Thomas Raith

Thomas Raith is a White Court vampire, member of House Raith, and half-brother to Harry Dresden. He first appears in Grave Peril.

Biography


"Thomas Raith: In the Raith household? Paranoia comes bottled, on tap and in hot and cold running neuroses.ref name='DF06ch22'>Blood Rites, ch. 22"

He has grey, or blue-grey, eyes, although they lighten to grey, silver, chrome and white consecutively when his Hunger gains influence. His hair is shoulder-length (though he cuts it after it gets burned by a flaming arrow in Small Favor) curly, and black. He has very white teeth and a good build.

Harry Dresden describes him as "a predator angel", "unwholesomely good-looking", "awfully pretty to look at", "like someone's painting of the forgotten Greek god of body cologne", "the high priest of Bowflex", "a young man whom fathers of teenage daughters would shoot on sight". "[He] made all those Spartans in that movie look like slackers, and he didn’t even use an airbrush." Anastasia Luccio thinks that Thomas Raith doesn't look like his brother except for the jaw and the shape of the eyes.

Raith, however, is a deeper, more caring person than he wants to reveal. His flaky attitude turns out to have a purpose—all his vampire brothers have been murdered by their father, and he risks putting his lover Justine in danger if he shows more than passing affection for her, as well as a wish to be underestimated by his enemies.

In the case of others, especially ones who are a danger to his loved ones, he can be brutally blunt and downright callous, such as describing Waldo Butters as a coward and advising Dresden that the nervous coroner would only endanger him.

Raith has a sense of humor and irony about his situation and his crazy family. He does, however, experience guilt over his incubus-like nature, and tries to minimize the damage he causes—perhaps the legacy of his late mother. Like his brother, he is a monogamist at heart, and tries to keep his seductiveness in check. After being tortured by the Skinwalker, Shagnasty, his personality takes a change toward being more predatory. His dislikes include Red Court vampires, unnecessary clothing (i.e. shirts, shoes) when indoors, polka music, secrets (that he isn't in on), and his father.

Raith lives with Dresden starting from the end of Blood Rites, throughout Dead Beat, to Proven Guilty. He is a massive slob: he lives almost exclusively on beer and microwave meals, and leaves the private rooms of his chic apartment an undecorated mess.

Thomas's approach to any given combat is with a maximum of power, speed, and aggressive ferocity.

Raith is one of the Venatori and can perform some basic magic, like a tracking spell. However, he is a poor spellcaster and it takes him several moments to cast one.

In Turn Coat, Raith is a White Court Celebrity after the coup attempt.

In Changes, his personality seems to be more like in the past, even regaining his joking manner. He is more entrenched in White Court politics with his sister. He mourns deeply Dresden's death, and he stops trying to appear human, not wearing shoes outside in the winter, or changing his clothing. He states he plays for the home team now and everyone knows it. If his sister lets something bad happen to him, a lot of people will get upset.

He's born on Valentine's Day.

Raith is the son of White Court vampire Lord Raith and human wizard Margaret LeFay. His mother left when he was about five; she then had another son. Raith has seven other half-siblings on his father's side: Lara, Inari, Elisa, Natalia, and three others, one of whom is allegedly insane and kept "in the attic." He also has several cousins, including Madeline and Madrigal.

Possessions
Thomas Raith owns a small hair salon cum coffee shop, the Coiffure Cup, which he works in and manages. It is no longer mentioned after Turn Coat.

On occasion, he is known to use a Desert Eagle pistol ; a sawed-off double barrelled shotgun; an U.S. Cavalry saber and a on a regular basis; a "new toy" Raith has become fond of; a Falcata sword.

A number of expensive cars get destroyed on a semi-regular basis; a Hummer and a Jaguar. The Hummer was fixed and back in action in Cold Days.

Raith owns the Water Beetle, presumably named as a nod to the Blue Beetle, a slightly run down tug boat which is introduced in White Night.

Abilities
Thomas Raith is faster and stronger than a normal human. His kind age slowly, if at all. He can heal from almost anything short of actual death, as long as he keeps his Hunger demon fed. He's a good swordfighter and a decent marksman, a good liar and consummate actor.

Like all of the Raiths who feed on lust, he is burned by the touch of one who has the mark of true love on them, or touching objects embedded with love (such as wedding rings).

His Hunger is described in Backup as being strongest of the Raiths, except Lara,  once Lord Raith had been crippled by Margaret LeFay's death curse. With the deaths of senior Lords in White Night, his ranking in raw power across the whole court has been increased. The battle against his Hunger is a constant struggle for Thomas, and not one that he always wins.

Raith family
His father, Lord Raith, used to kill his own sons before they get ideas of knocking him off or out of power. Thomas Raith hates him and his psychotic cousins. He seems to have a decent relationship with his sister Lara, though she's manipulative and emotionally distant. He is fiercely loving and protective of his baby sister, Inari.

Harry Dresden
He is especially close to Harry Dresden, often confessing things to him that he wouldn't tell others. Ever since the two have discovered being half-brothers, they have become quickly close. Thomas Raith often refers to Dresden as 'little brother' or just 'brother'. Even though they annoy each other, they appear to keep a close connection to each other. Raith often gives Dresden advice on things, though mostly encouraging him to get over Susan Rodriguez and ask Karrin Murphy out.

In Blood Rites, Karrin Murphy guesses that he is family when Dresden refuses to tell him to get lost. Dresden confirms that he his his half brother, that their mother used to hang around Lord Raith.

Lara Raith picks up that there's more to the relationship between the two of them. When Dresden points out that Thomas's mother was Margaret LeFay, she puts it together that they are brothers. Then Lara states to Dresden that they are much alike and: "'Raith would sooner tear off one of his arms than see one of his siblings hurt. He's quite irrational about it.'"

In Small Favor, Dresden gives him a small clay figurine that makes him look like his brother. When Raith looks in a mirror, he openly comments: "'You've invented a doll that turns people into their ugly half-brothers, eh?'"

In Turn Coat, Anastasia Luccio puts realizes their relation and almost mentions the word brother before Dresden cuts her off. She knew their mother.

Justine
He meets Justine, the love of his life, at Zero, almost five years before the events of Blood Rites. Justine is probably around eighteen years old at the time.

He almost kills her, but manages to stop at the last possible moment, despite the seeming impossiblity. She is weak for awhile, but eventually recovers when she should have died. However, this causes her to have the mark of true love on her, and Thomas Raith can no longer touch her directly without burning himself. Harry Dresden sees this as very tragic.

In Turn Coat, Raith and Dresden meet Justine at Zero. Raith drops to his knees at her feet and wraps his arms around her waist while she wound her arms around his neck. They embrace and hold each other a long time with justine dressed in a flattering white rubber outfit that protects Raith from getting burned by touching any part of her. According to Dresden, the irony of their relationship is like a "kick in the balls".

Grave Peril
In Grave Peril, Thomas Raith met Harry Dresden and Michael Carpenter for the first time, at the entry to Bianca's Ball. Raith shelters Dresden from Bianca's rage at the outset invoking the Laws of hospitality. During the socializing phase of the evening, he comes up to warn his brother that the wine is poisoned with Vampire venom, but it was too late, Dresden having already downed his glass.

During the gift-giving portion of the Ball, Raith asks Dresden to stand with Justine while he went up to collect his "gift" from Bianca St. Claire. Justine asks Dresden to aid them in escaping the Ball. She tells Dresden that Lord Raith was invited but he sent Raith which is an insult as he is the least regarded in the White Court. According to her, Bianca would kill Raith and make her into one of her whores. Raith returns with his gift, a condo in Hawaii and a single airline ticket. Raith tries to prevent Dresden from interfering with Mavra killing Lydia, but joins with him when he couldn't. He helpfully tells Dresden and Carpenter to aim for the bellies, as an injury there will empty the vampires' blood supply. He states they must take out Bianca as their only chance to survive. Bianca grabs Justine and Raith switched sides pushing Susan Rodriguez into a crowd of vampires—she's overtaken by them. Bianca orders Raith killed. Dresden sets everything on fire in his rage.

Raith somehow escapes, bringing Amoracchius to Dresden and Carpenter as a show of faith along with an offer to team up to rescue Rodriguez and Justine. While in his brother's apartment, Raith helps subdue Lydia when she is possessed by the Nightmare. While taking the Ways through the Nevernever, they are set upon by Leanansidhe and her hounds. Raith and Michael hold her off while Dresden goes on alone to Bianca's mansion to rescue the women. They both manage to survive the confrontation and escape back to Chicago, emerging at a local strip club, to Michael's irritation

Death Masks
In Death Masks, Thomas Raith acts as a second for the duel with Duke Ortega and was secretly conspiring with Susan and Martin. He had been pushed into it by his father, Lord Raith in an attempt to do away with him.

Blood Rites
In Blood Rites, Thomas Raith gets Dresden involved in Arturo Genosa's Evil Eye curse. He also informs Dresden that they have the same mother and they soulgaze. Raith blocks an attack by his father to kill him.

Later, Dresden rescues Raith from a ritual sacrifice by Lord Raith who was attempting to use the Malocchio to kill both of Margaret LeFay's children and end her death curse on him. In the end, he gets thrown out of the Raith household, and ends up living with Dresden, rent free, in exchange for paying off Jared Kincaid's bill.

Dead Beat
In Dead Beat, Harry Dresden is quite irate at Thomas Raith's inability to hold down a job, and his constant need to bring girls over to the house and live like a slob. Raith helps defend against Grevane's zombie invasion at Dresden's house,  and, despite his misgivings about him, helps protect Waldo Butters.

Proven Guilty
In Proven Guilty, Thomas Raith gets a job and his own apartment, moving out, as he does not wish for Harry Dresden to get in trouble with the White Council for being friends with a vampire, since Dresden 's a Warden now. He reveals that he started feeding more heavily again after he joined the Erlking's Wild Hunt in Dead Beat. Dresden's very worried about him. He saved Dresden from being sold on eBay by Madrigal Raith. Raith joins Dresden, Murphy, and Charity to find, plan and prepare how to rescue Molly Carpenter.

White Night
In White Night, Thomas Raith matched a description given by members of the Ordo Lebes of the man killing off practitioners. Harry Dresden used his key to enter his apartment. Dresden found a War room filled with incriminating photos, notes, maps and weaponry making him a murder suspect. It turns out that he'd been rescuing them and shuttling them to a safe-house on an island with the Water Beetle.

Raith is part of a team—including Murphy with her P-90, Marcone, Gard, Hendricks and a team of Soldiers of Valhalla—that entered the Deeps from the Nevernever to fight with Dresden against an attempted coup by Houses Skavis and Malvora and the ghouls that Vittorio Malvora let in along with Cowl. Dresden continues to worry about him, and follows him at the end of the book. It turns out that he's feeding so well because he's taking very tiny bites out of his clients. He owns his own shop—the Coiffure Cup—where he pretends to be a gay French hairdresser. He was just too embarrassed to tell Dresden.

"It's My Birthday, Too"
In "It's My Birthday, Too", Thomas Raith is playing Evernight at Woodfield Mall, as a favor to Sarah. When Harry Dresden joins him to give him a birthday present, a Black Court vampire attacks the company and is repelled in a bloody battle.

Small Favor
In Small Favor, With his secret out of the way, he stopped avoiding Dresden, and the two seem to rekindle that awesome brotherly bond that they share. Raith had Dresden's back when Torelli and thugs tried a coup at Executive Priority while Dresden was there and saved him from being shot. Raith helps in the first Denarian fight against Tessa, saving Gard and Hendricks. He appears in most of the book though has to stay low since Luccio's in town. Later, he saves Dresden from the Denarians at Demonreach.

Backup
In Backup, Thomas Raith enters one of the many skirmishes of the Oblivion War, following his brother searching for a kidnapped child, and falls in a trap set by a Stygian which tries to bring forth ancient goddesses and demons as a route to power. He ultimately foils the plot.

Turn Coat
In Turn Coat, Thomas Raith takes his brother to Zero to meet Justine for information. She gives Dresden a copy of a Craig's List wanted poster on Morgan intended to draw every supernatural hitman out to kill him. While there, Madeline shows up and threatens Justine. Raith beats and pins her to a table with chopsticks, has Justine kiss her burning her forehead.

Anastasia Luccio learns that Raith is Dresden's brother and that Margaret LeFay had been with Lord Raith during the years that she disappeared. He's kidnapped by the Naagloshii. Raith is repeatedly tortured by the Naagloshii until he is barely alive, then fed a succession of young women, thus being forced to indulge his Hunger multiple times. After Dresden rescues him, Raith starts hanging out with his sister Lara more, and feeding very heavily again. He says he has finally accepted who he is and will not go back.

Changes
In Changes, Thomas Raith meets Harry Dresden at Rudolph's house. Dresden tell him that he's an uncle, that Arianna Ortega of the Red Court has his daughter, Maggie, and plans to use her in a Bloodline curse that will kill her entire family, including Raith as Dresden's brother. He asks for Thomas's help in getting information on Chichén Itzá's security and defensive magic, sightings of a little girl surrounded by Reds. Raith suggest asking Lara for help, she may not help Dresden so much as want to save him, her brother. And she's gifted at removing obstacles. The House they are at is where Rudolph lives. He's been coerced into helping whoever is trying to stop Dresden. He hopes to nab his handler or cleaner to gather what information he can. Raith, Mouse, Dresden and Molly Carpenter do battle with and Ik'k'uox at Rudolph's house.

Raith helped rescue Maggie. He joins Dresden's team and is at the planning meeting at Saint Mary of the Angels. The team: Sanya, Susan Rodriguez, Molly Carpenter, Mouse, Martin, Murphy, Harry Dresden, the Leanansidhe—that's nine like the Fellowship. He goes with them though the Ways to Chichén Itzá and battles heroically against the Reds. He stands guard over Carpenter in the heat of battle when she's wounded on the ground. He left on a Navy helicopter with Carpenter and Mouse.

Ghost Story
In Ghost Story, Thomas Raith is only in one scene near the end. He looks awful, he's stopped taking care of himself, and started drinking at a failed attempt to cope with the loss and guilt of Harry Dresden's death. Justine decided to drop her protection by sleeping with another woman, so that she could comfort him as many times as necessary.

Cold Days
In Cold Days, Thomas Raith and Harry Dresden meet on the Water Beetle; when he realizes that his brother is actually alive, Raith gets very angry for not having been contacted and asked for help. But he helps Dresden to get to Demonreach. Getting back from the island, the three of them fight the Redcap and his cronies, and Raith accepts to fight at Dresden's side, later bringing him up to Chicago's current political situation and the new alliances caused by the expansion of the Fomors.

Dresden hexed Lara Raith's spying devices in Thomas's apartment. Raith was not happy when Cat Sith just appeared inside his threshold, but was mollified when Cat Sith assured him he was bound by the Laws of hospitality. Raith apologized to Cat Sith and offered him a favor as restitution.

Later, at McAnally's Pub, he warned Dresden not to ignore the predator instincts of the Winter Knight's Mantle, but to pay attentions so as to control them. Outsider He Who Walks Before attacks the pub and Raith fights alongside Dresden and McAnally. Raith was not allowed at Dresden 's meeting with Lily.

Bombshells
In Bombshells, he is sent to spy in the Svartalf headquarter in Chicago, and is discovered, prompting the Leanansidhe to send Molly Carpenter after him. He is found paying retribution by having sex with as many Svartalf females as possible.

Word of Jim
He is initially portrayed as very flippant and seemingly arrogant, even swearing by "my towering ego" and acting in a rather flaky manner. He seems to like Harry Dresden from the very moment he meets him and was there to help him from the start, already knowing that his mother had another son.

On his relationship with Justine:

"'Thomas and Justine's relationship is really weird. I know what the relationship is in my head like right now. They're actually happier now than they've been in ever. But it's all happening behind the scenes and nobody can see because Thomas has to have his bad ass vampire face on whenever he's in public. But when they are alone together, nothing else going on, they're like totally cute. Justine wears like these grownup version of footie pajamas so that she can snuggle up next to him on the couch and watch TV without actually burning him. They don't have like a normal relationship or anything like one, but they've kinda adjusted, they're fairly happy. You don't go around letting the other vampires go 'Oh how cute.' I'll have to get to that one of these days, Harry doesn't see that.'"