"Oh come on," I said. "She's broken the spirit of all of them!"
Ortega tsked. "Alas, that in the Accords it was agreed that there is no spirit of the law, between our kinds, Mister Dresden. Only its letter. And Baroness Bianca has strictly adhered to its letter. You have instigated multiple combats in her home, murdered her sworn bondsman, inflicted damage to her property and her reputation. And now you stand here prepared to continue your grievance with her, in a most unlawful and cavalier fashion. I believe that what you do is sometimes referred to as 'cowboy justice. »
"If there's a point in here, somewhere," I said, "get to it."
Ortega's eyes glittered. "I am present as a witness to the Red King, and the Vampire Courts at large. That is all. I am merely a witness."
Bianca turned her eyes back to me. "A witness who will carry word of your treacherous attack and intrusion back to the Courts," she said. "It will mean war between our kindred and the White Council."
War.
Between the vampires and the White Council.
Son of a bitch. It was unthinkable. Such a conflict hadn't happened in millennia. Not in living memory - and some wizards live a damned long time.
I had to swallow, and hide the fact that I had just gulped. "Well. Since he isn't running off to tattle right this second, I can only assume that you're about to offer me a deal."
"I never thought you were slow on the uptake, Mister Dresden," Bianca said. "Will you hear my offer?"
I ached more with every moment that went by. My body was failing. I had ridden the rush of magic through the last several moments, but I had spent a lot of that power. It would come back, but I was running the batteries down - and the more I did it, the more I couldn't ignore my weakness, my dizziness.
Legally speaking, the vampires had me over a barrel. I needed a plan. I needed a plan in the worst way. I needed time.
"Sure," I said. "I'll hear you out."
Bianca curled her fingers through Susan's hair. "First. You shall be forgiven your ... excesses of bad taste of the last few days. But for the two deaths, none of it is unworkable - and those two would have died shortly, in any case. I will forgive you, Mister Dresden."
"That's so kind."
"It gets better. You may take your equipment, your skull, and the White bastard's whore with you when you leave. Unharmed and free of future malice. All accounts will be called even."
I let the dry show in my tone. "How could I possibly say no."
She smiled. "You killed someone very dear to me, Mister Dresden - not directly, true, but your actions mandated her death. For that, too, I will forgive you."
I narrowed my eyes.
Bianca ran her hands over Susan's hair. "This one will stay with me. You stole away someone dear to me, Mister Dresden. And I am going to take away someone dear to you. After that, all will be equal." She gave Ortega a very small smile and then glanced at me and asked, "Well? What say you? If you prefer to remain with her, I'm sure a place could be made for you here. After suitable assurances of your loyalty, of course."
I remained silent for a moment, stunned.
"Well, wizard?" she snapped, harsher. "How do you answer? Accept my bargain. My compromise. Or it is war. And you will become its first casualty."
I looked at Susan. She stared blankly, her mouth partially open, caught in a trance of some kind. I could probably snap her out of it, provided a bunch of vampires didn't tear me limb from limb while I tried. I looked up at Bianca. At Ortega. At the hissing vampire cronies. They were drooling on the polished floor.
I hurt all over, and I felt so very damned tired.
"I love her," I said. I didn't say it very loud.
"What?" Bianca stared at me. "What did you say?"
"I said, I love her."
"She is already half mine."
"So? I still love her."
"She isn't even fully human any longer, Dresden. It won't be long before she is as a sister to me."
"Maybe. Maybe not," I said. "Get your hands off my girlfriend."
Bianca's eyes widened. "You are mad," she said. "You would flirt with chaos, destruction - with war. For the sake of this one wounded soul?"
I smote my staff on the floor, reaching deep for power. Deeper than I've ever reached before. Outside, in the gathering morning, the air crackled with thunder.
Bianca, even Ortega, looked abruptly uncertain, looking up and around, before focusing on me again.
"For the sake of one soul. For one loved one. For one life." I called power into my blasting rod, and its tip glowed incandescent white. "The way I see it, there's nothing else worth fighting a war for."
Bianca's face distorted with fury. She lost it. She split apart her skin like some gruesome caterpillar, the black beast clawing its way out of her flesh mask, jaws gaping, black eyes burning with feral fury. "Kill him!" she shouted. "Kill him, kill him, kill him!"
The vampires came for me, across the floor, along the walls, scuttling like roaches or spiders - too fast for easy belief. Bianca gathered shadow into her hands and hurled it at me.
I fell back a pace, caught Bianca's strike with my staff, and parried it into one of her flunkies. The darkness enfolded the vampire, and it screamed from within. When the fog around it vanished, nothing remained but dust. I responded with another gout of fire from the rod, sweeping it like a scythe through the oncoming vampires, setting them aflame. They writhed and screamed.
Spittle sliced toward me from above and to one side, and I barely ducked away in time. The vampire clinging to the ceiling followed its venom down, but it met the end of my staff in its belly, the other end solidly planted against the floor. The vampire rebounded with a burping sound and landed hard on the floor. I lifted the staff and smote down on the thing's head, to the sound of more thunder outside. Power lashed down through the staff, and crushed the vampire's skull like an egg. Dust rained down from the ceiling, and the vampire's claws scratched a frantic staccato on the floor as it died.
I had done well for the moment - the vamps nearest me were falling back, teeth bared. But more were coming, from behind them. Bianca hurled another strike at me, and though I interposed both staff and shield, the deathly cold of it numbed my fingers.
I was running out of strength, panting, my weariness and weakness struggling to claim me. I fought off the dizziness, enough to send another flash of fire at an oncoming vampire, but it skittered aside, and all I did was plow a blazing furrow in the floorboards.