I frowned, and then I thought about it.

No. I couldn’t accept that gift until I knew who it was from. I could already hear sirens, in any case.

So, I moved to the door and looked in. Somebody’d set fire to the altar. That was definitely an infernal act at at least some levels.

Was there a fire extinguisher? I saw one, but I wasn’t sure what they’d started the fire with, so I wasn’t sure whether it would work or make it worse.

Just put it out, a small voice in my head said. You can do it – you’re allowed.

Allowed? But no. I still could not be sure this wasn’t an offer from Surtur. Being caught by surprise was one thing.

I glanced around, then I grabbed the extinguisher and moved forward warily, pointing it at the flames. Then I pulled the trigger. Foam came out, and while it wasn’t putting the flames out, it did seem to be slowing them down.

Where was Father William?

A moment later, a couple of firefighters came in, looked at me, then one of them left.

“Good work.”
“Got better gear?”

“Wonder…somebody…”

“I’d bet somebody did it on purpose.”

I furrowed my brow. Tyz’vel? Hunters? Kids being stupid? It sometimes seemed that the last option had become the zebra in my world.

But in this case, I thought it rather more likely that it was kids being stupid. Or maybe amateur hour satanists – there were enough of them around.

The firefighters were dealing with the fire now, so I set the extinguisher down.

“Did you see what happened?”
I shook my head. “No, but the guy who called you might have.”

“Probably afraid to use the extinguisher.”

I walked over to the burned altar. The fire hadn’t spread in the most part because the floor around it was stone. I sniffed. “Smells like burning alcohol.”

The firefighter sniffed. “Good nose. Looks like they used wood alcohol.”

“So, it was arson, then?” I shook my head. “Who the heck would burn a church altar?”

“Somebody with a grudge against somebody in the congregation, most likely.”

“Or against the priest.”

I had to find Father William. Fast.