"Steel with a thin silver coating," she said. "Silver won't outright kill anything, but it does stop a supernatural from healing as quickly."

"Why not make a bunch of silver bullets?"

"It would be very expensive."

"Well, at least some myths have a basis in fact even if you can't insta-kill a vampire like Blade does."

"Blade." She snorted. "What a joke." She pulled a couple of sheathed knives from a duffel bag and added them to the pile on the table. The last item she removed was a black ninja-like outfit, hoodie and all.

"Are you sure you guys aren't really ninjas?"

"Ninjas are a lot cooler," she said, a tiny smile fighting its way onto her stern face.

I reached out a tentative hand and touched hers where she'd let it rest on the table. "If we survive this, I'd really like to know more about what you are," I said.

She sighed and pulled her hand away. "If we survive this, we can't hang out or pal around, period. My parents may not hunt you down, but that wouldn't stop my brothers from stepping in. They have a thing for protecting their little sister." She pshawed and looked annoyed.

"I get it," I said. "Two older brothers, Templar Knights, no less. I'll bet being a little sister has been quite a tribulation for you with those two beating the snot out of anyone who gave you a cross look." I laughed. "No wonder you got so ticked off whenever I tried to protect you."

She blessed me with a genuine smile. "I'm not some weak little girl who can't stand up for herself."

"Most girls aren't vampiric Templars either."

"On that we can agree," she said. "Come on. Let's see how you handle a real sword."

We went into the backyard and fenced. She was far better than I was, although I'd never practiced against someone who used two short swords, or anyone who used real swords for that matter. The fencing classes I'd taken years ago were of some use since the rapier was one of the swords we'd used. After an hour, my muscles adapted to the feel and balance of the weapon. It really was a superb piece of work. My reflexes were quick, and my body supernaturally agile, but Elyssa's well-tuned muscle memory knew exactly what to do in situations I had never faced. I thought she might take my head off if I didn't use every ounce of skill I had.

"Are you really trying to kill me?" I asked, panting after barely deflecting the two-pronged attacks from her short swords

"Do you think the vampires will stop and give you a breather?" she said, pushing both of her swords against mine. She swept her foot low, knocking me on my back and placed a sword at my throat.

I pounded my fist on the grass in frustration. If the vampires were this good, I was screwed. Having my ass relentlessly kicked by a girl was not the best thing for my ego either. After countless lost bouts, I finally earned a draw from her. We were both panting from the exercise.

"You're not bad," she said as we sat on the porch swing to recover from the intense workout.

"If by not bad you mean I'm a notch above useless, then thanks."

"No, I really think with some practice you could beat me."

"And your brothers are better than you?"

"Much better. And stronger."

"Great. I hope they don't figure out where you are."

"They're out of the state right now on assignment."

"Isn't this an interesting sight," said a male voice.

Elyssa and I leapt to our feet, swords at the ready. Shelton smiled back, his staff pointing at us.

"How did you find me?" I asked.

"I'm a detective."

"You're a sorcerer, not a detective."

"There's no reason I can't be both, kiddo."

"Who is this?" Elyssa asked.

"This," I said, waving my hand at Shelton, "is Harry Shelton. He tried to capture me and my dad for the bounty."

Her eyes narrowed. "What is he doing here, then?"

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" I asked him. "You said you wouldn't get involved."

He shrugged. "I got to thinking about things. About how you got out of my containment circle—"

"He got out of a circle?" Elyssa asked.

Shelton gave Elyssa an appraising look. "It held his dad just fine. But not him."

"That's impossible," she said. "You can't escape a circle if it's done properly."

"Like I said, his dad was good and trapped, but he stepped across the line like there was nothing to it."

Elyssa's forehead crinkled. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Sure it does," Shelton said. "He's part human."

"Justin is part human?" she asked, her eyes full of disbelief.

"Yeah, just don't let it get around," I said. "Don't want to ruin my inhuman rep."

"What does that mean?" Elyssa said to Shelton. "I've never heard of half-human demon spawn."

"Good question," Shelton said. "Wish I knew the answer."

I cleared my throat dramatically. "I hate to break up all the discussion about my humanity or lack thereof, but why are you here, Shelton?"

"Well, kid, I felt terrible about leaving you to do this on your own. I dug into the politics of this situation and it turns out some rogues took your dad."

"I already told him that, thank you very much," Elyssa said.

"Well, if you'll let me finish, little lady, you might find out where I'm going with this." He rested his gaze on her for a moment before continuing. "Since they are rogues, there is nothing politically preventing a sorcerer from taking action against them."

"You're going to help?" I said.

"I'm thinking about it." He nodded his head at Elyssa. "First, maybe you can explain why Little Miss Templar is here."

Elyssa and I looked at each other awkwardly. I finally answered.

"We used to date."

"Before I knew he was demon spawn," she amended hastily.

"You weren't complaining," I said.

"That was before you tried to rape my mind!"

Shelton held up his hands. "Whoa, boys and girls. Let's get back to the matter at hand and leave the lovers' spat for later."

"We are not lovers," Elyssa said, crossing her arms and scowling.

"You Templars think you're so much better than anyone else, don't you?" I said.

"Enough!" roared Shelton. "I'm not gonna involve myself if you two don't shut up and act professional."

I narrowed my eyes and took a couple of steps toward Shelton. "I know you're not here just from the goodness of your heart. Spit it out. What's really in it for you?"

"You saved my life, kiddo. Easy as that."

"Sorry, but I'm calling bull." And then something occurred to me. "Is the Red Syndicate offering a bounty on the rogues?"

Elyssa pulled out her smartphone and tapped on the screen. "Yes they are," she said, showing me a website. "Over two grand each."

"You've gotta be kidding me," I said. "Does every supernatural group have a website?"

"Not every supernatural group is stuck in the Dark Ages," she replied.

I looked back at Shelton. "Money is your game, huh?"

He had the gall to smile back at me. "Okay, so there are bounties. I admit I'm not doing it entirely out of the goodness of my soul."

"I should have known," I replied with an eye roll. "Anyone who'd capture a father and son for a bounty just because the in-laws don't like them is a lousy person."

He gave me a hurt look. "I'm not that bad. Besides, you'll need the extra help."

I put my hand on Elyssa's shoulder and regarded him with narrowed eyes. "I won't lie. I can use all the help I can get. The difference is I trust Elyssa with my life even if she thinks I'm a monster. You, on the other hand, are a mercenary. If things get a little hairy, I can't count on you because all you care about is money.

"We plan to sneak in and out with my dad. If we're lucky, we won't even have to talk to a vamp, much less fight one. How does that figure into your bounty hunting?"

"I don't plan on running in guns blazing, kid." He leaned on his staff. It was not the same one I'd destroyed, but looked similar if a little more worn around the edges. "I want to do a stealthy hit and run, too. I figure I can capture a few rogue vamps along the way and bounty up with the Red Syndicate."

"If you come with us, you'll have to stick to our plan," I said.

"Make him swear on his soul, Justin," Elyssa said.

Shelton blanched. "C'mon, you can trust me. I promise."

"Swear it on your soul," I said.

"Look, if something happens and I accidentally break that pledge, it could strip me of my powers."

"I don't know you, Shelton," I said. "I can't risk Elyssa or my father's life on the possibility of you going off plan. Either leave or swear you'll follow mine and Elyssa's orders and not purposefully do anything that would compromise our operation."

Elyssa pulled out a thick piece of chalk from her pouch and drew a neat infinity symbol on the porch concrete. "Swear it and seal it, sorcerer."

Shelton cursed a blue streak and dithered, staring at the symbol. Finally, he walked over and repeated the pledge. Elyssa made him repeat it with her exact wording. Shelton cut the tip of his pinky finger and pressed a drop of blood into the center of the infinity symbol. The air popped and I heard the same electrical crackle I'd heard from the circle he'd tried to trap me and Dad in.

"Damned self-righteous Templars," he muttered.

"Pig bounty hunters," Elyssa said, baring her fangs with a grin.

With a team like this, I was more certain than ever we were going to die.