Cold Days Book Club - Chapters 45-53 **MAJOR SPOILERS**

[Arjan]

Thanks for the response. Someone should ask these questions to Mr. Butcher the next chance they get. It is really annoying when an author breaks the rule he makes for himself in  his own universe.

Anyway, I would proceed with the assumption that carrying the mantle would ultimately result in a transformation as if being turn into a vampire. Your essential nature change, your free wil is gone, your soul is either departed or confined or changed.

If there is no other WOJ or reliable sources that say otherwise, it is possible that the dragon Michael defeated is still alive. Which means it is possible that Harry might have to face two dragon instead just one Farofax.

Breaking the rules is not exactly the word for it. Harry is not a reliable narrator and he thinks rather linear or often even binary even when there are clues that this is too simple a view. If you read the books again you will get some clues that things were not that simple all the time.

When someone in the books says something you must always consider his/hers/its point of view and how much knowledge this guy really has.
And he might be simplifying things a bit.

[OZ]

But I hope we see how that Svartelf deal happened.

I have a feeling that this is what the Molly POV short story that is coming out will be about.

[huangjimmy108]

Is there any confirmation that the original merlin is human?

The magic he perform to create the demonreach prison seems to be beyond a mortal wizard abilities. Especially if he did it alone as implied in cold days.

Do you think Sarissa becoming the summer lady will improve Titania's mood? I mean, Sarissa is her niece after all. Not her daughter but still blood.

Have anyone got the feeling that Harry is more suited for the summer knight job? I do personally think that summer fire is a much better power than winter ice. Shooting fire bolt from a distance seems to be a far better power than making popcicles.

Speaking of which, The knight job doesn't even pay cash. I was hoping Harry would stop being poor. He still have to take his paycheck from the WC. And is Monster Mobile the name of his mew car?

[Arjan]

Is there any confirmation that the original merlin is human?

The magic he perform to create the demonreach prison seems to be beyond a mortal wizard abilities. Especially if he did it alone as implied in cold days.

Do you think Sarissa becoming the summer lady will improve Titania's mood? I mean, Sarissa is her niece after all. Not her daughter but still blood.

Have anyone got the feeling that Harry is more suited for the summer knight job? I do personally think that summer fire is a much better power than winter ice. Shooting fire bolt from a distance seems to be a far better power than making popcicles.

Speaking of which, The knight job doesn't even pay cash. I was hoping Harry would stop being poor. He still have to take his paycheck from the WC. And is Monster Mobile the name of his mew car?

The knight job pays in power. Litterally.

[OZ]

I do personally think that summer fire is a much better power than winter ice. Shooting fire bolt from a distance seems to be a far better power than making popcicles.

Fire was already one of Harry's strongest abilities and that was before he was introduced to Hellfire and then Soulfire. Winter's ice is probably a much more valuable addition to his skill set.

[huangjimmy108]

Been reading the other thread, and now I have a few thoughts:

1. Shadow lash.
Now that Harry no longer have Bob as a magic consultant, it would be nice if shadow lash could return and act in that capasity. I hope the parasite is shaddow lash transforming from a thought entity into sort of a spirit like Bob. It would be good for Harry.

2. Something scary is going on in the white court.
Lara trying to get more control sounds a lot like Lord Wraith's modus operandi to me. Could it be that Lord Wraith is infected with Nemesis? It would be very scary if it does. Lara may be under Nemesis's control if not infected outright.

[Arjan]

2. Something scary is going on in the white court.
Lara trying to get more control sounds a lot like Lord Wraith's modus operandi to me. Could it be that Lord Wraith is infected with Nemesis? It would be very scary if it does. Lara may be under Nemesis's control if not infected outright.

Everything points to the fact that she is not infected. Lara is the combination of a monster and a human monster, she is completely in sync with her hunger. But the hunger is not that smart and the human intelligence and mindset is still important. Her goals are that of a human monster. She wants power, influence, control.

Not that different from daddy really but daddy was made impotent and all his energy was directed at staying in power. Lara solved that problem and can now direct her attention out wards.

And Lara is smarter than daddy, more adaptable and prepared to use unorthodox methods like hiring efficient people in stead of using mindless thrals.

The government is a logical target. I do not see anything strange about Lara's actions.

There are several reasons why we think Lara is not infected for now and they have all been mentioned earlier in another thread:

The white court coup (nemesis tried to take over and failed)

The ritual in cold days (Lara disrupted one. If she was infected she would have found an excuse not to)

Maeve wanted to infect Justine to get to Lara

And yes, Lara's nature has not changed.

[Priscellie]

I have a feeling that this is what the Molly POV short story that is coming out will be about.

Yep.

[OZ]

I am very eager to read this one. Molly has long been one of my favorite characters both for her sense of humor and her undying loyalty.

[huangjimmy108]

Everything points to the fact that she is not infected. Lara is the combination of a monster and a human monster, she is completely in sync with her hunger. But the hunger is not that smart and the human intelligence and mindset is still important. Her goals are that of a human monster. She wants power, influence, control.

Not that different from daddy really but daddy was made impotent and all his energy was directed at staying in power. Lara solved that problem and can now direct her attention out wards.

And Lara is smarter than daddy, more adaptable and prepared to use unorthodox methods like hiring efficient people in stead of using mindless thrals.

The government is a logical target. I do not see anything strange about Lara's actions.

There are several reasons why we think Lara is not infected for now and they have all been mentioned earlier in another thread:

The white court coup (nemesis tried to take over and failed)

The ritual in cold days (Lara disrupted one. If she was infected she would have found an excuse not to)

Maeve wanted to infect Justine to get to Lara

And yes, Lara's nature has not changed.

So far, everything is as you said above, but think about it. Lord Wraith is a very juicy target for Nemesis's infestation. Honestly, I couldn't even think of any other character that is more suited.

Think of the disaster and Mayhem it would cause!

Other character that I think Butcher would turn into Nemesis's pawn probably would be: Elaine, one of Murphy's extended family (hopefully her ex husband), Hellen beckit, and Fix the summer knight.

I didn't put the likes of Thomas, Molly or Murphy because Jim have the tendency not to touch the true main characters and I don't mention any other nameless characters like some unknown members of the white council because like Peabody they are not important until they got some screentime.

Oh yeah, brownnose Rudolf is a good Nemesis's pawn too.

on a different note, considering that Kincaid fails to deliver on the favor Harry asked of him, namely killing Harry, does it mean Harry can still call on the debt?

 

[TheCuriousFan]

on a different note, considering that Kincaid fails to deliver on the favor Harry asked of him, namely killing Harry, does it mean Harry can still call on the debt?

He killed Harry, not his problem if Harry didn't stay.

[Arjan]

So far, everything is as you said above, but think about it. Lord Wraith is a very juicy target for Nemesis's infestation. Honestly, I couldn't even think of any other character that is more suited.

Think of the disaster and Mayhem it would cause!

It would be extremely difficult to reach him and he is not in a position to do anything. Lara would be a better option in both respects.

Other character that I think Butcher would turn into Nemesis's pawn probably would be: Elaine, one of Murphy's extended family (hopefully her ex husband), Hellen beckit, and Fix the summer knight.

Infection is not that easy and we see that Maeve for example preferred manipulation above infection for Fix and Lilly. Until now we have seen only key persons infected not great masses of people.

Murphy's extended family for example is not important enough to expend the effort. Maeve had more than enough chances to infect Lilly and Fix but stil didn't do it. Hellen Beckit might be interesting to get to Marcone but even that is far less interesting than Lara.

Infecting Elaine is not more interesting than any talent in the white council of her level. Better take a higher level like Cowl if you need a free agent.

I didn't put the likes of Thomas, Molly or Murphy because Jim have the tendency not to touch the true main characters and I don't mention any other nameless characters like some unknown members of the white council because like Peabody they are not important until they got some screentime.

Peabody though was a very good candidate. Minimal investment with maximum result. But even if he was infected he did not use infection to reach his goals but he used simple mind manipulation.

Oh yeah, brownnose Rudolf is a good Nemesis's pawn too.

Rudolph is just not important enough. Can be handled by blackmail, mind manipulation or whatever.

on a different note, considering that Kincaid fails to deliver on the favor Harry asked of him, namely killing Harry, does it mean Harry can still call on the debt?

We have to see how Jim handles this but I do not think so.

[huangjimmy108]

It would be extremely difficult to reach him and he is not in a position to do anything. Lara would be a better option in both respects. Infection is not that easy and we see that Maeve for example preferred manipulation above infection for Fix and Lilly. Until now we have seen only key persons infected not great masses of people.

Murphy's extended family for example is not important enough to expend the effort. Maeve had more than enough chances to infect Lilly and Fix but stil didn't do it. Hellen Beckit might be interesting to get to Marcone but even that is far less interesting than Lara.

Infecting Elaine is not more interesting than any talent in the white council of her level. Better take a higher level like Cowl if you need a free agent.
Peabody though was a very good candidate. Minimal investment with maximum result. But even if he was infected he did not use infection to reach his goals but he used simple mind manipulation.Rudolph is just not important enough. Can be handled by blackmail, mind manipulation or whatever.We have to see how Jim handles this but I do not think so.

Lord Wraith is a puppet right now, but in the eyes of the white court, especially the other two great houses, the one that calls the shot is still Papa Wraith. If suddenly Lara's mind whammy fails to control Papa dearest thanks to the infestation, What do you think would happen?

Nemesis infestation could make Maeve tell lies. What if the infestation could restore Papa Wraith's feeding powers? I am quite sure that deep down inside Lord Wraith wants revenge very very badly. He would be a willing even eager vessel and the problem of reaching him is not insurmountable. Taking Lord Wraith would gave Nemesis a whole vampire court under it's command, I think it is worth it for Nemesis.

[OZ]

I have always figured that Papa Raith was one of the first infected.

[Mr. Death]

Lord Wraith is a puppet right now, but in the eyes of the white court, especially the other two great houses, the one that calls the shot is still Papa Wraith. If suddenly Lara's mind whammy fails to control Papa dearest thanks to the infestation, What do you think would happen?

Nemesis infestation could make Maeve tell lies. What if the infestation could restore Papa Wraith's feeding powers? I am quite sure that deep down inside Lord Wraith wants revenge very very badly. He would be a willing even eager vessel and the problem of reaching him is not insurmountable. Taking Lord Wraith would gave Nemesis a whole vampire court under it's command, I think it is worth it for Nemesis.

From what we've seen, the infection can let you act against your nature--there's no indication that it gives you any kind of boost aside from that, and if Cat Sith is any indication, it might well do the opposite. There's nothing to indicate that the infection can undo something like a death curse. Hell, there's no indication that the infection can stop a regular spell.