Rereid of Fool Moon, Part 3

Rereid of the Dresden Files

Book 2: Fool Moon

by Jim Butcher

Part 3

Chapter 7

Harry enters his apartment, greets his cat, and cooks himself dinner on his wood burning stove, sharing some with his cat, Mister. When he finished, he headed downstairs to, “Let the wizardry commence.” Harry wakes up Bob, a spirit of intellect that contained a dozen lifetimes worth of magical knowledge.

“What are we doing, now?” Bob sniggered. “More weight-loss potions?”

“Look, Bob,” I said. “That was only to get me through a rough month. Someone’s got to pay the rent around here.”

“All right,” Bob said smugly. “You going to get into breast enhancement, then? I’m telling you, that’s where the money is.”

“That isn’t what magic is for, Bob. How petty can you get?”

“Ah,” Bob said, his eye lights flickering. “The question is, how pretty can you get them? You aren’t a half-bad wizard, Dresden. You should think about how grateful all those beautiful women will be.”

Bob asks Harry when he last saw Susan, lecturing him on not taking his five sense and a body for granted. Harry answers that it's been a few weeks because they've both been busy. Harry tells Bob they're going to make some potions and research werewolves. Bob reveals there are more than one type of werewolf and Bob makes a Young Frankenstein joke. Harry gives Bob a rundown on the current case as he gets his potion making supplies ready.

Harry wants to make a “pick-me-up” potion and another to make him imperceptible to a werewolf. Bob says “super-coffee” is easy, but the second one is harder. High level magic that would cost a lot of money and suggest a blending brew instead. The blending brew works by making Harry part of the background. As Harry starts making the potions, he asks Bob to fill him in on werewolves.

Bob says he's an expert on “lupine theriomorph” which is a fancy word for human to animal shape shifting such as werebears, weretigers, and even werebuffalo (apparently a favorite of Native Americans). A classic werewolf is a human that uses magic to turn into a wolf. They keep their humanity but it takes them time to learn how to function as a “smell-oriented quadrupeds.” Harry asks about silver bullets and being turned into a werewolf if bit and Bob scoffs at that as Hollywood.

The next type of werewolf is when someone transmogrify you into a wolf, which violates a Law of Magic because, eventually, the human personality is lost and they become a wolf.

Another type is the Hexenwolf. You make a pact with a demon and get a wolf-hide belt. The belt contains a spirit of rage that protects your personality and intellect when you transform and handles all the physical aspects of the wolf, making a Hexenwolf very dangerous. Downside is, the spirit of rage effects your judgment when your transformed.

Another type is the lycanthrope, a human the channels a spirit of rage. They never transform physically, just mentally. They are stronger, faster, and heal rapidly. Norse berserkers were lycanthropes, and they are born not made.

The last type is the loup-garou. Someone is cursed to turn into a wolf-demon at the full moon. This type is closest to the Hollywood werewolf. Loup-garou are fast, stronger, and almost impossible to take down. The only way to hurt one is with silver weapons made from silver that you inherit.

Harry decides to send Bob out on reconnaissance until sunrise in exchange for new romance novels. Harry agrees and Bob leaves his skull and flows out of the laboratory. As Harry waits for the potions to finish, he begins to write up his werewolf report for Murphy.

My Thoughts

Spaghettios, grilled chicken and toast is a sad dinner, Harry.

Bob continues to have his mind in the gutter.

Super-coffee potion: Base (coffee), taste (doughnut), hearing (cock's crow), smell (fresh soap), touch (washcloth), sight (beam of dawn sunshine), mind (a to-do list), spirit (cheerful music).

Blending potion: Base (water), taste (lettuce), hearing (rustle of wind) smell (deodorant), touch (white cotton), sight (plastic wrap), mind (blank paper), spirit (elevator music).

I love potion making. Shame this is the last time Harry makes potions. Come on, Butcher. There are like 14 of these books. You couldn't throw potion making into one of them.

Can't settle on which is your favorite werewolf, just use them all. I really like Butcher's ability to weave in various, often contradictory, mythologies together into Dresden's world and make it feel organic. My favorite, Hexenwolf. I like me some German.

Chapter 8

Sleep deprived, Harry goes to police headquarters the next morning to drop off the werewolf report for Murphy. As Harry heads upstairs, he notices the cops stare uneasy at him caused by the rumors he's associated with Marcone. He bumps into Susan who flirts with Harry and fishes for information on the Lobo Killings. Because of non-disclosure agreements, Harry can't tell Susan anything.

Harry asks why Susan is here and she playfully offers a trade of information. Harry gives in and tells her he's dropping off a report on werewolves. Susan tells Harry she's putting a story together on how Internal Affairs is trying to fire the best “preternatural investigator.” Susan continues to fish for information.

Susan is trying to get the supernatural to be more mainstream and her paper, the Arcane, to be taken more seriously. She hopes to get a photo of something supernatural one day. Harry points out that magical energies mess up cameras and he's worried about her safety. Susan wonders if a telephoto lens would work and Harry pointedly refuses to help her, for her own protection. Susan is angered by Harry's overprotectiveness and storms off.

Outside of SI office, Harry runs into Agent Denton who looks as tired as Harry feels. Harry tells him he needs to drop something off with Murphy and Denton warns him that she's speaking with Internal Affairs and it would be a bad time for Harry to shop up. Harry asks if Denton believes in the supernatural.

Denton straightened his tie. “What I believe doesn’t matter, Mr. Dresden. What is important is that a lot of the scum out there believe in it. It affects the way they think and operate. If I could make use of your advice to solve this case, I would, the same as any other law officer.” He glanced at me and added, “Personally, I think you are either slightly unstable or a very intelligent charlatan. No offense.”

Denton offers to take the report and drop it off for Harry. Harry agrees and hands over the report. Denton asks if he can take a look and Harry shrugs. Denton stares in disbelief at the contents and then promises to give it to Murphy. As Denton turns to leave, Harry causally asks Denton what he's holding back about the case. Denton is confused, and says he's not holding back anything and Harry has a hard time reading his body language.

Harry finds a pay phone and calls Murphy's office and lets her now Denton will be dropping off the report. Outside the building as Harry heads to his car, young Agent Harris walks up and asks if he can hire Harry. Harry is surprised, and asks why. Harris explains he has a lead but Denton won't follow up, there's not enough evidence.

Harris explains about a gang calling themselves the Streetwolves. They have a rough, spooky reputation. Rumor has it the gang has strange powers. Harry figures out that Denton actually can't go down there to poke around and wants Harry, who's outside the “legal channels” to take a look. Harry agrees, in exchange for what the FBI and CPD has on him. Harris protest, saying Denton doesn't like to bend the rules, but Harry points out that's exactly what Denton's doing. Harris agrees. As Harris walks away, Harry has a bad feeling, but thinks the gains outweigh the risks.

“Cheer up, Harry,” I told myself. “You’re just going to go poke around a biker gang’s lair. Ask them if they happen to have killed some people lately. What could possibly go wrong?”

My Thoughts

Susan and Harry continue there flirty banter, which is even more full of double etendre the last time. Susan is very passionate at getting her paper into the mainstream. And why not, she's a great reporter that could probably be very successful in the mainstream, but is passionate about the supernatural. She thinks getting photographic proof will do that, but Harry just points out that people don't want to believe in magic and things that go bump in the night.

Harry, you are far to overprotective. It backfires with Murphy and looks like its backfiring with Susan. No dinner with Susan for you.

Agent Denton is an enigma to Harry. His intuition is telling him something is off about Denton, he just can't quite figure it out. Then, Denton sends Harris to send Harry off after the Streetwolves only moments after calling Harry a charlatan and fraud. What changed is mind so fast. Something in Harry's report struck a nerve. Plus, according to Harris, it is out of character for Denton to do something so against the rules.

Chapter 9

Harry arrives where Harris told him the Streetwolves hang out and finds the FULL MOON GARAGE and is surprised how on the nose that is. As Harry looks around, he speculates if the Alphas are biker thugs/werewolves in training and that the woman is there connection with the Streetwolves.

Harry enters the garage and finds it dark inside. Harry here's movement and identifiers himself as Harry Dresden and asks to speak to the Streetwolves. Out of the darkness, a man (we later learn is named Parker) tells him to keep his hands out, they know he's both a wizard and works for the cops. Harry here's a pump action shotgun and holds his hands up while channeling energy into his shield bracelet.

Harry asks for Parker to step out of the darkness and to talk with him. Parker asks about what, and Harry asks what they know about the killings. Suddenly, Harry here's a lot of movement, maybe a dozen people, and a female voice says to kill him. Others join in, and a “kill him” chant starts. Harry feels a feral energy building in the room.

Directly in front of me, not fifteen feet away, stood the large shape of a man holding a shotgun. “Stop it,” he snarled, turning his head toward the others in the room. I could see his body responding as the energy grew, growing tenser, more ready. “Fight it. Hold it in, dammit. You can’t let it loose here. There will be cops all over us.”

When his head turned, I darted toward the doorway. I kept my left palm up and turned out toward the leader, the one with the shotgun, and held on to my shield as hard as I could.

The man fired the shotgun and the others chased after Harry. The shot was deflected by Harry's shield and Harry saw his assailants were half-naked men and women that looked like berserkers. A big man was between Harry and the door so Harry punched him and activated a ring on his hand. The ring stored kinetic energy and the force through the man six feet.

Harry makes it outside and throws himself into the Blue Beetle and frantically tries to start it. His car doesn't start. He looks up to see Parker struggling to hold the frenzied Streetwolves inside. Harry and Parker make eye contact and a soulgaze started.

I felt his emotions like they were my own. Fury beneath rigid control, the ocean beating at a tide wall. The fury was directed at me, Dresden, at the man who had invaded his territory, challenged his authority, and driven his people out of control, endangering them. I saw that he was the leader of the lycanthropes called the Streetwolves, men and women with the minds and souls of beasts, and that he was aging, was not as strong as he once had been. Others, like the woman earlier, were beginning to challenge his authority. Today’s events might tear him from leadership, and he would never live through it.

If Parker was to live, I had to die. He had to kill me, pure and simple, and he had to do it alone to prove his strength to the pack. That was the only thing that kept him from coming at my throat that very second.

Worse, he didn’t know a damned thing about the last month’s killings.

The soulgaze ends and Harry manages to start the Beetle and wildly drives off. As the adrenaline bleeds off, Harry berates himself for being so stupid. Harry realizes the pack is going to come after him. Parker has no other option. Harry considers fleeing town, but that won't solve his problems. He's a full-fledged wizard and won't go down like a chump. Harry steels his resolve, and decides he will kill Parker if it comes to that. Harry doesn't want to kill Parker, though. While Parker is not human, he's close enough for Harry to feel a great deal of self-loathing for doing it.

I didn’t want to believe that killing was deep inside of me. I didn’t want to think about the part of me that took a dark joy in gathering all the power it could and using it as I saw fit, everything else be damned. There was power to be had in hatred, too, in anger and in lust, in selfishness and in pride. And I knew that there was some dark corner of me that would enjoy using magic for killing—and then long for more. That was black magic, and it was easy to use. Easy and fun. Like Legos.

I parked the Beetle in the lot of my office building and rubbed at my eyes. I didn’t want to kill anybody, but Parker and his gang might not give me any choice. I might have to do a lot of killing, if I was going to live.

I tried not to think too much about what sort of person it might be who survived. I would burn that bridge when I came to it.

Harry heads up to his office, opens the door and finds Gentleman Johnny Marcone seated at his desk, his bodyguard Hendricks behind him. “Ah, Mr. Dresden. Good. We need to talk.”

My Thoughts

Wow. Just walk in and say, “Hi.” That is the stupidest plan you've ever had, Harry. And now, you have a gang of lycanthropes berserkers out for your blood. *Clap, clap* Way to go, genius.

Nice soulgaze and characterization on Parker. The fury held in by experience. He could let his people tear Harry apart but then the cops would be all over them. Clearly, other members of his pack are not so forward thinking and one wonders what would happen to them if Harry does kill Parker. If there's no one else in the group who has any self-control, of it that female gets control, it would probably be a bloody and spectacular end to the Streetwolves.

Berserker biker gangs. That's not something I would want after me. The only way out for Harry is to defeat Parker and maybe the entire pack. Harry, rightly so, is not looking forward to having to kill that many. Harry, as long as you're worried about how killing someone is going to affect you, you'll be fine. Its when you stop worrying about it that you're in trouble.