Being the Winter Knight may have been the equivalent of selling my soul. It may have gotten me killed (technically, it was…well…complicated), cut me off from my family, friends, job, and coworkers, and generally made my life miserable, but it sometimes had its perks. For instance, when I stepped out in the hot Chicago day (only Chicago could be hot in October) and viewed my new ride. A Trans Am, identical to the one in "Smoky and the Bandit", stood right there on the curb, somehow having avoided having been stolen. Cackling with glee, I slid across to the driver's side, Dukes of Hazzard style, and sent a whisper of power into the door, unlocking it before doing the same to start the engine.
"All right, you sonna bit!" I deadpanned (some things are just too hard to resist), "Let's see what you can do". I then proceeded to break the sound barrier as I headed to the only place the man in the photo could be.
It was nothing complex. It didn't even require any magic. On my way to the Way (no pun intended), I took the liberty of examining the photo. Whoever took it was a real pro-it could have been used as the guy's license photo if not for the fact that he wasn't aware that he was being observed. I stared at his face, analyzing and memorizing the details of it. It was nothing special. Brown eyes, bland face, and dirty blond hair-everything smacked of a suburban husband with 2.5 kids and .33's of a dog. I couldn't figure out why Mab could possibly want someone like this (barring the admittedly possible explanation that she wanted to make a random person's life a living hell). Moving on to the background, I couldn't find anything of importance there, either. Nothing was visible besides the background, which were just a couple trees. Nothing about it seemed vaguely identifiable, so the photo was a waste of ti-wait. What about that tree seemed off? I stared at it for a few seconds, until inspiration hit me.
"Got you now", I chuckled as I headed for the Chicago Zoo.
As I broke traffic laws that hadn't been invented yet, I thought over what would happen when I got to the unavoidable confrontation. It was very, very hard to be wanted by Mab, not know that you were wanted by Mab, and most importantly, not know what Mab would do to you. Odds are Blandy would know at least 1 of these, and thus would be extra-wary. I would probably have to chase him, or, worst-case scenario, fight him. My thoughts were interrupted by my arrival at the zoo. Surveying the damage (surprisingly little), I jumped out and headed into the zoo.
A few minutes later, I stood at the scene of the photograph-the Koala bear exhibit. The distinctive eucalyptus trees stood in the background, and I stood where Duldley was standing and surveyed the area. The exhibit was mostly empty, with only a few visitors milling around. I didn't see Borington, or anything that looked like it might be connected to him, so the zoo was a bust. I might be able to use the photo to get a general lock with a tracking spell, but from there I would have to-wait. On the ground, in a blind spot that was only visible from the spot I was standing in, was what appeared to be writing. Hustling over, I bent down to observe it. It was indeed writing, done in white chalk. Well, smiley faces don't really count as writing, but still. Sighing, I shifted my weight to get up.
"Took you long enough", a voice grumbled from right behind me.
A/N-Sorry for the other expository chapter. But from here on in, there should be more action. Any guesses as to who/what the mysterious character is? Post it in the reviews like everything else you have for me! And thanks for taking the time for reading my story!