"I told them to expect a messenger if I couldn't get there myself. They know about the Erlking. That I'm trying to sidetrack him. They need to know where the heirs of Kemmler are going to be so that they can take them down."

"Five of them," Thomas said quietly. "They'll be outnumbered by one."

I grimaced. It would be worse than that. Ramirez had looked like he could handle himself, but the two rookies couldn't have stood up to any of the heirs or their companions, from what I'd seen. "Once I've secured the Erlking, I'll be along as quick as I can. Besides that, they're Wardens," I said. "They'll take down Kemmler's flunkies."

"Or die trying," Thomas said. He grimaced. "How should I get down there?"

I went to another kitchen drawer and rummaged in it until I found Murphy's spare keys. I tossed them to Thomas. "Here. Her motorcycle is in the shed."

"Right," he said, but his expression was wary. "She going to mind me stealing her bike?"

"It's in a good cause," I told him. "The streets are bad, and the Wardens need to get moving soonest. Go."

Thomas nodded, pocketed the keys, and shrugged into his leather jacket. "I'll get back here as soon as I'm done."

"Yeah," I said quietly. "Thomas. To the Wardens you're nothing but a White Court vampire. If they see you, they'll be out for blood."

"I understand," he said. His voice was a little bitter. "If I'm not back in time, Harry… good luck."

He offered his hand, and we traded grips, hard. My hand must have been cold with nerves, because his felt warm. Then he let go of my hand, nodded to Bob and Butters, and headed out into the rain. A minute later Murphy's Harley grumbled in the backyard, and then purred off into the rain and gloom.

I sat there in silence for a minute, then got up and went to the stove. I got the teapot out, filled it up, and put it on the gas burner to boil. It took me a minute to find Murphy's collection of teas, and it was gratuitously complex. I mean, come on, how many different types of tea do you really need? Maybe I'm prejudiced, because I take my tea with so much sugar that the actual flavor is sort of an aftertaste.

I found some in instant bags that smelled vaguely minty. "Tea?" I asked Butters.

"Sure," he said.

I got out two cups.

"What's next?" he asked.

"Hot tea," I said. "Staying warm. Then I go out in the rain and call up the Erlking. You're staying inside while I do."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because it's going to be dangerous."

"Well, yeah," he said. "But why inside the house? I mean, this super-goblin can just rip the walls apart, right?"

"Strong enough to do it, probably," I said. "But it can't. The house is protected by its threshold."