Life After Death

Chapter 9

"Harry Dresden is dead…"

You know I am getting real tired of hearing those words every time I turn around and it is certainly not the best words to be awoken from a dream with, even if the dream is a rather odd one that makes no sense in the light of day, which it was. I mean the way people are talking about this you would think that Harry's obituary, when it is actually ever written, will need to be a full page announcement just to ensure everyone who seems to have an unusual level of interest in him are appropriately informed. Maybe it was time to let loose a little of my wrath of annoyance on this subject as I turned my still awakening head toward the speaker beside me.

"…or that is at least the unofficial word that had made its way to me." The cold voice said nearly meeting my enraged eyes as I opened them to look upon the current singular member of my audience who had sat here for who knows how long watching me sleep. At first glance he, for his wide shoulders were definitely male, was dressed all in a dark black robe and cloak, looking much the same as the woman from my dream. But when he pulled back his hood to reveal his countenance I saw the face of Rashid, the White Council's ruling senior council member also known as 'The Gatekeeper.' Prudence quickly won out over rage and I decided that maybe my annoyance might stew a while longer before coming out for a visit.

Rashid was probably the most mysterious member of the Senior Council in that he was not a consistent member for either of the major voting blocks of power and politics that held sway over the other wizards of my order. He kept his own council on most things and Harry told me that he suspected The Gatekeeper's votes on events and for or against people reflected what Harry believed to be hidden knowledge that only the one in Rashid's position had access to. If our speculations about that position were indeed true than those sources that could be some truly intimidating reference points if these assumptions were true. Harry had never been overly specific about the roles and responsibilities that The Gatekeeper carried on his shoulders, most likely because he was probably not completely sure himself, but in a few of our discussions on the politics of the Senior Council we had pieced together what we thought were reasonable assumptions.

The first such theory was based solely upon the rather odd title of his office and its general association to other aspects of White Council business. The first thing that an apprentice must be taught is of course the Laws of Magic to keep them from violating these through their ignorance; yes it really should be something they publish! The last of these laws relates that the most dangerous beings within our existence and experience are the ones who exist beyond the Outer Gates.

Before mankind was a thought, these were powerful beings that some of our cultures later encountered and considered as gods or demons. To hear Harry explain it they are beings so terrible in their power that stories of the description of them would have haunted H. P. Lovecraft beyond the point of pure madness. It is therefore strictly forbidden that wizards of the White Council to seek out such beings because of the threat that they posed. Thankfully it was a gray area of law if these beings sought a wizard out because I believe I had met one who had called himself Barter a couple years ago who had me track down a watch he had made about seventy years ago. The power this watch contained, which Barter had thought of as a mere bauble could have created a rather evil demigod had some bad guys got their way. This was the kind of power the Outsiders wielded. It is for the very reason of the danger such beings posed to everyone that Harry and I both assumed that the office of The Gatekeeper was charged with being Earth's ambassador to these beings and in doing so keeping track of their involvement on Earth.

Having a single wizard position designated secretly with authority to violate one of the Laws of Magic was hardly without precedent. For example Harry's tutor Wizard McCoy held the office of 'The Blackstaff;' so titled because he was the one wizard selected by the White Council who was authorized to violate the First Law of Magic that forbid the killing of mortal beings with spells. A week ago I had seen Wizard McCoy snuff the life from perhaps a hundred or more mercenaries with one spell showing that he could and would violate the First Law without a second thought.

Rashid, both in my few encounters with him and from Harry's stories seemed to have access to information beyond the norm for even a member of the Senior Council of Wizards. Accordingly he also appeared to be one of the few whose counsel The Merlin actually entertained, if not sought out, when faced with a serious crisis. The beings that existed beyond the Outer Gates would certainly be a likely source for such information and explain how The Gatekeeper knew such things of importance.

Personally I also thought that Rashid was responsible for countering the effects of The Necronomicon. That ancient spell book for summoning dark powers from the Nevernever, and in the later cases things beyond the Outer Gates, was one of the few of the White Council's failures in that the wizards had been unable to prevent its original release to the public and then even though they tried the Senior Council had never able to put that genie back in the bottle after it had gotten out. By the beginning of the twentieth century they stopped trying and decided the best way to counter the evil capabilities that this book provided instruction on was to release it into mass production instead. The theory was that these beings could only answer one summons at a time so if you had a few thousand mortals calling it would dilute the book's impact. More importantly such beings got annoyed if 'the phone rang constantly' and were more likely to kill the caller in order to get some rest than actually grant their request.

It was a deadly yet efficient way for the White Council to both limit damage and punish those who were foolish enough to mess with things they had no understanding of. Of course this still required someone to come behind and clean up the mess. Since the book had originated in the desert lands, its secrets revealed by nomads of the desert wastes, it seemed likely to me that one of their own would take it upon themselves as a source of honor, which was important to these tribes, to ensure that the problems created by this book were kept to a minimum. Once again this would almost assuredly put Rashid into contact with beings beyond the Outer Gates.

So for a variety of reasons it made sense for a perky wizard apprentice not to piss off The Gatekeeper. I turned on a little of my charm, let my eyes begin to grow glassy with tears before I finally responded to the statement that he had made about Harry's death. He obviously came here to either tell me something or have his own question answered so we might as well get to the point as quick as possible.

"Yes I have heard the same thing from just about everyone who has come to visit me here in the hospital." I said honestly because there was something about Rashid's mannerisms that made me suspect that he could sense outright deception when presented with it. I made sure therefore to keep my answers completely truthful in word and thereby lie only through omission of what I chose not to talk about. I was not sure this would work, but it was better than admitting to the deception I was performing.

He smiled at me, neither in a predatory way nor as one offered to be particularly comforting. He sat in silence for nearly half a minute pondering over my words or more likely testing me to see if I would break under his stare. Based on what I was facing, what I saw as a rather sudden and violent death on the edge of a Warden's sword, I found no problem self motivating enough to match his quiet contemplation.

"I share your sense of sadness. I found your master to be a rarity among the White Council and fear few of our number will understand the loss his death, if it proves to be true, means for us all." He said at last. "But as I said this is only if the rumors that I have heard are true. Perhaps you will find the White Council's news and speculations from this morning of interest to you." He spoke seeing if I would jump at the offer. I waited in silence though without tipping my hand on my eagerness to know what the Council was talking of now. Captain Luccio had likely made her report and whatever it said would have direct implications on my health.

When I said nothing for a time and showed no signs of planning to Rashid continued on. "It appears that Harry Dresden, or else someone very much like him, was involved in a magical battle of some type last night near one of the local college campus here in this city." The Gatekeeper said without any hint from him that he suspected me of being behind these events. "In his almost signature trademark of his fighting style or results, it appears that one of the buildings even exploded and burned to the ground at the site of this battle causing people to flee."

"Yeah I saw something about a fire in that part of town on the news last night when I was going to bed." I said again totally honest within the parameters of those words.

"I am sure you did." He said just a little too confidently to make me feel comfortable. Rashid smiled at me almost the way my mother did when I was very small, covered in chocolate pretzel crumbs, a treat I have a special affinity for, and listened to me explain I had no idea what happened to these goodies that she loved as well.

"The Merlin dispatched a team to check into these events and confirm their source if possible. I decided to investigate it for myself before the Wardens inadvertently mucked up the scene." Even though Rashid's features were that of a Middle Easterner, he spoke English with a precise British accent that hinted that some of his formative years had taken places when this area were colonies of the British crown. "I am glad I did for I sensed the lingering presences of strange and powerful magic, something I am sure that the young ones among the Wardens likely have no experience with and so will miss completely in their investigations."

"Strange magic?" I asked hesitantly wondering if The Gatekeeper could truly tell sensitive magic spells from the more common combat types and sources that Harry would have used if he had been there. If that were true then this revelation would be like finding my fingerprints on a smoking gun and my denials would be that less plausible. Perhaps that is why he was pausing to see what denials or admissions I was willing to make.

"Strange indeed." He replied nodding his head and letting us go back to a moment of silence.

"How many sources for magical power has your master described to you Apprentice Carpenter?" He asked me before the tension between us got too much. Since he identified me as an apprentice that meant by law I was expected to answer any questions like this thoroughly and honestly since I was only free from the Doom of Damocles because Harry promised to teach me magic. If it was proven I was learning nothing than the bargain made to save me from this particular fate would be null and void, as would both of our lives be soon thereafter.

"I know of combat magic and sensitive magic of course." I said as a starting point trying to think of what other forms of magic existed before Rashid raised a hand to interrupt me.

"You are speaking not of 'sources' but of strengths." He corrected. "Both of those draw upon magic from the world around us and while they have differences in what they create, or in the fairly standard case of your Master Harry – destroy, their source is still the same."

"I am sorry sir, I was obviously not listening closely." I said with a bit of contrition to his explanation. Hey it made no sense to piss him off and admitting a small mistake like this might demonstrate I had the ability to accept others' judgments rather than act like the warlock many wanted to believe me to be. Hey it's not like I play politics all the time, but it does not mean I am oblivious to the concept either!

"There is the magic of the natural world as you stated." I said having an idea of what he was speaking of now but not really ever having been taught this. Thankfully my recent life experiences provided more insight. "I believe that this is the same as the magic created in the Faerie Realms such as the Nevernever as well." I said with a hint of a question that I was on the right track and Rashid nodded to tell me to proceed.

"Then there is faith magic." I said thinking of an old Jewish rabbi without a lick of what the White Council would consider magical talent but who had still raised half a dozen golems to serve him and strike justice. I was uncertain if this was the correct official term for this type of power and I guess my eyes betrayed that to my questioner.

"That is as good a term for the power source that you speak of as any I have ever heard." Rashid agreed. "Please continue apprentice." He said calmly.

I thought on this creative power of faith and then turned to the negative side. "Then there is Hellfire." I said having seen some of the mortal bodies of the Order of the Denarians wield that particular type of power since the Fallen who possessed them had access to this source as a evil twin to faith magic. I guess it made sense that the dark side would have its own sources which led me to a bit of speculation.

"I believe that since our magic comes from the natural world of life that necromancy would be considered its opposite?" I asked The Gatekeeper for confirmation if he considered this a separate form or some part of natural magic as well.

"In some cases it can be looked at that way though the true answer is a bit more complicated than that. Some necromancers use natural magic as a source to do unnatural things. However, there are some individuals that mortals like to call mediums, when they are not con artists that is, who do tap into what we can call necromantic sources in order to communicate with the dead." He replied. "However, for the sake of this conversation the let's accept it and you can continue."

The name Mortimer Lindquist popped into my mind as one of these individuals though I had never heard the name before. I had a feeling that Margaret placed it there subtly without saying anything because she did not want to chance The Gatekeeper sensing her presence. All things considered I figured that was a good idea as well.

I wish he had accepted my answers to this point as sufficient as I was running out of ideas. There was only one other source I could think of and I called this one off before thinking too much about it. "I believe there is chi magic, something that originates from the soul?" I asked.

"Yes, some Eastern cultures say it is part of faith magic but personally I disagree." He explained. "Most times faith magic is bestowed upon a person from a higher being in exchange for their belief in this power's divinity. The mortal therefore is merely the conduit. Mana or chi magic as you refer to it is all internal and requires no outside source, or at least that is what I have been told." He said with that same disturbing knowing smile that was impossible to me to comprehend.

I bit my lip as I thought and the silent pause between us lasted nearly five seconds before I made up my mind to end it. "I am sorry if I am a poor student Gatekeeper but that is all I have learned of so far in my studies and my discussions with my master."

"On the contrary Ms. Carpenter, you demonstrated quite well that you have indeed been studying diligently." He said. "In fact you answered better than most wizards with five decades more experience. If I am ever forced to testify on this fact I will do so without a moment's hesitation that all I say about you is true. I must praise Wizard Dresden the next time I see him for the depth of training and experience he had provided for you in such a short period of time." He said again and this time I knew he was purposely testing me with such a bold challenge to argue.

"I hope you find the opportunity to do so soon sir." I said again in total honesty as I would love Rashid to have the opportunity to speak with Harry because that would mean he was still alive.

"I do as well apprentice." He said softly, almost a whisper, showing me in the process just a glimpse of the true emotion of the respect that he held for Harry.

"Let us get back to the discussion of the fire from last night." He said resuming his more direct nature. "Would it surprise you to learn that none of those magical sources that you so aptly named was the magical source type used to burn that building to the ground?" He asked me and seemed pleased by the instantly confused look upon my face that was yet again totally honest. I guess it is little things like torturing apprentices that Senior Council wizards do for fun between ongoing wars with vampires and so forth.

"Then what was it?" I asked as this might help answer who was behind this attack and in so doing perhaps the assassination attempt, I refused to believe it was successful yet, of Harry Dresden.

"One such source that you did not name is that of innate magic." The Gatekeeper explained. I was confused by this of course because it was not a subject I had yet to encounter. It's naming however provided no gleams of insight as to what he was referring.

"Innate magic?" I asked for further clarification.

"Indeed." He said again. "It is the magic that some beings possess based upon their very nature. It is both a part of them such as blood and our DNA is a part of us, and like DNA it is completely unique to them even were they to procreate." He tried to explain but this still left me confused on the nuance differences from what I had identified.

"I do not understand sir." I said. "Are you speaking of beings like the Sidhe Courts? Certainly they are magical based upon their very nature and position in the Courts that they hold."

"No, they were rightly beings of the natural world of magic like you earlier named them." He corrected. "The difference between the Sidhe and what I speak of is that the power of one of the members of the Faerie Courts can transfer upon the death of its wielder to another being as happened most recently when your master Harry slew Lady Aurora of the Summer Court and Lily assumed her power and role. I have heard that another more recent event like that was almost accomplished to the detriment of all had it not been for the timely intervention of a group of unlikely heroes." He looked at me in such a way as to say my involvement in those events were not unknown to him even though I had told no one about what really happened. As I am fairly sure none of the others in that group were reporting to The Gatekeeper, this seemed even more proof to me that he had rather well informed magical sources to draw upon. But while he left that hanging out there I chose not to admit or deny it and his slightly widening smile seemed to indicate that was the best choice.

"No what I am speaking of are parallel sources to those you already know." The Gatekeeper continued. "And their existence is tied to their particular aspect, for lack of a better word in English. The death of that being means a significant change of that aspect."

"I'm sorry sir but I still do not understand." I said honestly and now wondering what the heck this conversation was truly about. I had to be cautious because if I let Rashid draw me in with his story I was likely to slip up and say the wrong thing at the wrong time which I had the sinking suspicion was the true game he was playing.

"Let me focus on the Chinese understanding of this and perhaps one day we can speak of the Greek version which is different but equally valid." He continued with his instruction. "The Chinese believed in the creation of this existence the world was populated or infused with spirits who took upon themselves all the major aspects of our world. Each river, ocean, mountain range, or any major feature had its own being who reigned over it. And early Chinese scholars upon learning of this found means to communicate with these beings and learn from them and in so doing some of our earliest wizards were born through these encounters."

"Okay so you are saying these are the beings who first taught magic to man? They are sort of the wizardly version of Prometheus?" I reasoned trying not to say anything more than I had to.

"That is an apt comparison only in a very general sense. Bear with me please for I have not had to discuss this subject in more than two decades and find it ironic to be doings so under these current conditions." He said mysteriously to me about some hidden inside knowledge no doubt before going back to the subject at hand.

"While these innate magical beings were powerful and could cause much suffering, early wizards learned that they were not immortal, so that meant they could be appeased or if the situation required it they could be killed. To accomplish the later usually required a smart and manipulative wizard to use the power of another rival being against the one they sought to destroy. For example, if the wizard instilled and earth being's magic into a dam on a river, the river spirit that lived in that body of water could be weakened or even killed by this act."

"That is horrible!" I said thinking of this. I mean these beings had obvious created some form of harmony among themselves only to have mortal human wizards upset that balance? That was not a heritage I found I wanted to be part of.

"Ah I see you're your knowledge of history has been tainted by the generous and false beliefs that nature exists in a benevolent rather than a violent state. That my dear, no matter how beautiful the stories may seem, is as much modern fantasy as stories of the world being flat were a millennia ago." His words carried with them a sense of certainty and almost amusement that I would proscribe to such beliefs.

"Ask yourself if a river spirit enjoyed flooding its banks in order to kill villagers who did not pay it tribute fits this munificent image you cast them into." Rashid replied. "Or perhaps instead of flooding the withhold their waters to a trickle therefore causing a drought that led to starvation of the population as well. Oftentimes these spirits liked to cause suffering merely because were capable of such acts as happened I believe in the city of Pompeii." He said bringing images of plaster of paris bodies screaming in their final moment of life as hot ash consumed them.

"As spiritual leaders of their tribes and villages it was the mission of these early wizards to deal with these spirits or find the means to prevent them from doing harm in the future." Rashid explained. "It should not be surprising that killing such beings eventually became the best answer for ones who were otherwise unwilling to turn from destruction."

"And so I am to believe that one of these ancient beings of nature is now terrorizing Chicago and for some strange reason burning down sporting goods stores?" I asked confused and highly skeptical. I mean sure I had seen a lot of weird things in my short time of being Harry's apprentice but vengeance against and outlet for basketballs and stretchy pants seemed too far off the track for me to accept.

"I admit my ignorance in what the motivation of such a creature may be, but I am certain that the magic source for last night's fire came from such a being." He said to me with a leveled gaze that almost dared me to challenge him on this point. Obviously this is what he had come here to impart, but I still did not know what his motivations to do so were. The Gatekeeper was not one for idle gossip.

"Okay, I accept what you say is true." I said though we both could tell my underlying skepticism was actually not about to give up without a pretty good internal fight that I would save for later. But for now I would put it to the side and focus on this secondary issue which he could provide some explanation for if he were willing to do so.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked trying to turn the conversation back around and then pointed at my leg still in the sling for emphasis. "I'm assuming you are not expecting me to do something about all of this from my hospital bed are you?"

"I provide you this merely because I find the coincidence of a confluence between your presence in this city and such a being is too odd not to actually be related." He said holding his cards close to his chest but smiling all the same like he knew one of my secrets. In this particular case though, it was obviously one that I myself did not know.

"Um…huh?" I grunted.

He looked at me with obvious confusion in his own eyes before something dawned in his mind. "You do not know?" He said looking to me which I could only respond with more of my same mystification. "Ah that certainly places things into a new light entirely and complicates what wisdom I am allowed to impart."

"Wait, what do I need to know?" I asked rising up out of my bed enough to make my leg throb and my face wince in obvious pain. It had not been my intention to add to my deception but it worked all the same.

"It appears many things, of which the most important are ones that I cannot impart." The Gatekeeper's words took on a tone of near resignation and disappointment. "As for what, if any, action you should take let me merely offer that sometimes it is the smallest and weakest among us, those who are often overlooked or disregarded as unnecessary or of no value that provide a priceless source of strength in the end. You master Harry certainly understood that and chose his allies with this thought in mind. It served him well and should be a lesson for you also. In my lands young Apprentice Molly Carpenter they say the smallest strawberry is often the one most sweet." He said placing a strange emphasis on that last word.

Before I could find words to question him even more The Gatekeeper stood up and once more flipped his hood up over his head hiding his face from my vision. "One last thing I offer you for knowledge Apprentice Carpenter." He said to me in the strange far off echoing way his voice carried when the hood was up over his head. "The White Council also learned that a certain hedge wizard named Binder that your master ran out of town is currently back in Chicago because he too has heard the rumors of a possible untimely death of its resident wizard; a story that neither of us want to believe is true. I hope for all our sakes that Harry finds this one soon and explains to him his error in judgment."

Did The Gatekeeper just offer me a mission as a means to provide more proof that Harry was still alive? I wanted to question Rashid on this point but at that moment a rattle of the door handle to my room drew my attention away for a split second and when it snapped back to the chair where my visitor had been sitting the dark cloaked figure was no longer visible in my sight. I sensed just a whiff of expended magic and knew he was gone on to whatever other responsibilities his office demanded of him.

And that was not a second too soon for my dad, Michael Carpenter, former Knight of the Sword and the rock upon which I leaned, walked into the room with a smile just for me. His timing was so good in fact coming on the heels of all of these events that I knew it could not be strictly a coincidence. I truly believed that God still told my dad where he needed to be to do the most good and right now that was with me.

I smiled back. "Hi daddy!" I said with a sense of relief. If anyone could offer me good advice it was him.

"I do not know what to say Molly…" My dad's face took on an unreadable and distant stare as he ran over all I had told him in the past hour. He was the first one, including Harry even, that I had shared the events of all of my previous adventures with. Okay I admit there was a small amount of creative editing in my description of some of the parts of these stories and especially some of my actions, but those mostly related to my feelings for Harry which I did not want to share. In truth I had the sinking suspicion that my father, and perhaps even my mother, had some inkling of how I felt but that did not mean I really wanted a long discussion on the subject at the moment.

What I had not compromised upon though was the truth of the events, especially as related to my own role, and the level of foes I had been forced to face down on my own, or in the most recent case in Mexico, with Harry and our other friends. I tried to not overplay the danger I faced because I figured it had to be hard for my dad who had been placed in the position in his role of a Knight of the Cross to do many similar things so he understood the danger without me making too much of it. I also was unsure how he would accept that he was forced not only to sit on the sidelines in the battles now even knowing that his own first born daughter was in the crosshairs.

"Dad I…" I tried to start to help relieve some of this burden that was now inadvertently dumped on his shoulders even though by my doing so it felt good to share this with someone who could truly understand what I had gone through. He held his hand up to stop me before I even began to confess to my current activities wearing a leather duster and a Stetson.

"I have told you I was proud of you many times before." He said looking fully at me and perhaps seeing for the first time not his little girl but instead his all grown up daughter. "But what you told me… the good that you have done for people you never knew… and at such a risk to yourself…" Each of those pauses for breath took five seconds or more but I held my peace as he tried to find the words he wanted to say. "You have in so few years done so much more than I accomplished in my entire career when I carried Amoracchius. I never wanted such a role for any of my children, what parent would, but now I can only say that you do your family proud."

"Dad, that is not…" I started to deny this comparison because I know of the good he had done on God's behest. I had stumbled into mind, half blind at what I was facing. He had chosen to do so knowing each time all he might lose were he to fail.

"No Molly, it is completely true." He said with a smile. "I am given neither to false bravado nor false modesty. Your actions have saved millions of lives and millions more souls. That I can claim to be your father may be the greatest of all my accomplishments." He said with a warm smile that chased away all the doubts in me at the moment. A daddy's unconditional love for his daughter is the greatest of all gifts!

But hey this did give me an opportunity for another discussion I had been dying to have and now seemed like the perfect time to do so. "Daddy." I said using my little girl voice that he could never deny. "Since I have told you my own adventures of late do you think it is time that you tell me the one about how you rescued mom from the dragon?" Yeah it was cheap to hit him when he was emotionally vulnerable but I doubted I would ever get a second chance as good as this one.

I could see he was about to reject this request out of hand because he had done so many times in the past when I, and likely some of my brothers and sisters as well, had asked for this story before. "You always said you would tell me when I had the experience to fully understand." I interrupted his building refusal with his own words. "Don't my shared stories sort of meet that particular requirement? If not exactly how high have you raised that particular bar for your daughter?" I said with a laugh.

He chuckled at this obvious trap then threw up his hands in mock resignation. "You most certainly have checked off that particular block Molly." He said as he settled back in his chair and stretched his formerly broken leg out to ensure the blood continued to flow and it did not cramp up on him. Those physical ailments were a left over result of the damage his body had sustained from wounds that should have in truth killed him had he been anyone else. So considering that alternative, none of us were willing to complain about this minor debilitation that he had already grown accustomed to.

"Alright then spill it pops! One battered old warrior to another." I ordered in a mocking laugh at myself pointing to my leg that was still in a sling. My challenge was all bluff and he knew it just as we both knew that even with his limp, there was little doubt in his mind which of the two of us was in the better and stronger position currently.

"In truth it is likely not so wondrous a story as your own." He said up front but my father is nothing if not modest. "It began of course like most of those events where I wielded Amoracchius. I was provided a vision from God himself that my arm and blade were needed in his service to protect those who called upon his help." I guess this made more sense and was more appropriate from a biblical sense than having a voice come over a speaker phone saying 'Good morning angels.'

"At the time there was a man named Gregor operating here in the city of Chicago." My father continued with his story and I decided not to let my mind get sidetracked too much with these odd random thoughts. "He was also a wizard." My dad said turned to look straight at me as if trying to state something beyond the words.

"You mean like Harry?" I asked rather than using myself as a reference for his story.

"Only in the fact he could cast spells." He replied. "Harry is a good man who puts himself into danger to save those around him. Gregor was one who sought power for himself and was willing to go against the rules established by the White Council if it would lead him to more power still." He explained to me with a look of disgust.

"We call those types of people who live outside the rules of the White Council warlocks dad." I explained in response. I made certain though not to mention that I was currently considered a warlock, well perhaps a warlock on probation, by the White Council also. And some I had no doubt would consider me one always.

"Well Warlock Gregor found an exceptionally evil means to increase his power." Michael Carpenter said to me. "He somehow crossed paths with an ancient being and the two formed a pact to infuse the young man with its own power, or offer him baubles that contained the same." Obvious distaste filled my father's words.

"But all such things come for with price." I added knowing how these types of arrangements usually work. They look good on the surface but they always fail in the end.

"It did in this case as well." My father nodded in confirmation. "In exchange for increasing the young man's power the being behind the scenes demanded sacrifices." He explained and I nodded. In both the magical as well as the world of religion such offerings are often common. The Bible speaks of these in many places and probably every story you have ever heard about wizards says the same things about us as well. Unfortunately, while not as widespread as the stories would have you believe, there were enough evil examples out there unfortunately to place such tales much closer to truth than to merely myth.

Most times the sacrifice itself was unimportant in form. Instead it was what the sacrifice represented to the giver that gave it power. Human sacrifices, events which showed there was no limit as to what the person offering was not willing to go, remained the pinnacle.

"It was the dragon?" I asked less than fully confident of the answer since I had heard of dragon sacrifices though never because of their ability to transfer magical power to a mortal. My dad merely nodded that I was correct before continuing on with his story.

"The beast's name was Siriothrax." My dad confirmed by providing me the name. "But I knew not that I was destined to face him. I knew only that I was to seek out Gregor and see his own evil ways stopped. Back then I only carried a sword and that is hardly the proper way to outfit oneself when facing down a dragon. I would not start wearing armor until after this encounter and when you mother began to make me wear it."

"I tracked down Gregor through small stories people told me, priests most often, of the waves of corruption and destruction the warlock caused upon gaining each new power in exchange for each new sacrifice. Despite these leads though he was not a foolish man however, and the best I was able to do was narrow my search to one specific part of the city where the evil seemed the greatest. I learned later that Siriothrax himself had taught Gregor to be smart by hiding his operations in places where they were unlikely to draw attention to him. Additional violence in places already prone to such rarely raise outside interest and in this case one of the gang controlled neighborhoods where the warlock was hiding."

Having spent a fair amount of time with Murphy I understood what my dad was saying. It was not a judgment on the people who were forced to live there as much as the way the rest of society viewed such areas. A missing person or a decapitated body in and upper class neighborhood was front page news probably for the week and likely would even draw national interest on a slow news day. Look at how the newspapers had talked about Jon Benet Ramsey. Yet the same events in one of the gang controlled parts of town were lucky to make it onto the back page of the local papers and only then in the Cubs were not on a winning or losing streak.

"Within that area though, even with the help of those of the Church, I had few clues to lead me to where Gregor and his former compatriot were hiding. Instead knowing he was a wizard I chose to start by checking out those stores that carried common magical components like candles and such and hoping someone might provide me the information I required." He explained and given his logic I probably would have done the same thing though I did have the advantage of being sensitive to magic and could have wandered the streets seeking such places a bit easier.

"You mean your visions were not specific enough to help you find him?" I asked somewhat shocked because I always thought my dad knew instinctively where to go when he was sent on a mission. I never realized that his second job forced him to be as much a private investigator in many ways as Harry was with his life.

"No, like I said Siriothrax was old and knowledgeable in how to avoid being so easily tracked and the great drake made sure to instill this caution in those it bargained with to prevent these mortal agents from leading someone like me back to its lair." He explained. I really wanted to ask if a dragon's lair is filled with treasure like in the Hobbit, or like Lord Kline had told me, but I figured now was not the right time. "You do not survive centuries or longer by making foolish mistakes."

"How did you find Gregor then?" I asked.

"Gregor had been a flawed vessel when he had first approached Siriothrax." My father explained. "While he certainly had magical talent and was willing to bargain with the dragon for more by sacrificing others, he also thought he could enhance his powers through illegal drugs like LSD that made him feel more domineering even if he was in truth not. Siriothrax had thought he had found a willing mortal agent eager to do anything for power, but what he actually got was an addict who lacked the proper self control and because of that there was a chink in the dragon's armor."

"I came across Gregor standing in the middle of the street throwing blasts of real magical fire at monsters that only existed in his mind." He said with a shake of his head. "Thankfully everyone nearby had fled from this display and the buildings around were mostly made of brick so property damage was relatively light."

"And you took him down." I said picturing my father striding up, challenging, and then defeating the drug crazed wizard in a battle of sword against fire magic.

"You make it sound much more heroic than it was." He laughed. "Gregor was so focused upon destroying a light pole that he was certain had been seeking to kill him that he ignored my challenge completely and one simple blow with the flat of my blade dropped him into unconsciousness." Wow that was almost the most anticlimactic battle between good and evil I had ever heard of, including ones that Harry told me. I really wish a few of the fights that I found myself in were so easily resolved.

"So what happened next?" I asked trying to move the story along to the part with the dragon.

"When I looked at Gregor I could see the ritual tattoos that covered his arms and knew these were self inflicted." My father explained. "I could not read them of course, but I knew they represented evil and darkness in much the same way as I know the symbols of each of the Black Denarians do. And most of all I could feel that Gregor wanted these, he had not accepted them begrudgingly for power and had second thought later. He felt that supremacy over all he surveyed was his birthright and therefore he was not seeking redemption for any of his actions."

"Why was his motivation so important to you?" I asked confused. "Were you thinking to change him?"

"Molly God never sent me on a mission with the goal to kill people like Gregor or even the Denarians." My dad explained. "Taking mortal life remains a sin because with life comes the possibility for redemption. There have been times when I have been forced to do so, but those were always in self defense with someone who was unrepentant for their actions and I had to choose between their life and the lives of innocents. My missions Molly were always about saving lives, especially innocent lives."

"So originally you thought you were sent there to save Gregor." I reasoned and he nodded that I was correct.

"it was not until that moment of seeing what he was willing to do and the glee with which he had thrown his magic around that I knew he was merely a first step to an even greater evil." He said in explanation.

"I took him off the street to an abandoned store and tied Gregor up, mostly so he would not hurt himself and to prevent him from trying any more spells and then I woke him up. I'm not sure what he saw in me but even before my questioning began Gregor began to babble openly about the human sacrifices he had made to the dragon and about the young woman he had left chained to a stake only hours before. He promised me that in exchange for his freedom he would tell me where I could find her; that is if she were still alive. I will never forget the fear in his eyes as he stared at me. I cannot say what he saw in me sent him back upon the straight and narrow but I hope it to be so." My dad gave me these details.

I thought of what my father was explaining and reasoned through my own experiences with such things that Gregor had probably evoked his wizard sight either while fighting his imaginary monsters or upon waking up. I can only think that whatever he saw in my father was so completely opposite of his own beliefs that the very image broke his mind or very nearly did so. Harry had the same thing happen when he had looked upon a skinwalker a year or so ago and he said it nearly destroyed him as well.

"So you went to rescue mom." I said reasoning who the victim would be based upon the pieces of the story that I had already heard bits and pieces of. It's not like many women get to be rescued by the man they love so it was a good story for a young girl to think about. Of course Harry had rescued me, but I was not going to make this association at this time.

"Gregor had told me where he crossed over into the Nevernever where the dragon made its home." He continued. "Like I said Siriothrax was always wise in selecting such locations that people would not merely chance upon and in this case it was no exception to that rule. Getting to the place required some more help from the Church but even so within an hour I too crossed over as well appearing right outside the beast's chosen lair.

"My timing was fortuitous in that your mother was still bound to the stake but the dragon had come out from its lair to torture her before completing the sacrifice." My dad said. "I had never seen someone so brave. I have seen much larger men fall to their knees and cry in terror at sights far less intimidating than the dragon, but your mother Charity stared directly at it, almost as if refusing to let it have this final indignity over her. Instead she just prayed loudly to the Lord asking him to forgive her sins."

"And what did you do?" I asked with a little bit of excitement. "Did you call out a battle cry and charge the beast?" Yeah I have to admit I went for the traditional romantic ideas also.

Dad laughed. "No, though I did call out to it and challenged it to a duel under the rules of The Accords." He said. The Accords were a series of rules that the signatories agreed to abide by to resolve conflicts and disputes between the various parties. It was sort of the magical world equivalent to the Geneva Conventions on what constituted a legitimate grievance and how such actions between signatories were to be handled. Both dragons and the Knights of the Cross were signatories to The Accords.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me!" I said with excitement in the same way I did as a child on his lap.

"There is little to tell." He replied. "The truth was merely that Siriothrax saw me as unworthy of challenging him. He was in fact so disdainful of what he saw in me at first that before he would agree to the challenge I had to accept a suit of armor and a shield from his collection that a previous Knight of the Cross had worn when confronting him and obviously failing. Though it was also the dragon's right to pick the form of combat, arms, magic, or will, since I had brought the challenge he also said we would have to battle with arms for I showed little likely aptitude for the other two."

"Wait, Siriothrax actually accepted your strongest form of battle and outfitted you in order to face him?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes, it was the only way he would accept the challenge, saying to do so under lesser conditions would be an insult to his honor that was far worse than even ignoring the challenge completely." My father answered. "If I wanted to rescue your mother I had to accept a means that would in the eyes of others of his kind make the fight appear at least modestly challenging."

"Sounds like you used his overconfidence against him." I said thinking I had occasionally accomplished the same thing.

"No it was more likely that he did this to himself." He replied. "The tower shield he made me carry had been imbedded with a piece of the true cross and while it was incredibly heavy, it was also uniquely capable of protecting me from the dragons molten breath and even more importantly it was able to turn away its claws." I had seen claws on some monstrous creatures smaller than dragons shred cars so I knew that this was a pretty good protection to have at your disposal. I had to believe the piece of the cross had infused the shield with some form of magical protection like my own shields did for me.

"So how did you beat him?" I asked hoping for a good story. "Was it a long battle?"

"No it was fairly short." My father explained. "The creature started by spewing its breath around its lair, melting nearly everything and keeping me trapped inside this circle of burning flames and noxious smells so that I could not flee and it would be forced to pursue. It did all this while I launched my own attacks which it barely even took the time to notice and less time to counter or defend against. I am not lying to you when I say that it could have killed me in the first moments had it been so inclined to. But being old and confident in itself the dragon liked to taunt and tease its prey. Since your mother was not providing it any such sport it decided to do so with me instead."

"Then how did you kill it?" I asked. "You must have devised some plan when offering the challenge."

"In truth I did not expect to." He admitted. "When the battle reached close enough to the stake where your mother was chained I took a moment to shatter her bindings and tell her to flee while I would try to hold the beast off. I figured if I were going to die if she could escape I would still have achieved what God had asked of me."

"And she ran?" I asked not being able to picture this since I knew my mother far too well.

"Actually she refused and instead started by unwrapping herself from the chains that had bound her and even pulled loose the iron stake that she had been connected to." Dad said with a sense of love and pride. "You mother was obviously afraid, but she was not going to show it."

"She began to swing the ten foot length of chain with the four foot iron spike on the end as she threatened the dragon to strike him with it." Dad described the battle and I could picture mom doing this. Mom was certainly a fighter.

"Siriothrax laughed and dared her to do her worst and being challenged like that your mother did exactly that, releasing the chain and hoping the makeshift spike on the end would somehow wound the dragon." He continued his story.

"You aren't going to tell me that she actually succeeded." I said not willing to accept this one in a billion shot. I mean it is one thing to have God on your side but I knew from experience that type of action would have required God to aim the missile into the target as well.

"No." My dad agreed. "If fact the chain flew about six feet to the left of the dragon would have passed harmlessly by had it not chosen to snatch it out of the air with its teeth while taunting her further.

"'That was a really poor throw.' The dragon laughed at her and cocked his head back getting ready to fling the chain back to her. 'Why don't you try that one again.' He said." My dad related.

"I sensed what it was going to do and more out of instinct that purpose I charged forward and aligned my sword to the place where I figured its eye would end up when it made this move." My dad explained. "I believe that God stood beside me at that moment and that is why Siriothrax last thing he saw so surprised him as my blade slide through this orb and into the brain behind it." He finished.

"Wow, you mean you killed him mostly because he was distracted?" I asked.

"I like to think it was because I had faith." He replied.

I thought about that and my own battles and decided perhaps I was not so outclassed by these events taking place around me after all.