More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
She looked past my old mentor to focus on me. “Wizard Dresden, I am less than amused with your lack of respect toward the White Council.” I lifted my chin and glared down at the woman without meeting her eyes. It’s a tough trick to learn, but if you’re motivated enough you can do it. “That’s a coincidence. I’m not terribly amused with you spying on me.”
I took his hand and got to my feet. “Thanks, uh, Listens to Wind.” Ebenezar interjected, “Injun Joe.” Injun Joe winked one grave eye at me. “The redneck hillbilly doesn’t read. Otherwise he’d know that he can’t call me that anymore. Now I’m Native American Joe.”
The room descended into a cacophony of shouts, threats, and cussing (among wizards, cursing is a different matter altogether) in dozens of languages.
She’d just been toying with me in my office, and I’d fallen for it. I wanted to kick myself. Somewhere out there was a village I’d deprived of its idiot.
to make the mistakes of youth is no crime, but not to learn from them is. Agreed?”
“Dresden. Am I interrupting anything?” “Well, I was going to settle down with a porn video and a bottle of baby oil, but I really don’t have enough for two.” Morgan’s expression twisted in revulsion, and I felt an absurd little burst of vindictive satisfaction. “You disgust me, Dresden.”
“Then you should have traded her something for your freedom,” Bob said. “You know, stolen an extra baby or something and given it to her—”
Summer Knight?”
“Hang on a minute. You mean that the Queens can’t personally gun down anyone who isn’t in their Court?” “Not unless the target does something stupid like make an open-ended bargain without even trying to trade a baby for—” “Off topic, Bob.
I felt my cheeks flush and grow warmer. Other parts suffered from similar inflammation.
Summer Knight
As I pulled into the parking lot, I reflected that odds were that not a lot of clandestine meetings involving mystical assassination, theft of arcane power, and the balance of power in the realms of the supernatural had taken place in a Wal-Mart Super Center. But then again, maybe they had.
“Yeah, okay. Uh, it can be destroyed.” “No, it can’t,” Mother Winter said. “Your own sage tells you that. The German fellow with the wild hair.” “Einstein,” I muttered.
“The day grows short. Come.”
“God, I hope no one sees you like this.” The sound of footsteps drifted out of the mist, coming closer. I pushed the heel of my hand against my right eyebrow. Some days you just can’t win.
“Allah and good fortune go with you.”
My fashion sense is somewhat stunted, but I still had to wonder. What do you wear to a war?
“So what’s the score?” “Well-Intentioned But Dangerously Insane Bad Guys are ahead coming down the stretch,” I said. “The Faerie Courts are duking it out up there, and it’s probably going to be very hairy. The Summer Lady is our baddie, and the Winter Knight is her bitch. She has a magic hankie. She’s going to use it to change a statue into a girl and kill her on a big Flintstones table at midnight.”
“And so it ends.” “You’re damned right,” I muttered. “Look down.” He did. I’d drawn my .357 in my right hand while he’d knocked the staff out of my left.
“Wait. You don’t understand. I just wanted it to stop. Wanted the hurting to stop.” I smoothed a bloodied lock of hair from her eyes and felt very tired as I said, “The only people who never hurt are dead.” The light died out of her eyes, her breath slowing. She whispered, barely audible, “I don’t understand.” I answered, “I don’t either.” A tear slid from her eye and mixed with the blood. Then she died.
“We have a traitor among us,”
