Hello all! This is Shadow and welcome back to my Dresden world. A special thank you to Zephyr of Shadows for the review! Pepper the dragon was pleased. It was just the pick me up I needed!

As for the Dresden comics… I finally got down to the local bookstore. All I have to say is, read at your own risk! The plot's the same, but the way I pictured the characters (also how Butcher described them) and how they are portrayed are different enough that I had to remind myself that they were the same people from the series. While I don't give these a thumbs down, I guess I just wish the artist had gone a different rout when drawing them. If only the characters where mine to mess with…

*lawyers rustling*

Shadow-Yeah, yeah, I know. Hands off and all that. Roll disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Jane and Talin… and Fred the cat. Everybody else belongs to Jim Butcher, except Tinkerbelle, she's Disney's. Other than that, I am just a poor retch who has a love obsession with dark chocolate and Pepsi.

Enjoy!

Jane woke up to a door slamming. She was back in the attic bedroom with no wizards or fae in sight.

"Merow."

Jane looked down off the side of her bed to see a little face pawing at her blanket. Plunking down face to fur face with the cat, she huffed at him. He wrinkled his nose at her as though she had bad manners and padded off to her door pawing at it until it opened wider.

"This is the weirdest wake up call I've had this week cat. Granny sent you to get me?"

The feline swished its tail not looking at her, as though that did not dignify a response.

"Fine, I'm up. Now get out while I change," grumbled Jane getting up before she convinced herself otherwise.

Downstairs she heard pots clanging and logs being stacked. Two shirts and a pair of socks later she made her way downstairs to see Harry sitting on one of the doily covered chairs. Picking up the quilt, she moved it to the floor and sat in the rocking chair across from him. He winced when another pot collided with its neighbor.

"I think she's upset, but I don't know why," said Harry looking at the kitchen door.

"She hates that she owes me, she'll come around. Err, what happened after I decided to take that nap?" she asked touching her head tenderly.

"Nothing eventful," he said pulling out a frayed and tattered book. "It just got me thinking about bedtime stories."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Kelpies are an Irish monster and show up a lot in their faerie tales, so I figured I'd check on what else there was in the story books on other beasties and baddies," he said flipping open to a page. Jane looked over the writing, it was written in Gaelic, most people couldn't read it nowadays. A knock at the door pulled her away giving her time to think, if only she didn't have an ungodly headache… She let in Murphy who had a folder of printouts in hand. Eying them both, she sat down again.

"And your point?" she said picking up where they had left off.

"It mentions some pretty interesting stuff is all, you should try reading them sometime," said Harry taking some of the papers Murphy was handing him. The cat brushed up against her leg making her jump.

"I'm not following."

"You know that fae lord you met? Lord Talin?" said Murphy.

"What about him?" asked Jane sitting a little straighter.

Murphy paused and showed her the printouts laying them on the table with pictures of the boy and the crazed girl. The page was a scan from an old book of faerie tales. Jane raised an eyebrow and pushed it away.

"Sorry, I'm not as fond of faerie tales as I was as a child, now I live them," she told the cop straight faced.

"Come on Jane, you'll like this one, you're in it," said Harry popping open a Coke he had brought with him.

"What are you talking about?" she asked taking another look at the pages. She had missed something and from the way they were acting, they didn't trust her answer. Her head throbbed like a heartbeat.

"I know, it's hard to believe right? An investigator who actually investigates. Jane and Talin, or should I say Janet and Tam-"

Two syllables later Jane was straddling him on the ground with a druid dagger to his throat.

"Do you want to bring him down on us? What kind of practitioner are you?! I may call him, but for you he will ask a price for his trouble," she whispered sharply at him shaking.

"Touched a nerve did we?" he jibbed choosing to ignore the threat of her dagger. Too bad she jabbed right back, probably taking off some of his scruff in the process. What was it with this girl and pointy objects?

"Keep in mind my help only extends until we solve this case, where did you hear those names?" she demanded. He tried to play her off again and pull himself up but she pinned his arms with her knees and all but growled at him.

"Online at a Brothers Grimm website," supplied Murphy from down her barrel. Jane looked up.

"Dear God I hate the Internet. Good thing it's not too reliable. Never gets the facts straight," she said rolling off Harry without a trace of the vehemence she had displayed moments before not even acknowledging the gun.

"Never?" asked Murphy glaring. She was tracking the unpredictable girls movements already calculating the odds in a fight.

"Not everything, it's a little far fetched from what actually happened anyway," she said brushing herself off. She looked down at Harry meaningfully.

"Hey Murph, the fall to the flood has damaged my memory, probably permanently. I have no idea what we were talking about just now," he said sitting up. Jane smiled and nodded. "I had a crazy dream where I had a brother and Jane was in a faerie tale."

"That's quite a bump, to my knowledge you're an only child," said Jane twirling her dagger examining its shining sigils.

"Let's keep it that way Miss Bipolar, give us a little warning next time you feel like committing murder. It kinda makes it hard to remember you're on our side. You got any ideas on why they attacked Granny?" Jane's knife halted mid spin.

"The soul of a drowned women, how it brings a ringing to my ears," she said solemnly looking to the kitchen door. Harry groaned putting his head in his hands.

"What? What does that mean?" asked Murphy turning her attention to Harry for a moment.

"Please tell me it's not a banshee…" he said looking up at her. In his research he had looked through a few stories with banshees in them and none of them had ended well.

"Fine, it's not a banshee… yet.," Jane said putting away her knife. The pots had stopped clanging in the kitchen and the cat was trying to get her to pet him again.

"So how do we kill it?" asked Murphy putting the safety back on her gun. She kept it on hand however to show just how much she trusted Jane's mood swings.

"Well aren't we ridiculously optimistic?" said Jane crossing her arms at the cop. Murphy kept the gun in her hand.

"The real question is how you survive one," supplied Harry standing up and righting the doily that had fallen off his chair. He knew better than to get in between Murphy and her target, he even had the entry wound to prove it.

"Maybe I should be asking what a banshee is then," said Murphy looking over at Jane who was still frowning over her firearm.

"First they find a willful and stubborn woman; they're the most tenacious. Take her away and destroy her hope until only revenge remains, then drown away the rest until she forgets her own name but not her anger," she said looking Murphy over intently. The insinuation was not lost on the cop.

Murphy's eyes were steel as she continued to watch Jane as she slowly held up the before and after photos of the drowned women.

"And how do you know about that?"

"That's how it was done in the olden days," replied Jane giving in and picking up the cat.

"And were you around then to see it or just guessing?" insisted Murphy. Jane ignored her gaze and started petting the purring fur ball.

"History will show you that they stopped dunking and drowning witches and switched to fire. They did that for a reason officer," she said looking up. Murphy's stance changed immediately, she had gone from questioning to interrogation mode without realizing it. The quirky women's secrets were off limits, but more and more they seemed to pertain to their predicament.

"Why the dancer and the girl? There's no reason to believe that they were practitioners," Harry chimed in.

"The more anger over their losses, the more powerful the banshee they create. There's not much anger in a powerful witch with arthritis," Jane shrugged. It made sense, but it also meant that this new banshee was an experimental weapon. She turned and called over her shoulder "They don't have much to lose in their old age!" She was answered by fire crackling and the sound of silverware being violently shifted around in the drawers in an attempt to cover the eaves dropping. She smiled to herself then looked back at Murphy who huffed and finally holstered her weapon.

"But if you could combine the power of a witch, the loss of beauty and vigor of youth together you would have a hell of a pissed off spirit…" she continued.

"Hell hath no fury," muttered Harry.

"Exactly. We need to get this thing before it can be unleashed." Jane turned to a resigned Murphy.

"Paul said your moped should be up and running in a few days. He hasn't had a chance to look at it yet."

"Fair enough, he might be a bit longer if this banshee experiment of theirs works. They tend to go after males, especially those that have failed them…" Jane said pausing. The cat batted at her hand to make her continue but she sat up straight as an arrow almost knocking him off her lap.

"The lad! He's perfect. He was bait for his aunt before, he'll be our bait now!" she said triumphantly standing. The cat dropped to the floor growling his displeasure and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Hold on there Tex, we can't just kidnap a kid and use him as live bait for his aunts spirit," said Harry standing as well.

"The last thing she saw was his face, she'll want revenge on him for that alone. He's the only lead we have," insisted Jane.

"And what about the girl you traumatized? Are you expecting us to just pull her back in to this too?" demanded Murphy. Jane winced but didn't falter.

"It'll be the boy, they share blood. The girl was just a friend, we don't even know if she was present when the girl died," she said with more confidence then she felt. If the frightened girl had been a boy instead, she wasn't sure her decision would be the same.

"How is the kid doing?" asked Harry.

"He's still in isolation in our clinic," supplied Murphy. She turned to Jane "His hands are wrapped in plastic so he's not a danger to himself."

"I bet that was hard to explain," said Harry.

"Not really, with all the media hype we labeled it a new disease in the same family as necrotizing fasciitis."

"Flesh eating disease? An interesting touch," commented Jane looking back at the boy's photo.

"Ok, I think I need to make a list because our problems just keep multiplying," said Harry rubbing his eyes. Sleep deprivation wasn't a new trick for him but focusing on the big problem was prickling his skull like a roofer with a nail gun.

"I have to warn the practitioners in the area, fill in Morgan before he tries to pin this on me and not get squashed by a pissed off fae, no problem," he groaned as Jane grinned at him. "You have a plan don't you?"

"Yes."

"Alright cowgirl, I vote this time we talk about our strategy instead of the old shoot first and ask questions later approach. I'm still bruising from last time."

"Does this mean I can't pretend to be the boys faerie godmother?"

------------------

Two cans of glitter and glamour spell later…

"Are you sure you're not an eight year old stuck in a grown ups body?" asked Murphy as she shut the car door.

"Not really. If you were eight would you still believe in faeries?"

"I believed in the boogie man. Now stand up strait or your wings will look crooked," said Murphy tugging on the bits of wire and gauze. Jane stuck out her tongue and shifted her glamour to make them flutter at the cop. Murphy waved away the glitter dust as Harry pulled in next to them at the station.

"It's not Halloween yet Tinker Bell," he called coming over. The wand and glittering charms were the only real thing about her costume but to a little boy it would be convincing enough.

"So, what is the story?" asked Jane fixing her slipper so she wouldn't trip over the ribbons.

"You are a pediatrician who specializes in child trauma therapy," supplied Murphy as they headed up the station's steps.

"It's scary how normal you are making this seem," said Harry holding the door open for them. Jane's wings smacked the doors frame making the officer at the front desk look up. He stifled a laugh when Murphy caught his eye as they marched past him and on down the hall to the clinic. On the way down the tiny clinics hallway past only a few rooms a soft humming came from one of the rooms. Looking over at Harry she nodded once and crafted a veil as Murphy opened the room's door. Inside a little boy, small even for his age, struggled with his plastic covered hands as he tried to take a drink from a little blue cup.

"Todd, it's Officer Murphy. I brought someone to see you." The little boy gave up on the cup and turned with a frown until he saw Harry. Screeching out his chair the Todd stood and stared up at Harry stiffly. Harry crouched down until he was eyelevel with the little guy.

"Hi Todd, I heard you were sick," he said as he tried to look as small and unimposing as possible. Sometimes being ridiculously tall has its disadvantages, like finding cloths that would fit.

"I'm not sick. I got cursed. Only a kiss can break a curse, but I don't wan to kiss a girl," he told Harry backing up and showing Harry his plastic coated hands, the sleeves were cracked and frayed at the wrists. Harry smiled at him.

"Or you could just ask as wizard to life the curse. You know who Merlin was Todd?" Todd nodded.

"He helped with the round table and the knights!"

"Right you are. I just so happen to be a wizard, and I can help you out of that curse." Todd gave him a disbelieving look.

"Like Harry Potter? I'm just a kid mister, but I'm not stupid." Jane giggled making the boy spin around looking for her. Harry gave a pained look and rubbed his temple.

"Good, then you know nothing comes free right?" The boy put his hands behind his back and nodded. Now for the hard part thought Harry huffing in the general direction of Jane's laughter.

"Then I'll make you a deal kid. I am a wizard and I can help you out if you help me."

"What for?" Todd demanded.

"I need you to tell me and Officer Murphy what happened to you and your aunt. The real story, I'll know if you try to make it up kid."

"And what do I get?"

"I'll get you somebody that can help you out."

"If it's another shrink…" Todd started, his lip trembling.

"Nope, but she might need one… You ever hear how Cinderella made it to the ball?" he said ignoring the snort from the air by the table.

"That story's for girls. Besides she had a faerie godmother!"

"And so do you, but she needs you to call her first," said Harry watching the little boys eyes light up, even as he was denying it. Todd crossed his arms as best he could and frowned up at Harry tilting his head back until he almost fell over.

"I don't believe you. Faeries are mean liars, they take things-," he said sniffling. He stopped himself before he touched his face and rubbed his eyes on his shoulder instead.

"I'll let you be the judge. Wish for your faerie godmother and see."

Jane rolled her eyes and leaned against the table, knocking over the cup of juice and spilling it all over the table and chair. Jumping away from the spill, she teetered nearly falling on the boy. She felt a firm shove on her back just as the boy whispered his wish. Crash landing at the feet of a traumatized boy was not how she had pictured her entrance but her veil fell away and she stood trying to maintain what was left of her dignity.

"You called?" she asked concentrating to make her wings flutter convincingly. The boy's eyes were as big as saucers.

"You brought a faerie here?!" he said backing up still looking at her.

"You bet I did," he said. He didn't mention that it was by car however. Jane turned to him and poked him in the chest.

"You tell anyone about this and I will personally curse your eyebrows off. Got it?" she said poking him again. He nodded grinning to himself. Turning back to Todd who seemed to have calmed down a bit she fluttered over to him taking care to avoid the juice.

"Todd, I am your faerie godmother," she said curtsying in her tinker bell costume. "I will grant you one wish as my godchild. What do you wish of me?"

"Can you bring back my auntie?" he said softly. Jane pressed her lips together and looked at him sadly.

"I'm sorry love; I have no power over life and death."

"Then can you fix me?" he asked holding up his hands for her to see.

"What happened to your hands lad? Have a run in with an Unseelie fae did we?" she asked taking one of his packaged hands.

"What's-"

"They're the not so nice faeries love. Mind if I take a look?" she said unwrapping his hands. He held very still and watched her carefully. His hands looked a little moist but no worse for wear. She pulled out a small painted bottle from a less than Disney location down her front that had been for eye drops in another life and started humming softly. Motioning for Todd to hold out his hands she sang softly to herself "Tis I'll be here, in sunlight or in shadow…" as she dripped her potion on to his hands continuing her humming as the iridescent potion turned black and thick as Todd rubbed it on his hands.

"Uisce," she whispered under her breath. As she continued to hum the black tar that had gathered on his hands grudgingly pulled away and toward the bottle she held next to his hands. "But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying…" she sang softly closing as the last of it pulled itself into her bottle. "If I am dead, and dead I well may be, ye'll come and find the place where I am lying, and kneel and say an Ave there for me." Fastening the lid she put it away as the lad flexed his fingers, still leery of using them.

"Can I-"

"Not yet, to break a spell you need a kiss if I'm not mistaken," she said impishly. Todd turned to Harry who shrugged at him trying to smother a grin.

"But-" he tried to say.

"Right here love," she said touching her cheek. "Then you're curse will be lifted and our pact complete."

Todd folded his arms not noticing that his sleeves did not disintegrate beneath them and leaned in to give Jane a quick peck on the cheek before turning red and backing up. Jane laughed to herself and took his hand causing him to flinch almost out of her grasp.

"It was a pleasure to meet you godson. Keep away from the fair folk though, it's hard to tell the good from the bad at times," she told him curtsying to him again. "And stay away from hobs love, they're a mischievous lot. Till again we meet godson." With that she flapped her wings letting loose more glitter and pulled a veil over herself winking out of sight.

"I can't believe that worked," said Harry as they walked out of the police station.

"All you need is faith and trust… and a little pixy dust," said Jane absently as she kept trying to dust some off her jacket. The stuff just would not go quietly.

"Thank you Miss Fae, we'll let Peter Pan know," said Harry looking over some of his notes.

"What did you learn from the boy Mr. Wizard?" Jane asked giving up on the glitter.

"He said that he got the kelpie from a guy that is most likely our hob, but that he was following his lady's orders. It sounds like a Summer big timer."

"The question is which queen would try something like this?" muttered Jane. "Aurora's dead… and this doesn't feel like something Titania would go for… it's too… childish. No that's not it, inexperienced is more like it…"

Harry looked over at her as she reasoned aloud. He didn't like were it was going.

"Who is the new queen of summer Harry?" she said turning to him just as he went to unlock his Beetle. 'Damn her perception, Thomas was right with the walking lie detector bit…' he thought jerking a little harder than necessary on the door.

"It's not her. Trust me," he said watching her get ready to assault him with questions. His apprehension was misdirected though.

"Why not?" asked Murphy unexpectedly.

"Because Lily wouldn't do this," he told her remembering the young Summer Queen when she was just a skinny little half fae. Jane's gaze darted over to Murphy who seemed to take this in stride.

"You knew her before she was Queen of Summer," she said leaving him to answer.

"Yes, she's been used as a pawn by queens; she wouldn't try something like this."

"Harry, you were right. You don't know anything about the fae. When they take that final step into immortality, they change," she said fisting her hands.

"She hasn't proven me wrong yet."

"We'll see. What would you be willing to do if it wasn't just you on the line?" Jane spat at him. She turned away in a rage half hoping he would fight her, that he'd prove her wrong and that not all fae were the same.

"She wouldn't do it willingly," he told her trying to ignore the sudden appearance of doubt in his mind.

"Then let's find out what would make her change her mind," she said anger fading into scrutiny as she tried to judge what the truth could be. Her scrutiny was interrupted when Fred burst out of the shadows caked in frozen blood and petals.

Shadow- I actually had to go back and look up the names for the new Summer Queen and Knight. I completely blanked. Looks like I need to re-read the series. It'll pass the time until April rolls around. Thanks for reading!