Description: Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page A RESTORATION OF FAITH - Takes place before Storm Front VIGNETTE - Takes place between Death Masks and Blood Rites SOMETHING BORROWED IT'S MY BIRTHDAY, TOO HEOROT DAY OFF BACKUP THE WARRIOR LAST CALL LOVE HURTS AFTERMATH ALSO BY JIM BUTCHER THE DRESDEN FILES STORM FRONT FOOL MOON GRAVE PERIL SUMMER KNIGHT DEATH MASKS BLOOD RITES DEAD BEAT PROVEN GUILTY WHITE NIGHT SMALL FAVOR TURN COAT CHANGES THE CODEX ALERA FURIES OF CALDERON ACADEM'S FURY CURSOR'S FURY CAPTAIN'S FURY PRINCEPS' FURY FIRST LORD'S FURY ROC Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.) Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.) Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi - 110 017, India Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.) Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England First published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. First Printing, November 2010 Copyright Jim Butcher, 2010 For additional copyright information, refer to p. 419 All rights reserved REGISTERED TRADEMARK-MARCA REGISTRADA LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA: Butcher, Jim, 1971- Side jobs: stories from the Dresden files/Jim Butcher. p. cm. ISBN: 9781101464533 1. Dresden, Harry (Fictitious character)-Fiction. 2. Wizards-Fiction. 3. Chicago (Ill.)-Fiction. I. Title. PS3602.U85S53 2010 813'.6-dc22 2010028768 Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. PUBLISHER'S NOTE This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated. "A Restoration of Faith" copyright Jim Butcher, 2002. First published on www.jim-butcher.com. "Vignette" copyright Jim Butcher, 2002. First published on www.jim-butcher.com. "Something Borrowed" copyright Jim Butcher, 2006. First published in My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding , edited by P. N. Elrod (St. Martin's Griffin). "It's My Birthday, Too" copyright Jim Butcher, 2007. First published in Many Bloody Returns , edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner (Ace Books). "Heorot" copyright Jim Butcher, 2007. First published in My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon , edited by P. N. Elrod (St. Martin's Griffin). "Day Off" copyright Jim Butcher, 2008. First published in Blood Lite , edited by Kevin J. A nderson (Pocket/Simon & Schuster). The Warrior copyright Jim Butcher, 2009. First published in Mean Streets (Roc). "Last Call" copyright Jim Butcher, 2009. First published in Strange Brew , edited by P. N. Elrod (St. Martin's Griffin). "Love Hurts" copyright Jim Butcher, 2010. First published in Songs of Love and Death, edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (Gallery/Simon & Schuster). Aftermath copyright Jim Butcher, 2010. Published here for the first time in any form by permission of the author. A RESTORATION OF FAITH Takes place before Storm Front This is the first of the Dresden Files stories, chronologically, and it was the first time I tried to write short fiction for the professional market. I originally put it together as a class assignment at the University of Oklahoma's Professional Writing program, more than two years before Storm Front found a home at Roc. This one won't win any awards, because it is, quite frankly, a novice effort. It was perhaps the third or fourth short story I'd ever written, if you include projects in grade school. I had barely learned to keep my feet under me as a writer, and to some degree that shows in this piece. Certainly, the editors to whom I submitted this story seemed to think it wasn't up to par for professional publication, and I think that was a perfectly fair assessment. Read this story for what it is-an anxious beginner's first effort, meant to be simple, straightforward fun. ------------------------------ I struggled to hold on to the yowling child while fumbling a quarter into the pay phone and jamming down the buttons to dial Nick's mobile. "Ragged Angel Investigations," Nick answered. His voice was tense, I thought, anxious. "It's Harry," I said. "You can relax, man. I found her." "You did?" Nick asked. He let out a long exhalation. "Oh, Jesus, Harry." The kid lifted up one of her oxford shoes and mule-kicked her leg back at my shin. She connected, hard enough to make me jump. She looked like a parent's dream at eight or nine years old, with her dimples and dark pigtails-even in her street-stained schoolgirl's uniform. And she had strong legs. I got a better hold on the girl and lifted her up off the ground again while she twisted and wriggled. "Ow. Hold still." "Let me go, beanpole," she responded, turning to glower back at me before starting to kick again. "Listen to me, Harry," Nick said. "You've got to let the kid go right this minute and walk away." "What?" I said. "Nick, the Astors are going to give us twenty-five grand to return her before nine p.m." "I got some bad news, Harry. They aren't going to pay us the money." I winced. "Ouch. Maybe I should just drop her off at the nearest precinct house, then." "The news gets worse. The parents reported the girl kidnapped. The police band is sending two descriptions around town to Chicago PD, and they match guess who." "Mickey and Donald?" "Heh," Nick said. I heard him flick his Bic and take a drag. "We should be so lucky." "I guess it's more embarrassing for Mr. and Mrs. High-and-Mighty to have their kid run away than it is to have her kidnapped." "Hell. Kidnapped girl gives them something to talk about at their parties for months. Makes them look richer and more famous than their friends, too. Of course, we'll be in jail, but what the hell?" "They came to us," I protested. "That won't be the way they tell it." "Dammit," I said. "If you get caught with her, it could be trouble for both of us. The Astors got connections. Ditch the girl and get back home. You were there all night." "No, Nick," I said. "I can't do that." "Let the boys in blue bring her in. That'll clear you and me both." "I'm up on North Avenue, and it's after dark. I'm not leaving a nine-year-old girl out here by herself." "Ten," s

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