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judgment propelled me up out of my chair and across the room. We reached the door at the same time.
    “Wait a minute,” I said. I unbound the talisman from my arm, feeling the silent pop of energy as the knot came undone. Then I took her left wrist and turned her hand over to tie the talisman onto her. There were pale scars on her arm—the vertical kind that run along the big veins. The ones you get when you’re really serious about killing yourself. They were old and faded. She must have gotten them when she was . . . what? Ten years old? Younger?
    I shuddered and secured the little braid of musty cloth and silver chain about her wrist, willing enough energy into it to close the circle once the knot was tied. When I finished, I touched her forearm lightly. I could just feel the talisman’s power, a tingling sensation that hovered a half-inch off of her skin.
    “Faith magic works best against spirits,” I said quietly. “If you’re worried, get to a church. Spirits are strongest just after the sun goes down, around the witching hour, and again just before the sun comes up. Go to Saint Mary of the Angels. It’s a church at the corner of Bloomingdale and Wood, down by Wicker Park. It’s huge, you can’t miss it. Go around to the delivery door and ring the bell. Talk to Father Forthill. Tell him that Michael’s friend said that you need a safe place to stay for a while.”
    She only stared at me, her mouth open. Tears formed in her eyes. “You believe me,” she said. “You believe me.”
    I shrugged, uncomfortable. “Maybe. Maybe not. But things have been bad, the past few weeks, and I would rather not have you on my conscience. You’d better hurry. It’s going to be sundown soon.” I pressed some bills into her hand and said, “Take a cab. Saint Mary of the Angels. Father Forthill. Michael’s friend sent you.”
    “Thank you,” she said. “Oh, God. Thank you, Mr. Dresden.” She seized my hand in both of hers and pressed a tearstained kiss to my knuckles. Her fingers were cold and her lips too hot. Then she vanished out the door.
    I shut it behind her and shook my head. “Harry, you idiot. Your one decent talisman that would protect you against ghosts and you just gave it away. She’s probably a plant. They probably sent her to you just to get the talisman off you, so that they can eat you up the next time you go spoil their fun.” I glared down at my hand, where the warmth of Lydia’s kiss and the dampness of her tears still lingered. Then I sighed, and walked to the cabinet where I kept fifty or sixty spare lightbulbs on hand, and replaced the one that had burned out.
    The phone rang. I got down off my chair and answered it sourly. “Dresden.”
    There was silence and scratchy static on the other end of the line.
    “Dresden,” I repeated.
    The silence stretched on, and something about it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. There was a quality to it that is difficult to describe. Like something waiting. Gloating. The static crackled louder, and I thought I could hear voices underneath it, voices speaking in low, cruel tones. I glanced at the door, after the departed Lydia. “Who is this?”
    “Soon,” whispered a voice. “Soon, Dresden. We will see one another again.”
    “Who is this?” I repeated, feeling a little silly.
    The line went dead.
    I stared at the phone before hanging it up, then ran my hand back through my hair. A chill crawled neatly down my spine and took up residence somewhere a little lower than my stomach. “All right, then,” I said, my own voice a little too loud in the office. “Thank God that wasn’t too creepy or anything.”
    The antique radio on the shelf beside the coffee machine hissed and squalled to life and I almost jumped out of my shoes. I whirled to face it in a fury, hands clenched.
    “Harry?” said a voice on the radio. “Hey, Harry, is this thing working?”
    I tried to calm my pounding heart, and focused enough will on the radio to