D-fies fic, part two
This is the second chapter of the Marlos fluff I posted a few weeks back, enjoy!
He waited as patiently as he could in front of the large stone double doors set in the quaint little Peruvian village. Inside…inside his whole body was torn. Half of him was fighting with everything he had not to submit, to persist where most fail. His other half? Consumed by the demon within. That half wanted him to stalk back down the hill, pick up the first blood-filled human he saw, and suck the poor soul dry.
However, here were people just like him. He couldn’t give up. Not right here. Before he could ponder anymore on it, the door opened, and a mousy-looking girl around Molly’s age with a lime green t-shirt and a pair of jean cutoffs appeared.
“You must be Harry Dresden. Please, come in,” she said, opening the doors enough for him and his large rucksack and bag to get through. “We’ve been expecting you, and everything’s been set up.” She led him through an ornate foyer and then into a brighter hallway, with sunlight pouring in through the windows. She finally ended in front of an unoccupied room at the end of the hall.
“Here you are-Harry was it? You don’t have a roommate at the moment, but that may change. Once you set your stuff down, the elders have asked for you, to start helping you control the demon.” The woman opened the door, and Harry gave her a small smile, nodding.
“Thank you very much ma’am.” He murmured. She simply smiled, leaving the room. He set his bag down at the foot of his bed and knelt at the side of it, putting his head in his hands. Within him, he felt the hollow, aching sensation, felt the monster struggling inside him. He’d nearly had to drug himself to simply survive the plane trip; the woman next to him had been so full of blood…
Hell’s bells…how did I get into this mess?
He shrugged off his duster-he wouldn’t be needing it here, he surmised-and got to his feet, setting himself in front of the window and letting out a sigh. At least the view was good. He smiled faintly, watching the rolling planes of green and the small village below the mountain retreat.
“It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?”
Harry paled considerably. It’d been, literally, years... He turned to see Susan leaning in the doorway, her long hair streaming over a bared shoulder. She was wearing a white camisole and a dark red skirt the color of blood. Harry tried hard not to say something stupid.
“It’s amazing…in both directions.” He said, giving her another, look, and smiling. Before he could say anything else, she’d closed the door behind her. She smiled sadly.
“So they got you too, huh?”
“They may have bitten me, but they regretted it…I’m pretty sure I’ve got a horrible aftertaste.”
Susan gave a soft chuckle. “I’ve missed you, Harry.”
“I’ve missed you too, Susan. I don’t really know how you deal with this, it’s like….I try to focus on other things, but this…this bloodlust controls me in a way I never felt before.” Susan walked closer, her eyes scanning him.
“You’re strong, Harry. Give it a few weeks, and trust me, you’ll feel a lot stronger, and you’ll feel a lot more in control.” Susan said, although, now that she’d caught his scent, her eyes grew darker with arousal. He knew that the look in her eye, and he felt his hunger rise within him, felt his ability to think growing fuzzy. It was like being a horny teenager all over again.
“….Maybe…maybe we shouldn’t do this, Susan. I’m not quite in control yet…I could-“
“You think I can’t handle you, Dresden?” She murmured, walking towards him. “I know exactly how you feel… and trust me when I say this may be the best thing for you right now. Relieve some tension…” Her eyes gleamed darkly, and Harry noticed the delicious color of her skin, the sweep of her curves, the firm sinew that she’d acquired over the years.
She ran a hand across his face, and Harry leaned into it, giving a low moan of pleasure.
“Oh…it’s been…a long time…”
Harry gave a sigh, and felt her body tighten to his touch, his hands running down her back and feeling warm, supple skin as he kissed her softly, picking her up and pulling her closer, feeling all the long nights and lonely years get the better of him, and realizing for the first time Susan had been just a lonely as he had.
Her markings flared to life, running up her thighs as Harry hiked her skirt higher, kissing her again as her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling herself closer, the warmth of her body heating up his.
Before he gave into his inner drives, the woman who had showed him in opened the door. “Mister…oh…Susan.”
Susan nearly snarled, but she held her tongue, giving a winning smile back to the girl.
“Angela…”
“It’s nice seeing you, Susan, but the elders would like to start Harry’s training.”
“I’ll let him out in a minute…promise.” She smiled. Angela only nodded, closing the door behind her. Susan muttered softly under her breath, something along the lines of ‘cock-blocked’ before pulling away, the markings on her face fading from black. “Alright big boy…”
Harry kissed her once, a passionate kiss that spoke of his years of longing, and then forced himself to pull away.
Susan opened the door, turning back to face him at the last moment. “I never stopped loving you, Harry. You know that.” Harry nodded mutely, going to follow her, but shaking her head. “Not yet. There’s some things you’ve got to learn.”
“Will I see you again?”
Susan smiled wryly. “Now that you’re here, Harry, you couldn’t get rid of me if you wanted to.”
Harry only gave a light chuckle, nodding. “I’ll hold you to that.” And hopefully some other things…once I figure some things out….
She only grinned, as if he’d said the last statement aloud, and then quit the hallway. Harry sagged against the wall for a moment, and then pushed himself off.
It was time to take his life back.
The girl was waiting outside, and she began to walk, leading him to a door, and another hallway, and turned the corner.
“I can take you no further.” She said, and patted his shoulder.
“Thank you, I appreciate that.” He murmured, nodding to her, and starting down the hall. As he walked, he saw a few torches lit in at the end, lighting the way to an ornately carved door. Apparently these people were hurting in the ways of style or interior décor, Harry surmised, as he began to walk, shoving his hands into his pockets and hoping that this wouldn’t be as painful
as he was certain it would be.
He saw two big, burly men in front of the door. Both of their heads had instantly snapped to attention to watch him crossing the hall. He waved nervously, for the first time in a long time physically intimidated by anyone; both of them were a good couple inches taller than he.
“You Harry Dresden?” one of them asked.
“Well, that’s normally what people shout at me when things start burning, so, yeah, guess so.” His normal defense mechanism of sarcasm and dry humor had flared up as he inwardly panicked. Neither of them looked very amused, but they moved anyway, and the doors opened into the room.
Inside the room sat three men and a woman looking over a set of scrolls and conversing in what sounded like a mix of Spanish and English. Harry groaned inwardly. Hell, with Lasciel gone, he was pretty sure he was worse with languages then before. Now all he had to rely on was his correspondence course..and lord knows how well that had gone with Latin.
At the sound of the squeak, the woman looked up and gave him a soft smile. “Hola, Harry. Nice for you to join us,” she said, rising to stand. Harry smiled gratefully, shaking her hand. “I hope I’m acceptable for your order, ma’am.”
She only smiled. “Harry, we don’t turn many away.” She said. “I’m Consuela, and this is Marten, Abraham and Ricardo,” she quickly pointed to each and turn, who gave him a smile, “I know everyone from where you come from is titled and ranked, but we’re not quite as formal.”
“Good…I hate formalities.” He smiled and stepped back onto the small dais that he was probably supposed to stand on.
Ricardo gave him a once over, and Harry tried his hardest to not look him in the eye. The last thing he wanted them to do was kick him out before he learned anything.
“You’ve got a lot of power, Harry.”
“Not enough to battle this thing on my own. I’ve held on so far, but it’s already gnawing on my free will. My power counts for nothing in this respect,” he murmured, Ricardo looked down at his scrolls, looking introspective.
“Do you understand what it means to undergo this process?” Marten spoke up. “You’ll still always feel it, and when you tap into it, sometimes… sometimes it gets unbearable. You have darkness in your past, Harry. What if the demon inside of you latches onto your darkness? Are you really prepared for this?”
“If I have other options, please, point them out.” Harry said, a bit defensively. “I do know, however, that it’s either this, die, or do worse than die, I’ve chosen this.”
Abraham was the last one to speak. “Do you think you’ll be able to return to your normal life Dresden? And, more importantly…do you think your normal life has followed you here?”
“I can nearly guarantee you, nothing has followed me here. And I can guarantee that once I am comfortable, once you have trained me to be all I can, I will make sure that no one else has to go through this. I want to return to my life. I want to return to my friends, my family… what little of it I have left.” His voice quieted to a whisper by the time he’d finished.
Consuela looked to him, her dark eyes still gleaming a bit. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t give it to you. In fact, I’m pretty sure all three of them are just messing with you,” she said, holding up a scroll. “Like Ricardo said, you have a lot of power in you. No doubt, when you harness the strength, when you’re able to control it…you’ll be your own force of nature. We already had the scrolls written up.”
Harry nodded, relieved, slumping a bit, and running a hand to his face. “Thank you. I don’t really know how I can repay you.”
“Kill off as many Reds as you can when you get back,” Abraham murmured, rising to his feet, and waving one of the bodyguards away to go pull the curtain back.
Harry’s grin had no mirth, only a cold malice. “Count on it.”
-=-
Carlos sighed, looking over the documents in front of him, and pulling the phone back away from his ear. “…How did you lose the keys if you were driving the car, ma’am?” He frowned, writing it down , and shaking his head. No wonder Harry had gotten so cynical…the human race was not as intelligent as they let on. “Well, when Dresden comes back I’ll be sure to ask him. What, no, I’m not Harry Dresden…yes, I’m a wizard but-“
Molly opened up the door, Mouse in tow,. Carlos looked up, smiling at her wearily, and then rubbed a temple with his free hand, his frustration evident. “No, ma’am, I’m not ‘just as good’, Harry Dresden practices a type of magic that helps him find things, and I don’t practice that-…no…no I am not going to pick up a ‘Magic for Dummies’ book; it’s not quite that simple.”
Molly smiled, and shook her head. He had the patience of a saint; if Harry was here he would have already shorted out the phone.
“Tell you what.” Carlos’ words were clipped by this point. “How about you give me your name and number, and I’ll give Harry a call and tell him it’s urgent.” Molly noticed he made no move to grab a pen or a piece of paper. “Uh huh…312…585…7213…and your name? How do you spell that? ….Okay…Okay. I’ll give him a call right away. Yeah, thanks for calling. Bye.”
Carlos calmly set the phone down, and quickly disconnected it from the wall. “I hate stupid people.”
“If it makes you feel better I’ve had to do this as well-the people are always stupid. At least you haven’t gotten any people asking you if magic really exists and if ou’re a scam artist trying to take people’s money,” Molly said, and took the sturdy leash off from around Mouse’s neck. Mouse trotted towards Carlos, giving him a big doggy grin, before settling down in the corner. There Molly’d set up a large bed for him, complete with cushions, and two large metal bowls she’d borrowed from home. He sniffed at the kibble before laying his head down on his paws.
Molly in turn, slid onto the side of the desk. “So, what’s the latest word from the council?”
“Recover, rebuild, revenge.” Carlos said simply, looking back to the book that he’d been thumbing through since he’d gotten in. “Apparently they attacked a few other sites around the world, each one instantly covered up and called a terrorist attack involving hallucinogenic drugs.
They attacked mostly metropolitan areas, taking out wizards on several continents. Our numbers have pretty much been cut in half.”
Molly paled slightly, her eyes closing. “Oh, Carlos…” She murmured.
His voice was tight. “The Merlin has told all the wardens that we are not to go off avenging our fallen brethren. We are to help rebuild the cities attacked, and then we are to convene and plan our next steps…”
“Why? Why can’t you?” Molly frowned, anger flashing in her eyes. “That’s not right! They just get to revel in their victory, and you have to sit here and help rebuild the city? That’s preposterous.”
“I know it isn’t right, but it makes sense, and we do need time to replenish our resources, and our numbers; I’m betting that a whole lot of apprentices just got a shiny new upgrade to wizard status.” He leaned back, running a hand through his hair. “He’s informed the Regional Commanders to just keep the peace, and if we see any trails leading to another attack to come forward with them. I talked to Luccio and she says that she can get another warden to take my place when I’ve gotta go back to my jurisdiction.”
He only shook his head, slumping down onto the desk. “I don’t know how Harry does it…He wades through the bottom feeders all day, and then in his spare time he goes and saves the world.”
“Well, he does it with a lot of sarcasm and half baked plans.” Molly chuckled. “and normally flying by the seat of his pants.”
His eyes widened, and he chuckled softly. “It all makes sense now.” He said, moving to give her a kiss. Molly melted into the kiss, leaning forwards to deepen it, her eyes closing. He was warm, and she relished in the scent of his clean skin and the faint scent of his cologne . She was about to slide into his lap when they heard tires squealing on gravel below. Carlos swore softly, and the pair reluctantly parted.
A low, rumbling growl came from Mouse as he rose to his feet. Mouse only made noise when something supernatural was coming, which could only mean supernatural trouble.
“You think they’re here for Harry?” Molly said, frowning, as three people got out of the car, hurrying into the building.
“What, three guys burning rubber and running up to the apartment? Who else could they be for? .I guess I’ll actually have to take a message this time.” He said, and reached for his staff.
-=-
Harry hissed as Consuela finished the markings on his chest, and began the process up his neck, The design was based on the set of standard markings used by the Fellowship to bind the vampiric essence, combined with an array of symbols specific to Harry’s ancestry and background, which would give him more power over his personal demons. “Does it …should it hurt this much?”
“Harry, I’m giving you tiny stab wounds and injecting a magical potion into half of the pores on your body; what do you think?”
“Point.” He murmured softly, shifting so she could get to the left side of his neck. “I…I still don’t understand how this works exactly. How did you find out how this potion binds the demon?”
“Ancient secret of the Aztecs.” She said, smirking. “The blight of vampires isn’t a new one.” She began another swirl, that he could feel but not see. At least not until the demon was released from its hold, currently suppressed by the Fellowship’s magic. “Hush now Harry, you need to go back to your meditations…this is a long, arduous process.” She grinned at him. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t distract me so much.”
“As you wish.” He smiled, letting his eyes shut and adjusting himself to the point where it was only mildly uncomfortable. The silence fell like a blanket, as he gathered his thoughts and prepared himself.
He could just feel the lust just under the surface of his waking mind, the subtle longing that was at the base of his skull, the blood rushing around through his veins, the sweet blood song of those around him. He tried not to let himself get caught up in its thrall. Instead, tried to focus on other things.
Friends, Family, Susan.
The blood song quieted and fell away and his body sagged slightly with relaxation. He focused on maintain his relaxed state while she finished the markings, ending with a curve above his right eye. She slowly pulled away.
“I think we’re ready,” she called out, for both him, and the other three, who’d been preparing themselves at the other end of the long room. By this time, the sun has begun its descent, but it wasn’t quite sun down yet. After a full day of sunlight, the demon was at its weakest; the time was right.
Harry’s eyes opened slowly, a calm settling over his features. He waited for instructions, settling back and watching Ricardo, who stood directly in front of him. his dark eyes watching Harry’s.
“Are you ready, Dresden?”
“…oh, no, but don’t stop this long and taxing process for my account,.” he muttered. Ricardo nodded, and settled the palm of his hand on Harry’s forehead.
Inside Harry’s head, the hunger pushed forward.
He was bombarded by the ancient power he felt, the power that the vampire offered, if he only made a choice. Harry’s muscles tensed, his hands grabbing onto the arms of the chair as he actively resisted the demon, resisted the hunger, and tried to pull away from Ricardo’s hand
Ricardo persisted, and Abraham and Marten came around and each placed their hands on Harry’s shoulders, restraining him. Ricardo began to mutter in a language Harry’d never heard before.
Suddenly, Harry felt the demon dragged to the back of his mind, locked away with its recesses, and he felt the power washing over him, seeping into his body, through his veins, and the irresistible pull called to him. The demon thrashed within the cage, shaking at its holds like every demon would.
The cage seemed strong, but the demon was gaining strength as the sun set, wanting desperately to be sated. Harry struggled, throwing his own will against the vampire’s, and he fought to strengthen the cage, make it unbreakable, add his own wards to it. Soon enough, the demon fell back, exhausted.
He felt himself thrown back into his body, as he became aware of reality, and opened his eyes as the markings faded. Ricardo whistled slightly.
“No wonder those vamps wanted you so badly.” Marten said, giving Harry a warm smile. “…you’ve got strength in you.”
Harry sagged into the chair with exhaustion, as it fell upon him like a lead weight. “…I’m glad you guys feel that way, because frankly, I’m a little bushed.”
“Most people pass out their first time going toe to toe with their demon.” Ricardo said. “The fact that you’re still conscious speaks of your power…you’ve done well…welcome to the Fellowship.” He said, and smiled. “Let’s get you to your room.”
Harry only nodded, getting to his feet. “Thank you for this…thank you for letting me do this…I couldn’t have accepted the other choices.”
Consuela only chuckled. “Let’s just see how much you’ll thank us for it in the morning.”
comments are always welcome
He waited as patiently as he could in front of the large stone double doors set in the quaint little Peruvian village. Inside…inside his whole body was torn. Half of him was fighting with everything he had not to submit, to persist where most fail. His other half? Consumed by the demon within. That half wanted him to stalk back down the hill, pick up the first blood-filled human he saw, and suck the poor soul dry.
However, here were people just like him. He couldn’t give up. Not right here. Before he could ponder anymore on it, the door opened, and a mousy-looking girl around Molly’s age with a lime green t-shirt and a pair of jean cutoffs appeared.
“You must be Harry Dresden. Please, come in,” she said, opening the doors enough for him and his large rucksack and bag to get through. “We’ve been expecting you, and everything’s been set up.” She led him through an ornate foyer and then into a brighter hallway, with sunlight pouring in through the windows. She finally ended in front of an unoccupied room at the end of the hall.
“Here you are-Harry was it? You don’t have a roommate at the moment, but that may change. Once you set your stuff down, the elders have asked for you, to start helping you control the demon.” The woman opened the door, and Harry gave her a small smile, nodding.
“Thank you very much ma’am.” He murmured. She simply smiled, leaving the room. He set his bag down at the foot of his bed and knelt at the side of it, putting his head in his hands. Within him, he felt the hollow, aching sensation, felt the monster struggling inside him. He’d nearly had to drug himself to simply survive the plane trip; the woman next to him had been so full of blood…
Hell’s bells…how did I get into this mess?
He shrugged off his duster-he wouldn’t be needing it here, he surmised-and got to his feet, setting himself in front of the window and letting out a sigh. At least the view was good. He smiled faintly, watching the rolling planes of green and the small village below the mountain retreat.
“It’s a beautiful view, isn’t it?”
Harry paled considerably. It’d been, literally, years... He turned to see Susan leaning in the doorway, her long hair streaming over a bared shoulder. She was wearing a white camisole and a dark red skirt the color of blood. Harry tried hard not to say something stupid.
“It’s amazing…in both directions.” He said, giving her another, look, and smiling. Before he could say anything else, she’d closed the door behind her. She smiled sadly.
“So they got you too, huh?”
“They may have bitten me, but they regretted it…I’m pretty sure I’ve got a horrible aftertaste.”
Susan gave a soft chuckle. “I’ve missed you, Harry.”
“I’ve missed you too, Susan. I don’t really know how you deal with this, it’s like….I try to focus on other things, but this…this bloodlust controls me in a way I never felt before.” Susan walked closer, her eyes scanning him.
“You’re strong, Harry. Give it a few weeks, and trust me, you’ll feel a lot stronger, and you’ll feel a lot more in control.” Susan said, although, now that she’d caught his scent, her eyes grew darker with arousal. He knew that the look in her eye, and he felt his hunger rise within him, felt his ability to think growing fuzzy. It was like being a horny teenager all over again.
“….Maybe…maybe we shouldn’t do this, Susan. I’m not quite in control yet…I could-“
“You think I can’t handle you, Dresden?” She murmured, walking towards him. “I know exactly how you feel… and trust me when I say this may be the best thing for you right now. Relieve some tension…” Her eyes gleamed darkly, and Harry noticed the delicious color of her skin, the sweep of her curves, the firm sinew that she’d acquired over the years.
She ran a hand across his face, and Harry leaned into it, giving a low moan of pleasure.
“Oh…it’s been…a long time…”
Harry gave a sigh, and felt her body tighten to his touch, his hands running down her back and feeling warm, supple skin as he kissed her softly, picking her up and pulling her closer, feeling all the long nights and lonely years get the better of him, and realizing for the first time Susan had been just a lonely as he had.
Her markings flared to life, running up her thighs as Harry hiked her skirt higher, kissing her again as her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling herself closer, the warmth of her body heating up his.
Before he gave into his inner drives, the woman who had showed him in opened the door. “Mister…oh…Susan.”
Susan nearly snarled, but she held her tongue, giving a winning smile back to the girl.
“Angela…”
“It’s nice seeing you, Susan, but the elders would like to start Harry’s training.”
“I’ll let him out in a minute…promise.” She smiled. Angela only nodded, closing the door behind her. Susan muttered softly under her breath, something along the lines of ‘cock-blocked’ before pulling away, the markings on her face fading from black. “Alright big boy…”
Harry kissed her once, a passionate kiss that spoke of his years of longing, and then forced himself to pull away.
Susan opened the door, turning back to face him at the last moment. “I never stopped loving you, Harry. You know that.” Harry nodded mutely, going to follow her, but shaking her head. “Not yet. There’s some things you’ve got to learn.”
“Will I see you again?”
Susan smiled wryly. “Now that you’re here, Harry, you couldn’t get rid of me if you wanted to.”
Harry only gave a light chuckle, nodding. “I’ll hold you to that.” And hopefully some other things…once I figure some things out….
She only grinned, as if he’d said the last statement aloud, and then quit the hallway. Harry sagged against the wall for a moment, and then pushed himself off.
It was time to take his life back.
The girl was waiting outside, and she began to walk, leading him to a door, and another hallway, and turned the corner.
“I can take you no further.” She said, and patted his shoulder.
“Thank you, I appreciate that.” He murmured, nodding to her, and starting down the hall. As he walked, he saw a few torches lit in at the end, lighting the way to an ornately carved door. Apparently these people were hurting in the ways of style or interior décor, Harry surmised, as he began to walk, shoving his hands into his pockets and hoping that this wouldn’t be as painful
as he was certain it would be.
He saw two big, burly men in front of the door. Both of their heads had instantly snapped to attention to watch him crossing the hall. He waved nervously, for the first time in a long time physically intimidated by anyone; both of them were a good couple inches taller than he.
“You Harry Dresden?” one of them asked.
“Well, that’s normally what people shout at me when things start burning, so, yeah, guess so.” His normal defense mechanism of sarcasm and dry humor had flared up as he inwardly panicked. Neither of them looked very amused, but they moved anyway, and the doors opened into the room.
Inside the room sat three men and a woman looking over a set of scrolls and conversing in what sounded like a mix of Spanish and English. Harry groaned inwardly. Hell, with Lasciel gone, he was pretty sure he was worse with languages then before. Now all he had to rely on was his correspondence course..and lord knows how well that had gone with Latin.
At the sound of the squeak, the woman looked up and gave him a soft smile. “Hola, Harry. Nice for you to join us,” she said, rising to stand. Harry smiled gratefully, shaking her hand. “I hope I’m acceptable for your order, ma’am.”
She only smiled. “Harry, we don’t turn many away.” She said. “I’m Consuela, and this is Marten, Abraham and Ricardo,” she quickly pointed to each and turn, who gave him a smile, “I know everyone from where you come from is titled and ranked, but we’re not quite as formal.”
“Good…I hate formalities.” He smiled and stepped back onto the small dais that he was probably supposed to stand on.
Ricardo gave him a once over, and Harry tried his hardest to not look him in the eye. The last thing he wanted them to do was kick him out before he learned anything.
“You’ve got a lot of power, Harry.”
“Not enough to battle this thing on my own. I’ve held on so far, but it’s already gnawing on my free will. My power counts for nothing in this respect,” he murmured, Ricardo looked down at his scrolls, looking introspective.
“Do you understand what it means to undergo this process?” Marten spoke up. “You’ll still always feel it, and when you tap into it, sometimes… sometimes it gets unbearable. You have darkness in your past, Harry. What if the demon inside of you latches onto your darkness? Are you really prepared for this?”
“If I have other options, please, point them out.” Harry said, a bit defensively. “I do know, however, that it’s either this, die, or do worse than die, I’ve chosen this.”
Abraham was the last one to speak. “Do you think you’ll be able to return to your normal life Dresden? And, more importantly…do you think your normal life has followed you here?”
“I can nearly guarantee you, nothing has followed me here. And I can guarantee that once I am comfortable, once you have trained me to be all I can, I will make sure that no one else has to go through this. I want to return to my life. I want to return to my friends, my family… what little of it I have left.” His voice quieted to a whisper by the time he’d finished.
Consuela looked to him, her dark eyes still gleaming a bit. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t give it to you. In fact, I’m pretty sure all three of them are just messing with you,” she said, holding up a scroll. “Like Ricardo said, you have a lot of power in you. No doubt, when you harness the strength, when you’re able to control it…you’ll be your own force of nature. We already had the scrolls written up.”
Harry nodded, relieved, slumping a bit, and running a hand to his face. “Thank you. I don’t really know how I can repay you.”
“Kill off as many Reds as you can when you get back,” Abraham murmured, rising to his feet, and waving one of the bodyguards away to go pull the curtain back.
Harry’s grin had no mirth, only a cold malice. “Count on it.”
-=-
Carlos sighed, looking over the documents in front of him, and pulling the phone back away from his ear. “…How did you lose the keys if you were driving the car, ma’am?” He frowned, writing it down , and shaking his head. No wonder Harry had gotten so cynical…the human race was not as intelligent as they let on. “Well, when Dresden comes back I’ll be sure to ask him. What, no, I’m not Harry Dresden…yes, I’m a wizard but-“
Molly opened up the door, Mouse in tow,. Carlos looked up, smiling at her wearily, and then rubbed a temple with his free hand, his frustration evident. “No, ma’am, I’m not ‘just as good’, Harry Dresden practices a type of magic that helps him find things, and I don’t practice that-…no…no I am not going to pick up a ‘Magic for Dummies’ book; it’s not quite that simple.”
Molly smiled, and shook her head. He had the patience of a saint; if Harry was here he would have already shorted out the phone.
“Tell you what.” Carlos’ words were clipped by this point. “How about you give me your name and number, and I’ll give Harry a call and tell him it’s urgent.” Molly noticed he made no move to grab a pen or a piece of paper. “Uh huh…312…585…7213…and your name? How do you spell that? ….Okay…Okay. I’ll give him a call right away. Yeah, thanks for calling. Bye.”
Carlos calmly set the phone down, and quickly disconnected it from the wall. “I hate stupid people.”
“If it makes you feel better I’ve had to do this as well-the people are always stupid. At least you haven’t gotten any people asking you if magic really exists and if ou’re a scam artist trying to take people’s money,” Molly said, and took the sturdy leash off from around Mouse’s neck. Mouse trotted towards Carlos, giving him a big doggy grin, before settling down in the corner. There Molly’d set up a large bed for him, complete with cushions, and two large metal bowls she’d borrowed from home. He sniffed at the kibble before laying his head down on his paws.
Molly in turn, slid onto the side of the desk. “So, what’s the latest word from the council?”
“Recover, rebuild, revenge.” Carlos said simply, looking back to the book that he’d been thumbing through since he’d gotten in. “Apparently they attacked a few other sites around the world, each one instantly covered up and called a terrorist attack involving hallucinogenic drugs.
They attacked mostly metropolitan areas, taking out wizards on several continents. Our numbers have pretty much been cut in half.”
Molly paled slightly, her eyes closing. “Oh, Carlos…” She murmured.
His voice was tight. “The Merlin has told all the wardens that we are not to go off avenging our fallen brethren. We are to help rebuild the cities attacked, and then we are to convene and plan our next steps…”
“Why? Why can’t you?” Molly frowned, anger flashing in her eyes. “That’s not right! They just get to revel in their victory, and you have to sit here and help rebuild the city? That’s preposterous.”
“I know it isn’t right, but it makes sense, and we do need time to replenish our resources, and our numbers; I’m betting that a whole lot of apprentices just got a shiny new upgrade to wizard status.” He leaned back, running a hand through his hair. “He’s informed the Regional Commanders to just keep the peace, and if we see any trails leading to another attack to come forward with them. I talked to Luccio and she says that she can get another warden to take my place when I’ve gotta go back to my jurisdiction.”
He only shook his head, slumping down onto the desk. “I don’t know how Harry does it…He wades through the bottom feeders all day, and then in his spare time he goes and saves the world.”
“Well, he does it with a lot of sarcasm and half baked plans.” Molly chuckled. “and normally flying by the seat of his pants.”
His eyes widened, and he chuckled softly. “It all makes sense now.” He said, moving to give her a kiss. Molly melted into the kiss, leaning forwards to deepen it, her eyes closing. He was warm, and she relished in the scent of his clean skin and the faint scent of his cologne . She was about to slide into his lap when they heard tires squealing on gravel below. Carlos swore softly, and the pair reluctantly parted.
A low, rumbling growl came from Mouse as he rose to his feet. Mouse only made noise when something supernatural was coming, which could only mean supernatural trouble.
“You think they’re here for Harry?” Molly said, frowning, as three people got out of the car, hurrying into the building.
“What, three guys burning rubber and running up to the apartment? Who else could they be for? .I guess I’ll actually have to take a message this time.” He said, and reached for his staff.
-=-
Harry hissed as Consuela finished the markings on his chest, and began the process up his neck, The design was based on the set of standard markings used by the Fellowship to bind the vampiric essence, combined with an array of symbols specific to Harry’s ancestry and background, which would give him more power over his personal demons. “Does it …should it hurt this much?”
“Harry, I’m giving you tiny stab wounds and injecting a magical potion into half of the pores on your body; what do you think?”
“Point.” He murmured softly, shifting so she could get to the left side of his neck. “I…I still don’t understand how this works exactly. How did you find out how this potion binds the demon?”
“Ancient secret of the Aztecs.” She said, smirking. “The blight of vampires isn’t a new one.” She began another swirl, that he could feel but not see. At least not until the demon was released from its hold, currently suppressed by the Fellowship’s magic. “Hush now Harry, you need to go back to your meditations…this is a long, arduous process.” She grinned at him. “And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t distract me so much.”
“As you wish.” He smiled, letting his eyes shut and adjusting himself to the point where it was only mildly uncomfortable. The silence fell like a blanket, as he gathered his thoughts and prepared himself.
He could just feel the lust just under the surface of his waking mind, the subtle longing that was at the base of his skull, the blood rushing around through his veins, the sweet blood song of those around him. He tried not to let himself get caught up in its thrall. Instead, tried to focus on other things.
Friends, Family, Susan.
The blood song quieted and fell away and his body sagged slightly with relaxation. He focused on maintain his relaxed state while she finished the markings, ending with a curve above his right eye. She slowly pulled away.
“I think we’re ready,” she called out, for both him, and the other three, who’d been preparing themselves at the other end of the long room. By this time, the sun has begun its descent, but it wasn’t quite sun down yet. After a full day of sunlight, the demon was at its weakest; the time was right.
Harry’s eyes opened slowly, a calm settling over his features. He waited for instructions, settling back and watching Ricardo, who stood directly in front of him. his dark eyes watching Harry’s.
“Are you ready, Dresden?”
“…oh, no, but don’t stop this long and taxing process for my account,.” he muttered. Ricardo nodded, and settled the palm of his hand on Harry’s forehead.
Inside Harry’s head, the hunger pushed forward.
He was bombarded by the ancient power he felt, the power that the vampire offered, if he only made a choice. Harry’s muscles tensed, his hands grabbing onto the arms of the chair as he actively resisted the demon, resisted the hunger, and tried to pull away from Ricardo’s hand
Ricardo persisted, and Abraham and Marten came around and each placed their hands on Harry’s shoulders, restraining him. Ricardo began to mutter in a language Harry’d never heard before.
Suddenly, Harry felt the demon dragged to the back of his mind, locked away with its recesses, and he felt the power washing over him, seeping into his body, through his veins, and the irresistible pull called to him. The demon thrashed within the cage, shaking at its holds like every demon would.
The cage seemed strong, but the demon was gaining strength as the sun set, wanting desperately to be sated. Harry struggled, throwing his own will against the vampire’s, and he fought to strengthen the cage, make it unbreakable, add his own wards to it. Soon enough, the demon fell back, exhausted.
He felt himself thrown back into his body, as he became aware of reality, and opened his eyes as the markings faded. Ricardo whistled slightly.
“No wonder those vamps wanted you so badly.” Marten said, giving Harry a warm smile. “…you’ve got strength in you.”
Harry sagged into the chair with exhaustion, as it fell upon him like a lead weight. “…I’m glad you guys feel that way, because frankly, I’m a little bushed.”
“Most people pass out their first time going toe to toe with their demon.” Ricardo said. “The fact that you’re still conscious speaks of your power…you’ve done well…welcome to the Fellowship.” He said, and smiled. “Let’s get you to your room.”
Harry only nodded, getting to his feet. “Thank you for this…thank you for letting me do this…I couldn’t have accepted the other choices.”
Consuela only chuckled. “Let’s just see how much you’ll thank us for it in the morning.”
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