“Oh, this?” she said, grinning. “I just grabbed the first stuff I saw.”
“That’s what it looks like,” Leesa teased, “except that somehow the colors all match.”
Andy’s arrival interrupted their banter. He was wearing bleached jeans and an open brown suede jacket over a darker brown T-shirt that proclaimed “Thank God It’s Fry Day” in big gold letters. In between the Thank God It’s and the Fry Day was a picture of giant fried chicken leg, dripping grease. No wonder he and Cali got along so well, Leesa thought, not for the first time.
“
Leesa had to give the guy credit. He didn’t seem to let the catcalls and groans bother him. He either had the thickest skin in the world, or he thought the derision was in some twisted way an approval of his act. His jokes were new, but were equally as dumb as the last time. She wondered if he wrote the stuff himself or got it from some website—stupidjokes.com, maybe.The big guys up front heckled him mercilessly after every punch line. It was mean and obnoxious and most of their comments were only funny to themselves. Finally, the biggest guy, a brute with shoulders as wide as an SUV, yelled something really crude, something not fit even for the liberal college crowd.Andy leaned over and politely told the guy to keep it clean, that there were ladies present. Leesa cringed as the giant pushed his chair away from the table, his features twisted into an
Saturday morning, Leesa was sitting at her desk leafing through a magazine when Cali bounced into the room. She was wearing the same outfit as the night before; the only difference in her appearance was a lack of makeup and no scrunchies separating her green and orange locks from the rest of her hair. Clearly, she hadn’t been home since they left The Joint. Leesa was pretty sure she knew what had brought Cali here before she had even returned to her own room.Cali sat down on the edge of Leesa’s bed.“So, what was that all about with Stefan last night?” she asked. “I wanted to talk to you about it last night, but Andy had other plans.” She grinned. “Boys have needs, you know.”Leesa closed the magazine and spun around in her chair. She held out her hand out to stop Cali from saying any more.“Puleeze,” she said, “spare me the details of Andy’s needs.”Cali’s grin wi
Her thoughts returned to the ankle weights analogy—she hoped all this work while her magic was weakened would pay big dividends when it finally returned to its normal strength. She refused to think about what she would do if it never came back. “This is tiring for me,” Jenna said, “so I can only guess how draining it must be for you. After all, you’re the one doing all the real work. I’m just sending general energy into you.” Leesa grabbed a half-empty bottle of water from atop her refrigerator and sat down on her bed. She eased herself across the mattress until her back was leaning against the wall, then she took a big drink. “It’s exhausting,” she said after she swallowed. “More so than I would have imagined. I have to believe it’s going to pay off though.” “Let’s hope so.” Jenna pulled Leesa’s desk chair close to the bed and sat down. “You’re working so hard, Leesa. Do we know each other well enough yet for you to tell me what the urgency is? I’m g
An ocean away, two of the people Leesa and Jenna had been talking about sat in a horse-drawn carriage outside a tiny Romanian mountain hamlet. The specially built coach had reinforced springs, but it still tilted noticeably to the left, courtesy of the Necromancer’s immense bulk. Viktor and Jordan sat opposite him. Rafael was perched on the driver’s seat outside, wrapped in a heavy cloak against the night’s cold, his gloved hands gripping the leather reins. The trip here had taken the better part of two hours, but the Necromancer didn’t like practicing his black arts too close to his castle—unless he was practicing them inside the castle, safe from prying eyes. Usually, he would send one or more of his waziri in his stead on any mission away from the castle, but tonight’s test was a big one. To be successful, it would need his pers
Monday afternoon, Leesa received a letter in the mail. It was handed to her by Missi, a sophomore from the second floor who delivered the mail to each room in the dorm. Leesa looked down at the envelope in surprise. Receiving personal mail was a rare occurrence. She didn’t get very much mail to begin with, and what she did get was mostly junk. Her whole time here at Weston, she could recall receiving only one other letter. That one had been sent by her aunt and uncle soon after she moved in. She thanked Missi and reached to close the door. Missi turned to leave. She was wearing a dark gray sleeveless shirt, and Leesa found her eyes drawn to a blue tattoo on the back of Missi’s right shoulder. The tattoo was heart-shaped and looked like it was fashioned out of blue flames. The blue fire immediately made Leesa think of Rave. She hadn’t seen him in over a week,
Dral and Bain twisted their heads around and gave her quick “hellos,” then turned back to keep watch on their surroundings.Leesa pulled one hand from around Rave’s neck and placed her palm on his cheek.“You’re still not very warm,” she said. “My magic has not returned to full strength, either.” She looked at Balin. “Has anyone figured out how long this might last?” she asked him.Balin shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. All we can do is wait.”Leesa frowned. “I don’t like waiting—not when it means you all have to stay so far away.”She finally unwrapped her l
By the time Leesa arrived back at her dorm, it was nearly seven-thirty. She had stayed with Rave right up until sunset, when the volkaanes had to leave and head back to wherever they were hiding. She had reluctantly kissed Rave goodbye and then watched him and his companions disappear into the darkening woods. Having gone all day without eating—and not really missing it because she was having so much fun—she stopped for a fast-food burger along the highway on the way home. That, plus some rush-hour traffic outside Springfield and in northern Connecticut had delayed her return.Glad to finally be done with her driving, she eased the Focus to the curb a short way down the block from her dorm, planning to return the car to the rental agency tomorrow after class. Tonight, she was going to be busy trying to make up for missing three of her classes.The day had been well worth skipping class, though. She had gotten to spend more than ten hours straight with Rave,
After Cali left to return to her room, Leesa plopped back down onto her bed. They hadn’t found too many more details about the attack in Romania, but what Leesa had read was enough. Thoughts about her schoolwork were temporarily forgotten. Even practicing her magic had been shoved onto the back burners of her mind.She needed to talk to Dominic—not only about the Necromancer’s latest attack, but also about the weakening of magic in this section of Connecticut. The problem was how to contact someone who was on the run and who didn’t have a phone or email address. She couldn’t just wait until Dominic contacted her—she had no idea when he might be returning to Middletown, or when he might call next.Her room was too quiet. The stillness seemed to amplify the futility of her thinking