Blood Rites (The Dresden Files #6) - Jim Butcher Page 0,60
again, and something told me she resented doing it.
"I'll expect you and Thomas in my chambers at dawn so that we can discuss what happened. Oh, and if you would, Wizard Dresden—"
The King of the White Court knew me on sight. This just kept getting better and better.
"—Lara can show you where Thomas's chambers are. That girl of his is there, I think." Lord Raith drifted into the house, paced by his retainers.
By my count, there were still two whole goons available for Thomas toting, but I grunted like a big tough guy and set out to do it myself. We started walking into the house. "Nice guy," I commented to Lara. I was a little short of breath. "And I was all worried about meeting him."
"I know," Lara murmured. "He was really quite pleasant."
"Except for the eyes," I said.
She glanced at me again, something like approval in her features. "You saw that."
"That's what I do."
She nodded. "Then please believe me when I say that deception is what we do, wizard. My father does not like you. I suspect he wishes to kill you."
"I get that a lot."
She smiled at me, and I got hit with another surge of lust—maybe one that wasn't entirely inspired by her come-hither mojo. She was a smart, tough lady, and had plenty of courage. I had to respect that. And she was gliding along beside me dressed in skimpy black lingerie. Admittedly, the blood and ichor detracted from the overall look, but it gave me a good excuse to see the rest of her while making my assessment.
We went up a shallow, curving stairwell and down a long hall. I tried to stick mental landmarks into my memory so that I'd be able to leave in a hurry if I needed to. My vision blurred for a moment, and the high-pitched buzzing in my ears increased in volume. I took a breath and steadied myself against the wall.
"Here," Lara said. She turned to me and took Thomas. Either she was stronger than me or she was good at acting like it was no big deal. Probably both.
I rolled my aching shoulders in relief. "Thanks. How is he?"
"The bullets aren't going to kill him," she said. "He'd have died already. The Hunger may finish him, though."
I arched an eyebrow at her in question.
"The Hunger," she repeated. "Our need to feed. The angel of our darker natures. We can draw upon it to give us a kind of strength, but it's like fire. It can turn on you if you don't keep it under control. Right now Thomas is so hungry that he can't think. Can't move. He'll be all right once he feeds."
I felt an itch on the back of my neck and checked over my shoulder. "Your father's driver is tailing us."
Lara nodded. "She'll dispose of the body."
I blinked. "I thought you said he was going to be all right."
"He will be," Lara said, her tone carefully neutral. "Justine won't."
"What?"
"He's too hungry," Lara said. "He won't be able to control himself."
"Fuck that," I said. "That isn't going to happen."
"Then he'll die," Lara said tiredly. "This is the door to his suite."
She stopped at a door, and with my reflexes on automatic pilot I opened it for her. We went into a rather large room dominated by a sunken pit in the floor. The carpet was lush, a dark crimson, pillows were all over, and a smoking brazier rested in the center of the pit. The air was heavy with sweet incense. Quiet jazz drifted through the room from speakers I couldn't see.
On the opposite side of the room, a curtain twitched and then the girl appeared from what was evidently a room beyond. Justine's shoulder-length dark hair had been striped with trendy strands of dark blue and deep purple. She wore a white bathrobe several sizes too large for her and looked rumpled from sleep. She blinked dark, sleepy eyes and then gasped and rushed toward us. "Thomas? My God!"
I looked back over my shoulder. The driver stood just outside the doorway, speaking quietly into a cellular phone.
Lara carried Thomas down into the pit and carefully laid him upon the pillows and cushions, Justine at her side. The girl's face was twisted in anxiety. "Harry? What happened to him?"
Lara glanced up and me and said, "I need to make sure Inari is cared for. If you will excuse me." I didn't, but she left the room anyway.