He meant to the supernatural marks on my wife’s neck and abdomen, reminders of things that should have killed her. “Still the same as before.” The marks had saved Julie’s life three times, from Koriniha’s knife, a flying undead’s claws, and even the fangs of her vampire mother, but there was no such thing as gifts when the Old Ones were concerned. Everything from them came with a price. We just didn’t know what that price was going to be yet. “We’ve been trying to find more information about the Guardian, who he was, where the magic comes from, maybe even how to get rid of it, but no luck yet.”

One of the Haights was telling a story about parking his truck on a blood fiend when the hostess led another big group into our section of the restaurant. There were a dozen of them, they were all male and all dressed the same, in matching tan cargo pants and tight black polo shirts that showed off that they all really liked to lift weights. Every last one of the newcomers was casually scanning the room for threats. It was obvious that the half of them that couldn’t sit with their backs to the wall were made slightly uncomfortable by that fact.

They were Monster Hunters. A Hunter gives off a certain vibe, and these men had it. Wary, cocky, and tough, they were Hunters all right, they just weren’t as cool as we were. VanZant scowled at the gold PT Consulting embroidered on the breast of every polo shirt. “Oh, no…” he muttered. “Not these assholes.”

“Friends of yours?” I whispered as the hostess seated them a few feet away. I noticed that most of them were studying us the same way we were studying them. Apparently my table gave off that Hunter vibe too. There was a little bit of professional curiosity and sizing up going on from both sides.

VanZant wasn’t happy to see them. “They’re a startup company headquartered in L.A. They’ve been around about a year. Loads of money, all the newest toys. They’re professional, but…”

From the look on Green’s face, he didn’t like PT Consulting much either. He spoke a little louder than he probably should have. “Their boss is a real prick and they’ve been weaseling in on some of our contracts. They’ll swipe your PUFF right out from under your nose if you aren’t careful.”