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Chapter 180
Sitting at her desk Tuesday evening, Leesa flipped the cover of her history book closed. For the last half hour she had been studying the causes of the Civil War, but she didn’t think she was going to retain much of what she read. Every time she came across Abraham Lincoln’s name, her mind wandered to the popular book and movie about Lincoln being a vampire hunter. With all she had learned since arriving at Weston, she wondered if it could possibly have been true. She doubted that Lincoln had actually been a vampire hunter, of course, but she had once doubted her mom’s story about the one-fanged vampire, and look how that turned out.
It was doubly hard to concentrate on her reading with Rave sitting patiently on her bed behind her. She could almost feel his beautiful brown eyes warming her back and neck. What she really wanted to be doing was sitting next to him and talking, or lying cuddled in his arms. They had shared a long, fun walk that afternoon, after
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Leesa's Advent Chapter 181
Outside the dorm, Viktor watched from among the crowd of onlookers who had gathered at the arrival of the police and campus security. At least ten cruisers and three ambulances blocked the street now, their flashing rooftop lights painting the grass and the front of the building in dabs of blue and red. Yellow wooden sawhorses and crime scene tape kept the gawkers back.A few moments ago, a crowd of young women had dashed out of the dorm. They were immediately surrounded by the earliest arriving cops and medical personnel. Viktor had moved as close to the cluster of coeds as he dared and listened in. He overheard words like “horrible,” “scary,” and his favorite, “freakin’ dead people.” He’d had to work hard to keep from smiling when he heard that one.Near the dorm entrance, a squad of burly officers dressed in black flak jackets was preparing to enter the building. Whatever the final outcome had been inside, all the poli
Leesa's Advent Chapter 182
Rave lowered Leesa gently to the ground in front of a gray, one-story wooden house. After racing through the night in Rave’s arms, the cool, still air felt strange on her cheeks. With little ambient light from the volkaane settlement, the sky above was a black curtain pierced by what seemed to be thousands of stars. A three-quarter moon painted a soft glow on the world around her.She sighed. As always, it took her a moment to get over the disappointment of no longer being cradled in Rave’s arms. She took his hand in hers, to maintain the contact a bit longer.“So, this is where you live,” she said, taking in the house with a slow sweep of her eyes.The design was simple—a plain, flat front with a door in the middle and two square windows on either side of the door. Even in the moonlight, Leesa could see that the horizontal wood planks were old and weathered, but in good repair. An A-frame roof fashioned of dark wooden shingles was
Leesa's Advent Chapter 183
Balin’s cabin was just a short way back up the narrow roadway from Rave’s house. Holding hands, Leesa and Rave strolled unhurriedly through the beautiful night. It looked to Leesa as if there were even more stars twinkling in the sky than before. With her eyes fastened on the jeweled canopy above, she tripped on a ridge in the rutted road and would have fallen had not been for Rave’s strong grip on her hand.“Sorry,” she said when she regained her balance.“Don’t worry,” Rave replied, turning to her and smiling. “Lately, I find myself distracted by beauty all the time.”Leesa felt herself blushing. She hoped Rave wouldn’t see it in the darkness, but with those darn volkaane eyes of his, she was pretty sure he could.“Maybe so,” she said, “but you don’t stumble like some clumsy oaf because of it.”Rave draped his hands over Leesa’s shoulders and sta
Leesa's Advent Chapter 184
“Let’s sit down and you can tell me everything that’s happened,” Balin suggested. He had met Dominic once and knew about Leesa’s nascent magic and about the existence of the black waziri, but he had no idea what had occurred during the last few days. “Does anyone want a drink before we begin? Some mead, perhaps? Telling tales can be thirsty work.”With everything that had happened today, Leesa was definitely tempted by Balin’s offer. His homemade mead was even more delicious than his stew, but it was also very strong, especially for someone who rarely drank. She decided she had better pass.“No, thank you,” she said. “I think I should keep a clear head. I’ll just have water. Rave, you go ahead if you want.”Rave nodded to Balin, who quickly filled two big pewter mugs with golden liquid from a big glass jar. He filled a third mug with water for Leesa.They all sat down on chairs
Leesa's Advent Chapter 185
“Catch,” she said as the stick did exactly what she wanted.Rave reached out and caught it. “Now you’re just showing off,” he said, smiling as he examined the stick.“Yeah, a little,” Leesa replied with a smile of her own. “But I do have plans for that, so it’s not totally showing off. And the more magic I use, the better I’ll get, so why bend down when I can do it with magic?”“Just don’t get too carried away with yourself, or you are apt to be disappointed when you’re back at Weston and not surrounded by volkaane energy.”Leesa walked closer to Rave. “I know. But I think whatever I do here will carry over at least a little. Success breeds success, as Dominic likes to say.”Feeling very confident, she decided there was no reason to wait until they were inside to try the shield spell.“Wait just a moment, and then try to poke me with t
Leesa's Advent Chapter 186
This was no train, though—not unless someone had built a subway beneath rural Connecticut when she wasn’t looking.“The Noises,” Rave said calmly. “It’s nothing to worry about. They’ve been occurring here since long before I was born.”Leesa remembered Cali and Stacie talking about the Moodus Noises, an unexplained phenomenon that had been happening in this area for centuries. The explanations for the Noises ranged from the practical—small earthquakes whose sound and vibration were magnified by the peculiar geology of the area—to the more fanciful: ancient Indian spirits stirring deep within the earth.She loosened her grip on Rave’s arm. “Sorry,” she said. She hated showing any kind of weakness to Rave. “It startled me.”Rave smiled and laid his hand over Leesa’s. “Never apologize for anything that makes you touch me.”Leesa smiled back and
Leesa's Advent Chapter 187
“Go, then,” Leesa said, sensing the urgency in Dominic’s voice. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll have Rave take me home as soon as we hang up. Please be careful.”“I will. Good-bye for now, Leesa. I don’t know when I’ll be able to check in on you again.”“Good-bye,” Leesa said, but Dominic had already hung up. She turned to Rave. “You heard all that?”Rave nodded. “Yes. I’ll take you home as soon as you gather up your things. Then I need to come back here and tell the Council of Elders what Dominic said. I’m not sure if there’s anything we can do about the powers he mentioned, but we need to discuss it, at least.”Leesa didn’t like hearing that Rave would be leaving as soon as he got her back, but she understood why he had to return home.“Okay,” she said as she began stuffing her clothes into her backpack. She was di
Leesa's Advent Chapter 188
Genevieve lowered her feet from Dara’s lap and sat upright on the couch. “Fair enough.” She turned to Dara. “What do you think, sweetheart? Are you up for a little adventure?” Dara smiled. “Always.” She stood up and crossed to Marcio, linking both her arms around one of his. “Marcio is a very powerful man,” she cooed. “It will be good to have him beholden to us.” Marcio smiled. Of all the vampires in the coven, these were the two he least minded owing a favor. “I will meet you an hour after sunset,” he said. The three vampires glided through the trees, heading south and east from their caverns, dark shadows among the shadows. Marcio was in the lead, guided by the strange force that grew stronger with every mile he covered. Dara and Genevieve followed close behind him, racing side by side, content to go where Marcio led them. Despite their speed, the vampires moved cautiously, making no sound in the darkness. No human eye
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