Biting Cold

THE FIRM AND GOOD CHARM

I spent the first bit of the hour in my room, oiling and cleaning my blade, ensuring it was as wel prepared as I could make it, and then in the training room, slinging and slicing the katana around to limber up my body and my mind.

Maybe the fight would come tonight. Maybe it would come tomorrow. Crises didn't work on predictable timetables. If you had most of your pieces in place when the need arose, you were doing wel, by my account.

I tried to clear my mind of the importance of what I had to do, the battle I had to wage. Worrying about the impact of the outcome wasn't going to do anything but make me more afraid.

More nervous.

I tried to focus on my body, my movements, the dance of the fight and the rhythm of it, just as Catcher and Ethan had taught me.

It was hard.

A knock at the door threw me off balance, and I landed a move in an ungainly position. I righted myself just as the door opened.

Malik walked in.

"Hi," I said.

"Helo." He closed the door behind him and walked inside.

"You're practicing?"

"I guess. More like working off nerves."

"You can do this," he said.

I nodded. There was much to be said for Malik's quiet confidence, but my crisis of confidence was bigger than any one vampire.

"I know Catcher and Ethan focus on technique," he said. "But don't be afraid to trust your instincts. Let the sword be an extension of you, not just something you wield."

I nodded. "I appreciate that. Got anything else?"

Malik chuckled and looked over the wals of the training room. "Most of these weapons were his, you know."

I assumed he meant Ethan. "I didn't," I said, folowing his gaze. The paneled wals were periodicaly decorated with antique weapons: pikes, shields, swords, and the like.

"They are symbols of his victories. Of the battles he won and lost. Not always perfectly. Not always with rigorous technique.

But always with heart."

He looked back at me. "There are few things in the world that he loves more than this House, Merit. Possibly only one."

At the knowing gaze in his eyes, my cheeks flushed.

"And in al the world, he entrusted one girl, one scholar, with the right to defend it."

I knew he meant it as a compliment, but it felt like a burden.

"That's a lot of pressure."

"Not pressure to win," he said. "Pressure to try. Pressure to push through pain and fear and to do the thing even if you don't want to do it. He did not trust you with this task because you guarantee him a victory; he trusts you with this task because he believes you wil give everything you have to the effort. It is the heart, Merit, not the sword, that rules the day. Remember that, and good luck."

With that, he walked out of the training room again, leaving me dumbfounded in the middle of the room, the katana stil in my hand.

Maybe Malik would hold Cadogan House for years to come; maybe he would hold it only for days more. Either way, there was little doubt he was a Master among men.

When our hour was up, we gathered together again in the Ops Room to report our progress, the advance team on the phone.

Jeff went first.

It turned out the requirements for consecrated ground weren't as specific as you'd think. We didn't necessarily need a church or graveyard. Although both would have been consecrated or blessed, al sorts of religions blessed al sorts of places.

Community gardens were blessed by neighborhood pastors; parks with strong magnetic currents were blessed by those who believed in the power of that kind of thing.

We needed a nice, clear area for Seth to create the sigil and cal Dominic. We wanted to be close enough to the House that we could retreat, if necessary, but not so close that we risked anyone who might be living or working around us.

Gabriel had recommended a spot. "Proskauer Park," Jeff said, and we al looked down at the map he'd transmitted. "It's about one mile from the House."

"That looks like it's in the middle of a neighborhood," Ethan said.

"It was going to be, until the developers lost funding. Now it's empty lots and empty buildings."

"If they didn't finish the subdivision, how does a future park do us any good?" Luc asked.

"They didn't finish the houses," Jeff said. "But they finished the park. They decided the best way to sel the lots was to create the park first. They had a priest bless it. They were pretty optimistic they'd sel the lots quickly. Fortunately for us, they didn't, and the park is sitting there, al blessed and whatnot, but completely empty."

"Good find," Ethan said.

"Yeah," Jeff agreed. "It's pretty awesome. Like finding the Higgs boson."

Silence.

"Aw, no physics fans here? Learn things you must," Jeff said

in his best Yoda voice.

I roled my eyes. "So we have a place," I said. "What's next?"

"Goods," Seth said, putting a canvas tote bag on the table.

"Helen was very helpful in gathering the materials," Paige said.

"There are a few extras she's looking for now, although it might take a little more time to find them."

"Which we don't have a lot of," Ethan said. "Malory?"

"Gabriel gave me permission," she said, "as did Baumgartner.

Not that he had a lot of choice."

"Oh?" Ethan asked.

"Gabriel made it clear the problem was ours to solve. And if we didn't solve it, Gabriel would solve it for us. In a much messier fashion."

Ethan grinned slyly. That was the kind of bravado he appreciated.

"Do you know what to do?" Catcher asked.

"Yes. I've finagled a bit of the familiar spel and tweaked the recipe. This wil be a much less minor intrusion. I also wrote down some counterspels for Catcher, just in case something goes wrong. Which it won't. But I only have a ten-minute window. That's how much time Gabriel's giving me to use magic again."

"Is that enough?" Catcher asked.

"It wil be enough," Malory said. "I wil make it enough."

Ethan looked at me. "Are you ready?"

"As I wil ever be." I looked at Seth. "Does he have any particular weaknesses? Things I can exploit?"

"His wings are vulnerable. They're sensitive to pain, and they're a major source of his balance. But an injury there wil likely make him even testier, and possibly harder to predict. Otherwise, his anatomy is similar to yours."

I nodded, katas running through my head, when the door burst open. Malik rushed in.

Ethan stood up. "What's wrong?"

"The radio is reporting that Dominic is terrorizing a building on the South Side. He's set it on fire, and there are stil people inside. Cops and fire squads are on their way, but they won't be able to do much against him."

I stood up, too, my heart pounding. "Why that building?"

"It's a way station for crack in the area."

"He's playing avenger again," Ethan said.

"Avenger without conscience," Seth said. "And if he thinks the responders are hindering his progress, he'l cut them down, too."

"How do they know it's Dominic?" I wondered.

"I am quoting here: 'He has giant bat wings.' "

"That does narrow it down." I looked at Ethan. "There's no time for practice. If we can move quickly enough, we can get him away from the building and let the CPD calm things down."

He nodded his agreement. "Luc, assemble the guards and have them circle the House. If this goes bad, I don't want it rebounding back on Cadogan. Malik, you're in charge, although I suppose that doesn't realy need to be said since you are stil Master."

Malik and Luc nodded.

"We don't have al the supplies we need," Paige interjected, "not enough to guarantee accuracy."

"We don't have the luxury of a guarantee," Ethan said.

"Figure out a way to make do with what you have."

She looked up at Seth, who nodded. "We'l make it work. Summon, nulify, eradicate. That's our plan."

But when did such plans ever go smoothly?

We got dressed quietly. I puled on my entire suit of leather - pants, bandeau top, jacket. It would help a bit against the night's chil, but more important, it would also protect me against errant sword slices better than jeans or cotton could.

I puled my hair into a ponytail and made sure the bit of worry wood was stil in my pocket. It might not be necessary, but it certainly wouldn't hurt.

I touched my fingers to the Cadogan medal at my neck and took a moment of silence to remind myself why we were doing this, and the things Malik had said. That I only had to try my best.

We met downstairs, Ethan and I both quiet, greeting each other with a nod and a check to ensure the other had the right equipment. Clothing. Swords. And just in case, medals.

"You're ready?"

I nodded, incapable of speech. Too nervous for words.

"Let's go."

We walked past the balot box, and outside to the portico.

The House's front yard was ful of fairies - al black clad, with the same severe features and long, dark hair.

One fairy stepped forward; I put a hand on the hilt of my sword just in case.

"There is no need for that, vampire," he said, looking between me and Ethan. "We are not here for battle."

"Respectfuly," Ethan said, "why are you here?"

"Tonight, you battle the one who rejected her?"

I nodded.

The fairy looked me over. Evaluating. "You wil beat him?"

"I wil do my best," I promised.

The fairy nodded. "So it shal be. Tonight, if you wil have us, we wil guard your home. You help to rid this city of a pestilence; we help protect you and yours against any who would seek to cause harm in your absence." He scowled. "Such acts are not honorable, but humans so rarely are."

Ethan seemed dumbfounded by the offer. We usualy had to pay the fairies to guard the House while we slept. And yet, here they were, offering to defend us gratuitously? The city was changing, but maybe not for the worse. Even if humans gathered to revile us, perhaps the supernaturals might find new friendships.

Ethan dropped his head. "We acknowledge your offer and are honored by it."

"It is done," the fairy said, then stepped back into line with his coleagues. Half of them marched outside the gate. The other half dispersed inside the fence, a fairy every few feet, creating a shield against whomever - or whatever - might seek to injure the House while we were gone.

I drove Ethan, Seth, and Paige to the park. Catcher arranged to meet us there with Malory and Jeff.

My grandfather - at my demand - stayed home to keep an ear on the scanner and coordinate what he could with the CPD.

Along the way, Ethan told Malik of the fairies' offer. A good idea, lest Malik should suddenly think the House was under attack by a completely new enemy. The ride was otherwise silent. I was nervous, my hands gripping the steering wheel like the car might suddenly dive off the road if I didn't.

Of course, with Dominic on the loose, I suppose stranger things had happened.

Jeff's description of the neighborhood had been right on. It looked not unlike other run-down areas in Chicago. Empty lots, strewn with trash. Boarded buildings. There were few signs of life. FOR SALE markers offering the development's lots appeared at the edges of the street, and abandoned equipment stood near unfinished concrete foundations.

And just as Jeff had found, a metal arch announced that Proskauer Park was open for play. Tonight, it simply looked abandoned. Brightly colored equipment sat empty. Swings, their chains tangled together, creaked ominously in the dark. The cherry red paint on picnic tables that had probably never held lunches was beginning to peel. A carved wooden sign that held the park's rules seemed pointedly irrelevant with no children to mind them.

"Is it just me," Paige asked, "or is this place creepy?"

"It's not just you," Seth said.

Car doors opened and closed. Catcher, Jeff, and Malory walked toward us.

"There's an overgrown basebal diamond over there," Jeff said. "Good spot. Empty, flat ground."

Ethan nodded. "Then let's get this started and done."

We moved to the diamond at a quick jog. Catcher flipped on the lights at a pole on the edge of the field.

As they began to glow, Seth, Paige, and Jeff walked into center field and wasted no time preparing the sigil. Seth puled a bottle of black granules from the pocket of his cassock. The bottle was clear, and the contents looked like ground charcoal.

"What is that?" I asked.

He uncapped the top and walked in a straight line, sprinkling the powder on the ground as he moved. "They cal it witch's flame."

Paige leaned toward me. "They cal it that, but it's actualy household cleaners in granular form. Margot helped me mix it."

"That woman is a wonder with a spoon," I said.

Apparently satisfied with the line he'd drawn, Seth stopped,turned thirty degrees, and started walking and pouring again, then joined the first two lines with a third, making a triangle, ten feet across at the base.

Seth stepped outside the triangle. "Witch's flame combusts, creates a nice little long-lasting flame that won't burn the grass below it. It wil give us a little time to work."

He looked at al of us. "Dominic's sigil contains four symbols.

This was the first. When I finish drawing the next two, I wil stop and give you a warning. When the last sigil is drawn, I'l formaly cal him, and Dominic should appear almost instantaneously. You'l want to be ready to go."

I nodded. "Thank you, Seth."

He nodded, then began to draw.

Ethan slid an arm around my waist. "You know what to do?"

"Yes. As much as anyone does."

"You'l be careful?"

I smiled a little. "Would you alow otherwise?"

"No."

I couldn't help it. The conviction in those two simple letters made me laugh aloud.

Ethan leaned in, his lips at my ear. "Unstoppable force," he said. "Immovable object. Choose the one you want to be, and do it. You are a vampire of great power, Merit. Prove it to us, to the city of Chicago, to the Houses. Prove it now."

I swalowed down fear and let the rush of adrenaline fil me with something closer to courage. Not quite bravery, but something that would suffice.

I looked back at him with silvered eyes.

"Wel," he said, a bit amused. "That was even more effective than I thought it would be."

I humphed, and folowed his glance to Malory and Catcher, who stood chatting quietly a few feet away.

"You can do your part, as wel," I said.

"I know I can. It's her I wonder about."

I looked back at Ethan. "She's asked for a chance to redeem herself. She only gets one. If this goes bad, if there's any threat to you at al, I wil take her out."

Neither the words nor the sentiment scared me. I'd given Malory chances she hadn't earned; Ethan had earned chances to spare.

"God wiling that it won't come to that," he muttered.

"But be prepared if it does," I said. "That's a lesson I learned from a certain Master vampire."

Their conversation apparently done, Malory and Catcher walked toward us. Her hands were baled into fists, and I wondered if they were shaking.

"Are you ready?"

Ethan nodded warily. "As ready as I'l ever be to turn control over my body to someone else."

"It wil only last a few minutes," Malory said. "And then he'll be Merit's problem."

"How does this work?"

"I'l establish a ful connection with you. Once he appears in the sigil, you only need to touch him. It doesn't matter where.

Hand. Shoulder. Wing."

"How long do I have to maintain my grip?"

"Until you feel the magic recede. You'l know it when you feel it. It shouldn't take more than a few seconds."

"He's probably going to realize what's happening during those few seconds," I pointed out.

"You have your sword," Catcher said. "I have magic. Our job is to distract him. Ethan's job is to hang on."

"And, hey," Malory said, with a little too much cheerfulness.

"There is an upside to this."

"What's that?" Ethan asked.

"I'm going to pul Dominic's magic through you, and with it, my own connection. You should come out the other side with no connection to me at al."

I squeezed Ethan's hand and hoped to God she was right.

"As long as you can stay out of Dominic's grasp while we're triggering the spel, you'l be fine."

Ethan nodded.

I walked a few feet away, unsheathed my sword, and tossed the scabbard away. The steel rang like a clear bel through the darkness as it freed the scabbard, and I gripped my hands around the ray skin and felt it bite comfortably into my skin. I

held the sword; it held me.

"I'm ready for the last sigil," Seth announced.

I looked at Ethan and smiled a little.

"I love you," he mouthed.

It was the first time he'd spoken those words to me, and I wished I had time to scream out my excitement and share the news with my girlfriends. But this was neither the time nor the place, so I gave him the only response I could.

"I love you, too," I mouthed back.

"And I'm nauseous," Catcher grumbled. "Let's get on with this. I am seriously in need of a beer and a Lifetime movie."

"Drinks on me if we survive this," I said, then winked at Ethan, blew out a breath, and let my eyes silver again.

Catcher, Jeff, and Paige backed away from the circle. I took point in front of it, body bladed, sword at the ready. Ethan and Malory stood at my right.

"I'm starting now," she said, then extended a hand toward him.

Ethan clutched his head, then screamed out and went down to his knees.

"Ethan!"

"Hold your position, Merit!" Seth caled out. "Do not move!"

"What did you do?" I screamed at her.

Eyes wide, she shook her head. "Nothing. I'm just trying to get it to work. I can stop."

Weakly, Ethan put his weight on one foot, then the other, and struggled to his feet. "Do not stop. This ends tonight. Now. Finish it."

Malory looked, in a panic, between me and Ethan. "But I - "

"Finish it!" he demanded.

She didn't stop to think about it. With the kind of determination I'd seen on her face before only when she was trying to hurt me and mine, she closed her eyes and chanted something to herself. Her body began to shake, and the ground began to rumble beneath us.

"Jesus," Jeff said, arms out to keep his balance.

Sweat popped across Ethan's forehead, even in the chil. His teeth were gritted together against the pain, but he wouldn't let her stop. "We are nearly there; I can feel it. Keep going, Malory."

Her lips curled wickedly. "As if you could stop me."

"Oh, crap," Paige muttered, no doubt seeing the same thing in her eyes that I did.

The enjoyment of this bit of dark magic.

"Malory, hold it together!" I caled out, nearly yeling over the suddenly rising wind. A light rain began to fal, clouds suddenly swirling overhead.

The four elements reacting to this disturbance in the balance between good and evil.

"Almost there," Ethan said.

"The sigil is nearly drawn," Seth caled out.

I regripped my fingers around the sword.

Malory wet her lips, her nails cutting into her palm, trails of blood beginning to trickle down her forearm.

"One bit left," Seth warned. "Finishing it...now!"