"You found this near the murder site? Why didn't you show it to Reese?"

Natalie had dropped by the loft to give Nick the next-of-kin information when he showed her the knife.

"Look at the hilt."

The discovery shocked her. "It's the club on the flyer!"

"Can you imagine what would happen if I did turn it in to the captain. He'd go to investigate and probably find a lair of none-to-pleased vampires who obviously don't care too much for our laws. I mean, they advertise in wide public and left a calling card at a murder scene."

"Are you going to look into it?" Her eyes were darting back and forth in excitement.

"I have to," he replied. "This is my territory, and I'm not about to let some renegade vampires blow the rest of our secret. Besides, the address puts it almost right down the street."

"So, tonight?" Nat questioned.

"Tonight at midnight."

======================

Inside an abandoned warehouse, its long-since-used lights flicked on. About 40 people circled around one unlucky individual. A tall man dressed in a black robe stood before the unfortunate one.

"How went your mission, Mark?" asked the robed one. "Did you succeed in your task?"

Mark looked into the face under the robe and remembered why he feared this man. Santino towered above him. Santino towered above everyone, but it was not so much his height that intimidated Mark. It was his eyes. The ice blue pallor of his eyes could freeze anyone in their step, and usually did. Plus, if Santino became upset or bothered by anything, a golden tint seemed to appear. Mark wondered how Santino did it. He also pondered if he would be able to face the Leader if he cowered before one of his minions.

"Well, I succeeded in killing the girl with no witnesses." Mark saw a smile grow on Santino's face, so he regretted telling Santino the rest of the story.

"There's a problem though. I lost the knife. And I think the cops got a hold of it."

Santino's smile vanished.

======================

It had taken everything to keep Natalie from following him, but Nick finally managed to strike a deal with her. She would stay behind only if he had some kind of company with him. Nick had suggested bringing Sidney, but Nat was not too happy with the cat idea. So, Nick flew over to the church and asked the Tracy-less Vachon to help him instead. Something told Nick that he would have preferred the cat, but it was too late.

The two vampires rushed to the address on the flyer. Finding an open window, they sneaked in. It did not take long before they found the door leading to the congregation.

"There's got to be almost twenty mortals in here," Vachon said.

The cat wouldn't have spoken, Nick chuckled to himself. He then turned serious and peered through the door.

"So you have failed?" a huge robed figure asked a shaking mortal. Nick could sense the vampire nature of the hooded man. Pretty young, maybe a century old, but the human still had a reason to be afraid. The young vampire was about to lose his cool.

"Please, Santino. I can get the blade back. Just give me some time." The mortal started to panic and back away from Santino.

"No extra time," the vampire said, advancing on the mortal. "your initiation was in failure. The Leader would not be pleased." Santino placed his hands on either side of the boy's face. "I'm sorry, Mark." With that, Santino snapped Mark's neck as easily as a human swats a fly.

"Let this be a lesson to all," Santino continued, letting Mark's body slip from his hands. "You are welcome here, but the Leader will not tolerate failures. If you are accepted, the other Dark Angels will protect you from harm for the rest of your existence. And you will elude this fate," he said, pointing at Mark.

Nick had seen enough. He grabbed Vachon's sleeve and led him back through the way they had come.

They never noticed every vampire turning to watch them leave their spot.