Chapter Twenty One

CONNIE MURPHY

"What prophecy?!" Murphy demanded. That was the second time that Winifred had mentioned a prophecy. If she was supposed to be involved in a prophecy, she wanted to know exactly what it was. The tunnel wasn't giving her any more information other than they were still going in the same directions as the footprints. This wasn't the first time she'd had to trust in Harry's magic, but she was always happier when she could see some physical evidence he was right.

"When a tainted line brings forth a white knight/The black soul shall repent/And redeem himself for the sake of the knight/Only then shall lovers be reunited in death. From eldest daughter to eldest daughter/This trust shall be given/As one is guarded/So must the other be." Winifred quoted serenely.

Murphy could see Harry blanch. "What Harry!"

"It's already happened. Do you remember what I told you about my uncle? That he killed my father with the Black?"

"And you killed him," Murphy finished. She still wasn't sure what to think about that one.

"I had found the evidence that he had killed my father. I was demanding that he confess. We both were using magic. He was throwing things at me and I squeezed the doll that he killed my dad with. I'm not proud of that, but I just wanted him to tell the truth. He threw a table at me and I threw myself on the ground. I fell on the doll and he died. The Council ruled it as self defense." She could see how even talking about the subject brought back haunting memories for him, but if there was one thing that she knew about Harry Dresden it was that he wasn't the one who had started the fight.

"He had made contingency plans though, a silacrum of himself that would take his place if he ever died. The silicrum was to make a deal with Bob; release Bob from his curse, return him to mortality in exchange for bringing my uncle back from the dead. Bob went along with it in order to save my life and to make sure that my uncle was destroyed forever. I'm just glad that for Bob, once cursed means forever cursed. He returned to being a ghost after he gave up his life for mine."

"That's how the crushing evidence disappeared from your uncle's corpse?" Kirmani butted into the discussion.

Harry nodded. "The point is; Hrothbert of Bainbridge would never have given up his life for anyone except Winifred. Bob did for me, which fulfills the prophecy."

"And if Maria had been allowed her way, it wouldn't have made a bit of difference." Murphy could hear the growl in Winifred's voice. "She did not wish to acknowledge that she had ever been married to Sergeant Murphy. I'm afraid that included refusing to admit to your existence Constantia."

Murphy shrugged. That wasn't anything she hadn't long ago figured out. "It's Connie or Murphy, not Constantia."

"As you wish," Winifred said.

"So what did you do?" Harry asked. Murphy wanted to know as well. There was no way that Winifred would have let that get in her way.

Winifred smirked. "I had your brother Carlos mail Hrothbert's skull to your father's station."

All three of the mortals laughed at that. "Sneaky," Kirmani said admiringly. "Hey Dresden, there are some more of those weird floating words up ahead."

Chapter Twenty Two

SID KIRMANI

Harry Dresden was a flake, a goofball who thought he could do magic. Magic didn't exist. Sid Kirmani knew this. He also knew that Dresden had the most astounding luck in finding things and helping them close cases. It couldn't have been anything else, or at least that was what he had thought this morning. Now he wasn't so sure. Dresden could have easily set up the glowing light ball that now floated above their heads, but he knew, he knew that the storm drain hadn't been rigged. The skull maybe could have been, but really the ghost woman was far too elaborate for Dresden to have come up with.

Kirmani wasn't sure the guy knew how to tie his own sneakers some days, and forget anything to do with electronics, but the clincher came when Murphy and Winifred the ghost knew each other; by name. So he was willing to go along with things for now. He would go back to being in denial later. Then he spotted more of the same type of words floating in the tunnel ahead of them that he and Murphy had seen in Dresden's shop during that missing corpse case and he pointed them out. "I wouldn't follow the girl if I were you," Kirmani read aloud.

"Harry?" Murphy demanded. Kirmani glanced over at Dresden. The guy was not comfortable. Kirmani knew that Dresden would give up whatever was bothering him though. Murphy had that sort of effect on people.

"Well, the good news is that Bob's protecting Anna," Dresden said weakly.

"And the bad news?" Murphy demanded.

"Bob's having fun tormenting her kidnappers and I think that he's having Anna help him," Dresden said in a rush. Murphy glared up at the floating words. Kirmani did not want to be Bob when Murphy caught up with him. Ghost or not, Murphy would tear him apart if he had messed up Anna in any way. "We should be on the look out for traps," Dresden finished.

Murphy growled at the letters out of her reach and marched down the tunnel. Winifred hurried ahead of her to keep her on track and Harry followed them, absentmindedly reaching up to wave his hand through the words. Just as they had done before the words disintegrated into a shower of sparks. Now that he had seen Winifred manifest though, (and yes he did know the proper terminology for ghosts showing up out of the blue) Kirmani thought that the sparks resembled Winifred when she came out of the skull. Shaking his head Kirmani once more brought up the rear.

It wasn't ten feet further down the tunnel when they realized that Dresden was right. The smaller of the two perps who had taken Anna Murphy had been wearing a distinctive bright orange jacket. That jacket was now lying on the floor of the tunnel, covered in some type of animal droppings. "He had better not have let her touch that!" Murphy snapped as she walked around it.

"Ghosts on Bob and Winifred's plane of existence can't physically touch things," Dresden admitted. Murphy shot him such a glare that if she had any talent for this magic stuff, Kirmani was certain that Dresden would have burst into flames. "There are things a lot worse than animal crap down here Murphy. Bob's more concerned about those than he is about keeping Anna clean." True or not, Kirmani knew that the only way Dresden was going to get out of this one was if Anna Murphy escaped without a scratch and a lot of groveling on Dresden's part.

Chapter Twenty Three

HROTHBERT OF BAINBRIDGE

"Look Bob, fireflies!" Anna exclaimed as she pointed out the small flickering lights headed in their direction. "I didn't know that fireflies could live down here."

"I do not know if fireflies can live in this place," Bob said with a disdainful look at the muck on the sides and floor of the tunnel they stood in. "Those however, are fey not fireflies. You should be very careful in your interactions with any of the fey. Say nothing to them. You haven't learned their rules of etiquette as yet. The last thing we wish is to offend them. This type is very small but all are far more powerful than their appearance suggests. Our best bet is to bribe them with food or sweets to perform a simple task, such as pouring those cans over our pursuer's heads."

Bob pointed at two rusty paint cans that were filled with stagnant rainwater, among other things that he didn't wish to examine more closely. He did not mention the outcome of the pranks the Will-O-The-Wisp fey played on mortals. Death by drowning was the most pleasant fate that awaited an unwitting mortal caught by these tiny fey. He would not allow Anna to fall into their clutches. "If they agree, they won't play pranks on you."

"Which is better, food or sweets?" Anna asked as she rummaged through her backpack. "I've got both."

Bob could see that Lieutenant Murphy had thought of the probable leanness of Harry's larder and had packed appropriately. There was more than enough food and snacks to last Anna a couple of days. "Sweets are far better for these fey, although Harry knows a group that is positively addicted to pizza."

"I've got a Snickers bar!" Anna announced proudly and held up the king sized candy bar. "It's my favorite, my mom's too."

Bob nodded, "Perfect." He raised his voice and called down the tunnel, "I would make a bargain with you, Swamp Lords!"

The lights drifted closer until they could see the tiny people inside. "You have nothing to bargain with ghost." The one who spoke looked like a tiny figurine from a 'Lord of the Rings' catalog that Bob had seen once. The kind of reading material he was forced to stoop to from sheer boredom appalled him sometimes.

"No, but my charge does," Bob said as he pointed at Anna's hand. She held up the now bare Snickers bar. Bob could see the fey try to put on a good bargaining face, but the sheer greed of the buzzing group behind him let Bob know that they would gladly take any offer made to them.

The spokesman fey looked at the candy bar and said, "That is not enough for a large bargain, but perhaps we could agree to a small one." Bob thought that the counter would have been much more believable if the fey hadn't been practically drooling. "We fey are not at the beck and call of mortals."

That statement, and the not at all subtle threat it conveyed, was much more convincing. Bob was determined that no harm would come to Anna and answered the threat with a faint sniff. "I would be a poor teacher if I did not instruct my student on giving all fey the proper respect. Even the least among the fey, which you and yours are not, is far too powerful to be trifled with." Bob bowed, careful to give neither too much nor too little deference in the gesture. Anna followed suit awkwardly, careful not to lower the candy in her hand.

"AH!" the fey exclaimed. "That is good. While we enjoy playing with mortals, wizards who show no respect are annoying." While the fey was pouting adorably, Bob remembered that Will-O-The-Wisps often fed on the flesh of their victims, and they did not always wait for the victim to be dead first. That was why the candy was the better choice in bribes. The fey could have flesh to eat at any time they wished. They weren't picky about what they caught and ate. Sweets of any kind were far more difficult for the small creatures to obtain. "Name your bargain ghost."

"There are two mortal men following us. One is very skinny, and the other has visible tribal markings. In return for overturning those paint cans over these men's heads, I offer you this sweet." Anna sort of bobbed her hand with the candy on it.

"Nothing more?" the fey asked with suspicion.

Bob looked affronted. "You are the Swamp Lords. I would never dream of dictating your actions towards mortal men that trespass into your realm. I am asking for your participation in their humiliation. I have no doubt that my student's parents are currently tracking us and will soon find these men. I merely wish for them to be on their knees begging to be taken into custody by the human Wardens by the time they are caught." He paused for a moment and then leaned forward, as if to convey a confidence. He whispered, "You might want to avoid the child's mother. She carries a great deal of Cold Iron on her person. I would be a poor guest in your territory if I did not warn you of the danger."

The fey nodded as though to say 'of course', his attitude very much the lord of the manor. "We agree to your bargain ghost." At that the group swarmed Anna's hand and suddenly the chocolate bar was gone. "Now I suggest that you continue on your way." Bob bowed once more, Anna following suit before ushering her further on down the tunnel. He was glad that he could no longer break into a nervous sweat. Dealing with any of the fey was a chancy thing, but he had managed to steer Anna to safety.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Chapter 24

CONNIE MURPHY

The next sign was in a tunnel leading off a junction. It said, "Go on, I dare you." Murphy wasn't sure whether to laugh or fume. On the one hand, nasty practical jokes of the sort that Bob was orchestrating were not things that she wanted Anna to learn. On the other hand, the perps deserved anything that the ghost and Anna could throw at them. She hoped that after setting the slime slide or the crap trap Anna had used the hand sanitizer she had packed in her daughter's backpack. She was well aware of Harry's lack of housekeeping skills.

"Oh no," Harry moaned.

"What?!" Murphy demanded. Then she saw that Winifred was ignoring the marked tunnel and was taking the tunnel on the right hand side. She realized what that meant. "It's another trap isn't it?"

"Yeah, and it looks like our new friends took the bait," Harry said. He sighed and shrugged out of his backpack.

"Harry what are you doing?" Murphy didn't care what happened to the creeps that had taken Anna. They needed to get to Anna first, everything else could wait.

"I have to go and check it out, see if either of them survived," Harry said simply. It was obvious that he really didn't want to go but felt that he had to. It was one of Harry's most annoying traits, and his most attractive, Murphy had to admit. The man couldn't ignore anyone who might be in real trouble.

"Blood trail," Kirmani called out, interrupting what could have been a spectacular argument. "It leads out of there and it's fairly recent. The blood's only slightly tacky." He was panning a small penlight along the tunnel floor.

"Winifred, could you see who the blood came from?" Harry asked.

Kirmani glanced over at Murphy but she just shrugged at him. She didn't have any idea how her new ghost would be able to do anything but then Harry had called Bob his tea expert once before. There had to be someway that the ghosts could interact with things even if they couldn't touch them. Winifred knelt down next to the blood and delicately placed a single finger inside one of the drops of blood. Murphy was startled when Winifred began to transform. The transformation swept over Winifred like a wave, preceded by the same glittering sparkles that had accompanied her first appearance. In just a few seconds a man covered in tattoos knelt where Winifred had been. "Jason Fleck!" both cops exclaimed.

"Murph?" Harry asked, worried.

"He's muscle for Kemerling, nasty piece of work," Murphy growled. She didn't specify which one but the truth was she didn't need to. They both were the sort of scum that wouldn't hesitate to hurt Anna in every way possible just to get back at her mother. Kirmani nodded in agreement.

"Any blood from the other one?" Harry asked. Murphy knew that it was a good idea to know if the other perp had survived and who he was. Fleck had a few 'friends' that would love to help him out, some more than others.

Kirmani scoured the muck with his penlight again and this time found a second blood trail. It was actually larger than the first one but the dark and muck on the tunnel floor had hidden it. Without hesitation Winifred hurried over and once more placed her finger in the blood. This time she appeared to become a skinny young man with greasy long hair and a scraggly beard.

"Joseph Moore," Kirmani identified while Murphy cursed under her breath. Moore looked like any other junkie that could be found of the streets of Chicago and his only redeeming quality right now as far as she was concerned was the fact that he wasn't a pedophile like some of Fleck's boys. Anna was safe from that at least. "He's a heroine addict and one of Fleck's all around errand boys. He'll do almost anything to get enough money for another fix." Kirmani looked over at Harry bleakly and Murphy didn't bother to get angry about it. She knew that Kirmani was just being realistic. If they couldn't get to Anna first, she was going to be in real trouble.

"Let's go," Murphy said. As long as either one of those men were still alive and going after Anna they didn't have time to waste. "We're getting close," but she was fiercely glad that Bob had sent them into a trap that had nearly killed Fleck and Moore both.

New Student 25

HARRY DRESDEN

Murphy was right; we were close, just not close enough. We went through eight more traps before we caught up with Bob and Anna, but then we were the lucky ones. Moore didn't live through the next trap. Not that Bob's trap had killed him, mind you. Bob would not expose Anna to such things, not unless it was a matter of her life or death.

Moore had died because of two reasons, the first of which was because he was a junkie. Personally, I have a lot of sympathy for junkies because I've walked that line myself. All it takes is one single use of the Black for a magic user to become addicted for life, not that they generally live long. I had used the Black twice. The first time was when I had killed my uncle, and accidentally or not, it was no wonder that the Wardens kept a close eye on me. The second was when I had tortured Murphy's body in order to free her from a possessing bully of a spirit. I used to have nightmares about killing my uncle. They had been overshadowed by what I had felt when I used the Black the second time. I truly think that if it hadn't been Murphy's body I had been torturing, if I had been torturing someone else to free her, then I would have been lost to the Black. As it was, I regularly woke up to puke up everything I had eaten the night before when my nightmares made me relive how wonderful it had felt.

Moore didn't have the physical resources to combat the animal that lived in the lair that had been down the tunnel that Bob had turned into his trap. That was the reason that he had sustained so much more damage than Fleck. Fleck had survived it just fine. It was like the difference between being bitten or mauled by a vicious dog. If you were reasonably healthy, and had your wits about you, you were likely to just end up with a few bad bites. If you weren't, well Moore had been lucky he hadn't been killed on the spot.

The second reason that Moore had died was that he hadn't been able to handle any more stress. Winifred had done what I would normally have asked Bob to do, and after placing her hand in the body had announced that Moore had died from a combination of blood loss and stress. He'd had an aneurism.

Some would consider Moore lucky. I was certainly one of them. Fleck had been found by a group of Will-o-the-Wisps, which scattered at the sight of us, or more likely Murphy and Kirmani and their guns made of Cold Iron. Put enough bullets in a fey and they died, immortal or not. From what I had seen, it was bitch of a way to go too. So here was Fleck, down on his hands and knees, literally begging Murphy and Kirmani to take him into custody.

He had been half drowned, and I really didn't want to know where the Swamp Lords had gotten the water to do that. There wasn't enough standing water to drown a rat in here. My all too fertile imagination immediately fed me the image of them pulling water from the muck and pouring it down his throat, making him breathe it. Shuddering I wrenched my focus back to what else had most likely been done to him. There were rat bites that had to be infected already, scratches from the claws of the fey, pulled out hair from his beard and head, and from the wild look in his eyes the Will-o-the-Wisps had done a number on his head as well. They weren't called the Swamp Lords for nothing. They had total mastery in their element.

While Kirmani dealt with having some uniforms come down and deal with Fleck, I was rummaging through my pack. "What are you doing Harry?" Murphy wanted to know. She was itching to get back on the trail.

"I need to leave a parting gift for our friends to thank them for their kindness in leaving this," I motioned at Fleck, who was now being hauled away, "alive for us to deal with. They could have just left us his corpse." I pulled out the pizza that I had stuck in there earlier, and put it up high on a little ledge. They would be able to find it there, and knowing them, they were probably watching us right now.

"Friends?" Kirmani asked warily.

"You don't want to know," I said with a shrug. "You'd probably sleep better not knowing."

Kirmani made a face. "Let's just get going." As Fleck had been hauled away, as well as Moore's body, the rest of us were as eager as he was, and we were soon back on the trail. Did I forget to mention that after meeting up with Fleck, there were seven more traps?

Chapter 26

CONNIE MURPHY

"Harry," I said quietly, "it's impossible to die from both an aneurism and blood loss." I didn't really want to know, but I had to find out what was really going on. Anna's life depended on it.

"No it isn't," he told me, "as long as you're dealing with creatures that can create pools of liquid anywhere." We were both speaking quietly, hoping that we wouldn't be heard, either by Kirmani or anything else. Just then Harry hit the next trap.

I had always known that Harry was one of those people who just kept going until they dropped, in his case that often meant that he was bloody, bruised and often somewhat broken by the time he did. This however, was the first time I had seen him get that way first hand. From the very beginning, Harry had insisted on being the one to follow right behind Aunt Winnie.

After the first two traps, a roller skate that sent him to the ground with a knock to the head and a twisted ankle and then a baby alligator that clamped down onto the twisted ankle, I realized that Harry was setting the traps off on purpose. It wasn't hard for me to understand why. In the years I had known Harry, he had always been the sort of person who did his best to protect people, even me, although he knew I could take care of myself.

Normally I would have objected to someone else taking the risks of setting the traps off, but there were two things that stopped me. The first was that none of these traps were going to be lethal; annoying yes, lethal no. The second was that there weren't just the traps that Anna and Bob had set up in these tunnels. The animal that had shredded Anna's kidnappers and just whatever the hell it was that Harry had placated with the pizza proved that. I did not want to have to tell Anna that anyone had been hurt trying to rescue her. On the other hand, Anna already knew that Harry could get hurt walking across room when he was doing his wizard stuff. I had told her that so she would be expecting him to not be in the best shape.

There were five more traps, each more childish, annoying, and guaranteed to drive an adult completely out of their mind. By the time we had gotten past the last trap, Harry was soaking wet, limping from where he'd twisted both his knee and his ankle, and had what looked like bug bites all over his exposed skin. Those hadn't come from bugs. I didn't know what the things were, but no bug in Chicago was three inches long, flew, and was bright neon in color; all different colors. The damned things had stingers though, and as usual Harry had done something to either attract them or he had shielded us somehow and forgotten to include himself. The man needed to take better care of himself.

The last trap was worthy of something by Wile E Coyote, and had packed a one, two punch. The first part was a slippery spot on the floor of a downward section of tunnel. One step and it was a quick slide down to land hard against the wall of the t-junction at the bottom of the slope. That was where the second part of the trap was set up. Somehow Anna and Bob had made the tunnel wall sticky, like fly trap sticky. Harry had looked like those plastic witch stickers that I saw every October on people's doors, the ones that said 'splat'.

None of that mattered though, when I finally laid eyes on Anna. Anna stood with her back to the tunnel wall. Her denim jacket and jeans were filthy, but I had expected that. None of us were very clean, except for Aunt Winnie. She was wearing her Happy Bunny backpack, and she was holding what looked like a toy wand in her right hand. She was scared to death. Standing in front of her was, I assumed by the way he was protecting her, Bob.

Chapter 27

HARRY DRESDEN

I had never doubted for a second that Bob would do his best to protect Anna. I also knew that there were many things that Bob would not be able to protect her from. That was why I had been in such a hurry once I knew they were down here in the storm drains. It wasn't just the Will-O-The-Wisps and smeakers that hid down here. There were a host of other things that used the storm drain system to hide, such as Third Eye addicted vampires.

One such vampire had Bob and Anna backed against the storm tunnel wall. If it had been able to think clearly Bob might have been able to talk it into leaving them alone. Unfortunately that wasn't the case, although that didn't stop Bob from trying.

"You will not touch her," Bob said, glowering as only he could. He'd had many centuries of practice after all. To get to her, the vampire would have to go through the ghost. I really didn't think that was a good idea. I wasn't concerned for the vampire. It was welcome to experience the sensation that gave me the heebie jeebies whenever I accidentally shared the same physical space with Bob. I also know that when that happened Bob did his best to limit how much of his curse I felt.

I didn't think Bob would do that for scum like this. I just didn't want Anna to see it happen. She didn't need for her partner in mischief, (never crime, not for this proud descendent of police officers) to suddenly become more scary than the monster she faced. "You can't do anything to me ghost," it sneered.

Behind me I could hear the safeties on Murphy and Kirmani's guns being flicked off. I could also feel the temperature in the air around Winifred plunging down towards absolute zero. I knew that Murphy and Kirmani thought that it was human, but the truth was, it wasn't even much of a vampire anymore. Some vampires were decent enough for what they were, Bianca for example, and if you were careful and fully aware of just what you were getting yourself into, they made nice acquaintances and allies, as long as you didn't get too far into debt with them.

Winifred on the other hand, knew exactly what sort of danger Anna was in, or at least what she would be if I wasn't here. "You should be very glad of that because Bob really wasn't the kind of sorcerer you wanted to cross when he was alive," I said as I limped up to stand shoulder to shoulder with Bob. This had the effect of blocking what little space Bob hadn't been able to, (thus hiding the monster from Anna) as well as blocking Bob's sight of who I had brought with me. The last thing we needed right now was for Bob to be anything less than completely in control of himself, not that the vampire was going to be a danger for much longer. "Unfortunately for you, while I'm no where near his league, you just really pissed me off on what was already a really bad day."

It hissed at me, but before it could attack us I conjured up a fireball and threw it. Normally I wouldn't have used a fireball on a vampire, mostly because I tried to stay on the good side of Bianca, remember what I said about them being useful allies as long as you were careful? I didn't have to worry about her this time though. She didn't like Third Eye scum like this anymore than I did. She wouldn't hold its death against me, and its death was quick, if painful.

"Well, that takes care of that," Bob said with a smirk. He turned towards me and his smirk grew a little wider. "I would ask you what took you so long Harry, but it seems a bit obvious."

I turned towards him and glared. "You know, it's a good thing those traps were meant for Anna's kidnappers. As it is, I don't want to be in your proverbial shoes when the ladies get through with you." I know, that was just a bit mean, but in my defense I had just gone through far too many prank style traps and I wasn't lying. I wasn't sure just what Murphy was going to do to Bob for what he did to save Anna, although I wouldn't put it past her to accomplish whatever punishment she set out to deliver. Murphy wasn't happy.

If it was possible, Bob straightened even further. "Lieutenant Murphy?" he asked, twitching at his cuffs, or perhaps he was just trying to cover his shackles. I nodded. Bob took an un-needed breath and peered around me to see who I had brought with me into the storm system. I had been standing with Anna on my right, now I moved to sit down against the tunnel wall next to her feet, keeping my eyes on Bob. There was no way I was going to miss this reunion.

It was everything I could have hoped for. Bob didn't even get a single word out before he realized who was standing there next to Murphy. "Winifred?" he whispered in shock. The look on Winifred's face was one of a woman deeply in love, and didn't care who knew it. She smiled and walked over to take Bob's hands. To his shock, which I could see he couldn't take many more of, she could actually touch him.

"Is she a ghost too?" Anna whispered as she slid down the wall next to me. I could see out of the corner of my eye that she had moved her backpack to her lap, but still held onto the wand she had managed to pick up somewhere. I knew from the traps that Bob had been teaching her apprentice level spells already, not very difficult ones but ones that would help her to set up the traps and teach her the control she would need; the very same control that I still found hard on occasion to maintain.

"It is I, my beloved," Winifred said.

They stood there holding hands, completely wrapped up in each other. "Yeah," I whispered back to Anna as her mother and Kirmani hurried over to make sure she was alright. "They've been apart a very long time." I pulled my own knapsack around to my lap and pulled out the skull that was inside. "This is the skull she stays in. I guess you could say that after so many centuries it belongs to her now."

Anna pulled out the skull she had, while fending off her mother's searching hands. "I'm fine Mom. Did you get Mr. Tattoo and Mr. Skinny?" She then proceeded to give her mother a surpisingly accurate description of both of her kidnappers. I was very impressed. She couldn't have seen either man for more than a couple of minutes. "This is Mr. Dresden's skull. It's where Bob lives. He's a ghost." She pointed at Bob. "He says that if it's ok with you, he can teach me magic the way he taught Mr. Dresden. Can he Mom, please?"

I looked over at Murphy. "You should let them both teach her Murph. It isn't a good idea to let someone with magic go untaught. Things have a tendency to blow up around untaught magic users; like what happened with the car."

Anna squirmed when I mentioned the car. "I didn't mean to do that. I was scared and it just sort of happened." From the uneasy look on her face, the last adult who had encountered her uncontroled magic hadn't reacted well. It was a good thing that Murphy wouldn't have a problem with it. She was used to magic after hanging around with me after the last few years. Anna didn't have anything to worry about.

"Then what's your excuse?" Murphy asked with a laugh. I could see the sheer relief on her face that she had found nothing more wrong with her daughter than a cover of grime. "Don't worry about the car honey. It helped you to get away from…Mr. Tattoo and Mr. Skinny." I could tell that she liked Anna's monikers for the duo.

"I didn't get taught soon enough," I said grimly. "It wasn't my dad's fault. He was too busy trying to keep me out of my uncle's hands to find me a decent teacher. He couldn't teach me because I inherited my abilities from my mom. I'm pretty sure my uncle murdered her too. By the time Bob started teaching me, my abilities had already outstripped my ability to control them. It took Bob a lot of years to teach me what control I have. Sometimes I think that if I hadn't had him as a teacher, I never would have made it."

I knew that Murphy was going to have to absorb that fairly unpleasant piece of information before she could make her decision, so I piped up, "Hey Bob, why don't we get outa here? I'm sure there's lots of nicer places we can take this reunion." Everyone seemed to agree with me and Anna handed over Bob's skull to me.

I in turn, handed Winifred's skull over to Murphy, but instead of taking it she gave it to Anna. "Eldest daughter to eldest daughter means that this is yours now." She took a look at the ghostly lovers. "I don't have a problem with you studying with Bob, but I think that Winifred might want to teach you too. She's been teaching our family for a very long time."

Murphy led Anna over to Bob and Winifred. "I want you to know that I'm grateful that you took care of Anna while the two of you were down here," she told Bob.

Bob bowed. "It was my pleasure Lieutenant. Your daughter is a very delightful child. You should be very proud of her; both her courage and her ability with magic have served her well today."

"I am proud of her," Murphy said. She held Anna against her side with the arm she had slung around Anna's shoulders. "What I'm worried about is her turning into someone like Harry. I don't want her blowing things up all the time." Although she shot me an amused grin, I could tell she was serious. "Were you serious about your offer to teach Anna how to use her magic safely?"

"I would be honored if you would consider me as an instructor, but as you have said, Winifred is more qualified than I and she has taught your family for centuries. My only student has been Harry, and as you pointed out, he's not the most proficient of wizards."

"No," Murphy agreed, "but he's one hell of a good man. He wouldn't have become that without your help." As I happened to fully agree with her, at least as far as Bob's influence went, I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to think of what I would have become if I had been left alone with my murderous uncle.

"In that case, I would ask that you allow both of us to oversee Miss Anna's training," Bob replied.

"Agreed," she said. Then Murphy leaned in close. "I may not be able to do any magic Bob, but I'm a cop. I figure things out for a living. The last thing you want is for me to be motivated to figure out how to hurt you. No black magic, and you keep her as safe as you possibly can."

"Lieutenant, you have my word," Bob swore.

Murphy nodded, satisfied. "Let's get out of here gang." She led the way back to the nearest exit. I hefted the skull in my hand at Bob as a hint, and both he and Winifred took it. They both dissolved into balls of gold and black sparks that darted into the skull.

I hastily stuffed the skull back into my pack before hurrying after the others. I really didn't want anyone to ask me questions about where the ghosts had gone, even if I was the only one who understood just what was going on. Bob, and I assumed Winifred as well, still retained a great deal of their living urges. It was part of the punishment inflicted on them by the curse. As long as I stayed near Anna, or at least the skull in her backpack, Winifred would not be yanked away from Bob at an inopportune moment.

Back at the station I settled down in a corner to watch Murphy and Kirmani deal with the paperwork. Anna Murphy was alive, unharmed and now knew just what was happening to her. I had spent my first eleven years in a completely mundane world, but at least my father had been able to tell me about my magic and the mother who had gifted it to me. Anna hadn't had any help before today.

Murphy now had the beginnings of the knowledge she would need to help Anna. She had already proved that she wasn't going to back down on that when she threatened Bob, not that I had ever doubted her for a moment. I was already deep into plans for setting up an area for Anna to study at my place.

I doubted that Kirmani would ever change, so my expectations for him were naturally low. It really didn't matter in the long run whether or not he accepted magic was real or not, we were never going to be close friends. As long as we could work together and protect Murphy and Anna, I was content.

As for Bob and Winifred, now that they were reunited I felt that justice had truly been served. Bob had committed the sorts of crimes that did deserve a harsh punishment, but to my way of thinking the Council had gone way too far. To be trapped for eternity serving your enemies was bad, to be able to interact but unable to touch was worse, but to have the skull of the one person that you loved with your entire being be your prison, was simply torture.

The reuniting of Bob with his lady would make their sentence bearable without diminishing their punishment. Now all I had to do was keep them together. Fortunately for me, I think I have a small ally in that. I glanced beside me to see Anna carefully wrapping both skulls in paper and placing them in a cardboard box. Yeah, for the first time I had someone else to count on to help me protect Bob, and now Winifred as well.

The End.