Page 46 of Twilight Longings

“Me?” She blinked at him. “I’m not in any danger here.”

“There’s still a vindictive necromancer on the loose,” Saintcrow said. “He’s likely the one who created this damn thing. If you fell into Luca’s hands, Ethan would never forgive me. And neither would the rest of the Ravenwood family.”

“All right. I’ll go. Look after Ethan for me.”

“You know I will. Now go find Micah.”

Sofia nodded, and then she was gone.

Saintcrow returned to the bridge. Where the devil was Izabela? Morgan Creek was a long way from New Orleans, but not for a witch. He was about to call her again when she appeared at the end of the bridge with Romar at her side.

“About damn time,” Saintcrow muttered irritably. He lowered the wards on the bridge and waved them across before reinstating the safeguards.

“Interesting town,” Izabela remarked when they reached Main Street. She paused a moment, her head turning this way and that. “Many people have died here,” she murmured. “Some violently.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Saintcrow said.

“I sense a host of restless spirits,” she said. “Even more than I sensed the last time I was here.”

Izabela strolled along the street with Romar and Saintcrow trailing behind her. She didn’t stop until she arrived at the center of the town. Reaching into one of the pockets of the voluminous skirts she seemed to favor, she withdrew the Methuselah Stone and fastened the thick gold chain around her neck. Dark green sparks danced over the Medallion.

“Romar, put your hand on my shoulder.”

With a nod, he did as she asked.

Closing her eyes, Izabela lifted her arms toward the heavens and began to chant.

Saintcrow felt the hair along his arms and the back of his neck stand at attention as her voice grew deeper, stronger. Dark clouds scudded across the sky. A ferocious wind rustled the leaves on the trees. There was a sharp crack as a fifty-foot oak tree split in half.

Izabela let out a gasp as the sparks on the Medallion turned red and then black as lightning sizzled across the skies. She sank to the ground and bowed her head when thunder rocked the earth, followed by an eerie silence. A long, shuddering sigh wracked her body. Lifting her head, she murmured, “It is done.”

“What about Ethan?” Saintcrow asked.

Izabela shrugged.

A thought took Saintcrow to his lair.

Ethan sat on the sofa looking badly shaken. “Damn. I feel like I’ve been to hell and back.”

Saintcrow grinned at him. “That’s how you look, too. Since you recognize me, I guess your memory is okay.”

“Yeah,” Ethan said slowly. “I wonder why it didn’t affect me the way it did Kadie.”

“I don’t have a clue, but I’m guessing it’s because you were cured so quickly after you crossed the bridge.”

Ethan grunted softly. “That might explain it.”

“I sent Sofia to stay with her family,” Saintcrow said. “You’d better go let her know you’re okay.”

“Right. I’m going to grab my woman and take her on a long vacation. Catch you later.”

Saintcrow grinned as Ethan vanished from his sight. He spent five minutes calling the two vampires he knew in Cody and Laramie, blew out a sigh of relief when they reported that the vampires who had been struck by the curse had recovered. Like Kadie, they had been afflicted for months, had lost their memories, and were human again.

A thought took him back to town, where Izabela was undoubtedly waiting patiently to collect her fee.

He found the witch and Romar sitting at a table on the sidewalk in front of the hotel.

“The curse has been removed from Wyoming,” Izabela said, pulling a large vial from her skirt pocket. “But I’m only charging you for Morgan Creek and the boy. Oh, I almost forgot,” she said, pulling another vial from her pocket. “There’s also a charge for Romar, since he added his power to mine.”

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