home."
The wolf led me to the wharf the stone had pointed to, and there I found a young man in dark slacks and a white jacket on the ground in a circle of wolves. He held one bleeding hand against his belly and was panting. A rifle lay on the ground nearby, next to a broken pair of sunglasses. He looked up at me and grimaced, his face pale behind his goatee.
"Ace," I said. I shook my head. "You were the one who hired the ghoul."
"I dont know what youre talking about," he lied. "Get these things away from me, Dresden. Let me go."
"Im running late, Ace, or Id have the patience for more chitchat." I nodded at the nearest wolf and said, "Tear his nose off."
Ace screamed and fell back, covering his face with both arms. I winked at the wolf and stepped forward to stand over the changeling. "Or maybe his ears. Or toes. What do you think, Ace? Whats going to make you talk fastest? Or should I just try them all one at a time?"
"Go to hell," Ace gasped. "You can do whatever you want, but Im not talking. Go to hell, Dresden."
Footsteps came up behind us. Meryl limped close enough to see Ace, and then just stood there for a minute, staring at him. Fix followed her, staring.
"Ace," Fix said. "You? You shot Meryl?"
The bearded changeling swallowed and lowered his arms, looking at Meryl and Fix. "Im sorry. Meryl, it was an accident. I wasnt aiming at you."
The green-haired changeling stared at Ace and said, "You were trying to kill Dresden. The only one besides Ron who has ever taken a step out of his way to help us. The only one who can help Lily."
"I didnt want to. But that was their price."
"Whose price?" Meryl asked in a monotone.
Ace licked his lips, eyes flicking around nervously. "I cant tell you. Theyll kill me."
Meryl stepped forward and kicked him in the belly. Hard. Ace doubled over and threw up, gasping and twitching and sobbing. He couldnt get enough breath to cry out.
"Whose price?" Meryl asked again. When Ace didnt speak, she shifted her weight as though to repeat the kick and he cried out.
"Wait," he whimpered. "Wait."
"Im done waiting," Meryl said.
"God, Ill tell you, Ill tell you, Meryl. It was the vampires. The Reds. I was trying to get protection from Slate, from that bitch Maeve. They said if I got rid of the wizard, theyd fix it."
"Bastards," I muttered. "So you hired the Tigress."
"I didnt have a choice," Ace whined. "If I hadnt done it, theyd have taken me themselves."
"You had a choice, Ace," Fix said quietly.
I shook my head. "How did you know wed be coming here?"
"The Reds," Ace said. "They told me where youd show up. They didnt say you wouldnt be alone. Meryl, please. Im sorry."
She faced him without expression. "Shut up, Ace."
"Look," he said. "Look, lets get out of here. All right? The three of us, we can get clear of this. We need to before we cant help it anymore."
"I dont know what youre talking about," Meryl said.
"You do," Ace said, leaning up toward Meryl, his eyes intent. "You feel it. You hear her Calling us. You feel it just like I do. The Queen Calls us. All of Winters blood."
"She Calls," Meryl said. "But Im not answering."
"If you dont want to run, then we should think about what were going to do. After this battle is over, Maeve and Slate are just going to come for us again. But if we declare a loyalty, if we Choose"
Meryl kicked Ace in the stomach again. "You worthless trash. All you ever think of is yourself. Get out of my sight before I kill you."
Ace gagged and tried to protest. "But"
Meryl snarled, "Now!"
The force of the word made Ace flinch away, and he turned it into a scramble before rising to run. The wolves all looked at me, but I shook my head. "Let him go."
Meryl shrugged her shoulders and lifted her face to the rain.
"You okay?" Fix asked her.
"Have to be," she said. Maybe it was just me, but her voice sounded a little lower, rougher. Trollier. Gulp. "Lets move, wizard."
"Yeah," I said. "Uh, yeah." I lifted the Gatekeepers stone and followed it down the wharf to the last pier, then down to the end of the last pier, empty of any ships or boats. A dozen wolves and two changelings followed me. Nothing but the cold waters of Lake