Bartender 3 lets you organize your menu bar icons, by hiding them, rearranging them, show hidden items with a click or keyboard shortcut and have icons show when they update. There are many ways to configure Bartender as you wish. Give it a go and find out. 'Have a good one, Mac,' Dresden said as he waved at the bartender, who nodded back at him as the wizard made his way to the door. Stepping out onto the sidewalk, Dresden waited for the others to exit Mac's before walking towards an old Volkswagen Beetle that was parked by the curb. The Dresden's Blood & Sand 'The World's Most Tantalizing Drink' - featured at the Dresden Room for over 60 years. This blended cocktail is made with our own unique twist on the classic and is a sure-fire favorite $ 10. Swedish Maid. Absolut Vodka, lime juice, simple syrup, & a dash of St. Germain, with muddled mint & cucumber, garnished with a. Behind the bar stood Mac, the bartender, provider of sustenance for mind and body. Mac was a spare, bald-headed man of indeterminate age and was, as always, dressed in black trousers, a white shirt and a spotlessly clean white apron. 'Hi, Mac', I said, and walked towards the bar. He grunted and nodded to me. Mac is a man of few words.
Chapter 1: When Harry Met Harry
Harry Dresden stood on a sidewalk in midtown Chicago, looking at the door to a building. Glancing up, he took a moment to read the sign that hung above the door, which bore the words McAnally's Pub in simple lettering. The spring air still had a chill to it, prompting Harry to pull the black duster he wore closer around himself. Sighing, he stepped forward and opened the door before walking inside.
Directly beyond the door was a short staircase that led down to the floor of the pub. On one side of the room was a bar that looked like it had been constructed out of a single piece of long, warped wood. The rest of the room was occupied by thirteen wooden tables scattered randomly about. The ceiling itself was supported by thirteen wooden columns that were also spread throughout the room without any clear rhyme or reason. Each of the columns were carved to depict scenes straight out of a fairy tale, from knights fighting dragons to a giant ransacking a village. Thirteen ceiling fans hung from above, each spinning lazily just a few inches above Harry's head.
Scanning the room, Harry found it to be mostly empty. Behind the bar stood a plain looking man in a white button-up shirt and brown slacks. He was completely bald and his brown eyes lifted from the spot of the bar he was polishing with an old rag to focus on Harry.
'Mac,' Dresden greeted with a nod, which the bartender returned silently before he resumed polishing the bar.
Looking away from the bartender, Harry turned his attention towards the one occupied table in the room. Harry's eyes immediately focused in on the giant man first, marveling for a moment at someone who looked as though he stood a full head taller than Harry himself. Harry briefly wondered how he had fit through the front door.
Dresden Mac Bartender Lyrics
Tearing his eyes away from the mountain of a man, Harry glanced at the two boys who were sitting opposite one another at the table. The large boy was sullen and looked as though he had spent most of the previous hours crying. The smaller boy appeared quieter, and he glanced hesitantly at Harry as he approached the table. Following the smaller boy's gaze, the large man stood up as Harry walked towards them.
'Harry Dresden?' the large man questioned, stooping to avoid hitting his head against the ceiling.
'That's what it says on my business card,' Dresden replied as he offered his hand to the large man.
'Rubeus Hagrid,' the large man replied as he wrapped his massive hand around Dresden's, though the tall man noticed that he did so gingerly, as if afraid of crushing Harry's hand. The small jolt of energy that ran up each of their arms was expected by both men.
'Do you prefer Rubeus, or something shorter?' Dresden questioned.
'Hagrid is fine,' the man replied.
'Alright,' Dresden stated with a nod before he turned his attention towards the larger of the boys, 'I'm guessing you're Dudley.'
'What do you care?' the larger boy snapped as he glared up at Dresden.
'I care because I'm the guy who's going to be looking after you two for the next couple of days,' Dresden explained.
'What?' Dudley questioned, 'Why should I go with you!? You people have barely told us anything! Why am I in the States instead of with my aunt!? Why am I stuck here with him!?'
Dudley finished the sentence by pointing an accusatory finger at the other boy, who, for his part, didn't react. Dresden glanced between the two boys before turning his gaze towards Hagrid, who could only offer a helpless shrug in reply, prompting Dresden to let out a sigh.
'Well, those are all excellent questions,' Dresden commented, giving Dudley a forced smile as he did, 'None of which I will be answering at the moment.'
With that, Dresden fully turned his attention towards the other boy.
'Now, who might you be?' Dresden questioned though he already knew the answer.
'I'm Harry,' the boy answered as he offered his hand, 'Harry Potter, sir.'
'Hi, Harry, I'm Harry,' Dresden replied with a smirk as he took the boy's offered hand, 'Harry Dresden, to be exact.'
As their hands gripped, a jolt of energy passed between the two of them. The feeling caused Harry's arm to jerk in surprise and he looked at Dresden with confusion. The tall man, however, only smiled enigmatically back at him, his brown eyes meeting Harry's green ones for a brief moment before he pulled his gaze away and focused on the scar on Harry's forehead.
'It's uh, good to meet you, Mr. Dresden,' Harry said as he pulled his hand back, which he flexed experimentally, 'Though I also kind of want to know why you're here?'
'You want the truth?' Dresden questioned rhetorically as he sat down across from Hagrid, 'You're here for your own protection.'
'Protection from….' Harry paused uneasily and shot a glance at Dudley before continuing, 'From what killed my aunt and uncle?'
'Yeah,' Dresden replied with a solemn nod.
'So, you're some kind of bodyguard?' Dudley questioned.
'In my spare time,' Dresden replied with a shrug before he glanced between the two boys, 'Look, I'm sure you've both have got a lot of questions, and I'm willing to answer them, but first I need to get you somewhere safe.'
'You've got a safehouse?' Dudley asked.
'Well, I've got a house,' Dresden answered, 'I mean, I've got an apartment. Look, it's the safest place we could take you at the moment.'
'Safe from what?' Harry questioned, 'What was it that killed my aunt and uncle?'
Dresden glanced at Harry for a moment before turning his gaze towards Hagrid.
'I'm starting to think you can afford to tell them something before you go,' Hagrid stated with a shrug, 'They deserve to know something.'
Dresden sighed as he glanced between Dudley and Harry again.
'Your aunt and uncle were killed by magic,' Dresden explained.
This was followed by a quiet moment as the two boys stared at Dresden in surprise.
'That..That's stupid!' Dudley replied, 'There's..there's no such thing as magic!'
'A lot of people think that,' Dresden countered, 'A lot of people are wrong too.'
'Oh yeah!? Prove it!' Dudley demanded, 'Prove magic is real!'
Dresden paused for a moment as he seemed to consider the challenge. Then, with a solemn nod, Dresden sat up straight in his chair. Holding out his hands, Dresden rolled up the sleeves of his duster before presenting both sides of his hands to the boys, showing that he was hiding nothing from them. He then propped his right arm up on the table.
'Flickus Bikus,' Dresden muttered as he snapped his fingers, causing a small plume of fire to erupt from his fingertips, the flame dancing in midair for a second before quickly guttering out. While Hagrid remind largely impassive towards the display, Harry and Dudley immediately leapt from their chairs and rapidly backed away from the table, wild and frightened looks on both their faces.
'W-What was that!?' Dudley demanded.
'Magic,' Dresden said simply, 'A low level fire spell, to be specific.'
A silence fell over the bar as Dresden looked at Dudley for a moment before shifting his gaze to Harry.
'Is that enough proof for you?' Dresden questioned.
'Why is all this happening?' Harry asked.
As Dresden continued to look at Harry, their gazes met for a brief moment. As they did, Harry felt a strange tugging sensation, almost as if something was pulling him down. Not down towards the ground, but down into Dresden's gaze. Just as Harry felt he was going to be physically pulled off his feet, Dresden looked away from him again, a smirk on his rugged face.
'Why?' Dresden parroted, 'Because you're a wizard, Harry.'
Harry looked back at Dresden in stunned silence.
'I'm a what?' Harry questioned after he had regained his wits.
'A wizard,' Dresden repeated before he twirled his hand in front of him, 'A mage. A spellcaster. One of the wise ones. You're getting the gist, right?'
'I-I know what a wizard is,' Harry replied, 'B-But I can't be a wizard. I'm….I'm just Harry.'
'Sure you are,' Dresden replied with a snort, 'And I'm the queen of France.'
'You're a guy,' Dudley observed.
'I can see that nothing gets by you,' Dresden said as he snapped his fingers and pointed at Dudley, 'Now, shush. The wizards are talking.'
Dudley glared at Dresden in response but offered no argument.
'I-I can't be a wizard,' Harry argued weakly.
'And why not?' Dresden inquired with a quirked eyebrow.
'Because….because magic isn't real,' Harry stated, sounding completely unsure of himself.
'Flickus Bickus,' Dresden intoned as he snapped his fingers again, causing a small tongue of fire to shoot up from his hand for a brief moment, startling the two boys again.
'Look, I can do that one for awhile, but I think eventually I'm going to set off Mac's sprinkler system, and I really don't want to pay for the water damage that would entail,' Dresden said as he glanced up at the low ceiling wearily, 'So can we move past the whole 'magic isn't real' part of the conversation?'
'How'd you do that?' Dudley asked as he stared at Dresden.
'A lot of practice,' Dresden replied with a snort as he leaned back in his chair.
'So anyone can learn magic?' Harry questioned.
'Yes, and no,' Dresden answered with a look of chagrin.
'A question can't be yes and no,' Dudley stated as he glared at Dresden.
'That would be one of the many things you're wrong about,' Dresden replied with a smirk before he turned his attention back towards Harry, 'Basically, anyone can learn to do magic, but some people are better at it than others. Think of it like basketball. You can teach someone to dribble a ball, but you can't teach someone to be seven feet tall.'
'And I'm one of those people who are naturally good at magic?' Harry questioned, his brow furrowing, 'That's what you meant when you called me a wizard, wasn't it?'
'Yep,' Dresden replied with another nod.
'How does that work?' Harry asked.
'Sometimes it happens kind of randomly,' Dresden admitted with a shrug, 'But most of the time, it's because one or both of your parents could do magic too.'
'So my parents….' Harry began to say, a look of understanding dawning on his face.
'Were two of the greatest wizards of their age,' Hagrid said with a broad grin.
'What?' Dudley asked in confusion, 'I always thought they were druggies or something.'
'James and Lily Potter? On drugs!?' Hagrid exclaimed, looking scandalized by the thought, 'I don't think I've ever heard something so absurd before!'
'You knew my parents, Hagrid?' Harry questioned in surprise.
'Aye, that I did,' Hagrid confirmed with a smile and a nod, 'Good, kind-hearted people they were, despite what others might say.'
'What about you, Mr. Dresden?' Harry asked as he looked back at the tall man, 'Did you know my parents?'
'Can't really say I did,' Dresden replied with a shrug as he looked away from Harry, not noticing Hagrid looking at him with a furrowed brow.
'Wait a minute,' Dudley spoke up, a pensive look on his face as he turned his gaze towards Harry, 'You can do magic because your parents could do magic. And the guy who….who killed my parents, you said he used magic too.'
'Look, kid, I know what you're thinking,' Dresden said, holding up a warding hand as his eyes went wide, 'But I don't think-'
'My parents are dead because of you!' Dudley screamed as he lunged towards Harry and wrapped his hands around the smaller boy's neck.
His eyes going wide with fear, Harry grabbed Dudley's wrists in a vain attempt to pull the larger boy's hands away from his throat.
'None of that!' Hagrid exclaimed as he grabbed Dudley by the back of his shirt and easily pulled the boy off of Harry, 'None of that!'
'He got my parents killed!' Dudley snapped angrily as he tried to pull himself free from Hagrid's grip.
'The person who got your parents killed is the one who murdered them,' Dresden said sternly, 'And they're still out there, probably gunning for the both of you. Is your cousin really the one you want to be fighting with right now?'
Dudley didn't answer as he sat back in his seat, rubbing at his now tearfilled eyes as Hagrid released his grip on the boy's shirt.
'Dudley's right though, isn't he?' Harry spoke up, bringing Dresden's attention back to him, 'Whoever killed my aunt and uncle, they did it because of me, didn't they?'
Dresden glanced at Hagrid as he drummed his fingers on the table nervously.
'This isn't your fault, Harry,' Hagrid said as he looked down at the boy, 'But it's very likely that whoever did this was trying to get to you.'
'I knew it!' Dudley shouted as he moved towards Harry again, 'I knew-'
Dudley was silenced as Dresden pointed a finger threateningly at the boy, causing him to meekly settle back into his seat.
'I-I don't understand,' Harry said, a shocked look on his face, 'Why would….why would someone want to kill me? Is it….is it because I'm a wizard?'
'Not….quite,' Dresden answered pensively.
'You should know that, around the time you were born, a warlock was terrorizing the world,' Hagrid explained, a nervous expression on his face, 'A warlock named….named….'
'Voldemort,' Dresden said simply, watching as Hagrid flinched at the sound.
'Voldemort?' Harry repeated, prompting Hagrid to flinch slightly again.
'What kind of name is that?' Dudley asked incredulously.
'A scary one if you say it to the right person,' Dresden replied as he eyed Hagrid.
'Who was he?' Harry questioned.
'Like Hagrid said, he was a warlock, a kind of dark wizard,' Dresden explained, 'His real name was Tom Riddle, but he styled himself as Lord Voldemort.'
Seeing Hagrid flinch again, Dresden paused before continuing.
'That name carried a lot of fear with people,' Dresden continued, 'And fear can be a powerful thing. So people took to calling him He Who Should Not Be Named and You Know Who.'
'That sounds ridiculous,' Dudley sneered.
'True,' Dresden agreed with a nod, 'But that didn't make him any less monstrous. Voldemort and his followers hurt and killed a lot of people. Including your parents.'
'Voldemort….he killed my parents?' Harry asked in shock.
'He did,' Dresden confirmed with a solemn nod, 'He was going to kill you too. But something went wrong, and somehow you killed him instead.'
'How could a baby kill a wizard?' Dudley questioned in confusion.
'Nobody really knows for sure,' Dresden replied with a shrug, 'Though, safe to say, magic was involved.'
Hagrid gave Dresden a confused look, receiving only a pointed look in reply.
'So, do you think that this has to do with that?' Harry questioned, 'Someone killed my aunt and uncle because I killed this….Voldemort?'
'That seems to be the long and short of it,' Dresden confirmed with a nod.
'That's why we have to get you both somewhere safe,' Hagrid explained, 'At least until we find whoever did this and stop them.'
'That's where I come in,' Dresden spoke up, bringing the boys' attention back to him, 'You'll be shacking up with me for the time being.'
'Why you?' Dudley questioned. Download voip software for android.
'Harry Dresden is a skilled wizard,' Hagrid explained, 'Albus Dumbledore trusts him, and that should be good enough for anyone.'
'Who's Albus Dumbledore?' Harry asked in confusion.
'Why, Albus Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of his age,' Hagrid replied, acting as though this was the most obvious thing in the world.
'Don't let the Merlin hear you say that,' Dresden commented with a snort of amusement.
'Why?' Hagrid replied with a chuckle, 'He knows the truth as much as anyone.'
Seeing the confused looks on Harry and Dudley's faces, Dresden sighed and shook his head.
'But I'm sure you kids don't care about political crap like that,' Dresden said as he rose to his feet, 'You kids got your stuff?'
'What little they let me bring,' Dudley replied with a pout as he indicated towards the two bags sitting next to the table.
'Alright, well, grab them and follow me,' Dresden said as he motioned towards the door with his head.
As the two boys stood up and began to gather their things, Hagrid also rose to his feet and offered Dresden his hand.
'Thanks again for doing this,' Hagrid said as he smiled at Dresden.
'Well, you know how it is,' Dresden replied with a smirk as he shrugged his shoulders and shook Hagrid's hand, 'Dumbledore tells you to jump and you say 'Why are you doing this to me, you manipulative jerk!?'
Dresden's smirk fell away as Hagrid looked at him in confusion.
'Er, I mean, you know,' Dresden amended with a nervous laugh, 'Happy to help.'
'Right,' Hagrid replied with a dubious expression, before he handed Dresden a folded piece of paper, 'Anyway, I'll be staying in town for the duration in case you need any help. Here's the number you can reach me at.'
'Thanks,' Dresden replied as he took the number and stuck it into the pocket of his pants before turning his attention to the boys, who had gathered their things and were looking at the wizard expectantly, 'You two ready to go?'
When both of them nodded in reply, Dresden nodded in return before motioning for them to follow him.
'Have a good one, Mac,' Dresden said as he waved at the bartender, who nodded back at him as the wizard made his way to the door.
Stepping out onto the sidewalk, Dresden waited for the others to exit Mac's before walking towards an old Volkswagen Beetle that was parked by the curb. The car had clearly seen better days, as while it was mostly blue in color, it's doors had been replaced with mismatched green and white ones, while the hood was red.
'Alright, give me your bags,' Dresden said as he popped open the hood of the car, which Harry was surprised to see held nothing but storage space beneath it.
'Is this your car?' Dudley questioned in disgust.
'Yep,' Dresden confirmed as he proudly placed his foot on the cars bumper, which groaned ominously under his weight, 'This is the Blue Beetle, stalwart crusader against the forces of evil and alternative fuels.'
'It's a hunk of junk!' Dudley accused as he gestured at the car.
'Yeah, well, they said the same thing about the Millenium Falcon, but it worked out for Han Solo,' Dresden grumbled as he took his foot off the bumper, 'Now, how about you give me your stuff and we can get out of here.'
As Dudley brought his things up to Dresden, Harry turned his attention towards Hagrid, who had joined them on the sidewalk.
'Will I see you again, Hagrid?' Harry asked as he looked up at the giant man.
'Of course, Harry,' Hagrid assured him with a friendly smile, 'Like I told Mr. Dresden, I'll be staying in the city for the time being. He has the best way of contacting me if you need me.'
As Harry looked at Hagrid with a worried expression, the giant man leaned down and rested one of his giant hands on the boy's shoulder.
'Everything will be alright, lad,' Hagrid assured him with a smile, 'You're in the best hands.'
'Why is the inside all messed up?' Dudley questioned as he looked into the Blue Beetle through the now open passenger door.
'Because my cat's a jerk and interiors are expensive,' Dresden replied with an annoyed tone as he gestured aggressively at Dudley, 'Now get in the car!'
After seeing this scene unfold, Harry looked at Hagrid with a dubious expression.
'Well,' Hagrid said as gave Harry an awkward grin, 'He comes highly recommended at least.'
A/N: Hey, so I finally got around to updating this one! Hope you all liked it! As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome, so please review! Later!
Download dx ball game full version5. Bleach X Dresden Files; An idea so weird, funny, yet practical to put in words so as to laugh at it sometime in the future. I wonder how a wizard feels when he receives a job from a kid who just beat a monster up with his bare hands would feel.
Set after Small Favor; I haven't read Turn Coat yet. This is the Book 'Verse, I can't watch the series as I live outside the US coast.
If you're going through hell, keep going.
Given my already weird capacity for the world o0f the supernaturally weird and wonderful, you'd think I'd seen it all already.
So, when there was this hugely truck-like er, vaguely humanoid turquoise monster [I say this to be fair, it's really more of a turquoise] wearing a bone-like mask stepped on my car, just as I had stepped out of the Blue Beetle outside McAnally's, you can definitely say that I was not surprised, and already had by Dirty Harry Magnum .44 out and ready, along with my blasting rod and staff.
Yeah right. Surprise soon gave out to anger; the Blue Beetle might be rather old, worn out and so on, the doors, engine hood and roof might not match, I never actually got around the interior replacing after fungus demons ate it out, and I don't have the cash to paint it, but like the ugly wax model I call my left hand, it was mine, dammit.
The night had a lot of things to go bump with. However, you'd be hard pressed to find something attacking in broad daylight.
Funnily, no one was screaming yet at the sight of this monster, more proof that this sucker could only be seen by me. The creature turned towards me, hate flashing in the little eyes behind that huge mask as it started towards me, its big teeth smiling.
The adrenaline –and perhaps a bit of offence as being treated like Red Riding Hood- running through my system, I pulled on the magic of the three rings in had on the fingers of my right hand and released the whole lot of kinetic energy stored inside it, enough to flip a car fifty feet up, towards the creature.
The thing shrugged it off. It shrugged it off like a little gust of wind, and came towering over me at a speed I would hardly have believed possible, ready to turn me into part of the asphalt as it raised its arm.
Midway down, the whole damn thing was cut off. Spotify app won t play song. Just nicely, I brought up my blasting rod and yelled 'Fuego!'
A gout of fire instantly doused the creature, who let out a horrible scream that sounded like an amalgation of echoing human screams and animal howls, causing my hair to stand on end. Another slash appeared through the creature's mask, splitting it's head. It collapsed on the Blue Beetle, of all things, and actually disintegrated before my eyes, the particles fading off into the wind.
I turned to look right- and down- at my saviour. He looked about twelve or thirteen, with purely snow white hair and bright teal eyes, pupils round as a human's, but I wasn't fooled. He wore a black kimono under a white jacket of some sort with black patterns on the hem. The kid would have kind of looked cute in a Japanese way if not for that my senses registering power on a whole new level from this kid. Plus, let us not forget the pretty long katana dripping with dark red blood he was holding.
'Who are you?' I interrogated, feeling pretty sure that there was fear in my voice, which kinda ruined the purpose.
'Are you the wizard?' the kid asked in perfect English, holding out a page ripped from the phone directory, with my advertisement on it:
Harry Dresden- Wizard
Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.
W for Wizards, because I'm worth it; Yeah right; if anyone's looking for me, I only know it's trouble. 'Harry Dresden, professional wizard.' I told him.
'It's surprising that you can see me. I want to give you a job.' The boy said.
'Consulting? Finding?' I asked, hardly pausing to ponder about the value of accepting money for using my magical abilities, like I would have in the past. Phenomenal cosmic powers be damned, I had a lease, groceries, and two pets to feed. Mouse needed more food already.
'Appointment; it's not safe to talk in the open, and we need to negotiate your fee anyway.' The boy replied.
'Right…' I said, drawing the word out. 'Follow me in.' I continued, motioning towards McAnally's. He nodded sagely back, frowning.
As I walked through the door, I reflected on the odds of how many meetings like this had gone on in pubs. True, normally I'd think twice about letting minors anywhere near alcohol, but judging from the fact that the kid talked pretty mature, I'd say that he was one of the Winter Sidhe, sent by Mab, Maeve, or even my godmother. He certainly looked the part.
Plus, I noticed that his attire had changed from kimono to normal clothing. 'Where'd the clothes go?'
'Artificial body; sort of like an empty corpse.' He answered. I refused to hear anything more. Not Sidhe then.
McAnally's was often frequented by the supernatural fraternity in Chicago. Having been declared a neutral ground, according to the Unseelie Accords, sort of like the Geneva Convention of the supernatural world, it was a place to eat, knowing that fights would be taken outside. Still, eating there usually meant running into a couple of nasties.
I always sat in a booth, with my back to a smoke-stained wall.
The kid slid into a seat across me. Now I knew he didn't look Sidhe; nothing froze when he walked in. No dead aura, anyway. Mac, the bartender there, nodded in my direction, raising his brows at the kid.
'I know, Mac. Lemonade for two,' I said. Mac wasn't big on talking, but there was something in his expression that sort of recognised the kid. 'And steak.'
He grunted, nodding as he shuffled back.
'Now, let's start. First, your name, and who are you?' I said.
'Very well then, Mister Dresden,' he said. That was pretty grown up. How disconcerting; my own apprentice couldn't talk like that to save her life.
'My name is Hitsugaya.' Smart, he knew that full name contain power, and a wizard like me could probably use it to target him for a spell. I nodded, like I was talking to a kid.
'I'm a god of death.'
I decided to skip the cool, suave adult part that was me and freaked. What the hell.
A god of death. Was sitting across me. Right now. I was listening to a god of death. Talking to a god of death.
And he had a job for me.
And I thought I already had enough skirmishes with that.
And a Valkyrie worked for Marcone. No, really.
'Huh…' I sighed. Someone up there is screwing with my life again.
'Perhaps I should have been more specific.' Hitsugaya proceeded to say. A Japanese god of death. Meaning not mine. 'I am a Shinigami, an entity who is supposed to guide the souls from this world to the next, and purify the fallen souls who have lost their way, like the ones who had attacked you just now.
'Normally, my work is in Japan, but due to unseen circumstances, these souls have strayed over to your city in search for powerful souls to eat.' The kid continued. 'They followed a very powerful individual from Japan to this city, and are currently running rampant, searching for him. Doubtlessly, in their search, several people's lives will be at stake.'
Holy shit; and I thought the war between the White Council and Red Court of vampires was bad enough. 'So why didn't you people find him?'
'Chicago has a lot of residual energy, possibly due to several events of a magical nature.' Hitsugaya answered my question. 'The waffle blocked us out.'
'And so you turned to the only wizard in the phone book.' I finished for him, getting up to walk over to the bar and get my order. Setting lemonade before the kid, I downed half of liquid summer heaven down my throat. It gets hot when you run around in a leather duster.
'So who am I supposed to find?' I asked, setting the plate aside first. Business first, lunch later.
Hitsugaya slid an envelope across. I opened it and upended the contents to reveal a photo, several Ben Franklins and a lock of hair. 'Ichigo Kurosaki.' Hitsugaya said, pointing to the frowning teenager, with a shock of orange hair and scowling expressions on his face, but generally could be considered grown already.
'My number's written behind.' Hitsugaya said, getting up and ready to leave. 'Inside is your pay, ten grand in total. I do hope that's enough.'
'I never said that I'll take the job.' I interjected.
'People will die if you don't, just like people will die if I don't go now, Mister Dresden.' The kid said, laying an additional ten on the counter on his way out. Speaking behind, he said, 'I'll take my own part,' before leaving.
Mac nodded at him, turning to stare at me. I knew he overheard our conversations.
The steaks didn't seem so good anymore.
'A Shinigami?' Bob the Skull asked after I ate and caught a cab back to the home I call my bachelor pad, into the sub-basement I call my laboratory. What, you thought the Blue Beetle could somehow magically repair itself? If it did, I wouldn't be driving it.
Bob the Skull wasn't actually a talking skull; the skull was actually the air spirit of intellect inside the vessel that served to hold my lab assistant. Still, it was easier to call it 'Bob the Skull.
'You got involved with the freaking Shinigami?' the skull was saying, its eyes burning bright orange. 'Harry, how on earth did that happen?'
'He's a client, Bob.' I said wearily. 'He paid ten grand to find a kid.'
'What's the kid client's name, Harry?' Bob demanded.
'Hitsugaya.' I said dully, wondering what the heck had I got myself into.
'Great, so one of the thirteen most powerful gods of death is in Chicago, and he called you to find a teenager.' Bob snorted. 'So what are you gonna do now?'
'Find the kid. Firstly, why on earth would Hitsugaya want to find this kid?' I asked, holding the photo up. 'He's a mere human, no matter how you look at him. Surely the Shinigami can find him without a problem.' I added, grabbing my nearby notebook and a pen off Molly's desk. My apprentice has better stationary than me, that's so unfair.
'I don't know,' Bob said scathingly, 'Maybe it's something to do with the kid being a death god?'
My pen broke in my hand. 'You're serious?'
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'Hell, yes. Last year, a single kid somehow gained powers and managed to defeat a Grand Fisher. It's one of the monsters you met.' Bob added before I could ask. 'Apparently, now the kid's on par with the thirteen greatest of them.'
'There are thirteen people like Hitsugaya?' I all but yelled, ignoring that part. Holy shit, one of them was already on par with the Archive, I suppose. If there are thirteen of them? I don't even want to know.
'Harry, Harry, Hitsugaya is the youngest of them. He's peanuts compared to some others.' Bob chided. 'One of them can already be considered on par with Mab and Titania. Combined.'
I laid back, my head spinning as I calculated that much power. Hell's bells. And I thought I was on the critical list already.
'Now, then, I'd advise you to track the kid fast.' Bob continued. 'Then lie low for a while…' his voice trailed off as the orange lights reduced to two pinpricks, voice stuck in a gasp. 'Too late.'
I turned around to see one of those Japanese double doors behind me, suddenly as thought it had just appeared out of thin air, open, and my client stepping out.
As the doors vanished, he eyed me, all four foot three of him radiating an icy power that not even my godmother could achieve. 'Mister Dresden, have you found him yet?'
Before I could voice my answer, my apprentice, Molly Carpenter, came in. 'Hi, Harry, I dropped in to…' whatever her purpose was, it was forgotten as she spotted my visitor. 'It's never boring around here, is it?'
'Yeah,' I sighed, as Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. 'It never is.'
'Okay, I got a lock on the kid.' I announced two hours later to the two kids in my living room, sitting there looking bored while chatting. About what, I don't know, I'm a hidebound dinosaur. Mouse was sitting pretty close to Hitsugaya, while the latter absently scratched behind his ears. Mister, my cat, was giving him a wide berth, as if somehow the cat was smarter than me. It probably was.
'Great, so where is he?' Hitsugaya said, getting up.
I held up a compass. 'That's where we're going to find out.'
The compass took me straight into a bloodbath. It was a literal horror convention at a side alley near my house. Monsters were all getting chopped to pieces. And all by one teenager.
'Hell's bells.' I swore as I stepped near the kid. He was dressed in a plain black kimono, and holding this big-ass cleaver, that I swear was his whole body length. How strong was this kid? Forget physically, even his aura reeked of insane power. 'Ichigo Kurosaki?' I said.
'That's me. Who are you?' he asked, turning in my direction. Then, he apparently noted Hitsugaya's presence. 'Toushirou?'
Hitsugaya began yelling to him in Japanese, something about Hollows, I think, I can't understand Latin, much less Japanese. Either way, it ended up with Hitsugaya summoning a gate and kicking the poor bastard through it.
Sometimes after, I'd look back at that scene and wonder why on earth the alley froze. Then I'd decide that I really should have charged more for it.
You can't run away from trouble. There ain't no place that far.
My first attempt at Dresden. Hope its okay!!
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