimed a gold scepter at the Denarian. Tipped with a silver construct that hurt to look at; the Artifact's presence added to the background hum that put my horns on edge.

"Punish me?" Tessa stared at the magical girl, shock giving way to contempt. The insectile Denarian sniffed the air. "No... you're just like those pathetic Knights," she shot Butters a vicious look. "You think I'm possessed by an evil entity, and you're desperate to save me from the host, to give me a chance at redemption."

Serenity's expression tightened as her Senshi got up. Motes of light still flickered off their armored forms, lingering energy discharges from their teleport. The silver-haired woman lowered her arm, scepter moving in a lazy arc as she whispered.

Tessa smirked. "You should have stuck with the demons for backup, wizard. They've at least got the stomach for-"

The scepter shot back up as the humming reached a crescendo. "Silver Crystal Attack!" Serenity shouted as a beam of astounding silver light jetted from the scepter in a horizontal column. The edges of the beam were tinged with a flickering blue, or that might have been a reaction my eyes had to being almost blinded by the flash.

The silver light slammed into Tessa, bowling her down. She gave a screech and her Hellfire-fueled shield sprang into existence; the angry red bubble barely holding under the gouging silver onslaught.

The silver-haired woman calmly stepped forward, her face serene. "I'm not sure how it works for the Knights, but this is how I save someone tainted by evil power." Her teeth flashed in a stern grin as she held the scepter with both hands and, as a golden sigil flashed on her forehead, pushed more power into the spell.

Even standing to the side caused my vision to go spotty. Hells Bells, looking at Serenity's attack for too long pulled and pried at me, almost threatening to open my Third Eye. And I did not want to see this battle with my Wizard's Sight. Worse, my horns had gone numb and a strange hunger flittered about me.

Though I managed to push that aside. The remaining Denarians, led by Rosanna, were trying to rally and rescue their leader. But they were met by my doppelganger, Butters, and the other Senshi.

I glanced down at my arms and smiled. For once Tessa's attention wasn't on me in this fight.

Blinking away a few spots on my vision, I darted further to the side of the two magical Titians. Though I took care to make sure I wasn't hit by the backwash. I really didn't want to see what Serenity's beam would do to me. I was pretty enough, I didn't need magical girl sparkles and shimmering bows.

Runes flashed into existence on my armored arms. Exhaling, I pressed my wrists together. The armor grew as my gauntlets fused onto each other and half a dozen six-inch prongs extruded out. Digging in, I pulled my succubus powers, wizarding magic, and a bit of Soulfire and blended them all together.

I balanced myself with my right foot trailing and put most of my weight on my left "Cannem Flagrantissimum!" I screamed.

Another giant beam speared the dark gloom. This one... well, it had silver in it: specifically the helical waves of Soulfire that bounded the raging blending of demonic and wizard fire.

Tessa turned towards me; the brief moment of incredulous surprise was very satisfying. And then the raging torrent of blue and white flames slammed into the Denarian's crackling red shield.

My hooves dug into the ground as the magical fire from my ''plasma cannon" slammed into the crimson shield and interacted with Serenity's silver beam causing magical energies to froth and splatter about.

A blindingly red explosion lit the night, bathing the surrounding area in flickering lurid colors, and the shield shattered with the sulfurous reek of Hellfire. Demonic fire bowled Tessa over followed by ringing silver light.

Gasping, I cut my attack and winced as my armor receded freeing my arms. As I trotted up, Serenity was already marching towards the X-shaped crater our crisscrossing attacks made.

Hate radiated off of Tessa like the steam hissing out of the loamy ground she was prying herself off of. For the first time, the Denarian looked... tried. But the moment of vulnerability passed, and the small woman in the insectile armor managed to kneel with defiance.

Serenity had stopped at the lip of the crater with Lady Mars to one side of her and Lady Venus to the other. The Moon Queen had unslung a... staff of some kind. Something about the odd shape of the polished wooden length and the inset crystal rod that ran its length struck me as familiar.

"Denarian, Fallen... Lartessa I've got to thank you for this. No uncertainty. No corrupted friends who might be right about my own fall. No robotic assassins without any reason to hurt me other than their professional pride. No feeling of hopeless dread."

Serenity socketed her scepter into the end of the staff. Like a... Hells Bells, it was just like a bayonet on the end of a rifle.

The queen smiled. "No, today I'm facing just a perky little woman possessed by an ancient evil, her lieutenants, legions of minions, and their summoned monsters from another dimension."

The queen's grin turned vicious as she sighted along the crystal barrel. "Finally. Things make sense."

The long crystal rod in the wooden stock flared. Tessa's battered face gave a crooked smile as she stood up, favoring her left foot. "Little Pretend Princess you can't purify the evil out of me. That's against the Rules. They won't let you."

Serenity's expression turned regretful though her eyes remained focused. Still, she pulled in more power and I had to force myself to look away and take stock of the rest of the battle. Butters and Nariko were running over to a group of succubae and Old Man Harry was talking with Ranma and Lady Pluto about something.

When I turned back, Tessa had adjusted her stance. Her armor was torn but mad pride radiated off of her. "Only I can reject Imariel; that's how the game is played. Can you comprehend the centuries I've been free to ravage the world? The Knights I've destroyed? You think you're different? That you can stop me where they've all failed?"

A silver nimbus surrounded Serenity as she simply gave a little sigh. I got the feeling that ranting, power-hungry ancient sorceresses was another thing Serenity found "familiar".

Serenity rocked back as a lance of silver power shot from her scepter and staff. While thinner than before, the beam was still wide enough to engulf Tessa and caused stars to burst in my vision.

Tessa, for her part, launched forward like a racecar shooting into a hailstone. Bits of chitin chipped and blew off as the distance closed.

The two women flanking Serenity opened up. Lady Mars pointed and jets of fire charged out causing Tessa to... okay, the Denarian didn't stumble, but that ankle of hers turned in a way that couldn't possibly have felt good.

After firing a narrow yellow beam with her fingertips, Lady Venus stepped in and drew a giant straight sided sword. It had an almost translucent silvery sheen that reminded me a bit.... well it didn't quite give the same vibe as Amoracchius but it was definitely more than a Warden's blade.

I shouldn't have been surprised that a magical girl had a magical sword. Though, I was surprised when the stiff blonde let Tessa slam onto Serenity. But I suppose I wasn't in any position to critique her.

The tall, silver-haired woman's armor absorbed the blow as she flipped her staff. It was a clumsy move; if she were doing bayonet drill, an instructor would have had her guts for garters. But it did clip Tessa in the arm.

Talons raked against silver armor as the little Denarian managed to knock the larger queen to one knee. Serenity gave a pained cry that cut across the night and made my ears ring. I suppose getting closer to her might have been a bad idea.

"Too much, Princess?" Tessa smirked, but I could tell she was pained too. "At least that demon of yours knows how to take a hit, but I'll educate you," she leered letting part of her facial armor peel back.

Serenity's smile returned and she slammed her forehead into the Denarian's. Surprisingly, the heavy silver tiara hit with a crunch and ripped more pieces of chitin away.

Tessa blinked for a split second in surprised. And that's when Venus thrust with her sword. The blonde's eyes flashed red as she pressed. The blade skewered the diminutive Denarian.

As Tessa screamed I smashed my staff onto her back. "Galvinius!" I cried. Normally this spell required a copper chain to focus the energy, but the whole point of a wizard's staff was its flexibility.

And sure, the electrical surge that went through Tessa wasn't as efficient as if I'd use the proper focus but it still made her twitch. Though Lady Venus also staggered a bit as her irises went crimson and her skin got an odd sheen.

"Fire-starter! Moon-girl! Hit her now!" I screamed rushing to the raven-haired magical girl's side.

The two other magical girls complied.

However, Lady Mars' attack made me feel like I had fallen into a furnace. Serenity retrieved her staff. Good news, we managed to combo the Denarian. Bad news... it only lasted for a second before Tessa set off another Hellfire bomb.

***************

I loped along the torn-up, loamy ground. My legs ached; my joints hurt. I had been tossed a far distance and the landing was not... pretty; in fact, it got pretty hairy for a moment there as I tumbled and smashed into things. I shook my head, as the ringing dissipated in my ears.

Detonations thundered around me. I was getting really sick of Tessa.

It shouldn't me surprise that Mantis girl would do anything to escape being cornered. She was like a cockroach. My head throbbed... after the Hellfire explosion things got... fuzzy.

Pulling my hand from my throbbing hip, I shook my head and picked up the pace. I spared an idle glance at my wet talons and flicked off some blood that, in the eerie weak light, looked like shiny crimson stones.

I exhaled as I got into a run. My mind cleared a bit as I licked my teeth and spat out a line of stringy red saliva. I had enough time to push Lady Mars out of the way and get my shield up. That was good. I also saw Lady Venus getting... shimmery as she put her golden form between Serenity and the blast.

Of course, Tessa's hate was still focused on me and my shielded form was blasted into the air. I should have been able to use my wings to control my landing.

Well... a better succubus would have. I winced and hacked up another bit of bloody phlegm and gunk. Okay... I kinda hoped the light was playing tricks on me; that was a bad shade of red.

I'm sure my sister would have said something about me working past the pain and that I wouldn't feel this bad if I hadn't trained harder. Okay, that was a bit mean to Ranma. I mean, she was tough but she wasn't like my godmother. My sister didn't delight in hurting me during her lessons, much.

I suppose I should be relieved that Leanansidhe was satisfied enough with Ranma's training regime that she didn't feel the need to assist. Then again, that freed her up to help Cecilia and…

Gait steadying, I felt my cheeks blush and spat more blood out. Awkwardness aside, I did find that method of feeding preferable to ripping someone apart and feasting on their flesh. Then again, as my leg stopped limping I could just imagine my reflection teasing and pointing out that both method had their pros and cons.

Still, Lea had been doing more than plotting with my sister. I mean, she was notably absent to this whole fight. Someone as bloodthirsty as her wouldn't avoid a battle unless under orders. Lea did make it sound that she was here under the auspices of helping her God... daughter, and not as a belligerent of Winter. Of course, Winter Mother was behind my own involvement and she made Mab look sentimental.

I suppose Lea might have been sensible and realized that once Tessa had managed to summon these eldritch outer monsters that this world might be on borrowed time. Glancing over, I saw that the titanic creatures had moved from their pools and were lumbering towards Tessa. Okay... that explained the continued barrage. And Lady Pluto taking the field.

Then my nostrils flared as I caught the scent of Butters and Ranma and a bunch of my nieces. Further out, I could see the Senshi were still battling Tessa. Lady Pluto had her staff out and was casting iridescent spells that even this far were hard to look at and made my horns buzz like high tension lines.

As I ran closer, I also felt.... My eyes flared in shock and I almost stumbled. A stabbing, burst of pain slammed into me and was washed over with sensations of fear and an urgent desire for mother. One of my nieces was hurt.

Tilting my tingling horns, I realized it was coming from the same direction Butters was headed in. It was away from Tessa, towards the tree line, a bit ahead of the smoldering wreckage of a blown-out helicopter.

Beyond that, I saw Rosanna, in her silly crimson skin and indulgent cleft-hooves harassing the old-man version of me. Her flail managed to keep him off-balance but her shield was still absorbing a lot of punishment. There was a lot of interference but I could feel a bit of... concern coming from her, especially when Ranma's dark form burst in.

I only gave that a bare bit of attention as, tail straight, I concentrated on getting to the wounded.
The familiar taste, er, scent, also filled my nose as Butters and I got closer.

Our paths were vectoring in we were about half the distance apart. Amazingly, the little guy was keeping up. Nariko was still shadowing him. Her sword providing a dark compliment to his.

Even I noticed Rosanna's wicked glee as she flung her flail at my grey-haired doppelganger. As the weapon exploded with Hellfire, the Fallen twisted and launched herself at the Knight.

Butters was distracted, focused on being a doctor. On helping.

I winced, gritting my bloody fangs as I lowered my staff. After landing I had recovered, but it wasn't enough. Still I had to help. "Forzare!" I shouted.

Pushing myself, I ignored the wailing of hunger in my guts and cast the spell. The lance of force shot out and... missed.

It fell short and instead of knocking Rosanna down, it carved a furrow into the dirt right in front of Nariko. The dark-haired young-woman went down in a tumble.

At least the distraction got Butters' attention. He turned to her then caught sight of Rosanna's sprinting form. Her talons smoldered with a black fire that was at least in the top five of creepy effects of this night.

But given I had already seen Tessa, the frog-squids and whatever magic Lady Pluto was up to... Rosanna should be honored to even make it that high.

Butters stopped and planted his feet. He met Rosanna's gaze. "Belial. Stop."

I blinked, I hadn't known the name of her Fallen. But of course a Knight would.

"Why?" Rosanna smirked. Her normal guise as a sad, vulnerable woman in a bad situation was gone. Instead, her ostentatious features were marked with a feral glee. "Is this where you tell me to recant my ways? That we're in over our heads."

I looked over at the queen in glowing silver armor blasting at an abominable mass of tentacles and rubbery skin that drained the color out of the sky.

I was pretty sure we had gone well past "over our heads".

Horns tingling, vision throbbing, I ran closer. I was too far to help just yet, but Nariko was pulling herself up and my sister and Old Man Harry were also vectoring in. Butters just had to last a bit and the cavalry would come.

Rosanna flexed her claws and slashed at Butters. "Lartessa may be occupied, her revenge might be delayed but I can console her by taking out a Knight." Her fanged smile was cute but vicious.

Stepping back, Butters frantically parried with his Sword. The light actually dimmed when those talons of shadow and darkness hit them. "I don't have time for this." He exhaled. "I'm telling you, not as a Knight, but as a doctor, I have more important things than fighting you."

"Aww, you're attached to the little pretenders?" Smirking, Rosanna put herself between Butters and the wounded. "There, now your choice is simple," she mocked spreading her claws.

"It was your choice." Butters sighed and the glow on his Sword increased.

Several things happened at once. The Denarian pounced with her claws. Ranma and Old Harry opened fire. Rosanna's shield flared, absorbing the impacts. And Butters simply resumed his sprint and swung his Sword.

Shadow talons met holy blade. Butters was short. He wasn't as strong. He wasn't as skilled. Certainly not as much as a Fallen who had served at Tessa's right hand for centuries.

But this wasn't Knight business. He was a doctor and someone was injured.

He caught her talons and twisted the blade. Butters angled his shoulder, body-slamming the Fallen and whipping his Sword in a full arc that cut through her wrist, tail, and a couple other things.

Rosanna's crimson features had a moment of surprise as she was almost knocked off her hooves. Turning, she saw the Knight sprint past her without looking back. Then she looked at the stump where her right hand was and screamed. Like her tail, at least that wound had cauterized.

Her piercing wail was almost instantly cut off when she coughed and a fountain of brackish blood vomited past her lips. Twisting, she staggered and the slices through her abdomen tore open and viscera came out.

Giving a wet gurgle, magic flared around her. She would have gone after the Knight. But then Nariko came up and sliced through the Fallen's spine just above the hips. The cut itself was clean, but the results was mess. Rosanna fell into a screaming boneless pile

By then, my older self and Ranma had closed-in. The Slade Dresden had drawn his special revolver and put a glowing round right between Rosanna's eyes.

Reflexively, my hand went o my holster. With some surprise, I found that my revolver was still there. I shouldn't have lingered to see what my sister would do to the Denarian. I knew she'd be careful, but --unfortunately for Rosanna-- thorough on her search for the Denarian's coin.

So... I might have dawdled a bit to make sure Rosanna was finished off. And that my sister had secured the coin. The idea of Ranma touching Belial's coin was not.... reassuring.

Hells Bells I wasn't sure I'd trust myself with securing coin. And I had spent a few years with the shadow of a Fallen in my head. But... that was before I signed on to be my Queen's leg-breaker and begged my sisters turn me into a pretty demon princess.

So, while human Wizard Harry Dresden was able to out-stubborn a Fallen temptress. I... wasn't sure about Winter Sidhe Succubus BlackStone's ability to avoid temptation. Let's just say I had more... levers now.

Naturally, that meant that my sister sprinted to catch up to me and tried handing me a certain little locked box. Stopping in my tracks, I stared at the container. I could feel the malevolence of Rosanna's Fallen lying within, ignominiously frozen in a wad of hardened resin.

Well, no I couldn't really, the maddening buzzing and throbbing on my horns from all the other bad mojo had deadened my senses. It would have been nice to filter what my horns were picking up.

But my imagination and my gut feeling was enough. Though I suppose trusting my guts might not be the wisest idea, given how I had landed after Tessa blew her top. Sighing, I took the coin containment box from my sister and shoved it into a coat pocket. Part of me wondered if this was some sort of training test on Ranma's part.... but I had the feeling that since this was a battle she wasn't playing games.

No, she simply wanted to fob off the evil, indescribable magical artifact on the wizard. Which I couldn't really blame her. I mean, my plan was to toss the damned thing at the Holy Knight.

Slade cosplay Dresden had also caught up. Dang, he was fast for an older guy. And now both looked at me with a bit of impatience. Right. Help Butters with the wounded and then stop the agitated eldritch monsters.

"We're going to need a coordinated strike," Ranma shouted as we ran.

"Three teams?" Old Man Harry ventured.

"The Canadians and Company are hitting the frogs with conventional hardware and it's just enough to slow 'em down." She gave both of us meaningful looks. Well... the one she gave me was a bit more worried.

I blinked and shook my head as we ran.

Now Old Man Harry looked me over with some concern.

I flicked a bit of fluids and gunk off my coat. "Don't worry, it's not my blood... mostly." I admitted.

"I know," He stated.

We crested the remains of a little hillock and the feelings of pain intensified. Gloves on, Butters was kneeling on the ground with his kit open next to him. He had two patients. One was a mercenary with a badly broken leg and bandaged head. The man looked a bit punch-drunk. Maybe it was the painkillers, maybe it was a concussion.

However this fellow only held part of Butters' attention. The little doctor was almost up to his elbows in the guts of an ashen-faced girl.

I recognized the white hair in ringlets. Cecilia's daughter: Desiree. Her armor had been torn open and there was a part of her that was just... missing.

A bit further off was another mercenary, but, since he had only half a head and his remaining eye stared lifelessly into the sky, there wasn't much Butters could do for him.

An even younger-looking woman with a short black ponytail alternated between holding Desiree's hand, helping Butters work, and trimming meat.

She had the medical kit on her uniform open and it looked like she had provided the initial aide before the Knight had arrived. Near her was a taller woman blonde hair in a pageboy and another one with turquoise hair and blue-green eyes; Kirsten and Meredith I think.

The two girls held heavy bullpup rifles protecting their sisters and the doctor. They were being supported by two more human mercenaries. Based on the number of blasted wolf-men that surrounded them, the group seemed to have held their own.

Closing in, I noted that Ukyou and Misako were also present, as well as Nariko, who continued to hover about watching Butters' back. I felt a sense of... appreciation coming from the orange-haired girl as she loaded a fresh belt of grenades into her weapon from one of the boxes piled in the center of the group.

Noting my confusion Ukyou slipped up to me. "Resupply run. They were jumped by some wolves trying to retreat."

"Oh." I felt a bit guilty. I was a younger demon than Desiree, but I healed better than her. Even after being thrown in an explosion I... okay, I licked my lips. I did cheat with that.

My sister's eyes flared as she took in the pile of butchered wolf-men. She then knelt down next to the doctor.

"What?" Butters impatiently asked as he gently moved some of Desiree's entrails about. The small woman was a real mess; there wasn't quite enough skin left to close up the wound. "She's not ready to move yet. Corporal Pennwood, could go."

The dazed corporal next to the doctor nodded.

Sniffing the air, Ranma tilted her head.

Butters met the demon's gaze. "It's bad, but she's... well her diaphragm is intact, and she's breathing. Blood loss is..." He barely suppressed a shiver. "A human would be dead, and I'm still tying stuff off, but the bleeding is slowing."

He turned to the black-haired girl assisting him. "Isabel, I think she can take more liver. She needs to make more blood."

The woman nodded and gently fed some slices of rich dark meat to her sister. My nostrils flared and my mouth watered a bit. Butters was focused on his work, but not too focused to notice the suddenly heightened interest. The mercenaries seemed to be used to their... our feeding habits. And hardly noticed.

Butters shook his head. "Human digestion doesn't work fast enough, but I guess you girls are designed to take in nourishment and immediately use it."

I could also feel that Isabel was doing more than chopping meat to feed her sister, and the others were helping.

Old man Harry nodded. "Yes, they are. For their kind, if they don't die immediately, and they don't starve themselves trying to heal a wound, they'll generally recover," the older wizard said, glancing at me.

He then made a brushing motion against his goatee in the universal "you have a stain on your chin" gesture.

I awkwardly wiped my face. "Yeah, yeah," I groused. "What's the big deal? It's not like it's all mine."

"Was any of it?" he gently asked.

I stared at the red stains on my hand. Hells Bells! My blood was blue. All the blood on my talons, all the blood I was coughing up. There was only one way I'd get a mass of red blood in my mouth. "I…"

"You were injured, you had to heal yourself." The older wizard shrugged. "You found a ready supply of meat." He gestured to the dead wolves that Isabel had been harvesting, had been butchering.

Ranma had been quietly conversing with Butters, Desiree, and the wounded merc. After smiling at her niece and giving her a gentle hug, she told the dazed man a rather lewd joke, which seemed to brighten his spirits.

The redhead then patted the doctor on the shoulder. "I know this is a hard question, but Tessa's gotten the frog-things to move and we need a coordinated strike. Would you-"

The Knight cut her off by silently reaching into his vest and pulling his Sword out.

The redhead stared at the wooden hilt held in a bloody glove.

"Nariko knows who to give it too," Butters simply stated before returning to trying to seal up Desiree's disemboweling. Even now, I could see that her skin had stretched a bit more and the ragged hole in her side wasn't quite so gaping.

Ranma nodded as Nariko took the Sword.

Turning, I saw Eve and Sophie exit the forest with Maggie in tow. It was handy how she used her wand to project a shield that could protect multiple people. Still, seeing my daughter grown up and dressed all supervillainy was strange. I glanced down. Right... maybe I didn't have any room to talk, what with the whole body-hugging ice armor.

Eve held a neutral expression as she looked over her grievously wounded niece, but I could feel the emotional turmoil within her. Though it was more muted. "Right, when Desiree's good to move we'll get her back, I'll tell Cecilia," she stated, hiding some more pain, as she keyed her radio.

Butters nodded as he continued to work.

The blonde then looked up at myself and our sister. "What do you need?" she asked taking in the battled.

"You still have radio?" I asked then winced, realizing she had just used it.

"Yes," Eve nodded to Maggie. The teenage assassin wizard looked a bit embarrassed.

"Right. We're going with three teams then" Ranma's voice cut in. "Serenity, Venus, Nabiki, and Old Dresden take the eastern creature. Mars, Makoto, Nariko, and Demon Dresden take the western. Pluto, myself and Daughter Dresden will run interference on Tessa," she explained in a tone that left no room for dissent.

The older wizard eyed her but nodded.

Ranma continued. "My remaining daughters will provide fire support and keep any stragglers from linking up with Tessa. Eve and her daughters will do overwatch and get our wounded out. Canadians and Company will continue drawing in the noose as they pull in the perimeter."

"And we fail and the creatures escape?" the older Dresden asked.

My eldest sister tilted her head. "If we're lucky it'll only be the Canadians bombing us."

"And who's Nariko supposed to give the Sword to?" I asked.

My sister had opened up the white communicator on her wrist and had started to relay orders to the Senshi. She paused to give me a pained look. Fortunately, it was gone when she motioned for us to get into position.

***************

Nariko shadowed me as I went towards the titanic monster. Bigger than a house, the thing was all ropey muscle under rubbery, pallid skin that shone with mind-bending patterns. It was easier to think of it being covered in paisley whorls and plaid stripes.

Giant claws furrowed the dirt as it lumbered forward. From the size of its legs I would have expected it to be faster, but the creature seemed... restrained. The fronds, tendrils, and tentacles that made up its head sniffed the air warily as they slowly moved forward. Something was holding them back, trying to leash their hideous, alien wills.

The creature's passage was bringing it closer to the hotel parking lot and the line of Canadian armor. Heavy guns and long-lance-like canon barrels opened fire as the vehicles pulled back.

The thunder of detonations washed over my body, but I already felt deafened by the battle. Though my ears were still ringing. Then the frog-squid screamed in registers that even demonic ears couldn't hear.

I glanced down at the staff in my hand and the revolver on my hip. My sister was really putting a lot of trust into me.

The creature bellowed and antic light burst from a cluster of tentacles and it caught a couple of vehicles that hadn't pulled back fast enough. Armor melted to slag and the blinding light seemed to suck out the colors, leading to dull, almost grey, flames and explosions.

"The Pattern Silvers are withdrawing," Nariko noted to my side. I could feel tension coming from the young woman, but she seemed utterly confident in her Mother's plan.

I turned and saw the five magical girls smoothly moving back. Serenity and Lady Pluto seemed to be their heavy hitters.

Still, the young-looking green-haired girl was almost… dainty in how she wielded her metal staff. She threw iridescent arcane energy from her staff's garnet top in careful controlled bursts.

Given, her attacks were almost as horn-scratching, tooth-aching, claws-on-chalkboard wrong as the squid-frogs' attacks were, I could understand why Lady Pluto was tiptoeing about like someone afraid of collateral damage.

That caution was something Tessa exploited, which allowed her nimble form to evade Pluto's attacks.

Which was why Pluto was doing more than just directly attacking Tessa. I recognized the oily feeling of counter-spells being cast. My grandfather had similar skills and had used his abilities to shut down a Black Court vampire's sorcerous abilities.

Serenity had no such compunction and silver light regularly swept over the battle-field. But between the Denarian's raw speed, vicious attacks, and the giant squid-monsters, the Senshi were unable to box in mantis-girl.

Pulses also came out of Serenity and Pluto's staffs as they tried to retard the... greying out that the squid's presence was causing. It was a bit disconcerting to see those two doing so many things, especially close to such an irate and hateful Fallen.

Even this far out, I could feel Tessa's incandescent rage. The Denarian continued to thrust at the magical girls, often evading attacks and closing in and slashing. I watched as she bolted in, body-slammed the diminutive Lady Pluto and tried to disembowel her.

It took the coordinated strikes of Venus' sword and Mars' fire to dislodge Tessa. Even then, the snarling Denarian lunged once more only to be prodded by the bladed end of Serenity's staff. Silver fire blasted her off while Jupiter added a bolt of lightning that lit the sky.

Tessa's shield flared as she retreated in a flash. Silver sparks crackled over her exoskeleton as she resumed dodging the Senshi's attacks, trying to get them to follow. She was still favoring one leg and her motions weren't quite unbelievably fast.

I could even see the Denarian pausing to catch her breath. Sure, she covered it up by trying to cast her enthrallment spell on the squid-monsters, but I could tell when a Practitioner was starting to get winded. That isn't to say her spell was a ruse. The glowing intricate runes she summoned were real enough and throbbed with power.

Hells Bells. We'd thrown everything we had at her. Multiple Council-level wizards, broods of succubae, artillery strikes, a literal army, and a team of elemental magical girls, and Tessa was only now starting to get winded.

And that was probably only because she had summoned a pair of eldritch horrors and was attempting to mentally dominate them in the middle of fighting us.

I might have made a concerned little whine as I watched the Senshi try to pull back so they could split their forces.

And then a barrage of obsidian spheres exploded against Tessa's shield. Her protection flickering; the Denarian turned in the direction of the attack and Ranma dropped in from the side. Flaming purple aura smashed into red shield.

The psychic surge from Tessa's sudden eruption of anger almost brought me to my knees, and did cause Serenity to stumble as Mars cried out.

Hellfire sprayed as Tessa found herself grappling with a redhead implacably tearing at her chitinous armor. A section below her navel was torn away. Blood flashed as Ranma dug in. The Denarians' own talons and spurs also found purchase.

Looking pale, Serenity still used this opportunity to split her forces sending Mars and Jupiter my way while she and Venus went towards the other Squid creature that my doppelganger was already sniping at.

Hissing, Tessa's hand went out and caught my sister's neck. Lifting her, the Denarian squeezed. Then Ranma's tail flicked up and stabbed right under Tessa's belly button.

Blood spurted and Tessa tossed the redhead way with another scream that hurt my horns more than the squid-creatures' and Pluto's magic combined.

Tessa screamed and the runes she had summoned shattered "I wanted to avenge my daughter. But no... you had to interfere. You had to meddle." The Denarian cocked her head. "Revenge against Nicodemus can wait. I'll be satisfied killing you idiots and leaving."

And that's when her expression turned vicious and she stopped trying to control the squid-frogs and instead spurred them to attack here and now. One flailed its giant hook-ended forearms.

I lost sight of her when Maggie opened fire with that bulky rifle of hers and launched a barrage of green energy with the iron wand bolted to the front of the gun bayonet style. Before the Denarian could attack my doppelganger's daughter, Lady Pluto used her staff to block the Hellfire and held until Ranma added her own ferocity.

My stomach curdled when I turned back to the squid-creature. It gave a hideous bellow that was part bull-frog, part elephant, and all nightmare. My duster whipped back behind me as the giant being clawed at the ground. It didn't have any eyes I could make out, but I could feel its oily, skittering attention pressed on me.

Well, at least it wasn't trying to escape the perimeter anymore.

I slammed my staff onto the ground and aimed it up at the monster. I didn't have to angle it very far over. "Pyrofugo!" I screamed as a blue-white bolt of flames blasted the front of the creature.

A few rubbery tentacles charred.

And then it blasted me with its own beam. This close, I could see the nature of the attack. My shield flared but the antic light started to burn through the layers.

It was similar to an entropic attack. Entropic curses were nasty and I had barely escaped a few of the reality-bending spells. But this was a bit different.

The entropy, the damage was more of a side effect of the beam. The thunder to the lightning. Thunder was the result of the shockwave formed due to the extreme heat and pressure caused by the lightning cutting through the air.

Here... the squid's attack cut through reality. Waves of entropic magic flared in the wake of the beam's passage as the structure of the universe tried to reassert itself. I was certain that if I opened my Sight I could see the scaring caused by the creatures. I was also certain that if I used my Sight on these things that I'd go utterly mad.

Two lithe figures, one in copper armor, the other in bronze arrived. Neither hesitated and immediately launched their own magical attacks.

It took Nariko a bit of doing to get Lady Mars's attention. Bowing slightly, the red-eyed girl held out the hilt. Mars took the Sword without hesitation.

Distantly, I could hear more explosions as others started to attack our squid and the one other Harry was hitting with salvoes of some kind of black-tinged fire. The pressure on my shield letup as the squid-monster turned.

But I was a bit distracted by... well...

Fidelacchius hadn't manifested as a lightsaber. Not in the miko's hands.

Bright golden light flared in flickering waves as Lady Mars strode forward holding a blazing sword.

The frog-squid paused, tilting the mass of tentacles that passed for its head. It seemed to study the small being before it.

Warmth emanated from the golden flames shaped into a broad, five foot blade. The heat eased the weariness that had sunk into me and chased away the buzzing and scratching on my horns. My head cleared and my tail flexed.

Some of the creature's frilled tentacle fronds turned towards its companion, but that being was dealing with Queen Serenity's silver light. Our monster turned and started to back away.

The light from the Sword grew brighter. "You do not belong. This is not your world. Begone!" Lady Mars' voice carried across the battlefield, echoed by her queen giving a similar proclamation.

To my right, I saw the blasted pool the creature had emerged from. Most of the water had been drained, and the oily surface rippled with every explosion. There was probably some remnant of the tear the squid-thing had made. But it wasn't something I wanted to go poking around.

Apparently, the creature had a similar view as it responded with a deep challenging roar. I leaned on my staff to keep from being pushed back.

Meanwhile, the priestess of Amaterasu strode forward. Golden fiery light flared brighter.

Tentacles swiveled in and I could tell the creature was about to fire its own reality-searing attack.

Whipping my staff back towards the pool I grit my teeth. "Aquilevatus!" I cried pushing Soulfire into the spell. Water was heavy, even with magic, and I needed all the extra strength I could get to move it.

A curtain of water surged up from the pond and hit the front of the creature in a torrent. Pointing with my staff, runes glowed blue as I intoned the second spell. "Arctis!" I screamed as the sheeting water froze solid coating the creature's head tentacles.

The ice began to crack, but I had added a bit of Soulfire to that spell and dipping into the power of Winter made the structure even stronger.

Just ahead of me, Mars leapt up, the crimson ribbons tied to the back of her armor fluttering. She dodged the tentacles sprouting from its forearms and the blazing sword struck. A tree-size tentacle fell to the ground.

Upside, the Sword was able to actually pierce the thing's skin.

Downside, as Lady Mars hacked away every cut resulted in a spray of livid, inky, greasy orange ichor. That nauseating smell that blended rancid mint, old calamari, and motor oil emanated, filling the night air.

Then, Jupiter and Nariko opened up. The magical girl's lightning was stronger than my niece's but both managed to aim their bolts into the gaping wounds that Mars was carving into the creature.

Now, the air filled with the smell of burnt, oily, minty calamari. Pain and anger burst from the great beast as it whipped its smaller and more agile tentacles against Mars. One struck and knocked the Senshi into me. I managed to catch her, but almost stumbled at the sheer alien power pressing against my mind.

Up close, the squid-frog was a mess of patterns and colors that were wrong, gagging smells that wormed their way into my sinuses, and a deep burbling noises that were elephantine and amphibian.

So, I'll count it as a win that I wasn't simply knocked down by Mars' impact. This close, the fire of the Sword was blinding. Which, while a warming comfort, did make the creature easier to see.

In particular, it was obvious that the ice covering its remaining beam tentacles had finally broken apart. The puckering waving masses turned to me as sheets of ice crashed around us.

Holding Mars, I got my shield up just in time as the searing beams struck.

Groaning, the Senshi rubbed a bit of blood from her forehead, smearing it against her tiara. Her eyes widened at the lancing beam breaking against my shield.

Her Sword burned brighter and she moved to attack.

"No!" I cried. "I've got its attention, go and get the lightning twins and hit it from the side."

Mars blinked.

"Go!" I cried as another chunk of ice fell in front of us. It hit the beam and was flash boiled.

The Senshi nodded and darted away.

I pushed more power into my shield. I had no illusions that I'd be able to outlast an elder monster, even with an impromptu snack earlier, but I could make a great distraction.

Then I noticed its attack abruptly shut off in another shower of ice.

I had a split second of confusion before a forest of tentacles shot out and grabbed me. About the thickness of an adult anaconda, the ropey appendages whipped out and started to encircle my shield and draw me towards the gaping maw that had emerged at the center of the nightmarish, tentacled mass.

Acting on instinct I dropped my shield, spread my wings, and leapt with all the strength my legs could give me. "Parkour!" I yelled as my tail and claws sliced through the grasping tentacles.

It wasn't enough.

I didn't get clear.

My breath was forcibly pulled out of my chest as the tentacles wrapped over me. My staff tumbled out of my hand. The calamari and mint smell became oppressive as I cut with icy claws and orange ichor spewed out. Enough fire-hose like tentacles had caught me that cutting free was a losing proposition.

I turned and saw myself being drawn inexorably towards its maw. Instead of a giant beak, or rows of fangs, or chewing molars, the creature's mouth was full of knobby prongs tipped in chisel-like teeth.


More ice fell around me. "Forzare!" I reached out and the frozen water shot towards me. It hit and started to melt over my face and chest. The tentacles tried to tighten but the water easily poured through the gaps.

I still cut at the thing, but now I concentrated on augmenting my armor. I took my sister's lessons to heart. Prioritizing damage was key. Some wounds I could heal quickly, other wounds would take longer, but I was pretty sure I needed to be able to breathe to last for any length of time.

My chest armor thickened and reinforced. Ice grew over my head as facemask and headdress formed into place. Sure, Ranma had tested how long I could hold my breath, but I'm pretty sure even she didn't expect I'd be eaten by a giant squid monster. I let the remaining ice thicken my gauntlets and grow over my hands.

The strengthened bodice pushed out and I gasped as rancid, but welcome, air filled my lungs. And then I was pulled into the monster's mouth and it began to chew.

I would have screamed, but my mask had already sealed my nostrils. I would have thrashed but the tentacles were only starting to retreat. While the creature didn't want to bite off its own appendages, it didn't like its food fighting back.

A leg broke, my right shoulder was torn out of its socket as the teeth tried to crunch me. While the bulk of my armor held, there was fresh pain as a few teeth pierced the ice over my stomach. I tried to curl into a ball, but my left hand got caught between two tooth-clusters and was nearly torn off at the wrist.

This time I did scream, and a muffled panic almost took me as the creature's mouth reacted to the flavor of my blood with a relished gulp. Good news, I was no longer being chomped on.

Bad news, my arms were mangled and I was being swallowed by a thing from beyond the stars.

Worse news, even holding my breath, even with an airtight mask, I could smell the piquant scent of something acidic. Even in what passed for the monster's esophagus, I could feel the thick coating of ice start to sizzle.

From the inside, the monster's howls were even more ear-splitting and horn-hurting. Not to mention that its lumbering jostling steps added a new layer of queasy nausea.

With my unbroken leg I kicked out and tried to keep myself from falling down the fleshy, constricting passage. The end of my tail punctured the fleshy wall and gave another anchor point. My arms were healing, but it was slow going. It was not helped by being pre-digested.

The eye covers to my mask slipped back, revealing undulating, glossy flesh. I could hear a pounding tri-phased heartbeat that seemed to come from all around me. My dark-vision was good enough to see what was in front of me, if not the color. The seam on my mask split open.

An oily, amphibious mint stench hit like a punch to the face. From the inside it smelled less like a squid. My heart raced, I was running out of time, out of air.

I did the only thing I could think of. I bit down.

The flesh in front of me parted. Minty, greasy flesh filled my mouth. I gagged, I expected to vomit. In fact, the first mouthfuls I spit out with a horrid retching that burned the interior of my mouth with an acidic pain.

As the creature gave a confused piping, I jostled and slid down. The acid stink increased and I had to pull my legs up to keep my hooves from dissolving.

Some orange ooze and rubbery flesh had slipped down my throat. Head pounding, I noticed feeling returning to my shoulder as my arm popped back into its socket.

I hated myself, but I went for another bite, and this time I swallowed more as I gagged. My eyes flared and I started to tear into the meat as my arms healed. Talon, tail, and fangs ripped through as something primal rose up within me.

It was disgusting, the meat was alien. In between growls, I still retched up mouthfuls of foul meat, but I was managing to heal.

More importantly I had pulled myself out of the constricting, acidic trap of the creature's esophagus and stomach. I landed on some sort of twitching muscle, or maybe it was a gland. Whatever it was it was squishy and the size of a refrigerator.

Only now, I was inside the jostling guts of a giant squid-frog. After retching once more, I let my mask grow back into place. If nothing else it cut down on the smell. However, it didn't do much to remove the pounding pulsing throb coming from above me.

My stomach felt bloated and wrong, stuffed full of greasy upsetting flesh. My sister said we could eat just about anything, but she had warned us that some things were too alien to digest and might even make us sick.

I let my gauntlets grow as I contemplated the best way to escape. I'd probably have to burn my way out.

The booming beating noise increased its tempo and a sizzling boom exploded to my right and below.

Golden fire burst into the monster's body cavity as Lady Mars got a hit that pierced its flesh. I smiled as I scrambled up and tried to flick some gunk off my wings. I had an escape route.

But I paused.

That three phased beating noise was... I turned and looked up. In the light of the lingering golden fire I could just make out a greenish-grey heart. Throbbing with thick orange veins, it was the size of my old car and was pounding out in a strange rhythm that wormed its way into my head.

My mask shifted into a smirk as I raised my arms.

It took a bit to brace myself using my legs, wings and, tail. I basically had to scramble through heaving organs and muscles to get a clearer view.

But once I had it. "Cannem Flagrantissimum!"

Runes burst into light on my gauntlets and a pulsing blast of white and blue fire lanced out. For a moment the monster's guts became bright as day and I closed my eyes not wanting to get a clear look at this thing's insides.

A blend of succubus and wizard fire held in place by carrier helix of Soulfire smashed into the squid-frog's heart.

It exploded in a meaty, wet detonation. My spell petered out. Partially because I was that tired, partially because several of the larger chunks hit me with a rubbery splat.

For a moment, it was silent and dark. The only noise was that of orange fluids starting to pour out of the torn remains of the pumping organ. At least this meat tasted better than the elastic-like throat-flesh. The heart was more chewy, and almost succulent, and the mint stink did not have the rotten undertone.

Then the monster began to thrash and bellow in pain. And my stomach gurgled ominously.

Okay. Now, it was time to go.

I darted to the bit of light I could see where Lady Mars' hit had punctured the monster's thick hide. Well, I say light, but it was more of a spot where the blackness was a bit more grey.

I aimed my arms and gave another blast. This time my plasma canon was a bit less impressive, more like Blue Beetle on a bad day. Still it was enough to tear the hole bigger.

I jumped. Though the tight ichor and gut-filled cavity didn't exactly allow me to fall with grace. Or as much grace as an over-stuffed, nauseated, exhausted succubus wizard could give. Though, I was feeling a bit less dead tired.

As the ragged wound flew towards me, I saw lighting explode and burn through the hole. Hells Bells, the girls were attacking the wound. They didn't know I was coming through. I had to warn them I was coming.

"Parkour!" I screamed just as I tumbled through the hole.

The horrific stink receded to merely intolerable levels as the world opened up around me.

I could see sky, ground, water, and trees. And then sky and ground then more sky. And then for a change of pace water. Oh. I must have been a couple stories up. I tried to spread my wings as I tumbled through the air.

But they were covered in orange, stinking gunk. As was the rest of me.

I caught a bit of Lady Mars' disbelieving expression as she watched me fall out of the disemboweling gash in the monster's guts.

And then I hit the pond.

There was a splash. I hit at an awkward spread-eagle angle. At least the water was just deep enough that I had slowed down before hitting the soft muck at the bottom.

I bobbed back up to the top. And inhaled. After where I had been, even a muddy, stagnant pond full of dead plants smelled great.

Spitting gagging, and maybe puking, I made my way out of the water. Orange goo clung to the surface in my wake

I allowed ice to cover my duster, thicken the mask and headdress, and the rest of my armor.

Nariko and Jupiter met me as I neared the shore. The brunette magical girl had paled with shock. "I can't believe you did that; that was Usagi-insane right there."

Meanwhile, my niece was more composed and simply handed me my staff.

Taking the oaken rod, I thumped it on the ground and let the outer layer of ice covering me flake away, taking with it all orange ichor and gunk.

The hem of my duster was just submerged in the shallow water. I felt liquid creeping up my legs and start to freeze. My tail dipped into the pool and drew in more fluid.

The reinforced bodice thickened as ice grew to fill in the chewed gaps and sparkling clear crystals froze onto the surface of the blue material. Armored sections extended over my hips and down my thighs in layered ice plates. The greaves that flowed over my hooves had expanded as well.

Those ice sequins might have accented my chest. They certainly didn't highlight the large swelling curve of my belly. Though I suppose the polished articulated armor also contributed, especially with how it integrated with the plating armoring over the flare of my waist.

There was a tingle as my mask got more polished and I felt my hair slick down under the weight of a silver wire headdress that anchored to a heavy silver tiara. However, the best part came when ice crept along the long extensions of my horns. As the glossy material coated them, muffled them, the oppressive twisting and buzzing lessened. I concentrated and little fluttering blue ribbons extruded out near the end. The silver symbols were only a guess but the magical filters seemed to work.

My tail, now adorned with dark blue plating over the fins, rose out of the water as my gleaming hooves reached dry land. My wings and coat felt a bit heavier as reinforcing bits of ice solidified into place.

Jupiter tilted her head and took in my form. "Magical succubae, always eating and showing off," she muttered, shaking her head.

"Come on, we've got it wounded but we need to finish this," I said moving in to help Mars.

There was a ghost of a knowing smile on my niece's face.

A huge, pained wailing diverted my attention. The creature was in bad shape. Most of its tentacles had been cut off, there was a huge bleeding gash from its side and the whole thing moved listlessly.

Then, suddenly, the remaining antennae-like frond tipped tentacles whipped around. Even with my horns muffled I could feel its intense attention. Wheezing, heart-shot, and exsanguinating, the frog-squid charged with renewed vigor.

Lovely, it recognized me.

Clutching Fidelacchius, Mars darted from the side and swept downward. Golden fire sliced through thick hide and a leg thicker than an old growth tree spiraled off.

The creature stumbled.

"Cannem Flagrantissimum!" I shouted digging into the renewed well of energy. Jupiter and Nariko flanked me and fired. Their twin bolts of lightning were sucked into the Soulfire matrix caging the demonic and arcane flames. The blinding wall of energy struck the creature's head and for a moment its bulky form resisted the sizzling burning blend of energies.

I grit my teeth and pushed more into the spell. Sweat dribbled down the inside of my mask, and I could feel my stomach ache as my reserves drained and my armor tightened a bit.

Then Mars leapt in and hit the squid-frog right where our beam was impacting. There was a golden and blue flash as lightning and fire punched through, followed by a horrific explosion.

As orange ichor and greasy plaid meat rained down, Jupiter looked at her gloves and blinked at the sparks that flickered over her fingers. She then looked at the blasted creature's remains. "Huh."

A goo-splattered Mars tumbled down and managed to nimbly land in a crouch with her free arm providing a bit of extra stability.

"Okay, you earned that superhero landing," I clapped while Nariko blinked at me.

"Come on, there's still one left!" Mars cried, gesturing with the Sword.

We turned and raced toward the remaining monster but...

Serenity, Venus, Old Harry, and Nabiki had already launched their attack. The others continued but I went in a different direction.

Waves of exploding ice tore through this monster's tentacles. It looked like they had been put into some sort of titanic blender. Orange goo rained as it wailed, but before it could react, Other Dresden used his gleaming sword to cast some sort of giant ward that pinned it in place.

Shimmering, eyes glowing, Venus concentrated as half a dozen long gold chains sprang out to tie the monster down. I don't know how they were long enough, let alone strong enough. But the silver glow edging them and the way my doppelganger stood next to her making sure she stayed in a circle provided some clues.

The coup de grace fell on Queen Serenity. Planting her feet, her armor glowed as she spun her staff in a precise pattern. Even with the filters, the prickling power made my horns hum. I could see my nieces have a similar reaction.

Incantation finished, Serenity's staff flipped towards the chained and bound monster. The scepter at the end sparkled.

Everything went silver.

The light faded the monster looked like it had been speared by a giant fork. It shuddered and ichor spurted out. First it was a bright orange, but it started to rapidly fade in color as the rest of the monster crumbled like the smoldering remnants of a giant ashen-grey pyre.

A distance away Tessa stared. Shock, and perhaps a bit of fear marred her face. I noted that there wasn't a bit of armor left on her head. Her short silver hair was free and hung limply over an almost gaunt face.

Her right arm wasn't moving much, but she was still managing to fend off three attackers. The adhoc synergy the trio had found was impressive.

My sister was one of the few people that had a chance of surviving melee combat with Tessa. She was in close quarters, denying the Denarian space to run or prepare any major spells. Forcing Tessa to fight and deal with intimate, immediate threats, the redhead ate up Tessa's time and energy.

This freed Maggie to provide fire support and ranged protection. The mercenary wizard girl had plenty of ranged attacks that she could use whenever Tessa tried to escape my sister's attention and ranged defenses like that shield she could project using her wand.

Off to the side, but roughly midway between those two Lady Pluto was on spell support. Her own ranged attacks harassed Tessa but given the way the garnet orb on her staff throbbed I was betting her role was helping keep the Denarian from getting off any especially nasty spells.

I ran towards them. While my companions had moved to assist the others, I guessed that those four would be enough to take out such a monster. Blasting giant invading monsters was apparently what Serenity was all about.

I wasn't alone in my judgment. Butters was also on his way. Interesting, I guess the wounded were evaced and he was back to help. He did the same in Lomar. I did have a head start over the knight. Less than I thought, I mean didn't he have to take a detour to get his Sword from Mars?

Tessa's shock lasted for only a moment. Her attention fell on me and Butters. I knew something was wrong when instead of screaming in rage her reaction was utterly silent. Hellfire blasted out in a thick wedge as a wave of telekinetic force pushed Ranma.

The redhead recovered and fired purple beams at the Denarian's back.

Taking the hits, Tessa slammed onto the green-haired girl. Lady Pluto was skilled with her staff and buzzed with arcane energy but the sudden ferocity overwhelmed her.

Lances of fire shot out from Maggie's rifle. Both out the barrel of the gun and from the under-slung wand. However, Pluto was already on the ground, her staff snapped in two and flung away.

Running, I was pretty sure Tessa was wasting her time, but maybe mantis-girl didn't know the truth about Pluto. I leveled my staff but couldn't get a clear shot. I debated just frying them all, I mean my sister would heal, and Pluto was Pluto, but... I knew other Harry would kill me if I hurt his daughter.

The Denarian actually had to pause and catch her breath before my sister came in and landed a blow that shattered the armor on Tessa's back and broke her shoulder blade.

She spun and, exchanging blows with my sister... slipped. Or at least it looked like a mistake at first. Her right arm was not in good shape, a bad block resulted in the forearm bone being snapped and my sister tearing it off.

Blood poured from Ranma's mouth as she bit in.

And then the arm blew up.

Tessa kicked the dazed demon right into Maggie; as the two fell, the one armed Denarian bolted.

Her remaining hand pulled out an obsidian stone. It cracked in her grip and a horrific buzzing shot through my horns. Even with the muffling I nearly stumbled. I saw my sister and nieces blink and wince in pain.

It was like the buzzing of those Jammers but... backwards. I then saw Tessa start to make a deceptively simple, but very familiar, cut through the air.

Oh, Hells Bells...

The angle was bad, the distance was worse, but I still drew my revolver. So what if she was over sixty yards away. Stars and Stones, after all that my gun was still holstered?

Thumbing back the hammer I emptied the cylinder. A few shots even hit her in the back, one actually was accompanied with a splash of blood as it hit a spot were her exoskeleton had been ripped off.

But Tessa still opened the Way.

I pushed more speed to try and catch up. My mother's voice cut in, echoing in my head. She had given me a gift of her knowledge of the Ways, of traveling in the NeverNever. She didn't know where this portal opened up, other than it was unpleasant and cold.

"Damn it!" I screamed as the little Fallen host jumped through the portal and began sealing it behind her. "Come on!"

I continued to sprint. I told myself I might be able to catch the Way before it sealed shut, if I did that I could open it up again. But I knew I was too far... but I had to try.

Butters had almost caught up to me, the little guy was red-faced and he had to be killing himself to get this far. Or maybe he had help? Hells Bells, even with one Knight on my side, Tessa was still gonna get away.

I snarled. After all this, all the pain and lives and suffering the little monster got-

Then there was a familiar, almost clunky machine gun noise. It was distinct from all the gunfire I had heard while in this world.

The Denarian gave an insectile screech and stumbled back though the Way. She was bleeding from several fresh bullet wounds.

The machine gun roared again. It was closer, and this time I knew exactly what it was: Kalashnikov.

A dark skinned man wielding the Russian rifle in one hand with a silver saber in the other stepped through the portal. The other side of the tear was a stark gloomy land of ice and sleet. Not that this side was much better.

Behind the new knight, almost part of the icy background was another redhead. This one looked utterly at home in the wintry landscape.

Tessa hit the ground and the Russian knight shot her. This time the bullets slammed against her shield. He looked around and spotted me. His handsome features split into a grin. "Harry? So, you really are a pretty demon lady."

"Uh... yeah Sanya," I coughed. I was close enough to use my staff. A forzare managed to pin Tessa or at least slow her scrambling escape.

"Is good to see you." The wielder of Esperacchius smiled. "I had been wondering what trickery the scary Sidhe lady planned. Now, I see she was being straightforward about you."

I blushed.

Leanansidhe had stepped through the portal. "There are times, rare delicious times, when the least obfuscation results in the most dissimulation." She smiled showing her teeth. "Now goddaughter, finish thy Queen's mission."

I charged the one-armed Denarian. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Butters checking on my sister and Pluto.

Tessa fought like the cornered, aggressive monster she was. Hellfire burst out and splashed against my shield.

When that attack gutted out I smashed down with my staff. More of her chitin broke as the chest pieces fell off. Snarling she leapt at me; even like this she was fast, faster than me.

The spurs on her feet sparked against my armor and I turned at the shoulders as her talons raked against my face. I put one arm around her shoulders and with the other clawed her back. My tail raked over her legs, chipping off the armor behind her shins. I was protected by armored mask, her head armor was long gone. She squirmed, and I only managed to claw out one eye.

I felt a burst of predatory pride from my godmother. Distantly, I realized that it might have been better to stand back and let everyone shoot Tessa at once.

The Denarian screamed and tried to blast my head off. Whipping back, I dodged and we both tumbled to the ground.

"You stupid little nickel-head," I screamed clawing at her face. "You put us through all this pain just because you wanted Nicodemus?"

I punched her in the throat. "If you weren't so power-hungry and selfish you'd have people lining up around the block to help you kill him! Idiot!"

Tessa was the better grappler and almost twisted out of my grip. It was really hard to hold onto her when she started trying to kick my head in.

So I.... bit her leg. I'd already cut off her exoskeleton there and the flesh was... well after that squid-monster anything would be delicious.

Her screams were novel. There was less of the rage and pure anger and something more... base. It was the pained cries of someone being eaten by a predator. The Mantle surged. Ripping her apart would be delicious. The demonic part of me agreed.

Chomping down, I snapped her leg bone and relished the marrowy flavor. I was certain this was a novel experience for Tessa too. Her Hellfire and clawing wasn't doing much against my armor, especially when my tail whipped over her chest.

I pulled myself up, but my nostrils flared, there was far more here. My tongue flicked out. I could feel the little seam where the mask butted against my lips.

As I started to bite into her torso, Tessa cried out. She broke; she begged; she pleaded for me to stop.

I didn't stop.

"Harry. Wait," a calm voice stated.

Turning, my eyes flashed in irritation.

Butters strode up. "Is this really what you want?"

Tilting my head, I then slowly stood up. I might have pressed the end of my staff against Tessa's chest and used that length of oak to support my weight as I got back onto my hooves. A growl may have escaped my lips.

Ranma had slipped up next to Butters. Her hair fell down to her waist in thick waves, her teeth seemed sharper, and her whole form seemed more vibrant. Before fighting Tessa she must have fed well too.

She gave us a quizzical look, but she lifted her arm and gave a few hand signals. Probably to call off any snipers.

Tessa's laugh was bitter and broken. She flicked some blood out of her remaining eye and coughed. "Oh, the Knight will now preach of compassion and forgiveness?"

"You were the one begging," I glared.

"I didn't want to get eaten," Tessa snapped.

"Just shoot her," Ranma suggested.

Butters spread his hands. I noted he wasn't holding his Sword. "I was told that I was sent here to help a friend in need."

Ranma put a hand on his shoulder. "You've already helped her, and she still needs more help. After this."

"And you've done a wonderful job," Tessa mocked as blood oozed past her lips. I put more weight on my staff. It was surprising she was still talking given the amount of blood coming out of her wounds, especially the one on her leg.

My sister watched me. She would have killed Tessa out of hand. However, she had spared Misako's life when her daughter had been a murderous minion of Alexia. But that was because Ukyou had begged for her partner to not get eaten.

On her back, Tessa turned to try and get both Butters and Sanya in her view "How does it feel Knights? You saved Nicodemus' life. You turned your friend into a demon. A starborne is now a succubus." There was a defeated edge to her mockery.

Butters turned to her but he spoke to me. "She made her choices, Harry. But you're free to choose too."

I looked down at the battered, broken Denarian. Her head was bare, one eye was torn out, her hair was burnt and one ear was slashed apart. Meanwhile, silver and sapphire inlay adorned my gleaming white mask that had a jutting jaw full of pointed teeth that was almost, but not quite, a muzzle. My headdress had smoothed more as the silver accents spun and connected to my platinum choker and the tiara grew to fit more gems.

The plating over the flare of my hips had extended giving more resistance against Tessa's spurs and clawing. Even as my stomach filled with more of her flesh, the armor around my distended belly thickened and grew more articulated as more ice crystal sequins sprouted to match the enhancements to my bodice.

It all heightened the contrast: a tall demon in polished, glistening armor and full regalia stood over a broken, dismembered young girl.

I could feel the fear coming from her. For centuries she was powerful, untouchable, if things ever got too dangerous Imariel could lend her power, enough to escape.

Except Serenity's power put a damper on that. Tessa stopped healing so fast once Serenity started hitting her.

The wood of the staff creaked under the pressure of my grip.

"How badly do you want revenge?" I asked. Butters kept me from killing her in the midst of my Hunger. Still, I could kill Tessa in cold blood. It was within my power. And she deserved it. But there was an option.

Butters swallowed. This might not have been what he had in mind, but tough.

"He killed my daughter." Tessa's eye locked onto me. I glanced away. I really didn't want to Soulgaze her. Not now. "You know what I ventured to do this, Wizard. You took it all away from me."

"Not everything," I stated.

Staring, her expression was flat. "You'll have to do better than that."

"Yeah, I know what happens when a centuries old host finds herself without a coin. I also know you're too wounded for you to worry about old age catching up to you. Why if only I had a way to solve both problems?" I flashed my fangs.

Tessa flexed her fingers and tried to grandly gesture with her arm. "What do you think Knights? Do your approve of your friend's idea? Giving more demonic power to your great rival?"

I jabbed forward with my staff.

Air rushed out of Tessa's bruised lungs.

"No. You give up your coin. You consent to the Daughter change. I raise you. And then we take revenge. Mother and Daughter."

Tessa leaned her head back on the ground. "I lose my daughter, and you offer to make me into yours?" She gave a bitter, mocking laugh.

"Yes." My tail flicked. I wasn't too keen on the idea. Okay... the idea of siccing a little succubus Tessa on Nicodemus was strangely satisfying. That was something the gaunt bastard would never see coming.

Her jaw was set, but my sister nodded her head slightly.

Tessa chuckled. "Oh the Adversary knows how to rub the salt." With pained effort she pulled her head back up. "After killing my daughter, my husband was put in a corner, he was brought low, he had lost everything. And now it's my turn."

"I'm offering you revenge," I hissed.

Tessa's laugh grew. "That's what makes it galling. The Adversary chooses to mock and tempt me with demons? Oh yes, I see it. I've had the counsel and advice of a Fallen for centuries. And now I'm offered a mere baby succubus to nursemaid me? All at the cost of abandoning the one that has been at my side for millennia?"

I grit my teeth. Imariel you bitch. Of course, Tessa's Fallen would lie. And why would Tessa not trust the one that had helped her carve a path of destruction over the years?

"Damnit, Tessa, I'm trying to save you. You're right, I'm not like the Knights; your other options aren't pleasant."

Tessa pulled herself up, with her arm. Sitting up she pushed against my staff. "Take your salvation and shove it up your ass," she spat, staring me down.

For a moment I met her eye but in the end I drew away before a Soulgaze could hit. She had given her answer.

I lifted my hand. "Fuego," I whispered.

Her little body caught a flame and she screamed for a moment, but I added my succubus magic and she quieted down. The flames raked back and forth as they briefly turned the angry red of Hellfire before slowly transitioning to a sidhe succubus blue. I inhaled as the body was consumed, drawing in some of the energies released by the combustion.

Sanya, off to one side, lowered his Sword and shouldered his rifle. Lea made an almost disappointed noise, like a little girl being told that tonight's fireworks had been delayed due to rain.

Though she did perk up at the runes and spiraling fae script that flashed on my armor. The power did feel nice and the plating in my middle and hips drew a bit more elaborate, as did my mask.

My sister watched stoically for a moment and then went to check on her daughter and the others. I wasn't sure what Maggie and Pluto were up to, my attention was more on keeping the flames nice and easy. Butters stood next to me almost wobbling on his feet, but he stood.

But he'd stay and watch... and then I'd help him sift through the ashes.

***************

I watched the sun rise. The first glimmers of light were refreshing and warming. I sat on a bench. The back had been mostly blown to splinters, so I had to be careful, but the horizontal seating portion was solid enough.

My gaze dipped down at the polished mask in my hands. Sleek, and snow white, it was adorned with blue tracery, silvery wirework, and ice crystal gems. It was also melting.

Looking back up, I pulled my duster over my shoulders and shivered, and not from the cold. I wanted to take a shower. I drank the last of the water from the canteen Ranma had left me and then spit to the side. No, what I really wanted was to brush my teeth.

Daylight was rapidly growing. It revealed... well the grounds were pretty ugly with cratered earth, a couple crashed helicopters, at least a dozen exploded vehicles, trees with their branches blown off, and, oh yes, the deliquescing corpse of a giant squid monster. The other giant monster corpse and the no-longer smoldering hospital were out of sight at the moment.

The smell of smoldering bodies, sulfur, burnt munitions, mint, and calamari was thoroughly unpleasant. At least most of the human dead had been gathered up. Butters had gone off to help with the wounded, but once the priority cases were taken care of he was left with less to do.

Sure, there was a lot more cleanup to take care of, but the mercenaries didn't seem too inclined to have Butters help them square away unexploded munitions.

I wriggled my toes and sighed. Being out of my armor was less constricting. My horns were still buzzing. I could feel more Jammers being setup and other things being worked on, which, I suppose, made sense, we had just defeated an attempted incursion.

I had been helping consult on the best way to dispose of the squid-frog bodies. The mercenaries seemed pretty squared away on dealing with the Wolf-men, and I'd already walked them through the hazards of Denarian bodies. Well, specifically how to deal with the coins.

My count of coins recovered matched Butters' count, which was the same as Ranma and Sanya's. Lady Pluto was also watching the proceedings like a hawk. I can't blame her prudence. I really didn't want to imagine a Fallen being able to whisper in a magical girl's ear.

Still, when I suggested that they just truck the squid-guts into a dump set it on fire, and then push the ashes into lake Erie, Old Man Harry suggested I take a bit of a break. Which was mean, I was only joking.

I stretched out and had to remember that I couldn't lean back without falling over. The mushy remnants of my mask fell on the ground with a splat.

Still, it was over. Tessa was dead. Imariel was in the penalty box guarded by two Knights. The rest of the Denarians had been dispatched.

The Wolves had tried one last desperate breakout, but as they assaulted the perimeter, Morgan and the other Company snipers lent their support. And the Canadians, using heavy machine guns they'd emplaced for this contingency held the line.

I supposed that there was a whole media operation. I don't know what the cover story was going to be. Maybe it was dark enough and there was enough magic keep anyone from recording footage of giant squid monster attacks.

Then again, blob monsters had already attacked their capital. And they had to have some justification for firing artillery inside a town. Still, the whole demons and magical girls aspect was probably being suppressed. Not to mention help from certain transdimensional wizards.

Either way, I was real glad covering this up wasn't my responsibility.

Exhaling, I went back to watching the sun.

It was over. I could go back home.

I could...

I looked down and blinked. "Holy crap, I'm a demon?"

There was a creak as someone sat down on the other end of the bench. "You sound surprised," a Russian voice said.

Blushing, I tried to pull my duster closed, it was a bit hard, maybe the girls had taken in too much material, and muttered about stupid sisters not giving me enough time to get dressed. The Mantle responded and grew a bit of armor over my torso and chest, one-piece swimsuit style.

Looking over at Sanya, I found my blush lingering. "Well... I wasn't really thinking about what'd happen after, you know, Tessa. I wasn't really thinking about my... future."

The dark-skinned knight nodded. "So, not like your plans with your last questionable bargain for power?" he asked, unslinging his rifle. Esperacchius was adjusted so the scabbard didn't get in the way of sitting.

I sighed. I don't know how much Sanya knew for certain, but before becoming the Winter Knight I had arranged for my own assassination. Then I had my protege erase any memory of me giving the order.

It was a true conspiracy of the self, and it didn't do Molly any good to have her mess with my mind like that. The worst part was, for all that, I was a pasty. I had been pushed into killing myself by a Fallen whispering in my ear. Breaking the rules in the process, the Fallen said the exact wrong thing, at the exact wrong time.

It took a lot of planning by Uriel to balance the scales on that breach.

My tail drooped as I thought it over. "Wait... Questionable?"

Smiling he waved away my concern. "Your new family nicer than your Queen."

"Hey," I said a bit more indignantly than I intended.

He eyed my choker. "I can understand, somewhat." He pulled a flask out of his Russian surplus coat. "I only spent a couple hours with your demons." He took a sip. "You picked much nicer demons than I did."

I bowed my head. Before becoming a Knight of the Cross, Sanya had been a Denarian. He had been host to Magog and done horrible things for Tessa. Rosanna was his... handler, though Sanya thought she was more. Not surprising; he was sixteen when he first took up the coin.

Cracking a smile, I flicked my tail. "I didn't think you believed in demons."

"Is convenient word. Also, from what I hear, your family is not from some hell-plane. More like a place of mountains, trees and rivers. You could easily be aliens that look demon-like."

I huffed. Sanya was frustratingly agnostic. Though, he was right. BlackSky's lands, and her capital city of Silvana, sounded almost... nice.

Noticing my irritation, he passed me a flask. I took a sip, then another. It was smoother than the stuff he normally carried. Still, it warmed my throat and stomach. "You brought the good stuff to keep you company in the NeverNever?"

He frowned. "Is normal vodka. Maybe your taste is better."

"Probably," I took another drink and with some reluctance handed it back. "Hope Lea didn't bother you too much while you waited."

"Nonsense. I was told follow Scary Sidhe Lady to the distant reaches of Winter. Waiting was homey, reminded me of childhood," he smiled.

I laughed. It had to be a joke. From what I had seen of the other side of the portal was a bleak landscape with perpetual sleet. "Well, it was great to have you available to do the Knight thing and help in the nick of time."

"You had lots of support in that way," he noted, taking a sip.

"Butters is a good man," I said maybe a bit defensively.

"Of course."

"That why you're not concerned about sitting next to a big old succubus?"

"You are not the first pretty demon lady I have known," he remarked.

"I'm sorry about Rosanna... I know you two..." She had used him, but Sanya didn't know that, not at first, and his feelings towards her were real, real enough to convince him to become a monster.

His expression hardened for a brief moment. "She made her choice," he said with resignation.

"Butters gave her multiple chances. Isn't that all you Knights can do?"

"Da." The Russian looked at his flask. "Still, is good you found way to be pretty demon lady, this time without coin."

"Hey!' I pouted crossing my arms over my chest. "It wasn't like that with Lash."

"Fallen shadow in your head not tempt you?"

"She didn't tempt me by telling me I'd be able to pull off the succubus look!"

"Ah, so you never used Lashiel's power to take a Denarian form?"

I blushed a bit, recalling how Hannah Ascher looked in her Denarian form when she held Lashiel's coin: naked with purple smoke swirling about almost like a fan dance. "Wait.... I'm pretty?"

"Of course! Fae and succubus make for very pretty Dresden."

My tail may have swished as I glanced at him. "Flatterer," I said but certainly didn't preen as I leaned over, the bench creaking a bit.

"Careful Sanya, Harry gets goofy when she's hungry," Butters said as he wearily walked up. Blood was splattered on his mantle and his black clothes and harness. Though his hands were clean.

Nariko and Akane shadowed him. Their armor was also covered in soot and blood. Much of the skirting to Akane's uniform was burnt with the outer layers looking partially melted, exposing ceramic plates in places.

Butters eyed the bench, and I obligingly scooted over. There was the bonus that it brought me a bit closer to Sanya. Butters sat down on the other side next to me, fished something out of his vest and wordlessly handed me a candy bar.

Well... when I slipped out of that ornate armor, my hunger had returned.

Sanya watched me devour, daintily, the confection. "Hungry little demons," he noted with mirth as Akane and Nariko flopped down in front of the bench and took out their own snacks.

I licked a finger. "So... um... how is..."

Butters nodded. "Desiree is doing better. Doc Covington thinks she'll recover fine." He shook his head. "Cecilia's with her now."

"Ah, and they're..." I glanced over his medical kit.

"I'm on a break; they insisted."

I turned to my nieces who tried to look casual.

"You have been up and running all night," I pointed out. "And there's plenty of Canadian and merc doctors that are fresh."

"Things could have been a lot worse," he admitted. "You know that second artillery strike? The one Nariko called down during the battle? The casualties could have been much worse there. No fatalities and the injuries weren't too bad."

Nariko blinked and Akane pulled her a bit closer.

"Well, how many human soldiers were near the squid-monsters?" I shrugged. "But yeah, it was a good thing the Canadians had their best gunners there, course it helps they were lucky too."

Butters gave me a flat look. "Right. Lucky."

"You did help invoke Amaterasu's blessing," Nariko reminded.

Butters turned to Sanya. The agnostic, Russian Knight simply shrugged.

Butters sighed.

"Being Knight is burden," Sanya said before offering his flask.

Butters' eyes bugged. "You're giving her booze? After all the fighting, stress, damage and dehydration she's had?"

Akane reached out and took the flask. She gave the contents and experimental sniff.

"I can handle it, I'm not some kid," I huffed.

The little Jedi Knight stared me down, and I might have wilted, slipping closer to Sanya, who patted my shoulder.

Butters exhaled. He then took out a canteen and handed it to me.

I held it in both hands and gave the water an experimental slosh.

"For drinking, not dressup," he sternly stated.

Without pouting, I began to drink.

"You seem to take well to the job," Sanya noted, shifting his Sword.

Butters laughed. "I was scared out of my mind. I didn't realize how much pressure came with it."

Sanya nodded. "The Sword is powerful," he said eyeing Nariko's katana with interest.

"Nah, not the Sword, well maybe what the Sword symbolizes. The pressure of the job, the responsibility of being a Knight. I mean this is a world that doesn't even have the Swords. But even here, grizzled mercenaries, Sith succubae, Shinto magical girls, doctoral researchers in eldritch lore, and scary redheaded killing machines all look to me as if I'm some sort of trusted expert."

"You forgot absent-minded wizards," Nariko happily reminded.

"You were sent for a reason," I said after finishing the canteen.

Butters might have grumbled.

"Is her being a demon that troubling?" Sanya asked.

"Well... it's gonna be a mess when we get back." Butters looked off for a moment. "Geeze, Murphy, Charity, and Andi are gonna flip. And then there's Molly... Not to mention Maggie."

I might have given a nervous laugh as my tail curled up. "At least you two can help me with Michael."

Sanya patted me on the back. "You worry too much. Michael is a good man, your friends accepted you as the Winter Knight."

Butters coughed. He had been concerned about Mab's influence on me. "Don't do that, she needs to think about her future."

I chewed my lip. "I'll have to update the info on my detective agency."

Butters shook his hands and grumbled.

"Dresden being Dresden is not what is upsetting you," Sanya said.

"No, not really."

"What then?" Sanya asked.

"It's how I feel." Butters pulled out the hilt to his Sword and studied it. "I shouldn't be glad that Tessa is gone. It's more of a... relief."

"We gave her a choice," I stated.

He laughed. "Yeah... we tried."

"The Fallen are insidious; they are masters of temptation and lies," Sanya reminded.

Butters nodded. He understood. He didn't like it.

"You gave Rosanna a choice," Sanya softly said.

Akane offered the Russian's flask. This time, Butters took it. He pulled a face after taking a small sip. "Damn you could use that stuff to sterilize instruments."

"Good to know," Sanya smiled. He looked at the sunrise. "Should be pretty day at least. I have not been to this part of Canada in a while."

"You sound like you want to go sightseeing," Butters scoffed.

"If we have time. Why not? Seeing new places is upside of Knight job, no?"

"I just want to get some sleep," Butters leaned back and I had to catch him from falling.

Ranma strode up to us, her hair blowing in the breeze. Looking like the queen of the battlefield, she projected an easy confidence in her posture as she surveyed the devastation around us. Only the smallest of tells betrayed her weariness. "I figured you'd all get together."

"We're just missing Lea," I shrugged. My godmother tended to come and go on her own whim, or worse at her Queen's whim.

"Last I saw her she was talking with Old Man Dresden."

"Ah yes, other Harry with eye-patch dresses all sinister, very scary," Sanya deadpanned.

Ranma leaned down between her daughters and gave each a hug. "I don't know about scary, but he seems to have more sense than our Dresden."

"He did try to keep you from Soul-gazing him," Butters agreed.

"Hey!" I said

My sister ignored me. "Puu and the other eggheads are pretty sure things won't fall apart here. Well, the Canadians will have another spot to watch and this area's gonna be a mess to cleanup, but a portal probably won't open up and disgorge monsters."

"Callin' that a win?" I asked.

"Meaning we might be able to go home," Ranma smiled.

Butters looked at the broken terrain, twisted wreckage and decaying monster remains.

"Yeah, yeah, there's still a lot of containment, cleanup, and media relations to do, but us trigger-pullers can be pulled back." The redhead rolled her shoulders and sprung back up.

The redhead bounded over to me and threw her arms in a hug. Surprised, I found myself purring as I returned the gesture.

"You did great," my sister said, pride in her voice.

"Well..." I blushed; my tail swishing back and forth. The hug was nice. Shame Butters and Sanya weren't joining in.

"No, seriously, you ate an Outer Entity's heart," she squeezed harder. "I guess you did know what you were doing when you begged me to turn you."

This time my blush was a bit more out of embarrassment, but I leaned into the hug anyway.

End Chapter 15



I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf. Special thanks to Pat for putting away a rainy afternoon to get this out.


If you're groaning over the chapter title, well, special thanks goes to Ellf for that. I was thinking of what to name it, and asked for his help.


But here we are. The fight is over, one chapter and epilogue are all that's left

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.

"I heard the news today, oh boy.
The Canadian Army had just won the war.
Squid Toady things were burned away
But I just had to look
Having wrote the book..."
-J St C Patrick
Chapter 16 Just Desserts, Part B

There was nothing quite like a shower, a meal, and a little nap to make someone feel human again. After arduous physical and mental exertion, merely being fresh and clean felt decadent.

Of course, the first thing I did in the bathroom was floss and brush my teeth. At least it was the regular kind of toothpaste. Mint would bring back unpleasant memories for years to come. That action drove home that I wasn't exactly human. It got a bit more obvious when I stripped off my duster and let my armor sublimate away.

Still, all that awkwardness, complete with mocking reflection, was over. I redressed in some slacks, western shirt, boots and my, freshly cleaned, duster. Then came breakfast and being loaded into the waiting anonymous vans driven by slightly less anonymous spook-type folks.

Of course once we arrived at the park, there was a lot of waiting. Turns out we were early. My hand drummed against my staff as I waited, leaning against a tree. At least the park was pretty enough.

And the two magical girls arrived on time.

There were a few agents ghosting about doing spy stuff. A couple of my nieces were also there: Ukyou looking dashing in a white suit while Misako sat on the lip of the fountain and periodically tried skipping stones. It should be noted that the girl, clad in a green dress that reminded me a bit too much of the coloring of the squidtoads's paisley plaid nightmare, was doing this in a drained fountain.

I think she did it just to annoy Lady Mars, who wore a black and red suit-skirt that complimented Ukyou. After seeing Mars in action earlier today, I wasn't sure why Misako was antagonizing her.

Okay... that's a lie. I knew exactly why my niece was doing it. Still, Misako had the capacity to be nice; she had helped me get ready.

My older doppelganger turned back to me and gave an irritated sigh. He had also washed up and changed back into a severe dark grey suit that, with his sable eye-patch, made him look like quite the cutthroat businessman.

Though given how much an assassin of his caliber could charge, I suppose that impression was accurate enough.

Old Man Dresden's irritation lessened when he saw his daughter similarly tapping her wand against the set of large duffle bags she was watching. Maggie, not my daughter but a version of what she could be, had changed into a burgundy knit dress over black tights and running shoes. Her dark hair spilled in front, covering half of her face.

A bit further into the twenty foot diameter fountain Lady Pluto futzed with her staff. It was back in one piece and on a close inspection on the drive over I couldn't even spot the seam from where Tessa had snapped the magical implement. Misako for all her wiliness to antagonize Lady Mars, was careful to keep from throwing her pebbles anywhere near the diminutive green-haired magical girl.

Either the diminutive magical girl had perfectly repaired her garnet-topped focus item in a couple hours or she had a set of spares that she'd swap out whenever her current staff broke.

I wasn't sure which answer was more disquieting.

But she had paid for those two wizard assassins, so I didn't have room to complain.

"You look fulla questions, Hoss," the older wizard noted as he smoothed down his suit in the breeze that managed to flow over the high fencing that separated us from the rest of the park

At least my duster wasn't flapping about. I wasn't sure about the stylistic changes Cecilia and her girls had put into the garment when they fitted it to my frame, but the ability to belt it at the waist did help.

The park was closed for renovations. A lot of the trees had been moved and there wasn't so much grass as barren soil. But the fountain in the center was nice. There was some equestrian statue, rearing on its hind legs on a plinth in the center. And it being empty meant that Lady Pluto didn't have to stomp around in water up to her shins.

"I've got more than a few," I admitted.

Dresden's eye twinkled. "I might answer. Dependin'. You might not like the answer."

Maggie sighed. "Don't tease her, Dad."

"What's short, green, and spooky paying you?"

"What's it to you?" he asked with a smile.

"Just curious." I rolled my shoulders. "Money from this world might as well be counterfeit. I suppose she could have an account or somethin' in your world."

He nodded.

"But that means she moved assets over there and has a paper trail and the like. Which means she's working in your 'verse or planning to. I dunno how happy you'd be with that signal."

"Pretty and sharp," he chuckled.

I may have blushed along with my sigh. Misako had complimented my choice in clothes, even if I couldn't quite get my shirt tucked in the way I normally liked. At least I was never a stickler for doing all my shirt-buttons.

"There's always gold or diamonds." A pointed boot of mine kicked at his bags. "You brought enough stuff that a few pounds wouldn't be noticeable. Though... what is the exchange rate?"

"Back my way? About 88 marks per gram."

"What's this Euro nonsense? I want American!"

"Isn't this Canada?" Maggie asked.

He sighed. "Call it twenty-five hundred per ounce."

I did the math. "Yeah ten pounds of gold is nothing in a bag like that."

"That is true."

"But she didn't pay you off in gold."

The wizard tapped his silver-headed cane. "And why not?"

"Like you'd work for something so common."

"It could have been a lot of gold," Maggie countered.

I tapped my lip. "No... you can get gold, without having to go to another dimension to fight squid-monsters and Fallen Angels. I'm thinking you asked for something only Lady Pluto could give you."

"Ah," he gave a satisfied nod.

"And I'm betting it's more than interdimensional postcards."

He made a noncommittal, but skeptical noise.

I had to agree with him. Sure, I could trust Pluto had the ability to make sure letters got from one world to another, but I wouldn't bet money that the scary, not-really-a, little girl wouldn't be reading them.

Maggie rolled her eyes. "Stop teasin' her, Viejo."

"Let me have my fun, Loba," he replied. "You know how rarely I get to tease pretty demon ladies."

The girl snorted and shook her head.

"Information. That's what you're getting from her," I stated, leveling my gaze. At least in these boots the big man couldn't loom over me.

He still tried, but after a moment the wizard turned and studied the small magical girl as she worked on the plinth in the center of the fountain. Well... it looked more like Pluto was literally going through the motions with her staff.

"Ain't she a Guardian of some sort of Time Machine?" he drawled.

"Yeah, but you don't like pissin' off Grandpappy Merlin. So... no violating the Sixth Law for you." I might have poked the older Dresden with my staff.

"But if a certain someone gave me information..." He looked thoughtful. "I'm pretty sure you've been taught that prophecies and warnings from the future have to be carefully structured to avoid causing all sorts of causality issues."

I snorted. "Why does it have to be future stuff? I'm sure there's plenty of past and present events in your world that you're dying to know the answer to."

"She's got you there," Maggie smirked.

The older Harry Dresden nodded. "So, you itchin' to know what I asked her?"

I paused. It was tempting. However, given my doppelganger was pretty close-lipped about his past, he probably wasn't willing to tell me what was so important to know that he'd risk his and his daughter's life fighting giant squid monsters.

Rubbing my chin, I pondered then shook my head. "Oh, I'm curious, but I've spent enough time with Ivy to know how dangerous that temptation can be."

He nodded, seemingly impressed.

Now, I frowned. This guy had to know Ivy, the Archive of all mortal knowledge, as well. Hells Bells, Kincaid is the Archive's bodyguard. And this one-eyed merc spent years working for Kincaid to pay off a debt.

So... that left a few nasty options. Maybe Old Harry was after information that Ivy didn't know, something no mortal knew. That could be pretty... creepy.

Worse, his world might not have an Archive, at least not anymore. The Archive, that is the mantle of knowledge, is passed down from mother to daughter, with the daughter inheriting after the mother's passing. Except... Ivy, at least my world's Ivy didn't have a daughter; she's too young. Not to mention Ivy's own mother... well it's best not to think about that. Still, I don't know what would happen if the Archive died before she had a daughter.

Well, there was a less scary option. Maybe Old Man Harry wasn't willing to pay the price for getting information out of Ivy. Or perhaps Ivy couldn't tell him. When my daughter was kidnapped, Ivy wasn't able to tell me where Maggie was.

The well-dressed man chuckled at my disquiet.

"Is the Archive doing well?" I finally asked.

He nodded while his daughter snorted. "Yeah, Ivy's doing great," she said eyeing me. "You're afraid to know what Viejo wanted answered?" she teased.

"I think your father went through a fair bit of work just to answer a question." I turned to him. "And if he's anything like me, there's a few things, a few people, he cares enough for to risk himself, and his daughter, for. The real issue, isn't what question he asked, or even what the answer was, but why he needs that information."

He averted his eye just enough to avoid a Soulgaze.

"The real question is who you two want to save," I stated.

"Bravo," he clapped.

"You going to answer? And how can I help?"

His smile grew. "Oh, Hoss, you're so eager."

"We can always use another perky soul-sucker seductress," Maggie smiled.

"Perky?" I may have lifted an eyebrow. I then looked down. Ah, while my top wasn't overly tight, and while I wasn't as endowed as my sisters. I was still a pretty demon lady. Though looking further down, past the lingering swell from my "breakfast" I saw that a good pair of pants didn't do anything to hide my long legs.

Well, at least my duster kept things from being too blatant in back, though... I had tied it off around my waist. A finger went back to my lips and I pulled it away and looked both at the color on the tip and then on the nail.

While my lips were normally a glossy blue, they weren't normally sparkly. Same went for my nails. "Damnit, Misako!"

The orange haired girl looked up and waved.

Lady Pluto looked up from scribbling on the edges of an access door on the plinth in the center of the fountain. She shook her head and went back to her make-work.

"Don't let teenage girls dress you." Old Harry shook his head sadly.

"You don't want my help?"

He took a moment to watch Pluto. "Hoss, we've been working this rescue for a while. The little Miss over there's just giving me a piece of the puzzle. Besides, you can't just run to some other world, you've gotta go back home first. Besides, I've got Winter help," he added with a cool smile.

I crossed my arms over my chest and huffed. Part of me did ponder the kind of rescue that was a long term prospect, under what situation was this person hostage? As for Winter help. I frowned. Well, he wasn't the Winter Knight. And he did seem on good terms with the Ladies of Summer and Winter. However, he was pretty skittish about Mab, which was silly.

Lady Pluto had sauntered over to us, staff leaning on her shoulder.

"Well, I guess we should go," Old Dresden said as he put on his black wide-brimmed hat.

I held up a finger. "Look, you helped with this."

"We were being paid," he amiably remarked, as he hoisted up one of the large bags.

"Your questions will be answered," Pluto assured. "We should go."

"Hush you." I waved my hand at her.

The girl looked cross. "Dame Blackstone, we have been lucky. As... complicated as things have been, they could have been much worse. And I would prefer not to press my luck, not when there are extra wizards here."

I eyed her. "Is Murdock really that bad?" Ranma and Eve had told me about the gleeful manipulator who had orchestrated... well he'd been the one who had arranged for Ranma to become a demon in the first place. And from that change....

Yeah, that guy had set a lot of things in motion.

"Worse," Pluto stated. "He's been off our radar, which means he's up to something."

Old Man Dresden shook his head. "Young pups and their schemes."

"Really? You love secret plots as much as the next wizard."

Pluto sighed, impatient.

He held up a hand soothingly. "It's okay, we're going. I'll be happy with my payment."

"I can still help." I eyed him. "Look, evil-mirror Dresden. Whenever you do stage your elaborate heist or whatever your rescue scheme is, I'm pretty sure a Winter wizard sihde succubus would be an asset."

He glanced down at Maggie. The teen ran a hand through the hair that concealed half her face with a little flip. "Sure Dad, the Ladies might not be able to help, even if they want to," she said, taking her own bag.

They began to follow Pluto back to the fountain.

The older wizard though for a few paces. He tilted his head and his attention seemed far away as he pondered. "Aye, the older Queens can keep 'em from acting if they choose. It would be handy to have a backup asset," he allowed, stepping over the lip of the fountain.

"Gah, all that and I get a maybe? Why are you so stubborn?" I glared and stomped a high-heeled boot.

He chuckled. "That's rich."

I continued to glare as we neared the plinth, specifically the access door that Pluto had been fiddling with."

"Look, we're both loggerheads, and we're both able to out-stubborn the temptations from a certain Web-Weaver."

I exhaled. He was talking about Lashiel. He had spent time with her Shadow in his head too. "She got a raw deal," I sighed.

Old Harry frowned and his comment was cut off by Pluto opening the door.

The access door's hinges creaked. Instead of a cramped room full of pipes, pumps, filters or whatever was stuffed in the base of fountain statuary there was an iridescent green portal that neatly filled the door-frame.

"After you," Pluto stepped back and gestured towards the doorway.

"Well... bye, I guess." I paused. I didn't have much practice dealing with – myself. Though I suppose talking to my Id or, more recently my reflection counted for something. I reached out and pulled both Dresdens into a hug.

Maggie made a surprised noise while Old Harry complained a bit about it being too tight. Still both returned the gesture while Pluto looked on with a bit of impatience.

"Damn huggy demons," she murmured.

The hug broke apart and Old Man Dresden shook his head. "You're gonna be okay, Hoss."

"I'm not worried-"

He cut me off. "Yes, you are, but that's fine. Go back home, reconnect with your daughter, er daughters, lean on those Knights. Just be careful, it might take time for your friends to get used to you."

"After the Winter Knight thing..." I frowned.

He patted me on the shoulder. "See, if they can accept you being the Winter Queen's leg-breaker, they can be okay with you all demony."

I pouted.

He shrugged. "Hey, if you don't like it maybe you should have thought through demandin' to be made a demon. They'll accept you or they won't."

I sighed.

"Just try to use a bit of tact, we can be pretty intense."

I blinked at him and Maggie stared.

"What? I'm older, that means I know more, especially about my own problems." He tapped his cane on the ground and shifted his bag. "Anyway, the scary little girl is waiting patiently."

"Right," Maggie hoisted her gear and crossed the threshold.

"I am functionally a teenager," Pluto stiffly said.

Old Harry laughed and I could tell he wanted to pat her on the head. Instead, showing a bit more judgment than I would have, he simply gave me a final nod and walked through the glowing portal.

***************


"They're back home?" Eve asked as the van pulled away from the park.

I adjusted my legs. Those damn pants of Misako's had creaked ominously as I sat down. "Well, little Miss Pluto sent them on their way, and she went through the portal with them.

"To help with their payment?" My sister ventured from her position riding "shotgun".

I nodded. Of course Eve had figured it out too. I wasn't the only detective in the family. Swiveling in the bench seat, I turned to Lady Mars who sat next to me. "Is that normal for her?"

The black-haired girl sighed a bit. "Is anything normal for her?"

"Um?"

"Nevermind," Mars shook her head.

"There's a bit of a split between the Pattern Silver teams," Ukyou said from the back bench where she and Misako sat. The coiffed girl nodded at me then whispered something to Ukyou.

"Half of us are still in Japan dealing with problems there," Mars stated.

"Ah, the rest of the planets?" I ventured. "So, like Ladies Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn?" Before the battle I had overhead something about Mercury, Ami, not being… available. One of the many briefings my sisters had put me through did warn me about "Mistress Mercury". Apparently, she was another part of Murdock's schemes.

"And Serenity's daughter," Mars added before looking back out the window.

"Thanks for all your help," I said and bowed my head a bit to her.

She blinked at the gesture. "That's Usagi's nature." Mars tried to sound casual but she did enjoy the compliment.

"Sure, and her blowing up a squid monster was great. So was Pluto finding some extra help, but I'm thanking you in specific." As she turned I gave her a smile. "We wouldn't have won without you."

"Well, yes." The barest hint of a flush colored her cheeks. "Still, I'm not the one who was insane enough to get eaten and blow the monster up from the inside."

Looking down, I coughed. "I didn't exactly plan on that... but once it happened I tried to make the most of it." Really, once a monster from beyond the stars was trying to eat you, your options were a bit limited.

"You really are Ranma's sister." Mars made a thoughtful noise. "Maybe you should take after your more restrained sisters," she nodded to Eve. It was a bit of a formal gesture.

"You should have spent more time with her when she was a human," Eve said as she watched the intersection as the van made a long left turn.

Mars gave a slight smile and nodded her head.

The rest of the drive passed rather peacefully. Well, I might have complained a bit about how I was a totally responsible adult back in Chicago, with an office, yellow page ad, business cards, and everything. Yes... the business cards were new and the office was temporary.

But that my old workplace burned down wasn't my fault.

Hells Bells, my life had been re-established after "dying" to such a level that I had even got a jury duty summons. Imagine that, a mortal government summoning me. Though I suppose that was mob-boss Gentleman Johnny Marcone manipulating the system so I would end up serving on a jury of a guy who turned out to have been railroaded into murder charges by the White Court. Said abuse of the justice system was courtesy of a particularly annoying young vampire named Tania Raith

Sure, the guy had been a bruiser for the Chicago Outfit, hence why Marcone pulled those strings, but the guy was innocent. Okay, Hamilton Luther really did kill Curtis Black. However given Luther only killed Black, a White Court Vampire, because he found Black feeding on a little girl, I wasn't willing to vote to convict the guy.

I guess I could talk to Marcone about getting all new paperwork. Though I wasn't exactly keen on getting in debt with the mobster just to change the name on some leases, licenses, and business cards.

Oh, Empty Night, I was going to have to change all that stuff. I couldn't well pass myself as Harry Dresden, at least not to the people that care about business cards, that is vanilla mortals.

I might have distracted myself about the pain in trying to transfer my lease and business registration. And then there was my Private Investigator's license. And yes my family had to have some experience in helping people get paperwork after the succubus change, but that was only good for their world.

The irony there was enough to make me want to kick the seat in front of me, but that would just get Eve angry at me.

Well, I had a friend, or at least someone that liked me, on the Senior Council who helped me get my official declaration of death reversed. Maybe Rashid could work his bureaucromancy again. I would prefer owing the mysterious Keeper of the Outer Gates than Marcone.

Anyway, instead of mulling over all that, I may have spent the remainder of the car ride complaining to Misako about her fashion choices for me today. I was so busy civilly debating her spurious argument that she was merely teaching me the importance of bras and other foundation garments that I hardly noticed we had dropped Rei off.

Even worse, was Misako's assertion that I was to blame for these clothes. Like I was all into extra-tight pants. That was more my brother's and eldest sister's style. And as for those boots, sure I liked cowboy boots, and I liked being tall, but there was no reason for me to want to make myself look even taller, just because I was seeing off guy-me who was my old full height...

Eve was her quiet self during the drive, though she seemed a bit more withdrawn than usual. Maybe she was distracted, but I expected at least some dry commentary from her with regard to my fashion faux pas.

The van stopped and I realized we had passed through the checkpoints and were home. That is we were out in front of the house where Ranma and her family lived, which was across from Eve's house. There were a few company vehicles already parked on the street.

"Thank you, Agent Taveres," Eve said to the driver as we all climbed out of the vehicle.

Getting out of the left side of the van, Taveres, a stout muscular man, reached in and pulled out a brownish tan backpack.. With dusky skin he was short, not as short as Ranma, but not much taller than Butters. Still, he was fit and dressed in that slacks and polo contractor chic that the mercenaries seemed to adopt when in semi-public

"Ma'am," the quiet young man nodded.

Eve glanced at her watch. Which I think was an affectation. If I had to place odds, I'd wager she had an excellent ability to keep track of time. "It looks like Ranma hasn't started her class, so you have time to change and attend."

For once the sober man smiled. "Ma'am," he repeated and walked off while Ukyou and Misako sauntered off. The blonde went towards their house, while her coiffed mate sauntered towards the dojo.

That left the two of us.

Eve had smoothed her dark suit and was flipping through some papers in one of her thick leather valises. Which I would also bet had some sort of explosive lining. Her lip quirked a bit.

"And how are you doing?" I asked.

Looking back, she met my gaze. "Pardon?"

"You're lingering, alone with me, and you've been quiet on the drive over."

Her head tilted slightly.

"Quiet for you." I may have flared a bit of irritation. "We're family, you don't have to wall yourself from me."

Her smile was slight, but had just a little bit of brittleness. "Well, it's a bit selfish but... notice that you don't have any new nieces."

"What's that..." I winced. "No one on the D Program got hurt?"

"There were two members on a helicopter that crashed. KIA. Another will probably lose a leg, but I know Agent Song, she'll probably take a medical reassignment."

I nodded. The D Program had a few limitations. Sure, it was one thing to say you were willing to be turned if you were mortally wounded, but one of the brood still had to find you between getting wounded and expiring.

"Uh, how bad were the casualties?" I asked. I had seen several mercenaries and Canadians go down, not to mention the helicopters that crashed and vehicles that got melted.

Eve's blue eyes had a moment, just a moment, where they weren't perfectly steady. "About a dozen killed, twenty more casualties, some of those probably won't make it."

Anyone else would have seen a blonde woman giving an even statement. Maybe feeling a bit of sadness to her words, but she was prime, polished, professional. It was only because she was family; that I was empathically bonded to her, that I could feel her weariness and emotional vulnerability.

I leaned forward and wrapped my hands around her.

There was a tiny flicker of surprise, but Eve returned the hug. Slightly shorter, especially with me in higher heels, she was able to lean her head on my shoulder. I felt the connection between us as my sister let some of her barriers drop.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked.

I felt the confusion from her, followed by a blend of amusement and pleasant surprise. "Of course," she gave a sigh that was partially a purr and pulled back out of the hug. "I have my family. I have you all, but thank you for asking." she bowed her head to me.

I returned the gesture.

"Will you be okay?" she asked. Her outward appearance was back to all-business, but I could feel a slight concern to her, as well as the afterglow from the hug.

"Uh, yeah?" I ran a hand through my hair. "I mean it was real awful being chewed up like that and the whole battle was..." I blinked. "Well, I mean Tessa's gone and we've stopped Outsider squid monsters from stomping about my world and yours."

"Yes, this hasn't been your first rodeo," she remarked. "But that's not what I'm asking."

I tilted my head.

"You're going back to your city. You'll be alone."

"Oh," I understood her unvoiced question, and her silent offer. "You don't have to come with me, I'll be fine," I said in a tone that wasn't at all like crying: "But I'm a big girl!"

However, I might have bit my lip in worry. Look, it was a bit of a scary thought. To be honest, I hadn't really thought much about... well... what I'd do after I'd won. Winning itself was big enough of a challenge.

"You'll have to deal with what you did, what you became to beat Miss Latessa. But you don't have to be alone," Eve said.

"Yeah... not the first time I've grabbed power to win without understanding the consequences."

Eve made a thoughtful noise, but I could feel the worry behind her cool facade.

"I'll be okay," I assured her as I looked around the street. The neat houses around us were quiet. I could hear, and feel, some activity around the dojo. I suppose if I Listened I could know more of what was going on, but I felt Ranma's presence there and that was enough.

Still, I ran one hand over the other; it was... odd. Ever since I had fallen through a hole in the sky and landed in half-frozen mud, I'd had a mission. First, figuring out where the heck I was, then, figuring out why the heck I was here, and finally, how to solve the problem of a revenge-crazed Fallen Angel host.

Eve sensed my indecision and anxiety. "I have to go back to base and help oversee the quarantine, cleanup, and the like. You could come, if you like. It's a bit dry, but would be helpful to make sure we're disposing of everything properly," she offered.

I tilted my head, and considered. Sure, Sanya and Butters had secured the Denarian coins, but what they were going to do with those coins afterward was a valid question.

Normally, they'd be handed over to the Church and kept secured. Eventually, they'd escape and go "back into circulation", that's how it worked with those damned things. But lately, the coins seemed to be getting out of the "penalty box" a bit too quickly.

At least that's what Michael and I had found the last time we had tangled with Denarians. That was the same operation that had seen the retired Knight come back for one last mission. And had actually been Mab and Marcone tricking Nicodemus into losing his personal army, ruining his reputation in the supernatural community, and, oh yes, murdering his daughter.

Which... was what got Tessa out looking for revenge.

Still, what Sanaya and Butters were going to do with their baggy full of Fallen coins was a problem for later. I suppose I had a place designed to secure supernatural things, but, given what else was locked down under my spooky island, I really didn't think stashing Denarian coins there was a wise idea.

Either way, the coins weren't my sister's problem. It showed remarkable wisdom that these mercenaries were happy to get the damn things off their planet. Instead of doing something like trying to harness their power, study them, or some other foolishness.

If only more people acted sensibly when tempted with vast supernatural power.

Even without the coins, there was still a huge mess on that battlefield. I hadn't heard any news today, so I had no idea what lies were being spun. I had seen a zombie T-rex stomp through Chicago and fight a literal army of zombies get covered up by blaming an outbreak of bread mold so I wouldn't be surprised either way.

Now, Eve did have a point, keeping me occupied might be for the best.

I tapped my knuckles. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll talk to Butters and Sanya first, see what their plans are."

Eve's lips quirked. "I believe they're in the dojo." She reached out and gave me another hug. "Talk to you later," she said afterwards.

I watched my sister turn and head towards her house. I guess she was getting something before going back out. Maybe picking up one of her daughters, or maybe a book or a gun or something to bring in to work.

Shrugging, I went the opposite direction and crossed the driveway. My boots rang on the stone walkway leading up to the front door of the Saotome residence. Though I suppose technically it was owned by the Tendos.

Crossing the threshold, I pulled off my tall boots and walked through the foyer. My nebulous plans of going upstairs and changing were canceled when I felt Sanya, Ukyou, Cecilia, and one of her daughters, the one with turquoise hair, in the kitchen.

"Is Eve ready to go back to base?" Cecilia asked.

"I think so," I could feel her apprehension and worry. I glanced at my two nieces, they were busying themselves at the stove. Sanya stood at the kitchen island deftly dicing things with a knife.

"How's Desiree?" I asked my tail drooping as I walked up to my sister.

"Better," Cecilia leaned on me. "I'll be going down to see her in a moment. Hazel, Isabel, and Kristen are with her in the medical wing."

I put my arms around her, then added my wings to the embrace. "She'll be okay, we can heal pretty much anything, in time," I reassured. The amount of damage I could soak up now did make me feel funny, but even a normal succubus could heal a lot.

"I can go and visit with you," I offered. "I mean, I was just out seeing off Scary-Assassin me and Maggie."

Looking up, Cecilia smiled. "That's sweet, you can come later today or tomorrow morning, before you go."

My tail drooped a bit. "I do have to go back, we all do."

"I am in no rush," Sanya said.

Huh, that was interesting. Normally, Knights of the Cross were made aware of their next mission with bracing clarity.

"Bit of vacation with pretty demon girls could be nice." He used the blade to brush a bunch of diced shallots into a bowl. "Food is good," he added flashing Ukyou and Meredith a smile.

"Oh, I'm just getting started," Ukyou grinned back.

"Some more time would be helpful," Cecilia said as she slipped out of the hug and gave me an apprising look.

I felt a bit self-conscious. Not by how I was dressed, which was pretty normal for this family, but by how her gaze seemed to go through me. "Eve is worried about me too."

Cecilia leaned in. "You are very young," she whispered. "Normally, a new succubus spends time with her family to stabilize and grow."

"Even one made by the sister process?"

"Eve still dotes on her big sister and moved in next door." Cecilia's response was playful, but there was a bit of truth and hurt to her statement.

"That's for mutual defense and..." I frowned, my sister's whispering was right. Sure, Eve could go out on her own now. But how long did it take for her to get that mature? Cecilia had been forced into living on her own, and even then she had her daughters to take care of.

And even if Eve could live by herself, it's not like she had the inclination to do it. Succubae were social, pack-pack based. And I would be the only succubus of my kind when I got back home.

"Oh," I muttered as Cecilia whispered something else. Lost in my own thoughts, I missed what she said, but that was okay. The idea of having her say something that I didn't consciously hear was familiar somehow.

Well, at least Thomas was similar to me. I got the feeling that I was going to have to lean on my incubus-style vampire brother pretty heavily.

I won't deny that a part of me wanted to stay here, stay with my sisters. Hells Bells, I'd love it if someone could come with me. A little part of me wanted Mother to come and help teach me, guide me but...

Mother was dead. And my other mother was only human. I blinked at that thought. It was factually correct. In this specific case, Nodoka Saotome's species was a limitation, but it still felt wrong to frame it that way.

Cecilia leaned her head back on my shoulder. "We've done all we can to help you, but we worry. You're strong-willed, stubborn and that will help, but it could also hurt you," she quietly said.

"What you've done to help me," My eyes widened as my memory flashed back to when my three sisters had turned me. All three provided their energy and tried to help me visualize the change, for what good that did.

But Cecilia was doing something in addition to that. "You were whispering in my ear!"

The lavender-haired demon gave an innocent smile, but her eyes glinted. "Ah, you remember, now."

"What did you do?" I growled as I took her arm and pulled her out of the kitchen into the hallway.

Cecilia's gaze went from my eyes to my hand. My sister was amused. "You begged us to turn you. You demanded demons remake your body without even bothering to find out what gender you'd become."

She wagged her finger as if I were naughty. "I looked into your soul."

Despite my ire, I felt guilty. Other than Ranma, no one else exactly enjoyed Soulgazing with me.

"And that confirmed things, confirmed fears." Cecilia started me down. "I was afraid I'd lose my little sister to madness because she'd be too in denial to realize she wasn't human, too stubborn to adapt, too prideful to ask family for help."

"That didn't give you the-"

She cut me off. I felt a slight buzzing in my horns as she flexed a bit of her power. "I did what I could, Sister. And given that you, a wizard -someone extraordinarily skilled at the visualization, mental control, and faith required to cast magic- couldn't bring yourself to see yourself as a succubus, believe that you should be a succubus…"

She spread her hands. "I'd say what I did was necessary."

"But what did you do? What did you whisper?" The anger had boiled out of my voice and I was left with uncertainty, a feeling of vulnerability.

Butters was right. I didn't think through this whole "demon" plan, and I had screwed things up. My tail curled behind me.

Cecilia took my hand. "You're a passionate person, dear sister. I merely helped you with that."

"This isn't the first time a supernatural woman tweaked my emotional state without me knowing about it." This time I glared at her.

"And? I was helping you."

"And I had an apprentice who thought she could just cure drug addiction in her friends by implanting phobias in their minds. She was trying to help them too. Instead it got her declared a warlock with the White Council, put under a probation where if she slipped up she'd lose her head, and, oh yes, she drove one of her friends, to madness and badly hurt the other."

Cecilia's lip curled back and her stance shifted. "Your apprentice was sloppy," she hissed. "Clumsy."

I blinked. I knew what my sisters were, the empathic thing made it obvious they weren't human. However with Ranma and Eve it was easy to keep in mind how different they were. They radiated the sleek power and control of the trained predators they were.

Cecilia... she was a demon. Okay, it sounds dumb. But this was the first time she really acted demonic. Her eyes seemed to read me and her sneer became a bit approving.

"Is that the difference? Molly was bad at using mind magic to fix her friends but you're good at it," my mouth was dry.

Cecilia slipped closer, her expression softening. "No. The difference is that you consented to having your mind transformed. I doubt your apprentice asked her friends if she could help them."

"No, she didn't."

"As I said sloppy," Cecilia shivered. "Also, instilling a phobia to keep someone from doing something they're addicted to causes a mental break. The imposed will conflicts with the true self. Mental trauma is a result."

"Uh... yeah that's what happened, and why messing with someone's mind is Black Magic." I glared at her.

"I did what I did to reduce your mental trauma." Cecilia gave a playful smile, but her eyes were cold. "Do recall how I became a demon, Sister."

I stared. Cecilia had been human, but she had been taken by Alexia. She had been taken and transformed, warped and twisted. Made to love a parent that saw her only as raw material.

I'd like to think Cecilia would find her experience, her daughters' experience so revolting that she'd never repeat the sins of her mother. "Then what did you do to me?" I asked.

"You are passionate, emotional, but you also repress. Your stubbornness is an asset; it gives you great strength and resilience, but it can also cause denial. I helped your emotions, helped keep you from denying what you had become."

Her eyes looked into mine in that direct way succubae preferred. It was still a bit disconcerting, given I had a lifetime of avoiding such gazes, but it helped confirm she was telling the truth.

"I wouldn't..." I looked down at my body. My tail whipped around; my wings had folded against my shoulders.

"Ranma did. She denied who she was and it nearly cost her eldest daughter her sanity. She was so in denial she didn't even know the new demon she made was her daughter."

"Oh?" That seemed... Okay, I knew Ranma was once human, that there was a time before she had the whole "demon mom" thing. But it was hard to think about her that way. "You still messed with my mind."

Cecilia tilted her head. "You were being turned into a succubus, into our sister. Your mind was going to be changed. Better for you to accept yourself now than have some mental break fester."

"Fester?" I paused. Magical brainwashing had the whole problem of your mind knowing it should be doing things one way, but, instead, being forced to act a different way. That extra mental pressure, that extra wrongness built up and was why madness was a common result of brainwashing.

But what Cecilia was saying...

"Hells Bells, you were worried I'd be walking around with a succubus brain, succubus instincts, but my inner self would be too stubbornly human and I'd drive myself nuts?"

Cecilia gave me "the look".

"You thought I'd sabotage my own brain, Black Magic style?"

"Were my fears unfounded?" She spread her hands. "How have you been acting since the change?"

"Come on, sure I might have been silly and.... pretended to flirt, but that's not bad I mean I'm a pretty young de..." I worked my jaw. "Oh."

Smiling, she reached up to cup my cheek. "Don't pout. It's not like we had to rub your horns or treat you like a true baby succubus."

"What?" I snorted. "I've graduated to big girl pants?"

"More that a certain degree of mental flexibility is required to accept the change." Her eyes flashed. "And the change cannot be denied. A brittle mind will break."

I frowned. Mind Magic was the same way for wizards. Older, curmudgeony wizards grew set and built up a mental resistance that resisted overt control. Sure, they could still be influenced, as the Senior Council found out to their detriment due to a the actions of deep cover mole, but they couldn't be outright controlled... as said mole demonstrated with the younger Wardens on the Council.

"I've seen it happen," Cecilia's voice was soft. "Sometimes Alexia would let one of us have the illusion of resistance. Give them spark of who they were... and let the pressure build until it crushed their minds."

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

Her smile flashed again. "Others simply collapsed when Alexia's influence was removed. So many of my girls, of Ranma's girls too, are special."

I winced. "But... they're all great girls. I mean they recovered."

Her gaze returned. "Yes, they are happy; they are whole... now; they are growing. But..."

"They are not who they once were." I frowned after completing her thought. I pondered. The conclusion hit me and my tail stiffened. "Oh."

"Yes, if I had merely wanted a happy succubus sister, I wouldn't have needed to do anything."

Her eyes bored into mine, the lavender irises softly luminescent. "I could have stayed silent during the change, and afterwards when my baby sister fell ill, well... she'd get better."

I shivered. That was the curse of my new species. Our minds could be fragile, vulnerable. But if broken... they could be reformed, but it wouldn't have been...

"I would have died."

Cecilia tilted her head and she smiled with a flash of teeth. "Butters would have mourned the loss, but he's a good man. He'd have helped us with our poor sister. Though I'm glad he didn't have to bear that burden."

"He was sent to... to help me," I sighed. "More than just talking me out of murdering Tessa. More than futilely trying to keep me from becoming a demon."

"Could you imagine a newborn succubus with your power? Confused, without a firm identify, but with memories full of hurt."

I thought to my daughter Bonnie, a spirit with the knowledge of a Fallen Angel. She came into existence in such a state of innocence but burdened with terrible knowledge. "Yeah."

"I love you." Cecilia hugged me. "I'm not strong like Eve and Ranma. They assumed you could power through it. Even though Eve abandoned her humanity to save her soul, and Ranma did likewise to save her daughters."

"I love you, too," I blinked, still confused.

"But I know what it's like to be broken and if I could keep you from breaking, I would."

I thought of Cecilia giving me those pamphlets, talking to me about my emotions, my urges, explaining that I had options other than ascetic self control, working with Lea to send me on that date. I hugged her back. "I'm still... I don't like that you messed with my mind."

"Yes."

"I really don't like that you kept it secret from me." I eyed her. "Should I be happy I'm able to dislike it? That you didn't make me wide-eyed and thankful?" My tone was light but there was a bit of hurt under cutting it.

"If I were going to brainwash you, having you less clumsy would be my priority. She took my arm again. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

A little growl slipped past my self-control. "You were that afraid I'd screw up?"

My sister just gave a sad nod. "I didn't want to lose you."

Sighing, I pulled her into another hug. "I don't like it. I'm also... look be careful. You know how dangerous we can be, how we can abuse our powers."

She shivered a bit in the embrace. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"I..." My voice caught. "Yeah, a couple times. I once used a bit of mind magic to help Murphy sleep after some nasty mental trauma, even eased the memories a bit. Among the Council it's considered a mercy and not violating the law."

"But it could be abused," Cecilia stated.

I shrugged and squeezed her again.

"What was the other time?" she asked, pulling out the hug.

I looked down. "I had my own memory erased. I had my apprentice do it to me so..." I bit my lip. "So, I wouldn't know; so my Queen wouldn't know I had arranged for my own assassination."

"Before you became the Winter Knight?" Cecilia's arm snaked back around my side. "You didn't want to become her... monster?"

My gaze was still low. I could see my tail swishing as it curled around my long legs. "Yeah. I mean. I wasn't in my right mind at the time. Someone had cheated but..."

"I'm sorry," Cecilia repeated and I could feel the regret and sympathy in her voice. There was also an undercurrent of worry.

"I've got no plan like that here!" I waved my hands.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that." She laughed. A bit more regret filled her. "I've been keeping my ride waiting too long. We will talk later," my sister promised, reaching up to give me a quick hug before going towards the foyer.

After putting on her shoes, she waved as she slipped through the front door.

Waving back, I turned and made a surprised noise as Sanya had seemed to appear next to me. At least the knight had left that knife in the kitchen.

I regained my footing. "Um, how much did you hear?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"Not much."

I crossed my arms and tried to give him "the look".

The Russian shook his head with a bit of regret. "She should have told you."

"Yeah, that might have made me think twice about the change."

His teeth flashed in a mirthful smile. "Are you sure? Is that the line when it comes to turning into pretty demon?"

"It would have been nice."

He nodded.

"She could have told me afterwards, instead of hoping I didn't figure it out." My tail started to ease and swing back behind me.

The Knight glanced down then back up to me. "She was scared for her baby sister."

"Doesn't make it right."

Sanya nodded again and put his arm over my shoulder. His strong fingers ran over the folded membranes of my wing. "No, she should have told you. She took away choice."

I smiled. That was what it came down to for the Knights of the Cross: Protecting the ability of mortals to choose. Even the likes of Tessa and Nicodemus were offered a choice. Neither took it; each sided with their Fallen.

"I still chose this," I swept a set of long alabaster fingers tipped with blue nails over my tall, sleek form. "My sisters warned me I wasn't thinking it through. Butters warned me, but I still demanded the change."

As he led me back to the kitchen, Sanya followed my gesture.

"Well, being the demon. Not the Winter sidhe succubus stuff," I amended.

Sanya laughed. "That was your choice as well."

I tilted my head.

"Come Dresden, you knew what would happen if you did not drive the change yourself. The Mantle would do it." Sanya shook his head and let go of me. "Besides, Knight Mantle is not thinking being. Is power, instinct, and primal urges. It does not know how to make pretty demon lady."

His hand slipped down my shoulders and brushed against my tail. "Uh..." I twisted around to face him, slightly flush. "But... if it wasn't the Mantle. Who turned me?" I frowned, even Cecilia wouldn't go that far. Plus she was genuinely surprised by how I looked.

Sanya grinned. "Who else?"

Raising my hand, I opened my mouth. Then I slowly closed it and pondered. I had screwed up the change. At the time, I couldn't see myself as a succubus; couldn't truly believe that I should be one. But I also didn't want to die. Neither did the Winter Mantel.

But the Mantle was just fine with me turning into a predator. Problem was, the Winter Mantle didn't know how a succubus should look.... and even if it did it wouldn't embellish. Stars and Stones, I came out of the change with lipstick and eyeliner.

"I am such a moron," I sighed, my tail drooping, and tapping one foot on the floor. It gave a sharp ring.

Shaking his head, he moved closer and I almost had to shift a step back. "You try to do the right thing. You don't think all the way through, but you try the right thing."

"Yeah... at least it wasn't as bad as the whole Winter Knight change."

"Ah, so no broadcast of you consummating the change?" Sanya frowned. "Yes, for the best, they did become your sisters, no?"

I coughed again. Yeah... becoming the Winter Knight was intensely primal and Mab, being Mab, broadcast the whole thing to all the fae. Though I'll admit part of me wouldn't mind ... I blinked and tilted my head. Sanya was saying something.

"Sorry, I missed that?" I asked, arching my back a bit as I stretched. Damn Misa and her too-tight pants.

Sanya laughed. "I said: It's not like the Mantle would care to make its host pretty to impress the Winter Queen."

I gave a little smile and swished my tail. "Well, maybe. If I'm lucky."

He was still smiling, but his eyes looked thoughtful. "Ah. You have not spoken with the Winter Queen?"

"No, I'm sure Lea told her about me, but..." I shook my head and shifted my hooves. Huh, when did those shift? I licked my lips. "I don't want her mad."

He nodded. "Yes. Though there is something else you should be concerned of."

"Oh?"

The knight shrugged. "It's not just your sister influencing your mind."

I gave him a sharp look. "I know about the Mantle." Still, I couldn't keep from frowning. Sure the Mantle of the Winter Knight couldn't really think, but it had its loyalties and urges. Maybe it could put the idea of impressing Mab in my mind.

That was a scary thought.

Then I had a worse thought. Stars and Stones, the Mantle had merged with me. There wasn't any need to implant ideas in my mind. The concentration of Winter Power was a part of me.

Sanya looked contemplative as we meandered back to the kitchen. "I've met the Winter Queen. We also talked after you became her Knight."

I blushed a bit but felt his pressure on my shoulder... My head shook. "I wasn't exactly thinking at my best back then," I stated. That was putting it mildly: self-brainwashed to enact a suicidal conspiracy was more accurate.

"You were afraid of what you'd become?" he asked.

"Someone on the other side cheated. Took advantage of my fears. Broke the rules. One of your bosses had to step in and balance the scales." Lasciel, the actual Fallen not her shadow, was the one that pushed me into that conspiracy. Afterwards Uriel had given my ghost a few choices and in the end let me face Mab with a measure of hope.

"Ah," Sanya nodded as he went back to the cutting board. "Your relationship improved then?" he asked pulling, an onion out of a bowl.

My nieces seemed to be diligently cooking, but I knew they had been eavesdropping.

I frowned. That... was true. I had been far more insolent than Mab was used to in a Knight. I almost felt guilty at how far I'd pushed her. Especially given the whole Maeve mess. Mab realized that her daughter had to die, as a parent I couldn't imagine what that would do to me.

Then again, I had promised to be the most effective knight Mab had ever had, and I liked to think I had proven my worth to my Queen.

My tail curled.

Dang.

Sanya put his knife down. "Sorry, did not mean to upset you," he flashed a grin.

I smiled in response. He was charming. He was also a Knight of the Cross and was potentially extremely dangerous. But only if his cause was righteous. "It's all just a lot to take in."

"Well, mother and your other sisters were warning you," Ukyou said as she put a plate in front of me. It was a ham-steak next to a pork chop next to a fillet of some type of fish. I was going to have to work on my food budget when I got home.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, not at all petulantly. I had turned so I could stop Tessa. But now that Tessa was gone... my tail swished.

"Oh, one thing, Misako would like to help you with some clothes," Ukyou said.

"After what she did today…" I muttered.

"I think she'd like to apologize and help you with some more comfortable stuff," the platinum blonde said.

I went to my food but found that Ukyou had removed the plate and was moving it, and another one, to the kitchen table.

"Ah, lunch then?" Sanya said as he ambled after us towards the table.

"I think you should get some food in your before talking to Mom," Ukyou said.

"Wise idea, demons can be cranky when they get hungry. Can do foolish things." Sanya laughed.

"I'm not cranky," I pouted.

"Of course not," he said putting his arm around my waist and pulling out a chair. "But you can do foolish things, no?"

I huffed, but didn't argue the point. I was hungry, and having some more real food would be nice. Anything to help recover from the mess of last night, this morning.

***************

Feeling a bit better, I slipped into the dojo.

Ranma was at the head of the room. She wore a purple Lycra bodysuit and stood a bit to the side while two of her daughters circled Butters. The knight was wearing a borrowed gi and well... he certainly looked the part.

Though it helped that his sword was still a blade of glowing light. Misako darted in, her wood blade shooting forward. Butters intercepted his blade knocking hers to one side.

I noticed it merely blocked her blade, instead of cutting through it... well I guess a sword could have a stun setting. He had to step back as Misako adjusted her wrist to bend the tip of her sword back.

As Butter's feet committed to a new stance, Nariko pounced and stabbed at Butters's side. The knight pulled back and managed to narrowly avoid both blades, however he was on the defensive. Each demon could support the other, whenever the Knight tried to press an advantage the two could either unite in their defense or split and coordinate attacks from different angles.

The latter forced Butters to keep a mobile defense as he was often left pulling back and darting to the side, until one of his dodges brought him into contact with Ranma.

The redhead raised her hand and the trio stopped.

I walked past the various mercenaries, soldiers, and instructors. I noticed my nieces were, by and large, kneeling down at the far end of the dojo near where Ranma was lecturing. All eyes were on me. I had brought my staff with me, but had left my boots in the foyer. The matting felt a bit funny under my toes.

"Is this a lesson on how important teamwork is?"

My sister tilted her head and side-stepped Butters. "Obviously. Coordination is a force multiplier in and of itself. That's important when you're on a team, and when you're alone." She said the last locking eyes with me.

"Also we felt two-on-one would make the Knight work for it," Misako said as she slipped her sword into a bright silk sash tied around her waist. She then bowed her head towards me.

Butters was panting but he seemed pretty stable. Though I suppose after today's battle everyone was going to take things easy.

"There's more..." I frowned and walked around the room.

A couple of Eve's girls were behind me and moved forward.

Going with the flow, I frowned. I should have come in when the instructors had everyone do exercises or break into little groups for sparing. This was a bit much of an audience.

Ranma stepped back, seemingly yielding the floor to me.

I automatically took her place. My tails straightened. Another lesson. "You also showed that how, even if you stave off your attackers, they can still maneuver you. Your girls managed to push Butters right into you."

The redhead coughed. "Not exactly what we meant to show, but yes... that is true," she admitted. My sister bowed to Butters. "I didn't mean to say I'd be a threat to you, Sir Knight."

She then clapped her hands. "Right! We all had a busy night, so I think we can do with some more limbering up. How about some wall kicks?"

I watched as the students went to the walls and each started lifting a leg up about even with their waist and holding them in place. It looked deceptively easy, but I knew from the flexibility primer Ranma had put me through that that such an exercise would start to become a real strain.

Hands clasped behind her back, Ranma approached. She looked to her students and nodded to a couple of the instructors and her daughters, sending them out to help. I still found it a bit surprising that the two instructors were human males.

"Something amiss?" she asked.

"Other than the dawning realization that I'm going to go back to the chaotic mess of my life, but now as a gangly demon-chick?" I asked, though I didn't really see myself as gangly, I was far too well-put-together for that, but it was easier to say that than well...

"Yes, other than that."

I exhaled. "I think I was played."

She nodded.

That was the nice part about family, at least my family. None of my siblings would shake their heads and go "you're being paranoid Harry". They all knew about supernatural conspiracies. In this way my sisters had a lot in common with my brother.

"I can name two parties off the top of my head," she stated. "Three if we include factions within your boss's side."

"Yeah," I agreed. Just because Mab had made it clear I had been sent at Winter Mother's behest, didn't mean she didn't have her own agenda. That Lea was still lurking about made that abundantly clear, given how my godmother basically acted as Mab's right hand.

"At least Puu was straightforward."

I snorted. Lady Pluto, or whatever she really was, had admitted to doing wrong upon me, namely that I ended up here instead of somewhere else, just so she could justify hiring Old Man Dresden and Ravager Maggie as a means of balancing the scales. Which was an act worthy of the fae in its convolution.

Ranma laughed. "At least she's been a softer touch on you. She tried to be too clever-by-half with me."

My tail swished. If that was Lady Pluto being a soft touch...

Her voice lowered. "But you won't be dealing with her for much longer."

I could hear the unspoken challenge in her words. "I can't stay here."

"Not forever, no," she agreed. Clasping her hands behind her back, my sister squared her shoulders and looked up at me. Her violet eyes tried to read into my soul. The concern emanating from her hit me and I shifted my stance.

My mouth dried, my tail stilled. Young succubae were vulnerable, and newly turned ones could have all sorts of risks, but that was more for those made by the daughter change. I should be fine.

"I'll be okay; I won't go all danger-monster," I promised.

"Not with your friends, no," her gaze shifted to Butters.

I winced. When I had Lashiel's shadow in my head Michael had promised to take me down if I ever turned monster. Sanya had made the same promise when it became the Winter Knight. And Butters...

I bowed my head. "That's why you...." I didn't want to complete question.

My sister's eyes swept back. She was cocky. I had seen her in battle, but she'd seen me. And while we both were willing to cheat... she had home field advantage.

Ranma would do anything for family. I had looked into her soul. She had sacrificed her gender, her species, had become something... else. If she thought I wasn't ready to go out and be alone...

She wouldn't just let me go.

"I'll be okay," I promised.

She reached out and pulled me close. "Yes, we'll just have to make sure."

***************


I looked at the items piled onto the bed. I didn't have many possessions to pack. Of course, I arrived with nothing more than the clothes on my back and gear in my pockets. Oh, and my staff, of course.

Truth be told, I hadn't accumulated much. Though Misako, Nabiki and their cousins had done their best to make sure I had some clothes that would fit me. After a mercifully brief shopping trip yesterday they had managed to find some more stuff that worked.

There was a collection of toiletries and other such products. I mean I could get shampoo at home, but it seemed wise to bring a travel sized set of stuff, just in case. Though the silver hairbrush did have sentimental value. The photo album also had sentimental value, and could help me when it came to explaining to my friends what had happened.

A spare holster was on the bed, along with some grey boxes of ammo for my revolver. If I was careful the supply should last, especially since these bullets weren't for practice. There were a couple other boxes of related supplies.

The clothes were basically the same shirts, blouses, slacks, and long skirts, but it was nice to have more than two outfits, not counting going all Winter ice gown. For once, I was thankful about being so tall, as Misako was only able to find a couple pairs of shoes for me.

The heels were nice, and those boots Misako got me earlier at least looked good. Still, it took telling my niece that I knew a group of cobs to get her not be worried. Course, now I had to talk to the wee-folk magical cobblers about making a custom order for me.

Though... a branch of their clan had settled in the Carpenter residence.

I exhaled. Going there was my first stop anyway. That was where Maggie and Bonnie were staying.

I had to go back home. I had to see my girls. I had tried avoiding Maggie after the Winter Knight thing. Given what I'd done, I was afraid she'd think I was a monster. This time my plan was to bite the bullet.

At least Sanya and Butters should help with the introductions. That should keep Charity Carpenter, Michael's wife, from blasting me with a shotgun. This was all presuming that I'd be able to set foot on the Carpenter property.

It turns out retired Knights had one... uh... heck of a retirement package, namely a squad of literal guardian angels. Given I still had Soulfire, I was pretty sure I was still in Uriel's, that tricky archangel's, good graces.

I sighed, I shouldn't have expected things to be simple. My tail perked as I felt someone opening the door. I turned and smiled as an auburn-haired woman stepped into the bedroom.

Mood lifting, I turned to her and bowed my head slightly. "Hello, No- Mother."

Nodoka smiled and walked up next to me. The scientist looked over the bed. "You getting everything you need packed up?" she asked.

Feeling warm, I nodded. It was strange. I knew she wasn't much older than me, and she was a human, but there was still a connection to her.

She met my gaze and I turned to look at the bed. I had Soulgazed with my sisters, but... this was different. Part of me didn't want it to be different.

The Company officer put her arm around me. The shorter woman drew me closer. A slight purr slipped my lips as the fingers of her other hand went over a horn.

Her gaze had followed mine. Mother looked at the two giant gleaming pistols sitting in their open cases. The standard sidearm my sisters and nieces used; they were the same caliber as my revolver, which was nice.

Mother gave a little sigh as she looked at the accessory box of mags, holsters, springs and other odds and ends she had provided. "There's so much more I could do," she murmured.

"The guns and bullets are great," I said.

"How about a 13mm Pug?" she offered, not for the first time.

This time I mulled it over and enjoyed the hug. Even if I didn't use it, those were powerful weapons. Sure, Murphy might like one of those beefy little bull-pups the brood used. Tiny, but fierce, was her style. On the other hand, those rifles were basically a milled block of solid steel so they'd be too heavy. And on the gripping hand, unlike with those pistols, the rifle's caliber was custom.

"I can provide an ample supply of ammunition," she smiled. "I'm sure your companions could carry a couple cartons in their packs.

My tail flicked. "I dunno."

"How about armor? You might not always have access to your Winter nature."

I frowned. That was true. In previous fights I had had my connection to the Mantle blocked, thus losing all the advantages it conferred on me. My new nature made that issue even more acute.

"I suppose I could do a Sailor Winter getup," I smiled a bit.

"Dear, you've shown yourself more than capable of going tiara, ice-skirt, bows, and ribbons without my help," Mother laughed

I blushed a bit.

"Don't worry, you wear it better than Miss Mizuno," Mother hugged me again.

I nodded. It looked like I wouldn't have the... pleasure of meeting Mistress Mercury, the crazy-corrupted former teammate of Serenity's.

Probably for the best, as I had a bad track record when it came to dealing with dark-side fallen Wintry ladies. Feeling her worry, I leaned down and rested my head against her shoulder. "I'll be fine. I promise."

"I should be the one making that promise to you," Nodoka blinked her eyes. "I should have been able to do more for you."

"I have Lea," I offered a bit weakly. Sure, Lea had stepped in to be my godmother at Margaret's, my birth mother's, request. But, my fairy godmother was a bit crazy. She had spent years trying to get me to become a hound, not to mention that her training methods were brutal. That said, she did care for me, in her own way, and mourned Susan's death with genuine kindness.

Still... she was Queen Mab's right hand, and now that I was very Winter, Lea did seem taken with this new form. But true to form, she'd still scheme behind my back; look at her and Cecilia. Or her and Sanya.

Mother squeezed a bit tighter and rubbed the inner curve of my horn. "Well, a godmother is supposed to sub in for a mother." The officer sighed. "And where is she?"

"I'm pretty sure Lea went back to Winter. Which means... my queen may have a surprise for me," the last big surprise Mab had arranged for me was a birthday party.

Look, it was creepier than it sounds. Do you know how unsettling having a mob of dark fae trying to croak out Happy Birthday to you is? Even the contribution of the sidhe to the song didn't help.

Oh, and during the party I had to kill a few of Mab's minions. But it was okay, I froze them so, technically, no blood was spilled in my Queen's presence. Given we then danced over the icy chunks, she must have approved.

My tail curled a bit limply. Yeah, so odds were good Mab knew exactly what I was now, and was getting ready. Tilting my head more, I nuzzled Mother a bit. On the upside, I was pretty sure my Queen wouldn't be mad at me.

Oh, Mab might take issue with Winter Mother, the eldest of the Winter Queens, sending, her knight, off on this mission. But Mab had a good idea what kind of instrument I was.

"Thinking about home?" Mother quietly asked.

"Well..." Arctis Tor wasn't really my home. I was a Winter demon but I didn't live there. Okay, I guess I did have quarters in Mab's citadel capital but I didn't use them enough, or consider it a home for there to be a threshold. "More of my bosses."

I gestured to my pointed ears. "Specifically these bosses."

"Well, at least that's something I can't help you with," Mother tried to say with levity.

"Oh I dunno, I think you'd like Molly." There was a tiny bit of hesitation as I kept myself from using my Lady's title. "She's really good at the fiddly and fine bits of magic and enchanting."

'That's not exactly my area of expertise, I'm a scientist," Mother said with a jokingly chiding tone.

I hugged her. "You make magical armor, enchanted blades, and devices that block creatures from the Nevernever."

"I was only a contributor on those projects. But I suppose I could have..." Mother's tone was distracted. "Besides, I'm human, non-magical."

"No one does it alone. Molly lacked power and had to make up with finesse and skill. Though with her change she's kinda a powerhouse."

Mother made a thoughtful noise. "Yes, and now she's a surrogate daughter of your Queen?"

"Well... yeah, but she's a queen in her own right. And in her own rite as well."

She groaned at the pun and flicked my ear.

I totally didn't yelp and pout. But if I did, Mother did help make it better.

***************


The scent of grilling meat filled my nose and I could feel all three of my sisters and all fifteen of my nieces. Two Knights, assorted officers, mercenaries, and magical girls were also there, as well as two maternal figures. I savored a bit of fresh burger. The sun was out and it was a clear, almost unseasonably warm day with a slight breeze.

"Lea," I raised my glass at her. "I'm surprised to see you."

My godmother looked around the backyard barbeque with a toothy smile. "And miss out on seeing thee enjoy thyself?" she asked.

"I mean you must have been busy given you vanished after the battle." I took another chomp out of the thick burger in my other hand. "But I trust you'd inform me if it was in our Queen's best interest."

"Enjoy the time with thy family, Poppet." Lea smiled. "One couldst hope for any further transfer of their elegance and grace."

"Then we might have to keep her away from Ranma," Cecilia grinned, slipping closer to us.

"Whilst striking, the DarkStar dost seem to lack in genteel refinement," Lea sipped a dainty glass full of cider.

"Yes, her concept of opulence is rather blunt," Cecilia agreed.

I would have smirked at that. Ranma's getups when she talked to Mab or when she fought Tessa in the safe room were pretty silly and overblown. However, given the stuff I ended up wearing after my first sparring match got me all hungry and when I fought Tessa as a pretty succubus, I really had no room to argue.

Lea bowed her head to us. "I will leave ye to converse." She caught my gaze. "We shall be able to resume our intercourse at our leisure."

"She means conversation," I sputtered to Cecilia as the silkily dressed red-headed fae sauntered off.

My sister smiled. "Did she?"

"It's a meaning of the word," I muttered and concentrated on finishing the burger.

Cecilia laughed. Her eyes met mine. There was a brief frisson of contact between us. "I am sorry I didn't tell you."

I nodded. My tail was still a bit stiff, but I hugged her. "Yeah... I can see why you're so worried. Why you were scared for me."

The lavender-haired woman leaned into the embrace. "The reality's hitting you?"

I lowered my head so it was next to hers. Our horns briefly touched. In a few hours this comforting presence would be gone. I would be alone. Except, not alone. In a way it would be worse because my friends back in Chicago...

Well, Thomas would understand. Sure, White Court vampires didn't have the empathic links my kind did, but he was family, and he had his own Hunger. And compared to the constant demands of that howling emptiness, my own appetites were cuddly and easily-sated.

Nodding, I also emanated a feeling of agreement. I didn't like what Cecilia had done; I wished she had told me, let alone asked beforehand; but I didn't want to stay mad at her. Especially since, I had a more pressing concern. "Be careful." I whispered. "Next time you put a suggestion in someone's mind it might not work out so well."

Cecilia pulled back and looked up. "This was a special case, with an especially needy sister," she chuckled. "But I promise. I will continue to restrain myself unless absolutely necessary."

I chewed my lip. That was probably the best I would get from her. Cecilia hid it better, but she could be just as stubborn as her sisters. Err, sisters other than me. And I suppose Cecilia would just love it if her sisters opened up and were more flexible in their feeding. I knew she'd prefer it if Mother were a demon. And I could see, she did want more for her daughters' development.

That her family still had those issues did show some restraint on Cecilia's part. I suppose a lot of being a succubus was knowing when not to use your mind bending or flesh tearing powers. Fortunately, I was a trained wizard so I knew about that.

Honest.

Though Thomas would say I learned about power and responsibility more from comic books than magic.

"You're not normally this quiet," Cecilia said, taking me towards one of the tables. Both of our long skirts swished as we walked.

"Just thinking of... things."

My sister tilted her head in acknowledgement.

I blinked at the young girl propped up at the head of a picnic table. The girl's skin was still a bit grey and the ringlets of her white hair were still a bit lank but she looked a lot better than the last time I had seen her. Though I suppose she could have been in a hospital bed on a ventilator and have looked better than she did after the battle. So it was kinda amazing to see her on some pillows and with a loose blouse over some sort of abdominal bandaging.

"Desiree, how are you feeling kiddo?" I asked lowering myself so I didn't loom over her. One advantage of more flexible legs and a flowy skirt was it made kneeling down a lot easier. Sure, I was still really tall, but I didn't have to loom quite so much.

Desiree smiled. "Getting better Aunty, Doctor Covington says I should be fine after a few more days, especially if I eat right." She gestured to the pile of food in front of her.

My stomach grumbled in sympathy and I noted I had an empty hand. I might have been a bit jealous of my niece and her meat-based prescription. Then again, she kind of had to eat that much. Going hungry, starving, was especially dire for us. Still, being out of the hospital a couple days after having being disemboweled made up for a lot of disadvantages.

"She fought well," Misako added from her spot next to her on the picnic table. The passel of nieces that filled the table looked up from their meals.

Desiree blushed at the emotional response.

Also kneeling down, Cecilia hugged her daughter.

"I'm real glad to hear you're feeling good," I said after finding myself drawn into the hug. My stomach might have grumbled again.

Standing, Cecilia helped me back up to my full height. "I'll be right back, Honey, but it sounds like I need to point Aunty BlackStone towards the grill."

The other girls laughed. "At least we got her to dress properly," Misako said approvingly, looking over my sky-blue blouse with silver accents and buttons.

I gave my niece a final hug and waved at the others as I let Cecilia draw me away from the table.

As we neared the source of the heavenly grilling scents, my stomach growled again.

Cecilia laughed. "You need to be more careful about what your body's telling you," her tone was light but her eyes were serious.

"Yes, sister." I nodded. That was a difference my urges had with my brother's. Sure, running empty on normal food didn't make dealing with his Hunger easier, but it's not like eating a big meal would sate it either. I was a bit more omnivorous. I had several potential sources for life energy, and normal food could lessen those requirements.

However, the downside was that when I got hungry in one way, it could easily bleed over into being hungry in other ways. Stars and Stones, it wasn't even like I had been skimping on meals since the battle a couple days ago.

And from what I had learned, a starving succubus was just as dangerous to others as a starving White Court Vampire.

As we walked towards the grills, I spotted a burly man with long tussled hair in a dark blue suit. A little gold leaf lapel pin glinted as he smiled. "Miss BlackStone, a pleasure."

Speaking of being hungry in other ways... Giving a coy smile, I slunk up to him with a purr. "Why, hello, forgive me for cutting our evening short." I ran my fingers down his arm.

"Understandable," the Drake said as he kissed the back of my hand. "You had enemies to stop."

I concentrated on giving him a bright smile. It helped distract from how... delicious he smelled. I wasn't overly hungry, but the memory bubbled up and my tail swayed.

Of all the things I had done in this new body, feeding on people, both in the bloody way and the fun way, really drove home how... different things were.

I may have leaned in and given him a kiss. But I definitely didn't take a little taste when our lips parted.

"Drake, wonderful that you could make it," Cecilia said.

He bowed his head to her. "I wouldn't miss this."

"It was a pleasure seeing you again." I assured, snaking an arm around his back to give him a hug. Well, his arms went around my torso, though his hands may have ended up a bit low.

"The pleasure was mine," he replied, giving a bit of a squeeze.

This time I'll admit to a kiss, that might have been a bit hungry.

After we broke apart, I resumed my walk with a bit more spring in my step and swish to my hip. I pointedly ignored the little whistle Cecilia gave to herself.

My mouth watered a bit as we neared the array of grills. There were both the round, almost-egg-shaped, ones for cooking at high heat and more boxy devices that chuffed out clouds of delicious woody, meaty smoke.

A tall, but wiry, man manned the grills. A spatula was held nimbly in one hand while he opened a grill lid with another. Sober, faded green eyes observed the racks of pork ribs as he rotated and flipped them. Smoke wafted over his black apron while he stepped back.

Ukyou, her platinum hair tied back with a dark ribbon stepped up, nodded approvingly to the man and worked a bit of her magic. One hand held a spatula that minutely adjusted the meat while another deftly poured a thick red sauce over the crackling hunks of pork flesh.

The older man turned to me and gave a nod. I had to smile. Under the apron, he was wearing a suit. Okay, his suit coat was neatly folded on a cooler under a nearby table laden with supplies, fixins, greens, spices, and cooling platters of meat. But the guy was still wearing a button down shirt and dark tie.

Though his sleeves had been rolled up and pinned, revealing wrists and forearms tight with lean muscle. With his coat off, the heavy twin shoulder holsters he wore were readily visible. Not that anyone at this event seemed to care. There were more than a few weapons visible.

Hells Bells, many of the girls had shiny tooled leather holsters. Though Misako had taken care with a slim pistol with gleaming wood grips in a holster that seemed to be made of dark amber crocodile skin. Though I suppose, Nabiki's giant slung knives were a bit prettier with their wooden handles. Not to mention the slung rifles and other heavier, and less ornamental, weapons that were in evidence.

"Miss Dresden," the man nodded to me as he checked another grill and adjusted the vents on the lid.

"Jacob, I can call you Jacob, right?" I asked eyeing a platter of pulled pork.

"Given your recent performance, I think you've earned that."

"And I didn't even kill Tessa in a city council meeting," I smirked.

"Indeed, given the scale of the operation and past history, your actions were remarkably concealable." He opened an upright metal box. This time a full cloud of smoke billowed out as he removed a rack laden with a pair of briskets. The scent filled my nose and I could see that the fat had melted down into the flesh and the skin had crisped into a prefect craklin'.

"I got eaten by a slobbering monster and blew it up from the inside." My stern tone was sabotaged a bit by my salivating and by the way my tail flicked and swished.

"Yes, but you did it in a somewhat private setting." He deposited the hunks of meat onto a cutting board. "But as I said before, media relations is our responsibility. Your job was to defeat her. Well done."

I watched as he took up a knife and deftly began slicing the meat. "You make it sound so simple, Jacob." I turned and saw that Cecilia had slipped off back to her daughters.

"Isn't it?" he asked without looking up from his work.

I snorted. "I wasn't sent because my boss was feeling altruistic. She's not exactly kind, even by Winter standards." That was probably understating things. Mother Winter made Mab look cuddly. Not that I was against the idea of...

I shook my head as the greying officer filled a plate.

"That is correct," he noted as he moved the marbled slices of meat about on the plate. "From what I've been told you were sent by the Winter Queen with the least interaction, or perhaps interest, with your mortal world." He offered the plate, and, after a bare moment's consideration, added a fork.

Snatching it, I managed to not drool, but my stomach did react. I had to put down my glass to dig in. "You could say that. She's more powerful, but more remote. As far as I know she deals with more... stark threats," I said between bites. All three Queens had key roles to play in Winter's fight against the Outsiders.

Molly, the new Winter Lady, was still learning to deal with the things her office required her to do.

"Miss Lartessa's baroque revenge scheme could count."

I shrugged and ate some more. I eyed the drippings filling the plate. He smiled and added a biscuit from a warm basket. It made a handy tool to sop up the juice. Hunger sated, I eyed the plate "Yeah, Tessa broke the rules."

"Are there limits to what a Fallen can tell their host?" the officer asked returning to his grills.

"Maybe? The Fallen know a lot, but they're not omnipotent. They also have limits on their actions, even with a willing host."

"Either way, Tessa had to leave her world to get the information to attempt her summoning."

I nodded. The books she came here to find once existed in my world, but someone had made sure they were eliminated. I'd like to think it was the White Council being on the ball. I mean, they did have ways of dealing with dangerous tomes. Suppression wasn't their only tool; disinformation and dilution also had their place.

With ritual magic you had a finite amount of power people could access if they did the correct rite. Thus the more people who knew the ritual, the less power each one could get.

Sometimes, the best way to defuse a scary magic book was to publish it. That's what the White Council did with the Necronomicon. Well, a suitably edited version.

On the other hand, the knowledge itself in a black magic book could be destructive. I mean a mass distribution of Kemmler's books would be insane. The Council had enough problem with Kemmler self-publishing his necromancy-made-easy guides.

"There's also that both of your world's active Knights of the Sword were present," Jacob noted, returning to the cutting-board to get more meat.

I leaned closer so he could refill my plate. "Yeah, I'm thankful for their help, but I'm pretty sure their boss was sending a message."

Jacob made a thoughtful noise.

"Just like how I'm thankful for Lady Pluto's help."

"Ah, Miss Meiou." He looked up, faded green eyes flat. "She can be an invaluable asset."

Looking aside, I thought back to my first meeting with Lady Pluto. The young girl was powerful; she also was not a young girl. "Sounds like you're a bit concerned about how much that asset will cost."

"Her priority is her Queen," Jacob stated.

"Right." Serenity was... well she was a nice enough young lady. Really, she could have been right at home with the Winter and Summer Ladies I knew. She was a bit haunted, but still had a core of idealism.

I could see that in her eyes when we first met.

My tail stilled.

Huh.

Jacob shifted his spatula sensing my unease.

"We didn't Soulgaze," I murmured. That night I had first met her and the Senshi, I had looked into Serenity's eyes, but nothing happened. At the time, I was too rattled by what glimpses my Sight had hinted at with Lady Pluto.

"Ah, yes," Jacob nodded.

I frowned; damn observant spy. Great. I didn't know what Lady Pluto was, and there was... well there were plenty of things that you couldn't Soulgaze with. That didn't mean you were a monster. It just meant...

"I can see why you might be, um, concerned about her," I admitted. Power came with a price. I had the broken electronics, fae queen, and hooves to prove that. And I wasn't sure I wanted to know what the cost was for Serenity's mantle.

"Indeed. Though things are improving with the Pattern Silvers," he stated.

I nodded. Right, improving was what you said when things were worse. Even I could tell the relationship between the magical girls and the mercenaries and their demons was strained. But after seeing Serenity in battle, I could see why Ranma had insisted on bringing them in. Stars and Stones, not all of the Senshi were at this event. Lady Mars was notably absent.

"Diplomatically, it can be like herding cats," Jacob admitted.

"More like riding the tiger." I eyed him. "You've got a growing brood of demons under your command."

"Do I?" his question was deadpan.

"Not to mention an eroding masquerade. You might be able to cover-up what happened day before yesterday, but given the Ottawa battle, the secret's out. Not to mention there more conventional military gets brought in the harder this'll all be to hush up. Your days of plausible deniability may run out."

Jacob sighed. The man's emotional reserve shifted and for a moment I felt his weariness. "You are correct Dame BlackStone," he said, his composure returning. "I suppose you have some experience at averting mass calamity."

I took up the refreshed plate. "I might." I wasn't sure if Eve had learned every bit of my life when she Soulgazed me, but between that and all the things I'd mentioned in our time together, I was pretty sure she had at least a good grasp of the things I had done. And thus it was likely that Stillwater knew it too.

It's not like I was overly shy about telling the story where I raised a zombie T-rex to defeat a gaggle of insane necromancers, each intent on becoming a new god of death. Granted, I rarely told the whole story.

There was also when I stopped a coup attempt among the Fae to destroy the balance between Summer and Winter. And the time I had to prevent another group of Fae from unwittingly triggering my scary island's doomsday self-destruct.

Given the former incident centered around a corrupted Summer Lady, and the latter around a corrupted Winter Lady, I was a bit... concerned about the current incumbents of both positions.

"And sometimes you have to cause the mass calamity to save the day," Ranma said, stepping up.

"Yes, fortunately Dame Blackstone, ah, Warden Dresden was most restrained," Jacob agreed.

"Meaning you won't have to deduct collateral damage out of her pay," Ranma teased.

Coughing, I glanced over and saw Butters and another man were accompanying my sister. The fellow looked familiar. He was at ease around so many demons and had a military bearing that shone through despite his civilian, and western-themed, duds. At least he wasn't wearing a cowboy hat.

"Major Sifton right?" I asked thinking back to the briefing in the hanger. He was in charge of the Canadian special forces troops.

"That's me," he shook my hand then got a burger from Jacob.

"How you handling all this?" I asked him as Ranma eased us towards a set of tables.

"The brass are pitching a fit. They agree that it was necessary to exercise our Options, but our spooks from CSIS are still worried."

I blinked at him. I wasn't up to speed on Canadian spy agencies. Hells Bells I wasn't even sure Canada had spies.

"Nevermind where they're from, they're working on the fallout. There were plenty of patients in the Institute, and my priority was getting them out safe, not keeping them from seeing giant octo-frogs."

I nodded and ate from my plate. For most people, their initial exposure to the supernatural was not a pleasant experience. It was made worse because no one in authority believed talk about monsters. Feelings of isolation and self-doubt were common.
Everyone knew monsters weren't real. Not to mention, that people are poor witnesses with fungible memories, and were worse when under extreme stress.

But here the authorities knew full well monsters were real. But I wasn't sure that made things all that much better for the victims. The government was trying to keep things somewhat under-wraps, but perpetuating their conspiracy wasn't my responsibility.

Hells Bells, I'm listed in the Yellow Pages under Wizards back home. Still, the dashing army officer had answered the wrong question.

"No, no, I mean how are you, and your men, handling all this supernatural weirdness?"

"Ah," Sifton looked to Ranma then to Butters. He shrugged. "Not counting some unpleasantness in Afghanistan, our first overt exposure to the supernatural was a training display of Red and her girls. After that came vampires, cyborgs, and some other nasties, and finally Ottawa. Damn space-squids and blob monsters."

I could feel his contained anger. He gave another shrug, this one was almost natural. "After all that, other-worldly wizards, magic swords, wolfmen, and Fallen Angels aren't that strange. It wasn't that far off our training."

I blinked.

So did Butters. "You trained for this?" he asked.

"Not exactly this situation," Sifton admitted. "But stopping that summoning was close to dislodging an interdimensional beachhead. And Beachhead Scenarios are something of great concern."

I thought back: the military's response had been well-ordered and quick. They moved a lot of men, vehicles, artillery, and air support.

"It would have been a beachhead, if Tessa and those things hadn't been stopped," Butters said.

"Thank your artillery guys for me; they must have worked their butts off practicing to get that good," I said.

Sifton took another bite. "The 30th Field Artillery Regiment were eager to get some payback after Ottawa and made sure they'd be able to do it." He noted with pride. "But even they were a bit lucky when Nariko called in that second strike."

"It was good you guys were ready with Option Lanark," Ranma readily agreed.

"I'm just glad we didn't have to resort to Option Cold Lake," he whispered. "Thanks for your help. All of you."

I thought back to the jets laden with bombs waiting on the runway, and picked at my food. It was disconcerting; there were several times Murphy had wanted to bring the authorities in on a supernatural case. Not surprising, given she had been a cop for a long time, and she'd lost her job because she hatted up and helped me rescue my daughter.

Though her career had been on the backslide by then, largely because of me. The time she'd helped me on a rescue mission into the heart of Winter, Artcis Tor itself, to save my apprentice got her demoted.

Turns out the Chicago Police department doesn't accept "I was saving someone from evil fae" as a valid excuse to vanish during a murder investigation.

Still, Murphy made the argument that there was more the government could do against supernatural threats. I, usually, argued against that. Facing something you've been taught your whole life isn't real, is a steep learning curve, especially in combat.

Course, the special forces officer who had resumed chowing down on his burger gave a counterpoint I hadn't really considered.

A government that knew about the supernatural would have to "do something" about it. Something like hire demonic mercenaries or bomb their own citizens if said mercenaries, and their soldiers, failed to contain summoned Outsiders. That would also invite escalation in the supernatural set making government offices a target for their ire.

Then again the Red Court Vampires attacked an FBI building in my world, but they were extinct now.

Ranma eyed me.

"We all did our part," I shrugged forking some more delicious porkflesh. "Butters and the other big brains are the ones that figured out the location."

Butters looked a bit bashful, which distracted from my own embarrassment. While the smart kids were thinking over the data that creepy Russian woman had given us, and killed her cultist over, I was busy doing succubus stuff.

Sifton nodded. "Good, glad to see she'll have some sensible people going back with her."

"That was key in us letting Dresden return home," Eve said as she approached.

Sanya was next to her an easy smile on his handsome features. "You do not trust little sister by herself?"

Eve simply gestured towards my hair and ears.

I stomped a foot in irritation as my tail curled back.

Major Sifton shook my hand and excused himself.

Butters laughed. "You've only been here a couple days, Sanya. I've been here a week, you won't believe the trouble she's gotten into in the time I've been here."

I frowned. Had it only been a week since Lomar?

"I would like more time to..." Ranma absently brushed a bit of my hair. "Well, there's a lot of stuff I'd like to do with more time, but you have to go home sometime."

"And we're reasonably certain you'll be able to handle things, without us," Eve's voice might have been cool, but I could feel her emotions crack.

Butters sipped some soda. "That'll work, I'm out of vacation days."

"Being a Knight is challenging duty," Sanya agreed. Though as far as I knew he didn't have a day job. I was pretty sure the agnostic Knight of the Cross got his room and board paid for by the Church, which was ironic enough.

"Yeah and, Andi can only come up with so many excuses to the Medical Examiner's office for my absence." He shrugged and chewed on a piece of chicken.

"And I bet she's sick of dealing with Bob by herself." I remarked. Then felt guilty.

Butters paused. He adjusted his glasses. "Yeah, about that, I lost-"

I cut him off. "No, I'm sorry I might have cost you your job." I looked the little medical examiner in the eye and hugged him. "I've had plenty of bad things happen to the people I care about, when they help me. I'd just like to thank you for going back out knowing that."

For some reason he stiffened a for a moment but returned the hug. "It's okay Harry, that's what friends do."

***************


My mind was in a bit of a fog as the convoy drove down a highway, onto some rural roads, and though a couple sets of fences. There was a parking lot with military vehicles and a few pre-fab buildings.

The wind blew around us as clouds started to drift with greater frequency. There was something familiar about the scraggly trees all around us. After I got out, Sanya helped hand me my bags.

The Russian looked past the buildings to another set of fences and a sparse field beyond it. He frowned but walked beside me carrying a backpack Mother, erm, Nodoka had packed for me.

"Scenic enough," Butters lied as he looked around at the trees.

"This place is a hole," Misako snorted as we came up on the gate to the final fence-line.

"I don't like it," Isabel pouted, her twin black ponytails swishing.

Butters had to nod at that. I stood a bit further back as he and Sanya counted the Denarian coins in the blessed pouch. Leaving one of those cursed things behind would be bad. Both seemed satisfied with the count and Butters gave Eve a thumbs up as he resealed the pouch.

I then watched as Major Sifton peeled off and talked with the soldiers on duty here. My tail whipped about apprehensively. My sisters and... Major Saotome had gotten out of their vehicle and approached us.

Ranma slipped her hands in her coat pockets. She watched as two soldiers one female one male unlocked the gate. "Lilly, Olsen," she nodded to the two Canadians.

"There is one final issue," Eve said, diverting my attention.

"Huh?"

The blonde gave a wry smile. Morgan handed her a green metal box. "Given where you're going we couldn't just give you cash, or a wire transfer." She plopped the box in my hands.

It was heavy, and the weight was also familiar.

"There's s receipt on top." She said as I opened it.

It wasn't... well it wasn't overly impressive. The contents were stored in plastic sleeves and little cases. But the gleam of gold and gems was visible.

"You have been paid in diamonds before," Mother... Major Saotome noted.

"I, uh, yeah." Though that was less being paid and more: when we raided a god's trophy room at the behest of a Fallen Angel, my thief friend had the foresight to fill a backpack with diamonds before everything went to hell.

Butters snatched up the paper and gave a low whistle.

"Prime grade Practitioners have a very high base rate. Not to mention combat pay and injury bonus," Eve explained.

"Yeah... and then when Harry turned demon she got another bump," The little Knight's eyes widened. "Wait..." He handed the paper to Sanya.

"What?" the other Knight glanced down. "Ah, mercenaries pay us then."

"You both were extremely helpful," Eve said.

"I don't think you can pay us..." Butters lamely tried to protest.

"That's what Michael said when Anna and Binder tried to give him a cut of the diamonds Anna snatched. Charity put a stop to that and said they'd take it," I smirked.

Sanya chuckled. "We could exchange payments if that helps," he offered Butters.

Cecilia shook her head. "Now, now, Doctor Butters earned that money fair and square given he was here since Lomar and to deal with our sister well... becoming our sister."

Butters still seemed a bit perturbed.

"If it helps, keep in mind that most supernatural groups take debts and obligations seriously." I took the paperwork back and put it in the case. "The problem is everyone has their own different quirks on what is mandatory, good manners, and a grave offense."

"Yeah, Bob mentioned that," Butters admitted, seeming a bit perturbed.

"You should listen to him." I put the case in my pack. It was heavy but it didn't make the bag too unevenly weighted. "Well, within reason, but you seem to have a good handle on the pervy skull."

Butters gave me a vaguely bashful look, guess the guy still felt guilty at taking charge of the skull after I had "died".

Ranma slipped past the pensive Knight. Her tail was low as she beckoned to the open gate. "It's time."

I nodded to the three nieces who had accompanied us. They then pounced on me in a group hug. Mother joined in.

"I'll... we'll, see you again I promise." Steel slipped into the officer's voice.

I nodded. "Lady Pluto said she'd keep the lines of communication open."

"Until we figure out our own methods," Mother said, with a smile. I could just imagine her tail giving a confident, lazy swish, if she were a succubus.

Purring, I hugged them again, and with reluctance and a few mushy comments slipped out of the embrace.

Cecilia put an arm around my waist as we went through the gate.

It was now down to myself, my two Knights, and my three sisters.

Passing though the final fence made everything feel prickly. It was worst in my horns but all over my body could feel the wrongness. The fence was more than just a physical barrier.

It was also symbolic, something people could put a bit of their will in. Cemeteries have fences for a reason. They establish a barrier between the living and the dead.

Here...

Well, for once I was relieved at the buzzing sensation of the Company Jammers. The bleak field was a bog. Well, in warmer months it was literally one. Even this time of year that ground was moist and squelchy.

But it felt like a place where reality itself was... spongey. The Jammers were like a pump chugging along draining the water. That was what metaphysically made the quagmire more solid.

In a more literal sense the path was also dried. To either side of a sunken flagstone path was marshy, dead grass. Physical pumps were also working, removing water, keeping the mud down.

Zig-zagging, we passed a line of trenches and pillboxes. Though I suppose we were technically in a trench as well, just one that ran perpendicular to the defensive ones. Either way, the positions were dotted with a few more soldiers.

Ranma chatted with them and gave the crenellations a smug pat as we passed them.

The six of us marched up a final set of stairs. Maybe fifty or a hundred yards ahead of us was a rise in the bleak landscape. There was a copse of withered trees atop that hillock.

I frowned. "This is where I came through?"

Eve nodded. "You landed not very far from the hill."

I shivered. "No wonder the Canadians were so paranoid." This place wasn't oppressively evil. It didn't even have the go-away-wrongness that my creepy island gave to just about everyone.

But, it wasn't a pleasant place. I hoped the soldiers guarding this place were on a short rotation. I'm sure Eve would make recommendations to that effect. And the Canadian officers seemed to be receptive. A place like that could drive one mad in short order if left too long on guard. Really, it spoke well of them that the Canadians didn't simply shoot me, if this was the desolate place where I ominously fell from the sky

But I suppose that wouldn't have been polite.

The sky was now fully overcast. Something had broken through here, and as a consequence things were just a bit thinner. Though thanks to Tessa's actions there were a few more places like this now.

However, unlike Lomar or London, Ontario, this spot...

Ranma looked to me. "Will this work?"

I touched the ruby at the center of my pentacle choker. My mother's, my first mother's, voice filled my head. The ruby was the sum of her knowledge of the Ways, that is using the NeverNever to travel to far away places.

There was that confused pause that came whenever I tried to use the ruby on this world. Margaret Le Fay was extremely knowledgeable about traveling the Ways; she could even predict how they changed over time, but she had never gone this far out.

Still... I did hear her voice. "I don't know where you are daughter, but I do feel... Winter, and other places, but there is a way back to Winter here."

As the voice in my head faced, I nodded. "Yeah." I didn't elaborate that the Winter fae lands were gigantic. But I was the Winter Knight, and I had guides.

Eve nodded and lifted her arm and made a cutting motion. The buzzing sensation stopped, leaving me with the yawning feeling of thinness.

A glowing slit opened before the trees. Flurries had begun to drift down. The fluffy flakes melted when they hit the warm ground.

The rift expanded, reached the ground and widened.

I heard my sisters stiffen and shift, and there were shouts and sirens going off behind us.

An ethereal form with bright green eyes and tumbling red hair stepped out. A veritable drift of snowflakes fell behind her. These managed to start covering the little hill with a measure of accumulation.

I strode towards the hill. A few steps were enough to get me sick of the mire gunking up on my boots.

Leanansidhe glanced down and smiled as I stomped up onto the hill where the ground was more solid. Butters seemed somewhat queasy though he put his effort into kicking some mud off his boots.

Sanya shrugged at that and then nodded to Lea. He had gotten here by following my godmother. So, he had some idea what traveling through Winter would be like.

Looking me over approvingly, Lea clapped her hands. "Yes, this will do."

Ranma stepped up. The two redheads sized each other up. My godmother was taller but a bit more delicate in frame, where my eldest sister was shorter but wiry with sharper features. Both tilted their heads as purple eyes met green.

At least neither was showing of their pointed teeth.

"La, thou worry so much," Lea told her.

Ranma nodded. Followed by our sisters.

"Can you say our concerns are groundless?" Eve asked.

Lea turned once more to me. "I have been a direct part of Dresden's life. From her defeat of the warlock DuMorne as a child, to the rescue of her own child at Chichen Itza, and I have seen far more than that."

"And?" Butters asked crossing his arms.

"And, Sir Knight," Lea's smile gave a quick flash of her cheat. "All that time has shown Dame BlackStone is quite adaptable."

"You tried to turn me into a hound," I grumbled.

"A mistake," she bowed her head. "Thy form is far more pleasing, now."

Despite myself, I blushed. Though the cold was starting to get me. I don't know exactly where in Winter fae the other side of that aperture went, but if it was cold enough to get me to notice it had to be insanely frigid.

Lea took a time to take in the field. If the desolate wrongness made her uncomfortable, she didn't let it show. "Ah Poppet, art thou ready?"

"Erm?" I asked as I dug a hoof into the snowdrift.

Butters motioned to Sanya and stood off to the side. As they re-checked to ensure a coin hadn't, somehow, escaped on the walk over here, my sisters gravitated towards me.

The three pulled me into a hug. I basked in the contact and love. After a while it started to break apart.

Cecilia sensed my hesitation. "Go on, you have daughters that need you."

I frowned, my tail curling. I still wasn't sure how to handle that. Bonnie was probably okay; she was a spirit of intellect, a lot like Bob. Not having a physical form of her own, she'd find a physical transformation intriguing, in an abstract way.

Maggie... Maggie would be a big different. She had a hard life. It started with her mother, Susan, who, while she had been fighting a guerrilla war against the Red Court, put her with foster parents. That part wasn't too bad, the Mendozas were good people.

The bad part came when they were all murdered by the Red Court and Maggie was imprisoned by vampires to be used as a sacrifice. Susan and I mounted a rescue mission. And...

Well the real horrors at Chichen Itza started when I killed Susan. Maggie was there. So add on another layer of trauma. After that... well that's when I had been tricked into killing myself.

As I was being mostly dead, and an insufferable ghost, Maggie lived with the Carpenters. They were good people; the best. But as Michael pointed out, he wasn't her father. She deserved to live with her father.

I swallowed.

Strong hands gripped my arms. "Knock out of it." Ranma hissed. "You were man enough to be her father after dying. She didn't know you at first. You took her in and made a home, made a family."

Her eyes bored into mine. "Do it again. Do it for her."

I nodded.

She then broke up the hug. Her lips curled into a wry smile as she pushed me towards Lea.

My godmother helped guide me towards the shimmering aperture. I watched as Butters and Sanya walked through the portal ahead of us.

Cecilia mouthed the words. "I am sorry I didn't tell you."

Eve cleared her throat. "Dresden, sister, if things get too hard, too overwhelming, don't be too proud to ask for help."

I nodded and felt the ground shift under my hooves as I slipped through. Turning back, I waved to my sisters. Then Lea waved her free hand and the portal closed.

The air chilled and the sky went from a grey overcast to a more blue tinged twilight. Snow started to fall in sheets. We were on a stepped path that wove through some type of silent, abandoned mountain fortification.

However, all those details barely registered. Two things held the entirety of my attention. For the first time since my change I was... there was no connection to any sisters or nieces or... mother.

The connections, weaker as they were, to my godmother and my Knights helped. As did the second thing.

It was a powerful, pulsing, glacial connection that made my Mantle tingle as my tail straightened and a purr escaped my lips. My horns tingled.

Butters and Sayna separated and a tall woman walked between them. Her eyes were cold, and pearlescent. Fine white hair flowed in the wind. Lips the color of mulberries quirked. She concealed her surprise well, but I knew her.

"My queen," I said, pulling at my skirt as I bowed with the neck and shoulders, angling my horns towards her.

Mab, the queen of Air and Darkness, studied me. She gave Lea a brief glance; my godmother nodded. Mab returned her attention to me. Closing in, her shimmering nails pulled back a bit of my pale hair and she studied my choker.

One hand then ran over the inside curve of a horn while another flexed a wing before tracing the side of a tail. I might have gasped, but then the Winter Queen was really on me, and I wasn't exactly in a position to breathe through my mouth

I had been intimate with Mab before. It was part of the ritual when I became the Winter Knight. Though given it was an exposure to her frank and terrifying power it was less intercourse and more a force of nature.

It turns out that when she really wanted to her kisses could be similarly overwhelming. Consciousness skipped for a moment as my mind rebooted.

One instant my queen was embracing me as my horns felt like they had been dipped in liquid nitrogen, my tail was freezing, and my body's switches were all flipping over.

The next, things were clear and I was leaning on her, purring contently.

I looked-up.

Out of the corner of my view I could see Butters was a bit taken aback, but Sanaya was merely nodding thoughtfully. That wasn't surprising, Mab had broadcast my assumption of the position of Winter Knight among the supernatural community.

Butters hadn't been a Knight back then, Sanya was. Thus the Russian already knew what Mab could do with me.

My Queen's smile was triumphant. "An unexpected change, but most appreciated one, my pet."

I swallowed. Oh, Empty Night.

End Chapter 16

I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf. Also thanks to Pat for the little opening poem. And to Ellf for being the catalyst to this project, and for some future stuff with poor, dumb Harry
And there it is. Blood Debts. The story's not quite done. There is an epilogue.

 

[Sunshine Temple]

Blood Debts Book 5 of The Return
A Ranma, Sailor Moon, Dresden Files fic thingy.
By Sunshine Temple
Naturally, I own neither Sailor Moon nor Ranma nor the Dresden Files. So here's the disclaimer:

Ranma 1/2 and its characters and settings belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Kitty, and Viz Video. Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Koudansha, TV Asahi, and Toei Douga, and DIC. And the Dresden Files is owned by Jim Butcher.


Previous chapters and other works can be found at my fanfiction website.
http://jtemple.florestica.com/
Temporary Backup Site.
http://www.fukufics.com/fic/
Other website Temple of Ranma's Senshi Seifuku
http://fukufics.com
C&C as always is wanted.
Epilogue: Opening Consequences



I stood on the sidewalk, hands in my coat pockets. I didn't really need to. Sure, there was a chill in the air, and a light shower fresh snow gave everything a crisp look. But I was pretty insulated against the cold.

Before me was a picturesque white colonial-style house complete with a white picket fence. The Carpenters had a lovely home. It was a wonder Michael was able to maintain such a place within the city. But good living did have its benefits. Though recently, on one of his knighting missions, hopefully his last, he had had an unexpected windfall.

Still, I didn't see any splurges recent of wealth. But Michael and Charity weren't the "let's buy a sports car and a ski boat" kind of people. They were more "save away for the college funds for our many children".

I glanced about the house. It was a nice place, full of love. Hells Bells, when I was dead, well mostly dead, they had adopted Maggie. And if I wasn't... available, I couldn't think of a better place for her to live. Though... I now had a close second I suppose.

The walk from the gate to the front door had just been swept. Otherwise I would have seen Butters and Sanya's footprints. At my insistence, they had gone ahead. They were Knights, Michael and Charity would know they hadn't been mentally compromised. They also could show the photo album my sisters had made for me.

More importantly, Charity liked Butters and Sanya. She wasn't so fond of me, and that's back when I was still a human.

If Molly was available I would have had her come too; she was their eldest daughter. But I hadn't met her yet. Given the warm reception Mab gave me, and the downright ostentatious follow-up when we got to Arctis Tor, I was pretty sure the other Queens of Winter would approve.

Still, I was apprehensive.

Just because the Mantle of the Winter Lady would find "Dame BlackStone" intriguing doesn't mean that Molly Carpenter, my old apprentice, would like the changes. And she was having enough problems dealing with her Winter nature pressing against her persona.

I was her Knight as much as I was Mab's, or Mother Winter. I would have to meet her, but not today.

I sighed and shifted a bit of salt with the tip of my boot. I could feel...

Well, the threshold around the Carpenter residence was formidable. About the strongest I had seen. Not to mention, I could sense several things, like bundles of Soulfire around the property.

They were wary, but made no move against me. Then again, I was on this side of the gate. Across the street was a twinge of UnSeelie. I gave the safe house a bare glance. They were well-concealed, but their car was too new, the house looked a bit too neat.

Even the Carpenter's place had a bit of the natural distress that came from having a house full of kids. Michael did his best to keep up on home repairs, but he was only human.

It also helped that when a downright glamorous raven-haired woman exited the fae safe house, she openly stared at me before bowing her head and gliding to her car.

Yeah, "Dame BlackStone" wasn't exactly a secret around Winter. I was going to have to meet Molly sooner rather than later; odds were she already knew.

The sidhe indicated that Molly had kept her promise to provide her own protection for her family.

But my attention wasn't really on the angelic or fae guardians. Despite being invisible, my horns tingled at the people inside. The sensation was muffled, but I could feel my daughters. My hand clutched the gate and I kept from myself from sighing.

I stepped back and glanced around. Since the sidhe woman had driven off I was alone on the street. Or at least it looked that way.

"If I could have a moment of your time?" I asked the empty air.

There was a shift of the wind and I felt someone standing next to me. I slowly turned. A young man with dark gold hair hanging messily over silver blue eyes nodded to me. He wore old boots, faded jeans, a white shirt, and a heavy parka with a stitched patch bearing the name Jake on it. A snow shovel was propped against one shoulder, held like a soldier absently carrying a rifle.

"Dresden," Uriel nodded.

I took a moment to study the archangel. I had met him several times before. There was something hideously absolute about him.

Stars and Stones, Mab liked him. That showed you the kind of Angel he was: serious, dedicated, on-mission. This was Heaven's black ops guy. The last time we had met was after he had taken a role, not a direct role of course, that wasn't his place, but a role in the downfall of Nicodemus.

Which meant...

"You had a hand in this?" I asked gesturing over myself.

The Archangel smiled, the expression softening the sharpness of his cheekbones. "Must we go over this again?"

I crossed my arms and turned to face him. "Yeah, yeah, I know you're all about free will and choice. That's not what I meant."

Uriel inclined his head, as if to admit he had spoke to soon.

"I get Winter Mother sending me off on this mission. She fights Outsiders too. I'm her knight as much as Mab's. And, given she's a fae queen, I'm sure there's plenty other reasons why she did it."

Each fae court has three queens: the queen who was, the queen who is, and the queen who will be. Winter Mother, the queen who was, is the most powerful, but also the most constricted from interfering in mortal affairs, the most remote.

The blond man nodded.

"I also get Lady Pluto's actions. She couldn't stop Tessa from getting in, but she could help the one person on her planet who had fought Tessa before. She was the one who made sure I even landed in the right time-zone. And I'm sure she did more than just hire the bearded-Spock-universe me. Like Mother Winter, she's got her own schemes too."

"The Gate and Key is devoted to the line of Serenity. One hopes the heir treats her better than the Mother," Uriel said, a bit sadly.

I blinked at that. Yeah, there was a lot more to Lady Pluto than just a spooky girl. "Which brings us to you."

"Me," he amiably repeated. "What troubles you?"

"It's not that you were working behind the scenes. You did that with the Nicodemus thing, and it's because he killed Deirdre, his and Tessa's daughter, that mantis girl went on her rampage."

The archangel tilted his head slightly.

I waved my hands. "Whoa, I'm not blaming you! That dysfunctional Fallen-beholden family made their choices. I'm only saying that you if you felt like you needed to help in the first case, you'd feel the same need in the second."

Uriel's smile returned and he gave a non-committal shrug.

"Two Knights of the Cross helped me both times. And there was the whole miraculous artillery barrage."

"One might say that was due to the skill of the canon operators, or a nice young woman giving precise firing coordinates," he mildly said.

"Or maybe a miko using her Faith and one of your Swords to invoke a blessing," I countered. "I also recall my sister surviving a point blank Hellfire shot from Tessa. What, did everyone get one free protection with each blessing?"

Uriel amiably spread his hand. "We're still not at what's bothering you."

"Right. I get your involvement but..." I bit my lip. "I'm a demon."

"I hadn't noticed."

"Really?" I snorted and putting my hands on my hips leaned forward. "I think it's pretty clear there's something different about me."

"Maybe on the outside." Uriel smiled.

"Just for that, I should make you take me out shopping for new clothes."

The angel blinked. "Well, you did once try to bill me."

"Yeah, yeah," I waved him off. "When found out I still had my Soulfire, I figured you were okay with all... this."

"Ah," Uriel swiveled the shovel down onto a patch of snow and leaned on it. "We come to your concern."

Once, when we had talked, he had explained how he could predict people's lives. It wasn't exact, people had Free Will and all that, but it was like knowing the contours of a hill. Given that, you could guess where water would flow from the top to the bottom.

Someone could always damn the river, or cut a ditch, or do something to change the terrain, but, in general, if you knew the lay of the land you could predict where the water would go.

"Did you..." my eyes darted to his. "Did you expect me to become a demon? Is this part of some plan of yours?"

His smile returned. At least he managed to keep from laughing. "No plan. I saw it as a possibility, but not among the likely ones." Uriel pursed his lips and he looked down at the bit of snow his shovel had pierced. "Perhaps my estimation was wrong."

I laughed. "Come on, Mr. Sunshine, I got injured."

"You often walk with the chance of grave injury. Just recently, you could have died in battle against Tessa or her summoned Outsiders. You could have died in Lomar. Even your first fight against Tessa could have ended badly; she did throw a safe door at you."

"Yeah, or I could have been gutted by those fake FBI wolves when I first arrived. Or their giant machine gun could have cut me in half.

"Still, you know the kind of decisions I make when I find myself unable to fight but needing to fight."

He nodded. "Which is why I expected you to exploit the bond you had already bargained for the last two times you had been grievously injured."

I blinked. "Oh." That was what Mab had meant when I asked her to heal me and she told me I had my full measure of Winter power. Mab had healed me after I had gotten shot. Sure that took a long time, but it was possible.

"So... you expected me to go all uber-Winter Knight?"

He looked at my choker and gave me a pointed look.

"I'm a different kind of Knight now." I winced. Empty Night. Both he and Mab had expected me to do one kind of foolhardy grasp of power in a desperate attempt to heal. Embrace the Winter Mantle and... what? Use it to force some type of change into my body?

Or would it have been a less physical transform? Maybe I would have simply had a lot more ice powers and could have been wheeled about the battlefield like a cross between Professor X and Iceman.

"Fine." I huffed. "I'm still a demon."

The worst part was that those two were right. I had embraced the Winter Mantle and used it to change my body. But it was done in addition to the succubus change.

"It was your choice," he said mildly, his attention back to the snow on the ground.

"My sisters and Butters made that abundantly clear," I said, not pouting.

"They were right."

I shook my head and stomped a foot. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You set it up so that Nicodemus and Tessa were offered a chance, a way out. But their Fallen blinded them."

Uriel's grip tightened on the shovel handle. "When one has borne a coin for so long, has taken the lies of the Fallen into their heart, it can be all but impossible to reach them."

"But not impossible." I looked back at the house. "At least Imariel's in the penalty box."

Uriel raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, I know the Fallen are destined to get back into circulation. At least make sure the coins Butters collected stay locked away. I mean, Lasciel got out way too quickly."

The Archangel frowned.

"I'm not asking you to violate your rules," I said soberly. An Archangel doing that would... well, recall the last time one of those guys broke the rules and Fell.

Uriel seemed mollified. "But?"

"But between your whispers, your dead cop friends, and other spooks, you might get the opportunity to balance the scales." I shrugged. "Maybe that could help buy some time to keep Imariel locked away a bit longer."

"Ah." His tone wasn't exactly disapproving, but it wasn't approving either.

"Hey, I made sure Butters took all the coins back with him, and I let him keep them."

"Your family wanted no part of those things. Rather wise of them, for the Denarians are not for their world. And you learned the dangers of containing a single coin let alone over half a dozen."

"I might not have," I pouted. Sure, I no longer had the subbasement where I buried Lasciel's coin in the concrete for a few years. But now I had a spooky island. An island that was really a supernatural supermax prison.

I was already storing some holy relics there. Part of me thought I could keep unholy relics there. But... the problem is the Fallen's coins were fated to eventually escape. That's what they did.

Given that, keeping them on my scary island was a bit too much like putting a helicopter with keys in the ignition just outside the prison yard. Sure, the prisoners shouldn't be able to get to it, but the combination was just begging for trouble.

Uriel nodded. "Your concern is noted."

"I just wanna make sure you do right by Butters."

The angel looked up. He seemed a big surprised.

"This was his first big mission as a Knight; he bagged a lot of coins. It'd really suck if less than a year later he has to fight all the same Fallen all over again."

"He wasn't there to 'bag coins' as you put it."

"I know; he was there to help me. Tessa still died. I still became a demon. I'm more Mab's than ever before." The last part was said a lot less bitterly than I expected. At least I didn't purr as I said it.

"Ah, back to your fear." He looked at me. "I once gave you a bit of advice."

"Seven words." I tapped my fingers against the gate. Lasciel had broken the rules. She contacted me when I was at my lowest directly, secretly, without me touching her coin.

With only seven words, she pushed me over the edge; convinced me that I couldn't handle being the Winter Knight. That push drove me to suicide.

One upside was that since she broke the rules, it allowed Uriel to balance the scales.

When I most needed it, he told me seven words and saved me from falling into hopelessness. "Yeah, but the difference is back then I didn't want to... serve Mab."

He glanced at me.

I was certain that he knew what Mab had done when she welcomed me back into Winter, including after she had given Butters and Sanya rooms to rest after our travel. Lea didn't hold anything back when she reported and Mab was... prepared.

"Embracing the Mantle was your choice."

"Yeah, and the one you thought I'd make," I said a bit tartly.

Uriel shifted his shovel scooping a bit of snow. "That is true. If you got hurt, I did consider you taking charge of the Mantle being your most likely way to heal. Joining House BlackSky was far lower. After seeking aid from the Lunarian Court."

I laughed. "I was tempted by the magical girls. But Lady Pluto was just a bit too worrying. Maybe if Ranma had said no."

He nodded. "I certainly didn't put great odds you would both embrace the Winter Mantle and join BlackSky."

My gaze lowered. "I screwed up the change. My sisters warned me I'd have to turn myself into a succubus. They'd provide energy, the blueprint, all I had to do was follow through. I'm a frikin' wizard and I couldn't handle magic so basic anyone could do it."

I rubbed my forehead. "And now I'm alone." I could feel their absence gnawing on me. Sure I had my daughters, friends, and family, but they weren't succubae. There were things they wouldn't understand.

Hells Bells, they were twitchy enough when I came back after taking up Mab's job. How would they react with me being a literal demon? They'd be afraid I wouldn't be Harry anymore, and they were right to be afraid.

"Harry Copperfield BlackStone Dresden," Uriel said, perfectly capturing my Name. He shook his head. "Remember: wherever you go, there you are."

"Buckaroo Banzai again?" I laughed. He had given me that line when I was a ghost and had asked for some advice just before.... Just before I had stepped into the darkness and into Mab's arms.

And it was then that he used those Seven Words: Lies, Mab cannot change who you are.

"I'm still me? But..." I touched my slender, pale fingers to my choker.

Uriel lifted his shovel. Leaning back a bit, he glanced over and nodded. "Who else would you be?"

"A demon." I stated. Mab's pet a part of me whispered. Which I suppose was better than: Mab's pet monster.

"That's your species, not who you are. And it was your own doing."

"My sisters helped," I said a bit bitterly. I didn't like what Cecilia had done, but I wasn't sure she was wrong.

The angel nodded.

"Still... what about Michael?" I went back to looking at the house. The Threshold around it was something impressive.

Uriel blinked. "He accepted and still helped you when you possessed a coin."

"Yeah, but that's kind of his job. The Knights are supposed help those sad-sacks with a Fallen on their back get rid of the damned bits of old currency." I spread a hand and let some talons form. "It's not like I can give this up."

"Ah." His tone was non-committal, as if he didn't quite believe me.

I hadn't put too much thought into turning into a human, but there might be a way. I mean: wizard. And for my age a real powerful one and no slouch in skill. So, if I really thought about it I might figure something out.

Not to mention, I had far more experienced people I could bug. My grandfather, Ebenezar, has centuries of experience and had written the book on training wizards. Or, at least, one of the better ones.

Hells Bells, when it came to transformation magic there was another Senior Councilmember I could pester. "Injun-Joe" Listens-to-Wind was amazing at shapeshifting. He could turn from human to eagle, to wolf, to bear the size of a mini-bus.

And if shapeshifting didn't pan out, well, I knew where I could get an Unravelling. That was a powerful bit of magical cloth that when unthreaded would take any bit of magic with it.

I had thought I could use it to cure Susan of her latent vampirism. True, that had been about the only cure I had found for the half-vamps of the Red Court.

Regardless, things... didn't work out. Instead of using it on Susan, I had to use the item to turn a young woman from stone back to flesh. And, well, things didn't work out well for that girl in the end either.

I sighed. I had lost so many over the years.

Worse, I only knew one place where I could find an Unravelling: the hut where Mothers Winter and Summer lived. And, given I'm pretty dang sure Mother Winter had a hand in me being all perky demon goth, bugging her for a way to turn back human might not be smart.

Of course, if I didn't limit myself to humanity, the easiest thing I could do was go fully sidhe. As it was, right now I was a mortal who was part fae. There's another word for that: changeling.

Theoretically, I could embrace my fae side.

"That choice would have complications," Uriel said mildly.

"Tell me about it," I shook my head. "I kinda like being mortal. I'm not like Molly, I never saw the big deal about cell phones." As the Winter Lady, Molly didn't have to worry about her magic interfering with technology.

"But yeah, that'd get me even more into Winter, and I'd stop being the Winter Knight."

"That position is open only to mortals." Uriel nodded.

"Mortal," I snorted. "I'm amazed demons count."

Uriel raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, yeah, I know we have Free Will and aren't bound by our natures. Which says some pretty interesting things about the origin of my current species. And how we stack up against other demons."

The Angel gave a little smile. "Mab has informed you of her preferred replacement for you?"

"She implied Thomas would fit the bill." I snorted. "Which makes total sense now, what better follow-up to a succubus Winter Knight than an incubus Winter Knight?"

I withdrew my claws. And that could be the real irony of me going full fae to "cure" myself. Plenty of supernatural things rocked the succubus and incubus act. Only some of them were demons. Knowing my luck, I'd still be a succubus. I'd still have the same urges and hungers.

But I'd be a succubus without the connection to my sisters.

That was not something I wanted to give up.

"It is good to consider your choices, but in this case it's all hypothetical, isn't it?" Uriel gently prodded.

I flexed my fingers. "Well..." He was right. I eyed him. "Of course, you don't care. I mean, to you, the soul's what counts, not the body."

Uriel gave me a very patient nod. "Yes, you are a soul that has a body"

Suppressing a smirk, I noted as he said that he looked me over. "Maybe later I'll look into a way to change back. Maybe I'll spend that time looking into getting free of Winter, that may be more productive."

Even I could tell my heart wasn't in either of those statements. But Uriel didn't challenge me on that.

"But right now I have friends to talk to, family to meet," I smoothed my shirt down.

Uriel leaned his shovel against the fence. He put a hand on my shoulder, opened the gate and led me through.

Upon my first step on the walkway, the front door opened. Three Knights of the Sword stepped through. Michael the retired Knight, Sanya the current Knight, and Butters the newest Knight.

Michael Carpenter was a large man who despite his cane and limp still looked powerful. He was also tall, and as I neared I realized he was now taller than me. He had a quizzical expression as if his mind was only now processing what Butters and Sanya had been saying.

As they stepped onto the porch, three more followed but held back in the doorway. Charity, Michael's wife, stood in the middle, a tall Valkyrie-style blonde.

It was funny. I knew two other tall, prim warrior blondes that did the Valkyrie look. Both were mercenaries to boot. Though Gard was a literal Valkyrie.

I was momentarily distracted by the idea of Gard, Eve, and Charity having dinner together and spending the bulk of the time complaining about my idiocy.

Blinking, I realized that Charity's expression wasn't the normal hostility, frustration, or begrudging almost-respect she had for me. She knew her husband and daughter did dangerous things and they had both gotten hurt trying to help me.

This time...

She looked to her husband then to the person helping me up the walkway.

I only briefly studied the swirling emotions emanating from her. My attention zeroed in on the two figures flanking Charity. One was a dark-haired young girl and the other was a ghostly feminine form. My daughters. And behind them was the giant shaggy form of my dog, Mouse.

Uriel's grip on my shoulder released as I crossed the remaining few yards and went up the steps to them. The knights parted. Maggie was confused, but she wasn't scared. Bonnie on the other hand recognized me immediately.

I drew them both into a hug. Mouse also pressed against us, his tail thumping against my legs. I had to actively resist letting my own out. And, I might have gotten Charity swept into it as well. Still, I figured I had time to get things straightened out.

I was home.

***************


My brother pulled the hulking black SUV into the parking lot. His grey eyes flashed over me.

"Thanks for the lift," I smiled. "I'll make it up to you when I get a replacement car. Like, three drop-offs or pickups at the airport."

"You better get something bigger than a crummy Beetle then," Thomas said as he put the vehicle in park in front of a modest brick office building.

It was a bit more expensive than where my old office was, but that place had been blown up by the Red Court a few years back. Stupid vampires.

"It was a classic," I huffed. "And you know how I can't own a new car." Human, demon, I still had plenty of techbane.

He eyed me, a bit of silver twinkling. "You can afford better. Buy a real classic." Even when disapproving, my brother was way too pretty. Tall, tumbling dark hair, effortlessly muscular. It was interesting; I knew he was a White Court vampire. I had even seen his Hunger when we Soulgazed many years ago.

But now... now I could understand.

"I don't even have a driver's license yet. Stupid Council."

"How have they taken the..." he gestured, his hand brushing over my coat and blouse.

"They don't know yet." I crossed my arms. I had waited a couple days to tell my contacts on the Council. Well, Butters, Sanya, and Michael had written their letters.

I had thought that getting Ebenezar, Rashid, and Luccio to meet with me, sight and voice unseen would have been difficult, but the Gatekeeper had been, for once, easy to get a hold of.

Which confirmed my suspicions that there was some connection between the Senior Councilmember who watched the Outer Gates and Lady Pluto. Maybe there was some sort of mailing list for people who guarded supernatural doorways.

My brother raised an eyebrow.

"I told Ebenezar, Rashid, and Luccio."

My grandfather, another member of the Senior Council, read the three letters from three Knights of the Cross, active and retired, stating I was who I said I was, including the almost insultingly terse one Sanya had written.

He must have seen my mother, his daughter, in my face because the big, grumpy man hugged me. The moment was ruined a bit when Lucio Captain of the Wardens, and one of my bosses, burst out laughing.

Thomas nodded. "Sensible of you. Lemmie guess, they told you to shut up and let them handle it?"

I frowned thinking of Lucio. She had once been an older, extremely hardass combat wizard with well over a century of experience, but a fight with a body-swapping necromancer had left her in the body of a young blonde woman.

We had dated for a time, and I might have teased her about her dimples. Which explained her mirth when she saw that my younger form also had dimpled cheeks. The levity was cut short when Rashid pointed out how... complicated my change was.

"Yeah... that's why it's taking so long."

"Half the Council already thinks you're some not-so-secret Warlock. And that was before you started working for Mab," Thomas shook his head. "Empty Night, you really didn't think this through?"

I glared at him but then wilted a bit. "I just wanted to stop Tessa."

He squeezed my hand. "At least some good came outta this." His hand was cool, and pale. It looked a bit like something carved from marble.

At least it complimented my own snowy white fingers and sapphire nails. Stars and Stones, neither of us had the little imperfections that made our flesh look truly human. The contact tingled as both of our Hungers nipped at each other.

It wasn't the mutual connection I had with my sisters: succubae shared within the brood and formed bonds. White Court vamps backstabbed even their closest family members.

I sighed. "I might be kicked out of the Council." I had been critical of the Council for decades. I had spent much of my life living under a probation, something they cheerfully called the Sword of Damocles, waiting for the time some grey-cloak Warden would come in and lop off my head.

But now the prospect of being given the boot, hurt.

"It is a humans only club," Thomas' tone was unexpectedly bitter.

"Those three said they'll see what they can do. Eb thinks he can keep me in. With only two Senior Council votes it may take some... horse trading. But if I don't get kicked out of the Council itself, Lucio'll make sure I'm still a Warden. I might have a demotion, but, since no one was reporting to me anyway, I had already lost my Regional Command in all but name."

"Harry, do you want the job?"

I frowned. "It is a source of money."

My brother snorted.

"I'm also deeper in with the Council. It makes it harder for the Merlin's cronies to lob accusations I'm some danger when I'm a wizard cop."

He poked me in the chest. "That's not why you want it. You like helping people."

I pouted.

"And you like being able to stick it to the Merlin and his chums. You know he's gonna turn all purple when he finds out about this right?"

I gave an innocent smile. That dimple of mine really helped sell it. "Hadn't crossed my mind."

He laughed. "So, that's what it takes to get you to hold back and let someone else do things for you?" Putting his hand on my shoulder his expression sobered. "Lucio isn't going to spend the political capital to have you keep your job out of the goodness of her heart."

I put my hand on his arm. "I know," I said quietly.

"She's head of the Wardens; she'll have political or at least strategic goals. And a Warden with Winter's ear is valuable, not to mention the... demon side. That's a rare asset to her."

"She'd never ask me to do black magic!" I said hotly, my eyes flashing.

Thomas pulled back ever so slightly.

"Hells Bells, she taught Morgan; she hates black magic as much as he does." Donald Morgan the scary, now deceased, Warden who spent over a decade stalking me, sure I was going to turn evil. We, sort of, made up before he died. Well, we killed a traitorous dark wizard mole together. That counts as bonding, right?

"Yeah," he looked into my eyes. We had already Soulgazed. That event had confirmed he was my brother, and revealed a message our mother had saved for us. "She can't stand black magic and now she's got a non-evil demon? If, somehow, you get to keep your grey cloak there's a lot you can do for her that no one else can."

I exhaled.

"Look, you still need paperwork. And you don't have to wait for Council intrigue to straighten out. My sister can help you get an ID, transfer your business license so you don't have to sneak into your own office."

I scoffed. I didn't need to sneak. "And what will that cost me?"

He shrugged. "You can pay it."

I gave him a wicked smile and shifted. My hair darkened to glossy black. I lost a bit of height but added a hint more breadth to my shoulders and filled in my proportions. Cheekbones became less sharp as my lips became fuller, darker. As the rest of my makeup changed to complement a more natural, if still pale, complexion my eyes shifted to a shining silver.

"I suppose I can," I purred.

Thomas stilled. That is for a moment he was statue-still. If anything, this got his Hunger more confused than anything else.

"What, you'll spend the night with her?"

"For a whole night I'd better get more than some paperwork," I gave a haughty sniff and idly fluffed my hair. "I'll meet her on my terms, keep the surprise."

Thomas shook his head. "Look, Lara already knows."

I eyed him.

"No, I didn't tell her. But come on. You've been talking with people since you've gotten back. And you might as well meet her, she already knows all about the new you."

I smiled, flashing my teeth. "No, Lara has stories about some sidhe succubus claiming to be Harry Dresden. She has no idea."

He gave a long blink. "Oh, Empty Night, you're going to look like this when you meet her aren't you?"

"Maybe." I gave him a coy smile as I let the glamour slip and returned to normal.

My brother shook his head. "Well, if you don't say anything she might not figure it's you."

I gave him a dismissive sniff and certainly didn't pout. "You and Justine still on for day after tomorrow? I know she's..."

"Yeah, and she's doing good," his grip on the wheel went a bit tight. I put a hand on his arm. Justine was Thomas'... well, she was very close to him. She was also carrying his child. It was difficult for White Court vampires to conceive and the pregnancies were complicated.

Just another downside to being a White Court vamp.

I didn't say anything. I wasn't even sure I knew what I was offering, but I did know that if things went bad for Justine or the baby I'd help.

Eyes flashing silver, Thomas nodded. "I don't know if it'll come to that," he grumbled in almost a growl. His Hunger nipped at mine, as if feeling territorial at the contact. No wonder the Raith family members were so prickly with each other.

He relaxed his grip. "Will Murphy be there? How's she handling dating a chick?"

"It's not a date! You and Justine will be there, as well as Maggie and Bonnie."

Mr. prefect six-pack despite-never-doing-a-situp brother gave me a confident, winning smile. "I wasn't talking about Tuesday's dinner." He then laughed at my blush.

"Complicated. She's..." I shook my head. "Butters and Andi are helping a lot. I think Murph wishes she'd been the one sent to help me."

Murphy was Catholic and she had carried a Sword in battle. She also used to be a cop and worked with mercs before. All good points that meant she would have been handy to have had on that mission.

On the other hand, she also kinda caused one of the Swords to shatter. In the end, that gave Butters a nifty lightsaber. "She says that if she'd been there I wouldn't have done some fool thing."

"Maybe," Thomas nodded. "Or maybe you would have done something stupider, behind her back just to spite her."

"Ranma wouldn't have let me." This time I'll admit I pouted.

"Ah yes, the crazy sister," he shook his head. "Redheads."

"Come on now, you'd like her."

"Sure." He gave that winning smile again. "Butters says she loves teasing you. I figure that's enough in common to get along great."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled and opened the door. "Thanks for the lift." I stepped out of the giant vehicle. The vertical drop felt high enough that I had to suppress the urge to release my wings.

I still had to pull my duster around myself again after it billowed out behind me. At least my skirt settled down on its own.

"At least you're no longer unkempt and disheveled," Thomas' tone was dry as he handed over my staff.

"You're just jealous because you're no longer the pretty one," I stuck my tongue out. "

The vampire put his hand to his chest. "Right. That's like me being jealous of your sisters."

I smirked, he was so jealous I totally got the better batch of succubus sisters.

"I like Inari," I said. Though Thomas' baby sister wasn't really a vampire. As far as I knew she had yet to feed, and could very well be free of her Hunger.

"She's not really one of us," Thomas said echoing my thoughts.

I tilted my head, wondering if by "us" he was including myself and my- Oh Hells Bells, he was.

"And Natalia isn't that bad," Thomas added.

I laughed. "Later."

He nodded. "Later, Harry."

I closed the door and he drove off.

Shrugging my duster and adjusting its belt, I slipped into the lobby. The tiles echoed on my boots. There were a couple of people waiting by some threadbare chairs and someone going to a counter with a bank of mail slots behind it. The lobby was a bit worn, but the floors were clean and the plants were watered. There was the scent of fresh paint on half the walls. The other half had been sanded and prepped.

I nodded to man behind the counter and got an enthusiastic wave. Manny was an older, burly, built-like a bulldog Portuguese fellow with a cheerful disposition.

I had just gotten my private investigation service reopened before being sent off on that Winter mission. Unfortunately, so far, vanilla mortals had a harder time accepting that I was Harry Dresden than the supernatural community.

For the latter, a wizard becoming a pale, blue-tinged woman was a possibility, for the former that was simple madness. That said, Manny was the building supervisor and primary repair-guy and didn't take much sweet-talking to let me deal with my cousin's business.

It helped that Manny knew Michael, one construction and repair professional to another. And Michael was able to say with complete honesty that I was taking over the business once all the paperwork was in order.

He also didn't seem to mind that said cousin carried the same staff as a certain Harry Dresden. Upside to Cecilia and her girls tweaking my duster's style, I didn't look like I was trying to wear the coat of a much bigger man.

I went through a hallway and passed an elevator with some longing. I had bad luck with elevators, especially in my last office building. I really didn't want to bother Manny with having to deal with an elevator car getting crushed by a giant scorpion.

Besides, it was only a few flights of stairs and it would make for good practice. Though by the second level, I was cursing my boots, and getting a bit jealous of Lara. Thomas' sister could run in high heels, on gravel.

Stupid, cheating vampire.

I got to my floor with the minimum of wobble. My sisters would be proud of my impromptu training and not quitting. Well, Ranma and Cecilia would. Eve would simply point out that any heel elevation was a tactical disadvantage.

As I approached the door, I muttered about hypocritical big blondes. My sister wore high heels, like, all the time.

I sighed at the glass inset on the door. It said "Harry Dresden. Wizard."

It had been a good moment when the painters had put that up. It showed that I was back in business. Now... now I had to have the name changed.

I could still go by Harry Dresden among the supernatural set, but with mortals? Again... gender aside, no one would buy that I lost five inches and over fifty pounds of bone and muscle.

I unlocked the door. My nose flared.

Oh, Empty Night.

Him.

I closed the door behind myself and let my Winter power ease out. Like my old office, this one had an antechamber waiting room in the front. But unlike my old office there wasn't any furniture or table. It was empty. The paint was fresh and the floors had been polished and Manny had put a plant in one corner. It sat on the floor in a little pot all alone.

I had to keep my introduction to magic pamphlets on a large cardboard box. I frowned. I needed a better display. I also debated if I should put some of the Silva Succubus ones Cecilia had helpfully supplied me with.

On the one hand, I might not be the only true-succubus here. On the other hand, I wasn't sure I wanted to advertise that bit about myself to quite the same level as my Wizardness.

Either way, I went to the door that led to my cramped inner office. I would have loved to have kicked the door down. But, Stars and Stones, it was my door. I didn't want to pay for replacing it.

My nostrils took in more of the intruder's scent. The smug bastard was waiting for me.
Knowing my sisters, they would have gone around and come through the window. Or maybe something crazier like blasting through the floor or the wall.

But... well, it says a lot when I find their collateral building damage excessive.

I simply opened the door and stomped in.

A man with strong, handsome features sat behind my desk. He had dark hair tinged with silver and cold eyes. He wore a black suit. I had known his tastes were expensive but thanks to Cecilia and old-man-assassin me I had a better idea just how expensive that elegant, bespoke suit of his was.

A thin grey rope dangled from his neck like a half-done bolo tie.

He was Nicodemus Archleone, leader of the Order of the Blackened Denarius, Tessa's former husband. All of this, the trip to another world, Tessa's mad revenge scheme, over a hundred deaths, my becoming a demon, was all because Nicodemus had murdered Deirdre his and Tessa's daughter.

The bastard clasped his hands on my desk.

I slammed the door behind me.

"Once again, I must thank you for your assistance, Dame BlackStone," his voice was resonant but there was a raspy undertone to it. He gave a shark-like smile, but his shadow flickered about.

I flashed my own teeth at him.

"Ah, yes," he nodded slightly. "Congratulations on joining the winning side."

I snorted at him. Given my new family had helped me kill a whole mess of Denarians, I had my doubts that they'd be on the same side as his. Hells Bells, his own little Order was rife with factionalism. Tessa being the prime example. Lasciel also hated his guts. Also, I'd be willing to bet good money that BlackSky wouldn't be too fond of old Nick.

Marching up to the desk, I lifted my staff off the floor. "Get out of my seat," I hissed as my tail slipped out. I thunked the end of my staff onto the battered surface of my desk.

He chuckled, watching my horns emerge "My, did I pick the right coin for you," he leaned back, his shadow spreading beneath him, pooling all over the base of my chair.

"Lasciel didn't do this to me." I narrowed my eyes. "Out."

"Pity. I suppose she lacked the imagination to offer what you really wanted." The old monster pulled off a reasonably wistful tone. It was disturbing. "Shame. She could have made you quite lovely, but this form will do."

"My chair." I flicked my staff out with one hand. Once its end swept past the edge of my desk I slammed it down. The carved length of wood skittered but it slammed right into the floor between the wheels of my desk-chair.

Right on Nicodemus's shadow. Which was the manifestation of his Fallen: Anduriel.

My hand clenched and silver and blue flames burst from my staff's runes and brightened the room like dozens of miniature spotlights.

The shadow screeched as Nicodemus bolted from my chair. He stood behind the desk with perfect composure, but I could smell just a bit of apprehension on him.

"You just here to gloat?"

He made a disappointed noise. "Dresden. Must you be so childish? We've worked together."

"Yeah, you betrayed me and my friends in the vault and tried to kill us."

"The arrangement was that we would work together until you retrieved the Grail for me." He bowed his head. "Thank you, by the way, it's been most... useful."

I growled. Mab had loaned me to the old monster. And we had both adhered to the letter of our agreement. We worked together to rob Hades's vault to acquire the Holy Grail.

Old Nick had planned to betray us from the start. And the Grail wasn't even his real target. Sure he could get up to all sorts of mischief with it, but what he was really after were the other holy artifacts on display in Hades' vault. Artifacts that, unbeknownst to Nicodemus, I stole right before he got to said display.

His cold smile grew. "Now, if I recall, it was you who recruited the Skinwalker, before I even met the man. Goodman Grey was critical to the operation, and from day one he was your mole."

He was right on that. Though I had help, Mab and a certain powerful, gift giving member of Winter had setup the meeting with Grey.

"Yeah, and Hanna was a ringer for Lashiel. What's your point?" I shrugged. It had been disturbing to see Lashiel again, especially when possessing a pyrokinetic Practitioner.

"You've always been devious, deceitful."

I kept a straight face. Okay, I could run a scheme, but I wasn't a great liar.

He smoothed the rope that dangled around his neck. "Now, you are literally demonic."

I glared at him.

He gave a smooth, pitiless smile, but his shadow jerked like a marionette. "People were always afraid of you. Ever since you burned your mentor to death. Well, everyone thinks Justin DuMorne is dead. And from those young days you just keep piling on."

The old monster shook his head. "You've been Winter Knight for less than three years, and now this? People will talk."

I snorted, leaning on my staff. Sure it wasn't the most elegant stance to take, but I didn't care. "Big words from you. Last year you lost your rep, your minions and your daughter."

Hate flashed across his dark eyes, but Nicodemus simply nodded. Even his shadow seemed restrained. "And then my former wife went mad and tried a most unconventional scheme. You know Tessa's style."

I frowned. The late mantis girl was more "charge in and eat your face". Her cadre of Nickelheads were more the cause havoc and pain now, while Nicky's crowd were the long term plotters.

"You think this is related to the attack on Arctis Tor?" About a decade ago, Stars and Stones, has it been that long, the Heart of Winter was breached? On mission to rescue Molly, I had only come in to catch the aftermath, but I could tell that Hellfire had been used.

Like I said, the Denarians were a fractious bunch.

I studied Old Nick's face, careful not to get caught in a Soulgaze. "Hells Bells. You're afraid?"

"I have concerns," he said crisply.

"Yeah, I mean, with Tessa and Deidre dead, you've gotta be the oldest host still around. I mean, geeze, what if someone were knocking off the senior members of your little club?"

My glib question covered up my introspection. Okay, the old-snake was right. There was something off about Tessa's actions. Thorned Namshiel had been the key player in giving her spell support up in Canada. The guy was also behind some other pretty shady dealings. But right now that Fallen's coin was without a host.

Problem was, said coin had a nasty habit of getting loose and finding hosts, even by Denarian standards. So sure, there might be a conspiracy that pushed Tessa into trying to summon some Outsiders. Not to mention that Tessa had been tricked into summoning giant frog-squid creatures instead of a more... pliant eldritch horror.

Thing is, I knew all for certain that there was a conspiracy to get Tessa out of the picture. Sure, Uriel wanted to give her a chance at redemption, but Winter Mother just wanted her off the board, and Lady Pluto took the mantis girl's intrusion personally. But all three agreed that Tessa had to be separated from her Fallen, one way or another.

And just last year Gentleman Johnny Marcone and Queen Mab had conspired against Nicodemus. The mobster wanted payback for being kidnapped and tortured by Nicky and his goons. Meanwhile, my Queen wanted him hurt. She was the one that set it up so that Deirdre would die and die by Nicodemus' own hands.

So yeah, there totally was a conspiracy to knock off the senior members of the Order of the Blackened Denarius. I was okay with that. I wondered if Molly would be the one to orchestrate the fall of Old Nick himself.

I smiled at him. "Gee, maybe you're right. You could be in terrible danger."

He glared at me. "I am capable of taking care of myself."

"You must be, given you're in the same room with both Deirdre and Tessa's killers."

"Do you have any idea what would be unleashed in my absence?" he demanded.

"Honestly?" I prodded his shadow with my staff again. "If Tessa's plan wasn't so apocalyptic I was gonna sit back, make popcorn, and watch her take you out."

"Dresden this is-"

I cut him off. "Seriously. I offered to help her kill you. She didn't take the deal. Maybe it was because her Fallen was busy lying to her. Maybe it was because I ate her leg." I shrugged.

"You have no idea what you're meddling with," his tone was frosty.

"That makes two of us," I said as my tail flicked about. I stepped to the side "Now, get out."

"Dresden, you are throwing away a great-"

I made a fist and let icy gauntlets grow around a forearm. Runes flared into existence and flames started to lick out as I pointed the weapon at him. "Nicky, you can ether walk straight ahead and out the door, or I can blast you out the window."

His lip pulled back in a snarl.

"Your choice. I mean, we're only three stories up. You'll be fine." That much was true. He had a magical artifact that, above and beyond his Fallen's help, made him all but invulnerable. Now that little noose had its weakness.

The millennia old monster tensed. I shifted slightly; if he decided to throw down I was going to fill the room with blinding light, pounce, then strangle him with that rope he conveniently dangled down his neck.

Let his little shadow buddy Anduriel deal with a total absence of shadows. My tail twitched as icy blades started to extrude. Right, might as well jab his guts with that: disemboweling was distracting.

The tension eased slightly as Nicodemus strode past me. The door closing behind him was surprisingly quiet.

After a moment the tension eased and I let my tail and shoulders loosen. Looking around the office I realized I was going to have to sweep the whole place, maybe the whole floor just in case Nicky had left behind any surprises.

"Maybe I should have just attacked him," I grumbled.

***************


Satisfied with the chickens, I put the big iron pan back into the oven and closed it. The appliance was gas and probably would be okay... as long as I didn't think too hard about explosions. My old apartment had a wood stove and an ice box, but a Practitioner had setup this place. And while, at the time, her techbane wasn't quite as bad as mine, it was still a problem for her. Still, I used the mechanical egg timer instead of the timer built into the stove itself.

Brushing my hands, I unslung the apron and went from the kitchen section of the broad apartment to the cluster of chairs, couches, bookcases and tables that made up the living room. Unsurprisingly, it reminded me of my old place, just with nicer materials.

I had gotten used to second hand furniture and living in a basement with spotty heating, so a bright airy flat with fancy wood furniture and leather seating was still... off-putting.

Course the whole place was a loaner.

Though that didn't stop me from flopping onto the couch.

Murphy looked up from the album she was leafing through. Only a hair taller than my eldest sister, she had a similar wiry build. Her blonde hair was cut short. I wouldn't say it was a pixie-cut.

But that was because I knew actual pixies; they tended to have much longer hair. And, more importantly, the ex-cop would beat me for saying that. Murphy might look like someone's favored aunt, but she was one of the toughest mortal humans I knew.

Murphy looked over, her blue eyes drifting across me and pausing at how I had crossed my legs. She then went back to the album. The current page had a group photo.

"How many nieces did you pick up?" she asked.

"Fifteen. Split among three sisters, so it's not that bad."

She snorted. "I come from an Irish Catholic family. You don't need to bother with excuses."

I mumbled something.

She turned to another page. This one had me slumped, looking exhausted, wings splayed out behind me. In the picture my head was on Eve's lap and I was gnawing on a protein energy bar. Murphy gave me a quizzical look.

"That was after flight training. It's, uh, really draining," I said as I shifted to slouch down a bit more on the couch.

She nodded. "You took off your apron."

"I only needed it-"

"Yes to keep your clothes from getting dirty."

I grumbled something.

Murphy looked up at me and laughed. "You're so cute when you try hide that you're being domestic."

"Eh?"

Murphy gestured. "You flopped down on the couch like a clod, and then tried to sprawl out to hide your height and look slovenly."

I frowned.

"But despite that you cross your legs at the knee and your hands move down your thighs in a smoothing motion as you sit." She arched an eyebrow. "Even though you're wearing pants, you're acting like you've got a skirt on."

"Um... well, Miss Murphy, it's like you're a detective."

She snorted. "Thanks to the Chicago Alliance, I've been spending time with succubae. I can see the signs, more than the obvious ones."

"Raith vampires don't count. They've got the moves but they're not the real thing," I said, petulantly.

Murphy gave a "see what I mean gesture".

"Does it help? Your time leading the Alliance I mean?" The Chicago Alliance was something Murphy, Butters and a few others, including Gentleman Johnny Marcone and Lara had organized after I had, well, died.

Without me around, plenty of supernatural threats started crawling out of the woodwork. Especially the Fomor, a bunch of magical, froggy creeps that came out of the seas. Course the Fomor, and their creepy hybrid monsters, were a world-wide problem.

See some fool had destroyed the Red Court and that left a power vacuum.

"Oh sure," Murphy said with a smirk. "I know from dealing with Felicia what to do if you get all hungry succubus on me."

She was confident. And, in truth, she had been able to handle the cute little Raith girl. Except, Murph's tone was a bit forced.

I couldn't help but pout. If my tail was out it'd be curling up. "Yeah, you can handle one of us."

She hit me on the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"Stop being such a mope." She glared. "You think I'm suddenly scared of you because you're some gangly demoness?"

I didn't give an affronted gasp. "Well..."

She hit me again. "Harry, you've always been intense and scary."

I frowned. Okay, as a human I had been basketball player tall, muscular and scarred. It's not like being intimidating was hard. And that was before you counted in that I'm a wizard.

"Maybe now, you'll at least be mindful of how other people could see you."

I crossed my arms and gave her a wry look. Then I pointedly glanced down.

Murphy scoffed. "Please, your chest isn't that fabulous. You're still way too tall, especially with those legs."

"I didn't realize you preferred legs," I smirked.

Murphy cocked her head. "Well, I certainly don't have much interest in breasts. Already have a set, thank you very much."

I frowned, derailed for a moment. "So... what you're saying is you're jealous of my legs."

Murphy then blushed a bit.

I leaned over leering. "No need to be embarrassed Karin," I said using her first name. "It's natural," I purred.

Clutching the album, she shifted her seating and I could feel her heartbeat quickening.

"It just means you're jealous of my height. Perfectly natural reaction for shrimps."

And then Murphy smacked the heavy photo album against my forehead.

"Ow!" I said and pulled back. My concentration slipped and my horns and tail eased out.

"That redheaded sister of yours is short. How does she deal with you being such a brat?"

"By throwing me out of flying helicopters and planes," I grumbled.

"Dad, she kicked you out of the plane," Maggie corrected as she stepped out of her room. Mouse lumbered next to her and Bonnie's translucent image hovered at her shoulder.

"Err... how much did you hear?" I asked, my tail swishing awkwardly.

"You mocking Miss Murphy's height by comparing her to a crustacean," Bonnie said.

Mouse lumbered over to me and chuffed until I put my hand on his neck and started scratching. His tail began to thump and wag, which was a bit infectious.

I noted that Maggie's eyes had moved up to my horns.

"I can hide them," I offered.

Maggie looked at me, her dark brown eyes seeing something. Then she shook her head and ambled over to the couch. I slid over to the middle and she sat on my left. Her nimble hands deftly took the album that had fallen into my lap.

She started flipping through it. I noted her attention was mostly on the earlier section, back when I was human.

Bonnie hovered by pondering the images. "These are almost all candid," she noted.

"Er, yeah. My sister's friends like taking photos," I offered. That was a bit of an understatement. The effect I had on technology, only slightly slowed down the Company's near obsession with surveillance.

Murphy held her tongue. She had been a cop a long time, and had spent time with Kincaid, Einherjar, Chicago Outfit hitters, and other types of assassins and mercenaries, both mortal and otherwise.

Maggie was looking at a picture of me with my sisters. It was a group hug, and all our... accoutrements were out. It was the kind of image Eve would grumble about infosec, opsec, or some other portmanteau that I secretly suspected the blonde made up on the spot. But this time she was as happy as her sisters. It was a rare unguarded picture of her.

"You came back," Maggie noted.

My tail twitched. "I learned my lesson," I said and pulled her into a hug.

She stiffened for a moment, but only out of surprise.

Finding out about Maggie had changed my life. And not just because she had been kidnapped by vampires, and said vampires decided to blow up my office, burn my house down, crush my car, and try to kill me and all my friends.

I had done things to save Maggie.

Shame and guilt held me back. I wasn't sure the Winter Knight would be the proper parent for Maggie. Sure there were other things that kept me from seeing her, but even after I stopped being, mostly, dead I couldn't bring myself to meet her. But that had changed last year. I wasn't going to let a little thing like being a gangly demoness keep me from my daughters. Though... as I pulled Bonnie into the hug, part of me wondered if I had really learned my lesson.

Or if my demoness nature was overpowering my apprehension.

I almost pulled Murphy into the hug but she arched an eyebrow at me, and either way the embrace ended when Maggie started to squirm.

She closed the album and placed it on the coffee table. "It's a shame you got hurt, Dad. But it's good that you found a way to get better."

"And this form does reduce the probability of permanent damage," Bonnie helpfully added.

Murphy shot me a look. She had gotten the unabridged versions of my training under Ranma and the final battle against Tessa. Yes, there were no permanent injuries, but not for lack of trying.

"Another upside is Dad can't make up excuses when it comes to clothes shopping." Maggie gave me a devious look. "Or makeup."

"You're too young," I automatically said.

Pouting, Maggie pointed to my lips, then to my eyelids.

"I uh... Don't really know how it works. Sorry, kiddo, it's just part of this body."

She looked to Murphy for conformation.

"Does your Father look like someone who would have a clue about lipstick, let alone mascara and eyeshadow?"

"Stupid fae magic," I grumbled.

"What is objectionable about our magic?" a clear high voice asked as a small figure buzzed in. Over a foot tall, Lacuna was a gorgeous pixie. Fine black hair was in a braid almost as long as she was tall. Her skin was almost succubus pale with shifting deep purple tattoos. She had long, lean features that gave her an elegant, predatory beauty.

If she hadn't looked that way when she was working for me when I was still human, I would have worried my nature was rubbing off on her. It wasn't quite the same as with Toot-toot, the head of the Za-Lord guard.

He had changed when I swore to my Queen, going from wyldfae to Winter. The rest of the guard had not changed as much. Which was good. Yes, I had a fae army. Sure, they were all of the little-folk and most were no larger than an inch, if that, but they were great for recon and doing other little tasks.

And no, they weren't a perk of being the Winter Knight, I had already recruited them, and had been paying them for a while before I took up Mab's offer. Huh, fairy army and fairy godmother...

In retrospect, maybe I shouldn't be so surprised at the whole sidhe succubus knight thing.

"Nothing," I sighed at Lacuna. She was wearing a dark green and silver little robe that was rather kimono-like. I'm sure my sisters could have pointed out how I was wrong and that it was actually some other garment.

The fairy tilted her head, large black eyes studying me. "I don't know what is more shocking, that you can lie, or that you choose to do it so poorly."

Maggie snickered at that. She gave the album a thoughtful glance. "Maybe I can get lessons from one of my aunts."

"Or cousins, Misako sounds like the expert," Bonnie helpfully agreed.

My tail flicked a bit. Stars and Stones, my nieces wouldn't be a bad influence, but many of them were very... exuberant.

Maggie looked up. "Please? We spend plenty of time with Uncle Thomas and your sisters sound nicer than his branch of the family."

She had me there. "Sure, they live far away, but they are planning on visiting." Lady Pluto had been true to her word and I was at least able to send messages to my family, and get replies back.

Maggie perked up. "Great!"

Lacuna looked expectantly at me.

"Yes?" I asked her.

"You have guests arriving," the fairy said, almost absently.

"Our dinner guests?"

Lacuna tilted her head the other way. "I won't presume who you invited."

Fae could be frustratingly formal and precise; it came from a dislike of being asked direct questions. I suppressed a little sigh. "Who are they?"

"Your brother and his mate."

I stood up. "Why didn't you say that? Or mention that when you flew over."

"You didn't ask," she stated stiffly.

I muttered a bit as I made my way to the front door.

The building was owned by the Svartalves, and Molly had gotten the apartment for doing something pretty important for them. I didn't know the details, but she apparently saved a diplomatic event from exploding. Which shows that sometimes the apprentice can be distinct from the mentor.

Given the value, or paranoia, the average svartalf put on property and privacy, I could be pretty sure any visitors that got this far were on the guest list. But I hadn't been in the business this long without some paranoia of my own.

A Fallen Angel had broken into my office recently after all.

Thus when someone knocked at the door I didn't immediately lower the protective wards. Instead I extended my senses out, pushing them past the protective spells. I felt a buzzing interference in my horns, which made me feel a bit... homesick for my sisters and their Jammers.

But that abated when I sensed my brother and Justine. My tail relaxed as I unlocked the door and let down the wards.

Thomas entered with a languid, easy smile. A beautiful, slim woman was holding onto the arm of his coat. Silver-white hair tumbled down her back and she wore a breezy white dress. Her pregnancy was early enough that she wasn't showing.

After they entered and as I closed the door, she looked me over with a bright smile. "You look great! I love that blouse." She handed a large ceramic bowl over to Thomas and hugged me.

"Uh, you look good, too," I said with an awkward smile.

"Dinner smells great. I brought some dessert. Thomas, put that in the fridge."

Thomas nodded and went around the kitchen counter.

"What did you bring?" Maggie asked, getting up, with Murphy following behind her.

"Oh, some chocolate mousse with caramel gems and a couple layers of white chocolate bark."

"Decadent," Murphy noted.

"Given my job and who I'm with..." Justine gave a shy smile, gesturing to Thomas. She turned to me. "I could give you the recipe too."

"Yeah," Thomas nodded to my hanging apron. "You seem to be getting better at this domestic stuff." He put on a thoughtful expression. "Though, I suppose that makes Murphy 'the guy'."

And then Murphy hit him.

The blade of her hand hit his forearm near the elbow with a quick strike.

"Gah!" Thomas shook his arm. "Damn it Murphy! That's right in the funny bone!"

"Oh," Murphy gave a bit of a pout. "Did I pinch a nerve? I just wanted to tap your ulnar."

Thomas grumbled and flicked his fingers about.

I suppressed a little smile. Thomas was lucky, if he had made a similar comment to one of my sisters... I paused. I wasn't sure, actually. If Ranma did take offense she'd do something worse than strike his ulnar nerve. But she might not care.

His cocky composure regained, Thomas leaned on the counter. "Hey, I'm trying to compliment your house keeping, bro. Remember, I lived with you for a couple years."

I gave him a haughty sniff. "Maybe if you were a better roommate I'd have been able to keep a cleaner apartment."

"You're saying I'm messier than a ten year old girl?" Thomas asked.

"Yes." Myself, Justine, and Murphy echoed.

I tried to keep my tail from swishing. It was fun to be on this side of the "a group of woman disapprove of a clueless man" equation.

For his part, my brother did look abashed.

He then turned to Maggie and Bonnie. "So, how are you two doing?"

"Good, Dad's gonna take us to the zoo tomorrow," Maggie said.

"I have heard good things about otters. I wish to see one," Bonnie added.

Thomas looked at me with a bit of concern.

"We've got a ride-along setup," I assured. Direct sunlight could be damaging to spirits if they weren't protected in a vessel.

He nodded. "You know, Lara's still upset that you tricked her."

"Upset's not quite the right word," Justine murmured. She worked as Lara's assistant. Thus she had an inside view to the workings of the White Court, which was handy, given the intel she fed to my brother.

"She's played games with me for years, and I turn the tables on her one time and vamp it up with the sexy-" I glanced at my daughters. "Erm... she's just jealous."

"Covetous would be a better word," Thomas stated.

Murphy shook her head. "What did you expect Dresden?"

"Well, I-" The ding of the timer on the counter interrupted. "Oh, looks like dinner's ready," I gamely said, seizing the opportunity.

"I'll help set the table," Justine offered before going to Maggie. "You wanna help kiddo?"

Picking up some oven mitts, I opened the oven. The smell was quite good. I put the oven pan atop the stove and closed the door.

"That'll work, give the chicken time to cool a bit and then we can cut it up," Murphy said, slipping up next to me

"Thanks for the help," I turned to her.

She looked up with a wry smile. "Well, this isn't quite the... biggest mess you've gotten into. Though I suppose this is the first time you've hit on Butters."

"Yeah," Blushing, I turned aside before the Soulgaze could start. "I'm still glad you're here to help me clean things up. Though it helps that I'm prettier now."

"You are such a nerd, Harry," she poked me. Right above the base of my tail.

I may have given a surprised noise. But it was totally adult and mature. And not a high pitched squeak.

Looking away from the food, I turned and stepped a bit closer. My tail swished and I could feel that Murphy's smile was genuine. Sure, she had a bit of apprehension but she was happy that I was back.

End Epilogue

End Blood Debts

There we go.

I'd like to thank the prereaders for their help in this project: J St C Patrick, DCG, Kevin Hammel, and Ellf. Thanks to Patrick for all his help on correcting and proofing these works, and his especially speedy work on getting the epilogue up and ready. DCG has been a constant long time asset and a major work in this.

Kevin Hammel is a consummate writer of the old school and has been a strong influence on the very direction of The Return as a series and the development of the succubae as a species and Ranma's brood as a family. Again, I'd like to thank Ellf for being the catalyst to this project, and his influence, and more, will be seen with some future projects.

And finally I'd like to thank all those who have read and enjoyed my story, and especially those who have commented if even to say that they enjoyed it. Thanks to all of you!

And there it is. Blood Debts. The story may be done, but there's more Return, an there will be more stories of Dame BlackStone..