Thanks for all the comments guys. I really like telling this story to be honest as Harry Dresden is one of those characters which I instantly like, as much because of his dark past as his general snarky attitude so I appreciate all your opinions.

Anyways, here's your next

Chapter 7

I emerged from my cover and walked over to Rawlins as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. When I got close, he eyed me slowly before saying, "Heard you were dead Dresden?"

"Me too," I replied. "Someone in human resources made a mistake apparently."

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as if trying to smile as he said, "I'm glad you're back then, even if other people won't be. Karrie's a mess over your "death" and isn't even trying to get her badge back, and that's not to mention the sudden increase in weirdness since you disappeared. SI can't cope with the caseloads anymore and it was hard enough for Stallings to requisition a patrol car solely for our use."

"Why come here this morning though?"

"We got over a dozen calls fifteen minutes ago from terrified civilians who saw a fireball in the vicinity of the docks. They said they were woken from a dead sleep and a few of them even mentioned their unique abilities. That was when we paid attention to them, because we knew your brother's boat was here."

"You kept an eye on it, even after all this time?" I said, surprised.

"Normally we wouldn't have, but Murphy insisted to me and Stallings that you were still alive and we should keep an eye out. She's family so we promised we would and so here we are."

"I saw her a few months back and she looked a mess." I agreed quietly, wincing slightly at the memory of Murphy "have you heard from her recently?"

"We try and see her at least once a week; even if it's just to take her out for a drink and your friend Mac sends a care package as well. We are aware she keeps company with some of your other friends though, if that helps." He replied.

"Yeah it does thanks. Oh by the way, what's the date? It's hard to keep track of time where I've been."

He looked at me funny for a second before grunting and saying "Tuesday, September 12th Dresden."

That made sense as Winter would soon equal Summer's strength if it hadn't already which bodes well for my quest. I'll give it to Mab, she had timed it perfectly in sending me back out into the world. I turned to Rawlins asking, "What do you know about the increase in crime and general weirdness?"

"Only what Murphy tells us to be honest. Some bodies in the morgue have strange characteristics that officially have been written up as abnormal mutations and botched corrective surgeries. There has also been the occasional cop or politician whose bank accounts are a little too well balanced for their salaries turning up dead. A few paramedics and another mortician have been put down for compulsory therapy sessions over what they wrote in their accident and post-mortem reports. I could go on but everyone has to be really careful in how they write up anything now, it's only a matter of time before IA takes over the precinct completely."

"Damnit!" I swore. SI had a hard enough time taking cases with supernatural involvement and even good records of solved cases weren't enough for Internal Affairs and of course no one wanted to read the reports even though people were wary of what went in.

"What now then Dresden? You back for good?" Rawlins asked with a guarded expression.

He didn't look it, but on close inspection I could tell Rawlins wasn't getting much sleep and it looked like he had gone days wearing the same clothes. "For now, I have a case and it coincides with the things going on here. Afterwards though, I haven't a clue."

A shadow of relief passed across Rawlins face as he nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "We'll take whatever you can give us, that's for sure. What are your plans now?"

"Roam the streets for ideas on how to take down a new group known as the Formor and take on a group of Fallen angels, you know, just a normal office day for me." I replied.

"That's all is it? And you plan on doing all that dressed like that are you?" he said as he flicked his eyes down, a sly smile on his face.

I groaned as I followed his eyes. My brief visit to Edinburgh had erased from my mind the fact that I was still wearing a wizard's robe which looked as odd as it did feminine. The all too tight material didn't look nearly as flattering now as it had in Arctis Tor. The staff and the darker hue of the hood would only increase the number of stares I would receive on the streets.

"A change of clothes is pushed to priority one then." I answered with an embarrassed smile of my own. Wizard's robes may give an other-worldly appearance to others but only in dark shades of black and more black.

Humph" came the barked laugh in reply as Rawlins turned to his patrol car saying, "best be off then Dresden. Work in SI now starts an hour earlier than it did and Stallings would like some good news to start his day other than the coffee I can get on the way back."

"Thanks man," I said as we both walked to his car. Opening the door, he clambered in and started the engine, only taking two go's to do so in my vicinity which was a bonus and gaining a grudging grimace from the guy in reply.

I stepped back so he could leave before the car could die but before he did, he rolled down his window and said with a chuckle, "there's a Thrift store just around the corner from here that I spotted from my way in. Next to the docks, I bet it opens pretty early to catch the through traffic if you fancy something a little more inconspicuous." Finishing his sentence, his smile matched my glare as he rolled his window back up before taking off with a squeal of tires.

Gripping my staff, I followed the car as it disappeared back to the centre of the city. A ten minute walk later and I found Rawlins was right, a battered old store with a surprising amount of clothes inside was set into the recesses of a block marking the end of the docks and the start of the housing districts.

Settling myself onto the pavement, I had only to wait an hour before the owner of the store turned up. The sun had breached the horizon and the few people I saw up at such an early time were all headed in the general direction I had come from. The owner let me into his store as soon as he opened up; probably thinking I was a harmless though well-dressed vagrant from the streets.

Trying to ignore the attentive stare of the curious owner, I soon found some clothes that fit me well enough to wear in public. A loose fitting pair of jeans with a worn belt of leather, a red shirt which made me think its previous owner had been more a farmer than anything else and a greying trench coat that I picked out because it reminded me of my old duster. Stuffing my wizards robe into a small backpack, I then left the store thanking the owner and feeling much more like my old self, my appearance similar to that of old albeit with a slight odour of fish and old spice.

After leaving the store, I had a choice to make. Chicago is a big place and there were several places I could go for help and information, not to mention people I could see. Murphy, the Alphas, Michael, Molly and Butters were all possible destinations I had in mind. I also thought of my godmother, Lea, who was probably in town as well with Molly. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that Lea was my best bet for a first call.

With that, I took a seat on the nearest bench, closed my eyes and once more visualised a summoning circle in my head. Such a summoning on a purely mental level was hard enough, but after using the technique to summon an angel I was confident I could do it. Concentrating on her image, I called out, "Lea this is Harry calling, where are you?"

Her answer was immediate, "Hello godson, your timing is impeccable as always. I was just teaching your apprentice further in offensive techniques for veils and her demonstration is not going too well. Perhaps intervention is necessary on your part again." Along with her voice, my summoning circle included a visual on where my godmother was, as well as what was going on behind her.

At the edges of my vision, I could see Molly behind Lea stand against four tough looking men, all of them pointing guns at her. Before they could fire, she raised a veil not over herself but over them, blinding the men from seeing each other and then hit each of them with a blow of compressed air. Staggering back from the hits, each of the men were now turned in different directions and still blind to one another.

What was clear to me and Lea however was that after delivering those blows, Molly had veiled and created four illusions of herself, one illusion clear only to each of the men. From our vantage point we could see that while each man thought they had a gun trained on their illusion of Molly, in fact they were actually pointing their guns at each other, hidden by the veils my apprentice had erected. Before each illusion of Molly could raise a hand, all four guns went off in an explosion of sound.

When the guns went silent, the veils and illusions had disappeared to reveal four bodies lying on the ground, my apprentice off to one side breathing deeply in exhaustion. Lea looked at me surprised, holding my gaze, and then winked saying "she has talent. Tricking them with a fancy lights show to begin with caught even me off guard. A much better display of her ability in the end though, don't you think?"

I was amazed. Somehow Molly had gone beyond what I had seen her do in the past and created four illusions for four different targets in a blink of an eye. No wonder she looked tired now it was all over. I did however feel slightly pleased that Molly looked a lot better than she did last time I saw her. She looked cleaner and healthier, as if she had had a few good meals and some sleep, and was no longer wearing the cast-off rags she had worn before.

I looked back at Lea and said, "Looks like she's earned herself some food, don't you think godmother? I'm sure it is within your duty to provide it for her."

Smirking slightly after acknowledging the fact, Lea replied "I'll take care of it. We are not far from the food place she last went to with you."

I now had a destination. Nodding at my godmother, I then broke off our conversation and returned to my physical surroundings. Rising from my seat, I pointed myself in the direction I needed to go and set off at a brisk pace, eager to see my apprentice again.

What do you think guys?

Do you like the fact that I have Dresden use purely mental summoning rather than a crudely drawn circle on the ground?

What about Mab and Rawlins?

Comment as usual and as always, keep watch of this space!xx