Harry Dresden

And the

Room of the lost

Prologue

I didn't really do much traveling away from my ity bity living space due to most modes of transportation breaking down around my phenomenal cosmic powers. Then again nothing really motivated me to travel either. I like my lone ranger impersonation just fine thank you very much. That was all well and good in my head until this morning. In the shower (god they pick the best places don't they.) Bang! Bang! CRASH! My reinforced steel door smashed in on the cement floor of my basement apartment. The cold water of my shower seared my eyes as I smashed my head against the shower head stumbling out on the floor. I through a towel around my waste grabbed my blasting rod off the bathroom sink were I had set it in case of just such an attack. I got a blast of fire ready to unleash as I through open the door of the bathroom and practically flew down the short hallway. As I leaped full over the easy chair preparing to through a ball of force and flame to end all nasty's I caught a glimpse of a breath taking beautiful face before my blast of fire dissipated inside me and a doubly fierce blow caught me in the chest hurling me sideways into my kitchen. "Harry Dresden" said a beautiful and spine tingling voice. "here Mrs. d" I said like the king of wit I was. I heard footsteps coming toward the kitchen. "I don't suppose you will take a twenty and leave? I don't make much for cash these days what with rent and…." it cut me off. "Money wizard" the voice almost laughed getting closer "I do not require such a mortal bribe, no your soul is what I must have" the vampire hissed. I laughed "ok I don't know if soul is slang for a knew type of treatment or something I don't really keep track of what the kids are saying now a days but generally as a rule breaking down someone's door and demanding there soul doesn't really make for polite conversation in any given situation kids or otherwise. I could be wrong but you should probably work on your people skills a little just to be safe" I said as I inched my way nearer to my kitchen dour were my 44 revolver lay hopefully loaded. "Pointless mortal fool I would kill you if my queen hadn't instructed me to keep you alive"the vampire hissed. "Oh AA…. Tell her I said thanks. I get chocolates or flowers but like I said moneys kind of and issue." She screeched and smashed through my kitchen door. I lunged with an athlete's physical leg power wiping the dour open, grabbing the revolver and rolling to one side not a moment too soon because as I rolled my towel shredded to literal strips behind me. The vampire hissed displeased as I hulled my naked wizard ass through the door again. I run on a regular bases not to look good or exercise but so that I can have a chance of avoiding monsterly fast vampire like feanse. That, my almost 7ft height and the motivation of being in confined naked with a hungry vampire in my tiny basement apartment was still a narrow miss between claws and face. I toppled onto the love seat bringing the 44 to bear on a no longer beautiful face but a big black fanged beast I pulled the trigger. I think it was then I realized I was screwed. The 44 went off and its round came 2ft from the beasts face before falling to the ground causing a ripple of sparks in the air. "Hell's bells" I almost screeched "a shield!?." I guess the magic this vamp was touting would explain the complete bypass of my wards on its way in. The creature smiled (if you can call the no lipped fang movement it did smiling). Than before I could grip the end of the fallen blasting rode with more than my fingertips pain seared my chest and blackness engulfed my vision.

Chapter: 1

Being dead wasn't so bad as death goes a searing sensation as my soul was ripped from my body I think the truly freighting think was falling I guess all the lives I've saved hadn't been enough to keep me from the pit after all. Then the damdest thing happened, my eyes snapped open. This however did not take any fear, anger or sadness away from my thoughts at most if anything it added more. I sighed. The day started off so normal I woke up in my subbasement workshop to the annoying sound of my assistant bob rattling the scull he was in along with most of the contence of the shelf the scull as on with delighted screeches such as "oh yes"!, "woohoo"! And even renditions of a chant that went "Boob time! Boob time! Yippy" repeat as he read his romance novel. Bob was an air spirit of knowledge that confided inside a pure white scull as an assistant to wizards throughout the centuries. He was an incredibly valuable asset but he was also more of a smartass than me if it was possible and to make it worse he was obsessed with sex on such an annoying level it could be called a disorder. I had thought when I bought him the romance novels it would act as a payment for his assistance and hopefully control him somewhat. Needless to say it had done no such thing. "Hell's bells" I said blinking from the shock of the air spirits bright orange lights. He didn't hear me. "HELL'S BELLS BOB don't you know how to read in your head! He was in the middle of a rendition of "Boob time! Boob time! Boo…." He trailed of as he saw me. The novel fell to the ground "o sorry harry just um… reading book well you slept like a good little lackey." I glared at the scull "well quiet down" I tried to growl I think it came out more of a tired grown. "Gotcha boss now um… can I have the book" he said. I groaned and reached down for the book. As I picked it up I saw something that made my temper flare to burning point. A glued on picture of the women I loved in a very revealing bikini. She was a beautiful long legged girl with dark hair, tanned skin and perfect curves. Susan Rodrigues was a writer of a yellow rag journal called the Midwestern arcane. She had a passion and fire for capturing the real supernatural happenings of Chicago in her writing that was so deep she had followed me to a vampire shindig. This was a mistake. I was there as a warden\representative of the most powerful wizards in the world that acted as the governing body of wizards known as the white counsel granted safe passage with one guest. I had brought a knight of the holy cross (sorts of cop of god don't ask) as my guest and we had barely survived. Susan's appearance had broken the safe passage granted and they had captured her in the intention of turning her into one of them. When I took her back the vampires that I killed had insulted the rest and kicked off a war between the white council and the vamps. This had been in vain. The transformation had taken half position of her body and long story short I purposed to her promising to find a cure she hadn't wanted to vamp out on me and turned me down leaving town. So now I spent every waking moment trying to find a cure for her curse. I ripped the book off the floor throwing it to one side as I grabbed my blasting rode which I carried almost every were since the war started. I pointed its tip as the scull readying a blast of fire. Wood smoke actually started to fill the room. "Um….. boss" " I SUGEST YOU SHUT UP BOBBEFORE I SHOW YOU HOW FAR I CAN MELT THAT EYE SOCKET OPEN" bob fell silent "WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPLAIN WHY YOU TOUCHED TOOK A PICTURE OF THE WEMON I LOVED AND GOGLED HER LIKE I SPISIFECKLY TOLD YOU NOT TO YOU USELESS SELF ABSORBED….." I trailed off and lowered the rode letting the energy ease out. Yeah sure I was mad at bob but it wouldn't do Susan any good melting bobs face for being interested in a pretty woman like any male naturally would. I was being stupid. I took a deep breath and narrowly avoided tears with another deep breath. "I need a shower bob get started on the research." I through some more books on pocket demotion change down on the desk and started up the stairs. "Um…ok" "aaa…. sorry boss" bob said. I paused for a second than continued up the stairs blasting rode in hand. Any way that was a normal day these days and now in opening my eyes I found I was hurtling at more than 50mph. the air suddenly slowed and the sound of barking rang out in the silent's followed by a sweet female voice "hello my child I see that you're in something of a…." I cut her off "yes god mother yet again perfect timing, what do would do you want" the women laughed "you know me so well child" she said. "I take it than you are willing to make a deal" she continued in a delicate eager voice. "I don't see I have much of a choice now do I" I said. She laughed again "I suppose not child I suppose not" she said with mystery and laughter "I growled and said "so! What is my life going to cost this time god mother" there was a pause as though she was thinking than she said " find the room that you must know how to ask in order to seek were hidden objects go. " "Yes oh mighty fay poetic one will thee perhaps clarify" I said sarcastically. My god mother sighed and said "a wile down the trail you will find a small fay construct known to you as a pocket deamination, I recommend not telling your beloved white council though my child." "Why not tell them" I asked she sighed again "your spirit pet will inform you when he arrives." Then suddenly I lay flat on my back next to the train tracks with the scull chattering at the speed of light scared out of his wits. I sat up and said blearily no doubt from my god mothers influence "whoa bob slow down" "mab….how did she find me…..aaa need to get out of here I need…" he said "BOB!" the sculls eye lights fluttered as if noticing me for the first time "harry!" "Bloody hell you're letting winter help you again? you didn't let that bitch make you the knight did you" bob shuttered and began to chatter and mutter again "bob calm down it's a onetime thing" I said trying to calm him down hell's bells I had never seen bob this shooken although how had mab found him? I made a mental note to ask my god mother but we didn't have time for that right now we had to find this hidden room thing if I ever wanted to see my god mother or for that matter the rest of Chicago ever again. "BOB!" I half screamed. The scull quickly shut up "we'll figure it out later but for no we're on the job" the scull took a deep breath (which was impressive seeing as how he had no lungs to work with) and said "alright boss what's the gig" "first step were are we?" I said thinking if I knew that I could determine maybe what type of job this was going to be and start having bob track down this pocket demotion "London, England" bob said "um…. suburban plain fay disturbance near bye and…. oh that's interesting" he said "it's been formed into a little pocket demotion" he finished "good" I said thinking. "hey bob!" "Yeah boss?" bob asked distractedly "is it possible to feel out things in the pocket demotion" I asked. Bob thought about it for a second and said "um…it depends" "on…?" I asked looking for somebody to give me a straight answer today. "On…what you want to feel out oh great and powerful twit" he said somehow giving the impression of his eyes rolling. "I'm not looking for you to feel out a industrial power mill bob just get the gist of what we're going up against" "ok…ok jeas no respect" if he had hands he would of raised them in mock surrender. "Um… Boss one more thing" he said. I glared at him annoyed. "Your kind of naked." looked down at my naked body. There was nothing I could do about it now I guess seeing as I was in the middle of no were. Maybe dealing with whatever was through that portal wouldn't require any protective layers I hoped as we set off down the train track toward the pocket demotion and a hopefully completely harmless hopefully simple and hopefully non explosive lost object hunt.

Chapter: 2

About ten minutes down the track we bob let out a squeal of terror which warranted a raised eyebrow. "Bob?" I said. Noting as I did that bob didn't generally scare easily. He cleared his throat with a cough and said um…I mean aa…that's…..interesting. "Bob?" I said again. "Sorry I…I just it's just…" his voice lowered to an almost inaudible whisper more terrified than I had ever heard from almost anyone ever. This probably includes victims of white court skaves vampires who induced and killed with fear purely to stay alive. The people influenced by them would feel pleasantly comforted compared to the fear that bob (the fearless wise cracking all-knowing assistant air spirit) had laced in his voice. "Bob what's wrong!" I asked gently hardly keeping fear out of my own voice. "I remember it" he whispered in that fearful death voice. "You remember it from when bob?" I said almost urgently now. Then bob whispered the words I least expected and that made the hair on my everywhere stand up and do Olympic gymnastic rue teens in unison with the pit of my stomach. "My birth". "Bob?" I said in almost the same terrified tone. "What are you talking about bob? Your birth? You mean you were born here?" "Not here spisificly no" he said his tone lightening slightly "than what do you recognize" I asked confused. "The power" he said simply. "The kind or the person wielding it" I asked looking for more clarification. "Both" he said "but not in the way you're thinking of" "what?" I asked. Bob took a deep breath and said "you use magik with a K this magic is spelt with a C. yours was born from merlin who followed general druid concepts and religious belief's and created what is widely known as your magik" "and?..." I eargd him to continue. "Widely known" he repeated. "Look harry the thing you have to understand is that people weren't very open minded. They mostly focused on one figure or symbol at once that's why they never had teams or congress but one king who decided everything so…" I cut him off "get to the point we don't have much time bob" bob took another deep breath and said "so when merlin became the greatest wizard of all time the other cultures and magic kind of died off though there were a couple bases of magic that were just as powerful if not more so therefore they were able to survive. Most got pushed out by the fay or modern technology" "I take it you were created by one of them" I said "ok" I said "but how did it survive the fay? They aren't exactly known for their mercy or sparing kindness" I asked frowning "they did it harry by placating the order of things by staying in England. They managed to blend in for a while until the Salem witch trials when all witches and wizards were hunted and they started realizing the different spells and misdeeds each other were being trial for then…." I cut him off again and said "then they hunted their own those hypocritical son of bitches" I said thinking of Morgan and his stone cold scowl backed up by his magical 5ft silver judgmental tyrant long sword made by a hole league of judgmental tyrants called the white council of wizards that policed wizards apparently in the name of merlin. "exactly and that's how the white council really officially started or they went from a small group of merlin's apprentices into a full on organized witch hunting squad" bob said "but you still haven't explained how this other type power created you" "first of all harry it's not a different type of power just crafted in different ways so finely it looks completely different though if you look into history it is exactly the same power as merlin's yet few know it this other culture was formed after merlin died because this power was stolen by Vivien and made into a more simple way of magic which mortals not knowing the power had been stolen separated the two and formed it into a more trivial way in exploiting life energy." Bob said "whoa" I said "like trivial as in wand magic words that kind of thing no will involve" "not exactly" bob said but sort of. "They still have to believe in it but it is more structured with how it should work and what perticalure spells do what things to have a wide span of results that lean closely towards the snap your fingers it happens kind of thing" "that's seems unfair and demeaning as hell to all the work I have to put into spells" I spat aggravated "well that's kind of the point" said bob. I stared at him quizzically "what?" "well" bob continued "the lady in the lake was probably the greatest sorceress that ever lived and when merlin Stoll her thunder and embarrassed her and in her eyes the art she got back at him by trapping him in a tree steeling his magic and twisting it to become something almost comical in order to descries merlin's name and the druids forever." He finished "wow she's the ultimate hypocrite son of a bitch…..and she actually succeeded I think I'm going to puke" bob sighed "harry get a life" he said disdainfully "what are you talking about I have a life I'm here in the thick of things aren't I. besides your life isn't any better you live 24 hours a day in a dingy sub-basement and you were apparently created by little Mrs. lake bitch" I said with glee "I wasn't created by her but the magic she created you dolt someone else did the dead itself. And before you ask no harry I don't remember who it is Justin ordered me to forget back when he was a member of the white council but I'm betting whoever it is behind this portal" bob said with a glance at the slightly shimmering air in front of us. I sighed and said "I hope your wrong bob….I hope your wrong" and with that we stepped through the shimmering air.