"The Spine Witch looked at the woman fast asleep in Cooper's bed. She touched the dark hair and smooth, white cheek. She poked the warm flesh covered by sheets. The woman moved and the Witch jumped back, her useless, tattered wings fluttering and her long, boney feet splayed on the ground.
     The stones were on a table by the bed. Seven blue stones in a shallow yellow dish. The Spine Witch scooped them into her hands. Then she studied them, and she put one back. She looked at her small companion and grinned, flashing milky, sharp white teeth."

-- Terri Windling, The Wood Wife