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

"And she said to ask me?" Thomas said.

We were having coffee out on the veranda of Thomas's skyscraper townhouse. Raith Industries owned the building and he had one half of the top floor, with Lara in the other half. Lara sat at the table with us, her dark hair unbound and slightly messy.

"She said something about someone who 'frequents your establishment will provide the answers I seek.'"

Thomas nodded. His sleek black hair shone in the morning sun, shading his face in a gentle light that played off his jawline. I hadn't really recognized until right now how truly Godlike he appeared, from his jawline down his pectorals, to his glutes. They all appeared carved from stone. It was no wonder he held such sway with the ladies, I could help but blush as I sat and sipped coffee, crossing my legs.

"Harry!" Lara said, setting her cup down.

Startled, I jumped a little. "What?"

"What they hell happened to you? Did something happen when Susan turned into a vampire?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Nooo."

She looked at me, turning her head so she could appraise me fully. "You have barely noticed me, this entire time and I had all my glam going!"

"Ahh. Yeah, that's a separate problem I was going to talk to…um…"

"Tell me!" she said.

I sighed. "Well…Tantric Magic has strange effects."

Thomas frowned. "Yes, but not usually a sexuality change. Give, Harry."

I tapped the collar. "So this thing makes it so I'm not blowing out your Climate Control System right now. It's a magic dampening collar that Butters' made. It's been something of a blessing — I can actually watch TV with Murphy, and a curse — when I took it off the other day, well…"

"Go on," Thomas said, in that deep voice.

"So when I took off the collar, the mantle and my magic rushed back in. And shortly thereafter Murphy and I made love…"

"And?" Lara said, literally sitting on the edge of her seat.

"And, well. I ended up in her body. Definitely a Tantric spell. It was like we were breathing each other in for awhile."

"Oh my Goddess!" Lara said, squealing and clapping her hands.

"But you rectified the situation?" Thomas said, still frowning.

I sighed. "It got rectified for us. So, we were trying to recreate it, early in the morning when Mab popped in on us because the Mantle had been disturbed."

"Coitus Interruptus!" Lara said. "I hate that more than anything in the World."

"Yeah, and when we tried to, ah, Coitus Continuous, we both kind of fell asleep before the swap could happen. So Mab took things into her own hands, and poofed us back to our own bodies."

"Oh dear." Lara said, staring at me.

"What?"

She giggled. "You going to tell her, or should I, brother?"

"I'm not a 'her,' I'm me, Harry."

Thomas put his hand up and wiggled it side to side. "You are and you aren't. You are Harry -ish, for sure. Thoughts, Memories, yes. But Lara and I both noticed your aura has changed, and you mentioned the sexuality shift."

"Right."

"So, you're partly back to being you, but not completely. You're partly still Murphy stuck in there."

"In fact, I'd say mostly Murphy, brother. It's really just memories and magic that are all Harry."

I blinked. "But I don't feel like I'm Murphy. Not at all. And I know she doesn't feel like me."

"That's the soul anchor," Thomas said. "That part is all you. I'd say you're about equal parts Murphy and Harry, right now. I wonder how well you might do Karate…"

"Aikido," I said, distantly. "With Jujitsu, Krav Maga, Taekwando, Judo, and King Fu. Karate is for Pansies."

Thomas grinned. "I rest my case."

Strangely, I could feel all of what I just said. Which, kind of scared me. Because if I had Murphy's skills in Martial Arts, I wondered if…

"Forzare," I said softly, holding my hand out to the side. A breeze flitted through the room, an invisible force.

"Oh, she isn't going to be happy about that. I've taken her martial arts, and I also have my Magic."

"That's because magic is mostly knowledge, Harry. Martial arts is muscle memory. Two very different things."

I nodded. "So how do we fix it?"

Bother and sister looked at each other. Then Thomas said: "He's not going to like that."

"What choice does she have?" Lara said, giggling.

"Hey!" I said, slapping the table. "I'm right here."

Thomas nodded, then steeled himself. "Um…you need a third party to become involved in your tantric circle. Maybe a fourth party."

"How do you mean?"

Lara smiled. "It means, Harry Karrin Murphy Dresden, one of us needs to 'help' you along to patch you back up. Spirit, mind, body, and souls."

I nodded. "What would that look like? And isn't spirit and soul the same thing?"

"Nope, two totally different essences. Spirit is your nature; how happy you are most days, how forceful. It's tied to personality. Soul is directly tied to the Aura, and is related to the component of yourself that is also a component of the One, or God, Goddess, etc. We like to call it the Thrum."

"Okayyy," I scratched my head.

"Regardless, you'll need a powerful Tantric Mage to untangle you." Thomas, looked over at his sister. "And Lara happens to be quite knowledgeable in that."

I nodded. "What would we need to do?"

She smiled. "I would be an intermediary of your Aspects."

"I don't know what that means, and I've been a Wizard for a long time."

"You know how you consider Ivy the Archive? The depository of all of mankind's knowledge?"

"Yes."

"In a similar circumstance, Lara would become the Conduit. She would take in both of your Aspects, reassimilate them, and cast them back into your vessels."

"I'd perform the soul swap, Karrin," Lara said.

"It's Harry, not…" but was it? Now that she said it, I felt something deep inside me stir.

"Ahh, someone is coming to understand the depth of the issue, aren't they?" Lara said, with a grin.

"Look, just get us fixed. I have to deal with Susan who's now an uber vamp-monster before time runs out.

"Would you like to take care of this now?" Lara said. "I can be over in an hour or so."

"Yes, that would be great." I stood up. "Is there anything I need to prepare?"

"Both of you need to shower. Get as clean as possible."

"Why? Does it interrupt the spell?"

"No, but I don't want COVID germs all over myself."

I chuckled. "Vamps can get COVID?"

"Absolutely," Thomas said. "No one is safe."

"Oh, what a world this has become," I said.

"Go home. Shower. Candles. Anything else that will set the mood for us," Lara said.

"What will we do regarding what the Archive said?" I looked at Thomas.

"Look," Thomas said, also standing up and putting a hand on my shoulder. "You aren't going to be good to anyone, until you're one hundred percent 'Harry.' Get your things sorted, then we can take a look at that. I have an idea, but again, I don't think you're going to like it."

"Great," I said, patting him back.

And I clenched my jaw against the way his hand felt against my shoulder.

An hour later, we were prepared. Murphy and I sat on the couch, arm in arm. Both of us showered and in bathrobes. I had talked her through the encounter, and we found many of their answers to be true.

For one thing, Murphy apparently had my affinity for dogs and cats, now. I had always loved dogs, but now when I thought of Mouse, I thought of him as a giant walking allergy. Murphy was allergic to pets and had never really liked them, hence why Mouse and Mister were both in the care of the Carpenters at the moment.

My abilities extended into Murphy's martial arts, but also Tai0chee. Which was weird. And yoga. When I used to do yoga, it did not look like yoga. Now I could downward dog like the best of them.

Lara arrived.

She looked pretty. No makeup, going au natural, and she wore leggings, a black tank top, and comfortable sneakers. Her hair was pulled up into a high pony, with her dark hair swishing around her shoulders. I liked her perfume.

"So what do we do?" Murphy said, after we'd said hello and exchanged brief hugs.

"Pillows, cushions, into the center. Harry, I'm sure you're familiar with a circle, we will be creating a tantric circle with 7 candles."

It took us some time, but we followed her directions. I lit the last candle.

"Draw the curtains, we don't want the outside light to disrupt us."

We did as instructed. Lara took out some silk handkerchief in different colors and laid them over the lights. It created a lovely atmosphere.

"Now, we need to remove that collar, Harry." Lara touched it.

"Murphy, if you could be so kind." I knelt on one of the pillows. Murphy touched the release and I felt the sweet sweet flow of magic slide back into my body.

"Harry," Murphy said.

"Hmm?" I was starting to feel a little lightheaded from the incense candles.

"Do you think we should let, you know who, know what we're doing?"

"Mmm." I said. "That would be bad, if she showed up in the middle of this."

"I can cloak our activities from any outside influences," Lara said.

"Now, we sit inside the circle. Hands on knees."

Murphy and I sat, indian style, crossing our legs and resting our hands on our knees.

"Palms up." Lara did the same. We made a triangle, Murphy, Me, and Lara. On my left was Lara, on my Right Murphy.

"Perfect," Lara said, shaking her hair back. "Now, join hands."

I did. Murphy's hand was in my much larger one, warm and soft. Lara on the other side, cooler, but her skin felt much smoother. Murphy had callouses from years of martial arts and weaponry. Lara's hands felt smooth, silky and warm.

"Inhale through the nose, out through the mouth."

Soft music began playing. I watched as they both closed their eyes. I followed suit, inhaling deeply through my nose, and out through my mouth.

"Relax every part of you," Lara said in a soft voice. "Feel the breath drawn into your lungs, and all the contaminants and illness breathed out. In comes the good air, and out goes the bad."

She struck a rhythm with her voice. The music, the aromas, the warmth all surrounded me. It felt so nice, so peaceful, so warm.

"Nice, peaceful, and warm," Lara said, again. I hadn't even realized she'd been speaking. It was like her words were my thoughts.

"My words, your thoughts," she said in a low voice.

"Feel the relaxation slide up your body, beginning with your toes…"

I could feel the warmth as she spoke in that soft low tone. It was so easy to listen to. So easy to let go, relax, and listen.

"So easy to just fall into a state of trance with me…"

I felt myself breathing, my soul leaving with each breath. I felt their hands, grasping mine, intermingling, entwining. It was so easy to let go…

"So natural, so normal. It feels so nice to be in this state with me."

I could feel myself floating up, my spirit entwining with theirs, becoming one. No beginning…

"…No end. Each of us combining into the other…"

Our souls meshed together, becoming one.

"One soul, one spirit, one Essence…"

I could feel with each word, the reality coming true.

"Now I will count down from ten. When I hit one, you will fall into a deep state of consciousness. Ten…"

I could feel myself slowly getting sleepy.

"Nine…"

Lower and lower I sank. My eyelids getting heavier and heavier.

"Four…"

My mind felt so sluggish and slow. My thoughts grinding to a halt.

"One…"

Darkness intruded.