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had ever wanted me to meet them at church, and I hoped this wasn’t a prelude to some “save my soul” lecture. Over the last several months, I’d met with many people who had promised me they could help me with my particular problem. Every lead turned out to be a dud. Most of them presented solutions I’d already thought of but discarded for practical reasons. A few of them wanted something from me and promised way more than they could possibly deliver, and one had been a dumbass vampire looking for a mate. That particular meeting didn’t end well. It had been a frustrating couple of months as I was ready to do the job, but I couldn’t find the right tools.
    I have stolen from many a dangerous place. I’ve broken into houses sealed with magic and locks and protected by some really scary things. I’ve been shot at, stabbed, attacked by more animals than I can count, and felt the awful effects of magic. But I was scared of this job. I also knew I couldn’t back down.
    Ever since I watched Lucas Halfer drag my friend to Hell, I’d been sure of one thing. I was going to get her back. I was going to do what I did best. I was going to steal.
    “If you would please follow me,” the father said, his dark eyes imploring. “They are very impatient.”
    Neil held up his hand. He wouldn’t be hurried.
    “What is it?” Daniel asked, taking in a deep breath to see if he could figure it out.
    “There’s one human, that’s you,” Neil said to the priest. “I can smell the remnants of many humans, candle wax, incense, and someone used a steam cleaner a couple of hours ago to cover up…ewww, vomit.”
    The father took a step back, his eyes wide. “The Peters boy apparently has the stomach flu. They shouldn’t have brought him to mass.”
    But Neil was continuing his litany. The harder he tried, the more his eyes took on a distinctly wolf-like stare. “You had macaroni and cheese for dinner, probably microwaved, and then some cognac, but that was the good stuff. Oh, and the faintest whiff of troll. Bet you didn’t know you had that in your congregation.”
    “What is it?” the father asked, looking at Neil like he was something deadly. Neil might look like a sweet little club kid, but I’d seen him rip apart an enemy and eat the remains. He especially liked the second part.
    “He is no concern of yours, Father,” I said with an emphasis on the “he” part. I don’t like my friends being treated like freaks even when they act like freaks. Besides, it just showed how little the father knew when he was terrified of Neil but had paid no real attention to Daniel.
    Of course, the father was probably under the mistaken impression that vampires couldn’t enter a holy place. It was one of those myths vampires had started themselves to put humans at ease. It gave the false impression that one could identify a vampire because they followed certain rules. As Daniel pushed his way into the vestibule, I felt bad for the little priest. Vamps rarely followed any rule they hadn’t made themselves.
    “That’s weird.” Danny sounded slightly disturbed, which sent a chill through me. If something spooked Daniel, it was usually bad—really bad.
    “Yeah, you’re getting that, too?” Neil stood beside Daniel, both staring into the building.
    “What?” I asked, trying to keep a professional demeanor. What I was really wondering was “when do we start running?” A thousand things ran through my head. When you live the kind of life I do, you can call up some real nightmares when you try hard enough.
    “Nothing.” Daniel crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m getting absolutely nothing.”
    “Not nothing, exactly,” Neil qualified. “More like an absence of something.”
    “And the definition of nothing is?” Daniel replied with a sarcastic zing.
    “We really must go.” The priest’s hands fluttered restlessly, gesturing down the hall and then clutching at one another. “They will grow angry.”
    “You’re