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"If you say so" His joke failed The wistfulness faded from his expression, and he almost looked a little sad "But you did have a certain optihtmares had robbed me of that, but I couldn’t say it aloud "I’rin returned, and I couldn’t help the tug atthe house of a Covenant witch in the cold Chicago winter irritating, I’d have been wrong It had nothing on slinking down a dark alley with the hipping off Lake Michigan to visit a ht have information about the brand But the as the only relief to be found fros that inundated the alley The chill or the stench, I wasn’t sure which orse

And I wasn’t even getting paid to deal with this bullshit

"Here we are" Claude halted in front of a black door painted in such a flat tone it looked as if it had been done with a spray can

I buht his vampire eyes A tiny symbol--three lines stacked, evenly spaced, only about an inch long, with an odd swirl beneath them They appeared to have been scratched into the paint

"Lovely," Iopen

I backed up a step, and with one hand I reached for the gun I no longer carried, and with the other hand I sought a badge that I’d surrendered The iant who I suspected would have to bend down sih the space But he wasn’t only tall, his shoulders ide and he had ariants had been real He dwarfed Claude

"Yeah?" he said through the long black beard, peppered in gray, that covered his face and neck

"Customers"

Claude looked as if he would have saidAfter the word custo the door fall froracefully, as if he’d expected the oodness for varin and I frowned I’d needed to be reassured by hier

The alleyway had shtening Not stinky--no But the scents of the alleyway had at least been identifiable--normal, even The hallway stank of fire and s The sered thebrightness of the enfla iron I blinked quickly even as I followed Claude closely, suppressing the urge to grip his jacket to e to panic

Claude didn’t see the hallway, and I silently envied hiht We followed the reater darkness

My heart jumped into my throat I didn’t speak, didn’t cry out, but Claude paused to reach back and take h , I let hirasp at him desperately

After what felt like hours, the ramp evened out and a small room was revealed Ventilation fans hovered over what looked like old-fashioned blacksmith fire pits, a curious le fluorescent bulb glowed uncovered above a large metal desk that seemed to divide the customer area from the fire pits in the back

I assuht, it wasal-sized notepad and pen, there was no doubt how he used the thing

"What’re you want’n?" he asked, and I struggled to figure out the accent Sounded Irish, but was a little off Maybe he’d lived in the States long enough for it to change a bit That didn’t sound quite right either But I was no accent expert

"Inforiant set the pen down on the notebook and leaned back in his oversized chair Just as large as he’d appeared outside, he looked even low of the fluorescent bulb Thick gray hair stood at haphazard angles on his head, as if oken hiy skin covered the rest of his hide and the backs of his hands Not pocklanced at the fire pit behind hiot no information for the likes of you"

"What’s the e down on the counter

The giant leaned back, crossing his big arers"

Claude went still--too still--like only vampires could "I don’t much care if you like me," he said, voice still even, almost amused "I’ll bet you don’t care either When it couy’s"

The beardsmile "S’pose it does, at that"

Claude pulled outof the brand and set it on theyou know about this syasp

"You’re ripping aped; I’d never seen the vaht, I alint touched his narrowed eyes "Maybe should charge ya double"

"Maybe I should kick the piss out of your witch ass"

"Like to see you try, shriant, and amusement broke slowly onto both of their expressions as my ht be in danger Not funny