I found the rest of my team waiting for me at the canteen to my relief. It had already been a disastrous enough day as it was. The base was deserted. Looked like the Geth had hit it as well. We made our way back to Edinburgh in silence, though I could tell they were all itching to ask me what had happened. None of us had managed to follow the same route while invisible, and I suspected I'd fallen particularly far off course.

Thankfully they were still young and timid enough to keep their questions to themselves. With the distractions gone, I was having a hard enough time keeping the psychic trauma of the day from catching up with me. I needed some soul healing. The kind best brought on by a couple of pints of Mac's finest and a long nights' sleep. Preferably with an attractive woman. But the beer would do the trick in a pinch.

The Hidden Halls of Edinburgh were about the antithesis of a pizza shop, and it took us a couple of jigs and jogs before we made it to one of the permanent entrances in the Nevernever. At the end of our path, the snowy forest gave way to a circular clearing centered around an earthen mound. Stone slabs formed a massive doorway that resembled a castle gateway or perhaps the entrance of a parking garage depending on who you asked.

Guarding the entrance to the Council's stronghold was the world's best dressed Warden. He'd substituted the traditional Warden cloak for a custom one from Burberry when he'd become a regional commander, and had on a suit underneath that probably cost more than my first house. Chandler was about my age, and looked to be around sixty or so. Some lines on his face, and grey hair, but every bit as dignified and stuck up as ever. He'd added a beard though, and I'm pretty sure he was hoping to turn into a clone of the Merlin in another century or so.

"Gatekeeper." He said respectfully.

"Easy Steed. You've known me too long for this kind of shit." I replied, continuing an old argument.

"And as ever, it is my duty and privilege to exhibit the highest forms of propriety having been graced with both better pedagogy and a superior homeland." He said, affecting his most obnoxious British accent.

"Steed." I said quietly, glancing pointedly at the tired group of Wardens behind me.

"Oh shit." His face sobered as he noticed that five had become four.

I led the group down the half-mile entrance tunnel as quickly as possible, the privilege of my purple scarf letting us skip the additional checkpoints along the way. We made a beeline for the Warden's barracks, and I took the group into the panic room as soon as we got there.

They collapsed into the leather arm chairs and couches around the room, both the oldest and youngest alike. Mungoshi, the Zimbabwean seventy-year veteran, was staring silently at the small engraved names that adorned the Warden's sanctuary in the Council Headquarters.

The youngest, Rutkowski, only thirty something, was still staring at her feet. She'd almost joined them today on the wall, and unlike me at that age, this was still pretty much her first time experiencing that reality.

I had shit to do. I mean for godsake. Apparently the universe had a giant zombie monster in it that exterminated civilizations. But some things were important to do, regardless, so I poured each of them a drink and tried not to look terrified.

"I want you all to know that what happened today was my fault." I said, looking at them seriously. "This isn't the first time most of us have lost a friend in the field, but I don't want any of you blaming yourself when this one was on me. But we will be better next time—take these Geth more seriously."

They nodded and looked up a little straighter. But those sorts of words never helped much. That didn't mean it wasn't important to say them though.

"To Nicole Laberine." I said simply, draining the glass. I didn't know her well enough to eulogize. She'd only been a Warden for a decade.

I left them to process the loss of their team member alone. It's sick how easy it is to walk past death when you reach my age. But then, that was all living a long time was really. Just keeping a few steps ahead. I'd seen Murph die, Michael, hell I'd even spoken at Charity's funeral. But a good number of their grandkids were dead too at this point. And one day, thinking about that just didn't make me cry anymore.

I'd left my quarters in the Senior Council chamber's exactly as Ebenezer had left them. Books and journals filled the walls, scrolls on magic ten times my age mixed with the latest popular fiction. The old man had finally gone out while working on his farm in the Ozarks. About the best end a Wizard like him could have asked for. Old as hell and doing what he loved.

That had been about nine years ago, and I'd just been elected into Rashid's spot. The Gatekeeper had finished things up in a more spectacular way. The expansion of the mortal world into a galactic community had changed the game, and the best way to describe it would be to say that the Outer Gate was stretched to accommodate a much larger reality than before. Unfortunately, Mab's power didn't stretch as quickly. This all came to a head when someone finally got around to summoning an Outsider, and the now weaker floodgate broke.

I'd been there too, leading Mab's army against the largest horde we'd ever seen at the gates. But it had been the Gatekeeper whose death curse had broken their offense, and he'd banished all four Walkers with a single spell, reinforcing the Gate's wards with his final breath.

I think the Council figured, Winter Knight or not, they needed someone crazy scary and who got along well with Mab to fill the post. Anastasia might have pushed for me as well. She'd taken over about a century ago when Ancient Mai died. What was less well known is that she'd also inherited the Blackstaff from Ebenezer at about the same time. At this point, she was mentally one of the oldest living Wizards, but like me only really starting to get into her groove magically with her new body at around 200. That made her one dangerous lady.

I dressed quickly suppressing my urge to wear my ratty purple scarf as usual instead of my formal purple stole. But I needed them all to listen today, and I could play the game for a little bit if I had too. I told one of the secretaries to call a Senior Council meeting as soon as I got in, so I made my way through the Ostentatiatory towards the meeting chambers. You could tell the part of the room I used because it had a half empty pizza box and well worn yoda mug sitting on the crystal table.

Luccio was already there as was the Merlin. While he'd once looked like Gandalf, Arthur Langtry now looked a great deal more like Bilbo Baggins when he boarded the Grey Ship. Old, decrepit, and shrunken. His beard was patchy, his head balding, but his mind and magic were still sharp for now. Luccio had aged well. Very well. Her second body had been an attractive one to start with, but she'd manage to hold herself together better than I had as well. Her hair was steel colored, but she looked to be a particularly well kept fifty rather than close to four times that.

"Gatekeeper." The Merlin wheezed.

"Harry." Anastasia greeted instead.

"Is this everyone who's here?" I asked. If so, the Merlin would hold their votes which would make placating him more challenging than usual.

"You can't expect us all to show up whenever you command, Wizard Dresden." The Merlin said scathingly. "I know this is still new to you."

"Fine, let's get started. You can fill them in yourself later." I said, not letting myself get frustrated. "The mission to Eden Prime—the source of the psychic disturbance was worse than—"

I shuddered as the memory of the burning plains of corpses and haunting, floating beast came back to me, just as fresh as ever.

"That bad?" Luccio asked.

"Worse." I replied. "Much, much worse."

"Surely you must be overreacting to a fresh memory." The Merlin said.

"I saw the genocide of an entire civilization. It stained the planet everywhere I looked. And what is worse, I have reason to believe that we would find the same thing on a hundred other worlds."

He still didn't like me, but after a few centuries, he knew I wasn't full of shit. The Merlin's mask of indifference slid away—he must not have been getting enough practice—and worry filled his face.

"The effect? On the Nevernever?" He asked with clipped words.

"Totally bat-shit crazy." I said solemnly. "The magnitude of the event was substantial enough to effect fairy personifications of things like winter and summer and twist them into creatures we've never seen before. These planets are going to be dangerous places for practitioners."

"But we've seen similar things in Germany and elsewhere, albeit at lower scales." The Merlin stated. "I take it there is something else as well?"

"I saw the thing that did it. Imagine the wrongness of an Outsider but with the clear presence of a mortal. Now imagine that it was molded out of millions of souls." I said, struggling to fully capture what I had seen. "I soul-gazed a colonist it had corrupted, and even the echo of the creature was enough to shake me. Not to mention the fact that its physical manifestation is a couple kilometer dreadnaught."

"Oddio." Luccio breathed.

"No Warden's sword or blasting rod will slay such a creature." The Merlin surmised, brow furrowing. "Even a curse channeled along a perfect medium would likely be beyond the combined ability of the Council."

"There is really only one option." I said.

"Mortals." Luccio determined, nodding.

"Indeed. I think the right seeds have already been planted with the Alliance team I encountered. But I plan to head to the Citadel as soon as possible. We need to learn more about this enemy. And we need to ensure we aren't facing it alone."

"But what makes you believe this threat is eminent?" The Merlin asked finally. "Surely if it is as old as you say it would have already attacked."

"I don't know." I said honestly. "But I do know that the thing I Saw was physically there on the planet. It had a small army of mechanical soldiers that it deployed, and it turned the colonists into zombie-like creatures."

"Perhaps this is the proof you need to understand why we are not ready to be traipsing around the Galaxy." The Merlin replied, finally showing some of his old self.

"We all know that isn't an option." Luccio cut in. "More than half the species no longer lives on Earth. The majority of new practitioners won't be born here anymore. And from what Harry has recounted, they will face plenty of arcane threats on these new worlds."

"I'm heading to the Citadel immediately, but I want the Council working from this end as well. We need to be ready for a fight, and we need to pursue this threat in the Nevernever as well." I said. I hadn't taken a particularly assertive role in Council politics the last few years, but if there was ever a time, it was now.

"Fine." The Merlin said quietly. "I won't try to stop you. Go deal with these mortals if you must, Dresden. I will use what resources I have in the Nevernever to help you where I can." He limped out of the room, leaning heavily on his white staff.

He left Anastasia and I alone in the room in silence.

"I should get going. Start this case." I said finally.

"The world might be about to end again and you refer to it as a case." She said wryly. "Go to the Citadel. Find out what you can. I'll take care of things here. We'll have Carlos ready with a contingent as soon as we can muster the Wardens. Find us an angle of attack. Or defense, or something."

I nodded, trying to think of the right thing to say. We'd once had a…memorable… relationship a couple decades ago, and now were at an awkward stage of trying to communicate rationally with things like words, but being much too close for emotion not to take over sometimes. Luccio was 200 years older than me though, so I figured it was her job to say anything if something needed to be said. Don't judge me.

I turned to leave.

"Harry." She said, stopping me at the door. "You are the only friend I have left you know."

It was a brutally honest truth; the kind that you normally only hear from children. I felt my less important feelings burn away as I acknowledged it. Wizards live a long time. But not all Wizards, or really even most of us. You'd like to think you get stronger every year, but loneliness hurts just as much at my age as at any other. There were probably only five or six Wizards still around that had been alive when Luccio had been an apprentice. And she had perhaps another couple hundred years left on the clock.

She gave me the sort of stern look I remembered from when she'd been the Captain of the Wardens. "Don't do anything stupid."

XXXXXX

It didn't take me long to get to my apartment.

Chicago has changed a lot, but I haven't really. I've got money now though, thanks to a very successful pizza chain. Like most old people with lots of money, I use it to make the world a little bit more like I remember it. My own little island of curmudgeonism.

My apartment is under the flagship store. I'm sure the employees think I'm a creepy old man. They don't know the half of it. It's got a couple levels of comfortable stone construction. Gas lamps, working kitchen appliances, running water. And most importantly, an expansive underground lab.

I headed down the final staircase to collect a better set of working equipment. I couldn't count on finding anything of interest on the Citadel after all. My best piece of enchanting to date dominated the room. A giant floating globe made out of dirt, water, rock, and moss rotated slowly, one side illuminated by a bright ball of light. It had taken me decades, but I'd replaced Little Chicago in the end.

But that wouldn't be much help off world, so I moved across the room to where an old carved scull sat perched on a stand, and filled Bob in on what had happened during the mission. Bob was a spirit of intellect, much like my daughter Bonnie, and he had a collection of magical knowledge several times greater than any mortal could accumulate in a single lifetime. He didn't, however, have the knowledge of a Fallen angel which I suspected might be helpful in this case. Bonnie and my Wizard daughter Maggie had insisted on running off together on whatever adventure they had moved on to at this point.

"So basically, you've discovered a billion-year-old spaceship-monster that likes to wipe the galaxy of intelligent life?" Bob summarized.

"Sure."

"Harry, you've got to let me out of this skull! I haven't made it to Thessia yet!" Bob said frantically. "Think about it! A planet that is nothing but beautiful women. You should come too! You'd be like a 20-year-old by Asari standards. And they culturally have a phase where they all go try to have sex with as many aliens as possible!"

"Bob." I said hardly. "Focus. I need you're help on this. We figure this out, and I'll give you a month off on Thessia or any planet of your choice."

"Wow." Bob whistled. "You really are serious."

"What does it mean for a being to be made out of the bodies and souls of mortals? Would it be one of the Fey, or mortal itself?"

"You said you saw it in a soul gaze." Bob said somberly. "You don't see Fey in soul gazes."

"It wasn't with the actual dreadnaught though." I argued.

"But if the dreadnaught is a being made out of a collection of people, then a human could be part of it without being physically inside it's body. I don't think you saw all of its soul. But the echo you saw was almost certainly a part of it."

That was just plain disturbing. It was bad enough to consider something taking millions of beings and putting them into a meat grinder to make a monster. But it was worse to think that the same thing could be done to make a soul.

"What does this mean for its presence in the Nevernever?" I asked.

"Well, think of it this way," Bob said, orange eyes flickering with thought. "Take Molly as an example. She is a mortal. But she is a fairy too. The fairy part surrounds the mortal part and augments her presence in the Nevernever with power. So since she is enclosed by the Mantle, she can't do normal mortal stuff like lie. And if you look at Mab, her mortal part has gotten pretty much withered away in there. But the creature your describing, it will have a massive presence in the Nevernever. But it will be all mortal, without any fairy. Completely unencumbered."

"Fuck," I breathed quietly.

"Yeah, this is bad. You'd better hope it doesn't know how to cast magic, or we are all pretty much dead." Bob said matter-of-factly.

"Help me find some gear. We're heading to the Citadel." I said, letting Bob illuminate boxes and drawers around the room that needed to be packed. We worked quickly, but it was still a half hour before I'd crammed everything I could into a roller duffle. I'm told they have mass effect crates now that float, but I'd stick with good old fashion wheels.

I made my way out of my apartment, and into the back of the shop. It was 3 am local time, and I stopped for a second, noticing a young man sitting in one of the booths, eating a slice of pizza. I had bigger problems than someone sitting in my restaurant after hours, but I had a funny feeling I knew exactly who was there. I dropped the suitcase and walked over.

"Uriel."

"Harry." He said warmly, turning to greet me. "It is good to see you again."

"I've gained some self-control," I said, mustering a great deal of it. "but I'm going to need a lot of explaining tonight."

"Relax." He replied, gesturing to the seat in front of him. I took it, and found it to be strangely warm as if I'd already been sitting there a while.

"What did I see today." I said simply. Sometimes the simple question was worth a try.

"That isn't the question you really want to ask me." Uriel said, looking straight at me with inhuman but not unkind eyes.

"Fine. How can you explain what we've been told about your boss and the fucked up universe we live in where floating monster's devour civilizations?" I said. If he didn't want me to bottle my frustration, I wouldn't waste the effort.

"Closer." Uriel said. "But I think what you are really asking is where does humanity fit into things. You've always known there were evils in this world. And what you saw today does not change that. But it does make you question destiny. Is humanity special? When countless other species have succumbed to a threat so ancient and so hidden you only just learned of it."

"The Fallen claim to have been around when everything was created, but it just doesn't make sense if the universe is as big as it seems to be that they'd have all ended up here. Why would they all be on earth? Why would you be on Earth?"

"Harry, I once told you that I could destroy galaxies with my thoughts. Such is the power of my position." He finished his pizza, whipping grease from his face primly. "You ask the right question, and the simple answer is that I am not just on Earth. My work is everywhere."

"So we just happen to live in the galaxy with the murderous old monster?" I asked, not hiding any of my frustration.

"Effectively? Yes." He said. "But you wish to know why. My master created a universe with possibility. He gave you many ways to know him. And he gave the same gifts of freedom to all his children. The monster you speak of was created by his children, and though it kills his children, he has indeed not stopped it. For the price of such an action would be far worse. It would require him to kill everyone."

"How could you possibly arrive at that conclusion." I said incredulously?

"If the rules were changed, possibility would be extinguished. You assume of course that this being was created out of malice. I assure you, that was not the case. It was created misguidedly, but with good intentions."

"Good intentions that led to hell." I replied, not buying Mr. Sunshine's argument.

"Indeed. But if good intentions pave the road to hell, they must just as surely pave the sole road out. For Christ himself entered into hell, and for the noblest of intentions, and rising up again on the third day set the example for all who would follow."

"Cut the Christian crap." I said angrily.

Uriel frowned.

"I have no desire to regal you with religious rhetoric." He said shortly. "I simply am saying that the possibility to do good predicates the possibility to do bad. There could be no ethics in a determined universe."

"That's all well and good but what about the trillions of dead? The trillions that might yet die!" I shouted.

Uriel stood up, and his face seemed to grow both harder set and brighter somehow as he did so.

"I came to tell you that this is an enemy you can defeat. Look around you on your travels. Your people have been given a gift to aid you in this battle that has not been given before, in this world or in countless others. The price was high, and the sacrifice was not made in vain. Have faith."

A look of compassion spread across his face.

"You are of course correct. Quadrillions have died to be more precise. But I leave you with a parting thought: Why should the nature of Death ever be aloud to define the meaning of Life?"

And he was gone.

XXXXX

I arrived on the Citadel frustrated and tired. I'd done some travels off planet, but never to the galactic hub. I stepped out of the restaurant bathroom, ignoring the confused looks of the clientele, and made my way into the corridor outside.

Despite having spent most of my life in a metro setting, it was a claustrophobic feeling for me walking through the space station corridors rather than an open air city street. I'd assumed that in a place full of many civilizations and cultures, an old man with a fancy walking stick and large roller bag wouldn't draw too much attention. That had apparently been incorrect. People just don't carry walking sticks in space apparently. Unless your Yoda. Or the Emperor. Or Harry Dresden. Bahh. I was in good company.

An orange glow appeared down my forearm as Bob moved out of my duster. I'd let him out of the skull to serve as my omnitool which conveniently glowed orange and looked rather magical as well. Bob was basically a computer, and was very adept at performing the role, though much more insubordinate than most machines.

I waved my arm limply in front of a glowing hologram that looked like an Asari. The gesture looked mostly like what everyone with the omnitools was doing. Bob meanwhile got to work compiling information about the space station, and finding me a good home base.

"Ok Harry! I've found you the perfect place." He said loudly, causing heads to turn.

"Bob. I don't think omnitools normally talk." I whispered, trying to move away from the crowded part of the hallway around the welcome hologram.

"Oh. Right." He wrote out a few inches above my arm. "Anyway, I know how you like cheap hotels. Found the perfect place in this ward. It's called Afterlife. Best room rate in town."

I was suspicious. Who would call a hotel Afterlife?

"Its only…436 steps away." Bob stated.

That got me moving. I was good with any hotel as long as it was close. I made my way to one of the many elevators, and hurtled down some seventy decks or so. I could hear the music playing the second I exited.

"Bob! This isn't a hotel. It's a nightclub." I hissed.

My arm glowed orange and the door to the lift locked behind me.

"Come on Harry! It's a good hideout location. Who would look for you here?"

I gave up pushing the up button on the elevator after a few tries and made my way over to the entrance grudgingly.

"Name?" The bouncer asked, eyes locked on his omnitool.

"Harry Dresden."

"The VIP suite is ready for you Mr. Dresden. A staff member will be down any minute to show you to your room. In the meantime, you are welcome to a complimentary cocktail in our lounge."

I had words to say to Bob, but they would have to wait due to the crowd. This was definitely not looking like the cheapest motel around. I could use the drink though.

I walked into the lounge off of the entrance corridor, vision assaulted by flashing lights in the dim room, and loud house music. There were a few upper crust looking elites of different races sitting around tables in the room, several dancers, Asari it looked like, scantly clad and twerking about above the bar, and of course my brother, sitting with two Asari dressed exactly like the dancers, and looking just as young as ever.

"Thomas?" I said incredulously. We stayed in touch, but it had been a while and I'd not realized he'd ever been off planet.

"Harry?" He said standing up, a smile on his face. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," I replied, giving him a hug. "I let Bob do my hotel reservation."

"You realize that Afterlife doesn't sell hotel rooms, don't you?" Thomas said laughing.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It does however have the best brothel on the Citadel associated with it."

"God damn it Bob!"

"All purchases are final." Flashed across my wrist. "I figured you could use the room, and I could use the other services."

I'd deal with that latter.

"Thomas, listen, I'm actually here on a case. Something really important. Is there somewhere we could talk?"

"I'm renting an apartment in the Presidium for the month. We can go there." He said, waving goodbye to the disappointed dancers.

The Presidium turned out to be the giant ring that held the flower petals of the station together. Or so I surmised from our shuttle ride over. It was a nerve raking experience, being inside a tiny death trap in pure vacuum. Real spaceships just didn't have the awesomeness that science fiction told me they ought to. And while magic didn't seem to hex mass effect technology really, old habits were hard to break, and the outcomes if something did go wrong were death, death and more death.

Thomas handed me one of Mac's unmarked brown bottles when we got to his apartment. I still don't know who he is, but I'm glad he is around brewing beer—and that Thomas is rich and spoiled enough to import unmarked alcoholic drinks into space.

"What's up?" Thomas asked, crashing into a large leather couch that sat in front of an impressive view of the nebula.

"Short synopsis: ancient zombie monster wants to kill civilization. Has been doing it periodically for a couple hundred million years potentially." I said seriously.

I don't think that was what he had expected.

"Ancient …zombie monster?" He repeated slowly.

"Well, might be better described as a couple mile long cuttlefish shaped super-dreadnaught with an army of Geth soldiers onboard." I clarified.

"How could one ship exterminate a species?" Thomas asked.

That was a good question. And one I didn't have any answer to. Perhaps it simply controlled an army of soldiers to do the job for it. I'd felt its presence on Eden Prime, attempting to wrestle control of my brain. But how it managed to go up against what were presumably fleets of enemy ships was still a question. And if it was truly powerful enough physically to take on a civilization by itself, why had it fled at my spell, powerful enough in its own right that it might have been.

"Not sure yet. But I know that whatever it is, we'll need mortals on board to help fight this thing. That's where I could use your help."

Thomas smiled.

"I am after all, much more socially competent and good looking."

That had been true even when we'd both looked 30. Now, it just was adding insult to injury.

"I met a team of Alliance Marines when I encountered this being on Eden Prime. We need to make sure they get the ball moving on the mortal side of things. And we need to find out more about the extermination of the Protheans." I said grimly.

"Let's get to work."