My first call gave me a machine, so I left a quick message and tried the next number. After three rings, a woman answered on the other end.

"Murphy," she said.

"Hey there, Karrin, I-" I started to answer. She cut me off partway through.

"Dres- Harry! You're back already? I thought you weren't going to be back until the weekend." I grinned and pretended that she wasn't gushing with excitement.

"Yeah, something came up. How's PT treating you?" Karrin was still coming back from the injuries Nicodemus had given her. She grumped and growled her way through a lot of it, but she'd traded in crutches for a cane that she probably wouldn't need for much longer. She made a raspberry sound.

"You know how it is. The nurse is a damned slave-driver, but I can manage a hobble. Next week we're going to shoot for a shuffle. So you're working a case, then?" I didn't want to get into specifics over the phone. Mac's place might be safe, but that didn't mean someone wasn't listening.

"Yeah, and I'll tell you all about the client if you're up for company, later tonight. I did have a question for you though."

"Oh?" she asked. "And yes, of course I'm up for company. Is your client riding along?" I braced myself for clobberin time.

"Yeah, she's kind of a special case. Not from around here, if you get my... You'll see." She gave me an uh-huh, like 'we'll just see about that'. Honestly, it was better than I was hoping for. Did I mention Murph's PT made her extra grumpy, or that she probably just finished it an hour or two ago? "Is there any hopping going on in the Baron's court? Some guys jumped us about two seconds after we hit the shore."

"Oh, Jesus, you too?" her tone exasperated. "There have been reports that someone has been hassling people, and it isn't the Fomor or their servitors. This is the first time I've heard about them dropping his name, though. Are you alright?"

"Oh sure, piece of cake, but we had to get a little uppity. CPD got called." I pointedly did not mention gunfire or explosions or property damage. Karrin might not be a cop anymore, but that sort of thing still got her worked up. It was cute, but this wasn't the best time for it.

"We?" she asked. I could practically see here eyelids squinting.

"Yeah, the client can handle herself in a fight, at least." Honestly I wished I'd seen more of it, but I'd been kind of busy.

"Uh-huh. Am I going to meet this mysterious warrior woman?" Uh oh. Danger Will Robinson, Danger! By meet, she actually meant not immediately dislike.

"I'm sure you two will get along fabulously. You can paint each other's toenails and talk about cute boys." She huffed out a laugh.

"Oh my God, Dresden, you're such a pig. What time will you be over?" I cast an eye up at the Felix the Cat clock and did some figuring.

"Maybe an hour and a half or so? We've got a couple of stops to make, questions to ask. Might not take that long."

"She'll be glad to have you back. We both will." I smiled in consternation.

"She still hasn't picked out a name?" My nascent spirit of intellect slash daughter was proving to be as stubborn as I was. I still hadn't found a place I liked yet, and while it was pleasant crashing at Karrin's place, we were both smart enough to realize we each needed our own space.

"No, but that hasn't stopped her from trying out a bunch since you left. I mean, I know it's important, but Bob Two Point Oh..." I guffawed at that. "I hope she picks one soon, or you figure out where your workspace is going to be." I had been looking. It was next to impossible to be happy with anything compared to my basement apartment. Molly let me use her place whenever I wanted, but it was still her place. There were a couple of possibilities, but they had issues. I'd promised myself that I would give it another month before I settled on anything.

"She give you any lip while I was gone?" The spirit came from me, so she knew everything I knew up to the point of her 'birth'. Unfortunately that knowledge also came with my brand of smart-aleckery.

"No, actually she's been quite well-behaved, a perfect little lady. I mean, if you don't count the laundry list of names." She paused, listening to indistinct chatter on the other end. She covered the mouthpiece and said something. "She's excited that you're coming back early. See you at seven?"

"That's the plan, see you at seven." There was a pause at her end.

"Alright, Harry, be careful. Luck."

"Thanks, Karrin. See you soon." I hung up the phone and called a cab. After that I thanked Mac and slid the phone back over, then fished out a twenty and laid it down. He tilted his head and put it back under the bar, then picked up the money and went to make change. When I turned around, Yang had taken a seat with the two men and was avidly talking and pointing at the different pieces on the chessboard. They didn't seem to be terribly bothered by her poking her nose into their game. I contented myself to wait for the cab with my elbows hitched up on the bar behind me.

Five minutes later there was a distant honk. "Yang, that's us, let's go," I called out. She nodded to both men and said a word or two, then moved toward the door. She grabbed my bag and staff on the way, and scooted our chairs back under the table. We met at the door and she handed me my things.

"Thanks for the food, Harry." I nodded and held the door open for us. "So where are we off to next? More bad guys?" Man alive, she sounded eager.

"Nah, we'll see if a friend of mine got my message to meet up. If not, there's one other place I'd like to hit, then we'll head to Murphy's after."

The cab ride was quiet and we spent the time with me pointing out various landmarks and historic buildings. The cabbie, an oldster who retired from the CPD years ago, threw out a couple of stories about 'the good old days'. Stuff about bootlegger mobsters and G-men, the borders of the Great Chicago Fire, real touristy stuff. I doubt many locals know how to spot that one. Heck, I probably wouldn't have, had I not built my own Little Chicago years ago. Yang probably didn't have a clue about half of what we were saying, but she smiled and nodded, and even asked a pertinent question here and there.

We arrived at our destination soon enough, a two story building with flagstone steps, which were interspersed with hand rails and large bowls filled with summer plants and flowers. Flanking both ends of the stairs was a bronze lion. I'd heard that after Bob's romp they found it back where it belonged, though a bit singed in places. We got out and I handed the cabbie his fare, plus tip. He grinned and thanked me, then pulled back out into traffic.

"What is this place, Harry, a museum or something?" Yang asked.

"Sort of – it's the Art Institute of Chicago. They have older works, but there's a lot of contemporary stuff too."

"Oh, I see. Are we going inside?"

I shook my head. "They're only open after five on Thursdays. We'll wait here for a bit and see if my other half shows up." I really hoped he did.

"Your other half," she said, slyly. I chuckled at the thought.

"Not like that, Yang. I'm the Winter Knight, he's the Summer Knight."

"Right, I gotcha. Are there knights for all seasons?"

"No, just the two of us, thank the stars." Two courts were complicated enough. I shuddered at the thought of four. I spent a few minutes explaining what I understood of the faerie courts (which, who are we kidding, I was no expert). Yang listened patiently, if dubious about the whole thing. Can't say I blamed her. Once summed up, she switched gears and steered the conversation in a different direction.

"So I've got another question for ya. Can anybody learn magic? Is it easy?" Oh boy.

"Well, that depends. Magic is almost like any other skill when you come down to it. The main difference is that while everyone has the ability, training has to start early." How far do I explain all of this? Was she really interested, or just trying to distract herself? "If someone waits too long, the ability withers away. And there are laws in the magical community."

"Laws? You mean everyone knows about magic?"

"No, and I'll explain why in a minute." I ticked off a finger for each law. "Thou shalt not kill by use of magic. Thou shalt not transform others. Thou shalt not invade the mind of another." She started to say something at that one, but I stalled her with my other hand. "Thou shalt not enthrall another. Thou shalt not reach beyond the borders of life. Thou shalt not swim against the currents of time. And lastly, thou shalt not seek knowledge beyond the Outer Gates." Common sense, really. It always amazes me when people break one of those rules. "The soul gaze doesn't count, because it works both ways."

"Gotcha. Most of those make sense, but… What are the Outer Gates? Sounds creepy," she waggled her hands in the air.

"It is creepy. The gates are the borders of reality. There are," I paused, trying to figure out how to explain it, "things – creatures that possess immense power and hatred for everything in our universe. We call them Outsiders, and they aren't something that we practitioners discuss openly. To answer your other question, most people in the world are oblivious to magic."

"Huh? Why?" She was circling around it, but I knew the question would come sooner or later. I liked her, but I wished she'd get around to asking it so I could say no.

"Well, mostly because we live in a world of science and technology. Magic is not something the average rational mind can acknowledge. But before that, we had a pretty dark time in our history when most people knew about, and were afraid of magic." I didn't think we had time for history 101, so I gave her the short-short version. "There's a reason we have the seven laws," I finished.

"What happens when someone breaks one of the laws?" she asked.

"The sentence is usually death." She breathed out a shocked 'whoa'. "The White Council tries each case individually, and there are exceptions to some of those rules, though they're far fewer than I care to admit." My thoughts darkened at my own brushes with Council 'justice'.

"It's that serious? I mean, what if someone has to defend themselves?" I nodded.

"That would be an exception, but how and what was done has bearing on the situation. Breaking other laws could have world-devastating – or destroying consequences. Sometimes people get on the wrong path and can be steered back to good, but others have been hell-bent on doing the wrong thing. I might not like it, but I can see the need for it. I just don't care much for how black and white the Council goes about it. There's plenty of grey area." Yang pondered this for a moment, and then squared her shoulders. Heeeere we go…

"Could you teach me magic?" I eased a breath out my nose and shook my head.

"Yang, magic is a deeply complex skill that takes years and years of dedication and practice. From what you've explained of your own training, it's similar, but with more breadth." And depth. And scary bad consequences if you screwed up. Her shoulders sagged a bit, but she nodded. "Besides, not that I don't enjoy your company, but I'm pretty sure we'll get you home in less time than that." I hoped. Come on, I can get lucky once in a while, right?

She was about to respond when a man's voice spoke from right behind me, "Dresden, you're letting your guard down. Tsk, tsk." The point was illustrated by something hard prodding the small of my back. Crap. I turned my head enough to see a shock of white-blonde hair and coppery burnt skin.

"Hey, Fix. Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

AN: Sorry it's been so long you guys! I've been retooling the timeline I had in mind for this initially and feel like it's better now, so I should be able to move forward with this. I can't promise that I'll be clockwork on the chapters, but I'll try my best. Thanks for waiting, and thanks for reading! :)