Changes (The Dresden Files #12) - Jim Butcher Page 0,144

he sure as hell didn’t enjoy his part.

I shook my head and berated myself sharply. Here I was wasting time talking about a damned book. About a world of blacks and whites with precious little in the way of grey, where you could tell the good guys from the bad guys with about two seconds of effort.

And right now, I didn’t give a damn about good and bad. I just wanted a little girl home safe.

It didn’t matter which of them I was. As long as I got Maggie home.

I picked up my bag, left St. Mary’s behind me, and stalked out to my wicked godmother’s limo, pulling the soft hood of my dark cape up over my head.

If I was on the road to Hell, at least I was going in style.

40

There was room for everyone in the back of the limo. I was pretty sure that there hadn’t been the first time I’d ridden in it. But it had gotten several extra feet of seats along the walls, and everyone was sitting there being only a little bit crowded as Glenmael charged out to assault Chicago’s streets.

“I still think we should try a frontal assault,” Sanya argued.

“Suicidally stupid,” Martin said, his voice scornful.

“Surprise tactic!” Sanya countered. “They will not expect it after a thousand years of never being challenged. Harry, what do you think?”

“Uh,” I said.

And then Ebenezar’s voice said, quite clearly and from no apparent source, “Damn your stubborn eyes, boy! Where have you been?”

I went rigid with surprise for a second. I looked around the interior of the limo, but no one had reacted, with the exception of my godmother. Lea sighed and rolled her eyes.

Right. The speaking stones. I’d stuck mine in the bag, but since I was holding it on my lap now, it was close enough to be warmed by the heat of my body to function. It was possible to send terse messages through the stones without first establishing a clear connection, as my mentor and I had done back toward the beginning of this mess.

“Damnation and hellfire, Hoss!” growled Ebenezar’s voice. “Answer me!”

I looked from Sanya to my godmother. “Uh. I kind of have to take this call.”

Sanya blinked at me. Thomas and Murphy exchanged a significant glance.

“Oh, shut up,” I said crossly. “It’s magic, okay?”

I closed my eyes and fumbled through the bag until I found the stone. I didn’t really need to show up in my outlandish costume for this conversation, so I thought about my own physical body for a moment, concentrating on an image of my limbs and flesh and normal clothing forming around my thoughts.

“So help me, boy, if you don’t—”

Ebenezar appeared in my mind’s eye, wearing his usual clothing. He broke off suddenly as he looked at me and his face went pale. “Hoss? Are you all right?”

“Not really,” I said. “I’m kind of in the middle of something here. What do you want?”

“Your absence from the conclave did not go over well,” he responded, his voice sharp. “There are people in the Grey Council who think you aren’t to be trusted. They’re very, very wary of you. By missing the meeting, you told them that either you don’t respect our work enough to bother showing up, or else that you don’t have the wisdom and the fortitude to commit to the cause.”

“I never saw the appeal of peer pressure,” I said. “Sir, I’m finding a little girl. I’ll come play Council politics after I get her home safe, if you want.”

“We need you here.”

“The kid needs me more. It’s not as noble as trying to save the whole White Council from its own stupidity, I know. But by God, I will bring that child out safe.”

Ebenezar’s mostly bald pate flushed red. “Despite my orders to the contrary.”

“We aren’t an army. You aren’t my superior officer. Sir.”

“You arrogant child,” he snapped. “Get your head out of your ass and get your eyes on the world around you or you’re going to get yourself killed.”

“With all due respect, sir, you can go to hell,” I snarled. “You think I don’t know how dangerous the world is? Me?”

“I think you’re doing everything in your power to isolate yourself from the only people who can support you,” he said. “You feel guilty about something. I get that, Hoss. You think you ain’t fit for company because of what you’ve done.” His scowl darkened still more. “In my time, I’ve done things that would curl your hair. Get over