Harry has never had a problem killing suprnatural beings OR humans, if given the correct reasons.

In retrospect, he was silently horrified about how many enemies, human or otherwise, never seemed to surive encounters with him. This was after marcone pointed it out to him.

But Harry would have no problem pulling a gun on a human and shooting them dead in the middle of a battle, or to protect someone.

The only time he ever really REALLY felt bad were after executing Cassus, Luccio(Corpsetaker), and Susan. He either did it cold or without thinking, and that is what scared him.

He had perfectly legitimate reasons to kill the two fae at his birthday party. After setting the standard, backing down in front of preditors is a sure way to become prey. Numer 1 died because they questioned him. Number 2 died because they questioned him. He was protecting humans like Sarissa, and he couldnt afford to come off soft, or he may find himself turned upon by winter.

He wouldnt feel bad about it if he killed 100 more, for the right reasons.

1. We have been told that Nicodemus has a very specific target in mind, ostensibly kept in the Labyrinth of Daedalus.  What is Nic trying to get his hands on and why?

   TBD - I will definitely pick one as I give it more thought. Right now I am leaning towards a being or soul, rather than an actual object. Whatever it is, he plans on creating a long-term feeling of fear and despair with it (That’s his m.o.). It’s one step closer to the apocalypse in his mind.
   Possible Beings: Persephone
   Possible Objects: Pandora’s Box of Badness

   I’m also pretty sure that Nic is going to go as long as possible without telling Harry what the object is. It is going to make it much easier to keep him wondering and screw him later. It’s going to be one of Harry’s major tasks to “guess” what the object is and develop plans to double cross Nic.

2. Nicodemus apparently called in a marker from Mab to get Harry on the team.  Does he have a specific plan for using Harry or did Mab twist his request?  Which of Harry's capabilities will he admit to needing, and (given that this is Nicodemus after all), which abilities is he scheming for Harry to use?

Nic needs Harry because Harry has been dead and returned. They are going to the realm of the dead. He is going to need Harry to slip by one of Hades’ security measures. I believe I know which of those it is too… Garm/Cerberus.  I do not want to ruin my extra credit  (#9) by fully elaborating on Garm/Cerberus here. But the dog was given to Hades to guard the entrance to the underworld: to keep live people out and dead people in. Harry was dead before and returned. The dog will want him back. He will be able to cross where most living beings can not.
Nic is probably scheming for Harry to use Soul Fire at some point to create something (Still trying to decide what this something might be).

3. Jim has mentioned that the book will be "Ocean's Eleven".  Who else did Nicodemus recruit?  How will they interact with Harry?

Nic recruits a whole bunch of baddies from bad town to do baddery. But I think that Harry will get a few suprises thrown in there he did not expect to see.
1)   The Last Churchmouse, Anna Valmont. There is WOJ out there that she may be involved, but I don’t see Harry recruiting her. So I think Nic recruits her, and she is going to be a big surprise for Harry. I don’t think Nic would bring along a vanilla mortal, so she has probably been given a coin. She may have impressed him with her previous heists, and he recruited her knowing he would have this job to do later. She will probably be his number 2, which will piss Deirdre off, because heists are second nature to her. She now has the knowledge of a fallen angel to add to her lifetime of instinct and planning. I think she will kind of act as Nic(Ocean)’s Rusty. She will manage the small details, while he does the whole picture.
2)   A Naagloshii. Harry hates these things, so naturally he’s going to have to work with one. Besides being totally evil, they are very capable. Highly resistant to damage, fast, strong, and can wield magic. They can also shapeshift which I imagine will be very helpful in a bank job. It would fill the role of grease man / bag man. Someone who can get places most people would not think to look, and accomplish a task there.
3)   Nic’s daughter Deirdre. He takes her everywhere, we saw her in the preview chapters. She’s good at cutting things and giving Nic nookie.
4)   Kummori or Cowl. I think probably Kummori. They will have an entirely different object they want to get from Hade’s vault. They are tagging along for the ride. Most likely they will offer him their skills in manipulating the dead and spirits, which will be necessary in Hades’ realm.

4. Harry's general method of operation is to call on his friends for help.  In this book, Harry is (initially) allowed one extra backup member on the crew.  Who will it be?  Which of Harry's other allies will "interfere" before the plot is over?

While his first choice is probably Kincaid, I don’t think Kincaid will agree to back him in a job with the Denarians. He’s going to pull Thomas off the bench and go for muscle over skill.

5. This is a Denarian book, so (unlike the last "end of the world" showdown), the Swords will almost certainly be present.  In fact, there have been various hints...  Which Sword wielders will appear in the next book and how will their interference/help affect the plot?
Michael is NOT going to be on Harry’s backup list, but ends up getting involved anyway. I think when Harry goes to tell Michael about his daughter, he doesn’t take it well. He gets upset. Then when Harry lets slip about the job he’s going to do, Michael’s clouded judgment gets him to act against Nicodemous, even though he is no longer a knight. I think he calls up Sanya and Murphy, they grab their swords, and go try to stop Nicodemous and Harry. Harry did not tell him it was his job to screw Nic over. In the end Sanya is mortally wounded.

6. Mab is apparently against Nicodemus succeeding in this heist.  In the Cold Days, we found that Mab had complex reasons for wanting Harry to kill Maeve.  What are Mab's reasons in this book?  Is it simple thwarting or is there something deeper?

Mab always holds up her end of the bargain, but she also always pays her debts. Some of the Denarians, and definitely Cowl and Kummori, screwed her at different points in time. The Denarians played big wolf to her little pig at Arctis Tor. The necromancers gave Morgana’s Dagger to Lea, which cost her her daughter. I think both will be on this job, and I think she’s setting them up to be screwed BIG. In addition to that, she’s probably just screwing them to be contrary. It’s in her job description to get the best of anyone in bargains.

7. At the end of Cold Days, Harry needs to stay on the island to keep his growing headaches at bay.  The start of Skin Games implies that those headaches will need to be resolved by the end of the book.  Who or what is causing those headaches, and how will the whole thing get resolved by the end of the book?

The headaches have been going on since before Lash, so that’s a bunch of hooey. I’m still not quite sure what is causing the headaches, but it is a creature of some sort. I always thought it might be linked to him being a starborn. They might get worse and worse as the day gets closer and closer. This probably isn’t it though because there are twentyish books before the apocalypse. That is, unless the apocalypse doesn’t have to do with the start of the outsider attack, which could occur sooner than book 20. It will be resolved when Nic or some other baddie rips the earing off his ear or something, and he’s not on Demonreach. This will probably happen right before the final conflict in the book. The consequences will be dealt with in the aftermath.
TBD. Ill return to this.

8.  One of the key components of the "Ocean's Eleven" movie is that there is a final twist/reveal.  Given that we've got Nicodemus, Harry, Mab, and potentially Hades (and who knows who else) all trying to get the better of each other, if there's one thing you can count on it's some sort of last minute quintuple-cross.  What will be the nature of the twist and how will it all fall out?

Willing to bet Mab and Hades were gaming them all from the start to get someone to somewhere at a certain time to make something happen. Ill try to flesh this out more later.

9.  (Extra Credit) There are many WAG ("Wild A$$ Guess") theories on the boards, some crazier than others.  Write up to three WAG theories (or make up your own) you believe are correct that will be confirmed (or at least have evidence in favor of) in Skin Games.

          (WAG 1) The Eldest Foo Dog
We keep meeting the grand-daddy version of each supernatural creature. We have the eldest fetch, eldest gruff, and the eldest malk now.

I'm pretty sure in Skin game we are going to meet the eldest foo dog. 

In Norse mythology. Garm (a giant ferocious dog) guards the gate to Hel’s realm, the underworld. In Greek mythology, Cerberus (a giant ferocious dog) is given to Hades to guard the entrance to the underworld: to keep live people out and dead people in. The only difference is that Cerberus has three heads.

So we have a big dog spirit guardian that can interact with both living and non living beings. Sounds like a foo dog to me.

I am thinking he is going to be Hades' door guard, just to get into the realm, not even the vault.

I'm also willing to bet money that this "obstacle" is the reason Nic needed Harry on the mission in the first place. Harry has died and returned. It's possible that Cerberus or Garm might let him past, seeing that he belongs there. It opened more pathways and options for Harry then he is aware of.

Also Hades might not be a man. If you go with Norse Mythology like with Odin, Hades is a female also named Hel. In this case the dog would be Garm instead of Cerberus.

          (WAG 2) Mother Winter Holds The Mantle of Hel, the Norse(like Odin) version of Hades
She rules over the dead, and her vault is guarded by a guardian dog spirit named Garm.

10. (Extra Credit) This is that "free form" question where you can come up with anything else you think will be in this book.  Specific quotes Harry might say (will he actually quote Ocean's Eleven?  The movie will have come out already in Harry's timeline)? Tidbits about the White Council? The fate of Molly? Write down anything you want.  Note that whatever you write must be specifically mentioned or hinted at in Skin Games in order to be worth credit.