Thomas hoped Marcone would Kill Lara?

[vincentric]

Of course not, but a Nemesis dominated Justine could fake it and the sex act with another is all that she needed to fake it.  Once the protection is gone, it stays gone..

The usefulness of this strategy is dependent on how quickly the protection is reestablished after the act. Mere seconds and they may get burns no matter how careful they are, A few minutes or more and this would be workable. Jim knows surely(or at least he should) but that may be going into too much detail.

[Mira]

The usefulness of this strategy is dependent on how quickly the protection is reestablished after the act. Mere seconds and they may get burns no matter how careful they are, A few minutes or more and this would be workable. Jim knows surely(or at least he should) but that may be going into too much detail.

I don't think it works that way, unless Justine's girlfriend came to live with them and they had sex just before she had sex with Thomas.  Remember HWWB/Justine confesses to Harry on the boat how she set things up so she'd get pregnant and be able to blackmail Thomas into becoming an assassn.

[vincentric]

I don't think it works that way, unless Justine's girlfriend came to live with them and they had sex just before she had sex with Thomas.  Remember HWWB/Justine confesses to Harry on the boat how she set things up so she'd get pregnant and be able to blackmail Thomas into becoming an assassn.

I was keeping it strictly mechanical. Justine and 3rd party have sex to disable protection and then she gets with Thomas which resets it. If it resets instantly, then no cuddles would be possible and they have to spring away from each other to avoid burns. If it takes some time, then there would be cover for your theory about how HWWB pulled this off.

[Mira]

I was keeping it strictly mechanical. Justine and 3rd party have sex to disable protection and then she gets with Thomas which resets it. If it resets instantly, then no cuddles would be possible and they have to spring away from each other to avoid burns. If it takes some time, then there would be cover for your theory about how HWWB pulled this off.

I doubt that it is that simple, especially if by Ghost Story she was taken over by Nemesis.. That is the point of what HWWB/Justine said, it was all planned out, so it is very doubtful that there was a true love reset there, because there was none.  It was all an act, that isn't to say that the real Justine isn't buried in there somewhere, but she lost the battle long ago.

[vincentric]

The only reason that I have some doubts about her being completely possessed until after Cold Days is because HWWB could have gotten what he wanted if he had struck while they were confronting Maeve. From the time Harry's backup team covers themselves in mud, until they were at the finale where Harry summons Mab, Justine was inside Demonreach's defenses and was not watched suspiciously as everyone was concerned with rushing to Harry's aid. No one, with the possible exception of Mouse would have seen it coming.

[Cozarkian]

The only reason that I have some doubts about her being completely possessed until after Cold Days is because HWWB could have gotten what he wanted if he had struck while they were confronting Maeve. From the time Harry's backup team covers themselves in mud, until they were at the finale where Harry summons Mab, Justine was inside Demonreach's defenses and was not watched suspiciously as everyone was concerned with rushing to Harry's aid. No one, with the possible exception of Mouse would have seen it coming.

Yeah, I think there has to be some rationalization between "time of possession" and "ability to assert complete control." Cat Sith was taken over pretty quickly, but perhaps human free will makes the process take longer.

[Mira]

The only reason that I have some doubts about her being completely possessed until after Cold Days is because HWWB could have gotten what he wanted if he had struck while they were confronting Maeve. From the time Harry's backup team covers themselves in mud, until they were at the finale where Harry summons Mab, Justine was inside Demonreach's defenses and was not watched suspiciously as everyone was concerned with rushing to Harry's aid. No one, with the possible exception of Mouse would have seen it coming.

Timing is everything, Outsiders may have their own timeline.

[Ed0517]

Add to that, Lara has had the time to peruse her father's library; which I believe was supposed to contain a great deal of magical knowledge.  My guess is that probably meant White Court vampire abilities.  Way back in Blood Rites, we were given a description of Lord Raith's 'kiss of death' technique, which he would use; presumably against other White Court vampires, to start business meetings of the Court to get everyone's attention.  Harry even teased Lord Raith about his inability to use the kiss of death any longer because of Margaret's death curse.

I'm think this is an example of Chekov's gun.  We've been given a graphic description of a rare and powerful White Court vampire attack method but we haven't seen it used; at least not yet.  My hypothesis is that at some point we will get to see it used.  I think it could occur in the next book.
Most likely, that means a resurgent Lord Raith uses the kiss of death to show everyone he is back, or; and I think this next scenario is far more likely, Lara Raith uses the same ability to show those in the White Court she no longer needs her father as a figurehead to maintain her leadership of the Court.

I suppose a third possibility is that Thomas will get the opportunity to learn this nasty trick and his father's other secrets, which will allow him to challenge Lara and become the leader of the White Court, but at present that seems highly unlikely to occur.

   

How about a fourth, just to twist it a little more?

The Kiss of Death is like Dim Mak - the Death Touch - but what if it can be delayed? I do not recall all the mechanics of it.  But if Lara wants Daddy Dearest to look strong, could SHE administer it to an enemy, as a member of her father's entourage to a rival family member who has betrayed them? A smooch set for 5 minutes, long enough for Daddy to reveal treachery, plant his (now impotent) Kiss of Death, then Lara's takes effect. Just as  <Kill Bill spoiler>

(click to show/hide)

Bill does not seem much damaged after The Bride hits hit, but he realizes that was Pai Mei's Death Touch. He's OK until he gets up and takes 5 steps, whereupon he collapses.

   

If the other vamps do not know exactly how it is done... why would they not assume Papa did it?