take my meaning, and I got extra needs that need seeing to, too."
"Quiet, demon." The woman's voice resonated in the darkness. The man's glowing eyes snapped toward her. After a moment, he took a step backward.
The woman's gaze returned to Victoria. "You are from the east?"
Victoria nodded.
"And you visit the woman hunter?"
"Yes," Victoria said, confused.
The strange eyes blinked. "This is not pleasing."
"It's bad enough that bitch is getting herself some fancy visitors," the man said. "Who gives a shake where they're from?"
"East is dawn-child," the woman said. "East is the path of the Witchery Way."
"You saying this one here's a witch?"
"I am no witch," Victoria said.
The woman blinked again. "You say no?"
"Yes, I say no."
"Your words say both at once," the woman said. "I see your wind."
"She's British. That means she's stuffy, but it don't mean she's a witch," the man said. "Hell, look at her. She ain't bright enough to be no witch."
"You waste your wind, demon. I would not hear you speak."
The blue eyes flashed in defiance, but the man didn't reply.
"You, British," the woman said. "What is your name?"
Victoria hesitated.
"Tell me your name."
Her mouth moved against her will. "Victoria Dawes."
"What is your purpose here, Victoria Dawes?"
Again she held back, and again something pulled the words from her. "I came to see Cora Oglesby, the woman hunter."
"This you have said." The woman stepped toward Victoria. "It is not my answer. I say again: why did you come here?"
"Was it to teach that Oglesby bitch witchcraft?" the man asked.
"I told you, I'm not a witch," Victoria said. "I don't know where you're getting that idea, but you're wrong."
Neither of her captors replied. Silence enclosed the barn's interior as they continued to regard her with their inhuman eyes. Weariness began creeping into her arms and legs. It pulled at her eyelids and shoulders, drawing them downward. The straw beneath her toes suddenly felt soft and inviting, and she was so very tired. What could laying down for a minute hurt? Just a quick nap. She had a train to catch in the morning, after all, and her eyelids were so very heavy.
Victoria shook her head. No, she couldn't sleep. How could she even consider it with these two monsters so close? What was wrong with her? Gathering her strength, she stood to her full height and took a deep breath.
The red eyes floated backward slightly. Victoria looked into them, a new resolve hardening her voice. "What do you want with me?"
"To learn, Victoria Dawes," the woman replied. "I see you visit the woman hunter, and I am curious. Why should a woman from the east visit her?"
"My business is my own," Victoria replied.
"It's our business when you hop your pretty little self over to that saloon and have a nice jawing with that Cora Oglesby," the man's voice said. "We have a mighty keen interest in her our own selves, so when she gets strange visitors, we tend to take notice."
"What do you want with Cora?"
"To learn," the woman said again.
"Your methods of acquiring knowledge are rather dubious," Victoria said. "Kidnapping is generally regarded as a crime."
The woman stepped closer, eyes gleaming. "You do not know crime."
"I'm no constable, I grant you that," Victoria said.
"Your wind grows hungry," the woman said.
"My what?"
The woman stared at her without replying. Victoria challenged her eerie gaze, trying to demonstrate her strength of will. An unseen force began building against her chest, as if someone were trying to push her backward. She leaned into the pressure, fighting it with both body and mind. The woman's eyes grew brighter. The pressure increased, and Victoria struggled to breathe against its weight. At any moment, she expected her feet to slide across the floor.
The glowing points turned away from her, and the pressure vanished. Victoria sucked in a breath and nearly stumbled forward. Her head throbbed.
"Hungry, yes, but also strong," the woman said quietly.
"What?" the man asked.
"This one," she said, turning back to her prisoner, "has a great gale inside her. Perhaps she does not know how to free it, but it is there."
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"We have learned something." Moonlight glimmered on the woman's skin as she extended her hand. Victoria shied away.
"Nothing useful," the man complained.
"You are not one to speak of usefulness," she replied.
"And what do you mean by that?"
Victoria sensed the onset of an argument. She began easing away from the two, making her way backward. She didn't know if she would find a door in that direction, but at