So this the next story in my series that began with "Sick Day," though you don't necessarily have to have read that one to get this one. If there is interest, there will be more in this series, some light-hearted, some not so much. I've already got a few more ideas (the next two are a little more shippy than the first two), so let me know if that's something you'd like to read.
This is a 3-parter. I had it all in one document, but it was almost 14,000 words so I decided to split it up. Enjoy.
I jerked awake with my heart doing a drum roll in my chest as I tried to catch my breath. I laid completely still, wondering what had woken me, but all I heard was the rush of the rain pouring down outside. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and I almost chalked it up to the late April storm when someone pounded sharply on my door. Almost at the same moment, Bob appeared at the top of the stairs with a worried look on his face.
"Harry you need to get up," he said sharply. "Lieutenant Murphy is here and she looks...distressed." I rubbed my face quickly to wake up as I stood, searching around for my discarded jeans. I pulled them on and looked down at my holey, gray sleeping shirt. I didn't have another one handy, so it would have to do. I descended the stairs two at a time and peered through the window panes. The street lamps outside threw everything into a muted yellow glow, but I could see Murphy's smaller frame huddled against the door, trying to keep out of the rain. I unlocked the door and pulled it open, not offering her an invitation. She never commented on the oddity, but I'd learned my lesson on that score. Now, however, she barely waited for the door to be open before she threw herself inside.
And into my arms.
I stood there in shock for a moment as she shivered against me, and my arms came around her automatically after I pushed the door closed. My shirt and jeans were being soaked by her own, but that didn't really register with me right away. My mouth moved a couple of times, but nothing came out. She was clinging to me with a desperation I'd never witness from her before, and I realized with a start that her shivering had morphed into sobs.
"Shh," I kept my right arm tight around her, and my left hand moved to cradle her head against my chest as she cried. I bowed my head, murmuring what I hoped were words of comfort against her rain-soaked hair. I had no idea what was going on, but if it had shaken her this much it wasn't good. My heart lurched as a few possibilities entered my mind, and when her shaking intensified I tightened my hold even more.
"It's alright," I told her quietly. "Whatever it is, Murph, it'll be okay. Tell me what happened." Eventually she calmed down enough to pull away, and I instantly saw the embarrassment in her eyes. "Hey, none of that." I settled my hands on her shoulders and bent my knees enough to look her in the eye. "What happened?"
She glanced around, unwilling to meet my eyes for a moment, and when she did look at me I was floored by the pain in her eyes. "Anna," she whispered. "She's...she's gone." Okay, gone was only slightly better than dead, but I was wise enough to keep that to myself. I didn't have kids of my own, but I knew that this was possibly one the worst things a parent could experience.
"Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"I mean I put her to bed like always, and when I checked on her before I went to sleep she was gone."
"I'm assuming you've already called the police?" I knew she had, and that they were probably doing everything humanly possible, but I also knew that the police had to follow procedures.
"Yeah, they just left my place. They've already issued the Amber Alert, and gotten everything they could from the house. I called Derek, and he's getting a flight back from Las Vegas tonight." I'd never met Anna's dad, but I knew he and Murphy were on semi-decent terms. "I just...didn't know what else to do." She shivered again, and I suddenly remembered she was standing in my foyer wearing clothes that were only slightly drier than the Pacific Ocean. I slipped my arm back around her shoulders and pulled her against me.
"Come on." I directed her up the stairs and into what was effectively my bedroom. There was a small bathroom that barely qualified, but it had a stand-alone shower and a toilet, so it served its purpose. I dug through my drawers and grabbed an old pair of sweats that would probably drown her and a soft t-shirt. I offered them to her silently, and she smiled her thanks. It was flat, but it was better than the lost, empty expression she'd been sporting.
"There's a clean towel in the cabinet under the sink," I told her. "Take a hot shower. I'll make us some coffee." She nodded and slipped into the bathroom, but not before turning her head to give me one more smile.
"Thanks, Harry." Once she was safely behind the locked door, I dashed back downstairs and whispered for Bob. He shifted through the wall from my lab and gave me a solemn look.
"I guess you heard?"
He nodded once. "I take it you'll be preparing a tracking spell?"
"Damn right, I will," I hissed back. "The trick will be doing this without involving Murphy." Bob sighed despite not actually having lungs and I steeled myself for his lecture.
"Lieutenant Murphy has demonstrated on multiple occasions her competence and willingness to acquiesce to your 'expertise.' I think you should consider cluing her in."
"It's too dangerous," I replied easily; we'd had this conversation a few times.
"It would make your relationship easier," he countered.
"We don't have a 'relationship'," I replied hotly – and probably a tad too quickly.
"I was, in fact, referring to your working partnership, but by all means jump on the defensive. It only makes my argument all the more relevant."
I cut him off before he could delve into uncomfortable territory, and I busied myself with making coffee as I spoke. "That's enough, Bob. We need to be focusing on finding Anna right now. I need as many different ways to track a person down as you can find."
He gave me an even look before vanishing in a puff. I waited for the water to boil, my mind going over every possibility. Due to Murphy's job, I knew Anna stayed with her father most of the year, but he lived close enough that Anna went to a local school. Anna visited her mom often, and I hadn't heard of any bad blood between Murphy and her ex. I had no idea what he did for a living (Murphy and I didn't really talk about our personal lives very much), but I knew Murphy had probably earned more than her fair share of enemies as a homicide detective in Chicago. I guessed the cops probably had that angle covered, but I wanted to look around her house just in case they missed something.
I heard the shower shut off just as the water on the stove started boiling, and by the time Murphy came downstairs I had two mugs of coffee ready. I handed one to her wordlessly and she walked toward the living area. She sank down onto the couch and I followed, angling my body to face her as she sipped the hot beverage. She grimaced at the taste – she always remarked about my instant coffee – but didn't say anything.
There was really no delicate way to broach the subject, so I decided to approach it professionally. "I might be able to track her down, but I'm going to need something of Anna's," I told her. "Hair would be best, but anything she touched or interacted with a lot would work just as well." I wasn't sure she heard me, but finally she nodded.
"Okay. Can we go now?"
"We?" I had planned on using the time it would take her to get what I needed to pow wow with Bob, but going with her would allow me to get a look around.
She took a shaky breath as she stared into her instant coffee. "I just...I really don't want to be alone right now."
I set my mug down on the table and pried hers from her grasp before scooting closer. My arm slipped around her shoulders and she didn't resist as I pulled her against me. "We'll find her, Murph. I'll do whatever I can to help."
She nodded against my chest but didn't pull away just yet. "I've got some money tucked away in savings."
"No," I told her firmly, pushing her away from me so I could look in her eyes. "We're friends, Murph. Hell, you're probably the best friend I've ever had. This is what friends do; they help each other. I am going to do everything possible and then some to help you find Anna, and you will absolutely not pay me. Understood?" She stared at me for a moment longer before I saw tears forming in her eyes again. I hugged her once more before shifting my weight to stand. She followed, and I squeezed her arm quickly. "Let me get some stuff together then we can go, okay?" I left her standing by the couch as I retreated to my lab. Bob was waiting patiently inside, but I didn't speak to him until I'd secured the door behind me. "What have you got?"
"Well, there's your standard tracking spell," he intoned, gesturing toward my focusing crystal. I grabbed it and tossed it into my backpack before grabbing a few more things. I tucked my drum stick into my pants pocket as he continued. "There is the invenio per sanguis."
"Yeah, well, let's assume for now that Murphy doesn't keep a vial of Anna's blood on hand."
"Let us also remember that Lieutenant Murphy and her child share a direct bloodline connection. You might be able to find her child using her blood. Your regular tracking spell may not work if the person who took her is a practitioner."
I paused in my packing for a moment to concede his point. I hadn't really thought about that; Anna's disappearance might have nothing to do with Murphy and everything to do with me. "Alright, what will I need?" I packed my bag with a few more things for various spells before grabbing my hockey stick. I didn't think I'd need it, but I'd gotten a little paranoid lately and I'd rather have it than not. I closed the lab door firmly behind me and met Murphy at the door. It was still pouring outside, and I gave her my jacket from the coat rack before opening the door.
It was a mad dash for her car, but we managed to avoid getting completely soaked. My hockey stick stretched diagonally across the backseat into my lap, but I didn't care. It was a testament to Murphy's distress that she didn't even comment on its presence, and I thought she might have pushed a few driving laws to their limits as she sped toward her home. We pulled into her driveway in record time, and I realized for the first time that I'd never actually seen her house.
It was a small, one-story home tucked snugly within a mismatched neighborhood. It was old but not rundown, and I knew immediately that this home had been in the family for a while. The lawn was small and neat, and I wondered briefly if she cut her own grass or if she hired someone out to do it. Murphy never really struck me has the handy-around-the-home type, but I'd been surprised by her before. The porch stretched along the front of the house, and she ascended the two-step stairs to the door before me. She unlocked the door with shaking fingers, and I reminded myself that I couldn't imagine what she was feeling now. Anna was supposed to be sleeping peacefully in her bedroom, but instead we were walking into an empty house.
It was dark, and I stood still on the porch until Murphy flipped the switch on the wall next to her. The living room stretched out in front of me, with a picture window on the wall next to the door. To my left was a small hallway that I assumed led to a couple smaller bedrooms, and the master bedroom's door stood on the opposite wall. Straight ahead was an archway that led into a kitchen and breakfast nook, then out to the laundry room and the backyard. It wasn't a large house, but it was a home. She turned toward me expectantly, and I cleared my throat with just a little embarrassment.
"Um...this is going to sound weird, but I need you to invite me in." She glared at me then, and I saw a little bit of the old Murphy sneaking through.
"What, like a vampire?"
"Uh, sort of?" I scratched the back of my neck with my free hand. "It's the same kind of thing, but I can technically cross the threshold without your invitation. I'll just be...de-powered." I grimaced at my own words, but Murphy just sighed and shook her head.
"Come in, then." I took a breath and stepped onto the carpet, shivering at the immense power that washed over me. This home was old, and it held a lot of memories and a lot of love.
"How long has your family owned this house?" I asked her.
"How did you -?" She looked at me curiously for a moment before shrugging it off as another Dresden oddity. "My great grandparents bought it during the Depression. It's been in my family ever since." I nodded and turned once, surveying the layout.
"It's nice. Very homey."
"What do you need?" The urgency in her voice snapped me back into "investigation" mode, and I looked toward the hallway.
"Is Anna's room there?" She nodded but didn't move to follow me as I walked toward it. I knew immediately which one was Anna's, and as I pushed the pale pink door open I felt it.
This hadn't been a kidnapping; not a mundane one, anyway. I paused in the doorway, unsure how to even start explaining this to Murphy. First, I needed to see if I could locate Anna with a tracking spell. I managed to find some hairs on her pillow, and I tucked them carefully into a Ziploc bag before looking around a bit more. There wasn't a hint of a struggle and the window was still shut and locked. The house was small enough that Murphy would have heard if Anna had shouted, which led me to believe that whoever had taken her had found a way to keep her quiet the entire time. For now, and until I found evidence to the contrary, I was going to assume they'd drugged her.
"Anything?" Murphy's voice from the doorway broke through my thoughts, and I turned around.
"Maybe," I told her truthfully. If this was something from my side of the street, then I was pretty sure it was my fault. Whatever had done this was doing it to send me a message, and I suddenly felt very, very angry. It must have shown in my eyes, because Murphy took a step back and frowned at me.
"Harry, what is it?"
"I'm not sure," I told her. "Can you give me a minute?" I gestured toward the door and she hesitated. I wasn't ready to tell her everything, not yet, but I had a sinking suspicion that before this was all over Murphy was going to know a lot more about my world than she wanted to. Finally she grabbed the doorknob and closed the door, leaving me surrounded by images of boy bands and puppies. I closed my eyes and focused my will onto what I wanted to accomplish, and with a murmured word I felt the room flood with energy.
I nearly staggered under its power, and I let out a muffled curse. Whatever had taken Anna was strong, and I could only think of a few things that would leave this kind of magical residue. None of them were good. I dismissed the detection spell easily and pulled out my focus crystal. I stood there in the center of Anna's room, letting the crystal absorb as much of her essence as it could as I thought about the possibilities. The Council was powerful enough to do this, but I doubted they had any vested interest in a ten year old girl – even if she was indirectly connected to me. Bianca's people were also the right power level, but I'd just sort of explained to Murphy why that wasn't possible. They couldn't have gotten in without an invitation, and they certainly couldn't have gotten back out again without leaving the window unlocked. Demons were another possibility, but subtlety wasn't really high on their priority list; Murphy would have heard something.
That left one real solution, and I took several steadying breaths. Going up against anything from the Realm wouldn't be pleasant or easy, but that didn't really matter. I had told Murphy I'd do whatever was necessary to get Anna back, and I intended to keep that promise.
After several silent minutes I opened the door, walking silently over to the old leather couch. Murphy was slumped over uncomfortably, and I watched her for a few moments before determining she was completely out. I slipped my arms underneath her small frame, but when I tried to lift her she woke.
"What are you doing?"
"Uh..." I looked down at her and halted halfway to standing. "I was going to carry you to bed." Okay, that sounded way less creepy in my head, but Murphy was too tired to do more than give me a half-hearted glare.
"Dinner first, Dresden," she shot back after a yawn, and I took that as a warning to let her go. She repositioned herself more comfortably on the couch and looked up at me. "You find anything?" She knew I had, she'd known me too long. It was probably written all over my face. The problem was I knew just enough to frustrate her, and I wasn't going to add to her stress until I had an answer that would satisfy her.
"Give me an hour," I told her. "Get some rest, Murph. I'll be in the kitchen." Her eyes seemed to drift closed on their own, and despite the worry evident in her features she succumbed to sleep. I relocated to the kitchen, clearing the table from the cold remains of their dinner. I guessed cleaning dishes had been shoved rather low on Murphy's priority list, but I marveled in the simple domesticity of it anyway. I set the dishes in the sink and wiped off the table before pulling things out of my backpack.
I carefully unfolded a simple white cloth and laid it out in the center of the table. I set the crystal on it carefully then turned to the stove. I had an old pot that I used for tracking spells, and thankfully it was small enough to fit inside the backpack. I pulled it out along with a vial of the concoction I kept on hand for just such an occasion. It was better to recreate the entire spell from scratch in each case, but sometimes - like now, for instance – I didn't have the time.
I poured the viscous fluid into the pot and stirred it with a wooden spoon as I turned on the stovetop. It didn't take long to bring the thing to a boil, and I closed my eyes as I settled my hands above the rising steam. I was far enough away that it didn't sting, but I could feel the heat. I concentrated on the memory of Anna's face in my mind; the fact that I knew the girl was going to help a lot. About six months ago I'd had to take care of the girl while she was sick and Murphy was unavailable. It had only been for a day, but it was long enough for me to get to know her – and Murphy – a little better.
I pushed some of my will through my hands into the mixture, and when I opened my eyes the soft glow of power was fading away. I pulled the Ziploc bag from my pocket and slowly dropped the strands of dark hair into the potion. I waited a few seconds before retrieving the crystal from the table and dangling it above the potion. Mindful of the darkening color of the concoction, I lowered the crystal into the pot briefly before suspending the entire thing above it. I held it there for several minutes, letting the crystal soak up the power of the spell.
Each tracking spell was different, but I supposed being in Anna's home helped a great deal. The entire spell took less than fifteen minutes to complete, and as I began to extract my will from the immediate area I could still feel the hum of power from the crystal. I set it back on the white cloth and cleaned up, making sure to leave no residue or remnants anywhere. Once that was finished, I grasped the leather cord around the crystal, held it up in front of me, and closed my eyes.
At first, nothing happened. But as I began to concentrate on Anna the crystal began to sway in my hand. It settled on an angle somewhere behind me and to my left, and I rotated around until I was more or less facing the living room. Anna was somewhere ahead of me, but how far I couldn't say. All I could do was follow it and hope for the best. I stowed the crystal in my pocket and stepped into the room quietly, but I needn't have bothered. Murphy wasn't on the couch anymore. I heard a sniffle from my right and turned, spotting her small silhouette in the hallway outside Anna's room. She wasn't crying, not like she had been before, but I was pretty sure there were tears on her face. Her arms were crossed over her stomach as she leaned against the door frame, looking absently into the empty room. I stepped up behind her and laid my hands on her shoulders, and she surprised me again by leaning back against me. I kept my hands where they were and I settled my chin on top of her head as she collected herself.
"You need to get some rest," I told her. She took a sharp breath as if to argue, but I hurried. "But I know you won't. Not until she's right there." I stared at the bed with her for a moment before I squeezed her arm. "I might have something, but I need you talk to you first." She whirled around with a fire in her eyes.
"Why didn't you say that in the first place?" she spat, but I didn't take it personally.
"I just did," I replied patiently. "But I can't do anything until we have a talk." I turned and walked back to her couch, knowing she would be right behind me. She settled down on the cushions, and I took a deep breath. I'd already sort of done this once before, and I took my cue from that moment several months ago. I stretched out my right arm toward the corner where I'd stowed my hockey stick. A second later it slapped into my hand, and Murphy stared at me.
"How did you do that?" I almost laughed at her familiar words, but I managed to hold it back. I looked at her squarely for a moment before sitting on the coffee table to face her. I laid the stick on the floor at my feet and tried to think of the best way to explain this.
"Okay, so I've got a lot of explaining to do, and I'd appreciate it if you'd wait until the very end to kick my ass." I offered her a flat smile but she didn't return it, and I let out a heavy sigh. "Alright, so from the beginning I guess. You know all that stuff that isn't real that I do to help you out with cases?" She nodded, her eyes never leaving mine. "Well it is real. And I know you''ll have a hard time processing most of this, but I'm giving you my oath, on my power, that everything I'm about to tell you is the truth." I knew she didn't feel the thrum of power that coursed through me from the vow, but I did. I couldn't lie to her now.
"Harry?"
I flexed my fingers a few times and held my right hand palm up between us. I focused my will into the center of my hand, letting the energy gather there for a moment. The white light illuminated us and everything around us, and I could see the confusion and awe on her face easily. I let the light dissipate completely before I took a deep breath and told her everything. I explained about how magic was passed from parent to child, the role of the Council, and even the Laws of Magic. She sat quietly through the entire thing, though I couldn't tell if it was because of our agreement or sheer shock.
When I had finished, the look of awe was gone from her face but the confusion remained. Several silent seconds stretched out between us, but I didn't try to fill it. She was coming to terms with something that was rocking her beliefs, and it took time. Finally she took a deep breath and looked up at me.
"Last March. Edward Miller." Her voice was hard, and I closed my eyes.
"Wow, you really don't want to ease into this, do you?" I opened my eyes, hoping that her harsh glare had lessened, but it hadn't. I had sworn to tell the truth, and I couldn't stop now. "There was more going on than you knew," I admitted. "Boone had found a way to...well, to jump bodies using an old Egyptian tablet. The catch was, his current body had to die. So Boone dies, jumps into Miller. When we confronted him he...switched again."
"Into me." It wasn't a question, and I had to look away to avoid the pain in her eyes. I knew that whole ordeal had brought a world of trouble for her, including psyche evals and hellish nightmares. Our whole friendship had almost come to an end as the stress piled up on her, but we'd managed to pull through. I wondered if we'd get that lucky again.
"I had to reassemble the tablet and get you...him, to touch it. Once that happened, it all reversed itself and his soul was ripped out of your body. Luckily, your own mind was just being suppressed, not entirely overwritten." I glanced back over, hoping she wasn't too mad. But the anger I'd expected to see in her eyes wasn't there. She was sad.
"I get flashes sometimes, of things I don't remember but they feel so real. I was the antique shop at night, and you were there. I attacked you." My leg twinged at the memory of the knife that had been plunged into it, but I shook my head.
"No, that was Boone," I told her firmly. "He just hijacked your body to do it. It wasn't you." She was quiet for a moment as she processed my words, and she seemed to accept them. After another empty beat, her eyes locked onto mine.
"My father?"
"Ah, well..." I scratched the back of my head. "That one was trickier. I didn't know if it would actually work. The brand was actually the focus for a magical ritual designed to steal people's second chances. They died like they would have if they hadn't been spared, and Munzer got another life. I just figured I could give your father his second chance back before Munzer could use the brand on himself."
"So he really was dead." Her voice was shaking and she looked a little pale, and I wondered if she was going to faint on me. As serious as this situation was, I'm not sure I could ever let her live it down if she did. Finally she just reached her hand out and gripped mine fiercely. "I guess thank you didn't quite cover it," she said, and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I'd laid it all bare and she didn't hate me. The trick now was making sure she stayed safe.
"Listen, there are people – namely, the Council – who frown upon civilians knowing about this stuff. If they find out you're clued in, they might take steps."
"Like what?" she asked, sounding wholly unimpressed. Only Murphy would be just slightly annoyed by the people who generally scared the crap out of me. "What can they do?"
"Um, erase your existence?" I offered. "I'm fairly certain it won't come to that," I continued quickly. "Just be sure not to run around shouting about magic and stuff to random passersby."
Murphy rolled her eyes and settled back against the cushions. "So no book deals? Darn, I was hoping to make a small fortune."
"Trust me, my life is nowhere near interesting enough to write a book about." It was easy enough to fall into the familiar banter, and I felt myself relaxing. She knew and she didn't hate me. Now all I had to do was find Anna. I dug the crystal out of my pocket and let it dangle in front of me. I concentrated on Anna for a moment, and the crystal swayed toward the front of the house.
"Anna?" Murphy was leaning forward now, all business, and I smiled.
"I think so. Tracking spells are one of my specialties, but it helps that I know her already. I can feel the spell pulling me that way, even without the crystal. It helps, though, to focus the energy." We both stood and I summoned my hockey stick to my hand as we made our way to the front door. "I'm not sure what this is, but I...felt something when I went into her room. I don't think this was a normal kidnapping."
"Magic?"
"Yes," I answered. "But not the kind I'm familiar with. I'm not entirely certain what we're going to find."
She stared at me for a moment before disappearing into her room. Moments later she came back out in dark jeans, a black t-shirt, and a leather jacket that I knew was hiding her shoulder holster. The legs of her jeans were settled easily over her boots, and I knew she probably had a gun strapped to her ankle as well. She pulled her hair back into a tail and grabbed her keys as she tossed me my own jacket.
"Let's go." I stared at her for a solid ten seconds before her glare kick started my brain. I followed her out the car, attaching the crystal to her rearview. I could feel the gentle tug of the spell in my own head, but her eyes kept darting to the crystal every few minutes as we navigated the streets of Chicago. The sun was just beginning to rise, and traffic was gradually thickening to the standard morning rush hour madness. Thankfully we were steadily making our way out of the city, north by northeast, toward Lake Michigan. As we drove, I spoke about the other parts of my life, the creatures that inhabited our world that civilians had no idea about.
"Vampires?" she asked incredulously. "Harry, I'm still trying to come to terms with wizards. You're gonna throw vampires at me?"
"Okay, yeah," I laughed, "you can handle a guy who can bend the elements to his will. But toss in what is culturally considered an urban paranormal standard and suddenly it's too much?" She slapped my shoulder with her right hand, her eyes never leaving the road.
"You think it could have been a vampire?" She sounded worried now, and I shook my head.
"No, a vampire has to be invited in. I can cross a threshold without an invitation, but my powers are effectively nullified. A vampire absolutely cannot enter without one."
"But if Anna invited one in..."
"Even if she did, they don't have the magic it would take to close and lock the window behind them. Besides, you probably would have heard something." I took a breath and looked out my window. The pinkish orange of dawn was slowly brightening to day, and the four lane road to the lake was thinning out. The crystal began to sway gently to the left, and eventually Murphy found a road she could turn on. We were now pointed directly at the lake, and I felt my heart clench. If Anna was dead, the spell wouldn't be working. I kept telling myself that, and even mentioned it aloud once or twice as the lake drew nearer. As the road curved around, we had taken a few turns to get back on track. Finally the gravel road we'd wound up on ended, and Murphy parked the car as I untied the crystal and grabbed my hockey stick. I grabbed Murphy's hand and pressed the crystal into her palm.
"Concentrate on Anna, her face, her voice, her smell. Anything about her. Go on." She looked at the crystal hesitantly but did as I asked as I readied my staff. I knew wizards who had actual staves carved from trees and covered in runes. Justin hadn't been too keen on teaching me about that side of magic, and I'd taken a crash course in staff magic from Bob when I'd had to go up against a nasty creature from the Realm. I didn't encounter them often (thankfully), but I'd needed the extra power the staff afforded me and I didn't have time to find a tree in the middle of Chicago and carve one out. So I'd had to make do with what I had; thankfully I had an old hockey stick from my college days. It worked well enough, and I'd never even thought about replacing it.
I held it out in front of me as we walked through the trees, Murphy slightly in front of me as she led the way. We walked for a while in silence, and I kept my gaze darting around to be sure we weren't being followed or surrounded. Suddenly the crystal swayed back toward Murphy's body and she stopped, looking up at me. We turned around and began backtracking, but we only made it a few steps before it did it again. We turned once more, walking slowly until the crystal was hanging perpendicular to the ground. I could feel the pull of the spell within me directing me the same way, and I reached out to grab the crystal from her.
"What the hell?" she looked at me, and I took a deep breath.
"Alright, look. You know how there are magnetic ley lines that run through the earth?" She nodded. "Well there are lines of magic, too, that run pretty close to them. A really powerful wizard could theoretically call upon that power to add to his own."
"Could you do it?"
"Hell, no," I shook my head. "Not even I'm stupid enough to try and control that much power. But there are things that can. They use those lines to connect our worlds together, to build a bridge between here and their Realm." I looked around and realized what had to happen. Murphy wasn't going to like it.
"Okay, I need you to listen to me," I looked up at her and froze. Standing in the trees not ten feet behind her was an old man in tattered robes. I'd never seen him before, but I'd heard of him. Murphy noticed my hesitation and made to turn around and look, but I stopped her with a sharp shake of my head. I was careful not to actually look at the creature, but I kept him in my peripheral as I maneuvered Murphy around so she could do the same. "Don't look directly at him. He'll vanish if he thinks we see him. He has to initiate contact." I set my hockey stick on the ground and drew a symbol in the dirt right above the ley line. Opening a Way without an invitation was tantamount to declaring war for anyone with ill intentions. I would probably be okay because of my connections to the Council, but there was no way I was letting Murphy go down there with me.
"Okay, I'm going to put up a protection circle for you. Do not, under any circumstances, cross outside of it until I tell you." I turned my back on the Old Man of the Forest and drew a circle large enough for a person to stand in.
"What's going on, Harry?"
"I have to go get Anna. You can't go with me."
"Like hell I can't!" she yelled, and I winced. I could still see the shadowy figure in the corner of my eye, though he did appear to be closer. Murphy didn't seem to notice or care. "She's my daughter, Dresden. I'm going with you."
For most of the time I'd known Murphy, I'd been happy to play along with her beliefs that I was just a harmless, incredibly lucky guy who was really good at what he did. I was purposefully goofy or clumsy in times where it was necessary that she didn't know better. To my knowledge, she had never actually seen my more serious, darker side; the part of me I'd made an effort to hide away. Growing up with Justin Morningway had afforded me an attitude I'd had to work to control, and I knew the Council still kept close tabs on me. But there was no time to play the fool now. I gathered my will around me and looked up at Murphy, unsurprised when she took a hesitant step back.
"There's no time to argue, Murphy. Where they've taken her, you just can't go. There are things that will sooner kill you than look at you, and I don't know if I can find Anna and protect you at the same time."
"Wizard Dresden," an old, creaky voice called my name and I started to turn, but not before whispering a quick warning to Murphy.
"Don't look at him unless he addresses you by name." She nodded once and kept her eyes glued on me as I turned to face the Old Man of the Forest.
I'd heard of him in several stories from several different cultures, but most of them agreed on his appearance. An old, weathered man in tattered robes, hunched over a walking stick made of ebony. He wandered through forests in search of lost travelers. If he deemed them worthy, he would help them find their way home. If not, they would remain lost forever.
"Good morning," I greeted with a half-nod, not daring to use any of the names I knew him by. Creatures of the Realm tended to get a little testy when someone started throwing names around.
He peered at me with storm gray eyes, his expression completely blank. "You are searching for a lost soul." I heard Murphy's sharp intake of breath, but thankfully she stayed otherwise silent. "I have met many wizards in my time. None of them were taken to charity." I heard the question he didn't ask, and I drew myself up as I answered truthfully.
"It's not charity," I told him. "The child they took is under my protection, and I will reclaim what's mine." Murphy shifted in the corner of my eye, but said nothing. I knew my words probably meant nothing to her, but they meant a great deal to one of the Realm.
"Even if it costs you your power?" the Old Man asked. "Your life?"
"Even so," I told him firmly. He'd already asked me a question, so I felt relatively safe in doing so. Some of them could be finicky when it came to information exchange, but he didn't seem to be one of them. "Do you know what took her?"
"Creatures of shadow and cold, Wizard Dresden. They like to capture wizards and break them. They are luring you into a trap."
The thought had crossed my mind once I'd realized what we were dealing with. Most of the Realm didn't particularly care for wizards, and some of them would go out of their way to make sure I didn't return from this trip. That just meant I would have to be doubly careful.
"I am grateful for your assistance," I told him, avoiding thanking him outright. I merely glanced over my shoulder and took a shuddering breath, trying to keep a calm expression on my face.
"Constanza Murphy," the Old Man greeted my companion. "Your child has been taken to a place you cannot follow, yet you desire to anyway. Do you not trust Wizard Dresden to complete his task?"
Murphy stepped up beside me and finally looked at the man who wasn't really a man. "I trust Harry with my life. But she's my daughter. I can't sit back and do nothing. I will do whatever is necessary to save her."
"What if sitting back and doing nothing is what is necessary?" The question was not malicious, but Murphy was a little high strung right now. If she took offense, things could get ugly. I decided to intervene before Murphy could reply.
"You have helped us in our time of need. Should you have need of me, I am yours for one task." It was a risky move, but I didn't sense any of the malice normally associated with those of the Realm. The Old Man of the Forest merely looked at me with an amused expression.
"I have perhaps not offered enough assistance to warrant such a reward," he answered. He covered the distance between us in the blink of an eye, and I fought my natural reaction to take a step back. Thankfully Murphy did as well. He closed his eyes and reached out his hands, laying them on Murphy's head. Several silent moments passed before he opened his eyes, and the stormy gray had morphed into a brilliant blue. I felt the weight of some power settle over the area like a blanket, and when I took a breath I smelled fresh pine and damp moss.
"What was that?" Murphy asked.
"My blessing," the Old Man answered. "None of my Realm will harm you until the next dawn. Go now," he gestured toward the spot where I had drawn a circle and the air shimmered. "Retrieve what is yours, Wizard Dresden. You shall see me again." I didn't bother with goodbyes or more thank yous. I just collected my hockey stick, grabbed Murphy's hand, and walked toward the Way.
"Brace yourself," I told her, and we stepped through the portal into the Realm of the Fae.
AN: I couldn't remember if they actually referred to the Nevernever in the show. I don't think they did, but if I'm wrong please tell me.
Part 2 should be up soon, but here's teaser:
"Are you offering yourself in place of the child, Wizard?" it asked. The gathered pack – family? herd? gaggle? I wasn't entirely sure what to call a collection of Fae – waited eagerly as I took a deep breath. Before I could answer, though, Murphy did something stupid.
"I'll take her place. Take me."
"Murphy, no!" I tried to hold her back, but she managed to evade my desperate grab and stepped between me and the creatures.