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The second one with the Fallen.

After a year or so of peace and quiet, Mab, the Queen of Air and Darkness, monarch of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, comes back into Harry Dresden's life with a request. John Marcone, crime lord and Accorded Baron of Chicago, has been kidnapped by forces unknown, and Mab wants him freed. She demands that Harry act as her Emissary, and he isn't exactly given the option to refuse. Worse yet, the Summer Court found out about this before he did, meaning they're now trying to kill him before he does Mab's work.

Small Favor is book #10 of The Dresden Files.


Small Favor provides examples of the following tropes:

  • Actually Pretty Funny:
    • Michael really tries not to laugh when he hears Harry's nickname for members of the Order of the Blackened Denarius. Wanting to take away that impressive title, Harry calls them "Nickleheads."
    • When 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, Eldest Gruff erupts with a baying laugh.
  • Almighty Janitor: Harry meets one of the strongest of the Archangels in the form of a janitor.
  • Always a Bigger Fish: Harry is running like hell to get away from Magog and off the island. The giant gorilla-from-hell-Fallen Angel is about to catch him when Eldest Gruff shows up and literally blasts a hole through Magog just so that he can get to Harry.
  • Anti-Hero:
    • Harry's anti-hero status confuses Michael, at times. Michael is used to the idea that he as a Knight would bear and suffer burdens so others do not. However, Harry lies by omission to the White Council in order to gain their support against the Denarians, just to give Michael and Sanya an edge against these ancient enemies, knowing that Michael would never and could never lie to get help. According to Sanya, Michael considers the fact that Harry would risk his life—as, if the Council found out he lied, it could be called treason—for Michael's principles and goal, a messianic act.
    • Later, Harry references this side of himself again when he has incapacitated Nicodemus by strangling him with the Judas Noose. A man like Michael would have stopped, as Nicodemus couldn't fight back. Harry just keeps going. Nicodemus is one of those people in the world he could kill and never lose a minute of sleep about it.
  • Arch-Enemy: Summer and Winter's forces to each other. Even if they have a job at the moment that doesn't involve the other, odds are they will end up getting into a tussle. This is used by Harry when he lures some of the hobs assaulting Grand Central Terminal to attack Tiny Gruff.
  • The Archmage:
    • The Archive. Using only the magic she could draw in before all magic was cut off at the Shedd Aquarium, she holds her own against half a dozen Denarians effortlessly. Harry watches her use two different spells at the same time in each hand. If not for the limits of her child body, she would have outlasted all of them and left more dead on the floor.
    • Tessa is the mastermind behind constructing the Greater Circle which binds the Archive, tapping into the power of the Ley Line. At the Shedd, she’s able to throw powerful but clean and efficient lightning bolts with barely any energy usage.
    • Thorned Namshiel. According to Nicodemus, he’s the one teaching magic in Tessa's team, he’s in the Black Council, and he’s (or was) an expert in the use of soulfire.
    • The Eldest Gruff. Despite standing only five feet tall, this ancient powerful fae holds three purple stoles he claimed after defeating three different Senior Council members in what were probably duels to the death. Harry watches him effortlessly kill the Denarian Magog. Standing before him in battle, Harry knows he has no chance against the Gruff in a straight fight.
  • Armor-Piercing Question: After a great many questionable events, Michael, fearing Harry has had his mind altered, asks "Where is your blasting rod?"
  • Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking:
    • Nicodemus's possible plans for destroying civilisation according to Harry: Use nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons, crash the world economy, or change everything on TV into a reality show.
    • The sprinkler-heads at the train station are all the same, allowing for Sympathetic Magic: a convenience Harry suggests could be attributable to luck, fate, or God, but probably to a cheap city contractor.
  • Artifact of Doom: The coin of a Denarian. Considering what is inside, Harry wants the ones he took from dead Dearians in a contained space. He worries there could be some effect of the Fallen to ensure Murphy's luck hits and the coin "just happens" to land on open skin or roll away from capture.
  • Artistic License – Religion: 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 (though it's possible that Bob was misinformed, since this was well before his time).
  • As Long as There Is One Man: While it doesn't come down to this moment, Harry discusses this point with Nicodemus. Harry points out that even if the Knights are killed, somewhere in the world a good man or woman will stand up against the Apocolypse Nicodemus is trying to bring forth. Even if the crisis has happened, someone will stand up, take up a Sword and carry on the fight. Nicodemus will continue to fight this war again and again. After all, he's been doing it for nearly two thousand years already.
  • The Atoner: Sanya admitted in his debut that despite being a Knight of the Cross, he was once a Denarian. He finally gives the whole story in this book.
  • Back-to-Back Badasses: Harry and Michael against a horde of hobs at the train station.
  • Badass Bystander: The stewardess at the train station. When the hobs attack—under cover of total darkness—she manages to get a number of people to shelter and, when Harry and Michael arrive, has placed herself between them and the door and is kneeling and frantically praying.
  • Badass in Distress: Marcone and Ivy are badasses on various levels, but both get held hostage and tortured by the Denarians.
  • Badass Normal: When he’s attacked by forces of evil which make him seem like an infant, holding knowledge and powers he could not possibly fathom, Gentleman Marcone does not go down easily, fighting as hard as he can against the Denarians, and does not break to their will. He loses half an ear in the process.
  • Balance Between Good and Evil: Lucifer twice gives his agents Super Hellfire in order to bind the Archive. Because of this fact, the Archangel Uriel is able to endow someone on the side of good with a greater power. Uriel selects Harry and gives him Soulfire, the fires of creation.
  • Batman Gambit:
    • Nicodemus's intentions regarding Lasciel are spelled out in this book. By tossing her coin at Harry Dresden and Harry Carpenter a few years back in Death Masks, he planned on one of them becoming infected with Lasciel. Either little Hank would grow up having Lasciel whispering in his ear and turning him into his parents' worst nightmare, or Nicodemus would gain a powerful Wizard in his ranks. The only thing he failed to take into account was just how thick and stubborn Harry Dresden was when he grabbed the coin to save Little Harry, since as far as both the Denarians and the Church know, no one has ever resisted a Fallen's Shadow before. Michael implies that this wasn't the first time Nicodemus made such plans.
    • Titania has played one since Proven Guilty. That Silver Oak Leaf that grants Harry a boon from Summer was something she knew he would keep on him, in the event that he needed it in the war, and which is valuable enough to not waste frivolously. So it would provide her and her people an ideal tracking method when Mab eventually comes to Harry with another favor to ask of him. Even with the strongest blizzard going around Harry, the Leaf's signal still gets through.
    • Harry runs one himself. Knowing what sort of man Nicodemus is, Harry gives Luccio some of his hair to allow her to track him in one of Marcone's helicopters for a rescue mission when the deal goes south. He also brings the silver oak leaf to draw Summer into the fray. And then set up a second escape route with Thomas on the Water Beetle.
    • Nicodemus again, asking Harry for a private talk in which he indirectly reveals their plan to kidnap Ivy, knowing that Harry's Papa Wolf tendencies would make him lash out first, allowing Nic to have Plausible Deniability since he never said anything concrete while pinning the blame of breaking Sacred Hospitality on Harry who has a history of doing so.
    • Tessa and co. after failing to catch Ivy, decide to capture Kincaid and Harry, the only people who love Ivy as a person and vice-versa. It works, much to the guilt of the pair.
  • Batman Grabs a Gun: Harry's strange behavior, in particular lacking his blasting rod and barely using any fire magic, makes Luccio grab it by permitting Molly to enter Harry's mind and see if his thoughts have been tampered with, knowing she’s fully guilty of breaking the Fourth Law of Magic (using mind magic to bend or break a person's will to hers). While technically speaking, a passive observation of Harry's thoughts isn't breaking the Fourth Law, in much the same way that walking into a bank vault and just looking at the money isn't bank robbing, the Council still frowns on these "grey areas," and for a high-ranking Warden to give it the go-ahead is a difficult decision. To compare to mortal crimes, it’s like a recovering heroine addict and criminal informant being asked to hang out in a crack house.
  • Bat Signal: Harry asks Michael if the Home Office has made any flaming crosses in the sky telling them where the Denarians are keeping Marcone and Ivy. There weren't, Michael checked.
  • Battle Cry: Michael Carpenter calls out phrases in Latin as he smites dark creatures.
    Michael: Lava quod est sordium! In nomine Dei, sana quod est saucium!Translation 
  • Berserk Button:
    • Harry presses a Denarian's by using Soulfire on the Fallen. In Harry's defense, he has no idea what's happening.
    • Using magic which was meant to guard and guide people, in malevolent and twisted ways pisses Harry off. Using it to torture a child really pisses him off. He isn't even aware of it when he starts screaming out in fury.
    • And hurting Michael is even worse. His rage for that is enough to fuel a fire evocation stronger than anything he used before (including the one empowered by Summer's fire itself), and that's without his rod.
  • Beware the Quiet Ones: Mab considers the Archangel Uriel the quietest of the Archangels and also the most dangerous. According to Bob, he's personally responsible for the Tenth Plague of Egypt.
  • Big Bad: Nicodemus again, planning to turn the Archive into a Denarian.
  • Big Bad Duumvirate: Nicodemus and Tessa each have their own goals they’re aiming for. Normally opposed, when they team up bad things tend to happen.
  • Big Damn Heroes:
    • When Harry, Michael, Sanya, Marcone, and Ivy are trapped and surrounded by Nicodemus, his Denarians, and his cult of followers, they know they have little hope of getting out, and trusting Nic to keep his word is about as smart as breathing in a vacuum. So as the five huddle in the cold, Miss Gard arrives in a helo gunship with Hendricks and Luccio to save the day.
    • God and Murphy play this, of a sort. Because of complications, Harry doesn't make it out on the helo mentioned above. So Harry races back to the boat to make it to the reef surrounding the island. When Thomas's boat arrives, Deirdre catches up with Harry and circumstances make Karrin draw a bit of Fidelacchius. The Light and Power of God shines so bright, Deirdre swims away in terror.
  • Big Entrance: A literal example when Elder Gruff walks through the wall of the train station.
  • Bilingual Dialogue: Eldest Gruff apparently understands the language of the Fallen, or whatever Magog is speaking, very easily, but responds in Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe.
  • The Black Death: The last time Nicodemus and Tessa worked together, the Plague swept across Europe shortly thereafter.
  • Bodyguarding a Badass: Kincaid is still protecting Ivy, who seems even stronger than she was in Death Masks.
  • Book Ends:
    • Early in the book, Harry asks Murphy for a doughnut, in order to call a pixie (and make a point). At the end he asks Eldest Gruff for one (with white frosting, and sprinkles) to call in his favor from Summer—and so that Eldest Gruff won't kill him.
    • Harry gets his nose broken in the novel's first battle, and breaks Nicodemus's nose in its last battle.
  • Boom, Headshot!: Kincaid shows how even powerful Denarians are not immune to this by taking many out at the Shedd. Including two headshots with one bullet.
  • Break the Cutie: Nicodemus' plan for Ivy, to get her to take up a Fallen Angel so that he can gain the power of the Archive.
  • Brought Down to Badass: Skills per individual will change the final outcome, but this is the basic idea of what the Swords of the Cross make happen. The Swords neutralize the Fallen's stat bonuses to the host, leaving it simply a battle of two mortals, though the Denarian may not look very human.
  • The Brute: The Denarian Magog, who turns into a giant ape-like beast, is considered this for Tessa.
  • Bullying a Dragon:
    • The Gruffs are smart enough to avoid necessarily doing this by waiting for Queen Mab to depart before continuing their attacks on Harry Dresden. Had they attacked him when the Queen was there, in the middle of a blizzard at night, she could have floored them with a wink.
    • The torture of the Archive, a being at least as powerful as the Summer and Winter Ladies, can be seen as this. Nicodemus even allows Tessa and Rossana to do most of the torment so that in the event the Archive breaks free or is rescued, it won't be his back with the target.
  • Call-Back:
    • Invoked by Harry. When he faces the Denarians before the climax, he realizes that the entire situation is nearly identical to when he faced Lea at the graveyard in Grave Peril. Like back then, he’s lawfully holding a Sword of the Cross. Like then, there’s an event that could make him strike the antagonist. And like then, doing so would be a bane to the sword, for as using Amoracchius to renege on his deal with Lea weakened its protection, striking Nicodemus with Fidelacchius, the Sword of Faith, after promising to give the Sword to Nicodemus to save a child's life would be breaking his word, and so the sword. Harry, however, learned from his mistakes, and uses the fact Nicodemus doesn't know about the first event to his advantage.
    • Harry monologues about what Kincaid taught him involving shotguns and what can be put into them. This is because Harry found some even more pyrotechnic shotgun rounds, and uses them to disrupt Nicodemus's plan.
    • Miss Gard blasts "Ride of the Valkyries" over the external speakers again when she pilots the rescue helo to the island and saves the heroes.
  • Cast from Hit Points: Soulfire is empowered by energy from the wielder's soul (it regenerates). Using too much at once, however, can consume the user's soul entirely.
  • The Champion:
    • By doing the favor for Mab, Harry is her champion in this matter.
    • The Gruffs, and Eldest Gruff in particular, are Summer's champions, with the stated goal of stopping Harry.
  • Chaotic Evil: In-universe. When Tessa searches out someone to carry a Fallen Angel, she selects a person who would fall under this trope and be easy prey to a more thuggish Fallen.
  • Chekhov's Gag: Harry asks Michael about big fiery crosses as a sign from Him as to Marcone and Ivy's location. Later on, Harry uses a fiery spear-like blast to signal the cavalry his exact location.
  • Chekhov's Gun:
    • Inverted. The absence of any mention of Harry's blasting rod becomes a significant plot point later, because he realizes that Mab took it away from him and blocked his memories of it, making all of his friends very suspicious of him for most of the book.
    • By extension of the above, Harry using powerful fire magic on the island (combined with Tiny's note that the Eldest sibling was coming) makes Eldest Gruff's arrival not that much of a surprise.
    • The Summer Fae are revealed to have been tracking Harry by his use of fire magic. So, when Harry returns to his apartment, and casually uses magic to light several candles, his first use of fire magic since Mab took his memories of it, it follows that Summer Fae show up to attack him before too long.
    • Harry badly beat Thorned Namshiel with a magic hand attack that he doesn't understand. Later, when talking with Jake, the old man's parting words speak of God, or God's agent, giving Harry a hand. On cue, the hand that created the magic hand tingles.
    • Thorned Namshiel's coin, which wasn't in the bag with the others, goes missing from Michael's things on the helo. Odds are good it will come into play later.
      • Fires in Battle Ground: Marcone stole it and took it up.
  • Chekhov's Gunman: Warden Chandler gets a brief, unnamed mention near the end of the book. He becomes a friend of Harry's and is seen in the next two books.
  • Chekhov's Skill: The pain-blocking techniques Lasciel taught Harry a few books back come in handy when Sanya cuts his leg to remove the kelpie bit on it Rosanna, The Dragon of Tessa, sees this as further proof Harry has gone under. As Harry proves later while strangling Nicodemus while still using that technique maintain advantage, he hasn’t.
  • The Chooser of the One:
    • Harry, being the guardian of Fidelacchius, is this for the next Knight of the Cross. He ends up choosing Nicodemus, though he doesn't actually give the Sword to him.
    • In a dark version, Nicodemus sees himself as one who must rightfully choose which coin to give a new recruit so the Fallen Angel and human will work well together. He considers giving Lasciel to Harry a good choice, not realizing Harry had redeemed the Shadow of Lasciel.
    • At the end of the book, Michael retires and Amoracchius passes into Harry's keeping, along with Fidelacchius, waiting for him to choose new bearers.
  • Co-Dragons: Deirdre and Rosanna act as such for the current operation, each serving her own leader, Nick and Tessa respectively.
  • Collector of the Strange: Luccio reveals that one of her hobbies is learning about computers, which she can't actually use because wizards are Walking Techbanes, by reading books and magazines.
  • Combat Pragmatist:
    • While Harry is always willing to fight smart and dirty, he really shines in this book during his fight with Tiny Gruff and his non-magical brawl with Nicodemus. He also kills a large number of Denarians by breaking the water tank of the aquarium they are fighting in.
    • Murphy points her gun at Tiny Gruff in Mac's bar, where he can’t fight without violating the neutrality of Mac's. As neither Murphy nor her superiors in the Chicago PD and government are members of the Accords, she isn't bound by that neutrality.
    • Kincaid has no qualms about sniping Denarians from cover and shadows.
    • The Denarians gas the Shedd with a light sedative. Not enough to knock out an adult-sized human, but since the Archive is still in the body of a child, when her magic is cut off, she quickly succumbs to the gas.
  • Contemplate Our Navels: When going over the tedious task of trying to reference what creatures attacked him early in the book, Harry contemplates Bob, his nature as a being of pure information, and his relationship with the characters in his novels. It gets a little meta.
  • Continuity Nod:
    • Events from Fool Moon, Blood Rites, Dead Beat and White Night are given the nod when Luccio examines Harry's assorted battle-scars.
    • The short story "Heorot" is referenced when Gard says that she and Harry worked well together at a beer festival, which is also where Harry learned that Gard is actually Sigrun the Valkyrie.
    • Another short story, "Something Borrowed," is referenced after Murphy gives CPR to Harry, when she says she "only spat up punch" when he did it to her.
  • Contrived Coincidence: As usual, standard operating procedure for the Knights of the Cross:
    • Wouldn't you know, the moment a couple of Denarians get into town, Sanya's flight is canceled and he’s stuck in Chicago. What are the odds?
    • Harry and Michael happen to go to the train station to pick up Gard's box at the same time the train carrying Ivy, Kincaid, and Luccio arrives, with a horde of hobs waiting to attack.
  • Cool Sword: The Swords of the Knights of the Cross. Always holy, sometimes glowing, wielded to keep the darkness at bay, and unbreakable in most circumstances.
  • The Corrupter: Nicodemus is an expert at the art of corruption and destruction. He can spin his "I’m trying to save the world" spiel in ways to affect the person and make them think, "Maybe he has a point."
  • The Corruptible: Harry fears Molly is vulnerable to Nicodemus's corruption, so she sits out the final battle, staying home to guard the wounded Kincaid. Considering her close brushes with Dark Magic and that she's still struggling to resist the urges to do things the easy way, Harry doesn't want her to be taken and potentially turned.
  • Corrupt Politician: Discussed. It’s acknowledged Marcone has plenty of people in Chicago's government and police in his pocket. He can make inconvenient investigations go away. Harry suspects that because Michael played a key role in saving his life, Marcone will make sure any investigation into the gunshot wounds Michael received from the escape vanishes, as a means of paying back Michael.
  • CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable: Averted, for the Clean part at least, when Dresden apparently spits up fishy aquarium water during the process.
    Harry: Guess we're even.
    Murphy: Like hell we are. I only spit fruit punch into your mouth.
  • Crazy-Prepared: Harry explains that this trope is the most crucial quality he's worked to acquire during the Vampire War, and to imbue in his Warden trainees: most times, wizards' enemies try to take them down with sudden ambushes, so they have to be prepared to fight and/or maneuver their way out of one at any moment.
  • Creepy Child: As the Archive, repository of all human knowledge, eleven-year-old Ivy acts disturbingly unchildlike in most circumstances. She still loves to watch cute things, like playful sea otters, when she gets the chance.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle: Eldest Gruff's fight with a massive (yet none-too-clever) Denarian is over in a single second (after he gives him several chances to walk away). There’s little doubt that he could end his fight with Harry Dresden in much the same way, but since he doesn't especially want to kill Harry, our hero manages to talk his way out of it.
  • Daddy's Little Villain: Dierdre is this to Nicodemus, being cunning but loyal to her father. When she finds Harry on the verge of killing her father, she’s enraged and orders the fanatics to not fire as they could hit her father. When Harry dumps Nic in the water, she goes to rescue Nicodemus rather than killing Harry then and there.
  • David Versus Goliath:
    • Physically, Harry versus "Tiny" Gruff in the train station. Tiny stands near 20 feet and Harry must use inertia (a giant charging goat-thing doesn't corner very well), draw the attention of the hobs to attack the Gruff (as they are Winter and hate all things Summer), and finally utilize Gard's security ward to blast Tiny.
    • Magically and physically, Harry against Eldest Gruff. As an archmage who has defeated three Senior Council members, the Gruff trumps Harry. Physically, Harry, 6'9", towers over the 5-foot-tall Gruff. Harry only wins by using his brain.
  • Deal with the Devil:
    • Besides the general actions of the Knights of the Blackened Denarius, Nicodemus has to make a deal with Satan himself to get enough power to drill through Marcone's safe house defenses and later bind the Archive.
    • Queen Mab tells Harry her interest in offering the Winter Knight position to Thomas should Harry die by the Summer Court's hands, giving him a way to take vengeance for Harry's death, not to mention be with Justine again.
  • Debt Detester: Generally speaking, most fae loathe being in debt to a human. They will aim to pay the debt back quickly. Part of Harry's argument to convince Eldest Gruff to fulfill the minor request Harry earned with his powerful boon is that if Harry were killed by Summer before he could collect on what Summer owes him, then Summer could never fulfill the debt and it would be a black mark on the Summer Court and Titania herself.
  • Demonic Possession: The Knights of the Blackened Denarius each act as host for one of thirty Fallen Angels imprisoned within Judas's Thirty Pieces of Silver.
  • Deprogram: When Harry realizes someone has seriously messed with his mind, Michael takes him gently to a cot and uses a prayer and the power of Faith to help unlock the memory block placed on Harry.
  • Desperate Object Catch: Harry snatches one of the Blackened Denarii out of the air with his gloved left hand, ensuring it won't touch his skin or anyone else.
  • Determinator:
    • Despite the unseen amounts of torture Marcone suffers, he neither gives up nor gives in to the Denarians. He even has some wounds from when he tried to fight back despite being overpowered on so many levels.
    • Invoked by Harry. When trying to negotiate a deal with Nicodemus to free Ivy, Harry offers Fidelacchius, citing the determinator aspect of the Knights of the Cross. Harry notes that even if Nicodemus can bring the Apocalypse, does he really think Heaven will stand back and watch? No. Men and women will come and pick up the swords. They will fight Nicodemus with everything they have. And then Harry makes Nicodemus consider all the near wins which were stopped by the Knights in the past. Simply put, the Knights are good people on a good cause. They will work to fight evil and protect the innocent.
  • Didn't See That Coming:
    • Magog's default action in any situation is to charge through whatever is in his way, so he's incredibly unprepared to face Eldest Gruff, who smites him dead with one blow.
    • Nicodemus didn't see Harry as the one holding Fidelacchius, or that Harry would offer it to get back Ivy. It sweetens the deal just enough to make Nicodemus agree to make the switch.
    • Nicodemus and his Fallen never saw the idea that Harry could be free of Lasciel's Shadow without him taking up the coin as even possible.
    • Harry tells Helen that the only reason Marcone hasn't realized she was the one to leak Marcone's information to the Denarians is that he wouldn't expect it from Helen and he has more overt candidates.
    • Even before Harry and co. went to the island, Nicodemus was pretty clearly very shocked when Harry told him that Arctis Tor was attacked by someone wielding Hellfire, going still and silent for several seconds before giving a Flat "What".
  • Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: Between sending up the fireworks, seeing through his trap, and all over ruining his plot, Harry really pisses Nicodemus off. Harry, being Harry, doesn't really care.
  • Don't Make Me Destroy You: Eldest Gruff genuinely tells the Fallen Angel Magog that he has no quarrel with him, giving the Fallen a chance to walk away peacefully. Magog doesn’t listen. He attacks the Eldest Gruff and is killed nigh instantly.
  • Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Because of budget cuts and political pressure, SI can’t hire Harry to help on the case—officially, at least. The guys pool their money to pay Harry off the books. Harry doesn't want to take their money, but knows it's better than taking their pride. He compromises with Murphy, taking an hourly rate rather than per day.
  • Donut Mess with a Cop: Early on, Harry asks Murphy for a doughnut. At first she’s angry at him for assuming the stereotype, until he notes how they’re cheap but filling, go well with coffee, remain edible even when a few hours stale, and come in a nice box for easy transport. She accepts this and then gives him one, noting she prefers granola bars.
  • Dope Slap: Molly smacks Harry across the back of the head when he insults her cooking—but lightly, because he's right.
  • Do You Trust Me?: Harry rather melodramatically asks Michael if he still trusts Harry, by putting Michael's Sword to his own neck. Michael drops the blade and affirms he does, but has some concerns still. Then he asks the Armor-Piercing Question.
  • The Dreaded:
    • Nicodemus and his lot are this to Harry and his friends, owing to the events of Death Masks. The fact there are so many in town only makes things worse. Harry consciously strives to subvert this trope, by calling them "Nickelheads" to diminish their formidable image.
    • According to Word of God, after nearly killing Nicodemus in the climax, Harry is now Nick's Dreaded.
    • When Queen Mab first appears in front of Harry, he's scared so stiff he can't even snark at first. There's little he likes less than knowing he's in her debt.
      Think of every fairy-tale villainess you've ever heard of. Think of the wicked witches, the evil queens, the mad enchantresses. Think of the alluring sirens, the hungry ogresses, the savage she-beasts. Think of them and remember that somewhere, sometime, they've all been real.
      Mab gave them lessons.
  • Emissary from the Divine: Once again, Harry acts as the emissary for the near-divine Fae Queen Mab of Winter Court. Also, the Knights of the Cross are God's emissaries.
  • Enemy Mine:
    • Gard and Harry aren’t allies, as Harry would really like to take Marcone down. But because the Denarians are causing both sides trouble, they work in conjunction for much of the book.
    • Harry and Thomas are brothers and allies, but since the White Council and the Vampire Courts are at war, they have to keep this a secret from Captain Luccio. Ivy's kidnapping and the potential danger of her falling into the Denarians's hands provide a good excuse for Harry to cross the Godzilla Threshold in Luccio's eyes and work with Thomas openly.
  • Enforced Method Acting: In-Universe. Because no one has access to Harry's thoughts, he cannot tell Michael he has seen through Nicodemus's trap on the island, when seeing a tortured Ivy is supposed to enrage Harry enough to improperly wield Fidelacchius and destroy it. Harry uses his rant as a chance to scout around and see where Marcone is being kept.
  • Epic Hail: Harry uses two Fireball shotgun rounds, which produce fire blasts about 200 feet long and of decent width, to produce a tower of fire on the top of the hill on the island, giving Gard's helicopter a precise location.
  • Eternal Love:
    • Nicodemus Archleone and Polonius Lartessa, although their relationship may be a warped version of this trope.
    • Possibly closer to the spirit of the trope (and even more twisted in execution) is Nicodemus/Dierdre. His daughter.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: Nicodemus tries to sell Harry on the idea he has standards and they could have common enemies. Harry is less than eager to believe him.
  • Every Scar Has a Story: Harry gives brief one-line summaries for his various scars (all Continuity Nods to previous books) when Luccio sees them.
  • Evil-Detecting Dog:
    • Mouse is able to tell who is a good person and who is most certainly evil. No surprise, he doesn't like Nicodemus.
    • When trapped in the Shedd Aquarium with some Denarians, Harry is hiding by the dolphin tank. Some of its occupants come by and then move down the way, and start screeching and and making a ruckus at another location before rushing off. Harry smiles as he now knows where a Denarian is.
  • Evil Laugh: Each of the Denarians gets a chuckle when trying to taunt Harry into breaking his word.
  • Evil Only Has to Win Once: Discussed between Harry and Nicodemus. When trying to bargain for Ivy's life, Harry brings up this idea and dismisses it. Sure, Nicodemus and the Denarians might turn Ivy into one of their ilk and bring about the Apocalypse, but that won't stop Heaven from fighting back as much as the rules allow, and won't stop good people from rising up to fight the darkness, namely by becoming Knights of the Cross. They will fight him with all the power of the Swords.
  • Evil Overlord List: Nicodemus read most of it, but skipped the part which advises him not to cut the tongues out of his followers. They may be loyal guards, but they can’t use radios to communicate very effectively.
  • Expecting Someone Taller: After seeing progressively larger and older gruffs, with "Tiny" easily reaching 20 feet tall, Harry expects Eldest Gruff to be a true giant, not 5', maybe 5'2".
  • Eye Scream: Mab finds what’s probably the only way to get Harry to stop making smart-ass comments. It’s not pretty. This is also probably the moment she gets into his head, using the agonizing pain as a distraction.
    Mab: Question my given word again, ape, and I will finish freezing the water in your eyes.
  • Femme Fatale: The Denarian Rosanna plays this up. Even in her demonic form, she is a master at the art of looking weak, pitiful, misunderstood, and like she would walk away from all this evil if there was just a good man to come along and help her. Harry, thanks to Lasciel being a vamp in 95% of their conversations, sees through it. He even notes that if she was as weak as she pretended to be, she wouldn't be Tessa's Number Two, or in control of her Fallen.
  • Fighting from the Inside:
    • Given the concerns Michael, Luccio, and Molly have about Harry being controlled by something, Molly scans him when he sleeps. When she reports that something is wrong, just as Harry is waking up, Murphy is dismissive. But in a groggy state, Harry says to trust Molly. Later, it’s revealed this statement was the person's subconscious fighting the control in this brief moment.
    • Rosanna puts on an act like this might be happening, or could happen if only a good, brave knight were to help her. Harry sees through the charade.
  • Fisher King: Discussed by Harry and Sanya. There is an ancient concept, that the King is connected to his land, with metaphysical significance. When the King is well, so is the land. Harry wonders if this is a requirement of becoming a Knight of the Cross, as the three knights he has met are of Royal Blood going back many years. And so being asked to tend to the Denarians is part of "tending to the land," especially in a land when there are few kings left.
  • Fire-Forged Friends: At the first crime scene in the book, Harry references this idea regarding how close he and Murphy have become. Several years ago, when she asks him about the big magic spell used, her tone would have implied she considered Harry a possible suspect. Similarly, Harry would have freaked about this implication and held back several pieces of his exposition. Now, he trusts her not just to know, but to know when she should stay back, and so he tells her everything he can about the spell.
  • Five-Finger Discount: Thorned Namshiel specializes in this method of theft with his magic strings that come from his fingers. Using it, while strangling Harry, he nicks the bag of Denarian coins.
  • Flipping the Bird: Harry pretends to be one of Nicodemus's tongueless goons in order to evade another tongueless goon, and can't resist throwing this gesture in with the gibberish to really baffle the guy.
  • Foreshadowing:
    • Lampshaded by Harry — when driving to an address, he spots, through the snow, a "Dead End" sign.
      Harry: Damn foreshadowing.
    • Savvy readers may notice that Harry relies very heavily on force magic for the front end of this book, rather than his signature fire magic.
    • When Harry sets foot on the island where the second meeting with Nicodemus is to take place, he has a strange feeling of familiarity about it. This island becomes important in later books.
    • When Nicodemus and Harry are speaking of the assault on Arctis Tor, Nicodemus says the only question remaining is whether the "contamination" is in his group or the Church. Not "mole" or any other term, but "contamination." In Cold Days it’s learned there’s a force for which "contamination" is an appropriate description.
  • Gatling Good: Hendricks, to the tune of "Ride of the Valkyries."
  • Get It Over With: When Harry defeats the gruff at Union Station, it tells him to finish it. Twice. Whereupon Harry says he doesn’t kill unless necessary, much to the shock of the gruff, who had assumed he was actually in the Winter Court.
  • God Was My Copilot: Because Lucifer grants his agents Super-Hellfire, to keep the balance, Uriel chooses his own champion to be granted power. Uriel chooses Harry to be given Soulfire, the fires of Creation, to aid him against the Denarians. At the end, during Harry's Rage Against the Heavens moment, he appears and speaks to Harry about his issues with God.
  • Good Hurts Evil: When Harry inadvertently uses Soulfire, the fire of Creation, against a Denarian, it adds a boost to Harry's attack and does more damage. When Harry sees the guy later on the island, he’s still suffering the injuries as the attack isn't one the Fallen can heal the host from easily.
  • Greater Need Than Mine: When Harry rescues Marcone, the man insists Harry free the captured Ivy first. Later, when the rescue helo arrived, he insists that Ivy gets taken up first. This is in spite of Harry assuring Gard and Hendricks it would be Marcone first. Marcone does not put his own life before a child's. Harry settles the issue by having Marcone in the harness carrying Ivy up to the helo.
  • Greater-Scope Villain:
    • Harry works out that the Prince of Darkness was involved in the plot by pumping extra power to the Fallen twice. First to test out the Greater Circle they used on Marcone and later to bind Ivy at the Shedd.
    • Nicodemus makes a vague reference to the Black Council and the contagion behind them as a counter group to his efforts, but still someone Harry would want stopped.
  • Groin Attack: Harry smacks the gorilla-like Denarian Magog's "coconuts" with his staff. It's quite effective.
  • Guns Are Worthless: Averted. Against fairies, Valkyries, and even Denarians, guns have the power to do them harm. The fairies have the strongest weakness, as long as the bullets are jacketed in steel. However, enough bullets from enough guns could take down even a Denarian. Or one good shot to the head.
  • Gunship Rescue: For the climax, Harry plans well in out-thinking the Denarians, as he has Gard, Hendricks, and Luccio coming in on a helicopter complete with minigun to help rescue Marcone and Ivy.
  • Hannibal Lecture: Harry receives one from Nicodemus about how his own friends no longer trust him because of Lasciel's influence upon him, and the fact they don't concretely know what happened during the fight in the Shedd Aquarium.
  • Heel–Faith Turn: Sanya recounts how he started off as a troubled youth in Moscow. When Rosanna came along, he fell into her charm and ways and took up the Denarius. He did many evil things but also genuinely cared about Rosanna. However, when he heard she saw him only as a tool, he left them, asking himself "My God, What Have I Done?" He dropped his coin in a river and soon ran into Shiro and later the Archangel Michael, who gave him Esperacchius.
    • Interesting example and partial subversion as Sanya remains atheist/agnostic.
  • He Had a Name: A variation, as the one who died was Harry's enemy. Weak-willed Denarians who are possessed by their Fallen, instead of being in a partnership with them, don't tend to be called by their own names anymore; the Fallen is addressed directly. During a conversation with Nicodemus, Harry refers back to Rasmussen, the host for Ursiel, whom Harry soulgazed back in Death Masks. Because of that, he can’t forget the man and will always remember him being a prisoner in his own body. It takes Nicodemus a minute to even recall the man, only noting whose host he was.
  • Hell Is That Noise: In-universe. When Eldest Gruff is closing in on Harry, he hears a heavy Thump getting closer and closer. Considering this Gruff's first younger sibling was about twenty feet tall, Harry is seriously worried about these Thumps. Turns out that Eldest Gruff is five feet, five-two tops. The noise is his Magic Staff as he puts it down on the ground.
  • Hero Antagonist: Summer plays this role for the book. By their nature, they are kinder and more compassionate than Winter. They try to protect humans from Winter's actions. And in most cases, Winter seeks to wound, maim, or destroy. Here, however, by the dichotomy of their warring relationship, when Mab moves to protect Marcone and do an action which would protect the world, Summer must act against Winter. Harry is not amused by this fact.
  • Heroic Willpower:
    • Sanya, in his flashback. He was in madly love with Rosanna, accepted a Denarian coin to be with her and committed many atrocities for years alongside her. However, the moment he learns she doesn’t love him, he walks out on her, tossed the coin away like garbage and never looked back'. This is despite the fact the Fallen Angel had years to subvert him.note 
    • Harry too. As Nicodemus notes, he's too stubborn to be corrupt. Only he’s 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 Denarians in the aquarium by blasting the water tanks there. Though the crowning moment comes when he’s 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 Nic is right next to him, he tosses him into the water, because he needs to die. Then Harry doesn’t attack the mooks despite in a precarious position because they would drown and still holds his breath underwater and escapes.
      • In a non-combat moment, Harry risking near fatal hypothermia so that Ivy and Captain Luccio don't have to. And he nearly dies there too.
  • Hidden Supplies: As part of his security arrangements, Marcone has given Monoc some body samples to be able to track him or his people if trouble happens. Harry is savvy enough to know Gard would have a second supply close at hand. After some debate, she admits to having it and gives Harry the location, provided he Promise to not use the samples to harm Marcone or his people, and return them to her upon request.
  • Holy Hand Grenade:
    • The Swords of the Cross are this against the Blackened Denarii.
    • Soulfire, the fires of creation, is a power booster when mixed with magic.
  • Hopeless Boss Fight: When Harry sees Eldest Gruff kill a Denarian in one shot, then notices that he is wearing three purple stoles worn by members of the Senior Council (which he could only have as trophies from victories), Harry knows that he doesn't stand a chance. Thankfully, he’s owed a favor from the Summer Court.
  • Hope Spot: An instance occurs for Michael of all people. After the battle in the aquarium that results in the deaths of several Denarians, with their coins being subsequently collected, Michael realizes that combined with the other Denarians that they know are in the area, along with the coins already in the Church's posession, Harry and the others are within a hair's breadth of defeating the entire order of Denarians and putting an end to their war with the Church once and for all. Unfortunately, Harry is forced to use the coins they captured to barter for a meeting so that they can have a chance to rescue Marcone and Ivy, during which the coins are stolen by Thorned Namshiel, setting the good guys almost all the way back to square one. And that's not even counting what happens to Michael himself.
  • Hope Springs Eternal: Discussed between Harry and Nicodemus. Harry points out that even if Nick wins today, then the Knights Michael and Sanya would likely be dead. However, the Swords still exist, and so would good people who would pick them up to fight him. The next generation of Knights will ensure to avert the idea that Evil Only Has to Win Once. And Nicodemus realizes it.
  • Humans Are Warriors: Invoked by Murphy when she wants to bring the full force of the police system against the Denarians, using words such as "terrorist plot" and "automotive bio-armor" (to explain the shapeshifting) to put everyone from the traffic cops to FBI and military on high alert. This will get her a small army in terms of manpower and arsenals of weapons. Harry briefly considers it to be a plausible action, as humans, when angry and focused, could do serious damage to most every supernatural entity, Denarians included. But the idea is put down, as a mental fear-inducing attack could make things that much worse.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: Harry's justification to Michael and Sanya when he lies by omission to Luccio, letting her assume a false idea in order to gain the White Council's help in dealing with the Denarians. He risks his own life and morals so Michael and Sanya get an edge in their fight.
  • Idiot Ball: Harry is quick to realize that if the Denarians cannot grab Ivy herself, they will draw her out by holding Kincaid hostage and threatening him. So Harry moves to fight them to stop them from looking, but gets captured. Then Ivy reveals herself to protect him and he realizes there’s one other person whom she cares for: Harry himself.
  • I Have Your Wife: Because the contingency plan the Archive and Kincaid set up stops the Denarians from grabbing her, Tessa orders Kincaid to be captured and tortured to draw Ivy out of hiding.
  • I Know Your True Name: Mab knows the Name of each Archangel but refuses to speak them so that she does not summon them. Instead, she calls them by their titles. Archangel Michael is "the Prince of the Host." Archangel Raphael is "the Demon Binder." Archangel Gabriel is "the Trumpeter." Archangel Uriel is "the Watchman."
  • I Need a Freaking Drink:
    • After Murphy has the stones to stand up to an enormous Gruff, Mac needs a drink and gives a free one to Harry and Murphy. It’s implied by Harry's reaction that the ale is the best of Mac's stock.
    • Sanya needs one upon learning that the bag with eleven Denarian coins was stolen from Harry.
  • Inertia Is a Cruel Mistress:
    • When Harry is facing Magog, the giant ape-beast Denarian on the island during the climax, the Denarian charges at Harry. Harry, knowing even his best shield would only stall and leave himself open, uses his magic to cause Magog to fly into the air, over his head, and down a long hill.
    • Tiny Gruff is also the victim of this (though less painfully), as Harry realises that although he can run incredibly fast for his size, his momentum is too great to change direction quickly.
  • In Mysterious Ways:
    • Used as justification for God only partially undoing Mab's mental block on all things fire magic and blasting rod in the mind of Harry. Harry only gets a calming effect as he comprehends that someone did play with his mind, and recovers his fire magic spells, but still lacks the knowledge of who took the blasting rod and why.
    • Uriel's point to Dresden during his Rage Against the Heavens moment towards the end—God's ways are mysterious to humans because He doesn't see the universe the same way they do. 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.
  • Irony: Nicodemus finds it amusing that the only person he can talk to about his family issues is Harry because he’s the one person he knows for certain isn't part of the Black Council. Harry asks how can he be so sure about it and Nicodemus says that Harry is way too stubborn to be corrupted by anything but his own stubbornness.
  • I Surrender, Suckers: Nicodemus, not realizing Lasciel's shadow is no longer inside Harry, orders Lash to take over Harry's body. Harry plays along to get the jump on him.
  • It Only Works Once: The Silver Oak Leaf gives Harry one and only one favor to call in from Summer.
  • It's Personal:
    • Mab hates Thorned Namshiel for his part in the attack on Arctis Tor back in Proven Guilty 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.
    • More subtly, Nicodemus accepts the exchange when Harry adds Fidelacchius to it, in part because of the feud he had with its wielder, Shiro, back in Death Masks.
  • It Was a Gift:
    • Harry has a nice sack made from the scrotum of a real African lion. Don't ask.
    • After Harry talks with Jake (who is the janitor—really), Jake vanishes, leaving behind a copy of The Two Towers, which opens on some interesting passages.
  • Kill Me Now, or Forever Stay Your Hand: When Harry notices that Michael has been giving him sideways looks for the entire story, he has Michael place his sword at his (Harry's) throat, and tells him (Michael) to either cut, or reveal where the sudden distrust comes from.
  • Know When to Fold 'Em:
    • Rather than risk fighting, the Archive knows that when the Shedd is compromised, the best option is to run and hide. Unfortunately, seeing Harry caught and about to be killed makes Ivy choose to save her friend.
    • Invoked by Eldest Gruff 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.
    • After suffering critical injuries in his escape, Michael decides it's time to hand up his sword and retire from the Knights of the Cross.
  • Last-Second Word Swap: When Harry learns that Nicodemus is likely in town, he starts saying, "Fuuuuuu..." looks at the two Knights of the Cross sitting at the table with him, and finishes, "...Fudgesicles."
  • Lethal Chef: Molly did not inherit her mother's cooking skills. She once burned Harry's boiled egg. Harry really isn't sure how, but she did. So Harry approaches her pot roast with hesitation, two slices of bread and mustard. Lots and lots of mustard.
    Harry: Is there any food?
    Molly: I made pot roast.
    Harry: But is there any food?
    [Molly Dope Slaps Harry]
  • Ley Line: This book introduces the concept to the Dresdenverse, explaining that one reason Harry is so busy dealing with supernatural mayhem is that Chicago is a nexus of ley lines, including one in particular that helped him with the zombie T. rex in Dead Beat. Harry and Luccio pin down the most likely location the Denarians are holding Ivy by plotting the location of ley lines that would support the Greater Circle needed to imprison her.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Several of the Denarians are much faster than they look. Tiny Gruff is also extremely fast for his huge size, but his massive momentum prevents him from stopping or changing direction very easily once he’ built up any speed.
  • Little Miss Snarker: Ivy tries for some guff but doesn't quite get it right. Harry is touched nonetheless, as he realizes she’s emulating him.
    Ivy: If you like, I could draw you a cost-benefit analysis of your training versus your earnings in your first year at the temple, before Nicodemus came. I could use charts to make it easier for you to understand. And color them in with crayons. I enjoy crayons.
  • Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Early on, Harry and Thomas are looking for an address, and find it on a street marked with a "Dead End" sign. Harry takes a moment to mutter out loud about the foreshadowing.
  • Living Emotional Crutch: The White Council fears that Harry's relationship with Ivy has become too close, since the Archive tends to avoid human relationships for her own sanity. After all, Harry gave her a nickname and treats her as a kid, and she was willing to do the dumb but human action of protecting him over staying hidden (as the Archive should have done). The Merlin and a few others want him to back away from her. Harry won't. And when he learns Luccio was keeping Ivy asleep until either Kincaid or Harry got there to make sure she didn't blow up the house with a freakout, he calls them out on the hypocrisy and bull of not wanting to be close unless it suits the situation. He also asks if they want her torture by the Denarians to be her only baseline human/emotional interaction.
  • Living Macguffin: Marcone is one for the book, being kidnapped at the start and making no plot-altering decisions when he’s finally found.
  • Long Game: Michael notes this is Nicodemus's strong suit. For a man who has lived for nearly 2000 years, fifteen years is nothing. If he had been successful in infecting little Harry Carpenter with Lasciel, for example, it would have taken at least that long for the idea of a Denarian in Michael's household to bear fruit.
  • Loophole Abuse:
    • While sitting in Mac's pub, designated neutral ground under the Accords, a seven- to eight-foot-tall gruff tells Harry he will wait patiently until Harry leaves to fight him. With Harry scared at the prospect of facing such a powerful gruff, Murphy steps in and threatens the gruff for him—after all, neither Chicago nor its police department is a signatory to the Accords, so the neutral ground provision doesn't apply to her. The gruff eventually backs off for a while, and Mac and Harry toast Murphy's Refuge in Audacity.
    • Harry's encounter with Eldest Gruff has this displayed by both sides, neither of whom really want to fight. Eldest Gruff serves the Summer Court and the Queen, in that order. Harry abuses this by calling in a favor he’s owed from the Court (by having Gruff bring him a doughnut) and Eldest Gruff abuses it by gravely claiming it will take time to fulfill such a request (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.
  • Mad Oracle: Luccio reveals that the Oracle of Delphi and other oracles were "mad" because they were the Archive of their generation, and went mad when all of humanity's knowledge and the perfect memories of their past lives were passed to them. But their prophesies were often accurate, because they analyzed what they knew of the past to deduce the most probable future.
  • Mage Killer: When one's resume includes three purple stoles worn by the members of the Senior Council as trophies, Harry knows this foe is not one to take lightly.
  • Magic Wand: Harry's blasting rod. Which vanishes early on but isn't mentioned too much.
  • Manchurian Agent: Michael and the others suspect Harry to be one because Lasciel's shadow may be manipulating him to help the Denarians. This isn’t the case, but Harry is the victim of a Memory Gambit.
  • Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It’s never fully explained just how Harry has the speed or dexterity to capture a Denarian coin in midair, with his gloved and still-injured left hand, when he’s getting his bearings and before it can touch his open skin.
  • Memory Gambit: Harry is the victim of one because of Queen Mab. She strips Harry of any and every memory about his fire magic and his blasting rod. He doesn't even notice the missing memories. Only when the occasional reference to the memories come about does his mind hit something akin to a static wall and causes him to "short circuit", for lack of a better word. It’s only when he’s just waking up does his subconscious have enough power to say something’s wrong.
  • Mercy Kill: Harry gets the impression that the incredible blast of power Eldest Gruff uses to kill Magog's host also causes no pain, because that's how a powerful Summer fae would do things.
  • Mind Probe: Done to Harry by Molly, with the permission of Luccio and Michael, to tell if Harry is a Manchurian Agent or not.
  • Meaningful Name: Janitor Jake's name. According to behindthename.com it either comes from a variant of John or Jacob. "John" means "Y-H-W is Gracious". "Jacob", though debated, is believed to mean "May Y-W-H Protect". Either one is befitting a man of his position.
  • The Mourning After: When Harry finally tells Murphy about Lash, how she was inside of him, how she helped him, and eventually how she died for him, Murphy considers this trope. She knows Harry doesn't commit to relationships by halves and if a close physical friend took a bullet for Harry, he would be devastated. So she can only guess how badly he must be mourning Lash, who was closer with him than any friend he had before.
  • Mundane Wish: Subverted, when Harry "wastes" his single wish, which could make the entire Summer Court of Faerie do whatever he wants of them, on a real Chicago doughnut, not a magically conjured one. The point, however, is who he commands to get his doughnut. Namely, the Implacable Man Mage Killer after his head. He delays his deadly mission to find one particular doughnut, because once Harry is off the island after Marcone has been rescued, the hit will be called off. Eldest Gruff takes his time fulfilling the wish so Harry will have long enough to return to Chicago.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Harry postulates to Michael that the reason the Fallen Angels avoid churches isn't because Good Hurts Evil and just standing there is uncomfortable, as Michael suspects, but because it makes them feel Him and remember their time loving Him and serving Him, and this makes them feel doubt. They question their choices and their existence, and after 1,000,000 years or more of steadfast belief you were in the right, and it turns out you were wrong and everything you did was for nothing, it’s not an easy revelation for one's conscience.
  • My Master, Right or Wrong: The Gruffs and Fix really don’t want to kill Harry, but are loyal to Court and Queen. Fortunately, the former serve in that order.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: As Harry points out, Nicodemus's surname "Archleone" is a Biblical allusion referencing 1 Peter 5:8, which describes the devil prowling around "as a roaring lion."
    Harry: Archleone? As in "seeking whom he may devour"? Kinda pretentious, isn't it?
  • New Meat: Murphy, even with all her experience gained over the past few years, calls herself "the new kid" compared to veterans like Michael, Luccio, Gard, and Harry.
  • No MacGuffin, No Winner: Mab, knowing why the Denarians want Ivy, sends a horde of hobs to kill her, simply because if she was dead, she couldn't become a Denarian.
  • Not Himself: Harry's friends reach their limit on how much they can stand when Harry shares his plan to trade the captured coins to the Denarians for Marcone and Ivy after apparently being rescued by those same Denarians at the aquarium. He has been exhibiting plenty of odd behavior, such as missing his blasting rod and barely using his fire magic. They fear someone or something has messed with his head. Turns out, they are right—but it wasn't any of the Fallen, even Lasciel's shadow. It was his own erstwhile boss, Mab.
  • Not Me This Time: Nicodemus is very surprised to learn about the usage of Hellfire on Arctis Tor. Surprised enough to attack Harry in his momentary rage.
  • "Not So Different" Remark: 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.
  • Nuclear Option: Harry briefly considers letting Murphy call in the whole Chicago Police Department, plus whatever military forces they can get, to combat the Denarians. Bringing mortal forces into a supernatural tussle is considered such an option because the supernatural as a whole likes humanity ignorant about the truth of the whole world. If they truly accepted the truth, they could just start shooting and cause a lot of damage. He eventually decides not to.
  • Number Two: Among the two main groups of Denarians, Dierdre is Nicodemus's second-in-command, while Rosanna is Tessa's.
  • The Oath-Breaker: The bane of the Swords of the Cross. To use a Sword against its purpose is to weaken it to the point of being just a sword, at which point somebody could smelt it down and destroy it. For Fidelacchius, if Harry wielded the Sword to break an armistice in which he had offered that same Sword to save a child's life, then it would be a sufficient violation. However, when Harry plays up the act and is about to strike before retreating and tossing Michael Fidelacchius, this non-violent action scares Nicodemus enough to end the armistice by ordering his men to attack Harry and company. Since it isn't Harry or the Knights who first break the deal, the Swords can be used.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Hendricks demonstrates that he's smarter than Harry's ever suspected, correctly figuring that Nicodemus has no coins to spare after the confrontation at the Shedd. Amusingly, Harry completely overlooks just how smart the mafioso must be, to have deduced something neither the Knights nor the Wardens nor the centuries-old Valkyrie had thought of.
  • An Offer You Can't Refuse:
    • Mab has a favor to ask of Harry and she knows he can refuse her. So, she went ahead and told Summer Harry would be acting as her agent in a current matter before asking him, to make sure Summer would send their goons after him soon. As she is Mab and Mab keeps her word, backtracking after telling Summer the facts is something she would never do. So Harry can either do what Mab wants or try explaining to Summer's agents he isn't involved, and they are of the shoot first, shoot second, shoot third and then never ask questions mood.
    • Tried by Harry. To free Ivy, Harry offers Nicodemus the coins Harry and his comrades had collected from the dead Denarians. Nicodemus doesn't bite. He notes he won't give up potentially his biggest win for these coins. So Harry, unexpectedly, ups the ante and offers Fidelacchius. He offers Nick a chance to remove one of the three banes to his plans for good. This seals the deal.
  • Offhand Backhand: Ivy pulls off one of these, vaporizing a Denarian jumping at her back without even looking at it.
  • Off with His Head!: Michael saves Harry by decapitating Thorned Namshiel on the island.
  • Oh, Crap!:
    • Fix learns just how quick Thomas is on the draw after he agrees to put his weapons down.
    • Harry upon learning Nicodemus is not only back, he has more Denarians than last time.
    "Fu—" I started to swear, but I glanced at Michael and changed it to, "Fudgesicles."
  • One Dose Fits All: It's discussed that this doesn't apply. Part of the Denarian's plan to capture The Archive (in the form of Ivy) at the Aquarium, requires the use of an airborne sedative. One Denarian reminds some of the others that this part of their plans depends on The Archive being in the form of a child. When Harry independently realizes what's going on (and soon starts feeling the effects himself), he tries to get to Ivy to get her out of the area before she succumbs. She does anyway, but he picks her up and still tries to get her away; since he's a tall ("NBA sized") adult, he hasn't been knocked out yet.
  • One-Hit Kill:
    • In her first offensive move, Ivy completely vaporizes a Denarian in a flash.
    • Eldest Gruff, who has taken down three members of the Senior Council and wears their stoles as trophies, effortlessly takes down Magog, a Fallen Angel possessing a human.
  • O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
    • 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 understands something awful is going on when Nicodemus blinks after being told that a Denarian is on the Black Council. His loss of composure shortly after convinces Harry that he honestly didn't know that.
    • Harry lacks his blasting rod, barely does any fire-based magic (only the tiny face-melting sun trick), and never makes mention of this to anyone. And all his friends notice this problem. They fear his mind has been altered by some force, Michael assuming Lasciel's work. In the end, they're right about him having his mind altered. But wrong on the culprit.
  • Order Versus Chaos: In the spectrum of evil, Nicodemus and Tessa are Order and Chaos respectively. Nicodemus concerns himself with the long game, while Tessa enjoys causing immediate discord and chaos. So when the two of them work together on a joint project, the situation is a whole lot worse.
  • The Paladin: Michael and Sanya, once again taking up their holy swords against Fallen Angels in defense of the innocent. A key moment is when Michael and Harry are fighting against hobs in a dark train station. They encounter one woman praying to God for help, who gapes to see a man holding a sword glowing with clearly holy power.
  • Parenthetical Swearing: Harry's narration does this a lot in this book, almost to the point of being a Running Gag.
  • Pillar of Light: When Harry finishes smashing apart the Greater Circle holding Ivy prisoner, the energies of the construct erupt into a brief pillar of purple light.
  • Power at a Price:
    • Discussed regarding the Fallen; they can offer their host a long list of amazing powers, at the cost of accepting the coin, leading inevitably to either enslavement to the Fallen, or corruption by it—either way, the host ends up doing what the Fallen wants. When Thomas dismisses this because he already has one demon in his head, Harry counters that "power" for Thomas would be giving him the chance to be able to touch Justine once more—but that she would be in danger if he were a Denarian. Thomas is visibly affected by these ideas.
    • Discussed later with Harry and Queen Mab. Mab notes that should Harry have died doing her this favor, she would have turned to Thomas to be her new Winter Knight, offering him the power to avenge his brother and touch Justine, in exchange for his service.
  • The Power of Love:
    • Michael's blade Amoracchius runs on this.
    • Mab considers Thomas mortal enough to be the Winter Knight, despite being a White Court vampire, because he has True Love with Justine.
  • Precision F-Strike: Michael utters "God's Blood" upon learning Harry offered Fidelacchius to Nicodemus in addition to the coins. For Michael, this is incredibly strong language.
  • Pride:
    • Nicodemus has a deadly arrogance about himself. He thinks himself a Chessmaster, pulling the strings and skating by without any harm to himself.
    • Harry calls Michael out on his pride and arrogance, and the idea that the Church knows all when it comes to the Denarians and hosts to the shadows. Michael simply doesn't believe, at first, that Harry has become free of Lasciel's shadow without giving in and feeling remorse or giving up his magic. Harry counters that unless the church interviewed every man, woman, and child who was host to a Fallen or its shadow, copied it, notarized it, and then survived Nicodemus's purge every ten or twenty years on anything Denarian related, how could they know every possible way to be rid of a Shadow?
    • Harry isn't immune to it, either. When he sees Gard, a Valkyrie, staring at Michael Carpenter intensely, he realizes that the person is in big trouble, and tries to protect him. Harry's response results in Michael being gravely wounded, and he realizes it was arrogant of him to assume he would automatically know how to save him. A later story, however, indicates that if Harry hadn't acted, both he and Michael would have died.
  • The Promise:
    • Harry swears by his power to not misuse the samples of Marcone and his men Gard is allowing Harry access to, and to return them in their box when asked. Later, when Luccio inquires about the box, Harry tells her to leave it be because he made a promise. After a moment, Luccio drops the matter.
    • Harry promises Molly he’ll get her dad home. When he sees Gard, a Chooser of the Slain, in her helo, watching Michael with an intense look, Harry gets Michael to go up first, to get him out of the battlefield first. Though he ends up injured by an ambush, Michael does live to see another day.
  • Punch-Clock Villain:
    • Fix was ordered to stop Harry by Titania. He gets around this to help Harry by making a half-ass assassination attempt and ends up giving Harry crucial information.
    • Elder Gruff, once beaten by Harry and shown mercy, departs peacefully.
    • Eldest Gruff is very affable to Harry, even enjoying the fact that "The Three Billy Goats Gruff" 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.
  • Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Not as hammy as most examples, but very effective nonetheless. After Harry has just mentioned that Arctis Tor was attacked by someone wielding Hellfire...
    Nicodemus.
    Blinked.
  • Rage Against the Heavens: After Michael is seriously injured, with his life hanging in the balance, Harry rages in a chapel about God's ineffectiveness, questioning how he could let Satan give the other Fallen Angels a power boost, and whether God can even care about a single human life from his perspective. Turns out, Heaven is listening, as Uriel, in human guise, talks to Harry about his problems and assumptions.
  • Red Herring: Two in-universe instances.
    • First, Harry is being tracked by the Summer Court Gruffs 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 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. Eldest Gruff is very impressed with how thoroughly Harry kept Summer chasing their tails.
    • Second, because Summer is likely to have people watching Harry's home, he gives Thomas a magic doll that makes him look like Harry, minus the fresh bruises (which Molly successfully imitates with make-up, despite Thomas's head she's applying it to being several inches lower than the image it's appearing on). So Thomas, with Harry's coat and gear, leaves the apartment to draw those eyes away.
  • Refusal of the Call: When Murphy takes up Fidelacchius to protect the sword and Harry from Deirdre, Murphy unsheathes the blade just a few inches—a bright light shines from it, scaring Deirdre away. Harry calls it a job offer. Murphy refuses, citing her oath as a cop; she’s still responsible for the people of Chicago and can't take up a calling as a Knight.
  • Religion is Magic: The exact nature of Michael's faith power is still unexplained, but Harry witnesses many times that when Michael is acting on the Lord's path, there is a great power about him. Later, after Michael asks Harry about the missing blasting rod, instigating a freakout by Harry when he realizes that his memories have been tampered with, Michael lays Harry down and prays to the Father to help Harry. Harry describes Michael's hands growing hot, and then most, but not all, of the bindings on Harry's memories vanish. He remembers only what the Lord considers Harry to need for the moment.
  • Remember When You Blew Up a Sun?: Used by Harry when he’s trying to get Luccio to bring the White Council in on the meeting between Marcone's side and the Denarians. When Luccio noted some of the trouble he has caused, Harry points out the good things he has done which have helped the White Council in the war against the Red Court and groups of Warlocks.
  • Resignations Not Accepted: Averted. Murphy fears this is a consequence of becoming a Knight, or that she'd have no choice in the matter at all. That the only way one gets out is by dying while serving. Harry assures her that every Knight has the choice to take up the swords or not, and to retire whenever they wish. At the end of the book, Michael does just that.
  • Retcon: In her first appearance, the Archive stated that the position of Archive is automatically passed from mother to daughter on the daughter's birth (a process that is fatal to the mother), and as such the Archive has never really had a personal identity and is always young. This book changes it so that the position is passed on the death of the previous Archive, and Ivy only got the job at such a young age because her mother (who was only seventeen when she became the Archive after her mother's death in a car accident) refused to accept the duty and committed suicide shortly after Ivy's birth.
  • Rhetorical Question Blunder: During the Kill Me Now, or Forever Stay Your Hand moment, Harry asks Michael if he thinks Harry is insane. Michael pauses. Harry amends it by asking if he's been evil-twisted crazy lately. Michael answers "No."
  • Right for the Wrong Reasons: Michael and company fear Harry's mind has been altered. Michael suspects it’s the Shadow of Lasciel that’s made Harry not use fire magic and leave his blasting rod somewhere. A covert exam by Molly confirms his mind was altered and his panicked reaction to the Armor-Piercing Question affirms it. However, it wasn't a Fallen who altered Harry's mind. It was Queen Mab aiming to help Harry survive, as the Summer Court could detect his use of fire magic.
  • Royal Blood: Harry begins to suspect that royal ancestry is a prerequisite to be a Knight of the Cross, as every Knight he has known has royal blood. Shiro was a descendant of one of the last kings of Okinawa, Sanya is a descendant of Saladin, King of Egypt during the Crusades, and Michael is a descendant of Charlemagne.
  • Running Gag: Everyone says Harry, who got two black eyes and a broken nose early in the book, looks like a raccoon. Including Harry himself, eventually.
  • Sanctuary of Solitude: Harry ends up in the hospital's chapel to not so much talk with the big G but yell at him for what an ass He would be if He let Michael die after all the man has done in His name. Then Janitor Jake shows up and they discuss things a bit more.
  • Screw Destiny: Harry notices that Gard is staring at Michael in a foreboding manner and decides to alter his actions to prevent what he thinks is coming. Uriel later reveals that, despite current appearances, Harry did change things for the better, since if he had acted differently, both he and Michael would have died on the island instead of Michael only being injured.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
    • When all things go south, Tessa and Rosana scurry off with the recovered coins nicked from Harry by Thorned Namshiel.
    • Dierdre, upon seeing the bright light shining from just an inch of Fidelacchius exposed when held by Murphy, wisely swims away screaming.
  • Shock and Awe:
    • Harry uses non-magic electricity to zap Tessa by getting her to bite on a copper whip and then revealing the other end is an outlet plug. Insert plug and one fried Tessa coming up.
    • Gard's security glyph at the train station unleashes a violent bolt of magical lightning on any who open the locker but aren't authorized to do so. Harry gets Tiny Gruff close enough so he gets hit with it.
  • Signature Scent: When Harry gets to a crime scene and gets a whiff of sulfur and brimstone, he knows only one group that could leave that stench.
  • Snowball Fight: The first chapter opens with Harry giving Molly a lesson in shielding by having her siblings toss snowballs at her. It devolves into general wintry mayhem in short order.
  • Something Only They Would Say: When Harry first meets Mab in the story, he finds the fact she’s speaking with a malk as an interpreter strange and doubts who she is. Mab replies that Harry doubted who she was the first time they met, in Summer Knight, then winks at him as she did in Proven Guilty, both scenes only Harry and Mab were witness to. This convinces him.
  • Speak of the Devil: Besides Lucifer himself, Mab does warn Harry to not call Uriel by his name.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: Thomas and Justine are still apart from each other due to his inability to even touch her. Harry warns him that if he touches a Blackened Denarius, the Fallen angel could offer to end that issue to coerce him into taking up the coin. Later, Mab notes that if Harry had failed and died, Thomas could become her Winter Knight, for both vengeance on Harry's killers and the ability to touch Justine.
  • The Starscream:
    • When word gets out on Marcone's vanishing, Torelli, a mid-level lieutenant, and implied to be in charge of drugs in the business, tries to take over the Velvet Room from Helen Beckitt A.K.A. Ms Demeter.
    • Demeter herself joined Marcone's organization with the express purpose of taking him down from within, and to that end leaks the location of his safe house to the Denarians. Torelli, being a more obvious Starscream, makes an excellent fall guy to pin the blame on.
  • Super-Speed: Several of the Fallen, including Magog the giant ape-beast, and one who turns into a moving obsidian statue, have this power. They don't even train or work out!
  • Summon Bigger Fish: Toyed with. Harry tries to get the Council involved for backup against the Denarians. A little later Murphy suggests calling in a horde of heavily armed cops by claiming (semi-truthfully) that the same terrorists who attacked the airport a few years earlier are back, which wouldn't be bigger fish as much as a ton of smaller fish.
  • Talking Is a Free Action: Averted. Harry realizes his "chat" with Nicodemus at the aquarium is a delaying tactic to set a plan into motion.
  • Technology Marches On: In-Universe, discussed by Michael. In the old days, or even ten years ago, collecting information and storing it on Nicodemus usually led to the man attacking every 20 or so years, burning all records, and leaving the Church with no substantial information. Michael notes that computers, and the ability to transfer data around the world faster than even Nicodemus can move, will become a crucial advantage in storing information about him and the other Denarians.
  • Telepathic Sprinklers: Averted; since all the sprinkler heads are of the same design, Harry uses Sympathetic Magic to heat them all up at once.
  • Tempting Fate: An extremely delayed one. In Death Masks, Nicodemus introduces himself with the words ""Cannot hurt me any more". No matter how much I hear that, there's always a fresh challenge". Here, Nicodemus finds himself being brutally garroted by an enemy whom he’s unable to hurt enough to save his rotten life.
  • There Was a Door: Used twice by gruffs, once because the door is baneful steel, and the other time because a twenty-foot faerie couldn't have fit.
  • There Are No Coincidences: Harry's rule of thumb is when the Knights of the Cross gather, it isn't because of random chance.
  • They Have the Scent!: Summer-aligned forces track Harry by his fire magic (as he once absorbed Summer fire and the taint is still there, so using it alerts them) and by the Silver Oak leaf of the Summer Court. Mab "helps" Harry to keep them from tracking him by the first method. The second method was stopped by Little Chicago and Mister. See Red Herring above for more.
  • Things That Go "Bump" in the Night: Played deadly serious with the Hobs. They like to drag their victims into the dark, and Harry sincerely hopes that anyone taken by them is already dead, or dies as quickly as possible.
  • Time Abyss: When Harry is describing the advantages the Denarians have, beyond the super strength, shapeshifting, and powerful magic, he considers the Fallen Angels themselves the strongest advantage thanks to this trope. Not only do they likely predate the Creation of the Universe, they have had 2000 years living in human minds and learning how they tick. They would know all the ways to tempt a person and what pains to make them feel, all in the name of converting someone to their cause. And then once they have a partner, they can give this wisdom to them and make the host a truly terrifying force.
  • To Be Lawful or Good: Murphy suffers this dilemma through much of the book. On the one hand, she knows what’s at stake not just for Chicago but the world if Harry gets found at a scene when some mob hitters just tried to take them out. That said, the harm Harry did them was in self-defense and he could be cleared, in time. But by that time the world would be destroyed and Harry likely dead and whatever the Denarians had planned would have been done. Begrudgingly, she picks Good. She doesn't like it as she still has a deep faith in right and wrong and following the law.
  • Touched by Vorlons:
    • Harry gains Soulfire thanks to the Archangel Uriel.
    • Harry was previously touched by Summer Fire in Proven Guilty. This allows Summer to know his location when he uses fire.
  • Training from Hell: Harry uses a family snowball fight at the Carpenter house to teach Molly how to create a defensive shield. Charity comments on this and Harry remarks that it's good training. Charity asks if that's how Harry was trained and Harry replies that Justin used baseballs.
  • Trap Is the Only Option: Because the Denarians have Ivy and Marcone, Michael, Sanya, and Harry must make a deal and meet on Nicodemus's terms, knowing it’s most certainly a trap. True to that, Nic hopes to enrage Harry enough to break his oath. Harry, however, sees through it and is able to turn the tides on the Denarians.
  • Traumatic Haircut: The Denarians, namely Tessa and Rosanna, do this to Ivy by cutting off her beautiful hair, leaving only bits of it as part of their torture.
  • True Companions:
    • Nicodemus tries to disrupt Harry's bond of friendship with Michael and the others by playing up the idea Lash's shadow is influencing him. It doesn't help that Mab's Memory Gambit is making Harry act off. His companions suspect him and whisper behind his back (except Murphy, who still trusts Harry). Once Harry realizes his mind has been messed with and then affirms Lash is gone from his head, the bonds are reforged with Michael and the others.
    • At the end of the book, Charity tells Harry to sit with her and Molly to wait on Michael's status. As she says, family should stay. And she reminds him that Michael would stay for Harry.
  • Underestimating Badassery:
    • Harry underestimates Ivy's true power, and is amazed and terrified when he sees her use only a fraction of her power to hold her own easily against the Denarians. According to Luccio, the White Council estimates her to be on par with the like of the youngest Sidhe Queens, Lily and Maeve. Harry guesses she’s stronger than that.
    • Nicodemus underestimates Harry Dresden several times. First, he believes the man has fallen to the Shadow and taken up the Coin. Second, he expects Harry to break the truce and make Fidelacchius vulnerable. Third, he underestimates the scope of Harry's counterplot, which is nearly successful in rescuing all without too much harm done. And lastly, he thinks the Shadow would still be on his side, unaware Harry has helped Lash redeem herself.
  • Unreliable Narrator: Harry's usually pretty straight with the readers, but on this occasion it's played with when he leaves out a minor, but significant event in the plot because he had his memory of it blocked. Also used as a handwave for inconsistencies from early in the series, such as one minor character whose name changes in between books (Harry heard it wrong the first time), or when Butcher gave Wrigley Field a parking lot that it doesn't have in real life.
  • Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Harry's big plan and contingencies for dealing with the Denarians are left unsaid. Save for Michael being critically injured, losing most of the coins, and Nicodemus still being alive, the plan works very well.
  • Unstoppable Rage:
    • Harry unleashes Pyrofuego in a beam of destruction that blasts straight through one of the Denarians' heart, even apparently negating her Healing Factor.
    • A little before this, the Denarians attempt to turn Harry's Unstoppable Rage against him by showing him the tortured body of Ivy, which they know would push him to an unthinking fury and break his promise, which in turn would unmake the Sword he has promised in exchange for her. Fortunately, Harry figures out the plan just before his rage gets the better of him, mostly because he’s already been manipulated into almost getting a Sword destroyed and is not dumb enough to make that mistake twice.
  • Villain Ball:
    • Gard considers the fact that Marcone didn't kill everyone who knew information that could be pieced together to infer the existence and location of the safe house to be this. As she says, it defeats the purpose of a secure place if too many people know about it or can figure it out from contractors, accountants, architects, etc.
    • Nicodemus holds it when he brings all his fanatics to the island. Not only do they have human-shape feet that the heroes' footprints blend in with (compared to the monster-prints the Denarian forms would have), but removing their tongues means that Harry can trick them just by acting like he lacks a tongue, as well as making them inefficient at using radios.
    • Nicodemus agreeing to the deal to trade Ivy in the first place. Even with Fidelacchius on the table, he should have backed away and not risked everything to destroy the sword.
  • Villain Has a Point: As truly terrible a person as he is, even Harry finds it hard to argue against Nicodemus when he talks about how the Black Council are disrupting things and causing trouble for everyone, or when he talks about how the Red Court needs to be destroyed.
  • Villains Never Lie: Harry notes that Marcone usually plays this straight with him, rarely lying and instead just refusing to tell him, knowing Harry would suspect a ruse. So when Marcone tells him he doesn't know where Thorned Namshiel's coin is, Harry has a hard time knowing if it’s true or not, simply because this is one time when he could choose to lie and lie well.
  • Weakened by the Light: The dark creatures Hobs shun all forms of light. They’ll attack any source to destroy it. So they’re not too pleased when Michael's blade shines through their myrk that blocks all other light.
  • Weirder Than Usual: Towards the end, Harry Dresden is having an argument with Michael, who suspects that Harry may not be wholly in control of his own decisions.
    "That's... possible," I admitted. "Anybody's head can be messed with. But if you go rewiring someone's brain, it damages them, badly. [...] If you know the person well enough, there are almost always signs. They act differently. Have I been acting differently? Have I suddenly gone crazy on you?" He arched an eyebrow. "More so than usual," I amended.
  • Wham Line: See Armor-Piercing Question.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Harry calls out Eldest Gruff, the Champion of Summer. Harry asks why Titania would want Ivy in the hands of the Denarians, and when Gruff replies that it's not his place to ask, Harry counters that as champion, it should be his place to challenge and question Titania. The old Faerie is unfazed and reverses the question, asking if Harry understands Mab's reasoning for wanting to save Marcone.
  • Would Hurt a Child:
    • The things done to Ivy by the Denarians show they would happily harm a child if it helps their goals. Or just for fun.
    • To save the world from the Denarians' plot, Mab attempts to kill Ivy with an assault of hobs at Grand Central Terminal.
  • Xanatos Speed Chess: The Denarians play a mean game. Harry and Michael note on several occasions that the Denarians seem to plan things out so that no matter what happens they can still come away with some advantage. Fortunately, in Small Favor Harry proves that he’s also becoming quite an adept player of Xanatos Speed Chess and manages to play the Denarians to a draw at the end of the book.
  • Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: The Gruffs who speak in the book speak with this inflection. Harry notes that it isn't that they've gone back to speaking this way, it's that they have never stopped talking in this style since the Middle Ages—most of them are at least that old.
  • You Are Not Alone: When the Denarians have Ivy, Harry writes her a letter that he knows will become part of the Archive's vast knowledge. The letter assures her she isn't alone and they are looking for her.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Harry knows, and Michael confirms, that Nicodemus would have no trouble killing one of the six remaining Denarians to secure a coin for Ivy or Marcone. Later Nicodemus proves them both correct, planning on killing Namshiel's host, who’s paralyzed from the waist down after Harry hits him with a soulfire-infused attack.
  • You Killed My Father: Mab notes to Harry that had he died in the course of doing her favor, and thus could not be her Winter Knight, she would approach Thomas to become the Winter Knight with this trope in mind. She assumes the man would enjoy seeking vengeance against his brother's killers.
  • You Will Know What to Do: Five years ago in Death Masks, Shiro gave Harry Fidelacchius and told him he would know who he should offer it to when the time is right. Harry realizes he’s meant to offer it to Nicodemus. Harry realizes that with this sword, one of the banes to Nicodemus's plots, as a bargaining chip, he could get the edge in the negotiations and save Ivy.
  • Zerg Rush: A single hob is only a few feet tall and lacks super strength. While it’s quick, it can be dispatched easily. For this reason, hobs hunt in hordes and from the cover of darkness.

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