I don't know what Taylor did. After we got to the spot where the timeslip had dumped us at the start, he stared at it until the air began to ripple. No, not the air. My fur stood up on end, and I bared my fangs without meaning to. Reality itself rippled, until something, like the shape of a door, stood before us.

Taylor turned to look at us with a pleased grin. "Ladies first," he said, looking at Joanna and gesturing at the 'door'. She smiled and walked through the warped space, dissapearing.

"You know, back home, women would call me a caveman if I tried a line like that," Dresden said, leaning on his staff.

"Have you tried being charming?" Taylor asked with a raised eyebrow. Stark snickered, and even Gordon smiled slightly. Dresden didn't.

"You told her to go first in case something went wrong, didn't you?" Dresden asked.

"I would never...be caught doing that," Taylor said lightly. "I prefer my clients alive, so they can pay me. Now, come on. I'll even go first if that will calm you down..." and he walked through as well. After a few moments, we all followed, Dresden grumbling about smug pricks.

And so, we returned to the Nightside. To Blaiston Street, more precisely. I couldn't tell how much time we'd spent in the timeslip, as the sky here never changed. It played havoc with my instincts. Still, it didn't feel like we'd been gone that long.

I hoped we weren't too late to save that kid. If we were, someone would pay.

"Dresden, Taylor," I said. "You were both hired to find Cathy. Taylor was hired by her mother," I looked at Joanna, who nodded. "But what about you, Dresden?"

"Why ask now?" The wizard replied. I frowned. Hold your cards close to your chest, eh?

"Why not? I'd have asked earlier, but we were kind of busy fighting for our lives."

"Take it easy, Clifford," Stark said. "Maybe he's embarrassed by his client. Maybe some creepy fuck wanted a kid to act out his little fantasies. Like King of Skin, or Jack Rackham."

"Don't confuse me with yourself, Stark," Dresden scowled. "If you must know... Walker hired me."

Silence fell at that. We all knew Walker, or knew of him. The Voice of the Authorities, and their attack dog.

It was Taylor who broke the silence.

"Why you?" He asked. "You've only been here playing detective for a month, and Walker already trusts you? "

"It's because he doesn't trust me that he hired me," Dresden replied. "This way, if I fail, he can say he never even heard about me."

Taylor looked intently at him, then chuckled. "You too, huh? I used to be the expendable chump, you know? For dirty, dangerous jobs... I guess you are my successor, after all."

"Thanks. I've always wanted to be considered expendable," Dresden said drily.

"My successor... yes," Taylor said, sounding distracted. "But not for long. I'm back in town now."

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Stark looked at me, eyebrows raised. "Now who's comparing sizes?"

"This house," Gordon said, gesturing at the building before us. "I had a vision of our runaway entering it."

Taylor and Stark nodded. I guess they had their own methods of tracking people. My own senses could detect a person inside the house.

"Right," Dresden said. "Let's get this show on the road. Walker warned me that, if I messed up this job, he and his people would turn Blaiston upside down to find Cathy, and to hell with the consequences."

Taylor noded. "Still in love with the scorched earth policy, I see."

Suzie turned to Joanna, frowning. "Why is your kid that important?" She asked. "Why would Walker care about her so much?"

Joanna shook her head, eyes wide. "I... I don't know. I've never met the man..."

"Lucky you," Taylor said with a sardonic grin. "Sadly, I have. And let me tell you, Joanna: Walker doesn't give a damn about anyone or anything in the Nightside. In fact, he only cares about his family, out in the normal world. He sees this all," He gestured at Blaiston and the Nightside beyond it. "As a giant freakshow, and would gladly burn it down to the ground and wipe the slate clean, if he could. I know. He's told me."

"Sounds like a nice guy," Slim said. "I once had a boss like that."

And so, we entered the house. And the nightmare started.

I knew something was wrong the moment I saw the interior. The house looked old, but showed no signs of having ever been inhabited. There were no photos or pictures on the walls or tables. No carpets or rugs on the floor. Nothing.

And yet... there was something in this house. Beside our runaway, Cathy. I could feel something huge, breathing and stirring. I said as much, and Taylor nodded.

"Things are rarely what they seem, in the Nightside," he replied.

Reassuring.

We went up a flight of rotten stairs. They creaked and groaned under even Joanna's feet, but supported my bulk without collapsing. Made no damn sense. My wolf hated this place.

Eventually, we reached to top of the stairs. We were standing in a hallway with a single, half-open door at the end. Weak, disturbing giggling was coming through it.

We entered with our weapons at the ready, Joanna in the middle. I took point, to protect the other in case whatever was there attacked.

Inside the bare room, we found Cathy Barrett.

She was laying on the floor, covered by a yellow raincoat. I could tell she had once been pretty:fair-skinned and blonde, with blue eyes. But now, she was gaunt and pale, with a disturbing grin on her face and a feverish look in her eyes. She looked... wrong. Twisted.

"Cathy?" Taylor said gently, stepping forward. "My name is John Taylor. Your mom hired me to find you... she's here now as well."

Cathy looked past John, at Joanna, and her grin widened.

"That's not my mom," she giggled.

And the house shifted.

Suddenly, I was home.

The home Daniela and I had bought. It was bigger than the one before our marriage- but then, we didn't have children at the time.

I was in the living room. Dani was on the couch, smiling, our twins, Russell and Olaf, in her arms. Our daughter, Sarah, hugged me from behind.

"Why are you standing like that, dad? We've been trying to talk to you for so long, but you didn't answer..."

She was right. Ever since Legion had given me a cure that erased my wolfish nature, I have often drifted off, staring into space. PTSD, the doctor had said.

Reginald Purdy, my former boss and my kids' godfather, entered the room. He was smiling, too. We all were. He wiped his lips with a napkin, as was his habit.

"It's good to see you're home, Jason," he said.

I walked to him, and Reginald opened his arms to hug me. I raised my hands...

...and ripped his head off.

And so, the illusion was gone.

So, this was it. Ensnare our minds like a lotus flower, until we went mad like Cathy. But I had faced something like this, during a mission with Legion, in the temple of a monstrous goddess. Whatever this was, it would not beat me.

I was back in the bare room. The floor, walls and ceilings were shifting and flowing like candle wax. The floor was like quicksand, and my feet had already sunk in. It took all my strength to free myself. I looked at the others, who seemed entranced like I had been. Then at Cathy, who was no longer covered by the raincoat. Her gaunt, malnourished body had fused with the house, but she was laughing.

"It's an illusion!" I roared. "Whatever it's showing you, it's bullshit! Snap out of it!"