Death Masks

"You’re kidding me," I said. "Michael, I know how to handle myself. You should know that by now."

"Handle yourself," Michael said. "Like you did tonight? Harry, if we hadn’t been there-"

"What?" I snapped. "I’d have been dead. It isn’t like it isn’t going to happen sooner or later. There are enough bad guys after me that one of them is eventually going to get lucky. So what else is new."

"You don’t understand," Michael said.

"I understand all right," I said. "One more wacky B-horror-movie reject tried to kill me. It’s happened before. It’ll probably happen again."

Shiro said, without looking up from his sword, "Ursiel did not come to kill you, Mister Dresden."

I considered that in another pregnant silence. The lamps buzzed a little. Shiro’s cleaning cloth whispered over the steel of his sword.

I watched Michael’s face and asked, "Why was he there then? I’d have put down money that it was a demon, but it was just a shapechange. There was a mortal inside it. Who was he?"

Michael’s gaze never wavered. "His name was Rasmussen. Ursiel took him in eighteen forty-nine, on his way to California."

"I saw him, Michael. I looked in his eyes."

Michael winced. "I didn’t know that."

"He was a prisoner in his own soul, Michael. Something was holding him. Something big. Ursiel, I guess. He’s one of the Fallen, isn’t he?"

Michael nodded.

"How the hell does that happen? I thought the Fallen aren’t allowed to take away free will."

"They aren’t," Michael said. "But they are allowed to tempt. And the Denarians have more to offer than most."

"Denarians?" I asked.

"The Order of the Blackened Denarius," Michael said. "They see an opportunity in this matter. A chance to do great harm."

"Silver coins." I took a deep breath. "Like the one you wrapped up in blessed cloth. Thirty pieces of silver, eh?"

He nodded. "Whoever touches the coins is tainted by the Fallen within. Tempted. Given power. The Fallen leads the mortal deeper and deeper into its influence. Never forcing them. Just offering. Until eventually they have surrendered enough of themselves and-"

"The thing gets control of them," I finished.

Michael nodded. "Like Rasmussen. We try to help them. Sometimes the person realizes what is happening. Wants to escape their influence. When we face them, we try to wear the demon down. Give the person taken the chance to escape."

"That’s why you kept talking to it. Until its voice changed. But Rasmussen didn’t want to be free, did he?"

Michael shook his head.

"Believe it or not, Michael, I’ve been tempted once or twice. I can handle it."

"No," Michael said. "You can’t. Against the Denarians, few mortals can. The Fallen know our weaknesses. Our flaws. How to undermine. Even warned and aware of them, they have destroyed men and women for thousands of years."

"I said I’ll be fine," I growled.

Shiro grunted. "Pride before fall."

I gave him a sour glance.

Michael leaned forward and said, "Harry, please. I know that your life has not been an easy one. You’re a good man. But you are as vulnerable as anyone. These enemies don’t want you dead." He looked down at his hands. "They want you."

Which scared me. Really scared me. Maybe because it seemed to disturb Michael so much, and very little disturbs him. Maybe because I had seen Rasmussen, and would always be able to see him there, trapped, wildly laughing.

Or maybe it was because part of me wondered if it would be so impossible to find a way to use the power the coin obviously offered. If it had made some random schmuck on the way to pan for gold into a killing machine that it took all three Knights of the Cross to handle, what could someone like me do with it?

Beat the living snot out of Duke Paolo Ortega. That’s for sure.

I blinked, refocusing my eyes. Michael watched me, his expression pained, and I knew that he’d guessed at my thoughts. I closed my eyes, shame making my stomach uneasy.

"You’re in danger, Harry," Michael said. "Leave the case alone."

"If I was in so much danger," I responded, "why did Father Vincent come and hire me?"

"Forthill asked him not to," Michael said. "Father Vincent – disagrees with Forthill on how supernatural matters are to be handled."

I stood up and said, "Michael, I’m tired. I’m really damned tired."

"Harry," Michael chided me.

"Darned," I mumbled. "Darned tired. Darn me unto heck." I headed for the door and said, "I’m heading home to get some sleep. I’ll think about it."

Michael stood up, and Shiro with him, both of them facing me. "Harry," Michael said. "You are my friend. You’ve saved my life. I’ve named a child for you. But stay out of this business. For my sake, if not for your own."

"And if I don’t?" I asked.

"Then I’ll have protect you from yourself. In the name of God, Harry, please don’t push this."

I turned and left without saying good-bye.

In this corner, one missing Shroud, one impossibly and thoroughly dead corpse, one dedicated and deadly vampire warlord, three holy knights, twenty-nine fallen angels, and a partridge in a pear tree.

And in the opposite corner, one tired, bruised, underpaid professional wizard, threatened by his allies and about to get dumped by his would-be girlfriend for John Q. Humdrum.

Oh, yeah.

Definitely bedtime.

Chapter Eight

I fumed and brooded all the way back to my apartment, the Beetle’s engine sputtering nervously the whole time. Mister was sitting at the top of the steps, and let out a plaintive meow as I shut and locked up my car. Though I kept my blasting rod and shield bracelet ready in case any vanilla goons were waiting around with more silenced guns, I was fairly confident no preternasties were hanging around in ambush. Mister tended to make lots of noise and then leave whenever supernatural danger was around.

Which just goes to show that my cat has considerably more sense than me.

Mister slammed his shoulder against my legs, and didn’t quite manage to trip me into falling down the stairs. I didn’t waste any time getting inside and locked up behind me.

I lit a candle, got out some cat food and fresh water for Mister’s bowls, and spent a couple minutes pacing back and forth. I glanced at my bed and wrote it off as a useless idea. I was too worked up to sleep, even tired as I was. I was already chin deep in alligators and sinking fast.

"Right, then, Harry," I mumbled. "Might as well do some work."