Page 84 of Twilight Longings

He met Kincaid on Izabela’s porch at eleven sharp.

Kincaid looked at the pillowcase in his hands. “The chains in there?”

“Yeah.” Saintcrow took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Well, hell, let’s do this,” he said, and knocked on the witch’sdoor. The porch light came on and he saw Izabela’s face at the window. “Mind if we come in?”

She opened the door and peered out. “Do either of you mean me any harm?”

With a shake of his head, Saintcrow said, “You know I don’t.”

“Me, either,” Kincaid said.

Unlocking the screen door, she said, “Come in.” Izabela took a step back, allowing them entrance. “So, tonight’s the night.” She sat in her rocker and waved them toward the sofa. As soon as she was settled, the gray cat jumped into her lap. The crow stared at them through beady black eyes.

Kincaid glanced at Saintcrow, who seemed in no hurry to get down to business.

“It will be midnight soon,” the witch remarked. “Shall we get to it?”

Nodding, Saintcrow pulled a pair of heavy gloves from his jacket pocket and put them on, then reached into the pillowcase and withdrew the chains. “Luca used these on Jake. I want to use them on my sire and see if they’ll incapacitate her for a few minutes.”

“Are you going to take her head?”

“Not if I don’t have to.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Can you goose the power in them?”

She stared at him, one brow raised in amusement. “Goose?”

“You know what I mean.”

“Indeed.”

“Well?”

“I can boost their effectiveness, although I can’t guarantee how long it will work against her.”

Saintcrow hesitated a moment before saying, “I also need your blood.”

“So you said when you called. And I am willing to share it with you. Of course, if you survive the night, I will require some of yours in return.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

“Very well, let us proceed.” Rising, she spread Luca’s silver chains out on the floor. The cat watched from the corner. Izabela stood in the circle she had made with the chains and began to chant. As she did so, she sprinkled some foul-smelling black liquid over the links. The liquid clung to the metal, then turned clear and seemed to disappear. Taking a small knife from a drawer, she pricked her finger. The blood hissed when it touched the metal.

Moving toward the sofa, she held out her arm. “Don’t take too much, vampire.”

“I won’t, believe me.” Taking a deep breath, Saintcrow took hold of her arm and bit into her wrist. The blood singed his tongue and throat like hell’s own fire, but he could feel its power burning through him.

Lifting his head, he sealed the wounds in her wrist, then turned toward Kincaid, who blew out a sigh, then held out his arm.

There was nothing like the blood of a powerful vampire. Nothing else on earth was as sweet or as intoxicating. He had no desire to stop until Kincaid’s voice brought him back to the present.

“How do you feel?” Izabela asked.

Saintcrow flexed his muscles. “Like I could defeat an army.”

Kincaid snorted. “Let’s hope you can defeat one female vampire.”

---