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Chapter 436
That night, a terrifying dream visited Leesa’s sleep. It started out perfectly pleasant, before turning dark.
She walked hand in hand with Rave through a dense copse of trees. Specks of sunlight filtered through the foliage and danced like tiny motes of magic on the forest floor. The air was almost perfectly still, but the shade kept the temperature from feeling too oppressive. Overhead, birds whistled melodious tunes as they flitted among the leafy branches. Closer to the ground, bees buzzed from brightly colored flower to brightly colored flower, collecting sweet nectar to bring back to their hives.
Leesa sighed contentedly. It was such a perfect day. She turned her head and smiled at Rave. He returned her smile, then brought her hand up to his lips and kissed each finger tenderly, one at a time. She sighed again.
They resumed their hike, and soon reached the bottom of a steep ridge.
“How about yo
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Leesa's Advent Chapter 437
Leesa hurried down the sidewalk of Middletown's main street. She was meeting Cali at Giovanni's Restaurant, a favorite place since their college days, and she was already running late. The late afternoon summer sun shone down on her from a cloudless sky, and the heat was beginning to make her pale blue shirt stick to her back. She resisted the urge to slow her pace, because she did not want to keep Cali waiting any longer than necessary.Even though a few days had passed, her dream about the world’s destruction and Rave fading away into nothingness still weighed heavily on her mind. Practicing magic with Dominic had not helped distract her much at all. Unable to focus completely, she was no closer to decorating her ivory box—let alone attempting to fashion an avatar—than when she first attempted the new spell. She needed to talk to Cali, to tell her about the dream and her fears. It was one thing to talk to Rave and Dominic, but they were too close to the si
Leesa's Advent Chapter 438
She described the details of the dream, how it had started out as a perfect summer day and how Rave carried her up the path to the ledge the way she loved. She told Cali about the Noises rumbling and how the apple decayed in the palm of her hand and how things got progressively worse from there. “Then, everywhere I looked, things were dying or dead and rotten. And I can’t get the sound of the wind out of my mind—it seemed almost like a freight train rushing by it was so loud. I turned to Rave and…” Leesa stopped. How could she explain the next part of the dream to make Cali understand how terrifying it was? He vanished? He faded from view? Even in her own mind, those words did not nearly do justice to the way it made her feel. “So, what happened then?” Cali prompted. “Rave disappeared. I know it doesn’t sound like much saying it like that, but it was like he was fading away right in front of me. I tried to grab him and hold on to him, but I couldn’t. I could
Leesa's Advent Chapter 439
The rising sun was still hidden by the trees lining the east side of the backyard, but Leesa was already wide awake and eager to get to work. For each of the past five days she had tried and failed to merge her magic with her avatar box. It irked her that she was only allowed one attempt per day, but Dominic had remained steadfast in holding her to that limitation. He must have his reasons, she knew. He always did, even if he did not always express them clearly—or at all, for that matter.Last night, he had suggested she try first thing in the morning today, before any of the day’s events distracted her mind from the task. Willing to try anything that might help her succeed, she had readily agreed.So here she was, standing on grass still wet with dew, while Dominic and Rave sat comfortably in the wooden chairs, watching her. Ralin perched on a thick branch in the nearest tree, looking down at her from above. None of them appeared at all tired, but of cours
Leesa's Advent Chapter 440
“I think it might be time to go up and check the ledge again,” Leesa said to Rave a few days later as she ran her fingers through her damp, freshly showered hair. “It’s been almost a week since you and Dominic were up there.”Rave and Dominic had learned nothing new on their visit to the ledge the day after Leesa and Rave had discovered the dead weeds, but because of her nightmare, she thought about the place every day.Rave knew it still bothered her. He moved behind Leesa and put his arms around her waist.“Sure, if you want. But I could go check on it myself and let you know if anything’s changed.”Leesa thought about Rave’s offer for a moment. “No, I want to go. I feel like I need to see it for myself.” She turned in his arms and wrapped her forearms behind his neck. She had woken up happy and refreshed this morning. After last week’s dream, she had spent a few nights tossing and
Leesa's Advent Chapter 441
Mother and son regarded each other wordlessly, then turned back to the rock and sent their magic flashing toward it once more. A curved line began to form from opposite points, finally meeting in the middle under the circles. They had created a smiley face rock.“How do you two do that?” Rave asked. “You often seem to know just what to do without talking to each other.”Leesa shrugged. Her expression displayed her uncertainty. “I’m not sure…I can’t really explain it. I don’t hear Ralin’s thoughts or see any images in my head. Somehow, I just know what to do.”“It’s the same for me,” Ralin said. “It’s like in that one moment, Mom and I are linked, like we’re the same person almost.”Leesa turned to Dominic. “Is this something that happens among the waziri?”Dominic shook his head. “Not in my experience. But you and Ralin are
Leesa's Advent Chapter 442
“This sucks!” Fred thought, and then the nomadic vampire laughed at his own joke. If he had a tasty human to suck on he would not be complaining, but it was getting late and so far, pickings had been pretty slim—as in none.He had been traveling slowly up the east coast for several months now, starting way down in Georgia. Tonight, his journey had brought him to Middletown. Not that he cared about the name of the place—he doubted he would be here very long anyway. He traveled mostly by night, except on cloudy days. When the sun shone, he took shelter or remained in the shadows. He had crossed the continent four or five times this way in the last twenty years or so, never sticking to one place for very long. He would not mind settling down somewhere for a while, but he could not. Other vampires were always around somewhere, and too many vampires together made him nervous. He had belonged to a clan when he was first transformed, more than thirty years ag
Leesa's Advent Chapter 443
“Dad!!!”Ralin’s scream had barely echoed off the walls of his bedroom before Rave had flashed to his son’s bedside. It took Leesa a few seconds longer to wake up and rush into the room, but when she arrived she was relieved to see Ralin sitting up against the headboard with Rave perched on the edge of the bed beside him. Neither one seemed to be harmed in any way, though Ralin’s face bore a confused and distraught expression.Rave laid his hand reassuringly on Ralin’s knee. “It’s okay, son. I’m here, and I’m fine.”“What is it?” Leesa asked, her eyes shifting worriedly back and forth between her husband and her son. “What happened?”Before Ralin could reply, Dominic stepped into the room, looking wide awake. His eyes swept over Leesa and Rave and then fastened on Ralin.“What’s all the commotion?” he asked.“I had a nightmare,&r
Leesa's Advent Chapter 444
Balin stood in the doorway of his cabin watching his visitors approach. Leesa and Rave walked side by side in front, with Ralin and Dominic close behind.“Young Rave, what’s wrong?” Balin asked while they were still a few steps away. The worry in his voice was obvious.“How did you know something was wrong?” Leesa asked.Balin smiled. “Even if I could not detect the agitation in young Rave’s vibrations, a surprise visit by all four of you so early in the morning would be a pretty good clue that something is amiss. Come in, and we can talk about it.” He stepped back to allow his guests to enter.Once inside, Leesa felt as she always did when entering Balin’s rustic old cabin—as if she had stepped back in time. The big room, illuminated by a couple of candles and a small fire in a stone fireplace, held simple, handmade chairs and a sturdy oak table flanked by split-log benches. A buckskin sleeping
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