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Topics - kbrizzle

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DF Spoilers / Persephone in the DV

« on: June 07, 2019, 03:28:00 AM »

I hadn’t given much thought to the discussion between Harry & Marcone at the end of WN after the battle in the Raith Deeps where Harry likens Marcone to Hades & Helen Beckett/ Demeter’s comatose daughter to Persephone, until SG.

In SG, we learn that Hades did not kidnap Persephone but rather it was voluntary & required Hecate’s help in fooling Persephone’s mother Demeter for a few months so the couple could enjoy their honeymoon. Moreover, Marcone’s bank was considered to be a place that had enough in common with Hades’ realm to open a Way, further strengthening the Marcone:Hades point made in WN.

Additionally, Persephone in Classical Greek mythology has some odd connections to Hecate. Given that Hecate is the triple goddess, Persephone is known in some tales to be the youngest/ maiden aspect of the triple goddess. She is also responsible for the seasons in Ancient Greece - the 6 months she was down in Hades’ realm was Winter, where as the 6 months she was on earth were considered Summer.

What do you guys think this means? Especially for Beckitt’s daughter?

DF Spoilers / Further proof that black magic is connected to Outsiders

« on: May 19, 2019, 08:54:56 PM »

At the start of PG after the Council executes the Korean boy, the Merlin says something that intrigued me. When Harry questions the necessity of killing the young warlock, the Merlin answers that he personally examined the kid as well as 12 of his victims. Given that the WC just about scraped through the Ramp attacks in DB, it seemed odd to me that the Merlin would spend so much time on what seems like workaday Warden work.

Also why now? Why start staging public executions of warlocks guilty of breaking the Laws especially when it would be distasteful to almost everyone involved this far into the Ramp war?

Why go after Molly so ruthlessly for practicing black magic even though she was at a much earlier ‘warlock’ stage than the Korean kid? The Merlin took the time to soulgaze the Korean kid, but does not do so for Molly - he just wants to execute her. Eventually the Gatekeeper’s stalling tactic enables the rest of the SC to vote against Molly’s execution. The reason cited for this is KotC Michael being her dad & saving the day against Outsiders. The Merlin also seems to relent after these facts are introduced.

I think timing is key here. The first execution of this kind that we see is right after the events of DB where the presence of Outsiders ups the ante in the Ramp war. We also see from Eb’s words that the group in Oregon had a very tough time fighting the Outsider-allied Red Court & would likely have lost without Michael’s help. Given Mab’s seeming preoccupation in dealing with her own issues (Winter amassing troops at Summer border instead of fighting Ramps trespassing on their territory) & Outsiders openly allying themselves with the RCV, it would make sense that the WC would decide to deal very harshly with any practitioners following the left-hand path. These are the folks likely being co-opted by the Black Council/ Circle to summon Outsiders in the first place.

That the Merlin would take the time out of his very busy schedule to personally examine the victims of a teenage warlock shows that the SC is aware of the Adversary & is ready to take the ruthless steps to stamp out any violators of the Laws and send a stern warning to those who flirt with black magic (what Langtry thinks Harry does).

This is further proof that there is a relationship between black magic & allying with Outsiders. I’ve always liked the theory that the taint left on a practitioner’s soul from black magic foments a connection of sorts with the Outside. Interestingly we don’t really hear of further battles against the Ramps where Outsiders are involved in the following books. Instead the next few times the Outsiders attack are because of Cowl, Peabody & Maeve. So maybe the tactic sorta worked?

DF Spoilers / Mordite question

« on: May 05, 2019, 04:53:07 AM »

What was the deal with Hades wearing a crown made of orbiting mordite stones? It definitely seemed like an Easter egg but I’m unsure of the implication. Mordite has a strange story in the Dresdenverse - the only other times we see it in action prior to SG are in DM & TC.

Death Masks
It seemed like a strange, cavalier use of what is essentially an unbelievably radioactive alien material. My tangential WAG here is that Ivy suspected Nemesis had a hand in the Ramp/WC war, so she used a substance from the outside to see if either Harry or Ortega were Nfected (since they were instrumental in instigating the war).

Turn Coat
Peabody lets loose a cloud of mordite-infused mistfiend inside the White Council chamber to devastating effect. The cloud (which had been contained in an ink bottle) requires the entire Senior Council to contain it. This more the type of use one would think mordite would be put to.

Skin Game
Hades has little mordite stones orbiting around his head like a crown. Not much more is said about it, although it gives Harry pause. I don’t believe that Hades was the God of Death, simply the Underworld, so while there is a link to a stone of instant death, it’s not quite linear.

Perhaps Hades is showing his mastery over everything in his realm by using the most lethal substance in the Dresdenverse as ornamentation. Perhaps he can use the stones the way Yondu uses his arrow in Guardians of the Galaxy, so they are weapons.
Perhaps prior to the Aesir/Jotun, it was the Greek Gods who guarded the Gates & Hades was involved in dealing with the Outsiders directly. The stones are a remnant from that time.
Perhaps the stones have a higher, more spiritual purpose than simply killing. Maybe you have to be a God to be able to use the stones in that way.

DF Spoilers / Molly’s soulgaze in PG

« on: May 05, 2019, 02:55:09 AM »

Upon a reread of PG, I came across this passage from when Harry soulgazes Molly:

Quote

For a second, I thought nothing had happened. And then I realized that the soulgaze was already up and running, and that it showed me Molly, standing and facing me as nothing more than she seemed to be. But I could see down the hall behind her, and the church’s windows held half a dozen different reflections.
One was an emaciated version of Molly, as though she’d been starved or strung out on hard drugs, her eyes aglow with an unpleasant, fey light. One was her smiling and laughing, older and comfortably heavier, children surrounding her. A third faced me in a grey Warden’s cloak, though a burn scar, almost a brand, marred the roundness of her left cheek. Still another reflection was Molly as she appeared now, though more secure, laughter dancing in her eyes. Another reflection showed her at a desk, working.
But the last…
The last reflection of Molly wasn’t the girl. Oh, it looked like Molly, externally. But the eyes gave it away. They were flat as a reptile’s, empty. She wore all black, including a black collar, and her hair had been dyed to match. Though she looked like Molly, like a human being, she was neither. She had become something else entirely, something very, very bad.
Possibilities. I was looking at possibilities. There was definitely a strong presence of darkness in the girl, but it had not yet gained dominion over her. In all the potential images, she was a person of power—different kinds of power, certainly, but she was strong in all of them. She was going to wind up with power of her own to use or misuse, depending on what choices she made.
What she needed was a guide. Someone to show her the ropes, to give her the tools she would need to deal with her newfound power, and all the baggage that came with it. Yes, that kernel of darkness still burned coldly within her, but I could hardly throw stones there. Yes, she had the potential to go astray on an epic scale.

Assuming that Harry is seeing possible futures of Molly, with the following WAGs about each one.

Molly 1: starved, looks like on drugs, eyes have a Fae light. This is likely Molly if she had continued down the Rag Lady path with Harry remaining dead & Molly not joining Fae royalty. In this future, she is following Lea’s path for her.
Molly 2: older, content, has children. In this future she has likely given up her magic & is living a mundane life. In this future, she is following Charity’s path for her.
Molly 3: warden, formidable looking with eye scar. This is the future where Molly follows her mentor into the wardens & becomes tough & battle-hardened. In this future, she is following Harry’s path for her.
Molly 4: largely unchanged, more confident & focused. This is perhaps the future that seems to happen with Harry’s gentle guidance. In this future, she is following her own path for herself.
Molly 5: working at a desk. Unlike the other futures, this is the only one where Molly seems to be less action-oriented. In this future, she is following her fear by not engaging with the evils of the world head on (or at all if she has given up magic)
Molly 6: in all black, reptilian, no longer a human being, evil. This is the most interesting, the one Harry wants to avoid at all costs. In this future, it seems like Molly is following either Nemesis or the Fomor path for her.

Which path do you think Molly will end up taking? Or do you think that Harry’s intervention has created a new path for her?

DF Spoilers / Who really killed Margaret McCoy Dresden

« on: April 23, 2019, 06:04:35 AM »

We know that Maggie was killed by an entropy curse right after she gave birth to Harry. We assume this was the doing of Lord Raith since Eb says so, & LR seems to be an avid user of entropy curses (throughout BR).

However there is one other baddie who uses entropy curses - Nicodemus. In DM, he uses the Barabbas curse on Harry & Susan as they drive back from gala where Marcone is supposed to pick up the Shroud from the Churchmice. We are told that Nic gets to use the Barabbas curse every so often (annually?) to kill one person - the Knights can choose to take the place of this person, as Shiro ends up doing in BR. We also know that Nic knew Maggie (and how many kids she had), & as shown in DM, SmF & SG, his preferred MO is to waylay the plans of others.

What if Nic chose Maggie for the Barabbas curse in order subordinate the plan in motion to birth a Starborn (his usual MO)?

DF Spoilers / Mab is Nfected question

« on: April 23, 2019, 02:32:48 AM »

It seems like some people on this forum believe that Mab is Nfected herself - I have never understood the reasoning behind this theory & was wondering if someone could explain it.

If she were Nfected, why haven’t the Outsiders won already?

DF Spoilers / Interesting observation about Grave Peril

« on: April 03, 2019, 07:25:08 AM »

Upon a re-read of the book, I realized that the fight between Bianca & Harry loosely parallels the war between the Ramps & White Council.

Plot of Grave Peril

Bianca has been plotting to take on Harry for a few years, getting stronger & making deals with shady characters (Mavra etc).
She thinks she is ready to take on Harry after having made alliances with the likes of Mavra & the Nightmare ; working on changing the overall environment to her favor (futzing with the spiritual world barriers, using Kravos to Weaken Harry & remove his police allies) & setting up a public confrontation at her center of power.
Bianca sets up a masquerade party which she believes will lead to Harry’s doom. There are signs that the masquerade is being used by Nemesis for its own ends (athame to Lea)
However despite taking her best shot, she narrowly misses. The tide turns in Harry’s favor after the masquerade
So then she goes to plan B, which is to take Susan hostage & use her to sue for temporary peace. She eventually plans to use Susan to neutralize Harry.
However she miscalculates & Harry uses the fact that the confrontation is at her mansion to destroy her.
Unfortunately despite defeating the Red Court in Chicago, Harry loses Susan.

The Red Court/ White Council War

It turns out that the Red Court has been gearing up for a war with the White Council for years on the sly, making secret alliances with shady groups such as Necromancers, Outsiders etc.
So after Harry kills Bianca, the Ramps decide they are in a position to win a war against the wizards. Like Kravos taking a huge bite out of Harry before the masquerade, the Ramps take out the brute squad at Archangel as the opening salvo. From Summer Knight - Deabeat, the Red Court is winning the war, pushing the Council against the ropes
Deadbeat is analogous to the masquerade - the Ramps believe they have set up events in such a way that the WC is doomed. There are hints that Nemesis is using the Ramp war to further its own ends
Just like in te masquerade, the Ramps & their allies launch an all out offensive against the Council & it’s more active allies (Venatori). Just like Bianca narrowly misses getting Harry, the Council is just about able to survive the events of DB. The WC starts winning the war after DB
As result, the Ramps go to plan B, which is to sue for peace for long enough that they can rebuild their forces. They plan to neutralize Harry through kidnapping Maggie
The Ramps miscalculated & it was involving Maggie for a personal feud that eventually unravels their plan. Harry is able to use their own bloodline curse against them at their center of power, just as he is able to use the ghosts of Bianca’s victims against her at her mansion
Unfortunately despite destroying the whole RCV, Harry loses Susan

DF Spoilers / Grave Peril Questions

« on: April 03, 2019, 06:47:02 AM »

After re-reading this book & given our knowledge of subsequent events, I noticed some odd things in the plot. I have my own theories as to what’s going on, but I’m interested in everyone’s opinions.

Mavra’s role in the fight at Bianca’s party was pretty underwhelming given her power level. The things she does of note in this book are to train Bianca in vampiric magic (perhaps necromancy-based?), weaken the barrier with the spirit world & help power up Kravos enough to wreak havoc on his enemies. Despite doing all this, her only contribution to Bianca’s cause in the party is to successfully stop Harry & co. from trying to leave early. Michael is able to take her fairly easily even without the Sword, using faith magic alone. And she’s mysteriously absent from round 2 when Harry goes back to the mansion & kills Bianca, unraveling their plan. Her stated reason for being at the party is seek revenge against Michael for eliminating her scourge decades ago.
Seeing how powerful Cowl truly is in Deadbeat, it seems odd that he would be relegated to attendant duty at the party. Also, given that Mavra’s actions kick-off the plot of Deadbeat, it’s interesting that she & Cowl are at the party without interacting much or acting against each other/ in concert
At the end of the book, Bianca & Duke Ortega threaten Harry with war if he does not give up Susan. How does this benefit the Red Court?? As Michael points out after the fight at the masquerade, Bianca took her best shot at Harry very publicly & failed. How is stealing Susan (who is not publicly known in the supernatural world as his girlfriend) a commensurate gain? She basically has Harry breaking into her mansion & has captured him - why not just kill him, which was the point of many of her actions at the masquerade? Why allow him to walk out with everything minus Susan? I assume Bianca thinks she can control Harry through enthralling Susan, but she has to know that Harry is going to spend all his time trying to destroy her once this happens (just like she did after Harry “kills” her paramour in StF). She has still lost face in front of the supernatural community since she was unable to kill Harry in her own center of power

DF Spoilers / Question with deeper implications

« on: January 09, 2019, 01:07:35 AM »

Do you think that Harry with Soulfire would be able to take on Lord Raith in a magical fight? Or do you think a Knight would be able to?

DF Spoilers / Blood rites question

« on: December 31, 2018, 03:06:27 AM »

What do you think about the presence of both Blamps & Whamps in this book? It seems to me that Mavra was looking to take on Lord Raith eventually, which makes sense given his role in the current irrelevance of the BCV. However, I feel like something more was going on there.

DF Spoilers / Some thoughts on the vampire courts

« on: December 15, 2018, 05:22:03 PM »

Of Etruscan origin (based on court language) - the civilization that lived in the Italian peninsula before the Romans ~3000 years ago, although I suspect the White Court predates even them
Physically weakest of the 3 courts, closest to humans.
Feed on human emotions. Their demons are closest to Succubi & exist in a symbiotic relationships with their hosts.
They are unable to make more of their own except through human reproductive methods.
The stronger Whamps (such as Lady Cheserina & Lord Skavis - Lord Raith being magically enhanced is not considered) are strong, but at a level where someone like Harry or Morgan could take them out in a straight fight (Remember the scene with Ebenezer & Lara on Demonreach in TC?)

Of South American origin (Mayan?) - Red King is said to be ~4000 years old.
Physically stronger than Whamps, can put on convincing flesh masks to pass off as humans but are actually bat-like in appearance
Feed on human blood & seem to have an affinity for blood magic.
They are able to make more of their own:not as easily as Blamps but more easily than Whamps through a process of transferring their own blood to the intended
The stronger Ramps (like the LoONs) are at a level with Lea/ Senior Council members. (Harry would not be able to take them out in a straight fight, like Odin demonstrates in Changes).

Of East European origin (Transylvanian?) - Drakul is said to be ~700 years old.
Youngest but physically strongest of the vampire courts. While Whamps & Ramps are definitely still alive, Blamps are undead.
They are most easily able to make more of their own - more so than Whamps & Ramps, I suspect through a process using necromancy
Blamps feed on blood though I suspect they draw life energy from it unlike the Ramps who use it as fuel. Have an affinity for necromantic magic.
The stronger Blamps (Mavra's the only higher level one we've seen) are at a level with Senior Council members. (Harry would not easily be able to take Mavra out in a straight fight, given that Ebenezer was tied up in BR holding her down).

Ferrovax shows up to the party at Bianca's. Ferrovax as the Eldest Dragon is immensely powerful - capable to collapsing reality where he stands were he to take his real form - he is probably at a level of personal power somewhere between Mab & Mother Winter - why does he bother showing up to the ascension of a mid-level Red Court noble at all? It would be like inviting Hades to a party because Ramirez made warden. However if Dragons are involved in the creation of the vampire courts, his presence makes a little more sense.
Drakul, progenitor of the Black Court's name means son of a dragon.

DF Spoilers / Question about the Black Court

« on: December 15, 2018, 07:22:14 AM »

So the Whamps feed on emotion, Ramps feed on blood, Blamps feed on .... life force?

Do we know what the Black Court feeds on? Also blood? Life energy?

DF Spoilers / Re-interpreting the events of Small Favor

« on: November 19, 2018, 02:04:45 AM »

Using the knowledge gleaned in the later books, I re-visited this one to understand what was really going on.

From what I can tell, the Black Council's goal was to waylay Mab's future plans involving Marcone & weaken the Unseelie Accords. However I find the reasons why Nicodemus & Titania want to be involved in this book puzzling.

Why does Nic go along with this plan?
I understand that he feels that he needs to get back at Marcone for the "insult" given to him in Death Masks, & I'm sure having a Signatory to the Accords under his influence are important to him, but are these really enough for him to work with Tessa again, and go to "corporate" for support with the greater circle? We know that Nic hasn't worked with Tessa for nearly 700 years, is this really important enough for that?

I find it hard to believe that the plan to capture Marcone was expressly set up to capture the Archive - I believe this was opportunistic. The Denarians had no way of knowing that (a) Mab would use Harry in this case (likely since it was in Chicago, but Nic/ Anduriel would know that Harry hates Marcone) or (b) Even if Mab involves Harry, that he would reach out to Ivy instead of the White Council to mediate this dispute. Even if Harry doesn't trust the Council, he trusts Ebenezer, Rashid & probably Injun Joe & Luccio as well. Its possible that Nic & Anduriel had been spying on Harry enough to conjecture that he would call on Ivy, but the question becomes, why now? Why not go after Ivy when she was even younger & less able to defend herself?

The only explanation I can come up with is that Nic wants to know if Mab is Nfected, insane or weak. In Skin Game we see that Nic has a cause he is seemingly devoted to (perhaps fighting Nemesis in his own way) - if knows the true purpose of the Winter Court (guard the Gates), and he is hearing on the supernatural grapevine that Mab may be crazy, perhaps he cares enough to invest some real effort in finding this out. I wouldn't be surprised if this is what Tessa used to convince him to join.

Why does Titania oppose Mab in this instance?
From what I can understand, the Summer Court exists to keep the Winter Court in check - i.e. make sure they are not distracted by matters not pertinent to guarding the Gates & in doing so, sparing most of the world from Winter's cruelty. By sending Harry to rescue Marcone, Mab is simply trying to enforce her own Accords, which I'm assuming Summer is also a Signatory of - so why would Titania send the Gruffs to stop Harry from being able to do this?

In the only hint of an explanation we see is in Cold Days where Titania is shown to be ridiculously angry with Harry - she says that without Eldest Gruff's counsel (whom Harry met at the very end of the book), she would not have moved on at all. So perhaps this was her focusing her wrath upon Harry before Eldest Gruff is able to calm her down.

The Black Council's plan is a little easier to fathom -

Kidnap Marcone - ruin Mab's future plans

The Black Council/ Maeve learn that Mab has big plans for the newly created Baron of Chicago & use their allies in the Denarians to abduct him, putting extreme effort into bypassing Marcone's security. I would not be surprised if the Denarians' plan was to give the captured Marcone an Nfected coin, or just kill him to remove him from play
As we see in Skin Game, Mab has plotted for years to find a way to get the weapons in Hades' vault. The way she chooses is to support Marcone's bank for the supernatural, which accomplishes 2 goals - it severely punishes Nic for screwing with the Accords & it gains her entry into Hades' vault so Harry can retrieve the 5 artifacts/ weapons. Marcone is crucial to this plan working.

Kidnap Marcone - weaken the Unseelie Accords

The overarching plot of the series so far is that Nemesis is attempting to take over by breaking the supernatural alliances that keep the various powers from fighting each other in self-destructive wars. The way it chooses to do so is by weakening the Unseelie Accords, which were sponsored by the Winter Court - meaning that unless Winter is able to enforce the terms of the Accords, why should anyone obey?
The seeming inability of Mab to go after the Red Court for violating her own passages is the plot of Proven Guilty - this signals to all the other powers that Mab may not be as strong as she was when the Accords were signed. We see that by White Night even the likes of Lara Raith are testing the Unseelie Accords (Harry points out that Lara had kidnapped a bunch of little folk to deliberately give the Winter Court a minor insult to see what they would do - which is nothing, since Mab has more important things to worry about)
The Black Council uses its agents in the Denarians to convince them to kidnap Marcone. As I mentioned above, I believe Ivy's involvement was simply a bonus. If Mab is unable to stop 1 Signatory from simply grabbing another, it would signal to the rest of the supernatural world that the Accords were no longer in being adhered to, & with the White Council fighting an expensive war of attrition, everyone was fair play.

DF Spoilers / Random things I noticed in Proven Guilty

« on: November 17, 2018, 04:18:05 AM »

Here are some interesting observations in the book that I haven't seen a lot of discussion on:

Madrigal Raith points out that he was invited to SplatterCon!!! a year ago. This means that whoever planned the phobophage attacks not only knew Madrigal's "new tastes" (to make him a scapegoat) but also planned it a year in advance.
Speaking of things happening a year before the events of PG, at the beginning of the book, the White Council is flummoxed by both Summer & Winter's inaction in the face of Ramp trespassing. Lily & Fix tell Harry that this is because Mab has had her troops amassed at the border with Summer "since last year"
In a weird way, this book is the story of a 2 mother/ daughter pairings where things aren't going well - Charity/ Molly & Mab/ Maeve.
Harry points out that the Scarecrow attacks & kills Glau first when it ambushes ebay auction at Fool Moon garage. In this book, we learn that Glau is a half-djinn, an Arab creature, & Harry notices that he carries an Arab looking sword. Thomas further says that Glau has been a trusted family vassal of House Raith for some time. We also know in White Night that Madeline Raith was calling numbers in Egypt.
When Harry runs into Lea at the prison/ garden, we can tell when the Nfection is speaking because Harry observes that Lea's eyes glitter in a crazy way. What is interesting is that it is Nfected Lea who explains the true nature of Slate's punishment to Harry, showing that Nemesis has a sophisticated understanding of both Mab & the human psyche. When Lea's eyes are normal, she tells Harry to leave her in ice shackles, however her eyes glitter when she asks him to release her
At the meeting of the White Council at the end of the book, Lily rather blatantly places the blame of the entire assault on Arctis Tor on Harry. She frames this to the Council as saying that Harry heroically led a raid on Arctis Tor, causing Winter troops to retreat home & giving Summer some space to maneuver. This is no doubt on Maeve's urging to cover up the true reason for the attack & confuse anyone who asks about it later

DF Spoilers / Comprehensive Proven Guilty WAG

« on: November 17, 2018, 03:55:44 AM »

Upon a re-read of the book, and analyzing the events that follow, I think I may have figured out 95% of what was going on in Proven Guilty.

To begin, we need to understand the Black Council/ Nemesis' objectives in this book. As I see it, they had 4 plans which were enacted more or less simultaneously:

Attack the White Council children's camp as well as a Venatori stronghold in Oregon through the Red Court. The objective was to draw in members of the Senior Council such as Ebenezer, Injun Joe & Martha Liberty, and then ambush them with Outsiders.

Ebenezer points out to Harry early in the book that if it weren't for allies like the Venatori, the White Council would have fallen a while ago. By attacking the stronghold, the Black Council would cripple one of the White Council's biggest allies
By killing members of the Senior Council, the Black Council would remove serious obstacles as well as create new openings on the Senior Council that they can fill with their allies. This ploy is the premise of Turn Coat later on.

Attack Arctis Tor, depose Mab & replace her with a Nfected Maeve.

My theory is that Maeve convinced Mab that Lily, like Aurora, had been Nfected. This caused Mab to amass her spare troops at the border with Summer instead of retaliating against the RCV for trespassing the previous year
This leaves Mab relatively undefended at Arctis Tor for the time being, allowing the Black Council to summon their allies & successfully breach the gates at Arctis Tor. Mab however is able to escape by hiding as a statue in her prison/garden

Set up SplatterCon!!! to keep Harry & Michael busy in Chicago

Madrigal Raith confirms that the conference was set up at least a year ago when he was invited to attend (and be the scapegoat)
I believe the Black Council used Mavra, disguised as Sandra Marling to set up the Con. Mavra does this to get revenge on both Harry & Michael (through Molly). This is also supposed to keep them busy as the Black Council's other plans unfold

Nfect Molly

I posited earlier that Maeve convinces Mab that Lily is Nfected - as a result Mab decides to replace Lily with Molly, who she knows is not Nfected. Note: At the end of Cold Days, Mab mentions to Harry that she originally considered Molly to be a better candidate for Summer
As a result, the Black Council decides to Nfect Molly, turning her a sleeper agent. To help prepare Molly get Nfected, the Black Council uses its' agent Sandra Marling to begin pushing Molly towards dark magic. The resulting taint on her soul would allow Nfection to take place.
After the attack on Arctis Tor, despite successfully breaching the security, the Black Council is unable to locate Mab. Realizing the extent of the Black Council's plan, Mab is able to get Eldest Fetch to abduct Molly - taking her away from the clutches of the Black Council, and bringing in Harry to save the day.
The Black Council is happy to send Lily to aid Harry in "rescuing" Molly because they do not want Mab to have her before the Nfection. By using Lily's butterfly in Arctis Tor, Maeve is able to further the fiction that Lily is Nfected, allowing Mab to think that Lily planned the attack. Mab sees through this & realizes that Maeve is the one who is actually Nfected

So in essence, 2 things spoil Nemesis' plans - Michael goes to Oregon instead of staying in Chicago & helping Molly; and Mab is able to successfully hide during the attack on Arctis Tor - the unsuccessful attempt unmasks Maeve. This book is the beginning of the end of the war against the Red Court - it is the first time that the Black Council are unable to achieve any of their objectives.

I also believe that it is Future Harry who creates the accident with the Beetle in the beginning of the book - this forces Harry to rely on Murphy & Thomas, both of those help he needs to get through the case. He also fixes Little Chicago as he alone knows Harry's wards at this time.

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