Harry Dresden (Wizard) (thewinterknight) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2013-11-18 20:45:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !log, ~2013 november, ~25 points, ~~harry dresden (thewinterknight), ~~karrin murphy (karrinmurphysi), ~~lily (summerslady), ~~nico di angelo (sonofhades) |
Who: Harry, Murphy, Nico, and Lily
What: More deals with Faeries
Where: Murphy’s apartment
When: Backdated, Friday 11/15
Warnings | Status: None | Complete
Harry was angry, but doing a good job of hiding it. He hated dealing with the Sidhe, and he especially hated that Murphy had convinced him another offer was the best bet they had to fix Nico. Logically, he knew she was right, emotionally he didn’t give a shit. But he also hated that he doubted what they were doing. The kid had made a deal with Lily, did they have a right to negate what he wanted? Why? What would Harry do if someone told him he didn’t have a choice?
Harry looked between Nico and Murphy, then his eyes jumped to Lily.
She was waiting patiently, seemingly ignoring them and watching Murphy, though Harry heavily suspected she was taking it all in. Everything said and unsaid.
She’d asked Nico for his sword, iron and used to reap souls, he’d denied her. She’d smiled and rose to leave, then Murphy had been stupid enough to make the bargain herself. Harry had objected immediately.
“She’s mine,” he said. Lily had only smiled at him, made a comment on the interesting nature of a Knight’s choice in pets, then negated his entire claim by saying she wasn’t claiming her as Summer’s own. It had pissed off both Harry and Murphy. Murphy because she was still clinging hard to that independent woman act and Harry because the Winter Mantle didn’t like being bossed around or having its toys played with by anyone but it.
So still reeling, Harry made a sound in his throat and faced Lily. “No,” he said finally, breaking the angry silence that settled over them. “I’ll make a deal with you myself.”
Lily finally looked at him. “No,” she said simply. “I don’t want anything from you yet, Sir Knight. In the future I’m sure that will change.” Her eyes traveled back to Murphy, and she rose, approaching her.
“What are you willing to give?”
***
Murphy knew that it was stupid to make deals with fairies. Really stupid. And she saw the anger in Harry’s eyes when she volunteered. But the kid had been tricked into a deal, and it wasn’t fair. At least she knew what she was getting herself into. It wouldn’t be fun, no. She knew that. She’d seen some of what the fairies did, and even though Lily seemed nicer than most, she was still one of the Sidhe. And according to Harry, that sweetness could be very deceptive indeed.
She looked over at Nico, who wasn’t really paying attention to the whole thing. In fact, he hadn’t been paying much attention since he’d firmly refused to give over his sword. He hadn’t shown emotion, no, but there was an intense stubbornness there, and it was obvious he wasn’t about to part with it.
He looked at Lily, then at Harry, then over at Murphy, before going to sit cross-legged on the grass and wait for them to finish.
Murphy looked over at Lily and sighed.
“He gave you his emotions. Let me give you one of mine, instead.”
***
Lily smiled that friendly smile and looked around Murphy’s apartment.
“An emotion for emotions,” she said. Her eyes landed on Nico, sitting there waiting to die, then traveled to Harry, whose anger was seething under his skin. It was like being in Lloyd Slate’s presence, it made Lily’s skin crawl. Or it would if she had a normal reaction to him, but Summer’s strength burned steadily inside her, both reassuring and calming.
“Okay,” she agreed a moment later, her alien eyes coming to rest on Murphy. She watched her. “An emotion for the return of his.
“I want your love.”
***
Murphy stared at her blankly for a long moment. Her love? She frowned, crossing her arms across her chest and looking at the other woman. Only, she wasn’t a woman. Not really. She was something absolutely other...as anything would have to be that even asked for something like that.
She absolutely refused to look at Harry as she considered this, pointedly refusing to turn her head in his direction. Her feelings for him couldn’t play into this. This kid’s well being was more important than something that would probably never even come to pass. And God knew that love in her life had brought her more pain than good.
“For how long?” she asked, clearly considering.
***
Murphy wasn’t asking the right questions. Harry brimmed with unbridled rage and turned on Lily. “What’s the catch?” he asked harshly.
Lily looked at him.
“It’s not your deal,” she said. “The answer to that comes with a price.”
Harry shut up and looked at Murphy, glaring daggers so she’d notice him. Satisfied Harry wouldn’t interrupt again, Lily turned her attention back to Murphy.
“Until it runs its course.” She opened her hands, turning her palms upward in a gesture of supplication. Harry didn’t believe it for a second, that sweet little smile and the kind look in her eyes. He’d seen the Sidhe in battle, they could never be anything but beautifully monstrous beneath the surface.
And Karrin was walking into a trap.
***
Murphy glanced over at Harry, even though she didn’t want to. The daggers he was staring into her back were burning, and she couldn’t have ignored them no matter how hard she’d tried. She met his eyes for a brief moment before turning back to LIly.
“What’s the catch?” she asked, repeating Harry’s question. He knew more about the faerie stuff than she did, so his questions were bound to make more sense.
***
“You don’t love,” she said shortly, and managed a perfectly human shrug. “This was the basis of your bargain,” she reminded Murphy. “Those are the terms I set. In return for his emotions, you give me your love.”
Harry shook his head at Murphy.
“You’re not asking the right questions, Murph.”
Lily smiled at them both, but whatever it meant was anyone’s guess.
***
Murphy hesitated, fear growing in her heart as she looked between Harry and Lily. She didn’t want to do this. God, it was terrifying! And her love? All of it? Forever? What did it mean...however long it played out?
She looked back at Lily’s alien eyes.
“So the deal is that I give you my love, as an emotion - not that I have to actively love you, sorry, not in to women. For how long? How many months? Or how many years? I want to know. And what love? All of it? Will I no longer love coffee? Or will it just refer to my love towards living creatures? Or people? And if I agree, you will give Nico all of his emotions back?”
***
Harry snorted but contained his sudden amusement. Good job, Murph. Force Lily to give answers.
“No,” she agreed, “your emotion, I have no use for you loving me.” And the human free will interrupted any attempts to make them love. “I don’t make temporary deals,” it wasn’t a matter of months and years to her. Why would she bargain it only to have it nullified in a year? That wasn’t part of Murphy’s condition.
As to what it referred to? Lily didn’t care and therefore felt it unnecessary to answer. That wasn’t her problem.
“In exchange, I will give his emotions back.”
**
Murphy was confused and didn’t exactly understand what it was Lily wanted. Not precisely, like she would have wanted to. But she didn’t seem to have much choice in the matter, if Nico was to get better. She’d been willing to sacrifice more than that, before, to save the innocent. And even if Nico had made the decision willingly, he was still too young to understand exactly what he’d done, which made him still an innocent, in Murphy’s book.
She took around and looked at Harry, deep regret in her eyes. There wasn’t enough time to explain to him what she felt for him. She didn’t even know if she could find words for it herself. So she stuck with the classics, mouthing a simple, love you, to him, before turning back to Lily and steeling her resolve.
“I give you my love and you give Nico’s emotions back to him, immediately. It’s a deal.”
***
Harry’s heart pounded in his chest and he stepped forward half a step to intercept them, but the words had already come out of Murphy’s mouth. Too late.
“Then we’re agreed,” Lily said, and closing the distance between she and Murphy, she leaned down to kiss Karrin on the forehead, and when she pulled away she took with her Murphy’s ability to love.
Turning to Nico then, Lily stroked her hand through his dark hair once, then she was gone. She simply disappeared.
***
Nico gasped, then let out something that could only be described as an unearthly cry of despair before collapsing onto the grass. He didn’t sob - he couldn’t. He hurt too much for that, and he didn’t have the strength after the onslaught of misery that had slammed into him.
He just lay on the ground, whimpering, the plants in Murphy’s apartment dying, and the whole room seeming to dissolve into shadow.
Murphy looked at the kid, then over at Harry, giving him a sad, almost sickly smile, and going over to Nico, putting a hand on his shoulder. She knew she’d done the right thing, but she couldn’t summon the intensity of emotion that had made her do what she’d done. It was gone, and gone forever.
***
Harry would worry about Murphy later, because Nico's sudden despair was more pressing. Crossing to the kid, Harry dug around in his pockets for something to help with the wizarding. He didn't want to look at him with the sight, so he just stooped low into a crouch and drew up his will. Forget the gimmicks and the gadgets or whatever, there was nothing in his pockets to help at the moment..
Funneling his will, Harry muttered dormius, dorme repeatedly, and put Nico into a dreamless sleep. Let him sleep until they could find another way to help with his pain.
It was the same spell he'd worked on Murphy when she took that psychic attack a few years ago. He looked at Karrin, frowning.
"Now what?"
***
“Now...someone needs to take him back home and let him sleep. And...I don’t know. Whenever he wakes up, he’s going to hurt. And we can’t let him sleep forever.” She shook her head, frustrated. She’d known that this was a possibility, but she hadn’t thought far enough ahead, apparently.
“Is there any way to...push his emotions under, and let him get used to them a little at a time? Because otherwise, we’re just going to have to let him deal with them. And that’s not going to be fun for anyone.”
She looked away from Harry, not wanting to meet his eyes. She’d done a stupid thing, hadn’t she?
***
“Yeah, I’ll just get Molly to dig around his head a little and see what that does,” he spat harshly. He knew it wasn’t Murphy’s fault, but there was the Mantle’s anger mixed with Harry’s own fury. It wasn’t a pleasant thing. He stood his full height, and when he gripped his staff the runes that were carved along its length ignited in a fiery glow from tip to base.
“Take this,” he said and pushed it toward her, so he could stoop and lift Nico, who weighed all of 80lbs soaking wet. “I’m taking him back to my apartment, better he wake somewhere familiar. He won’t wake until sunrise at the earliest. We have time.”
For what?
He didn’t know.
God he didn’t know.
“I’ll call you when I learn something new.” And extended his hand for her to pass his staff back.
***
Murphy nodded, handing his staff back to him. At least the kid was himself again, for better or for worse. And she couldn’t believe that it could possibly be a bad idea to remove the Fae’s touch from him. It was the right thing to do.
But when she met Harry’s eyes, and saw the anger and the worry for Nico, she faltered in her certainty.
“I did what I had to do,” she said defensively, setting her jaw in that stubborn way she had.
***
“Yeah, and he’s the one that gets to suffer for it. Let alone whatever Lily’s done to you.” He shook his head. They’d worry about it later. One thing at a time. One human crisis at a time. “And he still owes her a favor.”
Murphy hadn’t explored her options enough, no conditions, no negotiations. Whatever Lily intended to do had been exactly what Murphy had let happen. Harry sighed and closed his eyes briefly.
“We’ll figure it out,” he said, probably more for his benefit than anyone else’s. “I’ll talk to you later, Murph.”
And he left.