“You?” I asked, not quite believing it. “A cat burglar?”

“Oh, right,” Robert said. “You’re about as much a cat burglar as I am a woman.”

“I thought you might not believe me,” Alex said, a tone of amusement in his voice. “That’s why I decided to prove it to you right away.” He lifted a bag off the floor, and from it he pulled one of the axes Robert had strapped to his back, Will’s jeweled dagger, Jaime’s holy symbol, and the jewel from the clasp on my cloak.

“Satisfied?” he said, grinning.

“Okay, satisfied,” I told him, mentally vowing to ask him about my missing Van Halen collection when we got home.

“Anyway,” Jaime said, as Alex paled at the sheer venom in her voice.

“Uh, right… Sorry, J. And the rest of you. But I think my point is made.

“Anyhow, I’ve been here for the last few months using my skills to gather information on our foe.” He looked at me. “Dave, you’re really not going to like this.”

“Why?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know.

“Albrecht’s back.”

“What?!” was the general response.