She had no idea how long she had been there, but she didn’t think it was very long, since she didn’t feel an urgent need to feed. She stared at her captor. He was tall and on the thin side, with blonde hair cropped short and pale brown eyes that sent a cold chill down her spine.
For the hundredth time, she cursed herself for being so careless. She had gone off to Cheyenne for baby formula, so excited and happy she had completely forgotten to pay attention to her surroundings. She had quickly found what she needed. Leaving the store, she had walked down the street and ducked into an alley to avoid being seen when she transported home, but before she managed it, someone had covered her nose and mouth with a sweet-smelling rag. It was the last thing she remembered. When she regained consciousness, she was here. Wherever here was.
How had he found her? Who was he? What did he want? He refused to answer any of her questions. One thing she knew, he had been a vampire longer than she had. He wasn’t as old or as powerful as Rylan, but he was a lot more powerful than was she.
She wondered if the baby was still alive. She knew what a temptation the boy was to Rylan. She had seen the naked hunger in his eyes, thankful that he had enough self-control to resist it. She wasn’t sure why she wasn’t plagued by the same temptation. Rylan had often claimed that, unlike all other vampires, she lacked the innate instinct to hunt and kill. And she was grateful for that.
Her head snapped up when she heard her captor talking on the phone, knew immediately that he was talking to Rylan.
“I want your power, master vampire,” he said. “All of it.”
Her heart skipped a beat when she heard Rylan’s voice come over the phone.
“How do I know you’ll let Kadie live?”
“I could kill her now.”
It was an empty threat, Kadie thought, and they both knew it. Without her, Trelaine had no leverage.
“You’ll just have to trust me,” Trelaine said, a sneer in his voice. “You give me your power and I’ll call whoever you want to come and turn her loose when you’re dead.”
“You’re a fool, Trelaine. I’ve been a vampire for a thousand years. If you try to take my power, it will destroy you.” Even as he said it, Saintcrow wondered if it was true.
Trelaine snorted. “I don’t believe you.”
“Turn Kadie loose and I’ll let you live.”
“Surrender to me, or she dies.”
“How do I know she’s still alive?”
Her captor held his phone to her ear. “Say something.”
“Rylan! Don’t do it!”
“Kadie, darlin’.” He murmured her name with all the love in his heart, then, speaking so softly only Kadie could hear it, he whispered, “Izabela.”
Her captor yanked the phone away from her ear.
“I’ll give you a day to think about it,” Trelaine snarled, and ended the call.
Later that night, when Trelaine had left to hunt, Kadie closed her eyes and concentrated on Izabela, picturing the witch sitting in her rocker, the black cat curled up on her lap, the one-legged crow asleep on its perch.
Kadie?
Yes! Izabela, I need you to work your magic. Locate me if you can. Then call Rylan and tell him where I am.
Are you hurt?
“No. Please, just call Rylan.
Consider it done.
Feeling drained, Kadie stretched out on the cold floor and closed her eyes. Everything would be all right. Everything would be all right. She repeated it over and over again until the dark sleep carried her away.
~ * ~
Izabela went upstairs to her workshop, filled her cauldron with water, dropped in a few of Kadie’s hairs, taken from the brush Kadie had used when she recovered from the plague, and dropped them into the pot. She added a bit of Saintcrow’s blood, then waved her wand over water, chanting, “By the power of earth and sea, I bid thee reveal the whereabouts of Saintcrow’s woman to me.”