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Chapter 285
SINCE SCHOOL ENDED two weeks earlier, Leesa had been staying with her mom and brother in their Middletown apartment. Her mom was fully recovered from any effects of the long ago grafhym bite—indeed, she was now able to joke easily and freely about the one-fang vampire that had caused so much trouble for the family. Without the worried and haunted expression that had perpetually darkened her face, Leesa thought her mother looked at least five years younger. Bradley’s recovery was even more amazing than their mom’s, if that was possible. He was pretty much back to his old light-hearted self after his harrowing ordeal as a captive feeder for the vampire Edwina. He had regained all his weight and now looked tan and strong.
For the first time in way too long, Leesa truly felt like she had a family again. Things had been getting better ever since Professor Clerval had cured her mom with blood from a one-fang, but now that Leesa was actually living with her mom and
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Leesa's Advent Chapter 286
Judy took another moment to try to absorb everything Leesa was telling her.“So that’s how you two get places? He carries you? I was wondering about that.”“Yeah, and it’s the absolute coolest thing, too. Way better than driving or taking a bus.”Judy turned to Bradley. “And you knew about all this?”Bradley nodded. “Not at first, but Leesa eventually shared it with me.”“I didn’t tell you,” Leesa said to her mom, “because I didn’t want to worry you while you were recovering. I was so happy to have you getting back to normal that I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.”“I understand—I guess.”“You can’t tell anyone any of this,” Leesa said. “It has to stay a secret. But I wanted you to know.”Judy’s face took on a rueful look. “Who am I going to tell? People
Leesa's Advent Chapter 287
Leesa guided the silver SUV into the parking lot of Whippoorwill Ridge Park, a few miles across the New York border. She had purchased the vehicle for Dominic two months ago through a private ad online, using some of Dominic’s seemingly endless cash. She registered the car in her name—Dominic was too far off the grid to be able to register a vehicle—but it really belonged to Dominic. After decades of relying on buses and trains, the wizard found the flexibility and mobility of the SUV convenient and freeing. Leesa was pretty sure he even slept in the vehicle—if the half-awake state that passed for most of the wizard’s rest could truly be called sleep.Even though the car belonged to Dominic, whenever the two of them traveled together, Leesa did the driving. Dominic did not possess a driver’s license, and besides, Leesa was a much better driver.The park looked far different today than the last time Leesa was here. Back then, winter h
Leesa's Advent Chapter 288
Leesa repeated the process, this time concentrating as hard as she could on picturing Dominic’s arm looking totally unblemished. When she pulled her hand away, only the faintest red line remained, like the leftover scar of a long ago wound. Leesa allowed herself a small smile. It still wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty darn good.Dominic nodded in approval. “Much better.”“When did you learn that?” Rave asked. He glanced down at Dominic’s arm and then back to Leesa. “I’ve never seen you do anything like it.”“Just the other day,” Leesa replied. “Cali was my unintended guinea pig, when she scraped her arm watching me practice my spells with Dominic.”Rave grinned, picturing Cali being magically healed. “I bet she loved that. She loves anything magic, but having it used on her must have been a special thrill.”“Yeah, she was kind of stoked,” Le
Leesa's Advent Chapter 289
Leesa felt a faint tingle begin to crawl up her forearms, almost like a very mild electric current was passing from Dominic’s hands into hers. The feeling was not unpleasant at all. It moved slowly up her arms into her shoulders and then down through her torso. In less than a minute, she felt like her whole body was vibrating softly.If possible, Dominic’s stare seemed to become even more focused. The lower part of Leesa’s right leg began to grow warm. Suddenly, she felt a flash of intense heat just above her ankle, but it was gone before it could bring any pain. Dominic let go of her hands.“It is done,” he said.“What’s done?” Leesa asked. “What did you do?”Dominic held up a finger, silencing her.“Just a moment,” he said. He closed his eyes.Leesa recognized the look of intense concentration that etched itself into Dominic’s features. It lasted maybe ten second
Leesa's Advent Chapter 290
THE RIDE HOME FROM NEW YORK passed quickly. Leesa and Dominic talked some, but mostly she just enjoyed being behind the wheel, cruising at highway speeds through the scenic wooded hills of western Connecticut. She didn’t get to drive all that often, especially on the freeway, so she still got a kick out of it. Since it was pretty early in the afternoon, traffic was light, making driving all the more enjoyable. She wished Rave could be making the ride with them, but of course that was impossible.In less than two hours, they were back on Route 66, heading through Meriden toward Middletown. Just before they entered the town that had become her home, Leesa glanced toward Dominic.“Do you mind if we take a little side trip?” she asked.“Not at all. Where do you want to go?”“To East Hampton, to show Cali what you did to my leg. She’ll be thrilled.”“I’m certain she will be.” Dominic clos
Leesa's Advent Chapter 291
Leesa had not dreamed in quite some time—not one of her special dreams, at any rate. In the weeks after summoning a dream to help her defeat the xenorians, she had been visited by a number of magical dreams, all of which were disturbing and none of which she could remember in any detail. Both her book and Dominic told her this was normal—that once you unlocked the dream power by calling forth a vision, more dreams were almost certain to follow. And they were typically difficult to remember or interpret.After a few weeks, the dreams had finally ceased—until tonight. She knew she was dreaming right now. Somehow, she also knew she was going to remember this one.She and Cali were walking on the sidewalk along the outskirts of a college campus. It was not Weston College—the small lake across the street was all the proof Leesa needed to tell her that. There were no lakes on the Weston grounds.A lush green lawn sloped down to th
Leesa's Advent Chapter 292
Leesa had just swallowed the last spoonful of her cereal when her cell phone sounded. The ringtone—a snippet from Pink about how her critics didn’t like her jeans and didn’t get her hair—told her it was Cali on the line. Leesa wondered what was up with such an early call.Bradley looked up from his second bowl of cereal. Leesa was glad to see his appetite had still not diminished.“Let me guess,” he said. “With that ringtone, it has to be Cali, right?”Leesa grinned as she picked up the phone. “Yep. Pretty fitting for her, huh?”“That’s for sure.”Leesa put the phone to her ear. “Hey, Cali. What’s up?”Cali’s voice sounded even more excited than usual. “Lees, you got a few minutes? You won’t believe the dream I had last night! You were in it with me. I wanted to tell you before I forgot any of it.”The word “dr
Leesa's Advent Chapter 293
Leesa and Dominic sat in the SUV, which was parked in front of Leesa’s apartment complex. Dominic had driven over as soon as he received her call, not wanting to waste any time hearing the details of what she had to say. When Leesa came outside, he had simply slid over into the passenger seat. With the windows down, the fresh, cool morning air flowed over them. Leesa could smell the sweet scent of a nearby morning glory hedge.As she recounted her dream, Dominic listened with the same look of relaxed concentration he usually bore whenever she told him something important. He nodded now and then and asked one or two questions to clarify a point, but for the most part he just let her tell the story in her own words. When she finished repeating the details of her dream, she told him about the results of her computer search.“I was going to tell you about the dream in any case,” she said. “But when I read the article about the murders, I knew I had
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