Dresden Files Reread - Fool Moon Chapter 18

Photo by Cristian S. on Unsplash

Murphy shoots the Loup Garou, and to Harry's surprise, it actually does some damage. She melted down a pair of silver earrings she inherited. There's some weirdly mixed telegraphing here; like three sentences are devoted to how she's not wearing any earrings, how "naked" hear earlobes look without them, which sort of implies that she melted down the earrings she actually wears (and used them to dave Harry's life), but then she makes a joke about how she told her aunt Edna she'd "never get any use out of those earrings", which indicates that these aren't the earrings she wears. I feel like Jim Butcher wanted the foreshadowing and the quip and either didn't realize they contradicted each other, really wanted to have his cake and eat it too or, again, handed this in before completing the last planned round of revisions. 

Sadly, she doesn't manage to kill MacFinn. As she explains while she's re-arresting Harry, and checking him for injuries, the ammunition she makes herself for competition shooting is .22 caliber, and unlikely to take him down unless she manages to get a bullet through his eye. She tells Harry that the room MacFinn went into is just archives, no people this time of night, and that Harry himself will be locked up somewhere safe until they can get a doctor to look at him. She hands him off to Carmichael, who hands him off to Rudolf with instructions to listen if Harry tells him to do something or gives him information about what's going on. This is the first time we meet Rudolf, and I'm realizing that part of why I tended to get him confused with Harris on previous rereads is because he isn't described at all beyond "good looking". 

Rudolf is pretty thoroughly freaked out, and keeps repeating to himself that this isn't really happening. Harry is pretty injured and stressed out, and he's having a thought about blood, but he can't quite get it to come together. He has Rudolf bring him a cup of water, which he splashes on his face (once again triggering the drowning reflex to lower his heart rate and get his head back together), and another one that he actually drinks, and the idea finally starts to come into focus, although he has the vague sense that he's missing something. 

He goes to Murphy's office, over Rudolf's halfhearted objections, to collect his spellcasting gear, shorting out her computer monitor in the process. Now all he needs is a stuffed animal, which he has immense difficulty explaining to Rudolf. When he finally persuades his reluctant and temporary ally to go check Carmichael's desk (apparently Carmichael keeps toys for when kids have to wait for their parents - more incidental positive characterization), he tries to get a look at the injury to his foot, which is still bleeding, but he almost faints, so that isn't going to work. Rudolf locates a snoopy doll, which he pronounces perfect for his purposes, and then "all hell broke loose". 

This was a short one, both because the chapter is actually short and because not a whole lot happens after the opening. It's mostly just Harry working his way through a problem, and eventually arriving at a solution that won't be explained until the next chapter. Wednesday, we will be doing our first ever Wheel of Time reread post. Until then, be gay, do crimes, and read All The Things!