Contents
Chapter Six
Overview
In suffocating August heat, Harry trains Fitz in discipline and emotional control while Chicago decays and ghouls prowl. Wardens Ramirez and Ilyana arrive to impose warlock-style check-ins, but Harry asserts Winter territory and demands respect. After Ramirez reins in Ilyana, he and Harry agree to later hunt down their turned friends and lay them to rest.
Summary
August’s brutal heat worsens Chicago’s post-battle decay: death-stink lingers, trash piles up, sewers clog, and ghouls haunt empty nights. Inside the castle, Harry drills Fitz through calisthenics and reading, charges his kinetic rings on the heavy bag, and teaches that emotional control and meditation are essential to safe magic.
Bear warns of visitors: Wardens Carlos Ramirez and Ilyana. Ilyana arrives hostile, fishing for violations, and invokes monthly unannounced “warlock protocol” visits. Harry refuses, asserting Winter territory and demanding courtesy—call ahead or stay out—while Bear quietly backs him.
When Ilyana reaches for her sword, Ramirez stops her and sends her out. He explains her history—framed by a warlock twin—shaping her intolerance for near-lines. Harry counters that respect must be mutual. Ramirez, no longer Harry’s junior, agrees to try operating on respect despite the Merlin’s disapproval.
Ramirez reports the Merlin won’t expend resources to recover Wild Bill’s and Yoshimo’s bodies, now Black Court thralls. Anger focuses Harry and Ramirez: when ready, they will track the vampires, bring their friends home, and settle accounts with Drakul’s faction. They seal the understanding with a handshake.
Who Appears
- Harry DresdenTrains Fitz in discipline and emotional control; asserts Winter authority to refuse unannounced Warden visits; agrees to pursue fallen friends with Ramirez.
- Carlos RamirezExhausted Warden; reins in Ilyana; negotiates respect-based contact with Harry; vows to hunt and lay to rest Wild Bill and Yoshimo.
- FitzNew apprentice; endures calisthenics and reading drills; begins meditation as Harry stresses long-term emotional management.
- BearValkyrie bodyguard; warns of Warden visit and stands as quiet deterrent during the confrontation.
- IlyanaYoung Warden, hostile and suspicious; pushes for warlock-style checks; restrained by Ramirez; her harsh attitude stems from a betrayed past.