The Tree of Frozen Tears
"Harry," your voice sounds strange in your own ears. "Don't freak out I'll tell you..." You are about to say 'everything', but the word catches in your throat as you see yourself in one of the ice walls. How could you explain everything when you do not understand it yourself, all you know is you made a deal with a demon for phenomenal cosmic power and you now have a
mark on your forehead, like some kind of off brand Denarian.
"You could never be 'off-brand' oh Glorious Princess of Righteous Flame," Usum whispers in your mind. Your own personal Gretchen Wieners, great just... You can't deal with this, you can't think of what to say or what to do that will make this better.
Do something! you snap at the demon.
"I am but a sword, yours is the hand that wields," it sounds oddly subdued, resentful, regretful you are not sure.
But as you open your mouth again the words are just there. "Humans are not the only things the Winter Fey kept in here. The only way we were both getting out of here was together."
Lost 1 Essence
"Hold on there a moment, let me have a look at you. Do you feel... different?"
You do not wait for him to finish speaking, turning on your heel to run not walk towards your mother.
Please be OK, please be OK, please be OK... Part of you cannot imagine a world where she is not OK, if your father is the, literal, knight in shinning armor than your mother has been the rock of your childhood, always there no matter what. But there is another part of you, the one that burns with the hateful fire, that lives in emptiness that whispers:
Things can always get worse.
She's breathing, see her breath. "Mom," the same word that had gotten her hurt slipped out again. "Are you OK?" the question was almost as silly as Harry's previous one. Of course she wasn't.
As she starts to stir one worry flows into another. I really wish the lightshow would stop right about now. It very stubbornly does not, though Usum at least explains:
"Your soul has transcended the vessel of flesh in which it was housed and now shines forth like a fire upon the altar of your rebirth. It will not be put out, though in time the flame will grow less and be contained ."
"Ever met someone whose soul is too big for their body?" you call back at Harry who was staring very intently at the place where the tree had been, not the torture tree, the big one that held your power, though there was nothing but blackened earth there, the only place that was not covered by ice in the whole garden.
"No... I can't say I have. Is this where I have to say the dress fits you fine?"
You can't help it, you giggle.
He is such a dork. "No it's where you say the dress fits me
perfectly," you quip back. For some reason he stops dead looking at your torn jeans, a lot more torn than you bought them. It's not like they were your favorites or anything. Something tells you you could make better jeans now.
"And vestments far more wondrous..."
"Molly, what are you doing?" your mother unknowingly cuts off the demon in your head as she gets up. For all the strangeness that brings you recognize the tone, the 'you are in so much trouble young lady' tone. The one that came with... Yeah that is there's
the look.
"I was being tortured by a spirit of terror, so I made a deal with another spirit who was here bound for transcendent power," you answer... and the moment the words are out of your mouth you regret them at the horrified look on her face.
Harry opens his mouth to say something, but you speak over him. "Mom I'm fine, I'm not possessed or anything, I'm still me."
I'm more me than I have ever been, you think but thankfully keep your mouth shut on. That would
not sound good outside your head.
Mom looks you up and down, from the tips of your now snow covered sneakers to your extra ripped jeans to the jacket and T-shirt that have fared only a little better. "We will deal with that thing when we are back home. Just don't use it."
Before you can answer the sound of horns rings out on the wind, echoing off the jagged edges of the Winter Queen's garden. Stones rattle underfoot.. but as you look down at them you see they are not stones but charred bones littering the field of battle. The wicked fey come to reclaim their realm.
"No time to argue!!" Harry calls, drawing himself up to his full and rather commanding height.
And so you turned, from the dark tower into the garden of ice, the call of the Hunt echoing close. You should have been scared of the sound, you really should, but all that you could think as you followed your mother and Harry into the dark of false knight was, how much you wanted to turn and show them the fire so that the fetch's kin would never again dare to crawl into the mortal world.
"You have not yet grown so mighty." If Usum is telling you there is something you can't do then you really can't do it
A dark haired man...and not just a man you knew at once, he moves too gracefully to sure comes out onto the parapet, bloodied sword in hand. He was saying something about the Wild Hunt coming, which you knew and someone named Murphy, but you hardly notice. Something moves in the dark, a moan that is more than just the wind. You follow it and wish that you had not...
There is another prisoner here. The man's hair hung like Spanish moss over his bowed face, some of it light brown, some of it dark grey, some of it gone brittle and white. He turned just a little swaying in his bonds, just enough give to inflict that extra bit of pain, you realize your stomach twisting in pity and horror all at once. Almost as though against your walk towards him, ignoring your mother's commands to hurry.
You brush the hair out of his face to see it twisted with cold and hunger and agonies you couldn't name.
"Mab," he calls out with a ruined voice. "You're early." There is still hate in there, defiance but it is worn away by desperation. "Come to have him kill me then?" He tries to spit at you, though the spittle must have long since frozen in his mouth. "Get it over with then, I'm ready to meet my Maker. Hell will be warmer at least."
"He has power," Usum whispers in your ear.
"An ally perhaps to escape this place, shared torments are among the strongest of bonds."
"Molly, get away from him!" Harry adds his own call to your mother's.
"Kill me, you bitch! If you can find someone to serve you after what you keep doing to me!" He turns his unseeing eyes in the direction of Harry's voice. "Did she promise to heal you and make you whole Dresden? She keeps doing it to me."
"She heals him and then she tortures him anew," Usum sounds almost impressed by the man.
"He must have displeased the Rhaska Lord of this realm quite grievously."
"Molly, we can't do anything about that.,
please come on." Harry comes close and looks like he is about to try to pull you away, then he stops, looking worried and just as horrified as you feel about the man. But... you have never seen Harry afraid to help, nor heard about it, even from your mother when she was complaining about him.
"Why?" the word cuts the air like ice.
"It will piss off Mab, she is..."
You do not turn to look at him, eyes still on the tortured prisoner. "The mistress of this place, the liege of the Scarecrow."
What do you do?
[] Fuck Queen Mab and all her kind (Enemy Winter Court increases by ●●●)
-[] Kill the man as he asks (+3 frebie points to spend; the Mantle returns to Mab's keeping as it cannot bond to you)
-[] Free him (If he survives gain ally Loyd Slate; the Rogue Winter Knight ●●●)
[] As much as you hate to leave anyone like this, listen to Harry and run
[] Write in
***
Administrative Vote: Which extra key ability do you drop:
[] Write in
OOC: So about that collecting of evil spirits and Creatures of Darkness that Infernals do so well... here's a Winter Knight on sale because Mab was careless. And yes you are strong enough to just grab him and run also the excellency is still running which means you would be supernaturally competent in persuading Dresden to rescue Slade. 
