//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: Agent of Chaos // by Li_Time //------------------------------// Chapter Two Harry Dresden Halloween. A night for little kids to dress up in scary costumes so they can get candy. I never really celebrated Halloween before, not since my father passed away when I was still little. Even then, we were on the road a lot. After he died, I never had a reason to celebrate it, not even for my birthday. My mother died when I was born, and I didn't know I had a brother until about ten years ago. Halloween was also a big time for things to come out. Things that go bump in the night. That's where I come in. My name is Harry Dresden and I'm a wizard. I'm the only active wizard in Chicago. However, a few years ago, my life got crazy...to the point that I died. I'm not joking about that either. I was dead for six months, was a ghost, the whole nine yards, and I came back. The whole reason I died was because I put a hit out on the new Winter Knight...me. The Knights were servants to the Fairy Queens, and it was a position that I did not want to take up, even though the Winter Queen, Mab, really wanted me to take up the mantle. The only reason I took it was to go save my daughter. It was really my only option. I didn't want to turn into a monster like the last Winter Knight, however, so I wanted a hitman to take me out after I had gotten my daughter out of danger and gave her to someone who will take her to a safe place. Make a long story short, I saved my daughter, gave her to someone who would find her a home, and I died. Mab wasn't going to let me go that easily though. So she protected my body until my ghost returned, and I was restored. Since then, I have come to terms with my decision and have been working for Mab. So far I've kept the beast of the Winter Knight mantle at bay. I've even started to spend time with my daughter, though I was still always scared that something would come after her because of me. But I love her. She is my flesh and blood, and I would die to protect this child. I will go to Wal-Mart and spend hours trying to find her a pretty pink princess costume because Halloween’s in three days and damn it that's what you do for your daughter. So after I got the costume for her, I decided to stop at an old favorite. McAnally's Pub was the go to place for those in the know. It was also Official Neutral Territory under the Unseelie Accord. This meant that all were safe here and no one could cause trouble. Doing so would basically paint a giant target on themselves for both enemies and allies to use. Ya, you fuck with the Unseelie Accord, you're on your own. The place was one of those basement pubs, like from Cheers. It was colored in earthy colors, browns and greens. There were thirteen columns that all had images of old style fairy tales carved into them. There were thirteen tables scattered around the place and thirteen stools at the bar. The place was set up to disrupt magical energies. It could be why Mac can keep the ceiling fans working, or the stove behind the bar working. There weren't many people in the pub, a few regulars here and there. I wasn't here to socialize. I was here for a drink. I went to the bar and sat down, looking at the man, if you can call him that, standing behind the bar. He was a tall bald man with black pants, white shirt, and a white apron that always seemed to stay spotless. He was a man of few words, though I couldn't say anymore if he was human. I still wasn't sure what he was, but after he got involved in my first case as the Winter Knight, I learned that he could be an Outsider. An Outsider was a being from beyond the Nevernever. They were very powerful and magic does very little to most of them. They were insane and were nearly impossible to kill. Put it this way, I've barely survived my first run in with an Outsider when I was sixteen, nearly 25 years ago when I was still developing my magic. And a few years ago, I still barely survived against another Outsider...twice and I was the Winter Knight then. Some of the members of the White Council of Wizards have been living for centuries, and even they've told stories of barely surviving. And it was possible that Mac was one of those things. Still, he wasn't a bad guy. He keeps to himself, and he still makes the best ale you could ever find. Handmade and served warm. Mac always felt that chilling a fine ale would ruin the taste. It was fine, though he would kill me if he ever found out that I chilled mine at my place...when I still had a place of my own. But when in Rome, warm ale is better than no ale. As I sat and drank my ale, I talked to Mac about my daughter, and taking her trick-or-treating in a few nights. He listened. He's good for that.It wasn't until an hour in when I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I looked at the door as a middle-aged man in a brown suit came in. His cane clicked on the steps as he stepped down them, looking around. I never seen the man before, and I was good with remembering faces. I looked at Mac and saw the expression on his face. Mac didn't look too happy to see the man. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the man. Something about this guy put Mac on edge. There was only one person I knew who would do this to Mac. Someone who was dangerous and meant trouble. I looked back at the man, thinking of a spell in case we had to fight. "Mac," the man said as he walked over. "It's been too long. You still make that ale that I so find delectable?" "You are not welcome here," Mac said. "Oh, come now, is that any way to treat an old friend?" the man asked. "What do you want?" Mac asked, his eyes narrowing. "I told you,” Brown Suit replied. “One of your fine ales, and any information about the whereabouts of someone." "There's nothing here for you,” Mac told him. I decided this was a good time as any to stick my nose where it didn't belong. "Yo," I said. "If I were you, buddy, I would get lost." "Oh, I'm sorry," the man said. "I didn't realize you were included in this conversation." "I wasn't, until I decided to see my way into it,” I told him. “If Mac doesn't want you here, than you best leave." The man looked at me and wasn't afraid to look into my eyes. It was a risk for me to look back into his. If he was human, we would link in a Soul Gaze at once. I took the bet that he wasn't human...and I won. No Soul Gaze, no soul, not human. He smirked at me. "Clever," he said. "You figured out I wasn't human rather quickly. Either that or you're really dumb." He bowed at me. "I will depart from here then. I can see when I'm not welcome. But..." He held up some money and put it on the bar. "I still would like that drink." Mac stared at the man for a moment before he took the bill, pulled a brown bottle from under the bar, and passed it to the man. The man took it, spun it once, and it simply vanished. Like, it was gone. I couldn't even feel the subtle magic that he used to do it. This creature, whatever he was, was powerful and skilled. "For the road," he said, looking at me. "I'll be seeing you around, Harry Dresden." He turned and headed back up the steps, disappearing into the autumn evening. How did he know my name? Was he a fae? If that was the case, he would sooner called me the Winter Knight than my actual name. What's worst was that even saying part of my Name sent shivers down my spine. The only being I've ever met who could do that with only knowing part of my Name was a dragon. I looked at Mac. "What was that about?" I asked him. He stared at the door for a while before he started to wipe down the bar. "Avoid him," he said. "Why? What is he?" I asked him. "Avoid him," he said again with a more warning tone. He didn't have to say it, but he was telling me to drop it. I reluctantly did so even though the mantle wanted to jump over that bar and make Mac tell me. I didn't like being in the dark, but something told me this was just the beginning of something big. After I finished my drink, I paid my tab, and headed out. I would say I went home to my daughter, but I'm still kind of lacking the whole home department. For the moment, she lives with a friend of mine and his kids. Granted, most of his kids have grown up and moved out, but there's still a few young enough to play with her. Besides, she's much more safer staying with a former Knight of the Cross than me and my hectic life. That's probably why I haven't gotten a new place yet. At least that's what I keep telling myself. Where do I stay, you might ask? Well, it depends on the day of the week. I've been staying with an old friend named Karren Murphy. We kind of have a thing after many years of tension between us, but it's complicated. I've stayed with my daughter at Michael and Charity’s place. I've even stayed with my old padawan turned boss at her place. She's one of Michael and Charity's kids, their oldest in fact. As a bonus, it was still close enough to my daughter that I can see her when I want, but I only ever stay there when she's gone. It avoids problems. Other times, I stay with my half brother. Though after the last time I was sleeping on his couch and he brought a girl over, I decided not to stay too often. Tonight, I was staying at Murphy's place. She wasn't back when I got there, but Mister, my cat that I gave to Murphy after my apartment burnt down, came running up to me and ram his shoulder into my leg before running inside. I set the Wal-mart bag down and headed into the kitchen. There was a message on the machine we had set up for me. Technology didn't work too well around me, so we have to go old school. Magic and technology is like oil and water. They don't mix. Technology tended to break down when magic was around. The newer the tech was, the easier and worst it was to break. So the old machine was a must. I went to the machine and hit the button as I walked over to the fridge. I opened the fridge door, grabbed one a coke. Beeeeep. "Harry, it's Murph," came a woman's voice. "I'll be out for a while. Rawlins called and asked me to come give some insight on something. Unofficial stuff, of course. I'll explain everything when I get back. I've never seen anything like this. Feed Mister. And don't touch my computer." Beeeeep. "Harry, Murphy, it's me," came a man's voice. It was my older half brother. "Listen. I had a turtleneck attack out in my area. Well, it seemed more like the turtleneck crashed some old man's cab into the back of my car. The guy didn't seem to know what was happening. Said his name was Sam Singer. I think he might be a minor user, I thought I sense something when I gave him my name. Might be worth looking into. I don't think this was a random crash. I think the man was attacked. Call me if you find anything." An old man named Sam Singer was attacked by one of the Fomor? I guess Murphy will have to check with the Paranet on the laptop when she gets back. Beeeeep. "Harry, it's Michael," came another man's voice. "Wanted to call and see if you could come by the church tomorrow. Father Forthill thinks you might want to come by. He's fearful that some more coins have been taken." Shit. I'm going to have to talk with the Church about them holding onto those damn things like candy. A year ago, I had to deal with two that were supposed to be locked up in a holy vault somewhere. I had a coin several years ago, but I never gave into it. Instead, I ended giving the coin to the church. Then I found myself face to face with the current holder of that coin, and she had accepted the power from it. Somehow, the Denarians were getting the coins back. "Meet me at the church tomorrow morning," Michael said. "And I'll treat you to lunch. I'll see you tomorrow." I frowned as the machine stopped, finishing the last message. It seemed this was going to be an eventful Halloween week. It was even more apparent when Murphy got back. "I know I'm not a cop anymore, but damn it if this shit doesn't piss me off," she said, coming in. "You wanted to open up your own Private Investigation," I said, looking up at her as she came in. Murphy was a short, though everyone was shorter than me, but she was shorter than them. She had bushy blond hair and a button nose. She also didn’t look like she could handle a fist fight. Trust me, she can. She can take down weight lifters with her jutle and handle the big guns in a gunfight. She has the medals for both to proof it. "What happened?" "Probably a college prank. But it seemed that someone decided to replace the books at the college with books that had incorrect facts or blank pages." "Ya, that sounds like a Halloween prank,” I said. “Pretty funny one too.” "Yes, except it wasn't just the library books. It was everyone's textbooks that either they had on them or in their lockers. And they all seemed to change at the same time. There's some reports of students seeing the words move." "Ok, that sounds more like my line of work," I said. "It still sounds like a prank. Even in wizard standards, that's pretty harmless." "What do you think?" she asked me. "I think some low level wizard decided to play a prank on everyone,” I said. Even wizards liked to play harmless pranks once in awhile. “Probably someone learning about their magic and wanted to test it out. Speaking of, can you check something on the Paranet forums?" I replayed the messages for her on the machine and she went to the other room to get her laptop. When she returned, I stayed by the backdoor while she sat on the table. "The Netters don't seem to know a Sam Singer,” she said after a while. “But I'll check again in the morning before you leave to see Michael. I posted a message on the forums. By the way, did you get Maggie her costume?" "I did,” I confirmed. “Are you going to go trick-or-treating with us?" "We'll see,” she said. “Have you looked into getting a place yet?" I looked away. "I've checked out a few places," I lied. I'm a terrible liar. I don't even know why I try to lie around Murphy; she knew me too well. "Bull shit," she said. "Damn it, Dresden, you have the money to get a house now. Or you would if you ever sell the diamonds you got from that last case you worked on. You want to be in your daughter's life now. You need a place to take her home to. She can't live this life. She's had this hard life, moving from home to home, and know that you've connected to her, she wants to be with you. Not Michael and Charity. You're her father. She needs you. You need her. And you need a place to take her home to." "I know, Karren,” I said. “And I want to be able to take her home, but I'm still scared that something might come after her to get to me. I've made so many enemies in my past. She's safer with Michael." "Not after what happened last time,” she pointed out. “Nicodemus knows about her. You can sure as hell bet that he's spread the word by now. Especially after you foiled his plans and gave Butters the Sword." "Actually, I was trying to give that to Charity, but it still worked,” I corrected her. “The point is, she's still safer there than with me. Even if I get a good place, I'll have little threshold to work off of to make a good ward." "Harry, I know you,” she said sincerely. “You'll be able to protect her." She was right, of course. I needed to do this, but if something was going down now, I couldn't focus on getting a place at the moment. She understood that at least. There was also the fact that we still had our own feelings to work out. We've talked and relieved some built up tensions, but we never officially became a thing. If we did became something and I moved in here, I sure as hell would bring Maggie here. This place was a fortress in the magical eyes. Murphy's place had been in her family for generations, and that made a great threshold to build off of. But this was all stuff I didn't need to worry about until after Halloween. That became more apparent the next day.