Wizard the Knight and the Pragmatist

This story is written in 1st person narrative. Both Harry Dresden and Methos are telling us the story. The transitions are clearly marked for the reader. The story takes place in the Dresden Files Book Universe immediately after the end of Small Favors (2008).

Disclaimer - The Dresden files are the sole property of Jim Butcher. Highlander (Methos) is the property of Davis-Panzer Productions.

I wish to thank my editor BCF for correcting all my crazy spelling. I wish to thank my Beta Reader RJ Bingham who spent much of his own time learning the Dresden Files Universe so he could Beta this Fan-Fiction. I would encourage everyone to go read his stories, they are both well written and fun. They can be found at (.net/u/2428181/R_J_Bingham)

Chapter 9 – The Pragmatist becomes a Knight

Methos' Narrative:

"Bloody Hell, it still hurt so much, and what is that horrible music?" I said breathing hard, still choking on my own blood.

"Oh my God Karrin he is alive!" Butters yelled and dropped his scalpel on the floor.

"Relax Butter I told you this would happen, he can't die, it freaked me out the first couple of times too, on some level it still does, " Karrin said as she softly stroked my face and hair with her hands. "Methos you have been out over two hours, we got a metal detector but there is still stuff Butters is digging out of you, we are almost done but there is some stuff in your lungs Butters is going to crack your ribs and cut you open to get at. I am so sorry."

"It's ok Karrin, I will survive this, but I may not survive that music" I spat out.

"It's polka music Dr. Stacy, what wrong with polka music? Dammit now I need a clean scalpel" Butters answered.

"I am not a polka fan Mr. Butters, and don't worries I can't get an infection just keep cutting" I answered back. I was starting to cough up blood again and I knew I didn't have long "I need to speak to Father Forthill, Karrin where's is Dresden and Sanya?" I said spiting blood; yep those damn Denarians had put stuff in my lungs, which meant I had to die again in order for this medical examiner to cut the metal out what The Denarians had put in my body.

"I don't know where Harry and Sanya are and Sonya's phone is dead. It must be too much exposure to Harry, he shorts out electrical devices. Butters can you take a break and go get the Father please," Karrin asked as Waldo Butters who then ran from the room, thankful for the break. Karrin then explained to me what was up with the poka music "Butters was truing white anyway, he works on corpse, so when you stating talking it shook him up a lot and he needs a break anyway, poor guy."

"Karrin where is Amoracchius, I need to have that sword in my hands as soon as possible." I was slipping again, chocking on my own blood, but I had to speak with Father Forthill about what The Archangel Rafael told me.

Father Forthill approached me "My son you don't look good".

Well how I looked wasn't important! I needed to tell the good Father what the Archangel said. "Father I spoke with The Archangel Rafael."

"The Archangel Rafael? That is strange he is The Archangel of healing and you Methos are an immortal? But none the less I have a question I must ask you," The good father muttered on.

I shook my head in compliance and the Father asked his question. "What did he smell like."

"Father I can't remember what he smelled like!" I cried out in pain. "What kind of question is that anyway? Karrin where is the sword, I need to have Amoracchius by my side." I knew I wasn't going to last much longer.

"It's a simple question, what did The Archangel Rafael smell liked" Father Forthill repeated.

"I bloody well have no idea! Well it's wasn't a smell like you would have expected like Christmas cookies or the clean air on the top of a mountain!"

"Think Methos, did The Archangel Rafael touch you?" the good father asked.

"Yes he hugged me,"

"Then you must have smelled him, Think Methos."

"It was an old smell one I haven't smelled in longer than I can remember" my breathing was getting more labored.

"So what did he smell like?" The Father was still battering with the same ridiculous question!

I tried to remember but I didn't know how to answer. Then I fought hard in the back recesses of my mind for the memory, a very, very, old memory.

"He smelled like the women who found me as an infant and raised me like her own son. She died when I was still a child, around age 10. I had forgotten about her and what she smelled like, and was so many millenniums ago." Then tears streamed down my cheeks with the memory. This Knight stuff was making me soft, I cried twice in one night and I think I haven't cried since Alexa died.

"So Methos did you accept the offer to be a knight of the Cross from the Archangel." the Father was serious I guess I had given the right answer to his question.

"Yes" and I closed my eyes and there was nothingness for I was again dead.

Dresden's narrative:

Sanya and I entered the church and Murphy told me too immediately to go out to her car and bring in Amoracchius, I knew better than to argue with her so I did. Kincaid had left to go back to the archive, we could call him if there was any action again but everything had been quiet since we found Methos.

"Thanks Dresden last time Methos woke up all he wanted was that damn sword" Karrin smiled at me. "Where the Hell were you anyway? We all have been worried with the Denarians and the warlock at large."

"I had to contact Anastasia and get some Intel on this warlock, how is Butters doing working on Methos?" I asked. "Is he nervous? Is that why Butters is playing polka music Murphy? What did Methos do something to making Butter nervous?"

"Oh well Butter still keeps freaking out every time Methos starts breathing and it gets worst when Methos starts talking, but then he dies again, but he seems to be dead now so we are back in business. The Polka music helps keep Butters calm," Karrin laughed

"Dresden this is not funny; he is a Doctor at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Dr. Stacy, one of the best O.R. Doctors they got. I hardly ever get his corpse. But this guy is just too weird. He keep coming back to life starts talking then dies again, over and over again. Just stand away Dresden so the metal detector will still work, I really need it. Crap the crowd you run with is getting stranger all the time, Murphy been trying to explain the QT on this guy to me but I don't want to know. It's too far off my weird o meter and I have worked with this Doctor" Butter's complained. "Someone just turn up the polka music and I will get this job done, just stop freaking me out, OK gang!"

"Butters it will ok trust me the Doc is one of the good guys. We really appreciate what you are doing" I tried to reassure Butters.

"Sanya I need to speak to you" Father Forthill said in a serious tone. "We have a second Knight; Methos spoke to The Archangel Rafael, and agreed to take up the mantel."

"Father that is wonderful, I was so hoping that one of the Archangel would recruit him to our cause. Strange I have never known the Archangel Rafael to speak to a Knight before. I spoke to the archangel Michael." Sanya said in his thick Russian accent then he smiled as he knew he was no longer the only knight of the Cross.

"Methos agreed to be a Knight of the Cross?" I was shocked; I couldn't get Methos to agree on what type of coffee to buy at Starbucks and now he was a Knight of the Cross taking my good friends Michaels Carpenter sword. Methos liked to pretend that he was completely unscrupulous, and he has a cynical sense of humor and didn't hesitate to make others aware of their mistakes, sometimes in a humiliating way. Methos's primarily interest seemed to be his own survival. I wondered what this Archangel Rafael said to him to convince him the one of the most secretive and cynical man I had ever met to take up the mantle of the sword of the cross. Knowing Methos he wouldn't tell me either.

"So when is Methos going to join us back in the land of the living" I asked Murphy who was sitting by his side stroking his face.

"I don't know Butters had to crack his chest open and dig thru his lungs, to get the last of the metal the Denarians put in him, the wounds are starting to heal on the outside but I don't know how long the internal damage takes to heal. The metal detector says we should have got it all. Harry it took hours and he kept coming back to life in intense pain speaking with us for a few minutes and then dying again." Murphy said is a very heartbreaking voice.

"Murphy he 5,000 years old, Methos can handle it I am sure this isn't the first time he going through something like as painful as this" I tried to be reassuring.

"Yea Methos told me about some cannibals that were worst" Murphy informed me.

"Cannibals Gross! Karrin that's really disgusting, well Methos has lived a varied, interesting and long life." I said hoping Methos never is going to tell me the story about his encounter with the cannibals.

Then we saw Methos start to wake up and we both rushed to his side.

"Karrin you stayed by me the whole time?" Methos said as he looked at Karrin, and reached out and took her hand in his, he tried to sit up but didn't make it closing his eyes and wincing still in slight pain.

"Whoa cowboy give yourself a minute, you had a bad day. Rest a bit longer, how do you feel?" Karrin did not answer Methos' question but you could see it in her eyes that there was no way any could have gotten her to leave his side.

I chirped in "Methos Glad to see you back in the land of the living, but I think you freaked out Butters when you starting coming to life again and then dying again he not used to his corpses talking to him." I said smiled "Plus he knows you from the hospital, Dr. Stacy."

"Ya I know he knows me, should I get a plane reservation for Bora Bora?" Methos asked gathering a little more strength in his voice.

"Don't worry about Bora Bora, Butters will not tell anyone, he helped me with the zombie invasion and he is good people," I told Methos.

"What happened to my clothes? And thank you Harry for saving my favorite pair of old boots" Methos smiled "They don't make thing like they used to, you can't buy boot like those anymore."

"Sorry your clothes were nothing but bloody rags, Father Forthill is working on finding you something to wear" I reassured him.

Methos just shook his head, "Harry the warlock was here earlier, when Karrin brought me to the church. He knows I am in here so I figure he's not too far away. He will not fight me in the church or harm anyone in here, that the only rule my kind will never break. He might come in to talk to me, it common among immortal that we had a chat on Holy Ground before a battle." Methos informed me.

"Methos you are forgetting one thing, this guy is a wizard too, using black magic he may not be following the rule of the game anymore. You need me to help you fight him."

"Harry Rafael told me that only I can fight him, and only Amoracchius could protect me as long as I picked up the mantel of the Knight of the Cross. If the rest of you try to fight him you all will die. It's my battle, and you cannot fight my battles for me. Harry you said there was a purpose to our meeting. Well I think you were right." Methos smiled and his eyes grew soft and had a golden glow about them.

"No Methos, you can't fight a warlock by yourself" I told him

"Dresden just watch me" Methos smiled. "Oh and the Archangel told me something else too, I was wrong you're not like Merlin at all. Rafael said I should trust you. I know all you wizards worship Merlin but he was just a guy with agenda. He was pigheaded to boot, and lacked wisdom until he got older and it took a long time for him to see the errors of the ways of his youth. Dresden you got on the learning curve a lot faster than Merlin did. Now any chance I can find of a pair of jeans around here?"

Father Forthill went in to the church's thrift shop and found Methos something to wear and even food for all of us. It was night now and I don't think anyone had eaten since I-Hop this morning. Methos insisted that everyone stay in the church for all our safety. Butters still didn't like seeing the corpse he had been digging stuff out of walking around talking. It reminded him too much of when the zombie attacked. After a short while, Butters was talking to Doc Stacy again about hospital stuff just like they were old friends. You could see Butter respected the Doc and genuinely liked him, after he got over the idea the Doc had recently been a dead. The Doc tried to explain the whole immortal thing to Butters, but he refused to listen. It was best to just be left as one of those weird Dresden moments. Butter did try to explain his polka fetish to the Doc much to Methos displeasure; he listened trying to be a good sport to man who had saved him from all the pain.

Sanya was happier than I had ever seen him. The burden of being the only Knight of the Cross had worn down heavily on him. Methos took time to take a shower and clean up. Sanya got out the white cloak with the large white cross on it and he goateed Methos to put it on until finally he did. The he put Amoracchius over his shoulder and Father Forthill found a fancy belt for him to wear, everyone was all laughing to see Methos dressed up. Sanya in his Russian accent kept calling him Brother with Methos didn't seem to mind on bit. Sanya was Black and although youngest of the knight now looked older than Methos. Methos was stared to speak Russian to Sanya, and with them dressed alike I stated to see the brother thing they had going, their bond was growing by the minute. All was going well until Methos got this strange look on his face, and I knew the party was over, he was sensing the other immortal.

"Excuse me but Father which way is the sanctuary" Methos said quietly.

"It's through those doors, down the hall and to the right" the Father answered. I walked up to Methos and met him at the door just as he was about to leave the room, "Methos is the warlock here in the sanctuary? You think you can just met him, like he any other immortal, because he's not. He will use back magic on you and control you mind"

"Dresden don't be so melodramatic, I already told you what the Archangel Rafael told me I had to fight this guy, now stay here and out of my way" Methos's eyes were as cold as the steel in his sword.

"You have no idea what a warlock can do to you, and the Archangel Rafael also told you to trust me, so which is it"

"Ok but I didn't get dressed up in this ridiculous out fit to get either one of us killed tonight, just make sure no one else comes especially Murphy." Methos ordered me. I have found out that Methos likes to give the orders; he is a real control freak. So when I can I let Methos give the orders, and I don't know who was more amused by it, him or me.

"Ah your sweet on her, but so am I, don't worry about the troops I take care of them," I called Mouse to guard the door "Mouse do not let anyone else in here, got it?" And Mouse lay down at the door as soon as we closed it. No one was going to be able to following us; I locked the door for good measure. So Methos and I walked towards the sanctuary.

"Harry, can a wizard sense another wizard is in the room, we immortals get a sort of Buzz off each other's quickening's and know when there is another immortal near."

"Gee Methos that just plane strange! But I have felt the hairs on the back of my neck go up a few times when something weird was near!" I answered.

"No Harry a buzz is nothing like that so can you do me a favor and hide when the immortal wizard comes? I do not alert him to your presence. I know you are telling me he a warlock but he is still an immortal. I believe our rules supersede yours, or else he would have come in the church after me. Holy Ground is the most sacred of all the rules to the game. He needs to come here to talk to me, set up the where and when of his challenge. We always have our fights in secret, but that rule he may break. I am sure he will not attack me in the sanctuary of the church even with his warlock powers, it's against every rule we have. There are stories that go back before the time I was born that tells of direr consequences to those who violate this rule." Methos explained.

"Fine, we do it your way but I here if you need me" I reminded him. Methos shook his he head in acceptance and gave me a smile, and then suddenly he looked a lot older and more serious. I could feel he didn't want to do this but had given his word to the Archangel Rafael and there was no turning back now.

End of chapter 9

Next

Chapter 10

The Immortal Warlock