The holidays had been rough on Molly. Seeing Thomas, their discussion and finding out he was in town for the long haul hadn't helped. But finally she found her way back to Murphy's apartment, stumbled to the room she stayed in and fell onto the bed without even disrobing.
Molly slept.
Red Court vampires surrounded her on all sides, their bat-like faces gaping in hatred and hunger, fangs dripping saliva. Their all black eyes didn't seem to be able to see anything but somehow Molly knew they were staring right through her. Their flabby stomachs were their vulnerable spots. They contained all of the blood they had injested that kept them alive, kept them powered. This was all good information, but Molly was unable to use any of it.
Molly's magics weren't aggressive. They weren't the impressive things that Harry's were, but they were effective in their subtlety. Her light show was blinding. Her sounds distracting. Her illusions so real they could fool almost all of the senses. She threw all of it at the Red Court. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn't. It was the didn't times that Sanya or Thomas or Mouse were there to help her.
It seemed to go on forever. She felt her energies waning, but she knew Harry wasn't done, hadn't finished what he came here to do. He wasn't dead either so they hadn't lost. Yet.
On the bed Molly whimpered in her sleep, her head lolling to one side. She continued to dream.