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Chapter 313
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Resting 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's Advent Chapter 314
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
Leesa's Advent Chapter 315
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
Leesa's Advent Chapter 316
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
Leesa's Advent Chapter 317
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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Jami Mossi's picture filled the entire first page of the Woburn High senior class yearbook for good reason. In addition to being a stellar athlete, she had graduated fifth in her class, been voted Homecoming Queen and Most Likely to Succeed, and to top it all off, possessed a model’s wholesome good looks. She had lettered in both soccer and basketball, but her true love ever since she was a young girl was softball. Tall, svelte and blond, she resembled her idol, Jennie Finch. Unlike Finch, Jami was not a pitcher, but her sweet swing had set a state single season record for home runs and carried Woburn to the state championship. Her many fans wanted her to attend one of the local Boston colleges, but Jami had accepted a scholarship from Finch’s powerhouse alma mater, the University of Arizona. She would be heading west in the middle of August, but for now she was enjoying her summer at home, training and playing in two different softball leagues. One of the leagues was a men’s league i
Leesa's Advent Chapter 319
Leesa was playing Hearts at the dining table with Rave, her mom and Bradley when Cali’s ringtone sounded on her cell, which she had left on the end table beside the couch. She excused herself and went to pick up her phone.“Have you seen the video?” Cali asked excitedly as soon as Leesa answered the call.“No. What video? We’ve been playing cards. Hold on a second.” Leesa crossed into her bedroom for more privacy. She did not want to alert or worry her mom.“What is it?” she asked as soon as she was out of earshot. “More zombies?”With so many stories about the Lisbon Falls zombie attack still appearing in the news, Leesa had been forced to turn off the sound notification on the zombie alert she had set up. A couple of times a day she would scroll through the list to check for any items not connected to the Maine attack. There hadn’t been anything important up to dinnertime tonight, when she last checked.“Yeah, you won’t believe the video,” Cali replied. “Go to YouTube and search ‘zo
Leesa's Advent Chapter 320
“So, what do we do now?” Leesa asked, afraid that she already knew the answer.Dominic slid the computer back over to Cali, who turned it off and closed the lid.“I must try to stop him,” he replied. “There is no longer a choice. I must take the fight to him.”“You mean ‘we,’ don’t you?” Leesa asked. “We must take the fight to him.”Dominic put Leesa’s hands together and clasped them in his. He stared into her face.“You do not have to accompany me,” he said.Leesa looked at the wizard in disbelief. “Not accompany you?” she asked. “Isn’t this why you imparted your magic to me in the first place? Why you’ve been training me so hard? To aid you in this struggle?”“Yes, it is. But you are not yet ready for this. I had hoped to have more time to prepare you.”“Nevertheless, fledgling waziri or not, what kind of wizard would I be if I let you face the Necromancer and the black waziri alone?” She turned her palms up and squeezed Dominic’s hands. “You’ve become like a father to me. I’m not g
Leesa's Advent Chapter 321
Located about ten miles of Boston, the city of Lynn boasts the largest cemetery in the entire state of Massachusetts. The Pine Grove Cemetery covers more than two hundred and fifty acres, all of which are enclosed by a stone wall said to be the second longest continuous stone wall in the world, trailing only the Great Wall of China. Slightly more than eighty acres are currently used as graveyard, containing almost ninety thousand graves. The entire population of Lynn is about ninety thousand people, making it one of the few towns of any size containing as many deceased people as live ones. The number of dead plus the size of the surrounding population made it the perfect place for the next stage of the Necromancer’s plan.Having made the short drive from Woburn, his oversized RV eased to a stop on a quiet street along one edge of the cemetery shortly before midnight. Viktor emerged from the vehicle, almost invisible in his black cloak. He crossed to the head-high rock w
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Serena awoke to the sound of birds chirping and the smell of fresh coffee brewing. She rolled over lazily, reaching out for Raphael, but the space was empty. With eyes still closed, she frowned. Where is that man? That man had probably been out of bed since the crack of dawn, beside himself with nerves for today’s big event, she thought regretfully. They were to be married today. Their lives intertwined for all of eternity. What man wouldn’t have cold feet at the prospect? And they’d known each other such a short time, too. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times, and frowned again. She had awakened in the safe house. Last night, she’d killed a man in her own home, and knew she could never go back there ever again. She didn’t care how good the Brethren’s cleanup crew could restore her home. It would never erase the vivid memories and horrors of what had happened there. She and Raphael would have to find themselves a new home, together. Until such time, this place would be it, th
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It’s going to be a long day without Raphael, Serena thought, as she washed and dressed. But she carried on. With so many loose ends to tie up, final checks to be made, people and places to coordinate, she scarcely had time to think about anything else. Except for her father. In the quiet moments between the bedlam of planning a wedding, she reflected upon him and her heart ached. She had arranged for a nursing home staffer to drive him and his wheelchair to the Chapel of the Holy Cross for the wedding. They didn’t usually allow weddings there, but somehow, Raphael swayed their decision. Kemuel promised to wheel her father down the aisle beside her, and she loved him instantly for that. But her dream was to have him walk her down that aisle. A sob caught in her throat, and she quickly shook her head to whisk it away. None of that nonsense, Serena. Don’t be greedy. At least he is alive and here to be a part of it all. As the day waxed on to evening, Serena felt unsettled. She hadn’t s
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Raphael spent the next few days cloistered with Serena, away from everyone and everything, like a honeymoon before the wedding. But every morning he made creative excuses to tear himself away from her for a little while and work with Fred. To make sure she didn’t visit her father, he dropped her off at her shop first so she could plan a small wedding with Callie and catch up on the mountains of paperwork.The healing sessions with Serena’s father went spectacularly, and with Raphael’s charisma, he convinced the nursing home staff to keep any improvements secret from her. They thought it romantic that he came to help with his fiancée’s father’s rehabilitation. Everyone there rooted for him, amazed at his miraculous awakening. All of the therapists worked their tails off during his therapy sessions, wanting to see their severely stroke-damaged patient beat the odds and walk his daughter down the aisle.On the morning of the fifth day, Raphael got Fred walking without any assistance.“Co
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Raphael grabbed her hands. “Do it!” he demanded. He placed them on his temples and spoke to her through their bonded connection. She felt every thought he had had of Sirona over the years straight to the present down their threaded connection. She heard every thought he’d had of her, including every word he had spoken while holding her in his arms at Dr. Chappo’s estate. He sent her everything that filled his heart and soul about her, and finally, at last, she knew.She knew. And knowing was everything to her. He gently brought her hands away from his face, kissing her fingertips as he eased them down, and she took a few steps backward, looking at him as if for the first time. No one before had ever felt about her the way he felt about her, let alone express so strongly all he’d expressed when she’d lain dying in his arms.“You’re in love with me.” She gasped, astonished. Tears welled again in her eyes, but this time, for a very different reason.“Yes.” He took a bold step toward her.
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A bundle of nerves, that’s what she’d turned into. Since leaving her father’s, Serena had been nothing but a bundle of nerves, rehearsing over and over again what she would say to Raphael up on the Rock. Looking all around her now, frightening memories kept popping into her mind, making her think that at any moment, Steve or Wheezer were going to jump out and nab her. Unfortunately, she had gotten to the summit way too early, and now paced like a caged bobcat. It had to stop. The bad guys are dead, Serena. Think positive, and let go the past. So, finding a suitable rock to sit on, Serena decided to do a little meditation to soothe her worried heart. “When I see him, I’ll know the right words to say,” she notified the birds. It may sting for a bit, but it’s for the best.****Raphael showed up at the base of the mountain with time to spare, and noticed Serena’s Jeep already parked. Perfect, he thought. He checked his pocket for the millionth time, making sure the ring box hadn’t fallen
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Raphael watched Serena leave the nursing home from behind one of the bushes in the front. She seems in good spirits, he thought. Only when he saw her disappear down the street did he dare to venture out of his hiding place. He walked into the nursing home and headed straight to the reception desk.“Hello, I’m here to see Mr. Sikes.” He smiled amiably at the receptionist.“Wow, two visitors in one day. Fred’s a lucky guy. Sign in right here, please. You’ll sign out before you leave. Take this badge so we know you belong here. Room 103 is down the hall, make a left, and he’s at the end on the left.”He looked at her name tag, and winked. “Thanks so much, Judy.”Walking down the hall, he found himself fidgeting with the badge in his hand. Am I actually nervous? Hell yeah! Raphael, the man, is about to meet the father of the woman he loves. Raphael, the man, is about to ask for this guy’s daugh
Leesa's Advent Chapter 721
Great! Just great! There’s a leak in my bedroom ceiling. Wait a minute, that’s not right. I’m not in my bedroom. I’m locked away in Dr. Chappo’s house. She remembered more. Being bound to a gurney, her body broken and dying. But I’m not lying on a gurney now, and I actually feel great. How could she be dying and still feel great? And what’s with the rain shower on my face? Slowly her eyes fluttered open, and she gasped.It was raining. Angel’s tears. Raphael’s tears, to be exact.She lay in his arms, and from the way he shuddered and sobbed, she thought maybe he didn’t know she lived. To be honest with herself, she’d only realized this fact just a few moments before. Iridescent wings were outstretched and trembling though no breeze made them flutter so.She gently raised her hand to caress his cheek and whispered softly. “Shh…there now, Raphael, shh. It’s all right. I’m ok
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Raphael noticed a knob on the box. It made sense to dial it to its lowest setting. He followed the tubing to its clamp on Serena’s side and decided to completely clamp it off. Now, no more blood could flow. But he still needed to get the needle out of her arm. He found gauze and tape on the tray stand and proceeded to extrude the catheter from her arm carefully so as not to injure her. He replaced it securely with the gauze and tape. His hands shook. I can’t fall apart like this right now! He quickly shrugged off the threat of paralyzing fear.“Hey, Raphael, this guy says his name is Steve. Isn’t that the name of one of guys who assaulted Serena?” Gabriel asked.“Yes, yes it is,” he said through gnashed teeth. Rage filled him and he clenched his fists, trying to gain some semblance of control. “Bind him, tightly. Make sure he can see Dr. Chappo. I’d like him to see what happens to assholes like him when they choose
Leesa's Advent Chapter 719
Searing hot pain shot like lightning throughout every inch of Serena’s body. Well, every inch she could feel, which left her very disturbed indeed, because she couldn’t feel anything past her waist. She could barely breathe without severe pain ripping through her chest and back. She knew what that meant—broken ribs. But what about her legs? Where were they? And why did her wrists feel shackled? Oh, dear God! What’s become of me? Her shallow breaths quickened. Her heart raced and fought for freedom behind her aching chest. Tears burst through her closed eyes and flowed untapped down the sides of her face.A voice sliced through the whooshing sound in her ears. A voice she knew all too well, and had come to despise with every molecule in her being.“Uh, Doc, I think she’s coming ’round. What do you want me to do?” Steve asked.“Hmm? Oh, nuffin. Nuffin, Seeve. Jus’ keep watchin’,” Dr. Chappo sl
