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Chapter 309
It was half an hour past noon when Rave rejoined Leesa, Dominic and Dral in the woods north of the town. His two mile long journey from the river had given his inner heat plenty of time to dry his hair and clothes. Bain was nowhere in sight, and Rave guessed that his friend had decided to remain in Lisbon Falls until nightfall.
Alerted to Rave’s approach by Dral, Leesa rushed forward as soon as he appeared and wrapped him up in a tight hug.
“When you didn’t make it back by noon,” she said, “I thought you might be stuck in town.” She smiled and kissed his cheek. “I’d much rather have you here.”
“I would have been back on time,” Rave replied, “but I found a surprise in the river I thought well worth the extra time—especially since I didn’t learn much else of use in town.”
Dominic raised one eyebrow, clearly intrigued. “What did you find?”
“Thre
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Leesa, Dominic and the three volkaanes sat leaning against trees near the river, waiting for Jenna to arrive, although Leesa was leaning more against Rave’s side than she was the tree trunk behind them. Bain had returned soon after dark and reported pretty much the same thing as Rave had—no solid information to be gleaned and an increasingly tightening security presence around the town. He had exited the village through one of the few areas still remaining to be fenced. He told them he expected the fence to be complete by the following night.Earlier, Leesa had dispatched the remaining two zombies much more efficiently than the first one, needing just a single short blast to fell each of them. She was very glad for the extra practice and experience, and was now much more confident she could hold her own alone against a small band of the creatures, at least. She had also used her magic to help Rave and Dral dig three holes a short distance back in the woods to bury
Leesa's Advent Chapter 311
Dominic and Dral returned shortly before dawn, arriving silently out of the dimness. Leesa had eventually fallen asleep and was now laying with her head resting comfortably on Rave’s lap. She had told him to awaken her as soon as Dominic returned, so he woke her by gently stroking the top of her head with his fingers. She sighed contentedly and opened her eyes. Seeing his handsome face looking down at her, she smiled.“Hi, handsome,” she said.Rave smiled back. “Good morning, sweetheart. Sorry to wake you, but Dominic is back.”Leesa turned her head and saw the wizard and Dral standing a few feet away. In the early morning twilight they looked safe and unharmed, like their trip had been uneventful, as she had hoped. She pushed herself up to a sitting position, still nestled against Rave’s side.“What did you find?” she asked Dominic.“Much that I expected,” the wizard replied somberly, &ld
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Jenna frowned. She wasn’t learning anything she didn’t already know. Just to be sure, she turned to the second soldier.“What about you? Do you know anything?”The man shook his head. “Just what the Sarge already told you, ma’am.”“Okay.” Jenna performed a more intricate set of hand gestures, sealing a forgetting spell in place.“You can go now,” she said when she had finished. “You will remember nothing of this meeting. Get on back to whatever you were doing.”The soldiers spun around without a word. She watched them exit the alley, never looking back. Out of her presence, the compulsion spell would quickly wear off. The forgetting spell would not.Once the men were gone, Jenna shifted back into her owl form, ready to spend a couple of hours perched atop the roof of the hospital, hoping to overhear something useful. The chances were small, she knew, but she had no
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Resting on a fallen log with Rave close beside her, Leesa gazed absently out toward the river. The water flowed slowly by, reflecting the blue sky above and untroubled by any events unfolding just downstream. Leesa wished she could be as placid.Out of nowhere, an otter poked its nose up over the edge of the riverbank. A moment later, the rest of the sleek brown form climbed up onto the grassy bank. Glistening drops of water dripped from its whiskers and snout, shining like tiny jewels in the sun.“How cute!” Leesa exclaimed, happy for the unexpected break in a day that was beginning to grow just a bit monotonous. She had already practiced her magic under Dominic’s tutelage for almost two hours and was now taking a break. “Look, Rave. An otter.”Rave followed her gaze toward the river. His volkaane affinity to animals told him there was something special about this otter, and he was pretty sure he knew what it was. He didn’t s
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Leesa enjoyed the mile long walk to the restaurant. The early evening air felt pleasantly warm on her skin, and a soft breeze from the east carried the faint scent of the river to her nostrils. As she approached Giovanni’s, she spotted Cali waiting outside the entrance. In truth, it would have been hard to miss her. Cali was dressed fairly conservatively—for Cali. She had on a florescent orange tank top and plain white shorts. Three bright orange streaks adorned the left side of her dark hair and her sandals had orange straps. Naturally, she had painted her toenails to match the straps. The two girls greeted each other with a quick hug. “I’m glad to see you made it back in one piece,” Cali said. “I can’t wait to hear all about that zombie stuff. Did you see any of them for real?” “Yeah, I did,” Leesa replied. “I’ll tell you all about it after we get a table and order. I’m starving.” Inside, the restaurant was only about half full, a far cry fr
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The following morning, Leesa and Cali shared leftover pizza reheated in the microwave for breakfast. Cali had spent the night at Leesa’s so they could get an early start meeting Dominic. Bradley sat across the table, wolfing down a big bowl of cereal topped by sliced bananas, while Rave munched on an apple. Judy was in the kitchen, fixing herself some toast.Bradley looked at Cali and then Leesa and shook his head. “I can’t believe you two are eating pizza for breakfast.”“Why not?” Leesa asked, a half-eaten slice poised in front of her mouth. “It’s good. The crust is a little chewy, but the rest tastes great.”“And it’s got all the food groups,” Cali added, smiling. “Meat, dairy, bread...even fruit.” To illustrate her point, she picked a piece of pineapple off of her slice and popped it into her mouth.Bradley grinned. “I guess you’re right,” he said. &l
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As usual, they hiked almost a half mile into the state forest, picking their way among the trees to lessen the chance anyone would stumble across them while Leesa performed her magic. This morning, they found an especially pretty place where a winding stream cut through the woods, allowing a ribbon of bright sunlight to shine down through the otherwise thick foliage. Motes of dust floated in the sunlight like magical fairy dust, while the gurgling water created a peaceful soundtrack for the scene. Leesa was glad when Dominic said they would stop here.“This is beautiful,” she said as she walked closer to the water. “It’s like something out of a nature video.”“It’s magical,” Cali agreed. “The perfect place for you to practice.”Dominic had obviously decided that driving with her mind was enough of a warm-up for Leesa, because he got right to her lessons. He pointed to a large rock in the middle of the s
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Leesa drew a deep breath and cleared her mind. She fixed her sight on a spot right next to the designated hole.“Magnus irrundi,” she said softly.The yellow bolt shot from her hand, striking the rock precisely where she wanted it to. When she shut off the beam, a second hole had been drilled adjacent to the first.“See how easy that was?” Cali said teasingly. “I don’t know what you were making such a big fuss about. That’s why it’s called magic.” She grinned.“If it’s so easy,” Leesa replied with a smile, “let’s see you do it.”“Ha! I wish. I’d give anything to be able to, just once.”“Would you?” Dominic asked, a thoughtful expression creasing his face.“You bet I would.”Dominic studied Cali for a moment longer. “Go ahead and try it then.”Leesa’s eyes darted back and fo
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