The Dresden Files/Codex Alera is copyright Jim Butcher. This story is licensed under the Creative Commons as derivative, noncommercial fiction.

After a fitful night of almost sleeping with visions of icegirls dancing in my head, I drove to Butters' and Andi's apartment. Butters' lab looked nothing like my own, but it was nice to be able to walk inside his technoprotected home and not break anything for once.

"I see the collar is working well."

I pulled at it. "Yeah, too well."

Butters frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing. I need to talk to Bob."

"Sure, Harry, come on in."

Andi met us in the hallway. "Harry! How are you and Karrin doing?"

"Very well," I said, touching my mask. "I'm being careful, I promise."

She smiled. "Thank you. Can't be too careful these days. We up for later tonight?"

I frowned. "I'll have to see. There's been a few, wrinkles that might intrude on our game night." We'd been playing D&D over skype every other night. Karrin actually got in on the fun, playing a very chaotic evil mercenary. It was fun, and distracting, and the perfect thing for our little group to pass the time while we were sealed away from each other.

We descended the stairs into the basement. Butters was a medical examiner who worked for the county. Since he was considered "essential personnel" he worked almost every night. "We sure do miss you, pal."

"I miss it too. How'd you get past the Oracle of Eronicus?"

I wiggled my fingers. "Wizard."

He chuckled. Unlike everyone else, I played in D&D what I was in real life. A Wizard. Powerful one too.

Bob sat on one shelf of a metal bookcase lining one wall. Butters had an operating table slash first aid station he'd put together from a cast-off hospital bed and other equipment he'd gleaned over the years. He was also a techno wiz, if there could be such a thing, and had created several magical devices with the assistance of Bob, my prior assistant. A second, wooden skull came to life beside Bob; Bonea, a 'child' of mine created when the fallen angel Lasciel and I…well. Long story.

"Bob, wake up," I said.

"Hello Father," Bonea said. She had a softly feminine voice.

"Hi Bonny, how are you?"

"Wonderful, thanks. How is life up there?"

"Meh, could be better."

Her eyes seemed to nod as Bob's came to life.

"Harry!" Bob said. His 'voice' sounded different, a cross between his old voice and Waldo Butters. "Long time no see!"

"I know, right? How you faring here with Butters?"

"Good, good. Boss. You know."

I nodded.

"What can I do for you, oh former Master of the fireblasting blasters?"

I chuckled. "I have a couple questions."

"Shoot."

I looked at Butters. "Um…"

"Privacy, right. You know where to find me. I need to get ready for work anyway."

I nodded. "Thanks buddy."

He left.

"So…how do I start this."

"The beginning usually works," Bob said.

I sighed. "Okay, so you know this…thing, around my neck, right?"

"Karrin Murphy?"

"No! Bob!"

He chuckled. "Yes, Harry, I helped to create it." Bob was a spirit of intellect. He'd forgotten more about magic than most people even knew.

"Anyway, so someone showed up the other day claiming to be Susan."

"Your former Paramour, right?"

"Right, and the person I had to kill on the altar in Chichen Itza."

"Right. And you didn't believe her story at face value…"

"I took off the collar so I could soulgaze her."

Bob tsked. "And your magic came all rushing back in. In addition to the Winter Mantle."

"Right. At first it was fine, but…"

"Tell me, Harry. What happened?"

"Well, Murphy and I had sex, and the tantric magic combined with the Mantle and my power caused us to switch bodies."

He giggled, gleefully. The thought of you in Murphy's tiny delectable body gives me goosebumps, Harry. Why'd you switch back?"

"Well, we were in the middle of trying to do just that, when Mab showed up. She wanted me to locate Molly and convince her to return to Arctis Tor."

"Ugh, never good to get in bad with one of the Winter Queens, Harry."

"Anyway, so it was a bad case of coitus interruptus if you know what I mean."

"Perfectly, she wrecked the atmosphere."

"And later, when we, um, coitus resumptus apparently, we didn't swap back. And Mab was affronted, and swapped us back herself."

"Okay, so what's the problem?"

"Well…ever since…"

He chuckled. "You're seeing men with a whole new attitude?"

"Yes. What can I do?"

He shrugged. "Harry, this is something of a unique situation. I've never considered even the most remote possibility of what would happen if we suppress your magic. You remember when we gave you that device, there could be side effects."

"And soul jumping is one of them?"

"You are an extremely powerful magic user without the Mantle, Harry. With the Mantle, you're like a superhero."

"So I'm my own worst enemy."

"Not you, specifically, Harry. Your Magic."

"Right."

"So there's nothing you can think of? No potion I can make or create?"

"I wish I could tell you something, Jefe, but this is new territory. Usually we are trying to release the magic within an individual, not supress it."

"Yes, Bob." I said, dryly

"It will probably return on its own, Harry. Give it some time. A soul jump like that is a traumatic experience, and you've experienced two in less than 24 hours."

I exhaled. "Okay, good."

"Meanwhile, you shouldn't wear that collar too long Harry. And I shouldn't need to tell you to be careful when you take it off."

"I will, Bob. Thank you."

"No Problemo, Mon Capitan!"

"I just don't have time for this. I tracked down Molly in Arctis Meridi yesterday, and Susan is back from the grave and needs to reconcile her sins or something. I do not have time for a sudden change in my sexuality."

Frustrated, I sat down in Waldo's gaming chair. It was multicolored, and he had multiple monitors with high end speakers. "Damn, I'm in the wronnggg business," I said.

"Well, Harry, there's always your brother."

"What's he got to do with this?"

"White Court Vampires are intrinsically Tantric. They utilize tantric magic at their core. I would suspect either he or his sister might be able to dig this out of you."

I gave that some thought. Thomas had been working at his salon, gently skimming energy from his clients each time he fixed their hair. With the Covid outbreak, he'd been stuck at home, without Justine. I knew he must be frustrated in many ways.

"I suppose it's worth a shot. Thanks."

"De nada."

I sighed. "Guess I better go see the Archive about Susan. I don't suppose you have any inkling on what she should do?"

"Are you sure she's actually Susan?"

I paused. "Who else could she be? She knew certain things about our first date no one else could have known?"

"Oh?"

"And she acts like Susan. Or, Susan stuck in a 17 year old body."

"Atoning for one's sins, has everything to do with the Atoner, Harry. She would be the one to determine who and how to atone. As a suggestion, you might have some kind of 'trial by fire' if you know what I mean."

"As in, she has to do some incredibly complex nigh impossible task in order to achieve full atonement?"

"Exactly. The powers on high don't want anyone to know they could simply apologize and be done with it. They want the guilty party to feel a sense of accomplishment at the end."

I sighed. "Ya know, I was enjoying this whole quarantine thing. Not once have I had to use my blasting rod."

"Sorry, Harry."

"I sorta figured. Thanks for the help anyway, buddy."

"My pleasure. Say, can you ask Butters if I can have a few nights off? I'd like to see a few people."

"I'll ask, but with this virus outbreak we're ordered to stay at least 6 feet away from anyone else."

"I know, I know, but it so boring down here and he never brings me any of the good stuff. Just turns on the porn and let's my eyes bleed."

I stood up. "I'll let him know."

"Be careful, Harry. Hope you get your sexuality back."

I chuckled, "Me too."

Butters and Andi were fixing breakfast, and they handed me an egg sandwich. "Got some time to join us, Harry?"

"Better not. I need to go get someone and head over to Ivy's place."

"The Archive?" Andi said. "Why do you need to see her?"

"Oh, this person has to 'atone for her sins.' I'm hoping Ivy has some ideas on who and how to do that."

"Good luck, Harry. Stay safe." Butters held the door open for me.

"Oh, and Bob wants a recess pass. Says he's getting bored with the porn and that it's making his eyes bleed."

Butters shook his head. "No can do. Last time I let him go, he ended up in a sorority house and I had to pay several thousand for broken beds and venereal disease innoculations."

I winced at that. "Well, I told him I'd ask. He did help me today."

"I'll take him down some naughty magazines. That should help. He's kind of old school when it comes to porn."

I chuckled. "Yes, he is."

"Good seeing you, Harry. Let me know how it all turns out?"

"I will. See you tonight, I hope."

"We'll be there!" Andi called from the living room.

Butters closed the door with a smile and a wave.

I folded myself into Murphy's tiny SUV, and drove off. It was nice to have empty streets, to see the budding green leaves, to feel the breeze and not have to breathe the everpresent stench of the factories based in Chicago. I had texted Susan last night before bed and told her I'd be by in the morning. She agreed, and told me to text her when I was around the corner, and she'd slip away. Her new "mother" was rather rigid about the quarantine, so we'd need to be discreet.

I found my way to a lovely two story house on the east side of chicago. I parked along the side, and sent a text from our spare phone to Susan.

A few moments later, she slipped into the car. "Drive," she said.

I followed her directions, and she exhaled, relaxing.

"Jesus, they have me on a tight leash."

"Not fun being a teenager again?"

"Not at all." She looked behind us.

"All clear?"

"I think I got away. Thank God."

"Congratulations." I smiled.

"So, where are we off to?"

"Well, I thought you might want to see your daughter."

She nodded, quietly.

"That work for you?"

She didn't say anything for a bit. "Would it…"

I waited.

"Would it be okay if I didn't? I mean, of course I want to see her. But with my very existence up in the air, I don't know if I could take it."

"Sure." I turned into a parking lot, and stopped.

She looked down, then put her hands over her face and started to cry.

"Hey," I put my hand on her back. "None of that now. We have time to see Maggie later. Where did you want to go?"

"I don't know, Harry. What do I do? I mean, this wouldn't be a bad life, you know? But each day I feel more…her, and less of me. How long before I'm just a teenage kid?"

I nodded. "What if that is the only option?"

"It would be like I really died, I guess."

"At least you have a body," I said. "I was a ghost the whole time."

"That must have been horrible, Harry. I'm so sorry you went through that."

A chime sounded somewhere. I blinked. "Did you hear that?"

She nodded. "What do you think it was?"

I have no…Susan suddenly slumped over, her head thumping on the glass of the SUV.

"Susan!" I said, shaking her. A sudden lassitude swept over me too. I sat back, trying to gather my magic, but the stupid collar was around my neck.

A moment later, oblivion intruded.