Page 16 of Twilight Longings

“Fine,” Saintcrow said. “Now, what’s the news?”

“I have discovered the name of the street the little girl lives on.”

“That’s your big news?”

“It’s more than you knew before.”

“There are millions of streets and street signs across the country with the same name,” Kincaid remarked.

“That’s true,” Izabela replied, rocking gently. “In this case, it’s two street names. And a description of the house. But if you do not want it, just say so.”

“Of course we do,” Saintcrow snapped.

“So,” Kincaid said, “what the hell is it?”

“You are willing to pay double the usual price?”

“Yes, yes,” Saintcrow agreed, his patience wearing thin. “Spill it.”

Rising, Izabela said, “The girl lives on the corner of Willow and Fourth Streets. The house is white, with green shutters and a red door. The address is 1416 Willow. I’ll be right back.”

“Well, that’s something,” Saintcrow said. “Of course, knowing the state would be a big help.”

“Damn,” Kincaid muttered sourly. “If we give her twice the blood now, what’s to stop her from asking for more the next time and the next?”

“So, you’ll feed twice as much tonight,” Saintcrow remarked, and fell silent as the witch returned. She carried a wooden box with four glass vials inside.

“Who’s first?” she asked cheerfully.

Rolling up his shirt-sleeve, Saintcrow said, “Let’s get it over with,” and bit into his wrist.

“Damn, damn, and double damn,” Kincaid exclaimed as they left the witch’s house. “I feel like I’ve been bled half to death.”

“Stop whining, you baby,” Saintcrow growled. “At least we have a place to start.”

“I’ll bet every state in the country has dozens of streets named Willow.”

“Probably. But at least we have a description of the house and a street number.”

“So, what do we do?” Kincaid asked. “Start on the West Coast and make our way east?”

“Sounds like a plan. Is Rosa gonna be okay with you spending so much time away from her?”

Kincaid shrugged. “I can always go home for a few hours at night to keep her company. Anyway, absence makes theheart grow fonder,” he said with a grin. “And it’s for a good cause. She loves Kadie, too, you know. Hell, we all do. If Rosie gives me any grief, I’ll just promise her a second honeymoon.”

They started their search the next night. In spite of being able to transport themselves from state to state and city to city, doing so proved to be a pain in the ass. As Saintcrow had predicted, Willow proved to be a popular street name. They found a lot of houses with white paint and green trim, but red doors were scarce. And so were little girls with long, red pigtails. Even though they could move from place to place with lightning speed, they often had to wait around a day or more to get a look at everyone who lived in the house.

They had no success in Washington, Oregon, or California.

“At this rate, it’s going to take a lot longer than I thought,” Kincaid complained as they prowled the dark streets of Arizona, looking for prey. And then he paused. “I smell fresh blood.”

“Yeah. Me, too.”

The scent led them to an alley behind a bank where two rival gangs were busting heads. Two men were dead, three were down and bleeding bad.

“That’s enough!” Saintcrow’s voice, filled with preternatural power and authority, got the attention of the five guys still standing. Trapping their gazes with his, he commanded them to stay where they were. “Take your pick, Jake.”

Kincaid grimaced. “Can’t we go look for a girl gang?”