Which mortal might become nemfected?

[morriswalters]

These are as close as I can get.

“Lea,” I said. “What has happened to you? How long have you been a Sidhe-sicle?”
Some of the strength seemed to ebb from her, and she suddenly seemed exhausted. “I grew too arrogant with the power I held. I thought I could overcome what stalks us all. Foolish. Milady Queen Mab taught me the error of my ways.”

Something dark flickered through her emerald eyes, and she turned her face slightly away from me. “Indeed,” she said quietly. “You saw what it means for my queen to heal an affliction.”
“What affliction?”
“A madness had beset me,” she whispered. “Robbed me of myself. Treacherous gifts . . .” She shook her head. “I can think on it no more, lest it make me vulnerable once again. Suffice to say that I am much better now.” She stroked a fingertip over an icy white streak in her hair. “The strength of my queen prevailed, and my mind is mine own.”

[Arjan]

From Changes:

“Shame, child, is for those who fail to live up to the ideal of what they believe they should be.” She waved her hand. “It was shame that drove me to my queen, to beseech her aid.” Her long, delicate fingers idly moved to the streaks of white in her otherwise flawless red tresses. “But she showed me the way back to myself, through exquisite pain, and now I am here to watch over my dear godson—and the rest of you, as long as it is quite convenient.”

[morriswalters]

Your search fu is superior.

[Arjan]

Your search fu is superior.

I remembered this quote for another reason. There was a discussion about the Sidhe and emotions. Someone thought they had none and I thought this quote proved they had.

[Bad Alias]

Thanks all.

[KurtinStGeorge]

Now to Thomas.

We don’t know what deal Nemesis; or its proxy HWWB, had going with Lord Raith.  We don’t know if Lord Raith was nemfected or if he was just a useful idiot who thought he made a great deal to get immunity from most forms of magic, but didn’t realize he would be helping Nemesis end the world as he knew it.  Which version of Lord Raith is true may might be important or largely irrelevant.  (Personally, I think Lord Raith falls into the useful idiot category or at least the WAG I'm about to spin works better if that is the case.)  What I think matters most is Lord Raith wasn’t given his magical immunity without the expectation there would be a major payoff for Nemesis and its Outsider minions somewhere down the road.

The problem for Nemesis started when Margaret LeFay’s death curse neutered Lord Raith.  Whatever big things Nemesis expected Lord Raith to do or contribute to couldn’t happen because Papa Raith was forced to play safe to conserve his remaining tank of energy.  This would have been especially perplexing for Nemesis if Lord Raith wasn’t nemefected, because I seriously doubt the White King would have shared the knowledge of what Maggie Sr. had done to him with HWWB.  Whatever the case may be, Lord Raith’s value to Nemesis would have plummeted.  A backup plan was needed; if Lord Raith wouldn’t or couldn’t deliver the goods Nemesis had to find someone who might be better suited for the task.

So now you might legitimately ask why Nemesis wouldn’t target Lara Raith to be its new tool and Papa Raith’s possible successor.  Thomas gave us the answer to that in Blood Rites when he told Harry, "Lara is one of the most capable, intelligent people I've ever met. But around him (Lord Raith), she turns into an obedient dog.” Nemesis needed someone who could be seen as a legitimate leader of House Raith and the White Court, by the rest of the White Court.  Nemesis might not understand human or White Court vampire family dynamics, but I think it would calculate that someone who acts as Thomas described wouldn’t be a good choice.  On the other hand, Nemesis would understand that Thomas kept surviving Lord Raith’s attempts to kill him.  None of Papa Raith’s previous sons had shown such survival traits.  So, Nemesis chose Thomas over Lara.  Oops!
 
So now you might want to know when Nemesis got its hooks into Thomas and why I have said Thomas might be a sleeper agent; or more accurately, have a sleeper agent implanted in him.  Remember the conversation Cowl and Kumori had with Harry outside of Bock Ordered Books in Dead Beat?  Specifically, look at what Cowl said to Harry after Harry told the necromancers he recognized them from Bianca’s party where they had acted as her flunkies.  First Harry said, "That was such an amazingly screwed-up evening. It's been coming back to haunt me for years," To which Cowl replied, "And will for years to come.  A great many things of significance happened that night. Most of which you are not yet aware."
 
Many things?  I can’t put a number to the word many, but I believe it must mean more than two things occurred that Harry didn’t know about, and for the longest time I could only think of two things that Harry wouldn’t have known about.  First, Harry didn’t know that the Athame Lea had been given had been tainted by Nemesis.  Of course, Harry didn’t even know about Nemesis then.  The second thing Harry didn’t know about is only conjecture, but it seems likely to me that Mr. Ferro’s gift; the box with something that glittered, was also contaminated.  The thing is Thomas received a gift from Bianca too.  Yes, I know it was just an envelope with a deed for a condo in Hawaii and a single plane ticket.  Lea was given a magical item; however, there’s no way of knowing if Nemesis needs to be transmitted through a magical item.  The gift Mr. Ferro was given appeared to be cask with diamonds or other gemstones in it.  There is no reason to think they had any magical properties other than Nemesis contamination.  Harry didn't physically touch his gift.

Now consider what happened after Harry and Michael escaped from Bianca’s party.  Thomas got away as well, but he also managed to snag Amorachius in the bargain.  How convenient.  Thomas foils another of his father’s plans to get him killed and makes a new friend, and soon to be ally, who is also a powerful wizard of the White Council.  A wizard that Nemesis; or at least one of his top lieutenants (HWWB), has an interest in.  Harry had foiled two Nemesis plots in just a few months the prior year.  That might not have been enough for Nemesis to see Harry as a major threat, but it was certainly enough to draw its interest.  So, I’m suggesting Thomas was allowed to pick up Amorachius, knowing where he would take it.  Also, remember that I’m suggesting that nemfecting Thomas is just a backup plan for Nemesis.  If Thomas had allowed himself to be killed by Bianca’s first wave of minions, he wasn’t qualified to be the tool Nemesis might make use of in the future.  Plus, from Nemesis’ perspective, there is still the possibility Lord Raith might come through for them.  I think Nemesis would only discover this wouldn’t happen after the war between the Red Court and the White Council started and Lord Raith and the White Court remained on the sidelines.

After the events in Grave Peril the implanted personality sits and waits for an opportunity to move against Lord Raith but no opportunity arises.  Remember, if Lord Raith is in the useful idiot category, that means Nemesis most likely doesn’t know about his weakness.  It can’t risk pushing Thomas to make a move that will almost certainly fail.  During the events of Blood Rites HWWB; and by extension Nemesis, might have finally learned why Lord Raith wasn’t holding up his end of the bargain.  If it also realized that the White King might be able to recover his mojo by killing Harry and Thomas, that would have been welcomed by it.  Remember that Thomas was only a backup plan.  If Harry and Thomas defeated Lord Raith, then the hidden personality could be activated.  Unfortunately for Nemesis, Harry screwed up its plans by getting Lara Raith involved.  Nemesis never saw that coming.
 
There’s one huge objection I know many of you are going to make.  Harry and Thomas shared a soulgaze.  Seeing the Nemesis infection should have floored Harry.  I don’t think so.  Think about this, Thomas never said anything like this to Harry: “Harry, when we shared that soulgaze, not only did I see things about you, I also saw this beautiful woman standing next to you.”  Remember the crazy stuff Harry saw when he shared a soulgaze with the bearer of Ursial’s coin?  Lash was already inside Harry’s head, but she was only speaking to his subconscious then.  That’s why Thomas wouldn’t have detected anything out of the ordinary.  If Thomas wasn’t taken over by the Nemesis personality, if it was remaining dormant until some trigger event activated it, it may have been largely undetectable.
 
I almost forgot.  Even if a nemesis personality is hiding in the background of Thomas’ head, by now it might be having an effect on Thomas anyway even if it's not giving him specific orders.  Nemfection allows a magical being to change its true nature.  Whose nature has changed more than Thomas' has, other than Aurora's and Maeve's did?

P.S. If I'm right does that mean that Thomas is doomed?  Maybe not.  I think that even as strong as Thomas is compared to normal mortals, I doubt he could survive being stuck inside a big ball of ice like Lea was placed in by Mab.  However, even though I've stated that Lilly was an unreliable narrator when it came to knowing what Nemesis is and how it works, her description of Nemesis infection as a spiritual malady suggests to me a possible cure for Thomas, though a long-shot one.  Lea had just enough presence of mind and inner strength to go to Mab to seek help after she realized what had happened to her.  If Thomas has that same inner strength and if he could go to Harry before he was completely overcome; and I mean go specifically wherever Harry's new digs are going to be, the Sword of Faith will be there too.  If anything could banish a spiritual infection, I think taking up Fidelacchius might do the trick.

[nadia.skylark]

Even if a nemesis personality is hiding in the background of Thomas’ head, by now it might be having an effect on Thomas anyway even if it's not giving him specific orders.  Nemfection allows a magical being to change its true nature.  Whose nature has changed more than Thomas' has, other than Aurora's and Maeve's did?

Thomas has free will. That means he can change his own nature, with no need for anything else.

[Bad Alias]

@KurtinStGeorge: Two things. I'm not so sure the Walkers work for Nemesis. While they're definitely working towards the same goal, I'd imagine they're in different departments, so to speak. Harry doesn't have Fidelacchius anymore. He has Amoracchuis.

@nadia.skylark: Thomas may have changed his nature through the exercise of free will, but then again, he may not have.

[Arjan]

Thomas has free will. That means he can change his own nature, with no need for anything else.

The fact that he can change it himself does not mean someone else can not change it for him or help him doing so or entice him to do so. Justine is doing so not just by giving him true love but also by managing his diet.

His demon also has influence. Add Nemesis or a denarian shadow or something like that....

[Regenbogen]

Has anyone mentioned Andi yet?
She makes me suspicious. Since getting abducted and used as bait with the others in Cold Days. She was the only one not being fully conscious when Harry finds them. Maybe that's because she was suffering from recent nemfection. Or she was nemfected long before (no idea when) and got involved with Butters because she wanted to position herself to start influencing the group.
Also no one would suspect her, because she seems rather unimportant except as additional werewolf muscle and as girlfriend for Butters. She is in a good position to sow distrust in Harry's friends. Starting with Butters. This could explain why he behaved like he did in Skin Game and didn't trust Harry. To divide the group and to make Harry doubt himself. So in every group that could be a danger to the Outsiders it would be useful for them to have one nemfected person to weaken the group in one or another way.
That's "why Andi?"

I'm currently re-reading Skin Game and paid more attention to the little things as before.
Andi was always just in the next room, Harry never saw her in person.
There were two sentences in chapter 13: First some inner voice/his subconscious waking Harry with "Open your eyes, you fool. She’s right in front of . . ." Butters was there. Andi was apparently not in the room but in the house, too. After Butters told Harry he didn't trust him anymore, he was gone (Andi presumably too) and Mister came back. Same chapter, Karrin about the cat: “He vanishes whenever Andi shows up for some reason.”
Cats can feel and see ghosts, don't screw up magical circles, are good companions for wizards, familiars,... can maybe feel nemfection?

[morriswalters]

I always took that line,

"Open your eyes, you fool. She’s right in front of . .

as an early foreshadowing of Lasciel.

[Regenbogen]

I always took that line, as an early foreshadowing of Lasciel.

Yes. At first I thought that too. I have started to write a new topic about why Karrin would become a denarian by taking up Lasciel's coin, but to my dismay there was a disruption and most of my text is gone.
It could also refer to Lasciel, but maybe that is what we should think. Or it really refers to Lasciel being with Karrin in the future while Andi is still being nemfected. The one doesn't exclude the other. Why would the cat leave? Why is Andi never in the room? Why is Butters so extremely distrustful? This always seemed weird to me. It can not all be attributed to Harry stealing Bob and fighting with his Girlfriend. And thinking about the fight with Andi: She is a werewolf. Wouldn' t she have known it was Harry? Smelled him? Why did she attack him then? There could at least have been some confusing moment with her asking:"Harry, is that really you?" They could have talked, he could have explained. But she attacked, he hurt her, destroyed equipment because of the fight and Butters is even more upset, than he would have been with Harry only breaking in and taking Bob.

[Bad Alias]

I like the Andi theory. It would go a long way to explain Butters' character shift. The reason Mister disappears whenever Andi is around is because Andi tried to eat him in Day Off. Or at least I think that was the name of the short story.

[Mira]

   The bit about Andi being able to smell that it was Harry is the point that stands out to me.  Yes, Harry was mostly dead, but was revived and now is Mab's Knight.  Now I suppose that could have
changed him so much that Andi's keen sense of werewolf smell couldn't detect him... But really? 
Seriously?  I totally doubt it,  I work air scent dogs, have worked trailing dogs who can follow days
old trails, I've worked cadaver dogs that can find documented 800 year old human bones and discriminate between them and ordinary beef bones.  Remember the tale of how when Ulysses
returned home after twelve years in disguise, no one knew him except his old loyal dog.   No, Andi
should have known  it was Harry.  However the human part of her is susceptible to the same
skepticism that most humans would have towards someone who supposedly was murdered, gone,
and then came back and suddenly was trying to rob her home.   Butters would know all of the above
about his girl friend's sense of smell, so he wouldn't doubt that it was Harry, but at the same time
he might have doubts about how he is behaving especially when you add the emotional factor of his love for Andi, and her getting hurt.   

[morriswalters]

This is Jim shoehorning a character into the position of knight.  If Andi's werewolf senses work then there is no tension.  I had enough trouble accepting Butters and Andi as a couple.  So buying Andi not using her sense's to suss out Harry from an imposter isn't much of a stretch.  In addition, Butter's gets all wound up about Harry repaying a debt to Bob, even though he is using Bob and knows the danger to Bob if the skull is damaged.  As I'm sure Bob would have told him.


As to the dreams, remember that Bonea is talking to Harry's Id, Bonea can know, even if Harry doesn't, that Lasciel is on the scene. Certainly Lasciel knows about Bonea, as we find out in the vault. And id more or less tells you so at the end of chapter 23 when Bonea is revealed. id tells Harry to remember the dream, the dream where Murphy is carrying a fallen.

edit
Well Harry makes it explicit.

Ah.  So that's what my subconcious had been trying to warn me about. That Lasciel was right here in front of me, and itching for payback.