Dresden Files 4 Summer Knight Jim Bu

Description:

It's two years after the events in Storm Front, and just a few days before Midsummer. Harry Dresden is coping with severe depression. While trying to find a cure for Susan's vampirism, his life is unravelling. Billy Borden asks Dresden for a meeting at a local park. He tells Dresden that he had a call from a potential client, Ms. Sommerset. Billy set up an appointment for Dresden to meet her later that day. Ghouls attack them in the public park. Billy morphs into a werewolf to save Dresden's life.
Dresden arrives late for his appointment. Ms. Sommerset is Mab, the Winter Queen. Mab purchased Dresden’s debt from his fairy godmother, Leanansidhe. Queen Mab tells Dresden he can pay off his debt by doing three favors. The first favor is for him to find a murderer and recover something stolen. Mab declares that Dresden is her chosen Emissary, giving him the authority to conduct this investigation. Dresden refuses her offer.
Dresden attends a meeting of the White Council, the governing body of wizards. They are debating expelling Dresden and turning him over to the Red Court vampires for provoking a war with the Red Court vampires. Dresden is saved from expulsion by his mentor Ebenezar McCoy, after McCoy is elected to the open seat on the Senior Council. Dresden is forced into a trial. He must accept Mab's offer and complete it, in order to secure passage rights through Winter Sidhe territory. If he succeeds, he will be confirmed as a full wizard. If he fails to gain Mab's safe passage, the White Council will hand him over to the vampires as a peace offering.
Back at his apartment, Dresden finds Elaine, his former fellow apprentice and lover. After escaping from DuMorne, she found sanctuary in the Summer Court. In order to repay her debts to the Summer Lady, Elaine became the Emissary of the Summer Court. Morgan arrives and tries to provoke Dresden into a duel. Dresden refuses to fight. Morgan leaves in disgust. After consulting Bob, Dresden discovers that Reuel was the Summer Knight, a mortal invested with a substantial amount of the Summer Queen’s power. Each Fae Court has a Knight who works jointly for the Queen Mother, the Queen, and the Lady--the Queen’s heiress.
Impersonating an FTD deliveryman, Dresden goes to Ronald Reuel's apartment. He stumbles into an ogre ransacking Reuel’s place. The ogre escapes with a satchel of papers, leaving behind a photo. Dresden goes to Reuel’s funeral, looking for the teenagers in the photo. He finds them, but they know who he is and run for it. Dresden follows them into the back alley, but one of them stuns him and tosses him in a dumpster.
Billy helps Dresden out of the dumpster and gives him a fresh pizza, as previously requested. Dresden summons Toot-toot, a wyldfae. In exchange for the pizza, Dresden gets information and a guide to the Winter and Summer Ladies. Dresden’s interview with the sadistic Winter Lady convinces him that she did not kill the Summer Knight.
Suddenly, Dresden and Billy are accosted by a couple of the teens from Reuel’s funeral. The girl, Meryl, apologizes for tossing him into the dumpster. She explains that Reuel had been protecting them. Now that Reuel is dead, one of the changelings, Lily, is missing. Dresden tells Meryl and Fix that he will look for Lily. After the changelings leave, Dresden assigns Billy to call every morgue in the Chicago area with Lily’s deion, while he works Mab’s case.
After Billy leaves, Dresden discovers Elaine in the back seat of his car, dying of multiple stab wounds. He follows Elaine’s delirious advice to take her to the Summer Lady, Aurora. Aurora heals Elaine, and briefly comforts Dresden. She is not forthcoming with any details on Reuel’s murder or Lily’s disappearance. Instead, she explains that the death of the Summer Knight an