Архивы Дрездена. Летний Рыцарь. Лики смерти

Sometimes it feels like the older I get, the more confused everything is.

Your path is often a dark one. You do not always have the luxury that we do as Knights of the Cross. We struggle against powers of darkness. We live in black and white, while you must face a world of greys. It is never easy to know the path in such a place.

Michael stood over me at one point, his hand on my head. "Easy, Harry. It's almost done."
And I thought, Great. I'm going to require an armed escort to make sure I get to hell.

The next time I opened my eyes, I was in the morgue.
This, all by itself, is enough to really ruin your day.

"Hey!! I shouted. "Old Nick, can I ask you a question?"

"If you disrespect this thing it's going to get you killed," I said. "It would kill anything living exactly the same way. Anything. It's not from our world."
"It's extraterrestrial?" asked Susan.
"You do not understand, Miss Rodriguez," Ortega said quietly. "Mordite is not from this galaxy or this universe. It is not of our reality."

The blood on their hands does not make it right to bloody my own. My choices are measured against my own soul. Not against the stains on theirs.

Her expression became confused. "I don't understand."
"You could have lied."
Her face registered comprehension, and some fire came back into her eyes. "I don't like you, Mister Dresden. I certainly don't care enough for you to abandon beliefs I hold dear, to us you as an excuse to cheapen myself, or to betray what my husband stands for."

Change. Maybe that's what this was really about. Susan had changed. She'd grown. She was more relaxed than I remembered, more confident. There had always been a sense of purpose to her, but now it seemed deeper, somehow. She'd found a place for herself, somewhere where she felt she could do some good.

"So if you're not religious, you risk your life to help other people because - ?"
"Because it must be done," he answered without hesitation. "For the good of the people, some must place themselves in harm's way. Some must pledge their courage and their lives to protect the community."
"Just a minute," I said. "You became a Knight of the Cross because you were a communist?"