Filled with renewed enery, Leesa quickly followed Dominic outside. A nearly full moon bathed the yard with enough pale light for them to see with relative clarity. As they descended the steps, they watched Ralin levitate rapidly up into the air, propelled by the glowing green spiral beneath his feet that they had seen once before. He turned his head toward them when he heard their footsteps on the stairs. The green spiral vanished and he stopped rising.
“Hi, Mom,” he called down from a height of about twenty-five feet. “I’m starting to get the hang of this thing. Pretty cool, huh?”
“It’s very nice,” Leesa said. “Now come back down here. Dominic has found something.”
Ralin allowed himself to sink rapidly back down to the ground. Cali and Stefan moved closer as well.
“What did you find?” Ralin asked Dominic when he alighted upon the grass. “A way to smoke some demon ass, I hope?&r
When the first gray hint of dawn lightened the eastern sky, Leesa, Dominic and Ralin piled in to the SUV and headed toward the Connecticut River. With several more hours of practice under their belts, they felt confident in their ability to perform the possession breaking spell with high efficiency. Whether the magic would work on Lamashtu’s demonic possession of Rave, they could not be sure, but they remained hopeful.Cali, Stefan, Dral and Bain also headed east, traveling as a group under their own power. They were going to meet the others at the base of the ridge. Dominic and Leesa had made it clear that under no circumstances were they to ascend the ridge. Their purpose was to protect the rear, and to be available to carry Dominic and Leesa away from any pursuit at supernatural speed if necessary. Ralin was fast enough on his own, but they had no idea what condition Rave might be in should they be successful in freeing him. It was possible he might need to be carrie
The company gathered at the appointed spot. Moving into the cover of the woods just a short distance from the road, Ralin laid Rave’s limp body gently down on his back upon some soft grasses. Rave’s chest rose and fell in a regular rhythm, but besides that he still showed no other signs of life.Ralin remained kneeling at his father’s side, while Leesa and Dominic joined him. Dral, Bain and Stefan fanned out into the trees to keep watch, just in case. Sensing Leesa’s emotional turmoil, Cali elected to stay close to her best friend. Jenna continued to watch from high above.Leesa bent over and kissed Rave softly on the cheek. “Come back to me, darling,” she whispered. “Come back to all of us.”If Rave heard her plea, he gave no sign.Cali rested her hand on Leesa’s shoulder in a gesture of support. “He’ll be all right, Lees… I know he will. Just give him some time.”&ldqu
With the stardust pendant clutched tightly in her right hand, Leesa uttered a single word. “Ariandre.” At the same time, she visualized an image of the beautiful centaur.For a few moments, nothing happened. Ralin, Dominic and Cali watched her expectantly, wondering what she was trying to do. Only Rave knew about the pendant’s power to summon Ariandre, but even he and Leesa did not know exactly what to expect—only that Ariandre had told Leesa to hold the pendant and say her name, and she would come if she could. How she would appear, and how long it would take, neither had any idea.Less than a minute passed before a low buzz began to fill the air, sounding like an approaching swarm of insects. Next, a small, pulsating silver energy sphere appeared in front of them, brightening slowly as it floated a few feet above the grass. The silver hue was lighter and more vibrant than the flash that accompanied Jenna’s shape changes. It had an otherw
Leah felot the burn radiating through her thighs as she trudged up the steep wooded slope. A few yards ahead, Kai led the way up the same uneven path, his long dark hair blowing behind him in the warm breeze. He showed no more strain climbing this ridge than if he had been strolling along a flat sidewalk back in San Diego. Of course, if they were strolling along a sidewalk back home they would probably be holding hands or walking arm and arm, but this was neither the time nor the place for such romantic pleasantries.Kai’s bare feet made no sound on the loose dirt of the narrow path, and they gripped the uneven surface even better than Leah’s rubber-soled hiking boots. Behind her, Leah could hear the soft footfalls of the half-dozen Marines her father insisted accompany them on any hunting trips. The squad was led by a veteran sergeant named Watson who had ventured out of the city with them a number of times before.She guessed the soldiers felt little more
Leah noticed that Kai did not seem at all alarmed, so she let herself relax.“There is nothing to worry about,” Kai told the soldiers. “I know what this is. You can lower your weapons.”The Marines looked to Sergeant Watson, who nodded. They let the barrels of their guns drop, but kept their fingers near the triggers, just in case.“Kai, can you hear me?” asked a soft female voice from inside the sphere, which seemed to brighten a little bit with each word and then dim when the voice stopped.Leah recognized the voice instantly, though she had not heard it in months. It belonged to the centaur Ariandre!“I can hear you, yes,” Kai replied.“Leah is there with you?” Ariandre asked. “I believe I sense the remnants of dragon fire nearby,”“Yes, she’s right here at my side.” Kai turned and smiled at Leah. “As always. She fried a werewolf just a
When Leah oprned her eyes, the first pale pink wash of dawn was just beginning to peek over the hills to the east, illuminating the tall barrier fence surrounding San Diego. A twinge of guilt pricked at her conscience about not stopping by her home to tell her parents what she was up to, but she quickly forced it down. Ariandre had said that time was of the essence, so Leah wanted to get to the assigned spot as swiftly as they could. Sergeant Watson would let her parents know what she was doing soon enough.Rather than entering the city, where navigating roads and neighborhoods would slow him down, Kai skirted the boundary fence, remaining out in the open landscape where he could run at full speed. It did not take long to reach the beach a few miles north of their destination. Turning south, he ran on the firm, damp sand along the ocean’s edge. A few minutes later, Leah saw the familiar remains of the pier jutting out into the sea.Kai set her down upon the sand
Leesa watched as Leah and Kai emerged from the portal. As they crossed the boundary of the pulsating sphere their bodies seemed to shimmer for a moment, but they quickly solidified. The pair looked exactly as Leesa remembered them. Kai’s face bore his usual stoic expression, but Leah was smiling in friendly recognition.Behind them, the portal vanished as Ariandre let her magic go.Leesa stepped forward and wrapped her friend in a warm embrace. Leah hugged her back just as tightly.“It’s good to see you both again,” Leesa said when she let go of Leah. “Thank you for coming,”“Of course. Ariandre said it was important, so here we are.” Leah looked to the centaur. “How is it that you find yourself in this world, Ariandre?”“Leesa summoned me. I gave her the means to do so in gratitude for her help in saving my world.”Leesa held the starburst pendant away from her chest. &
The others in the company followed Dominic’s gaze to the east. For a moment, even Rave and Ralin’s keen eyes saw nothing, but then a dark spot appeared in the sky above the ridge inhabited by Lamashtu. It continued to grow and blacken, until it was visible to them all.To Leesa, it appeared to be a dark cloud, but not like any cloud she had ever seen. As it grew, it extended vertically, rather than horizontally, reaching up into the sky, its top widening while the bottom remained a narrow point. From this distance she could not be sure, but it seemed to be spinning. It looked almost like a tornado, though with no other clouds in the sky she knew this could be no natural phenomenon.“What is it?” she asked.“A magical vortex of some kind,” Dominic replied. “I think it’s a gateway.”“It’s hard to make them out against the darkness,” Rave said, “but I think there are shapes spinnin