Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files #8) - Jim Butcher Page 0,163

her to go into rehab, but she was justhellip; too far gone, I guess. But I thought maybe I could help her. With magic. Like you help people.

Hooboy. I kept the dismay off my face and nodded for her to continue.

And one day last week, Sandra Marling and I had a talk. And during it, she told me how they were discovering that the presence of a very strong source of fear could bypass all kinds of psychological barriers. Things like addiction. That the fear could drive home a lesson, reliably and quickly. I didnt have much time. I had to do it to save Rosies child.

I grunted. Why do Nelson, too?

He washellip; he was using too much. He and Rosie sort of reinforced each other. And I wasnt sure what might happen, so I tried the spell out before I used it on her, too.

You tested it on Nelson? I asked. Then did the same one on Rosie?

She nodded. I had to scare them away from the drugs. I sent them both a nightmare.

Stars and stones, I muttered. A nightmare.

Mollys voice became defensive. I had to do something. I couldnt just sit there.

Do you have any idea how much you hurt them both? I asked.

Hurt them? she said, apparently bewildered. They were fine.

They werent fine, I said quietly. But the same spell should have done more or less the same thing to both of them. It acted differently on Nelson than Rosie. And then I put two and two together again and said, Ah. Now I get it.

She didnt look up at me.

Nelson was the father, I said quietly.

She shrugged. A tear streaked down her cheek. They probably didnt even know what they were doing when it happened. The pair of them were justhellip; She shook her head and fell silent.

That explains why your spell damaged Nelson so much more severely.

I dont understand. I never hurt him.

I dont think you did it on purpose. I waved a hand, palm up. Magic comes from a lot of places. But especially from your emotions. They influence almost anything you can do. You were angry at Nelson when you cast the spell. Contaminated the whole thing with your anger.

I did not hurt them, she said stubbornly. I saved their lives.

I dont think you realize the ramifications, I said.

She spun to me and shrieked, I did not hurt them !

The air suddenly crackled with tension; vague, unfocused energy centered on the screaming girl. There was enough energy to manage something unfortunate, and it was clear that the kid wasnt in anything like control of her power. I shook my head and swung my left hand in a half circle, palm faced out, and simply drew in the magical energy her emotions had generated and grounded it into the earth before somebody got hurt.

A tingle of sensation washed up my arm, surprisingly intense. Her talent was not a modest one. I started to snap a reprimand for her carelessness, but aborted it before the first word. In the first place, she was ignorant of what shed done. Not innocent, but not wholly at fault, all the same. In the second place, shed just been through a nightmarish ordeal at the hands of wicked faeries. She probably couldnt have controlled her emotions, even if she wanted to.

She stared at me in surprise as the energy she had raised vanished. The rage and pain in her stance and expression faded to uncertainty.

I didnt hurt them, she said in a rather small voice. I saved them.

Molly, you need to know the facts. I know youre tired and scared. But that doesnt change a damned thing about what you did to them. You fucked around with their minds. You used magic to enslave them to your will, and the fact that you meant well by it doesnt matter at all. Somewhere inside of them both, they know what youve done to them, subconsciously. Theyll try to fight it. Regain control of their own choices. And that struggle is going to tear their psyches to shreds.

More tears fell from her eyes. B-buthellip;

I went on in a steady voice. Rosie was better off. She might recover from it in a few years. But Nelson is probably insane already. He might not ever make it back. And doing it to them has screwed around with your own head. Not as bad as Rosie and Nelson, but you damaged yourself, too. Itll make it harder for you to control impulses and your