Page 15 of Twilight Longings

Dark gray smoke spiraled from the container. For an instant, Izabela saw a little girl playing in front of a house, and then the image was gone. Drained, she sat back in her chair.

Tomorrow morning, she would try again. Perhaps next time she would see more. An address, perhaps, or a street name.

Four hundred miles away, Luca Sasan felt the witch’s power crawl over him. Just for a moment, and then it was gone.

The witch was getting close, he mused.Too close.

Izabela decided not to wait until morning. Magic was always best done during the witching hour. With that thought in mind, she rose from her bed at midnight, pulled on her robe and stepped into a pair of furry pink slippers. With the gray cat at her heels, she made her way to her worktable where she drew another picture of the little red-haired girl. This image was more detailed than the first. Having seen the child more clearly, she gave the image big, brown eyes and a smattering of cinnamon-colored freckles across her cheeks and nose.

Holding her scrying mirror in her right hand and the drawing in her left, Izabela began to chant. “By the power of earth and sea, I bid thee show this child to me.”

The mirror grew cloudy and then slowly cleared to show a little girl sitting on the front steps of a two-story house located on a street named Willow. White paint, bright green shutters, a red front door.

With a sigh of satisfaction, Izabela laid the mirror aside and made her way back to her bedroom. Strong magic took a lot out of her these days, she mused, as she removed her robe and kicked off her slippers. She was too tired for company tonight. Her good news could wait until tomorrow.

She smiled as she crawled under the covers. This information was surely worth double the amount of blood she usually required.

Chapter Thirteen

Saintcrow had taken to sleeping until late in the afternoon since Kadie had been stricken by the plague. It meant fewer hours without her, fewer hours to worry and wonder if the malady had been concocted or if it was some kind of contagious virus that only affected young vampires. Either way, there didn’t seem to be any cure in sight.

He muttered an oath when his cell phone rang. A glance at the screen told him it was Kincaid. “What?”

“Izabela has news.”

Saintcrow bolted upright. “Meet you at her place in ten minutes.”

“Right.”

He got there in five to find Kincaid already waiting for him on the front porch.

“What kind of news?” Saintcrow asked while Kincaid rang the bell.

“She wouldn’t say.”

The door creaked open and Izabela smiled at them. “Do either of you mean me any harm?”

“Don’t you ever get tired of asking that?” Saintcrow muttered.

Izabela shrugged. “There was one occasion long ago when I forgot. But never since then.” She rolled up the right sleeveof the colorful peasant blouse she wore, revealing a long, jagged scar that ran from her shoulder to her elbow. “I ask every time now.”

Saintcrow looked at Kincaid. In unison, they said, “Not to you or anyone else in the house.”

Unlocking the screen door, she stepped back and said, “Come in.”

“You said you have news,” Saintcrow said, following the witch inside.

The one-legged crow ruffled its feathers as they entered. The gray cat looked up from the hearth, yawned, and went back to sleep.

Izabela nodded. “All in good time.” She settled into her rocker.

“Well, what is it?” Saintcrow asked impatiently.

“It will cost you extra,” the witch said nonchalantly.

Saintcrow looked at Kincaid, one brow lifted in silent inquiry.

Kincaid shrugged.

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