The Dresden Files, #1
Storm Front
by Jim Butcher
Contents
Chapter Thirteen
Overview
During a violent storm, Susan arrives for a date just as a summoned toad-demon assaults Harry’s home. Harry fends it off and retreats with Susan to a protected circle in his lab.
A potion mix-up makes Susan drink a love potion instead of an escape draught, complicating their standoff as they must endure until dawn for the demon’s tether to fade.
Summary
Harry wakes to a fierce thunderstorm, senses its raw elemental power, and realizes the killer might be tapping storms for energy. Hungry and still recovering, he prepares food when a knock comes; expecting Linda Randall, he instead finds Susan Rodriguez arriving for their forgotten date.
As Harry showers, Mister fixates on the door. Susan opens it to a squat, trench-coated intruder that reveals itself as a toad-demon. The demon’s entrance is slowed by Harry’s home’s threshold, but it spits acid, corroding Harry’s couch and flooring. Harry counters with wind magic to deflect acid and recover his staff, yet he cannot force the demon out.
With the demon pressing forward, Harry shoves Susan toward the lab. She grabs Harry’s revolver and, despite ricochets, lands a shot that topples the demon, buying time for them to flee downstairs. Harry lights the lab, ignores Bob the skull’s commentary, and powers a copper circle just as acid splatters against the invisible barrier, saving them by inches.
Harry explains the circle will hold against the demon until dawn, when the summoning tether is cut. Seeking an exit, he orders Susan to drink an escape potion, but she mistakenly chugs a different vial—the love potion. The demon settles in to wait outside the circle, while Susan, under the potion’s influence, becomes intensely amorous and nearly pulls Harry out of the protective boundary.
Trapped, exhausted, and with the demon pacing, Harry holds position within the circle, furious at Bob for the mix-up and focused on surviving the long night until sunrise severs the demon’s link to its summoner.
Who Appears
- Harry DresdenWizard protagonist; defends his home from a toad-demon, shields himself and Susan in a magic circle.
- Susan RodriguezReporter date; panics then helps with the gun, mistakenly drinks a love potion, complicating their standoff.
- Toad-demonSummoned attacker; spits acid, breaches the threshold, and waits outside the protective circle for Harry.
- BobSpirit in a skull; warns of danger, reveals Susan drank the love potion instead of the escape draught.
- MisterHarry’s cat; senses the intruder first, hisses and watches the door during the storm.