History Literature / SmallFavor

* BigEntrance: A literal example when [[spoiler:Bigger Brother Gruff]] walks through the wall of the train station.

** Using magic which was meant to guard and guide people in malevolent and twisted means pisses Harry off. [[spoiler:Using it to torture a child]] ''really'' pisses him off. He isn't even aware of it when he starts screaming out in fury.

** First, Harry is being tracked by the Summer Court Gruffs [[spoiler:via the silver oak leaf pin which he was previously given as a symbol of the boon Summer owes him. When it’s in an unwarded area, Summer knows where he is and can stage an attack. So to confuse the heck out of them, Harry activates [[SympatheticMagic Little Chicago]] and hangs the leaf in a bag of catnip above Little Chicago on an elastic cord, with Mister the cat in the room. Every time Mister pulls the oak leaf pin into within one foot of Little Chicago, it "reads" as being in the corresponding area of real Chicago and Summer rushes off in search of Harry there. The Eldest Gruff is ''very'' impressed with how thoroughly Harry kept Summer chasing their tails.]]

** First, Harry is being tracked by the Summer Court Gruffs [[spoiler:via the silver oak leaf pin which he was previously given as a symbol of the boon Summer owes him. When it isn't in an unwarded area, Summer knows where he is and can stage an attack. So to confuse the heck out of them, Harry activates [[SympatheticMagic Little Chicago]] and hangs the leaf in a bag of catnip above Little Chicago on an elastic cord, with Mister the cat in the room. Every time Mister pulls the oak leaf pin into within one foot of Little Chicago, it "reads" as being in the corresponding area of real Chicago and Summer rushes off in search of Harry there. The Eldest Gruff is ''very'' impressed with how thoroughly Harry kept Summer chasing their tails.]]

** The second eldest Gruff, [[spoiler:once beaten by Harry and shown mercy, departs peacefully]].

** [[spoiler:Mab considers Thomas mortal enough to be the Winter Knight, despite being a White Court vampire,]] because he is in true love with Justine.

** The Eldest Gruff is [[spoiler:very affable to Harry, even enjoying the fact that "The Literature/ThreeBillyGoatsGruff" is still known to children. He even agrees to postpone the fight because Harry is owed one favor by the Summer Court, knowing by the time he fulfills the favor the fight will no longer be needed.]]

** Invoked by the Eldest Gruff [[spoiler:to ask Harry to not fight him, because it's obvious just how outclassed in terms of power the young wizard is. In return, the Eldest Gruff would make it a painless death. Harry refuses and calls in his trump card.]]

** The Eldest Gruff, who has taken down [[spoiler:three members of the Senior Council and wears their stoles as trophies]], effortlessly takes down [[spoiler:Magog, a Fallen Angel possessing a human]].

** When the otherwise-fearless Toot-toot tells Harry to run, he's cautious. When always-hungry Toot tells him to ''forget the doughnut'' and run, Harry '''knows''' it's something dreadful.

** Harry's encounter with [[spoiler:the Eldest Gruff]] has this displayed by both sides, neither of whom really want to fight. [[spoiler:The Eldest Gruff serves the Summer Court and the Queen, in that order. Harry abuses this by calling in a favor he is owed from the Court (by having the Gruff [[RefugeInAudacity bring him a doughnut]]) and the Eldest Gruff abuses it by gravely claiming it will take time to fulfill such a request ([[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments wandering around Chicago waiting for doughnut shops to open and looking for the 'best' doughnut]]), leaving Harry plenty of time to finish Mab's request and thus no longer be targeted by Summer's forces.]]

** Mab [[spoiler:hates Thorned Namshiel for his part in the attack on Arctic Tor back in ''Literature/ProvenGuilty'' and feels the Denarians are truly guilty of violating ''her'' Accords. Her task for Harry is meant to stop Namshiel and the other Denarians from gaining more power.]]

** [[spoiler:Uriel's]] point to Dresden during his RageAgainstTheHeavens moment towards the end--God's ways are mysterious to humans because he doesn't see the universe the same way they do. [[spoiler: Makes sense, given that Uriel is the one who took an interest in Harry in the first place, and he's noted as the archangel who is by far the most subtle in his operations.]]

* BigBadDuumvirate: Nicodemus and Tessa each have their own goal they are aiming for. Normally opposed, when they team up bad things tend to happen.

** Tessa is the mastermind behind constructing [[spoiler:the greater circle which binds the Archive, tapping into the power of the LeyLine. At the Shedd, she is able to throw powerful but clean and efficient lightning bolts with barely any energy usage.]]
** Thorned Namshiel. According to Nicodemus, he is the one teaching magic in Tessa's team, [[spoiler: he is in the Black Council]], and he is (or was) an expert in the use of [[spoiler: soulfire]].

** When [[spoiler:the Eldest Gruff]] asks Harry what he thinks is going through Mab's head regarding her actions during the book (such as wanting to save Marcone), Harry replies he has a hard enough time with mortal women. It would take a wiser man than him to understand a ''fae'' woman. After a minute, [[spoiler:the Eldest Gruff erupts with a baying laugh]].

* AlwaysABiggerFish: Harry is running like hell to get away from Magog [[spoiler:and off the island. The giant gorilla-from-hell-FallenAngel]] is about to catch him when [[spoiler:Eldest Brother Gruff shows up and literally blasts a hole through Magog just so that ''he'' can get to Harry]].

* GunshipRescue: For the climax, Harry plans well in out-thinking the Denarians, as he has [[spoiler:Gard, Hendricks, and Luccio coming in on a helo complete with minigun to help rescue Marcone and Ivy]].

** Nicodemus's possible plans for destroying civilisation according to Harry: Use nuclear weapons, biological or chemical weapons, crash the world economy, or change everything on TV into a reality show.

[[TheOneWith The second one with]] the Fallen.

* NotSoDifferent: Nicodemus tells Harry they are share some temperaments and ideals. And even some of his goals would be things Harry strives for as well, such as the destruction of the Red Court.

* GroinAttack: Harry smacks the gorilla-like Denarian Magog's "coconuts" with his staff. It's quiet effective.

** Harry too. As Nicodemus notes, he's too stubborn to be corrupt. [[spoiler: Only he is far more than Nicodemus thought. He got rid of Lasciel's influence. While having barely any magical energy left, he risks his life to take out the Denarian's in the aquarium to take out Denarians by blasting the water tanks there. Though the crowning moment comes when he is strangling Nicodemus. Nicodemus, his magic being disabled by ''Fidellachius'', strikes at every one of Harry's injuries with enough force to to feel pain beyond Lasciel's pain numbing technique, but he presses on, and keeps going after Nicodemus loses consciousness. And when Deirdre shows up, despite knowing the only reason they haven't shot him is because Nick is right next to him, he tosses him into the water, because he ''needs to die''. Then Harry does not attack the mooks despite in a precarious position because they would drown and still holds his breath underwater and escapes.]]

** BigBadDuumvirate: Nicodemus and Tessa each have their own goal they are aiming for. Normally opposed, when they team up bad things tend to happen.

* BigBadDuumvirate: Nicodemus and Tessa each have their own goal they are aiming for. Normally opposed, when they team up bad things tend to happen.

* ArtisticLicenseReligion: Uriel is said in this book to have killed the first-born of Egypt. However, the Bible explicitly notes that God ''personally'' did that, not an angel.

** Harry too. As Nicodemus notes, he's too stubborn to be corrupt. [[spoiler: Only he is far more than Nicodemus thought. He got rid of Lasciel's influence. While having barely any magical energy left, he risks his life to take out the Denarian's in the aquarium to take out
Denarians by blasting the water tanks there. Though the crowning moment comes when he is strangling Nicodemus. Nicodemus, his magic being disabled by ''Fidellachius'', strikes at every one of Harry's injuries with enough force to to feel pain beyond Lasciel's pain numbing technique, but he presses on, and keeps going after Nicodemus loses consciousness. And when Deirdre shows up, despite knowing the only reason they haven't shot him is because Nick is right next to him, he tosses him into the water, because he ''needs to die''. Then Harry does not attack the mooks despite in a precarious position because they would drown and still holds his breath underwater and escapes.]]

*** Hypothernia

** Rather than risk fighting, the Archive knows that [[spoiler:when the Shedd is compromised, the best option is to run and hide. Unfortunately, seeing Harry caught and about to be tortured makes Ivy choose to save her friend.]]

* ChekhovsSkill: The pain-blocking techniques Lasciel taught Harry a few books back come in handy when [[spoiler:Sanya cuts his leg to remove the kelpie bit on it]].