Reason Cansino yet, and she already hated her.
“She’ll come through in the dark,” he’d said, which in winter wasn’t very helpful given that it was dark practically all the time. On top of that, his dreams weren’t always pinpoint accurate, but this time he wouldn’t even consider the possibility that the Reason kid might arrive when the sun was up, or during a different week, or, God forbid, not at all.
So Jay-Tee sat in the dark, swaddled in a down coat, cashmere scarf, fur-lined mittens, boots, and hat (the fur wasn’t visible, just in case animal liberationists decided to throw paint at her or something). And still her face was numb, and, weirdly, her knees—though not her calves or thighs—were icy. If she’d been able to move around, it wouldn’t have been too bad, but just sitting here was turning her into a Popsicle.
The coffee in her thermos had long ago gone cold and she’d already finished all the chocolate chip cookies. She looked at her watch—strapped on over her glove so that her wrist didn’t have to freeze every time she checked the time. Midnight. The sun wouldn’t come up for ages yet. A few snowflakes drifted to the ground.
Great, thought Jay-Tee. Just what she needed, more snow. It’d fallen on and off all day, soft flakes, an inch or two sticking, making everything wet and slippery. Be just her luck if it turned into a blizzard. Nobody had predicted one, not that that meant anything. She got up and sat on the top step, out of the snow, pulling the heavy duffel bag stuffed with her useless coffee, as well as the coat and boots for Reason.
Jay-Tee looked across at the doorway, willing the stupid thing to open and the kid to step through. It had opened twice since she’d started her vigil, but both times it had been Esmeralda Cansino. Jay-Tee had been lucky—the witch hadn’t noticed her.
She didn’t want to think about what Esmeralda would do to her if she had. The witch wasn’t keen on people knowing about her door. According to him, the witch was all about blood and sacrifice, mostly animals, but there’d been rumors of human babies. “And if a stray girl like you stumbled through the door . . .” He’d shrugged. “She might take the opportunity to move up a notch.”
It was a pity the witch lived in the house on the other side of that door. Jay-Tee loved the idea of stepping out of this miserable winter and instantly into sunshine and warmth. Everything, he’d told her, was opposite on the other side of the door. When it was winter here, it was summer there. He’d promised that would happen soon if things went right. Jay-Tee snorted. She had not lived a life where many things went right.
The door opened.
A skinny Hispanic-looking girl with bare feet stepped through. Not at all what Jay-Tee had been expecting. The door slammed before Jay-Tee had a chance to see any of what was on the other side. She scooted farther back into the shadows and concentrated on not being seen.
Reason Cansino looked a few fries short of a Happy Meal, her mouth dropping all the way open, snowflakes landing in it. She looked delighted with herself, as if catching snowflakes was really hard.
She came down the steps slowly, staring at everything as if she’d never seen a street before. At the bottom she started twirling around and around. Can’t she feel the cold? Jay-Tee thought, pulling her down coat tighter; watching Reason dance practically naked in the snow was making her feel colder.
Then the idiot went running down the block. Jay-Tee stood up, wondering whether she should run after her or not. Not that she could run, what with being wrapped up like a mummy with a huge duffel to haul along.
Up ahead through the snow Jay-Tee could just make out Reason stopping, doing some kind of dance, and then turning back. She’d crossed her arms across her chest now, finally feeling the cold. The snow was falling harder now and at a slight angle; the wind was starting up. Jay-Tee could feel
“She’ll come through in the dark,” he’d said, which in winter wasn’t very helpful given that it was dark practically all the time. On top of that, his dreams weren’t always pinpoint accurate, but this time he wouldn’t even consider the possibility that the Reason kid might arrive when the sun was up, or during a different week, or, God forbid, not at all.
So Jay-Tee sat in the dark, swaddled in a down coat, cashmere scarf, fur-lined mittens, boots, and hat (the fur wasn’t visible, just in case animal liberationists decided to throw paint at her or something). And still her face was numb, and, weirdly, her knees—though not her calves or thighs—were icy. If she’d been able to move around, it wouldn’t have been too bad, but just sitting here was turning her into a Popsicle.
The coffee in her thermos had long ago gone cold and she’d already finished all the chocolate chip cookies. She looked at her watch—strapped on over her glove so that her wrist didn’t have to freeze every time she checked the time. Midnight. The sun wouldn’t come up for ages yet. A few snowflakes drifted to the ground.
Great, thought Jay-Tee. Just what she needed, more snow. It’d fallen on and off all day, soft flakes, an inch or two sticking, making everything wet and slippery. Be just her luck if it turned into a blizzard. Nobody had predicted one, not that that meant anything. She got up and sat on the top step, out of the snow, pulling the heavy duffel bag stuffed with her useless coffee, as well as the coat and boots for Reason.
Jay-Tee looked across at the doorway, willing the stupid thing to open and the kid to step through. It had opened twice since she’d started her vigil, but both times it had been Esmeralda Cansino. Jay-Tee had been lucky—the witch hadn’t noticed her.
She didn’t want to think about what Esmeralda would do to her if she had. The witch wasn’t keen on people knowing about her door. According to him, the witch was all about blood and sacrifice, mostly animals, but there’d been rumors of human babies. “And if a stray girl like you stumbled through the door . . .” He’d shrugged. “She might take the opportunity to move up a notch.”
It was a pity the witch lived in the house on the other side of that door. Jay-Tee loved the idea of stepping out of this miserable winter and instantly into sunshine and warmth. Everything, he’d told her, was opposite on the other side of the door. When it was winter here, it was summer there. He’d promised that would happen soon if things went right. Jay-Tee snorted. She had not lived a life where many things went right.
The door opened.
A skinny Hispanic-looking girl with bare feet stepped through. Not at all what Jay-Tee had been expecting. The door slammed before Jay-Tee had a chance to see any of what was on the other side. She scooted farther back into the shadows and concentrated on not being seen.
Reason Cansino looked a few fries short of a Happy Meal, her mouth dropping all the way open, snowflakes landing in it. She looked delighted with herself, as if catching snowflakes was really hard.
She came down the steps slowly, staring at everything as if she’d never seen a street before. At the bottom she started twirling around and around. Can’t she feel the cold? Jay-Tee thought, pulling her down coat tighter; watching Reason dance practically naked in the snow was making her feel colder.
Then the idiot went running down the block. Jay-Tee stood up, wondering whether she should run after her or not. Not that she could run, what with being wrapped up like a mummy with a huge duffel to haul along.
Up ahead through the snow Jay-Tee could just make out Reason stopping, doing some kind of dance, and then turning back. She’d crossed her arms across her chest now, finally feeling the cold. The snow was falling harder now and at a slight angle; the wind was starting up. Jay-Tee could feel
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