Chapter 3: Thrice Again, Doomed

The first week of university was a fascinating experience. The first time around, he had been very stressed, scrambling to manage the new course loads and living arrangements. The second time had been even worse, with having to maintain the image of a battle maniac, not to mention coming off the front line of a war. This time, she didn't really have any pretenses she had to keep, and she was finally in the Chicago School of Economics!

Otherwise, it was actually a little boring, as with the obligatory orientation days and introductory courses, she didn't actually learn anything new. That was not to say she was not busy, as while she was more used to it, sorting through her living arrangements and various other requisite tasks still took time.

The only fly in the ointment was the constant feeling of being watched. She had expected some scrutiny due to her age, but this time she was actually old enough that it wasn't readily apparent.

Atrophied instincts resurfaced, and she found herself moving swiftly from cover to cover, head on a swivel.

Alert as she was, she spotted her stalker one evening, and she ducked out of line of sight to disengage. There should be no need for confrontation and spilled blood.

A burst of movement–Pain

She was slammed to the ground.

Shortly before Grave Peril, October 2001 

The first time Harry Dresden met Tania Raith was not actually all that memorable on its own. Sure, she was a cute and unusually mature kid, but at that time, she hadn't really been hit with the puberty stick yet, so she hadn't seemed all that strange. Tania had just been the student tutor from St. Mark's Academy for the Gifted and Talented that Irwin Pounder's mom had arranged to help him with his schoolwork. That really should have been his first clue that there was more to her, but Harry probably wouldn't have remembered that meeting had he not been chaperoning a mini-Bigfoot (Midfoot?) at the time. Her odd suggestions for dealing with bullies was also memorable—bribing bullies with candy shouldn't have worked at all!

The second time the two of them had crossed paths was at his office shortly before that damn ball.

Now, some people might wonder why a wizard had a walk-in office like some pediatrician or consulting firm, and Harry would tell them that hey, he needed a way to pay the bills, just like any normal person. Honestly, the stuff he did for a living, mostly finding lost objects or people, wasn't all that different in principle than what many other practitioners (or mundane workers) did, but no other wizard had thought of the bright idea of marketing to the general public. True, magic wasn't supposed to be common knowledge, but very few people took someone listed as "wizard" in the phone book that seriously. Those that did were those already in the know (and usually vaguely annoyed by his setup), the weirdos, or the desperate. Tania had been in the third category.

If he had been older and wiser, he would have seen that meeting as a giant warning sign, but that was hindsight talking. Tania had knocked politely right after he had stepped into his office. Fortunately, he had been punctual that day. At a glance, she was only a bit taller than average for a woman at that time and already quite striking, if not supernaturally beautiful. Funnily enough, Harry had barely noticed her looks at first, since she was deathly pale and looked a few moments from keeling over.

"Are you alright, miss?" he'd asked, catching her by the shoulders as she swayed on her feet. She had felt cold; he could feel her shivering, even through her scuffed UChicago jacket.

"Sorry," she'd apologized, brushing off his concerns, "are you a Mr. Harry Dresden? The one listed as a Wizard who offers consulting services?" There had been no skepticism in her voice, unlike most of the more sensible mundane customers he had, and back then, he hadn't thought she was involved with the spooky side of things. She had looked sane enough.

"That's right, miss," he replied, "though you look like you need a doctor, which isn't in my skill set." He assumed that she was naturally pale, but this was closer to undead pale than sunburned-on-a-cloudy-day Irish pale.

The young woman stared at him for a beat, eyes not fully focused, before pulling herself together and shrugging off his grip. "Ah, where are my manners? I am Tania Raith," she declared, offering him her hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you."

He shook her hand. It was cold.

At the time, neither of them realized the implicit threat such a greeting could be. Sometimes Harry wondered just how differently his first impressions of her would have been colored if he'd known more about The White Court then.

He shuffled the sick looking girl into his office and set her down in a chair, before pulling over another chair and sitting down facing her. "Seriously, Miss Raith, I'm more than happy to help you if I can, but you really look like you need to go to a doctor."

She glanced around the room, eyes flicking rapidly over the odd looking mix of typical waiting room chairs, old kerosene lamps, and the table stacked with pamphlets discussing some basics about magic sitting in the same pile as some old magazines. It probably wasn't what she expected, and he noticed her head tilt quizzically at the old lamps. His magic disrupted a lot of modern technology, especially anything that ran on electricity, so he was stuck in a different age of appliances. Harry had avoided adding anything stereotypically magical–that was dumb and gave off the wrong impression when he had more serious customers. It looked more like an eye doctor's waiting room than anything else.

After a long moment, Tania focused back on him, sharp blue eyes boring into him appraisingly, making it hard to keep his focus on her nose. A Soulgaze in her state would definitely not be healthy. "That would have been my first choice, had my state been because of a normal assault." She had been attacked? Harry couldn't see any obvious injuries, but on closer inspection, her clothes did look more damaged than he would expect from normal wear and tear. Tania narrowed her eyes at him. "Tell me, Wizard, what do you know about vampires?"

Harry eyed the weirdly cold, ridiculously pale girl speculatively. If she had been attacked by a Red or Black Court vampire, she would likely already be dead (or a vampire too). She looked drained enough that being fed on by a White Court vampire was a possibility, but those not in the know usually wouldn't usually describe the White Court as vampires, especially if they were as high as a kite. Also, wouldn't she be freaking out more if she had managed to survive something like that? She was still shivering though, and it wasn't atypically cold for this time of year.

"Why do you want to know?" She was probably a college girl, and looked like she came from a family with a fair bit of cash, given the UChicago jacket, so Harry wouldn't be too surprised if this was the result of a prank gone wrong or some sort of idle curiosity.

Tania's eyes hardened, and her body tensed, ready for a fight, despite how sick she looked. Hmm…so not just curiosity then. "I was attacked by something out of a bad Dracula movie," she shot back sharply, eyes glinting fiercely at him, "and I would like to be less helpless if something similar occurs." Harry could respect that motivation, but surviving a Black Court Vampire? That was next to impossible for a normal human! It probably was a damn ghoul or zombie.

Harry leaned forward, checking for deception. "Describe what happened, if you don't mind." He eyed the girl carefully, noting a slight twitch in her face and a hand reflexively grasping for a weapon. But she didn't flinch, nor did she look away. Huh, maybe she was telling the truth, but didn't realize the danger she had been in. Maybe she was just fearless. Either way, she seemed to have decent survival instincts, and they were clearly running haywire. Harry kind of knew the feeling, coming down from that kind of fear-induced adrenaline spike usually left him twitching.

The girl–Tania nodded, "I had been taking a walk last evening, when I noticed someone stalking me." Did that happen often to her? She was talking about it like it was no big deal. "I thus attempted to cut through an alley to get to my apartment quicker and break line of sight." That might have worked against a typical, human stalker. "But whoever it was, they were far faster than I had expected." She paused, pulling her wan face into a grimace. He gestured for her to continue.

"I was hit hard from behind and knocked to the ground," she began, carefully gauging his reaction, "I rolled over and saw what looked to be…a walking corpse." Yeah that was probably a zombie or a ghoul, concerning, but not a vampire. "Then it started talking, something about revenge and that I would make a pretty trophy." She continued with sneer, her teeth gritting (not in anger, to clamp down on her shivers). Hmm…that could be a Black Court Vampire. She hadn't been turned, he had felt a pulse when they shook hands, so then how did she escape? Seeing his disbelief, she raised her chin defiantly, "I know what I saw, not to mention I know the smell of rotting flesh." Her eyes dulled for a second, momentarily staring into the distance. Where would she have learned that?

Harry waved placatingly, "No, no, I believe you about the walking corpse, but how did you survive? Vampires are really nasty." Her eyes widened slightly, then narrowed in thought.

"Frankly, I am also unsure, dying now would be just about what I expect from that Bastard!" she muttered under her breath. Harry was a bit taken aback, she seemed far too put together for a normal person being introduced to the spooky side in such a violent way. But she did actually look drained. And, judging by her clenched fists and closed-off posture, this kind of ranting could be a defense mechanism. He coughed into his fist, hoping to snap her out of it.

Tania stopped mid-sentence, eyes widening in embarrassment. "Ah, I am sorry for wasting your time." She rose to her feet unsteadily. Harry shot up and caught her as she stumbled, before gently settling her back into the chair. Yep, still had a pulse, and definitely rattled.

"Woah there," he said softly, trying to calm her down, "let's say I believe everything you said so far," which he did, what he didn't was a Black Court Vampire letting one of their victims walk away. She nodded skeptically. "If you were really attacked by a vampire, did they let you go? How did you get away?"

Her face darkened (did her eyes flash brighter for a second?). "I am unsure myself exactly what occurred afterwards." She fingered the large school crest on her jacket. "The thing flinched away from touching this as if it burned. It also seemed to glow for a second." Blacks and Reds were repelled by symbols of faith, though this is the first time Harry had heard of a school crest having such an effect. It probably meant something more to her than just the school. "This was one factor that led me to conclude that it was a vampire," she looked down at her scuffed jacket, "though I was not aware that the University of Chicago Crest was a Holy Symbol."

The wizard shrugged, "A lot of vampires are repelled by the Faith part of that instead of the symbol itself." He gestured towards her school crest, "That being a phoenix probably helps too." The girl pursed her lips, perturbed.

"Really? And here I thought that weakness was a product of mere wishful thinking." Huh, he wasn't expecting a cynic to accept being attacked by a monster so readily, or to repel it with Faith. Kind of ironic.

"It's definitely a real thing."

Her lips twisted into a frown, before her face smoothed out into neutrality. She shook her head, "I cannot clearly recall what happened after that." Her voice caught, forcing her to pause, and her pupils dilated. "The next thing… I remember clearly…is waking up on my back in the alley." She pursed her lips, and clenched her arms around herself. "No rotting corpse in sight."

Damn, Harry felt a bit bad for making her revisit the attack, but he couldn't help if he didn't know more. This whole thing sounded kind of weird. She didn't have any visible injuries, so the vampire must have fled without feeding. A freshly raised one, maybe? There was most likely more to this. On one hand, Harry wasn't an expert on vampires, though he had some unfortunate firsthand knowledge, such as that some vampires liked to 'play with their food'. Ick. On the other hand, it also seemed that Tania wasn't telling him everything, which may just be her not wanting to rehash the details of the event, but it could mean she was hiding something.

Either way: "Sorry to say, but it'll probably be back, vampires aren't exactly known for taking 'no' for an answer." To his surprise, the girl just nodded, not really showing fear. Stars and stones! Either she really was damn brave or had an excellent poker face. He knew he'd be paranoid for weeks if something like that happened to him.

"What would you suggest for a defense against such a creature?" Tania's eyes locked onto him, blue eyes seeming oddly silvery in the dim light. On a closer look, she was tense, weight shifted forward in the chair, ready to spring into motion. Seems she did understand the danger, at least to some extent. She risked consulting the phone book wizard, after all. "Of course, I would be willing to compensate you for this information."

"Hold up," Harry interjected with a wave of his hand, "You don't have to worry about that, and keep in mind that I am not an expert on vampires just because I'm a wizard." She frowned, but nodded in acceptance.

"Now, there are more than one kind of vampire. First of all, there's the nasties like the one you saw. They're called Black Court vampires, and they're basically Stoker Dracula: allergic to the Sun and Faith, can't enter homes without invitation, drink blood and are really strong. Stoker actually got most of their weaknesses right."

Tania raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "A fiction writer accurately described a supernatural monster?" Her eyes narrowed shrewdly, "He must have had a source."

Harry shrugged, "That's what I've heard." That was a bit of a weird thing to focus on. Maybe she was just trying to distract herself?

"Why aren't these monsters more common knowledge, if they exist and are so dangerous?" Now that was a pretty tricky question.

"It's not in most monsters' interest to be widely known. Part of their power comes from being unknown. Turn them into real things to most people and then there are suddenly enough angry mortals who can figure out how to screw them with their weaknesses. It's why the Black Court got real cut down to size after Stoker."

"So why not publish more information?" Tania inquired, "I would have certainly appreciated being aware of such threats."

Harry shrugged, "Magic is dangerous, especially for normal humans, not to mention all the nasty things that want to get people to make bad deals. Some jerks would benefit from being more known, as much as others would get screwed." She did have a point though.

"Of course, I always knew the paranormal was full of fraudulent information." The young girl stared deadpan at the actual wizard. He wasn't sure if that was a joke, so he just shrugged.

"Back to the Black Court vampires: Usually, they drain their victims dry, so I don't know why this one just let you go."

"Perhaps it wants to turn me? That is something vampires can do, correct?" Tania asked, a tinge of worry in her voice.

Harry shrugged again, "They can definitely turn people they kill, but… I can't say I know how they think, aside from them being pretty evil."

"Then what would you recommend for preventing another such attack?" Tania continued, seemingly unperturbed by the revelation, but her voice wavered slightly. "Judging by your description, it's highly likely I won't survive another encounter without taking some countermeasures. Are you going to tell me to wear a necklace of garlic every night? Perhaps I should clasp a crucifix in my sleep?" Tania arched a sardonic eyebrow as she ran through the Stoker-approved anti-vampire insurance policies, but for some reason that glint of sophisticated amusement made her look dignified, even through her clear desperation and pale complexion.

It was enough to draw a snort out of Harry, which he quickly tried to ignore by answering. "That might work, but garlic powder loaded in a shotgun or a balloon filled with Holy Water tends to work better." Tania's eyes gleamed (okay, that wasdefinitely silver), almost maniacally. "Though I would say your best bet is to skip town," Harry continued, hoping that she wouldn't try going after the thing and get herself killed (or turned). "Either that, or staying in a place with a strong threshold."

Tania frowned, "the first option is not feasible for me, what would be required for a strong threshold?"

"Well a door for one," Harry snarked, to which Tania simply nodded (not the time!), "leading to a place where you live. How strong the threshold is depends on how attached you are to the place or how much it feels like home. It helps if you have a loving relative."

"Then that option is unfeasible for me as well," she mused with a frown.

"You from out of town?" Tania was a European name, wasn't it? And UChicago did take many international students. Her English was perfect though.

"No," she shook her head, "My family and I live near the city, but it does not feel like home."

Oh, now he felt bad for asking. "You'll probably be alright, as long as you don't go out after the sun's down. That, and make sure to stick to places with a lot of people, which will probably mean they won't go after you right there."

"I suppose it is a bit hard to conceal a rotting corpse that is still walking around."

"Not as hard as it probably should be, but typically, the spooky side of things doesn't like being out in the open when there's a lot of eyes on them."

"Symbols of Faith, the sun, Holy Water, remaining behind thresholds, witnesses, stake in the heart and garlic?"

"Yeah, that's a decent summary, but I don't know how much they will help if you really have this kind of smelly, undead stalker."

Tania eyed him up speculatively, "Are you suggesting I hire you to be a bodyguard?"

"Uh, sort of. I was going to say I could try to track the one that attacked you, if we can figure out where it is then you'll know whether or not it's likely to come back for you."

"A reasonable idea, though how will you accomplish this, and how much do you require of me?" Was it just him, or did the idea of fighting back light a fire in her?

"Some part of your attacker, if possible." That drew a frown.

"I don't believe I have any such component." Tania deflated slightly, face turned in a frown as she looked around his office thoughtfully. Then her eyes flicked back to him and he was again subjected to scrutiny. "Are you not capable of being a bodyguard? I can most likely pay a reasonable rate for you."

Harry shook his head, "I could, but it would not solve your problem, exactly, not to mention that being around me will probably draw more attention to you, not less, especially from the spooky side." At the time, he hadn't realized just how much more attention would be coming his way soon.

Tania sighed, slouching slightly, eyes narrowed in thought. Harry really wanted to help her, but he got the sense that keeping her safe in a circle wasn't going to be something she would be OK with.

"Setting aside that issue for the moment," she began again, "you mentioned that there are other vampires. Will I have to be concerned about those too?"

"Yeah, possibly. They're actually more common than the one that attacked you, at least if we got the perpetrator correct."

"I presume they have some similar weaknesses?"

"Yes and No. The Red Court Vampires are the blood drinking bat-thing kind of vampire. Literally bloodthirsty, and can pass off as normal humans using a skinsuit. Also really strong and fast, though not quite as nasty as the Black."

"What of their weaknesses?"

"They're also weakened by sunlight and Symbols of Faith, but not as much as the Stoker type. They can also get pretty screwed if they cross a threshold, from what I remember, and are weaker if they lose the blood they feed on."

"So slightly more human, more physically vulnerable, but fewer mystical weaknesses?"

"Basically. The White Court is more that way too. They feed on emotions, like lust, to drain life from their victims. Mostly human aside from that and extra strength and speed."

"Feeding on emotion? That sounds more like a succubus."

"Hey, I didn't name them." Harry shrugged his shoulders disarmingly.

"I suppose you wouldn't know why vampires are named after colors, then. Surely these White Court have more powers? Otherwise they don't seem that great of a threat."

She really liked nitpicking, didn't she? "Yeah, they can enthrall people. All vampires can, I think, at least somewhat. But the White Court are better at it, they can make you want to be in their thrall, the others basically drug or make a meat puppet out of you. Get a taste of their come-hither, and it's real hard to say no."

Tania's face twisted into a terrifying grimace and her eyes blazed silver(she was definitely a scion or something). "Of course they do, Damn it all!"

Her face suddenly went slack, eyes wide in horrible realization. "No…" Oh no, did she know someone who got sucked in?

"Tell me their weaknesses." Her voice trembled, her earlier excitement evaporating, though he could still hear her resolve.

Ah, Hell's Bells, it was definitely someone she cared about.

"Most of the more 'mystical' stuff doesn't affect them, but crossing thresholds makes them basically a normal human, I think."

"That's it? There's no defense against their mind control?! No magic bullet?"

"Not a special one, as far as I know." Back then, he didn't know.

"Damn it! Are you sure?"

"No, but if there is, they aren't going to advertise it."

She sighed defeatedly, "Really, of all the types, the one like a succubus is not repelled by Symbols of Faith?".

Huh? That's what she focused on? She was kind of weird, wasn't she?

"Yeah, that is a little funny, now that I think about it."

The confused woman shook her head angrily, "And here I thought this world was peaceful! I don't suppose you wizards ride flying rifles?" What?

"Uh…no, I drive an old Blue Beetle, my magic tends to short out the more fancy electrical stuff." Where did she get that idea? Maybe she was just rattled by the sudden revelation…though that sounded kind of cool.

"Ah, how inconvenient." Just how old was this girl, exactly? What kind of college girl talks like this? Oh, there's that calculating stare again. She had gone to St. Marks, maybe she was older than she looked?

"Vampires are not the only potential supernatural threat, are they?" She half asked, half stated. Harry snorted. If she was a scion, then her parent on the supernatural side must not have been the best, not giving her the rundown.

"Oh, there are plenty more spooky things out there, though some of the same things apply to most of them: Don't invite them across a threshold, try to stick to more public places, and be careful giving out your full name."

Tania hummed thoughtfully, "I suppose I will have to research some folklore then."

"Not a bad idea, though just a heads up, most of them aren't quite as accurate as Stoker was. I'll look into this vampire, see if I can find another way to track it down." He would have to call in some backup though, Black Courts were no joke.

"I will take your advice into account, wizard," replied the pale, but focused young woman, "how much will you be requiring for this service?" She pulled out a pen and small notebook, writing something on a page before tearing it off and handing it to him. "This was the address at which I was attacked, if that would be helpful."

Harry waved dismissively, "Don't worry about it too much, these things need to be taken out. If you have fifty bucks you can spare, I'll take it, but you should save your cash for buying a few tons of garlic or something." He wasn't going to charge a college girl too much for this kind of thing, even if he was always a bit short on money. Some things just really needed to die, well, more than they already were.

Tania glared at him. What? What did he do? "This is ridiculous!" Uh oh. "You expect me to let you risk your life for my sake for a pittance?!" OK, now he was lost. "What do you take me for? A communist?!" She spat the word like a curse. Maybe it was to her?

"OK, OK," he waved a hand placatingly. She was weird, he didn't know many people who would insist on paying for something. Oh yeah, also doing that when it was specifically about protecting them from danger. Actually, never mind, that actually did make some sense. "You can buy me dinner for a week or something, assuming nothing goes wrong."

The irritated young woman pursed her lips in a frown (OK, that was kinda cute), before sighing. She offered a hand to him, "Very well, I find such terms acceptable." Was she a changeling? No, probably not, there were other people that took their word very seriously, some of them completely normal. He shook her hand again. Though she definitely wasn't normal in that spooky sense either, but so far Harry didn't have enough to quite pin down what exact type of spooky she was.

Someone else knocked on his office door. The two inside shared a look. "Was someone following you?" Harry asked. Tania shook her head.

"I do not believe so, however, that does not make it true–"

"Harry, are you in there?" came a calm voice through the door. Harry relaxed, he knew that voice, even muffled. To his surprise, Tania also relaxed.

"Door's unlocked," he called. The door opened and Michael Carpenter strode into his office. Despite being clearly middle-aged, the stoic man was powerfully built and not too much shorter than Chicago's six-foot-nine professional wizard. His blue eyes widened in surprise at the sight of Tania, and he let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank the Lord! Tania, your sister has been worried sick for you." She winced, suddenly looking more like a kid her age being scolded by a parent. "When I got a call from Father Forthill and Inari called Charity, I was quite concerned as well."

Tania shuffled slightly on her feet, "I apologize, Mr. Carpenter. I forgot to inform my sister that I'm fine." Michael smiled slightly, looking over her in concern. His gaze turned questioningly to Harry.

"I had come here to ask for your help finding young Miss Tania here," he said, with slight amusement, "and it looks like I came to the right place." Michael certainly had a great sense of timing. The older man looked between the other two, eyes lingering on the young woman's damaged jacket. "What happened, Tania?"

The girl in question paused, glancing uncertainly between the two men. Harry nodded in encouragement, "Michael knows about this kind of thing, he's probably a much better bet for dealing with them than me, actually."

"You two are acquainted?" Tania asked in disbelief, eyes darting between the tall, dark wizard and the solid, fatherly carpenter. The two men chuckled.

"Harry is well-meaning, under all his rough edges," Michael rumbled.

Tania looked back at the taller man, a newfound respect in her eyes. Huh, even a cynic valued Micheal's judgment a lot. Harry wasn't all that surprised, actually; he did too, after all.

Michael did not move, but something shifted, a comforting weight settling in the room, along with a dangerous edge, though not pointed at the occupants. "You may tell me anything, Tania, and I will not judge, it is not my place," the Knight of the Cross stated.

Her eyes widened, and Harry could almost see the gears turning in her head, now that she knew of the literal power of Faith. "I was attacked by a vampire, sir." Michael's face darkened, but smoothed over in an instant.

"I am sorry I have not been able to help you until now, Tania. I am glad that you have come through unharmed." His gaze pierced through her, and the girl shifted uneasily. "Though it has definitely changed you." He walked over and laid a hand on her shoulder. The sick-looking girl collapsed into him with a strangled gasp. "You will be alright now, God willing." Michael held her as her composure finally cracked, and violent shivers ran through her limbs.

Damn, she was a lot more rattled than she looked. "She doesn't look hurt, from what I can see, though I think she may be sick," Harry answered his friend's inquiring look.

"Did she tell you more details?" Michael asked, sitting Tania back into a chair, gently patting the young woman on her back.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, she said she got jumped by a Black Court vampire."

Michael's eyes hardened, "Then it is a miracle she is still with us." He didn't actually look surprised. But maybe he was just glad to find Tania largely unharmed.

Hearing them talk about her, the young girl tried to compose herself, pulling away from the older man and sitting up straight, forcing her face back into a more neutral expression. She was not entirely successful, given her now reddening eyes and occasional shudder. Seeing the two together, it seemed to Harry almost as if she was trying to imitate Michael. He hadn't seen that coming at all, but there probably wasn't a better role model in all of Chicago than the 'Fist of God'.

"Perhaps it was," Tania finally offered, fighting through the involuntary chattering of her jaw. Michael blinked in surprise, before smiling.

"I am glad that you seem to be handling this well." He ruffled her hair slightly, causing her to huff in indignation (but not without having to suppress a smile). "Though I am sorry that you had to face something like this alone, and so young."

Hell's Bells, she probably wasn't much older than Michael's eldest daughter, Molly. But she was already in college?

Tania smiled sadly, "Things like this happen to people younger than I, and from what I now understand, many do not survive, so I will count myself as fairly lucky."

Michael nodded somberly, then smiled slightly. "There is some good news," the other two looked at him expectantly, "I believe the vampire that attacked you will not trouble you any more."

"What, you killed it on your way home or something?"

Michael shook his head. "No, I found a layer of dust near Tania's place, quite like the remains of a destroyed Black Court vampire."

Harry let out a sigh of relief, it must of been a fresh raise, if it was that dumb. Wait…

The older man frowned, looking Tania in the eye, "The bad news is that there are likely more of them in town. I will escort you back to your place, though you should be fine during the day. It seems to me that they are not here for you specifically, but I fear they may still come after you if they have the chance."

Well that wasn't a good sign, more Black Court meant big trouble.

If only he had known.

The young woman stared searchingly at the older man. "I always thought you were not just a carpenter, but whatever you are, seems to be more than my weirdest theories." Michael looked slightly abashed,

"He's a Knight of the Cross," Harry interrupted before his friend could downplay his role, "chosen by God to be a troublestabber." Michael glared at him, but there was no real heat in it. Tania froze, staring at the Knight in shock…and fear?

"I am nothing quite so grand," Michael began–

"He killed a dragon," cut in Harry.

Tania waved a hand dismissively, "That's not important right now." Wait what? A Dragon is unimportant?

She stared Michael dead in the eyes. "You must have known what I am, them." The Knight smiled sadly.

Harry felt a chill run down his spine. He must have missed something. He had assumed that Tania's ignorance meant she didn't know about her more supernatural nature, and that it probably wasn't anything to be too worried about, if she'd gotten past childhood apparently without much incident.

Hold on…did she figure out her heritage just now?!

"Yes."

Tania's face twitched, confusion, disgust, and shocked awe warring on her lovely face. "You knew what I was, and you let me live?"

She did just find out, didn't she? Crap, he hadn't meant to be her Hagrid!

Michael nodded, "You are not a monster."

Wait…

"Shouldn't you be trying to smite me down with holy wrath? Calling me Damned and Accursed? A Devil deserving death?"

Ah, shit! She was White Court, wasn't she?!

Michael looked poleaxed.

"You let me near your children, you let me stay at your house, was it all some sort of sick joke?! To make me let down my guard?!"

"No!"

Michael didn't shout, but his voice still rang through the room like a gunshot, cutting off Tania's increasingly panicked rant.

"Tania," he knelt down to eye level with her, "I know it has and will be hard. A difficult burden has been placed on you." He slowly, but firmly, clapped a hand on her shoulder. "But I have Faith in you."

She flinched away from him, "Don't say that! I don't want to die a–"

"Tania!" Michael pulled her into a hug again, startling a strangled cry from her. "You are one of the most determined people I know. And we will help you."

Harry didn't know what to think. He had been angry for a second, thinking she had been trying to lead him on, but there was no faking this kind of distress. And Michael basically vouched for her.

The distraught young woman sucked in a breath, and suddenly she seemed calm, but Harry could see emotions roiling beneath her skin. He was starting to think he understood why.

Tania snapped up and grabbed Michael's shoulders, eyes boring into his, "Promise me you won't let me end up like that!"

Michael sighed and sagged slightly, face seeming to age years in a split second.

"I Promise."

Harry still didn't quite understand all the subtext here, but figured it was more important to get Tania back home safely (and get the vampire(?) away from him so he could clear his head). Whatever exactly her heart to heart with Michael meant, she strode out of his office with much more confidence than she came in, still pale and wan, but unbowed. Maybe it was just the knowledge of having a Knight of the Cross by her (and on) her side.

The next few weeks were FUBAR. With all the shit that happened, he never found time to ask Michael more about what that whole thing with Tania had been about.

To some extent, he didn't need to.

He met Thomas Raith, another White Court Vampire, and a few things were confirmed.

Then Susan got turned, and he understood.

No! Not now!

A Cavernous Hunger Yawned.